White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe pairs well with the Cranberry-White Chocolate Blondies, but I imagine it would also go well with white or dark chocolate cupcakes, dark chocolate brownies, and any number of other dishes. It's also really good just eaten straight out of the bowl. : )

What You'll Need:

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 oz white chocolate (chips or chopped baking chocolate), melted

How to Make It:

Beat the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar until blended. Slowly drizzle in the white chocolate, and beat until completely incorporated.

Cranberry-White Chocolate Blondies

These turned out to be so pretty! I think they'd make a nice Christmas dessert, since they are red and white.

What You'll Need: 

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup dried cranberries
6 oz white chocolate, chopped, or an equal amount of white chocolate chips
One recipe White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
About 3 oz melted white chocolate (chips or chopped baking chocolate)


How to Make It: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in the brown sugar. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl, and set it aside to cool. Meanwhile, Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. When the brown sugar-butter mixture has cooled to room temperature, beat in the eggs and the vanilla until everything is well combined. Gradually beat in the flour mixture until everything is combined. Stir in the chocolate and cranberries. The batter will be very thick- almost like cookie dough.

Spread the batter in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake the blondies for about 18-23 minutes, until the center passes the toothpick test. The blondies are very pale in color- be careful not to overbake them! Let the blondies cool in the pan on a wire rack. When the blondies are cool, frost them with the White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting, sprinkle them with the chopped cranberries, and drizzle them with the melted white chocolate. Refrigerate the blondies a little while before serving, so the frosting can firm up.

Raspberry-Frosted Brownies

I like chocolate, and I like raspberries. They go together so well. It doesn't hurt that cream cheese is involved, either. This is adapted very slightly from the back of a box of brownie mix. 

What You'll Need: 

1 9x13 pan or 2 8x8 pans of your favorite brownies, homemade or from a mix
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
Scant 1/2 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 oz square unsweetened or semisweet baking chocolate
1 tbsp unsalted butter

How to Make It: 

Prepare your brownies and let them cool slightly in their pan on a wire rack. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese, jam, and confectioner's sugar until everything is pink, fluffy, and well-combined. Spread this frosting over the brownies in the pan. In a small glass bowl or measuring cup, melt the chocolate with the butter in the microwave (don't burn it!) Whisk it with a fork so the chocolate and butter are completely combined. Using the fork, drizzle this chocolate mixture over the brownies in the pan. I went with a nice, diagonal zigzag pattern. You should have plenty of chocolate to fling over the brownies- if you feel like getting fancy and making a marbleized pattern, go for it! After you've drizzled every last drop of chocolate over the brownies, stick them in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

These taste so summery!

What You'll Need: 

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 3/4 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup cold butter, cut up
2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, soft
2 eggs
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup blueberry jam
2 cups blueberries

How to Make It: 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. In a bowl, combine the flour and the sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Press the flour mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake the crust until the edges are slightly browned, about 12-15 minutes. Let the crust cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add the eggs, lemon zest and juice, beating until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Spread the blueberry jam evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the blueberries over the jam layer. Drop the cream cheese mixture, a spoonful at a time, over the berries, then carefully spread it out evenly. Return the pan to the oven and bake just until set, 25-30 minutes. Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars and serve.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

This ganache is for spreading, not for pouring. I am putting it on cupcakes. It is pretty delicious. I am tempted to make a bowl just to eat by myself. : )

What You'll Need: 

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
5 1/2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt


How to Make It: 

Put the chocolate and the butter in a medium bowl, and set aside. Combine the cream, the sugar, and the salt in a saucepan and bring to a simmer (just before it starts to boil- but don't scald it!) Let the cream mixture simmer for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and the butter in the bowl. Whisk everything together until the chocolate and butter are melted, and the ganache is silky smooth. Let it sit on the counter (without stirring) for 2-3 hours, or refrigerate for about 45 minutes. If you refrigerate it, bring the ganache to room temperature before stirring it and spreading it on cake, cupcakes, you name it.

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Be sure to properly grease and flour your cake pan. I wasn't paying attention, missed a spot, and my cake broke in half. It was still good, though!

What You'll Need:

For the cake:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup milk

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp vanilla

Juice of 1 lemon

For the glaze:

Powdered sugar

Lemon juice

How to Make It:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Beat the butter and shortening at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and add it to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest, vanilla, and lemon juice. Pour the batter into a greased and floured Bundt or tube pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a long wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the pan onto a serving platter, and top with the glaze.

For the glaze, start with a healthy amount of powdered sugar- I used 1 1/2 cups, but you might want to use a little less. Add lemon juice to the powdered sugar and whisk until it's a nice, glaze-y consistency. You can use the bottled lemon juice for this, or freshly squeezed lemon juice. Either way, you're going to use several tablespoons of juice. When your glaze is finished, drizzle it over the cake, and you're done!

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

Really more truffle than brownies, these are super yummy and very rich. Be sure to cut them into tiny pieces!

What You'll Need:

3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp whipping cream

2 tbsp butter

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 1/4 cups raspberries, optional

How to Make It:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square pan, line it with foil, then grease the foil. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the unsweetened chocolate, butter, and jam, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until frothy. Slowly whisk in the chocolate mixture, then the flour, mixing until smooth. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the brownies are set, about 25-30 minutes (but don't try the "toothpick test" with these brownies- if you wait till the toothpick comes out clean, the brownies will be way overdone!) Let the brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the cream, butter and semisweet chocolate, stirring until smooth. Let this chocolate mixture cool slightly, then pour it over the brownies and spread it evenly. Top the brownies with the raspberries, if you're using them, and chill the pan until the brownies are cold. Lift the foil out of the pan, cut up the brownies and serve.

These brownies need to stay refrigerated as long as possible- if you let them sit out on a serving plate for too long, they get too soft and they're hard to eat!

Baked Apple and Spice Cake Trifle

What You'll Need:

1 box spice cake mix

1 1/4 cups cinnamon apple sauce (I like Musselman's)

3 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 can apple pie filling

1 tbsp butter

7 tsp cinnamon, divided

3 cups cold milk

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

1 envelope whipped topping mix

1 carton Cool Whip, thawed

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/ cup toffee bits, optional

How to Make It:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry cake mix, applesauce, eggs, and oil; beat everything on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into a greased 13x9 baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until done. Cool the cake on a wire rack. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, cook the pie filling, butter, and 1 tsp cinnamon on medium-low heat until the butter is melted; stir well to combine. Let the apples cool. In a mixing bowl, combine the milk, pudding mix, topping mix, and the remaining cinnamon. Beat on high speed until thickened, about 5 minutes. Let the pudding stand for 5 minutes after that. Spread a third of the Cool Whip in the bottom of a trifle bowl. Cut the cake into cubes, and place half the cake cubes on top of the Cool Whip. Top that with half the apples, half the walnuts, and half the pudding. Repeat the layers, ending with the last third of the Cool Whip. Sprinkle the toffee bits on top. Cover the trifle and let it chill at least 2 hours before serving.

"Elvis" Pie

I hear that Elvis liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Also bacon. This pie has peanut butter and bananas, and therefore, it was named for Elvis.

What You'll Need:

For the filling:

1 cup peanut butter

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup cold heavy cream

1 9-inch graham cracker crust

2 bananas, sliced

For the topping:

1 cup cold heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

Chopped roasted peanuts

How to Make It:

In a medium bowl, cream the peanut butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. In another bowl, beat the cream until soft peaks form (it will almost be the consistency of Cool Whip.) Mix the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture with your mixture set on low, until everything is smoothly combined. Pour half of the filling into the pie crust, and smooth it out with a spatula. Layer the bananas on top. Pour the rest of the peanut butter filling over the bananas and spread it out with the spatula. Cover the pie and refrigerate at least an hour, or overnight. When you're ready to make the topping, beat the remaining cream and sugar with your mixer until soft peaks form. Spread the topping over the pie, and top with the chopped peanuts.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

What You'll Need:

1 store-bought graham cracker crust, extra large, or 2 regular-sized graham cracker crusts*

3 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup canned pumpkin

3 eggs

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

Homemade whipped cream and extra cinnamon for dusting, if you fancy

How To Make It:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add the pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, and beat until everything is combined and there are no lumps of pumpkin in the batter. Pour the filling into the crust(s), and bake for 60-70 minutes until done. A cheesecake is done when the center still shimmers a bit when you wiggle the pan. The edges puff up a bit as well. If it starts to crack, it's a little overdone, but still edible! You're going to slice it up anyway, right? Once the cheesecake cools to room temperature, stick it in the fridge until it's cooled all the way and you're ready to eat it.

*This recipe makes quite a bit of cheesecake batter- I still had a healthy amount left over, even when I used the extra-large pie crust. If you use 2 regular sized crusts, your cheesecakes will be a bit more shallow than normal, but delicious nonetheless. You may want to lessen the cooking time by 10 minutes or so.

Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

This is actually the first Bundt cake I've made. Go me, right?

What You'll Need:

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3 cups peeled, finely chopped cooking apple (I ran four peeled and cored Granny Smiths through my food processor. You could also use a box grater.)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

A handful of raisins (optional)

For the Glaze:

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

2 tbsp evaporated milk

How to Make It:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs in a bowl at medium speed until creamy. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon with a whisk; add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, beating well. Stir in the apple and pecans (and raisins, if using.) Pour the batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until the cake passes the toothpick test. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Place a serving platter on the pan, and turn the whole thing upside down to remove the cake. Combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and cook over high heat, stirring constantly, for about two minutes or until the butter is melted. Drizzle the glaze over the cake (it will be a heavy drizzle!)