Sausage Nacho Cheese Dip

This is an amazingly simple but delicious dip...though this would make a really interesting burger topping.  I do love the quick and easy dip recipes.  I found this one on a pack of Jimmy Dean Sausage.


Sausage Nacho Cheese Dip

1 lb pork sausage
1 can  condensed nacho cheese soup
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 can chopped chilies
8 oz cream cheese
chopped green onions

Brown sausage in a large saucepan.  Drain.  Add all remaining ingredients and stir over medium heat until everything is melted together and smooth.  Serve with chips.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

A fun cupcake to make. Any cake recipe can be used but I went with a pound cake since a spillover with a thick batter was less likely.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mini Pound Cake
1 cup butter,  softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips


Cherry Cream Cheese Frosting
8oz cream cheese softened
1/4 cup butter softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp cherry extract
Red food color

Beat together butter and sugar. Add in eggs, two at a time. Mix in vanilla and cocoa. Mix in flour and cream alternately, beginning and ending with flour.  Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into large pastry bag or big zip lock and pipe into cones. Use muffin pans to bake cones at 325 for 30 minutes or until done. Cool. 

Mix butter and cream cheese together. Add in powdered sugar, extract, and food color. Spoon frosting into pastry bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes. 

Mint Chocolate Chip Dip

Psssst.....The dip is really just a flavored frosting but the mint flavor makes it outrageously tasty. A fun treat that mixes up in a flash.


Mint Chocolate Chip Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 tsp mint extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in mint.  Mix in powered sugar. Spread mixture on serving dish and top with chocolate chips. Serve with animal crackers or teddy grahams.



And for more mini cake fun...I cut a chocolate cake into small squares, iced it with the beloved mint frosting, and glazed the whole shebang with chocolate. A sprinkle of mini chips and it's ready for nomming. I'll need my favorite fork and some alone time.....

Peanut Butter Cookie Cake 2.0

The original version of this cake can be found here.  I went a wee bit overboard on this version.  I may have finally gone too far on a dessert.  ;)  I didn't think I'd ever hear myself say that though.  The peanut butter cup chunks really rocket up the richness factor.  Cut the pieces as small as possible. 

You can put chocolate on both sides of your peanut butter cup chunks, but I don't think it's necessary.  I did the double sided version by spreading a thin layer of chocolate on the peanut butter...chilling it to set...flipping it over and spreading another layer of chocolate on the back.  Honestly it's going to get broken up for garnish so there's no need for the extra effort.  If you're short on time you can just chop up some peanut butter cups instead of making your own version.


Peanut Butter Cookie Cake

Cookie Layers:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup creamy natural peanut butter
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
12oz semi sweet mini chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars together.  Mix in eggs and peanut butter.  Mix in flour and baking soda.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Divide batter between 3 greased 9in square pans.  Spread the cookie dough out into an even layer.  Bake at 350 for 10 to 14 minutes or until cookies are done.  Remove from pans and cool.

Peanut Butter Cup Chunks:
1 cup creamy natural peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbls butter
enough milk to make mixture easy to spread
6oz milk chocolate chips

Mix together peanut butter and butter.  Heat in the microwave until smooth and melted.  Stir in powdered sugar.  Add enough milk to make the mixture easy to spread with a spoon.  Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and spread peanut mixture out into a thin layer.  Melt milk chocolate chips and spread across top of the peanut butter.  Chill to set.  Break into chunks.

Chocolate Glaze:
14oz non fat sweetened condensed milk
12oz milk chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbls milk

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Microwave, stirring often, until mixture is melted and smooth. Stir in milk to thin glaze slightly.

Filling:
8oz reduced fat cream cheese
14oz no fat sweetened condensed milk
12oz peanut butter chips
1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter
3/4 of the peanut butter cup chunks

Melt peanut butter chips in the microwave until smooth.  Set aside.  Blend together cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and peanut butter until smooth.  Mix in melted peanut butter chips.  Fold in the peanut butter cup chunks.

Spread 1/3 of the peanut butter filling on top of a cooled cookie layer.  Spread a thin layer of chocolate glaze on top of the filling.  Top with another cookie layer and spread another 1/3 of the peanut butter filling.  Spread another layer of chocolate.  Repeat with final layer, spreading the chocolate down the sides of the cake as well as the top.  Garnish with remaining peanut butter cup chunks.  Chill to set.

Spiced Carrot Cake

I rarely make carrot cake....I'm talking every couple years I might bake one up.  ;)  I had this recipe bookmarked from long ago so it was the lucky "I have a craving" winner.  Delicious, moist cake.  The recipe is definitely a keeper.  Not the most level cake I have ever created which is why it must be eaten quickly to destroy the evidence of imperfection....that's my reasoning and I'm sticking with it...ehehehe.


Spiced Carrot Cake

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk, soured
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups shredded carrot

Icing:
2 - 8oz packs cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar

 

 

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.  Set aside.

In a large bowl mix the sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until well mixed.  Add in flour mixture, alternately with the milk.  Fold in the shredded carrot.

Pour batter into 3 8 inch round greased cake pans.  Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes or until cake tests as done.  Let cool in pans for several minutes before turning out to continue cooling.

To prepare frosting, mix together cream cheese, butter until smooth.  Add in powder sugar and beat until fluffy.  Frost cake and chill until ready to serve.

Chocolate Cookie "Oreo" Cheesecake

 

I ran across this recipe on the Taste of Home website.  It demanded to be made.  Oreo cookies and cheesecake....clearly a match made in heaven.  Quite tasty.  I managed to hold back on the garnish this time...though the top would look sweet with some chocolate covered Oreo pieces I think.  ;)

Don't neglect the baking sheet under the springform while baking....definitely a must.


Chocolate Cookie "Oreo" Cheesecake
 
1-1/2 cups Oreo Cookie crumbs, about 16 to 20 cookies
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 - 8oz packages light cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
1 tbls vanilla
4 eggs
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely broken up (less is fine, I used whatever was left in the pack)

Combine Oreo crumbs and butter and press into a springform pan.  Chill until ready to pour in the filling.

Beat cream cheese and sugar together until well mixed.  Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla.  Add eggs, mixing until just combined.  Fold in broken up cookies.  Pour over crust.

Place pan on baking sheet and bake for 50 to 60 mins at 325, or until center is mostly set.  Remove from oven and loosen rim of pan with a butter knife.  Cool and then chill before slicing.

Chocolate Mint Cheesecake

I found this recipe in an old Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cheesecake cookbook.....yes an entire cookbook of cheesecakes does equal love.  ;)

Very tasty and quite minty with the extra chopped mint wafer pieces on top.  The cheesecake would be fine without garnish, but the top just looks so plain....it demands some zazz.  I tend to garnish everything though so I might be biased lol.


Chocolate Mint Cheesecake

Crust:
1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tbls cocoa
1 tbls sugar

Mix everything together and press into the bottom of a springform pan.  Bake at 350 for 10 mins.

Filling:
3 - 8oz packs reduced fat cream cheese
2/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
6oz semi sweet chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup mint wafer candy, chopped
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Combine cream cheese and sugar until well blended.  Blend in eggs.  Blend in chocolate, sour cream, and vanilla.  Fold in candy pieces.  Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 50 mins.  Loosen rim of pan and cool.  Chill.  Garnish with additional melted chocolate and chopped mint candy pieces if desired.

Cajun Chicken Pizza

Another cold pizza that makes a great nibble when guests are over.  My Cajun chicken addiction continues.

I always make my own pizza dough, but if time is pressing some refrigerated from the store works just as well.  Pizza dough is totally one of the easiest yeast breads to zip together though.


Cajun Chicken Pizza

Pizza dough
1/2 cup medium salsa
16oz reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese
2 tsp hickory bacon salt
2 ancho peppers, roasted and sliced into strips
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Cajun chicken, cut into cubes

I formed the pizza dough into 4 long rectangles instead of two large circles.  Bake at 375 for 15 to 18 minutes until crust is lightly browned.  Let crusts cool on rack.

Mix together cream cheese, salsa, and bacon salt.  Spread across cooled crusts.  Top cream cheese with chicken, peppers, and tomatoes.  Slice into strips and chill until ready to serve.

Chocolate Cheesecake Trifle

I was in the middle a pie frenzy when my hand mixer crapped out on me.  Smoke.....angry sounds...it was toast.  After wacking it on the counter a few times.....rage plus percussive maintenance can occasionally work some magic.....I gave up and chucked that puppy into the trash.

I now had unwhipped cream cheese.  Translate this to tiny chunks of cream cheese throughout my pie filling.  Not a good look.  I tried working them out by hand and it was taking foooooorever so that was a no go.  I could have gotten away with this chunk style filling if I had planned a whipped topping over the pie filling, but no, I was only planning a chocolate drizzle top with some chocolate covered pretzels here and there.

Solution, toss pie filling and crust into pretty glasses and move on.  I will make a gorgeous pie next time...I promise.  Friggin mixer.

Technical difficulties aside....this treat tastes amaaaaaazing.


Chocolate Cheesecake Trifle

Graham Pretzel Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (one sleeve)
1 cup pretzels crumbs
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar

Mix together graham cracker crumbs, pretzel crumbs, and brown sugar.  Stir in melted butter.  Set aside.
 
Chocolate Pie Filling
3 cups skim milk
4 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbls vanilla
12oz milk chocolate chips, melted
2 - 8oz blocks reduced fat cream cheese

In a saucepan mix together cornstarch, salt, and sugar.  Whisk the yolks and milk together.  Add the milk mixture to the saucepan and stir everything together.  Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils.  Boil for one minute before removing from heat.  Stir in vanilla and melted, milk chocolate.  Pour into a bowl, press plastic wrap to the top of the chocolate filling, and refrigerate for a couple hours. 

Mix chocolate filling with cream cheese.  Fold crust mixture gently into pie filling.  Spoon into cups.  Garnish with chocolate and pretzels.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

This cake fell more into the category of hot mess than epic win.....I will comfort myself with the fact it tasted good...ehehehehe.  It should actually be a three tiered cake.  There was an "incident" that left me short one tier.  Momma didn't name me Grace for a reason....snicker.

So I decided to try making some marshmallow cream for my frosting.  I've made marshmallows.....a little adjusting of the recipe and I should be able to get a cream easy peasy.  Simple, right?  Simple until I over thought it.  I was going to halve the gelatin, but 1 1/2 envelopes gelatin didn't seem very tidy so I went with 2 envelopes...which was still on the firm side.  It wouldn't have mixed easily with the cream cheese to form a smooth frosting....which led to tinkering.  The end result was useable and darn tasty, but not the firm frosting I was shooting for.

I did have a neat mix of textures in the cake.  The firm chocolate garnish, creamy frosting, dense cookie layers with mini chocolate chips that gave it a bit of a crunch.


Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

1 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cherry cranberries

Beat butter and sugars together in a bowl.  Add in eggs and vanilla.  Mix in flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Fold in chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

Divide dough into thirds and spread into greased 8 inch rounds.  Bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes, or until done.  Cool.


Cherry Marshmallows

1 cup water
2 1/4oz envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 pk Black Cherry Kool-Aid

Pour 1/2 cup water into a large bowl.  Mix Kool-Aid into water.  Sprinkle gelatin over water.  Let this mixture sit while you cook the syrup.

Combine 2 cups sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Boil, without stirring, until syrup reaches 240°.

With mixer on low speed, carefully pour hot syrup into gelatin mixture in a slow, thin stream.  Gradually increase speed to high and beat until mixture is very thick.  Let stand for a while to set up.


Icing:

Cherry Marshmallows
1/4 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
12oz milk chocolate, melted
16oz reduced fat cream cheese

Heat the marshmallows and the butter together in the microwave until smooth.  Beat in cream cheese and melted milk chocolate.  Add in powdered sugar, one cup at a time.  Chill frosting.

Place one cookie round on a plate.  Spread frosting across top and place a second round over the frosting.  Spread frosting across top and add final round on top.  Frost top and sides of cake.  Garnish with additional melted chocolate.

Never take pictures outside when it's the surface of the sun hot.  My chocolate went instantly melty and my frosting.....already less firm than I wanted....slid a bit.

A bit of a slump to this piece of cake...where's my cake eating blindfold?  I don't want to spoil my enjoyment of good cake by being critical of the view.  ;)

Cherry Nutella Brownie Cake

Sometimes you just want to make a cake with brownies.  This was so incredibly rich and good....it just wasn't natural I tell you.  This cake was also insanely full of chocolate.  I actually ended up double glazing this puppy.  I hated the look of the first glaze so I added a dark chocolate glaze on top.....when your cake won't do you what you want....glaze it into submission!

I intended to garnish this cake with chocolate covered tart cherries and small cherry clusters.  One cup of tart cherries, however, is almost the entire 6oz bag and I only had one. Solution...glaze mania.  ;)


Cherry Nutella Brownie Cake

1 cup Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend
4 oz (squares) unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
Filling:
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
1 cup dried tart cherries, chopped fine

Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave. Stir often and be careful not to overheat. Add in sugar and vanilla. Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl before adding them to the chocolate mixture. Stir in flour and baking soda. Pour batter into three greased 9 inch rounds.  Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool.

Mix together cream cheese and nutella until creamy.  Beat in powdered sugar. Add in cherries.  Put one brownie round on a plate and top with half of the cream cheese mixture.  Add another brownie round and top with remaining cream cheese.  Top with final brownie round.

First Chocolate Glaze:
14 oz non fat sweetened condensed milk
6oz milk chocolate chips
6oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
 
Mix together sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Heat on high in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until mixture is melted and smooth.  Pour glaze over top of the brownie cake, spooning it down the sides.  Chill until chocolate sets.

Second Chocolate Glaze:
14 oz non fat sweetened condensed milk
12oz dark chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbls milk
 
Mix together sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Heat on high in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until mixture is melted and smooth.  Stir in milk to thin the glaze a bit.  Using a spoon, spread chocolate along the top edge and sides of the cake.

Spoon some of the glaze into a ziplock back with one tip cut off and drizzle lines across the top of the cake.  Chill cake until chocolate sets.  (You will only use about half of this chocolate batch, but the remainder will freeze nicely if you don't find an immediate use for it.)

A couple more pics....

Put this wedge on my plate and just walk away...just....walk...away.  ;)

Just another interior view.  I am wondering how this cake would turn out with some super, fudgy brownies.  I added some baking soda to this version to give the brownies a little poof.  I'm not sure it's possible to make this cake richer...ehehehe.

Nutella Cheesecake Dip

This sweet dip is based on a recipe I ran across over at The Boys Made Me Do It blog.  A tinker here and a tinker there....toss in some of the glory that is Nutella....perfection!  This is ridiculously good.  Seriously...very hard to resist just diving right in with a spoon....or finger.  Ahem.  Serve with pretzels, vanilla cookies, or even gingersnaps.  Some Ritz crackers might make a fun dipper as well.


Nutella Cheesecake Dip

1/2 cup tub margarine, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 8oz packages reduced fat cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp rum extract (vanilla would also be fine)
1/2 cup Nutella

Stir together melted margarine, brown sugar, and rum extract.  Microwave 30 seconds.  Let mixture cool.

Mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.  Add in melted margarine mixture and Nutella.  Chill.  Serve with pretzels, cookies, or crackers.

Peanut Butter Cookie Cake

I made this cake mainly because the idea of it tickled the heck out of me.  Who doesn't get a little giggly over a giant cookie cake?  It must be an inner child thing.  ;) 

It is quite rich, but worth the havoc it will create in a diet.  The peanut butter filling was so yummy.  Licking the bowl was all in the name of quality control!  That's my story....I'm sticking to it.

I'm a bit of a chocolate glaze fan...one of these days I might actually traditionally frost a cake.....naaaah.

Peanut Butter Cookie Cake

Cookie Layers:
1 cup tub margarine
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup creamy natural peanut butter
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
12oz semi sweet chocolate chunks

Cream margarine and sugars together.  Mix in eggs and peanut butter.  Mix in flour and baking soda.  Fold in chocolate chunks.  Divide batter between 3 greased 9in rounds.  Spread the cookie dough out into an even layer.  Bake at 350 for 10 to 14 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool.

Filling:
8oz reduced fat cream cheese
14oz no fat sweetened condensed milk
12oz peanut butter chips
1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter

Melt peanut butter chips in the microwave until smooth.  Set aside.  Blend together cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and peanut butter until smooth.  Mix in melted peanut butter chips.

Spread 1/3 of the peanut butter filling on top of a cooled cookie round.  Top with another cookie round and spread another 1/3 of the peanut butter filling.  Repeat with final round.

Chocolate Glaze:
14oz non fat sweetened condensed milk
6oz semi sweet chocolate chips
6oz milk chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Microwave, stirring often, until mixture is melted and smooth.  Spoon the chocolate down the the top edge and sides of the cookie cake....spreading it with the back of the spoon to get an even coat on the sides.  Drizzle some of the chocolate across the top of the cake with a fork for a finished look.  Chill to set.

A look at the interior of the cookie cake:

Chocolate and peanut butter heaven....if you have a craving this will fix you right up.  It was hard to get a neat slice...I was hindered a bit by the chocolate chunks.

The cookie layers ended up with a slight depression in the center after they were done baking.  It was perfect to hold the peanut butter filling though....especially the top layer.

I added this to the Sweets for Saturday #5 over at Sweet as Sugar Cookies.  Such an amazing collection of treats there...I must go forth and drool a bit.  ;)

Maple Apple Braid 1.0

It's pretty to look at and the bread was quite tasty, but I wasn't too happy with the overall result. I should have divided the dough into thirds instead of halves.  The bread to filling ratio was really off.  The apple filling was yummy....the apple filling mixed with the cream cheese I wasn't thrilled with.  Next time it's all fruit baby!

The maple flavoring in the dough and the frosting was quite nice.  It was a lovely, subtle flavor.

Definitely need a do over on this recipe though.


Maple Apple Braid 1.0

Dough:
3 cups unbleached flour (approx)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup tub margarine
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
2 tbls vital wheat gluten

Dissolve yeast in about 1/4 cup warm water.  Heat milk and margarine together until milk is warm and margarine is melted. I use the microwave to heat the milk instead of the stove top, but either works fine. Stir into dissolved yeast. Mix in maple syrup and salt. Add in a cup of flour and the vital wheat gluten. Stir in eggs. Work in enough flour to create a soft dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead in remaining flour. Continue to work your dough for 8 to 10 minutes.

Place dough in covered bowl and let rise for an hour in a warm place. The microwave makes a great spot to rise dough. Take a glass of water and heat it to boiling in the microwave. Leave the glass inside and put the covered bowl inside and shut the door. It's a warm, steamy spot.

Turn dough out onto your board and divide in half.  Roll each portion of dough out thinly with a rolling pin into a rectangle. Spread a layer of filling down the center of the dough.  Use a pizza cutter to slice one inch wide strips in the dough surrounding the filling.  You want to slice the strips at a slight downward angle.

Tuck one strip of dough across the filling.  Bring a strip of dough from the other side across the top of the first strip.  Continue alternating strips of dough until you reach the bottom.  Think of shoelaces here.

Cover the braid and raise in a warm place for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes, or until braid is a lovely golden brown.

Drizzle frosting across the top with a spoon or fork.


Apple Filling:
2 Fuji apples or your current favorite
1 tbls sugar
1.5 tbls flour
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
1 tbls lemon juice
1 tbls tub margarine

Peel and core apples.  Slice thin and then chop into cubes.  Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Toss the apples in the mixture.  Turn covered apples into a pan and top with lemon juice and margarine.  Bake at 375 for 30 mins or so stirring occasionally until apples are tender and cooked down.  Cool.

Cream Cheese Filling:
4oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 egg yolk
2 tbls sugar
1/2 tbls flour
1 tsp lemon zest

Mix everything together and combine with the apple filling.

Maple Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbls skim milk
2 tbls pure maple syrup

Mix everything together.  The icing will actually be too thick to drizzle at this point until you heat it for 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave to loosen it before drizzling across the hot bread.  Alternately you can thin it further with milk instead of heating it.

A few more pics....

Pretty...yes.  Too much bread and too little filling....I'm still a little cheesed off about that since I should have seen that coming.  I didn't think about the whole double in size bit in the final rise....how I could not think that through I do not know considering how much bread I bake....ehehehe.  The cream cheese baked into the bread as well which surprised me a bit. Honestly it looked like I only had a fruit filling going.

The nekkid braid.  I had one little flap sticking up on the tail end of both braids.  It was like the loaves were flipping me off.....too funny.  My bread was issuing it's own feedback.  ;)

An egg white wash right before baking would give the crust a prettier finished look, but honestly I knew I was going to cover it with frosting so I didn't worry about it.  Something to think about for next time.

I added this treat to the Sweet for Saturday #3 over at Sweet as Sugar Cookies.  So many wonderful treats over there to check out and drool over.

Peanut Praline Squares 2.0

This is the final version of the peanut praline squares I made a bit ago. I'm still pretty partial to the filling I used in version 1.0, but the current filling is amazing!  Nom, nom!

The instructions in the recipe use a standard square pan...which is the easiest way to make this recipe.  I used some silicone heart shaped cupcake molds and a mini brownie bite mold to make mine.  Labor intensive, but cuter patuter!

It occurred to me that salted, dry roasted peanuts could be substituted for the peanut pralines, if I was in a hurry and didn't have time to whip some up.  To make the shortcut pretty, do some mini peanut clusters as toppers.  It's a pretty valid work around if you don't want to mess with anything involving a candy thermometer too.


Peanut Praline Squares 2.0

Crust:
1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
2 Tbls tub margarine
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix together the peanut butter and margarine.  Heat in the microwave for about a minute, until the mixture is melted together and smooth.  Stir in graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar.  Press into the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan.  Chill in the fridge.

Fudge Sauce Layer:
14 oz non fat sweetened condensed milk
6 oz milk chocolate chips
6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Heat in the microwave, stirring at 30 second intervals. You should only need about a minute or so for your chocolate to melt.  Pour half of the fudge sauce over top of the crust.  Return the pan to the fridge.

Cream Cheese Layer:
8oz reduced fat cream cheese
2 tbls tub margarine
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbls natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1 1/2 cups peanut pralines
2 tbls evaporated milk

Blend together cream cheese, margarine, and peanut butter.  Melt milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips together in the microwave until smooth.  Blend melted chocolate mixture into the cream cheese mixture.  Mix in powdered sugar.

Spread cream cheese mixture over top of the fudge layer.  Use evaporated milk to thin the remaining fudge mixture to a glaze.  (You can increase or decrease the amount of evaporated milk to make a thicker or thinner glaze.)  Spread the chocolate glaze across the top of the cream cheese.  Top with broken up peanut pralines.  Chill before slicing into squares.

To give it a finishing touch, melt a small amount of milk chocolate chips and drizzle stripes of chocolate across the top of the cut squares.


A few more pics of the nummies.... 

Heart shapes are my favorite at the moment.  I'd dub it Valentine's Day prep, but I'm pretty sure I'd make them in July...ehehehe.

When you look at your thinned fudge glaze and think it's too thin....seriously....stop...add some chocolate chips to thicken it.  Did I follow this sage advice?  Sigh.  No.  My glaze slid right off leaving a super thin coat of chocolate behind.  I may have turned the kitchen a wee bit blue.  ;)  Instead of a beautiful, uniform chocolate coating....I ended up with a light, mocha hint o' chocolate.  These could look so much better...grrr.

Bologna Cake

I found this cool appetizer over on Las Vegas Food Adventures.  I adore fun snackums and this so fit the bill.  It demanded to be made!  Demanded it I say.  This honestly was super fun to put together and send out for a night of gaming.  My ability to decorate with a can of spray cheese, however, not impressive...rofl.  Give me a  pastry bag and I'm a happy camper though.  ;)

Paul dubbed this puppy a redneck wedding cake.  It just feels like Wonder Bread should be involved with that title though. ;)  This isn't the most healthy appetizer.  So much salt.  I could see myself zipping it together on the rare occasion though.  Bologna is not something we keep in the house anymore.    Paul happily indulged himself when he performed his taste testing duties. 

The recipe called for some dry ranch seasoning, but it cried out for bacon salt to me...plus that seasoning just tickles me.  Bacon flavor...what's not to love? 


Bologna Cake

1 package sliced bologna
2 8oz containers reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp peppered bacon salt
1 can sharp cheddar spray cheese

Mix together cream cheese and bacon salt.  Place on slice of bologna on a plate.  Spread some cream cheese over the slice...something like a tablespoon give or take.  Top with another slice and repeat.  When all the layers are stacked ice the top and sides like you would a cake. Use the can of spray cheese to put on a decorative border and whatever other pretty touches you like.  Serve with crackers.

A few more pics of the process...

Really this assembles so quickly.  Frosted stack waiting for it's spray cheese garnish. 

I could have spread a little more cream cheese between a few of the layers, but I used a little caution so I didn't run short in the end.

Cinnamon Sunflower Pull Aparts

I thought peeling apart layers of warm, cinnamony goodness would be a fun way to eat this treat....and it was, but there was way more labor involved than I was looking for.  ;)  Seriously just roll these bad boys up cinnamon roll style and glaze.  If I want that shape I'll just toss the cut cinnamon roll into the muffin tin and call it a win....ehehehee.  Lazy? Yes, yes I am.

I considered this finger food.  My beloved hubby ate it with a fork.  Not even the epic amount of stink eye I gave him would make him use his fingers....rofl.  Bless his heart he doesn't like messy food.  I go with the messier the better rule myself.  I'm pretty sure that's the inner two year old speaking though.  Wet naps are my friend. 


Cinnamon Sunflower Pull Aparts

3 cups unbleached flour (approx)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup raw honey
1/3 cup tub margarine
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
3 tbls vital wheat gluten


Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup tub margarine, melted
1 cup sunflower seeds

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2oz cream cheese
1/4 cup tub margarine
1 tsp vanilla

Dissolve yeast in about 1/4 cup warm water. Water from the tap works just fine. Heat milk and margarine together until milk is warm and margarine is melted. I use the microwave to heat the milk instead of the stove top, but either works fine. Stir into dissolved yeast. Mix in honey and salt. Add in a cup of flour and the vital wheat gluten. Stir in eggs. Work in enough flour to create a soft dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead in remaining flour. Continue to work your dough for 8 to 10 minutes.

Place dough in covered bowl and let rise for an hour in a warm place. The microwave makes a great spot to rise dough. Take a glass of water and heat it to boiling in the microwave. Leave the glass inside and put the covered bowl inside and shut the door. It's a warm, steamy spot.

Grease jumbo muffin pans.  Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Turn dough back out onto your board and punch down. Sprinkle a little margarine, brown sugar, and sunflower seeds in the bottom of a muffin well.  Cut off a small portion of dough and flatten it into a thin round.  Place in the bottom of the muffin pan.  Brush margarine across the top and sprinkle it with the brown sugar mixture and sunflower seeds.  Cut off another portion of dough, flatten it into a thin round, and layer it on top of the last one.  Brush with margarine and sprinkle on the sugar and sunflower seeds.  Repeat until your muffin cups are 3/4 full.  Leave the final layer bare of sugar, butter, and sunflower seeds.  Repeat the same process with the other muffin wells.

Cover the muffin pans and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.  Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes until nicely browned.  Turn out of pans to cool.  Mix together icing ingredients and drizzle over the tops of the warm stacks.  Nom!



 A couple more pics....

Fresh out of the oven and just waiting on a slew of glaze.  Hmmm....I could have done a right side up version instead of inverted.....skip adding margarine, sugar, and sunflower seeds to the muffin wells and add it to the top of the final layer of dough instead. 

A non sunflower seed version......which seemed quite boring.

Cranberry Orange Rolls 1.0

Man these rolls hit the spot for me....light and fresh.  They are a nice twist on the usual cinnamon roll.  I've been feeling a compulsion to make sweet breads lately so expect a string of yeasty glory down the road.  ;)

I might experiment next time with adding some zest to the actual bread dough...or even some orange juice...sometimes that small tweak can create a huge boost in flavor.  I divided the dough into thirds before I rolled it out to make some mini rolls....I think I like the larger size better though so I changed the recipe below to reflect that.

I learned an important lesson while adding in the cranberries....the cherry flavored cranberry pack looks exactly like the regular cranberry pack unless you are actually paying attention....ahem.  ;)


Cranberry Orange Rolls 1.0

3 cups unbleached flour (approx)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup raw honey
1/3 cup tub margarine
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbls orange zest
1 cup dried cherry cranberries


Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2oz cream cheese
1/4 cup tub margarine
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange zest

Dissolve yeast in about 1/4 cup warm water. Water from the tap works just fine. Heat milk and butter together until milk is warm and butter is melted. I use the microwave to heat the milk instead of the stove top, but either works fine. Stir into dissolved yeast. Mix in honey and salt. Add in a cup of flour. Stir in eggs. Work in enough flour to create a soft dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead in remaining flour. Continue to work your dough for 8 to 10 minutes.

Place dough in covered bowl and let rise for an hour in a warm place. The microwave makes a great spot to rise dough. Take a glass of water and heat it to boiling in the microwave. Leave the glass inside and put the covered bowl inside and shut the door. It's a warm, steamy spot.

Turn your dough back out on your board kneading it a bit. Divide it in half and place one half off to the side. Roll the dough into something like a 9x13 rectangle. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and orange zest. Brush the rectangle with water (melted butter is also an option)  and sprinkle half the sugar mixture over the top of the dough. Sprinkle half the cranberries on top of the sugar.  Roll the dough up starting with the longest side. Cut into segments and place each piece on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Cover the cookie sheets and let rise 30 minutes in a warm place.

Bake rolls at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they brown nicely. Mix together powdered sugar, cream cheese, margarine, zest, and vanilla. Remove rolls from cookie sheet and drizzle or spoon the icing over the tops. Consume with great joy!

Peanut Praline Squares 1.0

I should have cut these squares in half...they were really, really rich.  They are packed with a ton of delicious peanut butter and chocolate.  If you have a craving these will take care of it for you.  After I assembled everything I realized I wanted to go in a different direction for the next version of the recipe.  The squares taste wonderful as is, but I want a firmer texture for the center layer.  The cream cheese has more of a mousse like texture at the moment. I want to change how I assemble the layers as well.  Version 2.0 will look quite a bit different.  ;)

I garnished with mini peanut butter balls and chocolate covered pralines.  If you decide you want to make some mini peanut butter balls...just hold out a small portion of the peanut butter crust mixture to roll into balls.


Peanut Praline Squares 1.0

Crust:
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 Tbls tub margarine
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix together the peanut butter and margarine.  Heat in the microwave for about a minute, until the mixture is melted together and smooth.  Stir in graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar.  Press into the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan.  Chill in the fridge.


Fudge Sauce/Peanut Praline Layer:
14 oz non fat sweetened condensed milk
6 oz milk chocolate chips
6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup roughly chopped peanut pralines

In a bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Heat in the microwave, stirring at 30 second intervals. You should only need about a minute or so for your chocolate to melt. Stir in marshmallows and mix until they melt into your chocolate. You may need to heat just a bit more in the microwave to get the marshmallows fully melted...be careful not to overheat.

Pour 1 cup of the fudge sauce over the peanut butter crust. Sprinkle chopped peanuts pralines over top of the chocolate.  Press nuts gently down.

Cream Cheese Layer:
2 - 8oz blocks of 1/3 fat cream cheese
14 oz non fat sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
6oz milk chocolate chips
6oz peanut butter chips

Blend together cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and peanut butter.  Melt milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips together in the microwave until smooth.  Blend melted chocolate mixture into the cream cheese mixture.  Spread over top of peanut praline layer.

Topping:
3oz milk chocolate chips
1/2 tbls shortening

Melt together chocolate chips and shortening.  Spread over cream cheese layer.  Put pan in fridge until chocolate is set before slicing into squares.

If you decide to garnish with peanut butter balls or chocolate covered pralines...melt a little extra chocolate to dip your garnish pieces in.  You could also use the remaining fudge sauce instead of straight chocolate if you wish for the top glaze.


Another picture of the squares....

The broken up peanut pralines actually look quite pretty....I think I will switch them to the top layer of the squares rather than right above the crust next time.

Mexican Chicken Dip

I ran across the idea for this dip on the Taste of Home website.  I love dips that are a little unusual and this one fit the bill nicely.  I used some thin pizza crust as dippers here, but tortilla chips work just as well.  You can serve this dip hot or cold....which is quite nice when it has to travel.


Mexican Chicken Dip

8oz reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese
1/2 cup taco cheese
3 tbls hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup ranch dressing
mexican shredded chicken
1 tsp bacon salt

Mix together all the ingredients until well combined. Heat in the microwave for about a minute to melt the cheeses together.  Serve.