Pull Apart Cinna-Buns

The other night I was cleaning out my fridge. You know, like that deep cleaning.  Pull everything out.  Toss the old stuff. Wipe down/wash the shelves.  Put things back nice and neat.  It was quite an exciting evening.

Then I remembered that I had told my kids I would make breakfast for the morning.

At this point, it was maybe 11 p.m.  And I had more work to do.

What to do? What to do?

Well, Google of course.

I searched for quick and easy cinnamon rolls.

And this recipe popped up.

So they aren't exactly cinnamon rolls.

But they looked easy, fairly quick, and tasty, so I went for it.

Because of our food issues at our house, I had to change it up just a little bit.  The original recipe uses butterscotch pudding mix  (and I am pretty sure my sister does a similar recipe with vanilla pudding mix).  We can't/don't do instant pudding mixes, so I did no pudding at all.

And it still worked for us.

Ingredients:
18 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
(Do the night before)
Spray a Bundt pan with cooking spray.

If you are using nuts (we didn't this time), spread the nuts in the pan first. 

Place 9 frozen dinner rolls in the pan.

Mix the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Spread half the mixture over the frozen rolls.

Place 9 more frozen dinner rolls in the pan (like a second layer). 

Spread the second half of the butter mixture over the rolls.

Cover loosely with parchment paper.

The next morning, you will find a risen mound of dough and butter yumminess.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly then invert onto a serving platter.

You can stop there and probably be fine.

Or you can add a little cream cheese frosting.

Which we did.

Yum.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting Directions:
Use a mixture to cream the cream cheese and butter together.
Add in the vanilla.
Add in powdered sugar a little at a time until it is light and fluffy.
 Spread over warm cinna-buns.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

For Super Bowl Sunday, we were supposed to go to my parents' house.

Except it snowed.

A lot.

Well, a lot for us. 

So suddenly we were having our own Super Bowl party at home.

Thankfully I had some Taco Soup in the crockpot already. 

What I didn't have was a plan for dessert. 

My mom was going to make brownies.

And I love brownies.

But I decided we would try something new.

I hit Pinterest and was reunited with this recipe.

Seemed easy enough.

During halftime, I ran to the kitchen to whip these up.

A little while later, we were enjoying these chocolate chip cookie bars. Thoroughly.

Ingredients:
2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup salted butter, softened
3 eggs whisked
2 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose works fine)
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the brown sugar and the softened butter.  Add in the whisked eggs.

In another bowl, mix the baking powder and salt with one cup of flour.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix.

Add in the remaining flour as well as the vanilla.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan.  Spread batter in the pan, pressing down.

Bake for 25-35 minutes, until lightly browned.

Let them cool off for a few minutes.

Enjoy!

Happy cooking!
Reba

Cinnamon Roll Cake

I cannot believe it has been a month since I posted!

It isn't that I am not cooking. I really am.

Or that I haven't made recipes that we liked. I really have.

My life is just a bit chaotic right now.

As in seriously chaotic.

There is dust everywhere. Carpet pulled up. And I now have a stairwell I didn't have a few weeks ago.

We are adding on to our house.

Which hasn't really stopped my cooking, though we have had to call the builder a time or two to say, "Please get my stove turned back on!" (which thankfully he has).

It is just tiring to me.

I come home after a busy day, do the normal stuff like help kids with homework or cook dinner, and then there is extra stuff like vacuuming the kitchen and countertops which is truly futile but I feel like I must do anyway.

So when it is finally time to sit down, I can't stay awake. I am spent for the day.

I guess I have been on hiatus.

But I am back.  At least some.

When I am awake anyway.

So the other day I saw a recipe for a cinnamon roll cake.

I love cinnamon rolls.  And I have made several different kinds.

But they can be kind of a pain to make.

So a cake?

That sounded perfect.

The taste of cinnamon roll but not the work.

Okay, a little work.

But not as much work.

Yet just as much taste.

Between my family and the workers at our house, TWO cakes were gone before 10.

Delicious.

Here is the original recipe. I really didn't change much.  I actually didn't change anything on purpose, just forgot a thing or two and didn't always follow directions (accidentally).

Ingredients:
3 cups flour, plus 2 Tbsp divided  Okay, totally forgot to add the 2 Tbsp later. But it still worked.


1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1 1/2 Tbsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup butter melted

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp cinnamon

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease two 8-inch cake pans, then line with parchment paper. Okay, I technically used pie plates because I don't have good cake pans, AND I didn't bother with the parchment paper. I just "greased" (with cooking spray) really well.

Use the mixer to blend the 3 cups of flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, milk, eggs, and melted butter.

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.

In another bowl, beat (with a mixer) the softened butter, the brown sugar, the cinnamon, and the 2 Tbsp flour (which I forgot).

Use a tablespoon to drop the butter mixture onto the cake batter, alternating between the two cake pans.  Or pie pans. However you roll. :)

Swirl in with a knife.

Bake for 25-30.

Remove from oven and let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan.

Flip cakes out onto serving plates. Which I discovered I had none of. :( Not big enough for this anyway.  I just improvised. Story of my life.

Whisk the icing ingredients and drizzle over warm cakes.

Enjoy!

The original recipe states that one cake can be frozen (pre-icing) then re-heated later.

In my house, we are not likely to have ever have any leftover cakes. :)

But it is a good suggestion.

Happy cooking!

Reba

Turtle Cheesecake Bars

Not long ago we celebrated our 17th anniversary. 

I wanted to celebrate with a special dessert.

The one dessert we both love?

Turtle Cheesecake.

I remembered a recipe I had found on Pinterest for turtle cheesecake bars.

Perfect.

It was a little work. You have to plan ahead because the bars have to chill for a while.  And just looking at the ingredients can give me a headache; I like simple.

But there was no doubt that it was worth the effort.

Yum.

We will be having this again, though not too often.  If we did, I would weigh a TON!

Cheesecake crust:
3 cups finely chopped pecans
1 stick unsalted butter melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Cheesecake filling:
24 oz cream cheese, softened (yes, that is THREE boxes!)
1/4 cup full fat Greek yogurt OR sour cream (I used sour cream, full fat)
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 large eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Toppings:
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 11 oz bag caramel candy, unwrapped (I actually used a caramel sauce...it worked fine)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 Tbsp milk, divided (unless you use the caramel sauce, then you only need 2)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Line a 13 x 9 inch pan with parchment paper, overlapping on the ends.

Use a fork to mix together the crust ingredients.  Press into the bottom of the 13 x 9 pan.

Bake for 20 minutes.

While the crust bakes, prepare the filling.

Cream together the cream cheese, yogurt/sour cream, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

After the crust finishes, sprinkle 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips over the crust.

Pour the filling over the crust and return to the oven.  Bake for 50 minutes.

Allow the cheesecake to cool off for an hour, then put it in the refrigerator overnight.

When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator.  Lift the parchment paper off/out and place the cheesecake on a serving dish.

Toast pecans at 350 for 10 minutes.

If using unwrapped caramels, microwave the caramels and 4 Tbsp of milk at 30 minute intervals.  Stir until sauce is smooth.

Pour over the top of the cheesecake.

Microwave chocolate chips with 2 Tbsp milk.  Cook for 30 seconds, stirring in between.

Drizzle the chocolate over the top of the cheesecake bars.

Allow the chocolate to harden before serving.

Enjoy!

And don't think about the calories!

Chocolate Chip and Walnut Blondies

 The other day a recipe in the paper caught my eye.  It looked easy enough and looked yummy enough, I decided to give it a try. 

This is a miracle in itself because I often clip recipes then forget that I clipped them. 

Thankfully this one was fresh on my mind (and on my counter).

Today we went for a hike which meant I had a whole bunch of extra calories to enjoy. :)

So tonight after dinner, I threw these together and baked them.

Oh, yum.

Delicious.

Here is my version of the recipe. I followed it fairly closely though I adjusted the actual chocolate part.  The original recipe calls for 1 1/4 pounds of semisweet chocolate chunks. I used chocolate chips and only used about half that amount.  We agreed that any more than what I used would have been TOO much and too rich for us!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature (the original recipe calls for unsalted, I just had salted)
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg white, room temperature (I just put three eggs out when I put the butter out)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (I think I used only about 1 cup)
9-12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used about 9 oz which was plenty for me)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease/flour a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer.  Mix on high for 3 minutes.  It should be fairly light and fluffy.

With the mixer on low, add vanilla.  Then add the eggs one at a time.  Add the egg white.  Mix well, scraping the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, sift together (or just stir in my case :) the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Add to the butter mixture with the mixer on low. 

Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips.

Spread/spoon the batter into the pan.  Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (no batter).  Don't overbake. 

Cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chess Pie

Last night we had company over.  I wanted to have some sort of dessert but couldn't decide what to have.  I checked out this recipe from my Pinterest Sweet Treat board and decided to give it a try since it was simple and I had all ingredients on hand.

I know, it is always a risk trying a new recipe with company coming over. BUT I figured with chocolate, how could I go wrong?

And the answer is...? You can't.  Not with this.  It is easy and delicious. Almost sinful.

Ingredients:
Crust-
1 sleeve graham crackers crushed (the original recipe used chocolate graham crackers but one of my kiddos can't do that so I used regular)
1 stick butter.  Yes, a whole stick.
1 Tbsp sugar

Filling-
1 stick butter (yes, another stick)
1 oz unsweetened chocolate (or 3 Tbsp cocoa powder...I used the unsweetened chocolate square)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350. 

Melt the butter. I just stuck it in the microwave.  Mix with the sugar and graham cracker crumbs until well combined.  Press into a 9 inch pie pan (I did spray mine first), forming the bottom/sides of the pie.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Let it cool for a bit then chill for an hour or more.

When ready, preheat the oven to 325.  Meanwhile, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat in a sauce pan on the stove.  Stir.  Remove from heat and add sugar, again stirring until well-combined.  Next add the eggs, vanilla, and salt.  Again stir.

Pour into the now chilled pie crust.

Bake for 40-50 minutes depending on how gooey you want it.

Let it cool for 20-30 minutes before serving.

You can serve it warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.  However, I have to say that I have found that I like it best chilled from the fridge. Oh, yum.

Sinful.  Absolutely sinful.

And rich.

Oh, yum.

Enjoy!

Reba

Smores Bars

I am not a big marshmallow fan.  I can do without Rice Krispie treats.  And Rocky Road ice cream is NOT my favorite.

But Smores.

Oh, how I love smores.

In fact, I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to them.  "More Smores". 

The unfortunate thing is my hubby is not the smores fan I am.

So I don't try out the smores recipes nearly as much as I want.  Well, due to that and the fact that I would weigh a LOT more if I did.

But every now and then I figure out a way to do it.

Like when we are going to a cookout.

Perfect time.

So this past week, I decided to try Smores Bars.

They looked easy.  Required little preparation.  And they could be made ahead of time.

The only "warning" I feel like I should give is to let people know ahead of time that they are cold.

My kids all complained a little at first because they think "smores" and think "warm".

Yet it didn't stop one of them from eating the bars.

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted (plus a little more for greasing purposes)

1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I just threw a "sleeve" of crackers into the food processor and whirled away), plus 2 graham crackers broken into large pieces

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (not quite a whole can)

1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:
Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with aluminum foil and butter/grease.  I did do this but I actually think next time I would just grease the baking pan itself with the butter or cooking spray.

Mix the melted butter and the graham cracker crumbs together in a bowl with a fork until moistened. 

Press firmly into the bottom of the baking dish.

This is the only area I had trouble. I pressed as much as I could but my crumbs just never stuck together. I don't know if I should have used more butter, pressed more, or what.  Don't get me wrong, it was still tasty.  I just couldn't get it to gel.  I think next time I make these, I will do something similar to what I do with the pretzels for pineapple fluff.  I think I will "bake it" at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes...just enough to make it a bit crunchier/more together.  I will let you know how that goes. :)

Next, heat the chocolate chips and the condensed milk over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth.  Once smooth, remove from the heat and add in the salt and vanilla.

Quickly, pour over the graham cracker and spread. You have to work quick or it will start to harden.  I found that if I held the spatula vertically and started in the middle to spread to the sides, it worked much easier. Otherwise the graham crackers try to go with the chocolate. :)

Next, pour the marshmallows over the top and push down into the chocolate.

Finish by pressing in the broken pieces of the 2 graham crackers in the "holes" left by marshmallows.

Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or so before cutting/serving.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Sugar "Donut" Muffins

I try to make breakfast a couple times a week.  I have been eying this recipe on Pinterest for a while and decided to give it a try. 

It didn't take long to assemble them and then it was a short time to bake and then breakfast time.

And...

YUM.

They taste JUST like cinnamon sugar donuts.

In muffin form.

And baked.

(I calculated the calories and they were not horrible)

I made a double batch:  one mini muffin batch and one regular muffin batch.

Here is the recipe for one batch...

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

In another bowl, stir/whisk together vegetable oil, sugar, egg, and milk.

Pour the flour mixture into the oil mixture and stir just until mixed.

Coat the "cups" of the muffin tin or use muffin liners. I used liners.

Divide the batter evenly among the cups.  (I did one 24 mini muffin tin and one 12 cup regular muffin with a double batch)  I used my cookie scoop to put the mixture into the cups.  It was almost even/level with the tin.

Bake for 15-18 minutes.  (I think mine was close to 20 minutes)

Remove the muffins from the muffin tin and cool on a wire rack.

Topping recipe:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:  
Put melted butter in one bowl.  Mix cinnamon/sugar in another bowl.

Now, in the original recipe. they dipped the whole muffin in the butter and then the cinnamon sugar mix.

I only dipped the top.  (In fact, I did NOT double the topping and had JUST enough for two batches) 

Either way, my kids have raved about them.  My son came in and said, "Thanks for the donuts, Mom!" 

Enjoy!

Reba

Hot Fudge Brownie Pie

I don't make dessert often though I have a BUNCH of them pinned on Pinterest.

It isn't that I don't like desserts.

It is actually the opposite.

I love them.

Too much.

So it is better if I don't make it often.

Because if I do, I eat them.  :)

However, once in a while, I splurge.

Like last night.

This is one I have pinned not once but twice. And possibly even three times.

It just looked oh so yummy.

So last night I got dinner in the oven then turned my attention to this recipe.

It is labeled as "hot fudge pie" but other than baking it in a pie dish, there is nothing really "pie" about it. 

We had great discussion about what it truly is.

And our answer?

A cross between a brownie and a molten chocolate lava cake.  

Except this was even easier the chocolate lava cake (which is pretty simple).

And what I love is that the portion size is that much easier to control.

With a hungry teenager in the house, I didn't have to worry about eating too much. :)

Ingredients:
4 oz unsalted butter
1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate (1.5 oz)
1 cup sugar (granulated)
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350. 

Grease a pie pan (use butter or a cooking spray).

Melt butter and chocolate together.  I suppose you could do this stove top. I went the microwave route.  I put them together in a large measuring cup and headed for 30 seconds, stirred slightly, then heated 30 seconds more. The chocolate wasn't very melted at this point but the butter was. So I just took it out and stirred it for a few minutes.  Then it was a silky chocolate mess... :)

Let it cool while you stir the sugar into the beaten eggs.  Note: A hand mixer is not necessary. You just need a good spatula or spoon and a little elbow grease.  Stir until the sugar is fully incorporated into the eggs.

Once the chocolate mixture has cooled (and not before then or you will cook the eggs :), add it to the egg mixture.  Stir together.

Next add the vanilla  and milk.  Stir together.

Last, fold in the flour until no white is showing.

Do NOT overmix.

Pour the mixture into the pie pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Let it cool a few minutes.

I HIGHLY recommend eating this with ice cream on the side.

YUM.

Enjoy!

Reba

Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Doughnuts

I have been wanting to make some doughnuts for a while. The other day I checked out my "Breakfast Goodies" bulletin board on Pinterest and saw this recipe I had pinned. 

The best part was that the only "special" ingredient I don't always have on hand is the plain yogurt. But thankfully this time, I did.

So this morning I went to work.

This is a fairly quick recipe (which was a treat for the kids...not much waiting). It was easy.  And when I calculated the calories, it wasn't too bad.  I don't feel very guilty that I ate two.  Even though I wanted to eat like 12.

By the way, I have a doughnut pan, otherwise the circles wouldn't be so "circlish".  :)

Oh, I doubled the recipe and I did NOT use a mini doughnut pan...even with doubling the recipe, I got 15 doughnuts.  So next time I may have to triple if we want to have any left over. That being said, there is not really any reason to double the glaze. I did, and I ended up with WAY too much.

Doughnut ingredients: (recipe is doubled from original)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cups white granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.

Mix the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.  I just used a whisk.

Add in the remaining ingredients (yogurt, milk, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla).

Stir until smooth.

Grease a doughnut pan.  I read on the original site that someone used a mini muffin pan instead...that is a great idea if you don't have a doughnut pan.

Fill the circles about 3/4 full. Mine was kind of thick so I just kind of "spooned" it in.

Bake for 7 minutes.  A good test is to press a doughnut. If the indention springs back immediately, it is ready.

Let them cool on a wire rack.  I probably didn't let them cool quite long enough before glazing but I had a hungry crew. :)

Glaze Ingredients: (not doubled)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (I didn't have any on hand so I used salted which works okay)
3/4 tsp light corn syrup (I am not a big corn syrup person so I substituted with honey)
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used my favorite Ghirardelli)
1/2 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar

Optional:  Sprinkles for decoration (I did half with, half without.  My kids loved the sprinkles touch but I have to use some pricey all natural ones :)

Directions:
Over low heat, add the butter, corn syrup or honey, milk, and vanilla extract to a small sauce pan.  Stir constantly until butter melts. Once melted, add in the semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Again, stir until melted.  Then add in the powdered sugar.  Stir until smooth.

Glaze doughnuts.  I just held the doughnuts and dipped them halfway into the glaze.

Add sprinkles immediately if desired.

Enjoy!

I have tried a few doughnut recipes and this has been one of my favorites. It is a cake like doughnut...yum!

Reba

No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

I so wish I was a good food photographer.

Maybe it is because I need a new camera.

Or maybe it is because we are always in a hurry to eat.

Or MAYBE it is because I am just not good about taking food pictures.

Do you think they have classes for that?

Anyway, yesterday I wanted to make a special breakfast since it was Father's Day and all.

I had seen this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was just what I was looking for.

I love yeast and use it often.

But it requires patience. And time.  And frankly I am not all about getting up early in the morning just to make breakfast.

So when I saw "no yeast", I knew that was more my speed for morning time...

It took me just a few minutes to assemble them then about 15 minutes to bake.

I followed the recipe fairly closely. I never have buttermilk on hand so I use the Saco powdered buttermilk instead.  It does cut down on calories but gives that buttermilk taste.  Next time I would also cut the icing down a little...it makes a lot.

Otherwise, I stuck to the recipe.

By the way, delicious.  I really didn't find them much different than yeast rolls. Just much quicker to make!

Ingredients:
 Filling-
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Dough-
2 1/2 cups flour (all purpose), more for dusting
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (I use the Saco powder which is 4 TBSP powder, 1 cup water...you can also add lemon juice or vinegar to milk to make a "quick buttermilk")
5 Tbsp butter, melted (4 for the dough, 1 for brushing on top before baking)

Icing-
3 oz cream cheese softened
4 Tbsp buttermilk
1 cup powdered sugar (I did add a little more to thicken my icing up)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450.

Mix all of the filling ingredients in a bowl with a fork until well blended.  Set aside.

In a larger bowl, mix the dough dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt).  In another bowl (or measuring cup), mix together the buttermilk and butter.  Pour the buttermilk mixture into the middle of the dry ingredients.  Stir together but do no overmix.  Knead to form a ball.  Then divide the ball in two.

Take one half of the dough and place on a floured surface.  Roll out (I just kind of pushed it down into a rectangle then used a mini rolling pin to flatten it).  It should be just a little bigger than a piece of paper.

Sprinkle half of the filling mixture over the dough, leaving about a half inch border.

Starting at the short end, roll it up into a log (so it will be a long log :).

Trim the ends.  Cut the "log" in half.  Then cut those halves in half.  Then cut THOSE halves in half so you have 8 "rolls".

Place in a greased baking dish (I used a 9 x 13).

Repeat with the other half of the dough/filling.

Brush the rolls with melted butter.

(I ended up combining a couple of smaller rolls into one so I ended up with 15 rolls.)

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown.

Meanwhile,  mash together the cream cheese and the powdered sugar for the icing.  Add the buttermilk a Tbsp at a time until creamy.  That is where I made a mistake. I just dumped all of it in there and it was WAY too runny. So I had to add more powdered sugar to thicken it.  I did have way too much though.  Next time I will cut back a little on the ingredients and add the buttermilk correctly. :)

Once the rolls are out of the oven, spread the icing over them.

Then, enjoy!

Reba

Pineapple Fluff

Not long ago, my Sunday School class had a little potluck after church.

One of my friends told us she would be bringing "Pineapple Fluff". 

I have to admit.

I am not normally a big fruit eater...in desserts. I like fruits alone. Just not in desserts. Usually it isn't a dessert to me unless chocolate is involved.

But I decided to take one little taste (to be polite).

But one taste turned to another and another and another.

I wanted to eat the whole pan!

Well, not the pan, but the contents of the pan.

Oh yum.

I begged for the recipe.  Okay, I really asked but begged sounds so much more dramatic.

And my friend shared the one she used.  She had gotten it from Pinterest. 

So I have made it.  Twice.  In like a week and a half.

Not for me...always for someone else.

Though I wish it were for me sometimes.

Or all of the time.

So here is the recipe. 

Ingredients for the "fluff":
1 box cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 20oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1 container Cool Whip

Directions:
Cream the cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy.

Add in the pineapple and Cool Whip and mix together (I used my electric mixer).

Chill until ready to serve.

Ingredients for the "crunch":
1 cup coarsely chopped pretzels (I just put some in a ziplock bag and hammered away with my meat tenderizer tool.
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:
Mix pretzels, butter, and sugar together.  (I just used a spoon/spatula)

Spread into a 13x9 dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Press the pretzel mixture into the dish.

Bake at 400 for 7 minutes.

Once it has cooled, break apart and toss into the "fluff".

Note:  I do this part as last minute as possible to keep it crunchy as long as possible.

Enjoy!

Reba

Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I needed a dessert for a teacher meal at Child 1's school.

I needed something easy to transport.

Something I could make ahead of time.

Something I could get several servings from.

And something chocolatey of course.

Because what kind of dessert isn't chocolatey? :)

I had pinned a recipe for brownie cupcakes on Pinterest.  And it looked yummy.

However, the frosting looked a bit too much for me.

I brainstormed other toppings (and by brainstorming I mean "Googled" :).

Then I happened upon this recipe.

Just what I was looking for.

I had to adjust a little (due to differences in measurements).  Once again, I was thankful for Google to help me convert grams to ounces.  And Celsius to Fahrenheit.

I don't know that I got it perfect.

But I do know that what came out of the oven and went into my mouth was oh so yummy.

I taste tested one of the "brownie cupcakes".

Then later I taste tested it with the peanut butter frosting.

Both delish.

Even the hubby who doesn't typically do a lot of chocolate with peanut butter raved about it.

Unfortunately for us, since these were for teachers, we only got one.  (And each kid got one)

I think I will be making these again soon.  For us.

Ingredients (Brownie Cupcakes):
1/3 cup butter (I used unsalted)

1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (if you use the squares, that would be three squares. And I totally forgot to chop it :)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup cane sugar (granulated)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

Directions (Brownie Cupcakes):
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a regular (around 10) or mini (around 30 ) muffin tin with liners.  I did the mini. I honestly don't know if I could have eaten a regular size one even as good as they are. That would be REALLY rich!

Sift flour.  Set aside.  Okay, totally forgot to do that part. But it was fine.

Melt butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate in a double broiler. Or if you are like me, put it in a microwavable bowl/measuring cup.  Put it in the microwave for a minute.  Take out and stir.  Return for another 30 seconds, then stir again.  Continue until the chocolate and butter are melted.  That was about 1 minute 30 seconds in all.  Note:  The original recipe called for only melting 1/2 cup of the semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Oops. I totally missed that and melted all of them. :)

Transfer butter mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Add in the brown and cane sugars.

Whisk/stir one egg at a time into the mixture.

Add in flour, vanilla, and salt.  If you didn't add all of the semi-sweet chips (like I already did), add the rest now.

Mix.  Divide into the muffin liners, filling about 3/4 full.  I used a "cookie" scoop for this part.

Bake for around 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean.

As the cupcakes cool, prepare the peanut butter frosting.

Ingredients (Frosting):
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

1/2 cup butter (room temperature).  Again, I used unsalted.

1 cup creamy peanut butter

chopped peanuts (optional)

Directions:  
Mix all of the ingredients OTHER THAN the chopped salted peanuts with a mixer.

Spread or pipe onto the brownies once they have cooled off.

Top with chopped peanuts if desired.

We stored ours in the fridge.

Well, the ones we didn't eat anyway. :)

Reba

PS:  I ended up with leftover frosting, so I have been putting a little bit on graham crackers topped with a few chocolate chips.  Not quite the same as the brownie cupcake, but it works for me.  :)

Homemade Chocolate Brownies

I was in the kitchen most of the day.

 I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast (which is rare around here...we eat those for dinner more than for breakfast). The good news is I made a couple extra batches to freeze.

For lunch, I cooked hot dogs and threw together some watermelon slushes for the kids.

Next I got started on dinner: crockpot roast beef, roasted potatoes, homemade yeast rolls, and green beans.

Then I started thinking, "A dessert would be nice..."

 I really don't make them very often.

 Well, just about that time, a friend of mine sent me an e-mail with a brownie recipe that she had made that I had loved.

 Perfect.

 I looked at the ingredients. I had them all!

Perfect again.

 And they didn't take too terribly long to make.

Perfect again.

So brownies it was!

 Since I started cooking differently (more from scratch) for my food-sensitive kid, I have tried a couple of brownie recipes. None came close to what we wanted in a brownie. Until this one. This one worked.

 Oh, here is the link to the original recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted (I use unsalted for baking)

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup all-purpose flour (I actually used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)  I used pecans

You can also add semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips or caramel bits.  I added the semi-sweet, just a handful.

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350.

Grease a 9 x 13 dish.

Stir the sugar and vanilla into the melted butter.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Add the cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

Add flour, beating until mixed.

Add in nuts, caramel bits, and/or chocolate chips.  (I added both pecan pieces and semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Pour the batter into the greased pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes (until a toothpick comes out "clean").

Cool and then enjoy!

We ate ours with a little side of ice cream. 

YUM. :)

Reba

Turtle Cheesecake Ball

Today we had Souper Bowl Thursday at school.  The teachers, that is. 

We had a sign up earlier this week for soups, salads, chips and dips, and desserts.

I signed up for dessert.

Then I did a quick search on my Pinterest Sweet Treats board to see what I wanted to make.

I wanted something easy that I could make ahead.  Something with chocolate (of course). 

And then I found it.

Turtle Cheesecake Ball.

I have made something similar but the word "Turtle" really got my heart racing.

I LOVE turtle desserts.  (As in the combination of caramels, nuts, and chocolate, not the animal)

So I did a quick grocery run (and totally did NOT count that for my January challenge since my family didn't get to enjoy any of it).

A few minutes of my time, and I had a turtle cheesecake ball chilling in the fridge. 

Then today, I took it to school, added some sliced apples and some chocolate graham crackers, and a few hours later, I had nothing but a plate full of crumbs.

It was good stuff.

(I won't say how much of the eating of it was done by me, but I did have others tell me it was good too...)

Ingredients:
 cream cheese (8 oz), softened
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature (I used unsalted)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 package dry vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup caramel (ice cream topping)

Directions:
Cream the butter and cream cheese together with a mixer.

Add the caramel and mix together.

Add the brown sugar and powdered sugar.  Cream together.

Add the vanilla and pudding mix.

Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.

Pat into a ball and refrigerate for at least an hour.  (I used plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray to help form the ball, then wrapped the ball up for the fridge.)  By the way, I refrigerated it overnight.

One neat suggestion that the original website had was to drizzle caramel over the top.  And I think adding a few chopped pecans and chocolate chips on top would be nice too.

But I totally forgot to take any of that.

So mine was just plain and not very pretty.

But tasty.

It was very tasty.

I enjoyed each and every bite.

I want to make it again.  And I probably will.  But not until I exercise all of these calories off. :)

Happy cooking!

Reba

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Today I was in the mood for muffins, but I wasn't sure what kind to make. I can always eat a good pumpkin muffin but I hadn't thought ahead to make cinnamon chips, so that was out.  I thought about some simple cinnamon muffins but I just made cinnamon bread earlier this week.  And we did not have enough bananas for a banana nut muffin.  What to do, what to do?  Well, I finally decided to make some that I had made a couple months ago. They were pretty well received, so why not try them again?  (For whatever reason, I never blogged about them)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.

I have to say they were even more well-received this time (I think my boys missed out on them last time I made them).  I had to hurriedly pack one up to save for me to eat another day. I was afraid there would be nothing left but crumbs.

Even better, they are easy.  I almost always have these ingredients on hand.  And it took me about 15 minutes to prepare, then about 20 to bake.

And they are pretty filling.

The peanut butter/chocolate chip combo is very tasty but it is not overwhelming. As much as I like peanut butter/chocolate chip candy bars, I don't want a candy bar for breakfast.  Well, this is a much more subtle combination of the two flavors in a very filling form. 

The one thing it isn't:  low calorie.  That is why I ate one and hid another for another day. :)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup brown sugar

6 Tbsp butter, melted (I used unsalted)

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used real semi-sweet)

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Line muffin tin with paper liners.  We had regular size muffins, but I think next time I will make minis.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar together in a bowl.

In a another (large) bowl, mix the butter, peanut butter, eggs, and milk.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.

Stir until combined.   Add in the chocolate chips and stir a bit more.

Spoon (I used my cookie dough scoop because the dough is pretty thick) into the muffin tins, filling to the top.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 375.

Let sit for 5 minutes before eating.

Enjoy!

Reba

Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls

If you have been reading for a while, you know that one of my favorite brands is Rhodes.  As in Rhodes bread.  I use it for braided spaghetti bread, bread/rolls, breadsticks, pizza, and calzones.  I just discovered their products in the last couple of years and have come to love them BIG time.  I even got a Rhodes "cookbook" for Christmas that I am itching to look through and use.

In the past few months, we have changed up the diets of one of our kids. I am SOOOO thankful that Rhodes products are still in the diet plan.  Or I would be really sad.

By the way, I get nothing from Rhodes for saying all of this. Not even a coupon. But that would be a nice treat.

I just really like their products.

Anyway, I was trying to plan a Christmas breakfast.  And having cinnamon rolls sounded like fun.  While I want to attempt some homemade rolls at some point, I knew that it would be too hectic for that this time of year.  So my next thought was "What about Rhodes cinnamon rolls?"  A quick web search brought up a recipe that I ran with.

And I need to run.

 I mean, these babies are NOT low calorie or low fat.

But they are full of yumminess.

They were a nice way to start our Christmas day.

Ingredients:
One frozen roll of dough (I used Rhodes white bread dough)

1/2 cup butter, softened (1/4 for the dough, 1/4 later for the filling)

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp cinnamon

3 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Thaw the frozen roll dough. (I just set mine out on a plate or in a bread pan on the counter, covered with wax paper)  This takes a few hours typically, so plan ahead.

Roll the dough out in a rectangle shape.  I just rolled it until I couldn't really roll it much more.

Spread 1/4 cup of the softened butter over the dough. 

Mix the brown sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle over the dough.  Leave a little space around the outer edges for sealing.

Roll the dough into a "log" and "seal" it.

Cut the log into slices, about 1 inch wide.

Place the slices in a covered 9 x 13 inch greased pan.  Cover with clear plastic wrap. (I will often spray the wrap so the dough doesn't stick.)

Let the rolls rise on the counter until doubled in size.  In my case, I made the dough the night before, so I let them rise in the refrigerator overnight, then I pulled them out about an hour before cooking to let them finish rising on the counter. That would be a good time to pull out the other 1/4 cup butter to soften.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake the rolls at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, using a mixer, mix the cream cheese, 1/4 cup softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy.

Once the rolls are out of the oven, spread the mixture over the rolls.

Enjoy!

Reba

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Another case of the picture NOT doing this food justice.  It is a travesty, I know.  I would love to be a professional food photographer OR have my own personal food photographer. But honestly usually when I cook things, we are rushing to get things on the table so we can eat.  And my pictures are taken in "drive by" style.  

 I am just thankful I got a picture of this before the kids got hold of it.  Because they love it.  And if I had waited, I might have had just crumbs left to snap photos of...

Yes, another Pinterest recipe. I saw it and thought, "Why not?"  It reminds me a lot of the coffeecake I make.  But a much simpler version for days that I need a much simpler recipe.

I have also decided that they make good gifts or products for a bake sale.

Best of all, you are encouraged to make these the night before, so it is ready and waiting. Just warm it up in the morning (re-heat) and enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (I have been using King Arthur's unbleached when I have a chance)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar (granulated)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Cinnamon swirl ingredients:
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a loaf pan (9 x 5 inch).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Add in the egg, milk, and vegetable oil.

Stir just until moistened. Do NOT overstir.

Pour half the batter into the loaf pan.  I don't know if "pour" is an accurate word because it was more like "spoon" to me...not that runny.  But it worked.

Sprinkle with the cinnamon swirl ingredients.

Pour remaining batter over the top.

Sprinkle a little more cinnamon/sugar if you wish (like you could go wrong with more cinnamon and sugar :).

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the pan cool for about 10 minutes.

Move to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

I will admit, I totally skipped the wire rack. I just let mine keep cooling in the pan.

Wrap up with foil and save for the next day.  (It will be very crumbly to cut right after it comes out of the oven)  We microwave a slice or two for around 10 seconds the next day.

Enjoy!

Banana Nut Muffins

 I have mentioned that we have been "cleaning" up the way we eat.  A little more organic, less preservatives.  And in doing that, a lot of "mixes" are out.

So yesterday I glanced in our fruit bowl and noticed that we had a couple of bananas that were nearing the end of their life.

I hated to see bananas go to waste (though I NEVER eat them by themselves), so I decided we really needed some banana bread or muffins.  I decided muffins would be a good (and easy) way to go.  Even better, I had already planned a "breakfast for dinner" kind of night so this would be a perfect addition.

I immediately googled and fell upon a recipe that is supposed to be very kid-friendly.  Perfect for me. :)

I didn't really have any kids around at the time so I just made the recipe myself.

And they were yummy.

I don't think I have ever made homemade banana bread before.

Now that I have, I don't think I will ever be able to go back to a mix again.

And honestly, it didn't take me but a few more minutes than a mix would...and these were so much better.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted (I used unsalted)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Nuts (to taste...I used about half a cup of chopped pecans)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray muffin pan OR use fun muffin/cupcake liners. That is the way I went.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together bananas, sugar, egg, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and nuts.  I just hand mixed.  I also made sure not to overmix after reading comments by others on the original recipe's site.

Fold in the flour mixture.

Again, don't overmix (but make sure ALL of the flour is mixed in).

Scoop into muffin tins (I used my cookie dough scooper).

Bake for 10-15 minutes for mini muffins and 25-30 minutes for regular size muffins (mine made 12 regular size muffins).

Enjoy!

Reba

Crescent Cinnamon Buns

I have tried a couple different recipes involving cinnamon "crescent rolls" including this one.  And we had absolutely NO difficulty eating either one.  Cinnamon, crescent rolls, butter...how can you go wrong?  Yet recently as I was perusing (yes, my favorite...Pinterest), I happened on yet another recipe involving cinnamon and crescent rolls.  The same but different.

So when my dear daughter informed me that she needed to make a breakfast dish for a church activity, I knew exactly what she should try.

While I have liked the original recipes I have made, I have to say that THIS dish was exactly what I have been wanting.  It is really hard to roll up crescent rolls in their crescent roll shape, especially when dripping with butter.  In this recipe, you don't have to roll them up that way.  In fact, these look more like a "cinnamon" roll than anything else I have made.

I have to preface this with one little caution...I didn't actually get to taste them. I wanted to SOOOOO bad. But I didn't.  Dear Daughter needed to take them to church, so I left them untouched. But she did tell me they were quite delish. In fact, she had none left over.

I think I will be making these this weekend...

Anyway, here is the recipe:

Crescent Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients:
1 package crescent rolls (I HIGHLY recommend Crescent rounds if you can find them)

1 stick softened butter (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a pie plate.  I just stuck it in the pie plate and put it in the oven while it was pre-heating.

Add the brown sugar to the melted butter in the pie plate and stir.

Roll out the crescent rolls, pinching seams.  I used the Crescent Rounds which were perfect. I just rolled it out as one large sheet but later when I rolled it back up, I just had to "cut" on the dotted lines to have my "cinnamon buns".

Spread remaining softened butter (4 Tbsp) over the crescent rolls.

Mix the white sugar and cinnamon together.  Sprinkle over the crescent rolls.

Roll the dough back up into one log.  Slice 8 even "cinnamon rolls". 

Place the rolls in the buttered pie plate.  Sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon/sugar.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

While they bake, mix together the glaze ingredients.  (1 cup powdered sugar, 4 Tbsp heavy cream which can be made with 2 Tbsp milk plus 1 Tbsp butter if needed, and 1 tsp vanilla.  Stir together with a fork.

Pour glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls once out of the oven.

Enjoy!

Reba