Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

I stumbled upon this recipe for Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies from Foxnews.com (probably the last place I would have ever thought I'd find such a delicious recipe).  

These cookies look and sound delicious, but the sweetest part is how simple it is to make them.  It only takes about half an hour to make these cookies which beats the pants off of the six hours it takes to make a regular cheesecake :).




What You'll Need:

• 1 Cup of Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 6 Tablespoons of Butter
• 5 Tablespoons of Cream Cheese
• 1/2 Cup of Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup of Chopped Strawberries

What To Do:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper
2. Whisk the flour and salt together, then set aside
3. Beat the butter and cream cheese on high until the mixture is creamy, combine the sugar.  Then add the egg and vanilla until well combined.  Reduce your mixer speed to low while stirring in the flour
4. Turn off the mixer and fold in the chopped strawberries
5. Scoop the cookie dough onto the baking sheets (about 2 tablespoons each)
6. Bake for 10 minutes
7. Cool before serving

Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to two days.

Birthday Cake Truffles

This no-bake birthday cake truffle recipe is from Six Sisters Stuff.  Instead of the regular cookie dough truffle which has been trending recently these sisters have added a sweet twist, cake batter.  Who could resist this delicious treat?

Here is their recipe:

Cake:

1. 1&1/2 Cups Flour
2. 1 Cup Yellow Cake Mix
3. 1/2 Cup Butter (softened)
4. 1/2 Cup Sugar
5. 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
6. 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
7. 3-4 Tablespoons Milk
8. 2 Tablespoons Sprinkles

Coating:

1. 16oz. White Candy Melts
2. 4 Tablespoons Cake Mix
3. Sprinkles!

To make the cake start by beating the butter and the sugar together until combined.  Then mix in the cake mix, flour, salt, and vanilla.  Next add in 3 Tablespoons of milk, only add more if you need it; the mixture should have a dough-like consistency.  Finally mix in the sprinkles before rolling the dough into one-inch balls.

After you have rolled out all of your dough begin melting your chocolate using either a double-boiler, chocolate melter, or your microwave.  After you have melted your chocolate quickly stir in the cake mix until it is combined.  Then using a fork dip the balls into the chocolate (like a cake pop) and place onto a cookie sheet.  Finally top with sprinkles and repeat.

ENJOY! :)

Party Popcorn

This is for all of you popcorn lovers out there :).

SheWearsManyHats.com has a simple recipe to please all of you popcorn and chocolate fanatics.

Normally I am NOT a fan of popcorn, but even I'm willing to give this recipe a try.  This recipe only calls for three ingredients: 1) Popcorn; 2) Candy Melts; and 3) Sprinkles.  All you have to do is pop your corn, melt your candy melts, mix or coat the popcorn, and quickly sprinkle the nonpareils.  

SheWearsManyHats.com recommends laying the popcorn on a baking sheet and pouring the melted candy on top of the popcorn.  I prefer dunking the popcorn into the melted candy (it's less wasteful and easier to clean).  Either way works :)

Champagne Lollipops

I found these liquor lollipops on Preston Bailey.com and instantly wanted to make them.  The stars in these lollipops are Wilton's edible glitter.  Bailey's listed these as wedding favors, but I want to make these for my aunt's bridal shower.  Bailey's didn't give the recipe :(, but luckily I think I found one that will work :). 

 

Leites Culinaria has a recipe for liquor lollipops so I'm going to choose champagne as the liquor.  Here is Leites' recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup and 1 Teaspoon Champagne (or other liquor)
• 2 Tablespoons Cold Water
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
• 1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Directions:

• 1. Use a lollipop mold or a silicone mat on a baking sheet.
• 2. Mix together only 1/4 cup of the champagne, and the water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan until all of the sugar is wet. 
• 3. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Then boil to 300°F (149°C) without stirring.
• 4. Remove from the heat, and, working quickly, mix in the remaining 1 teaspoon of champagne. Still working with haste, drop the syrup into either lollipop molds or onto a silicone mat.
  
  Tips:
• - If using lollipop molds, quickly drop the syrup from the tip of a large spoon into the cavities of the lollipop molds. Place a lollipop stick in the center of each disk, and twist it 180 degrees so that it’s fully covered in syrup. Let cool completely.
• - If using a silicone mat, quickly drop the syrup onto the silicone mat so that it forms 2-inch disks and immediately after plopping the syrup on the sheets place a lollipop stick in the center of each disk and twist it 180 degrees so that it’s fully covered in syrup. Let cool completely.
• 
  
• 5. Peel the lollipops from the molds or silicone and store in an airtight container, preferably at least overnight to allow the flavors to develop, until ready to indulge.

Homemade Yellow Butter Cake

This recipe makes the most amazingly delicious yellow cake <3!

The cake comes out as fluffy and light as a pancake but tastes like a delicious sugar cookie even before your frost it.

Ingredients:

1. 2 Cups and 10 Tablespoons of flour (or 3 cups minus 6 tablespoons)
2. 3 1/3 Teaspoons of baking powder
3. 3/4 Cup of salted butter (room temperature)
4. 1 1/3 Cups of sugar
5. 6 egg yolks
6. 1 Cup of milk
7. 2 Teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

First sift the flour and baking powder together in a medium sized bowl, then set it aside.  In a separate bowl beat the butter until it is creamy, then add in the sugar and beat it until it is light and fluffy.  Next add in the egg yolks one at a time, beat well.  Then add the vanilla extract and mix until all of these ingredients are combined.  After all the ingredients are combined gradually the flour/baking powder and the milk (add 1/3 of the flour, then half of the milk, then 1/3 of the flour, and the second half of the milk, then the rest of the flour).  Mix all of the ingredients.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes

You'll never go back to boxed cake mix!

Buttercream Recipe

Up until now I HATED buttercream, but after playing around with the Wilton recipe I think it is delicious!


Nobody ever complained about my previous buttercream recipe, but to me it smelled like popcorn (not something I wanted on a cupcake).  

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Crisco

1 Pound of Confectioner's Sugar

At Least 8 Teaspoons of Milk

Steps:

1. Blend all of the ingredients together

2. Add more milk if the buttercream is too thick or too sugary

3. Continue blending until the mixture is whipped

4. Use on cake and cupcakes :)

Grandma's Homemade Cheesecake

Until recently I was not a fan of cheesecake; however, I have just recently become a big fan of cheesecake.  


Here is a simple recipe with a few tricks to make cheesecake :).






Ingredients:

• 1lb Cottage Cheese
• 1lb Cream Cheese
• 1 1/2 Cups of Sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 1 Tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 4 TBSP Corn Starch
• 4 TBSP Flour
• 1 Stick of Butter
• 1lb Sour Cream

Crust Ingredients:

- 1 Sleeve of Graham Crackers

- 1/4 Cup Sugar                      .

- 1 Stick of Melted Butter       .

To Bake:

Preheat the oven to 325

Use a springform pan if you have one.

Begin by making the crust, first,put all of the Graham crackers into a sealed Ziploc bag and smash the crackers until they make a fine powder.  Next pour the powder into your pan and add the sugar.  Finally add the melted butter to your mixture and use your hands to shape the crust.  The crust will cover the bottom of the pan and some of the sides, it will not cover the entire side of the cheesecake.  Now you can move on to create the cake batter.  Mix the ingredients together in the order they are listed in, DO NOT STOP STIRRING.  If you have a stand mixer it will come in handy because you need to continuously stir while adding each ingredient.  Once all of the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth pour the batter into the crust.  If you are using a springform pan put a cookie sheet under the pan to catch the extra butter which will seep out from the bottom of the pan.  Bake the cake at 325 for 1 hour (DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR!), after it has baked for an hour turn the oven off but leave the cake in the oven for an additional hour and again DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR, not even for half a second!  After you have patiently waited 2 hours you may open the oven door and remove your cheesecake, however you must then continue to wait before you can eat the cheesecake because now it must sit in the fridge for at least an hour and a half.  I recommend leaving it over night.  Enjoy! :)

Healthy Treats For Your New Year Resolutions

Everyone always makes new year resolutions to lose weight or eat healthier, here are some delicious looking recipes from Shape magazine that will help you sacrifice the calories without sacrificing taste :).

1) FONUTS:

These are fake doughnuts, they look like doughnuts but they have about half the calories of a real doughnut. This quick and easy treat only takes a bout half an hour to make and makes about twenty four mini doughnuts. Here is the recipe for the Rosemary-Olive Oil Fonuts :).

 Calorie Count: 143 per Fonut (9g fat, 15g carbs, 2g protein, 21mg calcium, 1mg iron, 81 mg sodium) Compare to Dunkin' Donuts at anywhere from 200-500 calories for a full size donut.

                                                                                                                                  Ingredients:

2 Cups of Flour

3/4 Cup of Sugar

2 and 1/4 Teaspoons of Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup of Milk

1/4 Vegetable Oil

2 Tablespoons of Coarsely Chopped Fresh Rosemary

Zest from 3/4 of a Lemon

Juice from 1/2 of a Lemon

1/4 Cup Pine Nuts (for the top of the fonut)

Steps:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 and grease your doughnut pan.

2) Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl

3) In another bowl mix the eggs, milk, oils, rosemary, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

4) Combine the wet and dry ingredients

5) Mix until they are combined (this mixture may be lumpy)

6) Fill each slot 2/3 of the way full.

7) Bake for 10-12 minutes

8) Grind the pine nuts into a powder and place the powder into a shallow pan, when the doughnuts are finished cooking lightly spray the top of them with a cooking spray and dip them into the pine powder.

For more Fonut Recipe's check out Shape's website :).

2) Vegan Cupcakes:

If chocolate is your weakness try out these chocolate cupcakes topped with a healthier version of butter cream.  This recipe makes about 12 frosted cupcakes.

Cake Ingredients:

1 Cup of Almond Milk

1 Teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar

1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil

3/4 Cup of Sugar

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla

1 Cup of Flour

1/3 Cup of Cocoa Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Powder

3/4 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt

Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of Vegan Margarine (or butter)

3 Cups of Powdered Sugar

2 Chai Tea Bags

2 Tablespoons of Boiling Water

2 Tablespoons of Almond Milk

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt

Cupcake Steps:

1) Preheat your oven to 350

2) Mix the vinegar and the almond milk and let them sit for five minutes

3) Whisk your vinegar almond mixture with the oil, sugar, and vanilla

4) In another bowl sift the dry ingredients together

5) Combine both bowls and mix them together

6) Pour the batter into the cupcake molds and bake for 25 minutes.

Frosting Steps:

1) Beat the butter until it is soft

2) Brew the tea in the boiling water and let it sit for ten minutes

3) Add the almond milk to the tea

4) Next mix the tea with the powdered sugar and the butter

5) Beat for ten minutes

6) For extra flavor try adding some cinnamon to the frosting.

For more on these cupcakes check out Shape Magazine

3) Molasses Cookies:

Yum!!  These cookies look delicious and they have healthy ingredients to help you get your sugar fix while keeping you in shape and on track for your new year goals.  Makes 20 Cookies.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of Ground Flax

1 Egg White

1 Banana

1 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour

1 Cup of Oats (not instant)

1/2 Cup of Blackstrap Molasses

2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon of Ground Ginger

1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

Steps:

1) Preheat the oven to 350

2) Combine the flax and egg whites

3) Mash the banana in another bowl

4) Add the flour and oats to the banana and mix well

5) Add the flax and molasses and mix until combined

6) Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir well.

7) Scoop rounded spoonfuls of batter onto a baking sheet

8) Bake for 25 minutes

For other healthy cookie ideas scroll through Shape's healthy cookie slide show.

4) DRINKS :)

Celebrate the new year and get a jump start on your resolution at the same time.  Celebrate with a 92 calorie Cranapple Cobbler.  Mix 1 and 1/2 oz of TY KU Liqueur with 1 oz of apple juice and a splash of sugar free cranberry juice.  For other drinks Shape can help give you ideas.

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Low Cal Strawberry Smoothie

This is a recipe I made myself so I really hope you try it and love it as much as I do.


Calorie Count: 106


Ingredients:
- Ice
- Strawberries
- Smucker's Sugar Free Strawberry Preserves
- Light and Fit Strawberry Yogurt




This will make enough smoothie to fill one large glass, like the one in the picture :).




Start by filling half of your tall glass with crushed ice, then put the ice into a blender to really crush the ice.  Next put in four whole strawberries (obviously cut off the green top first) I prefer Dole's frozen strawberries but it doesn't make a big difference.  (Cal Count: 4 medium strawberries are about 16 calories) Blend the strawberries and ice until there are no big pieces, you want strawberry snow for this part.  Next add 1 tablespoon of the sugar free strawberry preserves (Cal Count: 10 calories from the preserves, totaling so far at 26) and the entire container of yogurt (Cal Count: 80, totaling 106) into the blender.  Blend well, once it is completely mixed and smooth (hence smoothie) pour it into your tall glass and enjoy!


YUM!!

Tri-Color Cookie Recipe

Everyone loves Tri-Color cookies; but forget about the store bought cookies they just taste like flour.  You can make these yourself and they will be the best cookies you have ever had.

What You Need:
- 1 Box of Pound Cake (and any ingredients on the box)
- 1 oz. Bottle of Almond Extract
- Red and Green Food Coloring
- Apricot Preserves
- 1 Box of Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate 
- Three 11X7 Pans
- A Double Boiler or Chocolate Melter (I prefer the double boiler for these cookies)

Preheat: As directed by the box of pound cake

Start making these cookies by following the pound cake recipe.  Mix in half of the bottle of almond extract, this doesn't have to be perfect just approximately half.  Next separate the batter evenly into three different bowls, now you are going to color the batter.  One bowl will not be colored at all, one bowl will be red, and the last bowl will be green.


Spray each of your pans and coat them with flour before pouring one color in each pan.  Put the pans in the oven for 12 minutes.  While the cakes are in the oven cover the bottom of a cookie sheet in tin foil, this is where you will layer your cakes.  First take the green cake out of the pan and put it onto the foil covered cookie sheet.  Next coat the top of your green cake in a layer of apricot preserves, this should be a thin layer.  Then put your "white" cake for the next later, cover this layer in apricot preserves as well.  Some people prefer raspberry but I am not one of those people :P.  Finally layer the red cake on top (DO NOT PUT PRESERVES ON TOP OF THIS LAYER).


Next you will melt half of your chocolate (four squares if you are using Baker's).  Melt the chocolate in your double boiler.  Using a spatula spread the chocolate over the top of your layered cakes and on the sides.  Coat as much of the cakes as you can.  Now put the cake into the freezer for about 15 minutes or until the chocolate hardens.  After the chocolate has hardened you are going to flip the cake so you can coat the bottom of the cake.  Melt the remaining four squares and cover the rest of the cake.  


Before putting the cake back in the freezer use a knife to mark where you will cut.  If you outline your cutting marks before the chocolate is hard it will be easier for your to cut the cake later.  Only outline the marks, do not actually cut through the cake.  Place the cake back in the freezer until the chocolate is hard and then cut them into cookies.


YUM!

Ravani

Ravani is a delicious plain cake.  It looks very simple and is covered in syrup.


Cake Ingredients:
       1 lb. Butter
       2 Cups of Sugar
       12 Eggs
       2 Cups of Flour
       2 Tablespoons of double acting baking powder
       1 and 1/2 Cups of Farina (Cream of Wheat)




Syrup Ingredients:
       4 Cups of Sugar
       4 Cups of Water
       1 Tablespoon of Vanilla


Preheat the oven to 350


In a large bowl beat the butter until it is fluffy.  Gradually add the sugar whiling beating the mixture.  Next add the eggs one at a time and beat on a low speed between each addition.  Now sift the flour and the baking powder together before adding them to the mixture.  Then add the farina (cream of wheat) and mix the batter until it begins to thicken.  Grease an 11 X 17 inch cake pan before pouring the mixture into it.  Make sure the batter is spread evenly in the pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.


While the cake is baking you can begin to make the syrup.  In a saucepan mix the sugar, water, and vanilla.  Bring this mixture to a boil and allow it to simmer for 40 minutes.


When the cake is done baking pour the hot syrup over it (I recommend using a ladle for this part).  Keep the cake in its cake pan and cover it with foil.  Allow the cake to cool, after cooling cut the cake and enjoy! :).

Candy Cane Cookies

These cookies are simple and delicious.


Ingredients:
      2/3 Cup of Butter
      3/4 Cup of Sugar
      1 Egg
      1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
      2 Cups of Flour
      1 and 1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
      4 Tablespoons of Milk
      A Pinch of Salt


Preheat Oven to 375


First mix the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt together.  Then mix in the butter and egg.  MIX BY HAND!  Then add the milk.  Next split the dough in half, one side will get red food coloring mixed into it.  Refrigerate both halves for 30 minutes.  Finally roll pieces of the dough in your hands to create "snakes", wrap two snakes (of different colors) together and add the hook before placing on the cookie sheet.  Bake for 7-10 minutes.


If the dough starts sticking to your hands either use flour or put the dough back into the refrigerator. 

Cake Pops

Cake Pops! Yum!

These are very easy once you know what they are made of, my advice for these is to stay away from "cake pop molds" or cookie pans they are a waste of your time and won't make a real cake pop.  The reason those won't work is because they completely exclude the frosting step which makes the cake pops moist and delicious.

How to make cake pops:

             1) Make a regular sheet cake from a box of cake mix

             2) Let that cake cool COMPLETELY

             3) Crumble the cake into a large bowl

             4) Add 1/3-1/2 a can of frosting into the crumbs

             5) Mix, the mixture should be able to be molded

6) Roll the mixture into balls

7) Melt chocolate

8) Dip the stick into the chocolate and then into a cake ball

9) Let that cool so you can pick up the cake ball by the stick

10) Dip the cake ball into the melted chocolate

11) Place the stick into a block of Styrofoam to cool


For cute ideas and more instruction check out Bakerella or The Crafty Penguin