Pistachio Oreo Fluff

Happy June everyone!  Can you believe it is already here?  School is out for most of you, graduations, summer sports, days at the beach, swimming and more will quickly begin!  But alas, it is also bathing suit season.  This terrifies me in ways I can't explain.  I know!  Let's have dessert and not think about it!

It is also time for lots of BBQ, picnics, family reunions, etc.  You will likely already have a stocked arsenal of recipes for such events, but please, let me share with you something new, SUPER easy, and delicious.  It isn't so overly sweet, but light and creamy and fluffy and OH SO GOOD!  This recipe was just inspired by a recent collaboration video I did on my YouTube Channel!  I taste tested the new Pistachio Oreo Thins!  My husband is a pistachio lover, and these thin Oreo's were no different.  I wanted to come up with something easy for summer, no baking or cooking, simple, not many ingredients and so here we go.

1 pkg Pistachio Oreos
1 3.4 box INSTANT Pistachio Pudding
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/3 cup SHELLED Pistachios (adjust to your taste)

In a bowl combine pudding, and heavy whipping cream.  Using a hand mixer or stand mixer if you are doubling or tripling the recipe for a larger group, mix until creamy and stuff peaks are formed.  Take approx 10-15 Oreos and crush them with your hands into the mixture.  Fold mixture to combine.  Cover and chill at least 1 hour, more is better!  Before serving, crumble over a handful more Oreo cookies and your chopped pistachios for a wonderful salty crunch!

Like I said, this is not a super sweet dessert.  It is just perfect and the texture is delightful!  The occasional chunk of cookie, or salty crunch of the nuts.....perfection!

Enjoy this dessert.  I wrote this amount for a small group, doubling or tripling is easy and better suited for a larger amount of people!

Give this a try!  Let me know how you liked it!

Halloween Treat Crunch

I am in a Halloween state of mind.  After all besides it being my "littles" first Halloween, and they live here, AND it is a great chance to scare the H-E-double hockey sticks ouf of my sisters, it is also my anniversary.  I will have been married to my angel for 11 years this year.  Or wait, is it 12 years?  No, I think it is 12.  Anyway, we love celebrating all things Halloween, nothing to hideous or horrid, just fun.

This will be an easy treat for a Halloween party, or that last minute, "Mom I need to take something to so and so"  and you need to be there in 30 minutes.  Use whatever you have on hand and call it a success!!  I used items I find typical of Halloween or in Halloween colors but the world is your sandwich, make it how YOU like it.  It is an easy, no bake.  Wait.  You DO have turn on the oven, and let your chocolate melt but.......even that you COULD do in the micro and then spread on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  So technically...........oh Lordy, nevermind.

You will need:

8 cubes of white chocolate/almond bark ( I wish I could tell you how much that was but let's be honest, I had a couple of packs already opened and well, ya know...)
1 Butterfinger bar
1/2 cup candy corn
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup mini oreos or 10 large oreos.  Roughly chopped and a few left whole. 

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set your almond bar on top like so......

After 5-7 minutes, it will be melted, but you won't know because it will hold its shape.  So I poked mine with an offset spatula to find it was in fact all melted and spread it not to thin, and not to thick, you want your "stuff" to stick so do it like so..........

Then I sprinkled all my goodies on top.  Place another piece of parchment on top and press those treats into that melty goodness.  Remove the parchment and it will look like........ SO.......

 

Now let it sit for 30-45 minutes on the counter or about 10-15 in the fridge.  Break it up or cut it up, just get it in your belly!

ENJOY!

Peanut Butter Oreo Brownie Cupcakes

Yes, you can re-read the title but that IS what it says.  Oh, you guys.  I don't really have words for this.  

My sister shared this recipe with me.   She always finds the most decadent stuff!  I hope to find out where she found it, if I do, I will add it to the bottom of this post!   Anyway, talk about a sinful, decadent, rock your world dessert.  If you love Oreo's, peanut butter and chocolate, just mix them together and this little piece of ecstasy will knock your socks off!

This is a lot of convenience items, and if you don't groove on it, make your own brownie batter from scratch!  It should make 18 cupcakes.  If it doesn't, don't sue me, and please feel free to lick the batter bowl, eat a cookie, or lick the peanut butter spoon at will!

You will need:
36 Oreo cookies
1 cup peanut butter of your choice
1  large size brownie mix, your favorite. 

Place 18 cupcake liners in your cupcake/muffin pan.  Into each cup layer as follows....  Cookie, peanut butter, cookie, peanut butter.  Do this with all of them. 

Mix up your brownie mix and pour over the top of each cookie/peanut butter tower.  Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners.  Don't worry if you think it didn't get all the way to the bottom, it will get there in the oven!  Bake using the brownie mix directions! 

Let these cool 15 minutes before serving.  Heaven, pure heaven. 

These freeze beautifully, they keep for several days in an airtight container although let's be real, they aren't going to last several minutes, let alone days. 


P.S.  Should you happen to have brownie batter leftover, just bake it up like a cupcake!

Outrageous Oreo Cupcakes

I am so excited about these.  I was SO hungry for Oreos the other day, and I normally am not a HUGE Oreo cookie fan.  Well, I was thinking if I bought a package, I would need to justify it with a recipe for you all.  I was awake until 3am the other night/morning.  While I laid there counting sheep, the truth is I had visions of fluffy icing, and Oreos in my head.  After some deep thought I came up with this idea, because after all, everything is better with cream cheese, and chocolate cupcakes.  I didn't make the rules, that is just a fact of life kids. 

 

That being said, you can frost these how you want.  I have shared Swiss Meringue Butter cream with you by this by far is my favorite.  Maybe because I am Italian?  Maybe because I just like it better.  If you don't care for it, you can choose any other frosting you want, I have several here if you just search them using the search bar!

You will need 24 cupcakes.  Get them however you want.  Just get them.  Make sure they are COMPLETELY cooled before you proceed with any of this.  If they aren't cool, you are going to have a mess of melting goodness.  What a shame that would be.  I won't tell if you use a box mix, because I did, and I won't tell if you walk up to the bakery at your local food store and buy 24, just get some.  Period.  The end. 

Lettttttttttttt'sssssssssssssssssssss rrroolllllll..............

24 chocolate cupcakes- (from scratch, from a box, from the store, just GET them!)

Filling:
2 8oz bricks of softened cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
20 Oreo cookies, crushed into small chunks

Mix all ingredients except the cookies.  When all ingredients are completely combined, fold in cookies.  Set aside, or refrigerate if preparing ahead of time.

Italian Meringue Butter cream
5 eggs whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup butter, softened
thermometer

In a stand mixer bowl, add in egg whites.  Whisk until it becomes frothy.  Turn up the speed and add in 1/4 cup sugar gradually, and continue to whisk JUST UNTIL SOFT PEAKS.  Then STOP!  Let sit while you prepare your sugar syrup.

In a small pot add in 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup water.  Using a candy thermometer or whatever kind you choose, heat it to 245 degrees F.  Stir occasionally and do not walk away from it!!  When it reaches 245 degrees, take it over to your stand mixer and eggs whites.  Turn on the whisk to medium, and immediately start drizzling in the sugar syrup to the center of your bowl or as close as possible.  You don't want the syrup to cool to quickly or you will get grains of sugar crystals in your icing.  Add in vanilla when done drizzling in the syrup.  Continue to whisk until the bowl of your mixer which is now very hot, is room temperature.  IF you think it is almost done and the bowl is still hot, turn down the speed.  When it is room temp, add in butter in slices.  Continue to whisk until all combined.

Now to prepare the cupcakes........

Using a small knife, cut a round circle into the center of the cupcake and lift it out.  It should be a cone shape piece of cupcake.  Pointed at the top and flat on the bottom (once you flip it over!).  Use a small scoop and add in a heaping scoop of the Oreo cream cheese filling.  See photo. 

Replace the piece you cup out, flat side down, pointed (inside part) up!  This will make your icing look nice and tall without using a TON of icing!  Repeat with all  of your cupcakes!

These are AMAZING that is about all I have left to say.

Dirt Cake

Good afternoon friends.  My husband has been asking me to make this for so long I feel terrible.  I don't even remember how long it has been but I can tell you it has been months, if not a year or better.  I love this dessert, and I love my husband so I am not sure what took so long. 

I can remember the first time I had this.  I was a kid, and I was THRILLED with the whole concept of eating worms from dirt.  OMG, what does that say about my developmental health?  Well, anyway, I have made it several times throughout my adult life, a few times in a sand bucket from the toy section, using the shovel as the spoon to serve.  I have done it in a flower pot and used a clean new trowel to serve it.  You can really do a million things with this, so I encourage you to be creative, it is so fun.  AND delicious!  By the way, I used more Oreo's than I ever have on this recipe I won't be going back to using less anytime soon. 

2 pkgs. Oreo cookies
1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz.)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cups milk
1 -12 oz.tub Cool Whip
2 -3 1/2 oz. pkg. instant vanilla
1/2 tsp. vanilla
gummy worms

First of all find a container.  Traditionally you can do this in a CLEAN sand bucket with a shovel (toy section) or a clean flower pot.  I did mine in my Pampered Chef Trifle bowl, you can even do it in a plain bowl, just pick your vessel my friends, pick your vessel!

Now, let's start with the Oreos!  In a food processor or in a Ziploc with an instrument of mass destruction, get ALL of the Oreos into crumbs, FINE crumbs and set aside.  Mix butter, cream cheese and sugar and vanilla together with your electric mixer or stand mixer (using whisk attachment).  Then add in milk, and pudding.  Whip for 2-3 minutes, until blended and fluffy.  Now add in your whipped cream, beat into mixture.  Decide how many layers you think you want and take some cookie crumbs and layer than into the bottom of your container.  Then, layer on some pudding mixture.  Rinse and repeat, ending with the cookie crumbs to simulate the DIRT!  As you're layering the ingredients, place several gummy worms and /or critters in the "soil".  Chill in refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours before serving

I am sure you have had this before, or you WISH you had it before, but now, you CAN have it.  ANYTIME you want it!  This made my hubby happier than a worm in dirt!

Your "dirt makes for a happy hubby" Chefwannabe