Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

 1 container of cream cheese (strawberry, blueberry or plain)

1 jar of marshmallow cream

Directions:

Mix together and serve! **Could add food coloring for a more vibrant color dip**

Snickerdoodles

 Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients

• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar*
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 and 1/3 cup (267g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Topping

• 1/3 cup (70g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (always recommended for cookies). Set aside.
2. Make the topping: Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
3. Make the cookies: Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl.
4. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough will be thick.
5. Roll cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of cookie dough each. I recommend this cookie scoop. Roll the dough balls in cinnamon-sugar topping. Sprinkle extra cinnamon-sugar on top if desired. Arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
6. Bake cookies for 10 minutes. The cookies will be very puffy and soft. When they are still very warm, lightly press down on them with the back of a spoon or fork to help flatten them out. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Cookies remain soft & fresh for 7 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

 King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 16 tablespoons (227g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup (213g) light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon (14g) vanilla extract
• 2 cups (241g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup (99g) quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 3/4 teaspoon regular table salt
• 3 cups (510g) semisweet chocolate chips
• Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease with non-stick vegetable oil spray.

2. Beat together the butter and sugars until smooth.

3. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.

4. Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and add to the butter mixture in the bowl.

5. 1. Mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and mix briefly.

   2. Stir in the chocolate chips.

   3. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes

   4. Use an ice cream scoop for the cookies

   5. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2" to 2" between cookies.

   6. Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes, until they're a light golden brown, with slightly darker edges. Their middles may still look a tiny bit shiny; that's OK, they'll continue to bake as they cool on the pan.

   7. Remove the cookies from the oven, and as soon as they're set enough to handle, transfer them to racks to cool.

Rice Krispy Treats

 

Best Ever Rice Krispie Treats

By Jennifer Segal

A few tweaks to the back-of-the-box recipe make these Rice Krispie Treats the best ever.

Servings: 20 to 24 squares

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 20 Minutes, plus one hour to cool

INGREDIENTS

• 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
• Two 10-oz bags mini marshmallows, divided
• 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8-1/2 cups Rice Krispies or crispy rice cereal

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Butter a 9 x 13-in pan.
2. Set aside 2 cups of the marshmallows.
3. In a large pot or Dutch oven, preferably with a light bottom so you can monitor the color, melt the butter over medium heat (save the butter wrappers; you'll use them later for pressing the mixture into the pan). Swirl the pan occasionally to be sure the butter is cooking evenly.
4. As the butter melts, it will begin to bubble and foam, and the color will progress from bright yellow to golden to, finally, a toasty-brown. Once you smell that nutty brown butter aroma, take the pan off the heat. (You'll see little bits of golden brown sediment forming; that's okay. However, if the sediment looks almost black, go ahead and pass the butter through a fine sieve to strain it out, then return the brown butter to the pan.)
5. Off the heat, add the remaining marshmallows, vanilla, and salt.
6. Place the pot back over medium heat and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the marshmallows are completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cereal. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until evenly combined.
7. Add the reserved marshmallows and stir until they are softened and partially melted. Don't overmix; you want pockets of goo. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and, using the butter wrapper or damp fingers, press the mixture gently into an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Let cool at room temperature for at least an hour.

White Wedding Almond Cake

• 1 package white Cake mix
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoon water
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Pure/Natural Almond Extract
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 4 egg whites

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour an 11x13 inch cake pan.

• Step 2

  Stir together the white cake mix, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until well mixed. Pour in the water, sour cream, vegetable oil, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg whites, and beat with an electric mix on low until all the ingredients are mixed and moistened but some lumps still remain, 4 minutes.

• Step 3

  Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake in the preheated oven until the top is a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions:

1. In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
2. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Perfect No Bake Cheesecake

Sally's Baking Addiction:

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust

• 2 cups (200g) graham cracker crumbs (about 12-14 full sheet graham crackers)
• 1/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake

• 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
• three 8-ounce blocks (680g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons (15g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

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Instructions:

Get out cream cheese and sour cream and bring to room temperature.  (Cut cream cheese into cubes and put in a large bowl) for at least an hour.

1. 
   
2. Make the crust: Stir the graham cracker crust ingredients together. Pour into a 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan and pack in very tightly. The tighter it’s packed, the less likely it will fall apart when cutting the cheesecake. I recommend using the bottom of a measuring cup to pack it into the bottom and up the sides.  Freeze for 10-20 minutes as you prepare the filling (or while the cream cheese is coming to room temperature).
3. Make the filling: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream into stiff peaks on medium-high speed, about 4 minutes.  Be very careful and check around the 3 minute mark because it quickly turns from peaks to a thicker butter consistency.  You don't want that... you want stiff peaks!  Set aside.
4. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium speed until perfectly smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the confectioners’ sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat for 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed until smooth and combined. Make sure there are no large lumps of cream cheese. If there are lumps, keep beating until smooth.
5. Using your mixer on low speed or a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake filling until combined. This takes several turns of your rubber spatula. Combine slowly as you don’t want to deflate all the air in the whipped cream.
6. Remove crust from the freezer and spread filling into crust. Use an offset spatula to smooth down the top.
7. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours and up to 2 days. For best results, 12 hours is best. I chill mine overnight. The longer refrigerated, the nicer the no-bake cheesecake will set up.
8. Use a knife to loosen the chilled cheesecake from the rim of the springform pan, then remove the rim. Using a clean sharp knife, cut into slices for serving. For neat slices, wipe the knife clean between each slice.
9. Serve cheesecake with desired toppings (see note). Cover and store leftover cheesecake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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Notes

1. Make Ahead Instructions: This cheesecake can be made 1-2 days in advance. It can be refrigerated in step 6 for up to 2 days before serving. You can also make the crust 1-2 days ahead of time. Freeze for up to 1 hour in step 1, then cover tightly and refrigerate for 1-2 days before adding the filling. Another way to make this cheesecake ahead of time is to freeze it. Cheesecake can be frozen up to 3 months. See instructions in blog post above.
2. Lemon Juice: Lemon juice brightens up the flavor. This cheesecake does not taste like lemon. For lemon flavored no-bake cheesecake, remove the sour cream from the recipe and add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice and 1 Tablespoon lemon zest.
3. Room Temperature Ingredients: Bring the cream cheese and sour cream to room temperature before beginning. Room temperature ingredients guarantee a smooth cheesecake filling. Beating cold ingredients together will result in a chunky cheesecake filling. (The heavy cream, however, MUST be cold in order to whip into stiff peaks.)
4. Toppings: Before serving, decorate with  whipped cream, lemon curd, strawberry sauce, fresh berries, salted caramel, or your favorite cheesecake toppings. I used Ateco 849 piping tip for the whipped cream in the pictured cheesecake.
5. Can I Make Mini No-Bake Cheesecakes? Yes, see my mini no bake cheesecakes, which are made in a standard muffin pan.

Adapted from All Recipes.

Magic Cookie Bars

Eagle Brand Recipe:  :)


Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 2 packages in the box)
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts


Directions:

Heat oven to 325 degrees

Make graham cracker crumbs in the food processor

Melt stick of butter in the microwave in the 9x13 glass dish.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in the glass dish. Press into bottom of pan. 

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. 

Combine chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts in a bowl and mix together.

Sprinkle evenly over crumb mixture. Press down semi-firmly into crumb mixture.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.


Variations:
7-Layer Magic Cookie Bars: Substitute 1 cup (6-ounces) butterscotch flavored chips* for 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and proceed as directed above.
Peanut butter flavored chips or white chocolate chips may be substituted for butterscotch flavored chips.
Magic Peanut Cookie Bars: Substitute 2 cups (about 3/4 pound) chocolate-covered peanuts for semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped nuts.
Magic Rainbow Cookie Bars: Substitute 2 cups plain candy-coated chocolate candies for semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Lemon Ricotta Cookies


Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Giada DiLaurentis

Ingredients:

Cookies:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 lemon, zested

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cookies:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.

Cookies are cake like!

Note:  Next time, try chiling the dough before baking to prevent over spreading.

Caramel Corn

Ingredients:

25-26 cups plain popped popcorn (use 1 cup popcorn kernels and then take out a few cupfulls)
2 cups dry roasted peanuts

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Pop popcorn.  (6 tbsp oil and 1 cup popcorn kernels) in a large stockpot.  Pour most of the popcorn out in a giant bowl.  Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and pour the remaining popcorn on the baking rack so that the seeds can fall through.  Caramel covered popcorn seeds are no bueno for teeth.  Make sure all seeds are filtered out and place the popped popcorn into a turkey roaster pan.  Add the 2 cups of peanuts to the popped corn. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.   Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil on a VERY SLOW BOIL for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.  If your boil is too fast then the caramel mixture will be ruined.
3. Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pan, and stir to coat. Don't worry too much at this point about getting all of the corn coated.  It will all melt together as it cooks and you stir it every 15 minutes.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes, removing the pan, and giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes. Test for chewiness.  Line the counter top with waxed paper. Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags.
5. Note:  When cooled, can drizzle with white and dark chocolate.  Yummmmy!

Mini Fruit Galettes

Sally's Baking Addiction:

Ingredients

• 
  2 unbaked Pie Crusts (use recipe on Risherrecipes)
  2 and 1/2 cups (about 350-400g) mixed berries or other fruit (see note)
  1 Tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
  2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
  1 teaspoon lemon juice or vanilla extract
  2 Tablespoons (30ml) whole milk, for brushing*
  optional for topping: coarse sugar and/or chopped/sliced nuts
  
  Instructions

1. Pie crust: I like to make sure my pie dough is prepared before I begin. Make pie dough the night before because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before using. (See note.)
2. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Make sure you have enough room in your refrigerator for these baking sheets because the shaped galettes must chill in step 7.
3. Prep the filling: Gently stir the berries, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice/vanilla together in a medium bowl until combined. Place in the refrigerator, covered or uncovered, until step 5.
4. Shape the crusts: Working with 1 chilled pie dough at a time, place the dough onto a floured work surface. Roll into a large 12-inch circle. Use your warm hands to mold any cracking edges back together.  From the circle, cut rounds using a 5.5 or 6 inch cookie cutter. I simply use the rim of a bowl that’s about that size. Or you can use a ruler and cut circles with a sharp knife. You’ll have to re-roll the dough scraps a few times. Work quickly because the dough becomes much more delicate the longer it’s at room temperature. You’ll get about 5 rounds per pie crust.  For thickness, you can get 3 of the mini pie rounds on the first roll of the dough, then 2 on the second roll.  Repeat with 2nd chilled pie dough for a total of about 10.
5. Fill galettes: Arrange dough rounds on prepared baking sheets. Remove filling from the refrigerator and spoon about 1/4 cup into the center of each dough round, leaving any excess juice behind in the bowl. Gently and tightly fold the edges over the filling leaving the very center exposed, as you see in the photos and video tutorial above. Make sure the mini galettes are tight and compact so they don’t unfold themselves or lose shape while baking.
6. Brush the edges of the pie dough with milk, which helps guarantee the dough will brown. If desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar and/or sliced almonds/nuts.
7. Chill the shaped galettes in the refrigerator, covered or uncovered, for at least 20 minutes and up to 4 hours. The galettes will lose shape if they’re not chilled. You can preheat the oven as they finish up chilling.
8. Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C).
9. Bake chilled galettes for 25-28 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
10. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 5 minutes before enjoying. You can enjoy warm or at room temperature. Serve plain or with ice cream or whipped cream.
11. Cover leftover mini galettes and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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Notes

1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Pie dough, whichever you use, can be made ahead of time and chilled in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months, too. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out and filling. You can assemble the mini galettes in steps 5 and 6, then chill in the refrigerator in step 7 for up to 4 hours. I don’t recommend longer than this because the crust could become soggy. Baked and cooled galettes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature, if desired, before enjoying.
2. Fruit: You can pretty much use any fruit here. Rinse, peel, slice/chop, and pat dry as necessary. Make sure the fruit is in thin slices (apples, peaches, pears, plums) about 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick or bite-size pieces. I suggest using berries or at least some berries in the filling. I used 1 and 1/2 cups strawberries and 1 cup blackberries. I recommend slicing strawberries as I did in these photos so they’re flatter slices and you can layer more into each. See my blog post above for different fruit filling ideas. Fresh fruit is best, but you can use frozen if needed. For best results, thaw the fruit first. Blot dry as much as you can before using in the filling.
3. Lemon Juice or Vanilla Extract: You can use either. Think about which will pair best with the fruits you’re using. I like using lemon juice with berries.
4. Milk: I recommend whole milk for brushing on the crusts, but you can use lower fat, nonfat, buttermilk, half-and-half, or even heavy cream (which will be very thick, thin with a bit of water). You can also use nondairy milk.
5. Half Batch: For about 5 mini fruit galettes, use 1 pie dough disc and save the other for another time. (See pie dough recipes linked above for freezing instructions.) Halve each of the filling ingredients. All assembly, chilling, and baking instructions remain the same.
6. Chilling the Baking Pans in the Refrigerator: If you’re nervous to chill the baking sheets in the refrigerator then bake them (which can cause warping), you have two other options. You can simply assemble the galettes on parchment paper or silicone baking mats, lift the parchment/baking mat as a whole and place on another baking sheet or directly onto a shelf in the refrigerator. After chilling, carefully lift up and place the entire parchment/baking mat onto the baking sheets for baking. Or you can use a thin spatula and very carefully transfer the assembled unbaked galettes to a large plate to chill.

Fruit Filling Ideas

Use 2 and 1/2 cups of fruit in the filling. You can pretty much use any fruit. Fresh fruit is best, but you can use frozen if needed. For best results, thaw the fruit first. Blot dry as much as you can before using. Here are my favorites:

1. Mixed Berries: Use any combination of mixed berries for a total of 2 and 1/2 cups. I used 1 and 1/2 cups strawberries and 1 cup blackberries. I recommend slicing strawberries as I did in these photos so they’re flatter slices and you can layer more into each.
2. Single Berry or Dark/Sour Cherries: Use 2 and 1/2 cups of one berry such as strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries. Or use dark or sour cherries. Avoid using all raspberries. Instead, combine them with other berries. They’re particularly juicy on their own.
3. Apple, Peach, Pear, Plum (or combination): Use 2 and 1/2 cups of 1/8 – 1/4 inch thick slices. If the slices are particularly long, cut them in half. Feel free to use brown sugar in the filling and/or add a little cinnamon or other spice you enjoy.
4. Banana: I’ve tried this! Use 2 and 1/2 cups of sliced banana. No need to mix with cornstarch unless you are using banana and another fruit listed above. Add a dash of cinnamon, the lemon juice (to prevent browning), and use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar.