Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cup Oreo's

Simplicity in a bite, but wonders in taste.


This desert will blow your mind, you literally do not know what you have in your hands when holding it before you. The amount of different tastes you encounter on this journey will not only leave you wanting more, but will give you post traumatic shock.


Ingredients
Oreos 24
Peanut Butter Cups 12

Melted chocolate

Sprinkles and/or coconut

Directions

1. Put the Oreo half with the cream on a cutting board.

2. Place a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup on top.

3. Put another Oreo half with the cream on top and press down gently.
4. Dip the treat in melted chocolate. (Be sure to cover the whole thing in chocolate!)

5. Remove the UYC (Unidentified Yummy Creation) from the chocolate with a fork and set it on a baking sheet to harden.

6. Scatter some sprinkles on top of the Chocolate- Dipped Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Oreos. You can choose whatever colour or colours you want.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or just in the microwave!

Try and keep your hands off these, I dare you.

*Another cute idea would be to follow this exact steps but use mini oreos and mini peanut butter cups!*

Raw Carrot Cake

When I made these I had no idea what I was in for. I had never baked anything that didn't actualy needed to be baked and still considered it a "cake". These are the exception that I will allow into my kitchen any day of the week! These are absolutely faboulous and healthy! Prefect for any no bake diet, which if I had the will power I may consider... or not.

Simple and easy, what's not to like?


Ingredients

Raw Carrot Cake Ingredients:

3 cups shredded carrots

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup raw walnuts

2/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

 

Raw Cashew Vanilla Frosting Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight

2/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/3 cup water (use more or less to achieve desired consistency)

1/3 cup honey

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

pinch of salt

Method

To Make The Raw Carrot Cake:

Pulse together all ingredients in a food processor until well-blended. Press mixture into a mini cheesecake pan or mini 4-inch springform pans or an 8-inch springform pan, or just a simple 8-inch baking pan. Top with Raw Cashew Vanilla Frosting just before serving (recipe below).

To Make The Raw Cashew Vanilla Frosting:

Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor until blended. Add extra water to thin to your desired consistency if needed.

Banana Trail Mix

This recipe can be adapted anyway you like to suit your taste more. Subbing in different nuts and dried fruit makes for more interesting and new ways to enjoy the same base of the recipe.

The recipe uses coconut oil  but that could defiantly be swapped with melted butter. As well, the banana could be swapped with yogurt, you just have to be aware that the final product may come out less sweet.

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup oats

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, divided

1/3 cup chopped candied ginger

1/3 cup chopped dried cherries or cranberries

1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate (you can sub in chocolate chips)

1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, melted

1 cup ripe banana, mashed

1/4 cup honey

1 large egg, preferably at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon turbinado (raw) sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan (see note below on how to make muffins).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in 1/2 cup shredded coconut, then mix in the chopped ginger, dried fruit, pecans and dark chocolate.
3. In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, mashed banana, honey, egg and vanilla.*
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup coconut. Top with a light sprinkle of turbinado (raw) sugar.
5. Bake for until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes or longer. Let the bread cool in the pan before slicing. This bread is dense and not very easy to slice; I found that my sharp paring knife worked better than a serrated bread knife.

*If your coconut oil goes back to its solid state when you’re stirring the batter, just warm the mixture for short 30 second bursts in the microwave, stirring between each, just until it is melted again. *

Banana Empanadas

Banana Empanadas

 

Empanada Dough

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (2 cups allpurpose 1 cup whole wheat)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold water

2 egg

1 egg white

1 teaspoon vinegar

3 tablespoons shortening

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.
 3. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.
4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.
 6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours

Banana Filling

Ingredients

3 cups sliced bananas

2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine bananas, sugar and cinnamon. Mix well and set aside.
Unroll pie crusts onto a flat surface.

Using a ring mold, make circles in the dough. Put the banana mixture on the dough and place another round on top. Pinch around the edges of each section to seal. Transfer the empanadas to the prepared baking sheet and make slits in the top of each to allow steam to escape. Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake until crust is golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the empanadas on a platter. Serve with ice cream or sprinkle with powdered sugar, if using.

Cinnamon Buns

Cinnamon BunsSoft, Moist, and Gooey
There is nothing better than putting in hard work to get out a nice warm cinnamon bun. Lets not forget lathering in icing!

The Dough

1/2 cup milk

2 egg, beaten

4 tablespoons melted butter

4 tablespoons water

4 cups pastry flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

.25 grams yeast

The Filling

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup  brown sugar

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

 

1. In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

 

1. Divide dough into two pieces. Roll each piece into a 12x9 inch rectangle. In a bowl, stir together the cinnamon and brown sugar. Spread each piece with half of the butter, half of the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough, using a little water to seal the seam.
2. Cut each roll into 12 slices using a very sharp knife or dental floss. Place rolls onto two 9x13 inch greased baking pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Brownie Bunch

Moist Brownies

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Before you get to making this you must know, these brownies are absolutely delicious and you will be strongly addicted. Don't worry, there's an App for that.

Steps to glory

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking pan(the wider the pan is, the less amount of time you will have to bake).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Also good...

Adding almonds, chocolate chips(white or chocolate), little banana slices, or adding icing and chopped strawberries


Best served warm with a cup of milk

*when you insert a tooth pick it may still come out a bit covered, the brownie will harder a bit out of the oven. as well, these are moist brownies*

Here's a funny link if your trying to get baking but your body just wont do it.

www.belarr.com/bakercat/

Banana Muffins

This are absolutely delicious and are prefect on so many levels.

I have a friend who is terrified of bananas:everything about them scare her. Even the sight of bananas makes her cringe. Me being me, I snuck one of these in front of her without her knowing the flavor. She absolutely loved them!! I have cured her insane phobia and got a free complement out of it!

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups All Purpose Flour

1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp salt

1-1/2 sticks butter

1 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup buttermilk (milk or coconut milk can be used here as well)

1 cup shredded coconut (I skipped them since I didn’t have any in hand)

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with a kitchen mixer using paddle attachment. Add sugar and beat for a few minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time while continue to beat at low speed and vanilla. The mixture will be silky smooth – add banana and lower speed.

Mix in the flour and buttermilk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour.

3.Fill into cupcake pans (fill up about 2/3-full, you should get approximately 18 cupcakes), bake them for about 18-minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

   Apple Crumb Cake

For the Dough:
4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 package Active Dry Yeast
9 tablespoons  unsalted Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
Pinch of Salt
Juice from Half of a Lemon
1 cup Milk
For the Apples:
4 to 5 Apples
Lemon Juice from One Lemon
1/2 cup Sugar

For the Crumb Topping:
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 sticks Unsalted Butter
1 1/4 cups Sugar
1 package Vanilla Sugar
Pinch of Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon


Create a "pre-dough" by combining the milk and yeast. Use a whisk to help dissolve the yeast. Mix in one tablespoon flour and one tablespoon sugar. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for one hour. During this time, you should see the yeast becoming active, noticeable by bubbles forming in the mixture.

Sift the remaining flour.

Using a mixing bowl, whip the butter until it is smooth. Add sugar and continue whipping until the sugar is absorbed. Change your mixer to the dough hook. To the mixing bowl add 3 cups of flour, milk, lemon juice, salt, and the "pre-dough." Combine all the ingredients. Gradually add remaining flour until dough is no longer sticky (if the dough reaches this point before adding all of the flour, then stop adding flour). Knead dough for 2 minutes. Transfer dough to a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place for one hour or until it has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

While the dough is growing, prepare the crumbs by combining all the crumb ingredients. Crumbs should not be sticky. If they are sticky, add some extra flour (1 tablespoon at a time) until they crumble easily. Set aside.

Wash, peel, and core the apples. Cut apples into thin slices. Drizzle lemon juice over the apple slices and mix to distribute the juice over all the apple slices. Set aside.

Prepare a retangular cake pan by greasing it and dusting it with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a flour surface for a minute or two. Roll the dough out to fit the cake pan. Transfer dough to the cake pan. Top the dough with apple slices and optionally the almond slices. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar. Top the apples with crumbs. Cover cake loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise again for 30-40 minutes.

Remove plastic from cake. Bake cake for 40 minutes or until the dough and crumbs are golden brown. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely. Dust top of cake with powdered sugar.

Cake Decorating

The Icing is In

One of the best ways to brighten up a cake is to decorate and personalize it yourself. What is better than having someone slave over a cake just for you...? The fact that you didn;t have to do it yourself. Well now its time to return the favour, and return the flavour.

I find the best icing is Betty Crocker premade icing. Using pre-made icing allows you to know how it will taste and how it is to work with. Other icing that you use made from scracth often come out to liquidy, not spreadable, etc.

 

*When filling your piping bag with the icing put the bag in a cup, thus allowing you to put the icing in without holding the bag*

Here is a site with great step by step ways of icing, with tips to get the best results!

http://www.howcast.com/guides/168-How-to-Decorate-a-Cake

Get inspired

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij2GOSdXHuo

Blueberry Blast Tart

Ingredients

For the Crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

 

 

 

 

For the Filling

6 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter; process until large moist crumbs form (dough should hold together when squeezed).

1. Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom; with floured fingers, press evenly into bottom and up sides. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes; prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes; cool completely.
2. Meanwhile, reserve 1 cup of the prettiest berries for topping. In a medium saucepan, bring 1/4 cup water and 1 1/2 cups berries to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to break down, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water; stir into berries in pan. Add lemon zest and juice, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, stirring, just until mixture begins to thicken, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining 3 1/2 cups fresh berries. Immediately pour hot berry mixture into cooled tart shell, and smooth with a spatula.
4. Scatter reserved berries on top, pressing down lightly to help them adhere. Refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

 

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature

   

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt for 30 seconds, set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on medium-high speed, whip together eggs, sugar and vanilla until mixture is very pale, fluffy and thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Mix in melted butter and vegetable oil. Working in three separate batches, beginning and ending with flour, add 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by 1/2 of the milk mixture, blending until well combine after each addition. Pour batter into 12 paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven 19 - 22 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack, then frost with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting and top with a small whole fresh strawberry or fresh strawberry slices.

*To bring the eggs to room temp quickly, simply submerge in a bowl of warm water for 5 - 10 minutes. To bring milk to room temperature quickly, simply heat in microwave on high powder in a microwave safe dish for 15 - 20 seconds until no longer cold.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup  strawberries

2 1/2 Tbsp milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, whip butter on medium-high speed until very pale and fluffy 6 - 8 minutes, frequently scraping down sides and bottom of bowl. OR if you do not have a stand mixer you can use a hand mixer which will only take 8-10 mintues.

 

You can pulverize the strawberries if you like, or if you want a more strawberry texture use a knife. I find cutting them up into fine peices gives a wonderful texture and a great appeal.

Stir in strawberries, milk, and powdered sugar and whip mixture for 4-5 mintues. Best results if served within the hour.

Reciepe found at www.cookingclassy.com