Dairy Free Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars

Alright, first of all: there is no molasses. There is no full-lactose cream cheese. And these are about to be so addicting you wish to eat the entire pan. Right here, right now.

 

 

Dairy Free Lemon Muffins

I believe Saturdays are for watching Parks and Recreation and eating some breakfast burritos and muffins with the one you love. Now I have found a lot of store-bought muffin mixes have dairy in them so I could not just make those. Plus, I have leftover sour cream from my Strawberry Cake recipe from last week, so why not use it!

(Dairy Free) Strawberry French Cake

Well hello there! It has most definitely been a long time since I have posted here, almost two years in fact. This summer I am going to try and be active regularly again, but let us start today with Dairy Free Strawberry French Cake!

 

 

Salted Caramel Blondies

   First things first, sorry I did not have a new recipe for you guys last week. I have just been so dang busy! Also, it is difficult to bake in 100 degree heat, especially because the oven makes it even hotter! Well, today was a bit windy so I decided to do some baking, but then the heat picked up so I spent as little time in the kitchen as possible. Nonetheless, I still have a great recipe to share with you guys today!

S'mores Brownies

   As a popular camping dessert, why not bring the s'mores to the kitchen? Sure, there are a heckuva lot of s'mores recipes, but I would say this one is by far the best. It has the sweetness of the chocolate, the crunch of the graham crackers, and even the gooey-ness of the marshmallows! And, knowing me, I looove me some marshmallows! An added bonus to this recipe is that is another of the easy 1-2-3's that are loved by the whole family!

Almond Joy cookies

   Two recipes in one week? Bonus! This time I took the Perfect Cookie Base recipe from Cookies and Cups and mixed in my favorite candy, Almond Joy. Almost any chocolate should work for this recipe, but if the candy you are using is bigger than the average chocolate chunk, it should be cut up or crumbled before being folded into the batter. Anyways, these cookies turned out really amazingly, and my family just couldn't stop eating them!

Strawberries and Cream Cookies

   Spring is here, and what better way to celebrate it than with a cookie with strawberries in it! The strawberries are not fresh, but they are just as amazing anyways. They also add a little pop of color, otherwise these would just be white chocolate chip cookies!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

   Sorry for the hiatus, I was just on spring break and the the week after is always quite hectic! But now that the hype has all died down people have been asking about when the next time I'll bake is, and today is the day! These little guys will be going to school and tested to see if this is a keeper recipe or not. Personally, I think they are very well done with a very brownie-like taste....it's just so much chocolate!! 

Lava Chocolate Chip Cookies

   You know that feeling where you bite into a warm chocolate chip cookie, and just by chance you bite into the middle of a chocolate chip? You know, the one that fills your mouth with warm, silky smooth chocolate that makes you want to stay in that moment, right then and right there? Well that is the exact thing you will experience as soon as you bite into this cookie. I mean, of course you can still bite into a warm chocolate chip, but the middle is where the party is at!

Gummy Bear Thumbprint Cookies

   Valentines day is coming up! And how better to celebrate than the making of cute little cookies to share with friends and family? And the perfect part? They are sweet and fruity, unlike the subtle tangy-ness of my nerds cupcakes I made last week. The actual heart shape idea came from a Beautiful Mess, and the recipe itself came from The Baking Robot. The only (visible) difference between the two recipes is that a Beautiful Mess made half of the original recipe and created hearts instead of the original thumbprint shapes in the dough.

Nerds Cupcakes

   So do you guys know about those SUUPER huge nerds boxes? Well, my dad got one down in Vegas thinking it would be full of just the candy....and bummed that it was all individual boxes. So these nerds have ending up in the candies bowl but nobody has eaten them! And what a better way to eat nerds than in a cupcake? 

   

    

Hot Chocolate Cookies

So I have had the pleasure to get some snow today....well, some snow at least. At this point, anything is better than nothing! I just wish that it was sticking to the ground, making snow angels and snowmen are definitely fun!

   Either way, snow and cold must mean only one thing... HOT CHOCOLATE!! I absolutely looove hot cocoa, and will make almost any excuse in order the drink it! Well, I stumbled across this recipe on the Pinterest cookies page, and knew that I would need an excuse to make these cookies (as well as a cup of hot cocoa to drink). The sad part is, I had to sacrifice my highly coveted marshmallows stash...but these cookies were definitely worth it! 

Ice Cream Sundae Cookies

   Sooo.... my friends all know how much I love ice cream. I mean, I can eat it with breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday and be fine (as long as i get to change flavors every now and then). Well, ice cream and marshmallows (Mhmmm marshmallows).

   So when I come across this cookie recipe on Cookies and Cups that is the essence of ice cream in a cookie, of course I had to try it out! and ohmygoodness they are amazing! I would have used M&Ms if I had them, but I didn't so I used chocolate chip cookies instead. It just makes it so it has more of a chocolate chip taste to it, until you get a bite into the crisp waffle cone and get reminded that this is an ice cream cookie recipe!

(Baked) Cinnamon Doughnut Holes

   So I am definitely a HUGE fan of doughnuts( Krispy Kreme first fav, Doughboys second) and wanted to make my own doughnuts at home. Soo scrolling down the doughnut page on Pinterest I see that the doughnuts are: fried, fried, has a weird ingredient I have never heard of, fry, fry, fried, and so on. But then finally, FINALLY I found a baked doughnut recipe that not only is not fried, but also had no yeast.

(Yeast Free) Cinnamon Roll Dippers

   Sorry for the Vacation there! School just got so crazy. But now I am back, and with a brand new recipe! oh yes, and this is an amazing inside-out cinnamon roll recipe that does not have any yeast in it! That is right, these dippers are amazingly soft and just oerfect with the icing-like dip. Oh yes, and it is a very easy recipe that can be made the night before, then baked the next day! For someone as busy as me, it is definitely a convinience to split it up like that.

    I found this recipe on Pinterest (as with most recipes), and then it took me to this cute little site called Creme de la Crumb that actually has A Lot of recipes dealing with yeast free cinnamon rolls. The link to this original recipe can be found here.

Cranberry Bliss Cookies

    So, if you are a regular Starbucks fan (as I am) then you know that with the holiday season comes not only Pumpkin Spice Lattes, but also the amazing delectable Cranberry Bliss Bars. Mhmm those things are what I live for around this time of year! Well that, and the snow, which never seems to want to fall where I live. Bummer!! At least the weather is cold enough to sit by the fire and drink Hot Chocolate!

   Also, this time of year is when my Culinary Class starts selling cookbooks. And this year they are completely new design with new recipes that have been collected from all culinary educated throughout the entire United States. One of the books is about entrees  appetizers, with a few desserts; while the other one is all about the holidays and includes both baking and crafts in it. Flipping through both of the books, I finally found a recipe called "Cranberry Hollybrook" in the holidays cookbook. I have no idea what a hollybrook is, but after making and tasting these cookies, I realize it is just a Cranberry Bliss Bar disguised as a cookie! A bonus to these cookies is the holiday colors...as well as the wonderful smells that will fill your house!

Mini Apple Cobbler

   Ahh, the apple season is underway, with Halloween soon to follow! And then Christmas, which is when the baking happens most! Well, unless you are at my house, there is a huge baking project every time we have people come over! This time is was for a cross-country spaghetti feed for my Brother and his team, and Laurie had the cooking to do while I baked. I was in the kitchen four hours after school on Wednesday, without stop. Here are pictures of what I made:

Here we have some Lemon Poppy seed muffins with Cream Cheese frosting, and Caramel Apple cookies with Caramel Apple frosting. Both of these mixes and frostings can be found at your local Walmart (yes, I know, store-mixes. I just didn't have to or the supplies to create everything from scratch).

Apple Pie Cookies

   Fall is here! With the change in weather also means the flooding of apples at my house! And with these apples comes Applesauce-making time! But what about the extra apples that don't get applesauce-ed? Well, if they aren't eaten they get cooked into foods or desserts. Mostly pies, but this time I have a cookie recipe that uses apples!


   This recipe was found through Pinterest, which sent me to Redbook to find this recipe. Now, I don't have any powdered sugar to make the icing, nor do I like icing my cookies, so I left it off. I also left out the cherries and walnuts, but the cookies taste amazing all the same. They are wonderfully light and fluffy, plus the perfect balance of cinnamon and apples. Try this recipe out if you have a chance!

First things first, the apples. While you butter sits on the counter to soften you can be cutting up both the apples called for in the recipe. Now, I don't have a box grater so the smaller apples you see on the left are just chopped into small pieces. On the right they are slightly bigger, and this is just to help incorporate the whole apple flavor into the cookies.

   After you create the dough you have to mix the apples in. The dough will be pretty thick, but that is okay. That is exactly what you want for these cookies. Then you just stir in all the apples until everything is well incorporated.

   The last thing you do before the baking process is to drop dough by the spoonfuls onto your prepared cookie sheet. Either non-stick spray or parchment paper works fine for that. Plop it in the oven for 10-12 minutes, then viola they are done! You can eat them warm or wait until they are cooled off. Either way, they are amazing!

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

2 Apples:Peeled, cored, and quartered

2 1/3 cups Flour

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1/8 tsp Ground Cloves

1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1 1/4 cups Brown Sugar, packed

3/4 cups Butter or Margarine, softened

2 Large Eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease baking sheets with non-stick spray, or line with parchment paper. Chop up one apple into small pieces, leave the other  one alone. Set aside.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, blend the brown sugar with the butter. Then, beat in the eggs one at a time, until well blended. Then stir in the flour mixture, the dough will be thick. Stir in both the apples.

4. Drop dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2-inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until the edges have started to brown and the top has set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

   Enjoy! Both warm or not these cookies taste fabulous!! Store in an air-tight container for up to three days(if the family doesn't eat them right away)

Try this recipe? Tell me how it went below in the comments!

Scraps Cookies

   Alright, so these cookies definitely have many names. The can be called Garbage Cookies or Everything but the kitchen sink, as well as a 'nicer' and 'cleaner' name, Scrap Cookies. They get their name from there ingredients, which really can be anything. I mean, this is the cookie where you can put in any leftover ingredients from previous baking jobs, and it will still taste fabulous! There is definitely no set recipe for this past the actual dough preparation, so go ahead and be creative!


   I originally received this recipe through a client of mine. Over the summer I catered for the first leg of her daughters Bat Mitzpha, and she provided the recipes. I also prepared lemon bars, carmelita bars, and my favorite, M&M cookies. All were fabulous, and the job ended well! Now these recipes sit in my notebook, waiting to again be picked up and shared to the goodness of the world. Hang on people, you will see them soon!

These are the ingredients I blended into my batter. As you can see, I have: pretzels, oats, coconut, craisins, assorted nuts, and chocolate chips. You can also add in Rice Krispies cereal for a bit of crunch, or a specific nut if you only like certain kinds. And each of these ingredients are easily removable as well, especially since not everyone always like whats in a certain cookie. It's also easy to mix in any other items you can find laying around the kitchen, waiting to be used, so be creative! Oooh you can even make a Candy Scraps cookie with little candy pieces  I might have to try that for Halloween, so be on the lookout for a recipe!

Then, after you combine the ingredients with the dough, drop them onto an un-greased baking sheet. You can roll them into balls if you like, these are one of the cookies that actually holds their shape while baking. Either way, these cookies will come out fluffy and full of flavor once out of the oven. Mmmmm, they are best right out of the oven, when everything is still gooey and falling apart! Yum!

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Shortening (or Margarine)

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

2 cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

2 cups Oatmeal

1 cup Coconut, shredded

1/4 cup Assorted Nuts

12 oz bag Chocolate Chips

1 cup Craisins

1/4 cup Pretzels

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the shortening, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix up the remaining ingredients. Then combine with the dough and mix until everything is well incorporated.

4. Drop balls of prepared dough onto an un-greased baking pan, then cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges have a golden brown color. Cool and enjoy!

Try this recipe? Tell me how it went down below in the comments!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

   I am definitely liking my caramel this week!! Although this time, instead of Hershey's kisses, I used caramel topping. You know, the caramel stuff you put on top of ice cream to make some caramel sundaes? Yeah, that's what I used in this recipe, since I didn't have any caramel chips and heavy cream on hand. I have to admit, it still tasted pretty good though! I sold these bars at school for $1 apiece, and even the students enjoyed them! They may not look like much at first, but that first bite will take you to a whole new realm of flavor. The salt balances well with the chocolate and caramel, as long as you don't go too overboard on it.

   This recipe is adapted from Blahnik Baker, which takes absolutely amazing pictures and always  has good recipes to try! I discovered this site through Pinterest, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Maybe some day my blog will look as good as that, but that itself is its own dream. For now, focus on school! But I took this recipe and followed it pretty closely up until the caramel part. I used Caramel topping (Smackers brand) instead of the caramel chips and heavy cream. The end results look different, but they still taste amazing!

So I mixed the dough, then placed half of it in this Pam-sprayed 8x8 pan. Then I poured some of the Caramel topping on the top and spread it with a spatula. Make sure it is an even coat, but you can add as much or as little caramel as you want. After you are done pouring the caramel, sprinkle your salt over the top. Table salt works fine if you don't have sea salt for this part.

This is what my pan looked like after I placed the remainder of the cookie dough over the caramel. You can try to spread it around with a spatula,  not push down too hard or the caramel will integrate with the cookie dough. I also sprinkle this layer with salt, so that there will be the saltiness throughout each bar.

Just stick them in the oven for 30 minutes, and you're done! You can see that the caramel did integrate with the cookie dough a little bit, but that was probably because I put a lot of salt on it. Either way, they taste amazing and have a cool marble look to it. They are easiest to cut after a few hours when they have cooled a bit, or if you are super excited to eat them (as I was), then you just need to grad a fork, it's going to be goey!

Recipe:

Adapted from Blahnik Baker

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/8 cups Flour

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

3/4 cup Butter, melted and cooled

1 cup Light Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Sugar

1 large Egg, room temperature

1 large Egg Yolk, room temperature

2 teaspoons Vanilla

2 cups Chocolate Chips

Smackers Caramel Dessert Topping

Sea Salt, preferred, for sprinkling (table salt works fine too)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 pan or line with parchment paper(leaving an overhang). If using parchment paper, spray that with nonstick spray as well.

2. In a large bowl, which together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. In another large bowl combine the butter with both sugars until combined. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Slowly stir in the cry ingredients until just combined. The stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Pour half of the batter in your prepared pan. Cover with a layer of Caramel sauce, then sprinkle the salt over that. Then, drop the remaining cookie dough over the top of the caramel and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle with salt again.

5. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a the edges are a light brown color and peel away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Try this recipe? Tell me how it went down below in the comments!