1-2-3-4 Cake

My mom gave me this recipe years ago I think even before my love of the kitchen began. I tucked it again in my recipe book (which consisted of a spiral stencil-type notebook...remember those?) and probably made it once. I have to admit most times I just go and buy Sara Lee Pound Cake or even Costco when pound cake is needed but today was special. My folks are coming over for Easter dinner (under the code request of "daddy...mow my lawn please ooh and I'll feed you dinner") FINE I'll admit me, I'm a daddy's girl...but come on, if you saw my lawn you wouldn't buy a lawnmover just for that either!!!!!!! LOL I digress...

So this pound cake is really easy. At first I didn't get why it was called 1-2-3-4 Cake instead of Pound Cake like all other recipes. But then I got the ingredients lined up and then I saw it...DUH! This is the classic pound cake recipe. I made 6 jumbo muffins and one regular size loaf out of the one recipe! Score!! I'm using the muffins to make strawberry shortcake!! I hope I control myself enough to get a picture of the 'final product' when I'm serving it for dessert tonight!!

1-2-3-4 Cake

Adapted from Mom

1 cup butter

2 cup sugar

3 cup flour

4 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and milk. Add dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Bake at 350*F for 1 hour.

Fudge Bon-Bon Brownies

I had my eye on this recipe for some time now and decided that last night was the time to try 'em out. Boy was I not disappointed! They are a chocolate lover's treat. A nice rich bite-size brownie that tucks a Hershey kiss inside topped with a ganache. Wow! Talk about a burst of chocolate heaven! And they're not really that hard to make. Don't let the instructions fool you!! I was done with them from start to finish in about 20 minutes (prep time)
Fudge Bon-Bon Brownies (aka Inside Out Brownies)
Adapted from Cookie Madness

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
36 milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped

TOPPING
2 ounces white chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable oil


Preheat oven to 350*F.


In medium saucepan, combine chocolate chips and butter; cook and stir over very low heat until chips are melted and smooth. (Mixture will be stiff) Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla; mix well. In medium bowl, combine flour, nuts and chocolate mixture; mix well. Shape 1 tablespoon dough around each candy kiss, covering completely. Shape into a ball and place 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.


Bake for 6 to 8 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cookies will be soft and appear shiny but will become firm as they cool. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

For topping:
In small saucepan, combine white chocolate and oil; cook and stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Store in tightly covered container.


Makes about 3 dozen.

Pecan Pie Cupcakes

I had to do a double-take look when I first saw these because I thought this blogger had left out some ingredients on this recipe. But sure enough, she was right, not only are they super easy but they are freakin good! Tastes a lot like pecan pie, but with a cupcake like consistency. They have a slightly crunchy outside as well, and it really makes them delicious. I'm not a fan of regular pecan pie (too sweet for me) so just getting a bite-size version is perfect! I didn't even break out the KitchenAid beause I mixed everything in a medium bowl...so easy! I'm glad that Jennifer reminded us that there is no leavening in the batter, so they won’t rise. If your muffin pans are filled three-quarters full, that’s pretty much what size cupcake you’ll get in the end.

Pecan Pie Cupcakes
Adapted from RecipeZaar
33 min 15 min prep 24 miniature cupcakes

1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Spray a miniature muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Fill each 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven for approx. 18 minutes.

Baklava Bars

This is my absolute favorite dessert...hands down. I'm actually a little worried about posting it (but I do hate those type of cooks that give you a recipe but leave an ingredient out....GRRRRR). That's how much it is my signature dessert. But I feel a little guilty about doing that seeing that I got it off someone else's blog!!!! Thank you Cookie Madness!!

And everytime I try to take a picture of these bars, my BF grabs all of them before I can take a pic so for right now, you'll just have to trust me that they are really REALLY good looking bars! Take a look at these, courtesy of Betty Crocker

Photo Courtesy of Betty Crocker

This Betty Crocker Prize-Winning Recipe combines a sugar cookie base and baklava-style topping. Instead of messing with phyllo dough, the recipe creater chose to break up those little frozen mini phyllo shells. Talk about a brilliant idea! Now, I must admit that this recipe is on the prizey side but SOOOOO worth the little extra slurge! Oh and another thing, I found (& bought) those frozen phyllo shells at Raley's but then went to FoodMaxx/Food4Less (or whatever they're calling themselves these days...) for something else and found them there a little cheaper...who knew? Ohh and I did modify the recipe just a bit. My BF doesn't like anything lemon so I left the lemon peel out of the cookie base, also I added the entire box of crushed phyllo shells just cuz and it makes it more 'baklava-ish' in my opinion!

Baklava Bars
Adapted from Betty Crocker

Cookie Base
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg

Filling
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 pkg (2.1-oz) frozen mini fillo shells

Glaze
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Garnish
5 tablespoons honey

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.

In large bowl, stir cookie base ingredients until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir walnuts, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the salt with fork until mixture is well mixed and crumbly.

Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over partially baked base. With hands, crumble frozen fillo shells evenly over nut mixture. Bake 18 to 20 minutes longer or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, microwave 1/3 cup honey, 2 tablespoons butter, the brown sugar, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon uncovered on High 1 minute or until bubbly. Stir in vanilla.

Drizzle honey mixture evenly over fillo. Cool completely, about 2 hours.

For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Before serving, drizzle 1/2 tsp honey over each bar. Store covered at room temperature.

Fiesta Fudge Cookies

I made these cookies some time ago (pre-blog) and they were a big hit especially at BF's job...they asked for the recipe! I was flattered. I made the cookie a bit bigger this time around but next time I'll go back to making them 1inch balls. I also didn't get as many cookies as the recipe claims it makes (60 cookies), I made about half that many but all in all a very nice fudgy, chewy texture and deep chocolate flavor! A keeper!!

Fiesta Fudge Cookies
Adaped from Betty Crocker


Prep Time:1 hr
Start to Finish:1 hr
Makes:5 dozen cookies


1/3 cup butter
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1 tsp cinnamon
60 white and chocolate-striped candy drops or pieces, unwrapped


Heat oven to 350*F. In large microwavable bowl, microwave butter and chocolate on High 1 minute. Stir; microwave on High 1 minute longer or until butter is melted and chocolate can be stirred smooth.


Stir condensed milk into chocolate mixture. Stir in cookie mix and cinnamon until well blended.


Using 1 level tablespoonful of dough for each cookie, shape into 60 balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.


Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until edges lose their shiny look (DO NOT OVERBACK!!!). Immediately press 1 candy into center of each cookie. Cool cookies on cookie sheet 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. To get candy to spread slightly on top of cookie, tap edge of each cookie lightly.


Cool completely. Store covered at room temperature.

Lucky Charms - Mint Oreo Truffles

Happy St Patricks Day! For some reason I got really into this holiday (have no idea...perhaps another excuse to make these darn rich truffles! HA!). I spent all day Saturday looking for those darn shamrock sprinkles but I think because I was soo late in getting into the spirit of the holiday, they were all gone. So I had to substitute and pipe some wording...good thing "Irish" is only a few letters otherwise I'd have to come up with Plan C!!!! Anyways, these truffles speak for themselves and are darn good!! SO G-O-O-D!!!! Did I mention they're darn good?!!!

They're also easy to make, but because this version calls for using the mint Oreos in Double Stuffed, the recipe changed the ratios a little from the regular Oreo Truffle recipe. Still DARN GOOD!!!

These are made for my Irish boss (& the rest of the work clan)! He'd better be at work...he's one of those that takes all holidays near & dear to him off (birthday, etc). I've also joined Sugar High Fridays and their theme this month is right up my alley - sweet gifts. So David, thank Sugar High Fridays for your gift!!! HA!



Mint Oreo Truffles
Adapted from Bakerella


1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos - Cool Mint Flavor - (1 lb. , 1 oz. pkg.)
• use 22 cookies with cream centers included
• use 10 cookies with cream centers discarded
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
1 pkg vanilla bark

Finely crush the cookies in a food processor. Stir in softened cream cheese. Mix well. Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Place covered in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate.

Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.

Refrigerate and enjoy!

Eggplant Manicotti

I love eggplant parmesean but quite frankly don't like the process of frying up the eggplant etc. I also don't like the grease trap of frying!! So when I saw this recipe, I had it in my pile of 'will make soon' for awhile thinking that it was kinda the same process. BOY was I wrong (thank goodness). While the recipe calls for oil, I used it on the first couple of sliced eggplant but then I found that I didn't need the olive oil after that and they turned out just limp enough which is great. I love these rolls and they make a nice presentation also. I served them with garlic bread and a salad. YUM-O!

Eggplant Manicotti
Adapted from Recipes Secrets

2 medium sized eggplants
4 Tbsp. olive oil more if needed
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg well beaten
1 Tbsp. minced parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped prosciutto
1 tsp. dried basil, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
1 (16-oz.) can spaghetti sauce (I used one that had garlic & herbs in it)

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Peel eggplants cut in half and slice into thin long slices about 1/8 in. thick. In a heavy skillet sauté each slice and cooking just long enough for the eggplant to be limp enough to roil. Cool slices on paper towels. Combine remaining ingredients except spaghetti sauce. Spread each eggplant slice with a thin layer of cheese mixture. Roll each slice and place in a large shallow casserole (I used 9x13 casserole), top with sauce. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield 8 to 10 servings.