Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

 

I love this recipe.  First of all, it's a hands off breakfast.  Make a batch in the afternoon and you've got breakfast for a couple of days that your kiddos can just grab and eat.  Second, it's packed full of veggies and that's always a win.  Third, they're SOOOOO good.

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup zucchini, shredded

chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. 

In a medium mixing bowl, add the oil, milk, egg, and vanilla and whisk well.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well.

Add the zucchini and as many chocolate chips as you like.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

For a different variation, omit the cocoa powder and add 1 tsp. cinnamon.

Banana Pudding

 

The Alabama in me needed some Banana Pudding and it NEVER disappoints.  It's so rich and delicious and perfect.

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 (8oz) block of cream cheese, softened

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (5oz) box instant banana pudding mix

1 cup whole milk

1 box Nilla Wafers

6-8 bananas, sliced

Lightly butter a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.

Using your stand mixer, whip the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla using the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.  It usually takes around 5-7 minutes.  Transfer the whipped cream to a medium mixing bowl and place in the fridge for later.

To the wiped out stand mixer bowl, add the cream cheese and whisk for 30-60 seconds, until fluffy.  Add the can of sweetened condensed milk and beat until smooth and no lumps of cream cheese remain.  You'll need to scrape the bowl a few times.

Add in the dry pudding mix and mix well.

Add the milk and mix until fully combined.

Add 2/3 of the whipped cream you made earlier and gently fold it into the pudding mixture until no whipped cream streaks remain.  Set aside.

In your baking dish, place an even layer of Nilla Wafers and top each wafer with a sliced banana coin.

Top the bananas with half of the pudding mixture and spread evenly.

Repeat the layers again; Nilla Wafers, banana coins, and pudding mixture.

Top with the remaining 1/3 of the whipped cream.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars

 

Lately I've been making a pan of these on Saturday's to have for breakfast for the week ahead.  The kids love them and will usually have them with a side of yogurt and piece of fruit.  They're only three ingredients and SUPER quick and easy to make.

8 cups Cheerios

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup honey

In a large glass measuring cup (I use my 4 cup measuring cup) add the peanut butter and honey.  Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and microwave an additional 30 seconds.  Mix well to combine.

In a large mixing bowl add 8 cups of Cheerios.  Pour the peanut butter/honey mixture over top and mix well to combine.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray, place the cheerio mixture into the baking dish and press into the bottom of the pan.  Cover and refrigerate for one hour or until set.  Slice into bars.  Keep refrigerated.

Puff Pastry Braid

 

Lately this has been my go-to dessert for everything!  It's SO versatile and the easiest thing ever to make.  My most recent one was an Apple Cinnamon one and it was DELISH!  I'll put more suggestions at the bottom of the recipe, but the possibilities are endless.  This recipe is enough for two braids.

2 puff pastry sheets, thawed (I buy the Pepperidge Farm two pack, found in the freezer aisle)

1 block cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 can of pie filling

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Set aside.

On a parchment lined baking sheet, lay out one sheet of puff pastry.  Cut slits on the outer thirds as shown in the picture. 

Place half of the cream cheese mixture down the center third of the puff pastry.  Top with half of a can of pie filling.

Take the pastry slits and begin placing them on top of the fruit filling, alternating each side to give it a braided look.

Beat the egg and water together in a small bowl.  Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the pastry.

Repeat the process for second puff pastry.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.

If you want it to look extra fancy you can drizzle it with a topping of your choice.  You could make a powdered sugar glaze or drizzle caramel or nutella over it depending on what flavors you're going for.

Filling Ideas: (Keep in mind the cream cheese mixture stays the same.)

Apple Pie Filling (sprinkled with cinnamon)

Cherry pie filling

Blueberry Pie Filling

Raspberry Pie Filling

Strawberry Pie Filling

Peach Pie Filling

Lemon Curd

Nutella

Chocolate Chips

Banana Nut Muffins

 

Do your kids ever go through bananas like they're the best snack EVER so then you buy more and then they're totally over them?  Yeah, mine too.  I had six...SIX bananas in our fruit basket that no one would touch.  So I decided I wasn't going to make breakfast for the next few days and pumped out 3 dozen of the most delicious banana nut muffins I've ever made.  I was able to use all 6 bananas and everyone had grab-and-go breakfast for several days.  Win WIN!

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

6 very ripe bananas 

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon 

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 cups chopped walnuts

*Optional Topping (but you should totally do it!):

additional chopped walnuts

about 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Fill 3 muffin tins with cupcake liners (I ran out and just sprayed the muffin tins with cooking spray and it worked just fine).

In a large bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.

Using a paddle attachment cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes.  

Add in the bananas.  No need to mash them before hand.  Let the paddle attachment do all the work.

Once the bananas are incorporated (the mixture will be runny), add in the vanilla and eggs.  Mix until well combined.  

Add the dry ingredients and the walnuts to the wet ingredients and allow the mixer to stir the ingredients together until just mixed.

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to add the batter to the muffin tins.  I used a heaping 1/4 cup.  Just make sure the muffin cups are 3/4 full.

If you're doing the topping (DO IT) sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. of granulated sugar to the top each muffin and sprinkle with a few more chopped walnuts.  I just eyeballed it.

Place the muffins in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Mine are never done by 30 minutes so I continue baking in 3 minute increments until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tins and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

White Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies

 

Oh-muh-word...these are amazing!  Alaska has some of the most amazing little wild blueberries!  There are patches and patches of them, you just have to know where to go find them.  It's not super hard to find them, but they can be VERY difficult to get to.  Alaska is wild and rugged and very unforgiving.  So if you want what it has to offer, you have to work for it and you have to be smart and safe.  Thankfully, we have some awesome friends who teach us all the things and they took us blueberry picking with them.  You have to be very aware of your surroundings because you're not the only one who is after those blueberries.  Bears are abundant and they're on a mission to gain as much weight as they possibly can during the short Alaskan summer months.  They only have a matter of weeks to bulk up and they loooooove blueberries.  Just like with almost everything else, you never go blueberry picking alone and you always have a couple of different types of protection on you at all times.  It's a lot of fun, the kids always eat way more than they put in the bucket, you're in the middle of the wild Alaskan wilderness where it's quiet and beautiful beyond description.  If you visit us at the end of July-beginning of August, we'll take you!  It's funny because the other thing about blueberry picking here, is EVERYONE is SUPER secretive about where "their spot" is.  We're not so much that way.  We want you to come hang out with us and we'll protect each other from the bears. ;)

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

1tsp. baking powder

1tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

2 cups white chocolate chunks

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (and thawed) or dried but use 1/2 cup

(If you don't have blueberries you can also use Craisins!)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.  Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until completely incorporated.  Fold in the oats, white chocolate chunks, and berries.  Drop by the tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes (do not over bake!).  Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Sausage Bread

Every time I think about this bread I crave it until I have it.  This is my mother-n-law's recipe and it's amazing.  I remember going to her house after school and she'd have a loaf of this ready sometimes.  

Fun fact: My husband and I are middle school sweethearts.  They lived just a few miles from our middle/high school and sometimes between school and football games, a group of friends and I would go to their house.  She fed *a lot* of us throughout our high school days.

Be warned...this bread is v addicting.

1 loaf of white bread dough, frozen + thawed or fresh homemade

1lb. Jimmy Dean Sausage (I love Sage.)

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and set aside.  

Have your dough prepared ahead of time.  Either thaw a store bought frozen white bread dough loaf, or prepare your homemade dough in the bread machine.  

Sausage
In a medium skillet, cook and crumble sausage.  Drain any excess grease and set aside to cool slightly.  You don't want to scramble the eggs.  Add cheese and eggs and mix thoroughly.

Bread

Roll out bread dough into a rectangle.  

Spread sausage mixture onto rolled out dough.

Roll up the dough like a jelly roll or cinnamon roll and pinch the seams together.

Let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

Place the bread in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.  

**If you don't have time for that full 30 minute rise, no worries.  I've thrown it right in the oven before and it's come out fine.  It's pretty forgiving. 

Cheesecake

My aunt makes *the best* cheesecake.  She brings it to every major holiday and you guys.  It's to die for.  I can't even.  I don't even put anything on it.  No fruit.  No chocolate.  No toppings.  Nothing.  Plain.  It's perfect.

It's a fussy recipe to make and I'm sorry about that.  If you know me at all you know I love good food that's easy for everyone to make.  This one is a little challenging (for me...but you've got this) and again, I'm sorry.  Cheesecake is finicky but when you get a good one, it's worth the work.  

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

5 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 3/4 cups white sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Prepare a 10" springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper and wrap the outside of the pan in foil.

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and the melted butter together.  Press the graham cracker mixture evenly into the bottom of the parchment lined springform pan.  Set aside.  

In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, egg yolks, and vanilla on low speed.  Add the remaining eggs one at a time, on low speed, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition to ensure all of the cream cheese and egg become fully incorporated.  

Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups sugar, flour, and heavy cream.  Blend on low until smooth.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  

Bake at 200 degrees for 3 hrs. 40 minutes.  

Turn the oven off, crack the oven door open and allow it to cool IN the oven for 4-5 hours.

Remove from the oven and cool in the fridge, uncovered, for 24-72 hours before serving.  

Before serving, cut the cheesecake with a hot knife, wiping the knife blade clean between each cut.

*Pumpkin Variation*

Leave out heavy whipping cream.

Add 15oz can of pureed pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling), 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1/4 tsp. cloves.

Increase baking time to 4 hrs. 10 minutes.

Bread Machine Cinnamon Roll Dough

I have two fantastic Cinnamon Roll recipes on my blog already.  A Keto version and a Traditional version.    If you haven't made either of them, you totally should.  They're incredible.  If you're just not feeling kneading that dough though, I get it.  I love for my bread machine to do the work for me.  If that's your jam today, here you are my friends.  All that is required is for you to dump all of your ingredients into the bread machine, turn it on, and let it go.  When it's done, I use the filling recipe already posted in my Homemade Cinnamon Roll post.  I'll link it here for your convenience.  This recipe makes a slightly bigger sheet of dough but the filling is still enough.  

1 cup warm milk

1 large egg

4 tablespoons grass fed butter

3 1/3 cups organic flour

3 tablespoons organic sugar

1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

2 tsp. active dry yeast

Add the milk, egg, and butter to the pan.

Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the pan.  Tap the pan to settle and level it off with your finger, if needed. 

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast.

Lock the pan into your bread maker and close the lid.  

Select the Dough function on your bread machine and press Start.

When the dough cycle is done, remove the pan from the bread machine and place the dough on a floured surface.  Knead the dough by hand for 1 minute, then let it rest for 15 minutes.

Roll the dough into a 15x10" rectangle and continue with the filling, slicing, second rise, and baking instructions found here.  *Note: use a 9x13" baking dish for this recipe.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Bread

This is a super yummy breakfast bread!  I love to have it toasted with lots of grass fed butter.

1 1/4 cups warm milk

2 tablespoons grass fed butter

2 3/4 cups organic flour

3/4 cup quick oats

2 tablespoons organic brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1/2 cup raisins **

Add the liquid ingredients and butter to pan in the order listed.  

Add the dry ingredients in the order listed, except yeast and raisins.  Tap the pan to settle the dry ingredients and level off with your finger, if needed.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well.

Lock the bread machine pan into place and close the lid.  

Program your bread machine for the Basic setting, choose the crust color you like, and press Start.

On my machine, there is a beep during one of the knead cycles.  If you have that feature on your machine, add the raisins when the beep sounds.  Once it's finished, remove the pan from the machine and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before shaking the bread out of the pan to cool completely.  

Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is my all-time favorite bread to use for just eating.  It's *amazing* fresh out of the bread machine and also *amazing* toasted.  Slather some fresh grass-fed butter and homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam on it...so good.

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water

2 1/2 Tablespoons raw organic honey

2 Tablespoons grass fed butter

2 1/3 cups organic flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

2 Tablespoons dry milk

1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

Dump all of the liquid ingredients and the butter into your bread machine pan in the order listed

Dump all of the dry ingredients, except the yeast, into the bread machine pan in the order listed.  Tap sides of the pan to settle the dry ingredients.  Use your finger the level it off if needed.

Make a little well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well.

Lock the pan into the bread machine and close the lid.  Use the One Hour setting on your bread machine and press Start.  

Once finished, remove the pan from the machine and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing the bread. 

Keto Cinnamon Rolls

Alright.  Time to lighten things up again.  I've sampled too many quarantine baking projects and I'm starting to feel it.  Before this COVID mess started I was on a really clean diet and lost 20lbs!  I don't want to relapse!  Time to make some goodies that mama doesn't feel guilty about.  

These little guys are a combo between a cinnamon roll and a pecan swirl?  Remember those?  Tasty Cake, or something like that, made them?  I remember my dad sneaking a sweet on occasion and he really likes pecan swirls.  This reminds me of them a lot!  Only these are guilt free, sugar free, and low carb at only 2 net carbs per roll.

For the Rolls:

2 cups shredded mozzarella

3oz. cream cheese

3/4 cup almond flour

2tsp. baking powder

For the Filling:

4 tablespoons softened butter

1/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 1/2 tablespoons granulated Swerve

For the Icing:

2oz. cream cheese

3 tablespoons powdered confectioners Swerve

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 8 cups in a muffin tin with non stick spray.

In a microwave safe bowl combine the mozzarella and cream cheese.  Microwave for one minute then stir to combine.  Add the almond flour and baking powder, stir until somewhat incorporated and return to the microwave for an additional 30 seconds.  Combine the mixture until a soft ball forms.

Place the mixture on a sheet of parchment paper and top it with another sheet of parchment.  Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until you have a rectangular sheet that measures roughly 13x10.  Remove the top piece of parchment paper and discard.

Now the filling!  Spread the softened butter all over the sheet of dough making sure to get all the way to the edges.  Combine the cinnamon and granulated swerve and sprinkle liberally on top of the butter.  Sprinkle the chopped pecans all over the top of the cinnamon and Swerve.

Then, starting on a long edge, begin to tightly roll up the dough into a log.  Cut the log into 8 pieces.  Place one piece per muffin cup.  Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.

Once they've cooled slightly, it's time for the icing!  Place the cream cheese in a 2 cup measuring cup or small bowl.  Microwave the cream cheese for 15 seconds or so, until it is creamy and can be stirred easily with a fork.  Add the powdered Swerve and heavy cream.  Stir vigorously with a fork until the powdered Swerve is dissolved.  The icing is pretty thick.  If you like it thinner, thin it out with some more cream.  If you like it thicker, add some more powdered Swerve.  Add a generous plop of icing on top of each cinnamon roll and serve!

Banana Bread

Day 13727239 of quarantine has lead to baking.  Boredom baking.  Need to use up the bananas baking.  And it makes me a rock star with my family so I'll take it.  I love using my bread machine for this recipe because it does all the work for me.  Obvi you don't need to use all organic ingredients if you don't have them but it does make a difference in the taste, IMO.  

Dump into the bread machine:

-2 cups organic flour

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-3/4 cup organic sugar

-pinch of Himalayan pink salt

-3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil

-2 organic eggs

-2 organic bananas, mashed

-1 glob of raw local honey

-1 drop of YL Cinnamon Bark essential oil (or 2 tsp. ground cinnamon)

-A splash of vanilla extract

-Optional: chopped nuts such as chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, or sliced almonds

I use the "quick bread" setting on my bread machine.  My quick bread setting runs for 2 hours.  It beeps at 1 hour and 30 minutes and that's when I take it out.  If I leave it in there the remaining 30 minutes, the outside is too dark for us.  A friend of mine's quick bread setting isn't long enough and she has to bake hers an additional 10 minutes.  So there seems to be some differences between bread machines and how long each quick bread setting runs, so just keep an eye on it.  When your bread is golden around the edges and slightly soft but not gooey on the top, you're done!  Let it sit in the bread pan for 10-15 minutes to cool slightly, then remove the loaf from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.  We like to eat ours warm out of the bread machine with a thick layer of grass-fed butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

No-Bake Coconut Caramel Pecan Cookies

You guys.  These. Are. Decadent!  You'd NEVER know there's no processed junk in them.  And SO easy!

1 stick butter

1/3 cup Swerve Brown Sugar substitute (I've also used Date Sugar successfully!)

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup pecan halves

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Sugar-free chocolate chips

Place the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted.  Once the butter has melted, whisk in the Swerve Brown Sugar substitute (or date sugar) and whisk until dissolved. (Note: If you use Date Sugar, it won't dissolve, just mix it in.)

Next, stir in the heavy cream and stir until completely combined.  Let the mixture to lightly boil 8-10 minutes.  

Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the pecan halves and coconut flakes.  

Using a large spoon, drop spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  (Note: Some butter will leak out of each cookie as they set.)  Press a few sugar-free chocolate chips into each cookie.  Place the cookies into the fridge for 30-60 minutes until set.  Store in an air tight container in the fridge.  This recipe should yield 11-13 cookies.

The BEST Rice Krispy Treats

My 4 year old is starting to really enjoy helping mommy in the kitchen and at Christmas time we made A LOT of these to share with friends and family.  And they truly are the best rice krispy treats I've ever had.  They're so buttery and creamy and NOT AT ALL dry or chewy.  You can leave them plain or you can get festive and let your kids go nuts with holiday themed sprinkles!  I'm normally not a brand snob with too many things, but I do recommend Kellogs Rice Krispies and Jet Puffed Mini Marshmallows.  

4 Tablespoons of butter

8 cups of mini marshmallows

1 tsp. of Vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon of milk

6 cups of Rice Krispy cereal

Generously grease an 8x11 or 9x9 glass baking dish.  Set aside.

Slowly melt the butter over low heat in a large pot.

Once the butter is melted, add the vanilla and 6 cups of mini marshmallows.  Melt the marshmallows slowly.

Right before the marshmallows are fully melted, add the remaining 2 cups of marshmallows.  Stir until the added marshmallows are staring to melt (we don't want them fully melted...just heated and soft).

Add the rice krispy cereal and stir until it's all coated with the marshmallow fluff.

Dump the mixture into your well greased baking dish.

Spray a spatula with non-stick spray and use it to spread out the treats, pressing gently just a bit (you don't want them super compacted or they'll be rock hard).

If you're adding sprinkles, add them to the top now.

Allow to fully cool.  

Once cooled, spray a knife with non-stick spray and cut into squares.

Cover with a lid or cling wrap to keep them fresh.

Ooey Gooey Cake Mix Bars

Well these are just little squares of heaven.  They're easy and so so gooey.  So gooey.  And it's a Paula Dean recipe so you know it's indulgent.

CRUST:

1 box yellow cake mix, dry-not prepared

1 stick of butter, melted

1 egg

GOOEY LAYER:

8oz. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs, beaten

16oz. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the yellow cake mix, melted butter, and 1 egg.  Mix until smooth and combined.  Pat and press the dough evenly over the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish that's been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until creamy.  Add the eggs and beat until it's super smooth; about 2 minutes.  Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until well combined.  

Pour the gooey mixture over the crust layer and bake for 25-30 minutes.  DO NOT over bake.  You want the gooey layer to be set and the edges juuuuuuust starting to turn golden but still a little jiggly.  

When it's done, remove from oven and allow it to cool completely.  Cut into squares and enjoy!

Neiman-Marcus Cookies

Neiman-Marcus Cookies....The $250 chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Have you ever heard of these?  Legend has it a lady had lunch at Neiman-Marcus one day and loved these cookies so much that she asked her waitress for the recipe.  The waitress said she couldn't give it to her but she could purchase it for a great deal...only "two fifty".  The lady assumed she meant $2.50 but when she got her credit card bill, she was charged $250 for the cookie recipe.  To get her revenge on Neiman-Marcus for not being more specific, she started sharing the recipe in all the places so that Neiman-Marcus couldn't make another dime off of it.  It's an urban legend, but a fun story.  And the cookies are suuuuuuper yummy!  Oh, and the recipe makes A TON!  

2 cups butter, softened

4 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

2 cups sugar

2 cups blended oatmeal (measure out 2 cups and blend them into a fine powder in a blender or food processor)

24 oz. chocolate chips

2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 8oz. Hershey bar, grated (any chocolate bar works great)

4 eggs

3 cups chopped walnuts

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream the butter and both sugars.  Add the eggs and vanilla until well incorporated.

In a separate, large bowl, mix together the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Add chocolate chips, grated chocolate bar, and nuts.  (You need a really big bowl for this recipe.)

Roll the dough into 1" balls and place on a baking sheet 2" apart.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Makes approx. 112 cookies!

No Drip Popsicles

It's SUMMER TIME!!!  Whoop whoop!  For our family that means fun filled mornings and afternoons at the lake and relaxing evenings on the deck.  But, let's be real...this is Virginia and Virginia is H-O-T!  Popsicles are our treat of choice when we need to cool off.  But I loathe the mess.   Spending extra time on popsicle stained shirts in the laundry room is not my idea of a good time.  So, naturally, I turned to the Pinterest gods.  Low and behold, I found this lady who has a super cool blog and NO DRIP popsicles.  Yes please!!!  My daughter LOVES them because they're super fruity tasting and I love them because they don't make a mess.  For real.  No joke.  I wouldn't lie to a fellow mom about such a thing as this.  So let our kiddos pick out whatever flavor or flavors they want and have fun!  My daughter picked out her next flavors already.  She wanted cherry this time but next time she wants blue, purple, and orange stripes.  A quick note about these.  The recipe calls for a little extra sugar.  I know...that's like a bad word these days but I've made it with and without the extra sugar.  I prefer it with the sugar because the finished popsicles come out of the molds so much easier. I lost a lot of popsicles because the sticks came out without the popsicles on them when I didn't add the sugar.  I'm not tellin' ya what to do, but we add it for that reason.

3oz package of Jell-O powder (Fun Fact: The Jolly Rancher brand jell-o is BOMB!)

4 cups water, divided

1/3 cup sugar (optional)

popsicle molds

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  

Meanwhile, add the jell-o powder and sugar to a glass bowl.

Add the boiling water to the jell-o powder and sugar mixture and stir until all of the powder has dissolved; about 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups of cold water and stir well.

Pour the jell-o into popsicle molds and freeze until solid.  I usually get 14-18 popsicles...depending on the size of the molds I'm using.  I typically get my molds from Ikea because they're good toddler sized pops.

Homemade Salted Caramel

There are 2 kinds of caramel in this house.  The first kind is for drizzling on treats that I need the caramel to "set up" on.  Things like caramel popcorn.  And things like topping brownies where I want a nice layer of soft caramel that I can slice.  The second kind is the drizzly, liquidy kind for things like ice cream and Apple Crisp.  That's what this recipe is for!  Right below this post is my recipe for Apple Crisp and this Salted Caramel is DIVINE drizzled on top!  

1 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons salted butter, cut up into 6 pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. salt

1.)  Heat granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a high heat resistant rubber spatula or wooden spoon.

2.)  Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick, brown, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir.  Be careful not to burn.

3.)  Once sugar is completely melted, immediately add the butter.  Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added.

4.)  Stir the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted, about 2-3 minutes.

5.)  Very slowly, drizzle in 1/2 cup heavy cream while stirring.  Since the heavy cream is colder than the caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble and/or splatter when added.

6.)  Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute.  It will rise in the pan as it boils.

7.)  Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt.  Allow the caramel to cool down before using.

Berry Parfait

This dessert is so. much. fun!  It's incredibly easy to make and the "messier" it is, the better it looks.  I LOVE the look of rustic, homemade food.  So when you make this, don't make it perfect.  Let it just become the glorious mess of goodness that it naturally is.  Enjoy!

8oz. low-fat vanilla yogurt

powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

8oz. cool whip, thawed

4 cups sliced strawberries

3 cups fresh blueberries

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the yogurt and vanilla.  Gradually add powdered sugar until the tanginess of the yogurt is replaced by sweetness.  (Maybe half a cup or so...depends on how sweet you like things.)

Gently fold in the cool whip.

Now, the fun part.  Get some pint sized mason jars!

Take a handful of blueberries and place them in the bottom of the jar.

Then add a dollop of the yogurt mixture on top of the blueberries.

Then grab a handful of sliced strawberries and put them on top of the yogurt. 

Then another dollop of yogurt.

Blueberries

Yogurt

Strawberries

Yogurt...you get the picture

When you get to the top of the jar, top it off with the yogurt mixture and garnish with a strawberry.

Place all of the filled mason jars in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.  I doubled this recipe and made 5 GENEROUSLY filled jars.

*Note, if you like the hint of lemon flavoring with this berry combo, substitute the vanilla for lemon extract or even better, a couple of drops of 100% therapeutic grade lemon essential oil from Young Living.  It is divine!