Brownies with Sprinkles

I was craving some brownies the other night and didn't have a box mix. So what did I do? Make them from scratch! Turns out they are super easy to make and way yummier than the box mix. Here is the recipe that I used. :)  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!



Chocolate Brownies


1 1/3 cup flour
2 cups sugar (or a little more if you like them extra sweet)
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat the oven to 350*. Use two separate bowls, In the first bowl combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt). In the second bowl combine the wet ingredients (oil, egg, vanilla).  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined. (do NOT use a mixer) Spread the mix in a 9x13 pan. Top the brownie batter with colorful sprinkles of any kind. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberries are the fruit of the summer. One great way to eat blackberries is to make a cobbler. This recipe is super easy for anyone to make and it tastes delicious especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. I hope you enjoy!

Blackberry Cobbler

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 16 oz package of frozen blackberries (you can also use fresh blackberries or any other frozen berries)

Directions

• Melt the butter in a 2 quart casserole dish (in the microwave)
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and milk in a small bowl, mix well
• Pour the flour and sugar mixture over the butter

                     ****Do NOT stir****

• Spoon the blackberries over the batter

                      ****Do NOT stir****

• Bake at 350* for 45 minutes until golden

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite kinds of cookies to make. They were also one of the first that I learned how to cook. They are super easy for beginner bakers and super easy to whip up on a time crunch. They also make the perfect bite size cookie.  Hope yall enjoy! :)

Recipe:
2 3/4 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening (I use 1 stick butter flavor Crisco)
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
Cinnamon sugar mixture 

To make the cinnamon sugar mixture for the outside of the cookies start with a good size amount of sugar and then add shakes of cinnamon until the mixture is a light brown. There are no exact measurements for this :)

1. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Then add the eggs and beat well to mix.
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients and blend
4. Chill the dough in the fridge until it is easy to handle.
5. Turn on the oven to 350*
6. Roll the dough into small balls (3/4 inch across) and dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture
7. Place balls on a baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes until lightly brown





Reference: My First Cookbook, 1972, My First Cookies

Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups butter flavored Crisco
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 6 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

 

 

Procedure:

• Heat the oven to 375*
• Combine sugar, Crisco, beat at medium speed until blended
• add eggs, sugar, syrup, vanilla
• beat until blended and fluffy
• combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a separate bowl
• gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture at low speed until blended
• drop rounded teaspoons on to an ungreased baking sheet 3 inches apart (I use a small ice cream scoop)
• (sprinkle with colored sugar if desired)
• bake for 10-12 minutes- DO NOT OVERBAKE
• cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack

~If desired you can also frost the cookies with buttercream frosting


Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups craisins (or more depending on your liking)
1 1/4 cup quick oats
1 package white chocolate (I prefer almond bark)

• Heat the oven to 350*
• Beat the butter until creamy, gradually add in the sugars, beat well
• Add egg and vanilla, mix
• Combine flour, soda, powder, and salt
• Gradually add flour mix to butter mix
• Stir in the craisins and oats
• Drop onto a cookie sheet (small scoop)
• Bake for 9-11 minutes
• After they are cool, melt the white chocolate or almond bark and drizzle over the top

Mini Pies

I saw a great idea on pinterest a few weeks ago and modified it and started making mini pies. These are great way to take someone a pie where you would not be able to have plates and forks. These mini pies are bite sized and are great to take tailgating (which is where I took mine!).  

So what you need is a mini muffin pan, premade pie crust dough (you can find these at the grocery store all rolled up), round cookie cutter, canned pie filling (fruits of your choice), powdered sugar, and milk.

To start you unroll the pie crust and use the round cookie cutter to cut out circles. After you cut them all out reroll out the dough and cut some more until you finish all the dough. Next you place the circles in the holes of a mini muffin pan. They make the cutest little pies. After they are all in there it is time to add the filling. Each little pie needs a spoon of filling. I used apple (it will need to be cut though), cherry, strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry. After all of the filling is in it is time to bake the mini pies. It takes 18-20 minutes in a 400* oven. When they are done baking and have cooled slightly mix together 1/2 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk. This makes a yummy glaze that you can sprinkle on top of the mini pies. After that its time to eat! :)

Panna Cotta

So I was watching Masterchef the other day and one of the competetions was to make Panna Cotta. I had never heard of this before but it seemed fairly easy to make so I found a great recipe and went to town. It took a little bit to get used to the texture of it because it is like pudding with a jello consistency. But it has a great taste and blackberries on top are definitely
a must have.  The recipe I used was on foodnetwork.com by Giada. I typed up the recipe below.

 

1 Cup of Whole Milk

1 Tablespoon Unflavored Gelatin Powder

3 Cups of Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/3 Cup of Honey

Pinch of Salt

 

Place the milk in a pan on the stove (leave off for now) and sprinkle with the gelatin powder. Let this stand for 4 minutes. Then turn on the stove and cook until the gelatin dissolves. Make sure not to boil the milk. Add the other ingredidents. Simmer on the stove for 6 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Make sure not to boil. Place in bowls and put in the fridge to get firm (about 6 hours or overnight). When ready to serve, top with fresh berries or jam.

Chocolate Pudding with Swiss Rolls

Chocolate Pudding with Swiss Rolls

 

 

 

Ingredients: box of chocolate pudding mix (and all it calls for), whipped topping, and swiss rolls.

 

 

First you mix the chocolate pudding mix according to the box and refrigerate it for a little bit. While this is in the fridge it is the perfect time to cut the swiss rolls. It depends on your taste for how many swiss rolls you want to add to the mix. I generally add a half a box of swiss rolls with one box of pudding. The swiss rolls need to be cut fairly small. Then when you are almost ready to serve the pudding you add in the whipped topping. Slowly fold in the whipped topping into the pudding until it turns a lighter brown. You can add as much or as little according to your taste. I prefer to add a lot of whipped topping it makes the pudding taste like chocolate mousse. Then after it is all mixed together it is time to layer the pudding. To layer the pudding you start with swiss rolls. Put as many or as few as you would like in the bottom of the bowl. Then layer in the pudding mixture and then continue this until you use all of the mixtures. You should end with pudding on the top. For garnish you can add the crumbs from cutting the swiss rolls and or canned whipped cream. 

 

 

 

Enjoy! :)

Homemade Butterfinger Ice Cream

One of my favorite summertime treats is homemade ice cream. In my house the only way to make homemade ice cream is with butterfingers.  So here is the recipe, hope yall enjoy!

 

Homemade Butterfinger Ice Cream

• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
• 2 big boxes French vanilla pudding mix
• 5 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 cup sugar

• Approx. 1 gallon milk
• 1 package of fun sized butterfingers (crushed)

1. Mix the top ingredients together with an electric hand mixer.
2. Add about a cup and a half of milk to thin down the mix
3. Chill in the fridge until you are ready to use
4. When ready to use pour the mix into the ice cream maker and fill to an inch below the fill line
5. Add the crushed butterfingers
6. Fill to the fill line with milk if the butterfingers did not reach the line
7. Enjoy! J