Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bird Nests

I've been experiencing a money crunch lately, so I've had to become inventive (and cheap) with my desserts.

This recipe came about one night while I was craving something sweet. I was actually craving some peanut butter thumbprint cookies, but knew I didn't have any Hershey's Kisses laying around. I took a peek in my cupboard and came across ingredients for peanut butter cookies with a little chocolate treat in the middle.

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup of sugar

1 large egg

A few handfuls of chocolate chips

Directions

1. Mix sugar and egg together, then add peanut butter.

2. Form into 1" balls and place 2" apart on a cookie sheet.

3. Bake on 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

4. As soon as cookies are out of oven, place a few chocolate chips in the center of the cookie, pushing down slightly to make a little hole.

5. Let cookies cool a few minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet. This will let the chocolate chips set.

Ta Da! Little peanut butter nests with chocolate eggs. You could also use nuts, red hots, or any other kid of small candy for your eggs.

Shepherds Pie

This was my very first Shepherds Pie ever. I never had the opportunity to try it while I was in England, because it is made with beef and I don't eat beef. But, as I was flipping through the latest Country Living magazine, I noticed a leaner Shepherds Pie recipe that was made with turkey burger instead of beef. I knew I had to make it.

Yummy. It turned out great! Of course, it took me double the time that the recipe said it would take, so I didn't eat until 2 hours later, but it was worth it. The potatoes reminded me of a potato pancake and the meat/veggie mixture was perfect.

The only thing I might change the next time I make it, which will be over the Thanksgiving holiday, is to add a little salt to my meat.

Check out the October issue of Country Living for the recipe. You'll love it!

Vampire Cookies

This week, I thought I'd get you ready for October and Halloween, and share with you some super cute and very easy to make vampire cookies.

These aren't 100% homemade, I did use a cookie mix, but they were still fun to make.

Ingredients

Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
Wilton red decorating icing
Lip shaped cookie cutter (I used Wilton's Comfort Grips "Hot Lips")
Good and Plenty (white only)


Directions

1. Mix sugar cookies according to directions for cutout cookies.
2. Roll dough until 1/4 inch thick.
3. Cut cookies with lip shaped cookie cutter and place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Cook sugar cookies according to directions for cutout cookies.
5. Let cookies cool completely.
6. Coat cookies with a thin layer of red icing.
7. Using a toothpick, draw a line through the center of the red icing to separate the top and bottom lip.
8. Place two white Good and Plenty candies (the fangs) under the toothpick line.

I really got "bitten" by the baking bug while I was making these cookies, and thus the idea for a baking blog was born.

The cookies were originally inspired by the awesome '80s movie, The Lost Boys, but would be perfect for any Halloween/vampire related party. They would be especially fun for a Twilight/New Moon premier party!

I was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out. A few got a little crispy on the bottom, but overall they turned out really well. 

Apple Brown Betty

Welcome Fall!!!

Fall is, hands down, my favorite season of the year. Not only is football season in full swing, but the weather is finally cooling off and the leaves are starting to fall, which means no more grass cutting. Yay!!! And of course, Halloween is just around the corner.

The one food I associate the most with fall is the apple. I love apples. I'd find a way to eat them in every dessert if I could. So, when I found this recipe for apple brown betty on Gooseberry Patch's new blog I couldn't resist trying it.

Ingredients
3 lbs. apples, cored, peeled and cut into eighths (I used Granny Smith)
10 slices bread, cubed
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. salt
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. butter, melted
Garnish: whipped topping

Directions

1. Place apples in a slow cooker.

2. Combine remaining ingredients; toss together and sprinkle over apples.

3. Cover and cook on low setting 2 to 4 hours.

4. Garnish with whipped topping. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

I actually had all of these ingredients in my house so I didn't have to spend any money on this, and boy am I glad about that.

I was not very impressed with this recipe. Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't figure out exactly how much 3 lbs. of apples was, so I might have put too many in the crockpot. But after the entire 4 hours, the apples were still hard. I was afraid to let it cook any longer because the bread closest to the bottom was starting to get really mushy, and I hate mushy things.

It wasn't terrible, but it really wasn't great either. I will be trying another recipe from Gooseberry Patch soon. I know they are a great company with awesome cookbooks and crafts. I think I just picked a bad recipe.

Cracker Toffee

This is one of those recipes that sounds really weird and possibly gross, but is really good, if it is done correctly.

Ingredients

40 saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
3/4 cup chopped nuts (The recipe calls for pecans, but I used walnuts)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Line cookie sheet with tin foil and then with saltine crackers in single layer.
3. In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes.
4. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F for 5 to 6 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes.
7. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts.
8. Cool completely in refrigerator (I let it sit overnight) and break into pieces.

My first batch turned out perfect. The toffee glaze and chocolate were evenly distributed and cooked just right.

The second batch was not so great. I think I left it in too long, plus the crackers shifted in the oven so some of them were burned on the bottom. They actually tasted like burnt crackers. Yuck! Next time I am going to watch to make sure the crackers don't shift when I lay them in the oven and get scrunched up in one corner.

Football Shaped Cupcakes

Just in time for the start of football season, here is one more football baked good! 

These football cupcakes were made using a store bought cake mix, but you could use any cake/cupcake recipe you want. 

Materials

chocolate cake mix

oval or football shape cupcake pan 

powdered sugar

strainer

1 piece of cardstock paper

exacto knife or scissors

Instructions

1. Make chocolate cake mix as instruction on box. Pour cake mix into lightly greased football molds. Bake according to instructions.

2. Let cupcakes cool completely. Run knife along edges and bottom of cupcakes and pop out each football cupcake.

3. Trace football shape onto cardstock and cut out to match the the size of your cupcake. I placed my cupcake directly onto the cardstock and traced around the edges for the shape (3-1/2 in. length x 2 in. wide).

4. Draw football stitching onto template and cut out using an exacto knife or scissors.

5. Place cardstock football shape onto the top of the cupcake.

6. Using a strainer with a small amount of powdered sugar, lightly tap powdered sugar over template.

7. Take your fork, and enjoy your football treat!

I made these cupcakes for last year's Super Bowl, where the Steelers were victorious!!! 

I had big plans for these cupcakes. I was going to make 2 dozen and take them to work, the Friday before the Super Bowl, to give to all of the UPS & Fed Ex drivers (they talk football to me all season long and were all rooting for the Steelers, for me)! Unfortunately, the cupcakes didn't turn out as planned.

The main problem was that the cupcakes got stuck in the molds. I thoroughly greased each mold, so I'm not sure what happened. Maybe it was the mix. Anyway, I could only salvage the one cupcake for these pictures, and even this one has lumps and missing chunks.

I really like the simplicity of the cupcake. I'm not a huge fan of a ton of frosting, so I really want to make these work. I think I'll give these another try this season and go with a homemade recipe this time. I'll be sure to post how the next batch comes out.

Football Cookies

Okay, so apparently I'm not ready to start baking 100% homemade just yet. This was such a cute recipe that I found on Pillsbury.com I just had to try it.

Photo courtesy of Pillsbury.com.

Ingredients
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 container (1 lb) chocolate creamy ready-to-spread frosting
White decorating gel

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Freeze dough 30 minutes.
2. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices. With floured fingers, shape each dough slice to form football. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 2 inches apart.
3. Bake 7 to 11 minutes or until set and golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. Spread frosting over cookies. With white decorating gel, draw laces on each football.



These were super easy to make, but the decorating was not so easy. I used Wilton's fondant icing writer and it got clogged about every three cookies. It was okay though, because the entire time I was decorating them I was laughing thinking of Ace Ventura and Ray Finkle. . . "Laces Out"!

I think the girls on my fantasy football league will really enjoy them.

Happy Football Season! Go Steelers!!!

Cranberry Nut Bread

For the next several weeks I will be posting some "old" baking blog posts. You'll notice that all of these are not 100% homemade, but I want to keep all of my baking posts on this blog. I hope you enjoy these fun desserts!

I am a huge fan of breakfast breads (banana, zucchini, cranberry). They work well for me; I very rarely screw them up. I think I like them so much, since they are usually simple recipes to follow and the bread lasts all week. That means I don't have to worry about making something for breakfast during the work week. I can just grab a slice of bread and be on my way.

This recipe is one of my favorites, because I LOVE cranberries and nuts. Plus, it is just so pretty!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the cranberries and walnuts, and stir to coat with flour. Mix together the egg, oil, orange juice, and orange zest. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack, and cool completely.

First Post

Desserts have always been my specialty. Anytime anyone has a party or a get together I'm always recruited to bring dessert. Whether it is brownies, cookies, or candy, I am the one to call.

I guess that shouldn't surprise me. In 10th grade I took the ASVAB test, which is supposed to tell you what you will be when you grow up. I was told that I would be a pastry chef. I always laughed at that, but I guess it wasn't that big of a stretch. I really do enjoy baking, especially the decorating part!

For years I have been baking with mixes, but I have now decided to venture into the world of homemade desserts. That is where this blog comes into play. I want to document my shift from mixes to 100% homemade desserts. No more canned frosting or boxed brownie mix for me. It will be all homemade, at least most of the time. 

I am also hoping that once I get the hang of homemade cooking I can start cutting the recipes in half (this is very scary for someone who has a math phobia)! Very rarely am I in need of 16 cupcakes, but 8 wouldn't be too bad. We'll see how complicated that is going to be.

I hope to throw in a healthy dessert every so often too. I fear too much baking (and sampling) is bound to make my waistline expand!

So now you know a little about me. I hope you will join me on my adventure!