Stuffed Hazelnut Cookies & Luscious Chocolate Truffles - Recipe Review

I received a copy of the Betty Crocker Big Red Cookbook from the good people at General Mills Canada a little while ago and I was asked if I would do a recipe review. I sat down with a cup of hot chocolate the night I got the book and read it cover to cover. Not only does it have 1500 recipes ranging from appetizers, to breakfast, to soups and desserts, but there are tons of handy information sheets. Things like how to cut up a whole chicken and how to can your own fruits and vegetables as well as measurement conversions and what to substitute for brown sugar if you're all out and in a pinch. The cookbook is broken down into 23 sections and includes a tab entitled "Do It Yourself" and another for meals that take "20 Minutes or Less". I'm a visual learner and I eat with my eyes so I really love that there are pictures for every recipe.

 Since I'm a baker at heart I quickly decided to make something from the Cookies, Bars and Candies section of this huge cookbook and began to drool over all the recipes. The holidays are quickly approaching so I picked two recipes that work great with my other favourite holiday treats. Everyone loves truffles and these super easy, dark chocolate balls of yumminess taste like the expensive specialty shop kind but cost only a fraction of what you'd pay in a store. And the Hazelnut Stuffed Cookies *cough*nutella*cough* are rich and chewy and perfect with a cup of hot cocoa or a minty mocha.

If you're looking for the perfect gift to give the at-home chef this year, or you want a new cookbook for yourself, I highly recommend the Betty Crocker Big Red Cookbook. Trust me, your tummy with thank me for it!

 Stuffed Hazelnut Cookies

Filling

1/2 cup hazelnut spread with cocoa

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts (filberts)

Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup hazelnut spread with cocoa

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Glaze

1 cup dark chocolate chips

2 tsp shortening

6 tsp finely chopped hazelnuts (filberts), if desired

Instructions:

1. Heat over to 375˚F. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup hazelnut spread, powdered sugar and chopped hazelnuts . Shape into 24 (1-inch) balls.

2. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, hazelnut spread, butter and egg with an electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with a spoon, until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3. Divide dough into 24 (1-inch) balls. Flatten each ball into 21/2 inch round circles. Shape cookie dough rounds around 1 hazelnut ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and hazelnut balls. On ungreased cookie sheets, place filled dough rounds about 3 inches apart.

4. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until edges are set. Cool for 5minutes on the cookie sheet and  then transfer to cooling racks.

5. In a small microwaveable bowl, beat chocolate chips and shortening in microwave on High for 30 seconds; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies; sprinkle each with 1/4 tsp finely chopped hazelnuts. Let cookies stand until glaze sets.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luscious Chocolate Truffles

1 bag (12oz) semisweet dark or milk chocolate chips (2 cups) *I used dark

2 tbsp butter, softened

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 tbsp liqueur (almond, cherry, coffee, hazelnut, Irish Cream, orange, raspberry or any other flavour) *I used Kahlua

1 tbsp shortening

finely chopped nuts, white chocolate, sprinkles or anything else you'd like to decorate them with

Instructions:

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in butter. Stir in whipping cream and liqueur. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, just until thick enough to hold a shape.

2. Line cookie sheet with foil. On the cookie sheet, drop mixture by teaspoonfuls; shape into balls. (If mixture is too sticky refrigerate until firm enough to shape.) Freeze 30 minutes.

3. In 1-quart saucepan, heat shortening and remaining 1 cup chocllate chips over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth; remove from heat. Using a fork, dip truffles, one at a time, into the chocolate. Return to foil covered cookie sheet. Immediately sprinkle some of the truffles with nuts or sprinkles. Refrigerate about 10 minutes or until coating is set.

Amanda's Tip: Before dipping the truffles into chocolate, melt peanut butter chips with a bit of butter and dip some of the truffles in. Let set in the refrigerator and then dip into the chocolate and freeze for 10 minutes for Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles!

Disclosure: I received a free cookbook as part of this post. But my endorsements can't be bought. If I like something, I like it; If I don't, I'd tell you! Please see my Disclosure page to read more about my relationship with General Mills Canada.

Enjoy!

Amanda

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark

There's something about the holidays and chocolate bark. They just seem to go together... like chocolate and ... peanut butter! I like bark because you can break off a small little nibble, or a big'ol hunk depending on how sweet your tooth is in the moment (who am I kidding, I eat it all in one sitting, oh the shame!).

The most common bark is chocolate almond (delicious), and peppermint bark is very popular at Christmas, but I have a chocolate/peanut butter obsession that can not be ignored. Peanut butter chips, fudge chips, salted peanuts and mini peanut butter cups... think about it... for about 3 seconds, and then go to your kitchen and make it. You can thank me later ;)

Print this recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark

1 bag PC Fudge baking chips (regular semi-sweet chocolate chips will work too)
1 bag peanut butter chips
2 tsp shortening
1/2 cup salted peanuts
1/2 cup mini peanut butter cups

Instructions

1. Melt the penut butter chips and the fudge chips seperately, each with 1 tsp of shortening, either in a double boiler or in the microwave.
2. Mix the peanuts in with the peanut butter chips.
3. On a cookie sheet that's been lined with tinfoil, poor and swirl the melted peanut butter chips/peanuts and the fudge chips.
4. Drop the mini peanut butter cups over the mixture and place the cookie sheet in the fridge to set.
5. When the bark is solid break apart.

Makes a great gift for friends, family and neighbours!

Print this recipe

enjoy!
Amanda

Betty Crocker Big Red Cookbook Winner!

And the winner is...

Comment # 29 Denise!

Congratulations Denise! Your cookbook will be shipped out in 4-6 weeks, plenty of time to try out the yummy recipes for the holidays :)

Thanks to all who entered!

Amanda

Food is not my friend right now...

Well, it's been pretty quiet around here lately. I'm tired, and the sight/thought of/taste/smell of food these days makes me sick to my stomach. Yes folks, I'm pregnant... again! Baby #4 is on the way and due to make his/her appearance in the spring (due date to be determined next Friday). We're excited and terrified and still in a bit of shock.

I'm hoping to get some posts up in the near future as my darling husband has bought me a laptop so now I can blog from a horizontal position on the couch... hence this post! I have an exciting series of posts I'm working on about a fun party I had rfecently with some other moms/friends.

Hope you're all still reading and I haven't lost everyone!

Amanda

Betty Crocker Big Red Cookbook Giveaway!

 

Do you like cookbooks? Personally I LOVE them. Yeah it's nice to find recipes online super-fast, but you can't beat sitting down with a cookbook and leafing through the pages marking off which recipes you want to try and drooling at all the pictures. Betty Crocker has revamped and reprinted it's "Big Red Cookbook" (it’s chock-a-block full of 1500 recipes for the way we cook today) and I'm giving away 1 copy to one of my lucky readers! The Betty Crocker Cookbook is valued at approximately $35.99 and will be available through Amazon, Indigo and Chapters, BettyCrocker.com and Wiley Publishing.

How can I win this awesome cookbook you ask? Here's how:

Mandatory Entry:

Follow this link (https://lifemadedelicious.ca/bccookbook) to view a sneak peek of the book along with 400 new recipes! Share your favourite new recipe from Life Made Delicious and Betty Crocker in the comments.

Additional entry, for those who’d like one:

Tweet the following, then come leave a comment linking to your tweet:
Enter to win a copy of Betty Crocker’s Big Red Cookbook here! http://tinyurl.com/4357hmd #BettyCrocker2011

Rules:

1. Contests ends October 27th 2011.
2. Open to Canadian residents only

3. Readers can enter across multiple blogs but only win once.
4. A winner will be drawn randomly using random.org
5. Please leave some way for me to contact you in case you win, email address, blog address, twitter name, etc... 

Once I've selected a winner the cookbook will be shipped in 4-6 weeks.

Please visit my disclosure page to read about my special relationship with General Mills/lifemadedelicious.ca

Beer and Bacon Jam

Beer. Bacon. Jam. I know what you're thinking, but this is a family site and I can't repeat it. Don't let the name throw you, jam is a loose description of this amazing bacon "spread". I first heard of it while watching FoodNetwork's show Eat St. A food truck's most popular burger had bacon jam on it. My ears perked up and I hit Google.

I found some recipes and picked the one from Not Quite Nigella's site (LOVE that blog name) to work from. I was going to make her recipe as is, but I was lacking some ingredients and it was pouring out... and I was in my sweats...  and didn't feel like going to the store. Wow, I'm just full of all kinds of excuses. Anyways, some simple substitutions (like beer!) from my pantry and fridge later and I had an amazing tangy, slightly spicy and totally delicious bacon and beer purée.

We tried it on sliders and it was soooo good. I can't wait to try it on a toasted bagel with a fried egg, or on crostini with goat cheese and arugula.

Print this recipe

Beer and Bacon Jam

500g (1 pkg) smoked bacon

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 tbsp fancy molasses

1 chili in adobo sauce, diced

1 tbsp adobo sauce
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 cup brewed coffee

1 bottle of beer

1/4 cup maple syrup

Black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Cut the bacon into 1" pieces and fry over medium heat in a dutch oven or deep pot until browned but not crisp.

2. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain all but 1 tbsp of the bacon grease.

3. Fry the onion and garlic in the bacon fat until soft.

4. Add the chili, adobo sauce, cooked bacon, paprika and molasses and stir.

5. Add the coffee, 1 cup of the beer, maple syrup and freshly ground black pepper.

6. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours. As the liquid boils away add more beer a bit at a time to keep the mixture from drying out.

7. Allow the mixture to cool a bit and then purée until smooth with a bit of texture.

Print this recipe   

Vegetarian Lasagna with Goat Cheese and Roasted Vegetables

We are a meat-eating family, and proud of it! But ever since my husband was diagnosed with high cholesterol (high is a very generous term, I believe his doctor actually said "WTF do you eat???" when he saw hubs's number) I've been trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals into my repertoire.

A friend on the twitter @TNy_Photography asked me the other day if I had a vegetarian lasgana recipe, and as luck would have it, rolling around in my head I did! when I had heard that my cholesterol pill-popping husband had 4 gigantic hot dogs for lunch at work the other day I knew it was a good time to serve him some veggies and make this lasgana.

You can make this lasagna the traditional way by just alternating layers of noodles and cheese and veggies, but I think the rolls look pretty and are better for portion control as you can see exactly what you're getting. They also don't take that much more time to make than the layering method and they hold together very well.

 

Start out by laying out your cooked to slightly under al denté noodles.
Sorry about the picture, the lighting over my island is okay for cooking, not so much for picture taking.

Blend the goat cheese and ricotta together and spread out over the noodles
stopping short 2" from one end.

Purée 1/2 your roasted veggies and add to the jarred marinara. Spoon about 2 tbsp of the sauce over the cheese and then top with roasted veggies.

Stand back and admire how amazing this looks, Seriously. I'm dying here.

Roll up the noodles towards the end you left the gap.

Place the seam side down and voilà! A lasagna roll!

Spread a bit of the sauce over the bottom of a dish and arrange the rolls seam side down in the pan.

Top with some more sauce and the shredded mozzarella, and bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes.

Print this recipe

 Vegetarian Lasagna with Goat Cheese and Roasted Vegetables

1 onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow zucchini (summer squash), diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 c mushrooms, diced
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp oregano
salt and pepper
12 lasgana noodles
1 jar of your favourite marinara (or your own homemade)
4 oz herbed goat cheese (plain goat cheese works too)
1 c ricotta cheese
2 c mozzarella, shredded

Instructions:

1. Toss your diced onions, peppers, zucchinis, and mushrooms with the olive oil, oregano and a bit of salt and pepper and spread out onto a cookie sheet. Roast at 450˚F for about 15-20 minutes or until nice and soft.
2. In the meantime, boil your lasagna noodles in salted water until just slightly under done from al denté (they will continue to cook in the oven). Drain and rinse and allow to cool slightly.
3. Bring your goat cheese and ricotta to room temperature and blend together with a spatula or hand mixer.
4. Remove your veggies from the oven and purée half of them until almost smooth. Add the puréed mixture to the jarred marinara and mix well to combine.
5. Lay out your cooked noodles and spread about 2 tbsp of the goat cheese/ricotta mixture over top leaving about 2" uncovered at one end.
6. Spoon about 2 tbsp pf the purée/marinara mixture over the cheese and top with some of the roasted veggies.
7. Roll the noodled up towards the end with the gap.
8. Spread some of the sauce over the bottom of a casserole or lasagna dish and arrange the lasagna rolls seam side down in the dish.
9. Top with the remaining sauce and the mozzarella cheese.
10. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve!

Print this recipe

Summer Meal Plan

Head on over to amotherworld.com for an easy 2 week meal {dinner} plan that you can print off and follow. Meals range from burgers to pastas to fancy grilled tenderloins, all of them easy and quick!

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Muffins

I crave chocolate chip muffins almost daily. I can't go to Tim Horton's without getting one. They're so good. Soft and fluffy with just the right amount of chocolate chips. I have been searching for a good chocolate chip muffin recipe for years. They usually end up being too heavy, dry, oily, sweet or tasteless. Then along came Pinterest (which really should be renamed TimeSuckage.com) and my search was over.

The picture drew me in, and the recipe just seemed to make sense, so I gave them a try. These muffins are light and fluffy, buttery and not too sweet. In a word, perfect. I've already made them twice this week (they go fast!) and I'm sure they'll be a regular in our school morning breakfast routine.

Print this recipe

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Muffins from Taste of Home

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup sour cream
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, ombine the egg, sour cream, butter and vanilla.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients just until moistened.
4. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.
6. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.

Print this recipe

BlogHer'11!

The wonderful people over at Mom Central Canada are sending me to BlogHer'11 in San Diego next week. For those of you who are wondering what BlogHer is, it's a conference for bloggers (mainly for women but a few men attend too). There are sessions on writing, photography, how to use various social media platforms, etc... and at night, a whole lot of networking and socializing. Okay, I can't lie, there's a whole lot of partying too!

Personally, I'm really looking forward to attending some of the writing sessions and learning how to use some of the social media and statistics platforms (I can't read my Google Analytics!). I'm also looking forward to meeting some of the people I talk to every day, and have become friends with on Twitter and Facebook.

I hope to come back armed with tons of new knowledge and use it to make TBMOTB even better! In the meantime I'm trying to figure out what to pack (gotta look purdy) and make some easy meals for the husband to pull out of the freezer and make for him and the kids.

When you travel, how do you prepare for your spouse/significant other/babysitter to make things easier for them?

Chex Mex Munch

Celiac disease, which is an intolerance to Gluten, affects more than 330,000 Canadians. More than 73,000 of those that suffer are children. While I'm very fortunate that no one in my house struggles with this, I have friends that do. From talking to them I understand how frustrating it has been in the past to find gluten-free foods that taste great, are easily attainable to the general public, and don't cost a small fortune.

When I learned that General Mills Canada (GMC) was going to start offering Gluten Free Rice Chex and Gluten Free Honey Nut Chex I was so excited! You can get them in any grocery store (I live in the middle of nowhere and our little grocery store has them!) and they cost the same as any other cereal. GMC sent me a box to try and I have to say, they taste exactly like regular Chex. For families that have to deal with the daily reality of cutting out gluten (it's in everything! I can't even imagine how vigilant a parent has to be) having a product like Gluten Free Chex that they don't have to worry about, and that kids love to eat, must be such a relief.

I'm the only real "bowl of cereal" eater at my house so I wanted to try using my GF Chex in a recipe or two so my family would try them. First I made Muddy Buddies, GF Chex mixed with chocolate, peanut butter, butter and icing sugar... hello! They were so good they disappeared before I could take pictures! But my husband is more of a savoury than sweet guy so I knew I'd have to come up with something for him. I took GF Rice Chex, butter, Old El Paso Taco seasoning, seasoned salt and mixed nuts and baked them until everything was toasty. What a yummy muchy snack! And on a hot, sunny patio, nothing goes better with a Corona.

Check out lifemadedelicious.ca for more great Gluten Free recipes using Gluten Free Chex!

Chex Mex Munch

4 c Gluten Free Rice Chex

1/4 c butter or margarine, melted

3 tbsp Old el Paso Taco Seasoning

2 tsp seasoned salt

1 c mixed nuts (I used a premium blend that had cashews, Brazil nuts, pecans, hazelnuts and almonds)

Instructions:

1. Mix the cereal and nuts together in a bowl.

2. Pour the melted butter over top and mix to coat.

3. Sprinkle on the taco seasoning and salt and mix again until evenly coated.

4. Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 350˚F for 15 minutes until toasted.

5. Allow to cool and serve.

please see my disclosure page for information on my Life Made Delicious Partnership.

And the winner of the Summer Prize Pack is...

Comment #8

Congratulations Laurie! You win the Summer Prize Pack featuring products from General Mills!

Summer Prize Pack includes:

Barbecue Utensil Set
Paper Plates
Colourful Napkins
General Mills goodies from:
    Old El Paso
    Cheerios (including NEW Chocolate Cheerios!)
    Fibre 1
    Betty Crocker
    Nature Valley

Your prize pack is on it's way!

Amanda

please see my disclosure page for information on my Life Made Delicious Partnership.

Life Made Delicious Posts ~ A Recap

Hello loyal blog readers! I've been blogging over at lifemadedelicious.ca for a month now and I thought I'd recap what's been going on over there in you missed it and wanted to check it out :)

First up, homemade Pain au Chocolat using Pillsbury Cresent rolls and whatever filling your little heart desires! If your dad/husband has a sweet tooth this would be a great addition to your Father's Day brunch table.

Next up: clever treats for Family Movie Night! These are cute little Betty Crocker cupcakes with marshmallows to look like mini popcorn buckets! Are you dying from the cuteness? They're very easy, don't be intimidated. I even include a free PDF file of the wrappers you can download and printout to impress your kids!

My newest post is an ode to my love of summer and a creative barbeque recipe idea... it doesn't always have to be about burgers and hot dogs...

To find out what this is, check out my lifemadedelicious.ca blog!

enjoy,
Amanda

please see my disclosure page for information on my Life Made Delicious Partnership.

BLT Pasta Salad and a Giveaway!

Our barbequing has been kicked into overdrive the past two weeks. Temperatures are soaring and no way am I standing in a hot kitchen over a boiling pot of anything! I do not enjoy sweating. Thank the good people at Napoleon that our grill has a side burner, it allows me to make this amazing pasta salad outside and not turn my kitchen into a sauna.

I can't wait to take this salad to a picnic or barbeque at someone else's house, I mean, who doesn't love bacon? It'll be the most popular salad on the buffet table! This salad is also great for quick lunches and if you add some grilled chicken  you've got an easy, and totally yummy dinner salad.

I don't recommend adding the lettuce until you're ready to eat as it'll get soggy and you lose the great crunch factor of a nice head of iceburg lettuce.

Print this recipe 

 

BLT Pasta Salad adapted from Betty Crocker's "it's Summer" 2010

8 strips bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
4 c cooked rotini
1 1/2 c grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 head iceburg lettuce, thinly sliced
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c ranch dressing
fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
chives

Instructions:

1. Cook your pasta to al denté in salted water and rinse lightly.
2. Cook your bacon until crispy and chop into 1/2" pieces.
3. Mix the mayonnaise, ranch dressing, salt and pepper together.
4. Combine the pasta, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and dressing in a large bowl mixing to coat the salad evenly.
5. Garnish with chopped chives and keep chilled until ready to serve.

Print this recipe 

And now for a fantastic Summer Giveaway from my good friends at General Mills Canada!

Planning on hosting a Barbeque or picnic this summer? Or do you just like to grill for your family? Either way you're gonna love this Summer Prize Pack from General Mills!

Prize Pack Contains:
Barbecue Utensil Set
Paper Plates
Colourful Napkins
General Mills goodies from:
    Old El Paso
    Cheerios (including NEW Chocolate Cheerios!)
    Fibre 1
    Betty Crocker
    Nature Valley

Here are the rules:

All you have to do is head over to http://www.lifemadedelicious.ca/ and then come back here and tell me what your favourite LMD summer recipe is!

Contest is open to Canadian Residents only (We have a crazy postal strike and food items can't be shipped internationally).

Please include a way to reach you if you win (link to blog or website, email address, etc...).

A winner will be picked on July 7th. Good luck and happy Barbequing!

enjoy,

Amanda

please see my disclosure page for information on my Life Made Delicious Partnership.

Homemade {Raspberry} Lemonade

Summ-ah is herrrrrrre! I am beyond thrilled! I'm really hoping it means the end of germies and my kids being sick! If not, that's what patios and cocktails are for right? (mama's "medicine")

I was at the grocery store and a super huge pile of bright yellow lemons called to me. As luck would have it I was pretty thirsty so I grabbed a bag full and came home to make lemonade. There's nothing like homemade lemonade. It tastes fresh and tart and summery. It's very simple to make, especially if you have a fancy electric juice extractor, I don't so I got a bit of a workout but that's okay, just made me appreciate my fruity beverage even more!

Print this recipe

Homemade Lemonade

6 fresh lemons
1 c sugar
6 c water
1 tbsp lemon zest

Instructions:
1. Boil 1 cup of the water with the sugar until dissolved. Allow to cool.
2. Zest one or two of the lemons depending on how big they are to get 1 tbsp zest.
2. Juice the lemons through a sieve to catch the seeds.
3. In a large pitcher add the lemon juice, simple syrup (sugar water), zest and 5 cups of cold water.

Add ice and lemon slices to make it pretty.

{Raspberry} Lemonade



If you made the Raspberry Cheesecake in a Jar this is a great way to use the reserved liquid from macerating* the raspberries. Add the liquid to the lemonade and throw in a handful of fresh or frozen raspberries for a delicious pitcher of Raspberry Lemonade!

 I swear I'm not a vampire!

 refreshing!

How cute is this for a picnic or Barbeque!

* Mascerating just means to mix with sugar and allow to sit so the sugar draws out the juices.

Print this recipe

enjoy!

Amanda

No Bake White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake in a Jar

 I have been so incredibly busy the past few weeks, blogging, cooking and baking had to take a back seat to family and volunteer obligations. When my schedule finally let up a bit we got struck with a heat wave that lasted 3 days and had temperatures near 40 degrees with the humidity.... cooking was not something that interested me. Sipping a cold bevvie on the patio yes, but slaving over a hot stove, no thanks.

Of course the weather rarely has an affect on my sweet tooth. After barbequing one night I was desperate for dessert (probably cause my 8 month old ate half my dinner!) and ice cream just wasn't going to cut it. I knew I needed a no bake dessert, so I hit pinterest (my new obsession!) looking for inspiration. I came across a picture that linked to My Baking Addiction's Cheesecake in a Jar recipe (I seem to be drawn to her photography). Jamie never fails to impress the hell out of me.

What I loved about this idea was that they're individual little cheesecakes, you can just throw one in your lunch, or grab one to enjoy while your kids play in the sprinkler. But Jamie's recipe was a bake cheesecake (I will be trying it for sure once fall comes!) and I was looking for a no bake option. I've done no bake cheesecake before with a lot of success so I thought I'd invent my own recipe and see what happened.

 I combined cream cheese, fat free Greek yogurt and whipped cream to make a light and fluffy dessert that my friend Laurie described as "a cross between cheesecake and an amped up yogurt parfait". It's light, creamy, cheescakey and totally delish. You can make it in small mason jars, mugs, plastic cups or if you wanted to make one large one that would work too.

Print this recipe

No Bake White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake in a Jar

For the crust:
1 1/4 c graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c sugar
1/3 c butter, melted

For the Cheesecake:
8 oz light cream cheese, softened
1/3 c sugar
1 c fat free Greek yogurt (I used PC Greek Yogurt with Honey)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c white chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly
1 pkg Dream Whip
1/2 c milk (1%, 2% or skim work best)

For the Raspberry Topping:
2 c fresh or frozen raspberries
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 c raspberry preserves

Instrcutions:

1. Put the raspberries in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar for the topping and allow to macerate.
2. Combine the graham crumbs, sugar and butter and divide equally between 8 small jars (approx. 3 tbsp/jar). Pack down firmly.
3. In a stand mixer or deep bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until combined. Add the yogurt and mix until combined.
4. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add to the cream cheese mixture and mix to combine.
5. In another bowl, whip the Dream Whip, vanilla and milk until stiff peaks form (approx. 8 minutes)
6. Gently fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture.
7. Spoon the cheesecake equally into the jars.
8. Allow the cheesecakes to set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
9. Drain the raspberries (reserve the liquid for a yummy pitcher of raspberry lemonade to go with the cheesecakes!) and add the raspberry preserves mixing to combine.
10. Top the cheesecakes with the raspberry topping and serve.


Tip: Keep the cheesecakes refrigerated or on ice until ready to eat.


Print this recipe

enjoy!

Amanda

Easter Basket Brownies

Easter is upon us. I'm all about the chocolate mini eggs. After the success of the Cream Egg Cheesecake I wondered what else I could do with all these yummy little Easter treats. The Easter Basket Brownie was born!

A fudgey brownie with a mini cream egg sunk in the middle of each one and topped with mini egg cream cheese frosting. I used Betty Crocker products for this cause they're quick (I've got Easter eggs to fill yo!), I had them in my pantry, and I enjoy them, but if you want to use your favourite brownie recipe go for it. I've made them from the box once and from scratch once and both were delish.

They're decadent, they're chocolately, they're Easter Bunny approved! Make these to take to your family Easter Dinner or on Monday to "help" your kids "get rid of" their chocolate haul.

Print this recipe

Easter Basket Brownies

1 box Betty Crocker Chocolate Lover's Brownies
water, oil and eggs according to package directions
1 tsp vanilla
18 cream filled eggs
18 mini chocolate eggs
1/2 c crushed mini eggs
1 can Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Pop the cream eggs into the freezer.
2. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
3. Grease an 8" x 12" pan.
4. Prepare the brownies according to package directions and add the vanilla.
5. Pour into your pan and spread to make sure it's even.
6. Sink the frozen cream eggs into the pan evenly spaced.
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the brownie part comes out mostly clean.
8. Mix the crushed mini eggs into the frosting.
9. Once the brownies have cooled, cut them into 18 squares and top with a spoonful of frosting and a whole mini egg.

Print this recipe

enjoy,

Amanda