Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins/Bread

I've had a lot of cranberries in my freezer for awhile, just waiting to be made into something yummy. Problem is, I couldn't decide what. So, I was searching Pinterest yesterday, and I found a recipe I'd pinned but hadn't made yet. (Shocker.) I decided that these needed to be made into muffins!

And wow, was this a hit. They are not overly sweet, I did try to make them slightly healthier (thus the applesauce vs using butter), but the boys devoured them. Gabriel ate 3 or 4... after eating 2-3 servings of dinner. Adrian only ate 1, but again, that was right after dinner!

If you are looking for a fairly healthy snack/breakfast, this is it! 

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite use of cranberries?

Printable Recipe

Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins/Bread

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° (for bread) or 375° (for muffins). Lightly grease 2 loaf pans or lightly grease/line with muffin liners 24 muffin tins. 
2. Cream together cream cheese, sugars, and applesauce. Slowly add in eggs and vanilla; mix until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to cream cheese mixture just until combined. Stir in cranberries.
4. Spoon into prepared muffin liners or loaf pans. For muffins, bake for 18-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. For bread, bake for 60-70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Yield/Time

24 muffins, 2 loaves of bread (12 slices each)

*Note: bread has not been tested, I've only made muffins!

45 minutes (muffins), 1 ½ hours (bread)

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

114

Source (for original): 12 Tomatoes

Reese's Pieces Chocolate Cookies

Originally posted 11/16/13, updated 3/13/17

I would say that it's fairly obvious that I love sweet things, whether you actually know me in person or even if you just read the title of my blog. I am a big fan of peanut butter/chocolate combos in particular. (Surprisingly, I don't like regular Reese's much. Not a fan of their peanut butter. Reese's Pieces, however, are an entirely different story.)

So when I saw a recipe for Reese's Pieces Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies on one of my favorite blogs, I had to try it! 

I made a few changes (as you can see by the title alone), but we love this recipe! You could easily sub different things for the peanut butter chips/Reese's Pieces.... but I am really not sure why you would want to. ;) I also had to play with the baking time/ingredients, as the cookies were great on day one but get hard & dry quickly. Once I made some changes, that solved the problem! (I don't know what they are like past day 3 now.... they never make it that long!)

One tip I would like to stress: Be careful not to overbake these! They will get harder faster if you do. Ovens vary, but I would check them at 10-11 minutes. Since I made the change to the ingredients, I would recommend trying for 11 1/2 - 12 minutes; but again, ovens vary. 

Enjoy!

These are my favorite cookies to bake--this is definitely my current go-to recipe!

Remember, comments are loved!

Printable Recipe

Reese’s Pieces Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter-flavored Crisco
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups all purpose Flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup peanut butter chips
• ½ cup mini Reese’s Pieces *make sure you get Mini!!!*

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Place Crisco and sugars into a stand mixer, cream until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until well combined. 
3. Slowly add flour, cocoa powder, salt, cornstarch & baking soda. Hand mix in peanut butter chips and Reese’s Pieces.
4. Scoop dough (or form into balls) and place onto greased baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until baked through. 
5. Let cookies cool for 5-8 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Serve and enjoy.

Yield/Time

2 dozen

Prep/total time: ½ hour

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

146 calories each

Source (for original): Picky Palate

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

So, first off, I have to apologize for the lack of posts lately... We found out we are having a girl (yay!), so I've been spending a lot of time in the evenings sorting boy clothes, getting it ready to sell, and then sorting the mountain of girl clothes I've bought. Between that, and being utterly exhausted... I haven't really been doing many new recipes. New ideas and taking photos requires energy that I just don't have! :) 

I did get some baking done this weekend, though...  I made this Sunday morning, before Nate & I had a fun date! Partly to 'pay' my mom for watching the boys... partly because I wanted chocolate. ;) 

I have a lot of variations on these cookies, and while these aren't always my go-to recipe, they are always a hit!

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite double-chocolate recipe?

Printable Recipe

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup cold, unsalted butter, cubed *note: these were made with Crisco, but I've made them both ways. While I am a Crisco girl generally... this time, I decided that they are better with butter.
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips *This time, I only used 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, the other half was Andes chips! They were great!

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix in the cocoa powder until well blended.
2. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and cornstarch to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula. (The dough is very thick.)
3. Roll into small balls, and place on baking sheets a few inches apart. Flatten slightly. 
4. Bake 12-16 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheets 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield/Time

3 ½ dozen cookies

1 hour

Nutrition Facts

153

Source (for original): Love from the Oven

Strawberry Swiss Cake Roll

Let me preface this post by saying I'm not really a fancy kinda girl. (And now I have "Fancy" by Reba going in my head!) I'm a hillbilly, and quite happy about it. Once in a while though, I have the desire to try something that's fairly fancy. 

I've never made any "roll" before. No pumpkin roll, etc. However, I got silicon mats recently (some just before Christmas, and more for Christmas) and I thought that would make it easier, so.... I jumped out of my box. 

And whoa, was it worth it. This swiss cake roll is heavenly. You can use any freeze-dried berries or fruit, so you can change the flavor as desired. (I found strawberries at Aldi's, so that's what I went with.) Personally, I think that it could use more strawberry flavor, but that's a preference thing. 

I do think the use of silicon mats made this process much easier than without. If you don't have any, sub parchment paper in the pan and a clean towel for after the cake is done. 

Comments are loved! What's your favorite "fancy" dessert?

Printable Recipe

Strawberry Swiss Cake Roll

Ingredients

For the batter:

• 4 eggs, separated
• ½ cup + ⅓ cup sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup water

For the Filling:

• ½ cup freeze dried strawberries, crushed finely
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup powdered sugar, divided
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

For the Ganache:

• 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

For the Topping, optional:

• Redi-whip or cool whip
• fresh strawberries, chopped

Directions

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 10”x15” jelly roll pan with a silicon baking mat and grease heavily.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add in ½ cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks. Beat for 3 minutes, then add remaining ⅓ cup sugar and vanilla. Beat for 2 more minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Alternately add flour mix and the ⅓ cup water to a large bowl with the egg yolks. When thoroughly mixed, fold the batter into the egg whites a little at a time.
4. Spread batter into the prepared pan and bake for 12-15 minutes until toothpick come back clean and cake springs back when lightly touched.
5. Meanwhile, coat a silicone baking mat with powdered sugar.
6. When the cake is done, immediately invert it onto the mat. Remove the first silicone mat, and then roll up the cake starting at the narrow end. Let it cool completely.

For the Filling:

1. In a large mixing bowl using a whisk, beat heavy whipping cream and ¼ cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Remove to a separate bowl.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in ¾ cup powdered sugar, strawberry powder, vanilla, and salt.
3. Fold in whipped cream until combined.
4. Carefully unroll the cake. Spread the filling evenly over the entire surface and then roll the cake back up.
5. Place cake roll on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

For the Ganache/Finishing:

1. Heat the whipping cream in microwave for 45 seconds or until hot, then add the chocolate chips. Cover and let it sit for two minutes; stir until smooth. Let the ganache cool slightly before pouring and spreading over the cake.
2. If desired, top with more redi-whip or cool whip and strawberries.
3. Slice and serve. Store leftover cake in the fridge.

Yield/Time

12 servings

5 ½ hours (start to finish)

Nutrition Facts

324

Source (for original): Spend With Pennies

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

So.... confession time. This loaf of bread did not even last one full day in my house. 

It's a quick bread, so smaller than a regular yeast bread, and that makes it okay... right? ;)

With things like this, it's hit or miss with my husband. He might love it, or he might not. He's not much of a sweet bread kinda guy. This, however, is clearly an exception. I think he and I did the most damage to it. The boys each had a few big pieces as their afternoon snack, so they definitely contributed too!

This is definitely a quick bread worth making. It was SO easy, and obviously a hit. (I had hoped to take some for a snack tomorrow to work.... that's clearly not happening.) 

I made some changes to the recipe to make it slightly healthier and more likely to be enjoyed by my family, but if you are looking to gain some pounds check out the original link at the bottom. This is not a low calorie food. ;) 

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite quick bread recipe?

Printable Recipe

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

Ingredients

• ¼ cup applesauce
• ¼ cup softened butter
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅓ cup cinnamon sugar mixture

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray; set aside.
2. In large bowl, mix applesauce, butter, and sugar until well combined. Stir in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Gently stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and buttermilk. 
3. Remove ½ cup prepared batter from bowl and place into a separate smaller bowl, then add cinnamon.
4. Pour half of the prepared batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Spoon half of the cinnamon batter on top of the batter, then swirl with a butter knife. Pour remaining batter on top, then remaining cinnamon batter. Swirl again with butter knife. 
5. Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool 10 minutes, then loosen edges and remove from pan. Carefully place on a plate or cutting board, and sprinkle all sides with cinnamon sugar mixture. (This step must be done while the bread is still warm!!)
7. Slice into pieces and serve warm.

Yield/Time

16 servings

1 ½ hours

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

127

Source (for original): Lauren’s Latest

Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins

I love strawberries. When strawberries are in season here in northern Michigan, we usually buy at least 2 flats... so over 20 pounds. At least. I make 3 or more batches of jam, we eat strawberries for days, and then I freeze whatever is left. Last year, Gabriel & I picked some vs doing the pre-pick, but I think this year I'll have to just buy some that are already picked. I'm due June 25th, so... picking probably isn't going to work out. I'm still hoping that making strawberry jam & freezing strawberries is going to be doable. If baby comes early, this might get interesting. ;) 

After starting to buy local, fresh strawberries a few years ago, I just can't buy them in the store anymore. They just aren't comparable! 

The best thing about getting so many and freezing them in the summer is having strawberries all winter! Then, when I stumble across a strawberry recipe... I don't have to use mediocre ones from the store. 

This recipe is fabulous! These muffins are perfectly sweet, and full of strawberries! My one complaint is that, using frozen strawberries, they seem to be a bit soggy. That didn't stop anyone else from devouring them, though! (Didn't stop me, either.) I always warn people if I'm slightly less than satisfied with the way a recipe is turning out, and everyone told me with this that they will gladly take my rejects. ;) 

If you use frozen strawberries, cut down slightly on the milk. If you use frozen sugared strawberries, the 1/4 cup sugar is not needed! (Unless you want it, in which case I won't judge.) 

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite summer strawberry recipe?

Printable Recipe

Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup sugar *cut out if using sugared strawberries
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk *cut down if using frozen strawberries
• 2 cups strawberries, chopped into pieces
• Cinnamon Sugar Filling/Topping:
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Grease or line a 15 cup muffin tin and set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl, combine applesauce, egg, and milk. Add to the dry ingredients, and fold in strawberries.
3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Reserve half and fold the other half into the batter. Fill each muffin cup with about ¼ cup of the batter. Top with remaining cinnamon sugar filling.
4. Bake for 12-20 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

Yield/Time

15 muffins

45 minutes

Nutrition Facts

163

Source (for original): The Recipe Critic

Nutella Ribbon Pie

There are some things I've made, that I have old pictures for, that I apparently did not post. Some are intentional-- waiting to make again for a better picture, etc. Some are not intentional-- like this Nutella Ribbon Pie! I definitely thought I had already posted it... oops. Apparently I've been holding out on you guys. ;)

One of my friends showed me this recipe ages ago, but it was a video on facebook... in another language. So I had to come up with this on my own, based on the video! It's actually very easy, although it looks slightly complicated. Worth making!!

Essentially, this is thin layers of pie crust, layered with Nutella. Thin layers of flaky, delicious pie crust, smothered in Nutella. It's heaven.

I discovered that this wasn't on here the other day, when I made two--one for my family, one for me to take to work. (Just in case you were wondering just how awesome it is to work with me.) Of course I have to post it now! This is an old picture, however. I like to double it and make two, but I didn't have enough Nutella for that. (Scandalous, I know. Don't worry, I got more Nutella when I got groceries this weekend.) I knew I should take one to work in addition to the one for home, so I just made them both smaller. Thus, no picture.

This is something you definitely should make!

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite thing to do with Nutella?

Printable Recipe

Nutella Ribbon Pie

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ Cups all-Purpose flour
• ¼ Teaspoon Salt
• ⅓ Cup shortening
• 4-5 Tablespoons cold water
• ¾ cup Nutella

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper/silicon mat.
2. In a medium bowl stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea size.
3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the flour mixture, gently toss with a fork. Repeat moistening flour mixture, using 1 tablespoon of the water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened. Form pastry into 5 balls. 
4. Warm Nutella slightly in microwave for 20-30 seconds. DO NOT overheat, just enough to make it more spreadable.
5. On a lightly floured surface, slightly flatten one pastry. Roll pastry from center to edges into a very thin circle. Using a medium sized bowl, cut out an even circle. Transfer to cookie sheet, then spread with a very thin layer of Nutella. Repeat for 4 layers of Nutella; top with final layer of pastry.
6. Set a small glass on top of center of pie, then cut ½” strips out from center, making a sun. (Approximately 12-15 strips.) Remove cup. Do not separate strips from center. Twist each strip twice, then press end back down slightly to hold. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then very carefully remove to plate. Enjoy!

Yield/Time

13 servings

45-50 minutes

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

176

Source (for original): unknown

Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup

I am, truthfully, not a big soup fan. I'll eat it, occasionally; but not a fan. For some reason, this one got my attention, so I thought it was worth a shot.

It is, most definitely, worth making! Nate was at work when I made it, so he hasn't had it yet, but it was a huge hit with the boys and I! I was lazy/in a hurry when I was putting it together, so I did not dice the potatoes very fine, but I just mashed them a bit in my bowl. The boys didn't seem to have a preference--they were eating the pieces until they saw me mashing it with my spoon, then they mashed theirs too. ;) I would recommend cutting the pieces smaller, but it did work this way if you don't have much time to prep.

Adrian absolutely loved it, and Gabriel announced that the spinach was the best part ever. ;) (We may not be perfect parents, but so far we are at least raising them to be less fussy than their mama was/is!!)

One tip/suggestion/comment-- this does not need to be a crock pot recipe! Next time, I am just going to try stove top, and see how that works! I would recommend simmering all ingredients but the spinach & whipping cream for maybe 20-30 minutes, then adding them for another 15-20. However, since I haven't done that yet, you should definitely watch your times!

Remember, comments are loved! What's your go-to soup recipe?

Printable Recipe

Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground sausage
• ½ tablespoon Garlic Garlic, or 1 clove fresh, diced
• ½ tablespoon Onion Onion, or 1/2 small onion, diced
• 4 potatoes, diced
• Dash salt
• Dash pepper
• 4 cup chicken broth
• 2 cups spinach/kale (Original called for kale, but I usually have spinach on hand)
• ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
• Parmesan

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the sausage. (If using fresh onion/garlic, add here and saute for a few additional minutes.)  Drain grease from skillet.
2. In a large crockpot, place sausage, Garlic Garlic, Onion Onion, potatoes, salt, pepper, and chicken broth. Add additional water to cover potatoes as needed. 
3. Gently stir, then cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-4 hours. 
4. Add spinach/kale and whipping cream, stir, then continue to cook for 30 minutes.
5. Serve hot, with parmesan. 

Yield/Time

8 servings

3-7 hours

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

278/serving

Source (for original): Homemade Hooplah

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