Desserts & Dateline

 One afternoon I was chatting with a friend of mine who teaches preschool. She told me about the perfect little dessert that her kids made with crescent rolls, apples, cinnamon, and sugar.  Could it be? Am I the only one who didn't make this dessert as a wee little one? Sheesh. Well I'm making up for lost time now. 

I bought a package of four crescent rolls and one Granny Smith apple. After sprinkling the inside of the crescent roll with cinnamon and sugar, I added the apple (which I forgot to peel) and caramel bits. Next I rolled the crescents up and stuffed a few more caramel bits in for good measure. 

I popped the dumplings in the oven for 13 minutes at 375 degrees. 

It was yummy, easy, and very quick.  

The perfect dessert for two people wrapped up in the drama of Dateline on a Friday night. 

Strawberries & Cream (in a mug)

Late night baking on the weekends is one of my favorite things to do. This weekend, my bf and I tried out a little dessert in a mug. If you're curious about what I'm talking about, I shall direct you to this article on Buzzfeed. 

After clicking through all of the recipes, several times, we decided to try out the strawberries and cream mug treat. You can find this recipe on babble from The Family Kitchen here. 

We made a few modifications to the recipe. Here's how we made our cakes:

Strawberries & Cream Mug Cake:

• 1 egg
• 2 T strawberry yogurt
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 1/8 t baking powder
• 1/8 t vanilla extract
• 2 T granulated sugar
• 5 T flour
• fresh sliced strawberries
• extra yogurt to dollop on top!

First, spray the inside of your mug with non-stick cooking spray. 

Mix egg, yogurt, vegetable oil, baking powder, vanilla, sugar, and flour together in small bowl. 

Pour into coffee mug (this batch makes one cake!) and microwave for 2 and a half minutes or so. It may depend on your microwave. Our second batch was much tastier because we didn't cook it as long. 

We threw another dollop of strawberry yogurt on top and sprinkled strawberries in the mug for extra sweetness. 

Enjoy!

In Whoville They Say...

WARNING: After the consumption of these tasty Grinch Cookies, your heart will definitely grow three sizes and you'll be overcome with the true meaning of Christmas. Side effects may include speaking in rhyme, changing your last name to Who, and possibly eating a roast BEAST.

You can't say I didn't warn you. 

Grinch Crinkle Cookies

Source: Cookin' Cowgirl

You'll Need:

1 18.25oz box French vanilla cake mix

6 T butter

2 eggs

Green food coloring (I used 60 drops)

1 C powdered sugar

1 t corn starch

Now click here to follow the Cowgirl's procedure for baking these little gems. 

I hope everyone's holiday has gotten off to a great start. Squeeze your families and keep them close. I know I will!

Sweets are Good For the Soul: Part Two

Yesterday, I blogged about my past life with Paula Dean and my unconditional love for sweets. My love doesn't stop just at sweets. Nope, I'm a lover of many food related items. One of them being Nutella. Wait, you haven't heard of Nutella? Really? Let me explain. Nutella is a delicious hazelnut spread. Pair it with a banana or a piece of toast and you've got yourself a little snacky-snack.

This weekend I wanted to bring something sweet in addition to my something salty to our tailgate. When I found a Nutella recipe that ALSO included Funfetti - ugh, my heart melted and my brain filled with hazelnuts. I knew that I was destined to make this treat for my tailgaters. Side note: my unconditional food love is also given to Funfetti. 

Nutella Marshmallow Bars from Inside BruCrew Life

• 1 box Funfetti cake mix
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup Nutella
• 1 cup marshmallow fluff

Click here to follow BruCrew's step by step directions. Thank goodness there are brilliant chefs on the interent willing to share their recipes with gals like me. Also thankfully, my bf was in my kitchen to help with the marshmallow fluff. Whew!

Let's just say the Nutella Marshmallow Cookies were enjoyed by many at the tailgate. Including my lovely bloggy models, Tyler and Elyse!

Bloggy debut. 

Many Nutella cookies made it to the tailgate, but not many made it home... (hehe, see what I did there?)

Cheering for Mizzou

The gooey texture of the cake mix combined with the Nutella and fluff was absolutely delightful. I chopped them up into little bite size squares and we munched on them all day long. So bloggy friends, what Nutella recipes have you tested lately? Do share!

Sweets are Good For the Soul

In a past life, Paula Dean and I were sisters. We both have a knack for making things that are just terrible for you.  Like Paula, you probably won't find many recipes around me that will help you with your diet. Oh well! I enjoy making sweet treats and bringing them to group gatherings. I also enjoy eating them myself.  

For the first day of school (a month ago -sheesh!) I made a batch of red velvet crinkle cookies. By the end of the day, the plate was clean. Which could mean one of two things: 

1. People were so hungry on the first day of school they ate the first thing they found (aka my cookies)

2. People enjoyed the sweet little treats!

Let's hope for conclusion number 2. 

Here's the recipe I followed thanks to the Novice Chef. Hats off to her blog and brilliance. 

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

• 6 tablespoons of butter (If Paula followed my blog, she'd be smiling right now)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 box of red velvet cake mix
• powdered sugar 

Click HERE to follow the chef's directions. 

2012 Olympic Games!

I am so unbelievably excited for the Olympics. I have always loved the summer games. I have fond memories of sitting in my living room watching the gymnasts of my childhood rock the world. If I could have an Olympic themed party for the next 12 days, I would do so AND be in Olympic Heaven, right up there with Zeus! Haha, get it?

Since it's not possible for me to host the longest party ever, I'll have to settle for making some fun Olympic-themed treats. Today, I made some FANCY gold medals to hand out this weekend while floating. 

I used the following two ingredients: Oreos (the golden ones!) & Fruit by the Foot (feet, plural)

 What's one thing I did not do while constructing my gold medals? Read the directions. Ugh, I have a little freshening up to do before school begins on the 21st.  Yes, there's a giant STOP sign. Did I STOP?

 Nope.

Now my oreos are going to get stale WAY TOO QUICKLY! Arg! #firstworldproblems

I went ahead and followed the directions and opened the package the appropriate way. Now my Oreos are exposed to the world in two different ways. So many Oreo problems, so little time.

I unscrewed the Oreos. I broke the 'feet in half and fashioned lanyard to fit with the Oreo/gold medal. I'm sure Michael Phelps would weep receiving one of these bad boys. 

This Olympic treat is so simple an infant could complete it. Okay, maybe not an infant. How about a toddler? 

Tonight, I'm going to attempt to make sugar cookies to resemble the Olympic rings. Wish me luck!

I'll Take 6 Heath Bars, Please.

My sweet tooth never sleeps thanks to that little gem, Pinterest. I know that I'm not the only one that has pinned Kim's Snicker's Dip. My mouth was watering just thinking about it. Thanks for the great idea, Kim! 

I do love a Snickers bar - but I was feeling little rebellious. I don't know what it is lately? I'm eating spicier food, I've been folding my laundry more promptly, and I've been sleeping in  - I'm starting to like this rebellious side of mine.  I made a pit stop at Hyvee to pick up the ingredients and I was caught gawking the candy isle for far too long. I was even asked to move to a different isle. Talk about embarrassing. 

Here's my Heath take on Kim's yummy Snickers dip. Enjoy! 

6-7 yummy deliciously chopped Heath bars.

1 big 'ol (8oz) tub of Cool Whip.

2 8oz packages of cream cheese.

1/4 cup of brown sugar.

Don't be afraid to lick the spoon... several times. I sure did! I plan on serving mine with fruit and pretzels.

It's Friday! Hip hip hooray!

You're Killin' Me Smalls!

"Want a s'more?"

"S'more of what?"

"No no... do you want a s'more?

"I haven't had anything yet. How can I have something of nothing?"

"You're killin' me smalls!"

How can you not love The Sandlot? Seriously, an amazing movie. Speaking of s'mores, I made a little s'more treat for my weekend visitors. I'm so excited to have company this weekend - I plan on baking all weekend. My guests don't know it (yet), but they are just my guinea pigs in many experimental recipes. Mwaha-ha-ha. I'm only kidding. Sort of.

I found this simple recipe for S'more Bars on Sweat Pea Kitchen. Click HERE for the recipe. I'll show you how I made them through a little photo slideshow.

S'more Bars. Compliments of Sweet Pea Kitchen.

First step: graham crackers.

Sift together your dry ingredients.

Woof. 

Chat with your sous-chef about the weather and the raccoon ransacking your back porch. 

 Cream the butter and sugars.

Toss in those dry ingredients, slowly. Try not to drop the egg shell in either!

Fold in chocolate chips and...

Mini marshmallows. 

Drop a scoop of batter onto the graham crackers. Cook for 5 minutes. 

Press in chocolate bar. Cook for 7 more minutes. 

Cool on a wire rack.

Take an Instagram picture and share with all of your Twitter followers. 

Then enjoy with all of your friends over the weekend! :)