Delicious Cookie Dough Truffles Recipe!

We are doing our annual cookie bake  at my Grandma's farm again this year and I thought it might be fun to try something new and mix it up a little.  So I went on a search for something delicious and hit the jackpot!  I found these Cooke Dough Truffles and saw that the reviews were pretty impressive.  I decided to give them a test run before the cookie bake JUST to make sure! :)

Mine are ever-so-slightly different than the original recipe, which can be found here if you are interested.  Here is my modified recipe:

Cookie Dough Truffles-

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1-1/2 pounds chocolate candy coating/almond bark

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips. 
• Chill dough for at least an hour or until it becomes easy to work with.
• Shape into 1/2 to 3/4 inch balls. Place on plate.  Make sure they are still nice and firm before the next step.  If they are softening, chill a while longer.
• In a microwave, melt candy coating or almond bark; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper. Allow to harden. If desired, remelt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy!  Let me know if you try these! 

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A Delicious Boneless Wings Recipe!

Hi everybody!

I want to share this delicious recipe with you.  I found it somewhere online, but I don't remember where, otherwise I would credit them!  Since I found this recipe, we've made it several times (chicken strip style rather than being tossed in sauce to make eating with children cleaner and easier) with only a slight variation- instead of preparing the sauce, we just use our favorite barbeque sauce, Sweet Baby Rays.  This one is definitely worth trying!  Anyway, here it is!

Boneless Wings
Ingredients:

• oil for deep frying
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Combine flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and paprika in a large bowl. Whisk together the egg and milk in a small bowl. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, and then roll in the flour blend. Repeat so that each piece of chicken is double coated. Refrigerate breaded chicken for 20 minutes.
3. Fry chicken in the hot oil, in batches. Cook until the exterior is nicely browned, and the juices run clear, 5 to 6 minutes a batch.
4. Combine hot sauce and butter in a small bowl. Microwave sauce on High until melted, 20 to 30 seconds. Pour sauce over the cooked chicken; mix to coat.

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Cheesecake- A Crowd Pleasing Dessert!

Hi everybody,

I know I've shared this cheesecake recipe with you once before, but it is just so delicious, I thought maybe some of you would want to make it today or tomorrow for your Christmas get-togethers.  It is definitely a family favorite of ours and it isn't hard at all to make, just kind of time consuming.  It's definitely a winner if you're looking for something to wow your friends and family!

Delicious Cheesecake Recipe

I hope you enjoy it!  If you make it, let me know how it turns out!

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Ma's Delicious Homemade Apple Pie Recipe!

Anyone who tries my Mom's apple pie agrees about one thing.  It is about the best apple pie they've ever had!

Well, with Autumn definitely here and the apple season at its peak, I thought that this would be the perfect time to share this wonderful recipe!

First, it's a good idea to prepare your filling.

Apple Pie Filling-
6 to 8 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Dash ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter

Mix all ingredients except butter, cover, and set aside.

Now that your filling is ready and waiting, it is time to work on your crust.

Pie Crust-
2 cups sifted flour
1tsp. salt
2/3 cups shortening
5 to 7 Tbsp. cold water

Sift flour and salt together; cut in shortening with a pastry blender until pieces are the size of small peas.  Sprinkle water 1 Tbsp. at a time over the mixture, mixing just until dough starts to clump together.

Divide dough into portions and roll out so that the dough accommodates the size of your pan.

You can see the wheat decoration used for escaping steam.

Place bottom crust into pie pan.  Next, add the filling to the pan.  Divide butter into several pieces and place them on top of the filling.  Top with unbaked pie crust topper and press edges together.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Poke several holes to allow steam to escape (or use the tip of a knife to poke a pretty design in the top that serves the same purpose, but looks more gorgeous...).  Bake for 50 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown.  Remove and enjoy! 

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Here's a Strawberry Shortcake Recipe You'll Love!

I made a quick mention about my Mom's strawberry shortcake in yesterday's strawberry post (if you haven't read it, it's here... and it's funny!).  After I reread my post, I thought, "I really need to share that recipe!" So, without further ado, here it is!

Susie's Strawberry Shortcake

2 cups all-purpose four
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup light cream (half and half)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
Strawberries- these can be fresh or frozen, mashed or sliced.

In a mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt.  Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or large fork until mixture resemble coarse crumbs.  Combine the egg and light cream; add all at once to flour mixture, stirring with for just to moisten.  Spread dough in a greased 9 inch round baking pan or a greased 8x8x2 inch baking pan, building up edges slightly.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool slightly.


Place sliced or mashed strawberries into a small bowl and add sugar to taste.


Cut and serve shortcake topped with strawberries.  You may optionally add milk or cream to your shortcake and top with whipped cream, as well.


I hope you all give this a try!  It is the perfect summer dessert!  Enjoy!  Let me know how it turns out!

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Chantal's New York Cheesecake Recipe!

In an earlier blog post, I offered to post my cheesecake recipe if anyone wanted it.  Well, I received a recipe request from Babymama at Ava Grace's Closet, so I'm pleased to share it!  I don't know who to give credit to for this recipe, except for Chantal!  I found this recipe on a cooking site a few years ago and have been making it ever since!  This is restaurant quality, or better!

Chantal's New York Cheesecake
Yield- One 9" Springform Pan
Preptime- 30 Minutes
Cooktime- 1 Hour
Ready in - 7 Hours and 30 Minutes  (or a bit less if you're in a big hurry!)

Before beginning, it is a good idea to let your cold ingredients acclimate to room temperature, most importantly, the cream cheese.  This helps to eliminate lumps.


4 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 cup flour


Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

Mix together well.

First, prepare a water bath to bake your cheesecake in by placing a cookie sheet or cake pan large enough for your springform pan to fit into in the oven.  Put an inch of water into the cookie sheet.  (I recommend using an old sheet or pan, if possible.)  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare your springform pan.  Use aluminum foil to wrap the outside of the pan in order to make the seam area at the bottom of the pan waterproof.  Grease the bottom and edges of the pan with shortening.  Prepare a graham cracker crust.  Press into your well-greased pan.

Note: if using an electric stand mixer, be sure to use a spatula to scrape the bowl between each ingredient addition to avoid chunky cheesecake and keep is smooth and creamy.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth.  Blend in milk, then mix in eggs one at a time,  mixing just enough to incorporate.  Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth.  Pour into pan.


Bake for 1 hour.  Keep an eye on your water bath during the baking hour to ensure that it doesn't run dry.  Replenish with more water if necessary.  Turn oven off.  (The center 3 to 4 inches of your cheesecake will still look very wobbly.  This is normal!)  Carefully pull the oven rack that the cheesecake is baking on out of the oven far enough that you can run a greased knife around the edge of the cheesecake.  Slide the rack back in and shut the oven door.  Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door closed for 5-6 hours to prevent cracking.  Chill in refrigerator before serving.  


Serve with your favorite topping and enjoy!


Now, let me tell you that the cooling times and techniques given are ideal, but not 100% necessary.  If I'm trying to speed the process along, I'll follow this process instead:  Bake for an hour... blah blah blah... Slide the rack back in, but leave the oven door cracked open and allow the cheesecake to cool for as long as you can (preferably at least an hour).  When you must, pull the cheesecake out of the oven and put it immediately into the refrigerator.

The only reason for the long, drawn out cooling process is to avoid a crack in the cheesecake- it is purely cosmetic.  It is really more important that your cheesecake be very firm and cool from refrigeration than having look perfect, but be warm or soft.  Honestly, I normally shorten the process quite a bit and have only had my cheesecake crack once and it was pretty minor!

I hope you all enjoy this!  It is a little bit of a hassle, but once you take a bite, you'll know it was worth it!!

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Homemade Play Dough Recipe- Fun, Cheap, Non-toxic, and Completely Chemical Free!

Hi Everybody! 

First off, I'd like to apologize that my posts have been lacking a little over the last few days.  We've been CRAZY busy and it's been hard to make any blogging time!  But the good news is, our busyness is finally letting up a little!

Tonight, I've got a great little recipe for you.  It's for homemade play dough.  I've made this dough several times, and it is really awesome!  The kids I babysit for give it two thumbs up!  Moms- this will be your Mother's Day gift from me to you!  You and your kids can not only play with this the dough that this recipe yields, but you can make the recipe together.  It's a great way to spend some quality time!  Keep in mind that you do cook the dough on the stove, so helping with that part isn't suited for little kids.

Homemade Play Dough
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup water
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. food coloring


Combine flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a saucepan.  Gradually stir in water, oil, and food coloring.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms.  Immediately remove from heat and knead until smooth (as soon as your hands can take the heat!).  Makes one really good-sized ball of dough.


For extra fun, try mixing in different extracts to add some scent!  I've used almond extract, just because I had it handy, but I think that using mint extract in green dough, orange extract in orange dough, or lemon extract in yellow dough, etc. would be great!  You can also add glitter to spice it up a little. 

Enjoy this recipe!  Let me know how it turns out for you!  I can't wait to hear what dough variations you make! 

Happy early Mother's Day, everyone!

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Rainy day are good for something... brownies!

It is quite a rainy day here in Southeast Minnesota.  It's cold and dreary and the rain just keeps coming.  You can't get anything done outside on a day like today, but if you're motivated rainy days are great for cleaning, but better yet, they are great for baking!  I've got a brownie recipe that is to die for!  Give them a try.  They're fast and easy to make and you'll be so happy you tried them.   Here is the recipe!

Grandma Alice's Brownies
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup walnuts (optional- I leave them out)


Mix all ingredients together just to blend.  Spread in 9x13 inch pan.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 25 minutes. 

A scrumptious brownie!

I recommend using a metal pan rather than glass if you have one.  The edges tend to get a little hard when a glass pan is used.

Note: Sorry I don't have a picture, yet.  If my hubby is lucky, I'll make a batch this afternoon and take a picture of those!

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The Easiest, Most Delicious Dessert- Heavenly Cream Cheese Bars!

If you are looking for a perfect Easter dessert that will impress the crowd, I've got you covered!  These Heavenly Cream Cheese bars are what you've been looking for!

I was reminded again recently just how good these bars are last week.  This dessert is fast, easy, and quick to make and it really couldn't be any more delicious.  I tried them on a new, unsuspecting victim last week and they are, as he says, "Mmmm... cream cheese heaven!"  Give them a try and you'll be happy you did.

Here is the recipe:


Heavenly Cream Cheese Bars
2 packages croissant rolls (regular or 1/3 less fat work well)
1 cup sugar
2- 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 egg- separated

Topping:
1/4 sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon


Grease a 9x13 inch pan.  Spread 1 package of croissant rolls out in the pan and pat them flat.  Try to avoid any gaps.  Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and egg yolk.  Spread out in pan.  Spread the 2nd package of croissant rolls out on top and pat them flat.  Beat egg white with mixer or fork until it becomes foamy.  Spread it on top.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

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