Cake Batter Rice Krispies

I've been in planning mode for my daughter's 4th birthday party. People who know me well will tell you that I am definitely a planner. I had Lady H's first AND second birthday party planned before she even made it out of the womb, so I usually plan well in advance. Of course, now as she and I are getting older, the planning has toned down a bit. I'm down to planning only a few months ahead instead of 6-9 months ahead. :)

This year, I'm thinking that we may go with primary colors and lots of sprinkles and funfetti things. I mean, who doesn't like sprinkles? When I saw these Cake Batter Rice Krispies I knew that they would be perfect for the party. Not only is there the festiveness (is that a word?) of the sprinkles, there is also a really nice, subtle cake batter taste.  Kids of all ages love Rice Krispie Treats...and sprinkles. 

Cake Batter Rice Krispies

Recipe from Gimme Some Oven

3 tablespoons butter

1 (10 oz.) bag of mini marshmallows

1/3 cup dry yellow cake mix

5 cups crispy rice cereal

1 (1.75 oz.) container of sprinkles

Grease a baking dish. I use a 9x9 pan because I like my Krispies thick, but you can also use a 13x9.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add the marshmallows. Stir them until they begin to melt and then add the dry cake mix. Stir in the rice cereal and continue stirring until cereal is coated with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix together. Press into the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining sprinkles. Let sit about 30 minutes or so before cutting.

Snickerdoodle Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I love cinnamon, so when I saw this Snickerdoodle cake on Always with Butter it immediately went on my "to bake" list.  I save layer cakes for special occasions and a couple of weeks ago we were invited over to a friend's house for dinner. I, of course, volunteered to bring dessert. This cake was the first thing that came into my brain...and I'm glad it did. 

I only changed one thing about this cake. Instead of making the brown sugar buttercream that the original recipe uses, I whipped up some cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Cinnamon + cream cheese = crazy good.

Snickerdoodle Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake recipe from Always with Butter

For cake:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 sticks of butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour two cake pans, set aside.

Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt and the cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla. 

Add dry mixture, alternating between the milk in three batches.

Bake for 35-38 min.

For the Frosting:

2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

6 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese until combined and smooth. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Add the powdered sugar and beat on a low speed until it is all combined. Turn mixer on high until frosting is smooth and spreadable. 

Frost cake and enjoy!!

Serves 8-12; depending on how you slice it! :)

Raspberry Creme Fauxreos

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I've made homemade oreos before, but I thought for Valentine's Day I would put a special twist on these already delicious sandwich cookies. By adding just 3 tablespoons of seedless raspberry jam to Smitten Kitchen's already fabulous recipe, the filling for these cookies was definitely kicked up a notch. Plus, I like the pink hue that the jam gives the filling. I think it looks really nice against the dark chocolate cookie. If you like the combination of raspberry and chocolate (and who doesn't really) and you like sandwich cookies, I highly suggestion you make these.

Raspberry Creme Fauxreos (Homemade Oreos)

Recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the cookies:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted & at room temp.

1 egg, large

For the filling:

1/4 cup butter, unsalted & at room temp.

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 tablespoon of seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 375.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar until combined. While on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue mixing until the dough comes together in a mass.

Take rounded teaspoons of cookie dough and place on a parchment lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets aside on a rack to cool.

For the filling, place the butter and shortening in a mixing bowl and mix on low speed. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and raspberry jam. Turn the mixer on high and beat for about 2 minutes until the filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, place filling in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip and pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream onto the center of a cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched. 

This made around 20 sandwich cookies for me.

Enjoy!

Pizza Dip

I have been wanting to make this pizza dip forever. I found it on Pinterest a while back and I've been waiting for an occasion to make it. Since the Super Bowl is coming up next weekend, I thought this would be a perfect appetizer for a Super Bowl party. 

It really is delicious. I cut up some French bread that I bought at the grocery store, which was perfect for holding an ample amount of dip. I also used turkey pepperoni because that's what I had on hand. 

Pizza Dip

Recipe from closetcooking

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese, divided

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup pizza sauce

2 ounces of pepperoni, sliced

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the softened cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and the Parmesan cheese in a mixing bowl and the spread it across the bottom of a oven-safe dish. I used a 9-inch pie plate.

Spread pizza sauce on top and then sprinkle on the other 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Now is the time to add any other toppings you would like, such as mushrooms, peppers, olives, etc. I then added just a few additional slices of pepperoni on the top for presentation purposes.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the sides of the dip are bubbling and the cheese on top has melted and turned a golden brown.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

So Valentine's Day is coming up and it's time to start thinking about treats. Honestly, I'm not one of those girls that make a big deal over Valentine's Day. I don't need extra chocolate around me, flowers bore me, and restaurants are annoyingly overcrowded, so Mr. Bites and I usually don't do anything. I do, however, bake for the occasion. I found these brownies in my new King Arthur Cookbook that I got for Christmas. The combination of raspberry and chocolate just screams Valentine's to me.  

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

Recipe from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion Cookbook

1 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup raspberry jam

1 teaspoon of raspberry flavor (optional)

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs, large

1 cup chocolate chips

For the raspberry fudge glaze:

1/4 cup raspberry jam

3/4 cup chopped semisweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips)

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon raspberry flavor

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, cocoa, sugar, salt, jam, and flavor. Stir in the flour, eggs, and chips. Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan and spread the batter out until it's even.

Bake the brownies for 28-32 minutes, until a cake tester is inserted into the center and comes out clean; the brownies will probably look slightly wobbly in the middle. Cool them for at least 1 hour before glazing.

For the glaze, combine all the ingredients and cook over low heat, or in the microwave, until the chocolate and butter are melted. Stir until smooth and spread over the cooled bars. Cool for several hours before cutting the brownies with a knife that you've run under hot water.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen brownies cut into 2x2-inch bars. I cut mine larger, so I got about 15-18 brownies.

Orange Muffins

It has been dreary, gloomy, and raining non stop here in NE Tennessee. I feel like I haven't seen the sun in FOREVER!!! I had to do something to brighten our day around here, so I made these orange muffins. I saw them a while back on Annie's Eats and I made sure to bookmark them for later baking. These are really awesome muffins. They are sweet and light and have a nice hint of orange. And for the love of Pete, don't forget the orange glaze! Talk about taking something to the next level. 

Orange Muffins

Recipe from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather via Annie's Eats

For the muffins:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup orange juice (I used freshly squeezed)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs, large

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

3 1/2 cup flour

1cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

The zest of 1 orange

For the glaze:

1/4 cup orange juice (again, I used freshly squeezed)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 teaspoons orange zest

Preheat the oven to 350.

Line two 12 cup muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs and melted butter. Whisk together to blend. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir to blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the orange zest with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack placed over a baking sheet or parchment paper.

To make the glaze, combine the orange juice, powdered sugar, and orange zest in a small bowl. Whisk together until smooth, adding more juice if necessary to achiever your preferred consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins while they are warm. Allow the glaze to set before serving. Store the muffins in an airtight container.

Made 2 dozens muffins for me. 

Gingersnap Cookies

I love a good cookie. My favorite kind of cookie is a slightly crispy, slightly chewy cookie. I could go Rachel Ray here and make up a word, like say "crewy" or "chispy" cookie, but it annoys me when she makes up words, so I won't go there. 

These ginger cookies I found in my Martha Stewart Cookie Book are up there with my favs. They have a nice flavor and a nice crisp texture with a slight chew to them. I think they would be great as a sandwich cookie, with maybe some lemon buttercream filling between them.  Mmmmmm, chispy.

Gingersnap Cookies
recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, unsalted & room temp.
1/4 cup veg. shortening
2 cups sugar
2 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 large egg, beaten


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Sil-pat.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening, and 1 cup of the sugar on medium speed.  In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger.

Add maple syrup to butter mixture and beat until combined.  Beat in egg until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture, a little at a time, until well blended.

Place remaining cup of sugar in a bowl. Measure 2 teaspoons of dough out and then roll into a ball. Roll dough in the sugar and then transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Space balls about 3 inches apart and bake until golden, about 10-12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Makes about 2 dozen.