Happy July 4th!
Made these festive cookies today.
I dyed some sugar cookie dough red (with Wilton Christmas Red gel), rolled the balls of dough in red sugar sprinkles, and baked.
Just after pulling them out of the oven, I gently pressed on a chocolate star that I made from blue candy melts the night before. I put a white chocolate dot in the center of the star, but, honestly, they wound up looking a little bit more like fireworks than stars.
Still tasted awesome, tho.
Enjoy your weekend!
Just wanted to share a quick dessert I’m quite fond of.
This is a bowl of vanilla ice cream covered in honey and cinnamon sugar.
It’s about the easiest thing to make, since you just scoop some ice cream in a bowl, drizzle honey on it, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over it, and eat!
I adore the combination of flavors. And the coldness of the ice cream creates these little chunks of cold honey that resemble a taffy or caramel-like candy.
It’s a pretty fun dish, especially when you’re in the mood for something sweet.
If you don’t already have what I consider to be the necessary staple of this spicy goodness in your pantry, check out my recipe for cinnamon sugar.
I always loved stuffed shells growing up.
We didn’t have them that often, mostly because of the steps involved in making them. They’re easy to make, but take a bit of preparation. But the end result of gooey cheese smothered tomato sauce makes the effort well worthwhile.
And to spice things up a bit, I like to add in some spinach these days.
My kids like spinach and will eat it with just some spices, but I like to mix it into other dishes, too, like Easy Spinach Alfredo with Chicken, just to change things up now and then.
The basic recipe consists of a bunch of cheese mixed together, stuffed into shells, and surrounded by tomato sauce.
Nothing bad about that, right??
{I mean, except that the only Ricotta I could get at a last minute’s notice was the Wal-mart brand, but that’s beside the point. It worked.}
In the past, I didn’t usually use Mascarpone, but the recipe on the Barilla box included it, and I wanted to try it.
I’m glad I did.
It adds a nice soft, creamy texture and slight tang that makes a subtle but noticeable difference to the normal Ricotta and Mozzarella mix. If you can’t find it, it’s not essential, but I suggest trying it.
After mixing all the cheese and spices together, then you’ll add in the spinach.
But the most important part of prepping the spinach is to make sure you completely drain it of water.
Spinach tends to hold a lot of water. The water will make your recipe wet. Wet means the cheese will be slippery and the tomato sauce won’t stick. Not what you want.
I’ve tried a lot of different ways to drain it, but I favor just putting the spinach in a mesh colander and pressing it with a fork until no more water drips out.
After cooking the macaroni, lay them out for a few minutes so that they’ll be cool enough to handle.
Fill the shells with the cheese mixture and lay them in a pan whose bottom has been generously layered with tomato sauce and spices.
Doesn’t that look beautiful?
But you’re not done yet. Most recipes will just put cheese on top, but I like a little extra moisture from the tomato sauce, so I put some of that on top, too.
Now it really looks good, right?
Just wait until it’s baked…
Oh, and since I had a few extra shells I cut them into slices and covered them with extra sauce. This went into the fridge and served as a simple lunch the next day.
And: the finished product. Warm, gooey, cheesy, delicious!
Scoop it into your plate and enjoy it by itself or with some crusty bread and a salad.
Spinach Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
1 box (12 oz.) Jumbo Shell pasta (I used Barilla)
1 jar or can (15 to 28 oz.) tomato sauce
1 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
2 cups (8 oz.) mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 tsp. each salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cook the Jumbo Shells according to directions until they are al dente (about one minute less than the recommended time). Drain and set aside.
Squeeze all of the water from the thawed spinach.
In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mascarpone, half of the parmesan, half of the mozzarella, and the spices. Stir in the spinach.
In a 9 x 13 inch pan, generously cover the bottom with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with more spices if desired.
Fill each of the cooked shells with a scoop of the cheese filling. After you fill each shell, place it on top of the tomato sauce in the prepared pan.
Once you have filled all the shells and the pan is full, add a teaspoonful of tomato sauce to the top of each shell. Then sprinkle the remaining parmesan and mozzarella over the top.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
[Note: If you can’t find mascarpone cheese, you can leave it out and increase the ricotta to 3 cups.]
*****
To print the free PDF, click here: Spinach Stuffed Shells
Enjoy!
This dish has such a fun flavor, and it’s a nice change to the everyday (albeit wonderful) regular ol’ marinara sauce.
Spaghetti with spice.
This recipe is based on Penne with Vodka Sauce by Giada De Laurentiis. I’ve been making it for years, and, in the beginning, I was pretty much following her recipe word for word.
Then, one day, I went to make it and discovered that the only vodka we had in the house was orange flavored.
Hmmm.
Well, I threw caution to the wind and, for one of the first times in my life, I changed up a well-tested recipe.
I was not disappointed.
This stuff is awesome. First of all, the vodka – any flavored vodka – adds a nice sweetness to the finished product. Regular vodka may not have much of a flavor on it’s own, but when you simmer it with tomatoes, it makes a very rich sauce. By using the orange flavored vodka instead, you also give the dish a noticeable citrus touch.
And it makes your kitchen smell amazing as it cooks.
I’ve been making this version for quite a while now, and I just can’t go back to the regular recipe. I love the fruitiness. It’s one of the more unique flavors in my repertoire.
And it’s easy to make.
All of the ingredients are pictured above, so the only thing I don’t usually already have in my pantry is the heavy cream. When I pick some up, I make this dish.
I use the Traditional Ragu bottled sauce because it’s a very basic sauce: just tomatoes, mostly. No overpowering herbs, no big chunks of veggies – I don’t want things like that to overshadow the awesomeness of the flavor behind the meal.
It’s also quick. The whole thing from start to finish only takes about a half hour. Just make sure you simmer it for a full 20 minutes, to cook off the alcohol.
It’s a pretty basic process.
And the noodles can cook while the sauce simmers.
I usually throw them in some boiling water when the gravy sauce is about halfway done.
And you don’t have to use Rigatoni. I’ve used Penne as well, but I prefer the bigger noodles for this.
Also, once you mix the sauce and the noodles, it may appear at first as though there is too much sauce. Keep mixing and the sauce will absorb into the macaroni.
When I dish it up, I sometimes add a scoop of Ricotta to the top. Some people like to mix it in, but I leave it like that, picking up a little cheese and a couple noodles in each bite. I like the contrasting textures. But the Ricotta is not necessary. Just a nice touch.
Rigatoni with Orange Flavored Vodka Sauce
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6+
Ingredients:
1 quart (or 6 cups or 2-24 Oz. jars) of smooth marinara sauce
1 cup Orange-flavored Vodka
1 tsp. each pepper & garlic powder
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 grated Parmesan
16 Oz. Rigatoni
Ricotta, to taste (optional)
Cook the pasta, according to directions.
In a large saucepot, combine the marinara sauce, vodka, and spices. Bring the marinara sauce and vodka to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. The sauce should reduce by about 1/4.
Stir in the cream and gently simmer for a few minutes until heated through.
Stir in the Parmesan. Continue to heat until the cheese is melted and fully combined.
Stir the cooked and drained pasta into the sauce. Mix well.
Serve with a scoop of Ricotta, if desired.
*****
Click for the Free Printable PDF: Rigatoni with Orange Flavored Vodka Sauce
Enjoy!
I love these cookies.
First off – it’s tough to beat a 3-ingredient cookie. Especially one that tastes this good.
But add chocolate: pure, unadulterated awesomeness.
And the darn things taste like Reeses peanut butter cups!
Seriously.
Okay, look at that photo. Four things in this cookie.
That’s it.
You have no excuse not to make these.
First, mix together some peanut butter, sugar, and an egg.
Then stir in chocolate chips.
Roll up some dough, flatten with fork, sprinkle with extra sugar.
Try not to devour them before you bake them.
My little helping hands decided the remaining chocolate chips should be spread over the counter.
Easier access. :)
And my oldest daughter decided that we should put chocolate chips on top of most of the cookies before baking them, but, just so you know, they didn’t stick.
Look at that beautifulness.
These cookies are seriously addicting. Very tempting.
I may have to make half a batch next time.
{And I think I forgot to include the yield amount in the printable recipe… it makes 24 cookies.}
And, below, is a photo of little fingers making off with my photo props. :)
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Mix the peanut butter, sugar, and egg until combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Shape a generous teaspoonful of the batter into a circle. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten by pressing a fork into the top in an X pattern.
Generously sprinkle granulated sugar over the top of the cookies.
Bake until set, about 18 minutes.
Cool on pan for two minutes, then move to wire racks to cool.
*****
Click for the Free Printable PDF: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
Enjoy! {I know you will.}
These cookies are AMAZING!
Seriously. I love spice cookies. And I love cream cheese. And these are spicy and silky and gooey and sweet… *sigh*
But the most exciting part? These can be adapted to every holiday. Just change the shape of the cookie cutter and possibly the flavor of cake mix.
I’m drooling just thinking about it.
Anyway, I used spice cake for these. Cake mix cookies are usually pretty soft and these were no exception.
I also used cream cheese because I thought it would compliment the spice flavor, but I’m going to try these again with other cake flavors and still stick with the cream cheese.
Incidentally, I used both butter and cream cheese in both the cookies and the icing, and the total amount used between the two was one stick of butter and one 8 oz. package of cream cheese. Makes things easier.
Oh, and speaking of easy – do you see that photo? Four ingredients. Four. (Technically it becomes six if you add in the vanilla and sugar from the filling, but that still qualifies as super easy in my book.)
Here are all the cookie ingredients, except for the cake mix, creamed together.
Isn’t that beautiful? Off to the fridge!
Remember: if your cookie cutter is not symmetrical (like mine isn’t), you’re going to have to use both sides of the cutter to make cookies that will fit together when the icing is sandwiched in between them.
The shape I used it available in this set and this set.
So, cut out one cookie, then flip over the cutter to make the next one.
You don’t want your cookies to get brown around the edges.
And yes, mine are already brown from the spices, but I mean “browned” as in crispy.
The finished cookies need to still be soft if you want to eat them sandwich-style without your icing flying out the sides when you bite into them.
And this is the icing. I waited until the cookies were cooled before I made it. It only takes a minute.
I used a baggy in lieu of a decorating bag to draw on the cookie icing.
The easiest way to fill a baggy full of icing is by placing it in a cup with the top of the bag folded open over the edge of the cup.
Before adding the icing, I lined up the cookies to make sure I had the right number of tops and bottoms.
You can see that I didn’t add a large amount of icing to the inside of the cookies.
I was happy with this amount, but could have put more. I had handful left over, but it also makes an awesome dip for pretzels and fruit, so I just stuck the extra in the fridge.
Then, I melted some white chocolate chips (in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time at half power) and drew on some bunny tails.
Store the cookies in a closed container.
Oh, and this recipe makes about a dozen large sandwich cookies (so, 24 3-inch cookies).
Easter Bunny Spiced Sandwich Cookies
Cookie Ingredients:
1 box (16.5 oz.) spice cake mix
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add egg and vanilla and blend until fluffy.
Slowly sprinkle in the cake mix and flour and blend until combined.
Shape cookie dough into a flattened disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. If you want to make a sandwich cookie with a cutter that is not symmetrical (like in the photo), then make sure you cut out an equal number of matching cookies, using both sides of the cookie cutter.
Bake on parchment lined cookie sheets for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your cookies. They should not yet be noticeably browning on the edges. Do not overcook them or your sandwiches will be difficult to eat.
Allow cookies to rest on the hot pan for a few minutes, then remove to cooling racks. Cool cookies completely before adding icing.
Icing:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups confectioners sugar
White chocolate chips (optional)
With a mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Mix in the vanilla. Add in the sugar a half cup at a time, and then the cinnamon.
Put icing in a decorating bag or a baggy with the corner cut off, and squeeze it onto the bottoms of half of the cooled cookies. Place another cookie on top of the icing and press down gently.
If desired, melt some white chocolate chips to draw on a bunny tail.
*****
Enjoy!
I’ve made this type of Jell-O candied popcorn a few times now, and I prefer the watermelon flavor, which is what you see here.
Now, it is pretty sweet, so it’s not for everyone, but I think it makes a nice addition to a party table, and it’s a bit of a conversation piece, too.
Bonus: it’s easy to do and you can make it in ANY color.
Throwing a monster or a dinosaur party? Make green apple or lime instead.
Make it to match your wedding colors.
Let your imagination run wild. :)
First, throw all the ingredients (except the popcorn) in a pot and simmer for four minutes.
Then pour it over the popcorn and bake it for a half hour.
After spreading it out on wax paper and letting it cool, I like to store it in a gallon baggy.
I prefer the baggy to a Tupperware container because you can massage the baggy to break up any remaining large chunks of popcorn that are stuck together.
Doesn’t that just look so pretty?
This certainly isn’t an every day treat, but it brightens up special occasions so very colorfully.
Watermelon Candied Popcorn
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 (3 oz.) package Jell-O watermelon flavor gelatin
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
3 Tbsp. water
10 cups popped popcorn
Preheat oven to 250°F. Spread popcorn over one or two cookie sheets and place in oven to warm while making candy coating.
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except popcorn.
Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 4 minutes.
Remove from heat. If you want the color to be more intense, stir in some food coloring at this point (I did not add it to the pictured batch).
Pour the candy mixture over the popcorn and stir carefully to coat all of the popcorn.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Cool on waxed paper. Break apart large chunks and store covered.
*****
For the printable PDF, click here: Watermelon Candied Popcorn
Honestly, these “whoopie pie” cookies evolved when I discovered that all the bunnies on the pan faced the same direction:
Makes it difficult to make traditional sandwich-style cookies like that.
Sure, the photos for the pan show the bunnies made into sandwich cookies, but in reality the fit is a little awkward. So, even though the bunnies were super cute and I still wanted to make them, I decided not to make them sandwich-style.
Instead, I just dunked the finished cookies in melted cake frosting and added eyes and ears as decoration with melted chocolate chips.
The result is a sweet-coated, soft, fluffy, playful treat that’s perfect for Easter and fun for the kiddos.
I put the recipe on the photo above (which helps visual people like me save it on Facebook and Pinterest!
Croutons are something I love to make from scratch. They’re one of those things that supports the theory that homemade always tastes better.
It works a little better with day-old bread, but I almost never seem to have that on hand when I go to make croutons. But, when I do notice that the bread I have is getting stale, I do love using it up this way.
You can use any type of bread for this, too, which is awesome. What I used for the photos in this post was a regular white-wheat sandwich bread.
Also, I leave the crust on the bread when I made croutons. You don’t have to, but I love that additional layer of extra crunchiness upon the crunchiness of cube of mad crunchy goodness.
First off, dice your bread into pieces about an inch square. They can be bigger, just make sure they’re uniform so they cook evenly.
Throw all the bread pieces into a large bowl. Generously drizzle olive oil over the bread. I use extra virgin because I love the sharp, distinctive taste it gives the finished product.
Then generously sprinkle the bread with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix well, adding more oil if the bread still seems dry and adding more spices if they don’t prominently appear on the bread.
Then generously drizzle the olive oil over a cookie sheet that’s been covered with foil (for easy clean up). Spread out the bread pieces over the pan. Drizzle with a little more oil, if any pieces don’t appear fully saturated, and sprinkle a little more salt, pepper, and garlic powder over the pieces.
Don’t be shy with the spices; they’re what gives these little beauties flavor. The salt and garlic may be a little harder to see, but you should be able to see the pepper on every single piece of bread.
Don’t be afraid of flavor. The croutons won’t taste as strong once you mix them into a salad or throw them in a soup.
Of course, in my house, we eat these things by the handful.
Anyway, then you’ll bake them in a preheated oven at 250 degrees F for about 20 or 25 minutes, or until browned and crispy. Be sure to watch them because it only takes a couple of minutes to go from done to burnt.
Also, I didn’t type up an actual recipe for this because it’s all about personal preference. So, just to review, here are the basics: mix diced bread with plenty of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake at 250F for 20 minutes. Enjoy.
And here’s a pic with the recipe on it, which is great to post to Pinterest or Facebook for future reference:
Also, these croutons keep well. Sometimes I even think they taste better the next day.
To be sure your croutons keep well for at least a week (though I’ve kept them longer) just store them in a closed container (Tupperware) with a paper towel or napkin at the bottom of the container to collect extra moisture.
Here are some recipes where I’ve used them:
Once, when I was exploring heart of Metz, France, I came upon a little bakery. I was entranced. There in the bakery case were row upon row of sweet sugary goodness, and there was a particular chocolate croissant loudly calling my name.
And, since I suddenly lost every French word I knew, I clumsily, and with much waving of hands and pointing, ordered said croissant in a strange mumble of English, Spanish, and German (three more languages I can barely manage…)
But what can I say? Chocolate pastries do strange things to me.
Anyway, enjoying the flaky delicacy in the shadow of an ancient (by American standards) limestone church is a happy memory for me. It was a beautiful city.
And a damned good croissant.
What you see here is a shadow of that memory, with a mint twist: a super, super easy-to-make mint chocolate croissant.
If you live in North America, then you’re probably familiar with Pillsbury crescent dough. The only change I made to the basic procedure was adding in some mint chocolate candy. I just rolled the candy up inside the crescent before baking it according to the package directions, which I tried to demonstrate in this photo:
Make sure you tuck in the ends to keep any melted chocolate from escaping.
Also, I melted an additional 10 candies so that I would have something to drizzle over the top. I didn’t want to scald the chocolate in the microwave or bother with a double boiler, so I put them in a tiny glass dish and stuck the bowl of candy into the oven with the croissants while they baked:
I left the candies in the oven the whole time the pastries baked, then stirred the melted chocolate with a spoon to smooth it out before drizzling it over the croissants in a criss-cross pattern.
I didn’t even wait for them to cool – just drizzled it on straight out of the oven.
I may have waited a minute or two before eating one. And another minute before eating a second.
Maybe.
Or maybe I just shoved them right into my drooling face as soon as I was finished snapping pictures.
Either way, I suggest you eat them warm.
And, IF there are leftovers, I suggest you warm them a little because the chocolate inside will harden once completely cooled.
Since this recipe really only had two ingredients, I tried to tell the story mainly with pictures instead of a list of instructions. BUT, I still wrote up a recipe (including extra pictures), in PDF form which you can get here: Mint Chocolate Croissants.
Also, I made a little graphic with the instructions right on top of a *yummy* photo, so it’s perfect for your Pinterest recipe album:
Enjoy!
And Happy Baking! :)
Roaming Rosie 