Unicorn Crunch!

Unicorns, unicorns everywhere!  At least for me.  I love unicorns.  While I should probably not announce from the rooftops that I am 45 and obsessed with them, I am anyway!  

Been awhile, eh?  Busy time, just kind of burning both ends of the candle, and still dealing with eye issues.  Had an emergency surgery to replace 2 sutures, 2 weeks ago and fix a vitreous fluid leak.  Joy.  If you follow me on social media or YouTube you probably know the sorted details!

I wanted to make a variation of puppy chow.  No chocolate, no peanut butter.  Just something else, that is new and SPRINGY!  This is what I got.  The first time around I used plain Rice Chex.  The second time I used Vanilla Rice Chex.  If you can get the later, DO IT.  If not, still Do IT, because this is a delicious!  

  I was thinking if you changed up the sprinkles to red, white and blue you could send it home in  fun bags for birthday favors, like a Capt America birthday, black and yellow for a Batman, etc...

You can't beat a quick no bake dessert like this one.  We have all been in a position where we needed something and we needed it like, NOW!

You will need:
1/2 cup dry vanilla box cake mix
5 cups Vanilla Rice Chex Cereal (or plain)
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cups sprinkles of your choice

Place cereal in a LARGE bowl.  Melt white chocolate chips at 30 second increments at a time until all melted.  I added in vegetable oil to thin my own a TINY bit.  This is optional.  Mix and pour over cereal.  Add in half of your sprinkles and stir until all of the cereal is coated.  Add in your cake mix and the rest of the sprinkles and toss again.  When all of the cake mix has been stirred in, place on a foil covered baking sheet.  Let sit for 30 minutes in a cool place.  Break up and store in a baggie or air tight container!

ENJOY and I hope it makes you feel as magical as a unicorn!

White Chocolate Pumpkin Nut Muffins

Hello my friends!

I am coming to you from my office, sitting at my desk with fluffy socks, leggings and a sweatshirt.  FALL HAS FALLEN!  At least I hope it has.  I mean, the heater isn't coming on anytime soon, but, it is supposed to freeze tonight I believe.  I would like to see more of the sun but I am grateful for what I get.

As most of you know, I go in Tuesday for a right eye cornea transplant.  I had intended to get more recipes out but the last couple of weeks have been filled with nerves, to do lists and did I mention, nerves?  It has been hard to concentrate but hopefully I will get a few ready for you to be able to post while I am down.

This recipe is one I started making last fall.  It is super easy, super, "Fall-ish", and super good, which is definitely the most important part!  We love muffins at our house and you will find a ton of muffin recipes on my website.  I will link to some others at the end!

Here is what you will need:
White Cake Mix
15 oz can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 tsp cinnamon (you can also use pumpkin pie spice)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts of your choice (I used slivered almonds, YUM)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  This recipe should yield about 16 muffins.  Line  your muffin tin with liners and set aside.
In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients and mix until combined.  You could use your stand mixer, but it is so easy to mix up quickly by hand, don't create the extra dishes for yourself!  Well, unless you want to!  You will get a thick batter.
Divide mixture into the muffin pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.  When a toothpick inserted comes out with no wet batter they are done.

Make sure to cut one in half while still warm and add a pat of butter and drizzle of honey!  I might be an expert on this particular muffin!

Enjoy my friends and thank you for stopping by!  Make sure to check out the video as well!

Other Muffin Recipes You Might Love!

Banana Crumble Muffins
BLueberries and Cream Crunch Muffins
Cranberry Almond Muffins
Chocolate Covered Cherry Muffins

Earthquake Cake

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!  If you have been around awhile you know I use any chance I get to say "ya'll"!  OK, admittedly, it is on a sign I have hanging up on my patio so it might not have been an original thought.  In fact, that will be a common theme in this recipe post!

I am not the creator/inventor/developer/goddess of this recipe.  I do believe it has been around quite some time.  I wanted to give it a try.  In researching this recipe, I found about as many versions as there are people who make it.  Just wait until I share another version I found!  Seriously!  I think this could be a rather interesting, and tasty journey!

It is called earthquake cake because of the cracks that form in the top while baking.  But, can I be honest?  Lots that I saw photos of, had no cracks.  The truth is, I don't really think it matters much.  What matters is getting a piece on a plate and wrapping your lips around that fork and throwin' it back!  This cake needs no icing.  It is so decadent, and rich.  SORT of, kinda, maybe a tiny bit reminiscent of a German chocolate cake at the bottom! 

I think you should also have a glass of wine.  I think I am going to start ending all of my blog posts with that.  "Should be consumed with wine".  What do you think?

Here it is!  Check out the video too!  Make sure to.... Crap, let me find my manners.  I would LOVE if you would subscribe to my YT channel!  Thumbs ups, comments, sharing the videos, all help me grow!

Let's do it!

1 box German chocolate cake mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
(or the measurements listed on your box)
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips (another 1/4 cup for later) If you want to use semi sweet or dark chocolate that is fine.
1 8 oz block of cream cheese
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (confections sugar, icing sugar)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray and sprinkle the coconut and 1 cup chocolate chips in the bottom, set aside.

In a bowl, prepare the German chocolate cake mix according to package directions.   Pour evenly over the top of the coconut and chocolate chips.  Set aside

In a small saucepan melt the cream cheese and butter.  When it is melted, remove and pour into a large bowl (or use a large saucepan) and add in your powdered sugar.  Whisk or mix to combine.  Dollop this mixture all over the top of the chocolate cake mix.  Use a knife to swirl it with the chocolate cake mix.  No need to go cray=zay, just do it a little bit and call it good.  Sprinkle the last 1/4 cup of chocolate chips on top and bake for 40-45 minutes.  When you take it out, it should be a little bit jiggly in the center.  No worries, cool it completely and dig in! 

So good, you don't even need frosting!  I mean, whipped cream or ice cream would be great, but, I don't want to be responsible for anyone's bad decisions. 

Apple Cake

How are my easties?  Still under tons of snow?  We might as well have had 3 feet, it has been so blah, cloudy, flurrying, might as well be snow on the ground since it is going to be so gloomy anyway kind of weather.  But ALAS...........  I have brought you CAKE!  Cake makes everything better!

As many of you know, I am not a huge fan of the fruit, all fruit.  Apples are one fruit, I can take.  This recipe came from simply, apples being on sale.   Sometimes that is how recipes happen, I find a good deal, and then I WORK it out!  I don't like fake flavors, and I don't like eating an apple cake that appears to have NO apples at all, whatsoever, in the cake.  This cake should rectify that for anyone who is like me.  I used a cake mix, but if you have a fantastic yellow cake recipe you want to whip up and work into this, get on with your bad self, I was in a cake mix state of mind.

It doesn't matter what kind of apples you use, just use apples.  I know I am supposed to have some technical jargon on why you use this apple for this and that apple for that, but the truth is, I don't care enough to figure that out.  Remember my feelings for the fruit?  The frosting is SAAAAWEET, and the cake is pure bliss.  I doubt the kind of apples you use is going to make the kind of difference some people are looking for in their life.  Sometimes you just have to accept the WHOLE apple.........no matter its background and just be one, with the apple.

Yellow Cake Mix
Apple Juice
1 T. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 med applies, peeled and cut into whatever size you prefer

Frosting:
4 oz. of cream cheese
2 T. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
Milk (if needed, my ingredients were VERY soft and I didn't need it)
1 cup chopped nuts of your choice to sprinkle on top (Optional)

Preheat your oven to the temperature recommended on your cake mix, likely 350 degrees F.  Follow directions to mix up the cake mix, EXCEPT use apple juice in place of the water.  Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, and mix until combined.

 

Dump in your chopped apples, any apples will do, and mix with a spoon.

Pour into greased 9x13 pan (preferably an old horrible looking one from your childhood that brings you joy) and bake for the recommended amount of time.  If you are not sure if  it is done, stick a toothpick or piece of uncooked spaghetti in the middle, if it comes out clean with no wet batter on it, you are in business.  With the addition of the apples/moisture it may take a couple of minutes longer, so don't be surprised if that happens.

Let cool...........

In your stand mixer or in a mixing bowl, add in all frosting ingredients.  Using the whisk attachment let beat for 3 minutes.  If you are using a stand mixer, mix the same amount of time.  When the cake is cooled, frost it up and dig in!  Enjoy the chunks of apples, the spicy cinnamon and the sweet brown sugar!

Melting Candle Confetti Cupcakes!

Good Morning friends!  Fancy meeting you here for a new recipe on a Saturday morning, eh?  I am up, not feeling well, and just cracked a window for some fresh 9 degree F air, and can hear birds singing.  I can't lay back down, or I am going to, well...toss my cookies so I am writing this recipe up for you.  Wait.... let's not call this one a recipe, let's call it a method.   I saw a similar idea on the YouTube channel Cookes Cupcakes and Cardio. It inspired me to make my own version, my way.

Don't be to disappointed that I used a cake mix again! HA!  I used a white one, added double vanilla and sprinkles for my own confetti cake, but you can use any cake flavor you like.  Keep that in mind, as I will write it up how I did this particular version. 

I also used Wilton chocolate.  White chocolate, whatever it is, and used them in the colors of my candles.  I didn't run out for candles these are just some I had on hand, otherwise you may have gotten a bigger color range but, let's be honest, they are going to get pitched anyway.  You will need colors of the chocolate that will match your candles.  I got about 18 cupcakes and did about 4 of each color.  (around there).  This all sounds so wishy washy, doesn't it?  Sorry about that, it is just that it all depends on how many cupcakes you get, or make.  Let's just get on with it, shall we?

Note: You can color white chocolate, with gel/oil based food colors.  Don't use the cheap ones, it will seize on you!  I did color the blue one of mine!  A few of mine were flavored chocolate as well.  Just FYI.

You will need:
1 white cake mix (not paid or sponsored but ya'll know I am a Pillsbury girl)
2 T. multicolored sprinkles
1 T. vanilla extract
birthday candles
colored chocolate
white chocolate chips, or chocolate melting wafers in colors coordinating with your candles.

Mix up your cupcakes, adding in sprinkles and vanilla and bake per package directions.  Let cool completely!!!

When they are completely cooled, work with one color at a time.  I tried to coordinate my cupcake papers as well, not everyone is that OCD, shall we say? 

Place your candles in the cupcakes before you do anything else.  Push them down as far as they will go for this one.  Just makes the "melt" look more realistic.

Melt your chocolate in a bowl 30 seconds at a time and if needed add a bit of vegetable oil to it, if it isn't as workable, or pourable as you want it or need it to be.  Also add your coloring if you need to.  When it is melted use a small spoon and start pouring it down the sides of the candle unto the cupcake.  Do this until you have the desired effect.  I used about 1/2 cup of melted chocolate for 3-4 cupcakes.  Let it drip down the side and pool, create layers, whatever makes it more dippy candle wax-ish to you!  It is kind of a fun look and unexpected with the chocolate on top when people expect icing. 

Let the chocolate set, in the fridge or at room temperature for about 30 minutes and enjoy!

I am still on a cupcake roll.  Don't worry it will all end after my birthday!!!

Cake Mix Vanilla Chip Sprinkle Cookies

Hello my dear friends!

It is about 5pm in the evening. I am listening to some classical piano music, only a lamp on in my "office".  One sister just visited, and we spent the afternoon just chatting, watching some TV, etc.  We had some coffee, and just had a really nice visit.  I was just thinking how nice it is to unplug, power down, and just talk.  Find out what is going on in each others lives, etc.  We seem to find less and less time to do this.  Call someone you haven't seen or "talked" to lately, have coffee or a soda together.  Don't text them or call them, see them, face to face if you can.  It is like the lost art of human contact.  I have no idea what got me off on that tangent or what in the heck it has to do with my cookies but....  I think I am just in a deep thoughts kind of mood.  Yea, maybe that is it.

So here are my cookies!  Finally, right?  I was inspired by the Pillsbury website, when I got a link for these in my spam folder.  I am in another "use up" phase so I modified the recipe to my taste, and what I needed to use up!  They are sweet for sure, but I think they are delish.  I think they would be fun to do with chocolate cake mix, and add cherry flavor and maybe a cherry on top.  Add some white chips maybe?  Oh, as always the possibilities are endless but this is my version, I hope you try it!

Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract (choose any flavor you like)
1/2 cup vanilla chips
3 T. sprinkles
flour
flat bottom glass or your fingers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Lay your cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray. 

In your stand mixer or large bowl combine dry cake mix, eggs, oil, vanilla chips and sprinkles.  Stir or mix just until combined.  Your dough will be a week bit sticky, no problem.

Using a cooking scoop or roll about 1 inch size balls of dough.  Fill up your trays and then tip your fingers OR your flat bottom glass in flour and press the balls down until they are about 1/4 inch thick.  Nobody is coming to your house to measure, so just flatten them out a bit, not all the way but a bit.  Sprinkle the top with extra sprinkles so that everyone knows that fun that is inside!  Bake for 8 minutes.  Mine took literally exactly that amount of time.  They won't get really browned, unless you burn them, they will just get slightly golden!  Let cook for 5 minutes on a cookie sheet to cool before removing.

These are easy and fun, and I wish I had this recipe back in the day of "oh I need to take 2 dozen of something to this meeting in an hour".  They are happy, tasty and cheery.  Most of all they are easy and easy to customize!

This recipe should yield you 2 dozen cookies.  (unless you eat some dough and only get 23)

ENJOY!

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake Bars

How can it already be this time of year?  I probably say this every single year, but, the older I get the older time seems to go.  My mom said it would, boy was she right. 

It is time to start thinking about and planning our Thanksgiving menus!  While I love changing a few things up every year, there are definitely dishes that are tradition that are NOT to be messed with.  Is it like that for you all as well?  If I ever omitted, baked mac and cheese, or coleslaw from a holiday meal, I would be disowned!  This year I am definitely looking forward to Thanksgiving, since our kids have moved here now!  We get to have a real holiday together!  WOOHOO!  I haven't been able to spend a Thanksgiving with my son for about 6 years.  We are just thrilled! 

With all that said, I have a pumpkin loving family.  I wanted something other than a plain pumpkin cheesecake, (however, they are one of my fav's).  I just decided to experiment and when it turned out, I had to test it a second time, I wasn't sure how it turned out this good, but, when I tried it for the 3rd time and my daughter in law informed me, "This is BOMB", I knew it was share worthy!  The texture is crazy awesome and the flavor, well, I mean come on, "pumpkin praline cheesecake".  Pffttt, delish.  I think it will be part of our Thanksgiving dessert table this year.  I hope you make it part of yours too!

OH!  I almost forgot.  The pan you will need...   I used about an 7x10 or something close to that.  A 9x13 will be to big, unless you double your cheesecake layer recipe.  A 9x9 should work nicely.  WHY did I use such an odd size?  I don't know either, but I did.  So just keep that in mind when picking what size to use!


1 yellow cake mix
3/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
8 oz. cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pecans
2 T-1/4 cup maple flavored pancake syrup or maple syrup

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  In a bowl combine dry cake mix and melted butter. 

 

Press into the bottom of your pan evenly and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove and let cool while you mix up your filling.

Combine, pumpkin puree, cream cheese, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.  Pour over crust.  Top with pecans, and then drizzle over your syrup.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, until almost set in the middle.  It will jiggle a wee bit.  Remove and let sit until it is room temperature.  Now chill for at LEAST 6 hours.  I think it is best chilled overnight.  Serve with a some sweetened whipped cream, or a small scoop of ice cream even!

MMMM-mmmm good!!

Orange Pumpkin Cake

Ok, the first thing I have to say is THANK YOU to Mary Beth, at MB Things I Know.  I saw this idea on her page a few weeks ago and I just HAD to give it a try.  I knew I wanted to change it up just a little bit, but I didn't know how until the day I made it!

You must have a Bundt pan for this cake.  For a more real look it must be the one with the lines in it.  I dislike making things you need specialty items for, but I am guessing most of you have a Bundt pan!  You know every single time I type "Bundt" I am saying it in my head like the grooms mother on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"  BOONT.  Now you are too. HA!

The cake shown was completely frosted.  I decided to do more of a poured fondant icing on mine.  You do what you like I will just tell you how I got THIS cake.

You will need:
2 white cake mixes
2 tsp. vanilla
orange food coloring
1 small box of vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 T. light corn syrup
1 orange
juice and zest from 1/2 of the orange
1-2 T.milk

Preheat oven to suggested temperature on your cake mixes.  Mix up both cake mixes in the same bowl, so your color ends up the same.  Add food coloring to get your desired shade of orange and add vanilla.   If you have 2 pans you can bake both at once, I had to do one at a time.  Let it cool, remove from pan and then bake the other.  When both cakes are cooled, turn them bottoms up and trim straight across so they will sit nicely on top of each other.  Pick one of the cakes, and after trimming, use a spoon a dig a channel around the cake.  Dig out about 1 1/2 inches deep and about that wide.  You will be filling this up with the pudding you are about to make! 

Prepare pudding, using only HALF of the suggested milk.  Whisk until creamy.  The cakes should be completely cooled, and using a spoon fill that bottom layer up with the pudding.  It should just come to the top of the channel you dug out, like this.

Now take the second cake and flip it over on top, so both flat sides are together, thus, making your pumpkin shape!  ACCKK!  You did it!! 

Next on to the icing!  In a bowl add in powdered sugar, corn syrup, food coloring, and the zest from half of your orange.  Now take that half orange and squeeze all of the juice from it.  Squeeze HARD!!  Now whisk to combine.  If you want a thinner consistency add 1-2 T. of milk.  It will all depend on how much orange juice you get but I needed 2 tablespoons.  You want it to be pourable, but not to thin.  Now take a spoon and start spooning it over the top of the cake, letting it drip.  I suggest doing one layer, letting it sit a few minutes and then doing another layer. 

For the stem, use fondant, maybe a thick piece of branch that you have covered in saran wrap, some construction paper, or even maybe some flowers!

This cake ROCKS!  Perfect for fall or Halloween.  If you are using it for  Halloween, use black icing and make a jack-o-lantern face on it!!

ENJOY!

Boston Cream Cupcakes

Hello, hello, we must KEEP meeting like this!  You stop in, I have sweet treats, we chat in the comments below, we discuss, and we do it again a couple of days later!  Let's never stop!

Speaking of sweet treats.  I asked you all on Facebook if you prefer regular cake or cupcakes.  You know I have a cupcake addictions so it is obvious what my choice is.   I like single servings and I like freezable.  I can make a batch of cupcakes, freeze half of them and have something quick for company, etc. 

I was telling my husband how I was hungry for Boston Cream Pie and he said, "make Boston Cream CUPCAKES"!   He explained how he would do them, and so that is what I did! They are so simple but SO good!  Thanks honey, you, as per usual, are the BOMB! As my friend Becca would say, " I puffy heart you "!

Enjoy these cupcakes as much as we did. 

1 yellow cake mix
1 3.4 ounce box of JELLO instant vanilla pudding
2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 ounces milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp. butter

Mix up cake mix and preheat oven to whatever temperature the box cake mix suggests.  After you have mixed it up, per the box instructions add 2 tsps. vanilla and mix until combined.  Line cupcake pan with liners and divide cake batter among them.  It always says you will get 24, I get 21, every, single, stinkin, time.  When you are done, again, bake at the time suggested.  Mine took 20 minutes.

Let cool COMPLETELY.

Mix up your pudding.  Use 1/2 cup less than the package suggests for regular pudding.  I like my pudding filling to be a bit stiffer/sturdier then normal.  Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Using a tip with a piping bag, or a spoon to dig out the middle and fill, get those babies filled with pudding.  If you are using a rip and a piping bag, stick the tip almost to the bottom and squeeze slowly until you see it is filled.  If you are using a spoon, dig out a big of the middle, fill and replace cake you pulled out!  There are fancy tools for this, but I find them completely annoying. 

Next make your ganache.  Bring you heavy cream to barely a simmer, and pour it over your chocolate chips that you have put into a bowl.  DO NOT TOUCH IT.  Let the hot cream sit on the chocolate for 1 minutes.  Whisk until all chocolate is melted, drop in 1 T of butter and stir until melted.  Let your ganache sit for 5 minutes.  Then spoon over the tops of your cuppycakes!

You can let them sit for an hour at room temperature OR chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Cupcake heaven!

ENJOY!