(I opted for oats in lieu of chocolate chips)
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Double Berry Jumbo Muffins
4 weeks ago
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Super Bowl - PB Truffles
Super bowl time! For the past four or five years I have made 7-layer dip for Super Bowl Sunday because it's an easy, chilled recipe that doesn't require any cooking. Well this year I broke that tradition and broke out some cooking - two recipes in fact! First up
, Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
- 1/4 cup crushed salted pretzels
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
- Combine peanut butter and pretzels in a bowl. Chill for 15 minutes in the freezer. Roll mixture into balls (about the size of a tsp) and freeze 1 hour till firm. Roll balls in melted chocolate and refrigerate until set.
Super easy, but I totally messed these up! I forgot to freeze the balls before dipping them in chocolate, no wonder I got such a mess! They obviously still ended up tasting awesome, but would have worked better had I actually read the directions right. I also made the balls bigger than recommended, but in the end they tasted great and the Super Bowl party attendees loved them! That is, all the boys devoured them.
I got about 27 (should've been like 40 though had I sized them right) and were 3 points/serving.
, Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles.Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
- 1/4 cup crushed salted pretzels
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
- Combine peanut butter and pretzels in a bowl. Chill for 15 minutes in the freezer. Roll mixture into balls (about the size of a tsp) and freeze 1 hour till firm. Roll balls in melted chocolate and refrigerate until set.
Super easy, but I totally messed these up! I forgot to freeze the balls before dipping them in chocolate, no wonder I got such a mess! They obviously still ended up tasting awesome, but would have worked better had I actually read the directions right. I also made the balls bigger than recommended, but in the end they tasted great and the Super Bowl party attendees loved them! That is, all the boys devoured them.
I got about 27 (should've been like 40 though had I sized them right) and were 3 points/serving.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Holy Candy Cookie Bars!
Yesterday I made one of the most chocolaty, most fattening recipes I have ever made. The recipe just sounded so good and had been bookmarked for months so I decided to give in and make it for a friend's birthday. What was this recipe? Basically a candy bar in a cookie bar form, otherwise known as Crunchy Caramel Reeses Cookie Bars from Picky Palate.
Ingredients:
1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 cup crushed pretzels
3 cups mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
10 Kraft caramels
1 tbsp fat-free milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Unwrap peanut butter cups and caramels, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 baking dish with foil (I used a disposable foil baking dish so skipped this part) and spray with cooking spray. Cut cookie dough roll in half and press half into bottom of baking dish. Layer with pretzels. Cut PB cups in half and layer over pretzels. Melt caramels and milk in a microwave safe bowl until melted, about 1-2 minutes in microwave. Pour caramel over PB cups.
Crumble (or spread) remaining cookie dough evenly over top the PB cups. Bake for approximately 22 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Let cool completely. Melt chocolate chips in microwave until smooth, drizzle over top of bars.
Shortly after this they were completely gone!
Ingredients:
1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 cup crushed pretzels
3 cups mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
10 Kraft caramels
1 tbsp fat-free milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Unwrap peanut butter cups and caramels, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 baking dish with foil (I used a disposable foil baking dish so skipped this part) and spray with cooking spray. Cut cookie dough roll in half and press half into bottom of baking dish. Layer with pretzels. Cut PB cups in half and layer over pretzels. Melt caramels and milk in a microwave safe bowl until melted, about 1-2 minutes in microwave. Pour caramel over PB cups.
Crumble (or spread) remaining cookie dough evenly over top the PB cups. Bake for approximately 22 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Let cool completely. Melt chocolate chips in microwave until smooth, drizzle over top of bars.
The original recipe said it made 9 bars, but I cut this into 12 and that still ends up being about 8 pts/bar. Obviously though, this isn't a WW friendly dessert, but that's ok because it was a huge success! My friend really liked it as did the other dozen of guys sitting around watching football. It was quite cliche, me walking in with baked goods at a football watch party, but it was a winner!
Shortly after this they were completely gone!Sunday, September 12, 2010
My New Go-To Cookie
Been a while since I posted, but I have in fact been busy slaving away in the kitchen.
A good friend moved to Michigan for grad school and throw a going away party at the beginning of August! I decided to bake her cookies as a sweet sendoff! The recipe was for Chocolate-Cherry Heart Smart Cookies from In Good Taste.
They were super fast and easy and so delicious!
Ingredients:
1/3 cup all-purpose white flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup dried cherries
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
cooking spray
Directions:
- Lay out all ingredients and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine flours and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stir with a whisk.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; add brown sugar, stirring until smooth.
- Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.
- Add cherries, vanilla, and egg; beat until combined.
- Fold in chocolate.
- Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.
- Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
- Cool on pans 3 minutes or until almost firm.
- Remove cookies from pans and cool.
A good friend moved to Michigan for grad school and throw a going away party at the beginning of August! I decided to bake her cookies as a sweet sendoff! The recipe was for Chocolate-Cherry Heart Smart Cookies from In Good Taste.
They were super fast and easy and so delicious!
Ingredients:
1/3 cup all-purpose white flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup dried cherries
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
cooking spray
Directions:
- Lay out all ingredients and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine flours and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stir with a whisk.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; add brown sugar, stirring until smooth.
- Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.
- Add cherries, vanilla, and egg; beat until combined.
- Fold in chocolate.
- Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.
- Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
- Cool on pans 3 minutes or until almost firm.
- Remove cookies from pans and cool.
The Final Product!
As mentioned in the title of this post, these cookies were great! The cherries added a little bit of tartness to a regular chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. And because they were so fast and easy to make I would definitely come back to these. I got about 26 cookies out of the recipe making it 2 pts/cookie.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
No Bake Cookie
I like the idea of "no bake" cookies because obviously they are super easy and very time friendly. I had some peanut butter left over from the fluffernutter cookies last week so I thought this No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies via Coconut & Lime was a perfect way to use it up! And I was right!
Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
3 cups old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Bring sugar, butter, and milk to a full boil, remove from heat, add oatmeal. Stir. Then add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir. Drop by teaspoonfuls on to waxed paper. When cool, pack in single layer in Tupperware or other air-tight container to store.
I got about 70 cookies out of this, but they are pretty small. Bite size if you will and come out at 1 pt/cookie. I took them to a "Lost" watch party a friend was having and they were a huge hit! Gobbled up quite fast, and everyone really seemed to like that they were "bite-size." Mmmm.
Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
3 cups old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Bring sugar, butter, and milk to a full boil, remove from heat, add oatmeal. Stir. Then add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir. Drop by teaspoonfuls on to waxed paper. When cool, pack in single layer in Tupperware or other air-tight container to store.
I got about 70 cookies out of this, but they are pretty small. Bite size if you will and come out at 1 pt/cookie. I took them to a "Lost" watch party a friend was having and they were a huge hit! Gobbled up quite fast, and everyone really seemed to like that they were "bite-size." Mmmm.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Fluffernutter-y
Fluffernutter sandwiches used to be one of my favorite things as a child. The combination of marshmallow fluff and peanut butter - how can you go wrong?! So when I found this recipe for Fluffernutter Cookies via Picky-Palate.com I just couldn't resist! This was the second recipe for the big party...
Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used JIF of course)
1 large egg
1 cup marshmallow cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix the peanut butter and egg until well combined. Slowly stir in the marshmallow cream until just combined. You want to see the marshmallow cream not fully incorporated, almost like swirled through. With a cookie scoop (I just used a spoon), scoop dough onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet (or tin foil). Bake for 12-15 minutes or until baked through. Let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
I got about 21 cookies from the recipe (the original said about 18).
These turned out OK to me. I was a little disappointed, maybe because I love those sandwiches so much. Anyway, I would have preferred them to be a little softer, so would suggest baking them for 10 minutes. But all in all, another fun recipe to try.
As far as pts 2 per cookie, not too bad, but not worth it in my opinion.
Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used JIF of course)
1 large egg
1 cup marshmallow cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix the peanut butter and egg until well combined. Slowly stir in the marshmallow cream until just combined. You want to see the marshmallow cream not fully incorporated, almost like swirled through. With a cookie scoop (I just used a spoon), scoop dough onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet (or tin foil). Bake for 12-15 minutes or until baked through. Let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
I got about 21 cookies from the recipe (the original said about 18).
These turned out OK to me. I was a little disappointed, maybe because I love those sandwiches so much. Anyway, I would have preferred them to be a little softer, so would suggest baking them for 10 minutes. But all in all, another fun recipe to try.
As far as pts 2 per cookie, not too bad, but not worth it in my opinion.
A Feeding Frenzy
Last weekend my roommate and I decided to throw a little "Spring Fling!" In honor of the weather (sort of) being nice and summer in sight, we thought why not! It was also the perfect excuse for me to make a few new recipes - three to be exact! I'll put them in separate posts, but here goes numero uno.
Tequila Bars. Mmm.
I've been meaning to make these for quite sometime, but whenever the time came I always decided on something else... until now! The recipe is from Guy Fieri via the Food Network and I just made a few alterations.
Ingredients
1 12oz box of vanilla wafers (I used reduced fat Nilla Wafers)
1/2 cup pine nuts
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
1/3 cup tequila
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
5 large egg yolks, plus 2 egg whites
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp sugar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pulse the wafers and pine nuts in a food processor until well ground up. Add the butter and blend until evenly mixed. Set aside 1/4 cup of crumbs; press the rest evenly into a 9x13 baking pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together the tequila, lime
juice, egg yolks, and condensed milk.
In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer
until they hold soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the tequila mixture.
Spread the filling evenly over the crust.Bake for 25 minutes. Cool.
Sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top.
Chill in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight before cutting.
The final product? Pretty good - very sweet! I had a hard time pulsing the wafers and pine nuts, probably since I don't have a food processor I had to make a blender work. Not as easy as I thought it would be. Also, as I write this, I realized I did not melt the butter before mixing it with the crumbs. That will probably explain why my crust mixture was much more doughy than crumby. But alas, despite all that these came out great! Very limey, not so tequilay. I personally liked the crust part better than the topping, it was just a little too sweet. For me, at least. But I think this may be the most challenging recipe I've ever made! Woohooo!
As far as servings and points... the original said cut into 16 bars, but I cut it into 21 squares instead. Makes it about 6 pts/square.
Tequila Bars. Mmm.
I've been meaning to make these for quite sometime, but whenever the time came I always decided on something else... until now! The recipe is from Guy Fieri via the Food Network and I just made a few alterations.
Ingredients
1 12oz box of vanilla wafers (I used reduced fat Nilla Wafers)
1/2 cup pine nuts
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
1/3 cup tequila
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
5 large egg yolks, plus 2 egg whites
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp sugar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pulse the wafers and pine nuts in a food processor until well ground up. Add the butter and blend until evenly mixed. Set aside 1/4 cup of crumbs; press the rest evenly into a 9x13 baking pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together the tequila, lime
juice, egg yolks, and condensed milk.In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer
until they hold soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the tequila mixture.Spread the filling evenly over the crust.Bake for 25 minutes. Cool.
Sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top.
Chill in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight before cutting.
The final product? Pretty good - very sweet! I had a hard time pulsing the wafers and pine nuts, probably since I don't have a food processor I had to make a blender work. Not as easy as I thought it would be. Also, as I write this, I realized I did not melt the butter before mixing it with the crumbs. That will probably explain why my crust mixture was much more doughy than crumby. But alas, despite all that these came out great! Very limey, not so tequilay. I personally liked the crust part better than the topping, it was just a little too sweet. For me, at least. But I think this may be the most challenging recipe I've ever made! Woohooo!
As far as servings and points... the original said cut into 16 bars, but I cut it into 21 squares instead. Makes it about 6 pts/square.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Beans Beans Beans
I love beans, it's true. Ever since going to school in Miami where Cuban food reigns everywhere, rice and beans have become a staple in my life. So when I was searching for a sweet recipe to make to take to work (originally was planning to make cookies) and came across Black Bean Brownies I couldn't help but take a look. What I found was a very interesting recipe and what I made was a very delicious recipe!
Directions:
The final product? So good! Really rich and moist. And they are only 2 points! That's with the walnuts too, so if you take out the nuts they are only 1 pt/brownie. Definitely worth it! Mmmm this may be my go-to brownie recipe moving forward. Plus they are gluten and dairy free!
One last suggestion, I wouldn't tell people the beans ingredient until AFTER they try it. It will weird them out, but then they'll be so shocked at how good they were it'll pass. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can unsalted black beans
2 large eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp instant coffee
pinch of salt
* I also added a 1/2 cup of walnuts (not in the original recipe)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat an 8x8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until completely smooth.Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 20 minutes.
At 20 minutes take out the brownies and top with walnuts.Continue baking for another 20-25 minutes until the top and sides of brownies are set, although the insides will still be a bit soft.
Let cool then slice into 16 brownies.Refrigerate until ready to serve.
One last suggestion, I wouldn't tell people the beans ingredient until AFTER they try it. It will weird them out, but then they'll be so shocked at how good they were it'll pass. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
My 1st Foray Into Baking
I don't really like to bake. For one, I end up eating the ingredients during the baking process; and for two, I'm way more likely to eat an entire batch of cookies in one day than 4-servings of risotto or what not. Plus, baking usually involves more fat and calories. But it was bound to happen sooner or later and sooner came yesterday. With Superbowl Sunday being today I decided I would make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
4 egg whites
2 tbsp skim milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients (oil, brown sugar, white sugar, egg whites, skim milk, vanilla, salt). Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture resembles caramel sauce and the sugars have dissolved.
In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients (oats, flour, baking soda, chocolate chips). Stir until just combined. Add to liquid mixture. Transfer to a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
Bake 15-20 minutes until golden (*I baked it for 22.5 minutes). Remove from oven and allow to cool until firm. Cut into 24 squares and store tightly covered for up to 5 days.
The directions confused me a little because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to mix all the ingredients together before transferring to the pan (which I did a little) or not. I'm thinking maybe I wasn't supposed to because then when I poured it into the pan the flour mixture would be more at the bottom, covered by the liquid mixture. When I did it, it was a mix and the final product turned out a little crumbly. Below is the final product to take to a Superbowl party. Though crumbly, I must say they are mighty delicious! But I think anything oatmeal-chocolate chip is gonna be good. And for WW it's 4 pts per square.
The baking process was actually way easier than expected, though I ended up with flour all over the kitchen the final product was worth it! Mmmmmm...
All the ingredients laid out in preparation.
All the ingredients laid out in preparation.Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
4 egg whites
2 tbsp skim milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients (oil, brown sugar, white sugar, egg whites, skim milk, vanilla, salt). Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture resembles caramel sauce and the sugars have dissolved.
In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients (oats, flour, baking soda, chocolate chips). Stir until just combined. Add to liquid mixture. Transfer to a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.Bake 15-20 minutes until golden (*I baked it for 22.5 minutes). Remove from oven and allow to cool until firm. Cut into 24 squares and store tightly covered for up to 5 days.
The directions confused me a little because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to mix all the ingredients together before transferring to the pan (which I did a little) or not. I'm thinking maybe I wasn't supposed to because then when I poured it into the pan the flour mixture would be more at the bottom, covered by the liquid mixture. When I did it, it was a mix and the final product turned out a little crumbly. Below is the final product to take to a Superbowl party. Though crumbly, I must say they are mighty delicious! But I think anything oatmeal-chocolate chip is gonna be good. And for WW it's 4 pts per square.
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