Tag Archives: Vanilla extract

Oreo Cookie Spread

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Remember my homemade cookie butter? That super delicious stuff that you want to just eat straight from the jar? Of course you do!

Well I decided to go with an idea I saw on foodgawker. Oreo cookie spread. Uhh hello! TOTAL GENIUS

This stuff is beyond words. This stuff is seriously just the best. Better than Speculoos. Better than Biscoff. Yes, I am saying it. I may get like hate mail for those words, but it’s the truth.

If you have oreos at home, make these. If you don’t have oreos, buy them. NOW. Seriously just run and get those babies. You NEED THIS.

Oreo Cookie Spread

3 cups (1 package) Oreo cookies

2 Tablespoons coconut oil or canola oil (melt for 30 seconds in microwave)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup – 3/4 cup milk (I used skim)

  1. Place Oreos, vanilla extract, and melted coconut oil in the food processor. Blend until combined and smooth. Slowly pour in milk through spout until you achieved desired consistency. 1/2 cup milk was good for me, but if you prefer a thinner cookie butter you should add 3/4 cup milk. Store cookie butter in an air-tight container and keep in refrigerator. Enjoy!
Random Fact of the Day: Healthy nails grow about 2 cm each year. Fingernails grow four times as fast as toenails.
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Fudge Brownie Explosion Ice Cream

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For those of you who have not invested in an ice cream maker yet, well I highly recommend you do.

Honestly, one of the best appliances I have my parents have ever bought. Making your own ice cream is like the easiest thing ever!! I’m not one to mess with recipes with eggs in them for ice cream. I just like to stick to the basic cream, milk, and sugar base. Salmonella freaks me out in ice cream..however, I’m TOTALLY okay with it in cookie dough! ;) (Completely different story, let’s be real here)

Anyways, making ice cream at home lets you be the most creative person on the planet. You’re like Ben & Jerry for a couple hours! You get to make up your own funky flavors and just do whatever the heck you want. Like put gummy bears and skittles in your ice cream and no one will judge! One of my favorite ice cream concoctions that I have made was the Brownie Batter kind I showed you guys a bit back. Well, I tweaked it a bit and made it fudge brownie explosion ice cream! Sounds good, right? FYI: It tastes even better than it sounds :)

So here is your to do list:

  1. buy ice cream maker
  2. make ice cream
  3. eat it.
  4. :)

Fudge Brownie Explosion Ice Cream

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk (I use skim)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Dry Brownie Mix

about 3/4 cup chopped up baked brownies

1/4 cup hot fudge topping**

  1. Mix the milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, dry brownie mix, vanilla extract, and salt together in a bowl using a whisk. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.
  2. When there is 5 minutes left, pour in chopped brownies.
  3. When ice cream is done in ice cream maker, fold in hot fudge topping. Place ice cream in tupperware container and pop in the freezer. It will take a few hours for the ice cream to harden up, but I like mine soft so I was ready to eat mine about 2 hours later :) Enjoy!

* I actually made brownies a few weeks ago using a box mix. I only wanted to use half the batter, so I put the other half in a zip-loc bag and popped it in the freezer. I baked the brownies from the frozen batter in silicon muffin tins, that were sprayed with cooking spray, for about 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree F oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center came out mostly clean. I accidentally over baked mine a little bit, but it was no biggie since they went in the ice cream and you couldn’t tell at all.

** I used a hot fudge topping from a jar from the store, microwaved it for about 30-35 seconds until it was soft and smooth and a pourable consistency. I stirred it around with a knife in the jar to help it get to this point, then I let it cool for a minute or two so it wouldn’t heat up the ice cream too much and totally mess up the texture and consistency.

Random Fact of the Day: The oldest person in history smoked daily for close to a century. She quit five years before her death at 122.

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Coconut Layer Cake

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In case you haven’t noticed, I kind of like coconut.

Coconut has definitely NOT always been my flavor of choice. Samoas were a total No-no to me when I was a Girl Scout. It would disgust me that my parents would waste their precious money that could have been spent on MORE Tagalongs on…Samoas.

yes that tiny spot that is unfrosted at the bottom is bugging me too

It always blew my mind that my parents would order coconut ice cream. Uhhh…hello? Cookie dough was my thanng, how could coconut even be considered a possibility?

And then, one day I tried a coconut cream pie. I’m not sure what convinced me that a pie with coconut in it was a good idea…but man, that coconut cream pie was delicious. Me and coconut have become pretty good buds since then. 

So here we go, a coconut layer cake that we served on Easter. A perfect fluffy little cake that’s great for any occasion. Why not celebrate the wonderful day of Friday with this yummy cake? Good idea, get on it baby!!

Coconut Cake

(makes 1 6-inch form spring layer cake)

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 1/t teasoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup shredded coconut

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (6-inch) round form spring cake pans.
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar with mixer until light yellow and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract.
  4. With mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until top springs back when touched and toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center. Cool on baking rack for 15-20 minutes, then turn cakes out onto baking rack to finish cooling for an additional 25 minutes.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2/3 cup shredded coconut

milk, as needed

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and salt. Add the powdered sugar and mix until desired consistency is achieved. Add milk as needed to thin frosting out if it gets too thick, or add more powdered sugar if frosting gets too thin. When desired consistency is achieved, fold in the shredded coconut.
  2. TO ASSEMBLE: Cut tops off of cooled cakes to make them flat and even. Place one layer flat on serving plate and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top and frost the sides and top. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top and sides with coconut. I used about 1/2 cup of toasted and non toasted coconut. Store in fridge but serve at room temperature.

Random Fact of the Day: A Toyota car is built in 13 hours and a Rolls Royce is built in 6 months.

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Peanut Butta Time!

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WARNING!: okay, so I made this post up a long time ago, like probably 5 months back, so I’m just warning you the pictures may not be the best quality…not that I really have the whole photography thing totally down yet, anyways but just warning ya. Also, I’m not quite sure why I’ve held onto this post for so long without posting it, but I figured that since I’m out of town this week and have like no time to make any new recipe that this would be the perfect time to share this guy. I do remember these being quite scrumptious. Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Jessica, anyways.

Yes, I know I’ve made a few peanut butter cookie recipes before. But I swear, I seriously love them all. I can’t get enough of peanut butter..clearly.I actually have been known to eat a spoonful or two of peanut butter out of the jar? Is that gross?? Don’t answer that.

Anyways, Jessica’s brilliance has shined through in yet another scrumptious recipe. This one is actually somewhat of a variation off her M&M cookies, that I made before. All I have to say is pure brilliance! Oh… and definitely go on the under-baked side. They’ll seem kinda heavy, but they will turn out to be incredible, dense delicious cookies with nice soft peanut buttery middles. :)

Puffy Peanut Butter Cookies

(adapted from How Sweet It Is)

1 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

pinch of salt, I used sea salt to liven it up a bit

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

8 tablespoons of salted butter, melted and cooled

6 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter, melted and cooled

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

milk, as needed

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, optional (I actually left this out because my dough was too crumbly, which could be partially due to the fact that I hadn’t used a mixer)

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Add butter and peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl, and heat in 30 second increments until melted. Let cool completely.
  3. In a large bowl (I recommend using a mixer, since later on your dough may become difficult to combine by hand…course I could just be a wimp), mix the cooled butter/peanut butter and sugars until they are combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed.
  4. Gradually add flours, salt, and baking soda and mix until a dough forms – it will look crumbly at first, but it will come together. I  used my hands to bring it all together. If necessary, add 1-2 teaspoons of milk, I actually added in probably a full teaspoon. If you decide to use as much whole wheat flour as I did, you’re dough will be crumblier than a dough using all all-purpose flour. Fold in chocolate chips, if using.

Shape the dough into balls of desired size. Place on a baking sheet two inches apart and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown. The centers should be soft and puffy. Do not over bake. They’re actually fantastic slightly under-baked, nice and dense!! :D Complete cooling on a wire rack.Random Fact of the Day: The odds are 9 out of 10 (89%) that you describe your diet as “healthy” (if you’re an American) - Time Magazine, 1/17/11

P.S. sorry that picture is absolutely atrocious! It’s got this weird orangeish-yellowish tint that I just could not get rid of.

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White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Granola Bars

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I have made granola bars on here before , and it just so happens that they were during Lent last year, as well. (Oh gosh…it’s almost already been a whole year since I’ve started the blog!!! *Cheerleader scream!*)

Granola bars are perfect little snacks to have around when you are trying to stay away from the sugar loaded, buttery cookies and treats. I loved the granola bars I have made before (the peanut butter and the chocolate chip), but this time they are even better!

The pumpkin in them is not super over-powering, but it keeps them nice and moist so you don’t end up trying to eat piles of crumbs. I chose to use white chocolate chips because white chocolate and pumpkin seemed like a perfect combination to me. I’m sure regular chocolate chips would be ah-mazing, too!!

So here you have it. These granola bars are really going to help hold me over when I get those cravings for something sweet.

Oh yeah, another plus on this recipe is that there is absolutely no butter and oil. You would NEVER, EVER be able to tell that if I hadn’t told you that…or if you, of course, looked at the recipe. But I think you get the point-these guys are delicious and nutritious ;) …and make ya feel ambitious!!!

White Chocolate Pumpkin Granola Bars

3 1/4 cups oats

1/8 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/2 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8×8 inch glass baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together oats, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until completely mixed.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour pumpkin mixture over oats and stir well, until all of the oats are moist. Stir in white chocolate chips.
  4. Press oat mixture into prepared pan in an even layer. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden. Don’t over bake these, you probably want to be able to hold your granola bar without it crumbling into a bajillion pieces! Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes then cut with a sharp knife and enjoy!

Random Fact of the Day: There is more alcohol in mouthwash than in wine.

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