October 25: 10 Minute Cookie Bars

These are quick to make and great to eat! 

10 Minute Cookie Bars

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 cups quick cooking oatmeal
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

1. Melt the butter.
2. Mix the brown sugar and oatmeal in a bowl.
3. Pour butter over sugar and oatmeal and mix.
4. Press oatmeal mix into a 9x13 pan.
5. Bake for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
6. Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a pan on the stove top.
7. Spread over the baked oatmeal.
8. Chill and cut into bars.

From takethemameal.com

October 18: Birthday Oreo Cupcakes

 HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY, TYSEN!!!

Tysen requested Dirt Dessert for his birthday "cake" this year.  So we had it for his party on Sunday, and we'll have it again this upcoming weekend for his party with friends, so for his actually birth-day, I thought we should have some kind of cake.  We had plenty of Oreos for the Dirt Dessert, so I went online and found these Oreo Cupcakes (although the direct link no longer works!?!).  I thought a little variety in sweetness would be just fine.  They were a hit with the family!

Oreo Cupcakes

• Devils Food or Chocolate cake mix
• Eggs (number specified on back of cake mix box)
• Oil (amount specified on back of cake mix box)
• Water (1/2 - 1/3 of the amount specified on the cake mix box)
• Milk or Buttermilk (1/2 - 2/3 of the "water" amount specified on the cake mix box)
• 24 Oreos
• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream (for frosting)
• 3 Tbs. powdered sugar (for frosting)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla (for frosting)
• 1/2 cup Oreo cookie crumbs (for frosting)

1. First, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Carefully pull Oreos apart (one side should be plain cookie which can be crumbled to use in the frosting and one side with frosting).
3. Place the frosted halves of the Oreos cream-side-up on the bottom of the lined-muffin cups.
4. Put the eggs, oil, milk, and water together in a bowl and mix them with the cake mix.
5. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3-3/4 full over the Oreos.
6. Tap the pan gently on the counter to settle the batter.
7. Bake according to the directions on the back of the box.
8. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean.
9. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.
10. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.





Oreos on the bottom.

Frosting

1. Use an electric mixer to whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff.
2. Gently fold in the cookie crumbs. 
3. Frost cupcakes or scoop mixture into a piping bag to frost.





Excited about getting started!



Tysen's been perfecting his egg-cracking skills.



Reading the recipe.

October 11: Non-Baking Day -- Bonus Recipe Anyway

Ty didn't feel like baking today, and since I'd just made these bars over the weekend it wasn't crucial that we have more baked goods.  I had all the extra caramel from our caramel apples sitting around, and I wanted to use that.  I found this idea at food.com.  The recipe recommends keeping the bars in the fridge which I didn't do because it hardened the caramel so much.  Sadly, the bars got stale pretty quickly on the counter.  Of course, if I had used the caramel out of the jar like the recipe calls for it probably would've been fine in the fridge.  I did freeze some which helped a bit, but they still went stale quickly on the counter.  Live and learn...

Caramel-Chocolate Oat Bars

• 1 package yellow or white cake mix
• 2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 3 Tbs. flour
• 1 - 16 oz. package chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Set the oven rack to the lowest position.
3. Butter a 9x13 baking pan.
4. For the crust, mix the cake mix, oatmeal, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
5. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, lemon juice, and egg until well-blended.
6. Add oat mixture, mixing with hands until the mixture barely holds together.
7. Sprinkle 2/3 of mix into the baking pan and press down with your hands to spread evenly.
8. Bake for 5 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.
10. For the filling, combine the caramel with the flour, blend well.
11. Drizzle caramel mixture over chocolate and nuts.
12. Sprinkle with remaining oat topping and press down slightly.
13. Bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
14. Let stand to cool until cool enough to place in refrigerator.
15. Slice into squares.

NOTE:  Best served warm when the chocolate and caramel are a little melted. :)  Then it doesn't matter if they're stale!!!

October 4: Oatmeal Butterscotch Muffins

Another muffin recipe attempt:  Seth really liked them; Koen ate one, said he liked it, and then wouldn't eat any more; Ty refused to try them, and Brielle seemed to enjoy them...maybe because she was the only one who helped to make them!  Like most oatmeal muffins, these did begin to get crumbly after the first day or two.  We stored them on the counter, so maybe the refrigerator would've worked better in helping these last longer. 

Oatmeal Butterscotch Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups quick oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips

1. Mix all together in a large bowl.
2. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden.

Recipe taken from http://www.sarahsdeals.net/search/label/Recipes

September 27: S'more Bars

This is a family favorite on the Smits side of the family.  If we're together, there's bound to be a batch of S'more bars in the vicinity!  :)  And to be honest, these are better than S'mores!

S'more Bars

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 12 oz. package of chocolate chips
• 13 oz. marshmallow creme

1. Combine first 7 ingredients.
2. Spread half of the mixture in a 9x13 pan.
3. Spread marshmallow creme over dough.
4. Sprinkle chocolate chips over marshmallow creme.
5. Crumble remaining dough over the chocolate.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

September 26: Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

(I realize this is out of order...I'm not sure how I missed this one!  I have no idea how to insert it sequentially, so it'll have to be here.)

Not too long ago we tried Almond Poppy Seed Muffins, but for this bread we went with the lemon flavor.  I think the kids actually liked it better, but I'm not sure they'd admit to that as the LOVE anything almond!

Poppy Seed Bread

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 package instant pudding (either lemon or coconut)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil (I use Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 Tbs. poppy seeds

1. Beat all ingredients together for three minutes with a mixer.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Makes 2 loaf pans.

July 25: Christmas in July

Every July I have a "Christmas in July" sale for my Premier Designs Jewelry.  This year the boys were so excited about it that I needed to give them something to do!  I went into our crawl space and found the little Christmas tree, one box of ornaments, and one string of lights.  I brought it upstairs, put up the lights, and let the boys begin to decorate!  I even found some candy canes in the cupboard that they hung on the tree (and later ate!).  They were so adorable as the carefully found a good place for each ornament.  Koen even took empty jewelry boxes and placed them at the base of the tree as presents.  It certainly was a lot of fun!

One of the treats I put out for the jewelry show was Razz Ma Tazz bars.  These received many compliments so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Razz Ma Tazz Bars

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 - 12 oz. packages Nestle white morsels
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 12 oz. jar seedless raspberry jam
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

1. Grease a 9x13 pan.
2. Melt the butter, stir, and add 1 bag of white chips.  Let stand -- do NOT stir. 
3. Beat eggs until foamy.
4. Add sugar and beat until a light lemon color.
5. Stir into the butter mixture.
6. Add flour, salt, and extract.
7. Spread 2/3 into the pan and bake for 15-17 min. at 325 degrees.
8. Heat jam in microwave and spread over crust. 
9. Stir remaining morsels in remaining batter.
10. Drop spoonfuls of batter over the jam.
11. Sprinkle with almonds.
12. Bake 25-30 minutes at 325 degrees.
13. Cool and cut.

June 6: Two Tried-and-True Recipes -- One Just For Fun!

Seth's request for our baking treat today was our favorite Almond Bars, but Ty insisted on making our favorite Pumpkin Muffins (though this recipe will make 36 muffins, not 18 as I'd posted).  Both recipes were made and both are being enjoyed, but since they'd been previously posted I decided to post a recipe we made a while back on a non-official baking day. 

When Koen's school had their Spring Celebration Night last month they hosted a cake walk.  I made a new recipe for the event:  Brownie Cake.  My family was quite upset that they didn't get to try any of it, so the next week we gathered the ingredients again and made one just for us.  Ty was so excited he was telling people we made a cake and got to KEEP it!!!  :) 

 

No beaters?  No problem! 
Sharing at its best!

Brownie Cake!

Brownie Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 small box chocolate pudding
1/2 cup oil
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Make the chocolate pudding according to directions.  In a large mixing bowl, blend dry cake mix, oil, and pudding.  Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.  Prepare a 9x13 glass pan with cooking spray and pour the cake mixture.  Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Enjoy!

March 7: Brown Sugar Nut Bread

I'm still not eating sugars and starches, so I knew I wouldn't be able to taste test this one again.  One of my goals in 2011 is to set a better example of healthy eating for our family.  Friends of ours started a whole foods approach to eating, and I'd like to start doing more of that in our house as well.  With that in mind, I came across this recipe in my recipe box, and it fits fairly well with the whole foods way of eating so I thought we'd give it a whirl.  It hasn't gone over very well.  Part of that may be my own doing as I replaced the flour in the recipe with a flour blend from The Sneaky Chef (equal parts white flour, whole wheat flour, and unsweetened wheat germ).  Koen didn't like the raisins, Seth detected the wheat germ immediately, and Ty and Brielle wouldn't even try it.  I'll probably end up freezing most of the loaf and eat it later because I hate to throw it out. 

In case it sounds good to you...

Brown Sugar Nut Bread
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup raisins
3 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup boiling water
2 cups flour

Combine all of the ingredients.  Bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees in a loaf pan.

February 7: Almond Bars

This is one of our family's favorite treats...I can't believe I haven't posted it before!!!  Easy, quick, and tasty!  Ty and I whipped these up at the suggestion of Seth.  Ty's favorite part?  As usual, licking the beaters!

Almond Bars
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp almond extract
1 cup melted butter
4 eggs
pinch  of salt
Sprinkle sugar (and slivered almonds if desired) on top before baking.

Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  It's a simple as that!

January 17: No Bake Cookies

We hadn't had these cookies in a long, long time.  I thought this would be a great recipe to make with kids, until we started and I realized most of it was over a hot burner or mixing the HOT melted ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Ty helped me mix the ingredients to be melted and then took off to play with Koen and Koen's friend who was over to play on this day off from school.  It was probably better that I finished this recipe on my own...not the safest one to make with kids.

No Bake Cookies
1 cup milk
10 Tbs. cocoa
1 cup oleo (I used butter)
2 cups sugar
2 pinches of salt

Mix together and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add:

6 cups quick oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla

Drop on wax paper and refrigerate until firm.

January 3: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ty helps clean up!  His favorite part!

Back to the basics...baking day today!  I hadn't planned anything to bake this week, but I found all the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies!  This recipe is off the Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chip bag.  I've saved it after the first batch turned out so well.  We didn't have the Ghirardelli chocolate chips this time, but I figured it'd still work.  Unfortunately, the cookies didn't turn out very well this time...I'm pretty sure it wasn't because we used the wrong chocolate chips...must have been over-baked or another ingredient wasn't up to par. 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (or any variety) :)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 374 degrees.  Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.  In large mixer bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until they are creamy.  Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mix on low speed until incorporated.  Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.

August 29: PB&J bars

Koen had his friend Josiah over to play today!  Of course, Tysen considers Josiah his good friend as well, so he wants to do everything the big boys do, but he's been naughty all day (mainly just not listening) and he was just naughty enough to bother Koen & Josiah.  So I suggested to Ty that we make some bars for our snack later, but Josiah and Koen heard that plan and wanted to help, too. We ALL made the bars and then Ty went back to bugging the other boys. 

These PB&J bars are ones I've been wanting to try for a while.  I found them in Family Fun Magazine (one of my favorites).  I'll include the recipe here in case you'd like to try them.  Koen decided he didn't like them, but he's been on an anti-jelly kick for a while, so who knows.  Ty didn't want a snack after all, Josiah seemed to like them, and I thought they were OK.  When Josiah's mom came to pick him up, she commented that they smelled so good.  Then shared that she had a recipe very similar to this one only the middle was CHOCOLATE instead of jelly.  YUM!  We'll have to try that another day...soon! :) 

PB&J Bars
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter at room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups seedless jam
1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped (optional)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease & flour a 9x13 pan.  In a medium-size bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, then set it aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the butter and both sugars until well blended, about 2 minutes.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter.  Beat them until well blended.  Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until a soft dough is formed.

Spread two thirds of the dough over the bottom of the prepared pan, then spread the jam evenly on top.  Scatter small mounds of the remaining dough over the jam layer and sprinkle it with the peanuts.

Bake the dessert until golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through, about 45 minutes.  Let the dessert cool before cutting it into squares.  Makes 18 bars.

August 17: Banana Muffins

We had extra-ripe bananas today, so banana muffins was the no-brainer choice for baking day.  Tysen devours muffins, so he was thrilled we were making them ,but Koen opted out of the baking session meaning he didn't get to enjoy them.  Bummer for him because they were great as usual!  Here's the simple recipe we usually use.

Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
2 very ripe bananas
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
     In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and baking soda. 
     Put all the rest of the ingredients into the blender - the butter (I usually soften this first), the bananas, and the eggs - and let 'er rip!  Blend this until smooth.
     Pour the blended banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
     Spoon the batter into a well-greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.  If you want, you can bake this in muffin pans instead.  Grease the cups (or use paper cups), fill them almost to the top, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
     Makes 1 loaf or about 10 muffins.
(recipe from Clueless in the Kitchen by Evelyn Raab)

August 5: Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I don't remember if I made these as a child, but I do remember eating them occasionally!  Koen thought these were SO COOL!   He was excited about making these from mixing to decorating.  I couldn't believe he even filled most of the ice cream cones himself -- and he did a great job of it!  I frosted the cupcakes, but Koen decorated every one with great care and intensity!  Tysen slept through most of the process, and when he woke up he was not in the mood to decorate. 

 

The "recipe" is included for your enjoyment:

 

Ice-Cream-Cone Cupcakes (from 365 Games Smart Toddlers Play by Sheila Ellison)

Materials:

• Flat bottomed ice-cream cones
• Cake mix
• Can of frosting
• Cake decorations
• Muffin pan

Yields 12-15 cup cakes

Prepare the cake mix according to directions.  Spoon the batter into the cones until they are 2/3 full.  Place the cones in the muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  When cool, frost and decorate.

Note:  I had purchased our ice cream cones from Aldi (LOVE this place!), and apparently they are smaller than the usual ice cream cone.  We had 12 ice cream cone cupcakes and still had enough batter for 12 regular-sized cupcakes!  I'm not complaining...the smaller size is perfect for the kids!

 

FYI -- We stored the cupcakes upright in a cake saver, and by morning they were falling over!  I don't know if it's because of the humidity or just the moistness of the cake, but the cupcakes started sagging and falling over.  We decided to just lay them on their sides, but then some of the decorations fell off.  Any ideas on how to better store these?

July 15: Pudding Bread -- a day late

While we arrived home on Tuesday after our time with the extended Smits family, we had no energy or desire to bake.  So Wednesday became this week's baking day which worked out well since Seth and Dad were working on the basement and needed some refreshments. 

Since we'd been away for so many days, I hadn't gone grocery shopping which limited the number of recipes that were even an option.  Koen had suggested we make pumpkin muffins, but the last time I was at Meijer they didn't have a single can!!!  Next time I find some I'll be stocking up on pumpkin!  I sifted through some other muffin/bread recipes and came upon Pudding Bread.  We had everything in the house except for the vanilla pudding, but we did have butterscotch pudding, so it was a simple substitution.

Ty is always excited about helping in the kitchen; he loves to lick the spoons and beaters.  Koen wasn't going to help with this recipe, even when I reminded him that the rule was you had to help make it to help eat it.  Ty and I had mixed everything and he had started in on his beater when Koen decided he wanted to lick a beater as well.  Fortunately for him, the cinnamon and sugar still needed to be mixed.  After he made the mixture he enjoyed a beater of his own.

Here's the recipe should you desire to have a taste:

Pudding Bread
1 box yellow cake mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding (or a flavor of your choice)
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup water

Topping:  3/4 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Beat together for 8 minutes.  Grease 2 loaf pans.  Pour layer of batter in each.  Sprinkle 1/2 of the sugar mixture over the batter. Pour in remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy!

The butterscotch pudding version received rave reviews...Seth said it even reminded him of Friendship Bread.  

June 22: Deluxe M&M Cookies

We made Deluxe M&M Cookies today for baking day.  I chose this recipe first of all because it has M&Ms which automatically makes it a great recipe, :) but also because Jane, Mark, Evan, and Annika are coming to visit mid-July and Mom wanted to start stocking up on snacks for when they're here.  We do tend to deplete the sweet snacks quickly when we're all together.  One batch of this recipe gets close to 70 cookies, and they store in the freezer well, so I decided this was the one.

Ty missed out on this one as he was sleeping, but Koen was a FABULOUS help as he read the recipe to me!!!  Seriously, he read 95% off the ingredients on his own...I was amazed and so proud! 

I included this yummy recipe for you all to try:

DELUXE M&M COOKIES  (I don't know who gets the credit for this recipe; I got it from my mom pre-printed)
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter (it calls for crunchy, but I've used smooth before and either works)
1 cup rolled oats (instant work in a pinch)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
3 cups M&Ms/chocolate chips/peanut butter chips, etc. (FYI - only 1 cup of each to total 3 cups.  I haven't tried it, but I bet you could even use 3 cups of just M&Ms!)

Put on greased cookie sheet (I prefer to use parchment paper) about 2 inches apart.  Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from pan promptly.

Enjoy!

June 15: Baking Day -- Chocolate Muffins

Chocolate muffins (or Black Muffins, as Koen calls them) are a favorite around our house!  They NEVER last longer than two days, unless it's a double batch.  It's a simple and quick recipe but quite tasty and actually healthy for us with all the fiber in them.  I originally got the recipe from a Weight Watchers meeting.  If you'd like to try them for yourself, here's the recipe!

Chocolate Muffins: 
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 small can pumpkin (like Libby's Pumpkin)
1/4 cup water
(we like to add in some chocolate chips as well)

Mix the ingredients together and place the batter in greased muffin tins (or use paper liners in the tins).  Bake for 18 minutes at 350 degrees.  Yield 18 muffins

Variation:  While we didn't make them this week, we also enjoy Pumpkin Muffins made the same way.  Simply use Spice Cake Mix instead of the Chocolate Cake Mix and keep everything else the same.

June 8: Applesauce Bread

Applesauce bread was the recipe we tackled for our first baking day. It seemed simple for kids to make and sounded tasty. Plus, I've had it sitting around for a few years intending to make it -- today was the day.

Koen, however, decided that he didn't like applesauce bread (not that he's ever had it), so he didn't want to help make it. I told him that was fine, but if he didn't make it he couldn't eat it. I thought that would do the trick and he would be eager to help, but no. Even after three attempts to get him involved, he chose to play trains (surprise, surprise) while Ty and I mixed together the recipe.

Both boys (usually) love to help in the kitchen...at least up to the part when they get to lick the spoons. After that they tend to disappear. :) On this day, Tysen enjoyed dumping in the ingredients, mixing them together, and talking about how "num-mmy" (add emphasis) this applesauce bread was. And he did think it was "num-mmy" as he ate most of the loaf himself (over the course of a few days, of course).

As I opened the oven door to put in the loaf pan, Koen's head popped up from his train reenactment set-up and he cried, "But Mom, I wanted to help make the bread!" Too late! He only asked once for some applesauce bread, and he was reminded why he couldn't have any. I felt badly about the situation, but I think it was for the best.

I've included the link to recipe we used below, in case you were interested in trying the applesauce bread for yourself.


Applesauce Bread Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes