Friday, January 6, 2012

Dieters Beware!

Because you will gain 15 pounds just by reading this post! I've compiled all the desserts that I have made in the past few months and posted them below. Hope you enjoy...Remember, I warned you!


Triple Chocolate Pound Cake
(Yes, I got carried away with the frosting.) 

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sour cream OR 3 to 4 oz. cream cheese (almost half or half of an 8-oz. block), softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 to 1 Tablespoon half & half (if you’re using 3/4 cup cocoa powder–see below–use 1 Tablespoon of half & half)
1/2 to 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 to 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan. In large bowl, cream together the softened butter and sour cream (or cream cheese). Add sugar and blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one. Add half & half, blending well; then stir in cocoa powder and mix well. Add the flour and blend well; then fold in the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Put batter into the prepared 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for 70-80 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or almost clean (because it’s so dense and fudgy, the toothpick may not come out entirely clean; my baking time for the sour cream version was 75 minutes and 80-85 minutes for the cream cheese version). Cool in pan about 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely (you may need to loosen the upper edges of the cake a little with a knife; then the cake will come out of the pan very easily). While the cake is cooling, you can make the frosting…

RICH CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. half & half
1/4– 1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, for garnish

Cream the softened butter and powdered sugar. Then add in the cocoa powder and blend well. Add 1 Tbsp. half & half and mix well (if you’d rather have a thinner consistency, just add more half & half). When pound cake is completely cool, spoon all of the frosting on top of the cake and spread out to cover the top–you’ll have a nice thick layer of frosting! Then garnish with the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, sprinkling down the center of the cake.




Reese's Peanut Butter Bark
(I forgot the peanuts, but it was still good!)

2 packages (4 oz. each) HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar, broken into pieces
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips
1 tablespoon shortening
1/2 cuproasted peanuts or toasted almonds, coarsely chopped

Cover cookie sheet or tray with wax paper.  Place chocolate in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chocolate is melted and smooth when stirred. Immediately place peanut butter chips and shortening in second microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred; stir in peanuts. Alternately spoon above mixtures onto prepared tray; swirl with knife for marbled effect. Gently tap tray on countertop to even out thickness of mixture. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in cool, dry place. About 1 pound candy.

Reeses Krispies
(They sorta look like boiled cookies to me!) 

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Corn Syrup
1 1/3 Creamy Peanut Butter
4 1/4 Cup Rice Krispes
1 Pinch of Salt
4 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped
1 Handful Chocolate Chips

In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt the sugar, corn syrup, and peanut butter until smooth and evenly combined. Remove from heat. Quickly add the salt and cereal and stir to combine thoroughly. Add the chocolate chips and stir again. Wait about 1 min and add the candy, quickly folding the mixture together so as to not smash up the candy.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop rounded tablespoons onto the sheet. Let cool and devour!


Colorful Sprinkle Cookies
(Not as pretty as they were supposed to be. They didn't get to stay in the fridge for as long as they were supposed to, so they smooshed when I sliced them.) 


2
cups unsifted cake flour
½
teaspoon baking powder
¼
teaspoon salt
cup unsifted powdered sugar
¼
cup granulated sugar
sticks unsalted butter
1
teaspoon vanilla
½
teaspoon strawberry(or other)extract
½
teaspoon(or more)Rose food coloring
2
tablespoon unsifted cake flour
cups sprinkles

 
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugars in a food processor and process briefly to mix. Add the butter in pieces; process with on/off bursts until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Add the vanilla and process until the mixture just forms a ball. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions then return one of the portions to the food processor. Add the strawberry extract, food coloring, and the extra tablespoons of flour to the processor and process until just incorporated. Roll out each portion of dough between sheets of waxed paper. You want a rectangle about 11 × 8½ inches by ⅛ inch thick. Leave the dough between the sheets of waxed paper and slide onto a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. Remove dough pieces from refrigerator. Pour the sprinkles into a shallow rectangular dish (such as a 9 × 13-inch pan. Peel off the top sheet of waxed paper from both doughs. Brush the vanilla dough very lightly with water. Using the waxed paper, lift the strawberry dough and flip it onto the vanilla dough so they are stacked. Press with your fingertips to seal the two doughs together. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and trim the edges even.

When the dough is just pliable (but still cold), roll up the dough(begin with the long side) like a jellyroll. As you begin to roll, gently curl the edge with your fingertips so you don’t get any air pockets as you roll dough into a log. As you roll, the vanilla portion may want to tear, pinch tears together as they happen and keep rolling. After forming the dough into a log, throw away the waxed paper. Gently lift the log on top of the sprinkles in the dish and roll until the log is completely coated. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to slice (from 4 hours to a week, or freeze for up to 2 months; defrost in the refrigerator overnight before slicing).
Heat oven to 325°. To bake, slice the log into ⅛- to ¼-inch-thick cookies and bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cookies are no longer shiny on top and the bottoms of the vanilla portion are golden.


Homemade Butterfingers

(A little funny looking, but yummy!) 

1-2 packs candy corn
Peanut Butter (same amount of ounces as the candy corn
1 pack Almond Bark

Melt candy corn in microwave. Stir every 30 seconds.  After melted, stir in peanut butter. Spread in buttered dish. Cool. Cut into squares or roll into balls. Coat with melted Almond Bark.


Smores Pie


(Almost forgot to take a  picture!)
 
6 Regular sized Hershey Bars, broken into pieces
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 7oz container of Marshmallow Creme
wax paper
Preheat oven to 350° Spray a 9″ pie pan with baking spray. Beat butter and sugar together until combined. Add egg and vanilla. On low add flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder. Divide the dough in half. Press half the dough in the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie pan. Evenly spread the Marshmallow Creme over the bottom crust. Now spread the broken chocolate pieces on top of the Marshmallow Creme. Now, form the remaining dough into a ball and place on a piece of wax paper. Top with another piece of wax paper and flatten into a 9″ circle. Carefully peel the top piece of wax paper off. Flip the crust onto the top of the pie and peel the other piece of wax paper off.
Pinch the dough together to form the crust. Bake 20 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack and slice when ready to serve
 
 
Oreo Cheesecake
(I forgot to take a picture, so I had to swipe this one from pinterest!)
 
22 Oreos: 16 left whole, and 6 coarsely chopped
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 275 F. Line 12 standard muffin tins and 4 ramekins (or 16 muffin tins, if you have them) with paper liners. Place 1 whole Oreo in the bottom of each lined cup. Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium. Gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Pour in the beaten eggs, a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand. Pour the batter into the prepared tins, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, 22-25 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, on a wire rack, then transfer to a plate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

4 comments:

  1. Oh my, there goes the 5 lbs I've lost this week! Looked sooooo good!

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  2. That did it! All this goodness, how can a person endure it! I know...you did warn us! lol. Thanks for sharing...they all look very tasty!
    Have a great weekend! Hugs

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  3. These desserts look sinful. And tastey. Get this post away from me!


    I just read about your sweetie pie this morning. I have been cheering you on for months lady! My good intentions of sending you a package have been walked by. I deserve a smack! I still have JD fabric sitting in my lil sewing cupboard waiting to be made into something for you! Egads! I'm so terrible.

    He is so stinkin cute!

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  4. Oh dear G-d, I just lost 30 pounds and then I have to come across this?!:)

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