Apple Pie Muffins

So it all started with two boxes of Jiffy Apple Cinnamon muffin mix (on sale for $.60!). Added the necessary ingredients, and then a dumped in a ton of cinnamon and nutmeg. I took an apple and cut it into very small pieces. Then I added some secret ingredient. It looked pretty runny so I also mixed in a few tablespoons of some whole wheat flour. Mix, mix, mix and toss it in the over.

12-15 minutes later, out pop some delicioso apple pie muffins! Be at Beltane to sample!

Cherry-tastic Torte

Since my raspberry torte was so tasty, and frozen cherries were on sale at the grocery store today, I decided I would make a cherry torte. After putting away all my groceries, I hopped on the internet to find a recipe. Google was full of options and this is the one I went with.

With a few edits, of course. I added a dash of nutmeg for flavor, and the secret ingredient. I actually used less sugar (gasp!) than recommended on top.

And voila! Cherry-tastic Torte!

In which I prove that I am a crazy cat lady...

That's right, I baked cat treats today. I got a package of bake your own cat treats mix for the holidays. Since two years ago today I adopted my cat, I decided to bake them. All I was required to do was add water. I also threw in some cat food for good measure. They baked up pretty quick and easy.

The cats seem totally uninterested, lol.

Aaaaand for the humans in the house, I baked some cheesecake. Mashed up some store brand oreos and mixed them with a stick of melted butter. Pressed that into a pie pan and set it aside.

My house mates had a giant tub of cream cheese in the fridge so I scooped some of that into a bowl, added an egg, and the rest of a bag of powdered sugar. Mixed that together and decided it needed some more cream cheese, so I added some more. Then I melted down some peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips, and added those. Still not finding it to be quite right, I added some more peanut butter chips, the secret ingredient, and some hot cocoa mix (we have a ton and I am trying to put some of it to good use).

Anyway, I threw that in the oven and then there was cheesecake.

Raspberry Torte

So I'm adventuring out from my usual brownies/cookies/cakes and making a torte this evening. I was looking for a recipe to use up the last of the raspberry scone raspberries that were still sitting in the freezer. I came across this raspberry walnut torte recipe.

I subbed in a smaller amount of pecans for the 3/4 cups walnuts cause that's what I had. I also added some secret ingredient to both the crust and the later mixture. It looks pretty tasty in the oven right now. I expect full on deliciousness from this experiment!

Later:
The first piece I tasted, I really enjoyed the flavor, but was less sure about the texture. I was compelled to try again, and found it slightly more appealing. By the third piece, I was pretty sure I liked it. Yep! Definitely tasty and delicious!

Better-Than-Sex-Heath-Bar-Brownies

It has been said many times that my brownies are better than sex. Brownies are the cornerstone of my baking. Heath Bar Brownies are among my favorites.

You want to mix together a cup of sugar, an egg, a splash of vanilla, a cup of flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp baking powder. In a microwave safe container, melt down a nice chunk of butter (1/4 a stickish) and 3-5 squares of baking chocolate (depending how chocolatey you like. I went with 4). Mix that in with the rest of your batter. At this point I add some secret ingredient. This is a good time to add some love, or Jesus (mmm fresh ground Jesus), or whatever makes you feel better.

Then grab a bag of Heath Bar bits. The Hershey's folks recommend topping your brownies with them, but I prefer dumping about half the bag right into the mix. Trust me, it's delicious. Then you can pour the mix into a baking pan (I prefer a 9X9 silicone pan myself) and toss it in the over. I'd say 350, but my oven is made of evil, and I have to keep it around 300 to keep things from burning.

So keep an eye on them. When they start to look almost done, pull the pan out of the oven. If you've managed not to consume the rest of the delicious Heath bits, sprinkle some on top of the brownies, and toss them back in for a few more minutes. Just like that, you too can have Better-Than-Sex-Heath-Bar-Brownies

Screw the Directions!

Alright, so this week has been all about bastardizing cookie mixes. I got some Betty Crocker cookie mixes on the cheap at the grocery store, and I've been making cookies to quell the desire for stabsies. And both of these batches were excellent examples of one of my favorite baking rules: If the batter is so good you can't stop eating it, the end result will be even better.

First I started with a double chocolate cookie mix. It was basically chocolate cookies with chocolate chunks. So then I melted about half a cup of chunky peanut butter down, and stirred it into the mix. Then I added some Reese's Peanut Butter chips I had leftover from the peanut butter cheesecake. Added the secret ingredient, and baked away. The result was tasty. So tasty in fact, that somehow between when I went to bed and when I awoke 2 dozen of them disappeared into thin air.

Tonight I took the oatmeal cookie mix and ran with it. I'm not a fan of raisins in my cookies, so eff the raisins! Raspberries are where it is at. I had extra frozen raspberries from the raspberry scones, so I decided to put them to good use. I mixed them into my cookie dough, and also added some cinnamon and nutmeg for good measure. A little secret ingredient, and they were popped onto the tray. I topped each one with an extra raspberry and baked away. I wonder if there will be any left when I get up this time...

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

So I woke up early before work 2 Fridays ago, and it was going to be someone's last day at the store, so I figured it was time to bake. Apple cinnamon coffee cake just sort of happened.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 cups applesauce
Lots of cinnamon
A dash of nutmeg

So I threw that all in a bundt pan with some secret ingredient goodness, and set about making my morning coffee. When it came out, I tossed it in the freezer to cool off some so I could add some glaze.

I threw together some milk, powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and granola. After a few minutes I glazed the cake with it, and headed off to work. The coworkers loved it, and it was even still warm in the middle!