Yuppy Brownies- Feeding the Flock 23

 

Preheat oven 350º

1 box supreme chocolate chunk brownie mix (prepared the way the box says: 1 egg, 1/3 cup vegetable oil and ¼ cup water)

1/3 cup trail mix (I used Great Value Indulgent Deluxe)

1 cup mini marshmallows

½ cup coconut

Mix all ingredients together and spread into a lightly greased 9X9 cake pan.

Bake at 350º for 35 minutes.  Let cool, remove from pan, slice.

Enjoy,

Find out if Yankees are allowed over in the writing studio.

Cream Puffs

 

Cream Puffs

 

½ cup butter (1 stick)

1 cup water

4 eggs

1 cup flour

¼ tsp. salt

 

Bring one cup water to boil.  Add butter and stir to melt.  Add flour and salt all at once.  Stir vigorously until mixture is smooth and forms a ball in pan.  Cool slightly (about 2 minutes) and add eggs, one at a time, stirring briskly after each one. Using pastry bag, twirl dough into 12 puffs on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake 450º for 15 minutes, then turn down to 325º and cook an additional 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

 

Fill with pudding or whipped cream and top with mocha chocolate frosting.

 

 

Chocolate Mocha Frosting

 

6 tbsps. Cocoa

6 tbsps. HOT coffee

6 tbsps. Butter

1 tbsp. Baileys Irish Cream (secret ingredient because I was out of vanilla extract)

3 cups (or so) confectioners’ sugar

 

Combine cocoa and coffee, add butter and Bailey’s, beat until smooth.  Add sugar gradually until of spreading consistency.

 

© Crackerberries 2021

Funny Bone Cupcakes

FUNNY BONE CUPCAKES

Drake’s Funny Bones inspired this recipe because they are not available where I live.  They are my favorite sweet treat.  These cup cakes are close, but nothing quite like the real thing.

FILLING

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. milk

CUPCAKES (feel free to cheat and use a pre-packaged chocolate cake)

2 cups sugar

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup baking cocoa

1½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup water

1 cup milk

½ cup canola oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

FROSTING

1/3 cup butter, softened

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

6 tbsp. baking cocoa

3 to 4 tbsp. milk

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and milk until smooth; set aside. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, water, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened (batter will be thin).

Fill paper-lined jumbo muffin cups half full with batter. Drop a scant tbsp. of peanut butter mixture into center of each; cover with remaining batter.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine frosting ingredients until smooth; drizzle over cupcakes.

Store in the refrigerator.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 

Fun Facts about Sweets

• The U.S. produce more chocolate than any other country in the world but the Swiss consume the most, followed closely by the United Kingdom.
• The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the body temperature, which is why chocolate melts when you put it in your mouth.
• Chocolate can be lethal to dogs. Chocolate's toxicity is caused by Theo bromine, an ingredient that stimulates the cardiac muscle and the central nervous system. For a 10-lb puppy about two ounces of milk chocolate can be poisonous.
• More than $7 billion a year are spent on chocolate.
• Sixty million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced each year.
• Americans eat 25 pounds of candy, per person, per year. The people of Denmark eat more 36 pounds of candy per person, per year.

Welcome to the 2018 A-Z Blogging challenge.  This will be my fourth year. Every year I take on the challenge with hopes of disciplining myself to keep writing throughout the year as much, if not more than just through the monthly challenge. (It certainly is a challenge.)  Some years are better than others.  Some I just lose track of time.  This year I have decided to put my favorite hobbies together. A recipe that is tried and true as well as some thoughtful insight.  Please note some of these recipes have been shared before, however they have gone through years of testing and this is the perfected recipe.  I really hope one of my recipes or “Food for Thought” inspires you to do something great.  Enjoy the read and the photos, try the recipe, share your thoughts or comments, and most of all, have FUN with the challenge this month!  

Cheers,

COOKIES-Chocolate Filled Peanut Butter Cookies

CHOCOLATE FILLED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

½ cup butter  
½ cup crunchy peanut butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1¼ cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375º

Beat the peanut butter and butter together on high speed for 30 seconds or long enough to combine. Add sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder and mix until combined, being sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add flour.

Drop by tbsp. or a small ice cream scoop (my favorite cookie tool), onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375º for 7-9 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool completely on wire racks.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
½ cup margarine
½ cup cream cheese
1-2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine cocoa and confectioner’s sugar together and mix well. In large bowl beat margarine and cream cheese and vanilla together until well combined. Gradually add cocoa sugar mixture until frosting consistency, adding heavy cream as needed to make smooth.

Fill cookies with frosting and store any leftovers that the COOKIE MONSTER doesn’t eat in refrigerator.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Fun Facts about Cookies

·         The first commercial cookie in the U.S. was the Animal Cracker, introduced in 1902.

·         The Oreo, the best-selling cookie of the 20th century, was developed and introduced by the American company Nabisco, in 1912.

·         July 9th is National Sugar Cookie Day.

·         December 4th is National Cookie Day.

·         The U.S. leads the world as the biggest cookie bakers and eaters, spending more than $550 million annually on Oreos alone.

·         The Girl Scouts first began selling cookies in the 1920s.

·         The official state cookie of both Massachusetts and Pennsylvania is the chocolate chip cookie.

·         Early American tinsmiths began making cookie cutters by hand back in the 1700s.

·         Christmas cookies date back to Medieval Europe.

·         American cookie jars evolved from British biscuit jars and first appeared on the scene during the Depression in the 1930s when housewives began making more cookies at home, rather than buying them at the bakery, and needed containers for them.

Welcome to the 2018 A-Z Blogging challenge.  This will be my fourth year. Every year I take on the challenge with hopes of disciplining myself to keep writing throughout the year as much, if not more than just through the monthly challenge. (It certainly is a challenge.)  Some years are better than others.  Some I just lose track of time.  This year I have decided to put my favorite hobbies together. A recipe that is tried and true as well as some thoughtful insight.  Please note some of these recipes have been shared before, however they have gone through years of testing and this is the perfected recipe.  I really hope one of my recipes or “Food for Thought” inspires you to do something great.  Enjoy the read and the photos, try the recipe, share your thoughts or comments, and most of all, have FUN with the challenge this month!

Cheers,

Easy S'More Brownies

1 package brownie mix (I used Pillsbury Family Size, Dark Chocolate) 

½ cup chopped pecans

4 whole graham crackers

1 ½ cups mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350º

Lightly grease 9x9 baking dish.  Mix brownies according to package instructions and add pecans. 

              

            

Layer baking dish with graham crackers and marshmallows; carefully spread brownie mixture over top.  Be sure to cover all of the marshmallows. 

Bake according to package instructions (30-35 minutes).  Cool, cut and serve.  Great by themselves or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

© Crackerberries 2012

No Bake Cookies

Chocolate for BREAKFAST

This is my way of it being okay to have chocolate for breakfast.  What?  There is a good healthy dose of oatmeal in each cookie!

2 cups sugar

3 tbsp cocoa

¼ cup butter

¼ cup butter flavored Crisco

½ cup milk

3 cups rolled oats

1 tsp vanilla

2½ heaping tbsp chunky peanut butter

¼ cup toasted coconut

½ cup raw peanuts

Melt butter and Crisco together in medium/large sauce pan; add sugar, cocoa and milk and bring to a boil.  Boil one minute and remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, oats, peanuts and coconut.  Drop by mounds on waxed paper and let cool completely (they will harden as they cool).  Great with morning coffee!

© Crackerberries 2011

S'More Brownies

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup butter flavored Crisco

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup buttermilk

1½ tsp vanilla

1 cup black coffee

6 whole graham crackers

3 cups mini marshmallows

1 cups chocolate and peanut butter morsels

1 cup white chocolate

1 cup peanuts

Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease 13x9x2 brownie pan.  Layer graham crackers in bottom of pan, breaking one or two to fit along the sides (cracks are okay); set aside.  In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.  In a medium sauce pan, combine Crisco, cocoa and coffee; bring to a boil stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add mixture to flour, slowly.  Beat with electric mixer on medium until thoroughly combined.  Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and beat on high for one minute.  Pour into prepared pan and bake 25 minutes.    Remove from oven and cover with marshmallows, chocolate/peanut butter morsels, white chocolate and peanuts.  Return to oven for another 10 minutes or until marshmallows are browned and puffy.  Let cool in pan completely before cutting into squares. 

© Crackerberries 2011