cranberry apple crisp

This was our snack on Sunday. I had to seriously restrain myself from eating the whole pot full. Apple crisp was my favorite dessert growing up, tied with cheesecake. I remember mom used to make this at least once a month. Since we had a bag of apples that were a little past their prime, I decided to attempt making my own recipe.

In all honesty, I tried making apple crisp about 3 years ago and ended giving it entirely to my roommate. The "crisp" on the top was chewy and not at all cooked. It tasted okay, but the texture was gross. This time, I was determined to do it right. I was petty sure the reason it didn't turn out the previous time, was because I didn't add enough butter. So, I added lots of it this time, but I used margarine instead. The verdict? Amazing. Melt in your mouth apples with crunchy cinnamon-y topping topped with a scoopful of heaven (aka.light Cool Whip). Must. Not. Eat. Whole. Pan.

Cranberry Apple Crisp
Preheat oven to 375F.

5-6 apples
squirt of lemon juice
handful of Craisins
1/8c apple cider (unpasteurized)

Squirt a bit of lemon juice in a medium bowl. Core & slice the apples and toss with the lemon juice to reduce browning. When finished, lightly pack apple slices into a corningware dish (I used a round white one). Add a handful of Craisins. Pour cider over apples.

1-1/2c large flake oats
1/4+ c margarine
1/4c brown sugar

Mix these ingredients in a bowl until crumbly. Mixture should look something like this:

cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves

Spoon crumbly oats over apples and press down lightly. Sprinkle with a generous amount of cinnamon and a sparing amount of nutmeg & cloves. Bake at 375F for 40 mins. Top with a big spoonful of Cool Whip or ice-cream. Serve warm.

*If there's too much water/cider in the bottom, just drain it a bit! Maybe next time I'll try soaking the apples in the cider and then draining before putting them in the pan. If I do, I'll post an update.

Indulge!

gooey marshmallow puffs of heaven

Seriously. I'm so glad there were 3 other people in the house, otherwise I would have eaten all six of these Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs without a second thought.

These take about 5 minutes to whip up & 12 minutes to bake. And because you can get crescent rolls on sale for $1.99 (& you probably already have the other ingredients) they're cheap too!

When I made mine, I didn't put the glaze on them and I didn't measure. I just melted some margarine the microwave & mixed some cinnamon + icing sugar on a plate. I dipped the marshmallows and then used a fork to roll them around in the sugar mix. Then I wrapped them up tightly in the crescent rolls, sealing well. Instead of dipping the whole thing in butter as the recipe suggests, I just brushed some margarine on top. I also baked mine on a baking sheet instead of in a muffin tin for easier clean up. They made a mess on the pan, but because my pans were brand new (Thanks, B!) the stickiness wiped right off!

Such an easy holiday party treat. Don't you think?

Tasty Tuesdays: Cinnamon Poached Pears

I think I accidentally stumbled upon my favorite fall dessert recipe.

Honestly, I was never much of a pumpkin pie eater...

I based my poached pears off of this recipe. Her's are prettier, mine are healthier. Not that I was trying to make them healthy. I actually just ran out of time. I was going to wrap Pillsbury crescent roll dough around them and bake them up. Instead I stopped here:

And am I ever glad I did. They were amazing. FYI: I am not tooting my own horn here. I am not the first girl to poach a pear. And considering I can't even poach an egg.... they are simple to make. Take my word for it.

Or, you know, you could always.... make your own.

clearly a messy cook.

Cinnamon Poached Pears

modified from Sprinkle Bakes

3-5 pears (I used red)
3-4 c water

scant  1 c brown sugar
cinnamon
whole or ground cloves*
nutmeg*

2 tsp vanilla extract
crushed nuts (walnuts or pecans work well)
caramel sauce (optional)
ice-cream (optional)

Fill a pot up with 3 or 4 coups of water. Add sugar, spices and vanilla and stir well. Bring to a boil.

While waiting for water mixture to boil, peel & core pears. Add to boiling mixture. Let boil uncovered for about 20-30 minutes. Once pears are very tender, turn off burner and let pears sit in water uncovered for about 10 minutes.

Spoon pears into bowls and top with a bit of poaching liquid, caramel sauce and some crushed nuts. Top with a scoop of ice cream, if you like. Cuddle up by the fire & serve immediately.

** A note about the spices: I always eye ball my spices and add more or less to my own taste. Don't be afraid to load on the cinnamon but try to go easy on the cloves and nutmeg. A little goes a long way with those two. I learned that lesson by ruining an entire batch of pancakes with nutmeg.... Haha. **

I hope you enjoyed my little fall recipe. The sweet smell of cinnamon and vanilla wafting through the house will bring you warmth when the weather gets cold again. You may want to tuck this recipe away for safe keeping.

Tasty Tuesdays: Irresistibly Fudgy Brownies

 

Do you remember when I told you Sundays put me in a baking mood? Well this past Sunday was no exception. The boy & I decided to whip up some brownies using a recipe he had taken from what he thinks was his mother's old church cookbook. Why are they irresistible? Because I eat four yesterday & four Sunday and there are currently 2 left. Woops? Wanna know how you too can eat a half pan of brownies? Check it out:

Irresistibly Fudgy Brownies
Taken from an unnamed family cookbook
*Serves 10 people with self-control. Otherwise, serves 2.

Preheat your oven to 350.

Mix dry ingredients:

1 1/3 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1c cocoa

Look at those big, strong arms!

Mix wet ingredients:

4 eggs
1c. melted butter
2 c. white sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine the wet with the dry, pour into a greased 9x13" pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out nearly clean.

Now I don't know why I started doing this, but I think this is how my mom used to serve brownies... with applesauce! The tartness of the apples cuts the sweetness a bit and makes it a taste explosion in your mouth! Haha.

YUM

 

 

But if you're more into the frosting (like D is) here is the matched frosting.

Mix 3 tbsp melted butter, 1/4 c. cocoa, 1/4 c. milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla & 2 c. sifted icing sugar. Frost only once brownies are cooled.
These brownies are absolutely perfect. The top crisps up and crackles like it should and the middle is soft and chewy. If chocolate fudge and chocolate cake had a baby, it would be these brownies. No joke. They're easy to make and you probably already have everything you need to make them. So unless you're on a diet or your gluten free or some shit, you should do them up. I promise it'll be worth it. Do it for your tastebuds, not for your ass hips.

xo Janelle

Rock Your Body Til Canada Day + Dino Cake

I had to try it before giving it to people...

Making it happen.

attackkkkkkkkk

 

Happy Canada Day!

Instead of Casa Fridays, we've got another recipe today. I whipped up a cake on Wednesday and then the icing on Thursday. This cake was actually D's late belated birthday cake. I picked up these little dinosaur figurines at Wal-Mart and wanted to incorporate 23 of them into some part of his gift. And really, what's easier, or cuter, than popping them onto their own little oasis.

The recipes I used were pretty easy to follow. The icing recipe, however, called for a candy thermometer and I didn't have one so I just eye balled it. In retrospect, I probably didn't boil the sugar long enough, so next time I'll either get a thermometer or let it harden a bit more. So the icing is a bit runny, but it was all me. The cake turned out to be fudgier than I expected, but I'd say that's a good thing.

Everyone who tried it so far liked it, so I guess it was a success. And I'd say it looks pretty cute.

Thanks to Bree from Baked Bree (link above) for the icing recipe and the cake recipe is from Food.com (link above). Also, shout out to our visitors: T, Becky, Kavo & Brandon who's back in town. We're gonna celebrate tonight with music, drinks & food. Hope the sun's shining for you too!

xo Janelle

Tasty Tuesdays: Chocolate Chip Scones + Oil Substitution Tip

A lot of people go to church on Sunday. I, on the other hand, bake on Sunday. The lazy feel of this particular day of the week never fails to get me in the mood... to bake! I usually don't have anything planned (besides tutoring, previously), which means that I can take my time and I won't feel rushed. This past Sunday the urge to bake hit a little later in the evening around 9:30 and D said he wanted to help. And, he suggested that we watch HGTV while the scones were baking. Did I mention yet that I love this guy?

So we looked up a few recipes and chose this simple one from Edible Ventures. I had some extra almond flour I wanted to use up, so this recipe was an easy choice. I followed the recipe and but substituted a little less than 1/4c of pure maple syrup in place of the agave nectar and 1/3c unsweetened applesauce for the canola oil. Oh, and I only got 11 scones, not 16, but I like my scones big.

*Did you know that you can sub unsweetened applesauce for oil in almost any cookie, cake, square or dessert recipe? Not only does it dramatically cut the fat, but it also gives the dessert a moist (hate that word) texture.

all ready to go.

adding the wet to the dry.

finished product.

These turned out very well. I find they taste like a chocolate chip pancake, especially with the substitution of the maple syrup. Even though they look just like chocolate chip cookies, they're actually much softer and more cake-like. I also made a few plain ones by forming a few balls before I added the chocolate chips and they were delicious as well. Next time I think I'll add the full 1/4c of maple syrup, but I didn't want to overdo the sweetness this time. These little babies are actually surprisingly healthy, given the applesauce, almond flour and eggs. Which is a good thing if you have a problem with portions, like me. Haha. I may do these with butterscotch chips if/when I buy almond flour again... Only the 14$ price tag is standing between me and another batch.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of the recipe. Did you know about the applesauce/oil trick? Do you have any other helpful substitutions? I'll be sharing another one in a couple weeks.

xo Janelle

Tasty Tuesdays: Graham Brittle (aka "The Recipe")

*Edited to include ingredient amounts. (Thanks Crystal!)

Hello everyone,

I'm going to wait until next Tuesday to post my smacaroons recipe from Spoonful of Sugar-Free. I'm waiting for some more feedback. This left me wondering which recipe I should write about today until I settled on posting the easiest dessert/treat recipe that everyone asks me for. I have brought it to work, potlucks, birthdays, you name it and the response is usually "Who made this?" followed by "I need the recipe!".

So before you go on thinking that I'm full of myself, let me tell you this, it's deliciously easy. Seriously. You can make it. A 10 year old can make it. (Even those who think toasting Pop Tarts is cooking.) It takes 15 minutes to make. But a word of caution (as with the Oreo Truffles recipe) you probably want to make a plan to give some of this away. Otherwise you may be picking away at it only to realize that half of the entire baking sheet is gone. Whoops. You were warned.
-------
15 Minute Graham Brittle
(for reviews click here)
*serves about 15-20 people large pieces.

Preheat the oven to 350. Place graham crackers in a single layer to fill a baking sheet. Line them up so that they're touching on all sides, like a grid. (Baking sheet must have sides.)


Bring 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of butter to a boil in a saucepan. Pour this mixture evenly over the graham crackers and spread to coat. Bake for 5 minutes.


Sprinkle one pkg milk chocolate chips on top of the graham crackers evenly. Let them melt for 30 sec-1 minute. Then spread to coat the graham crackers.


Sprinkle on your desired topping or leave it plain! Chill in the refrigerator or freezer until chocolate has hardened.


To serve, use a metal spatula or pizza cutter to break it up into pieces.

Suggested toppings: leftover cereal crumbs, coconut, crushed nuts (almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, peanuts etc.)
------
Don't feel like you need to top this with something. The butter & sugar turn into caramel which pairs perfectly with the milk chocolate. Plain is actually my favorite!

Let me know if you try it! I made this recipe for the first time with mom about 3 years ago and it's been a classic recipe for me when I need to whip up something for a get-together or potluck.

xo Janelle 

Tasty "Thursdays": Peanut Butter Cups

Tasty Tuesdays is Thursday for today.... Two weeks ago I made these little delights for D as an Easter treat. I'm not a huge peanut butter cup fan myself even though I love chocolate and peanut butter separately, but because D is crazy about them I really wanted to give them a go. I used this recipe from All Recipes, but I did regular sized cups instead of mini ones, so I did end up having to use more chocolate than indicated. I've modified the recipe on this page for the larger cups, FYI.

Ingredients

• 2 pkgs milk chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used storebought fine breadcrumbs and it was fine!)

Do it up

In 1-quart saucepan combine chocolate chips and shortening. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth (3 to 5 minutes).
*I used a double boiler as you can see in the photo. If you don't know what a double boiler is, it's when you put 1-2 inches in a pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce it. Then you put a metal bowl on top of the pot and melt your chocolate in it. It keeps the chocolate from cooling and hardening because you keep the water boiling at low heat. It makes working with chocolate so much easier & I highly recommend it!

With small paint brush or mini-spatula, coat inside top cup evenly with about 1 teaspoon melted chocolate to about 1/8-inch thickness, bringing coating to middle of cup. Repeat until all cups are coated; refrigerate or freeze cups. 

In 2-quart saucepan combine butter or margarine and peanut butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted (4 to 6 minutes). Stir in confectioners' sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Press about 1-1-1/2 tablespoon filling into each chocolate cup.
Spoon about 1 teaspoon melted chocolate on top of filling; spread to cover. Freeze until firm (about 2 hours) carefully peel off paper cups. Store refrigerated. 

 

The smooth top ones were made with Chip its brand chips.

This recipe is definitely worth trying. It takes a little while to line the cups but once you get used to it, you can breeze right through. Not to mention, they taste delicious and the texture of the PB filling is perfect. Let me know if you give these a shot!

Thanks for reading,
xo Janelle