Red, White and Blue Bundt Cake

Oh my goodness!
I can't tell you how delish this cake was.
Confession time...I even had a piece for breakfast.
 Nothing like cake and morning coffee.
Yummmm...

Ingredients:

Cake

1 {18 1/4 ounce} package red velvet cake mix

1 {4 ounce} package instant chocolate {or vanilla} pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 {8 ounce} package cream cheese, softened

4 ounces butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Sprinkles of choice for the occasion

Directions:

Cake

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease your bundt pan with butter and lightly dust with flour or cocoa powder, tap out excess, set aside.  Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl.  Mix on low for 1 minute, scraping the sides.  Then mix on medium for 2 minutes.  The batter will be very thick.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Pour the batter into prepared pan and smooth it out.  Bake for 45-55 minutes or until its not jiggly anymore.  Cool in pan for about 15 minutes then invert onto wire rack and let it cool completely.  Top with your favorite frosting recipe and sprinkles. I personally prefer cream cheese frosting...

Frosting

Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth.  Drizzle over your bundt cake generously and enjoy!

***Also, you could easily change the sprinkles to something Christmas-y and have a beautiful holiday cake or some birthday confetti too!***

Choco-Pumpkin Bread

Makes 3 loaves or 2 dozen muffins

Ingredients:

12 Tbsp. {1/2 sticks} butter, at room temperature

3 Tbsp. molasses

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2/3 cup orange juice or water

1 tsp. vanilla

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

3 1/3 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Optional Cream cheese filling:

1 stick melted butter

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Butter three 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf pans or paper your muffin tins.  Preheat oven to 350.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and molasses together.  Beat the eggs in one at a time.  Add OJ, vanilla and Pumpkin and mix well.

Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add the pumpkin mixture, stir well with a wooden spoon to combine.  Add chocolate chips and pecans. Stir.

For filling, combine all three ingredients and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.  Set aside.

Spoon into prepared pans.  If using the cream cheese filling spoon half of the bread mixture then place 4-6 dollops in the middle and add the remainder of the bread mixture on top.  Each pan should be about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 1 hour, or until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy your pumpkin yumminess!

Oreo Truffles

I know this is really bad timing for most of you with the New Year resolutions and all. I promise I am really not a diet saboteur. I meant to post this before Christmas, but things got sooo busy and yaddayaddayadda you're getting it now.

It really is an easy and delicious dessert. 

If you have any baby/bridal showers, birthdays or even PMS coming up you might want to give 'em a try. 

These are Fab-u-lous!

...or you could be really good and serve fruit for derssert. Ha. 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is hands down my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  Yumminess...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cube butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cup *blended* oatmeal

{Measure then throw it in the blender or food processor and blend into a powder}

1/2 tsp salt 1/2 of an8 oz Hershey bar *finely grated or blended like the oats above*

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts

12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

cream the sugars together with the butter.

Add eggs and vanilla; beat together.

Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking, soda, blended oats, and shaved chocolate;mix well.

Add chocolate chips and nuts; mix until combined.

Grease a cookie sheet and roll dough into balls and place onto cookie sheet. 

Bake for about 10 minutes.

Good luck with your will power tonight...

No-Bake Cookies

These cookies are seriously addicting and super easy too! I could eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner...no joke. The best thing about them {besides the flavor} is that you don't have to turn on your oven!

Ingredients:



1 3/4 cups white sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 stick butter {1/2 cup}

4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 tsp vanilla extract



Directions:



Lay out a few sheets of wax paper on the counter {equivalent to about 2 cookie sheets} and forget about them for a minute.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter and cocoa powder. Bring it to a boil and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Drop by the spoonful onto the wax paper and let them cool for a bit.

Voila...You have some scrum-diddly-umptious cookies in a snap!

butter-cream cheese frosting

i decided to throw a party for my boys and my husband so i had to get my hands dirty and bake a cake. it may not be my hubby's favorite theme, but for him, it's what's on the inside that counts! he loves rainbow chip cake with vanilla custard filling...to that with a pirate theme and voila! you now have the perfect cake for a 4 year old, a 6 year old and a 32 year old.

here's some pix and a recipe for my favorite butter-cream cheese frosting. i am absolutely a frosting fanatic and if i am making a non-decorated cake, I love the real cream cheese frosting. it's so ooey and gooey and yummy...my mouth is watering right now. anyway, it's super hard to decorate with so i came up with a compromise and i have to say it's pretty darn good!

my cheater vanilla custard tip. {JELLO vanilla pudding made with half and half with 1/2 cup less liquid that the pudding recipe calls for on the side of the box.} sooo good...

for the cake itself, i use betty crocker...no easier way i know to get rainbow chip cake and it's yummy. betty knows her bakin'!

aaarrrggg!

butter-cream cheese frosting

{enough to ice and decorate a 1/4 sheet cake...need less? cut it in half}

ingredients

2 cubes butter {room temperature}

4 oz cream cheese {room temperature}

2 lbs powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 tablespoons milk

pinch of salt

directions

beat together the cream cheese and butter until all the lumps are worked out.

add milk, salt, and vanilla.

mix in {1 cup at a time} powdered sugar. beat about five minutes until smooth.

ice cake, or just eat on graham crackers. yummm.

*keeps in fridge about 10 days or in freezer for about a month.

peanut butter fudge (aka crack!)

OK so here is my first recipe post and let me just warn you, it's a doozy!
This stuff is HIGHLY addictive and so super dooper good I'm not joking when I say it is like crack.
It is really easy to make.
It's one of those recipes that comes in handy when you volunteered to bring a desert somewhere and you forgot until you are ready to walk out the door. :0 You know we have all done it! Happy cooking...enjoy.



Stuff you'll need

• 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter (the real stuff)
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup half and half (milk works too)
• 3/4 cup peanut butter (i prefer chunky)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

What to do

Measure out the powdered sugar into a large bowl. You could also use a standing mixer if you have one. Let it sit for a bit.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Stir in the brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil while stirring.

Don't stop stirring and allow to boil for a full two minutes...I know I said it before, but don't stop stirring! Muy importante!

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter until combined.

Pour this bubbly mixture over your powdered sugar.

Beat until smooth...it should just take a minute.

Pour into a 8X8 pan and cool in the fridge for 5-10 minutes until it gets firm. While waiting for the fudge to firm up, it's always a good idea to test the quality of your creation by eating any scraps left over in the bowl. ;)

Once firm, cut into bite size squares and prepare to share your yumminess...

*Tip: If you happen to be going to a party with one of those chocolate fountains (sinful contraptions), instead of pouring into the pan take small pieces and roll into balls. Chill until firm and serve with toothpicks. Dip away...it's like a gourmet reeses pb cup and your fiends will love/hate you for bringing them.