Rocky Road Freeze

I made this for some friends a few days ago. They were coming over for dinner one night so I planned on making my dessert the day before because I had to work the day of our 'dinner party'. Unfortunately though, I didn't realize that Cool Whip had to be thawed for 4-5 hours before you can use it and I bought it at 6 pm the night I was planning on making the dessert. So I ended up having to get up at 5:30 AM the morning of the party to make my dessert. But it was worth it! :D

Rocky Road Freeze

1 pkg cream cheese (250g)
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg instant chocolate pudding (one that makes 4 servings)
2 cups Cool Whip
3/4 cup marshmallows
1/3 cup peanuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips
25 Nilla Wafers, chopped

Line circular cake pan with plastic wrap. Using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until creamy. Slowly beat in milk. Add pudding mix, beat until blended. Stir in (by hand) Cool Whip, marshmallows, peanuts and chocolate chips. Pour into cake pan. Cover in Nilla wafers. Freeze for 4 hours or so. Thaw for 15 minutes before serving. Turn out onto plate (so that the wafers are on the bottom) and serve with more Cool Whip.

This was amazingly tasty. I think next time though I will make it with a graham cracker crumb or Oreo crumb crust rather than the wafers. I also threw in more peanuts and chocolate chips than the recipe recommended. SOOOO TASTY! It impressed everyone!

Easter Treats

These were originally posted on Facebook April 12, 2009. I did an insane amount of Easter baking/cooking this year so this will be a huge post. I ended up giving quite a bit of this stuff away.So for the last several days there have been strange tin foil covered cookie trays in the fridge at my house. There was a sign on them saying "No Peeking, if I find out you get NONE!" Today my family got to find out what was under the tin foil. Amazing amounts of Easter Treats! Because I'd made them all in small batches, I didn't realize how much I'd made until this morning when I finally was able to pull everything out and take a look.

So here goes....

Chocolate Covered Easter Eggs

My Grandma's Recipe

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 lb butter
3 lbs icing sugar (or more or less depending on the dough consistency that you want)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp salt
Chocolate Chips

Cream together butter, condensed milk, vanilla and salt. Slowly add in icing sugar. You may need to use your hands near the end. Knead until smooth. Divide into 2/3 and 1/3. Dye one part yellow and form into balls, these are the egg "yolks" Wrap the plain dough around the yellow dough and place on cookie sheet. Refrigerate 1-2 days or more. Then melt some chocolate in a double boiler and dip the "eggs" in the chocolate, roll them around with forks until they are well coated and then pull them out and put them on a cookie sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate is hard.

My grandma made these for us when we were little kids. My dad loves them, but they're really really sweet and so my Mom doesn't make them and my grandma doesn't make them anymore either. Anyway, I decided to make them for my Dad as a surprise this Easter so I called my grandma and got the recipe. I also promised my uncle I'd freeze some for him when he comes for birthdays in a few weeks. Anyway, I did cut the recipe in half though but it still made a couple dozen and because they're not my mom's favorite I tried another recipe as well.

Allrecipes Chocolate Covered Easter Eggs

Base:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg (250 g) cream cheese
2 1/2 lbs icing sugar (Again, more or less depending on the consistency of the dough, I don't actually know how much I used I just kept dumping in sugar until it felt right)
Add ins (Optional):
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup coconut (RJ hates coconut, so I didn't use this one)
Sliced Almonds
Almond Extract
Chocolate Chips

Mix together the butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Slowly add in icing sugar until it is the right consistency. You will probably need to use you hands near the end. Split into parts for add ins. Leave one part plain. Add peanut butter to another. Add cocoa to another. Add almonds and almond extract to the other part. Roll dough into egg shapes and put on cookie sheet. Refrigerate for a few hours until hard. Melt some chocolate in a double boiler then dip in the eggs, make sure they are well coated and then pull them out. Refrigerate until the chocolate is hard.

I haven't had a chance to try these yet but apparently the peanut butter ones taste exactly like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and my brother's friend says the cocoa ones are amazing. These aren't nearly as sweet as my grandma's ones.

I also made some fudge for my mum.

Triple Chocolate Fudge

This recipe I created by modifying/combining a bunch of Allrecipes fudge recipes.

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Line a 8x8 pan with tin foil/parchment paper/wax paper. Heat 1/3 of the sweetened condensed milk with the semisweet chocolate chips until smooth. Remove from heat, stir in half the vanilla and spread into pan. Heat another 1/3 of the milk with the milk chocolate chips. Remove from heat, stir in the rest of the vanilla and spread on top of the dark layer. Heat the rest of the milk and white chocolate chips. Spread over top of the milk layer. Refrigerate until hard.

Allrecipes Foolproof Chocolate Fudge

3 cups chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup nuts (optional)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt together sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips until smooth. Remove from heat and add in vanilla and nuts. Spread into lined 8x8 pan. Refrigerate until hardened.

This recipe I halved because I had to use up the other half can of sweetened condensed milk from halving my grandma's recipe. It turned out nicely.

Anyway, so long story short we have about 6 dozen chocolate covered sugar eggs and two pans of fudge in our house. But it's all tasty.

And I made truffles a few days earlier. But I can't find the photos to go with.

Chocolate Truffles

3 cups chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Your choice of: Chopped Walnuts, almonds, sprinkles, coconut, whatever you can think of for toppings.

Melt together chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk on low heat until well combined. Put into a bowl and if you want to make some almond flavoured ones, separate dough into a separate bowl. Add vanilla to one bowl and almond extract to the other. Cover and chill in fridge for an hour or so. Then form into balls and roll in your choice of toppings

Raspberry Jam Bars

This is one of my favourite recipes that I've made so far. Originally posted on Facebook April 21, 2009

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Bars

Base:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup butter (margarine)

Filling
1/3 cup raspberry jam
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 package cream cheese
2 tbsp milk (or light cream)

Topping
1 cup chocolate chips
3 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 375. Spray 9x9 baking pan with Pam (I don't own a 9x9 so I used an 8x8) Combine flour and icing sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press into pan. Bake for 15-18 min. Spread jam over warm crust. Melt white chocolate chips according to package directions (My package said microwave for 2 minutes but that burnt some of then so I think next time I would microwave them for 1 min, stir and then microwave for another 30s or so) Beat cream cheese and milk. Add in melted chocolate, beating until smooth. Spread mixture over jam. Chill for about an hour. Melt together chocolate chips and butter. Spread over filling. Chill until set. Allow to thaw a little before cutting.

These were pretty tasty. My brothers didn't really like them though. I took them to YA and they were a hit there.

Butter Tart and Magic Chocolate Toffee Bars

Originally posted April 30, 2009

I got this recipe for butter tart bars from a family friend. It's modified a little from her recipe so that it fits in a 9x13 pan.

Butter Tart Bars

Crust
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 + 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 cup flour

Topping
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 + 1/8 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan. Mix together crust ingredients and press into pan. Bake for 20-25 min. Mix together eggs and brown sugar. Beat in the rest of the ingredients in order. Pour into crust and bake for another 30 min or so. It should be lightly brown and puffy all over. Cool and cut into squares.

These are tasty, although I think I still prefer butter tarts the original way. I used less raisins and more walnuts than the original recipe called for because I'm not a big fan of raisins. Also, you may have to fiddle with the cooking times a bit.

These are Magic Chocolate Toffee bars I made some modifications to the recipe so I'll post the original and then my changes at the bottom.

Magic Chocolate Toffee Bars

1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup Toffee bits
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter (or margarine)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

My Modifications
Replace the coconut and almonds with about 1 cup of pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x13 pan with PAM. Combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press firmly into pan. Bake for 12 min. While waiting, mix together all other ingredients (except for sweetened condensed milk) When the crust is done pour the condensed milk over the crust. Sprinkle with chocolate chip toffee nut mixture. Press down firmly. Bake for another 25-30 min. Cool and cut into bars.

These were so tasty my dad banned me from ever making them again.

Cajun Potato Wedges and Butter Tarts

Originally posted on Facebook May 11, 2009

Cajun Potato Wedges

4 potatoes, unpeeled
3 red onions, cut into wedges
1 lemon, cut into wedges
12 cloves of garlic
4 bay leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut the potatoes into thick wedges. Parcook in salted boiling water for 3 min. Combine the potatoes, onions, lemon, garlic and bay leaves in a large roasting pan. In another bowl whisk together oil, lemon juice, tomato paste, paprika, oregano, thyme, cayenne and cumin. Pour over potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-40 min, turning frequently until potatoes are tender and have absorbed the liquid. Serve hot.

Okay, so not baking but I made them for my mom for Mother's Day. Everyone else liked them but I'm not big on spicy.

Butter Tarts

1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
Frozen tart shells (unsweetened)

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs. Add other ingredients and mix well. Spoon into tart shells. Bake at 425 for 10 min and then reduce heat to 350 and bake for a few more minutes until pastry is lightly browned.

I may have posted this during the Christmas bake-a-thon but its worth posting again. And its one of my Mom's favourites.

Blueberry Muffins

Yesterday I made two different types of blueberry muffins, one from my muffin cookbook that my grandma gave me and another that was an adaptation of my mother's blueberry lemon cake.

Blueberry Muffins from the 'Mad about Muffins' cookbook

1/2 cup margarine, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare 18 muffin cups. Cream together margarine and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add vanilla, baking powder and salt. Mix in the flour and milk gradually, alternating between the two. Stir in the blueberries. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Lemon Blueberry Cake - in cupcake form

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp lemon rind (about how much comes off one lemon)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups blueberries

Glaze
2 tbsp lemon juice (about how much comes from juicing one lemon)
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 24 muffin cups. Beat butter until creamy. Beat in sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. In another bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir into the liquids alternately with milk. Stir in lemon rind and vanilla. Fold in blueberries. Spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or so. While they are baking stir together lemon juice and sugar and let stand while the cupcakes bake. Spoon over warm cupcakes when they come out of the oven.

I took the cupcakes to work today and they went over quite well. Of course it took everyone most of the day to figure out who brought them. Apparently one of the guys tried to take credit for baking them, until his girlfriend pointed out that he probably doesn't even know how to turn on an oven. :P Finally someone figured it out at about two in the afternoon. So I heard people telling me how awesome they were both before and after they knew I'd made them. :D

"Red" Velvet Cupcakes and Homemade Pizza

I'd never heard of Red Velvet Cupcakes until I started baking and reading baking blogs and websites and stuff. Apparently they are a big deal in the American South. They sounded interesting, basically chocolate cupcakes dyed bright red. So I thought I'd give them a try. I found one of Allrecipes' top rated recipes to try.

4 tbsp cocoa
2 ounces of red food colouring (I have no idea how much this is, so I just dumped in everything I had)
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare muffin cups. Make a paste of the food colouring and cocoa. Combine buttermilk, salt and vanilla. Set aside. In another bowl mix together oil and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in cocoa mixture. Beat in the buttermilk mixture alternately with flour until just incorporated. Then mix together the baking soda and vinegar and gently fold into the batter. Spoon into muffin cups and bake 20 min or so.

Okay, well I should have known this recipe was going to turn out weird when I read that one of the steps involved recreating everyone's favourite first grade science experiment. I also didn't have near enough food colouring to use so they turned out as kind of brown-y, pink-y velvet cupcakes. But they were pretty tasty! Although one of my friends told me I was not allowed to call them Red Velvet Cupcakes, so we just started calling them The Special Surprise Cupcakes.

Then some friends and I made pizza for dinner.

Homemade Pizza

1 cup warm water
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine in listed order. Set to 'Dough' Press start... wait 2 hours, you have pizza dough. Roll out onto greased pizza pan. Top with pizza sauce and your favourite toppings. Very tasty.