Prize Winner

Every year, my husband's department has this symposium day, where they go all out with a theme, play some games, eat yummy catered food, have a guest speaker, and indulge on various desserts and choose whose is the best. This year, Jon had to get creative when picking the recipe because it wasn't a guarantee that our oven would be fixed in time. . . and sure enough, it wasn't.

A few years ago, Jon's aunt brought this yummy éclair dessert to a family gathering that was made with graham crackers and pudding. . . we had no idea that graham crackers were the choice ingredient until we saw the recipe. . . we thought it was cake! I have since made it for a MOPS dessert once and for something else, but it had been awhile since I had made it.

So, we decided on this recipe. Unfortunately, I had lost the recipe that his aunt sent me, but found it easy enough online (allrecipes.com is awesome!).

Jon took the finished dessert to work and came home with a completely empty pan and a gift card to Starbucks. Apparently, the dessert tied for first place! Yeah for the simplicity of this dessert and the fact that I was not expecting to win anything.

Needless to say, if you are looking for a quick and easy dessert that will NOT heat up your house during these hot summer months. . . this is the dessert for you!

Chocolate Éclair Dessert

(Jon's aunt/allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 individual packages graham crackers
• 2 (3 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups milk
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (16 ounce) package prepared chocolate frosting

Directions:

Line the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan with graham crackers. In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and milk. Stir well. Stir in whipped topping to pudding mixture. Spread half of mixture over graham cracker layer. Top with another layer of graham crackers and the remaining pudding. Top all with a final layer of graham crackers and frost with chocolate frosting. Refrigerate until serving.

S is for . . .

S is for summer. . . swimming . . . and strawberries. Mmmm. . . . strawberries. I can feel my mouth just watering at the sound of fresh picked strawberries (good thing there sitting in my fridge!). Today is the last day of school for our local schools, and even though my little one is too young for school, it still feels like summer has officially begun!

Today has been a really fun day. This morning I got up and watched my nephew celebrate the end of kindergarten. He even had a part to memorize and say in front of all those proud parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. Then, I scurried to Costco to get some much need food items and headed over to my MOPS mentor mom's house for a swim gathering. I have been really blessed this year with an awesome group of mom's and it was so much fun getting together to swim and celebrate summer! And then tonight, I think we are going to go enjoy BBQ'd pizzas and more swimming with our good friends.

So, back to strawberries. . . I recently made this dessert for our small group Bible Study. I was in the mood to make something sweet and yummy, but the no oven dilemma kind of prevented me from doing any baking. Thankfully, I found this recipe last year and it requires absolutely NO baking! Awesome! So, I decided to make it again. Plus, I never blogged about it. . . so you get to see it today. . . in all it's glorious splendor!

Here's the scoop:

:: the ingredients are quite basic - store bought frozen pound cake (mine was Sara Lee), cream cheese, instant pudding, strawberries, and cool whip. . . . super easy!

:: You don't even have to have a nice bowl or trifle. Last year, I made it for a couple in our Sunday School class that had just had a new baby. . . i just made a smaller batch and put it in a Gladware container.

:: This makes awesome smaller portions. You can put it your favorite dessert bowls. I love using my stemware for parfaits! Plus, if you are new to my blog, I have a horrible obsession with bowls. . . just as my husband! In fact, I am looking forward to going to Crate and Barrel in 3 weeks. . . I know just what I want!

:: I also think that the pudding base, would taste good using the recipe from my éclair torte, if you are looking for something a little lighter.

:: The dessert directions say refrigerate for 4 hours prior to serving. . . totally not necessary!

Layered Strawberry Cheesecake Bowl

from Kraft foods

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened

1-1/2 cups cold milk

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, divided

2 cups frozen pound cake cubes (1 inch)

1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate (I just melted some chocolate bark I had on hand)

:: Optional - 1 chocolate covered strawberry. . . you can do this by dipping a dry strawberry into your melted chocolate before you drizzle it onto your dessert. Let it set on a piece of wax paper.

(I emphasized dry because if you try to dip a slightly wet strawberry, the chocolate will just come right off and looks really gross.)

:: Another hint, if you melt your chocolate and want to drizzle a very easy way. . . just put a sandwich bag into a small glass and with its edges folded over the top of the glass. Pour your melted chocolate into the bag and snip the corner and drizzle onto your dessert!

Directions:

Combine berries and sugar. Refrigerate until ready to use. Beat Neufchatel (I used regular cream cheese) in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; mix well. Blend in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP; spoon half into 2-1/2-qt. bowl.

Top with cake, berries and remaining Neufchatel mixture. Refrigerate 4 hours.

MELT chocolate; drizzle over trifle. Top with remaining COOL WHIP.

a love for candy

Hello All! I spent today shopping with my grandma, sister, and nephew, who are visiting from Wyoming. I am exhausted, to say the least. My grandma stayed the night last night as our first official house guest. It was so nice to sit and chat with her. She brought a bunch of pictures (OLD ones, too!) of her side of the family and recipes for the cookbook I am trying to put together before the 4th of July. I am really excited to have all these family recipes in one spot. . . like my grandma's sweet pickles and chili sauce recipes. . . I can't tell you how long I have craved these! Maybe this summer, I will get up the nerve to try them out and can some. . . hmmm. . . the wheels are turning.

My oven is still out of order, but I haven't had time to bake lately so I am not noticing it. I made some no-bake cookies yesterday for Jon's lunch and they are delicious! I will post the recipe soon! And hopefully things are slowing down (I can only pray!) so I can get my valance sewn for my kitchen window and some baby stuff for a dear baby boy that will be born in June.

Before my oven broke, I did make these:

Back in January, the Food Network Magazine showcased a selection of cupcakes that are to "satisfy your cravings" for candy bars. They all looked delicious and I had to pick one kind for a play date snack. I picked the Snicker's copy-cat since it is one of Jon's favorite candy bars.

They turned out really good and really tasty. . . but I think they were missing one vital ingredient . . . caramel! I didn't really think about this until after I had made them and eaten one. They were still amazingly good and quite similar tasting to the original bar.

Peanut Cupcakes with Nougat-Chocolate Frosting

Cupcakes:

2 1/2 cups flour

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

10 tbs unsalted butter, melted

1 tbs vanilla

3/4 cup whole milk

2 cups chopped salted roasted peanuts, plus more for garnish

Nougat Frosting:

2 (13-oz.) jars marshmallow cream

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

pinch of salt

Chocolate Frosting:

6 oz. milk chocolate, chopped

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1/4 cup whole milk

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 tbs vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

Make the cupcakes by mixing ingredients together using your stand mixer or hand mixer. Don't over mix the batter. Line muffin tins with paper liners, filling liners about half way with batter. Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool completely.

Make the nougat frosting by beating the marshmallow cream , peanut butter, and salt with a mixer until smooth (I recommend a stand mixer for this as my hand mixer got really hot and almost overheated). Set aside.

Make the chocolate frosting by melting chocolates slowly and then adding remaining ingredients and mixing until smooth and creamy.

Spread the nougat frosting over each cupcake then top with chocolate frosting. Make sure to leave just enough of nougat exposed. Garnish with peanuts.

Enjoy and happy baking!!!

Lemon Raspberry Mousse Squares

I think in the past few issues of Food Network Magazine and Rachael Ray there has been a Kraft foods ad with this recipe on it. Jon and I had noticed it several times and decided it sounded quite tasty (and it was!). So, when we had his parents over for dinner, he requested this for dessert.

It was so easy to make. . . and kind of cheap, too. I like cheap. . . I have a food budget and many of the desserts I want to make end up costing an arm and a leg, so this was good.

First thing. . . make this in the morning before you plan on serving it in the evening. It needs to sit for at least 4 to 5 hours.

Second thing. . . this is perfect for spring. . . all the fresh fruit on top makes it even better! And right now, the strawberries are PERFECT and Costco has super, delicious blackberries and blueberries right now!

48 Nila Wafers, divided

3/4 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (3 oz) Lemon Jell-o (I could only find the large boxes, so I just used half of it)

1 cup ice cubes

1 pkg. cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp lemon zest

1 (8 oz) tub cool whip, divided

1/3 cup raspberry preserves

1 1/2 cups fresh fruit

1. Wrap an 8 inch square pan in plastic wrap. (You are making this dessert upside down)

2. Stand Nila Wafers around the edge of your pan.

3. Make Jello mixture by adding boiling water to Jell-o. Stir for 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add ice. Stir until melted.

4. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl until blended. Slowly beat in Jell-o mixture. Whisk in 2 cups Cool Whip.

5. Pour half of the mixture into your pan and top with Nila Wafers

6. Heat raspberry preserves in microwave for 30 seconds. Spread over wafers.

7. Top with remaining Jell-O mixture and top with Nila wafers.

8. Refrigerate for 4-5 hours until firm.

9. When firm, flip out onto serving dish. Cut into squares and top with cool whip and fruit.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Baking. . . and eating!

Monday and a yummy treat

It's Monday. Again. It always seems to come so quickly. This is Birthday week for my husband. . . who will be celebrating his 30th birthday on Friday. So, in honor of his special week, we are heading to San Francisco to check out the newly redone Science museum thingy. We are so excited. And then, we are having a bit party for him on Saturday night. So, this week, in between celebrating I am trying to get my house clean (including INTENSE cleaning of the kiddos room. . . we think he's allergic to it), and get my decorations finished. I am really excited about everything that I am doing. . . now if only I can tackle the laundry and the spilled bottle of baby shampoo in the bathroom.

So, since I am on the verge of insanity this week, I am going to leave you with (quite possibly) the BEST cupcakes you have ever eaten!

Devil's Food Deliciousness:

Cupcake - I cheated. . . it's from the box.

Filling - 1 container of marshmallow cream, 1/2 cup of softened butter, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp of water, and a dash of salt. Beat these ingredients together until nice and fluffy. Use your decorating tip to inject into the middle of BAKED cupcakes. (Believe it or not, I have heard so many people recently who thought you baked it with the filling inside.)

Chocolate Ganache Frosting - 1 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips and 1 cup of whipping cream.

Place chips in a bowl and pour cream on top. Heat until soft. Allow to sit for a minute to continue melting. Stir well. Let it come to room temperature. Beat until fluffy. I used my star tip to do the frosting. It will get harder once you put it in the refrigerator.

TA da!!!!

Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I found this recipe and just happened to have an excuse to make a dessert. . . a new mom in need of a meal. It sounded so easy and just looked light and tasty.

which they were! The cake, a combination of white cake mix and lemon pudding, didn't seem all that lemony, but was moist and delicious. The frosting is where the lemon hits your mouth. It was just the perfect amount of lemon combined with the cream cheese sweetness that a cream cheese frosting brings. Mmmm. . . we just couldn't get enough! They were a nice treat for the week. I also love cupcakes, because if you can refrain from eating more that one they are probably a perfect way to get portion control for your sweet tooth.

I didn't zest all of them. . . but to do the zest, I have the citrus Microplane that has a tool that makes little zest strings or ribbons. Quite handy. . . but a lot of work for just eating them at home. So, I only zested the 6 that went to other people.

I will probably (most definitely) make these again. . . they were just so light (as in not to sweet that you get a tummy ache after taking the first bite, not as in healthy for you) and so easy to make. hmmm.. . I think they would make a great treat for Easter gatherings. . . hmmm. . . there's an idea. . . . I'll have to get back to you on that idea.

Here's how to make it:

1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup water

4 egg whites

2 Tbsp. oil

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

BEAT first 5 ingredients in large bowl with mixer on low speed until moistened. (Batter will be thick.) Beat on medium speed 2 min. Spoon into 24 paper-lined muffin cups.

BAKE 21 to 24 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min.; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

BEAT cream cheese, butter and juice with mixer until well blended. Gradually add sugar, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended. Spread onto cupcakes.

I found this recipe over at Kraft.

February is here. . .

Happy February everybody! Yesterday marked that silly little holiday centered around a groundhog. . . apparently he saw his shadow, which means apparently means 6 more weeks of Winter. I am a firm believer that this DOES NOT apply to my California brain. Yesterday was beautiful and included some park time with the kiddo. Today, I woke up to dense fog! Oh well. There is so much going on in the next 6 weeks, that I will keep busy. . . I promise! I am sure you will all survive, too.

Now, on to more important matters . . . Valentines Day! Wahoooo!!!! The day of Love! I just love fun holidays . . . they make me smile from the inside out! Sunday, I made these heart treats on a stick to see how many hearts I could get out of 1 batch (10 glorious hearts). Next weekend, I will be making 4o of them for a tea party. . . they are going to look wonderful!

I didn't just use the ordinary rice krispie treat recipe, but the salted browned butter recipe from Smitten Kitchen. These are just fantastic! I have made them twice and can't wait to make them again! So delicious! I got the idea for the hearts on a stick over at skiptomylou.org (they have some fantastic ideas, if you are in the need of some Valentines Day ideas).

Here's the recipe:

Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars
4 ounces (1/4 pound
or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
Butter (or coat
with non-stick spray)
an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then
foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty.
Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your
eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the
period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where
it burns is often less than a minute.
As soon as the butter takes on a nutty
color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from
the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back
on low until the marshmallows are smooth.
Remove the pot from the stove and
stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked
to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press
it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works
almost as well.

A Baking Dissastor Story:

These week I made banana bread. I didn't have all the ingredients to make my traditional recipe, so I tried the one here and it completely messed it up. I ended up not having enough brown sugar and was too lazy to make my own, so I used white sugar and poured a bunch of molasses into the batter. Yep, was not expecting anything too pretty. I am sharing this, because there is no picture. . . not because it went immediately into the trash, but because it is gone. . . as in we ate it all! It was delicious!

Happy Baking!

My favorite dessert of all time!

I thought it was about time I shared with you my favorite dessert to make. . . I am not kidding. . . it truly is my favorite! I could eat it and eat it and eat it! It is so simple and inexpensive to make, I wonder why I don't make it more. . . oh wait . . . I can't eat it all! So, today, I present to you



(drum roll please?)




the Eclair Torte . . .

Doesn't it look delicious? Like, as you are staring at it you want to go grab your fork and take a bite. . . and then you remember that it is just a picture posted on a random blog showing up on your computer screen. It really is good, trust me!

I found this recipe in my mom's Quick Cooking Annual Edition (1999) and have been making it since. . . So, over 10 years now . . . and the recipe is still one of my favorites (Mom, if you are reading this. . . you really need to comment on how delicious it really is).

Here's what it looks like in the 13x9inch pan. . . scrumptious, huh?

So, here's the recipe. . . go make it . . . now! (or have some friends over so you can gab and eat. . . it's not that bad for you. . . really!)

1 cup water1/2 cup butter (do not substitute)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 (8oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 (3.4z) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk, cold
1 (12oz) carton whipped topping, thawed
chocolate syrup

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Add the flour and stir until until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each one. Beat until smooth. Spread into a greased 13x9 baking dish. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool completely. (You may remove the puff and place it on a serving platter). In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, pudding mix and milk until smooth. Spread over the puff and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Spread the thawed whipped topping over the pudding mix and refrigerate. Drizzle with the chocolate syrup just before serving.

I will note this though, It is best eaten on the day of. . . still pretty good the second day, but the absolute best the day of.