Hi Everyone! I can't believe I never posted these- I made them a long time ago! Our house has been on the market now for 2 and a half months...I decided at the beginning that for all of our showings, I would make a treat for people to take and eat as they walked through the house. I had hoped this would persuade them that they just LOVED the house and had to have it. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet. Regardless, for the first set of showings I made blueberry muffins...I thought this would be a healthy and standard snack that everyone would eat up. I was wrong! After 3 showings only one muffin was gone. I was so bummed! I had made these truffles for fun the same week just to have something sweet around the house. So, the next showing I put these out to see if they did better than the muffins...8 were missing when we returned! I couldn't believe it! Needless to say, I've steered away from the healthy snacks and am relying on chocolate to get me through. One of these days it's gotta work, right? Anyway, try this SUPER easy, no-bake treat tonight!
OREO TRUFFLES
What you need for the truffles:
1 package Oreo cookies
1 package 8oz cream cheese (softened- you might even use the microwave to get this extra soft)
1 package of chocolate almond bark
1 tablespoon shortening
To make the truffles:
1. Blend the Oreo cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs form.
2. Add the softened cream cheese to the Oreo crumbs and pulse until combined. Old fashioned hand mixing works well for this, too.
3. Form into 1 inch balls and place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet. Place in the fridge about 30 minutes until firm.
4. Before pulling the balls out of the fridge, melt your almond bark in a microwave safe dish with the 1 tablespoon of shortening.
5. Dip the balls in the chocolate and place back on the wax paper. Refrigerate until outside chocolate is set and crunchy. See, I told you this was easy peasy!!
ENJOY!!
Hi y'all! Back again pretty quick with one more zucchini recipe for the season. Here's another sweet take on the stuff! I know these are similar to muffins but I turned them more into a cupcake with some extra spices and cream cheese frosting. Use up the last of your garden zucchini with this sweet treat!
ZUCCHINI CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
What you need for the cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 very large zucchini or 2 medium, coarsely grated (about 3 cups)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
What you need for the cream cheese frosting:
1 package 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
4 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line cups of a standard muffin tin with paper liners or grease with Crisco.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
3. In another bowl, lightly beat your eggs together. Add zucchini (pressed lightly with a paper towel first to remove excess liquid), oil and vanilla.
4. Add this wet mixture to your flour and stir until just combined.
5. Fill your muffin cups about 2/3 way full and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25-27 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
6. While your cupcakes are baking/cooling, beat your cream cheese and butter together until combined. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar in one cup increments until you've reached a desired consistency.
7. Once cupcakes are cool, pipe icing on top and ENJOY.
Cupcakes should be stored in the fridge. This recipe makes about 24.
PS. Here is Teddy enjoying some frosting (don't worry, this was AFTER the cupcakes were iced)...I guess his love for cream cheese translates to frosting too!!
(Sorry guys...forgot to post this last week so the weather synopsis is a little outdated!)
So a couple of weeks ago the feeling of fall was almost in the air. Certainly not today, when it's a sweltering 90 degrees here but a few weeks ago, there was a touch of crisp to the air. It got me in the mood for a fall recipe so I made these apple pie bars. They were scrumptious! I'm not suggesting making them this week since it's going to be even closer to 100 (ugh!) but maybe two or three weeks from now when the apple orchards are ripe for picking and you have a bushel to use you can whip up these bars. I kind of made this one up as I went and I didn't write a whole lot down but I think you'll get the gist of it! Have fun!
APPLE PIE BARS WITH CRUMB TOPPING
What you need for the bars:
1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
6 tart apples (peeled, cored and diced)
7 tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup preserves (I used apricot)
Crumb topping:
1/3 cup (heaping) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup rolled outs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Press the refrigerated sugar cookie dough into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. (I lined mine with parchment paper to make it easier to remove when it was all done but it's okay if you don't.)
3. Next, prepare your apple filling by combining the diced apples in a large skillet or pot on medium heat with your flour, sugar, and cinnamon.
4. Cook on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until the apples start to soften.
5. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix your water with the lemon juice and cornstarch.
6. Add your cornstarch mixture and jam to the apples and stir until the mixture becomes thick. This will require cooking for another 5-6 minutes.
7. Pour your apple mixture on top of the raw sugar cookie dough.
8. Prepare your crumb topping by mixing all the dry ingredients with your melted butter with a pastry cutter or fork until combined.
Sprinkle this on top of the bars.
9. Bake for about 30 minutes until the crust and topping is golden.
ENJOY!!
