Snickers Caramel Apple Dip

I wish my picture did this dessert better service. I had to make do with the remnants of the bottom of the bowl because it got eaten so fast. Remnants don’t ever make for wonderful pictures, but they do say a lot about how well people like your dish! So, I’ll count the fact that I didn’t have much to work with, a definite win. Make this. Hide in a closet. Don’t share. 🙂

Ingredients:

6 regular sized Snickers candy bars

4 medium apples (I suggest a crispy, more tart apple – I used Granny Smith)

1 (5.1 oz) pkg vanilla instant pudding mix

1/2 cup milk

1 (16 oz) tub of cool whip, thawed to room temperature

1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

Whisk pudding packet, 1/2 cup milk, and cool whip together until well combined. Chop up apples and Snickers into bite size pieces, and combine with pudding mixture. Place in large serving bowl, and drizzle with caramel topping. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

 

 

Root Beer Float Cookies

I am ignoring my laundry…for another 5 minutes. If I ignore it much longer, it will most likely explode all over the house.

These cookies are pretty darn awesome. They aren’t crazy-full of root beer flavor, but have that creamy taste of a float. Perfect for a summer treat.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup butter softened
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix dry, do not prepare
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. Root Beer concentrate
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1-2 cups white chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cream butter and sugars together.
2. Beat in instant vanilla pudding mix well.
3. Add eggs and root beer concentrate and beat until well incorporated.
4. Add flour and baking soda and beat until well incorporated.
5. Stir in white chocolate chips.
6. Roll into 1″ balls and place on greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

Original recipe: http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/11/root-beer-pudding-cookies/

 

Cream Cheese Berry Roulade

I have about 20 some-odd recipes sitting in my drafts…I am falling so behind! But I am in the process of making a fabulous Prom dress for my neighbor’s daughter. It is going to be so pretty (I’ll have to sneak in a few pictures)! But I am learning a lot on this project, and am finding that learning a lot requires making a lot of mistakes. I almost cried when I got the bodice all put together only to find that I got a section caught in the serger and cut a nice little hole in the very delicate chiffon. After a sleepless night trying to figure out how to fix it, I finally concluded that I couldn’t fix it and would have to replace the panel. It was a grand mistake…painfully grand. But I have been ever careful of my serger edge ever since. Yay for me.

Thank goodness I had a little slice of this heaven sitting in my fridge so I could wash the bitterness of a careless mistake down with a truly sweet treat. Delicious beyond words. So easy. Don’t skip the whipped topping. And don’t cut holes in Prom dresses.

P.S> The whipped topping can also be used for a great fruit dip!!!

Ingredients:

2 packages Crescent Rolls
8oz Cream Cheese
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 cup Fruit Preserves (strawberry, blackberry…I used plum!)
Fresh Strawberries
Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
1 Lemon
Confectioners Sugar
1 egg

Lay out the crescent rolls and press seams together. Mix cream cheese with brown sugar and vanilla until soft. Spread inside crescent rolls. Then spread preserves on top. Sprinkle blueberries and strawberries on top. Pull edges of crescent rolls over. Egg wash pastry. Bake at 375 for 20 mins. In separate bowl mix juice and zest of a lemon with confectioners sugar until it becomes an icing. Garnish with strawberries.

Whipped Topping:

• 1 large (5.1 oz) instant vanilla pudding
• 32 oz. container vanilla yogurt
• 8 oz. container Cool Whip
• 1 pkg. frozen strawberries

Mix together pudding mix and yogurt. Fold in whip cream. Fold in strawberries.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

I’ve been waiting, and waiting for an excuse to make this Chocolate Eclair Cake. I finally had a get together last night – a ‘bring a treat to share’ get together, with lots of ladies making crafty things late into the night, and needing a little sugary kick to keep them going. YES. I’ve always heard that eclairs are temperamental and if you don’t have your kitchen at the right temperature, or cook the dough just right, they won’t turn out (true? or old wives tale?). Hence the reason why I’ve never made eclairs. That being said, reading through this recipe I just couldn’t find a way to mess it up. So, I took a gamble, and ended up with one tasty treat.

I did learn an important lesson in making eclairs – or eclair cakes anyways. While preparing your ingredients, if an egg rolls off of the counter and you try to stop its decent by sticking out your leg and pushing said egg against the cabinet, one of two things is going to happen. One: the egg is going to break and get all over your pants, the cabinet, and the floor. Two: the egg is going to break and get all over your pants, the cabinet, and the floor. Either way, I think you’re better off just letting the darn thing fall. You will have lost an egg and will have to live with the guilt of having done nothing to save it, but at least you won’t have to change your clothes.

Ingredients

 

Crust:

 

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs

 

Filling:

 

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 large box (5.1 ounces) vanilla instant pudding
• 3 cups milk

 

Topping:

 

• whipped cream
• chocolate syrup

 

Instructions

 

1. Instructions:
2. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a 9″X13″ glass baking pan.
3. For the Eclair Crust: In a medium saucepan, melt butter in water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Mix in one egg at a time, mixing completely before adding another egg. Spread mixture into pan, covering the bottom and sides evenly. Mixture will be very wet. *If the sides of your pan are too greased you won’t be able to get the mixture to stay up the sides so make sure to just lightly grease.
4. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. You may want to check it occasionally-you don’t want to overcook the crust, it will ruin the cake! Remove from oven and let cool (don’t touch or push bubbles down).
5. For the Filling: Whip cream cheese in a medium bowl. In separate bowl make vanilla pudding by beating the pudding mix and the milk for 3 minutes and put in the fridge until set. Make sure pudding is thick before mixing in with cream cheese. Slowly add pudding to cream cheese, mixing until there are no lumps. Let cool in fridge.When the crust is completely cooled, pour filling in. Top with layer of whipped cream, however thick you want it and serve with a drizzle chocolate syrup.

Original recipe found here: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/06/chocolate-eclair-cake.html

 

 

 

Banana Milk

We’re going for simplistic today. I decided to start potty training my two year old two weeks after we brought our new baby home – I’ll give you one guess how that turned out. I quit after three days. Baby is almost six weeks old now, and as much as I hate potty training, big sister is ready and I am going to have to suck it up and stick it out. We are on day three now, so as long as I make it to tomorrow…what I didn’t count on was the fact that she’s got a little stomach bug right now. Stomach bug = diarrhea. Not really something I should talk about on a food blog, I know. I won’t go into detail, I’ll just say that I’m not having fun. We’re trying to keep with a basic diet of saltines, toast, and high fiber foods like bananas. She was really excited about the banana – so was I, until she started squishing it while still in the peel. Not much you can do with a squished banana. Luckily, I had just the thing…and yes, I totally spilled while taking my ‘pouring’ picture. 🙂

Ingredients:

4 cups milk

2 large bananas

1/8 – 1/4 cup sugar

Place milk and bananas into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add sugar to taste – less is more! If you get it too sweet you lose the banana flavor. Blend until sugar is dissolved.