Oreo Fudge Bars

These are so scrumptious and rich! Have a big glass of ice cold milk close by if you attempt to make these! I know they are called Oreo Fudge Bars but I guess I didn’t think they were going to be so fudgey! I ended up chopping these in to bite size pieces because I think had I kept them in the original size I’d cut them it would have been to much to handle. The recipe is as follows.

Oreo Fudge Bars
adapted from thecrepesofwrath
1 18 oz. package of Oreo cookies
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lightly spray with Pam. Set aside 6 Oreo cookies for the topping.

2. In a small food processor grind the rest of the cookies. If you don’t have a food processor, just pound with a rolling pin until the cookies are crumbs. Add the salt
to the crumbs and stir to combine.

3. Melt the butter and gently stir together with the cookie crumb mixture. Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Coarsely chop the remaining cookies into chunks and set aside.

4. Over a double boiler or in the microwave (careful not to burn the chocolate - I usually melt the chips halfway and then stir them until they’ve melted completely), melt 3/4 cup semi-sweet and 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips together with the condensed milk and vanilla.

5. Stir the chocolate mixture frequently until smooth and spread evenly over the prepared cookie crust.

6. Sprinkle the mini (or regular) chocolate chips and the Oreo cookies chunks over the top of the filling. Press down gently into the chocolate topping. Bake for 20-22 minutes oven.

8. Chill in fridge until completely cold and set before cutting into bars or it will make a big mess

Almond Poppy Seed Cake Mix Muffins

Like I said I’ve been on a cake mix kick… These turned out pretty good, not quite like Costco but not to shabby.

Here is the recipe.

1 package white cake mix
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon almond extract

Prepare cake mix as directed and add poppy seeds and almond extract.

Cake Mix Lemon Pudding Cake

I must confess… I have made this 2 times already! I know that I said that the oatmeal cake was my favorite cake at the moment, but I lied. This one definitely takes the cake! No joke my mouth waters thinking about it. The first time I made this I took it to our girls night and by the end of the evening we tossed the forks aside as we sat around the coffee table and picked at it until we were so full we had to call it a day. Yummy! Here is the recipe for you all to enjoy.

1 package lemon cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water

Lemon curd

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
Water (to be added 1 tablespoon at a time) until you reach the desired consistency. It should be slightly runny but not soupy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bunt pan.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate.

Once cake is cooled and on the serving plate pipe lemon curd around the top of the cake. Finish with a drizzle of glaze.

Cake Mix Muffins

I think that in a jam, cake mix is a wonderful thing. Here are a few recipes I’ve made recently using one of my favorite time saving ingredients!

Blueberry Cake Mix Muffins:

1 box white cake mix
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon almond extract

Prepare cake mix according to directions on the box. Add in almond extract and blueberries. Bake as directed in muffin tins.

Banana Cake Mix Muffins:

1 box yellow cake
3 mashed bananas
1 tablespoon baking soda

Prepare cake mix according to directions on the box. Add in baking soda and bananas. Bake at 350
*This also works well as a sheet cake or in a bunt pan.

Oatmeal Cake with Broiled Topping

This may be my favorite cake right now. My cousin’s mother in law, Donna, found this recipe in a news paper and brought it to a girl’s day we were having. Oh my gosh… it was divine. Donna had already left the party so I waited weeks to get the recipe from her. Now that it is in my possession, look out world! As this was the first time I made it I stuck to the recipe just as it is written. Yummy! Although I think this recipe is perfect as is, I am going to play around with it a bit. I will defiantly be making cupcakes with this in the near future, but I think I’ll have fun adding things as well. I hope you enjoy it was much as I did. Thanks Donna, I am forever grateful!

Oatmeal Cake with Broiled Topping

CAKE
1 cup old fashioned oats
½ cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Boil water. Pour 1 ¼ cups of boiling water over oats in a bowl. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9x13” cake pan.
3. Cream butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour into pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
5.

TOPPING
¼ cup butter softened
¼ cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sweetened coconut
1 cup finely chopped pecans

1. Preheat broiler
2. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Spread evenly over warm cake. Place under broiler 2” from the top. Broil until lightly browned. 1-2 minutes.

Banana Coconut Loaf

First lat me say I love banana bread.
Next, coconut is quickly becoming one of my favorite things.
So when I came across this recipe on allrecipes.com I knew I had to try it!

It was so good! Now I know that not everyone loves coconut but if you do this is a must try recipe. You can see the original recipe by clicking here. I made subtle changes.

I think you could also make this into muffins or bread without any problems, just change up your pans.

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together flour, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
2. Break eggs in a mixing bowl, and beat until light and frothy. Add sugar and melted butter. Beat well. Stir in mashed banana and almond extract. Add flour mixture, and stir just to combine. Spoon into greased bunt pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes, and remove from pan. Cool.

Everything but the kitchen sink!

Ok really this cookie has a bit of everything and if I have left something out feel free to add it in!

I used a simple oatmeal cookie recipe as a base. I don’t have a favorite, just found one in my book and added everything I had in the pantry! These cookies had semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter and butterscotch chips in them. This would also make a killer cookie bar!

I love to find a way to use up all those half bags that are taking up valuable space!

Carrot cupcake

What would Easter be without a little carrot cake?

For my secret recipe please click here

Eggs, carrots and bunnies…

… oh my! After much nagging I finally made Easter sugar cookies. These are for you Nora :)

Chocolate Easter Cupcakes

yummy...