Strawberries and Cream Dessert Squares

Long time, no blog!  Life has been pretty busy and I haven't been baking as much this year.  It's been so long in fact, I forgot to take pictures of all of the ingredients before I started.  I forgot to use "fancy" a backdrop.  I also forgot to snap pictures of the first step. So this post will be a little different, but nonetheless delicious!  :)  I came across this recipe on Facebook.  It was posted by Betty Crocker, and I knew I had to try it!  I love, love, love strawberries!  I hate cooked fruit and most syrups but I do like the strawberry sauce that  is usually found in strawberry shortcake or on strawberry pancakes.  So I decided to give this recipe a shot, despite the slightly cooked fruit in the topping.

Ingredients:

(Crust)

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

(Filling)

1 cup white vanilla baking chips (6 oz)

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

(Topping)

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup water

10 to 12 drops red food color, if desired (I didn't use the food color)

Step One, as in most recipes, is to preheat your oven to 350 and spray the bottom only of a 15x10x1- or 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.  I used my 9x13 inch stoneware baking dish, so I didn't need to spray it.  Then you combine the three ingredients for the crust.  Stir them together until they just come together to make a soft dough.  Then it is time to press the dough into the prepared pan.  Before this step, I used one of  my favorite tricks.  I sprayed my hands with nonstick cooking spray, so that the dough didn't stick to me as I tried to flatten it in the pan.  Then you bake it for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.  It should look like this:

Let it cool completely.  Ugh, waiting makes me cranky!  I stretched this recipe out throughout my day, to make the waiting less annoying.  I baked the crust, and went to the gym.  When I got home I did step two.  In a small bowl, microwave the baking chips uncovered for 45-60 seconds or until chips can be stirred smooth.

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Stir in melted chips until blended. Spread mixture over crust. Refrigerate while making topping.  Ugh, more waiting!  After I got this in the fridge, I went to the ballpark to watch a friend play ragball.  Then when I got home, I did the final steps.  Time for the strawberries!  Slice up four cups of strawberries.

Mmmmm!!!  I love strawberries.  I only bought one pint of them though, and I barely had four cups.  So you might want to buy two pints.  Then you would have extra ones for nibbling and sampling.  I had to resist because I barely had enough.  See, I *do* have willpower!  Ok, back to the recipe: in small bowl, crush 1 cup of the strawberries.  Hmmm, why dirty up a new bowl?  I used my measuring cup and crushed them on the cutting board I cut them up on, see:

Ok, so crushed strawberries aren't so appetizing.  But there you have it.  Next, in 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch.

Stir in crushed strawberries and 1/3 cup water.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens.

This is when you would stir in the food coloring, if you choose to use it.  I didn't think that it needed it, so I skipped it.  Cool 10 minutes.  More waiting, but ten minutes isn't that bad.  :)  Gently stir in remaining 3 cups strawberries.  Spoon topping over filling.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until set...MORE WAITING!!!  I was hoping to just cut right into it, but I resisted... more willpower!  My friend and I watched a movie and waited an hour before we tried it...

And I  must stay, it was worth the wait!  It was a little rich, but really yummy!  I am planning on making this for a party I'm having in June to test it out on the masses.  If you want to see the original recipe, you can find it here.  If you try it, let me know what you think!  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes!

Yep, you read that correctly!  This is not a dream!  I was trying to find a new, interesting cupcake recipe and came across this one and was immediately intrigued!  I had to try these, so I decided to make them for a birthday celebration at the theater.  I think they were a success and I liked them.  My prince didn't exactly agree, but he doesn't really have a sweet tooth nor is he a chocolate lover, and thus can't really appreciate the awesomeness that is this recipe.  =)

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix

1 1/3 cups water

1/3 cup canola oil

3 eggs

So first you make the chocolate chip cookie dough.  I followed their recipe and not my usual one.  Next time I make these, I will probably try my standard recipe.  I think you could just use any cookie recipe you like.  I will let you know after I experiment further.  But since I was trying it for the first time I stuck to the recipe...  Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside.

Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth.

Add 1 egg and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth. 

Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.

Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine.

Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls (I used my small scoop); place onto a baking sheet, and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.  The recipe said you would need 30 cookie balls.  Using my scoop, I ended up with 42.  Bonus cookies!!!  :)

Ugh!  I hate waiting!  But I knew I was going to have to when I first read the recipe.  So I made these one night, put them in the freezer and left them there overnight and continued on to the next step in the morning.   You could probably skip this step all together if you used refrigerated cookie dough, but the recipe said it really needed to be frozen, so I'd freeze it either way.  

On to the next step, preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.  Whip up the cake mix, pretty standard stuff.  So standard I forgot to take pictures of these steps :)  Next you spoon (I of course, use  my trusty scoop.  2 medium scoops) into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full.  

Now the fun part!  Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake!  Carefully place a cookie dough ball in each cupcake, don't just throw it in.  After you put it in the cup, push it down gently so that it is covered by cake batter. 

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion of the cupcake (not the cookie dough ball) comes clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.  

Now, the recipe reviews had lots of warning about cooking times.  But mine were cooked perfectly in 20 minutes.  I did one batch in my stoneware cupcake pan and it took a few minutes extra, but it always does.  So, are you ready to see the results???

It looks amazing just like this, in my opinon.  lol  I'm a sucker for a cupcake anyway!  But you can't tell by looking at it what is inside.

Ahhh!!!  It's a naked cupcake!  ;-)  It still looks really good to me, but you still can't see what it has hidden in it's core.  I couldn't WAIT to cut this open and see how they turned out...  oh and taste them.  You know, for research purposes!  Drum roll please...

It was exactly how I imagined it!  These are decadent and sinful...  but yummy!  I can't wait to hear what YOUR thoughts on these cupcakes are.  Kinda makes you wanna stay tuned to my blog though, doesn't it?  You never know what I'll try next!!!  ;-)  

I plan on posting again very soon, no more month long breaks, I hope.  Life has kept me pretty busy over the past several months, and I just didn't have time for blogging.  I really enjoy it and have missed it.  Also, I currently have a cast (My sister is currently directing a play and I'm her assistant director) to help eat all of the goodies I create.  

Yesterday was my friend Meredith's birthday and I made these for her birthday party at the theater... but she can't have items containing gluten, so I made her her very own treats.  She got a tray of gluten free brownies and rice krispy treats (they are naturally gluten free, no need to change the recipe!).  

As I was making the rice krispy treats, I noticed on the recipe on the bag of marshmallows that it listed vanilla as an ingredient.  So I added a dash to the batch...  I really liked the way they turned out!  I didn't think anyone would care to read a whole blog about that recipe but it is worth mentioning because they were really good... and completely gone when we left the theater!  Speaking of which, it's time to head there now.  

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on these cupcakes!  Will you try them?  Would you change up the cookie/cake flavors?  This opens a whole plethora of ideas!!!   At least for me, what do you think?