New York Cheesecake

I honestly can't believe that 2012 is coming to an end. Wasn't it just Summer?

But as with anything, I'm ready for the possibility of new beginnings. I have to think that 2013 will offer some kind of surprises, let's just hope they're good.

What I miss the MOST about New Years Eve tho? Getting all dressed up in sparkly attire and drinking 1 too many glasses of champagne (OK, more like 5 too many). This year I'm making Mexican Pizzas, snuggling with my boys and gluing my eyes open in hopes I'll see midnight.

It's probably too late to make this Cheesecake for your party tonight but trust me, make it anyways. I had planned to make a strawberry sauce to top it, but half of the cheesecake was gone before I even pulled them out of the fridge (it's THAT good).

Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2013...

(Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen)


For the Crust:
15 Original flavored graham crackers, made into crumbs using your food processor
1 stick salted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar

 Cheesecake Filling:
5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
Zest of a small orange
Zest of a small lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 500 degrees and grease a 9-inch spring-form pan (a smaller spring-form is fine here if you are looking for a taller cheesecake).

In a large bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Stirring until the crumbs are moist. Press into the bottom and up the sides of your pan (I used a cup to help evenly press).

Place in your preheated oven for 2-3 minutes, just to set up. Set aside while you prepare the filling.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla until smooth. Make sure to scrape down the sides when needed. Add in the vanilla and mix to incorporate. Add in the eggs, one at a time and continue scraping down the sides. Then add in the egg yolks and mix until smooth.

Place the spring form pan on a large cookie sheet and pour the filling into the prepared crust. Bake in the 500 degree oven for 5-10 minutes, carefully watching so the top does not get too brown. As soon as it is lightly browned, lower the oven temp to 200 degrees and bake until the edges are set yet the middle is still slightly jiggly, this takes about an hour more.

Remove the pan from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack, remove the sides of the spring-form pan, cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and cool in the fridge until set, a minimum of 6 hours.

Serve plain or enjoy with a berry sauce.

I love the way the lemon and orange zest come through in the cheesecake!

Happy New Years Eve everyone... Get in those Midnight kisses! (The champagne masks the cheesecake breath) :)

Homemade Bear Claws with Honey Glaze (100th blog post!)

     

Merry Christmas Everyone! I'm going to chalk it up and say this is probably one of THE best Christmases I've had!

My boys are going through the Spider-Man phase, which makes shopping a lot easier for Santa, but watching how THANKFUL they were for all of their presents was the best gift I could ask for!

The second best gift? These Bear claws... Oh. Em. Gee.

I really don't think I imagined just how delicious they would be... They have a croissant-like dough, with almond paste filling and a honey glaze... are you sold yet? Good, because I don't know what else I could do to change your mind.

There will be lots of pictures in this blog so you can see the steps. I actually made the dough on Sunday, Monday I formed the Bear Claws and today just popped them in the oven. Taking a couple of days for each stepped really helped me NOT feel overwhelmed, but if you have a lot of time in the day, try these all at once...you wont regret it!

For the Pastry Dough:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
3 sticks unsalted butter, chilled
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar

1. Add flour to the bowl of your food processor. Cut the butter into 1/4 inch slices and add to the flour. Pulse until the butter is about the size of kidney beans. 
2. In a large bowl, dissolve your yeast in the warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes (or until bubbly). Stir in the cream, salt, eggs and sugar. Turn your butter/flour mixture into the large bowl that holds the cream mixture and mix with a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Using your hands, form a ball out of the dough and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or up to 4 days. 
3. Turn the dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface. Dust the top with flour. Pound dough with a rolling pin.

Roll out the dough to form a 16x20-inch rectangle. Fold the rectangle into thirds.

(Can you see the large pieces of butter?)

Turn your folded dough and roll out, again, to a 16x20-inch rectangle. Fold again into thirds. Place your folded dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while you get started on the filling. 

Cinnamon Filling:

1 egg white

1-8 oz can of Almond Paste (I used Solo brand)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In a small bowl, beat all of the ingredients with an electric mixer until very smooth. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Assembly:

1 egg, beaten

Sliced Almonds

Turbinado Sugar

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to this time make a 16x18-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into 4 strips.

Remove filling from the fridge and spread 3 Tablespoons of filling down the center of each strip.

Roll each strip from the long side, jelly-roll style, and place seam side down. Roll lightly to seal the edges.

The rolls will take on a more rectangular shape. Cut each strip into 4-6" pieces, depending on how large you want your Claws to be, mine were 6-inches. Cut 3-5 slits for the "toes" and place the pieces on to a baking sheet covered with parchment, curving them slightly. By cutting them into 6-inch pieces, I got exactly 12 Bear Claws. Smaller ones will of course produce more.

Allow claws to rise in a warm place for 20 minutes or until puffy. At this point you can cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed (if you decide to refrigerate them, let them stand at room temp until puffy).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the bear claws with the beaten egg, place a sliced almond on each bear "toe" and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. 

If making 4-inch claws, bake for 5-8 minutes and for the 6-inch claws bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden in color. Let cool slightly on wire racks.

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 Tablespoons milk

1. Stir together the ingredients until smooth, add more or less                                                                                                                                                            milk/sugar to your desired consistency (you want a slightly runny glaze).
2. Drizzle over slightly cooled pastries.

These pastries are best enjoyed warm but oh my WORD are they amazing any time! Oh, and by the way, this is my 100th blog post! I can't believe it, I am so thankful for the love and support my little blog has received! Thank you everyone :)

Recipe adapted from Sprinkle Bakes... Check out her blog AND book, not only is she an amazing bake-tress but her pictures are to die for!

Banana Coffee Cake

In light of Friday's events, I am going to keep this short and sweet. Also, because I can't seem to break away from holding my boys for longer than 3 minutes...

Only 9 days left until Christmas now! And just in case you still haven't decided what to make for breakfast for the little ones (and Santa!) here is a great idea.

Everything comes together fairly quickly and you could even throw everything together and toss it in the fridge Christmas Eve and simply bake it in the morning. Whatever your floats your boat.

Oh and also... Would you take a second and follow my blog on Instagram? I'm just starting out, so there are only a few pictures up, but I will add more... promise. Here is the link:

http://instagram.com/morningnoonight/

Happy Sunday everyone. Make sure to hold your kids close this week (and every week). Love you all!

For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)
1/2 cup whole milk

For the Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 Tablespoons cold butter in chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9" round cake pan.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs in, one at a time. Mix in the vanilla and mashed bananas until well blended.
Add the flour mixture into the butter-banana mixture, alternating with the milk. Make sure you end with the flour mixture. Beat until smooth and pour into the prepared pan.

For the topping, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, cut in the butter until crumbly (I like larger pieces of butter here). Sprinkle the topping over your cake batter and place in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy! (Is it bad that I turn into Gwen Stefani every-time I spell bananas!?)

Blackberry Macaroons

 

Ginger this, peppermint that, ugh... I needed a break....

I honestly haven't made macaroons since I was 10 years old. 

And I bet even then they were amazing (because I like to toot my own horn!). 

But these? These cookies right here...They take the cake. Or cookie. 

The chewy coconut with dark chocolate top and tart berry in the middle.... Amazing!

Make these for your cookie exchange and for yourself... Trust me!

For the Macaroon:

(makes 12 cookies)

4 large egg whites

1/3 cup sugar

3 cups

2 teaspoons vanilla

12 blackberries

Chocolate Ganache:

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1 tablespoon butter

heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large, heat proof bowl, combine the macaroon ingredients and stir. Place a pot of water, 2 inches high, over medium low heat and bring to a low simmer. Place your bowl over the water and stir until the Macaroon ingredients are thickened and hot to the touch. Around 7-9 minutes. You want the mixture to stand up on its own when placed on a cookie sheet without pooling. 

Take a tablespoon of the macaroon dough and make a well in the middle. Place the blackberry in the well and cover with another tablespoon of dough . Place cookie mound on a prepared baking sheet. Continue doing this until all the dough is used.

Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes or until set and golden around the edges and tops.

Let cool completely on wire rack.

In a microwave safe bowl combine the chocolate chips and butter for the ganache. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir then another 15 seconds until completely melted. Slowly add in the heavy cream, stirring until glossy and smooth (this is about a tablespoon of cream). 

Dunk the tops of the cooled macaroons into your chocolate and cool until hardened.

Enjoy!!

Peppermint Truffles

It's peppermint season!

But I have to admit... I think mint is gross. I can't stand super minty toothpaste or breath-mints. The point where you feel like your mouth is frozen, I'll pass.

But it's that touch of mint that I absolutely love. I'll shovel those little butter mints in my mouth like there's no tomorrow. It's that little kiss that cools your throat and tickles your taste buds.

These truffles provide just that. There is no peppermint extract just the delicious crunch of peppermint Andes. YUM.

I should have made them smaller, as I only got about 16 truffles, but I obviously have size issues...

You will need:

12 ounces chocolate (I used semi-sweet but you can vary these from bittersweet to white chocolate if you prefer)

8 Tablespoons heavy cream

Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Melt your chocolate and heavy cream either in a double broiler, or in the microwave. If you choose the microwave method then heat, on high, for 1 minute. Stir, and continue cooking in 15 second intervals until all of the chocolate is melted and heavy cream is completely incorporated.

Pour your chocolate mixture into a lightly greased loaf pan or baking dish and cover the top with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Let the truffle mixture come to room temperature for 5 minutes. During this time, slightly chop up your Andes Peppermint Crunch and place in a small bowl.

Now, using a melon baller or tablespoon, scoop the chocolate mixture and roll into a ball with your hands. The warmth from your hands should melt the chocolate slightly, making it easy to roll. Drop the truffles into your Peppermint Crunch and roll around, then roll again in your hand gently to push the chips into the truffle.

Place on to a baking sheet. Continue this process until all of your truffles are complete.

Let chill until ready to serve.

The pretty gold wrappers are from Wilton and make the perfect addition to give as gifts.

Seasons Greetings everyone!

Ornament Wreath

Christmas is in 24 days people...TWENTY-FOUR.

Is anyone finished with their Christmas shopping yet? Oh you are? Please don't tell me then, you do-gooder-shop-in-September types freak me out.

Just kidding, I'm just jealous.

This wreath though, would make a great host/hostess gift and can be made with any color ornaments. This one though, comes straight from the Dollar Tree.

Grand total you ask? 11 whopping dollars! And only because I had to buy all of the ornaments. Oh how I love a steal...

You Will Need:

-You need about 80 various sized Ornaments in total (I bought 4 packages of 12 piece ornaments and 6 packs of 5 piece)

-A Wire Hanger ("NO MORE WIRE HANGERS!!!")

-2 inch wide decorative ribbon

-Your handy dandy glue gun

And patience...

I should have photographed the process more so bear with me.

Unhook your wire hanger by untwisting directly under the hook and shape the hanger into a circle form. I bent and shaped mine for a little while to get it even.

Glue the top hooks on the ornament to the ball, when necessary, as you don't want them to come loose.

Now start stringing each ornament, varying the direction until your wreath is full. Don't stress at first if the ornaments just hang there, the more you place the tighter it will get (make sure the ornaments are as close together as possible)! Also, it is important to change the size to fill in the gaps. Once your wreath is full, re-twist the top of the hanger together and please, bust out your pliers if you need to. 

To hide the hanger hook (uhh right?) tie a pretty bow around it that is about 2 inches wide.

Hope this tutorial was easy enough, trust me if I can do it... So can you! And please link up your wreaths in the comments section... I'm kind of obsessed!

Happy Holidays!!!

Lemon Meltaways

Oh my gosh you guys, I have like 5 bajillion recipes I want to share with you all.

There's so many ideas running through my head I don't even know where to begin.

Have you guys ever felt that way? Well that feeling for me also comes with extreme anxiety...

Can I be honest with you all? I'm the type (if there is a "type" for me) of girl who writes down what she's going to say before she calls someone, or when I read a text before I get in the shower, I rehearse my response in my head and if I don't reply the second my hands are dry... Anxiety hits!

So I've been rehearsing all of these recipes and crafty things for you, but I honestly need to show patience. And I'm creeping up on my 100th blog post... I can't believe it! So I want it to be super spectacular and amazing.

This is a great recipe and a change from all things peppermint this time of year.

Try it at your next cookie exchange :)

For the Cookie:
(makes 12 sandwich cookies)
1 cup salted butter, room temp
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch

For the Filling:
1/4 cup butter, room temp
2 ounces softened cream cheese
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
A few Tablespoons of milk, depending on desired consistency

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and grease a cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add in the vanilla, lemon zest and juice. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides as you go. Sift in the flour and cornstarch and beat on your low setting until just combined.

Take Tablespoon sized scoops and roll into balls, continue until you have about 24 cookies. Placing them 1 inch apart on your cookie sheet. Press the cookies gently with a fork to imprint. Bake for 20 minutes and cool completely.

While your cookies are cooling, combine all of the filling ingredients. Use a knife to spread on one side of the cooled cookie then sandwich them together. Try to match up the sizes as evenly as you can.

Enjoy!

I think the next time I would make these cookies a tad smaller as they tend to be a little doughy. You could almost get away with 1/2 of a Tablespoon size here. However, they melt well in your mouth and have the cheek tingling lemon taste!

Cookies-n-Cream Brownies

I'm kind of nervous y'all...

I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled out tomorrow (I know, how old am I right?!) I've been pushing it back, and I finally had to just buck up and do it. Ugh...

Soft foods for a week? Don't you know I'm a FOOD BLOGGER... She didn't seem to care. But I've never been under anesthesia, I've never even had surgery!

I briefly ran through the "what if's" with my husband. I mean, what if I'm allergic to anesthesia and puff up like a lion seal? He promised he'd still love me.

Or what if I'm under and they make the split second decision to pull all my teeth?

I think at this point he wasn't really listening... but HONESTLY PEOPLE! This is scary stuff....

So I had to make something extra delicious before I'm stuck eating cotton swabs for the next week...

These didn't photograph as well as I wanted, I thought the red would be pretty for the Holidays, but it doesn't really give off that generic "cookies-n-cream" vibe.

Oh well, they taste delicious and whip up fast.

Happy Monday everyone!

For the Brownies:
1 box brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker fudge)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

For the Frosting:
4 oz softened cream cheese
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon milk

Around 10 crushed Oreos

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 11x7" pan.

Make your brownies according to the package directions and toss in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean).
Let the brownies cool completely.

With a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until creamy. Add in remaining ingredients and beat (feel free to add more or less milk to get your desired consistency).
Frost the cooled brownies and sprinkle with crushed Oreo's.
Cut and serve!

Enjoy everyone. Promise me you will eat delicious food for the next couple days... Just don't tell me about it :)

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone... And I'm pretty sure I've gained 10 pounds. Probably from this cheesecake alone. But who cares right? That's what New Years resolutions are for.

Did you all have a nice Holiday? Did anyone venture out for Black Friday?

I attempted Walmart to get ONE thing for my boys and it was gone before it was even time to pick them up. What happened to honesty and manners? Out the window when play kitchens are involved I guess...

Anyways, if you had to deal with Black Friday crazies or your strange Uncle Bill this holiday season, this cheesecake will make you feel alllll better!

Enjoy and Happy late Thanksgiving everyone :)

(recipe adapted from bakeorbreak.com)

For the Crust:
1 3/4 cups Vanilla Wafer Cookie crumbs (I bought the ones from Trader Joes.... TO. DIE. FOR.)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

For the Pecan Pie:
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla

Brown Sugar Cheesecake:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
4 eggs
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Start by making the crust.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Pulse cookies (about 30) into fine crumbs in your food processor. Pour crumbs into a bowl and measure out 1 3/4 cups. Place crumbs along with brown sugar back into the food processor. Pulse to combine. Pour in melted butter and pulse until crumbs are coated. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" spring form pan. Bake for 6 minutes, set aside and cool.

Start the pecan filling. Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir constantly. Pour filling into prepared crust and set aside.

Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees. With your hand mixer and a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat the vanilla and cream on low.

Pour cheesecake mixture over the pecan pie filling and bake for 1 hour. Turn oven off and leave the cheesecake inside with the door closed for another hour.

Remove pan from oven and run a knife to loosen the edges. Let cool completely then transfer to the fridge for 6 hours to overnight.

Bring to room temperature before enjoying!

Cookie Butter

Can you believe it's less than a week until Thanksgiving?

Where has this year gone? Wasn't it just April?

I'm really trying not to think about the fast approaching holidays because I still have so much to do... I haven't gotten a single Christmas present yet. Pure Awesome...

It's OK, this butter makes up for not being Holiday ready. It literally TASTES like the Holidays, all bottled... urm... jarred up!

It whips up really fast too so this is the perfect last minute holiday gift or dessert. Serve with cookies, apples, crackers or on little toasts. People will love it... Trust me!

For the butter:
(slightly adapted from Betty Crocker)

2 (8.8 oz) packages of Biscoff Cookies
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon molasses
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2-1 cup water

• In your food processor, pulse the cookies into fine crumbs. Turn off the processor and add in the cinnamon, brown sugar, ground nutmeg and vanilla. Process until combined.
• With the food processor running, through the spout, stream in the molasses and oil. Allow to mix and the crumbs dampen.
• Continue running the food processor and slowly stream in the water, you will need anywhere from the amount  listed. You are looking for the consistency of peanut butter.
• Pour cookie butter into airtight container and place in the fridge. It will thicken a bit.

Enjoy!

Almond Poppyseed Bread

I know, I know... another bread recipe!

I honestly can't help it. I'm a bread addict. I need bread eaters anonymous... For the sake of my THIGHS people!

I adapted this recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything blog. Have you seen her blog? Check it out. SUPER CUTE!

This makes 6 little loaves (hello, perfect for Christmas gifts) or 2 big loaves to hoard and eat all for yourself... I mean...

For the Bread:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs
1 1/8 cups vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
2 teaspoons Almond Extract
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Glaze:
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your loaf pans (I use aluminum foil to insure no sticking).
Place all of the ingredients in your stand mixer and beat to combine. Seperate evenly into your pans and bake for 60 minutes, check on the bread the last ten minutes, if still undercooked cover with aluminum foil so the top doesn't get too dark. (The 60 minutes baking time will be around 20-30 if choosing to use the small laof pans). Remove loaves from oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, place all of your glaze ingredients in a small pot set over medium heat and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Poke the loaves with a toothpick and brush multiple times with the glaze, it should be thick enough to stick to the top without dripping too much down the sides.

Enjoy warm with coffee, by itself, with a fork... You know!!

(Look at the sun glistening off of the glaze... mmm)

Grandma Vi's Russian Tea Cakes

I've grown up making these cookies for Christmas as far back as I can remember. These cookies, cut out sugar cookies, and pecan fingers are a custom in our home. I hope to pass on this tradition to my children as well.

This is my Grandma's recipe that comes form a tiny red book my mom typed up in the 70's. I cant wait to go through and try all of her recipes one day. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to meet my grandmother, but I like to think my cooking abilities come from her. I hope I'm making you proud Grandma!

I hope you make these cookies this holiday season, you might have even made them yourself and called them a Mexican Wedding Cookie. Whatever you call them, they are my ultimate favorite! Biting into them brings back so many childhood memories!

Happy Holidays everyone...

Cookie Dough:
(Makes about 2 dozen)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Extra powdered sugar, in a bowl,  for coating

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. With your hand mixer, combine the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add in the flour and salt and mix until a crumbly dough forms. Stir in the nuts.
3. Working with your hands, shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place about an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Cool for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to your bowl of powdered sugar. Roll warm cookies into the sugar and cool completely on a wire rack. Roll once more in the powdered sugar and enjoy!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

(Do you see the chunk missing? That's from my toddler who likes to stand there and grab pieces of whatever I'm shooting. Ha!)

This pie is so right. It's wrong. 

You know when you see something on TV and you just HAVE to make it. I was super sick last weekend, where even the thought of a cracker conjured up awfulness, and I WANTED this pie.

The recipe comes from Pioneer Woman and I have to say, I just love everything she stands for. 

I mean, when does cream cheese + peanut butter + Oreos make a bad thing!?

So lets cut the chit-chat and make this sucker.

It's the bomb diggity...

For the Crust:

25 Oreos

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Pie Filling:

1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 container of defrosted cool whip

Chopped up, left-over, Halloween candy (of the peanut butter cup variety)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In your food processor, pulse the cookies until crumbly. Pour in the melted butter and pulse 4-5 times, just to get it incorporated. Press the cookie crumbs evenly into the bottom and sides of your pie pan. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 5-7 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.

With a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter until combined. Slowly add in the powdered sugar and beat to incorporate. Add in the container of thawed cool whip and beat mixture until smooth, scraping the sides as needed. The mixture will be fluffy and delicious (trust me folks, lick the beaters on this one. With it off... of course.)

Pour filling into the prepared crust, smooth the top and sprinkle with the candy.

Place in your fridge for MINIMUM an hour and your freezer for another 30 minutes. The longer its chilled the better it tastes.

Enjoy this peanut butter cream heaven...

Snickersnaps!

I have been far too excited about this recipe not to share with all of you anymore. I apologize for the Christmas theme, as it is only November 3rd, but I had to prepare it in advance for a Christmas Lineup over at the Frugal Girls. Please keep an eye out for this feature recipe the morning of December 18th! Enjoy everyone. (Did you know there is only 52 days left for shopping? And then again, not really, because who shops on Christmas? oh wait,  my husband! Ha!)


Christmas is a time of joy, love and peace. Yet we often lose ourselves in the craziness of the holidays. We try to buy the best, most expensive presents for our loved ones when we should be creating memories with them instead.

So I say, there's no better way than getting in the kitchen and baking with the ones we care about most.

This is a fantastic treat to give as gifts or start as a cookie tradition for your family. I introduce: Snickersnaps!

"Snicker what!?" you say.

A Snickersnap! (or Gingerdoodles). This delicious cookie is a combination or two traditional Christmas treats: a Snickerdoodle and a Gingersnap. The spicy-gingersnap cookie pairs so well with the neutral cinnamon Snickerdoodle. I knew I HAD to make this recipe when I saw the idea over at BakerGirl. 

This recipe takes a little extra time, as you are essentially making 2 batches of cookies, but the end result is well worth it.

I used my favorite recipes for the cookies to make it my own.

Enjoy! And remember to cherish the holidays with the ones you love. Bring the kids in the kitchen to bake with you and snap lots of photos as you go!


Classic Snickerdoodles:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Gingersnaps:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon gloves
pinch of salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg

Snickerdoodle coating:
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Gingersnap coating:
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Start the Snickerdoodle dough:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the butter, shortening and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs and mix until no yellow remains. Reduce the speed to low and add in the flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Place the dough in a separate bowl, cover and place in fridge while you make the Gingersnap dough.

For the Gingersnaps:
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In the bowl of your *cleaned* stand mixer, beat the brown sugar, molasses, vegetable oil and eggs until smooth and combined. Mix in the flour mixture, stirring until the dough comes together. It may be crumbly but this is normal, work dough into a ball with you hands. Place in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill both dough's for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the Snickerdoodle coating ingredients.
On a plate, pour the granulated sugar for the Gingersnaps.

Taking a quarter size amount of Snicker doodle dough, roll into a ball and toss around in the cinnamon-sugar coating.
Take a quarter sized amount of the Gingersnap dough (you may need to work it with your hands) and roll in the sugar.
Place both doughs together gently and squeeze. Roll into a large ball and place on your prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes or until puffy and slightly golden.
Let cool on the sheet for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

*Depending on the size of your cookies, this will make anywhere from 2-3 dozen*

Your house will instantly smell like Christmas!

Happy Holidays to you all!

Halloween Slutty Brownies

We JUST got back in from trick-or-treating with the boys. We had SUCH a blast this year because the boys finally learned to say "trick-or-treat". I know its probably too late, but I just had to share 1 more fun Halloween recipe with all of you.

Plus, change out the Halloween Oreos for Christmas colored ones and it will work just as well! Or even plain ones are fine. Oooo or double stuffed...

I'm sure you have all seen this bar recipe floating around the internet and I just had to make them Halloween style. Because what's Halloween without a little slutty?

As said in Mean Girls, and I quote, "In girl world, Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it"...And if you haven't seen Mean Girls, I don't think we can be friends... Just kidding. We still can. Just not BEST friends!

But it's the truth. Throw bunny ears on top of some matching lingerie and you're set. Now that I'm a mom with two little ones I don't like more that an inch above my knee caps to show.... Call me old fashioned. So I make up for it by eating slutty brownies. Take that Mean Girls!

Enjoy everyone and have the Happiest Halloween!

For the Brownies:

• Your Favorite Chocolate Chip cookie recipe
• A package of Oreos
• Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix

1. Grease an 11x7" baking dish and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Press the Chocolate Chip cookie dough into the bottom of the pan in an even layer.
3. Top with as many Oreos as will fit.
4. Make your brownies, according to the box directions, and pour evenly over the top of the Oreos. 
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Cool completely and cut into pieces.

These are deliciously sinful. Goodnight everyone!