Orange Dreamsicle Cupcakes

Traditionally, through the years, I've had lemon pie or lemon cake for my birthday. But both seemed too much like spring for this year, so instead I decided to make orange cupcakes. You might be familiar with the old Weight Watchers recipe for cake, using just a dry cake mix and a can of soda, but I've found that recipe to be too crumbly for sheet cakes. It's absolutely perfect for cupcakes, however! And this recipe is relatively low fat!

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 box vanilla cake mix
1 12 oz can orange soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients:
1 can whipped vanilla frosting
2 tsp orange extract
Red and yellow food coloring
Candy orange slices, optional

Mix cupcake ingredients and bake in cupcake tin as directed on the box. Cool completely.

Beat frosting ingredients together and use a knife or frosting bags to frost cupcakes. Top with candy pieces, if desired. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake (No Bake)

I have to tell you, this SO hit the spot!! I had been wanting pumpkin cheesecake when I came across this easy recipe. I was good and let it chill overnight...then ate half of it for breakfast the next morning!

Ingredients:
1 premade graham cracker crust
1 16oz block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
8 oz cool whip, thawed

Blend cream cheese, sugar, and brown sugar till creamy. Add pumpkin, vanilla, and spice and mix well. Fold in cool whip. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust and smooth with a spatula. Let chill 4-6 hours or overnight before serving. Enjoy!

Glazed Pumpkin Bread

Autumn is here! There's something about the crispness in the air and the beauty of changing leaves that makes autumn one of my favorite seasons. Of course, as the weather changes so do our food cravings. Soups, chilis, and casseroles are the perfect comfort foods for chilly fall days, and pumpkin-themed recipes are a must! This easy recipe makes a moist, dense pumpkin bread, not overly sweet but packed with spice and autumn flavor. The glaze on top adds the perfect kick to make this a recipe you'll definitely want to try this autumn!

Feel free to try adding complementary ingredients, such as chocolate chips or dried cranberries. The glaze is pretty easy, although it can be made easier by simply warming up cream cheese frosting instead. Either way, this bread is best served warm with a little butter...yum!

Bread Ingredients:
1 box spice cake mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 can pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Glaze Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese, softened or spreadable
1/2 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 2 loaf pans. Mix the dry cake mix and sugar together. Add pumpkin, spices, eggs, and milk until smooth.

Divide evenly into loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes. Bread is done when top is golden and no longer looks liquidy. Let cool 10 minutes then remove from loaf pans.

Combine glaze ingredients and beat till smooth. Spoon or drizzle glaze over pumpkin loaves. Serve warm and enjoy!

Microwave Cakes

Of all the challenges we've faced learning to cook in the semi, probably the most frustrating to me was the apparent inability to bake desserts. Baking has always been one of my favorite forms of relaxation and stress release, and of course we enjoy eating the desserts, but I went nearly a year without being able to bake in the truck. We had a small toaster oven for awhile that was unreliable, and my pressure cooker/crockpot doesn't handle baking cake like some do. However, I finally found the solution: microwave cakes!

Chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting!

It's the same concept as mug cakes, but I usually make them in a disposable bowl made of heavy-duty paper. Styrofoam bowls or the regular ceramic kind would work just as well.  And, of course, the cake and frosting flavors are totally up to you! I buy a few flavors of cake mix and put each in a gallon sized plastic zipper baggie, so I can use them whenever I feel like making one. The topping variations are practically infinite! At the bottom of the post, I've included directions for a fantastically delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry cake mix
1 tsp oil
1/3 cup water

Mix all ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 90 seconds and check. If still wet-looking, microwave another 10-15 seconds. Let cool and top with frosting and/or fruit. Enjoy!

Strawberry cake, cream cheese frosting, banana, and peaches!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

1 chocolate cake, made according to above directions

2-3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup chocolate frosting 

2 Reeses cups, crumbled

Bake the chocolate cake according to the directions above. Microwave the peanut butter about 20 seconds or until melted into a smooth, thick liquid. Pour evenly over the cake and let sit 10 minutes. Microwave the frosting 20-30 seconds until also a thick liquid and pour evenly over the cake. Immediately top with crumbled candy pieces and let sit 1-2 hours to cool. Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

My hubby's birthday is coming up and we were having lunch with his parents, so I made these little beauties for dessert. They take some work, but they're actually easier than they look once you get the hang of it. I even got fancy and used a baggie to pipe the frosting on. They were a big success!

Chocolate strawberry cupcakes! 

Ingredients:
1 chocolate cake mix, plus additional ingredients as directed on the box
1 can of strawberry pie filling
1 can chocolate frosting

Prepare the chocolate cake mix according to the box directions and bake as cupcakes. It should make 20-24 cupcakes. Let cupcakes cool completely.

With a butter knife, cut a small circle on top of a cupcake, about an inch deep, and lift it out. Pull off about half of what is attached and set it aside. Open the can of strawberry pie filling, scoop out of spoonful, and carefully pour it into the hole in the cupcake. Replace the top and repeat for the remainder of the cupcakes, trying to make sure every cupcake gets at least one strawberry. See picture below for a visual step by step of the process.

Once all the cupcakes have been filled, scoop about 3/4 of the can of frosting into a small mixing bowl. Add the gel from the leftover strawberry filling, and whip thoroughly with an electric mixer. If you have a frosting pipe, use it to pipe frosting onto cupcakes; if not, scoop the frosting into a plastic zipper baggie, cut off the tip, and squeeze out the frosting in swirls on the cupcakes. Serve and enjoy!

Filling the cupcakes

Easy Homemade Ice Cream

Warm blueberry cobbler and homemade ice cream!

I was looking for something simple and easy to serve with my Blueberry Cobbler, and this recipe was perfect. It requires no churning and minimal preparation. It was serveable after 8 hours of freezing, though it was certainly firmer the next day, so I would advise freezing overnight if possible. I poured the mixture into a round pie tin, which made a layer about half an inch thick that was easily cut into pieces or slices. If you prefer to scoop ice cream, try a loaf pan. Also, use the regular versions of the ingredients, not the lowfat or fat free ones, or you will lose the creaminess of the ice cream. I added a little lemon extract to the mixture to help cut the sweetness of the blueberry cobbler, but that's up to you.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: 1/2 tsp lemon extract

Mix all ingredients thoroughly, checking for lumps. When it is well mixed, pour into a metal dish or pan and freeze for at least 8 hours. Serve and enjoy!

Blueberry Dump Cobbler

Folks, this one is husband approved. I mean, this is coming from the hubby who hardly EVER eats fruit! He eats bananas, sometimes strawberries, and maybe a sliced apple once in awhile. He told me that he can tolerate blueberries if they're mixed into something, so when I made this cobbler, I was hoping for at least an "it's okay". The verdict? Not only did he tolerate it, he declared it to be "really good" and proceeded to eat second and third helpings and finish off the leftovers the next day! I call that a smashing success!

This recipe is for a 9x13 pan, but I modified the recipe for a 9x9 pan pretty easily. I used about the same amount of blueberries but only 1 stick of butter and not quite all the cake mix. I served it warm after dinner, along with my Homemade Ice Cream, and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

Warm blueberry cobbler and homemade ice cream!

Ingredients:
2 large cans of blueberry pie filling
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 boxed yellow cake mix
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray or lightly grease pan. Dump blueberry filling in pan and spread to even thickness. Sprinkle fresh or frozen blueberries evenly, then layer the cake mix, making sure to cover all the blueberries. Drizzle the melted butter on top, as fairly as possible. Bake for about an hour, till top crust is firm and golden and blueberries are bubbly below. Serve warm and enjoy!

Orange Dreamsicle Cake

If you've been reading my recipe blog, you have probably noticed by now that I like simple, easy recipes. My google search history is full of things like "quick and easy dessert" and "5 ingredient cookies." I ran across this recipe, tweaked it to make it my own, and it was a smashing success! I took it to a work pitch-in and it was completely gone in about 2 hours.

The cake part is a simple vanilla box cake mix, made to the instructions on the box in a 9x13 pan. The only thing I would change is to add a splash of vanilla for better taste. Oh, and separate the eggs in a small bowl and whip them with an electric beater for about a minute before adding them to the cake mix, oil, water, etc. The whipped eggs help make the cake very light and fluffy, which is rather important to the success of this venture. You can make a cake from scratch if you feel so inclined, but I guarantee you most people won't know the difference.

Once the cake is cool you're ready for the frosting. Here goes:

1 box orange Jell-O mix
1 box vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
splash vanilla extract
splash orange extract
1 tub cool whip

In a medium bowl, whisk the Jell-O powder, pudding powder, and milk together thoroughly until it is well mixed and slightly thickened. Add the extracts, and extra red and yellow food coloring if you want it to look more orange. Fold the cool whip in and mix with a spoon or spatula.

It's best if you let the frosting sit in the fridge for an hour or two to set up nicely before frosting the cake. And then my advice would be to slice yourself a piece first, because once the cake is cut and everyone gets a taste, it will be gone before you know it! It's a wonderfully light, summery cake, with just the right mixture of orange and vanilla to remind you exactly of an orange dreamsicle.

The Best Cookies Ever

Hello again! I just made the most amazing chocolate cookies! Seriously...soft, moist, rich, and extremely amazing. Like can't stop eating them. Like someone stop me please. No seriously stop me.

Anyway, these cookies are some of my husband's favorites, and they're one of mine too because they're so simple. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter 
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp milk
1 box dark chocolate cake mix 

Heat oven to 350. Cream the butter (if it's a little bit melted, it's ok). Beat in egg, vanilla, and milk. Thoroughly mix in cake mix by hand. Drop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet, then flatten with fingertips. These cookies spread a little but not much. Bake for about 7 minutes - do not overbake, they will look puffy when they are ready. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 4-5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to finish cooling. 

So here's some awesome things about these cookies. First, they are very soft and nice. Second, they actually taste better as cookies than as cookie dough, which means that more of them end up as cookies. And third, they don't have to be chocolate - they can literally be made in any flavor, for any occasion.

Think about it. The main ingredient is a cake mix. It can be customized to any taste or occasion. For Thanksgiving, use a spice cake mix. For Valentine's Day, use a strawberry cake mix, then dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate. During the summer, use a lemon cake mix, and in the winter use a vanilla cake mix and add mint extract and red or green food coloring. The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination - and the WalMart baking aisle. See why these are the best cookies ever?

Oreo Pie

Oreo pie. Oh yes. Oh myyyyyyy yes. So good!

And so easy! If you know me, you'll know that I prefer recipes with 5 ingredients or less, and as short of a preparation time as possible. And this definitely fits the bill!

It started when my dearest and I were grocery shopping and we happened to wander down the baking aisle. He happened to look at pie crusts, and next thing you know, we're discussing the makings of an amazing dessert!

It goes something like this:

1 chocolate graham cracker pie crust
1 package cookies and cream pudding
1 2/3 cup milk
About 10 oreos

Basically you make the pudding with a little less milk than usual so it sets firmer. If you want a very full crust, you can use 2 packages of pudding mix and about 2 1/2 cups milk. Crumble about 4 oreos into the pie shell before pouring in the pudding, then crumble about 6 oreos on top before refrigerating.

Let me tell you, this is amazing!!! :)

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt, if desired

1 egg

​​

Topping:

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter, then mix in the sugar and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, salt if desired, and egg. Mix thoroughly. Dough should be sticky, place in freezer for 10-15 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon in a 2:1 ratio (twice as much sugar as cinnamon). Shape the dough into walnut-sized balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mix. Place them about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet and flatten slightly. 

Bake for 8 minutes for soft cookies, 10 for crunchier cookies. Remove from oven, let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then place on wire rack to finish cooling. Store in a sealed container.

Chocolate!

OK, my cupcake recipe is pretty simple - usually goes along the lines of: 1 box cake mix, mixed to directions and baked till just done but still moist, and frosted with a can of frosting! Pretty simple, yes? Still, it's easy to add your own touches!

For instance, a dash of vanilla and a tiny pinch of salt add more vibrant flavor to the cupcakes! And chocolate chips (or perhaps even white chocolate chips) added to the cupcakes and sprinkled on the frosting, well, that's just decadence.

That being said, a cake mix can also become brownies. How, you ask? Well I'm glad you asked!

Brownies are basically just richer, fudgier cake, right? So a simple chocolate cake mix (or devils food cake mix, or dark chocolate cake mix - you get the idea) can easily become brownies.

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
Extra chocolate

So basically mix together, bake about 20 minutes at about 350 degrees. I say about, because of course that changes based on the size of your pan, the added chocolate, etc.

I added chocolate chips AND white chocolate chips, and ended up with triple-chocolate brownies that were to die for. Not even kidding.

Lemon Squares

1 cup butter, softened 

1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 lemons juiced or 2/3 cup bottled lemon juice

Powdered or confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden.

In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust. 

Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Original recipe credit: Allrecipes.com