#32) Lemon Cheese Coconut Cake

I am having a little get-together tonight with a couple of my girlfriends from university and their men tonight so I decided to go all out and cook up one of the most challenging meals I have done to date - apricot stuffed chicken breasts, sweet and smoky broccoli, and creamy parsnip mashed potatoes. This cute cake will be served as dessert.

Cake

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut
1/3 cup ground almonds
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup buttermilk (1 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Steps

- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
- Combine flour, sugar, coconut, ground almonds, and baking powder. Make a well in centre.
- Whisk together buttermilk, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into well.
- Use hand mixer to blend until smooth.
- Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour. Let cool completely. Cut horizontally into two even layers. Set aside.

Lemon Cheese Filling

Ingredients

1 block cream cheese (8 oz)
3/4 cup icing sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice

3/4 cup toasted coconut

Steps

- Beat the four ingredients together until smooth.
- Add half of the mixture to the top of one cake layer. Place second layer on top.
- Spread remaining cheese mixture on sides of cake. Add toasted coconut over cheese mixture.

Icing

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp milk

1 drop green food coloring
1 drop red food coloring

Steps

- Combine icing sugar, butter, and milk. Mixture should be barely pourable.
- Add 1 tbsp of mixture to two bowls (1 tbsp per bowl). Add one drop of food coloring to each bowl (red in one, green in the second).
- Add the remaining white icing to top of cake and spread out evenly.
- Add the colored icings to two small sandwich bags. Snip off a very tiny amount of the corner to make a small piping hole.
- Pipe straight lines across the cake's top.
- Use a toothpick to drag lines in one direction. Repeat in opposite direction.

#31) Cheesecake Bars with a Bakeapple Swirl

It is Christmas Day - can you believe it? I certainly can't!!!

Christmas Eve or not, yesterday I still got in to the kitchen :)

My bf's (actually my "fiance" considering he proposed this morning!!!) mom sent me a few bakeapples along with the presents with the hopes I would make her boy a bakeapple cheesecake. Well, a plain cheesecake with a simple bakeapple sauce didn't sound like enough fun for me so I decided squares with a sweet but bitter
bakeapple swirl would be more interesting... I hope you agree :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Bakeapple Swirl Sauce

Ingredients

2 cup bakeapples (fresh or thawed)
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Steps

- Bring berries and water to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Pass through a sieve to remove the large seeds. Return to pot.
- Add sugar and vanilla and bring to a boil once again. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Let cool and set aside.

Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

1 cup butter, separated into 2/3 cup and 1/3 cup
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 pks cream cheese (light), at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
4 1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 eggs

Steps

- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Beat 2/3 cup butter with brown sugar. Add flour and crumbs.
- Remove 2 cups and put in another bowl. Add the remaining butter (melted) to the new bowl. Mix and push into a 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Beat in milk, lemon juice, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until smooth.
- Pour half of cream cheese mixture over cooled crumb crust. Add tablespoon-sized dollops of bakeapple sauce. Pour remaining cream cheese mixture over top and add dollops of bakeapple sauce (reserve remaining sauce for decoration). Use a toothpick to create swirls.



- Sprinkle crumb mixture over top. (I didn't use all of it and the fiance said he would actually prefer it without any next time)
- Bake for one hour. Let cool completely before cutting. Drizzle sauce over top of individual squares.

#30) Chocolate Christmas Bells

This past summer I posted about peanut butter balls, an all-time favourite in our house. For Christmas there is always a batch of peanut butter balls in the fridge, but this time I wanted to improve this sweet treat for the holidays. The original recipe we have used for years calls for parowax and this imparts an unusual quality onto the chocolate - it becomes waxy (duh! haha) and sticks to your teeth. Regardless of this we have eaten batch after batch of these things and still love. But like I said, for the holidays I wanted them to be perfect. I have tweaked the recipe just slightly and now this favourite sweet treat is even more irresistible :)

Ingredients

2 cups peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 - 2 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 cup rice crispies

2 cups chocolate
2 tbsp shortening

Steps

- Put peanut butter, butter, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Put in microwave for 30 seconds and mix together.
- Add vanilla and rice crispies. Add icing sugar until the mixture reaches a dough-like consistency. - Roll into balls.(It would be helpful to refrigerate the mixture before rolling into balls). Refrigerate balls for 15 minutes.
- Melt chocolate and shortening in double boiler. Use two spoons to dip balls into chocolate. Place on cookie sheet covered with waxed paper. Refrigerate until stiff.
- Try not to eat them all at once :)

#29) Strawberry Truffle Brownie Cake

Do you like truffles? I do. Have you ever made truffles? I haven't even attempted them until today, and now I know why...

I have been toying with the idea of making truffles for a while now and seeing as my aunt sent me a bag of beautiful strawberries I decided I should make truffles with a fruit twist. What in the world was I thinking?????

I found a recipe for strawberry truffles here and am quite confident I followed it to the letter, but for some reason my filling would not set to a point where I could roll it into balls... What was I going to do????

Well, I tried using my truffle mold instead, but that just created one BIG mess so that was a no go...

So here I am in the kitchen with this delicious bowl of strawberry truffle-ish mixture and no idea what to do... Then it came to me - brownies plus this concoction would be delicious. So I whipped up a brownie batter and baked it....

Now that sheet of brownie looks kinda big, I thought. Brilliant idea #2 - make a layered brownie cake!

Turns out I piled on way too much of the "filling" and ended up with more of a "frosting" effect.

Say what you will about it, but this sweet treat took every bit of creativity and energy I had to offer!

It is far from my best attempt in the kitchen (it is messy, too sweet, and overloaded with chocolate) but not too bad of a save considering my amateur nature. If you have any suggestions about where I went wrong with the truffles in the first place, please let me know :)

Strawberry Truffle Mixture

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries (divided into 1 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp syrup
8 ounces chocolate
1 cup whipped cream (not part of original recipe, but part of my attempted save)

Steps

- Puree (thawed, if frozen) strawberries. Stir in cream, vanilla, and syrup.
- Melt chocolate in double boiler and add to strawberry mixure. Mix well.
- Fold in whipped cream and 1/2 cup of whole strawberries. Set aside.

Brownie Layers

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 10X14 pyrex dish with parchment paper.
-Add sugar and vanilla to melted butter and beat.
-Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
-Add cocoa. Beat.
-Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat.
-Pour into pyrex dish and bake for 20 minutes.
-Remove from dish and let cool. Trim edges and slice into two equal sheets.

Combination

-Cover one brownie sheet with truffle mixture. Add second brownie sheet and repeat.

Try to enjoy :)

#28) IronCupcake:Earth Choclate with a Twist - Clementine Cupcakes

Here is what was supposed to be my first entry into ICE... my clementine cupcakes. But when I tried to upload my picture to Flickr I encountered some problems. Oh well, here they are in any case...

When this month's theme, chocolate with a twist, was announced I was immediately interested. Being a total chocoholic I love pretty much every possible combo with chocolate AND one of my all-time favourite treats around the holidays are those Terry's Chocolate Oranges. It was so convenient that my dad came home last night with a whole crate of clementines. What a nice way to re-create this tasty sweet treat!

Ingredients

1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tbsp milk
5-6 clementines
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup icing sugar
melted chocolate

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F and line 7 muffin cups with paper liners. (It is a small recipe because my family isn't a big fan of cupcakes - they are more cookie people)
-Cream sugar and butter together.
-Beat eggs in small bowl. Add 1/4 cup clementine juice (need about 4-5 clementines), and milk. Add to butter and mix with hand mixer.
-Sift together dry ingredients. Fold into butter mixture. Use mixer to incorporate fully.
-Bake for 18-20 minutes.

-For the icing, squeeze juice of 1 clementine into a bowl. Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
-Add the icing sugar in 1/4 cup additions, beating after each addition.
-The icing will be a bit thin, but no too thin that it will not sit on top of the cupcakes.

-Separate last clementine into segments.
-Melt chocolate.
-Dip segments halfway into melted chocolate and let cool on waxed paper.
-Top each cupcake with a cooled segment.

Eat & Enjoy!

#27) Candy Cane Cupcakes

Alrighty folks... the holiday season is upon us and you all know what that means - BAKING!!! Nicole @ Baking Bites is hosting a Holiday Cupcake Contest and seeing as I have loads of free time now that the semester is over, I wanted in. I whipped up a plain vanilla batter and divided it in thirds. To one third I added raspberry candy flavouring and red food colouring, to a second peppermint candy flavouring and green food colouring, and the third I left as is. To all three bowls I added some crushed candy cane. They baked up nicely, but I have to say they were a little dense for my liking... next time I think I will use less butter. In any case, here is the recipe:

Cupcakes

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
raspberry candy flavouring
red food coloring
peppermint candy flavouring
green food colouring
2 crushed candy canes

Steps

-Preheat oven to 320°F and line muffin cup with liners.
-Lightly beat eggs. Add butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
-Add buttermilk, flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Beat until light and creamy.
-Divide mixture evenly among three bowls.
-To one bowl add 5 drops raspberry flavouring and red food coloring. Mix.
-To a second bowl add 5 drops peppermint flavouring and green food colouring. Mix.
-Add crushed candy cane to each bowl and mix
-Add the different coloured batter to the liners by tablespoonfuls, creating layers in each liner.
-Once all the batter has been distributed, poke a fork into each liner twice.
-Bake for 20 minutes and let cool completely.

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

1 1/4 sticks butter
1 1/4 cups icing sugar
sprinkle salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
1 crushed candy cane

Steps

-Beat butter until smooth (20 seconds).
-Add sugar and salt. Beat for one minute.
-Scrape down sides of bowl and add vanilla and milk. Beat for 2 minutes.
-Pipe or spread on cooled cupcakes.
-Sprinkle candy cane on top.

#26) Peanut Butter Blossoms

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I won one of the Hershey baskets Mayre was giving away over at Baking Delights? Well I got my hands into its contents today: flour, sugar, Reese's peanut butter, Hershey kisses.... all packed into a great big steel bowl. In the basket was also a recipe card for peanut butter blossoms. They looked so cute in the pic, and they are a combo of chocolate and peanut butter, so I couldn't resist making this sweet treat :)

Ingredients

48 Hershey kisses
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Steps

-Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from kisses.
-Beat peanut butter and shortening.
-Add sugars. Beat until fluffy.
-Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat well.
-In another bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. Gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
-Roll into 1-inch balls and dip in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.
-Immediately press a kiss into each cookies. (The cracks that form are normal)
-Let cool and enjoy!

#25) PBCs

Finally!!!! Exams are over and I am at home for Christmas break.... and when I mean home, I mean in the kitchen. I was no more than in the door Saturday evening when my brother decided he wanted some peanut butter cookies, and fast! (PS - those are his greedy little fingers in the picture haha). I remembered a post I made this past summer about eggless peanut butter cookies. The recipe I made up was very quick and quite popular, so we used that same recipe, but added more cocoa for some chocolatey flavour because, well, I am addicted to all things chocolate :)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cups brown sugar
2.5 tbsp skim milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup flour

3 tbsp cocoa

Steps

-Cream butter, sugars, milk, and vanilla together.

-Stir in peanut butter.

-Add flour, cocoa, and baking soda.
-Roll into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet, separated. Squish with a fork in two directions.

-Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes.

#24) Magic Middlers

This recipe was so much fun to make!!! I made this one, and the one below, for a couple of cookie exchanges I have this week, and I am sure these guys will be a hit. A chewy chocolate cookie coating surrounding finger-lickin' good peanut butter filling.... Is that the smell of perfection????

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cookie Coating

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Filling

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup icing sugar

1 tbsp corn starch

Steps:

Filling

- Beat peanut butter and butter until smooth. Blend in icing sugar and cornstach until combines.

- Spoon onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use the wrap to roll the filling into a 2 cm thick log. Freeze for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Cookie Coating

- Beat butter with sugars and peanut butter. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla.

- Stir flour with cocoa and baking soda. Stir into butter mixture with spoon. Refrigerate.

Combination

- Slice peanut butter log into 32 pieces.

- Using a 1/2 tbsp measure scoop out chocolate dough and form into patties.
- Place a peanut butter slice on top of the patty and close the edges, rolling into a ball. Roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly.

- Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.

#23) Chocolate Crinkles

I realize there are a lot of chocolate crinkle posts out there lately thanks to Anita Chu's new book, Field Guide to Cookies. Her recipe sounds great, with lots of yummy chocolate. Mine is a recipe I came across a couple of years ago and has been a favorite ever since. Although I use cocoa instead of real chocolate, and oil instead of butter, they are still rich and chewy, and very, very sinful.....

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

3 tbsp butter ("light" margarine such as Becel will not work well here)

1/2 cup oil

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

icing sugar

Steps:

- Add cocoa and butter to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat until butter is melted. Stir to combine.
- Using an electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar, cocoa mixture, oil, baking powder, and vanilla together.

- Beat in as much flour as possible, then stir in the remaining amount.

- Cover and chill dough for a minimum of 2 hours.

- Shape dough into 1-inch balls. (I spray my hands periodically with flavorless Pam to avoid becoming a sticky mess.)

- Roll balls in icing sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. (I used my silicone sheet and it was perfect)

- Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies have a crackled appearance.
- Transfer to a cooling rack.

#22) Buried Bakeapple Bites

I have had two bags of bakeapples left in the freezer since the summer and have wanted to use them, but every time I got into the kitchen (which hasn't been much as of late) a new recipe would intrigue me and it was "so long bakeapples." Last night I started toying with the idea of a bakeapple cupcake... I don't know how many of you use bakeapples, but anyone who does will know there aren't many recipes written for them, and most of the ones that are just turn them into a sauce or a topping for cheesecake. I wanted to do something new so I made a small recipe of bakeapple cake filling and let it chill overnight. Then it was time to bury it... :) I used the left-over cream cheese frosting from a previous recipe found here. The spice of the nutmeg with the tang of the berry filling is such a unique combination you will eave your taste buds begging for more :)

PS - Classes are almost over and exams soon begin, but after that it's home to Mom & Dad's and back into the kitchen... There will be more frequent posts as Christmas draws nearer!!!

Bakeapple Cake Filling

1 cup bakeapples
1/4 cup water
5 tbsp sugar
3 tsp corn starch

-Boil berries with 3/4 of the water. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.
-Push the cooked berries through a fine sieve, discarding the seeds.
-Whisk corn starch into remaining water. Add cornstarch mixture and sugar to berries.
-Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Let cool completely.

Cupcakes

3 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp bakeapple preserve (optional)

*I wanted this recipe to have a rustic type flavour, so I kept the mixer in the cupboard and just used some old fashioned elbow grease to mix everything together :)

-Preheat oven to 350°F. Line pan with paper liners.
-Lightly beat eggs.
-Add butter and sugar and mix.
-Add milk, flour, baking powder, and preserve (if using). Mix.
-Add a couple of tablespoons of batter to each liner.
-Divide cake fill into liners.
-Cover with remaining batter.
-Bake for 18-20 minutes.
-Let cool and frost with icing, if desired.

#21) Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

I know, my muffins look a little sad. But believe me, they are super tasty. For a while now I have had a couple of bananas screaming to be turned into something, so I thought a muffin would be great. Then, when I was making some toast and peanut butter for my breakfast I thoguht, "This would be great thrown into my muffins!" So that's what I done HaHa. However, in my over-zealousness (is that a word?) I chucked in two bananas instead of one.... Now I have some very dense, very moist cupcakse, hence the sunken look they have going on. But this is one sweet treat I would definately make again, minus the extra banana :).

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 mashed banana

1/4 cup chocolate chips (just because I like 'em!)

Steps:

- Preheat oven to 320°F. Line 12 muffin cups with papers.

- Beat eggs. Add butter and sugar and mix until light and fluffy.

- Add milk, flour, baking powder, and peanut butter. Beat with mixer for about 2 minutes.

- Add banana and chocolate chips and stir through evenly.

- Fill paper liners and bake for 20 minutes.

#20) Autumn-Spiced Cupcakes with Ginger-Infused Cream Cheese Frosting

I have been daydreaming about this recipe for a while now. About 3 weeks ago the bf and I went to Bulk Barn and I loaded up on cloves, allspice, nutmeg... all the spices that remind me of Fall. But, other than my chai tea experiment, I haven't done anything with them. That all changed today :)

The bf recently had a bday, but because I am away for school, we weren't together for it. He flies into town tomorrow so I wanted to have a belated birthday cake-type surprise for him. Well, not so much a surprise becasue I can't keep a secret to save my life, but he will appreciate these little sweet treats no less.

All I done was take a basic vanilla cupcake recipe and added some cloves and allspice. For the frosting I searched high and low for a pipable cream cheese frositng, and thought I had found one here, but the end product was less than pipable and I was quite dissappointed. Nonetheless, here is my bealted birthday cupcake collection for my baby!

Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp allspice

Steps:

- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tray with 12 cupcake papers.

- In a medium bowl lightly beat eggs. Add butter, oil, and sugar and beat until combined.

- Add milk, flour, baking powder, cloves, and allspice. Stir to combine. Beat with mixer for about 2 minutes.

- Divide batter between cupcake papers. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese

5 tbsp butter

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

pumpkin spice (for sprinkling)

Steps:

- Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature.

- In a medium bowl beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and ginger until blended.

- Add sugar one third at a time and beat until smooth.

*Do not overbeat!

#19) Chocolate Oatmeal Chippers

Yummo! These little sweet treats are chocolate lover's dream. Me, I love a good chocolate chip cookie, but this twist on a classic is scrumtious!!! The oats give the cookie a nice texture that stands up to a good glass of milk :) PS - I apologize for the short, sporadic posts, but school is eating up ALL of my time :(

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup chocolate chips

1 3/4 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned)

Steps:

- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a mdium bowl.

- Cream butter, sugars, and vanilla. Beat in eggs.

- Gradually beat in four mixture.

- Stir in chips and oats.

- Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. (I used a silicone sheet and they came out beautifully)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

*makes about 4 dozen cookies

#18) Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

If your tastebuds are anything like mine, then the combo of chocolate and peanut butter is heaven in your mouth. I am also a brownie lover, so a peanut butter swirl brownie just sounds too good to be true.... Although this brownie is a little gooey for my taste, it is still a sweet treat I wouldn't turn down :)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour + 1/4 cup flour, divided
dash salt
1/3 cup peanut butter

Steps:

- Melt chocolate and butter together. Let cool 5 minutes.
- Beat 2 eggs with sugar. Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate over top.
- Sift flour and salt over chocolate. Fold until blended.
- Pour all but 1/4 cup batter into greased 8-inch pan.
- Add peanut butter and remaining egg to the 1/4 cup batter. Mix until combined.
- Spoon dollops of peanut butter mixture into pan. Run knife through to create desired design.
- Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes.

#17) Coffee Cupcakes with Quasi-Chocolate Ganache

No, they weren't a textbook success, but these little cupcakes are one yummy sweet treat.

I was walking by the bookstore the other day, and well, they had this cute little cupcake and muffin cookbook there fore less than $7. Well, I just had to have it! So I brought home my new little treasure and read it cover to cover and drooled over every single picture.

The recipe I attempted here sounded perfect! I love the taste of coffee, but drinking it makes me sick, so when I can whip up a coffee-flavoured sweet treat, I am one happy woman. The recipe was easy to follow and I had everything on hand for it, or so I thought, so I whipped up the batter and put them in the over.

After I finished licking the spoon (oh, you all do it!!!!), I started making my topping. It was supposed to be a nice, thick choclate ganache-ish frosting. BUT..... I didn't have any cream in the fridge and all the stores were closed! So in my amature frenzy I decided chocolate milk would have to do.

What was I thinking?!??!?!?!?! Instead of a nice, thick ganache-ish frosting, I ended up with a rather tasty bowl of dark chocolate soup. Frenzy #2 - What in the world will I put on top of my now baked and cooled coffee cupcakes???? This "soup" was too runny to use as icing, and to messy to drizzle over top......

Then my bf came up with the great idea of just dipping my little sweet treats into the chocolate soup concoction. Aren't they just adorable? We used several toppins - coconut, silver balls, and colored sprinkles. The coconut was best!

Well, there you have it - my very long-winded explanation of this sweet treat. The lesson I learned - be 100% sure you have ALL the ingredients you need, and then double-check to be 110% sure. By the way, thanks for your help Babe. I love you!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup instant coffee

1 cup butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup water

1 tbsp instant coffee

3/4 cup cream

1 cup dark choclate, finely chopped

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 360°F. Line muffin tray with paper liners.

-Sift dry ingredients together. Set aside.

-In a medium bowl, beat together butter, vanilla, and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time.

-Add dry ingredients. Mix. Slowly add water and mix again.

-Pour batter into muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 mintues.

-Meanwhile, gently heat coffee and cream in saucepan.

-Pour hot mixture over chocolate. Stir thouroughly.

-Use star tip to pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

#16) Chai Tea

I feel so badly about having been away from Sweet Treats for so long, but school has become even more time consuming now with midterms, and the bf has been visiting for the past couple of weeks so any free time I did have was spent with him, instead of in the kitchen. But last night I started reading a slow cooker cook book I bought for the bf last week and it was very impressive. This recipe for chai tea really caught my eye becasue a mug of this tea is one of my favorite ways to end a long day. It has just the right amount of sweetness and its aroma will surely make you smile :) This sweet treat is really simple... All you do is dump everything in the slow cooker for a couple of hours and presto, you have calming chai tea!

Ingredients:

8 cups water

8 bags black tea (I used orange pekoe)

1/2 cup sugar (chai tea is meant to be sweet, but you can surely adjust it to your own taste)

16 whole cloves (I used 3/4 tbsp powdered becasue its what I had on hand, but of course it has all settled to the bottom, making that part too strong for me... next time I will pick up the real stuff!)

16 whole cardamom seeds, pods removed (same deal as cloves)

5 cinnamon sticks

8 slices fresh ginger

1 cup milk (I used white soy in some and chocolate dairly in some - there wasn't really any difference in taste)

Steps:

-Combine water, tea bages, sugar, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger in slow cooker.

-Cover and cook on high for 2-2.5 hours.

-Strain and discaard solids.

-Stir in milk just before serving.

*Can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Sweet & Simple Bake #2 - Vanilla Apple Cake.... Errr, I mean Vanilla Blueberry Cake :)

Alright folks, here it is - my attempt at this month's truly scrumtious Sweet & Simple Bake. This recipe is generally a simple recipe, but the end product is worth it's weight in gold! I am telling you, one bite of this thing and you are not going to want to share. I made some alterations to the recipe, some intentional, some not so much, but I will get to that later. Thanks ladies for another worthwhile experiment and I look forward to the next :)

Ingredients:

250g/9oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

250g/9oz golden caster sugar (or normal caster sugar)

4 eggs, beaten

250g/9oz self-raising flour

1 vanilla pod, split, seeds removed and reserved (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

3 small Bramley apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges (or any other type of cooking apple, if not apple of your choice)

2 tbsp Demerara sugar

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

*My ingredients:

1 cup + 2 tbsp butter

1 1/3 cup sugar

4 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp vanilla

2 1/3 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

...Reasons for changes:

more vanilla - just because I love vanilla and always add more than the recipe calls fore :)

extra flour - when I done my conversions I wrote down 2 full cups instead of just the 1 needed

milk - to offset the extra flour

blueberries - I didn't have any apples on hand, but had a load of fresh berries

more cinnamon - same as vanilla

Sorry for all the changes SSB, but desperate times call for desperate measure LOL

Steps:

-Heat the oven to 350°F.

-Spray 8-inch springform pan, then line the base with baking paper.

-Beat the sugar and butter together until the mixture turns pale and fluffy.

-Beat eggs with vanilla.

-To butter mixture add eggs, flour, baking powder, and milk. Beat together quickly to make a smooth batter.

-Pour into the prepared pan. (I had enougb batter left over to make 6 muffins as well).

-Sprinkle the berries on top of the batter, pressing in with the bottom of a measuring cup.

-Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon over top.

-Bake for 1 hour 5 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean and the sponge is risen and golden.

-Leave to cool for a few mins, then release the tin and cool the cake completely on a wire rack.

#15) Blueberry Cheese Coffee Cake

I know, I know.... You are all getting tired of my blueberry concoctions, but the berries are almost all used up, I promise. HaHa. This recipe came from The Complete Canadian Living Cookbook. The book was was a b-day gift from bf, and seeing as he is coming to visit tonight, I thought I would make a sweet treat from it. I chose this one because bf's two faves, besides me of course LOL, are cheesecake and blueberries. This coffee cake has a subtle layer of cream cheese infused with loads of blueberries in the middle, so I figured it was a safe bet. It was a little more labour-intensive than my lastest posts, but I figured he was worth the extra effort :).

The cake is made in three sepearate steps:

1. Crumb Topping

1 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon (I used 3/4 tbsp)

1/3 cup butter, melted

-In a small bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Drizzle with butter and stir until moistened. Set aside.

2. Cream Cheese Filling

1 pkg (light) cream cheese (250 g)

1/4 sugar

1 egg

1tsp lemon rind (I used lemon juice)

-Beat together cream cheese and sugar. Beat in egg and lemon until smooth. Set aside.

3. Cake

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (fat-free) sour cream

1 1/2 cups blueberries (I used a little more than 2 cups)

-Beat butter with sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.

-In seperate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

-Add flour and sour cream to butter mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour mixture. (flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour) Mixture will be thick.

-Spread into greased 9-inch springform pan (I used 10-inch, hence the extra berries).

-Sprinkle half of berries on top. Cover gently with cream cheese mixture. Spinkle with remaining berries. Sprinkle evenly with crumb topping.

-Bake for 1 1/4 hours at 350°F. Let cool in pan on rack for 30 minutes.

#14) Birthday Brownies

Even students have to take a break for their friends' birthdays, right? And you can't celebrate a birthday without mouth-watering sweet treats, right?

Well if you answered yes to these two questions, you are officially in my good books. :)

It is my new roomie's birthday tomorrow, so I decided to whip up a nice batch of dense, chocolately brownies.... What women doesn't appreciate a chewy brownie? *Be honest ladies! :)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/3 cup cocoa

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

Steps:

-Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8x8 inch pan.

-Place butter in microwave-safe bowl. Melt in microwave (about 1.5 minutes).

-Stir in sugar and vanilla.

-Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.

-Add cocoa. Beat until blended.

-Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat well.

-Pour into greased pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until brownies begin to pull away from sides.

-Cool completely then cut into squares.

*Makes about 16 brownies.

*This recipe is easily doubled, but be sure to use a 9x13 pan.

#13) Banana Blueberry Bread

OMG! One week into my Education degree and I am already exhausted.... But I guess we wouldn't be good teachers in the end if our profs didn't make us work hard for it, right? That being said, my studies don't leave me much time for baking (*tear*), so when I whipped this delicious sweet treat together I done it as quickly as possible. But don't worry, the taste of this sweet bread will not tattle to anyone that you didn't slave away to make such a wonderful treat :)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar, separated

2 eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup blueberries (fresh work best; frozen will change your baking time)

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 350°F.

-Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

-Beat butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Add eggs, mashed banana, and vanilla. Stir together.

-Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture. Stir junt until moitened. (Over-mixing will produce a dry bread)

-Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray oil.

-Add 1/4 batter to bottom of pan. Sprnkle 1/3 cup blueberries over top. Cover with another 1/4 of the batter. Repeat until berries and batter are gone. (It will be necessary to spread the batter, as it is quite thick. I used a butter knife and gently pulled on the batter layers to cover the berries. Easy enough!)

-Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over top and place in pre-heated oven.

-Bake for approximately 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.

#12) Cocoa Peanut Butter Cookies

Okay, the semester has started... I had my first classes of my Bachelor of Education today :) Overall the day was good, busy and a little stressful, but there is something satisfying about taking those first steps towards what you want in life. To celebrate taking these first steps, I decided to bake a new sweet treat, combining two of my faves again, good ol' PB and chocolate :)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup chopped almonds (or just use crunchy PB)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips (milk chocolate is best for this recipe)

Steps:

-Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
-Cream together butter, sugars, peanut butter, and nuts.
-Add eggs and vanilla.
-Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture in thirds (not with an hand-mixer, the batter is too thick).
-Stir in chocolate chips.
-Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.
-Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 2 minutes then move to cooling rack.
Tips:

-Do not drop too much dough for each cookie because they will spread out and meet (not pretty HaHa).

Sweet & Simple Bake #1 - Victoria Sandwich Cake

Here is my first food blog challenge, compliments of Sweet & Simple Bakes! This challenge was fun for me because I have never made a cake quite like this one before - no chocolate in sight! I do not have scales so it was a bit difficult to do the measurement conversions from the original, but the end result was delicious. Also, I substituted some homemade raspberry cake filling for the jam so there was an extra challenge :) Here is the original recipe and my own simple alterations and substitutions...

Ingredients:

The sponge
175g (6oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
175g (6oz) caster sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature, beaten
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour
Pinch of salt

*My sponge
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
3 eggs, room temperature (beaten)
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour

For The Filling
4-6 tbsp strawberry jam, or your own choice of flavour
1 tbsp caster sugar

*My filling
2 cups raspberries
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 tbsp cornstarch

-Bring berries and 1/3 cup water to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
-Strain the berry mixture and return to heat.
-Add cornstarch to remaining water. Whisk into berry mixture.
-Add sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
-Cool completely.

Buttercream (optional)
75g (3 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature 175g (6 oz) icing sugar Few drops of vanilla extract

*I opted out of the buttercream.

Steps:

-Cream butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until the mixture is pale in colour and light and fluffy.

-Add beaten egg, a teaspoon at a time, beating well after each addition.
-Sift flour and salt and carefully add to the mixture, folding in with a metal spoon or spatula.
-Bake in greased pan(s) for 25-30 minutes, until golden and pulling away from sides. (*I used one greased 8-inch spring-form pan)
-Let cool completely, cut in half (if applicable), and add filling.
-Dust with icing/caster sugar.

#11) M&M Mouthfuls

For the past couple of weeks I have been staying at my parents. And see, no one loves cookies more than my brother so seeing as I am moving out again tomorrow, I decided to get him to help me make my latest sweet treat. So I went back to that wonderful cookie cookbook from my birthday and adapted a "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Chip Cookie to make this adorable version.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup M&M minis
Steps:

-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.
-Cream butter with sugars. Add eggs, one at a time.
-Add flour mixture to creamed mixture in three additions. Fold in with rubber spatula.
-Fold in chocolate chips and M&M minis.
-Drop onto un-greased cookie sheet from rounded tablespoon.
-Bake for 10-12 minutes.

*For that true bakery look, we added some chocolate chips and M&M minis on top of the dropped cookies before baking.
*Should make about 4 dozen cookies :)

#10) Bakeapple Muffins with Streusel Topping

School starts soon and that means my baking time will be drastically decreased... But you all know what that means, right? As much baking as possible before September 4 LOL. I still had some bakeapples left in the freezer when I went in search of a sweet treat main ingredient today, so I decided to make some muffins, and what makes a tasty muffin even better???? Streusel topping of course. Dig in!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg + 1 egg white
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp sour cream
1 1/2 cup berries

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Steps:

-Thaw berries, if frozen.
-Preheat oven to 425°F and spray muffin tin(s) with non-stick spray.
-Stir together flour, sugars, salt, and baking powder.
-In a small boil whisk together oil, egg, milk, and sour cream. Add to dry ingredietns with as few strokes of the spatula as possible.
-Fold in berries.
-Using a 1/4-cup measure, fill muffin tin(s) to the top.
-In a bowl mix together the brown sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over muffin tin(s).
-Bake for 20-25 minutes

*Makes about 18 muffins
*Be sure not to add too many berries... The muffins will not bake properly.

#9) Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

Recently, while on vacation, bf and I went to a U-Pick. Now I have a cherished bag of raspberries crying out to be turned into delectable sweet treats... Today I decided to make some of my raspberry cake fill and pair it with some oh-so-sweet chocolate. This recipe makes a rich cupcake filled with sweet and sour raspberries and gooey chocolate.

Ingredients:

Filling
2 cups raspberries
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 tbsp cornstarch

-Bring berries and 1/3 cup water to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
-Strain the berry mixture and return to heat.
-Add cornstarch to remaining water. Whisk into berry mixture.
-Add sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
-Cool completely.

Cupcakes (All at room temperature)
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk, shaken (1 cup regular milk + 1 tbsp vinegar)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp brewed coffee
1 3/4 cup flour 1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
150 chocolate chips (preferably dark)

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 350°F. Line pan with paper liners.
-Cream butter with sugars for 5 minutes on high.
-At low speed, add eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
-In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee.
-In a third bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
-At low speed, add the milk and flour mixtures to the butter alternately, in thirds. (You should begin with the milk and end with the flour.)
-Mix only until blended. Fold slightly with a spatula.
-Place 1 tbsp of batter in the bottom of each liner. Top with 1 tsp cake fill and 5 chocolate chips. Cover completely with remaining batter.
-Bake for 20 minutes.

*Should make about 30 cupcakes. Happy eating!

#8) Bakeapple Bars

As part of our vacation, the bf and I spent some time in southern Labrador with the "in-laws." While we were there we spent a day picking bakeapples. It was my first time tasting bakeapples and I fell in love a little... Okay, let's be honest, I fell in love a lot. I like mixing them with sugar for toast well enough, but these berries are too good not to bake with. This sweet treat is my own spin on blueberry squares, so you can use practically any berry you like. Don't let the length of the ingredients scare you - this recipe is simple and delicious!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar, divided in half cups
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp cornstarch
4 cups berries

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 375°F.
-Grease a 9x13 pan.
-Stir together 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, flour, and baking powder. Add salt and cinnamon.
-Beat egg with vanilla. Add to flour mixture.
-Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender. The mixture will be crumbly.
-Pat down half the dough into the pan.
-Stir together 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in berries.
-Spread berry mixture over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over top.
-Bake for 50 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

*The smell of the the bakeapples baking is enough to make you hungry :)
*A scoop of ice cream over top makes this sweet treat even tastier!

#7) Double Chocolate Banana Cookies

My birthday was a little better than a week ago, and being as smart as she is, my bestest girlfriend gave me a cookbook all about cookies. I couldn't wait to try one of the yummy looking recipes, so here is my first attempt. This sweet treat goes heavy on the chocolate, so if you aren't into cocoa as much as me, I would steer clear :)

Ingredients:

3-4 extra-ripe bananas
2 cups oats (I used quick oats)
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1 /4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped roasted almonds

Steps:

-Beat bananas with hand mixer.
-In another bowl, combine oats, sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
-Stir in bananas, butter, and eggs until blended. Add chocolate chips and almonds.
-Refrigerate for 1 hour, until partially firm. (Batter will run if not chilled, as seen below)
-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Drop batter unto greased cookie sheets by the 1/4-cup measure. Flatten slightly with a spatula.
-Bake for 15-17 minutes on the middle rack. Cool on wire rack.

Info:

-I halved the recipe above and got 20 large cookies.
-the 1/4-cup measure makes for a big cookie. If you would like smaller try tablespoon drops.
-Refrigerate batter right up until you place it into the oven. If not you will get monsters like those in the second picture HaHa.

#6) Peanut Butter Balls

Vacation was fun, but once it was over all I could think about was getting back into the kitchen to make some home-style sweet treats. Two of my favorite things in life are peanut butter and chocolate, and any recipe that puts them together is worth a shot! This one is an old favorite that is religiously requested by the bf and my brother :) The recipe is easily doubled, or tripled even, so make as many as you want as big as you want!

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (light works fine)
1 cup icing sugar
1 cup rice crispies
1 tbsp butter
1pkg chocolate chips (I used 1 cup milk chocolate discs from my local bulk store)
1/4 block parowax (pure refined wax, used commonly for candle making)*

*I assure you, even though it doesn't say on the box it is edible, it is.

Steps:

-Mix together peanut butter, icing sugar, rice crispies, and butter together. Roll into balls.
-Cover one or more cookie sheets with waxed paper.
-Melt the parowax over low heat, then add the chocolate. Stir until smooth.
-Keeping the chocolate mixture over very low heat, dip the balls in one at a time, transferring to cookie sheets with two spoons.
-Let sit in fridge for 30 minutes.

Tips:
-Leftover chocolate can be used to dip almost anything: marshmallows, gummy candy, fruit...
-Semisweet chocolate is a bit healthier than milk chocolate.

Vacation

Hey everyone!

So, remember when I mentioned that "much-needed vacation?" Well the time has finally arrived!!!

I will be back with even tastier sweet treats by Aug 15th. See you all then!

Dani

#5) Practice Peanut Butter Bites

Lately my kitchen, err my rental kitchen, I should say, has been in an uproar... Not only are the bf and I getting ready to go on a much needed vacation, we are also in the process of packing up to move to another apartment. Needless to say, measuring cups are missing, bowls are packed, and certain baking essentials are lacking (notably - EGGS). That being said, I still wanted to bake today. One ingredient I did have a lot of was peanut butter (*yummy) so I threw some in a bowl and hoped to find a sweet treat at the end of this experiment...

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cups brown sugar
2.5 tbsp skim milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup flour

1 tbsp cocoa

1 tsp baking powder
(*chocolate chips)

Steps:

-Cream butter, sugars, milk, and vanilla together.

-Stir in peanut butter.

-Add flour, cocoa, and baking soda.
-Roll into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet, sparated.

-Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes.

*Just before the first sheet of cookies was done baking, I removed it from the oven and pressed in the middle of each cookie with a spoon and placed chocolate chips in the dip. I then returned the cookies to the oven for less than 1 minute.

Although they look cute, my plan didn't work as I had intended. I wanted the chips to soften so I could swirl it with a spoon, leaving a chocolate topping on the cookies, but they were so messy I wouldn't even take a picture. BUT, they were tasty :p.

Discoveries:

-Eggless PB cookies bake out thinner and crispier than a traditional recipe.

-Anything bigger then a 1-inch ball produces a cookies too large and too flimsy for my liking.

-Increasing the cocoa may have given the cookie more depth.

-They still go great with a tall, cold glass of milk :)

#4) Beautiful Brownies

When it comes to sweets I have many loves, but if I was forced to choose just one sweet treat to have for the rest of my life, it would would be the brownie, without a doubt! I love brownies for many reasons: first of all, I am a chocoholic with a severe dependence on all things cocoa; second, I am a sucker for anything chewy and gooey; finally, a good brownie recipe hands itself over body and soul to a countless number of flavour mash-ups. This recipe is an A+ in my opinion, resulting in a pan of gooey, rich, satisfyingly chocolately brownies :) (The brownies pictured were my minty experiment...... DELICIOUS!)

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
2 tsp vanilla

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Sift together sugar, cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add chocolate chips.
-Add melted butter, eggs, water, and vanilla.
-Pour batter into a 13x9 inch greased pan.
-Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out slightly covered in brownie (all ovens vary so be cautious and check often within the last couple of minutes).

*I baked these for 19 minutes, but the boyfriend said they could have baked another minute or so for a better texture.

Flavour Ideas:

-Mint: mint chocolate chips + mint extract
-Terry's Chocolate Orange: rough chopped chocolate orange + orange extract
-Savoury Southwest: monterey jack cheese slices over top of batter

Tip:

-Let your imagination be your only limitation and have fun with it :)

#3) Perfect Pancakes

My blender is one counter-top appliance I simply can NOT live without. I immediately fell in love with how easy it makes life. I now have some recipes specifically written for blenders, but I have also adapted some of my faves to work with it as well. This recipe is a perfect example of one my "blender makeovers". A sweet treat for breakfast, who could ask for more? :)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk (soy milk works fine)
4 tbsp melted butter (I used vegetable oil this time and it was fine)
1/2 tsp vanilla

*Add-ins - chocolate chips, lemon zest, pecans, sliced banana, let your imagination go wild! (From 1/4 - 1/2 cup, depending on taste)

Steps:

-Add flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt to blender. Pulse until mixed.
-Add eggs, milk, butter/oil, and vanilla to flour mixture. Pulse until combined.
-Add-ins. Pulse just until incorporated.

#2) Cooking Light Carrot Muffins

If it is a question of having a sweet tooth, I am guilty as charged. But, this is why I try some healthier recipes every now and then. This one is my favorite light version of carrot cake. Granted, it is not as dense as original carrot cake, and no, it isn't smothered with cream cheese frosting.... BUT it does turn out a tasty sweet treat you can eat without one ounce of guilt.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flaked coconut

1/3 cup raisins (optional)
2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp applesauce
2 large eggs
2 cups grated carrot (2 large carrots cut in chunks, if using blender)
1 1/2 cups canned crushed pineapple, drained

Steps:

*I make my muffins using the blender. It is a time saver and keeps the mess contained :)

-Add the pineapple, carrot, eggs, and applesauce to blender. Mix until carrot is grated and ingredients are combined.
-Add cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and coconut to blender. Incorporate well.
-Add sugar and flour and incorporate. If the batter is too dry add reserved pinapple juice by teaspoon until you acheive a better texture.
-If you are using the raisins, add to the blender and pulse just until the are incorporated.
-Pour into muffin cups and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*Yields 1 dozen muffins :)

Tips:

-Allow muffins to cool before removing from the paper muffin cups. They do not separate well when still hot/warm.

-Spread into a 13x9 inch pan sprayed with Pam for a cake.