Fantastic Food

            If you read my previous post, you "heard" me drool over this recipe in the middle of getting to another recipe.  Yeah, when I mentioned pumpkin it made me think of this coffee cake again, and I couldn't help the dribble of drool that escaped out of the corner of my mouth.  Sorry for the details there...                                         Anyway, this is a great use for any pumpkin puree you have, whether it's opened already or not.  It's seriously good.  My daughter even made the semi-blasphemous statement that we should probably just replace pumpkin pie with this cake at thanksgiving this year!  That's going pretty far of course, because you know....TRADITION! TRADITION! (Fiddler on the Roof anyone?). But she's right that it is that good.        You should give i...

 Sugar cookies--so buttery and sugary and...well, just super yum.  But who has time for all the work of making sugar cookies?  The dough, the refrigerating, the rolling, cutting, frosting, and decorating....  Blah! Not me!  These bars are our go-to when we need sugar cookies for anything.  And they are a crowd pleaser, let me tell you!  I've had people ask me to make them for wedding receptions.  They are sooo good and sooooooo much easier than making individual sugar cookies.  I don't even remember the last time I made actual sugar cookies because there's really no point anymore when we all love the bars and I love how easy they are.   This recipe is originally from Our Best Bites .  They have great recipes there.  I have tweaked this recipe to my preferences though.   Cookie Ingredients : 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 Tbs. almond extract 3 cups flour, lightly spooned  ...

You know that elusive, best-ever, chocolate chip cookie recipe?  Yeah I don't know where that is because everyone has a different idea of what the best cookie is.  And that's okay!  Variety is the spice of life.  If you don't love what I love, that's fine! I'll judge and think you're crazy, but we will both survive.  You'll go on loving gross cookies, and I'll go on loving the good stuff.  And we will both, somehow, be happy with that.  If you ever want to try the good stuff, it'll be right here for you.  And so will I.  Maybe.  I'm not as forgiving as these best-ever chocolate chip cookies.... INGREDIENTS: 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. kosher salt 3 sticks (or 1 1/2 cups) butter, softened 1 cup granulated suger 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed 2 eggs 1 Tbs vanilla extract 1 cup dark chocolate chips 1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips DIRECTIONS: 1) Preheat oven to 350/375 F....

Just a warning: you might go into a sugar coma if you make these, because they are VERY hard to stop eating, even though they are really rich! Ingredients BROWNIES: 1 cup plus 3 tbs. butter 3/4 cup cocoa powder 4 large eggs 2 cups sugar 1 & 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract 2/3 cup chocolate chips   FROSTING: 8 tbs butter, softened 2 & 2/3 cup powdered sugar 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tbs to 1/4 cup milk 1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted Directions 1. Heat oven to 350 F.  In a saucepan, melt butter.  Stir in sugar and cocoa, then remove from heat and allow to cool.  In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Once chocolate mixture has cooled a bit, crack eggs into chocolate mixture and quickly mix in with fork or whisk (don't let the eggs cook on the warm mixture!) 2. Add vanilla to chocolate mixture, then combine flour mixture with chocolate mixture.  Fold in ...

These cookies are so good!  I don't usually like no-bake that much, but these are way yummy.  And not overly sweet.  The recipe I adapted to fit what I wanted called for 2 cups of sugar.  These have half of that and more chocolate flavor because there is twice as much cocoa powder (hence the dark chocolate).  Rich and tasty, without making you sick! (always a bonus in my book)  Plus there's protein from the milk and peanut butter, lots of fiber from the oats, and healthy fats from the coconut oil.  They're practically not even a dessert once you add all those things together, so bon appetit ;)  Ingredients: 1 cup sugar (could try honey or agave!) 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup coconut oil 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats 1/2 cup peanut butter (I prefer Adam's crunchy peanut butter) 1 Tbs vanilla extract 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup-3/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (optional) Directions: 1. Prepare a baking sheet...

Ingredients:  2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups sugar 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (OR 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp. cloves) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup canned pumpkin 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 cups finely chopped (or shredded) peeled apples TOPPING: 1/4 cup sugar pinch salt 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional) Directions: In a large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Combine sugar and butter, whipping until fluffy; add one egg at a time, incorporating fully before adding the next one.  Add pumpkin to wet ingredients.  stir in dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples. Fill greased & floured or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. For topping, combine sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle cho...

M&M Chocolate Chip Blondies ingredients: 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 stick butter, melted 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 1/3 cup M&M's (optional) directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 8X8 pan with cooking spray. I used a glass Pyrex dish. 2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl-flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside. 3. In a medium bowl, stir together the melted butter and brown sugar. Stir until smooth. 4. Add in the egg and stir. Next, stir in the vanilla. Stir until smooth. 5. Add the flour mixture and stir until the ingredients are combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and M&M's. 6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the blondies for 23-25 minutes, until the blondies are set. A toothpick will come out clean when they are done. Let the blondies cool on a rack. When cool, cut and...

3 Tbs. canola oil 3 to 4 Tbs. sugar 1/3 to 1/2 cup popcorn Salt Heat oil in large pot with handles until oil is really hot, almost smoking.  While oil heats up, combine popcorn and sugar in a bowl.  When oil is hot enough, add sugar & popcorn, and stir around in pot to make sure sugar doesn't clump.  If your heat is on high, you might want to turn it down just a little to prevent burning.  Place lid on pot and slide pot back and forth over burner quickly to help unpopped popcorn kernels reach the bottom and also to prevent sugar from burning to the bottom.  As soon as popping slows down, remove pot from heat and take off the lid.  Add salt as you stir popcorn, and dump the popcorn into serving bowl ASAP to get it out of the hot pot.  Every stove is different, so don't get discouraged if you burn the first couple of batches!  Just play with the temperatures a bit, and you'll figure it out.  I've had several people tell me this is the ...

Fresh Peach Pie - Delicious for a summer dessert. I forgot to put in the nutmeg, but it tastes good either way. I cheated with a pre-made pie crust. It doesn't take too long to skin the peaches if you cut them in half and put a couple at a time in a few inches of boiling water. Leave them in 5-10 seconds (until the skin slips off easily) then put them in cold water to cool them down. I added a few ice cubes to speed the process because Florida water out of the tap doesn't really get that cold. Make sure you leave time for it to set in the fridge to firm up. Ingredients: 1 9 inch pie shell baked - I used the deep dish kind 1 cup of white sugar 1/2-1 c water 4 Tbs corn starch 1/4 c butter or marg. 2 c of fresh peaches, pitted, skinned and mashed 1/4 tsp nutmeg - optional 1 tsp vanilla 4 cups peaches - pitted skinned and sliced 1/4 cup lemon juice pinch of salt Directions 1. Combine sugar, water, cornstarch, butter, mashed peaches and nutmeg in a saucepan. Cook over med heat un...

This cake is soooo moist and delicious!  I actually didn't even have the right chocolate (just regular semi-sweet, not dark) and it STILL tasted awesome!  I can't wait to try it with the dark chocolate :)  By Chef Tyler Florence Ingredients 2 1/2 cups cake flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 cups sugar 3 1/2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet dark chocolate, melted and cooled 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups cold water Chocolate Chip Butter Cream, recipe follows Dark chocolate shavings, for decoration Directions Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl,  sift  together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled chocolate and vanilla and beat for 3 minutes to incorporate. Beat in the  eggs  one at a t...

I'm a big scone lover, and these are amazing !!  The recipe is from one of my favorite food network chefs, Tyler Florence.  I think the glaze really makes them pop with flavor. Ingredients Blueberry  Scones: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones 1 cup fresh blueberries Lemon  Glaze : 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted 1 lemon,  zest  finely grated 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Directions Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Sift  together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a  pastry blender , cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy  cream . Fold everything together just to incorporate; d...

Ingredients 3/4 cup raisins 2 tablespoons dark rum -( I use a tsp of almond extract) 3/4 cup white basmati rice ( this is the rice I used, but try substituting with any white rice and see what you think) 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 5 cups half-and-half, divided- (It is very rich. I use the Fat free half and half, but it is plenty good with half milk half cream) 1/2 cup sugar 1 extra-large egg, beaten 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract Directions Combine the rice and salt with 1 1/2 cups water in a medium heavy-bottomed stainless steel saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stir once, and simmer, covered, on the lowest heat for 8 to 9 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed. (If your stove is very hot, pull the pan halfway off the burner.) Stir in 4 cups of half-and-half and sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, until the rice is very soft. Stir often, particularly toward the end. Slowly stir in the beaten egg and continue to cook for 1 minute. Off the heat, add the rem...

Here's the recipe for the jello salad I used at the reunion. I've been getting a lot of delicious recipes from http://www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com. Jonna was in my home ward for a time. I just copied & pasted this right from her blog: This jello pudding recipe, is quick, easy & delicious. The thing I like about this recipe, is you can use any flavor of jello & use any fruit you like. I’ve used raspberry jello with frozen raspberries & huckleberries in this picture. It’s really good with orange jello, pineapple chunks & mandarin oranges as well. I also like to sprinkle the top with nuts, before serving. Use your imagination! YOU WILL NEED: 1 Small package of Raspberry jello 1 Small pkg. vanilla pudding (not instant) 2 1/2 c. water 9 ounce Cool Whip 2 cups frozen raspberries, optional 1 cup huckleberries, optional (Use any flavor jello & fruit you like) Orange jello with mandarin oranges is very good Bring to boil jello, pudding, and water. Cool co...

I am not sure of the name of this one so I made it up. I got the recipe from a lady in our ward. I have had it a couple of times at her house. It is super simple and quick and I needed a pot luck dish to take to a party. 1 c Caro Syrup 1 c white sugar 1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 c) Stir together, bring to a boil for 2 minutes. In a large bowl combine: 6 c rice check cereal 6 c golden graham cereal 1 c coconut 1/2 c sliced almonds Pour the syrup over the cereal mix and stir until coated. Spread out on 2 large greased cookie sheets and let cool. Enjoy

Cherry Fudge Cake Serves: 12 1 package devil's food cake mix 1 can cherry pie filling 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup milk 5 tablespoons butter 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350°. Beat cake mix, pie filling, eggs, and almond extract for 1 minute. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 27-30 minutes. Bring sugar, milk and butter to a boil. Boil 1 minute, stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Spread over warm cake.

This is way too delicious! 2 T. butter 2/3 c. light corn syrup 1 10 oz. pkg milk chocolate chips 1 tsp. vanilla 3 c. mini marshmallows 8 c. Golden Graham cereal Melt butter, corn syrup, choc chips over low heat in large pan. Once all melted smooth, stir in vanilla. Remove from heat and add cereal. Toss to coat. Add marshmallows and toss to coat. If you like the marshmallows a little melted, place back onto the warm burner while stirring. Press into buttered 9x13" pan and cool.

My sister-in-law has this recipe on her blog. I made it again last night and thought I should share this sinfully delicious dessert with you via blog :) Ingredients: 1 pkg. brownie mix (I prefer Ghirardelli's triple chocolate brownie mix) 1/2 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup peanut butter 2 1/2 cups Rice crispy cereal Bake brownies according to package directions and BE SURE to NOT OVERCOOK them. Let them cool off a bit. In the meantime, melt chocolate chips (slowly, over very low heat), and add peanut butter to the melted chips. Once the peanut butter is thoroughly mixed into the chocolate, add the cereal and stir until it's well coated. Dump mixture over brownies and spread it out evenly over the brownies. Let cool on the counter, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool. Enjoy, but try not to eat the whole pan yourself! (My sister-in-law does a layer of melted marshmellows between the brownies and rice crispy mixture, but I like it better w...

I just helped with a luncheon for our Stake R.S. conference today. Here are two things we served that were yummy. Snickers Cake 1 chocolate cake mix 1 14 oz bag caramels 1/3 c. milk 1/2 c. butter 1 cup chocolate chips 1/2 c. nuts, chopped 1 c. shortening 1 lb. powdered sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. butter flavoring (you don't necessarily have to use this) 3-4 Tbsp milk 1 c. miniature chocolate chips Mix cake according to package directions. Pour 1/2 of batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Melt caramels, milk and butter. Pour over baked cake. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Spread with remaining cake batter. Bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. Increase oven to 300 degrees and bake an additional 10 minutes. When cool, prepare frosting; Beat together shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla and butter flavoring. Stir in enough milk to reach desired consistency. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread over cooled cake. Makes 18 servings.

4 cups crushed pretzels 4 tablespoons sugar 3/4 cup butter or margarine 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar 1 12-ounce carton whipped topping (Cool Whip) 1 -16 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well (optional) 1 6-ounce package raspberry gelatin (Kevin's used strawberry the last few times) 2 cups boiling water 1 -10 ounce bag frozen raspberries (Obviously, use strawberries if you use strawberry gelatin) DIRECTIONS: Topping: Add 2 cups boiling water to Jello; mix well. Add raspberries to jello. Cool Jello mixture in fridge until thick. Crust: Melt butter; add sugar. Crush pretzels with rolling pin and add to butter mixture. Press into bottom of greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees; cool well. Filling: Combine cream cheese and 1 cup sugar (and pineapple here, we like to use it); beat well. Add Cool Whip; spread over cooled crust. Pour or spoon thickened jello mixture over cream cheese mixture and set until firm. Cover with foil & refri...

You better have a lot of apples on hand when you make this, because you'll want to eat ALL of it! You will need: 8 oz. Cream cheese 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 Tsp. Vanilla extract 3/4 cup Heath toffee bits Mix all ingredients together, slice up some granny-smith apples (any will work, but I prefer the tartness and crispness of granny-smiths), and dip to your heart's (or stomach's) content!