Desserts

Dessert Recipes

Trail Mix Cookies

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Trail mix is one of my favorite snacks.  I am not active enough to really need the calories and nutritional value it provides, but it’s still not as bad as chowing down on a bag of potato chips, right?  Right…

Not only is trail mix delicious, but it’s an easy snack to take along with you, and we almost always have a bag (or a few bags) of it in our house.  I was planning to make cookies for a trip we took to Angel Fire this past weekend.  My original plan was oatmeal raisin, but then I thought I’d use the trail mix instead.  Pure genius.

The trail mix I buy for Ben can be found at Sam’s Club, but when I don’t feel like going to Sam’s just for a bag of the stuff I buy it at Wal Mart.  It is a perfect mix of peanuts, almonds, cashews, raisins and M&M’s.

I used a simple oatmeal raisin cookie base, but instead of the cup of raisins I measured out 1 1/2 cups of trail mix, chopped up the larger almonds and cashews and stirred it in to the dough.  I added a few dark chocolate M&M’s I had left over from Valentine’s Day just to be sure there was enough chocolate in there : )

The combination of peanuts, raisins, M&M’s, almonds and cashews was terrific.  The final product was hearty and delicious.  Enjoy!

Trail Mix Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 cups oats
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups trail mix, larger nuts chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Beat butter and shortening until smooth, then beat in both sugars, then eggs until light.
  3. Add in vanilla.
  4. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  5. Stir in oats and trail mix until well combined.
  6. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets.
  7. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
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Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

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There are no words.  Just salivation.

Baking Bites (link here) does a post called “Bites from Other Blogs” where she  introduces you to new food blogs and recipes.  This one caught my eye, and thanks to always buying more than I need I had a fresh box of OREOS in the pantry!  It was fate, my friends, fate.

The recipe came from picky-palate.com and I will be forever thankful to both blogs for introducing me to this cookie!  Bless you, Jenny!  I am now subscribed to your blog : )

The only change I made was to use part of a bag of chocolate chips, some Heath bar bits, and some chopped semi-sweet chocolate to make the full 10 ounces.  I liked the combination of chips, chunks and bits of toffee.  It makes these cookies even better, in my opinion anyway.  These are so evil.  I recommend bringing somewhere to pawn them off on other people so that you are not tempted to eat them all yourself!

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • 2 sticks softened butter
  • 3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 Cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
  • 3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 10 oz bag chocolate chips
  • 24 Oreo Cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.   In a stand or electric mixer cream butter and sugars until well combined.  Add in eggs and vanilla until well combined.
  2. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.
  3. Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie.  Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo Cookie.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo Cookie is enclosed with dough.
  4. Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until cookies are baked to your liking.
  5. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
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Frosted Cocoa Brownies

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Oh my.  These are decadent.  I wish I hadn’t made a full recipe because now they’re calling to me from the kitchen, “Carrie, it’s just one more little piece of goodness.  No one will even notice that you ate me…except your jeans!  Mwahaha!”  I hate you evil brownies.

Desserts with which you have a love-hate relationship are usually the best ones.  This brownie recipe will be one that I will make again.  Simple ingredients.  Easy preparation.  Sinfully good.  And while I ate more than one for dessert, a normal person with a healthy relationship with sweets really only needs one to be satisfied.

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen, the recipe sharing site from the Pioneer Woman.  Here is the link to the site.  I’ve enjoyed searching through all the recipes, but have yet to submit any of my own.  There are already so many recipes with a pretty great variety that I don’t know if I will.  One of the things I like about sites like these is that real people made the recipes and so they are usually pretty easy and tasty.  Thank you, Tasty Kitchen!

On the site these brownies are called “Are We in Heaven?  No…It’s Just the Brownies.” which is what made me take a second look at this recipe.  I thought it was funny.  Would I say that these brownies are like being in heaven?  No.  Nothing on this earth is going to be that good.  But they are incredibly good.

The brownie is fudgy.  The frosting is pretty sweet, so a thin layer is all you need. (more…)

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Oreo Cheesecake

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When I saw this recipe I thought that there was no possible way that this dessert could turn out poorly.  Oreos, butter, heavy cream, sugar, cream cheese, and chocolate…no possible way.  I was right.  This thing is dang good.

In fact, the only problem I encountered in making this cheesecake is that my pan wasn’t deep enough to add the sour cream layer on top of the cheesecake, and without this layer the cheesecake had a visibly cracked top.  But that issue was hidden by the chocolate ganache layer.

In the past I have been known to cut corners in the time department.  I have very little patience.  I don’t allow things to set up or chill completely, usually because I have not given myself enough time to complete the dessert.  I gave myself plenty of time for this cheesecake, and my planning and patience paid off.  The cake cut nicely and had a terrific creamy texture.  So, give the cake the time is deserves to set in the oven, chill in the fridge overnight, and chill with the chocolate layer as well.

This recipe is from allrecipes.com.  Here is the link to the recipe.  I left out the sour cream layer completely, but other than that I did not make any changes.  You will need one package of Oreos…unless you plan to snack on them along the way.  I crushed them in the food processor, which is tons easier than banging them in a plastic bag that inevitably breaks and creates quite a mess.

Cheesecake alone is decadent, but this one is especially so thanks to the Oreo crust, the layer of Oreo in the middle and the lovely chocolate top.  This was a hit at the Christmas party I took it to.  You will not be sorry if you take the time to make this!  Enjoy. (more…)

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“Craisy” Oatmeal Cookies

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Oatmeal, cranberry, coconut & rosemary cookies…but that is just too much to type as a blog post title.

I don’t like the “Craisy” title either, but that is how they’re described by Guy Fieri, the creator of these cookies.  “Craisy” because of the use of dried cranberries or “craisins”, and also “crazy” because of the use of rosemary.  I happen to love rosemary in desserts, these cookies are spectacular and quite good for the holidays.  But the idea of this savory herb in a sweet might put some people off.  Do not be frightened!  The rosemary is a welcome ingredient in these cookies.

This cookie recipe arrived in my inbox the other day as Day 12 of the “12 Days of Cookies” from the Food Network.  And instead of deleting it after deciding I had no interest in wasting precious time and energy in baking them (like I have with the other 11 recipes) I clicked on the title and was redirected to the recipe on foodtv.com.  I had all the ingredients…even the fresh rosemary thanks to the robust rosemary plants in the backyard that have withstood not only the freezing temperatures, my lack of care for most plants in my yard, and the dog.  I took the butter and eggs out of the fridge with the intention of making them in the next couple of hours.  Eight hours later, once the baby gave me a good chunk of free time and the electrician had completed his work on our house I got around to making the dough, and 2 hours after that I got around to baking them.  I am so very glad I did.

I love oatmeal cookies of any type.  I love coconut in just about anything.  I love the tartness that cranberries add to baked goods.  And, as you know by now, I love rosemary.  It is therefore no surprise that I loved these cookies.  My only issue with them was temperature and baking time.  I baked my first couple batches at the recommended 350 for 10 minutes.  I hardly ever bake cookies the full time the first time around.  I check them a bit earlier to make sure they do not brown too quickly.  After 10 minutes the cookies were pretty dark, so I took them out.  The next batch I did for 8 minutes, and they had gooey centers, but dark bottoms.  So, I turned the oven down to 325 and baked the cookies for about 10 minutes.  This seemed to yield the best results.  Your oven might so something different, so you might need to mess around with the time a bit.  But even over baked, these cookies are tasty. (more…)

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Coconut & Almond Lemon Curd Bars

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Since I am kind of a hermit these days as a new mommy, I have been raiding my pantry in search of things I can cook or bake with instead of going to the grocery store.  I found a jar of lemon curd in there and so I made these bars.

My mom makes the BEST lemon bars, but these were pretty good and different enough not to be a competitor.  My mom’s are super simple with a buttery crust topped with a tart lemon filling and dusted with powdered sugar.  In contrast, these bars have a crumbly almond and coconut topping that makes them a little special.

I found the recipe on allrecipes.com.  Here is the link.  The recipe calls for a jar of lemon curd, but I think you could easily use any lemon bar filling as a substitute.  This basic filling would be a good one.

Lemon Curd Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 (10 ounce) jar lemon curd
  • 2/3 cup flaked coconut
  • 1/2 cup toasted and chopped almonds

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter. Add the flour, sugar and baking soda. Mix until the mixture forms coarse crumbs
  3. Pat 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of one 9×13 inch baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
  4. Spread the lemon curd over the baked layer. To the remaining 1/3 of crumb mixture add the coconut and the almonds. Sprinkle over the top of the lemon curd.
  5. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F.  Bake bars for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
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Sweet Potato Cake

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Why I ever bought a can of sweet potatoes is a mystery.  I bake sweet potatoes every now and then, but I have never had a use for canned sweet potatoes.  I saw this can of potatoes and went to the trusty internet in search of something I could bake with it.  I found this recipe on cooks.com for sweet potato muffins.  I changed it to a sweet potato cake by simply baking it in a bundt pan. Here is the link.

Ben is not a sweets person, but he really liked this cake.  He even ate it for breakfast on 2 mornings last week, and he always has cereal.  When I make something that Ben eats without being asked to or having a piece served to him, I am pretty excited about it.  The cake is moist, the raisins and pecans add nice contrasts, and it is delicious.  Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes or yams, fresh or canned
  • 1 stick butter, room temperature
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup chopped raisins
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

  1. Grease and sugar a bundt pan.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  3. Beat sugar, sweet potatoes and butter until smooth.
  4. Add eggs and blend well.
  5. Sift together flour, baking powder, spices and salt.
  6. Add alternately with milk to sweet potato mixture, stirring just to blend. Do not overmix.
  7. Fold in raisins and nuts.
  8. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until firm to the touch, and cake tester comes out clean.
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Oatmeal, Pecan, Coconut & Butterscotch Cookies

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A bag of butterscotch chips in my cupboard greeted me (by falling out onto the counter) the other day and so I took this as a sign to make something with them.  I found a recipe for pecan and oatmeal cookies, and so I just added the coconut and butterscotch chips because I have this, well, it’s a problem.  I like to add too many extras to a cookie.  Sometimes I can keep it simple and show some restraint, but most of the time I have the urge to add more and more goodies.

These cookies are very sweet, so one was enough for me.  I could eat probably 3 oatmeal raisin cookies in one sitting, but one of these sweet little things is enough sweet for me.  You could easily leave out the butterscotch chips or replace them with chocolate chips.  You can play around with the add-ins, so make them how you like them.  Enjoy!

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

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Oh.  My.  Good.  Gracious.  These things are crazy good.  And they came about all because of one lonely jar of chunky natural peanut butter that had been stashed in the back of my pantry for a while.  He was reaching the end of his shelf life on November 8, 2010.  I bet this jar of peanutty goodness never even dreamed of being used in something so wonderful.  He thought maybe he was destined to be the star player in a few PB & J’s or maybe to be spread on some celery.  I had much bigger plans for him.

In order to use my natural peanut butter I just searched “desserts with natural peanut butter” in Google and after searching through a few cookie recipes I found this recipe on Joy the Baker.  Here is the link to the recipe.  I made minimal changes to the original.  Chunky instead of smooth peanut butter, regular brown sugar instead of dark, and semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate.

These taste like a dressed up Reese’s cup.  The peanut butter layer comes together easily in one pot.  The chocolate frosting is also incredibly simple to make and spreads nicely on the cooled bars.  This is an altogether simple and delicious bar that I will definitely be adding to my go-to recipe collection.  After frosting the bars I chilled them in the fridge which makes the quite easy to cut.  We ate them cold from the fridge and they were delicious, but letting them warm up a bit makes for a wonderful melt-in-your-mouth experience.  Enjoy! (more…)

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Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

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Candy corn is one of those things that you either love or hate.  I love it.  Ben hates it.

I know they’re supposed to taste like honey, and I guess they kinda do.  But they really just taste like sweet, sugary deliciousness to me.  If you’ve never tried candy corn mixed in with salted peanuts I highly recommend it; a great combination of salty and sweet.  They’re also good covered in chocolate.  You can find the chocolate covered ones at Central Market.  When I was visiting family in Austin I bought some in the bulk section.  They are evil…in a really good way.

Anyway, we have no Halloween plans.  Since we don’t have kids to take trick-or-treating and we’re not the kind of people who dress up our dog our plan is to stay home and pass out candy if we have any kids come to our house.  We haven’t spent Halloween here yet, so we don’t know how busy our neighborhood is.  I kinda hope no one comes…more Kit Kats for me!

Anyway, I get daily cookie recipes from Martha Stewart, and this is what came today.  The recipe is a small batch and I had all the ingredients so I figured I’d go ahead and make them.  They are adorable little cookies, and they taste pretty good.  So, this is how I celebrated Halloween this year.  Enjoy!

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

Makes about 36

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • About 36 candy corns

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter and sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Add flour, and mix until a dough forms.
  2. Scoop out level teaspoons of dough, and roll into balls (chill dough briefly if it becomes too soft to handle). Place balls on baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
  3. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are firm and cookies are dry to the touch (do not let cookies color), 9-10 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven; gently press a candy corn into center of each cookie (surface of cookies may crack slightly). Cool on sheets 1 minute; transfer to a rack to cool completely.
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