German Chocolate Goodness!!

I think its about time we have another dessert posting because desserts make everything better...especially a dessert that has chocolate and coconut.  I love coconut it makes me happy :)

On a side note, I do hope to not make this completely a food blog because I by no means am a chef and as of yet cant really 100% make my own recipes so Im just sharing other recipes (with some tweeks of my own).  I always link back to the original source so please make sure you stop by their blog, let them know I sent you and if you really love their blog as much as I do then follow them!

Today's recipe is from Six Sisters Stuff blog.  These girls are seriously talented and have some super stellar recipes that I have used on multiple occasions with always fantastic results.  Today's recipe is no different and to tell you just how awesome this recipe is...my dad had me leave 4 with him!  He never asks to keep desserts because he likes to eat healthy and doesnt eat a lot of desserts.  Its really a high compliment if he wants seconds :)

German Chocolate Cake Bars

(A SixSisters’ Stuff blog recipe)

Servings: 16    Prep Time: 7min   Cook Time: 24-30min       Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 box devil's food cake mix (not with pudding added)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg

Filling:

• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (fat free is fine)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, butter and egg, and press into the bottom of the prepared pan. The crust should not come up the sides. Bake for 7 minutes and remove from the oven. The crust will not look done.

While the crust is baking, mix together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, egg, pecans and coconut. Pour evenly over the warm crust and sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips. Bake for 24-30 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting into squares.

Now get out there and make some baked goodness!  I really loved these and I know you all remember that Im not a huge fan of chocolate :)  You know I think I might just have to go and make some more they were THAT good!!

-Rachael

Long Time No See!

Hey gang!  Sorry for the radio silence but with the new job and lack of funds there have been no new projects for me to share.  Right now we are working on a plan to make a shelf in the laundry room and a bookcase in the study but until we have the funds to get all the materials those projects are waiting in the wings.  Its not really a bad thing though because my creative juices havent really been flowing lately and I havent been inspired by anything either :(

What I have been doing is cooking...probably too many desserts but who cares!!  To make up for the absence...(well not really since its just one dessert post, but its a good one) I want to share with you a cookie I made a while back and have been waiting to post about it.  These are tasty and light and not too terribly bad for you...as far as cookies go that is.  I think this is more a holiday time cookies, but I dont think any cookie (save eggnog cookies for obvious reasons) should only be made 1 time a year!!  I hope you try these and love them

Lemon-Coconut Snowballs

(A Myrecipies.com recipe)

Servings: 2dozen   Prep Time: 25min     Cook Time: 20min      Cool Time: 35min   Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

·         1 cup unsalted butter, softened (if you only have salted butter just leave out the salt!)

·         1/2 cup powdered sugar

·         1 teaspoon coconut extract

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon rind (I used jarred since I dont keep fresh on hand and it worked fine)

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted

·         1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and extracts, beating well. Add flour, lemon rind, and salt, beating until combined. Stir in coconut. Cover and chill dough 30 minutes.

Shape dough into generous 1" balls; place 1" apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden on bottom, but pale on top. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool 5 minutes.

Place 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a bowl, and roll warm cookies in powdered sugar, coating well. Cool cookies completely on wire racks. Roll cooled cookies in powdered sugar again, coating well.

My husband took these to work and they liked them...not as much as my fantastically awesome sugar cookies but they did like them.  My problem when I made these was I cooked them about 2 minutes too long so they were a little dry.  In my opinion its better to cook a little less, you can always add more time later.  I also used my silicone baking sheets rather than the parchment paper so the bottoms didnt brown.  Nothing wrong with parchment paper I just prefer the silicone baking sheets for a more even color.  

I hope you enjoy these!!

-Rachael 

Foodie Friday #27

Im so happy today is Friday because that means I get to share my awesome Mother's Day dessert with you!!  I was so happy to make this for my mom because its light, fresh, and as close to healthy as a dessert can be.  My mom isnt a big fan of sweets so this was the perfect one to make.  I think the lemon and raspberry help tone down the sweetness and thats just fine because its the perfect blend of happiness in your mouth.  Great summer dessert too since summer berries are now fully in season and wont cost you an arm and a leg to buy!  Truth be told I forgot to add the Cool Whip and berries on the top but I remembered for the picture so thats what counts.  You can serve without the topping but it does seem like its missing something.

You could probably go crazy with the flavor combination but I love lemon so that will always be lemon.  I did sub blackberry preserves for the raspberry and it tasted great too.  Just make sure if you are going to sub you use preserves, jelly doesnt have the same consistency as preserves and wont set the same.  Now on to the dessert!!

Lemon-Raspberry Mousse Squares

(A Kraft recipe)

Servings: 12      Prep Time: 15min    Cook Time: 0     Cool Time: 4hrs    Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

·         48 NILLA Wafers, divided

·         3/4 cup  boiling water

·         1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Gelatin

·         1 cup  ice cubes

·         1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

·         1/4 cup  sugar

·         2 tsp. lemon zest

·         1 tub  (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

·         1/3 cup raspberry preserves

·         1-1/2 cups  fresh fruit (blueberries, raspberries, sliced kiwi, sliced strawberries)

Instructions

  

STAND 16 wafers around edge of plastic wrap-lined 8-inch square pan. Add boiling water to gelatin mix; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in ice until melted. 

BEAT next 3 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gradually beat in gelatin. Whisk in 2 cups COOL WHIP. 

POUR half the gelatin mixture into prepared pan; cover with 16 wafers. Microwave preserves on HIGH 15 sec. or until melted; brush onto wafers. Top with remaining gelatin mixture and wafers. 

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Invert dessert onto plate; remove pan and plastic wrap. Top dessert with remaining COOL WHIP and fruit.

I love this dessert its so light fresh and delicious.  I hope you enjoy it too!

Project Housewife Out!

Im Linking Up!  Come check me out at Joy in the Jumble, Bacon Time, Create Craft Love, Addicted2Decorating, Petals to Picots, Serenity Now, Days of Chalk and Chocolate, Six Sisters Stuff, Flour me with Love, Aldeberry Hill, Add a Pinch, Positively Splendid,Ginger Snap Crafts, Tip Junkie, DIY By Design, Crazy for Crust, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife,Chef in Training,My Girlish Whims, Lil Pink Pocket, Beyond the Picket Fence, Southern Lovely,House of Hepworths, Michelle's Tasty Creations,

Foodie Friday #25

Im so happy its Friday!  I cant wait for this weekend, Joe is going to try and smoke a brisket and I love a good barbeque!!  You know what goes great with brisket...a good sorbet!  This one tastes like those italian ice things, but is much easier to scoop which is awesome in my book.  The best thing about this sorbet is how easy it is to take, bonus its tangy and sweet and cold.  So refreshing and delicious you need to go out and try this.  

Raspberry Lemonade Sorbet

Servings: 6      Prep Time: 5min      Freeze Time: 30min         Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

·         12oz frozen minute maid raspberry lemonade concentrate

·         ¼ c honey

·         1 ¾ c cold water

·         ¾ c frozen raspberry

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process on high speed until smooth and creamy.

Pour mixture into ice cream maker and blend according to mixer instructions.

Put in freezer until sold and serve

So easy right!  I hope you go and try this one because its great for this warmer weather coming out way.  What recipes do you love making, this one is going to be one of them now!

Project Housewife Out! 

Im Linking Up!  Come check me out at Tip Junkie, Crazy for Crust, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Romance on a Dime, Not Just a Housewife, Southern Lovely, DIY By Design, House of Hepworths, Michelle's Tasty Creations, My Girlish Whims, Ginger Snap Crafts

Foodie Friday #23

Its Friday and Im super excited about it!  I started my new job this week but am happy for the weekend to finally be here and take some down time to...wait for it...FINISH THE SIGN...if you dont know what Im talking about then just tune in Monday because shock of shock I will finally be posting the epic conclusion to this masterpiece.  I have to say my husband is extremely talented and it looks fantastic!

For the recipe this week, I made these for my new work buddies but ended up eating them all myself.  Possibly next time I will leave out the Peanut Butter because they were pretty hard not as melty as I normally like my Krispie Treats.  I am a sucker for Butterfinger though and had to try these and were overall totally in love.  Try these out and let me know what you think!

Butterfinger Rice Krispie Treats

(A RecipeGirl blog recipe, modified by Rachael S)

Servings: 9     Prep Time: 25min     Cook Time: 5min            Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 bag large marshmallows
• 4 cups Rice Krispies
• 8 pack of .65-ounce Butterfinger candy bars chopped into chunks

Instructions

 Spray an 8x8-inch pan with nonstick spray.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and peanut butter together over medium heat. Add the marshmallows- stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the Rice Krispies. Stir in the Butterfingers (setting about 1/4 cup aside for the topping). Scrape the mixture into the prepare pan and press it evenly into the pan with clean hands. Let it cool.

Cut the Krispie Treats into nine equal pieces and store them in a covered container. 

What are you waiting for, go try these out an be prepared to want to eat them all!

Project Housewife Out!

Im Linking Up!  Come check me out at Joy in the Jumble, Tidy Mom, Bacon Time, Blissful and Domestic, Create Craft Love, Addicted2Decorating, Petals to Picots, Serenity Now, While He was Napping,Six Sisters Stuff,Positively Splendid, Add a Pinch, Flour Me with Love, Tip Junkie,Not Just a Housewife, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Crazy for Crust, Romance on a Dime, Newlyweds on a Budget,Southern Lovely, DIY by Design, Lil Pink Pocket, Made Famous By, My Girlish Whims, Ginger Snap Crafts,Beyond the Picket Fence, House of Hepworths, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Hear the Bells

Foodie Friday #21

Let me tell you...I am sooo excited to share this recipe with you today!  I have been working on it for about a month now and I think I have it to where I like it.  Im also super excited to share with you what came in the mail yesterday...

(you can buy this here)

Can you guess what today's recipe is going to be yet?  No...well here is another hint.  I made my own vanilla sugar, check it out...

I had to label it otherwise my husband would use it for his coffee and thats not cool!  This container holds a little less than a small bag of sugar.  When I first put the vanilla beans in there you could smell it but it hadnt really penetrated the sugar yet.  Now its been in there for a little over a month and when you open it you are hit in the face with vanilla sugar goodness.  I didnt cut the beans open or anything, I just stuck them in there and wow its awesome how great it smells!

I also bought some silicone baking mats and they make a WORLD of difference.  Recently I bought some new cookie sheets that would fit better side by side in my oven, but they were darker than my old cookie sheets so they kept getting dark on the bottoms too quickly.  This mat not only solved that problems but gives me the perfect light gold color cookie.  It was $10 for each mat, but the amazingness that it provides makes it well worth it.

(you can buy them here)

The last awesome baking item I want to share with you is LorAnn baking emulsions.  I have 4 of them now (Red Velvet, Buttery Vanilla, Sweet Dough, and Princess) and the latest one, Princess, I think is going to be my all time favorite.  Its basically a combination of butter, vanilla, almond, and lemon...all flavors that I have used to try and get the perfect flavor...but now I dont need to experiment, I have the ultimate flavoring!  A word of warning though...these babies are really hard to find.  I got my Red Velvet flavoring from Marshalls Home Goods, but the other 3 I had to buy on amazon.com so if you find them in a local store scoop them up!

(you can buy it here)

So I bet you know by now what we are going to make today...The perfect Sugar Cookie!!  I have gone through many different sugar cookie recipes in my day, but the basic recipe from Bake at 350 is my ultimate favorite.  The best part about it is the fact you dont have to refrigerate it for 1 hour, I hate waiting.  Her royal icing is also my all time favorite.  So here it is, my absolute favorite cut-out sugar cookie and royal icing recipes, see notes at the bottom.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

(A Bake at 350 blog recipe, modified by Project Housewife)

(dont judge me on the icing, I didnt get my cookie decorating kit until yesterday and these were for Easter)

Servings: 3dozen     Prep Time: 15min      Cook Time: 10min       Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 3 c unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 c sugar (I use sugar that I've stored vanilla beans in)
•  2 sticks (salted) butter*, cold & cut into chunks
•  1 egg
•  3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract or 2tsp vanilla bean paste (I prefer the paste it has a richer taste to it)
• 1/2 tsp extract of your choice, I've used almond, Princess, Buttery Vanilla, and a mix of almond and lemon...Princess is my favorite followed by lemon.

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.

The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling.

Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

*salted butter is a must here, but if you dont have salted butter add about 1/4 tsp of salt to the mix.  I have found that not having that salt will leave a bit of an after taste and no one likes that!

Royal Icing

(A Bake at 350 blog recipe)

Servings: about 4 cups    Prep Time: 10min        Cook Time: 0min       Difficulty: Easy


Ingredients

• 4 TBSP meringue powder
• scant 1/2 c. water
• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 1/2 - 1 tsp light corn syrup 
• few drops clear extract (optional*)

Instructions

Combine the meringue powder and water. With the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat until combined and foamy.

Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. Truth be told the first time I did sift but the the second time I didnt and I really didnt see much of a difference, so try it and see what works best for you.

Add in the corn syrup and extract if desired*. 

Increase speed to med-high/high and beat for about 5 minutes, just until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form.  (You should be able to remove the beater from the mixer and hold up and jiggle without the peak falling.) Do not overbeat.

This "stiff" icing is perfect for outlining and even for building gingerbread houses and monogramming. To fill in your cookies, add water to your icing a teaspoon at a time, stirring with a rubber spatula, until it is the consistency of syrup. This technique of filling a cookie with thinned icing is called "flooding."

Cover with plastic wrap touching the icing or divide and color using gel paste food colorings.


*I always add the extract to the icing I love the extra kick of flavor...I have tried almond and wasnt crazy about that, lemon was great, butter vanilla was great and I actually have added a dash of cinnamon and that was surprisingly interesting.  Im still perfecting the flavor of the icing but thats just what makes a basic royal icing fun!


I want to encourage all of you to go to Bake at 350 and read her Royal Icing 101.  Anytime I dont know what Im doing with cookies I go straight to her blog and see what she's got for info.  Also, the Royal Icing 101 has pictures and tips that Im not going to share here because, well they are her's and while Im sharing the recipe here I cant at all take credit for her tips that she has compiled over dozens and dozens of cookie making session.  So if you want to learn some great cookie stuff, go check Bridget out at Bake at 350 (all Bake at 350's are links back to the site in case the links dont stand out)


What do you think???  Going to run home and make these cookies??  Are you going to follow Bake at 350 (because really you should, I love this girl, she comes up with some amazing stuff!)??  Are you just going to droll over these cookies and ask me to make some for you (because really Im fine with that I love making these cookies)??  Whatever you decide thats cool with me!


Project Housewife Out!


Im Linking Up!  Come check me out at Tidy Mom, Bacon Time, Hope in Every Season, Petals to Picots, Addicted 2 Decorating, Six Sisters Stuff, Alderberry Hill, Add a Pinch, Positively Splendid, Blissful & Domestic, Flour me with Love, Tip Junkie, Crazy for Crust, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, Romance on a Dime, Ginger Snap Crafts, Southern Lovely, My Girlish Whims, Lil Pink Pocket, DIY by Design, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Beyond the Picket fence, Made Famous By