Cake Balls

If you've been around the food/cooking/baking blog community, I'm sure that you're familiar with Bakerella.  Her beautiful treats are works of art and her Cake Pops are especially lovely.  If you're not familiar, go ahead and check out her website, I'll wait...

 

Pretty cute, right?  Did you see the reindeer ones for Christmas?  So, cute!  Why can’t I have that talent?

 

Anyway, I've wanted to make Cake Pops for awhile and finally got around to doing it a few weeks ago.  However, I didn't have any sticks, so mine were Cake Balls.  I followed Bakerella's directions located here and my Cake Balls were a success!  Not only were they easy to make, but boy, were they good.  They reminded me of kind of a Ho-Ho, with their firm coating and soft inside.  One thing to remember though is to make sure your chocolate coating stays warm and melty…otherwise, it will start to thicken up and you’ll have lumpy balls.  Ha!

 

Smooth, pretty balls.

 

Bumpy, ugly balls.

 

Mmmm, Cake Balls!

 

On a side note, when I was making these Cake Balls I could not stop thinking of the Saturday Night Live skit called, "Schweddy Balls."  In fact, I giggled for a good hour while making them (I have a high level of maturity).  You've seen the skit, right?  It's good old Saturday Night Live humor and though slightly inappropriate...it's hilarious!  And just incase you haven't, here it is. 

 

Enjoy the video clip and enjoy these Schweddy Balls...I mean, Cake Balls!

 

Cake Balls by Bakerella

Ingredients

• 1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake) – I used Devil’s Food
• 1 can frosting (16 oz.) – I used Vanilla
• 1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
• wax paper

Directions

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting.
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet.
4. Chill for several hours.
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm.

**See Bakerella’s website for detailed instructions and prettier balls! **

Decadent Peanut Butter Pie

Well, well, well...look who it is!  It's me!  I'm back from my blogging hiatus!  Isn't that exciting?  Since the end of February, I've been traveling a lot for work, but over the past week I have been home and making some good recipes.  To make up for my absence, I'm starting off with a recipe that will knock your socks off, so here we go...

First of all, I love peanut butter.  It is my favorite food.  I've asked (and received) peanut butter for Christmas.  I think it's delicious.  I have a jar in my desk at work.  And I've been know to eat spoonfuls straight out of the jar.  It completes me.  When I first saw this recipe, I knew that I was destined to make it. 

Man 'o man, this pie did not disappoint us.  It is rich in it's peanut butter and chocolate flavor, but also light at the same time.  With a filling made of cream cheese and cool whip, it doesn't leave you feeling weighed down...just thoroughly peanut butter satisfied.  Usually I would use light cream cheese, but I didn’t want to risk changing the texture of the pie, so I used regular.  However, I did use “light” Cool Whip because as you all know, if you use at least one “light” item in your baking, it cancels out the calories of everything else.  No joke.  It’s a true story.  Also, as you'll see from the pictures, I added chopped up Reese's Peanut Butter cups to the top of the pie because really...why not?  If you’re a peanut butter nut like me, go make this pie and then enjoy every single bite of it.  That’s what I’m going to go do now! 

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Ummm…YUM!

Jif’s Decadent Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients

• 1 cup Jif Creamy Peanut Butter, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (12 oz.) container (4 1/2 cups) frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
• 1 prepared chocolate pie crust
• 1 (11.75 oz.) jar Smucker's Hot Fudge Ice Cream Topping, divided

Directions

1. BEAT together 1 cup peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium, until well combined. Gently mix in 3 cups whipped topping until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into pie shell. Using a spatula, smooth mixture to edges of pie.
2. RESERVE 2 tablespoons of hot fudge topping into the corner of a resealable food storage bag; set aside. Microwave remaining topping on HIGH (100% power) for 1 minute. Stir. Spread topping over pie, covering entire peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until set. Spread remaining whipped topping (1 1/2 cups), over hot fudge layer, being careful not to mix the two layers.
3. CUT a small corner from bag containing topping. Squeeze bag to drizzle topping over pie. Place remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter in a resealable food storage bag; cut bag corner and squeeze to drizzle in opposite direction from topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The Best Chocolate Cake in the Whole World!

Ladies and gentlemen, do I have a recipe to share with you!  I've been holding onto this recipe for years...just waiting for the right time to make it.  Last week, we were having friends over for dinner and I needed a dessert to make.  While looking through the cabinets, I stumbled upon my Bundt pan and I knew, it was time to make this cake.  Holy moley, I don't know why I waited so long to make it, but boy, am I glad that I did!!

 

This cake is the most chocolaty cake I've ever had in my life.  And I am absolutely, 100% in love with it.  Not only is it chocolate cake, but it's got chocolate pudding mix and chocolate chips inside, and it's covered with chocolate glaze.  Oh yea!  What's not to love about that?  This cake is wonderful at room temperature, but for more decadence, put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  It's Heaven, I tell you.  Pure Heaven.  Even Jeremy, who isn't a fan of cake, said, "This is amazzzing!"  Plus, when I told him that I was going to make us one every week, he gladly said, "Sounds good to me!"  Make this cake now.  You will not regret it (though your hips just might!).

 

Enjoy!

Pre-glazed.

 

Post-glazed.

 

Pre-getting in my belly!

Chocolate! Chocolate!  Chocolate!  Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze, by Food.com

Ingredients

• 1 (18 1/4 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (4 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze

• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 -3 tablespoons hot water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°, grease and flour bundt pan, set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix and chocolate chips.
3. In another bowl, combine water, eggs, and vanilla mixing well.
4. Add egg mixture to dry mixture and mix with spoon until just blended.
5. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until cake tests done when wooden pick in center comes out clean.
6. Cool 15 to 20 minutes before removing cake from pan.
7. For Chocolate Glaze: Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix with spoon until smooth.
8. When completely cool, drizzle cake with Chocolate Glaze.

Applesauce

One food that makes me think of fall is apples.  I love apples!  Gala apples are my favorite.  They are sweet and crisp, and I buy them in 10lb bags from Sam’s Club.  Since I was away from home for a few weeks, I didn’t have a chance to eat many apples and I was worried they weren’t going to survive much longer.  So, I needed an easy recipe to use up my apples…and that is were this delicious recipe comes into play!

I Googled “applesauce” and this was the first recipe that came up.  I honestly had no idea that applesauce was so easy to make!  I cut up some apples, added some sugar and spice and ta-da, 20 minutes later, I had applesauce.  Who knew!?  The Gala apples are wonderful to use in this recipe because of their natural sweetness and I subbed brown sugar for white.  I took a taste-test bite after I mashed up the apples and boy-oh-boy, warm homemade applesauce is mighty delicious!  Jeremy even said, “Ya know, this is better than the store bought, jar kind.”  That it is, Jeremy.  That it is.

Enjoy!

My beautiful Gala apples.

 

Delicious!

Homemade Applesauce

Printer-friendly Version

Ingredients

• 4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped (I didn’t peel mine and it was still good!)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

Crack Brownies

Hi there, blog readers!  I hope you are all doing well, and I hope that none of you are on a diet.  If you are on a diet, I beg you, please, please, please look away right now!  I’m not joking.  The recipe that is soon to follow is not for those trying to watch your waistline.  It’s part brownie, part rice krispie treat and part peanut butter cup.  You will not be able to eat just one!  Not looking away?  Well, alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Mmmm.  I came across this recipe for “Better-Than-Crack Brownies” on a blog that I read and the minute I saw the picture I just knew that I had to make them.  I’m not even that big of a fan of brownies or rice krispie treats…however, put them together with a layer of peanut butter cups in between and you’ve won me over.

Jeremy asked me to make a dessert for him for the week, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try this recipe.  Sadly though, he wasn’t crazy about this recipe.  He said it was “too peanut buttery.”  Excuse me?  Did my husband really just say that?  I think I was in shock for a few minutes after those words came out of his mouth.  How did I marry someone who doesn’t share my love/obsession with peanut butter?  I don’t think that anything can ever be “too peanut buttery,” especially when paired with chocolate.  Oh well, more for me then. 

This brownies are very rich, but I love that the rice krispies add a bit of lightness and crunch to them.  They are so delicious!  The evening after I made these, we went to dinner and movie with our friends, Jayla.  I brought us each a “Better-Than-Crack-Brownie” to sneak into the theater and they loved them.  I even ended up given them extras.  Being so delicious and having the word “crack” in their name, the brownie’s name somehow got shorten and by the end of dinner, Jeremy and Jayla were calling me a crack dealer who was sneaking crack brownies into the theater, in my purse.  Good thing the cops weren’t around.  I have a feeling that our conversation about crack brownies could have sounded a bit suspicious. :)

Enjoy!  

 

 

Ingredients.

 

 

Cooling.

 

So good!

Crack Brownies, adapted from How Sweet It Is 

• 1 batch box brownies
• 1/2 cup salted almonds
• 3/4 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups
• 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 2 cups cups Rice Krispies Cereal

1. Mix brownies according to directions, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Remove and top with peanuts and peanut butter cups, and bake for 4-6 minutes more.
2. While they are finishing baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Stir in cereal. Remove brownies from oven and evenly pour chocolate mixture over top.
3. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
4. Cut, eat and use serious self control to avoid eating half the pan.

Ice Cream Pie

Yum, yum, yum!  This is the new favorite dessert in our house.  I’ve made it twice in the last 3 weeks.  I came across the idea for this dessert on the Eat Better America website and thought that it’d be perfect for summer! 

I made it for the first time when my family came up to visit and it was so good, that Jeremy requested it again for when Jayla came over last week.  Speaking of Jeremy, I have a cute story about this recipe.  When I first told him that I was going to make an ice cream pie for dessert, Jeremy gave me a confused look and said, “But won’t the ice cream melt in the oven?”  Ah ha ha, cute, huh?  I explained that I wouldn’t actually be baking it  and he still seemed skeptical, but I think I convinced him that it’s good.

So, my inspiration for this ice cream pie was from this Healthified Turtle Ice Cream Cake.  I actually had all the intentions of following that recipe, but then I thought, “Well, there is premade Oreo crust at the store, so why should I make my own?”  Then, I asked Jeremy if he wanted a different kind of ice cream than vanilla and he wanted strawberry.  Personally, I was thinking Cookies ‘n Cream or Coffee would be excellent, but he’s not a fan of those.  Really, this recipe is more of a method.  Use whatever kind of ice cream you like.  Use a graham cracker crust instead of Oreo.  Add as much hot fudge as you want.  Or substitute butterscotch topping.  Use peanuts instead of pecans.  Or whatever.  You get the idea.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

Eat me!

Sara’s Ice Cream Pie

• 1 store bought Oreo cookie pie crust
• 2 - 3 cups reduced fat chocolate ice cream, slightly softened
• 2- 3 cups reduced fat strawberry ice cream, slightly softened
• 1/2 cup Sugar free hot fudge topping
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• Sugar-free caramel topping

1. Drop chocolate ice cream by small spoonfuls over crust; carefully spread until smooth. Freeze 1 hour or until firm.
2. Spoon and carefully spread fudge topping over ice cream. Sprinkle with pecans; press lightly. Freeze 1 hour or until firm.
3. Drop strawberry ice cream by small spoonfuls over pecan layer; carefully spread until smooth. Cover; freeze at least 8 hours or overnight.
4. To serve, let stand at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes to soften. Cut into 8- 12 wedges. Place each wedge on individual dessert plate; drizzle each with caramel topping and additional nuts, if desired.

M&M Dream Bars

Hello friends, have you ever thought you blogged a post, only to find out 3 days later that it never went through?  That's what happened to me.  I thought I posted this on Friday, but just realized that it never went through due to a server error!  And here I was thinking that just no one was reading my blog. :)  Well, here is another tasty, sweet treat for you! We had a graduation BBQ at my work last month for those students, that work in our office, who graduated. As usual, I signed up to bring a dessert (does that surprise anyone?).

I’ve made this recipe a couple of times before, as it’s any easy go-to-dessert, plus it’s delicious. The first time I made these bars, I took them to my friend Alli’s parent’s Christmas party (easily jazzed up with red and green M&Ms)…and I’m proud to say that her mom requested the recipe and they are now a yearly additional to the dessert table! :)

These bars are sweet, chocolaty, nutty and are like a big oatmeal cookie! There is a layer of sweet gooiness in the middle that really amps up the recipe from other bars. I love them! They are fabulous…and of course, they were all eaten up by my co-workers!

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Bottom “crust” layer.

Gooey deliciousness.

Right out of the oven.

Mmmm.

  

M&M Dream Bars, by Recipezaar

Ingredients

• 
  
  2 cups oatmeal
• 
  
  1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 
  
  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  
  1/2 cup coconut
• 
  
  1 teaspoon baking soda
• 
  
  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  
  1 cup melted butter
• 
  
  1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 
  
  1/2 cup peanut butter
• 
  
  1 cup M&M' 
• 
  
  1 cup chocolate chips  

Directions

1. Combine oatmeal, brown sugar, flour, coconut, baking soda, and salt; add melted butter and stir until moist (the mixture will be crumbly). Reserve 1 1/2 cups and press remaining crumbs into a greased 13X9-inch baking pan (I line the pan with non-stick foil.). 
2. Bake 12 minutes at 375°F. 
3. Combine milk and peanut butter; carefully spread over baked crust. Sprinkle on M&M's and chocolate chips. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over chocolate pieces and lightly press crumbs down. 
4. Bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting. 

The Most Amazing Carrot Cake

What’s up, doc?

Carrot cake is probably my most favorite cake.  It’s delicious and it’s got carrots in it, so it’s totally healthy and fat free, right? :)  My dad loves carrot cake, so for his birthday last month I baked him one!

This is by far, the best carrot cake  that I’ve ever had!  It’s flavored with the perfect amount of spice and it is filled with carrots (of course), pineapple, coconut and pecans.  Plus, when paired with a cream cheese frosting…oh my…it’s pure heaven! 

I’ve made this recipe a few times and surprisingly, I don’t make any changes to it.  Something weird happened when I made it for my dad though.  I’m pretty sure that I was paying attention and using all the right measurements, but for some reason my batter was very dry and tough to stir.  I added a few tablespoons of skim milk to smooth it out, and the cake turned out fine and delicious…but it was just weird.  I still don’t know what happened.  Oh well.  If you have a carrot cake lover in the family or if you just want to try the most delicious carrot cake on the planet, I recommend this recipe.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

Just call me “Sara Lee.”

After I “fixed” the batter.

Frosting ingredients.

Cooling cakes.

Ta-da!

Mmmm.

Carrot Cake, by Recipezaar

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

Wilton Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan or 2 round 9 inch pans.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; make a well in the center and add sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix with wooden spoon until smooth.
3. Stir in carrots, coconut, walnuts and pineapple. Pour into 9x13 inch pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or in round pans for 35 – 40 minutes.  Don't panic, the centre will sink a little.
4. Allow to cool; when cool, frost the cake.
5. To make the frosting: Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth; add the icing sugar and beat until creamy.

Hawaiian Cake

Boy, do I have a delicious cake recipe for you!  For Easter, Jeremy, Diesel and I went down to my parents house for dinner and you know I was all about making the dessert.  My grandma’s birthday was in a few days, so I thought a cake would be perfect.  More specifically, I thought this cake would be perfect!  My parents just back from a Hawaiian vacation, we’re Hawaiian and it’s delicious.

This cake is very simple to put together and would be great for get togethers or a pot-luck or a birthday celebration.  It is yellow cake, topped with a layer of pudding and pineapple, then frosted with Cool Whip and coconut.  Yummy!  Make this for your next party.  Seriously, it’s a-mazing.

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

 

Pineapple layer.

Frosted.

Ready to eat!

Hawaiian Cake, by Recipezaar

Ingredients

• 1 (18 1/4 ounce) package yellow cake mix

• 3 eggs (or as called for by your cake mix)
• 1/3 cup oil (or as called for by your cake mix)
• 1 1/3 cups water (or as called for by your cake mix)
• 1 1/4 cups cold milk
• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
• 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 8 ounces Cool Whip (standard size)
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted

Directions

1. Prepare and bake the cake according to package directions, using a greased 13 in x 9 in x 2 in baking pan.
2. Cool.
3. In a bowl, whisk together milk and pudding mix; let stand to thicken.
4. Stir in pineapple.
5. Spread over cake.
6. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
7. Beat in 1 cup whipped topping.
8. Fold in remaining topping.
9. Spread over Pudding.
10. Sprinkle with coconut.
11. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

POM Wonderful Chocolate Cupcakes

A few weeks ago, the fabulous people at POM Wonderful sent me a free sample of their pomegranate juice!  Yay!  Have you guys ever tried this stuff?  It’s delicious and the health benefits from it are amazing.  

Here are a few outcomes of numerous studies done by POM Wonderful where patients drank 8oz of POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice daily:

Cardiovascular

• In 13 healthy male volunteers who drank POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice for 2 weeks, the amount of LDL cholesterol oxidation decreased by 20% and antioxidant activity in the blood increased by 9%. Read the study.

Prostate Cancer

• • In a clinical study involving 46 men with rising PSA after prostate cancer treatment (surgery or radiation) who consumed 8 ounces of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice daily over two years, PSA doubling time increased from 15 to 54 months (p <0.001).5 A longer term (6-year) continued evaluation of active sub-group patients showed a further increase in PSA doubling time to 88 months. Read the study.
  * PSA doubling time is an indicator of prostate cancer progression.

Pretty awesome, right?  Major health benefits from such a little bottle.  Anyways, beside just drinking this juice, I wanted to make something with it.  After searching the POM website, I found a chocolate cupcake recipe!  Chocolate cupcakes made with pomegranate juice??  I was intrigued and decided to make it.  The chocolate cupcakes were delicious and had just a hint of pomegranate flavor in them…and of course, they were 100% healthy because of this juice and had zero calories in them (I can’t dream can’t I?). 

Along with the cupcakes, I also found a recipe for cream cheese frosting on the POM website, but I had some issues with it.  It calls for 1 1/2 cups of juice.  That seems like an awful lot for frosting, doesn’t it?  I’ve made many frostings in my day, but never one with so much liquid.  In fact, I only added 1/4 cup of juice because it made the frosting so runny.  There was no way that my frosting was going to turn out like this picture.

 

Has anyone else tried to make this recipe before?  What did I do wrong?  Anyway, it turned out to be more of an icing, so I just dunked the cupcakes in them and viola!  Deliciousness.  Thank you POM Wonderful for sending me some juice.  I already feel healthier! :)

Enjoy!

 

Cupcake ingredients.

Iced cupcakes.

Frosting ingredients.

Mmmmm.

POM Wonderful Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water, heated to boiling
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar (not wine vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F with rack in the center, place a paper baking cup in each of 24 regular sized muffin cups.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients to combine well, in a large measuring cup.
3. Combine pomegranate juice and boiling water.  Add oil, vinegar and vanilla to the pomegranate juice mixture.
4. Add to the flour mixture all at once and whisk to combine (batter will be lumpy).
5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups (about half full), bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and free of crumbs, let cool.

POM Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
• 4 oz. soft unsalted butter
• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 14 oz. powdered sugar

Directions

1. Place butter into electric mixer bowl with paddle attachment and cream on medium-high speed for 1 minute, add the cream cheese and continue to mix for 2 more minutes,
2. Turn the speed down to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar and the pomegranate juice, mix until the sugar is fully combined.
3. Remove icing from the mixer and place into a piping bag with a round or star tip.
4. OR just dunk your cupcake into the runny icing! :)

A Review, a GIVEAWAY & Derby Pie

Boy, this is going to be one packed post!  Bare with me though because it’s good.  I promise.

  First, we have a review!  A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Skin MD Natural asking me if I’d be interested in receiving one of their products and reviewing it.  Heck yea, I would!  I’m so glad that I was able to receive a sample of their Shielding Lotion because this stuff is awesome!

 

Living in AZ for the majority of my life, I’ve always had skin that was more on the dry side.  Ever heard people in AZ say, “Oh, it’s a dry heat?”  Well, they weren’t kidding!  Add winter on top of that and then the fact that I’m always washing my hands…it all leaves me with dry skin.  The first time I used the shielding lotion, my skin was instantly moisturized and soft, and I was surprised that it stayed that way through most of the day!  Plus, the lotion is very light, non-greasy, fragrance free and a little goes a long way.  I love that!  I’ve been using the Shielding Lotion for about a week now and the overall appearance of my skin has improved greatly.  No more rough hands or dry cuticles, just soft, smooth skin.  It’s wonderful!   Check out these cool facts about Skin MD’s Shielding Lotion:

• It’s natural, eco-friendly
• It’s unlike any other conventional, artificial moisturizers because it works with the skin to naturally moisturize and heal
• It helps restore skin's natural protective abilities by bonding to the outer layer of skin, strengthening skins natural barrier against toxins and irritants that can dry the skin, while locking in the
  skin's natural oils
• It’s made in the US, using high quality natural ingredients, making it over 90% all natural
• It’s free of harmful fragrances, parabens, and colorants making it hypoallergenic
• It’s also vegan-friendly and gluten-free

Pretty cool stuff, right?  I highly recommend this lotion to those with dry skin…in fact, let me help you with that: secondly, we have a GIVEAWAY!  I’ll be randomly selecting one lucky reader to win a full size bottle of the Skin Natural MD Shielding Lotion on Tuesday, February 23rd at 12pm AZ time and here’s how you enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me why your skin is so dry.
2. Tweet the following: “@saraboff from Sara’s Sweets is having a Skin Natural MD giveaway and I want to win! http://bit.ly/afPaAA,” then, leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.
3. Blog: If you have a blog of your own, mention my giveaway in a post, then leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.

That’s it!  Good luck!

Lastly, we have a recipe.  A very delicious recipe, I might add.  One of the blogs that I frequent is Iowa Girl Eats.  Kristin has some delicious recipes, plus great tips on exercise and being healthy.  A few months ago, she posted this recipe and I knew that I had to make it! 

Kentucky Derby Pie is basically a chocolate chip cookie pie.  I know, right!  A chocolate chip cookie pie?! = AMAZING!  I followed the recipe to a “t” and it rocked my world.  Stop reading right now, go to the store, buy the ingredients and make this asap!  It is THAT good.

 

Ingredients.

Done baking.

You have to eat it while it’s still warm!  Oh my goodness!

Kentucky Derby Pie, by Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• dash of salt
• 1 frozen deep dish pie crust

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well after each egg. Add vanilla and mix.
2. Combine remaining ingredients into mixture and spoon into pie shell. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Serve warm!

Brownies

Jeremy loves brownies.  I’m not the biggest fan of them, but of course, I’d eat one if it were offered to me.  Unless, of course, there were also cookies.  If I had to pick between cookies and brownies, I’d take cookies in a heartbeat, but that’s not the point.  I was bored one afternoon and asked Jeremy if he would like some brownies.  Sure enough, he said yes, so off to baking I went.

This recipe comes from Recipezaar.com and I’ve actually made these brownies a few time before.  People have always loved them!  They are easy to make, moist and very chocolatey.  Plus, you can add whatever”goodies” you like! (I added nuts and chocolate chips)  In all honesty though…I think they are a little too rich.  I know what you’re probably thinking, “Sara, how can a brownie be too rich?”  Call me crazy, but maybe it just comes down to the fact that brownies wouldn’t be my dessert of choice.  Dont’ get me wrong, they are still good…it’s just that I can’t eat more than a small piece before I'm all chocolated out.  So, if you’re looking for an easy and rich brownie, this is your recipe.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

Right out of the oven.

Milk is necessary with this brownie.

“Whatever Floats Your Boat” Brownies, by Recipezaar

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT

1-2 cup chocolate chips (semisweet, white, butterscotch, peanut butter) or raisins or chopped maraschino cherry or chopped nuts or M&M' or Reese's pieces or miniature marshmallow

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease an 8 inch square pan or line with foil.
3. In a medium bowl combine melted butter and cocoa and stir until cocoa is dissolved.
4. Add sugar and mix well.
5. Add eggs one at a time and stir until well combined.
6. Stir in vanilla, flour and salt until you no longer see any flour (do not overmix).
7. Fold in "WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT"!
8. Spread in pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes.
9. DO NOT OVER-BAKE -- your brownies will come out dry. Adjust time/temp accordingly for your oven. If you do the knife/toothpick test, it should come out with moist crumbs, not clean.
10. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

For double recipe, bake in 9x12 pan and add 5 minutes to baking time.  Makes 16 brownies.

Oreo and Snickers Cheesecake Bars

Every fall at my work (a University), we have an Open House for prospective students and their families.  As part of the days events, we provide a continental breakfast that includes bagels and cream cheese.  For some reason, we always end up with a massive amount of left over cream cheese!  And when I mean massive, I’m taking like a 100 of the little single servings of cream cheese.  Last year, I volunteered to take some because 1) I knew I could find something to make with it, 2) I don’t really buy cream cheese a lot and 3) I could bake something yummy to take into the office!  So this year I did the same and was sent home with a grocery bag full of little cream cheeses.  And what did I make, you ask?

Oreo and Snickers Cheesecake Bars!  Wow-o-wow, these were awesome!  I got the recipe from the Philadelphia Cream Cheese website.  They have a lot of great recipes on this site and they have a cool feature called the Cheesecake Customizer.  In playing with the customizer, I thought to myself, “Self, what would be delicious in cheesecake?  What are some of your favorite treats?”  And my answers were Oreos and Snickers.  Yum-my!  So, I plugged those treats into the customizer, got the recipe and started opening my 32 little cream cheese servings!  Talk about a pain in the butt!  It was worth it though because the bars turned out deliciously and of course, they were gone in an instant at work.  I did manage to grab a piece before it disappeared and I’m glad I did because it was heavenly!

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

My piece!

Sara’s Oreo and Snickers Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups cookie crumbs, OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
• 4 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup sugar

Cheesecake Batter:

• 4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

Batter Flavorings:

• 1 Tbsp vanilla

Mix-In's and Toppings:

• 1 cup mixed into batter and 1/2 cup sprinkled on top Oreo (cookie), coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup mixed into batter and 1/2 cup sprinkled on top Snickers (candy), coarsely chopped

Directions

CRUST: Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Mix Crust ingredients; press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 min.

BATTER: Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Stir in Mix-Ins. Pour over crust.

TOPPINGS: Add Toppings.

BAKING: Bake 40 min or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Oatmeal Scotchies

Mmmm, cookies!  My favorite dessert/sweet treat of all time.  Last night I felt like doing some baking, so I looked into the pantry to see what ingredients I had, and I found a bag of butterscotch chips.  Mmmm, butterscotch.  Butterscotch is delicious, but I feel like it's overlooked a lot.  There are so many recipes with chocolate chips, but are there really many with butterscotch chips?  Not that I know of.  How sad for the delicious butterscotch chips and their goodness.

Anyway, on the back of the butterscotch chip bag was the recipe for these delicious cookies.  Nestles Oatmeal Scotchies.  They are crisp and flavorful and pack a big butterscotch punch.  I was a bit surprised to see cinnamon as an ingredient; however, it was a fabulous flavor combination with the butterscotch.  Jeremy isn't a fan of cookies that aren't what he's used to (so basically anything besides chocolate chip), but I was pleasantly surprised when he said, "Ya know, these cookies are actually pretty good."  That's right, they are good...in fact, they are delicious.

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Cooling on the counter.

Quality control.

Nestle Oatmeal Scotchies

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
• 3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Flavored Morsels

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
2. COMBINE flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. BAKE for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.