Recipe: Healthier, Homemade Peanut Butter Cup The other day, my daughter and I needed a project to work on together, so I decided to try to make our own, healthier version of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Starting with the peanut butter filling, we heaped peanut butter in a bowl. Because we find that a little sweetener is just as good as a lot, we added just a bit of honey, toasted nuts for crunch, and coconut oil for creaminess. This is a great project to do with kids because not only is it a yummy treat, but there is almost no oven work and you can taste as you go along (which my daughter, Elena, certainly did!). I used to like candy bars, but now, though we keep a whole shelf stocked with candy bars (as practice rewards for our students), they don’t really appeal to me anymore (unless I am very, very hungry). Homemade, Healthier Peanut Butter Cups If you use another nut butter, you may need to add more honey. Ingredients Directions In a small bowl combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla, first 2 tablespoons honey, and nuts.
StumbleUpon Mar 14 2012 Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzels Ahhhhh I need to stop with the Pinterest. Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites Ingredients 1 cup creamy peanut butter 2 tbsp softened butter 3/4 cup powdered sugar (maybe more) 3/4 cup brown sugar Pretzels 1 bag milk chocolate chips (for melting) 1/2 bag mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for the "look" Directions 1. 2. 3. Original recipe adapted from the lovely blog: Two Tiny Kitchens. Let us know what you think in the comments below! Perfect Buttercream | stetted You know the scene – you’re at a party, and it’s time for the cake to be served. The cake sure looks beautiful, but the frosting … well, you never can tell with frosting. On the cake it all kind of looks the same. The flavor is a mystery. Both can ruin a good cake and cause people to doubt the skills of the cake baker. Last week I was roped into asked to coordinate last-minute baby shower for one of our temps whose last day was Friday. Megan’s Perfect Buttercream makes enough to fill and frost a 9-inch two-layer cake 2 sticks (8 ounces total) butter, softened 6 cups sifted powdered sugar 4 tablespoons milk (I use whole) 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract Dump everything into a large bowl (preferably stand mixer bowl with whisk attachment). * Tip – the trick to getting smooth frosted cakes is to frequently scrap off excess frosting and dip your spreader into a cup of warm water, then continue spreading.
Homemade Girl Scout Cookies: Samoas Bars & Baking Bites I love the look of the original Samoas Girl Scout Cookies, but making them from scratch can be a little bit time consuming. This is largely because the dough must be rolled out, cut out and then each of the cookies has to be handled individually for topping. The results are well worth it, in my opinion, but we don’t always have time to make a labor-intensive recipe – no matter how bad a craving for Girl Scout cookies gets. Bar cookies are the perfect solution. This is basically a shortcut recipe that still delivers all the great samoas flavor without some of the more tedious parts of cooking making. The final step is to dip these in chocolate once the topping has set. Homemade Samoas BarsCookie Base: 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 cup butter, softened 1 large egg 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 tsp salt First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 300. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Makes 30 bar cookies.
Smurfs' Ice Cream Cinnamon Roll Cake & My Shiny Life - StumbleUpon You all know that I love breakfast foods. Maybe it’s because I don’t really cook breakfast that often. My husband sometimes cooks breakfast stuff on the weekends. We usually just eat cereal in the morning. The other night we had French toast with Portuguese sausage for dinner. Here’s something you could make for breakfast or dessert. Cinnamon roll cake. Super easy. Make some. You’re welcome. Ingredients (recipe from Cookin' Up North) Cake3 cups flour ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 ½ cups milk 2 eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted Topping1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 1 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons flour 1 tablespoon cinnamon Glaze 2 cups powdered sugar 5 tablespoons milk 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
How To… Cook Healthy Mozzarella Sticks | Things Every College Girl Should Know - StumbleUpon photo credit Who says our favorite cheesy foods have to be off limits? Mozzarella sticks are awesome for every occasion, and make for a delightful snack that most of us have been accustomed to since childhood. Now that we’re mature college girls who are more health conscious, we can still have the cheesy snack we all love, guilt-free! What you need 12 sticks of string cheese in your choice of cheese, go for the low sodium kind if you want to be extra healthy1 egg2 tbsp of flour5 tbsp of bread crumbs2 tbsp of parmesan cheeseA dollop of olive oil, or cooking spray Preparation Cut the cheese sticks in half, making 24 slices, then freeze the slices in the freezer until completely frozenBeat the egg in a small bowl. What makes them healthier? What do you think? Have you tried this recipe?
Monkey Bread Muffins This Northeastern blizzard might have ruined some of our holiday travel plans, but I’ve enjoyed the time stuck inside in our apartment, winding down from the holidays and getting my life organized again. Of course that also means facing the work I’ll have to do during my 2 weeks off from school, but we’re going to continue to ignore that for now. Nothing beats being snuggled up inside while it snows, watching movies, and munching on warm homemade muffins. Granted I have a hard time calling these muffins, they’re really more like buttery baked donuts piled inside a muffin liner, but tis the season to be indulgent. This would also be a great project to do with kids — plus you could use a few extra hands rolling all the little balls of dough. Recipe yields 12 muffins
Cookies and Cream Cookies Late August is an awkward time in the baking blogosphere – it’s a little too late for refreshing summery treats and definitely too depressing to start baking with pumpkin and apples quite yet. So today we’re going for what I consider a delicious, timeless classic – Cookies and Creams Cookies. Timeless because they’re essentially season-less, classic in that apparently Oreo’s are America’s favorite cookie (I’m not arguing there), and delicious because it’s freakin’ Oreo’s mixed into a chocolate chip cookie base, what more can I say?! Sometimes there’s just no time for elaborate layer cakes or fancy jello shots. Print Recipe Save Recipe Cookies 'n Cream Cookies Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature 6 tbsp sugar 6 tbsp light brown sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 12 Oreo’s, broken up into small pieces Directions: Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well mixed. Gently fold in Oreo pieces.
How to Make Italian Hot Chocolate | bell' alimento - StumbleUpon I am revisiting a post I did way back when I ehem was still knee deep learning about this crazy thing we call blogging . I’m calling a mulligan on this one. It’s perhaps my FAVORITE cold weather drink – Ciccolata Calda (aka Italian hot chocolate, the best hot chocolate in the world) and I think once you’ve tasted it, it will be your favorite too. Italian hot chocolate is rick, thick and decadent. To get that rich flavor be sure to use the highest quality chocolate you can find. If you want to make it extra special add a few whipped cream hearts (pictured top of post)! Baci! How to Make Italian Hot Chocolate What You Will Need: 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate 70% or higher 1 1/2 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons corn starch What To Do: Into a saucepan over LOW heat add chocolate and a smidge of milk.
just a small batch of chocolate chip cookies « Thyme and Reason April 13, 2010 by thymeandreason I had a conversation with a friend about cookies – which made me want them. But, as I’ve said before, baking is not my favorite thing, and I did not want a huge batch of cookies sitting around my apartment, or my place of employment. After doing a quick internet search, I found this recipe, for a small batch of chocolate chip cookies. From what I can tell, the recipe was adapted from the book, Small Batch Baking. Here’s the recipe: 2 T. plus 2 t. butter at room temperature 2 T. brown sugar 2 T. granulated sugar 2 T. egg, well beaten (beat an egg, then measure out 2 T.) 1/4 t. vanilla 1/4 c. plus 2 T flour scant 1/4 t. baking soda 1/8 t. salt 1/3 c. chocolate chips – I used mini chocolate chips because that is what I had around. Cream together the butter and sugars using an electric mixture (or not, but it is easier with). Mix in the eggs and vanilla, stir in the dry ingredients, then the chips. Bake at 375 for 8-11 minutes. These came out perfectly. Like this: