Category: DESSERTS

It’s a Red Velvet Birthday Cake!

Greetings all!

What a great time we had while celebrating my friend and neighbor’s birthday.  Actually, it was the somewhere between 15th and 20th anniversary of the first time she turned 29, so this is really her anniversary of her birthday cake… but I digress.

Here it is in progress, all 4 tiers of it (special day, special cake).

I have a set of oval cake pans.  So a smaller base, but taller cake makes for a special presentation.

Just a couple of hints, the butter cream frosting I used needs to be just slightly chilled, while the cake must be completely cooled before you start frosting it.  Think about it, a warm cake will melt the frosting.  And a harder cold frosting will tear holes in the cake while you frost it.

Also, I used a full bottle of the red food coloring to get the red cake look.  The more, the merrier!

The pink frosting has a bit of peppermint flavoring added.

The clowns are made with a large tip at the end of a pastry bag.

Make the body from a big glob of starred frosting, then add the arms and legs.  the clown heads are from broken toys.

Red Velvet Cake is legendary for it’s chocolate richness, buttercream icing decadence and the beauty of the red cake contrasted with the white icing.  Bobby Flay did one of his Throwdown shows about Red Velvet cake a few years ago.  A simple Google search came up with that recipe on the Food Network Website and I stuck to it…



Ingredients For the Cake  



  • 3 3/4 cups AP Flour
  • 3 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cups vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure Vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon red food coloring
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
  • The Frosting Recipe Follows

For the cake:

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans and line each pan with a round of parchment paper.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl
Cream the butter, sugar and oil in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beat until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla, vinegar and food coloring.
Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches alternating with the buttermilk, mixing well after each addition. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool on a baking rack for 15 minutes before removing the cake from the pans. Let cool completely before frosting. Slice each cake into 2 layers and frost.

Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
  • 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
Combine the cream, milk, vanilla bean and seeds in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove the vanilla bean and discard. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened to a paste, about 2 minutes. Scrape into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours.
Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until the mixture is very fluffy and the sugar is totally dissolved, about 6 minutes. Add the cold paste, a few tablespoons at a time to the butter mixture and whip until light and fluffy.


Just as good as it looks!

Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!  

 … I CAN COOK THAT! 

And so can you!

Chocolate Marshmallow Cake

Today’s recipe is my first post as a new host of Save Room for Dessert from OuR kRAzy kitChEn. I am beyond excited! Baking is a passion of mine, so when I emailed Tamy about the possibility of being a part of OuR kRAzy kitChEn, and she responded with an offer to be a host, I jumped at the chance.  Just a little bit about me – I’ve been blogging over at my site, Louanne’s Kitchen, since February, and it’s been more fun and rewarding than I ever could have imagined. I’m married to Brett and I’m a mom to Andrew, and by day, I’m a librarian; we live in south Louisiana, just across Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans. My cooking style is varied – I love to try new ethnic dishes – my current favorite is curry – but I also make many dishes passed down from my Sicilian & French grandparents. I’m looking forward to meeting you all and can’t wait to try out the delicious recipes I’ve found here!

Now, on to the reason we’re all here…

Chocolate Marshmallow Cake
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons agave syrup
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup cold brewed coffee
2 cups mini marshmallows

Chocolate Glaze
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Lightly grease a 9″ springform pan and set aside.
  • Cream butter, vanilla, sugar, egg, and agave syrup until light and fluffy.
  • Stir in half of the flour and half of the milk, then stir in remaining flour and milk.
  • Place half of the batter in a separate bowl, and stir in the cocoa and 1/4 cup cold, brewed coffee.
  • Dollop alternate spoonfuls of each batter into prepared pan.
  • Using a butter knife, swirl through the batter to make a marbled effect.
  • Bake for 45 minutes, remove from oven, and spread on marshmallows.
  • Return cake to oven, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, cool for 10 minutes, and drizzle on chocolate glaze.
  • Allow to cool for an additional 15 minutes before removing side of pan.
  • While cake is cooling, make glaze by melting chopped bittersweet chocolate and butter together in a small saucepan over low heat.
  • Drizzle with chocolate glaze and allow to set before serving.
  • Enjoy!

PEACH NUTTY CHEESE BARS

1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cups chopped cashews
1/2 + 1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 large eggs
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup peach jam

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9″x 13″x 2″ baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. 
  • Combine flour, oats, cashews, 1 cup sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Stir in melted butter. Reserve 1 & 1/2 cups of mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Set pan on wire rack to cool. 
  • Beat cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer. When mixture is creamy, add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract. Beat until combined. 
  • Spread apple butter over cooled crust. Spread cream cheese mixture over apple butter. Top with reserved oat mixture. Bake 35-40 minutes or until cream cheese layer is set. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
  • Let cool.  Store in air tight refrigerated container.

HOMEMADE DING DONGS, HO~HO’S or what we like to call CHOCOLATE HEAVENS

3 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 Jumbo eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons orange juice
2 cups flour
1 jar marshmallow cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 bag milk chocolate chips
  • Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Generously grease a 9×13 pan.
  • Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Then add 1/2 cup of the sugar, the cinnamon and 1/2 cup of the apple juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cool.
  • Mix the baking soda into 2 teaspoons of orange juice.
  • In a large mixing bowl cream the butter with 1 cup sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
  • Alternate the milk and flour, sifting the flour into the cream mixture and blend until smooth.
  • Add the baking soda mixture and blend well.
  • Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend well.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Level pan by dropping on counter top to remove air bubbles.
  • Bake until springy 55-60 minutes.
  • Cool thoroughly and then invert onto platter.
  • Cut into desired shapes and sizes.
  • Slice each in half.
  • Spread marshmallow cream over bottom half and replace tops.
  • In a small sauce pan melt chocolate.
  • Whisk in heavy cream and heat until thickened.
  • Pour over tops of cakes.
  • Cool.

Apricot and Cherry Galette

Pie Dough Ingredients*
For a 9-inch crust
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) of butter, cold and cubed
  • 1/4 cup ice water
Filling Ingredients**
For one 9-inch galette
  • 3/4 pound fresh apricots, pitted and chopped
  • 1/2 pound fresh cherries, pitted
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup sugar + more for sprinkling
  • Juice of half a lemon
Ingredients for Assembly
  • 1 egg, beaten
ASSEMBLY
  • Cut butter into small cubes and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  • Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. 
  • Add butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. 
  • Gradually add ice water and pulse until the dough forms a coarse meal. 
  • Turn the dough out onto a work surface and very lightly and sparingly, knead just to incorporate dry ingredients. 
  • Flatten into a circle; wrap individually in plastic. 
  • Refrigerate dough for at least an hour. 
  • Remove dough from refrigerator; place on floured work surface. 
  • Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rough 11-inch circle. 
  • Trim the edges to a clean circle with a pairing knife. 
  • Transfer the circle to a baking sheet or pizza pan lined with parchment paper. 
  • Mix 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a bowl and spread on the bottom of the dough. 
  • Toss apricots and cherries with the rest of the cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice. 
  • Arrange the fruit on the bottom of the dough, leaving 2 inches of dough left outside. 
  • Fold up and pleat the dough over the top of the fruit, leaving the center uncovered. 
  • Lightly brush the top of the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle both the dough and the fruit with 1/4 – 1/3 cup sugar. 
  • Place the Galette in the oven and cook for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. 
  • Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack immediately. 
  • Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
*If you are in a huge hurry, Pillsbury from the dairy case can be substituted.
**1 can Comstock cherries can be substituted.  Just add apricots!

aprons 3

HOMEMADE DING DONGS, HO~HO’S or what we like to call CHOCOLATE HEAVENS

3 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 Jumbo eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons orange juice
2 cups flour
1 jar marshmallow cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 bag milk chocolate chips
  • Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Generously grease a 9×13 pan.
  • Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Then add 1/2 cup of the sugar, the cinnamon and 1/2 cup of the apple juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cool.
  • Mix the baking soda into 2 teaspoons of orange juice.
  • In a large mixing bowl cream the butter with 1 cup sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
  • Alternate the milk and flour, sifting the flour into the cream mixture and blend until smooth.
  • Add the baking soda mixture and blend well.
  • Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend well.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Level pan by dropping on counter top to remove air bubbles.
  • Bake until springy 55-60 minutes.
  • Cool thoroughly and then invert onto platter.
  • Cut into desired shapes and sizes.
  • Slice each in half.
  • Spread marshmallow cream over bottom half and replace tops.
  • In a small sauce pan melt chocolate.
  • Whisk in heavy cream and heat until thickened.
  • Pour over tops of cakes.
  • Cool.

aprons 3

Try a New Recipe: Crepes

Don’t forget to visit me at The Bad Girl’s Kitchen for more fabulous recipes!

Bonjour!!!

As this recipe posts, my family and I will be flying over the ocean, on our way to….
PARIS!!!
We’ll arrive today just before noon, Paris time, which means only one thing: It will be Time To Eat!!! I’m very excited. But I just want you to know, I’m not kRaZy enough to post recipes while I’m actually in France, so these next few weeks I’ve done my best to come up with some recipes for French-ish food we love.
When I return, I’ll fill you in on all our luscious culinary adventures. (and it’s possible I’ll sneak in a comment or two while I’m abroad, but don’t count on it!)
So let’s start with crepes. I am looking forward to eating some of these for sure. We love crepes! They are easy to make, and so delicious. This recipe makes quite a lot of them.

We serve ours with several different toppings, depending on what we’ve got: sliced strawberries, peaches, cottage cheese, Mexican crema (table cream), maple syrup, and bananas sauteed in butter, brown sugar and a splash of rum.


Crepes
1 cup milk
6 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup flour

In blender, mix milk and eggs, mix in flour, then blend in melted butter. Cook on greased medium hot crepe pan. Pour about 1/3 cup batter quickly onto hot crepe pan, quickly tilting pan to cover the entire surface. Cook on one side until beginning to brown, then quickly flip and cook for a few more seconds. This is a fast process that you will need to practice to get the hang of, and the first few crepes never, ever turn out quite right. Just keep after it, and they’ll start to turn out. Serve right away, or you can refrigerate or freeze them for another time.

DEVIL’S FOOD ORANGE CAKE with ORANGE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Hi Tamy here filling in for Jen this morning and I thought I’d share one of my niece’s favorite cakes with you.
Save Room for dessert new badge


I don’t seem to have a picture of the iced cake, but it was yummy!

CAKE

4 medium navel oranges, room temperature
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 Jumbo eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 cups flour

  • Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Generously grease a Bundt pan (I like a decorative Nordicware or Wilton pan)
  • Squeeze oranges, saving pulp
  • Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Then add 1/2 cup of the sugar, the cinnamon and 1/2 cup of the orange juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cool.
  • Mix the baking soda into 2 teaspoons of orange juice.
  • In a large mixing bowl cream the shortening with 1 cup sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
  • Alternate the milk and flour, sifting the flour into the cream mixture and blend until smooth.
  • Add the baking soda mixture and blend well.
  • Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend well.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Level pan by dropping on counter top to remove air bubbles.
  • Bake until springy 55-60 minutes.
  • Cool 10 minutes and then invert onto platter.
  • Cool before frosting.
FROSTING

1/2 cup butter, softened
5 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, pulp and all
2 teaspoon orange zest

  • Beat butter until fluffy.
  • Beat in 1/2 of the powdered sugar until smooth.
  • Add orange juice, vanilla and orange peel. Blend until smooth.
  • Slowly add the remaining sugar and blend until silky.
  • Adjust sugar and orange juice until desired consistency and flavor is reached.
If you don’t have this mess in the end,
you did it wrong!
aprons 3

Save Room For Dessert: Wedding Cookies!

Kris here from Behold the Metatron, The Motivation Station, The Writer’s Blog, Where to Vegan, AND Veggie Tales here at the crazy kitch! I don’t think I have enough time on my hands! Anyway… in the spirit of our love for all things dessert, here’s one of my favorites!
 

Wedding Cookies

Whether you call them Italian, Russian, Greek… these cookies are still the same delicious, powdery balls of nutty sweetness. And what better way to celebrate Wedding Season with a treat fit for a scrumptious reception!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds (I used 1/2 pecan 1/2 almond)
4 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for rolling

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). 
  2. Cream butter or margarine in a bowl, gradually add confectioners’ sugar and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Add almonds and vanilla. Blend in flour gradually and mix well.
  3. Shape into balls (or crescents) using about 1 teaspoon for each cookie. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, and bake for 15-20 min. Do not brown. Cool slightly, then roll in the extra confectioners’ sugar.


Now, this recipe is for up to 80 cookies. If you are not in the mood to make that many… just click here and the recipe adjuster will help you out!

Rum Cake – Cause they don’t even serve nuts on the plane anymore

That’s a bold statement.  But I would be willing to enter my Upside Down Pineapple Rum Cake in any taste test.
And I did try.  I have made half a dozen different rum cakes in my quest to avoid processed foods. Unfortunately, none of them have the smoothness, creaminess of this pudding cake with a shot.  You see, in the ingredient list is a box mix of cake, AND a box mix of a pudding.  I am against it.  I prefer to avoid boxes, and to be honest, I believe this is the only recipe I have used this year with a box as the main ingredient… let alone two boxes.
But, here is is…
The cake collects on the bottom (well, the top actually, but then you turn it upside and the top becomes the bottom).  Anyway, the cake on the bottom (in the photograph, and the heavier pudding collects on the bottom (as it cooks, the top when you flip it upside down… understand???) makes a fabulous mixture of textures.
I always make this when we have stateside visitors.
Like these two…
Tradition, there are only half a dozen planes that land each day, but most people arrive on the last one… 8:40 PM.  Takes a bit to collect luggage, and the 10 mile trip up hills, over dales and around the corners takes 30 minutes.  So, our guests arrive tired and hungry (the airlines don’t feed you like they used to … in fact, American now CHARGES $3 for a bag of snacks… not even peanuts… but I digress).
So, tradition, I make one of these on the first night our guests arrive.  But the next morning when we have a slice for breakfast (hic), it does taste better.
And I am going to justify all the calories…

Since you need energy to partake in all the relaxing we do here in paradise.
Being the expert I am now, I have another tip for you… Allow this to relax in the fridge overnight before you serve it.
But I digress from the recipe…
The inspiration comes from a recipe that Marguerite (call her Mags) at Cajun Delight, posted ages and ages ago…
Here is her original recipe…

Cajun Pineapple Rum Cake

This heavenly cake is so simple to make and the flavor is so fabulous that you will have a hard time resisting a second piece, cher! Worth the calories, cher!! Cest bon! Bon appetit!

1/2 cup pineapple rum
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans

****************************************************************************************


Spray a bundt pan with “Baker’s Joy” baking spray. In large bowl, combine first six ingredients. beat at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool and remove to cake plate. Make glaze and drizzle over cake.
*****************************************************************************************
Glaze
******
Melt 1/4 cup butter, in saucepan. Add 2tbs. pineapple juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Cook and stir, until sugar is melted. Boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/4 cup pineapple rum, until blended. Prick top of cake with a fork and drizzle glaze over warm cake. Divine!
*****************************************************************************************

Of course, I made a couple of changes… mainly that I dropped the bundt cake idea.  I do not have a bundt cake pan.  But I sure do like the idea of an upside down pineapple rum cake.  SO, I lined a rounded baking dish with pineapple slices.  I added some brown sugar to bring out the sweetness.

I was unable to find a simple yellow cake mix here.  So, I used a lemon mix and a lemon pudding mix.  I also did not have any pecans, so I left those out.
Other than those changes, I tried a little experiment…
I don’t have a photograph, but instead of putting the dish on the oven rack, I put the dish on a larger baking dish.  the dish had a 1 inch lip, about the same size as what did not brown on the cake below… make sense, can you picture it in your mind?  Remember this is an upside down cake, so when it was baking, the top was the bottom.
Alright, now that I have you completely confused, this method had an unexpected consequence…
The base (top while it was cooking, the part that was above the lip of the second baking dish) browned nicely.  It has a bit of a crunch and is almost all cake.
The top (bottom while it was baking, the part that was below the lip of the second baking dish) was only gently browned, and that was mostly the brown sugar and sugars in the pineapple rings caramelizing.  The “cake” part was much more pudding than cake.  If you look at the photo below, you will see the cake texture around the bottom (which, in an effort to REALLY confuse you is the top of the photo), while the top half (bottom of the photo) is more pudding texture.

I put the cake in the fridge overnight before cutting into it so it would set solid.
So, you now have two ways to get a slice of this cake…
Use the above recipe and make it yourself…
OR come visit the islands, you bring the sunscreen, I’ll bring the Rum Cake!
Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!  

 … I CAN COOK THAT! 

And so can you!

Save Room for Dessert: S’mores Bars

Save Room for dessert new badge 
Hi there, Min from The Bad Girl’s Kitchen and Try A New Recipe filling in here today, with a DESSERT that everyone who has ever camped simply must try!
This recipe comes from Rebecca of Cooking With My Kid, who’s actually a friend of a friend of mine, and who is on a mission to make 365 recipes in 365 days, with her kid. Although I like cooking with my kids, I still think it’s an ambitious project.
When she posted this recipe, I knew I had to make these right away. Just Had To. After all, I’d bought all the ingredients for s’mores recently, but before we could make them someone ate all the Hershey’s bars. Someone else snuck half a bag of marshmallows. And who knows who ate most of the graham crackers. It’s just the way it works around here I guess.
Note: when opening a jar of marshmallow fluff at altitude, just for a “taste,” be prepared to immediately make your recipe because it will just keep expanding and you won’t be able to “taste” that much without making yourself sick. Just trust me on this.
I didn’t do the shopping yesterday, and to be honest my entire grocery list was this:
1 large jar marshmallow fluff
2 king-size Hershey’s Special Dark bars
1 box graham crackers
=)
I took Rebecca’s advice and planned to use dark chocolate from the start. So Number One brought home 4 bars of Hershey’s Special Dark, in two sizes. I’m guessing that the 4.25 ounce bar is the “king size,” but I didn’t come to that realization until I already had the “giant size” bars unwrapped and discovered they wouldn’t fit as neatly as Rebecca’s had in the pan. Oh well, we’ve got some extra dark chocolate to eat!
Now that I’m thinking about it, I can’t say I recall ever eating marshmallow fluff. I know that seems like blasphemy for a Midwestern girl like myself to admit, but I just don’t remember it in my life. Of course I’ve seen the jars around, and of course when someone took that little taste, it tasted like heaven, but it didn’t ring any bells. I didn’t remember the stickiness, or anything. I do love it though, so I think that makes up for my possibly faulty memory.


The verdict: These are very good, but dare I say it, with dark chocolate, I think you need to use MORE fluff. There, I said it. It really needs more fluff!! Next time, I will try it with milk chocolate, which is probably the more classic flavor, and maybe just a little extra fluff.

Let me know which chocolate YOU would use, and how you like them!

S’More Bars
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 to 35 minutes
Makes 16 squares
1 stick of butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (~7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, processed until fine)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 king-sized dark chocolate bars (*note: I believe “king-size” is 4.25 ounces. “giant-size” is too big, but will work if you use a little more than one bar. I know because we used “giant-size.”)
1-1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. (I used butter). Use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Set aside.
Meanwhile,whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.
Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side.
Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Be sure to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.
Don’t forget to visit me at The Bad Girl’s Kitchen for more fabulous recipes!

CREAM CHEESE PEPPERMINT COOKIES

Hi Tamy here filling in for Jen this morning.

Save Room for dessert new badge

Out of my grams archive I found this awesome little recipe that would be perfect for baby or bridal showers.  Grams notes on the side suggested using food color to alter the cookies for the appropriate event.  I also highly recommend keeping these cookies refrigerated as they will melt! Next time I will go a step farther and freeze them for an hour and then quick dip them in melted almond bark.
Using extracts you could also change the flavor to just about anything you wanted.  I’, curious what a blackberry almond combo would be like.

CREAM CHEESE PEPPERMINT COOKIES

8 ounces cream cheese softened
1/2 cup crisco shortening
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
8-9+ cups powdered sugar

  • Line your baking sheet with wax paper.
  • Using a stand mixer cream together the shortening and cream cheese.
  • Add extracts and beat until smooth.
  • Gradually add powdered sugar until dough is soft and elastic.
  • Roll into small balls.
  • Use a fork to hash mark the top and slightly flatten each cookie,
  • Cover and chill overnight.

I filled a few of the hash marks with some hot fudge I made recently and the guys loved them.