Lemon Poke Cake with Lemon Pudding Whip Cream Icing

My husband loves anything lemon and I do mean anything. When I saw this recipe in the latest Kraft magazine, I had to make it. I didn't realize how much of an impression it made until I was shopping and bought the ingredients necessary without fully knowing why ha ha. It was my mother in law who pointed the recipe out to me again and it was decided. The perfect birthday cake for my hubby!
It's a very simple recipe with many options for substitutions. I opted for strawberries on top because who can resist the lemon/strawberry combination? No one I know lol.
There were no complaints from those that devoured this cake and it was super simple to make.
Happy birthday Hubby!! I know you enjoyed the cake!!

Lemon Poke Cake with Lemon Pudding Whip Cream Icing
Source: http://www.kraftcanada.com

Ingredients
2 - 9in white cake rounds, cooled
2 cups boiling water
2 packages Jell-o lemon jelly powder (85g each)
1 package Jell-o lemon flavored instant pudding (4 serving size)
1 cup cold milk
3 cups thawed Cool Whip topping

    Put your completely cooled cake layers into 2 clean 9in round cake pans. It will make it easier and cleaner when adding the jelly. Pierce the cakes at 1/2 inch intervals with a large fork.
    In a bowl, add the boiling water to the jelly powders and stir for 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Carefully pour over the cakes and refrigerate for 3 hours.
    Beat the pudding mix and milk in a large bowl with a whisk for 2 minutes. Stir in the cool whip. Before adding the "icing", you need to un-mold the cakes. To un-mold the cakes, simply dip the bottom of the cake pan in warm water for about 10 sec, quickly dry the pan and then un-mold it. I placed my bottom cake on a plate and then put a layer of whip cream icing. Now I used 8 inch pans because it was all that I had, so I had to trim my bottom layer to make it flat and then iced it. Now repeat steps to un-mold the second cake and place on top of the bottom layer.
    Cover the sides and top with the remaining icing. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Garnish as you like before serving (or before the 1 hour refrigerator time - whatever works best for you).

Happy baking!!!

Beat the Heat with No-bake oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate chip bars

This recipe is a great option for some summer "baking". We do the same thing every year in our house, postpone putting in the air conditioner until it is unbearable. I don't know why we do it, but we do. We suffer and then when we crack, we put the a/c in. LOL. So yesterday was my cracking point. The kids and I were so crabby, and I couldn't do any baking because it was way too hot and sweaty. So my wonderful hubby put in the a/c. Ahhh. And what's great about where we live, it cools off nicely at night and is cool in the morning. So we don't need to run the air all the time. But before I had the a/c in yesterday, I was craving something sweet. I no longer buy baked goods so we needed something. I couldn't bring myself to turn the oven on, that would be a very cruel thing to do. So I found a great recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker (love her recipes - be sure to browse her site!) via Pinterest. The bars are great! They are on the sweeter side for me, but I just cut the bars into smaller portions which also means that they will last a little longer.

No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bars

source: http://www.browneyedbaker.com

Ingredients

3 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 tsp salt

Line an 8 or 9 inch square baking dish with parchment and set aside. I used an 11x7 pan and it did a great job. You can also use 9x13 if you want them to be thinner bars.

In a large heat resistant bowl, stir together the oatmeal, 1 cup of chocolate chips, peanut butter and vanilla. Set aside. 

Combine sugar, milk, butter and salt over medium heat in a small saucepan. Bring to a full boil and boil for 2 minutes. The bubbles should be over the entire surface and it is best to put the timer on for the 2 mins. 

Immediately pour the hot sugar mixture over the oatmeal mixture and quickly stir to combine. Be sure that the oatmeal mixture has been moistened.

Put the oatmeal mixture in the parchment lined pan and press it evenly using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top and gently press them into the mixture. 

Allow the bars to cool for 30 mins at room temp, this will let them set. Using the edges of the parchment paper, lift the bars out of the pan and cut. Store in an airtight container for 1 week at room temp. Because of the heat in our house, I put these in the fridge and they were awesome cold!! Definitely an option. 

Happy baking!

Strawberry Galette

I love strawberries. But I love them so much more when it is strawberry season! I had some strawberries on hand that I didn't want to lose, so I was thinking pie. Then it hit me. I have some puff pastry in the freezer, let's see what this can do. I found a recipe that was so very simple with very few ingredients, just what I was looking for to showcase the flavour of our local strawberries. The site where I found the recipe (and another site she is an editor for - Simple Bites) is wonderful. The recipes are straight forward and the main ingredient is always the star. I urge you to check out her sites!!

Strawberry Galette
source: www.underthehighchair.com

Ingredients
1lb strawberries, washed and hulled
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces
250g puff pastry *see note

Roll out your puff pastry, on a floured surface, to 1/4 inch thick. You can roll it round but I kept mine even simpler, a rectangle. Once rolled, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and chill for 30 mins.
Preheat your oven to 350F.
Slice the strawberries length-wise, 1/4 inch thick. Toss them with the sugar and cornstarch and arrange them on your puff pastry right away. You can place them in concentric circles or since I did my pastry in a rectangle, I did lines. And slightly overlap your strawberries, which ever way you choose to place your strawberries. Be sure to start placing your strawberries 1 inch away from the edge of the dough. Once they are all placed, fold the edge of the dough over the berries.
Whisk the egg yolk and water together, then brush over the dough. Now you can dot your berries with the butter pieces.
Place in the oven and cook about 40 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.

*note: my box of puff pastry had 2 sections for a total of 397g. I ended up using both sides, making 2 galettes. I had a little over a 1lb of strawberries and it turn out great!

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones

I think that this recipe is one of the first (if not the first) recipe that I tried from the www.onceamonthmom.com site. Their site offers so many different menus and recipes, such a great resource. This recipe was fantastic. It is fantastic!  I used it quite often during strawberry season last year. Since strawberry season is creeping up soon, I thought I would pass it along. Scones are so quick to prepare and bake. And of course these are freezer friendly. Can you tell that I'm slightly addicted to scones? I love them. It's a good thing that I put them in the freezer, otherwise, they wouldn't last longer than a day. Be sure to make a batch at the start of strawberry season so that you can take full advantage of the full season! This picture was taken with my phone, so it is not the best quality. As soon as I make a new batch and take a picture, I will update it!

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones
source: www.onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup almonds chopped (optional - I don't use)

Begin by preheating your oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Next, cut in your butter using a pastry blender until it resembles a coarse meal. You could also use to knives to cut the butter in.
Whisk the egg yolk and buttermilk in a smaller bowl. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until the dough begins to come together.
Fold in the chocolate chips and strawberries (gently) and place onto a floured surface.
Shape and pat dough into a large square (I always end up with a rectangle for some reason LOL) and cut into to squares again. Then cut into triangles.
Put them on your lined baking sheet and then into the oven. Bake for about 12-15 minutes.
Let them cool before eating or transferring to a freezer bag.
To reheat, I prefer to pop them in a low heat oven. You can also pop them in the microwave.
Makes 8 servings

Happy baking!

Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars

Here is another wonderful recipe that I found while browsing Pinterest. It is simple and it tastes wonderful. The site where I found the recipe suggested it for an Easter dessert. I have to agree, this would make a wonderful addition to any Easter meal. We usually have a cabane à sucre (sugar shack) Easter meal. No real surprise having grown up on the south shore of Montreal and yearly school trips and family trips to local cabanes. When I was pregnant with my son and my daughter was too young to sit through a meal at the cabane, I decided to change our usual Easter ham family meal into a cabane à sucre. Only real maple syrup, pancakes, scrambled eggs, homefries, bacon, ham, homemade baked beans, sausage and I'm sure there are some other treats in there. If I had this recipe, it would have been right in there. The carrot cake base has a wonderful spice to it and of course the creaminess of the cheesecake blends so well. I think the only thing that I may change the next time I make this (and it has been strongly suggested by my husband that it be made very often), I would use a homemade version of the cream cheese frosting. Once I find one that I love, I will definitely share. So enjoy every bite!

Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars
source: Sweet Treats & More

Ingredients
For the carrot cake base
1 box Betty Crocker carrot cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), soft

For the cheesecake layer
16 oz cream cheese, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

For frosting (optional but I highly recommend)
Pre-made cream cheese frosting (I used Betty Crocker's version)

Preheat the oven to 350F.
For the base: Beat the cake mix, egg and butter until it becomes a thick dough. Press into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Set aside while you work on the cheesecake layer.

For the cheesecake: In a medium sized bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla and continue beating until creamy and smooth.
Pour the cheesecake mixture over the base in the pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the edges start to pull away from the pan. Let them cool completely.
Cut into squares and top each square with a generous dollop of frosting.

Happy baking!

Mini Kiss Pies

While browsing Pinterest, I came across this cute idea to use up some kiss chocolates that I had leftover from the holidays. You could actually use any kind of kiss chocolate, but we had the plain variety so I went with that. I can only imagine what the caramel ones would be like!! It also calls for pre-made pie dough which speeds the process up quite a bit. If I had pie dough in my freezer, I would have used it, but I didn't. So I picked up the refrigerated box variety and although it wasn't the same as the homemade stuff, it was good! The pies were gobbled up, nothing left!

Mini Kiss Pies
source: www.picky-palate.com

Ingredients
1 pie crust, thawed (a refrigerated package contains 2 crusts, so if you make both double the amounts)
16 - 18 kiss chocolates (your choice of flavor)
1 egg white whisked with 1 tbsp of water
granulated sugar
powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350F. Unroll your dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it if necessary. I used a 3 inch circle cookie cutter to cut my circles., but you could simply use a knife. Fold so opposite sides meet at the tip of the kiss and pinch together. Then fold the other 2 opposite sides and pinch at the tip. Now press the edges together to form a criss-cross. Continue cutting dough and re-rolling until you have used up all your dough.
Brush the mini pies with the egg wash and then sprinkle with some granulated sugar. Place onto a baking sheet with a baking liner or parchment paper. Bake for 20-28 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Dust with some powdered sugar and serve.

Happy baking!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake bars

I love anything chocolate chip.  When I found this recipe on Pinterest (I can send you an invite if you're interested in joining), I had to make them ASAP.
Now, I love all desserts but when there are chocolate chips added, it just seems to make the dessert that much better LOL. After making this dessert and sharing it with my family, I realized that I have officially passed on my love of chocolate chip anything to my DD. She's only 3 and already knows how these little bits can make any dessert wonderful. She told me after having her piece that she LOVES chocolate chips. I told her, "so does Mommy" hehe.

These will not disappoint. They were fantastic and a definite share.
And they taste as amazing as they look.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake bars
source: Brandy's Baking

Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate chip cookie dough:
5 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract (I use pure over artificial)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

Cheesecake filling:
10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

   Preheat the oven to 325F. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil allowing a little overhang and spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
   Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove pan to a cooling rack. Leave your oven on.
   While the crust is cooling, prepare the cookie dough. For the next step you can either use a stand mixer or an electric mixer. If using a stand mixer, please use the bowl that comes with it along with the paddle attachment. In a bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour on low speed and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla on low speed just until incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter onto the prepared crust. Using your hand to form teaspoon-sized clumps, distribute the cookie dough on top of the cheesecake batter. Be sure to use all of the dough.
   Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top (cookie dough) feels fry and firm and the entire pan looks set if given a gentle shake. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or for at least a couple of hours.
   Lift the bars out by the overhang and cut into squares for serving.

Happy baking!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Just after Christmas, I purchased The Looneyspoons Collection cookbook. It is a combination of old but updated recipes and some new ones.
I made these mostly for my kids but of course my DH and I eat them as well. The only thing that I changed was instead of regular muffin tins, I used my mini muffin tins. The larger muffins were just too much for my kids. And I also have a great stash in the freezer!!
These muffins taste amazing and are very moist. And you can't go wrong with chocolate chips now can you!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
from the Looneyspoons Collection cookbook

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups quick cooking rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup puréed canned peaches (see * below)
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups Nutri Flour Blend (see ** below)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
* Drain the canned peaches well and purée them using a blender, hand blender or food processor.
** Nutri Flour Blend is made by Robin Hood. If you don't have any, you can use a mix of 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour.

   Preheat oven to 375F. Spray your muffin tins (regular or mini) with some cooking spray and set aside.
   Pour the milk over the oats and stir. Let it sit for 20 mins. Once 20 mins have passed, stir in the puréed peaches, egg, butter and vanilla. Set aside.
   Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add oat mixture and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter should be thick.
   Divide the batter in your 12 muffin cups or your mini muffins. I was able to make 48 mini muffins this last batch.
   Bake for 20 minutes (or approx 10 minutes for the mini muffins), or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Once cool enough to touch, remove muffins from pan and let cool on wire rack.
   If you are lucky enough to have some leftover after the first wave of trying them (over and over again), I suggest freezing some. Just pop 'em in the microwave for a quick warm and they taste like they are fresh out of the oven all over again!

I can't tell you enough how much I love the Looneyspoons books. A definite purchase!! Healthy recipes full of taste makes a great cookbook.

Happy baking!

I'm a baking addict at the moment

Scones are what I'm addicted to making at the moment.

I loved them when I made them in cooking school but then it seems that I forgot about them. How I forgot about these light and flaky delights I'll never understand. But I have found them again thanks to a few internet sites that I browse often. They are so quick and easy to put together, that they are perfect for a busy mom, heck a busy anybody! They take minutes to mix up and 15-20min in the oven and they are done! Great as part of your breakfast or a snack at any time of the day. Can you tell that I love them? The first recipe that had me lovin' these again was Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones from onceamonthmom.com. Truly a wonderful site where I have never been steered wrong on a recipe. Every one of their recipes turns out great and tastes even better!! I made these when strawberries were in season or when they are on sale. But then I needed a replacement for when I didn't have strawberries. Lo and behold, while searching tastykitchen.com, I found a recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Scones. At this point, I must share with you that I love {LOVE} anything with chocolate chips. I think it's one of those things that always brings me back to being a little girl and baking with my mom. So when I see a recipe with chocolate chips, I usually have to try it. And these scones were definitely no exception. The scones are a hit with anyone who tries them! So jump right in and give 'em a try!

Light tasting with a touch of golden crunch!

Banana Chocolate Chip Scones
by thesimplenest via tastykitchen.com

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
9 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 whole banana, not too ripe

Preparation
Preheat your oven to 400F and line 1 or 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, brown sugar and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and then use a pastry cutter to blend into the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the vanilla and milk until the dough begins to come together. Now, stir in the chocolate chips. Cut up your banana into small chunks but be sure you don't mash it because it will add too much moisture to the scones. Mix in the chopped banana until just blended. Form the dough into a rectangle on a clean counter or work surface and then cut into triangles. Try not to overwork the dough as it will become a little tough.
Bake for approx 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool and eat! Or you can freeze them once they are completely cool and then pop them in the microwave for a quick warm up before eating.

Happy baking!