I love the 4th of July holiday, or the thought of it anyways. I always hear of people having out door BBQ's, kids running around the yard, and big family celebrations. We live in a unique place where it more than likely will be 110 degrees plus. This kind of prevents us from being able to enjoy the outdoors. We are able, once the sun goes down, to enjoy the fireworks. This is something we look forward to. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I enjoy just having a day with my family where we can just relax and enjoy the day off from our day to day work. Someday I hope that we can live in a place where we will be able to play outside in the summer but for now we just have the beautiful mild winters to look forward too.

With the 4th of July coming up soon I was trying to think of a dessert I could make for the holiday. Nothing says America like a nice big piece of apple pie. This one is made even cuter with the addition of the star shaped top crust. I thought this was a fun idea when I saw it over at Annie's Eats. I must admit that this is my first time ever making a pie crust from scratch. It really wasn't that hard Annie gives great instructions. You can click HERE for her great step by step. The key is to handle the dough as little as possible and to have all your ingredients very cold. I will say that is was a piece of cake, I mean pie! I hope you have a great rest of the week and wonderful 4th of July!

Star Spangled Apple Pie
recipe source Annie's Eats

double pie crust recipe such as this one
5-6 medium/large Granny Smith apples (about 2½ lbs.), peeled, cored and sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water (for egg wash)

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pie dough into approximately a 12-inch round.  (Keep the other half of the pie dough chilled for now.)  Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate, trimming the excess and crimping the edges.  Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Position an oven rack in the upper-middle position.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the sliced apples, sugars, flour, spices and lemon juice.  Toss well to combine.  When the bottom crust is finished chilling, pour the apple mixture and accumulated juices into the bottom pie crust and use a spatula to even the top out slightly.  Dot the surface of the apples with the pieces of cold butter.  Roll out the remaining pie dough on a floured work surface.  Cut out numerous star shapes and use these to cover the top of the pie.  (Alternatively, make a lattice top crust.)  Brush the top and edges of the crust with the egg wash.

Place a baking sheet on the lower oven rack.  Place the pie on the upper rack and bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling, about 50-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Post linked to Sweet As Sugar Cookies & Add A Pinch

I guess I have cupcakes on the mind. I've got another one for all you chocolate lover's out there. If you are also a peanut butter fan than you will be in cupcake heaven with these babies. My favorite candy had always been the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. This is the one and only thing that I snag from my kids Halloween buckets. When I was younger and thought nothing about the amount of calories I ate on a daily basis (ah, the good old days) I would buy a whole bag of Reese's and consume the entire bag within a day or two. Oh, how guilty I would feel if I did something like that now. These cupcakes are really, really good. I just used a simple chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines is my favorite brand). The frosting recipe comes from Your Homebased Mom and it is what takes these cupcakes over the top. It is simple but amazing. These would be great for a birthday party, shower, potluck, 4th of July picnic, or just because you are craving chocolate. I hope you enjoy! Stay cool!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cake Mix for 2 Layer Cake & ingredients to prepare
Peanut Butter Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 C creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
6 C powdered sugar.
2-4 tsp of milk until desired consistency

Prepare and bake cupcake according to cake mix directions; cool completely.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, peanut butter  and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Gradually add in powdered sugar.  Add milk, 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency.

Fill a Ziplock Bag with the frosting and snip a little corner of the bag with scissors. Squeeze gently and frost the cupcakes in a circular motion. Top with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup if desired.

When I saw the recipe title for these cupcake I just knew I had to make them. Orange Creamscicles are one of my favorite frozen treats on a stick and to recreate them in cupcake form sounded heavenly. The cake portion is super easy to make. You just use a white cake mix, orange juice, and orange jello powder along with the usual cake mix ingredients to whip up the most wonderful orange flavored cake. Don't even get me started on this amazing icing. The cream cheese icing also has orange jello powder mixed in and it is so light and refreshing that you might want to eat it with a spoon. My husband is not a fan of frosting and even he said it was really good. These cupcakes are just perfect for the start of summer.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
recipe source Your Homebased Mom via Better Homes and Gardens

1 3 oz. package orange flavored gelatin
1 2 layer size white cake mix
1 small box of cheesecake instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 1/4 C orange juice
4 eggs
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners (makes about 24-27 cupcakes).  Set aside 2 tsp of the orange gelatin for frosting.
In a bowl mix together the remaining gelatin, cake mix, pudding mix, orange juice, eggs, oil and vanilla.
Fill muffin cups with batter – about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes before frosting.

Frosting:
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 C butter
2 tsp vanilla
5-6 C powdered sugar
Reserved orange gelatin
1 tsp finely shredded orange peel
orange food coloring if desired, I didn't use this

Soften cream cheese and butter at room temperature for at least 30minutes.  In a large bowl beat butter, cream cheese, reserved gelatin, orange peel and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Add in orange food coloring if desired.

Post linked to Sweet as Sugar Cookies & Add A Pinch & Mom's Crazy Cooking & At Home With Haley

I've got a quick and easy snack recipe for you. Your kids are going to love them and you are going to love that they are healthy. Most of the ingredients to make these are probably in your cabinet or pantry. This would be a simple recipe to let your kids help out with. Hope you enjoy and have a great weekend.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Balls (Healthy)
Recipe Source Go Graham Go

1 1/2 cups of quick cooking oats
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of honey (I use just a little less than 1/2 because I prefer them to be more firm)
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:
Toss the oats into the food processor and blend until you have fine pieces.  In a separate bowl, mix together the peanut butter and honey.  Next, add in the chocolate chips.  Add the oats to the mixture and mix well.  You may need to use your hands to make sure every last bit of the oats has been mixed into the pb/honey/choc chip mixture.  Roll into small balls and refrigerate for a few hours or you could freeze them for several months.

Post linked to Good Cheap Eats & At Home With Haley & Mom's Crazy Cooking

I've gotten to where I buy those cake ice cream cones quite often. My kids enjoy eating their regular yogurt in them as well as frozen yogurt & ice cream. I was at Wal-Mart the other day and I picked some up not really examining the box because I am always in a hurry. Later that night I opened them up to make my girls an ice cream cone and was quite surprised at how small they were. When I say small I mean tiny. These things would only hold maybe a couple tablespoons of ice cream. After examining the box closely I realized that the cones pictured are the actual size.


I was kind of bummed that I got the wrong size but when I showed the kids they got all excited. I guess they are kind of cute. These will really stretch a container of ice cream. I was thinking about what else I could do with these cute little cones and came up with cupcakes baked in them. These would make a great little treat to take to a party or even for a birthday party. Like I said, I found these cones at Wal-Mart so maybe yours will have them as well. I've never noticed them at my grocery store but that doesn't mean they don't have them.

So there really isn't a recipe. Just use your favorite cake mix or homemade cake batter. Take the mini cones and place them into mini muffin tins to help them stand up straight in the oven.


Fill only about 3/4 of the way, maybe even a tad less. You don't want them to over flow. Bake for about 16-17 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool completely. Frost them however you want and then decorate. I frosted mine with Cool Whip dyed blue.

I hope you enjoy this fun little dessert idea! Have a great weekend!

Recipe linked to Add A Pinch & Good Cheap Eats

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend. They always go by too fast for me. I think that the weekend should be changed to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This would make for a more relaxed society. I can't believe it is May already. This year has flown by way too fast for me.

Once again I have a Monday COOKIE recipe for you. I've mentioned before how I think Monday's should be all about making cookies because they will bring something pleasant to the day. These cookies are reminiscent of the much beloved Nutter Butter's. I don't buy Nutter Butter's very often (at all) but I do really like them. I can remember my Sunday school teacher bringing them to us at church to keep up alert and happy, not an easy task I'm sure. The taste of these cookies come pretty close in my opinion. They are soft and chewy with a luscious peanut butter filling.You definitely have to be a fan of peanut butter to enjoy these because they are full of peanut goodness. Enjoy your COOKIE MONDAY everyone!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
recipe source Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Cookies3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick-cooking oats

Filling
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons heavy cream or half and half


Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, peanut butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the egg and vanilla.  Beat to incorporate.  With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.  Finally, add the oats and beat briefly to distribute evenly.

Use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden and puffed, and the edges are set. Be careful not to over bake. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then transfer then to the wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat to bake all dough.



To make the filling: Combine the butter, peanut butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium speed until smooth.  Add the heavy cream and beat until fluffy.  Match the cookies in pairs by size.  Transfer the filling to a piping bag and pipe a small amount onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair.  Sandwich the cookies together, and press the filling to the edges.  

Makes about 18 sandwich cookies

I know, I know, I just made cookies last week but I had another desire to make some today. I love making cookies. I find it a bit therapeutic. It is fun to find different takes on the cookie and try them out. Click HERE to take a look at my other cookie posts. There are hundreds and hundreds of recipes for a chocolate chip cookie but this is the first time I've come upon a recipe with this in it.


My favorite dessert in the whole world, ICE CREAM! I could eat ice cream everyday and never tire of it. I most especially love soft serve (MCDONALD'S). I found this recipe over at Picky Palate.  These cookies baked up nice and fat. I have a little trick I use when I make cookies to make them look a little bakery like. I roll them in a ball, about golf ball size, and them break the ball into two pieces. I then do a quarter turn and squish the two pieces together. This gives the surface a broken up look that when baked look very professional. The original recipe called for vanilla ice cream but I thought I would try them using Breyer's Mint Fudge Brownie ice cream. It would be fun to experiment with different types of ice cream in these cookies to see what fun tastes you could come up with. Something just popped into my head as I'm writing this. How fun would it be to sandwich a scoop of ice cream between two of these cookies? I would call them Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches. That is a mouthful. Maybe instead of Muffin Monday's we should have Cookie Monday's. For those who kind of dread Monday's, this would make them something to look forward too. HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cookies
Recipe Source Picky Palate

2 sticks softened butter
1 Cup granulated sugar
3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 Tablespoons pure vanilla
Heaping 1/2 Cup ice cream (frozen from container) Whatever Flavor You Like
4 Cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 bag chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a stand or electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy.  Add in eggs and vanilla until well combined.  Add in ice cream until combined.
2.  Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix.  Add to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips; mix until just combined.  With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are cooked through.  Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. 

3-4 dozen cookies

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped Heath Bar pieces (Eight 1.4 ounce bars) or 1 (8-ounce) package of chocolate-covered or regular toffee bits

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric stand mixer), with an electric handheld mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla and mix until the mixture is very light in color and creamy. Add the flour mixture and stir to combine. Once it is about halfway combined, add the heath bits and mix until all the ingredients are mixed together. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. On cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or a Silpat liner, scoop the cookie dough into about 1-inch balls. Place the dough about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets (these cookies have a bit of spread to them!). Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies

My FAVORITE candy of all time would be the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I love them so much that I try to stay away from them, otherwise I might go a little overboard and feel guilty later. When I was young and had no regrets about what I ate I used to buy whole bags of peanut butter cups and eat them all within a couple days and I didn't think twice about the calories. Those days are long gone (DARN). I still will sneak one every once in a while when my children receive a candy stash of some kind. I tell you, I am in heaven for that 30 seconds it takes to eat it. I stumbled upon this recipe that was apparently a copy-cat version of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and wanted to find out for myself if it was possible to make them at home. I must say that they do come pretty darn close. It took all my willpower not to take a spoon and work my way through this peanut butter bliss pictured below.


I am happy to report that I was able to contain myself and finish whipping the eggs up. These will be a fun treat to make with your kids. They can take the peanut butter dough and shape them into eggs. Then after they are dipped in chocolate, they can go at them with the sprinkles. If you are a Reese's fan, your going to enjoy these for sure.

Peanut Butter Easter Eggs (Reese's Copycat)
recipe source Confessions of a Cookbook Queen


9 graham cracker sheets, crushed into fine crumbs
6 Tbsp butter, softened (6 Tbsp)
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 1//2 cups powdered sugar
Candy Melts or Almond Bark

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine all the ingredients except for the candy melts. Mix on low until fully combined. You can do this by hand as well if desired.

Shape the mixture into egg shapes. The easiest way to do this to roll some dough into a golf ball sized circle and then shape into an oval. Place on wax paper lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour. (I was out of wax paper so I just sprayed some foil and it worked fine)

Once the eggs are frozen, melt your chocolate according to package directions. Place the eggs in the chocolate one at a time and use a fork to remove to place back on the wax paper (foil). Sprinkle with sprinkles immediately before the chocolate has time to set up. Place back in the freezer for 30 minutes.


This recipe will make 12 Reese's Eggs sized eggs. You can double or even triple if desired. I guess you could even halve it or 6 but that would just be crazy. Enjoy!!

I would never believe this could possibly be good had I not made it myself. I am begging you to go and make this cake. You will be absolutely amazed. Amazed I tell you! Bananas have a magical power, really. They have the power to replace butter and oil in recipes and yield the same, if not more, moisture and texture as using the full fat. I am in love with you Mr. Banana for allowing this to be true. Okay now combine that awesome banana with lots of yummy cinnamon and little mini-chocolate chips and you have a healthy snack cake that tastes divine. Oh, I almost forgot, I used whole wheat flour too. It just keeps getting better doesn't it. They key is to have nice and ripe bananas on hand like these:


This is where the yummy banana flavor is at it's best, plus they are way easy to mash up. So how could you go wrong with this. I didn't think you could come up with a reason. Let your family sing your praises and tell you what a great cook you are and have a giant piece yourself knowing that it's pretty much guilt-free. Enjoy!

Banana Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cake
adapted from Two Pea and Their Pod

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.

Sometimes I take a bite of something and I am taken by surprise. The only thing I can say about these cookies is OH, YEAH! I hit the nail on the head. They are let me take a couple or ten and hide in the closet where I won't be bothered so I can savor each and every bite good. Oh I almost forgot the best part, they are low fat. Yeah, you heard me. These unbelievably good cookies of which I am talking about are guilt-free. So if you do decide to lock yourself away in the closet with them you don't have to feel so guilty. These cookies have the flavors of banana bread in a scrumptious oatmeal cookie. The bananas replace some of the butter but are the reason that these cookies are so moist. One important note about these cookies is to make sure you don't over bake them or they will be dry. If you aren't quite sure if they are done, take them out and let them cool. Even if it is a few minutes early. Also make sure that your bananas are nice and ripe, that is were the wonderful flavors will come from. The credit for this wonderful recipe comes from Gina at Gina's Skinny Recipes. She has a great blog with very tasty low-fat recipes. I changed hers up just a bit. She used chopped walnuts but I would rather have mini chocolate chips. I also added a 1/2 tsp more cinnamon than her, I love my cinnamon.

Chewy Low Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Skinny Taste

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup mashed ripe banana
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups quick oats
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°; line two baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silpat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, with a mixer, cream together the butter and the sugars on medium speed.

Add the egg, followed by the mashed banana and vanilla extract.

Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain; stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cookies become light brown at the edges. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

My favorite fruit of all time would have to be the strawberry. I suffer throughout the winter because of the lack of fresh strawberries, frozen just aren't the same. Here we are in the month of March where strawberries are starting to make their appearance at the store. I get especially excited when I see them for .98 a lb like they were yesterday. I had just seen this recipe over at Two Peas and their Pod, they got it from Martha Stewart. I just knew it would be the perfect thing to make with my fresh strawberries. I am so glad I did. This is kind of a twist on strawberry shortcake (one of my favorite desserts of all time). The strawberries are baked right into the crust. The only change I made was to add some fresh orange zest to the batter. I think it gave it a great little hint of citrus that paired perfectly with the strawberries. One more great thing about this recipe is that it is so quick & easy and most of the ingredients are things you probably have on hand already. I hope you enjoy this great spring time treat.

Strawberry Cake
adapted from Two Peas and their Pod who adapted it from Martha Stewart

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. fresh orange zest
1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of cake (I just used granulated)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform pan or pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Set aside.
Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
Gradually mix in flour mixture. Fold in orange zest. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Arrange strawberry slices on top of batter. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over berries.
Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 50-55 minutes. Let cool in pan. To serve, cut into wedges. Store cake at room temperature, for up to two days.

I have been following the most amazing blog for a while now. This girl (Jenny) never ceases to amaze me. Her creations are awesome. Go check out Jenny at Picky Palate if you have a chance. I saw these no bake cookies and knew they would be a hit with my family and an easy thing to make with my daughters. They are kind of like a rice krispie treat but with Oreo's instead of cereal. It's a funny coincidence but as soon as she posted this recipe I started to think about other cookies that would be good in the place of the Oreo. Nutter Butter's came to my mind first and wouldn't you know it that the very next day she posted the same recipe with Nutter Butter's. I guess we were on the same wave length. I will try those in the very near future. These are so easy to make with only 3 ingredients and no cooking and are ready to devour super fast. Enjoy!


Chewy Cookies & Cream Bars
Recipe Source Picky Palate

16 oz package Oreo's
5 cups large marshmallow's (1 whole package minus about 7)
4 Tbsp. Butter

Place Oreo's in a food processor and process until ground up.

I will admit right now that I don't enjoy the traditional St. Patrick's Day food. I pretty much stay away from corned beef & cabbage. My husband loves corned beef so maybe I will surprise him and make it someday but for now this is as close to St. Patrick's Day food as I'm going to get. It is green right? This dessert is very light and refreshing. It's the perfect thing to eat for dessert after a bigger meal. It's also very versatile. You can change up the Jello flavor to whatever floats your boat or layer a few different colors for very pretty presentation. Whatever you decide don't forget about the whipped cream on the top to make it look extra special.



Here they are hanging out in the fridge. Can you tell we like yogurt?



2 pkg. (1 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding

3 cups cold fat free milk 1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping, thawed, divided 1/2 cup light sour cream 1 box vanilla wafer cookies 4 bananas In a large mixing bowl, combine pudding mix and milk. Mix with a whisk until combined and thickened. Fold in the Cool Whip and sour cream until thoroughly combined. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, layer half of your cookies on the bottom. Next goes a layer of bananas, just to cover the cookies. This could take 1 1/2 to 2 bananas depending on their size. Next layer half the pudding mixture. Then layer the other half of the vanilla wafers, more bananas and the rest of the pudding mixture. Smooth the top over, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. This pudding gets better as it sits, even better the 2nd day.