Tasty Kitchen Blog » Baking

Quick and Easy Baked Apples

Natalie | Perry's Plate — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 15:00:56 +0000

It’s apple season! Celebrate with these quick and easy baked apples. Reposted from December 2014.

I’m not sure if it’s fair that pumpkin gets the most culinary attention when fall rolls around. As much as I love me some pumpkin [insert any dish that can feasibly be made with pumpkin], I’d much prefer something with apples.

I could live off of apple pie, apple crisp, apple-filled crepes, apple cider syrup-covered pancakes, apple-cheddar squash soup … you get the idea. Just bury me in apples, and I’ll be a happy girl.

One treat I don’t make too often is baked apples. I’m not sure why. Oh, wait, yes I do. It’s the hollowing out of the apples, which, in my head, seems like a chore, but in reality only takes a few minutes. I need to quit playing mind games with myself because I’ve been seriously missing out.

We had some friends over for dinner recently, and I searched for a simple and delicious dessert to make. I also wanted something that screamed fall. The Baked Apples recipe submitted by TK member Laura seemed like just the thing I was searching for.

First, let’s gather our ingredients! To be honest, when I gathered everything I kept thinking that this couldn’t possibly be everything. I even grabbed an extra stick of butter. (You know, just in case.) Really, all you need are smallish baking apples, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter. That’s it.

This is an excellent jumping point for adaptations! If you’re avoiding dairy, grains, or refined sugar, you can use coconut oil, chopped nuts/dried fruit/coconut, and honey. You could also play with the spices and add some nutmeg or cardamom for a more exotic taste. The only substitution I made was using coconut sugar instead of brown sugar.

Okay, now for the part that I dread (which isn’t that bad, really). Grab a sharp paring knife and cut around the stem of the apple, going about 1/3 the way into the center.

You can also use a spoon at this point to scrape out any seeds or tough bits of core remaining. Repeat with remaining apples.

If you’re assembling these early and plan to refrigerate them for a few hours before baking them, I would rub some lemon juice on the insides of the apples so they don’t turn brown. Lemon juice will brighten the flavor of the apples, too. If you happen to have a two-year-old around who is dying to help you, they’re great for that.

Grab a baking dish large enough to hold all of the apples. My 9×13 inch glass baking dish was the perfect size. Brush a liberal amount of butter on the sides and bottom of the pan. Don’t be shy.

Sprinkle some of the brown sugar into the pan as well.

Nestle your apples into the pan so they all stay upright. You don’t want that precious filling to spill out!

Speaking of the filling, grab a small bowl and pour the oats in.

Add the cinnamon (and any other spices you’d like to add).

And the rest of the brown sugar.

Give it a good mix. Or have your kitchen-maid-in-training do it for you.

This is the fun part. Put the rest of the softened butter in the oats and, using your hands, blend it until the butter is incorporated and you get a crumbly texture.

I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist this part.

This is roughly the texture you’re looking for. Try not to eat it right out of the bowl. Believe me, it’s hard.

Call your lovely assistant back over and have her spoon the filling into the apples. I was surprised at how well she did this. This is such a great recipe to involve kids in the kitchen!

We just kept piling it on until we ran out of filing.

Pop them into the oven for a while and …

Not only will your house smell amazing, but you’re super close to heaven in a bowl.

The instructions say to spoon the caramel sauce from the pan over the apples, but I didn’t have much sauce to speak of. Instead, we served these with vanilla bean gelato.

I also whipped up some sea salt vanilla bean caramel sauce and poured it over the top. Why I didn’t do that in the beginning is beyond me. If you’d like to make some homemade caramel sauce, there are a lots of recipes here on Tasty Kitchen! I included a few below that caught my eye.

Easy Caramel Sauce from Ree
Spiced Caramel Butter Sauce from Terri of That’s Some Good Cookin’
Vegan Caramel Sauce from tonijean
Salted Caramel Sauce from Megan Betz

Many thanks go to Laura for a fantastic and easy recipe to do with my kids! Be sure to check out her TK recipe box and her beautiful blog, My Friend’s Bakery, for more recipes.

Printable Recipe

Baked Apples

See post on Laura @ My Friend's Bakery’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Description

A simple, delicious dessert using fresh picked apples. Enjoy the season’s bountiful harvest.

Ingredients

FOR THE APPLES:
9 whole Small Baking Apples, Like MacIntosh
2 Tablespoons Butter, Room Temperature, For Greasing The Dish
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
FOR THE FILLING:
⅓ cups Butter, Room Temperature
⅓ cups Brown Sugar
1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Wash and core the apples. Generously coat the bottom of an oven-safe baking dish (use one that’s big enough to fit all the apples into) with butter. Sprinkle the first amount of brown sugar over the base of the dish. Arrange the apples into the baking dish to fit.

In a separate bowl, crumble together the filling ingredients. Fill each cored apple with a generous amount of the filling.

Bake the apples for 30 to 40 minutes until soft. Remove from the oven and place 1 or 2 apples on each serving plate. Use a spoon to scoop some of the hot caramel from the bottom of the dish, and spoon it over each apple. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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Be sure to check out Natalie’s own beautiful food blog, Perrys’ Plate, where you can see her growing collection of lovely recipes. There’s always something new to see there. Go visit now!

Two Quick Solutions for a Sudden Cookie Fix

Faith (An Edible Mosaic) — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 07:00:34 +0000

Have a cookie craving that just won’t go away? We’re bringing back this post featuring two quick 5-ingredient cookies! As a bonus, one of them is gluten-free. You know you want some. In fact, they’re so easy, why not make both? Time to get baking!

Let’s face it, some days you just need a quick cookie fix.

Maybe your kid is having a party at school, or maybe it’s a co-worker’s birthday at the office. Or maybe it’s just been a really long week, and you’re in the mood for a cookie or two without having to spend all day in the kitchen. Tasty Kitchen to the rescue!

I did a super quick search and found not one, but two delicious cookie recipes on Tasty Kitchen; each has just 5 ingredients and can be made in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. That’s what I call a fabulous quick cookie fix.

First up is Tasty Kitchen member Desserts by Juliette’s recipe for Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies. There’s just something about a plate of peanut butter cookies and a tall glass of milk that is reminiscent of being a kid…maybe that’s why almost everyone I know is crazy about them! Juliette’s version is really lovely; it lets the flavor of peanut butter shine through, and a touch of sea salt finishes them perfectly.

Like I said, they couldn’t be easier to make, so let’s get started!

To make them, you’ll need: peanut butter, sugar, an egg, vanilla, and coarse sea salt. And yes, I know that is a crazy-big bottle of vanilla!

(Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper!)

Ok, so dump everything into a bowl …

And beat it up! (I used a handheld electric mixer for this; no need to dirty a stand mixer.)

Spoon the dough by the tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each (I got 12 cookies on 1 half-sheet pan). Oh, and I want to mention, I find that a 1-tablespoon-sized ice cream scoop is the easiest (and fastest!) way to scoop out the dough.

Flatten each dough ball slightly with a fork, making a cross-hatch pattern.

And then sprinkle the tops with sea salt. (They’re looking pretty good already, right?)

Bake until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom, set along the outside, and a touch doughy in the center, because they’ll harden as they cool. (This took about 8 to 9 minutes in my oven.) Cool the cookies slightly on the tray before removing. I got exactly 28 cookies out of this recipe.

Such a delicious classic.

Those cookies come together so easily and you might just want to make another quick batch. If you do, Tasty Kitchen member Monique of Ambitious Kitchen has you covered with her recipe for Easy Nutella Cookies with Sea Salt. Nutella + sea salt = a very tasty combo indeed.

To whip them up, get out Nutella, flour, brown sugar, an egg, and coarse sea salt.

(Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper!)

You know the drill: dump everything into a bowl …

And again beat it with your handheld electric mixer. Once it’s mixed, cover the bowl and stick it in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes. Go brew a pot of coffee because in about 20 minutes, you’re going to be glad you did.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (I used my 1-tablespoon-sized ice cream scoop again), and line the balls up at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

At this point I sprinkled on the sea salt, but you could wait to do it until after the cookies are baked.

Pop the cookies into the oven and bake until they’re set along the outside and slightly doughy in the center (this took about 8 to 9 minutes in my oven). Remember to cool the cookies slightly on the tray before removing! I got exactly 22 cookies from this recipe.

Now grab a hot cup of coffee (or a cold glass of milk) and enjoy a couple of those beauties.

Or serve them up together! I think these two kinds of cookies complement each other in a fun, contrasting sort of way. Peanut butter and Nutella are delicious together (as anyone who has ever eaten a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich can attest to!). Plus the sea salt on both cookies pulls the two together.

But either kind of cookie is fabulous enough to stand alone if you just want to try one kind. The peanut butter cookies are perfect if you’re baking for a gluten-free crowd, and the Nutella cookies are great if you’re baking for people with peanut butter allergies! There is something for everyone.

How is that for a perfect quick cookie fix?

Now go ahead and grab that cup of coffee (or tall glass of milk). I’ll share a couple cookies with you.

Printable Recipe

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

by Desserts by Juliette on June 21, 2013 in Cookies, Desserts, Gluten-Free

See post on Desserts by Juliette’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)

Description

These peanut butter cookies taste absolutely divine and you would never be able to guess that they are flourless and gluten-free. They are creamy and delicious, definitely worth trying out.

Ingredients

1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Coarse Sea Salt

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Beat peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until fully incorporated. Spoon 1 tablespoon of mixture 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Flatten with fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies. Sprinkle coarse salt over the top of the cookies
3. Bake for 10 minutes; they should still be soft to the touch when removed from oven. Let cool.

Printable Recipe

Easy Nutella Cookies with Sea Salt

by Monique of Ambitious Kitchen on August 20, 2013 in Cookies, Desserts

See post on Monique of Ambitious Kitchen’s site!

4.80 Mitt(s) 5 Rating(s)

Description

Easy, fudgy 5-ingredient Nutella Cookies with Sea Salt. In your belly in 25 minutes!

Ingredients

1 cup Nutella
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Egg
½ cups Plus 1 Tablespoon Flour
Coarse Sea Salt, For Sprinkling

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Combine all ingredients except salt in a large bowl with electric mixer until well combined. Place dough in freezer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, roll dough into approximately 1-inch balls, place on ungreased baking sheet at least 2 inches apart and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes until cookies are set, then very carefully transfer to a wire rack. Generously sprinkle with sea salt.

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Faith Gorsky is the writer, receipt developer, photographer, and food stylist behind the blog An Edible Mosaic, and the cookbook author of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair (Tuttle Publishing; November 2012). She was born, raised, and spent most of her life in Upstate New York, and she currently lives in Kuwait. When it comes to cooking, her favorite thing to do is go into the kitchen hungry, open the fridge, and start creating. She loves to travel, especially to places steeped in rich culture and history. She also enjoys reading (cookbooks mostly), vintage shopping (especially in old markets), watching movies (of all genres), and is enamored with ancient cultures (especially Rome and Egypt.

Cookies and Cream Donuts

Megan {Country Cleaver} — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 09:00:39 +0000

There’s a persistent debate in the food scene, and it can grow very heated at times, even among friends. Do you want to know what it is? It’s this: doughnut vs. donut. What’s the correct way to spell it? Are both correct? Can they be used interchangeably? Is one fried and the other baked? As for me, I’m usually too busy burying my face in a platter of glazed carbs to give two hoots about it. Spell it however you want, just hand over the goods!

However you and your closest friends choose to resolve your donut/doughnut spelling squabbles, just make sure you discuss it over a batch of these Cookies and Cream Donuts from Tasty Kitchen member Heather.

I was drawn to this recipe not just because I knew it would be a home run (because everything that comes out of Heather’s kitchen is!), but because it’s packed full of my favorite: Oreos.

For your ingredients, you will need a few basics, including cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cream, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. One ingredient my store didn’t carry was Hershey’s Cookies and Cream Pieces, so I substituted white chocolate chips and chopped up Oreos instead.

Into a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

Next, in another bowl, whisk together the cream, eggs, vanilla and butter. Beat these together until combined.

Pour the cream and egg mixture into the dry mixture and fold together until just combined.

And don’t forget the cookies and cream pieces. As I mentioned earlier, I had to make a substitution here since I couldn’t find the cookies and cream pieces. I substituted 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of chopped Oreos here. It worked like a charm. Fold these in until just combined.

Now, spray a donut pan to help the donuts release after baking.

Fill each cavity with batter. Bake donuts for 10–12 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into them comes out clean. Remove them from the pan and cool them on a wire rack.

Whilst the donuts cool completely, go ahead and begin preparing your glaze. (Because what’s a donut without a glaze? It’s a muffin.)

In a bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. It may be thick, but that is good. You want to make sure the cookie pieces stick to the top and don’t slide off.

Crush additional Oreos if necessary, and place on a plate or in a bowl.

Dip the top of each donut into the glaze and then invert into the crushed Oreos. Place back on the wire rack (with something under it to catch any glaze that drips off) to set. Then, serve!

If you can’t get enough of these Cookies and Cream Donuts from Heather, be sure to check out more of her incredible creations, like these Chicken Flautas with Spicy Avocado Sauce/. Be sure to rifle through her TK recipe box for more delicious creations.

What is your favorite donut combination? Do you like the traditional types, or do you shake it up with new flavors? Share your favorites, and links, in the comments so we can get some new inspiration from our Tasty Kitchen Community!

Printable Recipe

Cookies and Cream Donuts

by Heather Christo on November 28, 2012 in Breakfast

See post on Heather Christo’s site!

1.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Description

Baked cookie donuts slathered in creamy glaze and crushed Oreos!

Ingredients

FOR THE DONUTS:
½ cups Cookies And Cream Pieces (in The Baking Section, By Hersheys)
2-¼ cups Cake Flour
1 cup Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
4 Tablespoons Melted Butter
FOR THE GLAZE AND TOPPING:
¼ cups Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Powdered Sugar
½ cups Oreo Cookies, Crushed

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease donut pans well with baking spray. Recipe makes roughly 18 full size donuts.
2. Roughly chop the cookies and cream pieces and set aside.
3. Sift together all of the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the cream, eggs, vanilla and butter and whisk together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold the batter until well combined.
4. Fold in the cookies and cream pieces.
5. Either spoon the batter into the prepared pan, or transfer the batter to a Ziploc or piping bag, snip off a corner of the bag and pipe into the donut pan (it’s a little neater this way).
6. Bake the donuts until just cooked through and golden on top 10-12 minutes.
7. Remove pan from the oven. Let the donuts cool on a wire rack after turning them out of the pans.
8. While the donuts are cooling, make the glaze by whisking the cream, vanilla and powdered sugar together in a medium sized bowl.
9. Dip the cooled donuts in the glaze until they have a nice thick coating. Generously sprinkle on the crushed Oreo chunks and crumbs.
10. Enjoy!

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Megan Keno is the writer and photographer of Country Cleaver, a food blog fueled by Nutella and images of June Cleaver—if June wore cowboy boots and flannel, that is. A self-proclaimed country bum, Megan creates from-scratch recipes that range from simple to sublime and how-to’s to build your cooking repertoire. But she couldn’t do it without the help of her trusty—and furry—sous chef, Huckleberry. He’s a world class floor cleaner.

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

EatLiveRun — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 10:00:59 +0000

It’s back-to-school season, and zucchini season too! Take care of both with this blast from the past: chocolate zucchini cookies. They’re a hit with kids, and adults will love you for them too.

Are you looking for a delicious way to use up the rest of your zucchini harvest? Or do you just like sticking vegetables in cookies so that you can call them “healthy” and, thus, eat them for breakfast? I fall into the latter group.

These rich Chocolate Zucchini Cookies are both perfectly fudgy and fluffy, with lots of added chocolate chips and walnuts. You’ll never believe the secret ingredient is grated zucchini! Neither will your kids … or your husband … or any other picky cookie eaters that you serve these to—I promise! The recipe comes to us from Julia of The Roasted Root and I think you’re going to love it as much as I love it!

To start, you’ll need to grab flour, baking soda, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, butter, salt, cinnamon, cocoa, zucchini (I used two, grated!), chocolate chips, walnuts and an egg.

Begin by mixing together your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cocoa powder. I always like to sift my cocoa powder before using so it’s not as clumpy!

Whisk dry ingredients together well, getting rid of all cocoa and baking soda clumps. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat your butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla together until creamy. I used my stand mixer for this, but you could also work your arm muscles by beating with a wooden spoon!

Add the egg and grated zucchini to the wet ingredients and beat until just incorporated.

Now, carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. You can do this a little bit at a time, but be careful not to over-mix.

Dump in the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix again! The dough should be pretty wet and sticky.

Go ahead now and preheat your oven to 350ºF and get a couple baking sheets ready with either parchment paper or Silpats.

The recipe says you can roll the dough in powdered sugar before baking, so that’s what I did! I’m a sucker for anything rolled in powdered sugar.

Stick your little powdered sugar-covered cookie dough balls on your lined sheet tray and bake for 15 minutes.

When they’re done, they’ll be all puffy and the tops will be crackly from the powdered sugar. Yum!

Here’s an inside peak at a cookie just out of my oven to tempt you a little more. They appear fudgy from all the chocolate, but they are quite light and puffy! Like I said earlier, the perfect balance between fudgy and fluffy. And you can’t even almost taste the zucchini in them.

Have you seen Julia’s blog The Roasted Root? She has an awesome tagline: “Eat well, eat often.” Thank you, Julia, for this delicious recipe! Cookies for breakfast!

Printable Recipe

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

by Julia {The Roasted Root} on August 14, 2012 in Cookies, Desserts

See post on Julia {The Roasted Root}’s site!

4.80 Mitt(s) 5 Rating(s)

Description

Double chocolate cookies with zucchini and a whole lot of deliciousness!

Ingredients

1-¼ cup Whole Wheat Flour Or All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
½ cups Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
5 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ cups Brown Sugar
½ cups White Cane Sugar
1 whole Egg
1 cup Shredded Zucchini
½ cups Walnuts, Chopped
1 cup Semi-sweet (or Dark!) Chocolate Chips
⅓ cups Confectioners Sugar, For Rolling The Dough In (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cocoa powder and whisk or sift to combine. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine the butter, vanilla extract and sugars. Use a stand or hand mixer to mix until creamy. Add the egg and shredded zucchini and mix just until combined. Pour in the flour mixture (I typically do this in thirds) and mix just until combined. Add the chopped walnuts and chocolate chips, mix to integrate into dough.

If desired, sprinkle confectioner’s (powdered) sugar on a plate so you can roll the balls of cookie dough in the sugar. Roll the dough into balls and roll them in the sugar if desired. Space cookie dough evenly on a parchment-lined or lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes.

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Jenna is a food writer who has worked as a pastry chef and bread baker. Her blog Eat, Live, Run has great recipes, travel stories, and the perfect slogan: “Celebrating life, one crumb at a time.”

S’mores Pie

twopeasandtheirpod — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 15:00:21 +0000

Note: We’re bringing back this oldie but goodie, just in time for summer. S’mores, baby. In pie form. Just too dang irresistible.

Summer isn’t summer without ooey, gooey S’mores! There is nothing better than sitting around a bonfire with some graham crackers, mallows, and Hershey bars. I love traditional S’mores, but I am always looking for fun and unique ways to enjoy S’mores. I love making S’mores cookies and bars, so when I saw TK member Tonya’s recipe for S’mores Pie, I knew it would be the perfect dessert for our summer BBQ.

To make the pie you need the following ingredients: butter, sugar, an egg, vanilla, flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, marshmallow creme, Hershey’s chocolate bars, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9″ pie pan with baking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth.

Add the egg.

Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Add in the flour.

Pour in the graham cracker crumbs.

Add the baking powder

Mix until just combined.

Divide the dough in half and press half of the dough into the prepared pie pan.

Evenly spread the marshmallow cream over the bottom of the crust.

Place the Hershey chocolate squares over the marshmallow creme.

Place the mini marshmallows over the chocolate bars.

Carefully pat the remaining dough over the marshmallows. Some of the marshmallows will peek through and that’s ok.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the pie.

Bake the pie for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Let the pie cool completely and slice!

The pie was a huge hit at our BBQ! Everyone loved it. A thick graham cracker/cookie crust filled with marshmallow creme, chocolate bars, more marshmallows, and topped with chocolate chips! How could they not have loved it? It was the perfect end to our meal! And it’s the perfect dessert for summer.

Gather around the bonfire or just gather around this S’mores Pie with a fork! It’s a winner! Thanks Tonya for the fabulous recipe! Visit her blog 4 Little Fergusons, where Tonya writes openly and honestly about faith, family and parenting—and food!

Printable Recipe

S’mores Pie

by 4littleFergusons on June 9, 2013 in Desserts, Pies

4.83 Mitt(s) 6 Rating(s)

Description

You will want S’more of this delicious pie! No bonfire necessary!

Ingredients

1 stick Softened Butter
½ cups White Sugar
1 whole Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Flour
1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
7 ounces, weight Container Of Marshmallow Creme
8 whole (1.55 Oz Bars) Hershey's Chocolate Bars, Unwrapped
1 cup Marshmallows
¼ cups Chocolate Chips

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9″ pie pan with baking spray.

In a large bowl beat butter and sugar together until combined, then add egg and vanilla and stir them in. Stir in flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder.

Divide the dough in half. Press half the dough in the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie pan. Evenly spread the Marshmallow Creme over the bottom crust. Separate chocolate squares and place on top of the Marshmallow Creme. Place 1 cup of marshmallows on top.

Using the remaining crust, pat sections of dough on top of and around all the marshmallows (they will still show through and that is great!). Sprinkle with 1/4 cup chocolate chips, then bake 20 minutes until lightly browned.

Remove pan from oven and set it on a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting, or you will have a gooey mess. Not that I know …

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Maria and her husband Josh (who she affectionately refers to as her “dough boy”) blog at Two Peas and Their Pod. They’ve been featured on Saveur, Eatocracy, Gourmet Live, Glamour, and the Los Angeles Times, to name just a few. They’d also just recently added a little pea to their pod. We’re so glad to have them here!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Megan {Country Cleaver} — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 09:00:37 +0000

Just like the fortune cookie at the end of my Chinese take-out, the sopapilla at the end of the night out at my husband’s and my favorite Mexican restaurant is what I look forward to most. That little bit of sweet and crunchy just seals the deal. Okay, fine, I like the margaritas too. And the chip basket. And the cheesy enchilada. Fine, it’s all amazing, but you can’t deny the absolute crave-ability of those little crunchy sopapillas. And making them into Sopapilla Cheesecake Squares? Are you kidding me? Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours!

Talk about the easiest recipe ever! Jennifer says bring with you two packages of cream cheese, some sugar, vanilla extract, refrigerated crescent rolls, and a little cinnamon, butter, and honey.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 13×9 inch pan with nonstick spray. Roll out one of the two crescent dough rolls out into the pan. Gently press the seams together so they all adhere.

Next, whisk together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and the vanilla until smooth. Spread the mix onto the crescent rolls in the bottom of the pan. And there’s a lot to go in there. Yum!

Place the other unrolled crescent dough on top of the cream cheese spread.

In a small bowl, mix together the butter, remaining sugar, and cinnamon until you have a smooth cream.

Next, spread that cinnamon sugar deliciousness right on top of the unrolled crescents. Spread it evenly over the top and don’t miss any spots. That would be a tragedy.

Bake for about 30 minutes and let them cool completely before cutting into squares. Top with drizzled honey just before you serve these delights.

These will be a crowd-pleaser at your next BBQ or summer family reunion. I bet they would be the first thing from the dessert table to disappear. Make them soon and find out!

If you need more summer inspiration, try this Seared Salmon with Browned Butter Lime Sauce, also from Jennifer’s blog In Jen’s Kitchen. And be sure to stop by her TK recipe box for more delicious creations!

What are your favorite summer crowd pleasing desserts? Leave a comment below, or share a link to your Tasty Kitchen recipes for all to see!

Printable Recipe

Sopapilla Cheesecake Squares

by Jennifer Kimbrell on October 29, 2014 in Brownies and Bars, Desserts

See post on Jennifer Kimbrell’s site!

0.00 Mitt(s) 0 Rating(s)

Description

Creamy cheesecake sandwiched in between flaky layers of crescent dough, smothered with a dreamy cinnamon sugar butter and drizzled with honey while it’s warm.

Ingredients

2 packages (8 Oz. Size) Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
1-¾ cup White Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 cans (8 Oz. Size) Refrigerated Crescent Rolls
½ cups Butter, Softened
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
¼ cups Honey

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×13″ baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.

3. Unroll 1 can of crescent dough and place dough into the bottom of the 9×13″ pan (I just press the seams together). Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture over the crescent dough. Unroll the other can of crescent dough, press the seams together, then place it on top of the cream cheese layer.

4. Stir together the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, butter and cinnamon. Dollop the mixture all over the top of the crescent dough.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and it is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey (just drizzle straight from the bottle and eyeball the amount). Cool completely before cutting into 12 squares. Enjoy!

Note: I usually keep these refrigerated, but store them however you prefer.

Recipe adapted from From Allrecipes.com, Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie.

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Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pie

DessertForTwo — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 07:38:08 +0000

I love oatmeal. I love a warm bowl of it in the morning topped with dried figs and honey. I love a cinnamon oatmeal applesauce muffin as a snack in the afternoon. And do I even have to talk about how much I love oatmeal cookies? We all love oatmeal cookies. So, when I saw Heather’s recipe for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pie, I was immediately intrigued. I had never heard of such a concoction. But I trusted Heather’s Texas roots, so I jumped right in.

Even after reading the ingredient list, I still couldn’t wrap my mind around what type of pie this would be. It was big mystery to me, one I tried to unravel as I whisked the ingredients together, anxiously anticipating my first bite of pie.

Oatmeal pie doesn’t have many ingredients. It’s simply made of pie crust, rolled oats, sugar, eggs, vanilla, butter, chocolate chips and corn syrup. So simple. I had everything in my pantry to make this pie.

First, I unrolled the pie crust. I used a store-bought pie crust, like Heather’s recipe calls for. Then, I spent a good 15 minutes wondering why I have been forcing myself to make pie crust all these years. Store-bought crusts are great! Plus, all I had to do was unwrap, unroll and bake. I was even closer to pie time than I thought!

I sprinkled 1/3 cup of chocolate chips on top of the pie crust. I used milk chocolate chips, because they’re sweeter than semisweet or dark chocolate chips. I’m just waiting for milk chocolate to make its big comeback.

Then, I got to work on the pie filling. I whisked the butter and sugar together. I actually had a hard time with this step, so I melted it in the microwave. The recipe calls for softened butter, not melted, but it worked better for me to melt it.

Next, all other ingredients are stirred in: corn syrup, eggs, vanilla.

And finally, the oatmeal! The star ingredient!

Pour all ingredients over the chocolate chips in the crust and bake for 30–40 minutes, keeping an eye on the middle of the pie for jiggliness. That’s a technical term when it comes to custard-pie-making, by the way. A little jiggle in the center is good; it will set when it cools.

Isn’t she beautiful? Heather said to wait until it cools to cut. Even though it was hard to do, I dutifully obeyed.

After one bite, I figured out what this pie is—it’s like pecan pie, but with oatmeal! And it’s so dang good! The corn syrup should have tipped me off that it would be like pecan pie, but I didn’t realize it until that first bite. Which led to many more bites. I’m hooked on this pie!

Next time you’re craving pecan pie and spy a container of rolled oats in your pantry, make this pie. It should go right into your recipe box!

Thanks for a new classic pie recipe, Heather! Check out her blog, Heather’s Dish, for more of her creations.

Printable Recipe

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pie

by Heather Disarro on January 2, 2013 in Desserts, Pies

See post on Heather Disarro’s site!

4.86 Mitt(s) 7 Rating(s)

Description

This pie is literally the easiest and most delicious pie you’ll make. Plus it has oatmeal in it, which clearly makes it health food!

Ingredients

1 whole Prepared (not Baked) 9-inch Pie Crust
⅓ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
⅓ cups Softened Butter
⅔ cups Granulated Sugar
1 cup Light Corn Syrup
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3 whole Eggs
1-¼ cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Press the prepared and rolled pie dough into a 9-inch pie pan and fix the edges however you like. Pour the chocolate chips evenly into the bottom of the pie crust. Set it aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Whisk in the corn syrup, vanilla, and eggs until smooth. Fold in the oats.

Pour the entire mixture evenly over the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F for 45-60 minutes or until the pie is just set in the center. Keep an eye on it and make sure to tent the edges of the crust with a strip of foil if you need to keep it from browning too much.

When done remove pie from the oven and let it cool completely before serving!

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Growing up in a food-obsessed family and spending a lot of time in her Aunt Rose’s restaurant as a child, Christina was destined to be a fantastic cook. She’s a private chef during the day, but cooks for two at home. Like all of us, she has a sweet tooth that needs indulging after dinner. After becoming frustrated with the lack of recipes made for two, especially in the dessert category, she took matters into her own hands and started her blog, Dessert for Two, to share how she takes Southern classics (and a few surprises) and turns them into recipes that are perfect for just a few people. Her first cookbook, Dessert for Two, is now available at your favorite bookstore.

National Donut Day!

Erika (TK) — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 17:50:20 +0000

I was all set to start searching for one or two tempting kabob recipes to show you, mostly because I’m still in the throes of a “summer is finally heeeere!” kick. But then I noticed my Instagram feed was taken over by pictures of donuts, interrupted here and there by snaps of luscious-looking coffee and cute kittens. So how is it National Donut Day and I find out only by accident? And okay, I learned that today is the day that honors “donut lassies” of the Salvation Army, as opposed to November’s National Doughnut Day, which celebrates the actual doughy treat. But if you want to celebrate today via increased consumption of said treat, I won’t argue with you. I’m just here to go with the flow. And for the donuts. (Is it donuts or doughnuts? Can someone please tell me?)

So get ready to be tempted, and if you see something you like, just click on the photos to get the printable recipe. It’s time to make some donuts!

Glazed Cake Doughnuts. A classic.

Speaking of classics, here’s an oldie but absolute goodie. Muffins That Taste Like Donuts. Yes, yes, these aren’t technically donuts and these muffins are just crashing the party. But they sure taste like they should be! These were all the rage back in the day, and they’re still one of my favorites.

Chocolate Donuts. Stay paleo and gluten-free with this easy recipe!

Baked Nutella Doughnuts. Nutella? Check. Eggs? Check. Flour? Check. Done. You have the three ingredients you need to make these.

Lemon Baked Donut Holes with Lemon Sugar. A healthier version using yogurt and the bright flavor of summer lemons.

Vanilla Buttermilk Glazed Croissant Donuts. We’ve been seeing a lot of baked versions, but let’s face it: donuts are traditionally fried. Throw in a modern twist and go for broke with cronuts. These looked so good, we just had to make them in this here Tasty Kitchen Blog.

Now go forth and make ye some donuts! And if you have a favorite recipe you think we should absolutely try, let us know!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Looks Delicious! Fruit Cookie Pizza

Erika (TK) — Mon, 25 May 2015 17:29:33 +0000

Wow everyone with a show-stopping dessert that just might be the star of your cookout. If you don’t have time to make the almond cookie pie crust (but if you can, we highly recommend it), feel free to grab a package of your favorite readymade cookie dough. We won’t tell if you won’t.

Thanks for sharing this Fruit Cookie Pizza with us, Tiffany! Click on the photo above to get the printable. And check out Tiffany’s site, This Season’s Table, for more recipes featuring whole foods and seasonal produce.

Enjoy your Monday, everyone!

Whole Wheat Clementine Yogurt Cake

DessertForTwo — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 14:25:31 +0000

When someone says “healthy dessert,” I immediately grab two forks. To me, a healthy dessert means I can eat double the servings! Wait, is that not the point? It’s funny what a little whole wheat flour and yogurt in a cake will make you do.

This Whole Wheat Clementine Yogurt Cake by Tasty Kitchen member Stephanie was a must-make for me. I think I grabbed the last bag of clementines for the season last week, and I saved 4 little clementines for this cake. It was so worth it, too!

First up, our simple, couldn’t-be-easier ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry: whole wheat flour, regular all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, Greek yogurt, vanilla, vegetable oil, eggs, salt and baking powder. Oh, and clementines! Pretty standard cake stuff, right?

Stephanie recommends spraying and lining your pan with parchment paper. I say good call, Steph. When a recipe calls for the extra step of lining the pan, don’t ignore it. It could be the difference between a pretty cake that releases perfectly from the pan and a cake that comes out in pieces!

Now we can get to work on the cake. First, we combine the dry ingredients: both flours, salt, and baking powder. Whisking it together helps break up the clumps and eliminates the pesky step of sifting.

Once the dry ingredients are combined, it’s time to mix the wet ingredients together: combine the sugar, eggs, clementine zest, and vegetable oil. Anytime a recipe calls for citrus zest I get excited, because I know it’s going to be delicious. The zest is where all the flavors of the fruit hide. It’s full of oils that will perfume your whole cake.

I use a microplane grater to get as much zest off each clementine as possible. I only scraped my knuckles twice doing this. Totally worth it, though.

After folding together the wet and dry ingredients until no streaks of flour remain, I scraped the batter into the pan. Off it went into a 350ºF oven for 45 minutes. Steph recommends 40-50 minutes, which means you should start checking on the cake at 40 minutes. Increase the baking time by a few minutes until the cake starts to pull away from the edges of the pan, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean with only moist crumbs clinging to it. For me, 45 minutes was the magic number, but every oven is different, so be patient!

Now we’re getting to the good part: after a 10 minute cool-off session, the cake comes out of the pan. Remember those clementines that we scraped bald for their zest? It’s time to juice them into a pan with some sugar! We’re going to poke holes all over the cake and pour this warm, sugary juice on top. Yep. It’s exactly as good as it sounds.

I ate a slice of this cake warm, and then another slice cool. And then another slice warm again just to figure out my preference. Before I could have another slice cool, the cake was gone. I guess we’ll never know the best way to serve it, but one thing is for sure: this cake is delicious! Thanks for a great lightened-up cake recipe that I can feel good about eating at snack time, Steph! Check out her TK recipe box and visit her beautiful blog, Girl Versus Dough, for more of her masterpieces!

Printable Recipe

Whole Wheat Clementine Yogurt Cake

by Stephanie | Girl Versus Dough on January 9, 2014 in Cakes, Desserts

See post on Stephanie | Girl Versus Dough’s site!

4.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Description

A tangy, sweet, moist and citrus-y cake for breakfast, dessert, snacking or all of the above.

Ingredients

¾ cups Unbleached All-purpose Flour
¾ cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1-⅓ cup Granulated Sugar, Divided
3 Eggs
2 teaspoons Grated Clementine Zest (from About 2 Clementines)
½ teaspoons Vanilla
½ cups Vegetable Oil
⅓ cups Fresh-Squeezed Clementine Juice
Powdered Sugar, For Sprinkling (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Heat oven to 350F. Grease bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour; line bottom with parchment paper and spray paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder and salt until combined. In a separate large bowl, whisk together yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, clementine zest and vanilla until combined.

Slowly stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in oil. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then carefully remove from cake pan and transfer to a cooling rack with a rimmed baking sheet or clean sheet of parchment or wax paper underneath.

Meanwhile, cook the clementine juice and remaining ⅓ cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Carefully pour evenly over warm cake on cooling rack. Cool completely.

Sprinkle top with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.

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