Two-in-One Holiday Bar

The recipe listed below is a Pillsbury recipe but for some reason when I searched for it I couldn't find a thing on it! I ended up finding the photo and another recipe for it here, but I thought I would still type out the recipe I used because I know it's great.

I promised I would post this recipes because you ladies loved it so much at the info desk and in the nursery (at my church, the two of 3 areas I volunteer in) so here you go! I hope you enjoy it!!

Rating: I give these a 5! (1 being "I'll never bake them again" and 5 being "They are now one of my favorites")

Base:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 cup diced mixed candies fruit
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I prefer slivered almonds)

Glaze:
1 cup icing sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

Heat oven to 350F
Combine sugar, butter and beat until it's light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and egg; beat well.
Add flour; mix well.
Spread dough in ungreased 15x10x1 inch baking pan.
Sprinkle half of the pan with the candies fruit and the other half with the chocolate chips and nuts.
Press toppings lightly into the dough.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are brown.
Cool for an hour.

In a small bowl combine icing sugar and milk. Add additional milk if need be.
Blend until smooth.
Drizzle over cooled bars.
Let stand until set.
Cut into bars.

Yields: 48 bars

Marshmallow Salad

I couldn’t seem to find this recipe online or in my cooking books either, and well yet again I asked on facebook and I ended up with three different versions. This is the one I like the most and the one I was looking for. I’m going to make it as one of many things for Christmas dinner!

- 1 tub Nutria Whip or Cool Whip
- 1 box Jell-o Powder (flavor of your choice)
- 2 cups Mini Marshmallows
- Can of Pineapple (drained)
- Can of Mandarin Oranges (Drained)
- ½ cup Coconut

Mix whip cream and Jell-o powder together (leave little behind for sprinkling on top). Mix in mini marshmallows, pineapple (crushed works best), mandarins, and coconut. Scoop into nice bowl. Sprinkle remaining Jel-lo powder on top. Put in fridge to set (2 hours in best).

Have any good ideas, or substitutes for this....share them, leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!!

Flour-less Chocolate Cake

Photo Source

So far this is the best flour-less chocolate cake I have found! It tastes amazing and is super moist and rich (I added more cocoa). I give it a 9 out of 10 (only because maybe there is still something better out there that I haven't found) 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 1-ounce squares coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• For Glaze:
• 2 1-ounce squares coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate squares
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoon milk OR light coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Agave syrup OR honey
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F

Spray a 7-inch tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray. If you don't have a tart pan, use a 6 to 7-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray the paper.

1. Melt 6 ounces of chopped chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth.
2. Add sugar and salt and reduce heat to low. Cook while stirring for about one minute, until sugar starts to dissolve.
3. Remove pan from heat. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. The mixture will look smooth and glossy.
4. Use a mesh hand sieve to sift cocoa into mixture. This prevents lumps. Whisk until the cake batter is smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes. The center of the cake should be just firm to the touch, but be careful to not overbake the cake or it will be dry.
6. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the cake on a plate.
7. To prepare the glaze, melt 2 ounces of chopped chocolate and 1 1/2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in the same saucepan you used to make the cake. When melted and smooth, remove the pan from heat. Add milk and Agave syrup OR honey and vanilla and stir until smooth and glossy. Let the glaze cool for about 3 minutes before pouring it on the cake.
8. Pour all of the glaze in the middle of the cake. Use a silicone or rubber spatula to spread the glaze evenly over the cake, allowing the glaze to evenly run down the sides of the cake.
   
   Serves 6

Recipe Source

Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Bar

Best Ever Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Bars

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (you could also substitute butter)
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, raisins, or dried cranberries
• 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips (or regular semi-sweet chocolate chips, if you prefer)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove. {Watch this closely. Mine started to burn!}

Remove from heat once it’s melted together and add in the oats, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, nuts/raisins, and vanilla. Stir together until the chocolate is completely melted.

Pour into a greased 9×13 pan and cool in the fridge. If you’d like thicker bars, you can pour the mixture into a smaller pan.

When the mixture is hardened, cut into bars and eat. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

(I made it with nuts and raisins and really liked it that way!) 

Recipe source

Cinnamon Roll Pull

I've made this a few times now for a few brunches and it's a serious hit! It's so easy, quick and tasty! I highly, highly recommend it!

1 unsliced round loaf sourdough bread

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make Vanilla Honey Butter: Whip butter and 1/4 cup powdered sugar together until smooth; stir in honey and vanilla.  Set aside. (You can use regular butter if desired)

Cut the bread lengthwise into 1/2" slices, without cutting through the bottom crust. Spread vanilla honey butter in between slices.  Rotate the bread 90 degrees and slice the bread again into 1/2" pieces, without cutting through the bottom crust. Spread more vanilla honey butter in between new cuts. This doesn't need to be perfect - just make sure there is lots of butter in between all the cuts. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Generously sprinkle in between all cuts. (You may have extra butter and cinnamon sugar.  It will just depend on how large your bread loaf is.)

Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until bread is warm.  Unwrap cinnamon bread and place on serving platter.  Combine powdered sugar and milk - adding milk until you get the consistency desired.  Drizzle icing over bread and serve immediately.


Recipe Source

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

 These cookies are seriously tasty and guess what, no grains!

Ingredients:

2¼ cups quinoa flour (or 1¼ cups quinoa flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour)
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup white or cane sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Grease a large baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
Mix the flour and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, blend the butter and sugars until smooth and fluffy.  Add the salt, vanilla and eggs and mix until well blended.  Stir in the flour mixture and blend well.  Mix in the chocolate chips.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake on the center oven rack for 8 to 10 minutes.  The cookies will be puffy and soft when removed from the oven, but will flatten when cooled.  Allow the cookies to sit for 1 minute before removing from the pan to a rack to cool completely.  Shore in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.

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Quinoa Flatbread

Source

This turned out pretty good. I think I will make a couple of changes next times but it was nice to be able to eat bread! (I can't have any grains right now)

Ingredients

• ¾ cup quinoa flour
• ½ cup almond flour
• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 flax eggs (2 Tbs. ground flax seeds + 6 Tbs. warm water)
• 1 Tbs.+2 tsp. coconut oil or grapeseed oil
• 1 tsp. unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ~~Optional additions for a savory version:
• 1 Tbs. fresh, chopped rosemary
• 1 Tbs. fresh, chopped basil
• black pepper, to taste
• ~~Optional additions for a sweet version:
• 2 Tbs. honey
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a cast iron skillet or a 9″ round pan with 2 tsp. coconut or grapeseed oil. Place the skillet/pan in the oven to heat it up.
3. Prepare your flax eggs: combine ground flax seeds with warm water and allow the mixture to sit and thicken for at least 10 minutes.
4. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the almond milk, flax eggs, applesauce, and 1 Tbs. coconut/grapeseed oil (if using coconut oil, make sure to melt it first). Mix together until combined.
5. Remove the skillet/pan from the oven and tilt it around to spread the oil evenly. Pour the batter into the pan and lightly tap the bottom of the pan on a hard surface to even out the batter.
6. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until the edges have turned golden brown. Allow the flatbread to cool, remove from the pan, and slice.
7. Top with any toppings you prefer! For a savory version, you could try macadamia nut cheese (recipe listed above) or hummus, tomatoes (fresh or sun-dried), basil, cucumber or zucchini. For a sweet version, you could top with any kind of nut butter (I prefer almond), jelly, honey, or fresh fruit, just to name a few. Feel free to get creative!
8. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

 Recipe Source

Healthy Baking Substitutes

All the great details are over at picklee.com

Pink Ice Cream decorated cake

How much cuter could this be? 

I can't wait to find a reason to make this cake. 

Check out the original post and even more cute girl details here.

Vegetarian Quinoa Jambalaya

Vegetarian Quinoa Jambalaya  from Meatless Meals for Meat Eaters

I'm a little quinoaed out at the moment but I'm excited I found this recipe! 

Link- salsa

Wow, yum! 

I'm always looking for different things to try and healthier options but chip and salsa are a weakness of mine. I think I'll call this the happy medium between damn good and healthy (depending on the chips you get) 

Check out there recipe here.

Milk Chocolate Covered Raspberry Jellies

Don't these look delish? They're like Big Turks right? I can't wait to try out this recipe! Check out over at Making Memories with your Kids

Baking My Way: Chocolate-glazed Florentines

 Source

I don't know how I got it wrong but this recipe didn't work for me. It seems to be very temperamental and I just ended up with messes and blobs that were supposed to be cookies. After they cooled a little I formed them into cookie like ball and glazed over. Not really what it's supposed to be like but salvaged none the less! 

Cookies:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup finely chopped candy pine
1/3 cup chopped candied cherries
1/3 cup silvered almonds


Glaze:
4 oz chocolate
1 teaspoon shortening

Heat oven to 325.

Grease and flour cookie sheet.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; remove from heat.

Stir in honey, sugar and milk; stir in flour.

Cook over medium heat for 3 to 6 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat; stir n candied peel, cherries and almonds.

Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls 3 inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 13 minutes or until edges are golden.

Cool 1 minute; carefully remove from cookie sheet. Cool for 15 minutes or until completely cool.


Melt all glaze ingredient in a small sauce pan until blended. Spread over bottom side of cookies. When wet but not set use a fork to make waves in the glaze. Let cookies set.

Baking My Way: Jam-filled Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

 These are very yummy cookies and the best part about them is making them with your man, something a little romantic. They are very soft and the jam adds a nice sweetness to the plain flavor of the shortbread.

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cups All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
2 tablespoons raspberry jam


Directions

Heat oven to 375.

In large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, orange peel and egg; blend well.

On a flowered surface roll out dough to 1/8- inch thickness. Cut into heart shaped cookies. Cut half of the cookies in the middle with a smaller heart shaped cutter.

On the full hearts place about 1/2 teaspoon jam in center of each; top with cutout cookies.

Bake at 375 for 7 - 10 minutes or until lightly brown.

Cool 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheet.  

Spicy Crock Pot Jambalaya

I haven't tried making Jambalaya before but I really want to. This recipe looks simple enough and so tasty! I'll be sure to post when I give it a go!! Check out the recipe here.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Seriously? How much better does it get then these?! Can't wait to try them! Check out the recipe here!

Apple Pancake

Doesn't this look tasty?! I would totally be ok waking up to this. Check out the recipe here.

Nanaimo Bars

 I love this recipe! I tried a long time ago to make Nanaimo Bars and it did not go well. It's one of my favorite desserts so I just needed to figure it out. I'm excited because it turned out perfect. Marshall said it was amazing, just like the store bought one but more "real tasting". It makes me happy because my baking skills have gotten to a point where I wonder why this was ever a challenge for me before.  I think it's time to move up to some more complicated things!

 

Ingredients:
1 cup  graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup  sweetned flaked coconut or shredded coconut
1/3 cup finely chopped walnut halves
 1/3 cup  cocoa powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling:
 1/4 cup butter
 2 tbsp vanilla pudding powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla
 2 cups icing sugar
 2 tbsp milk, (approx.)

Topping:
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp butter

Preparation:
In bowl, stir together graham crumbs, coconut, walnuts, cocoa powder and sugar. Drizzle with butter and egg; stir until combined. Press crumb mixture into parchment paper–lined 9-inch (2.5 L) square metal cake pan.

Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until firm, about 10 minutes.

Let cool in pan on rack.

Filling: 
In bowl, beat together butter, custard powder and vanilla. Beat in icing sugar alternately with milk until smooth, adding up to 1 tsp (5 mL) more milk if too thick to spread. Spread over cooled base; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Topping:
 In heatproof bowl over saucepan of hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate with butter. Spread over filling; refrigerate until almost set, about 30 minutes. With tip of knife, score into bars; refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.

(Make-ahead: Wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days or overwrap in heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.) Cut into bars.

Adapted from here 

Baking My Way: Easy Cherry Rum Balls

 Can't say I love these rum balls. I like my rum with chocolate, and there's not chocolate in them....so there you go. 

• 2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers ( 40 to 50)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red candied cherries
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup rum
• 3 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons butter melted
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preparation:

In medium bowl, combine crushed wafers , 1 cup powdered sugar, cherries, and pecans. Add rum, syrup and butter. Blend well. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in the 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Cover tightly; let sit 24 hours for flavors to blend. Makes 3 dozen.

Baking My Way: Cherry Chocolate Kisses

These are some tasty cookies! As you can see, they went quickly! I highly suggest them and they're pretty easy to make too!

1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
2 teasp. maraschino cherry juice
1/2 teasp. almond extract
few drops red food coloring
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teasp salt
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
approx 48 extra large chocolate chips or 48 chocolate kisses

•  combine sugar, butter, cherry juice, almond extract, and the food coloring. blend well
• lightly spoon flour into measuring cup. mix in the salt
• mix flour mixture with the butter mixture
• add cherries
• shape into 1'' balls. place 2'' apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet
• bake at 350' for 8-10 mins
• immediately after baking top each cookie with a kiss. press down firmly.. remove from cookie sheets