Smores Cookie Cups

My dear friend Jen shared this recipe with me over the holidays & I must say if you like S'mores, you will LOVE this tasty little morsels!! It is also a fun recipe for the littles to "help" you with!

(photo credit)

Ingredients:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 large marshmallows, cut in half

2 Hershey's chocolate bars (24 chocolate pieces)

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
3. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough into a greased mini muffin tin. Press dough down into the muffin tin using a spoon or something round so there is a small indent in the dough. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are just golden brown. Remove from oven and gently press a half marshmallow, sticky side down, onto each cookie. Let cool completely.
4. Once cooled, preheat broiler. Place cookies under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they don't burn. Once marshmallows are golden brown, remove from oven and place a piece of chocolate on top of each cookie.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

This strawberry pretzel salad is always a hit at parties & potlucks. It's a strawberry jello dessert that is dangerously good! It's sweet, salty, tart and oh so irresistible!

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 cups finely crushed pretzels
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ cup salted butter, melted

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces Cool Whip

Strawberry Topping:
2 cups boiling water
1 (6-ounce package) Strawberry Jell-O
1½ cups cold water
4 cups sliced strawberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, stir together the pretzel crumbs and sugar. Pour the melted butter over top and stir with a fork until all of the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake for 10 min, then cool completely.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the Cool Whip. Spread evenly over the crust and refrigerate while you prepare the topping.

3. Place the dry Jello in a large bowl and add the boiling water. Stir for at least 2 minutes, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in the cold water. Refrigerate for 1½ hours or until slightly thickened (will the consistency of egg whites). Stir in the strawberries and pour over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or until the Jello layer is set. Cut into squares to serve. Leftovers should be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Pumpkin Bars w/Cream Cheese Frosting

A co-worker of mine brought these delicious bars in for work the other day & they were SO yummy! I begged her for the recipe & she delivered the next day :) Give these a try this fall season - you won't be disappointed!!

Pumpkin Bars
4eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
15oz can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix together in large bowl eggs, oil, sugar, pumpkin & set aside. Sift in bowl the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves & nutmeg. Mix with other ingredients. Pour in greased & floured 10x15" bar pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Frosting
6oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 stick butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 T cream or milk
1 tsp vanilla
Walnuts & pumpkin candy (optional)

Mix cream cheese, butter, milk & vanilla together & the powdered sugar until the right consistence. Frost bars & sprinkle with walnuts. Decorate with pumpkin candy.

Oreo Dessert

(photo credit)

My Aunt brought this yummy dish to a family gathering last summer & it was oh so heavenly! Definitely a great dessert to bring to a potluck or just enjoy for yourself!

Heavenly Oreo Dessert

1 (15.35 ounce) package Double-Stuffed Oreo cookies
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 packages (3.9 ounce, each) Instant Chocolate pudding mix
3 1/4 cups cold milk
2 (8 ounce) containers Cool Whip
1 (8 ounce) block Cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions: Take a large zip-lock bag & place all the Oreo cookies inside. Seal bag shut & place on counter. Using a rolling pin, crush the cookies until they are small chunks/crumbs. You want them to still be chunky & small, but not fine crumbs.

Set aside half of the cookie crumbs for the topping. Pour the other half of cookie crumbs into a 9x13 baking pan. Pour the melted butter over the crumbs & mix well to combine. Once combined, press into the pan to form a crust.

In a bowl, whisk together the 2 pudding mixes & milk. Cover & place in fridge to set.

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Fold in one container of Cool Whip. Spread mixture over the cookie crust. Next, take chocolate pudding & spread over the cream cheese mixture. Spread the other container of Cool Whip over the chocolate pudding layer. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cookie crumbs. Cover & chill in fridge at least 2 hours before serving.
 

Enjoy ♥

School Lunch PB Bars

Does anybody remember eating peanut butter bars in grade school? I totally do. They served them as dessert with school lunches & I always remember thinking that one bar was just not enough!

This recipe is pretty darn close to what we experienced in grade school & it makes an entire cookie sheet full. I can only make them if I have a place to take them & share otherwise me & my husband would be forced to eat the entire pan. I must warn you though, they are kinda dangerous...at least in my chocolate/peanut butter loving world :)

School Lunch PB Bars

1 1/2 C Flour

1¼ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Baking Soda

¾ C Butter

¾ C Sugar

¾ C Brown Sugar

1 ½ tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter (divided)

2 Eggs

1 ½ C Quick Oats

Frosting:

½ C Butter (1 stick)

3 ½ C Powdered Sugar

2 T Cocoa

¼ C Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, 3/4 C peanut butter, eggs & vanilla until light & fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients, just until incorporated. Then, stir in the oats. Spread onto a greased 11 x 15 Jelly Roll Pan (cookie sheet). Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

The frosting is a two step process. First, whip the remaining ¾ C Creamy Peanut Butter until it becomes lighter colored & fluffy. Carefully spread the whipped peanut butter over the pan cookie.

Then, add butter to a small sauce pan & melt the butter. Add the milk & cocoa. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat just until boiling. Remove from heat & add vanilla. Then, gradually add the powdered sugar. Stir until thickened. Pour over the peanut butter & gently spread over the cookie. Cool completely, & slice into bar cookies.

Enjoy :)

Banana Bread Brownies

Banana Bread Brownies
 
Ingredients:
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting:
1/2 c. butter
4 c. powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375F. Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute. Stir in walnuts.

2. Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

4. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting). Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm).

Yield: 2 dozen large bars

PB Cookie Dough Dip

A decadent dip filled with chocolate chips and Reese's PB cups - YUM!!

 

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip
Yield: serves 10-12

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips
8oz pkg Reese's peanut butter cup Minis (or about 1 1/2 cup chopped Reeses cups)
 
Instructions

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add brown sugar and butter. Whisk until completely combined and butter is melted. Bring to a boil, remove from heat. Whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.
 
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with powdered sugar until creamy (about 3-4 minutes. On low, add in brown sugar mixture (that has cooled to near room temp). Mix until combined. Fold in mini chocolate chips and mini Reese's cups. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy with pretzels, animal cracker and graham sticks.

Smores Bars

Oh my - long time no post :( 

Sorry about that - time has gotten away from me yet again. Will try & be better - I promise! I have a few recipes I will be posting on here in the next few days that are "keepers". First up, I made these yummy, gooey morsels for my co-workers this past week & they were definitely a hit!

(photo credit)

Smores Bars

• 1 bag (10.5 oz) miniature marshmallows (5 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (9 oz)
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 box (13 oz) Golden Grahams cereal (8 cups)

Instructions

1. Grease 13×9-inch pan with butter. Reserve 1 cup of the marshmallows. In a large saucepan or microwave melt the chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup and remaining marshmallows over low heat. Stir until completely melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
2. Pour cereal into saucepan. Stir until coated with the melted chocolate mixture. Stir in remaining 1 cup marshmallows.
3. With buttered back of spoon, press mixture in pan. Cool at least 1 hour or until firm. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Bet you can't eat just one ;)

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

I have made these several times & they do not disappoint!! They are like a mini-strawberry cheesecake that you can just pop in your mouth. Trust me, once you make these tasty little morsels, you will thank me :)

 (photo credit)

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

20 strawberries

8 oz pkg softened cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 sleeve of graham crackers

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Rinse strawberries & cut around the top of the strawberry. Remove the top & clean out inside with a paring knife or tip of metal peeler. If you want to stand your strawberries upright slice a bit off the bottom. Once strawberries are prepped set aside.

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar & vanilla with a hand mixer. Add cream cheese mix to piping bag & fill strawberries. Once strawberries are filled, dip the top in graham cracker crumbs. Devour & prepare yourself to fall in love.

You could also drizzle or dip strawberries in chocolate if desired.

*I stored my stuffed strawberries in the fridge although I find they taste best the day, or second after, they are made.

Snicker Salad

Peeked your interests, didn't I?

This strange named "salad" comes from my Aunt Denise as she would often bring it when the family gathered for holiday's or birthdays. It is a dee-lish recipe & one I have made often which is always a hit with whomever eats it! Perfect to take to your own family get-together's this summer!

  

Snicker Salad

1 small package French Vanilla instant pudding

1 cup milk

1 8oz carton Cool Whip

2-3 Granny Smith apples, cut into chunks

4 Snickers bars, cut into chunks

Mix milk & pudding; add Cool Whip. Just prior to serving, fold in the apples & candy bars. Enjoy :)

*FYI: this recipe does not do well as leftovers the next day. The apples turn brown & the Snickers get gooey. Usually it is so yummy that there aren't any leftovesr!

Chocolate Chip Dip

(photo credit)

This dip tastes as good as it looks & your friends will be begging you for the recipe! If you love eating raw chocolate chip cookie dough then you will LOVE this yummy dessert dip! Huge hit for the kids OR adults :) 

Chocolate Chip Dip

8 oz package cream cheese

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

2 T brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup ( 6 oz) miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Graham cracker sticks or honey Teddy Grahams or Vanilla Wafers

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese & butter until light & fluffy. Add the sugars & vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Serve with graham cracker sticks, teddy grahams or vanilla wafers. Yield: 2 cups

Nutritional Facts: 

2 tablespoons (calculated without graham cracker sticks) equals 180 calories, 14 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 31 mg cholesterol, 84 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein.

Skinny Coconut Cupcakes

Last night I hosted our monthly "game night" gathering with the neighborhood ladies which is always a good time. I had a couple of new recipes I have been wanting to try so I thought why not "try" out my new recipes on the girls? They were both a HIT so thought I would share them with you all as well!

First one is "Skinny Coconut Cupcakes". If you are not a fan of coconut then I would suggest you stop reading here & scroll down to the next recipe. If you are a "coconut lover" than proceed - these were yummy!! The second one is: "Baked Sweet Onion Dip" which I served with pita chips & pretzel crisps.

I have yet to share this on my regular blog, but now you all will know. I started Weight Watchers 4 weeks ago & am down 5 lbs so far - yay me :) I just LOVE the website skinnytaste.com. There are all kinds of excellent recipes on there & what is nice is that there are WW points provided for each recipe. So no calculating or trying to figure out how many points you are consuming.

(photo credit)

Skinny Coconut Cupcakes 

For the Frosting:

8 oz 1/3 less fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese (not fat free)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp natural coconut extract

For the Cupcakes:

2 egg whites

1 cup canned light coconut milk (Thai Kitchen)

1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce

2 tsp natural coconut extract

18.25 oz white box cake mix (Duncan Hines)

1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Cadbury mini chocolate eggs (optional)

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese with the powdered sugar & coconut extract with a mixer. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 24 cupcake tins with liners.

In a large bowl combine egg whites, coconut milk, apple sauce & remaining coconut extract. Mix well, then add cake mix and mix until combined.

Pour batter into lined cupcake tins about halfway & bake 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool to room temperature.

Top each cupcake with 1/2 tablespoon of cream cheese frosting, then top each with 1 tsp coconut flakes. For an Easter theme top each cupcake with 3 mini chocolate eggs.

Note: If you make these a day ahead, don't frost them. Keep the frosting refrigerated and frost them the day you plan to eat them.

Skinny Coconut Cupcakes (without Chocolate Eggs)
Servings: 24 • Serving Size: 1 cupcake • WW Points+: 4 pt
Calories: 148.6 • Fat: 4.4 g • Protein: 2 g • Carb: 24.2 g • Fiber: 0.8 g • Sugar: 4.7 g
Sodium: 142.6 mg

Skinny Coconut Cupcakes (with Chocolate Eggs)
Servings: 24 • Serving Size: 1 cupcake • WW Points+: 5 pt
Calories: 196.1 • Fat: 6.4 g • Protein: 2.5 g • Carb: 31.2 g • Fiber: 0.8 g • Sugar: 11.5 g
Sodium: 150 mg