Raspberry Kiss Brownies

Around Valentine's Day this year I found these Raspberry Hugs from Hershey's. I wanted to try them in a quick dessert to share with my co-workers so I used an idea I had tried in the past from the blog Picky Palate.


I whipped up a batch of brownies, placed the kisses in my mini muffin pan and covered them with brownie batter.


My co-workers thought they were just plain brownie bites on the table in the break room.


They were pleasantly surprised to bite into a yummy raspberry kiss!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Birthday Cakes

My last entry was one week before my Ben turned 7. That was also about the same time I was introduced to Pintrest. My nephew shared the KitKat Cake idea from Pintrest with Ben and that's what he ended up requesting. The middle was a double layer, chocolate cake -- with crushed Andes mints at Ben's request also.


We also celebrated my niece's birthday the same day. She is very girly and her only cake requests were that it would be pink and have strawberries around it. This is a strawberry-flavored cake with pink icing. The strawberries are dipped in melted icing. And the lettered balls at the top are my first, and so far, my only attempt at cake pops.


Between the candy covered chocolate cake and the sweet, moist strawberry cake we had a fun and delicious night of celebrating!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Another Birthday...

 I am going to pretend it has not been almost two years since I have posted a blog!  Wow! 
Thankfully it has not been because of any major events happening in my life.  It has just been life.  I haven't stopped cooking or baking, I've even photographed some of my food along the way.  But somehow between the kitchen and the computer I have managed to drop the ball. 
I am really excited to get back into the world of blogging again! 
Before I upload my new photos and recipes I want to share a few older ones. 
My favorite little kitchen helper will turn 7 in just 7 days!  I can hardly believe that!  He still has an incredible sweet tooth like his momma.  He enjoys looking at pictures of desserts on-line and in cookbooks.  And he is always dreaming up some kind of concoction of his own. 
So to honor my soon to be 7 year old I thought I would share the birthday cakes  I have made for him the past 6 years.  It is fun to look back and see the different characters he has been "into" over the years.  We are still working on ideas for this years cake.

Happy Birthday Ben!!!

Candy Bar Cookie Bars and a Creative Idea from My Kitchen Helper

I can hardly believe it is nearing the end of May already!  I barely remember April.  Where does the time go?  I am loving the warmer weather but I don't want to take these days for granted.

Today, after a trip to the store, Ben said he was hungry so I fixed him a plate with some fresh strawberries and blueberries.  Thankfully, he has always been a good fruit and (for the most part) veggie eater.  I had my back turned when I heard him say "Mom, look at my fruit cup!"

I looked a little closer.  Funny little guy - he bit the end off of a strawberry and stuck a blueberry inside.  He is always cracking me up with his ideas :)

Candy Bar Cookie Bars

Sometimes it's nice to bake or create something totally or even partially from scratch.  I always feel like I have really accomplished something big with those kinds of recipes. 

Then there are days when you are running later than you had hoped but you still need to whip up a treat for the meeting you are helping host in just a few hours - and you haven't stocked your pantry with baking ingredients recently.

That was my story this morning.  I came across this recipe in my Cake Mix Doctor cookbook.  5 ingredients.  Bake time of 45 minutes.  It was just what I was looking for.  It turned out great and everyone enjoyed it.  Yay!

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 stick butter, melted

2 eggs

1/2-1 c. candy bar pieces

(I used toffee and mini chocolate chips - I think Reeses would be an awesome addition)

Mix together first four ingredients with mixer for 2 minutes, scraping batter down sides as needed.  Fold in candy pieces and mix well.  Place batter in ungreased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes (Mine were done in 35)

*The batter was very sticky so I used the hint Ingrid of 3 B's has mentioned before - I dampened my hands first and patted the batter down very smoothly.  Worked like a charm - thanks Ingrid!

Vanilla Blackberry Trifle

Hi!  I hope all of you moms out there had a great Mother's Day!  Mine was very nice.  My little guy started and ended my day with the sweetest words and best snuggles.  And in between we were able to spend time with my family.  It was a beautiful day and we had fun watching the kids run and play all afternoon.

And of course the meal was great.  Dad grilled, we had lots of yummy snacks, salads and of course dessert.  I surprisingly enough, had not put much thought into making a dessert and at the last minute decided to go with a trifle.

Do any of you make trifles very often?  I got this bowl a year or so ago and I love it.  You can throw all sorts of things together in it and it somehow manages to look pretty no matter what's inside.

I made a French Vanilla cake (with egg whites - trying to stay on the healthier side)

After the cake cooled slightly I spread a black raspberry jam over it like frosting and then I grated white chocolate over the whole thing.  After it was completely cool i cut the cake up into very small squares.

I layered the cake with a vanilla pudding mixture...

And topped it off with more pudding, grated white chocolate and fresh blackberries.

Vanilla Blackberry Trifle

1 box French Vanilla Cake mix

(substituting 4 egg whites instead of 3 eggs)

Black Raspberry Jam

1 large box of  sugar free vanilla pudding

8 oz light cool whip

White Chocolate

Blackberries

Prepare cake as directed and pour into sheet cake pan.  Bake 20 minutes.  Let cake cool slightly.  Spread with jam.  Sprinkle white chocolate evenly over cake.  When completely cooled, cut into 2 inch squares.

In a medium bowl, mix pudding as directed and fold in Cool Whip. 

Layer cake square and pudding mixture - ending with the pudding on top.  Cover with white chocolate shavings.  Decorate with berries.

(*This tastes even better the next day!)