Pecan Pie Bread Pudding

It should come as no surprise that I am a fan of bread pudding!  Hopefully I will get around to posting another soon as I will be making it for Christmas morning, though this one goes under the pseudonym of French Toast Breakfast Casserole!  Since it has French Toast in the name, makes it suitable for breakfast, vs something that has the word pudding in it!
Anyway, back to the current one.

I obviously love bread pudding and have always liked pecan pie, though I don't get it that often and haven't actually every tried making one.  I figured this version would be the best of both worlds and a perfect winter dessert.

Boy was I right!  The top was crunchy while underneath it was soft and had a sauce of pretty much pure sugar!

If you like pecans, but the idea of making a pecan pie sounds a little daunting, pecans can be expensive, give this one a try!

Pecan Pie Bread Pudding

Originally found on Call Me PMC

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) loaf of day old French bread (or any dense type bread)

2 1/2 C. milk

1 C. half and half

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 C. sugar

1 Tbls. vanilla (or more if you are like me!)

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 C. butter, softened

1 1/2 C. packed brown sugar

1 C. pecan pieces

Directions:

1. Cube or tear bread into 1" size pieces.  In a medium bowl combine eggs, milk, half and half, sugar, salt and vanilla.  Whisk until combined, set aside.  

2. In a small bowl combine butter, brown sugar and pecans, mix with a fork to help combine and break up the ingredients.  It will have the consistency of wet sand.

3. In a 1 quart or 8x8 pan spread half of the bread pieces and then pour half of the egg mixture.  Top with half of the pecan mixture and repeat the layers.  Pan should be full.  

4. You can either bake this for 45-55 minutes at 350 or put in the fridge, up to 12 hours and bake.  I like mine to sit, at least for 30 minutes so the moisture can be absorbed into the bread.  I would recommend putting a cookie sheet underneath it, just in case.  Let it cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

Lemon Cheesecake Cresent Rolls

I know people that really love the lemon/zesty desserts so when I see something that looks good and has the lemon flavor I like to make those to share with them.  This is one of them.  Doesn't hurt that I love just about everything that has cream cheese!  Throw in some flakey crescent rolls and you don't have to twist my arm to get me to try it!

These get topped off with a lemon glaze, so what's not to love?

After making these I would be curious to try different variations on this type of recipe because they were so easy to whip up, easy to transport and easy to serve!

Lemon Cheesecake Crescent Rolls
As originally found on Diet Hood

Ingredients

2 cans of refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
4 oz of cream cheese
2 Tbls sugar
2 Tbls flour
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Turbinado sugar (or raw sugar)
Glaze
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbl lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a medium to small mixing bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and flour and until well combined.  Add egg yolk and beat until incorporated.  Slowly add lemon zest and vanilla, mix until smooth.
2. Unroll dough onto a sheet of wax paper and separate out the 16 triangles.  You might want to get a rolling pin and stretch the dough out just a bit.  Place a heaping teaspoon at the fat end of each roll.  When all of the filling is gone, starting at the fat end, start rolling them up, sealing in the the filling.  NOTE: When I make these or something similar in the future I will spread the filling along the whole length of the dough, to see if I like the end result better.  Place rolls on a tray lined with wax paper and then in the freezer for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375.  Transfer rolls to sprayed baking pan.  Brush rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  Bake for 14-15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.
4. While rolls are cooling whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth.  Glaze should be thick but pourable to add more sugar or lemon juice accordingly. (I should have added a bit more sugar to make mine thicker).  Drizzle over crescents and serve.
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Banana Pudding

If you like the combo of bananas and peanut butter, this is a dessert worth trying.  It isn't complex and the ingredient list is actually pretty short. It comes together fast, but be aware it is better if it can sit in the fridge overnight.  I didn't pay enough attention to that little detail, but it still worked out great!  I did make a minor adjustment and I'll mention that in a bit.

This dessert also offers a nice variation to some of those basic banana puddings and banana cream pies.

If you are looking for something easy and good, give this a try!

Peanut Butter Banana Pudding
As originally found on South Your Mouth

Ingredients

1 1-lb package of Nutter Butter cookies
1 large box of instant vanilla instant pudding
2 1/3 cups milk
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
4-5 bananas
1 8-oz tub cool whip, thawed

Directions

1. In a medium bowl whisk pudding mix and milk until smooth, set aside.  Heat peanut butter in microwave for 45 seconds or until melted and pourable, stirring well, set aside.
2. Arrange cookies in a single layer in the bottom of a 2 quart dish.  *If you need this ready to serve the same day, I recommend that you open the cookies up and cover the bottom with a layer of separated cookies vs the full cookie.  You might also consider dunking the cookies in some milk first.
3. Pour half the pudding on top of the cookies.  Arrange a single layer of banana slices over the pudding.  Drizzle with half of the peanut butter over the bananas.  Then spread half of the cool whip over the peanut butter layer.  Repeat layers starting with cookies.  Once again, consider making changes with the cookies if you are serving this the same day.
4. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.  This allows the cookies to get soft and cake like.  If you can't let it sit, this is when dunking the cookies in milk and separating them helps this process.
5. Garnish with crushed cookies and additional melted peanut butter if desired.
Enjoy!

Banana Oat Breakfast Cake

Several of you have already had the pleasure of trying this, and even making it yourself!  I have now made this 4 times, it is just that good and filling!  The original recipe is actually Vegan, but I went ahead and used the egg.  It can also be adjusted so it doesn't contain any processed sugars, for those trying to cut those out.

It is best eaten fresh out of the oven with butter slathered on it, though that doesn't usually help if you are also watching your fat intake!

I also add pecans as I love the added crunch.  This really is a great for breakfast recipe and I will eat it for 4 days after baking.  

 

So if you have a bunch of over ripe banana's, please give this one a try!

Banana Oat Breakfast Cake

As originally found on Ceareas Kitchen

Ingredients

 5 Medium bananas, mashed

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/3 cup Stevia, other sugar substitute or sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbls apple cider vinegar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

2/3 cup of dry old fashioned oats (optional)

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees.  Lightly grease an 8x8 or 9x9 pan.
2. In a large bowl, mash bananas and then add in maple syrup, coconut oil, sugar or Stevia, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, salt and baking powder.  Mix until combined.  Mix in egg
3. Add the quick cooking oats and pecans to the wet ingredients.  Stir together.  Add flour and baking soda to mixture.  Let the flour and baking soda sit on top for a moment before folding in.  Leave it to thicken for minute before pouring into your prepared pan.
4. Sprinkle with optional oats.  I just like how it looks
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool at least a little bit before cutting to eat.  Does well in airtight container for up to 5 days.
Enjoy!

Passion Fruit Mousse

If you are anything like me, a dessert with the name Passion Fruit in it has to be tried!  When it comes from my favorite food blog and it technically only has 3 ingredients, it is just begging to be made!

I'm still working on my food photography skills, I think I need to buy more brightly colored objects to help, but trust me when I say that if you like fruity, zesty type desserts, this is worth trying!

It was even worth visiting 2 different Latin markets to find the passion fruit pulp!

For anyone living in the Salt Lake Valley, I found it in the frozen food aisle at Rancho Market.  The other 2 ingredients I found at Winco.

Another recipe note, since my pulp bag leaked before I could pour it out, I was left with about 1 1/2 cans of pulp, the Crema cans that is.  This was a bit too strong for my family.  Next time I would only do 1 of the smaller cans worth of pulp.
This is also super easy as you only blend all of these ingredients up and then pour into your desired dishes to chill for a couple of hours before serving!

I hope you give this a try!

Passion Fruit Mousse
As originally found on Our Best Bites

Ingredients

2 14-oz cans of sweetened condensed milk
2 7.5 oz cans of Media Crema ( I found this next to the sweetened condensed milk.  Could also be in Ethnic aisle)
1 small can of Passion fruit pulp or concentrate (not juice)

Directions

1. Start with the Crema, so the condensed milk doesn't stick to the bottom.  Next add the desired amount of pulp and then the condensed milk.  Blend until smooth, scrape down the sides as necessary.  Pour into small serving dishes and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.

For more info and tips, please visit the source!

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

I actually teased you with these a couple of weeks ago, and then got so busy I am just now writing the post!  These should be worth the wait!
My sister Amy loves just about anything creamsicle so when I see something that has that in the name, I feel obligated to try it, just in case it is amazing and she needs to try it.  These fit the bill completely!  I know I will be making them again soon as I am using baked good to get the ladies in my Relief Society to read the lesson I will be teaching in advance!

These were so light and the orange flavor added a surprise little punch it was hard to stop at just one.  It doesn't help that I usually make my cookies pretty little, so then one will never suffice!

The base for this cookie is pretty standard, the only thing different is the addition of orange extract and zest.  So I had to buy those, but not a big deal.  Otherwise, I had everything else, ready to go.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies
As originally found on The Baker Upstairs

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange extract
2 Tbl orange zest (I zested 1 large orange)
2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Line or spray baking sheets and set aside.  In a large bowl beat together butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, vanilla, orange extract and orange zest, mix until combined.  Add the flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix until just combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips
2. Drop rounded scoops of dough onto the prepared pans.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.  Take care not to overbake, cookies continue baking even after coming out of the oven.
Enjoy!

Strawberry Almond Scones

For anyone that pays attention to how frequently or in this case, infrequently I post, you know I am way behind!  I will getting as many posts written and up this week!
While I haven't eaten scones from Starbucks or other restaurants to have fully experienced them as baked by professionals, the pictures I see on Pinterest always look so amazing so I found myself somewhat curious and excited to give them a try, again.

These are a slight variation from the source, I switched fruits as strawberries had a better price than raspberries.  Still turned out so good!  From everything I have read, the trick with scones is making sure you don't over stir or over mix the dough.  If the dough gets over mixed the gluten will develop and result in dryer scones, less than ideal!  Of course I couldn't find a guide, maybe I didn't look hard enough, that showed me the difference between under mixed, perfectly mixed and over mixed dough, so I just had to be my own judge.

I must have done something right, these turned out pretty light and flakey!  I am a big fan of almond flavoring so these were perfect for a Saturday morning!  In the future though, I need to invite friends over when I want to make scones so I don't end up eating half a pan!

The ingredients are fairly standard, except for the strawberries and the cream, I had everything on hand.

Hard to tell in this picture, but I guess this is what dough looks like if it isn't under or over mixed.  I like scones cause you don't roll it thin and it doesn't matter if it isn't perfectly round.  One thing a little different is that you do cut these prior to baking.  Sometimes cutting something while hot is next to impossible, so another bonus for scones.

Bake, add a simple glaze and try not to eat them all!

Strawberry Almond Scones
As originally found on Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients


2 cups flour
1 Tbl baking powder
3 Tbls sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbls frozen butter, cut up or shredded
1 cup heavy cream, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 cup strawberries (or raspberries)

For the Almond Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
4-5 Tbl heavy cream or milk
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray thoroughly.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Quickly cut in butter using pastry blender or 2 knives.  Mix until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few larger butter lumps.  Pour in 1 cup of the cream and almond extract and stir with spatula until dough begins to form.  Be careful not to over mix.  Gently fold in fruit and almonds.
2. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter top and knead dough until it forms a ball.  Form scones by patting the dough int a 3/4" thick circle.  Cut the scones into even triangles.  Should yield 8-12.
3. Place scones on prepared baking pan, leaving room to raise.  Using pastry brush, brush scones lightly with additional cream.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until they are a light brown around the edges.  
4. While the scones are cooling, mix up the glaze: whisk together powdered sugar, cream and almond extract.  Whisk until you reach the desired consistency.  Drizzle glaze over warm scones.  Top with additional almonds.  
Enjoy!

Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

Rice Krispie treats always make me feel like a kid again.  Oreo's happen to be one of my favorite cookies and my favorite flavor of ice cream so when I recently aquired a bag full of crushed Oreo's the idea of combining these two great desserts!  I looked up recipes, but didn't find anything simple enough for me, so I just made my own!

I don't have any pictures of this one sliced up, but you get the idea!  I kept with a basic recipe with marshmallows, butter, corn syrup and crispy rice cereal.

I melted the first couple of ingredients and added my crushed up cookies to the cereal so everything was mixed in when I poured my marshmallow mixture on top and proceeded to stir it all together. 

Next time I would use more marshmallows as the cookies increased my dry ingredients and the wet ones need to be increased as well!

Once it was in my pan I melted some milk and white chocolate to make a pretty drizzle!

So give these a try if you like Oreo's and love the classic Rice Krispie treats too!

Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients:

6 cups crispy rice cereal
1 1/2 cups crushed Oreo's
5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons light Karo syrup
1 10oz package of mini marshmallows plus 2 heaping cups (try 3 cups next time)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine cereal and crushed Oreo's, set aside.
2. In a very large pot, melt butter, syrup and mini marshmallows.  Stir until melted and smooth.  Fold  cereal mixture into the pot and stir until is is evenly coated.  Press mixture into 9x13 pan.  I had extra and had to use a second pan! 
3. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips and drizzle on top of bars.  I then used the same bowl to melt my chocolate chips and drizzle on top as well.  Let cool before cutting into bars.  Store in airtight container.
Enjoy!

Creamy Pesto Raviolo Bake

Ok, here is another Kathy original!  And I figured it was time to post something you could eat for dinner vs just having desserts all the time! 

It was my turn to to make family dinner yesterday and I knew I would end up making something like this, just wasn't sure on all the details in advance.  I was constantly making changes, including the Parmesan panko topping, which happened at the last minute!  Regardless of not doing much advance planning, this one turned out so good and I will be making it again!

Though probably not this summer as it heated up my kitchen pretty good!  It was also a hit with my family and that is always a bonus!

Ingredients:

1 13oz package of Turkey Sausage links
1 cup of shredded or diced cooked chicken (I had some in my freezer ready to go, this could be ommitted)
1 package of cheese filled pasta ( I used ravioli but you could use tortellini or any non-filled pasta as well)
1 cube butter/margarine
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup milk or half and half
1 80z block of cream cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
3 heaping tablespoons of pesto

Topping: Optional
4 tablespoons of melted butter
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
Sliced green onions

Directions:

1.  Cook sausage either on the grill or on the stove top.  Cook and shred chicken as needed.
2. In a medium saucepan combine the butter, whipping cream, milk, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and pesto.  Stir continuously  until all ingredients are melted and sauce is creamy.  As a note Parmesan cheese takes forever to melt so keep it low and let it simmer for awhile, being careful it doesn't burn.
3. While the sauce is simmering, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.  When done, strain out the water. 
4. When the sauce is done you can either put all the ingredients in a large pot on the stove to stir and combine.  Once heated you could serve it at this point.  Should you choose, pour everything into a 9x13 baking dish. Put in 350 oven to keep warm while you make the topping.
5. Combine melted butter, bread crumbs and cheese, add more dry ingredients or butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Spread on top of dish and broil for 3-5 minutes.  Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn! 
Serve with optional sliced green onions.
Enjoy!

Key Lime Pie

It is summer time, which for me hopefully means desserts that are fast, easy and don't heat up my kitchen!  I also think that tart desserts seem more obvious in the summer.  A family friend and adopted aunt always requests this Key Lime Pie for her birthday dessert.  I love making it because it is so easy!

You could make it fancier or more homemade by making the crust from scratch, but store bought graham cracker crusts are just so easy and still taste good!

The filling couldn't be easier, some sweetened condensed milk, Key Lime juice, sour cream and the zest of one lime.

So the first time I made this, I did attempt to juice enough Key Lime's to get me the required amount of juice, but never again!  Those suckers are smaller than standard limes and it took me forever!  Store bought lime juice works great and the flavor is still amazing!  After it is mixed up you bake it, yes bake, sorry folks.  But only for 10-12 minutes, or even less.  You don't want any browning and if you start to see little bubbles at the 8 minute mark, go ahead and remove.

Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries if you have them.  It is tart enough you will need something to help tone it down a bit!

At the suggestion of a friend I might be trying this with lemon juice and maybe a swirl of raspberry jam!

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients:

1 9" graham cracker crust
3 cups of sweetened condensed milk (just over 2 cans worth, I just used the 2 cans and added a bit more sour cream and it turned out great)
1/2 cup of sour cream
3/4 cup Key Lime juice
Zest of one lime

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice and zest.  Mix well and pour into crust.
3. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until tiny bubbles appear and burst on the surface.  Do no brown the top!  Chill pie before serving and garnish with fruit and whipped cream.

Lemon Bar Muddy Buddies

I should have posted this recipe a month ago, I really don't know what happened to June!  Can anyone tell me where it went?!  So I made this as I was in the mood to bake and had some lemon curd that I didn't know what to do with.  I all of a sudden remembered seeing this recipe and the only thing keeping me from making it earlier was the lemon curd!  Turns out I didn't quite have enough, but they still turned out so yummy!  A light refreshing alternative to an old favorite!

It calls for Rice Chex cereal, but I still prefer to use Corn and wish I would have followed my instinct on this one, oh well!  So the only big difference is white chocolate instead of milk and adding the lemon curd with the chocolate.  Once melted, coat your cereal and then toss those in a Ziploc bag with some powered sugar.  That is all and you are done!

So fast and you have a snack that you just can't stop snacking on!

Lemon Bar Muddy Buddies
As originally found on Lemon Tree Dwelling

Ingredients:

8 cups Rice or Corn Chex cereal
1 cup white chocolate chips or candy melts
1/2 cup lemon curd
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate, lemon curd and butter either on the stove in a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl, stirring constantly.
2. Have cereal in a large bowl and when the chocolate mixture is ready, pour over cereal and stir to coat.  Once coated, put cereal in a large gallon sized ziploc with the powdered sugar, toss to coat.  I have found it is better to do a couple of cups worth at a time, dump out and add more sugar and Chex cereal and repeat.
3. Store in an airtight container. 

Chocolate Raspberry Cake Roll

Have you seen that post circulating Facebook that shows Pinterest fails?  How something looks on Pinterest so that is how it should look when you are done vs what it actually looks like?  For the record, this dessert tasted amazing and I will attempt to make it again, but from the looks of it, it belongs on a Pinterest Fail list!

  

The list of ingredients is basic and as raspberries have been on sale, this was the perfect time to make this one. 

 

 

It's hard to resist buying raspberries when they look like this!

So the cake part is an Angel Food cake mix that you have added cocoa powder to.  Have any of you ever made a boxes Angel Food cake?  The dough was different in a hard to explain way, than any other cake dough I have ever encountered.  I mixed it up and baked it up as directed on my recipe (not following the box itself)

Now the key to cake rolls is to 1. Make sure your pan is lined or well greased. 2. Remove the cake from the pan while it is still warm so it can be rolled up into a towel that has been sprinkled with powered sugar.

3. You need to leave that rolled up dough in the fridge/freezer until it is no longer warm.  Doing all of these things should make it easier to roll the cake after you have spread the filling.  Should being the operative word!

While my cake was cooling, I prepped the filling.  Once again, aren't those raspberries mouthwatering?!

So, I made the mistake of not letting my cake cool sufficiently.  I might have also under baked it a bit, but I can't be sure about that.  In the process of unrolling it, the cake cracked, in more than once place.

So with my cake cracked, rolling it up got infinitely harder and instead of looking like the images in the link below, my beautiful cake roll looked like this glorious dessert! 

This gets topped with a chocolate ganache, which I was hoping would cover up the massive cracks, but it could only do so much! 
Once again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and knowing how good this chocolate, cream cheese and fresh raspberries taste makes this creation look amazing!  If you like the idea of this type of dessert and are daring enough to give it a try I hope you will take pictures and share your final product!

Raspberry Chocolate Cake Roll
As originally found on Eazy Peazy Mealz

Ingredients:

1 Angel Food cake mix (16 ounces)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
Ganache
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolates
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup fresh raspberries (garnish)
Filling
1 16 ounce container whipped cream
1 8 ounce block of cream cheese
1 cup fresh raspberries (can use frozen)

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 17 x 12½ inch jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray, you can cover with parchment paper or just spray really well.
2.  Mix together cake mix, water, and cocoa powder.  Pour into prepared pan, bake about 15-17 minutes.
3.  Prepare a clean dishtowel by sprinkling it with powdered sugar. When cake is done baking, remove from pan, flip onto the prepared towel, then roll from 12 inch side, into prepared dish towel, and cool on a wire rack (seam side down) or in the fridge/freezer if you need to speed things up a bit. 4.  Mix filling together by beating cream cheese and whipped cream together, and fold in raspberries.
5.  In a small sauce pan, stir together chocolate chips and whipping cream, stir until mixture is melted and simmering. Then let cool slightly so it is still pourable.
6.  Gently unroll cooked cake, remove towel, and spread filling mixture across cake, and re-roll, minus the dish cloth.   Transfer to a serving tray and pour chocolate ganache evenly over the cake. put raspberries down the center of the log.
7.  Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.