nutella mug cake

Ever have that sweet tooth craving that you just can't seem to satisfy after supper? You don't really want to bake a whole cake, or make a whole pie, or an entire batch of cookies. You really just want a single serving of something tasty. Well, look no further, you've found the solution! This sweet treat takes less than 5 minutes to make from start to finish and is melt in your mouth good! And if you don't like nutella, feel free to leave it out. You can't really even taste it, but I think it makes the cake extra moist.

what you'll need:

• 4 Tbsp. self-rising flour
• 4 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 3 Tbsp. canola oil
• 3 Tbsp. nutella
• an extra large mug

how you'll do it:

put all ingredients in your mug and mix well with fork

put in microwave for 1 min; take out and stir

put in for another 30-60 seconds as you watch it rise

be sure to watch it because if it cooks too long it will be dry, 

and a dry cake is no good 

if all goes well, it will look something like this:

now pour yourself a glass of ice cold milk and enjoy!

recipe adapted from Family Kitchen

the thing

This is Ryan's favorite summer dessert to make (and it's usually in high demand when we sign up to bring dessert to our Bible study group!) Only 3 ingredients makes this dessert super simple and almost too easy. But the consistency of the cool whip mixed with the ice cream is a dream!

what you'll need:

• 1/2 gallon natural vanilla ice cream
• 1 small tub of cool whip
• 1 package oreos

how you'll do it:

get your ingredients ready

put the ice cream in large bowl and let it get melty

crush oreos

add oreos to ice cream bowl; then top with cool whip

stir together

then, put in freezer and let freeze completely

now it's ready to serve!

This cool, creamy dessert is definitely a favorite on hot summer nights!

3 layer chocolate heaven

If there ever was a dessert that was super rich, super creamy, super chocolate-y, gives you your chocolate fix for a week, it was this dessert right here. I won't be making it too often because it is just so rich, but will definitely make it again! I think this is a great dessert to take to a group supper or party because it's best eaten right out of the oven when it's warm and gooey, and not after it's cooled off and has been sitting on the counter for a day. But then again, who would let this sit around without being eaten for that long? ;)

what you'll need:

• 2 sticks butter, softened
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tsp. baking soda
  
• 1 tsp. salt
  
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips
  
• 1 pkg. Double Stuffed Oreos
  
• 1 Family Size (9×13) Brownie mix (and needed ingredients)
  
• chocolate syrup

 how you'll do it:

preheat oven to 350*

in your mixer, whip butter and both sugars until smooth

add eggs and vanilla until combined

in separate both mix flour, baking soda, and salt

add flour mixer a little at a time until blended well

fold in chocolate chips

spray 9x13 baking pan with non-stick spray

press cookie dough into the pan

cover cookie dough with oreos

in a separate bowl, mix brownie mix according to directions

pour brownie batter over oreos

squeeze chocolate syrup over batter

bake for about an hour, start checking it at 45 minutes with the toothpick test

I took this to our monthly Bible study supper, and we served it with vanilla ice cream. It was so good that I didn't even have time to get a picture of the finished product. Here is the picture from my board on Pinterest, where I found this recipe!

triple chocolate muffins

These muffins are so great, they are healthy yet rich and so good! I made them as dessert, but if you are a big chocolate fan, I bet you could force yourself to eat them for breakfast ;)

what you need:

• 1 3/4 oats
• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips, separated

how you'll do it:

• preheat oven to 350*
• line muffin pans with liners
• mix all ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a food processor *note, I mixed ingredients in a bowl and used my hand mixer "stick" with the blade adapter*
• mix in 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• scoop into muffin tins and bake for about 10 minutes
• open oven and distribute the remaining chocolate chips on the tops of muffins
• bake 2-3 more minutes

Be sure to watch the muffins as they bake for 10 minutes-my oven cooks hot so by the time my timer went off they were already completely done and you want them to need to cook a little longer for the top chips to melt into the tops. Still, these didn't turn out bad at all! Hope you enjoy.

Variation:

-Next time I am going to reduce the sugar to 1/2 and see how that works because the dark chocolate is so rich, I don't think you need THAT much added sugar. Suit your taste buds.  :)

(eggless) chocolate chip cookie dough

Although this may surprise some of you, some of us like to sit around and take a spoon to the cookie dough package and eat until our hearts are content. But there is usually that ever-present mother's voice in your head warning you against eating it because of the eggs in the batter!! I hope you enjoy this eggless "cookie dough" (for eating, not baking ;) ) but be warned that it's hard to put back in the fridge after your first bite!

what you need:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2-ish tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• water

how you'll do it:

in medium bowl, blend butter and brown sugar until smooth

add flour, salt, and vanilla

when well blended, add in chocolate chips

you won't have trouble finding someone to lick the mixing sticks on this recipe!

healthy fruit pizza

Another Pinterest jewel, I am so excited to share this recipe with y'all! If you have ever had fruit pizza before, you should be excited. This is a healthier version, but before you see that the first ingredient is whole wheat flour and have the sudden urge to run away quickly, don't worry! I don't think you lose anything by not using the typical sugar-cookie crust. And one of the best parts about this recipe is that you can use whatever fruit you want or have! Yum!

what you'll need:

• crust:
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• icing:
• 8 oz. whipped cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar

how you'll do it:

preheat oven to 350*

in a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, brown sugar, and cinnamon

 make a well in flour mixture and add milk and olive oil

stir with wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed--will be a crumbly texture

mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl

*note: the amounts are not listed in ingredient list, use what you see needed

pinch off some dough, roll into a ball, then flatten. 

dip in cinnamon sugar on both sides and 

place on non-stick sprayed cookie sheet.

bake for about 10 minutes

while crusts are baking, combine cream cheese and brown sugar

for ease, put icing in a plastic bag, cut away corner, and squeeze icing onto crusts 

top with fruit of your choice

Viola! A cute, pretty, fun, and very yummy dessert! 

Variation: 

• Okay, so as I was making and taste-testing the icing, it just tasted super cream-cheesy (which makes sense, since it is). But since I married a cream cheese hater, and am very cautious to disguise it every time I use it while cooking (which is frequent) I thought I better figure out a way to mask the cream cheese flavor. So I added a little butter and some powdered sugar until it tasted a little more like the icing for my favorite Clone of a Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. So, this is a "less healthy" variation, but who really cares anyways? ;)

tye-dye cupcakes

Thanks again to Pinterest for this great idea! This recipe puts a unique and fun twist on plain white cupcakes. It is super easy and very bright!

what you'll need:

• 1 box white cake mix + ingredients
• food coloring

how you'll do it:

• mix cake mix according to directions on box
• separate batter into bowls (one bowl per color)

pick the colors that you want to use and add to each bowl until pleased with color

add in random order to cupcake pan

 bake according to directions on box and let cool

top with icing and enjoy!

check out the awesome colors!

cherry cordials

I have found that most people have some kind of treat that they make each Christmas as a tradition. For example, my Mom makes the world's best chex mix (sorry to all you other chex mix makers out there; it's just a cold, hard fact). When I was growing up, my neighbors always made hard candy. Some people make chocolate covered cherries, other choose to spend their time making fruit cakes.

A few years ago my parents were hosting a Christmas party for lots of neighbors and friends, and I was trying to figure out what kind of Christmas goodies I could make. I stumbled across this recipe and it's been "my" Christmas treat ever since.

Now, before you look at this recipe, see that it is a long process and run away with your tail tucked, wait. Yes, it is an all-day kind of thing. Yes, it is very involved. Yes, it is worth it. From what I hear, those red boxes of cordials that you buy every year around this time haven't got anything on these.

Let's proceed.

what you'll need:

• 2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melty/softened
• 3 Tbsp. corn syrup
• 3 jars maraschino cherries with stems
• baker's milk chocolate
• mini cupcake tins

how you'll do it:

in a medium/large sized bowl, combine butter and
corn syrup until the mixture is cloudy

sift your sugar into the bowl

combine with your spatula. once you have hit the point
where the dough is flaky and not sticking together, use
your hands to start kneading it. make a dough ball

put your dough ball in the fridge to harden

while that's hardening, pour the juice out of your cherries
and lay them on paper towels on your counter to dry a little

line a cookie sheet with wax paper to put the cherries on when wrapped

after the dough is hard, get it out and begin wrapping the cherries with it

pinch off just enough to cover the cherry and make it into a ball

flatten it out

cover the cherry with the dough

seal it around the stem

• put the cherries in the fridge to harden before coating with chocolate
• in the meantime, set out mini cupcake tins on the counter

[Okay, time for a side note here. Normally I use a double boiler to melt the baker's chocolate. But this was my second round of cordial making and I found a little gym that I had forgotten all about: my "Little Dipper." It came as a bonus with the crock pot I got as a wedding present, and it works wonders. So this time, I melted the chocolate in it and dipped the cherries.]

holding the stem, drag the cherry through the chocolate

place in mini cupcake tin

Viola! And now you know the secret behind those like nuggets of goodness. Now for the hardest thing that I must tell you about these cordials. Are you ready?

They need to sit for 2-3 weeks for their awesomeness to set in.

I know, I just broke a few hearts. You can eat them now, but trust me, the longer they sit, the better they get. So I encourage you to let this be some practice in self-control. ;) Enjoy!

black forest brownies

Looking for a tasty treat in a fun size? Look no further. Mom's delicious black forest brownies are a hit, and I'm so excited to share them with you here.

Tomorrow, Ryan and I are going to a Christmas party tomorrow with his coworkers and when Ryan told me we needed to bring something to eat, this was the first dessert that came to mind!

what you'll need:

• family size brownie mix
• can of cherry pie filling
• foil muffin tins

how you'll do it:

• preheat oven to 350*
• prepare the brownie mix in a large bowl according to directions on box

place muffin tins in muffin pans and spray with nonstick spray

 fill muffin tins halfway with brownie batter

spoon 3 cherries into each muffin tin

cover with more brownie batter

put pan into the oven and bake until done!

Viola! How beautiful! And just wait until you taste them. Unfortunately, I am notoriously bad at setting timers, but I think that I baked these for about 30-35 minutes. And I used 2 boxes of brownie mix and a whole can of cherry pie filling for a yield of 24 brownie cupcakes.

How did yours turn out?

cake pops

Well if you've been on Pinterest lately or any other site that offers holiday treat recipes, you may be familiar with cake pops. If not, allow me the pleasure of the introduction :)

Cake pops are super easy, albeit time-consuming, to make. Today, my friend Tessa and I made some together.

what you'll need:

• 1 box cake mix
• 1 can icing
• baker's chocolate
• sprinkles, if desired
• wooden skewers

how you'll do it:

• cut wooden skewers in half (these will be the sticks for the cake pops)
• bake the cake according to instructions on box in 2 square or round pans
• set the cake on cooling racks until cool
• in a large [very large] bowl, crumble the cake

add can of icing to cake, stir until combined well in a thick consistency

using a small 'cookie dough' scoop, scoop out the cake/icing mix

• put all cake balls in the freezer to harden

using a double boiler, melt baker's chocolate, put wooden skewer in cake ball and dip in the chocolate until covered

place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet and add sprinkles

Viola! And as easy as that you have a fun and tasty treat to share!

For today's batch, we used strawberry cake and  icing. I have also used funfetti cake and icing. 

Other ideas for cake/icing combinations:

• chocolate cake with chocolate icing
• chocolate cake with vanilla icing
• vanilla cake with chocolate icing
• strawberry cake with chocolate icing
• pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese icing

What kind of cake pops did you make?