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1 Day Prep-Ahead Small Thanksgiving Time Saver Meal

11/5/2017

 
Greetings, All!!!
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*Thanksgiving* 
A day of food, family & friends or just hanging out in your pajamas! AmIRight :)

So I was on a mission to find time saver recipes for traditional Thanksgiving dishes, 
when it occurred to me it's really the prep work that takes the most time, NOT the actual cooking.
 

So I found recipes that could be made up (rolls, pie, cranberries!) or prepped up
(stuffing, turkey, carrots, potatoes!) the day before and assembled and cooked quite nicely
​and efficiently the following day.
Now this menu is for a small gathering: 2-6 people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angie's 1 Day Prep-Ahead
Thanksgiving Menu

Links to ALL recipes at the bottom of this page!
​Herb-Roasted Turnkey Breast with Basic Gravy
Cheddar and Jalapeno Stufing
The Best Damn Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Honeyed Carrots and Oranges
Bourbon-Cranberry Compote
Homemade Butter Flake Pull Apart Rolls
Chocolate Cream Pie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​
I'll take you through some steps here with some brief commentary on each dish.
​




​Herb-Roasted
​Turnkey Breast  

Ina Garten's recipe
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Let's start with the 7.3 lb turkey breast that cooked in two hours.
​ TWO hours!



Prep Day Ahead!
​I made the herby olive oil paste up the night before, coated the turkey and put it back in fridge.

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​Cooks up beautifully and slices up nicely.
The herbed paste rubbed directly on the meat and on top of skin was fantastic!!
Juices were added to the Basic Gravy.




​​
Let's move along to the Basic Gravy.

No prep-ahead of this. Day of only.
I made a roux.
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Add the drippings from the turkey roasting pan into the chicken broth.
 
I used
​homemade chicken broth.




​Whisk the broth and drippings into the skillet and bring to boil then simmer until thickened.


This gravy was hands down the star of the show.
*STAR OF THE SHOW*

​I think the key is homemade chicken broth but I don't know that for sure. If you don't have homemade, buy the absolute best kind of broth you can.





​Let's move along to the PREP AHEAD
Cheddar and
​Jalapeno Stuffing.

By the way, I believe this recipe could be assembled and cooked day ahead and just add some extra chicken broth when heating up next day.

Note: I could not taste the jalapeno really, add more jalapeno if you like heat.
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​The recipe called for Italian bread so that's what I got was Italian bread.

By the way y'all, I do not know how to cook without a recipe.

Completely serious. So I tend to stay true to the recipe ingredients and amounts.


​The day before...
​cut or tear the bread up and bake in a 375 oven for 12 minutes, until dried out.

Cut up all the vegetables, grate up the cheese and deposit all ingredients into the pan you will use to bake the stuffing in tomorrow and
​stick in the fridge.
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​Day of, melt butter and saute the vegetables.
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This recipe calls for a half cup beer.

It can also be left out completely.

Cook until beer evaporates, then transfer mixture to a large bowl. 

Add scallions, broth, eggs and cheddar to mixture and and toss in bread crumbs.
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​Okay,

I have this super exciting picture of buttered up aluminum foil to remind you to, you know, butter up your aluminum foil.

Cause if you don't,
all the good browned bits of stuffing will stick to the foil and you'll be sad.



Pour stuffing into prepared pan and bake covered with foil, then remove foil and continue baking. I let mine stay in 10-15 minutes longer to get more browned.
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This stuffing dish really could be prepped, assembled and cooked the day before and just reheated day of with some extra chicken broth. I made this up in the morning, stuck it in fridge until dinner and then just reheated it in oven. This is why I used a metal pan too.
Another note with this dish: You can NOT taste the heat from the jalapenos. I used two seeded jalapenos just as the recipe states and there was no heat. Probably added flavor but there was no heat so it's safe for little kiddies.





​
​O
kay, let's get these
Best Damn Vegan
​Mashed Potatoes
made.

Disclaimer: I had full intentions of using vegan butter but I didn't, I used real butter. 
Note: I wanted a mashed potato recipe that was different than the same old, same old, that's why I made these.
​Also, Yukon gold potatoes are so naturally delicious buttery anyway.
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By the way, these CAN BE MADE DAY AHEAD but I just prepped everything the night before and made day of.
I washed all the potatoes and set them aside. I then roasted the garlic by cutting off the top third, rubbed the cloves with olive oil, wrapped up in foil and roasted for 50 minutes. Mmmmmmm, always smells awesome. Also, chop up those chives and store everything but potatoes in the fridge until next day.

Before the meal, I threw the cut Yukon golds into boiling salted water and cooked until soft.
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I mixed in butter, salt and pepper and the deeeelicious roasted garlic. I ate spoonfuls and then transferred the remaining into a bowl and topped with those chives. Yum!
These potatoes are awesome with or without gravy!!






​Now, y'all, let's get to these super easy peasy
Honeyed Carrots
​and Oranges.

 I prepped everything night before and cooked them day of.
(I liked these so much I went out and bought more carrots to make this exact recipe again this week.)
Please do NOT cut the carrots in half lengthwise like I did, just buy thin carrots, don't use thick ones. If you do use thick carrots, then okay, you can cut them in half lenghtwise. Mine were thin already. Also, dudes, don't be like me and leave the freaking top on. Just don't.
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The night before, I peeled the carrots and sliced the orange and had the honey/oil all measured out.

I had chopped up some dill but decided not to use the dill on the finished dish, these were just too darn good on their own.

This was super easy to prepare as well as to assemble and cook.

​

Day of, pull out the carrots and oranges, toss in olive oil and honey, salt and pepper, arrange on cookie sheet.
​By the way, the aroma of the oranges and honey is fantastic!
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Cook until soft. So easy. 
Again, cut off the tops of the carrots. I did not do that cause I am a fool.
Don't be a fool like your pal Angie, just do the right thing.

​
These carrots were absolutely delicious, just make sure to follow the directions exactly!





Y'all. These Butter Flake Pull Apart Rolls
are delicious!!
This is Alton Brown's recipe and I always get PTSD from baking cause I am horrible at it.
​I actually was able to make these without using too many swear words. Maybe three.
Four. Five at the most. Okay, six. SHUT UP!  
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​So these are the fixins for these pull apart rolls.
I did NOT make these up a day ahead of time. I do think they would be fine made up 24 hours ahead and then just reheated shortly before the meal the next day.
Also I do not own a stand mixer. I old-school used my hand mixer. Worked fine.
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​
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Now this recipe calls for some ingredients to be weighed. 

Don't fight it, just do it.

​These are baked items.
You want to use correct measurements even if you have to bring out the scale.




​S
o mix the stuff according to directions.
I love how I am so technical with my language. Seriously dudes, I can not bake so I am just trying to get through this as quick as I can.

Dough before rising and dough after rising.
​Now if *I* can do this correctly, anyone can!!!

​Okay, let's slow this down a bit.....let me explain...so roll the dough out to a 12" x 12"...

Cut 12 - 1" strips. Now I don't own a pizza cutter, so I pulled out this vintage pastry cutter ​I paid 50 cents for at a consignment store last year. Aaaaand this pastry cutter is broke and wobbly and doesn't make straight lines.


So I bring out my pizza cutter, also known as a plain ordinary knife, and cut 12 - 1" strips.
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Okay, so this is my first try at the strips and stacking them. 

And this is my second try at the other half of the dough, I got much better, especially after I figured out I need to GENTLY pull up the strips
and not stretch them.

My initial attempt is at the bottom...Second try at the top.
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Set each section in a sprayed muffin cup.
​Let rise until double.


Then bake 8-10 minutes. Or overbake like I did but then brush a ton of melted butter on the tops. They were still delicious!!




Okay, only TWO more recipes left!!!!
This one is so easy and delicious! Make it same day or day ahead, doesn't matter, it's delicious both days!
Bourbon-Cranberry Compote!
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Combine and simmer.
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Okay Friends, last item on the menu is a
Chocolate Cream Pie! 
Tim doesn't eat pumpkin pie so I made a Chocolate Cream Pie with a
​store-bought whole wheat crust.
This can TOTALLY be made up a day ahead of time!!!
Okay, the piece on the right up there looks a little wonky but trust me, deeeelicious!!

These are the fixins.
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​F
irst,

chop up the semi sweet chocolate.

Whisk the dry ingredients together then add the heavy cream and eggs.
Don't forget the espresso powder!

​W
hisk in the cream and milk over medium heat.

​Pour that lusciousness over the chopped chocolate & butter and stir...
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Mmmmm, lookin' good!
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Pour into a pie shell...
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Buy whipped cream OR make this super easy whipped topping...remember, chill the bowl AND the beaters!!
Homemade Whipped Cream:
In a chilled bowl (very important, a CHILLED bowl, meaning chill that sucker in the freezer), combine 1 cup whipping cream, 2 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.
​Or continue beating until stiff peaks form.
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Here's the deal on this Chocolate Pie...it is really rich!
This Chocolate Cream Pie is not for people who do not appreciate
​deep layers of chocolate.

If you want a boring, bland chocolate pie, do not make this!
Oh, make a strong pot of coffee cause it will go wonderfully with this dessert!




Okay guys, I will come clean here.
I was planning on making this menu for just
Tim and me as a trial run. 


But then friends of ours called and wanted
​to pop out Friday night. 


​heeeeeeeeeeeeeee....

I said fine...

just come hungry.
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Once they got here, I bamboozled them that they were going to participate in my
1 Day Prep-Ahead Small Thanksgiving
Time Saver Meal blog post. 


They didn't seem to mind :) :) :)
and we had a fantastic time!!!



​Okay, so that's all the recipes, friends! 
Below are all the links to
​the recipes!!

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast with Basic Gravy
Cheddar and Jalapeno Stuffing
The Best Damn Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Honeyed Carrots and Oranges
Bourbon-Cranberry Compote
Homemade Butter Flake Rolls
​Chocolate Cream Pie



If you have any questions at all,
contact me at the phone number or email address on the contact page or just ask away here in the comments! 

​

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Thanks for checking in!! I appreciate it!!
Have a great early holiday season!
Stay warm, have fun, eat delicious food, 

and we'll be talking soon!!
:)



​





​

Lip Smackin' Caramel Apple Bowls...Oh My Gosh, AMAZING!!!!!

10/29/2017

 
C'mere!!! Shhhhhh....Shhhhhh.....Baked apples are inside here along with brown sugar and caramel sauce.
​
YES I said caramel sauce! Buttery, delicious caramel sauce, sliced apples tossed in brown sugar and a nice flaky, buttery puff pastry crust!
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Apples 
Brown sugar 
Ooey gooey caramel sauce 
Buttery flaky pastry top
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This rustic fall dessert reminds me of the song Autumn in New York.
Just push play and Ella Fitzgerald and Louis B Armstrong will transport you to your cozy space that includes a good book, warm cup of spiced tea
​and a fuzzy soft throw.
 




It certainly is Autumn here.
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Soon, the days of hanging laundry on the line
will come to a temporary close.
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Days are getting shorter.
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And work continues to hum along.
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At times work comes to a stop for a day, 
​or a weekend...
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Like when there's a birthday party for 6 yr old,
one and only grandchild
Little Boy Blue.
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Sometimes the beauty of where you live in the fall just overtakes your senses.
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...


​
​
Okay, let's get back to today's featured recipe, shall we?
​ Single Serving Caramel Apples is so delicious but really, look at these ingredients,
why WOULDN'T IT BE DELICIOUS??!!
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This recipe is from a 2012 Midwest Living fall special publication called
Comfort Food but all the recipes are online too.
​

Here's the direct link to the recipe so you can
​print it off.
 Just click HERE.
​Single Serving Caramel Apples
Straight outta Midwest Living Comfort Food Magazine 2012
Fluffy pastry and tender apples become absolutely irresistible when combined with the caramel and brown sugar in this dessert recipe.ingredients
  • 1 17.3 - ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets (2 sheets), thawed
  • Butter
  • 4 medium Granny Smith, Jonagold, and/or Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons butter, cut up
  • 1/2 cup caramel-flavored ice cream topping
  • 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • Whipped cream
directions
  1. Unfold pastry sheets onto a lightly floured surface. Arrange eight* 4- to 5-inch individual quiche dishes, pie plates, or individual shallow casserole dishes atop pastry sheets, top sides down. (If the pastry sheets are not large enough for all the dishes to fit, roll out the pastry sheets until they are large enough.)
  2. Using a small knife, cut out pastry around the dishes. Discard excess pastry. Set pastry aside. Butter insides of dishes; set aside.
  3. In a large bowl toss together apple slices and brown sugar. Arrange apple slices in buttered dishes. Dot with the 3 tablespoons butter. Drizzle apples with ice cream topping.
  4. Place a cut out pastry piece atop each dish. Press pastry against the top insides of the dishes. Brush pastry with egg yolk; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place dishes on a very large baking sheet.
  5. Bake in a 400 degree F oven about 20 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and apples are just tender. Cool slightly. Serve warm with whipped cream. Makes 8 servings.
tip
  • * If you do not have eight of the same kind of dish, use a combination of dishes.
make ahead tip
  • To make ahead, prepare as above through step 4. Cover each dish with plastic wrap. Chill up to 6 hours. To serve, uncover dishes; bake as directed above.

​
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Now I used four different apples.
Cause I'm a REBEL!

No I'm not, it's just what I had on hand.

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​And this is the caramel sauce
​I used.







Let's begin by thinly slicing the apples and
coating the apple slices with brown sugar in a bowl.


Butter up the ramekins. I thought I would have enough for a small pie pan too but I did not. Instead I just added two more ramekins for a total of 6. My ramekins are deeper. Shallow ones would be ideal.
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Arrange the sliced apples and butter dots in the ramekins and drizzle that luscious caramel topping goodness in.
Don't be stingy with that drizzling!!


​
Struggle to cut out the puff pastry tops. 

I need therapy with anything to do with baking.
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Now take the puff pastry cutout and press it against the INSIDE of the BUTTERED ramekin/oven proof dishes.
Note: I absolutely hate anything to do with baking (I am HORRIBLE at it) so I did the best I could here, I mean, it really was a struggle for an idiot baker like me
to put these puff pastry tops on.
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​
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Yeah, tell me these puppies don't look pretty darn impressive!!! Yee Haw!!!
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Brush these tops with an egg yolk and sprinkle with sugar.
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​
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Throw these in the oven.
​
The recipe says 20 minutes.
My ramekins are more deep so they needed 35-40 minutes.
By the way, the thing in the bottom of my oven is a pizza stone that stays there all the time.



​

Oh hello deliciousness!
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Top with homemade whipped topping.
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I interrupt this very important blog with a quick tutorial on how to make delicious, easy peasy whipped cream.
Homemade Whipped Cream:
In a chilled bowl (very important, a CHILLED bowl, meaning chill that sucker in the freezer), combine 1 cup whipping cream, 2 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Or continue beating until stiff peaks form.


​
Madge, I'll take one of those WITH
​whipped cream please! And a refill on the coffee please.

​
Thanks, Madge! You're the best! 
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Seriously, this is like a caramel apple in a bowl.
The caramel sauce, butter, the apples, brown sugar,
the quality puff pastry all come together
to make a wonderful fall dessert that won't disappoint.


Oh, did I say dessert?
Cause I ate a leftover one for breakfast.
​It was my fruit serving for the day.
Best fruit serving I've had all season.


Okay, that's all I got for this overcast, frosty Sunday morning, y'all!
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Next recipe Ima post will either be easy peasy crispy french fries that will blow your mind how effortless they are or a chicken noodle casserole that does not use
canned soup.



OH
CALM DOWN, NELLIE!! 
It may be some tangy chicken wings, too. Who knows. 



Thanks for checking in, y'all!
I appreciate it!

Stay warm and we'll talk at ya soon!!




​

Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Pictures of a Boy with a Dimple

10/17/2015

 
Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies!
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Cutie Patootie Little Boy Blue
(our one and only grandchild). Look how big he's getting!!
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Stacked Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
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Closeup of our Favorite Person in the Whole Entire Universe.
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​

Here's the fixins for these deeeeelicious
Salted Chocolate
​ Chunk Cookies!!
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This recipe is from the
Smitten Kitchen website!

Just click on the Smitten Kitchen link there and it will take you to the recipe and I think you can print the recipe off from there!

​

Salted Chocolate Chunk cookies
Straight outta www.smittenkitchen.com  Check out her website, she's engaging and gives a lot of great information including on how to freeze the dough.

Yield: Approximately 18 to 24 cookies


1/2 cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (25 grams) turbinado sugar (aka Sugar in the Raw; you can use more brown or white if you don’t have this, but the subtle crunch it adds is delightful)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (165 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon (or, technically, 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon) fine sea or table salt
1 3/4 cups (220 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 pound (225 grams) semi- or bittersweet chocolate, cut into roughly 1/2-inch chunks with a serrated knife
Flaky sea salt, to finish
​

Heat oven to 360°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, beating until incorporated, and scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in salt fine sea or table salt and baking soda until combined, then the flour on a low speed until just mixed. The dough will look crumbly at this point. With a spatula, fold/stir in the chocolate chunks.
Scoop cookies into 1 1/2 tablespoon (I used a #40 scoop) mounds, spacing them apart on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each with a few flakes of sea salt. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, until golden on the outside but still very gooey and soft inside. Out of the oven, let rest on baking sheet out of the for 5 minutes before transferring a cooling rack.

​

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Now,
​ I used these

Enjoy Life Mega Chunks brand of chocolate.


​S
o I took these chocolate chunks and cut them into pieces
(although it doesn't look like it.)

Next, I put everything out on the counter, ready to go.

​If you know me, you know I HATE baking...HATE IT! And I'm TERRIBLE at it!!!
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So by having all the baking stuff ready to go on the counter,

I can concentrate on just getting tortured by putting it all together instead.



​
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​Brown sugar.

Sugar.

​Butter.



​
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Mix

'er

all up.



​
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​Throw the eggs and vanilla in!





​
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Throw in the baking soda, salt, and flour and mix 'er all up.
​
Don't over mix though, just until all is combined.



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Toss the chocolate chunks
​in.



​The batter should look like this.
Be still my heart.


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D
rop the batter onto cookie sheets...



​
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sprinkle each cookie dough mound with
​
sea salt BEFORE you put them in the oven.​


THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
DO NOT SKIP THIS PART!



​Bake these babies up in a 360 degree oven for
​11-12 minutes. Don't let them get too brown, just slightly golden.
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​
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I've
​got to be honest,


these cookies taste even better than they look!



​
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Y
ou'll notice there is a cookie missing on the bottom left hand side.


​
Shocking.




​
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​There
is something special about this recipe. 

EVERYBODY loves these cookies! 
​They're soft and gooey on the inside, crispy on the outside, and that bit of sea salt added on top of each cookie dough ball....perfection!


​
​
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​T
hese cookies freeze really well too!


​
So I made these cookies up one weekend when our favorite person in the world came to visit us.
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This
is
​Grandpa Tim entertaining Little Boy Blue with old childhood pictures.



 Little Boy Blue is pointing to his Grandpa in Tim's high school football team picture.
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And one last picture because I can't get enough of
​this little bug...

Tim and I were missing Little Boy Blue and Tim texted daughter to send a picture of The Best Person In Our World.
Little Boy Blue happened to be playing outside in his front yard.

In his fireman uniform. 
​

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We plunked over from the adorableness. 



Okay, that's all I have for now!!!
I really have been cooking up some great dishes off recipes so I hope to post another recipe soon!!
Have a great Saturday y'all,
enjoy the 
beautiful weekend and we'll talk at ya soon!





​

Chocolate Chips and Butterscotch Morsels AND Pretzels in a Cookie??? Yup, So Good You Should Eat It For Breakfast.

8/15/2015

 
Butterscotch Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies!
So good, you'll want to eat them the next morning for breakfast!
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I'm pretty sure there's some breakfast-y kinds of ingredients here...
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See! I told ya!! There's eggs in these cookies. 
That makes them suitable for breakfast! 


Now this recipe is from 
Sally's Baking Addiction website.
Check her website out, there's yummy recipes there!
Remember, to print out this recipe, just click HERE to go to Sally's Baking Addiction website and you can print off the recipe there.



Now let's not waste any time, 
chop up those pretzels...
Butterscotch Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Straight outta www.sallysbakingaddiction.com
Makes 3 dozen cookies. Cookies stay soft and fresh at room temperature for up to 7 days. Cookie dough balls may be frozen up to three months and baked at a later time.

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped pretzels
  • 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. With an electric mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the flour mixture and stir until a dough forms (may take a couple minutes of stirring). Fold in the pretzels, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips. Do not overmix the dough at any point in this process.

Chill dough for at least 30 minutes (or up to 5 days) in the refrigerator. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Press a few more pretzels (or butterscotch chips or chocolate chips) onto the tops for decoration. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. The centers should appear very soft and puffy. Let cool completely and enjoy!

Sally's Tip: *Make sure to keep dough cold at all times while the batches are baking. I kept my dough in the refrigerator in between batches.




Okay, I'm trying to think why I would showcase such a super exciting picture as the flour and baking soda here. 
Hmmmm?????????
T'ant pretty to be my brain.
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Anyhoo, moving along.....
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And apparently moving along rather quickly 
because this was the next picture on my camera...everything all mixed in together, the wet and dry ingredients. 






So I actually doubled the recipe. 



The two batters look good enough to eat, don't they!
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And another gratuitous batter picture just to 
whet your appetite. 
By the way, I did eat some of this batter, MOM, and I did not take ill or die of botulism or potato famine disease or whatever it was you always scared us with about raw eggs and cookie batter.
This bowl has just the chocolate chips and the pretzels added in. 
This bowl has the chocolate chips. pretzels AND the butterscotch morsels!


So anyhoo, I baked these babies at 325 degrees, 
according to the directions. 
They took a bit longer than the 8-10 minutes. More like 14 minutes, but I made sure NOT to overcook them. 
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OOPS! I forgot! I was supposed to add extra chips and pretzels on top just before baking so that's what I did with this next batch, like this.
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They came out of the oven looking yummy.


And the cookies came out of the oven looking just a little bit funner like here!
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Now look how cute these baked goodies are with that extra topping.





Here's the difference between the batch that had extra topping put on and the batch that didn't. 
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This cookie recipe is perfection.

sweet chocolatey
sweet buttercotchy
and salty pretzely


The perfect combination!

The outside is slightly crispy... 

Both tasted great although you get a little bit more crunchy saltiness with the extra pretzel topping of course.









And the inside is soft and gooey!
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Well, I sure hope you try out this recipe sometime! 
Oh! They freeze wonderfully, too!
To print off recipe, just scroll up and click on any of the Sally's Baking Addiction links!



I promise the cookies will taste better than my plant is looking out on the back deck today. 
This plant used to be gorgeous, now it's barely getting by.
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This pot of succulents has done great though! 
I don't even know what succulents are, but it looks cool.
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And what is up with the geraniums this year? 


Most of summer, mine have been yellowish with few blooms.
And the blooms that are there, 
are small.

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And lastly, I have no idea how the last remnant of this scrawny tabletop plant got removed and tossed to the side overnight. 
Howwwwwwww??? Who does that???
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Hmmmm.
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Okay kiddos, tis all I gots for today!! 
Gotta get to the grocery store for some lasagna ingredients!

Stay cool, 


it's a hot one out there this weekend, 

and we'll talk at ya soon!!!









Angie Decides To Torture Herself By Attempting Baking Again, But By Golly, She Perseveres and These Snickerdoodles Came Out Pretty Decent!

1/13/2015

 

I knew I could do it!!!!

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I BAKED!!!!!
Snickerdoodles!!!

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Tim has a sensitivity to white flour, 

so we try to use whole wheat as much as possible, 
which is why I made these Snickerdoodles from 100 Days Of Real Food. 
These cookies are 50% whole wheat.







Here's the fixins for these 
Whole Wheat (50%) Snickerdoodles!

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What's up with the upside down butter?? I'm a dork.


Ummmm, s'cuse me for a minute, 

but my line-up of the fixins up there is wrong...



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See the Clabber Girl 
Baking Powder there?

Well, the recipe calls for cream of tartar. 


Apparently 
"baking powder" is NOT "cream of tartar."



Huh...........





Public Service Announcement.....Cream of Tartar is NOT the same thing as baking powder.
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Pffffffftttt...
Whatev.

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhh. 


 
I TOLD you I abhor baking!






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Anyway, I caught my mistake and didn't let it slow me down with these whole wheat snickerdoodles. 
I was determined to get these cookies made, 
and made well! 


Said Angie in her very 
very 
very 
determinedly voice, 








to herself, 








in her head, 




determinedly.



So anyhoo, let's start with these exciting baking pictures! 
Mix the dry stuff up together in a bowl and don't overstimulate your eyeballs on the massive colors taking place 
in that bowl...
Picture








Mix up the cinnamon and sugar 
to use for later.....



Throw the eggs and butter and sugar in a bowl. 
Try not to miss the bowl.




Okay. Because I SUCK at baking, I made sure to be organized,
 and at this time I took a dishrag to the counter, 
I put all the crap away, 
I set out all my bowls in an organized manner.
 I just knew I could finish this without dying of complete, utter, 
mind numbing 
boredom.
Picture

I came prepared this time....



I cracked my knuckles for starters.... 
Picture









...and did some meditative poses with Tim...











Picture
PHOTO SOURCE: SHEKNOWS.COM







WHAT???????








IT COULD HAPPEN Negative Nancy, Doubting Thomas, Disbelieving Dave, Dream Crushing Deena, IT COULD HAPPEN!!!






Anyway, what did happen is I mixed all the wet 
stuff up.....
Picture







And then I threw the dry stuff in there.....
Picture



Then I took one of those things that makes perfect melon balls and grabbed some cookie dough...
Picture




Then I threw the cookie dough ball into the cinnamon and sugar...
Picture



Then I fell asleep from boredom.





Then I woke up cause the cats were trying to eat the cookie dough...



KIDDING!




They weren't eating the cookie dough, geeezzzzzzz.








They were eating the butter that was left out.



Oh c'mon...kidding!!!







Anyhoo, I managed to roll all of these beauties in the sugar and cinnamon....
Picture





...and I threw them in the oven for around 
10-12 minutes and they came out like this.
Picture


Yeah.



Picture
If you looked at these REEEAL 
close up,

 without glasses 
or contacts 
or a magnifying glass,

 they didn't look so bad, really...




But when they were put on the cooling rack, 
they looked a little....mmmm, how shall I say...
wonky.
Picture



So I made smaller cookies the next round and didn't cook them as long.....
Picture



And it worked!!
Picture
Is this a snickerdoodle or what??!!


Remember these are  50% whole wheat!!




Picture



Go ahead, grab one!
 They're in the freezer, in a baggie. They freeze AWESOME!! 
Just take a cookie out quick and it thaws within a minute or two and is a delicious snack.




Picture
Okay, so this Snickerdoodle recipe is from Lisa Leake of www.100daysofrealfood.com.


This is her new cookbook.


You've heard me talk about her website 
before here. 
It really is informative, approachable and fantabulous!

Whole­Wheat Snickerdoodles (50% whole­wheat)
this is straight outta www.100daysofrealfood.com
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Ingredients
1 cup whole­wheat flour
1 cup all­purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened (but not melted)
1¼ cups + 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 eggs
3 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and eggs together using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk or
beaters. Slowly add in the flour mixture until it's thoroughly mixed.
4. Use a 1 or 1½ tablespoon cookie scoop to form balls from the dough. Alternatively, you could roll the dough
between your hands to create balls.
5. Mix together the 3 tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl and roll each dough ball around until
evenly coated. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes
Click here to go directly to Lisa's recipe.




So that's another chapter in 
Angie's Life of Baking. 
Pretty torturous but I made it through, thanks for caring :)

I LIKE cooking, man...it's just that baking is just too detailed and intense for my 
pea brain. 


Which is why I will be sharing two other cookie recipes I made this month.


WHAT?????

Apparently I like torturing I MEAN CHALLENGING myself.


CHALLENGING!!
I LIKE C-H-A-L-L-E-N-G-I-N-G MYSELF.


Torture. Pfffft, if I wanted torture I would raise kids again...WHAT???? KIDDING!!!




Picture





Okay, stay warm and cozy and we'll talk at ya soon....probably tomorrow with an AWESOME empanada recipe!!!
And by tomorrow, I mean sometime within the next week, 
cause I am timely like that :):):)
Talk to ya soon!!!
:)













Blackberry Crisp...YUM!

7/26/2014

 


Hello,
Double Crust Marion Blackberry Crisp!

You is pretty!
Picture




Picture
I'm no baker,
(actually I abhor baking, mainly because I'm really, really TERRIBLE at it)
but this recipe looked easy enough.
And it was!

I didn't even have to use any colorful language whatsoever.


This dessert is really more like a bar than an actual crisp by the way.

Picture
I  had to look up what a Marion berry really was...

Well, it's a BLACKBERRY!

A blackberry that is a cross between a Chehalem blackberry and an Ollalie blackberry. It was bred and discovered, so to speak, in Oregon around 1945 by the USDA. Weird, huh!


I was actually shocked at how juicy these berries are!


Okay, so this recipe is from an awesome website called Reluctant Entertainer.
Her recipes are always so spot on, typically easy and always fresh and tasty.




Picture
This is the brand of preserves
I used...

it's local and I found it right on the shelf in my grocery store.


Picture

And
the ingredients don't creep me out!

I'm trying to be better at using organic or healthier options of food items, where the ingredient list
is short.





Anhoo, these are the fixins for this fine Marion Blackberry Crisp/Bar. 
Very few ingredients, and it's mainly things you already have in your pantry.
Picture


Picture
First of all,
melt the three sticks of butter.

Yes, that is correct.
Three sticks.



Then mix the dry ingredients together, easy! Oats, flour, sugar, salt and baking soda!
Add the melted butter!
Stir!





Picture
Now press all that goodness into the bottom of a greased pan.




DON'T STOP THERE!!!
Pour on those Marion Blackberry preserves!!





Picture
Now
let's take a closer look at this
blackberry lusciousness!






Crumble the remaining oat mixture on top and bake for 25-30 mins.

Don't
over bake.


I think I did and that's why it was a little dry...

Picture




Fresh out of the oven....

Picture
Picture
Picture


Oh
these Marion berries are so delicious.


But!!!!!
You will need some ice cream with this crisp/bars. 
They may come out just a tad dry and the ice cream just sort of tied up all the flavors in a nice little sweet berry package.

Picture




Picture
Okay, click here to go to the
Reluctant Entertainer website
where you can then print off this tasty recipe....


The ingredients are so simple:
Flour
Oatmeal
Sugar
Salt
Baking soda
Butter
Marionberry preserves


OHOHOH! I froze these...
they freeze very well by the way.




Okay, that's all the food goodness I have
for today!



We did have a rainbow the other evening,
after only a few drops of rain.

Picture







Notice the tree in the picture below....

The reason the tree looks so weird is because the metal roof to the business pole building sheered off the left half of that tree.
The roof went sailing through the air during a freak 2012 tornado/straight line wind event, and flew right between those trees.

Picture



Picture


Yup, imagine a huge metal roof swirling up in the air to it's final destination.
Which in our case, just happened to be Marvin Miller's bean field.
Picture
That metal roof looked like a freaky alien spaceship hovering above that bean field for two months!
We had to wait until the beans where harvested to have the roof pulled out.





Okay,
I leave you with this gorgeous picture of open shelving in someone's kitchen.
 
I salivate over this picture.

Picture
Crap, I forgot the source for this photo, sorry.


Believe it or not,
I used to HAVE enough sets of dishes
and serveware, I could have EASILY filled that cupboard up, plus more!!!

Oh how I loved me the dishes. Loved!





And now this is the extent of my dishes......





Picture
Uh, yeah.

 Rivals that cupboard from up above,
dontcha think??


HA!

But it's easy to clean and that's what I like...
doing the absolute minimum of cleaning as humanely possible without triggering trichinosis or cholera or starting a new potato famine or something.



Makes ya wanna eat at my house, huh!! :):):)
Okey dokey!!
That's all I have for today!!!
__________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
Hope you have a relaxing weekend
and
we'll talk at ya soon!












A Super Cool Cousin And Her Friend's Awesome Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookie Bars

2/18/2013

 
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Cookie Bars

Picture
Oh these are yummy.

I mean YUM-EEEEEEEE!


This recipe is from the cool food blog DinnersDishesandDesserts.com.
I found Erin's blog through my super amazing,

cousin-by-marriage J.

J is a cross between Superwoman and a Rock Star.
She inspires me every.single.day with her amazing strength
and wit and grace.
And she has turned me on to several food blogs of which I would not have known about including DinnersDishesandDesserts.




Picture
Okay,
so here's the fixins for these Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookie
Bars.



And since my baking skills and patience are pretty lacking and because my head almost pops off my shoulders whenever I have to bake (don't believe me?
see here....and here)
Picture
....I decided to set out all the baking stuff I needed ahead of time.
See,

pretty good eh??!!





Picture

Did you notice my cute Christmas spatula thing?

HoHoHo to  you!




I have a feeling I've bragged about this Christmas spatula before, like within the last two weeks.
Hmmm. I either must stop bragging or quit getting excited over and over about dumb things.



So let's start by making the cookie layer.
I think Erin says in her blog this is a very standard cookie dough mixture.
Picture
So we start with the cream cheese, butter and sugar.

See, that's the thing...baking ingredients takes such boring pictures.

I should have stuck a cat up on the counter or something.





It gets a little more exciting though when you add the brown brown sugar and the brown vanilla and the yellow and clear eggs in.





Picture
Now add the flour, salt and baking soda in.

You know, I will say I started getting excited about right here cuz I knew what was coming...




Picture

Chocolate chips
!!!!!!!!!!


!!!!!!!!!!!!









!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!








!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!













Can you tell I rarely eat anything with chocolate chips in it?


Picture
Okay,

moving on, we now  have the chocolate chip cookie dough.




Picture


Now we start with the cream cheese filling.




Picture
Cream the cream cheese with the egg, vanilla and sugar.

Easy enough and Good Golly Miss Molly,

DO NOT start eating this. You may not be able to stop.






Is what I heard.          




Now we get to the good part!!!!
Spread half that evil dough into the bottom of the
baking dish.






Do you have any of that creamy cream cheese and sugar mixture left from slurping it down straight outta that bowl?  If you do, then pour it onto the cookie dough!




Picture


Dollop the other half of the cookie dough onto the top of the mixture.
Don't dilly dally...

dollop!!




Bake for 35-45 minutes,
remove from oven and allow to cool.





Hint: Don't wait for the kids to come home....
Picture
Plate one up already!

Or five!

I only plated one up cuz I had eaten so much of the cream cheese mixture. I mean I had filled up with raw veggies at lunch.







Picture


See that cream cheese peeking out there?


It says, "Hello."





Picture
And those gooey

ooey

chocolate morsels?

They say, "Hey Good Lookin'."




Picture

And the
cookie-wookie yummy-tummy topping?



It says,
"Be my Valentine."



This recipe is a fun combination of cookie and cheesecake all within a bar.
These are delish!
It'd be awesome if someone else tries these and let me know what you think.
Here's the recipe, printable is on the right hand side.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookie Bars
From dinnersdishesanddesserts.com
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Cookie Layer:
½ cup butter
½ cup shortening
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 bag chocolate chips

Cheesecake Layer:
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Cream together the butter, shortening and sugar.  Add in eggs, and vanilla.   Mix in flour, salt, and baking soda.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Transfer this to another bowl.

In mixer beat cream cheese until smooth  - about 2-3 minutes on medium speed.  Add sugar, egg and vanilla.  Mix until just combined.

Using a 13x9 pan, spread ½ the cookie dough over the bottom of the pan.   Pour the cream cheese mixture over the dough.  With the remaining dough, drop chunks of it over the cream cheese.

Bake for 35-45 minutes.  The top will be lightly browned, and if you insert a toothpick it will come out clean.

Allow to cool before slicing.  Store in the fridge.




Okay so my above mentioned cousin J...she posts the best, most inspirational quotes and musings ever.
She inspires me and her words constantly inspire me.
J posted this poem and I thought I would share it.


Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

- "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley




Okay guys, that's all I got!

Have a great night!!!
Stay warm
and
we'll talk at ya soon!








My Bananas Talk To Me And They Say Mean Things - Banana Butterscotch Bread With Toasted Pecans

3/5/2012

 
I don't know about you,

but my bananas talk to me.
Picture


Picture


Look closely.

Shhhh, listen.





Can you hear what they're saying?






Picture
Those bananas just called

me a loser!!! 

A loser!

Why? What did I do????


What? 
What are you saying now you meanie-baneanie bananas ?


Picture








I'm LAZY????!!!

Hey you little monster bananas,
why do you say I'm lazy you little spoiled, overipe, overdone, overblown pieces of produce??
What? Speak louder, I can't hear you.



Picture





I'm a
 
banana

waster

?!?!

You're a banana waster!
 

Picture







Okay, well I won't argue that one with ya.


Whatever.


Just for that though, you're going down.
You're getting mushed.
You're getting cooked SUCKA.





Picture
HeHeHe


Picture
And these are the fixins for a
Banana Butterscotch Bread With Toasted Pecans.
We all know that over-ripe, brown banans make THE best bread eh?

Nothing fancy for the line-up. Just good old ingredients you have in the fridge and pantry.

Smash your bananas and then mix all your dry ingredients together.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease and flour it.
Add your eggs and butter to the sugar and mix.


Add the bananas, milk and vanilla...


Add the flour mixture, the butterscotch morsels and the pecan nuts.


Did someone say
 
butterscotch morsels

and pecans?
Picture
Picture




Stop right

now!



No face diving into the batter.


It is inappropriate.
And unsanitary.


Picture





Pour the

batter in

the pan.

Add the remaining pecans on top and bake at 350 degrees for an hour.

Bake for 45 minutes and then put a sheet of tin foil over the top to prevent over burning for the last 15 minutes.
Picture
.
This Banana Butterscotch Bread With Toasted Pecans was yummy.


I kept thinking it would be good for a breakfast sweet bread or when company comes over.


Enjoy!!!
Picture
OH! I forgot...here is the recipe for the Butterscotch Banana Bread!
Banana Butterscotch Bread with Toasted Pecans
From www.cookiemadness.net check this website out; this woman has cool recipes
Courtesy of www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (8 oz)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup butterscotch morsels

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×5 inch metal loaf pan and dust with flour. If you have some, line the bottom with parchment. This bread is kind of sticky.

Mix together the flour, soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.

In bowl of stand mixer, beat the sugar, butter and egg. Beat in the bananas, followed by the vanilla and the milk. Stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the pecans and the butterscotch morsels. Sprinkle the pecans on top of the banana bread and bake for 1 hour. After 45 minutes, lay a sheet of foil over the bread to prevent over-browning. Let bread cool in pan on a rack for about 15 minutes, then remove from pan.

See ya next time...hopefully I will have found time to make some naughty brownies, whose thoughts and picture just will not release me!

Soft Chocolate Cookies Before Bedtime?

2/9/2012

 
Picture
Little Boy Blue needs to wait a few months to eat these Soft Chocolate Cookies.


Hey Cool, Young, Hip Grandma,

Can I have a cookie before I go to sleep? The warm formula in my bottle will help wash down all those cookie crumbs.


What??

3 1/2 months is too young to eat cookies??? For reals Grandma??

Well, what about the cookie dough then?
Care to share that with a yittle growing baby boy?

Nice try Little Boy Blue...maybe in a couple months we can discuss the cookie dough thing.
Until that time, can you believe how good these cookies are?
Picture
See how soft they are?
Picture
Mmmmmmm!
Not kidding.

These cookies are mildly chocolately, not overpowering at all and very soft.

I love these Soft Chocolate Cookies!

They say, "Eat me, I'm soft. With just a hint of chocolate. That means you can eat twice as much. Trust me, I'm a cookie, would I lie to you?"
Hehehehe.


Picture
So I was looking for a cookie recipe where I had all the ingredients in my pantry.

I found this online at allrecipes.com and it had like five hundred thousand excellent reviews, so I blindly tried it.
Here's the fixins for these soft yummy cookies.


And the recipe is embedded below to print off.
By the way, this cookie recipe is unbelievable easy!!!

I am no baker by any stretch of the imagination (I dislike baking in fact), yet I was able to throw this recipe together exceedingly easy!
Soft Chocolate Cookies
From www.allrecipes.com Submitted by Beth Struble
Courtesy of www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • confectioners' sugar
Directions
  1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a fork if desired. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are firm. Remove to wire racks. Dust warm cookies with confectioners' sugar.



Picture
Hey, what's fun though is it that I can show pictures of my baking skilz.

I've noticed on other baking websites, the baking pictures always look so purty!

Like look at this picture of the butter and sugar...purty I tell ya!


Picture


Well, mix that butter and sugar up.

Mix it, mix it and lick it but don't let other people see you do that cause they will think it's gross you licking the butter and sugar off the beater. 

Too bad, so sad :(



Add the eggs and beat...whirrrrr, whiiirrrr, whiirrrrr, whiiirrrr, clunk, Don't ask.
Picture


See,
didn't I tell ya these pictures are so buttery pretty!

Squirt some of that vanilla in there and stir more.

Picture



Now let's continue on with the dry ingredients...the flour...boring!


Yawn.

Add cocoa and mix together...Now...so not boring!
Oh add the baking soda and salt too.
Picture



Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, a little at a time, with a mixer.



Geez, I have to do EVERYTHING around here.

Picture


No need to refrigerate like the directions say.

No Siree.
Just roll into 1 inch balls with two spoons and plop down onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Use parchment paper!! Less burning and cleanup!


Cook for 10 minutes only (they will look undone), take them out but LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!
DO NOT take them off the cookie sheet at this time,
they will fall apart.
Picture
 Do not try to pick a cookie up, it will fall apart.
Do not eat these warm,
they will fall apart.

Let cookies set 15 minutes until they are fully cooled.

If you don't , they will fall apart.

Be mature about this and let them be...no picking at them, don't do it! I did and all I got was crumbly messes. (Notice that was plural?) (I picked more than once, each time, they crumbled apart....all four times in fact. *sigh*)



Listen to John, Paul, Ringo and George and LET IT BE! For Pete's sake!
Picture
Let It Be album cover from Wikipedia.org
.



Actually let's

listen to

Ray Charles

version of

Let It Be...

so beautiful
Picture
Hello, I am a sweet soft chocolate valentine cookie. Won't you make me please?



Once you let them (the cookies) be, about fifteen minutes, run over there, pick one up and ea...

no, take a picture of it for your blog real quick,


then eat it!!!!


Picture


See the insides there?

They look soft, don't they?

You won't lose a crown in this cookie, I tell ya.


Oh, go a head and grab a handful.

I'll get a take home baggie for you.

Remember, these freeze super well!!!!
Picture


Okay kiddos,
next time Ima talk about some
Ribeye Steaks (shut.up, get.out, yes I am!)
and the best Homemade French Fries
ever known to, well, you know, people.duh
Picture


Be prepared to be hungry after seeing these pictures!

Dang!! I'm hungry now!






I hate it when that happens!!!



Talk at ya this weekend with a sssssizzzzlin' steak recipe....Yowza!

Have a great Friday!!!!





Black Bottomed Mini Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

10/19/2011

 
Picture
I want to grab this cheesecake bite right now and eat it. Are other people's mouths watering?

Now that's a mouthful!
Black Bottomed Mini Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
Whew. I got dizzy just typing that.

And might I add a mighty tasty mouthful of delicious dessert goodness
this recipe is.

A mouthful that will make you smile a big old pumpkiny cheesecake smile.

Seriously, pumpkiny is a word.
Look it up.




Dear Nice Readers,


I lie sometimes here on this blog. It's a disease I can't control.

Love,
Angie



I'm not lying about how scrumptious and fluffy this Pumpkin Cheesecake Bite recipe is though!


Or that I will make you smile with the following pictures.
Or at least get a slight upturn of the mouth.
Or a minor crinkle of the eyes.



Picture


This picture is the startins' of a big pumpkiny smile.




Startins' is a word.
Look it up.

Picture

See, a horsey was carved by my niece.

Doesn't that make you smile?

Picture

And here's the horsey pumpkin all
lit up at night.


Now, I bet THAT made ya smile!



And now let's move onto this
Cheesecake Bite Recipe.
I came across this recipe on the website www.picky-palate.com. The website has many other cool recipes with beautiful food pictures. Way cooler than my blurry, tacky pictures :)
To see the recipe from Picky Plate, 
CLICK HERE for Black Bottomed Mini Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites Recipe


And this is the lineup...Not too many ingredients here! Rather affordable really.
Picture


We start by mixing the finely ground oreos (I used my food processor, thanks Aunt Stephanie :) with the melted butter and pat evenly in the bottom of each sprayed muffin tin.
By the way, this recipe calls for a cheesecake tin. I went EVERYWHERE looking for a cheesecake tin in town, and could not locate one so I did what other readers have done and just used a muffin tin. The only downside to that is the little cheesecakes concave a little in the middle after baking. No worries though.

Partially bake the oreos in the tin for 10 minutes...Angie's note: 10 minutes is too long, watch the bottoms carefully so they don't burn, try 5-6 minutes.
Next beat cream cheese, sugar and pumpkin. 
Well gosh, if you insist!!!

Beat in egg, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined.
Picture

Pour evenly into

the twelve cups,

filling about 3/4

way full.

Picture






Spoon about a teaspoon of caramel

into the tops of each filled cup and

swirl with a toothpick gently.



Bake for 25-28 minutes or until cheesecake is cooked through. Let cool completely.
Picture



Picture
A little aside here. The recipe calls for a Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kiss to be used on top after baking.

Have you tasted the Pumpkin spice Hershey's kisses?

Yuk. Bad aftertaste.

So I just used the Hershey's Dark Chocolate kisses.




Remove cheesecakes from pan and top each with a spoonful of caramel and a Hershey Kiss.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

SERIOUSLY, LOOK AT THESE!
AND THEY TASTE AS DELICIOUS AS THEY LOOK!
Picture
Because I can not be responsible around cheesecake, I'm serious, that and combo appetizer plates, and chips and dip, I packed these up and sent them to Kalona Auto Parts (Napa) with Leslie, their fantastic delivery driver.
Uh, of course I scarfed two just to make sure they were edible :)

These Black Bottomed Mini Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites look so pretty grouped on a plate; they would make a fabulous gift or just a special desert for the family. And the pumpkin taste is not overpowering one bit, just the right amount of pumpkin creaminess.

Do I have you hooked yet? 
If anyone makes these, please let me know how they turn out! 

Have a great Wednesday!!!!




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    Angie Madsen
    One half of a team that blends their work and personal life together
    in fun ways.





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Text: 319-331-8796
​Call: 319-683-2850


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1811 500th St SW, Kalona, Ia 52247