Pumpkin Roll

Another pumpkin recipe!  These pumpkin rolls are much easier to make than they look.  They are moist and a great dessert to make if you want something that looks special.  You can also make them in advance and keep them in your freezer for spur-of-the-moment guests.  Recipe from Libby's Pumpkin.

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients

CAKE

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

FILLING

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions

FOR CAKE:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:

BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

COOKING TIP:

Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

Crème Brûlée Cheesecake Bars

These are really good!  I found them HERE on Betty Crocker.

Crème Brûlée Cheesecake Bars

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1 box (4-serving size) French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

½ cup butter or margarine, melted

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

½ cup sour cream

½ cup sugar

2/3 cup toffee bits, finely crushed

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, pudding mix, brown sugar, melted butter, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and 1 whole egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan.

In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining whole egg, 3 egg yolks and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over crust in pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set in center. Immediately sprinkle top with crushed toffee bits. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

*To easily crush the toffee bits, put them in a food-safe plastic bag.  Seal the bag and finely crush with a rolling pin or meat mallet.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I don't know why I made this.  I saw it, it looked good, and then it never left my mind for weeks!  I made it just to get rid of the bookmark on my computer and the image in my head.  And boy was it good.  Really good.  It's from Pioneer Woman so of course it's good, right?  But it's also REALLY easy.  I did cheat and use a premade Oreo crust.  The homemade one would have been even better, I'm sure.  If you like all things peanut butter, chocolate, and creamy then you should probably make this.  Look at her pictures though.  They are much prettier.  But don't say I didn't warn you.  You might not get them out of your head and then you really will have to make this.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients

FOR CRUST

25 whole Oreos

4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING:

1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1 package (8 Ounce) Softened Cream Cheese

1-1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

1 package (8 Ounce) Cool Whip, Thawed

Preparation Instructions

CRUST:
Crush the Oreos until they’re fine crumbs. Pour melted butter over the top and stir with a fork to combine. Press into pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, or until set.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

FILLING:
Beat the peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the thawed Cool Whip and beat mixture until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.

Pour filling into crust, evening out the top with a knife or spatula. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Warning: This is ultra, ultra-rich. Cut small slivers—your guests will thank you!

The BEST Carrot Cake

I got this recipe from a blog called A Feathered Nest.  She claims it's better than Cheesecake Factory's Carrot Cake.  I've never tried theirs so I can't tell you if that's true...but this IS very tasty!  I love the pecans in it.  It's actually called Dr. Frederick's Carrot Cake I guess.  But whatever it's called, it's good.  And her pictures made it look so good.  So I had to make it.  Definitely check out HER pictures.

Dr. Frederick's Carrot Cake

4 eggs

1 1/4 c. vegetable oil (or 3/4 oil and 1/2 c. applesauce)

1 c. granulated sugar

1 c. brown sugar

3 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg (fresh ground is best)

3 c. grated carrots - (coarse grate, not fine grate)

1 c. chopped pecans

8 oz. drained crushed pineapple (I drained the pineapple and measured 8 oz. - or 1 c.)

FROSTING:

1/2 c. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. chopped pecans

pinch of salt  (I added this in - I've found that if I add just the tiniest pinch of salt to my frostings, it makes the flavor pop.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13" pan or two round cake pans.

*Note: Using a food processor with the grater blade attachment, you can grate your carrots in no time.  I started dropping handfuls of baby carrots into the opening of the lid and had 3 cups of grated carrots in seconds.  You can also chop your nuts in the food processor, as well.  Save yourself some time.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl (I used my Kitchen aid mixer), beat together eggs, oil, applesauce (optional), sugars, and vanilla.  Mix in flour mixture.  Slowly stir in carrots, pineapple, and nuts.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  (baking times may vary)  Let cake cool in pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  

For the frosting:

Beat everything together except the nuts until it's smooth and creamy.  Fold in pecans.  Make sure your cake is completely cooled before you frost it.

Mille Feuilles

Mille feuilles

Ingrédients (pour 6 personnes) :

Pour la pâte :- 500 g de pâte feuilletée
Pour la crème pâtissière :- 1 oeuf- 1/4 de litre de lait- 50 g de sucre- 35 g de farine- un sachet de sucre vanillé
Pour le glacage :- sucre glace- un carreau de chocolat

Préparation : Abaisser la pâte feuilletée sur environ 3 mm. La piquer à la fourchette pour qu'elle ne gonfle pas puis la mettre au four sur 6, soit 180°C.
Pendant ce temps, préparer la crème pâtissière : Mettre le lait à bouillir. Mélanger dans un saladier l'oeuf, le sucre, le sucre vanillé et la farine.
Lorsque le lait est à ébullition, le verser immédiatement dans le saladier. Remettre à cuire dans la casserole pendant quelques minutes afin que le liquide prenne la consistance d'une crème.

Lorsque la pâte feuilletée est cuite, et même désséchée, la couper en trois parties égales. Etaler la crème pâtissière sur une première couche de pâte, puis faire de même avec une seconde. Les assembler.
Attendre que le gâteau soit froid pour étaler au pinceau le glacage, fait avec beaucoup de sucre glace mélangé à un peu d'eau. Réaliser un dessin avec le reste du glacage, mélangé à un carreau de chocolat fondu. C'est prêt !

Thank you so much for this recipe, Rachel!  This is my most favorite French pastry!  I've translated it so that all of us here can make it, too!  Let me know if this seems right, Rachel.  Mmmm!  Can't wait!

Mille Feuilles (Thousand Sheets)


Ingredients (Serves 6):


For the dough:  1 (17.3 oz.) package puff pastry sheets
For the pastry creme:  1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. flour, 1 tsp. vanilla
For the icing:  powdered sugar, 1 square chocolate

Preparation: Roll out the pastry to about 1/8”. Prick with a fork so it does not puff and then bake at 350 degrees. (How long?  According to package directions I assume.)

Meanwhile, prepare the pastry cream: Bring the milk to boil. Mix in a bowl the egg, sugar, vanilla and flour.
When milk is boiling, pour it immediately into the bowl with other ingredients. Mix well.  Return to cook in the pan for a few minutes until the liquid is the consistency of cream.

When the pastry is cooked and well dried, cut into three equal parts. Spread half of the pastry cream on a first layer of dough, then do the same with the second. Stack them one on top of the other.  Finish with the third layer of cooked pastry.

Wait until the cake  is cold and then brush on the glaze, made ​​with lots of powdered sugar mixed with a little water.  Mix remaining glaze with a square of melted chocolate. Drizzle over the top.  Done!

Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Brownies

That's right.  These have yummy, caramel-y dulce de leche AND cream cheese.  Oh, and chocolate.  Hello!  What's not to love, right?  Very easy to throw together.  In fact, I just made this recipe up with things I had on hand and it turned out sooo good!  The dulce de leche comes in a can the size of sweetened condensed milk.  I use LA LECHERA® Dulce de Leche.  I find it in the ethnic Mexican foods section at Wal-Mart.

Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Brownies

1 (9x13 size) brownine mix (and the eggs & oil needed for mix)
1 cup chocolate chips, optional
1 (8 oz. package) cream cheese, room temp
1 (13.4 oz.) can dulce de leche
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix brownie batter according to package directions.  Add chocolate chips if desired.  Set aside.  In a separate mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, dulce de leche, egg, and salt.  Mix until smooth and creamy.  Grease bottom only of a 9x13 baking dish.  Spread about two-thirds of the brownie batter in pan.  Drop cream cheese mixture by spoonfuls onto brownie batter.  Spread remaining one-third of brownie batter on top.  Run a butter knife through mixture to slightly swirl.  Not too much.  Bake according to brownie box directions.  Mine was 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Let cool and cut with plastic knife.  (Makes it soooo much easier to get nice looking pieces with a plastic knife.)  Enjoy!

Cheesecake

This is the cheesecake recipe I grew up with.  My Mom made it often.  My Dad always requested it for his birthday or Father's Day.  It has a yummy sour cream topping on top.  So delicious!

Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups graham crackers, crushed
1/4-1/3 cup butter

Pat into sides and bottom of spring form pan.

Filling:
3 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat until smooth.  Pour into crust and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until set.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Turn oven up to 450 degrees.

Topping:
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix until smooth.  Pour over filling.  Bake another 5 minutes at 450 degrees.  Cool and refrigerate for half a day at least.

*Also makes 36 cupcakes.  Use 1 vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cupcake liner for "crust".  Bake filling for 15 minutes at 375 F.  Then add sour cream topping and bake 3-5 minutes at 450 F.

Apple Pudding Cake

This cake is from my Grandma.  It is sooo good!  Make sure you have some vanilla ice cream on hand!

Apple Pudding Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup shortening (or butter)

3 eggs

3 cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped nuts

4 cups finely chopped apples (don't peel)

2 tsp. baking soda, dissolved in a little water

Mix sugar and shortening.  Add eggs.  Add dry ingredients.  Mix and add nuts and apples.  Add soda mixture and mix.  Bake in a greased 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  To serve, top with ice cream and pour warm sauce over it all.

Sauce

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup canned evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Simmer sugar, butter, and milk until thickened.  Stir in vanilla.

Chocolate Cherry Cake

This recipe is from my sister Heather.  It is super moist and the frosting is to die for.

Chocolate Cherry Cake


1 pkg. chocolate fudge cake mix
1 can of cherry pie filling
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Stir together by hand until blended. (Using a mixer will smash the cherries too much.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 min.
Cool for 1 hour and frost with the following frosting:

Frosting
5 Tablespoon butter
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 c. *semi-sweet chocolate chips

In saucepan over low-med. heat, stir butter, milk and sugar until boiling. Boil for 1 minute. Take off burner and let set for 2-3 minutes then stir in chocolate chips.  (I have learned that stirring in the chocolate too soon, will cause the chocolate to separate because the mixture is too hot. Be sure to let it cool 2-3 min.) Stir until melted and satiny smooth. Spread on cooled cake.

*(Use a good chocolate chip brand. Hershey’s didn’t work for me, but Kroger works nicely and Ghirardelli.)

Ginger Cheesecake Dessert

We made this for Tory's work Christmas party.  If you like gingerbread and cheesecake then I'm sure you'll love this!  Not sure if the gingerbread cookie mix is available year-round or not but you could always use your own gingerbread cookie recipe if you really wanted to make it.

Ginger Cheesecake Dessert

1 pouch Betty Crocker® gingerbread cookie mix

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon water

1 egg

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

2 cups frozen (thawed) whipped topping

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, water and egg until soft dough forms.

Make 5 cookies by shaping dough into 5 (1-inch) balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Meanwhile, press remaining dough in pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In large bowl, beat milk, cream cheese and lemon juice with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cooled cookie base.

Crumble 5 baked cookies; sprinkle over cream cheese mixture. Cover; refrigerate about 1 hour or until chilled. Store covered in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

I love the crackly top on these bars.  Another yummy pumpkin dessert.  Best served with some whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice on top. Mmmm...

(By the way...the cake mix I used in this photo had black and orange sprinkles in it in case you were wondering what those spots were or why yours doesn't have spots when you make it =)

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Crust:

1 yellow cake mix (reserve 1 cup dry cake mix and set aside)

1 egg

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Combine dry cake mix, egg, and melted butter.  Press into a 9x13 baking dish.

Filling:

1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. ginger

12 oz. can evaporated milk

2 eggs

Beat together until smooth.  Pour over crust layer.

Topping:

1 cup reserved cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbsp. butter, room temp

chopped nuts, optional

Mix dry ingredients.  Work in butter with fork until crumbly.  Sprinkle over filling layer.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour.  (Check around 45 minutes as oven temperatures vary.)  Cool.  Serve with whipped cream and sprinkled cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.

Mini Caramel Apples

I made these for a preschool Halloween party.  They were super easy, super fast, and super tasty.  I got the recipe from FamilyFun.  I did use caramel dip instead of the melted peanut butter/butterscotch chips but you might want to read the reviews to see that a lot of people have a hard time getting their caramel to stick to the cut part of the apples.  I didn't have any problems but I think the sprinkles kind of helped "hold" it on.  Plus...I think the longest the caramel had to stick to the apples was about 20 minutes.  They didn't last long! :)  I think next time I'm going to try dipping them in melted peanut butter or almond butter for an even healthier after school snack.  One apple makes about 8 pops.  You can find the sticks with candy making or cake making supplies at stores like Walmart, Michaels, Joanne's, or Hobby Lobby.  Cut each one in half at an angle to make them easier to put in the apples.

Mini Caramel Apples

4-inch lollipop sticks
Melon Baller
Granny Smith apples (one apple makes about 8 mini apples)
Butterscotch or peanut butter chips
Chopped nuts, nonpareils, sprinkles, shredded coconut, etc.
Small paper candy cups

1.  First, cut the lollipop sticks in half at an angle (the pointy end will go into the apple pieces easier). With the melon baller, scoop little balls out of the apple. Each ball should have a section of apple peel. Push half of a lollipop stick into the peel of each ball. Pat the apple pieces dry.
2.  Melt the chips according to the package directions. Dip and swirl the mini apples in the melted chips, then roll the apples in nuts, sprinkles, nonpareils, or coconut, if desired. Place the mini apples in paper candy cups to set. (I placed mine on waxed paper to set.)

Strawberry Crown Tart

This is the recipe I used for Tory's birthday.  It was so good.  I love the hint of lemon in the filling and the red current jelly glaze and the crust tastes like shortbread.  For the birthday tart I put fresh blueberries and strawberries on top.  I recently was asked to make 150 servings of my favorite dessert for a women's conference for my church.  I decided to make this recipe.  I just doubled the crust and filling recipes and baked them in a sheet cake pan instead of a tart pan.  When they were done baking I cut them out to 1-1/2 inch diameter circles.  After they had cooled I dusted them with powdered sugar and placed half of a strawberry (cut side down) on each one and then glazed them.  Unfortunately I didn't get a single picture of the finished tarts.  That's too bad because when am I ever going to make 150 tarts again?  Just to give you an idea of how many there were, they were stacked side-by-side on a board that was 2 feet wide and 5 feet long!  It barely fit into the back seat of my car.  Wow!  Now that's a lot of tarts!  This tart is so easy to make and looks special.  Great to make when strawberries are in season!

Strawberry Crown Tart

FOR THE CRUST

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for handling dough

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

FOR THE FILLING

2 larg eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and cooled
1/3 cup melted currant jelly
2 pint baskets fresh strawberries, stemmed

powdered sugar for garnish

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form (this may take up to 1 minute). Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.

With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.  (I skipped this step.)

Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 10-15 minutes, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up.

Make the filling:  In mixer bowl beat eggs, sugar, lemon juice, peel and vanilla until thick and pale, about 10 minutes. Gently fold in one-third of the flour, then one-third of the butter. Continue folding in, alternating flour and butter until all has been incorporated. Do not over mix.

Brush bottom of tart shell with some of the jelly. Slice about 1/2 basket of the strawberries and arrange over jelly. Pour batter over strawberries (it will not quite cover).

Bake in 375°F oven 20 minutes until golden and filling is set. Cool on rack.

Dust with powdered sugar.  Arrange remaining whole strawberries, stem ends down, on top of tart. Brush with remaining melted jelly.

Makes 8 servings.

Caramel Apple Salad

This is a fun salad to serve in the Fall.  It reminds me of caramel apples.  It's very sweet...more like a dessert!

Caramel Apple Salad

1 (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1 (3 oz.) package Instant Butterscotch Pudding
1 cup crushed pineapple (do not drain)
3 cups (about 3 large) diced apples, I like a tart apple like Granny Smith but any variety will work
1 cup peanuts, dry roasted (I like to chop mine)
1 cup miniature marshmallows

Mix Cool Whip, pudding mix, and undrained pineapple.  Fold in apples, peanuts, and marshmallows.  Chill for an hour before serving.

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies

You can't make a cookie that's easier than these.  Two ingredients plus any add-ins and that's it!  You can add semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped nuts, or whatever you like with your pumpkin.  You can also top them with a powder sugar glaze or cream cheese frosting if you want to dress them up.  They hardly spread at all on the cookie sheet so the size you make them is the size they will be when they are done cooking.  Now the hard part is finding a can of pumpkin these days...Good luck!

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies

1 (18.5 oz.) box Spice Cake mix
1 (15 oz.) can solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, or nuts (or any combination of those equaling 1 cup total)
1 cup cream cheese frosting or powdered sugar glaze, if desired

Mix cake mix and pumpkin.  Stir in any add-ins, up to 1 cup total.  Drop by large spoonful on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Remember they don't flatten or spread much while baking so how they look now will be what they look like when they are finished baking.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies.  Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and allow to cool completely.  Frost if desired.  These will be soft and moist cookies.

BYU Brownies

If you've ever been to BYU you've probably had one of their famous brownies.  If not, well these are simply brownies topped with a creamy mint layer and then topped again with chocolate frosting.  I found this recipe on BYU's site so it must be legit...right?  I think the only thing that could really change the taste is the chocolate frosting you decide to use.  I just used the chocolate frosting recipe from my sheet cake recipe but you can use any other recipe (or store bought) that you like.  Click HERE for original recipe and HERE for the frosting recipe I used.

BYU Mint Brownies

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

MINT ICING5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Blackberry Coffee Cake Crumble

This can be made a couple different ways.  You can make the batter and swirl the blackberry filling in and then drizzle with a powder sugar glaze or eat without glaze OR you can swirl the batter and blackberry filling and then top with a crumb topping to make it completely different.  Either way is good.  Serve it warm or cold, topped with ice cream or whipped cream, or right out of the pan.  In this picture we ate it hot out of the oven with whipped cream.  You could also substitute blueberry or cherry pie filling if you prefer.

Blackberry Coffee Cake Crumble

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can (21 oz.) Blackberry Pie Filling

Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs one at a time.  Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Spoon pie filling over top; swirl.  Sprinkle crumb topping over top if desired.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 min-without topping OR 50-55 min-with crumb topping.  Test cake with toothpick to make sure it's done.  Drizzle with a powder sugar glaze if desired (only if made without the crumb topping.)

Crumb Topping
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Combine all dry ingredients.  Mix in butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over batter and bake as directed above.

Strawberry Cake

This is not my picture of this cake but this is what it looks like.  Mine was a giant strawberry shaped cake and somehow I never got a picture of the inside.  But this is the recipe I used so I'm going to get it down here in case I want to make it again.  It was really good and "strawberry-ish".  I think it would be great with my favorite Cool Whip Cream Frosting (but I think everything is good with that frosting!)  For the strawberries you can use fresh or frozen.  I baked my cake in a circle and a square pan.  To make the strawberry shape I cut the circle in half, placed the square on my surface at a diagonal, and put on half-circle on each side of the top of the diamond.  It looked like a heart.  I frosted it red, colored some coconut green and sprinkled it on the top for the leaves and made a stem with the green coconut.  To finish it off I used chocolate chips and put them pointy side down in the cake for the "seeds".  Of course you could also make this with two 8" or 9" rounds, a 9"x13", or cupcakes.

Strawberry Cake

1 (18.5 oz.) box white cake mix
1 (3 oz.) box strawberry jell-O
1/4 cup flour
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup strawberries, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease pan(s) and dust with flour.  Combine cake mix, jell-O, and flour.  Beat in eggs, water, and oil.  Stir in strawberries.  Pour into cake pan(s) and bake for 30 minutes (for two 9" circles).  Let cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pans.  Cool completely before frosting.

Two 8" rounds-30-35 min.
Two 9" rounds-25-30 min.
One 9"x13" pan-30-35 min.
20-24 cupcakes-20-25 min.

Banana Ice Cream

You can eat as much as you want of this ice cream!  It's creamy, smooth, cold, and only uses one ingredient...bananas!  Of course you can add in your favorite toppings, too.  I like cinnamon and walnuts.  Tastes like banana bread.  Mmmm...Freeze your bananas at least 6 hours in advance and make sure you use bananas that are ripe.  I like them when they're getting a good amount of brown spots on the outside.  Nice and sweet but not mushy or brown on the inside!

Banana Ice Cream

Remove banana peels and slice bananas into 1/4-1/2 inch slices.  Place slices on cookie sheet lined with waxed or parchment paper.  Place in freezer until frozen or at least 6 hours.  (I like to make a big bunch and after they are frozen I transfer them to a big freezer bag and then I have them on hand to use for shakes or banana ice cream or just plain as a frozen treat that just hits the spot for me.)

Place frozen banana chunks into a food processor.  I don't think this recipe would work in a blender unless you have one of those really nice high speed ones that I REALLY want but don't have...like a Vitamix.  Turn on the food processor and blend the bananas up.  Stop it a couple times to scrape down the sides and stir the mixture around.  It will look like little crumbs but as soon as you start to stir it will turn smooth and creamy and look just like ice cream.  Add any add-ins that you would like:  cinnamon, walnuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter, etc.  Dish it out with an ice cream scoop and enjoy!

Caramel Cake

I found this recipe on Our Best Bites and made it for Father's Day.  It was good...but I didn't care for the "cake mix" cake.  I even doctored it up like they did but it just seemed really greasy and not that great to me.  Just couldn't mask that cake mix flavor.  Next time I think I would make a homemade yellow cake recipe.  However...the frosting was wow!  I guess the frosting recipe came from Southern Living Comfort Food.  It was very thick and very sweet and about the consistency of fudge!  Whew!  One slice goes a long way on this cake!  They do suggest making it in a 9x13.  It would be very hard to frost a cake with sides with this frosting!

Caramel Cake

Cake:
1 Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 8-oz. container of sour cream
1 c. oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. butter flavoring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract

Frosting:
1 c. butter
2 c. firmly packed DARK brown sugar
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
About 1 c. toasted, chopped pecans

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the cake ingredients and beat on medium-high for 3 minutes. Pour the batter into a 9x13" pan and bake according to the times on the cake mix box. When the cake is finished baking, remove from heat and allow to cool. While cooling, prepare the caramel frosting.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Carefully stir in the whipping cream and vanilla (be careful of splatters because they'll be HOT!) and then bring this mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 1/2 hour. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and sift in the powdered sugar. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes or until creamy and fluffy. Spread the icing over the cake and sprinkle with toasted chopped pecans.