Cake Mix from Scratch (Vanilla and Chocolate)

So I have some time to make up for here. It's been quite some time since I've had time to blog. Mind you not that I haven't been in my kitchen. Since we moved into our house, I have no doubt spent more time here than anywhere and I love my kitchen! I've missed blogging and sharing all the yummy foods that get made in this kitchen. And I will be filling in new post with recipes I have made and been storing up for blogging!

I have a love/hate relationship with easy baking items, like pre-made cookie dough or boxed cake mix. The lazy side of me LOVES it because I can whip it out quickly and still add some extra touches or twists to make them my style. However, most of me, argues that I prefer homemade always and will usually go through painstaking and strange routes to find just the right size piping tip or a strange, hard to find ingredient to make something myself. And I do always enjoying knowing that I made it and that I know the quality and freshness of what goes in my food. So I found where the two meet. My own prepared cake mix. My own ingredients packaged for when I want them. And for this month's What's Baking challenge Stephanie, from Brownies and Blondies, challenged us to make a homemade convenience item for baking and this is mine.

For our 4th wedding anniversary, I made a quick attempt to make a mini version of our wedding cake. Luckily, I had made some of these dry cake mixes because the week before our anniversary, my hubby and I both came down with something and were not feeling well at all so I didn't have as much time I wanted to bake.  Our wedding cake was chocolate and vanilla layers with a cheesecake layer in the middle covered in chocolate ganache. I used my chocolate ganache recipe from the giant peanut butter cookie to pour over the cake and a new cheesecake recipe (which I will post later) that was more dense and sturdy for the middle.

Vanilla Dry Cake Mix

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk


Chocolate Dry Cake Mix

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
8 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt


For both mixes, simply combine all the ingredients for each mix and then store in an air tight container such as a ziploc bag or mason jar. Then label with date and instructions for a later time. The mixes can be stored for months in your pantry and will make 2 - 8" inch cakes or 24 cupcakes, similar to a boxed cake mix.

Vanilla Cake:
In a large mixing bowl, take your cake mix and add in 3/4 cup water, 2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup softened butter, and 3 eggs. Combine well and bake on 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean. For 8" cakes 20-25 mins and for cupcakes 12-15 mins.


Chocolate Cake:
In a large mixing bowl, take your cake mix and add in 2 cups cold water, 2 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp vinegar, and 3/4 cup of oil. Combine well and bake on 375 degrees for 20-25 mins for 8" cakes or 11-13 mins for cupcakes.

Sources: Adapted from Chickens in the Road and A Thrifty Mom

Stuffed Baked Peaches

So for this month's What Baking Challenge, Ammie from Adventures in My Kitchen, chose for us to bake with in season, local produce. For me, that meant some delicious peaches! This recipe is simple and sweet with very little prep work or time. Perfect for spring and summer get-to-togethers! Enjoy!


3 peaches, halved, and pitted
1/3 cup honey (I used a dark honey from a local farm)
1/2 cup chardonnay or any other white wine
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp caramel flavoring
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup cookie crumbs (shortbread, amaretti, or lemon)
2 tbsp butter, melted


1. Using a small cookie scoop or melon baller, scoop out a small hole in each peach halve. Place peaches skin side down in a baking pan.

2. Mix honey, white wine, almond extract, and caramel flavoring in a small bowl. Pour atop peaches, letting all extra liquid collect into pan as well.

3. Bake on 300 for 10 minutes to soften peaches. While they begin to bake, mix the *stuffing*.

4. To make the stuffing, which is similar to a streusel or crumb cake topping, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, cookie crumbs, and butter with a fork.

5. Take the peaches out of the oven, and scoop stuffing into the cavities. Return to the oven for 30 more minutes on 350 degrees. Serve warm with fresh cream, ice cream, or eat them just as they are! Feel free to drizzle with leftover glaze in pan.

Bloggers Bake For Hope Bake Sale

Today is the last day to bid on some delicious baked goods which will be mailed to your doorstep and help end breast cancer with your donation! Go head over to Bloggers Bake for Hope and check out all the yummy options!

Brownie Strawberry Trifle

For this month's What's Baking challenge hosted by Sandra from She Cooks and Bakes, we were challenged to make something with Valentine's Colors, of course, because it's February. February is the all about love in our house because it's also the month of our anniversary! So I loved this theme! Unfortunately, I had high ambitions for making cupcakes that mimicked our wedding cake and they were a fail. A tasty fail though. The cupcakes baked with an air pocket in the middle and the bottoms were a bit stuck. So we ate them with forks. I guess we will put that on a try again another time list.



Since the cupcakes were a fail, I went with a something different that I knew to be a tried and true recipe. The baker's chocolate brownie recipe. I've used it many times before and it has always turns out well. It was used for these mini brownies previously and they were yummy! I added some fresh whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate to turn those brownies into a cute Valentine's trifle. This could either make one large trifle or a bunch of individual trifles. I opted for individual, because I love all things cute, small, and personal sized. Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day!




4 squares unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 pint strawberries
1 bag heart shaped marshmallows
6 oz dark chocolate
1 oz white chocolate (for drizzling)

1. Start by making brownies first. Melt the chocolate squares and butter in medium sized bowl in the microwave for about two minutes or until melted. Stir until thoroughly mixed together. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Transfer chocolate mixture to a mixing bowl and add in sugar. Beat to incorporate.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla on low. Mix in flour and nuts until well blended.

4. Grease a foil lined 13" x 9" pan and pour batter into prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 30-35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let cool. Remove and cut into chunks.

5. To make the whipped cream, start by placing your mixing bowl in the freezer for a few minutes. Then add cold heavy cream to your chilled bowl. Whip the cream on medium speed until it begins to thicken.

6. Add in confectioner's sugar and vanilla while continuing to beat on medium. Keep whipping until soft peaks forms. Reserve a handful of strawberries with the pointiest shape. Slice the rest of the strawberries lengthwise.

7. In your cup or trifle bowl, make a base of brownie chunks. Then add a dollop of whipped cream. Next, sprinkle strawberry slices on trifle, placing some slices flat against the bowl's side for appearance. Now add another dollop of whipped cream, with some heart shaped marshmallows placed against the side of the bowl.

8. Finish with a decorative strawberry heart *how to make chocolate strawberry hearts directions below*. Repeat layering in remaining trifle cups, about 15-20 depending on size of vessel.

9. To make a strawberry heart, take the reserved strawberries and cut in half lengthwise. Then make a v-cut in the top. Ta da two cute hearts from one strawberry!

10. Melt chocolate in microwave on 15 seconds intervals stirring repeatedly until melted.

11. Spoon chocolate onto one side of strawberries. Let set, then flip and spoon chocolate onto other side too. Microwave white chocolate in similar fashion and then drizzle over chocolate strawberry hearts. Let set and use for garnish.



Source: Kraft Recipes

Salted Caramel Pie

For this January's What's Baking Challenge, we were asked by Melissa from I Was Born to Cook, to make a snowy day sweet, which couldn't have come at a more perfect time since we just had a lil snow storm locally. My favorite part of a snow day, is cuddling inside with some warm blankets and a few good movies, and or course, some festive baking. This is a great snow day treat since the sweet and slightly salty pie is simple to make and you can't stop eating it!

1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 5 ounces)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cans sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
Fleur de sel
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar




1. In a small bowl, mix the graham crackers crumbs with the melted butter and brown sugar.

2. Press the crumb mixture into a 9" pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool.

3. In a large glass 13" x 9" baking dish, add the sweetened condensed milk. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp fleur de sel on top of the sweetened condensed milk. Cover with foil.

4. Place the baking dish into a large roasting pan and pour hot water into the roasting pan until about 1/3 up the way of the baking dish.

5. Place in a 425 degree oven for 2 hours, stirring two or three times throughout the cooktime. Continue to replenish the hot water in the roasting pan as needed.

6. Once the condensed milk has taken on a golden caramel color and thickened as well, remove it from the oven. The mixture may be lumpy, but don't worry it will smooth out as it cools.

7. Spoon the caramel into prepared pie crusts and cover by pressing plastic wrap sprayed with vegetable oil on top of the pie. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

8. Whip heavy cream with powdered sugar until light and fluffy, then pile high the fresh made whipped cream onto the pie and serve!



Source: Food And Wine

Mini Brownies

Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year's Eve to everyone! We are in a our new home!!! And we somehow managed to host a 20 person Christmas dinner made up of 5 courses with help of our awesome family!! We owe a lot to all the members of my family who dedicated countless hours to do everything from cook, clean, and unpack to lay flooring and painting. We still haven't fully unpacked and despite the fact that the kitchen floors are still not grouted, it was a perfect Christmas in our new home! However, our house and the internet have yet to be friends so this is my first post in the month of December as ironically the month and year come to a close! Pictures, stories, and of course, more recipes to come in 2012! Wishing many blessings to all of you in this new year!



Since December is National Brownie Month, Nicole, from Seven Ate Nine , chose a brownie challenge for this month's What's Baking. I used the brownie recipe from Baker's chocolate topped with a simple ganache for icing. It was a perfect bite-sized treat!




4 squares unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks


1. Melt the chocolate squares and butter in medium sized bowl in the microwave for about two minutes or until melted. Stir until thoroughly mixed together. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Transfer chocolate mixture to a mixing bowl and add in sugar. Beat to incorporate.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla on low. Mix in flour and nuts until well blended. We skipped nuts for those who may be allergic, but it would be good. You could replace nuts with white chocolate or semisweet chunks too.

4. Using a small cookie scoop and a well VERY greased mini muffin pan, scoop small amounts into each cup. Put into a preheated oven of 325 degrees and bake for 12-14 minutes. Do not overbake. Flip them onto baking racks to cool. Make sure you grease those cups well or they will get stuck!

5. While the mini brownies cool, heat one cup of heavy cream on stove top or in a microwave until it reaches a boil, then remove. Pour atop chocolate chunks or chips. I opted for milk chocolate, but any kind will do! Let the hot cream soften the chocolate and then stir.

6. Dip mini brownies into the ganache for a yummy topping or eat them naked if you prefer. I also topped them off with dark chocolate chunks, festive sprinkles, and cinnamon chips. Use whatever you have in the pantry! Enjoy! HAPPY NEW YEAR!



Source: Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate Box or Kraft Recipes

Yeast Dinner Rolls

Hello all! Sorry I've been rather scattered in my posting, I know you've heard it before, but we are actually moving in this weekend! It's taken us about five months to get everything up and running at our new home! Fixer-upper homes that basically need to be gutted and then rebuilt kinda take some time. Hubby and I had crazy, unrealistic aspirations to be done and moved in months ago, but reality hit us, along with the rest of life's business (work, family, obligations) all mixed in with construction, creating a full few months! But the end is near. I just finished painting my new kitchen (AHH! so excited)! For those interested, it's a very soft yellow entitled Popcorn Ball. It seemed fitting. We have so much to be thankful in every aspect of life; but anyhow, back to the food....


For this month's What's Baking challenge, we were requested to bake something savory by Jey, from The Jey of Cooking. So, despite my love for all things sweet, I'm always up for a challenge. I wanted to keep it simple though, considering the craziness of the holidays along with our home endeavors. So I opted for something everyone seems to like and can't get enough of, rolls. And Hubby and I love Texas Roadhouse Rolls! I only just discovered this eatery during my college years, and have always enjoyed their rolls. So when I came across these copycat rolls, I knew they were winners! I only regret that the photos are lacking, since I was photographing during Thanksgiving prep! Hope you enjoy!




4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cup milk
3 tbsp of melted butter,slightly cooled; plus some for brushing
1/2 cup sugar, plus one tsp
2 quarts all purpose flour (approx. 7-8 cups)
2 eggs
2 tsp salt


1. Add the yeast to a small bowl with the warm water and let dissolve. Stir in a tsp of sugar.

2. Scald the milk in a small saucepan, and let cool slightly to lukewarm. Add the cooled milk to the yeast mixture. Also, stir in the sugar, and enough flour to make batter. (The recipe I was using actually stated to make a medium batter. However, despite my baking savyness,I was unsure exactly what a medium batter entailed. I googled but to no avail. I think it's somewhere in the realm of the thickness of cake batter.)

3. Let stand until foamy, and then add in eggs, butter, and salt. Beat to incorporate.

4. Add more flour until a soft dough forms. Sprinkle some flour on the rolling surface and let the dough rest. While you are waiting, grease a large bowl and set aside. Knead the dough until you have a smooth round ball. Place the ball of dough into the greased bowl and turn over to be sure to grease both sides of the dough.

5. Cover the dough and let rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size (about an hour). Punch down the dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and cut the dough into workable portions for shaping. Let the dough rest ten minutes.

6. Shape the dough into your desired forms and place onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. How many rolls you make will greatly depend on the size you choose. I made mine rather small and managed to get about 4 1/2 dozen. Let them rise for about another 30 minutes or so, until they double in size.

7. Bake on 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter immediately. (Ok, so here's a how-to-know-you-are-too-tired-to-be-baking moment. I completely omitted this step! I just forgot. The rolls were still yummy, but lacked that extra softness from the brushed tops.



You can enjoy these with some cinnamon butter (Because I had to work a little bit of sweetness in somehow!) The recipe will be coming shortly!


Source: Eat Cake for Dinner

Lady Bug Sugar Cookies

with some pink girly flare!

Yes, these are pink lady bug cookies, because almost everything is better in pink, is it not? But more importantly, these cookies were made for a special one year old on her birthday! I made these lovely lady bugs for my best friend's adorable little girl. We had the pleasure to visit my wonderful friend and her sweet little girl for the weekend and we had a blast! She is truly the cutest thing since cupcakes and sprinkles!

These cookies are made of lemony vanilla dough and topped with royal icing. The recipe for these cookies has similar flavorings to an earlier sugar cookie I've made on here, but is a very different. As any of you who follow my posts know, I am always on the hunt to perfect my sugar cookies recipe, which means getting the joy to try many other recipes! Whether it's a cookbook, a magazine, a blog, a friend or family's recipe, or whatever, I'll gladly give a new recipe a whirl! And my husband and family don't mind serving the taste testing committee! This particular recipe is one I've heard much positive rumblings about in the cyber world. It's courtesy of the blog, Bake at 350, which posts all things cute, sweet, and colorful! The writer is both witty and incredibly talented with a piping bag! I used her basic sugar cookie recipe, only switching out some flavorings.





Lemon Vanilla Cookies

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 sticks (salted) butter, cold
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp lemon zest

1. Start by combining the flour and baking powder in a bowl; set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand or electric mixer.

3. Add in egg, extracts, and zest beating after each addition.

4. Slowly add in the dry mixture, beating and scraping the bowl down frequently.

5. Be sure to give the dough a quick hand knead before rolling it out.

6. Roll out your dough and grab your favorite round cookie cutter. Transfer the cut cookies onto parchment lined baking sheets.

7. Pop the baking sheet with cookies in the freezer for just a few minutes before placing them into a 350 degree preheated oven. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes and then allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheets for a few minutes before moving them to cooling racks.

8. Once the cookies are fully cooled, decorate the cookies with your favorite colors for lady bugs following this recipe for royal icing from a previous post on house cookies.
For these cookies, I learned how to make polka dots on flooded icing! (Polka dots are one of my favorite things !) A full post on the how-to for this fun technique will be coming soon!



Source: Bake at 350

Also featured on: Made from Scratch Tuesday

Blueberry White Chocolate Cookies

When will this craziness end? The weather has been a constantly changing threat in the area all week long. First, we begun with an earthquake (luckily with no damage). It was so foreign to NJ and NY. And now we are preparing for hurricane with some possible negative ramifications. The food stores were like a madhouse today full of scurrying customers in search of water, batteries, flashlights, generators, and food. After some likewise shopping of my own and some fun craft purchases to keep me busy during the looming possibility of a long power outage, I knew we would be in for some fun! Well, as soon as I heard we could stuck without power (translate to not being able to cook/bake), hubby and I started baking! We whipped a few batches of brownies and muffins for the family to enjoy, as well as these yummy cookies chock full of fresh, summer blueberries! These are slight adaption of white chocolate raspberry cookies made earlier this summer. They were such a huge hit with everyone, we gave them a "re-mix" with blueberries. Summer certainly has been unpredictable this year!

Jade, from The Mess Pot, hosted the What's Baking Challenge this month, and her choice was to Celebrate Summer with a nice, fresh summer recipe. So since I had some local blueberries, I simply incorporated them into part of this yummy cookie recipe.





8 oz butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (7 oz)
2 cups self-rising flour
7 oz white chocolate chips or chopped pieces
1 pint blueberries


1. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended.

2. Add the sweetened condensed milk and continue to mix.

3. Sift in the flour slowly, while mixing it into the dough with your hands.

4. Stir in the white chocolate.

5. Take small pieces of dough and flatten it into a disk with your fingers.

6. Place a few blueberries into the middle and fold up and over.

7. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets in a 350 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes. Rotate baking sheets halfway through bake time.

8. Allow cookies to set on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes while cooling, then transfer to wire racks to fully cool.





Source: Phil Vickery from Womenseverything.com

Also featured on: Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday

Peach Tarts

Well, the home renovation projects are underway! Life is busy and fun right now, but with all the craziness going on, it's been a quick cooking month. Here is one of my favorite easy sweet treats with fresh summer stone fruit. And it's so simple to switch out peaches to use your favorite stone fruits.


1 pkg frozen puff pastry dough, divided (or you can make your own,which is on my to-do list)
3-4 peaches, pitted and sliced thin with skin on
3 tsp rum extract, divided
3 tsp vanilla extract, divided
3 tsp cinnamon, divided
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 tsp salt, divided
*Makes 3 tarts*

1. Allow the frozen puff pastry to thaw slightly (about 30 minutes or until pliable). Unroll the dough and cut it into thirds.

2. Roll each piece of dough out until about 1/8" thick. Transfer to baking sheet.

3. Layer the sliced peaches on the center of the dough in rough rows, leaving about an inch of dough around the exterior.

4. Fold up the sides lengthwise and then fold up the top and bottom edges. Repeat with remaining dough and peaches.



5. Sprinkle a few tablespoons sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon,a pinch of salt, 1 tsp vanilla and rum extract over each tart.

6. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown. Serve with fresh whipped cream for a yummy dessert!




Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Veggie Belly
Also featured on: Made From Scratch Tuesdays, Mangia Monday, and Southern Fairytale

Nectarine and Blueberry Scones with a Honey Butter Glaze

This month of new home demolition is crazy as ever, but we are beginning to see the progress, which is so encouraging! I'm so very excited to finally move in! Hopefully it will be next month! For now, we are busy bees getting everything ready that we can. And the best part, we are finally free of those scorching hot days!

This month's What's Baking Challenge was to Bake Local, hosted by Lindsey of Our Share of the Harvest. I'm a big fan of using local foods and supporting local businesses so this was right up my alley! I stopped by two farmer's markets and a roadside stand to get my booty for this fun recipe.
My favorite farmer's market purchase was definitely the raw fall honey. It's so different than the honey you buy at a store and it's healthier for you too! I also scored some yummy nectarines and blueberries.

I have a little funny story related here. I was planning to make a stone fruit crostata with my local bought produce for this month's challenge. I started making my normal go-to Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's recipe and, much to my dismay, the dough was not forming at all! It never harden, just stayed liquid. Yuck! I ended up throwing it away. My confidence was starting to get shaken, but I figured I have to try again anyway. So I went for attempt #2, which started out better, but the end product was still lacking. I couldn't figure it out. Why was my dough behaving so funny? The humidity in the kitchen? My ingredients were not chilled enough? Should I have used a different utensil to mix? I was truly baffled by these events!

So I let the dough chill in the fridge overnight, as per the directions. In the morning, it was none the better. I was unable to roll it out, only press it into a disc with my palms to flatten. But I had to try to bake it at this point just to see what would happen. So I threw together my fruit filling and laid in on top and rolled it all up. Finally, it looked pretty good, despite my earlier issues. I popped it in to bake hoping it would turn out well. I left the kitchen for barely a minute or two, then came back to check on it to find.... that the dough had melted! Yes, that's right, melted! Literally. It ran down the parchment, over the pan, off the sides and onto the oven floor where it had already puddled. The best part? The puddle was on FIRE! Needless to say, I was done baking that day... Well, the end of my story is that I cleaned it up and decided to make scones. I am using my mother's kitchen since we are in the middle of moving, and discovered that when I thought I was using flour, the whole time I was using confectioner's sugar!!! My mom keeps them in these large upright Tupperware containers. And I know the spot the flour lives, but apparently she switched up their order in the closet. I can't believe I didn't notice it earlier, but at least I found out why! I guess we need to purchase some labels for our containers... Thanks for listening to my crazy story and now if you are still reading this enjoy these scones! They are so sweet and full of fresh fruit; hmmm... breakfast or dessert?


3/4 cup diced nectarines, peel on
3/4 cup blueberries
4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg, divided
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cup cold heavy cream, plus additional for brushing
1/3 cup honey
1/4 butter


1. Mix all the wet ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.

3. Slowly add the flour into the wet mixture, stirring periodically. This dough will be quite stiff.

4. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface and knead with floured hands for a minute a two.

5. Flatten your dough slightly and press all your frozen fruits into the dough. Continue to knead for another minute or two to spread the fruit evenly through your dough.

6. Using your hands, shape the dough into a large, flattened circle. Using a floured knife cut the dough in half to form two half moons. Then cut each each half moon in thirds resulting in a total of six wedge shaped scones.

7. Now you can either place a few on a parchment lined baking sheet or you can freeze them for later use. To freeze, simply place scones on a baking sheet in freezer just long enough to harden, then transfer into freezer bags. Defrost and brush with cream when you are ready to bake them at a later date. To bake, brush them with a few tablespoons of heavy cream and place them in a 425 degree oven for about 24-26 minutes.

8. While the scones are baking away in the oven, put the honey and butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for 90 seconds (a minute and a half) on high, stirring once halfway through.

9. When scones are cooling, brush them with honey butter and let sit for 20 minutes then brush them again. This helps them to stay fresh for up to 4 days. It's a natural (and very sweet) replacement for preservatives!



Enjoy!


Source: Adapted from 5 Second Rule and Baking and Books

Also featured on: Made From Scratch Tuesday, Works for me Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday, Ultimate Recipe Swap

Guest Post- Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffin (My Tasty Journey)

Good morning all! I'm excited to feature my first ever, guest blog post by the lovely and talented Donna, from My Tasty Journey. Donna is a yoga obssessive fellow Jersey girl and an avid foodie and travel-crazy blogger. She very generously volunteered to make quite a few dozen of these yummy cappuccino chocolate chip muffins for the Great American bake sale I hosted back in May. And they were one of the hits of the day! Hope you enjoy her and her scrumptious baked goods.


Hi everyone! My name is Donna and I blog over at My Tasty Journey.com. Amanda had asked me to share a recipe I had made for her Share our Strength bake sale a couple months ago. I ADORE this recipe for bake sales because you can double/triple the recipe EASILY, PLUS it has enough flavors to not need any frosting. No frosting = No mess = Travels well! Not to mention, they really couldn't be simpler!

First, you gather up the usual suspects:



Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins

~1 package (18 1/4 oz.) vanilla cake mix
~1 package (3.4 oz.) vanilla pudding mix
~2 teaspoons instant espresso
~1/4 cup boiling water
~1 cup milk
~1/2 cup canola oil
~4 eggs
~2 cups mini chocolate chips


1.- Combine the espresso & boiling water and stir until nearly dissolved. (It doesn't have to dissolve completely. I've never had a problem with coffee grinds in my cupcakes) Allow to cool slightly.




2.- Next, combine the cake mix, pudding powder, eggs, milk and oil in a mixer and blend on medium speed until combined.




3.- Once everything is combined, turn your mixer to low and slowly pour in the slightly cooled coffee mixture.




4.-Beat for 3 minutes until all of the ingredients have blended completely.




5.- Fold in the food of the gods. I mean, the chocolate chips!




...and try not to sneak too many bites of the batter. This bowl smells HEAVENLY, I promise!




6.- Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into lined cupcake trays. (not too much, these babies GROW!)




7.- Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 18-20 minutes or until the "toothpick test" proves they are done!




And WALLAH! Done! Each recipes yields about 2 1/2 dozen, so it's pretty simple to make a HUGE batch in a short amount of time. Try these out if you love coffee & quick recipes


--


Donna

www.mytastyjourney.com


Please feel free to stop over and visit Donna at her blog. She features everything from workout information and healthy eats, to sweet snacks and travel finds, both local and abroad. Her warm amicable spirit flows through her writing and her food leaves you happy and healthy!

Also featured on: Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday

White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

So far summer has been full of fun, change, and busy days. The humidity has been unfortunately high, but there are also days where the heat breaks and it's just beautiful! However, our past few days have looked something like this.....




Oh, the joys of moving! More packing and less posting this month, but it will be all worth in the end, once we are fully moved in and settled in our home! It won't be for awhile, but we are making due in the process.




While all the hectic moving and construction goes on, I still managed to squeeze in some baking time this week. I made these cookies for my hubby's co-workers who were super helpful and gracious to my husband. We thanked them with these cookies, and some other treats which will be coming over the next week. Good thing I did my baking this past week, because the heat index is continually climbing. Also, tomorrow I will be featuring my first guest post so stay tuned for scrumptious cappuccino chocolate chip muffins from Donna at My Tasty Journey! Now back to the cookies...


White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies:

8 oz butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (7 oz)
2 cups self-rising flour
7 oz white chocolate chips or chopped pieces
1 pint raspberries


1. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended.

2. Add the sweetened condensed milk and continue to mix.

3. Sift in the flour slowly, while mixing it into the dough with your hands.

4. Stir in the white chocolate.

5. Take small pieces of dough and flatten it into a disk with your fingers.

6. Place one or two raspberries into the middle and fold up and over.

7. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets in a 350 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes. Rotate baking sheets halfway through bake time.

8. Allow cookies to set on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes while cooling, then transfer to wire racks to fully cool.





Source: Phil Vickery from Womenseverything.com

Also featured on: Mangia Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday