Foodie Friday: Two-Bite Cheescakes

These delectable two-bite cheesecakes are sinfully easy (and fast) to make. You can have them from the oven to the table in less than hour. Perfect desserts for parties, or for small portions at home. It's much faster to make 12 two-bite cheesecakes then one large one after all! You can top them off with raspberry sauce (as pictured), chocolate shavings, strawberry slices, or just some whipped cream. Why not do a few of each?

This recipe makes 12 two-bite cheesecakes in a standard size muffin pan.

You will need:

• 1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 graham cracker crust, or 12 vanilla wafers

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a muffin pan with paper liners
3. Place one vanilla wafer in the bottom of each lined cup as the crust, OR using a spoon loosen a pre-made graham cracker crust and repack about 1 1/2 tbs into the bottom of each lined cup (of course you can crush your own graham crackers too, but I happened to have a graham cracker crust sitting around waiting to be used)
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese until fluffy
5. Add eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat together until smooth (if your cream cheese has been beaten well, then this step shouldn't take too long)
6. Fill each lined cup about 2/3 full with the cream cheese mixture
7. Bake cheesecake for 15 minutes, or until it no longer jiggles
8. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before moving cheesecakes onto wire cooling rack. After cooling on the rack for 10 minutes, cover loosely and move to the refrigerator
9. Remove from liner and top with sauce, fruit, or whipped cream immediately before serving

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

These flourless, 3 ingredient cookies (4 if you include the Kiss) were the perfect thing for my cookie craving one day when I was running low on all purpose flour (why I had little flour and a whole bag of Hershey's Kisses I may never fully understand). It's incredibly easy to substitute the sugar with Splenda or another sugar replacement for a lower calorie count–about 50 calories less per cookie. Yup. I did the math.

This recipe makes approximately 18 cookies

You will need:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar (or Splenda)
• 1 egg
• 18 Hershey's Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Beat sugar, peanut butter, and egg until fully incorporated. Here's a helpful tip for measuring peanut butter. Use a 2 cup measuring cup and fill it with one cup of water. Add peanut butter until the water line moves up to 2 cups. Now you can scoop out your peanut butter without having a sticky measuring cup!
3. Roll your dough into 1" balls and place on ungreased baking sheet
4. Bake for 10 minutes
5. While cookies are baking, unwrap one Hershey Kiss per cookie and place to the side
6. After the cookies are taken out of the oven, promptly and gently press a kiss into each cookie
7. Let cool completely before eating. The kisses may remain melty and gooey (yum!) for several hours, so if you want cooled candy make sure you make the cookies at least 6 hours in advance.

Enjoy this delicious treat and try not to eat them all in one sitting!

Foodie Friday: Simple Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes & Praline Icing

Jason and I were sitting around sewing one night. We had eaten an early dinner, so I wanted to make a cake. I had a Betty Crocker Classic Yellow cake mix, but that just didn't sound great. We wanted more than just yellow cake. So, I improvised and came up with this DELICIOUS, and super easy, apple cinnamon cake. It was perfect for our cozy night in, but I am pretty sure I am going to make it as loaves for gifts next fall.

This recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes, or 1 dozen cupcakes and two small loaves, or 2 large loaves (I think).

You will need:

• 1 Classic Yellow Cake mix, and the ingredients for which it calls (minus the oil)
• Applesauce (same amount of oil for which the cake recipe calls, probably 1/2 cup)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 peeled & diced apple (Gala)

1. Preheat oven as directed on your cake mix box (most likely 350)
2. Pour your cake mix and water/milk and eggs into large bowl
3. Add applesauce, cinnamon, and nutmeg to cake mix and beat together
4. Peel and dice apple and add to cake mix. Beat until incorporated
5. Pour your batter into your greased container(s) and bake as directed on box. Let cool completely before icing

Fresh out of the oven!

For the icing, you will need:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• 3 tbs milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter, and milk to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly
2. Allow to boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly, and then remove from heat
3. Whisk in vanilla
4. Whisk in powdered sugar in 3-4 parts. In order for sugar to fully incorporate, you may have to put your icing back over the lowest heat setting
5. Place cooled cake on serving plate and pour warm icing over. If you are icing multiple loaves, place loaves on wax paper before pouring icing. Serve immediately

Foodie Friday: Nutella Cookies

I love Nutella, and the idea of Nutella cookies seems just delightful to me. I looked around for a recipe and just decided to try a really simple one I found on Pinterest. The modifications I did are totally optional, and I just did them to make the cookies stay soft, and not harden by the next day. So hopefully you like chocolate, because to me these cookies taste chocolatey and then have a bit of a hazelnut/Nutella after taste. Delicious!

This recipe makes 24 small cookies, or about 15 regular cookies.

You will need:

• 1 cup of Nutella (I used a whole 13oz tub)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp corn starch (opt, keeps your cookie soft)
• Chopped hazelnuts (opt, not pictured)
• Milk chocolate chips (opt, not pictured)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix all dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl
3. Beat in egg and Nutella, and any hazelnuts or chocolate chips
4. The mixture will be dry and crumbly. Dig in with your hands and create 1" balls of cookie dough. You can add 1 tbsp of water to make the dough easier to handle, but I didn't and mine turned out very well
5. Flatten the balls of cookie dough a little, making them thicker for softer cookies and thinner for crisper cookies
6. Bake 6-8 minutes, depending on your cookie size, on a greased pan
7. When you remove them they will still be a little gooey. Let set and cool for 5 minutes before moving from pan to cooling rack or plate
8. Serve (or eat them all yourself)

Foodie Friday: Chocolate Coconut Bars, AKA "Pig Pens"

My friend Alyssa made these for our sorority alum meeting one night and I had her send me the recipe that night. These yummy chocolate treats are so delicious, and so SO simple to make! It takes about 5 minutes to prepare before baking. Delicious. There is no way you can mess these up, and everyone is sure to love them! If you are looking for a dessert to bring to a holiday party this year, this is a great dish to bring! You do need to let these cool for at least 2 or 3 hours before cutting, so if you are making them for an evening event make them first thing in the morning or even the night before. The longer these have to sit to yummier they are!

Make this recipe in a large pan (9x13), and it will make 25-30 small bars. I usually cut it in half and bake it in my 8x8 pan, yielding about 12-15 bars.

You will need:

• 2 cups whole oats
• 1 bag milk chocolate chips
• 1 bag coconut flakes
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 6 tablespoons of butter (3/4 stick)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Melt butter in microwave and spread into bottom of pan
3. Sprinkle whole oats evenly in bottom of buttered pan
4. Spread chocolate chips to evenly coat oats
5. Sprinkle coconut evenly over chocolate chips
6. Mixed sliced almonds and chopped walnuts
7. Sprinkle nut mixture over top of coconut. You may not have to use it all. I do not like a lot of nuts on mine and I always end up picking some off while eating them
8. Drizzle ENTIRE can of condensed milk on top
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes
10. Place baking dish on wire rack to cool. Allow bars to cool to room temperature before cutting and serving. This could take 2+ hours

Foodie Friday: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! WELCOME TO DECEMBER! My favorite month of the year! I know the last thing we need right now is more food, but trust me, you'll definitely want this delicious treat.

I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies about 100 times more than oatmeal raisin cookies. I like to fool myself into thinking they are better for me than other cookies because of the oatmeal. Makes sense, right? Well, even if it doesn't, let's all agree to pretend for my sake, okay?

This recipe is based on the classic Quaker Oats recipe. I fiddled with it a bit though, wanted to make a denser cookie, a little richer. So here was the end result. Turned out pretty well I think! This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies, which are the best when served warm!

You will need:

• 3 cups oats
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) and 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Dash of nutmeg

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farhenheit

2.     In a large bowl beat together sugars and butter until creamy

3.     Add eggs and vanilla to bowl and beat into sugar mixture

4.     Mix in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg, beating until fully incorporated

5.     Stir or beat in oatmeal in 2-3 batches

6.     Stir or beat in chocolate chips

7.     Cover a cooking sheet with parchment paper (or foil) and scoop 1” balls of cookie dough onto sheet, leaving gaps of at least 1” between cookies

8.     Bake for 8-10 minutes

Foodie Friday: Three-Ingredient Pumpkin Bread

This is probably easiest pumpkin bread (or muffins if you prefer) you have ever made! I have seen this recipe in a couple of places and finally decided to try it! I added some spice (literally) and it turned out lovely. The bread has a very soft pumpkin flavor, which is a nice break from the super-potent pumpkin spice things everywhere these days. And since Halloween is a couple of days away, Thanksgiving season is pretty much here, so this will be a wonderful treat to make for family get-togethers, or cozy nights in! So here it goes. 

This recipe makes one(1) 5x9" loaf pan, not filled all the way up. You could definitely manage to use a smaller loaf pan. Or 1 dozen muffins, if not a little more.

You will need:

• 1 Classic Butter Recipe cake mix
• 1 can of Libby's condensed pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tbsp butter (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Mix together your cake mix, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice
3. Grease your pan and scrape all of your dough in, patting the pan and using a spoon to level the dough out
4. Bake about 35 minutes for a loaf, or 20-25 minutes for muffins
5. Immediately after removing the pumpkin bread, melt the butter and spread it on top of the loaf using a basting brush or spoon
6. Let loaf cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from pan
7. After removed from pan, sprinkle on some powdered sugar for a sweet topping
8. Cut and enjoy

 Looks delicious, doesn't it? Well don't take my word for it! Try it for yourself! It's so simple, and no one will ever guess it took you less than five minutes of actual prep time!

Another idea:
Use a mini-muffin pan, no muffin cups (just non-stick spray), and afterwards lightly coat them in melted butter, then dip them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and you have "Pumpkin Poppers," a two-bite size treat that will be sure to please!

Foodie Friday: Homemade Bread Pudding

I have had this recipe for several years now and I am always so excited for the holidays to roll around because that means I get to bake it! Even when I was 9 months pregnant I stood on swollen feet so I could have my favorite dessert, bread pudding! I hope you enjoy it!

This recipe makes 6 large servings. I would suggest using some kind if italian or french bread loaf. If you use day old, slightly stale bread, that is the best. If the bread is too fresh it will end up too soggy.

For the pudding, you will need:

• 3 cups bread cubes
• 4 cups hot milk
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Butter 8x8 (or equivalent) baking dish
3. Soak bread cubes in hot milk on stove for a total of five minutes. While soaking stir in sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and cinnamon
4. Remove bread mixture from heat and pour into buttered baking dish
5. Place baking dish with mixture into larger baking dish and fill halfway with hot water. This will prevent the edges of the bread pudding from burning
6. Bake for 60-70 minutes
7. After baked, remove from oven, and place bread pudding on wire rack to cool
8. While cooling, make topping (see below)

For the topping, you will need:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine sugar, butter, heavy cream, and vanilla extract in a small saucepan and bring to a boil
2. Once topping boils, lower heat and stir for 3 minutes
3. Spoon over individual servings
4. Garnish with powdered sugar and berries

Foodie Friday: My Tea Party Recipes

Last Wednesday was the first Wedding Wednesday (well, this whole past week has been the first of everything since it's a new blog!), and I shared all about my bridesmaids tea party! I promised the recipes, and here they are! Some of them are approximations since I was just winging it for some of the recipes (thankfully they turned out well).



Tarragon Chicken Salad

You will need:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 stalk of celery (you can use less if you want, I really like celery)
• Approximately 1/2 cup Mayonnaise*
• 1 spoonful sour cream
• 1-2 tbsp tarragon*
• A little bit of honey (less than 1/2 teaspoon)
• A dash of salt
• Pepper to taste
  *I just eyeballed it, so I am not sure exactly how much I used

1. Trim and boil chicken breasts, or use the pre-cooked chicken found near the tuna-fish salad at the store
2. Allow to cool and do any trimming you may have missed
3. Using a fork and knife, cut up and flake the chicken into small pieces and put into medium mixing bowl
4. Pour mayonnaise in and mix with chicken. Use enough to make the chicken stick together, but not so much that the mayonnaise outweighs the chicken
5. Spoon in sour cream and stir
6. Pour in honey and stir until incorporated
7. Chop up celery and mix in
8. Add tarragon, salt, and pepper and stir
9. Serve and enjoy! I sliced up a baguette and spooned them onto the slices to serve them

Cranberry-Orange Scones
(originally from Tea Time magazine)

You will need:

• 2 cups self-rising flour (if you don't have self-rising flour, see Kitchen Basics)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• 1/2 cup cold butter (softened slightly)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar (optional

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and orange extract
3. Beat in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (do not cream the butter)
4. Add cranberries and stir. Set mixture aside
5. In a small bowl, combine milk and 1 beaten egg, stirring well
6. Add milk and egg mixture to flour mixture, and stir until just combined
7. Prepare a clean, floured surface. Turn dough out onto and knead gently 8 times
8. Roll dough out to a 3/4" thickness, as much like a rectangle as possible (this helps cutting the scones)
9. Using a pastry cutter, or a pizza cutter (my tool of choice), cut into nine small squares, then cutting each square in half diagonally to create the traditional scone triangle
10. Beat second egg and brush onto scones
11. Place scones onto baking sheet covered in parchment
12. Sprinkle scones lightly with turbinado
13. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden brown

Scones Cream

• You will need:
• 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioner's (powdered) sugar
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In medium bowl, beat cream at high speed until stiff peaks form
2. Add sugar, sour cream, and vanilla and beat at low speed until well mixed
3. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving
4. Use within three days

Butter Cake with Raspberry Filling

I'm not going to lie, I was so busy doing everything else I used a boxed cake mix (Betty Crocker Classic Butter- or something like that). However, when I do make my own butter cake, I usually use this recipe from MarthaStewart.com. The raspberry filling was made fresh by my wonderful fiance though! This is the recipe he used.

You will need:

• 1 pkg fresh raspberries
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp raspberry extract (optional)
  

1. Wash raspberries
2. Put raspberries in medium saucepan
3. Fill pan with water until raspberries are just covered
4. Heat to a gentle boil
5. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
6. Using mesh strainer, filter mixture into small saucepan. For a smoother filling, use a mesh coffee filter (non-disposable) after the initial straining
7. Bring back to a gentle boil
8. Add sugar to the boiling raspberries, and stir until incorporated
9. Add raspberry extract
10. In a separate bowl, mix one cup water and 2 tbsp cornstarch
11. Add cornstarch mixture to raspberry mixture
12. Boil gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to thicken
13. Remove from heat
14. Pour into tupperware or bowl and cover. Place into refrigerate until ready for use, at least one hour

If you are interested in doing the ruffle icing, it is very simple. You just need butter cream icing and the right icing tip! For instructions, I would suggest going to Strawberry Chic.