Good Afternoon! Yesterday I got busy in the kitchen with a another festive, fall recipe. Have you seen these new Pillsbury Caramel Apple mixes at the store? I thought it was time to give this a whirl! This is a modified version of the cookie pie recipe that was on the back of the box. They also have cake mixes of this stuff that you could probably do a lot with, too! I actually haven't tasted this yet but it looked pretty great and it smelled awesome after it came out of the oven!! Yay for October baking!!
CARAMEL APPLE COOKIE PIE
What you need to make the pie:
1 package Pillsbury Caramel Apple Flavored Cookie Mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
2 cups chopped tart apples (I used Granny Smith)
2 heaping tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon instant oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Optional:
1 tablespoon melted butter mixed with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/3 cup Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Caramel Apple Frosting
To make the pie:
1. Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9 inch pie plate with non-stick cooking spray or Crisco.
3. Stir cookie mix with oil, egg and water in a large bowl until combined. Divide the dough in half.
4. Press one half of the cookie dough into the bottom of the greased pie plate.
5. In a small bowl, mix your apples with the brown sugar, oats and cinnamon.
6. Flatten the remaining piece of dough on a sheet of wax paper to the same size as your 9 inch pie plate. (I just put the wax paper on top of the dough already pushed in the pie plate to get a similar size.)
7. Spread the apple mixture on the base layer of the cookie with about 1/3inch remaining on the sides.
8. Invert your second, round piece of cookie dough on top of the apple mixture and seal the edges of the cookies together. Cut several slits in the top of the dough.
9. I then topped the cookie with the brown sugar/butter mixture in small drops all over.
10. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until edges are golden brown.
11. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
12. In a small ziploc bag, place about 1/3 cup of the frosting and microwave for 7-10 seconds. Cut a small opening in the corner of the bag and drizzle frosting on the top of the cookie.
14. Cut and ENJOY!!
Fall is in the air!! I am so excited that there is a crispness outside and lighting the oven is no longer sinful! A couple of weekends ago I worked on mini-pies for some close friends of ours that just had a baby. In the midst of preparing these, mom and I decided we might use these for my brother's upcoming spring nuptials! We're preparing the dessert for the wedding festivities and the bride-to-be was hoping to have some sort of apple or cherry slices/turnovers. But after making these little mini pies-I'm convinced this could easily be a yummy, pretty, wedding treat! (Hence the hearts on top of the last batch.) You can make this recipe as easy or as difficult as you'd like...just decide how much time you have and how much effort you want to expend!
MINI PIES WITH CHERRY-BERRY FILLING
What you need for the mini pies:
1 box refrigerated Pillsbury pie crusts (now if you want to go all homemade, you can reference my pie crust recipe here...if you're in a hurry, these pre-made ones are a snap!)
1 recipe of cherry-berry filling (recipe to follow) OR
1 21oz can of ready made pie filling
What you need for the cherry-berry filling:
1.5 cup frozen cherry-berry fruit mix
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the filling:
1. Mix all ingredients in a pan on top of the stove. Heat on medium heat until the mixture becomes warm-about 5 minutes. (If berries are whole-as mine were-remove from the pan and slice into bit size pieces and return back to the pan.
2.Continue cooking until mixture is hot and bubbling, about 5-7 more minutes.
To make the mini pies:
1. Heat your oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Remove pie crusts from packaging and unroll on a clean work surface. If you made yours, roll the pie dough out about 1/3 of an inch thick.
3. Using a 3 1/2 or 4 inch round cutter (in my case, I used the top of a drinking glass) cut out 6-7 rounds from one pie crust. Save the scraps if you want to make a topping decoration for later.
4. Fit the rounds into an ungreased muffin tin. (I experimented here and cut parchment paper rounds for the bottom of some of the tins as I was afraid the pie crusts would stick. Upon removal though, this was not necessary for the Pillsbury crusts.) You can play with the edges of the crusts in the cups any way you like.
5. Fill each cup with about 2 tablespoons of your choice of filling.
6. Bake in pre-heated oven for about 15-17 minutes until the crusts are golden and your filling is bubbling.
*If you want to top the cups with a decoration, just use your scrap pie dough. I cut free-hand hearts to place on top before popping them in the oven.
ENJOY!!
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!!
It's that time of year when everyone is trying to find new ways to use up zucchini from their garden! Luckily I am taking advantage of all the surplus since we don't have a garden this year. I've previously posted chocolate zucchini muffins, and everyone knows about zucchini bread but this time I tried something new- zucchini brownies. I promise can't taste the green stuff...it just makes them super moist. They're also actually quite light and fluffy and a great evening treat! So go on, try this new goody with the excess zucc's you've got sitting on your counter!
ZUCCHINI BROWNIES
What you need for the brownies:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups zucchini, grated and drained (I used a paper towel to help dry it out)
To make the brownies:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan.
3. In a large bowl mix together the oil, sugar and vanilla extract.
4. In another bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Mix the dry ingredients into the oil mixture until combined (it might still seem a bit dry). Then fold in the zucchini- this will moisten the mixture.
6. Spread your batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until brownies spring back a bit when you touch them.
ENJOY!
There's not much better than a fresh fruit cobbler. Warm and gooey, slightly crunchy, satisfyingly sweet. Topped with some ice cream or perhaps a little whipped cream? C'mon, I know your mouth is watering! I think I've only made cobbler about twice in my life... I usually leave it to the experts at Cracker Barrel when I'm really craving it. However, I was in the mood for peaches and decided this was a good way to serve them up. I had a little fun with this recipe and added in some fresh bing cherries as well. So yes, the prep work was a bit much but to balance that out, I cooked this recipe in the crock pot. How easy! Serve this up at your next gathering or make it just for you and save the leftovers for a sweet treat all week long!
PEACH AND CHERRY COBBLER
What you need for the cobbler:
5 fresh peaches (you can use frozen if you'd like, probably close to 5 cups)
30 bing cherries (you can use as much or as little as you'd like, this was just what I did)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Topping
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup +2 tablespoons rolled oats (you can eye ball this)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of butter, at room temperature (plus a little for the greasing the crock pot)
To make the cobbler:
1. Clean up and slice your fruit. I peeled the peaches with my potato peeler and then sliced them from top to bottom and then in half. I cut the cherries in half, removed the pit and then sliced each half in half (ending up with four slices per cherry). I swear the rest of this recipe is easy after this. To make it faster, I did the fruit prep work the night before and then threw the rest of it together this morning.
2. Mix the next 5 ingredients together in a bowl; then toss with the fruit.
3. Butter the bottom and sides of your crock pot. Add in the fruit.
4. Next, mix up your topping. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbles.
5. Pour this mixture on top of your fruit in the crock and turn on low for 2 hours.
At the end of two hours, remove the lid (the condensation can make the topping really soggy) and keep on low or 'keep warm' for another hour. I actually popped mine in the oven for 25 minutes (in the crock, without the lid) at 350 after the 2 hours but you can easily let it go for another hour in the crock pot-whatever you prefer! Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
ENJOY!!
PS. Here's Teddy lounging while I worked in the kitchen. He has such a tough life ;)
