Apple Cheesecake Dip

Posted on November 21, 2012 by admin

It is almost Thanksgiving and I have an easy 3 ingredient dip/dessert for you to have on hand if you’re worried about what you’ve planned to make. Or maybe you need one more thing to keep the masses fed.
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I saw this apple cheesecake dip on pinterest and thought it sounded awesome. It is one of those foods that just can’t LOOK as good as it tastes. I added it to a dinner of appetizers and it was awesome.

Apple Cheesecake Dip

Adapted from Cooking Classy

Ingredients:

8oz cream cheese
¼ cup caramel ice cream topping
¼ cup toffee pieces
apples for dipping

Directions:

Allow the cream cheese to soften slightly.
Beat cream cheese, caramel sauce, and toffee bits.
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Serve with sliced apples.

This has such great flavor for just a few ingredients. I liked the apple dippers but graham crackers would be good, or animal crackers.

The original recipe has the apples dipped into the cream cheese dip and then into crushed graham crackers. I added the toffee in the dip instead for a pop of crunch.
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This is a crowd pleaser and a super easy one to whip up. Something about it says fall to me, but apples are available all the time so I’m not sure where my season-ness is coming from. I definitely recommend this dip for an easy appetizer or light dessert. I love to be sure there are a few simple items when I’m hosting for an easy check mark on your list.

Tip: a few drips of lemon juice will help the apples not to brown. Prep the dip and refrigerate until you serve it. Slice the apples when you’re ready to eat!

(Plus, this one got Mr. J eating some fruit. Shhh! Don’t tell him!)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream

Posted on November 7, 2012 by admin

Something Pumpkin had a natural spot on on my fall list but I thought I needed to go beyond pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread.

I made super easy pumpkin muffins but these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream definitely step it up. Keep in mind, I’m not a big baker. I relied on a whoopie pie cookbook I fully recommend. I made oatmeal whoopie pies a while ago and they were amazing!

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Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

adapted from Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tbs ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees and line baking sheets with parchment or spray whoopie pan.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, giner, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.
In a stand mixer, mix brown sugar and butter on low.
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Add pumpkin, and egg, beating well.
Add vanilla and beat until combined.
Mix in flour mixture.
Scoop out equal patties and bake about 15 minutes each.
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These guys were a bit cake-y for my liking. The flavor was great and they were pretty easy. If you like cake-y (versus gooey) desserts, then this one will be perfect. The pumpkin adds a textural element which I love, but think it works better as muffins.

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Maple cream

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tbs milk
2 tbs maple syrup

Directions:

In a mixing bowl beat butter, add sugar, milk, and syrup.
Mix 5 minutes until well mixed.
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The maple cream was good but wasn’t as thick as it looks. Cream cheese frosting would be really good and might hold up to the pies better. Here’s to next time!

Oreo Dip

Posted on October 17, 2012 by admin

Awhile back I made a dip that was sooo easy it made me think kids would have fun making it. The original source on Pinterest was a blog that seems MIA or maybe they’re just under construction.

Ingredients:

1 box white chocolate pudding (I used instant)
2 cups milk
8 oz cool whip (aka frozen non-dairy whipped topping)
½ package Oreos (or about 25 oreos)
1 box chocolate graham crackers

Directions:

Mix pudding and milk until thickened (about 2 minutes)
Add cool whip and crushed oreos mixing well.

Refrigerate for at least and hour before serving.

I liked this for a twist on a regular dip. It was an easy one that didn’t require any baking. Serve it with chocolate graham crackers.

Mr. J thought this was great. It made a ton so I took half to a small meeting and we enjoyed the other half at home. The photo above is half of what I made! This stayed good for a few days, after that, the oreos were a bit soggy. I thought it was a bit loose or soupy but the original post included mini marshmallows too so that would change the consistency.

I was thinking these would be great as chocolate graham cracker “ice cream” sandwiches. Maybe next time I’ll whip in some cream cheese to thicken it and I’ll freeze graham sandwiches filled with it.

Cost Breakdown:

1 pkg chocolate sandwich cookie: $2.75
1 pkg white chocolate pudding mix: $1.00
1 pkg cool whip: $2.49
1 pkg chocolate graham crackers: $3.49
total: $9.73/10 servings = $0.97 per person (with graham crackers and oreos leftover!)

I skimped on the cookies and bought the cheapest ones I could find, and went “high end” on the dippers but this whole thing could be made for even less.

Cheese Danish Squares

Posted on September 19, 2012 by admin

So you know that I’m not a great baker, right? I’m trying more often. I recently made lemon squares which came out pretty decent and now I made these Chess Squares or Gooey Butter Cake and it was 50% successful.

If I was only 50% successful then why are you still reading? I’m sure you want to know which half worked Well! Tricky, tricky, I split it into 2 pans and brought one to a weekend with the fam in Maine and left one home. Unfortunately I brought the over-done-one to Maine (not pictured) and Mr. J demolished the successful one at home (pictured below).

It didn’t look like it was going to set so I baked one longer (as in too long) and they weren’t as gooey. I think that’s my baking problem. I deviate from the recipe. I need to follow the instructions exactly. I need to trust the system. They were totally edible though and definitely the easiest baked good ever.

Cheese Danish Squares

(Chess Squares by Kevin and Amanda, Gooey Butter Cake by Paula Deen, & anyone else who makes this)

Ingredients:

1 (18 1/4-ounce) box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray.
Mix cake mix, melted butter and one egg to a soft dough.

Press into the bottom of the pan.

Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and remaining two eggs until smooth, about 1-2 mins.

Pour on top of crust.
Bake at 300 for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown.

They reminded me of a cheese danish so I’m throwing one more name into the mix. I like them as a sweet brunch item but call it another name and you’ve got a dessert.

They were suuuuper easy and would be great to throw together last minute…I mean. ehh. you totally planned ahead. and had everything you needed. and looked as organized as Martha Stewart. and didn’t arrive empty handed like Emily Post taught you.

Chocolate Buffet

Posted on September 17, 2012 by admin

I have a lot of catching up to do. I just got back from a wonderful anniversary weekend away and I have quite the backlog of posts for you. Here’s one from a few weeks ago, but not to worry. You can still catch it.

I was lucky to join Ms. L for the Langham Hotel‘s chocolate bar at Cafe Fleuri. It was delicious and I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. There were so many amazing treats. Everything I had was great and I was sure to choose wisely since there was sooo much to chose from.

These macaroons were amazing…one of my favorite items of the day.

This was hands down my favorite item. There was something about Peanut Butter Bomb in the name. The tan part was soft peanut butter dough with a peanut butter center on some dark chocolate with a milk chocolate mousse.

Thankfully they had some salty treats to keep us going. They make their own potato chips!

I felt a bit wasteful since anything I deemed unworthy I didn’t go beyond the initial bite. There were too many good things to eat! We did a good job and left full without being sick, but it was overwhelming. I loved it for the price tag (free!) but I would be hesitant to pay $40 for one sitting of chocolate. The desserts were really great, and there was an impressive spread of choices, but I’d only spend $40 on a box of chocolates I could enjoy until empty. I worked a gourmet candy store in high school and college so it isn’t lost on me, but free was fantastic.

Full 3 Bite Rule Disclosure: Our invitation from Google+ Local to the chocolate bar was completely complimentary but my thoughts, opinions, and words are entirely my own.