Category Archives: Desserts

Chocolate Chip Pie

Posted on April 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m a Pinterest junkie. If I ever won the lottery, man would my dream house be awesome! And maybe then I could afford a personal trainer from eating all these yummy desserts I see on there!

I try to make things when we are invited somewhere, or when we have friends over. That way I’m not just making myself sick on all the goodness! We recently had a crawfish boil and invited friends over, so I made this chocolate chip pie I had been eyeing. I was unsure of how it would come out because it just didn’t seem to call for much. But I didn’t need to worry, it was delicious! Even my ultra-picky daughter ate it. She popped a pecan into her mouth and as she was doing it she said “what’s this? caramel?” and she ate it before I could tell her. When she found out she ate a pecan she was amazed, her response was “but it was so good!” well yeah, kid! The pie was great eaten as is, but even better heated up with some ice cream and chocolate syrup on top!

Chocolate Chip Pie

Chocolate Chip Pie

Recipe by Bakerella, originally from Nestle

Ingredients:

1 9-inch deep dish pie shell, unbaked
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1.5 sticks butter, softened
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Method:

Preheat oven to 325.

In the bowl of the mixer, beat the eggs until foamy. Beat in the flour and sugars, then the butter.

Stir in the chocolate chip morsels and pecans and spoon into pie shell. Bake 55-60 minutes, then cool on wire rack. Serve warm, with optional ice cream.

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Posted in Desserts, Pie

Browned Butter Frosting

Posted on January 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’ve been making the same pumpkin spice cake with chocolate chips for nearly ten years and until recently always held fast to the belief that it was so good on its’ own that it didn’t need a frosting. It really is, without frosting it goes from cake cake to more of a breakfast cake, fabulous with coffee in the morning. But then one day I thought that it would be good with browned butter, and off I went to find a recipe for browned butter frosting.

I ended up using a recipe from Martha Stewart and it is SO easy. I really love browned butter, it gives food a nutty taste and is so decadent. This frosting was super simple to put together, just make sure you put it on the cake quickly, it sets really fast and will end up looking a little gloppy. Hence the picture of one side of my cake! It was a huge hit despite that, I made it for Thanksgiving and my mother-in-law asked me to make it again for Christmas and for her upcoming birthday. I don’t know about you, but I’d call that a success!

Browned Butter Frosting

Browned Butter Frosting
Recipe from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
4 tbsp butter
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk, depending on desired thickness

Method:

In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat, stirring often. It will start to bubble and brown, let it get a good golden brown and then remove from heat, around ten minutes.

In a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, butter (leave as much sediment in the saucepan as you can), and 1 tbsp milk. Mix until smooth, you may add more milk if needed. Use immediately.

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts, Quick Fix

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Posted on October 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

Towards the end of summer a friend asked if I would want to participate in her fantasy football league. My response? “Haha, NO.” For those that know me well, you know that I’m not sporty. And neither is my husband, I’m forever grateful that I’m not married to someone who makes me watch sports all the time. Yuck! I do enjoy a good sport related party or tailgate, just don’t much want to watch the actual event.

But my friend managed to convince me that it would be FUN. Hmm… we’ll see. I told her that I would only play if I could call it Fancy Football instead. So for our Fancy Football draft party, I showed up wearing pearls and a sparkly shirt made just for the event, and brought “Fancy Football Cupcakes.” Basically, football cupcakes with candy pearls on them. Everyone got a good chuckle out of it. I love my friends

Fancy Football Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Recipe from Savory Sweet Life

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
3.5 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract
4 tbsp heavy cream

Method:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until fluffy. Sift three cups of the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder into the bowl, then turn on the mixer to the lowest speed until they are well blended together. Once it’s all blended, increase the speed and add the remaining ingredients (except for the additional sugar). Beat until fluffy.

Fancy Football Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts

Banoffee Pie

Posted on July 27, 2012 | 1 Comment

So by now you’ve probably figured out that I’m a Pinterest addict. I’ve been seeing recipes for Banoffee Pie on Pinterest for a while, and I repinned them but it was never one of those things I “needed” to make. But it so happened that my friend Jen made this pie to bring to a potluck dinner with friends, she didn’t call it banoffee pie though, just banana caramel pie. And it was amazing.

I fussed at my husband because he didn’t try any that night. He NEVER tries desserts! I tried explaining to him that this is a pie dreams are made of. He was skeptical, being the dessert hater that he is. So last weekend my brother and his girlfriend came to visit and I saw this as my big chance to make The Pie. They loved it and James finally tried a piece, and was hooked. He was so hooked that between last Saturday and today (following Friday), I’ve made the pie three times. Yep. Three. He was excited that I made it last night to try out a store-bought caramel because he said he didn’t have to share it with anyone. And he didn’t really…boy ate half the pie last night!

So yeah, it’s good. If you don’t have room in your life for new addictions, I recommend you don’t try it. But if you do try it, there’s no turning back.

Banoffee Pie

P.S. It calls for boiling cans of sweetened condensed milk for 2-3 hours, but I had stuff to do so yeah, I boiled it for an hour and a half and it was fine. Also, you can buy a can of this stuff (see photo) below and it does the trick in a pinch if you don’t have time to boil the cans. Saves major time.

You can cheat and use this.

Banoffee Pie
Recipe from Jennifer

Ingredients:
1 frozen pie crust, baked and cooled per the instructions
2 ripe bananas, sliced into rounds
1 can caramelized sweetened condensed milk (see instructions below)
Whipped topping
Heath milk chocolate toffee bits (make sure to get the one with chocolate on it – found near chocolate chips)

Method:

To caramelize the sweetened condensed milk, remove the labels from the cans (though you only need one for a pie, it’s easy to do several at a time – they will keep for ages in the fridge if unopened!) but do not open the can. Place the cans in a large stockpot and fill with water, so the tops of the cans are covered by an inch or two of water. Cover and boil for 2-3 hours (or an hour and a half like me) making sure the water is covering the tops of the cans at all time. Do not let the water evaporate to where the cans aren’t covered. Allow the cans to cool before handling – they will be HOT! Once completely room temperature you can open them, but not before that because they could explode!

This is what mine looked like.

Layer the bananas in the pie shell, then pour the caramelized condensed milk over the top, making an even layer on top of the bananas. Cover with whipped topping, then sprinkle on the Heath bar bits and refrigerate until ready to serve!

Banoffee Pie – Before

Banoffee Pie – After

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Posted in Desserts, Pie

Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing

Posted on June 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

My name is Christen and I’m a peanut butter addict. I come by my addiction honestly, it seems to be genetic. My dad and brother both share my love for this sweet condiment. As soon as I conjured up the plans to make this cake, I was thinking about how perfect it would be as a Father’s Day dessert.

I actually tried a new cake recipe to go with the icing, but it was nothing to write home about. I’m yet to find a homemade cake recipe that I like, I find the box mixes are just more moist. If you have a good homemade one then let me know, I’ll try it out. But in the meantime, I’ll just keep making this fabulous icing and slapping it on my box mix cakes

Special Note: I doubled the recipe for the icing/frosting. Below is the doubled recipe.

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing

Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing
Recipe from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:
2.5 cups powdered sugar
2 cups creamy peanut butter (I used Planters brand)
2 sticks butter, softened/room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup heavy cream

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer. Mix on medium-low speed until well-mixed and fluffy. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Spread on cake as desired.

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Posted on June 6, 2012 | 1 Comment

Yesterday my daughter and I went with some friends to pick blueberries. E was very excited about it, but being a 3-year-old I didn’t have great expectations of the day going well. She’s just not one with nature. She takes after her mama! Surprisingly, she totally embraced blueberry picking and didn’t want to leave, she kept saying “I’m not done!” when I would try to guide her to the car. All in all, we picked one gallon of fresh, sweet blueberries.

My Blueberry-Picking Cowgirl!

On the ride home, she was super excited about doing something with our blueberries. We decided things like cake, muffins, scones and yogurt covered blueberries would be made, and we would also freeze some. By the way, if you plan to freeze fresh blueberries, don’t wash them first. Anyway, after looking at Pinterest’s “blueberry” search results, I decided on this Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake. It was easy to make and the flavor was superb! I just love when you combine blueberry and lemon, what a great flavor combo! The only thing I can say bad about it is that mine was a bit crumbly, I’m going to cut back the flour a little next time and see what happens. I’ll definitely make it again though, the cake didn’t even make it to breakfast, it was half gone before dinnertime!

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Recipe from Alexandra’s Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
zest from one large lemon
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 additional tbsp sugar (for sprinkling on top)
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour (see my comments above, I’d go with maybe 1 and 3/4)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry
1/2 cup buttermilk

Method:

Preheat oven to 350.

Using a mixer, cream together the butter, lemon zest and sugar. Once fluffy and mixed, add in the egg and vanilla, beat just till mixed.

Toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup flour. In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of the flour, salt and baking powder.

Slowly add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the butter mixture, alternating each one just a little at a time. Fold in the flour-coated blueberries.

Spread batter into a greased 8×8 pan and sprinkle that reserved tablespoon of sugar over the top. I didn’t use a whole tablespoon, but that’s your choice. Bake 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving.

What one gallon of blueberries looks like!

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Posted in Breakfast, Cakes and Cookies, Desserts

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Posted on May 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Did you know yesterday was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day? Apparently everything gets its’ day. So you know, I had to SACRIFICE and make a batch, since it was that day and all. Of course I had two three-year-olds at my house, so they happily went along with the plan.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, it was really simple and delicious. The cookies were so soft and fluffy, I’m embarrassed to say they are almost all gone. Of course I only ate a few, I DID have two three-year-olds here. And some hungry men in the family. I used French Vanilla instant pudding, but I think it would be fun to play around with different flavors, see what you can come up with!

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 3.4 oz. package instant pudding mix, I used French Vanilla
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs, vanilla and pudding mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to those in the mixer and mix until well-incorporated. Add in the chocolate chips, mix well and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a cookie pan covered with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Bake 10-12 minutes, and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts

Nutella Pop-Tarts

Posted on April 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

Despite the large number of desserts I’ve been posting lately, I’m not actually a big sweets eater. Often when I make something sweet, I bring some to friends and neighbors, otherwise it’ll go bad at my house. But that’s not always the case.

I took my daughter and her little BFF to a cupcake bakery in our town. While I’m not one to get a big cupcake, I am one to get the chocolate hazelnut pop-tarts they offer! They are amazing! I think it is all in their crust, it’s buttery and flaky, oh so good! I was telling my dad how wonderful they are and he found me a recipe for Nutella pop-tarts. It’s basically a cheater recipe because it uses store-bought pie crust dough, so it isn’t quite as good as the local bakery. But it’s still darn good! These are so quick and easy, perfect for a last minute dessert or breakfast. I’m going to try soon making my own dough, but for now these satisfy the craving nicely.

Nutella Pop-Tarts
Recipe from The Jelly Shot Test Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 package refrigerated rolled pie crust (in a box by the biscuits)
1 cup Nutella hazelnut spread
powdered sugar
milk
vanilla
sprinkles

Method:

Preheat oven to 425.
Unroll a pie crust and cut the rounded edges off, then cut into rectangles (a pizza cutter works well here).
Place a dollop of Nutella on half of the rectangles, then cover with the other rectangles. Seal edges with your fingers, then crimp the edges with the tines of a fork.
Repeat process with the other pie crust.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until turning golden.
Allow to cool completely, then make a glaze with powdered sugar, very little milk and a splash of vanilla. Top with sprinkles.

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Posted in Breakfast, Desserts, Nutella, Quick Fix

Strawberry Cake with Fresh Buttercream Icing

Posted on April 4, 2012 | 2 Comments

Nothing says “Hello, Spring!” like strawberries. A bakery here in my town makes fresh strawberry cakes, using strawberries in the batter and the icing, it is to die for. I decided to try to do something like that, only using buttercream icing. Sort of strawberries and cream, if you will.

This cake was so easy to make, I didn’t end up using fresh strawberries, I used frozen as the recipe called for. But it made a truly delicious, moist cake and I already knew I’d love the buttercream icing, I’ve made it many times before. I hope you enjoy this as much as our friends did!

Strawberry Cake with Fresh Buttercream Icing

Strawberry Cake with Fresh Buttercream Icing
Cake recipe from Paula Deen, see post on icing here.

Cake
Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
1 (3-oz) pkg strawberry flavored instant gelatin
1 lb. package frozen strawberries, thawed and puree’d
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9-inch cake pans.

Mix the gelatin powder and the cake mix together. Using a mixer, add the rest of the ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour equal amounts into each pan and bake for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Set aside on cooling racks. When fully cooled, ice with desired icing. Here is my buttercream icing:

Buttercream Icing Recipe seen on Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally from Williams-Sonoma Yields

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
5 tbsp milk (I used 2 percent)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt
1 tsp meringue powder

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and with the paddle attachment (scraper if you have it), beat on low until the ingredients are just mixed. Turn the speed up and whip the icing until it’s light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. If you don’t have the paddle scraper, then you will need to stop once to scrape the sides and bottom.

Strawberry Cake with Fresh Buttercream Icing

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts, Easter

S’mores Cookie Bars

Posted on March 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

For some reason, I’ve been craving s’mores like crazy lately. And want to hear something shocking? I only recently had my very first s’more. Love.

I needed a dessert for an event recently and started looking through my bookmarked “to-make” recipes and landed on this one. Yum! It was pretty easy to make, the only hard part was spreading the crust part on the top and bottom. I suggest spraying some nonstick spray on your fingers and then doing it, works much better! Also, the two chocolate bars didn’t quite cover the whole dish, so I am going to make it three chocolate bars.

S'mores Cookie Bars

S’mores Cookie Bars
Recipe from Lovin’ From the Oven

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 king-sized Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars
1.5 cups marshmallow fluff (the jar kind, not regular marshmallows)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, graham cracker crumbs and salt. Add to the bowl with the butter mixture and blend well.
Divide the dough in half and press one half of it down into the bottom of a greased 8×8 casserole. It helps to spray your fingers with nonstick spray to do this. Break the chocolate bars into pieces and place over the top of the dough, covering completely. Spoon the marshmallow fluff in, spreading to cover the chocolate (it’s easy if you spray the back of the spoon with nonstick spray also!). Press the remaining half of the dough into flat squares and cover the top of the casserole.
Bake 30-35 minutes, or until turning golden. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts