Oreo Cake

I made this delicious cake to celebrate my favorite fathers on fathers day.  Make it for your next special occasion...you won't regret it!  

Chocolate Oreo Cake

For cake:

2 c. sugar

1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 c. milk

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c. boiling water

10-15 oreos twisted to separate cookies and reveal cream center

15 oreos, chopped directly in half through cookie

For icing:

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted

2/3 c. Hershey's Cocoa

3 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

For filling:

1/3 c. whipping cream

2 tsp powdered sugar

small dash vanilla extract

1/8 c. oreo cookie crumbs, made from reserved oreo sides

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 9-inch round baking pans, lining with parchment. -On one layer of cake, place cookie halves that have been separated into the bottom of one pan, cream side up.

-Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

-Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.

-Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

-Pour batter very carefully into prepared pans.

-Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

-Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans and place onto wire racks.

-Remove parchment and cool completely.

-Meanwhile, make frosting:

-Stir melted butter into cocoa.

-Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.

-Add small amount additional milk, if needed. -Stir in vanilla. (About 2 cups frosting.)

-Meanwhile, make filling:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff.

-Gently fold in the cookie crumbs.

-Scoop the mixture into a piping bag (or gallon sized ziploc bag).

-When cake is completely cooled, make icing dam around the top edge of the layer of cake that has oreos baked into it.

-Fill icing dam with a layer of cream filling.

-Place other cake layer on top, and frost with chocolate frosting.

-Place oreo halves around bottom edge and top of cake.

-Serve or store in refrigerator.

Source: "Mommy?  I'm Hungry!"

Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

It is 9 am and the windows of my house are all completely fogged up.  I think I will take that as a hint that the humidity has not improved at all from yesterday.  I heard that we might be reaching the triple digits today.  Couple that will the humidity and UGH.  Maybe I will just put my swimsuit on, sit outside, and pretend I am in a sauna.  

These brownies are from Cooking Light!  That must mean they are healthy, right?  OK, maybe not.  They are much healthier than many other brownie recipes though.  My husband thought these were incredibly rich and he couldn't believe they were a "lighter" brownie.  They are delicious!  The entire pan lasted about a day here.  Give them a try!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

3/4 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk, divided

1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, melted and cooled

1/4 cup fat-free milk

1 (18.25-ounce) package devil's food cake mix

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme (about 1 3/4 cups)

1/2 cup peanut butter morsels {I confess.  I used more like 3/4 cup.}

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1/4 cup condensed milk, butter, and next 3 ingredients (butter through egg white) in a bowl (batter will be very stiff). Coat bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press two-thirds of batter into prepared pan using floured hands; pat evenly (layer will be thin).

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Combine 1/2 cup condensed milk and marshmallow creme in a bowl; stir in morsels. Spread marshmallow mixture evenly over brownie layer. Carefully drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire 

rack.

Source:  Cooking Light

Linked Up to Totally Tasty Tuesday on Mandy's Recipe Box!

Knock You Naked Brownies

Need an over-the-top fantastic sweet recipe to take somewhere?  PLEASE, try these!  You won't regret it!  They are so rich and fantastic, they beg to be shared.  This is my new favorite brownie recipe, hand down!  I apologize for the poor picture!  It was late, dark, and you can see the hand of my 2 youngest battling for "who gets the first brownie after mom takes her picture".  Oh, the joys of sibling rivalry!   

Knock You Naked Brownies

1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix

1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans

⅓ cups Evaporated Milk

½ cups Evaporated Milk (additional)

½ cups Butter, Melted

60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped {one 14 oz. package}

⅓ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

¼ cups Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.

Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.

Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into either nine or twelve helpings, and carefully remove from the pan.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Homemade Soft Pretzels

My kids L~O~V~E pretzels.  OK, so do I {especially jalapeño ones like the one pictured below}.  I have been meaning to come up with a recipe we really like for a long time.  Why have I waited so long???  They really are not that complicated and they are SO worth it!  They are actually kind of fun to make!  Get creative and personalize them according to what YOU like!  What would you get yourself if you were actually at the pretzel shop?  Once you have the basic recipe down, it is so easy to do!  

Homemade Soft Pretzels

makes 12 pretzels

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

4 Tbsp melted butter, for topping

Kosher salt, for topping

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough {I use my kitchen aide bread hook which makes my life very easy}. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. 

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. {I can never find a good place for dough to rise around here, so I warm the oven to 120-170 degrees, then turn it off.  It is then a perfect environment for dough to rise}.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope {about 24" long} and twist into a pretzel shape.

 Bring baking soda and water to a boil in a large skillet.  Place pretzels in the boiling solution 2 at a time for about 15-20 seconds.  Remove with a large spatula to a kitchen towel or paper towels to dry the excess water {to prevent the bottoms from burning}.  Place the pretzels on a greased baking sheet. 

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Melt 4 Tbsp. of butter.  As soon as you remove the pretzels from the oven, lightly brush them with butter using a pastry brush.  Immediately sprinkle them with kosher salt.

Enjoy plain or with a dipping sauce of your choice!  Our favorite is cheese sauce!

Variation: Add 1/4-1/3 c. of Jalapenos to the dough for spicy Jalapeno Pretzels!  This is a favorite of mine!  That is what you see in many of the pictures above!  You can get creative and add just about anything your heart desires to the dough!  Don't be afraid to experiment with other toppings too!  Parmesan cheese is a delicious coating instead of the kosher salt!

Chocolate Swirled Banana Bread

Last night, I got the urge to bake.  I also had the urge for chocolate. As many of you know, the urge for chocolate should not be denied.  If you deny it, it only results in a horrible chocolate binge later.  At least it does for me;)  The problem was that I also had some bananas sitting on the counter that had been calling my name and begging to be turned into a baked good all day.  I was not it the mood for my regular chocolate chip banana bread recipe (plus my husband doesn't like chocolate chips in his banana bread) so I decided it was time to search for a new recipe to try.  This is so delicious!  I think I might need to make another loaf today with my remaining 3 pathetic bananas;)  Sorry about the pictures.  Horrible lighting since it was pretty much dark out when I made these.

 I spread mine with nutella, and it was divine.  Hey!  I told you I had a chocolate craving!  My boys topped theirs with butter this morning, my daughter with peanut butter, and my husband took his plain.  It is delicious no matter how you take it!

Chocolate Swirled Banana Bread

2 c. flour

¾ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

¼ c. butter, softened

1 ½ c. mashed ripe bananas (about 3-4 medium bananas)

2 eggs

1/3 c. plain lowfat yogurt or sour cream

½ c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cups and level. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Cream sugar and butter. Add bananas, eggs, and yogurt, beating until just blended. Add flour mixture. Beat on low until just moistened. Microwave chocolate chips in a medium bowl for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 c. batter to chocolate, stirring until well-combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter (so you have stripes of plain and chocolate batter) in an 8 ½” x 4 ½” loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Swirl batters with a knife.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes (give or take a little; I’d probably set your timer for 1 hour and 10 minutes to be safe) or until a knife comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan and then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Source: Our Best Bites

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Today, my daughter and I holed up in the kitchen and whipped up some comfort food.  For dinner, we had Cheesebuttons, a family tradition.  For dessert we had this Strawberry Shortcake Cake, per request of Grace.  It was very good even though I did mess up the recipe a bit!  I divided the batter between 2 round cake pans instead of putting all the batter in one, then cutting it in half like the recipe states.  The reason you need to have those cut halves is that the inside serves as a wonderful "sponge" for the strawberries in their juices.  I knew mine wouldn't absorb the sauce right, so we spooned it over the top.  Still delicious, but I am looking forward to giving it another go!

Frosting Ingredients:

Cake Ingredients (salt is hiding behind the cute blonde;)

Delicious!

Cake

1-½ cup Flour

3 Tablespoons Corn Starch

½ teaspoons Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened

1-½ cup Sugar

3 whole Large Eggs

½ cups Sour Cream, Room Temperature

1 teaspoon Vanilla

_____

Icing

½ pounds Cream Cheese, Room Temperature

2 sticks Unsalted Butter

1-½ pound Powdered Sugar, Sifted

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 pound Strawberries

Preparation Instructions

IMPORTANT: Be sure to use a cake pan that’s at least 2 inches deep! Before baking, the batter should not fill the pan more than halfway.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.

Cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.

Pour into greased and floured 8-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until no longer jiggly like my bottom. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.

Stem strawberries and slice them in half from bottom to top. Place into a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir together and let sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries in two batches. Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoons sugar and allow to sit for another 30 minutes.

Make icing: combine cream cheese, 2 sticks butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix until very light and fluffy.

Slice cake in half through the middle. Spread strawberries evenly over each half (cut side up), pouring on all the juices. Place cake halves into the freezer for five minutes, just to make icing easier.

Remove from freezer. Use a little less than 1/3 of the icing to spread over the top of the strawberries on the bottom layer. Place the second layer on top. Add half of the remaining icing to the top spreading evenly, then spread the remaining 1/3 cup around the sides.

Leave plain OR garnish with strawberry halves.

IMPORTANT: Cake is best when served slightly cool. The butter content in the icing will cause it to soften at room temperature. For best results, store in the fridge!

Source: Pioneer Woman

Herbed Sandwich Buns

As I said yesterday, this week I am attempting to clean out my pantry and freezer a bit by not doing any real shopping this week.  I have been scrounging through what I have, creating meals.  I haven't had to get very creative, which tells me I could probably do this for another week.  I don't think I will do that, but I do think I will start to use my pantry/freezer to cook on the fly, creative meals more often.

Today, I have a beautiful roast beef going in the slow cooker.  I was thinking that it would be so good on homemade buns, which made me think of the recipe I am sharing today.  I haven't made these in quite some time, but a couple of years ago I became a bit obsessed with them.  They are SO DARN GOOD.  Anyway, my searching for the recipe made me realize 2 things: 1.) I didn't even HAVE them on Recipe Addict (I shared them on my first blog, which I no longer use), and 2.) I don't have cottage cheese so I can't make them.  Boo-hoo.

Herbed Sandwich Buns

1/4 c. water (70-80*)

1/4 c. warm milk (70-80*)

1 egg

2/3 c. small-curd cottage cheese

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 c. bread flour

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1/4 c. finely chopped onion

4 1/2 tsp. butter

In bread machine pan, place the first 12 ingredients in order suggested by the manufacturer. In a small skillet, saute onions in butter until tender; add to bread machine pan. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 Tbsp. water or flour if needed).

When cycle is complete, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 10 pieces; shape each into a ball. Place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375* for10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Yields: 10 buns

Tip: Since I cannot usually find a warm enough place for my dough to rise, I usually preheat my oven to about 170*. Once it reaches that temp., I turn it off and place my dough in the oven to rise. It works great!

Source: I got this recipe out of my 2004 Quick Cooking Annual

One Year Ago:  Sweet & Sour Chicken

Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake

This past weekend, we celebrated my son's 8th birthday with his friends.  As you can see, he had a pirate themed party (which turned out to be a really fun theme to run with).  Quinn wanted me to make him a homemade cake.  Usually when I do homemade cakes, I don't really do homemade cakes.  I just doctor up the boxed mixes.  In the past I have had a hard time finding a cake recipe that was anywhere near as good as the boxed mixes.  Well, I'm so glad I tried this one because it was a total winner.  The recipe was a little odd, calling for 1 c. of boiling water to be added to the batter (making it very thin) but it resulted in a light, moist, delicious cake.  Dare I say, better than the boxed mixes?  Give it a try and be the judge yourself.  

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake

Ingredients (cake):

2 Cups Granulated Sugar

3/4 Cup Hershey's Cocoa

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda

2 Eggs

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 Cup Boiling Water

1 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Milk

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

-

Directions (cake):

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl or mixer. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat until combined evenly. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin) Pour into 2 9-inch round greased and floured cake pans. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pans and then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Frost and serve.

-

Ingredients (frosting):

1 Stick Butter

2/3 Cup Hershey's Cocoa

3 Cups Confectioners Sugar

1/3 Cup Milk

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

-

Directions (frosting):

Melt butter in the microwave or in a saucepan, and then pour into a large bowl. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to a spreadable consistency. If needed, add a small amount of additional milk. Stir in vanilla.

Note: DO NOT use pans smaller than 9 inches or you will end up with a hot mess in your oven.  Just trust me.  

Source: Hershey's 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are TO DIE FOR.  No matter how many basic cookie recipes I try, this is the one I keep coming back to.  It is just downright perfect.  The original recipe came from my husband's family cookbook (that I keep talking about...it is a goldmine folks) and was shared by his mothers twin sister, Brenda.  I did change the recipe from shortening to butter.  I try to keep things more natural and I much prefer my family to be eating butter over shortening.  Shortening does make the cookies more fluffy, while using butter causes you to have a flatter cookie.  I have heard that it helps to refrigerate the cookie dough until it is nice and cold, but I haven't tried it because when I make cookies I want 'em NOW!    

This time, I used 1 c. chocolate chips and 1 c. m&m's for no other reason than I didn't have enough chocolate chips.  Use a combo of any chips you like, you can't go wrong!  

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 c. chocolate chips

2 c. quick oats

Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Add flour, soda, and salt and mix well.  Stir in chips and oatmeal.  Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350* until they are just barely turning brown on the edges, 6-7 minutes.

Gracie's Chocolate Muffins

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter wanted to play Nick Jr.  She hadn't played in quite some time, so I set her up with her very favorite Holly Hobby Dress-up game, then I went about my business.  Shortly after, she came up to me with a print out.  I began to scold her, because my kids have been known to have an little problem regarding printing stuff.  As in, they would use my entire ink cartridge in one day and send me out for another if I didn't put my foot down.  Before I was able to really get on her, she said, "But MOM!  It is a recipe!  I HAD to print it so that I could make it!"  Now, how can I be mad at that?  A girl after my own heart, printing out recipes when she could be playing computer games.

We made the muffins, and I must say they were DELICIOUS!  Nice choice Grace!  Her brothers appreciated her effort very much!  She was very excited for me to blog her recipe too, so here it is!

Gracie's Chocolate Muffins

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 c. milk

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted

1/2 c. chocolate chips

Additional Chocolate chips for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 375*.  Grease or line with paper cupcake liners a 12 muffin pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Whisk to blend.

Add the eggs, milk, and melted butter.  Stir until just blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Spoon into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle a few additional chocolate chips on top of each muffin.   Bake until puffed and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; 18-20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool 5 minutes.  Invert and cool completely.  

Makes 12 muffins

Source: Slightly adapted from a recipe Grace found on Nick Jr.

Chewy Granola Squares

My kids just LOVED these Chewy Granola Squares.  They are such a perfect little snack to send with them to school and so easy to make.  Give them a try!  I know I will be making them again and again!  I feel much better about them eating these than the granola bars they are always asking for at the grocery store.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the finished bars (the last pic is right before they went into the oven).  I made these after I put the kids to bed one night and they disappeared so fast the next day I never got around to it! 

Chewy Granola Squares

2 1/2 c. Quick Rolled Oats

1/2 c. Rice Krispies

1/4 c. Coconut

1/2 c. M&M Mini's (you could sub chocolate chips, marshmallows, raisins, or anything your heart desires)

1/2 c. Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 c. Butter, softened

1/4 c. Honey

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Add all of the ingredients together and mix until combined.  Press into a 9x13 inch pan (you may want to line with Parchment paper first for easy removal).  Bake at 350* for 18-20 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars.  Let set completely, then cut into bars.  

Source: My Tasty Treasures 

Oreo Truffles

Oreo Truffles are a hugely popular recipe online.  Why wouldn't they be?  They only contain 3 ingredients, are relatively easy to make, and the taste?  Out of this world!  They are certainly one of the baked goods that my family looks forward to most at Christmas.  You simply MUST add them to your Holiday Baking.  Trust me!

Here are the ingredients you will need if you want to make a double batch, which I did since I was making them for an exchange.  I only ended up using 3 of the boxes of Baker's Semi-Sweet chocolate for a double recipe though.  

Oreo Truffles

1-16 oz. package Oreos, divided (NOT DOUBLE STUFFED!)

8 oz. package Cream Cheese, softened (I use reduced-fat)

2-8 oz. packages Semi-Sweet baking chocolate

If desired, crush 9 of the cookies in the food processor and reserve for later use (sprinkling on top for decoration).  Or, if you are like me, and your kids already ate at least 9 of the Oreos, just use pretty Christmas sprinkles and skip this step;P

Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs in the food processor.  Drop in cream cheese by the spoonful. Mix in food processor until it is all mixed together and has formed one large ball.  Put in bowl.  Place bowl in freezer for about 10-15 minutes so that it is easier to work with.

Get your double boiler heating to melt the chocolate (or if you don't have one, like me, get your stockpot with glass bowl heating).

Roll cookie mixture into approximately 42 balls, about 1 inch in diameter.  Place on baking sheet on wax paper.  Place in fridge or freezer for a few more minutes so they are firm.  

Gingerly, roll the balls in the melted chocolate.  I like to use a fork to gently turned them about.  You need to be go it quickly so that the balls don't lose their shape.  Scoop the balls out of the chocolate with your fork and tap the fork against the bowl a couple of times to get rid of excess chocolate.  Place on wax paper and sprinkle with Oreos or your decor of choice while the chocolate in nice and soft.  Repeat until done.  Leave balls on wax paper until they harden, then package them as you wish.  Store in refrigerator.   

Source: Allrecipes