Saturday, June 11, 2011

Triple Chocolate Fluffernutter Cookie Sandwiches



It's a mouthful, huh?  Yeah, you will be stuffing your mouth full of these. 

Cookies:
1 Package Devils Food Cake Mix
1 cube(1/2 cup) softened butter
2 squares(2 oz.) unsweetened chocolate squares
2 Tbl. Canola Oil
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350' degrees.  In a large bowl, add butter and chocolate squares and microwave on high 30 seconds.  Stir until squares are melted and incorporated into butter.  If you need to, microwave again in 15 second increments.  You don't want the butter to be hot, just enough to melt the chocolate.  When incorporated and cooled to luke warm, add oil and egg(you don't want the egg to scramble).  Stir in cake mix and then stir in chocolate chips.  Using a Tbl. size cookie scoop place 2" apart on parchment lined cookie sheets .  Take a flat glass or small bowl and spray bottom with non-stick spray and slightly flatten.  Bake 8-10 minutes and remove to cookies to cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely.  Makes approx. 36 cookies.

Frosting:
This is easy, and SO delicious.  Use the 7-Minute Brown Sugar Frosting.  Add about 1 cup Natural Peanut Butter to 1/2 of the frosting recipe.   Add to large tipped frosting piping bag.  Generously pipe the bottom of one cooled cookie and sandwich with the bottom of another one close in size.  Allow to set up in refrigerator or freezer for a few hours.  The chocolate cookie gets softer and easier to eat in a few hours.

7-Minute Brown Sugar Frosting

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 large egg whites(1/2 cup "Just Whites" pasteurized from carton works great)
  • 6 tablespoons water
  • dash salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla or vanilla bean paste
Preparation:
Add brown sugar, egg whites, water, and salt in bowl of standing mixer. Put on top of double boiler over boiling water.  Hold bowl steady using an oven mitt(no burns!).  Beat sugar and egg mixture with whisk constantly until mixture is hot to the touch and starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and position bowl in stand mixer with whisk attachment.  Whip on high until mixture forms strong peaks and is dramatically lighter in color.  Add vanilla.  Continue beating until frosting is thick enough to spread.  Makes enough to frost a 2 layer cake.
 
 

Thursday, June 9, 2011

7-Minute Brown Sugar Frosting

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 large egg whites(1/2 cup "Just Whites" pasteurized from carton works great)
  • 6 tablespoons water
  • dash salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla or vanilla bean paste
Preparation:
Add brown sugar, egg whites, water, and salt in bowl of standing mixer. Put on top of double boiler over boiling water.  Hold bowl steady using an oven mitt(no burns!).  Beat sugar and egg mixture with whisk constantly until mixture is hot to the touch and starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and position bowl in stand mixer with whisk attachment.  Whip on high until mixture forms strong peaks and is dramatically lighter in color.  Add vanilla.  Continue beating until frosting is thick enough to spread.  Makes enough to frost a 2 layer cake.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Pizza Pull Apart Monkey Bread

Here is the link I used for inspiration.  HERE  I did a few things different.

Here is the recipe I used to make the dough, HERE, EZ White Bread.  I do make my own bread, I double the recipe.  Half went to a loaf of sandwich bread, and the rest for the Pizza Pull Apart Monkey Bread. 


EZ White Bread
1 1/8 cups warm water
1 3/4 – 2 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tblsp sugar (you can use a little more sugar if you like your dough a little sweeter)
3 cups flour
1 Tblsp vital wheat gluten (remember you don’t need as much gluten if you’re not using whole wheat flour)
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 Tblsp butter/margarine or oil
1/4 cup potato flakes
(you don’t really need vinegar for white bread, remember the dough enhancers are primarily needed for whole wheat bread)
Add the ingredients in the order listed into a mixer bowl (like a kitchen-aid) with a dough hook attachment and mix on low for 10-12 minutes. Or mix it on the dough cycle in your bread machine.
After all the mixing is complete, if the dough still seems too gooey and you are unable to handle it, add 1 Tblsp flour at a time, and mix after each addition until the dough is manageable with your hands.
Let rise 45 mins -1 hour, punch down and use to make bread, cinnamon rolls, cookie sheet pizza, rolls, or anything else you can think of! Let rise after you have made your creation and bake according to the direction of the recipe you are making.
If you are making it into bread, form into a loaf at this time, place in a loaf pan, let rise in a warm place 45 min -1 hour and bake 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
If you are making this recipe in a bread machine. Follow your bread machine’s directions and add the ingredients in the order listed in their recommendations. (only one loaf will fit in a bread maker)


Preheat oven to 350'.  This is so easy!  Grease a large angel food cake or bundt pan(I used a Pampered Chef Stoneware Bundt Pan, it's bigger than most).  Poor just enough spaghetti sauce on the bottom to lightly cover the bottom of the pan, it doesn't need to completely cover.  Drop about a dozen pieces of pepperoni randomly.  This is where a 2nd set of hands comes in nicely, have them glove up.  I had about 3 cups of spaghetti sauce leftover(Round 2 from freezer).  Warm it up in a medium size bowl.  Punch down the dough and knead for a few minutes.  Pull pieces of dough off in 1" chunks.  No need to roll or make look pretty, the more "raw" edges, the easier it is for the dough to soak up the sauce.  Put the pieces in the sauce a few at a time and have your kitchen buddy cover the bottom of the pan in one layer of dough(about half of the recipe).  Top with grated mozzarella(I used cheddar), sprinkle with a little Italian Seasoning, top with another layer of pepperoni slices.  Coat remaining dough pieces in sauce and cover the bottom layer.  Top with cheese and then remaining spaghetti sauce.  Just lay a large enough piece of foil to cover the pan, but do not seal around the edges.  This is just to prevent burning.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, until recipe has doubled in size.  You can remove the foil the last 10 minutes to brown up if the dough hasn't browned.  Mine overflowed a little so you may want to bake on a cookie sheet, but you'll need to add a little time. 

When it comes out of the oven, gently go around edges to free bread from pan.  Invert on a large platter.  If you're one of my children, serve with ranch dressing to dip.  This is MESSY finger food, but finger lickin' good.  :)

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Please Remove Your Shoes


Most used words in the summer, enforced with vinyl(Cricut).

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Low Fat Orange Shrimp

Sorry, no picture.  I wasn't expecting to like it this much and didn't think to snap a shot.

4 oz. Raw Jumbo Shrimp, peeled & deveined(I used jumbo size)
2 envelopes True Orange(LINK)
2 Tbl. No Sugar Added Applesauce
1/2-1 tsp. Spicy Mustard(I used Southwestern Style)
1-2 cloves Crushed Garlic
Salt & Pepper

In a small bowl combine applesauce, mustard, and True Orange in a small bowl and set aside.  Heat small non-stick saute pan on medium heat.  Spray with non-stick spray.  Add shrimp to pan and season with salt & pepper.  "Fry" for 2 minutes, spray tops of shrimp with non-stick spray and turn them over to cook other side.  They should be pink and bright white.  Add garlic to center of pan and cook until heated through.  Turn heat off and add applesauce and orange mixture.  Stir until shrimp are well coated and serve over a salad, rice, noodles, or wrap in lettuce leaves.