Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Don't you love it when you stumble upon a GREAT recipe that you haven't tried in a while? I made these for my kiddos birthday party 2 years ago, and looking through my recipe book I found it! Everyone liked them, and I remember being especially proud of my self pulling these off, being 9 months pregnant and scheduled for a c-section in 2 days! 

Nothing says fancy like cupcakes that are stuffed with cookie dough! 

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix

1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant espresso granules
1/2 cup warm water
pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
Roll cookie dough into 1 teaspoon balls, and drop into the middle of the cupcakes, making sure you cover them with batter.
Bake 18-22 min, until they pass a tooth pick test.
Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool competently. 

For the frosting:

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 lbs powdered suar
Pinch of salt

1 tabl vanilla

3-5 tabl. heavy cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.Line muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine instant espresso granules and warm water, stirring until dissolved. Add espresso mixture to the cake batter and stir until fully incorporated. Scoop about 3 tabl. batter into prepared muffin tins.

For the frosting:

With an electric mixer, cream the butter until fluffy, add in (slowly) the sugar until well blended. Add salt, vanilla and 3 tabl. heavy cream. You can add 1-2 more tabl. of the cream until you reach the desired consistency. 

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Once again, my failure to take good pictures is driving me nuts. In my excuse for this particular one, my kids were about to attack these scrumptious cookie sandwiches, so I had to be quicker than them, and snap away. I'll be making these again SOON, and snap a better picture of them. 

These were SO EASY to make, and SO SO GOOD! My husband would always buy these after a really hard day at work in the summer time. Why buy when I can make them...with love (cheesy)!

The quick way:

1 stick of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough 

1 half gal of vanilla bean ice cream 

1 package of mini chocolate chips.

Pre heat your over to the package directions of the cookie dough. I took my dough straight from the frig and opened it. (don't let it sit out too long or it will get mushy) Next I made larger slices than the package directions-you want a thicker cookie for the sandwiches. I sliced mine about 1/2" thick, and baked them an additional 2 minutes. Keep a close eye on them, once they begin to turn golden, they're done. Allow them to cool 2 min on cookie sheet, and place on to a cookie rack to cool completely. With a large scooper, place a scoop of ice cream on top of a cookie, and smash it down slightly with another cookie. 

Next place a good cup of the mini chocolate chips onto a plate, and roll the ice cream edges in the choc chips.

If your not eating them immediately, wrap in Suran wrap and place in the freezer. I usually make double-triple the amount, and freeze them for quick snacks/desserts. 

The "labor of love" way:

I make home made vanilla ice cream in my Cuisinart ice cream maker when I have time...

1 c. milk

2 c. heavy cream

3/4 c. sugar

1 tea vanilla

This recipe should work for any ice cream maker. Its out fav vanilla recipe, and I usually add a touch more vanilla to the mix. 

Once your ice cream maker has been in the freezer for 24 hours, mix all 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl together. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Turn on your ice cream maker, and pour in the cream mixture. Let the machine do its thing for 15-20 min. Then take a few tastes. Scoop the ice cream in a bowl, and place in freezer.

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies:

2 c. flour

1/2 ta baking soda

1/2 tea salt

3/4 c. softened butter

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

1 tea vanilla

1 egg

1 egg yoke 

2 c. semi-sweet choc chips

Heat oven to 325, Beat butter and sugars together, add in the vanilla and eggs. In another mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, and slowly add them to the creamed butter. Stir in the chocolate chips. Place 1/4 c. of the cookie mixture onto a cookie sheet (or a large scoop) 2-3" apart. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet 3 min before transferring them onto a cookie rack to finish cooling.

Assemble your home made ice cream sandwiches-easy peasy: First and MOST important, take a taste of the ice cream. Next place a big scoop of home made vanilla ice cream onto a cookie, and smash down with another cookie on top. There you have it. Home made yummy goodness!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made this carrot cake for my daughters 2nd birthday, thinking our guests might not like carrot cake. To my surprise every single person there loved it, had seconds and asked at least twice for the recipe. I know the birthday girl liked it (who I was trying to please), but didn't think others would find it a favorite... I'm glad I was wrong! It's still my daughters favorite. And I made it last night for dessert! yum yum!!!

3 eggs
3/4 c. Buttermilk
3/4 c. Canola oil
1 1/2 tea vanilla
11/2 c. sugar
2 tea. cinnamon
1/2 tea salt
2 c. Flour
2 tea. baking soda
2 c. shredded carrots
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. Chopped walnuts
1-8oz. crushed pineapple w/ juice
1 c. raisins (optional)

Cream cheese frosting
2pkg (8oz) softened cream cheese 
1/2 c. butter softened
1 tea. vanilla
2 c.powdered sugar
1/2 c ground walnuts

Heat your oven to 350, than grease and flour 2 round cake pans 9"x 9".
In a large bowl, beat eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. In a medium bowl mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Slowly add flour mixture to egg mixture, mixing well.
Add in shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.
Pour half the mixture into each cake pan, and bake for 40 min, and check with a toothpick
Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before frosting. I like to remove the cakes onto a cooling cookie rack, and place those in the frig (ya, I'm THAT impatience!)
I DONT like raisins...so I don't add them. To me, raisins are just an obstacle you have to maneuver around while your eating the cake...worth it!

 For the frosting:

In a mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add in the powered sugar. It will be somewhat thick, since its a thicker recipe. If you want it to be a thinner recipe (not calorie wise lol!) just add a tablespoon of milk at a time while mixing it. Frost cake, and sprinkle on the ground walnuts-my daughter wanted chopped walnuts-she decorated this cake with the walnuts, and helped frost it...I may have a little baker in the future!!!

Cherry Cheese Cake

• Once again, I wanted to share a recipe that has been in my family for quite a while. We always have this dessert for Thanksgiving. And everyone expects it to be there because its our fav. This is the only cherry cheese cake that I like (I'm really picky when it comes to fruit pies/cakes). I've also sent this with my husband to company parties, and have been requested to make this several times since by his fellow workers, and even offered money to make it...when moneys involved you know its a good thing! lol!

• Crust:
• 1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumb
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. melted butter
• 
  
• Filling:
• 2 Pkgs. Softened cream cheese
• 1/3 c. Sugar
• 1 Tub cool whip
• Topping:
• 1 can Cherry pie filling/topping 

*With making this, use graham crackers and crush them up. If you use the pre-crushed graham crackers, it doesn't taste quite right.

Combine your graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Drizzle in the melted butter slowly, tossing the mixture well together. Spread in a 9"x9" glass baking dish, and press down evenly.

For the filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar and cool whip together. spread over crust, and pour the cherry pie filling. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. 

You can use strawberry or blue berry topping. When I'm asked to make this by my hubbies work buddies, they usually request strawberry-its really yummy!