Lemon Ice Box Dessert

I wish I knew who to thank for this yummy dessert. My husband was emailed this recipe and thought it would be something we would like. It definitely was. We shared it with some friends and they all liked it as well. This dessert is easy to make and tastes fabulous at the same time. If you are looking for a yummy simple dessert this is it. I also love that it is frozen because this means you can make it ahead of time!

Crust-
2 c crushed graham crackers
1 stick butter- melted

Filling-
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 c lemon juice
2 c whipping cream
1/2 c powdered sugar

For the crust mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together with a fork. Press crust into 9x13 inch pan.

Filling: Mix cans of sweetened condensed milk with lemon juice, set aside.
Beat cream and sugar until peaks form.  Fold whipped cream into juice/milk mixture and pour over crust.  Freeze. 

Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

I have always been a very picky eater. Growing up my family would go to Red Lobster for dinner. When I was a kid I always thought I didn't like fish, so whenever we went to Red Lobster I would find the chicken items on the menu and look forward to their cheese biscuits. I don't know if I have ever met someone that didn't like their biscuits. They are soft and tender yet garlicky and buttery. How could you go wrong with that combo? Well these biscuits have a similar flavor (the flavor that I love) but I feel like they are more healthy. I found this recipe over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. If you haven't ever checked out her site you are missing out! She has a great site with so many fantastic recipes. In fact when I (or my blog) grow up I want to be like her. Anyways these biscuits are so yummy and easy to make (my favorite combination). They are a great compliment to any dish or just by themselves.



Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons butter, cold
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until coarse crumbs are formed. Lightly mix in grated cheese. Mix in buttermilk just until moist (dry spots here and there are ok – the biscuits will be tough if they are over mixed). Drop the biscuits onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until browned and golden. While the biscuits are baking, in a small bowl combine three tablespoons melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes, 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder and a pinch of salt. Right when the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the butter/herb mixture over the biscuits evenly (alternately, you can dip the top of the biscuit into the butter mixture). Serve immediately.

Cinnamon Roll Pizza

My grandma makes the best cinnamon rolls. I have tried her recipe and many others but there is just something about how she does them that makes them amazing. I think it is just the grandma's touch that makes them great. This idea kinda came to me the other day as I was driving. I was thinking about her amazing cinnamon rolls, and also thinking about yummy dessert pizzas and thought why not make a dessert pizza out of my grandma's cinnamon rolls. The results of this combination turned out just as amazing as I had hoped!

Cinnamon Roll Pizza

Dough:
1 cube butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs salt
2 cups scalded milk
2 eggs beaten
6 cups flour
2 tbs yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1-2 tsp cinnamon sugar
1 tbs butter

Toppings
1 cube chilled butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbs flour

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
6-8 tbs evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla

Dissolve the 2 tbs yeast in 1/2 cup warm water set aside.  In your stand mixer with dough hook attachment combine the scalded milk, salt, butter, and sugar. Let rest until the butter is mostly melted and the temperature is just barely warm to touch. Add the yeast mixture, flour, and eggs. Mix and knead well. Cover and let rise until double in size.

Roll out dough on a floured surface to approximately an 18X24 inch rectangle. Brush lightly with 1 tbs melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Roll up like you are making cinnamon rolls. Using unflavored floss or a serrated knife cut thin slices of cinnamon roll dough. The thinner the better but keep it as consistent as possible. Place cinnamon rolls on a greased pizza pan. Start in the center with one and add more around it in a circular manner. Try and get them as close to each other as possible, but they do not have to be perfect. As the dough raises it will fill in any gaps. When the pizza pan is completely filled with cinnamon rolls press down on dough with your hands to try and fill in any gaps and to form more of the traditional pizza shape. Again it doesn't have to be perfect, the individual cinnamon rolls are what makes this pizza fun and unique.

In a food processor combine the brown sugar, white sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pulse briefly to combine mixture. Slice your cube of butter into thin slices and add to your food processor. Pulse until mixture is combined and appears slightly crumbly. Sprinkle butter and sugar mixture over cinnamon roll crust.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 18-25 minutes depending on how thick your crust is. The edges and bottom of your pizza should be a golden brown color.

For icing place butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Stirring frequently melt the butter and continue cooking until the butter turns a nice amber color and gives off a slightly nutty aroma. Pour the browned butter into a mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar, evaporated milk and vanilla. Mix until well combined and frosting starts to thicken slightly as the butter cools.

Drizzle the frosting over the pizza. You can either drizzle it over the entire thing or individual slices. Enjoy!

Note: this recipe makes more than enough to fill a fairly large pizza pan with some left over. I made a pizza and used the rest to make a small pan of normal cinnamon rolls.

Here are some photos of the process:

Roll out the dough.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Start placing on pan in a circular manner.

Fill pan and press down on dough slightly with hands to help form into shape.

Cinnamon sugar mixture. Processed until crumbly.

Sprinkle on dough. Ready to bake.

 Fresh out of the oven. Edges should be a nice golden brown color.

Sliced and drizzled with yummy browned butter frosting. Now its time to enjoy!

Velvet Almond Buttercream Frosting

My sweet husband made me an amazing cake for my birthday. The cake was delicious but my favorite part was the frosting! I am not a fan of store bought frosting, but I LOVE homemade frosting. This frosting has such a great flavor. It is a perfect frosting for most cakes. It was light and creamy with an amazing almond flavor. I thought I would share the recipe for any of you frosting lovers out there.

Velvet Almond Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 1/2 cups confectioners' Sugar
3/4 Tsp. Vanilla ext.
1/2 Tsp. Almond ext.
6-7 Tbsp. Milk

1.) Cream butter in mixing bowl until fluffy. Beat in confectioner's sugar 1-2 cups at a time with mixer. Add extracts.

2.) Add milk 3 Tbsp. at a time until the desired "frosting" consistency is achieved.

**This recipe can also be easily doubled and frozen- I always have a batch in the freezer!

It is also versatile and can be added to/ changed to make:

-Chocolate buttercream frosting (replace 1/2 cup of pwdr. sugar with cocoa),

-Lemon (replace milk with lemon juice and add 1 Tsp. lemon peel),

-Peanut Butter (1/2 Cup peanut butter instead of regular butter)

-Peppermint (Replace Vanilla ext. with peppermint)

Recipe Source: Bake Space

Pesto Pizza With Bacon And Pine Nuts

I am always looking fun new things to eat for dinner. I have mentioned before that I struggle with dinner ideas. The other night as I was driving home this pizza came into my mind. I have always loved pesto. Add a little pine nuts and bacon and why wouldn't it be amazing. I went home and started on the dough. I know I love pesto, pine nuts and bacon in pasta but I wasn't quite sure how it would taste on pizza. I threw it all together and stuck it in the oven. It smelled amazing before we even put it in the oven. The smell got even better as it baked. This pizza quickly made it to my favorites list.

Pesto Pizza with Bacon and Pine Nuts

Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tsp dried basil flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Toppings

1/4- 1/2 cup pesto
1/4 cup pine nuts
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup crumbled bacon (about 5 strips cooked bacon)

Combine flour, salt, sugar, yeast, basil, and garlic in a large bowl or in a stand mixer with dough attachment. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. Let dough rise in pan for a few minutes while you prepare the rest. Place pine nuts in a skillet with a small amount of butter. cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until nuts begin to turn a golden brown color. Set aside. Spread desired amount of pesto on the pizza dough for the sauce. Top with Mozzarella cheese. Top with bacon and pine nuts. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been eating chocolate chip cookies my whole life. I have been making chocolate chip cookies ever since I was a little girl. I have also recently been obsessed with browned butter. Naturally, when I saw this recipe claiming to be the perfect chocolate chip cookie AND it used browned butter you better believe that I had to try them! Well let me tell you these cookies are FANTASTIC! They are buttery and sweet, soft and chewy, and of course make you want to eat a million of them with a side of milk! The recipe made 2 dozen and I'm pretty sure my husband and I ate at least half of those within the first 2 days (yes we semi reluctantly shared the other half with others). These cookies are amazing as the original recipe, but like any food blogger I had to change things up a little, I had to add my own little touch to these bad boys. I wasn't trying to compete with the perfect cookie, just give it a little twist. I found that I like these both ways. I really had a hard time picking which cookie I liked better. I think all and all I am still leaning toward the original recipe. I will post my slight changes and you can try either. Either way you have some amazing cookies! If you try both let me know which one you liked better.  I originally got the recipe from Fun and Fearless in Beantown who got the recipe from Cooks Illustrated .

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies (with my slight adaptions)

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces) (I used 1 cup white and 3/4 whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (for something different try 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond extract)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4cups high quality chocolate chips or chunks
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional- I left them out)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. I used my kitchen aid mixer with the flat blade attachment. Add egg and yolk and mix until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then mix for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and mixing 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

4. Shape dough into 1 inch round balls. Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. My oven cooks pretty evenly so I didn't rotate the baking sheet halfway through. My cookies only took about 8 minutes to cook so watch them carefully. I took them out just when the edges started looking golden brown. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

Note: If you have a food scale use it. I think its easier to weigh flour sometimes than to measure it out plus you know you got the right amount.

Southwestern Style Chimichangas

Inspired by my other oven baked chimichanga recipe I have on this site I decided to play around with some different flavors. I love chimichangas, really I love flour tortillas. I can actually eat the tortillas without anything on them, that is if I am using the uncooked kind that you cook yourself. If you have never tried these I highly recommend them. The flavor and freshness add so much to anything that calls for them. Well these are a fun different, but still easy way to use my yummy flour tortillas and get a few other semi healthy things in with it. What is even more awesome than there yumminess is the fact that I can make a whole bunch at a time and freeze the extra ones and cook them up later. I really love anything I can freeze and use on days when I don't feel like cooking.

Southwestern Style Chimichangas

1 lb shredded chicken
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can corn
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Ranch dressing (optional)
10 uncooked tortillas


Combine barbecue sauce and chicken. Take one tortilla shell. Place a tablespoon of ranch on it. Top with chicken, black beans, corn and shredded cheese. Roll up tucking the corners in as you roll. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until the tortilla is golden brown. Top with cheese if desired.