Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

This was a super easy treat I made up for my kids 'First Day of School Treat'.  It was a super big hit and they were gone in a flash!

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

1 Box of Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake Mix (along with listed ingredients)

20-25 GF Oreo’s (I use Glutino’s)

1 16 oz. Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions:

Follow directions on cake mix.  Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan.  Twist the top of an Oreo and place the frosting side up in bottom of the liner.  Reserve all other halves of the Oreo’s for crushing to sprinkle on top of finished cupcakes. Fill each cupcake liner with cake mix until about 2/3 full.  Bake as directed on cake box.

Remove cupcakes from pan and place on a cooling rack.  Crush remaining Oreo cookie halves in a plastic bag. When cooled, frost with frosting and sprinkle with Oreo crumbs.  Store any leftovers in airtight container…if there are any!!

Makes about 16 cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls

A friend of mine shared these with our family on an outing one day.  I didn't think for a second that my kiddos would eat one let alone love them!  They are super easy to make and very tasty.  They curb that sweet tooth desire, but are more on the healthy side!  The original recipe comes from here.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls (Lara Bar Copycat)

 2/3 cup pitted dates

A handful of chocolate chips or Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips

1/4 cup cashews (or another nut, like almonds.)

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

A tiny pinch of salt (can be omitted)

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or a blender.  Scrape out and knead together with your hands.  Gently fold in chocolate chips.  Roll into tiny little balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Freeze for about a half an hour.  Bag up cookie balls in freezer bag and store in freezer until ready to eat. 

Try not to eat the whole bag!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I had a friend share one of these with me today and I immediately came home and busted out a batch that was gluten free.  They are super easy, super fast to whip up and they are DELICIOUS!!

The recipe I used is from Williams-Sonoma and all I did was change out the flour to be GF.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

½ C powdered sugar
1 2/3 C GF flour
1 ¼ tsp xanthan gum
½ C cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ C butter at room temp
1 ¼ C sugar
2 eggs
 ½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together sugar and butter. Add one egg and blend together.  Add second egg and vanilla and blend together. Add dry ingredients except for powdered sugar. Beat on low just till blended.  Roll into 1-2 inch balls and then roll each ball in the powdered sugar.  Place on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and place onto cooling rack for a few minutes and then store in airtight container if there are any leftovers!

Ranch Mac-n-Cheese

A big bowl of comfort food on a cold day is the best.  My family has enjoyed this meal a few times in the past few weeks and the leftovers are pretty tasty too!  I found this recipe here.

Ranch Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

1 package (16 oz.) GF elbow macaroni

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix  (or 3 TBS of dry ranch powder)

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon garlic pepper blend

1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Colby cheese

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream (I used heavy cream)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions, however, do NOT use salt in the pasta water.

2. Meanwhile on stove top, combine the milk, butter, dressing mix and seasonings; heat through. Stir in Monterey Jack and Colby cheeses until melted. Stir in sour cream or heavy cream.

3. Drain macaroni, stir into cheese sauce, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Sugar Cookie Squares

Who doesn't love a soft sugar cookie?  I have not found pleasure in trying to 'roll' out sugar cookie dough since going GF, so this is something I put on the back burner.  Then one day, I saw a pin on pinterest called 'Sugar Cookie Bars'.  You just spread the dough out onto a cookie sheet and bake the whole thing at once and then frost, cut and serve!  Well, duh, why didn't I think of that?!  I pulled out my old favorite recipe from back in the day and viola, we have yummy sugar cookies....all shaped like squares!  It was a good day.  The first time I made it using the full recipe and the cookies were like cake thickness.  A bit much for me, so the second time, I halved the recipe and they were much thinner (as pictured below).  So pick what suits your fancy and enjoy!

 Sugar Cookie Squares

½ cup shortening or butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp xanthan gum

3 cups GF flour

Cream together shortening, sugar and eggs.  Add remaining ingredients.  Spread dough out onto greased cookie sheet. (One with sides)  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes; until light golden brown on top.

Frost with your favorite frosting.  I use Betty Crocker Cream Cheese flavored frosting.

Chocolate Dipped Banana Popsicle

My sister brought me some Popsicle molds from Ikea when she came to visit, so we did a search for something yummy to make in them.  I am a huge fan of the hand dipped bars at Costco and this was a close second, only difference is the hint of banana flavor.  When dipping the Popsicle in the magic shell, you have to be very quick and you can't double dip it or all the chocolate comes off. 

The recipe came from pinterest.

Chocolate Dipped Banana Popsicles

Ingredients

2 medium sized bananas

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Popsicle Mold

Magic Shell

1/2 cup unsalted chopped peanuts

Instructions

Put bananas, heavy cream, milk, sugar and vanilla in the blender and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour into your popsicle mold and place in freezer.

Once frozen, remove from mold and dip into the chocolate Magic Shell, then quickly sprinkle with chopped nuts. Enjoy right away, or place in plastic bags and store in freezer until ready to enjoy.

Snicker Apple Salad

I remember having this salad years ago and forgetting about it until I saw it on pinterest!  This past weekend we had three gatherings that all required me to bring a side dish.  I decided this would be a good time to bust this out and introduce it to the family.  Let's just say it is so yummy that I tried to convince the kiddos that it was potato salad (because my kids don't like potato salad) so they wouldn't want to eat it all!  The original recipe calls for vanilla pudding, I only had french vanilla, hence the more yellow color.  It has an amazing combination of flavors that are sure to be a hit with your family!

Snicker Apple Salad

Ingredients:

6 regular size Snickers Candy Bar

6 apples (I used Granny Smith)

1 (5 oz.) package Vanilla Instant Pudding ; powder only (I used French Vanilla)

1/2 cup milk

1 (12 oz.) tub cool whip

Caramel ice cream sauce for drizzling on top

Instructions:

Whisk vanilla pudding powder, 1/2 cup milk and cool whip together until well combined.

Chop up apples and Snickers.  Stir chopped apples and Snickers into pudding mixture.  Place in a large bowl and drizzle with caramel ice cream topping.  Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Caramel Pretzel Cookies

If you like a sweet and salty combination, this is it! It's not very often that the kids come home from school to baked cookies, so this was a special treat today.  A sad detail to these cookies is I got so excited about the picture and getting it edited, I forgot about the second batch in the oven and burnt them to a crisp...So we thoroughly enjoyed the 16 cookies from the first batch.  So don't do what I did and get distracted and loose half your cookies!  You know want to go make some. The original recipe came from here.

Caramel Pretzel Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups GF flour (I use featherlite)

¾ tsp xanthan gum

3/4 cup GF stick pretzels, broken into thirds

1/2 cup caramel bits

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars.  Add vanilla and eggs, mixing until well blended. Scrap the sides of the bowl.

Combine salt, baking soda, xanthan gum and flour.  Gradually add to wet mixture.  Mix until well blended.  Fold in broken pretzels, caramel bits, & chocolate chips with a spatula.

Spoon onto a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes (or until golden brown). *Makes around 2 dozen cookies.

Peanut Butter Bars (School lunch style)

Remember those yummy peanut butter bars they used to serve at school lunch?  Found this recipe here and decided to give it a try.  Since my kids have never eaten school lunch, they really didn't know what they were missing out on.  Let's just say that out of a whole cookie sheet and sharing with a few friends, there were no leftovers.  Next I make it, I would like to try freezing a few and see how that works out. 

School Lunch Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C GF Flour (featherlite)

1¼ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Baking Soda

¾ C Butter

¾ C Sugar

¾ C Brown Sugar

1 ½ tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter (split)

2 Eggs

1 ½ C Quick Oats (I blended mine to make more of a flour like consistency)

¾ tsp xanthan gum

Frosting:

½ C Butter (1 stick)

3 ½ C Powdered Sugar

2 T Cocoa

¼ C Milk (I use whatever I have in the fridge)

1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, mix together flour, xanthan gum,baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, 3/4 C peanut butter, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients, just until incorporated. Then, stir in the oats. Spread onto a greased 11 x 15 Jelly Roll Pan (cookie sheet). Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

The frosting is a two-step process. First, whip the remaining ¾ C Creamy Peanut Butter until it becomes lighter colored and fluffy. Carefully spread the whipped peanut butter over the pan cookie.

Then, add butter to a small sauce pan and melt the butter. Add the milk and cocoa. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat just until boiling. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Then, gradually add the powdered sugar. Stir until thickened. Pour over the peanut butter and gently spread over the cookie. Cool completely, and slice into bar cookies.

Pumpkin Waffles with Buttermilk Syrup

Deliciousness!   

Pumpkin Waffles

2 C GF flour (featherlite)
2 T baking powder
1 T cinnamon
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum

Mix above ingredients...then add

4 egg yolks
1 C pumpkin
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 C milk
3/4 C butter, melted

Beat 4 egg whites till stiff peaks and fold into batter


Buttermilk Syrup

1/4 C butter
1/2 C buttermilk
1 C sugar
1 tsp light corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla


Bring first four ingredients to a boil and take off heat.
Add 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp vanilla
Do this in a bigger pot than ingredients...it will foam. Stir until it settles.  Pour into a serving jar.

**We like to double the syrup recipe and use it later.  We just put the extras in the refrigerator and reheat it the next time we do pancakes or waffles.

Monkey Bread Pull-A-Parts

These were literally gone in fifteen minutes after being pulled out of the oven...they are that good!

Pre-Cooked...You want it to raise double to triple in size...

After being inverted onto a serving platter...oozing with goodness!

Enjoy...

Monkey Bread Pull a Parts

Dough:

1 C scalded milk

¼  C butter

½  C sugar

½  C mashed potatoes (can be leftovers or instant)

¾  tsp salt

2 eggs

3 C GF flour (featherlite)

3 tsp xanthan gum

3 TB of ground flaxseed

Let Proof:

1 TB yeast

1/6 C warm water

½ tsp sugar

Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 (3.4 ounce) package Cook and Serve Butterscotch pudding mix

1/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup melted butter

1.      Mix brown sugar, pudding mix, sugar and cinnamon and set aside (from toppings list).

2.      In microwaveable dish, combine milk and butter and bring to scalding temperature (180 degrees). In separate mixing bowl, combine the seven other ingredients listed up top.  I use yeast that does not to be proofed; therefore I add those three ingredients in with all the above listed.  If you need to proof the yeast, go ahead and once it is all bubbly you can add it the mixing bowl.  Mix on high (about 3 minutes) until dough is well blended.  Spray Bundt pan really well with non-stick spray.  You will want to grease your fingers as well. 

3.      Roll dough into balls the size of a golf ball.  Roll in pudding/sugar mixture and layer in pan. Pour melted butter over first layer. Repeat with the next layer.

4.      When all the dough is gone, sprinkle remaining pudding/sugar mixture over dough in Bundt pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 3 hours.  Bake in pre heated oven, 350 degrees, for 20-30 minutes.  Let cool for about ten minutes and then flip out onto a serving platter.   Enjoy the ooey gooey goodness of these delicious rolls!!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

We have made two batches in the past three weeks!  They are so quick and SO easy.  My two older girls can do this one on their own.  The original recipe comes from here.   I have tried the recipe both ways and we like it best with only milk chocolate, which is the recipe I have listed below.  

Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided

4-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups milk chocolate chips 

Mini cupcake liners and mini cupcake pan

Directions

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup peanut butter, butter, confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth; set aside.

In a microwave, melt the chocolate chips and remaining peanut butter; stir until smooth.

Drop teaspoonfuls of chocolate mixture into paper-lined miniature muffin cups. Top each with a scant teaspoonful of peanut butter mixture; top with another teaspoonful of chocolate mixture. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3 dozen.

Crock Pot Banana Bread

This bread was probably one of the moistest breads I have ever made and eaten!  It was still very moist on day two and three.  It got rave reviews from the hubby and kids as well!  

The recipe came from here.

Crock pot Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (featherlite)

1 1/4 tsp Xantham gum

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

2 tbsp honey

3 ripe bananas, well mashed

Instructions

Grease and flour (use gluten-free flour) a 4 1/2 quart crockpot. (I just lined mine with parchment paper and it worked great!)  Mix flour, xantham gum, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl, set aside.  Cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly add sugar, eggs, honey, and mashed bananas. Mix until smooth.  Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture.  Pour into crockpot, cover and cook in high for 1 1/4 to 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. (It took close to 2 hours for mine to cook all the way through)  Let cool, then invert bread onto serving platter.  Enjoy!

Trifle...Halloween Style

Trifle
1 Betty Crocker GF Devils Food Cake
2 small boxes of Butterscotch flavored pudding
Yellow food coloring
Red food coloring
Cool Whip
1 bag of candy corn

Mix and bake cake as direction on box.  In separate bowl, make pudding as directed on package and add the red and yellow food coloring until you reach the desired Halloween orange color and then refrigerate. When the cake is completely cooled, cut into bite sized squares (1 x 1 inches).  Place cake squares in serving dish and toss in the candy corn.  Spread the pudding on next and then top with cool whip.  Either serve immediately or refrigerate.

Cinnamon Churro Chex

My kids have never had a churro, but every time we go to Costco and get an ice cream, I see the churro's and wish so badly I could buy one for them.  Well, here is the next best thing!  This little treat was so delicious and very quick and easy to make.  I know that cinnamon chips (made by Hershey's) are a seasonal item at most stores.  I just picked up a whole bunch at Walmart the other day, so keep your eyes open for some at your local store!

Cinnamon Churro Chex

9 cups rice Chex cereal

3 cups cinnamon chips

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Pour Chex cereal into a bowl. Set aside. Combine sugars and cinnamon in another small bowl. Set aside.

Melt cinnamon chips on stove top in a double broiler.  (I just use a small sauce pan, fill it half way with water and place a heat safe bowl that will rest above the water on the saucepan.) Melt chips until smooth and creamy.  Pour over cereal and stir until cereal is well coated.

Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Toss to coat. Pour out the cereal onto a cookie sheet. Continue to sprinkle and toss the cereal with the rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Enjoy!!

Recipe came from here.

Mini Funnel Cakes

Just got back from the State Fair so funnel cakes were on my mind.  Started surfing around on Pinterest and guess what popped up?  That is right!  A recipe for mini funnel cakes.  All I did was switch out the flour and add xanthan gum.  Oh my goodness!  They were amazing and delicious!  What I love about them most, well two things actually...they are super easy and quick and because they aren't the size of a dinner plate!   I made some changes to the preparation of the recipe.  If you would like to see the original recipe it can be found here at Taylor Takes a Taste.

Mini Funnel Cakes

Makes about 15-20 4in diameter cakes (will vary depending on how much batter used in each cake)

Dry ingredients

1 1/2 cups GF Flour Blend (featherlite)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp xanthan gum

Wet ingredients

1 1/3 cup milk

1/4 tsp lemon zest (did not use)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

Place wet ingredients into a blender and blend.  Add dry ingredients and blend until smooth.   Using a funnel, pour batter into a squeeze bottle. The batter is thick so be patient for it to flow into the bottle. You may also pour the batter directly from the blender into the plastic squeeze bottle.  (I just poured mine into a Ziploc bag, closed it and snipped the very corner off, allowing me to squeeze the batter into the oil.)

In a large pan, pour in your favorite frying oil until it is about 1/2 inch deep, and heat to 350F (I used peanut oil). Place 4 in metal ring into pan. (**I used a metal cookie cutter) Depending on the size of the pan, you can fit 1-4 rings. Squeeze batter into ring and cook until funnel cake will stay together when metal ring is removed.  (30 seconds-1min). Using tongs, remove metal ring and let cakes float. Flip and cook the other side for 30 seconds to a minute or until a nice light golden brown. These cook very quickly so be careful not to burn. Try experimenting with your first few to find a cooking time that works best for your oil and pan set up.

Once golden brown, remove from pan and place onto brown paper bags to let the excess oil drain. Immediately top with powdered sugar. Best if eaten when still warm right after frying.

Sprinkle with favorite topping…

Powder sugar, chocolate syrup, caramel

Panera Mac-n-Cheese (Copycat)

I came across this recipe on Pinterest several weeks ago and have made it for the family a few times and my kids love it!!

Panera Mac-n-Cheese

1 (16-oz.) package GF pasta (we like the Penne noodles from Trader Joe’s)
¼ cup butter 
1/3 cup all-purpose GF flour 
2½ cups 2% reduced-fat milk 
6 slices white American cheese, chopped 
1 cup (8 oz.) shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese 
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard 
1 tsp. kosher salt 
¼ tsp. hot sauce 
Paprika (optional) 

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. 
2. Melt butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. 
3. Gradually whisk in milk; cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and is bubbly. Remove from heat. 
4. Add cheeses, mustard, salt and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and sauce is smooth. 
5. Stir in pasta and cook over medium heat, 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Serve immediately. 

Reindeer Food

Seriously addictive and extremely easy!!

Rice Chex cereal

White baking chocolate

Crushed candy canes

There really isn't a measured amount for this recipe, but this is what I used... 1 1/2 boxes of Rice Chex, one 24 ounce package of baking chocolate blocks and 10 candy canes.  That gave me 125 mini muffin cups of reindeer food.

All you have to do is melt down the white chocolate (in a double broiler), pour over Rice Chex cereal and stir until all the cereal is completely covered. Then sprinkle your crushed candy canes over the top.  Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until cooled.  I made mine for my kids' school class parties so I spooned a little into mini muffin liners to make it easy for the kids to handle.

Chocolate Pumpkin Wafers

These were so easy!  I just took some baking chocolate and melted it down in a double broiler, filled the bottom of the silicone pumpkin mold with about a teaspoon of melted chocolate, sprinkled some sprinkles on top and let them chill for about 15 minutes.  Remove from mold and voila, you have cute little pumpkin wafers!  These are for the kids to pass out to their classmates. 

Never on Sunday, Sundae

My sister spent a few weeks with us this summer.  She whipped up this very tasty ice cream cookie sundae.  She just used the cookie recipe from here.  For the sundae recipe, instead of making lots of individual cookies, you just need one or two 8-9 inch round cake pans.  Line them with parchment paper, divide the cookie dough in half and spread evenly into both pans.  Bake as directed in cookie recipe or until cookie is golden brown and done looking.  Let cool slightly and then top with favorite sundae toppings...ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauce, whipped topping and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

**You only to make half a batch of cookie dough to get two 8-9 inch round cookies.

Never on Sunday, Sundae
1/2 batch of cookie dough recipe (here)
Chocolate sauce
Caramel sauce
Whipped topping
Cinnamon and sugar