"Cinnabon" clone Cinnamon Rolls

  A friend of mine was recently having trouble with a cinnamon roll recipe and asked for advice (dough wasn't rising). I hadn't made them in years, so decided that it was time for a test run. I chose a Cinnabon clone recipe from Allrecipes I believe, but made some alterations.  Many cinnamon roll recipes call for a bread machine. I had one, but didn't care for the texture of the crust on the bread from a machine, so off to the yard sale it went. I used my Kitchenaid mixer to do most of the kneading of the dough for me, but you could do it all by hand if you would like.

  I like to add a pinch of sugar, brown sugar or honey to my yeast/milk (or water depending on the recipe). Seems to make the yeast proof a little better. Your proofed yeast mixture should look similar to this when it's ready to go

 This is a very stiff dough, and I found that it took a LONG time to rise. I set mine to rise at 12:30, left the house and 2:00 and it wasn't doing much. Returned at 4:00 and it was ready to go. So don't get frustrated if it takes a long time. You can probably even let it rise in the fridge overnight if time is an issue. The second rise, after the dough has been worked and the buns are made, is much faster. About half an hour.

This is what they should look like when you put them in the pan for the second rise

Risen and ready to go into the oven!

Remove from oven when they look like this. Golden brown and ready to ice

The finished product! Makes 12 LARGE buns

Cinnamon Rolls

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
4 1/2 cups AP flour
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Frosting:
1/2  package (4 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Combine warm milk and yeast in medium mixing bowl (I like to add a pinch of sugar or brown sugar). Let stand approx 10 minutes, until yeast is foamy

In bowl of electric mixer, add half of the flour, and the yeast mixture. Combine. Then add eggs, salt, and  white sugar. Add in small amounts of the rest of the flour until dough is all mixed

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball (mixer will have done most of the work for you). Place in bowl sprayed with baking spray. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Set aside to rise

After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll dough into a 16x21-inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Pineapple Pecan Carrot Cake Belgian Waffles

  I find plain waffles to be very dull, so I like to spice them up with different flavors.  The carrot cake flavor in these waffles is subtle enough not to overwhelm (since it is a waffle, not a piece of cake!), but enough to be a change in pace for breakfast or brunch. This recipe makes 4-5 large waffles, and half a waffle is a good serving size.  Serve with maple syrup or powdered sugar. I heat the oven to 200 and place prepared waffles in a baking sheet in the oven to keep them warm while I'm getting everything else ready

2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1 cup shredded carrots
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans

  Preheat Belgian waffle iron per manufacturer instructions, spray with cooking spray.

   In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon. Add in carrots and combine.

  In a medium bowl, combine eggs, vanilla and pineapple. Add to flour mixture and combine. Add milk and pecans and combine again. Ladle manufacturer recommended amount of batter onto waffle iron. Press and bake  until golden brown and easily removed from iron.

 

Banana Split Cheesecake Brownie Bars

A boxed brownie mix makes these delicious bars a breeze to make, and they are something a little different than plain old brownies to take to your next "bring a dessert" event. I garnish with sprinkles for more of a banana split feel, and you can also sprinkle with some chopped peanuts if you'd like. I usually skip the peanuts if I'm bringing these to a public event.

1 box 19 oz box brownie mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
4 eggs, divided
12 oz softened cream cheese (1 1/2 bricks)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
large, ripe banana, mashed (about 1 cup mashed banana)
1/2 cup Seedless Strawberry Jam
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (optional garnish)
1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles (optional garnish)

  Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x13 baking dish with baking spray.
  In a large bowl, combine brownie mix, 1/2 cup oil, 1/4 cup water and 2 eggs. Beat 50 strokes. Pour into prepared pan.
 In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and the remaining 2 eggs. Beat on medium until combined thoroughly. Add mashed banana and beat again just until combined.
 Pour banana mixture over brownies.
  Drop random small spoons of strawberry jelly on top of banana mixture, Then swirl with a knife.  Sprinkle chopped peanuts and rainbow sprinkles at this time if desired.
  Bake approx 45 minutes, or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool, slice and serve.

Strawberry Snowflake Cupcakes

Red and white for Valentines Day. Strawberries and snow! These light and fluffy cupcakes are very simple to make. I started with a cake mix to make them even simpler. Don't be intimidated by the meringue icing. If you have a stand mixer, it's a breeze. A hand mixer would also work.

Strawberry Snowflake Cupcakes

18.25 ox box of white cake mix
1 can lemon lime soda
2 cups chopped strawberries (divided)
1 1/2 cups seedless strawberry jelly

Frosting:
5 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350. line 2, 12 cup muffin pans with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and soda. Mix until just combined. Fold in one cup of chopped strawberries.

Bake cupcakes for 25-30 minutes until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

When cupcakes are cool, fill a pastry bag with a tip withe the strawberry jelly. Using a paring knife, cut a small hole in the cucake. Press the pastry tip into the cupcake and squeeze in a small amount of jelly. Note - If you don’t want to do this step, you can wait until after you frost the cupcakes. Make a small indentation in the frosting, and put a tsp or so of jelly under the chopped strawberry garnish.

To make the frosting -Put afew inches of water in a saucepan the right size to hold the bowl of your electric mixer slightly above the water. Bring the water to a boil. Combine the frosting ingredients in the mixer bowl and set it over the boiling water. Whisk it constantly until the sugar is totally dissolved, mixture is smooth and it feels hot to the touch. About 2-3 minutes.

Transfer to the standing mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, and beat on medium high speed until the meringue is shiny and will hold stiff peaks. About 5-7 minutes.

Spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a spoon or spatula. Use the back of the spoon to make it “spiky”. Garnish with remaining chopped strawberries.

Mini Strawberry Cannoli Cream Puffs

Mini Strawberry Cannoli Creampuffs

Puffs:
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. flour
2 eggs

Combine water and butter in saucepan, bring to a boil. Add the salt and flour at the same time, stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat, beat in 1 egg at a time, beating well until mixture is smooth. Refrigerate for one hour. Place in teaspoon size balls on lightly greased cookie sheet.. Bake 400 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes until brown (they will sound hollow when you tap them with a spoon). Cool, cut off tops, fill with filling, then replace tops. Dust with powdered sugar


Filling:
1/2 cup powdered sugar (plus 1/4 cup for garnish)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup diced strawberries

Pineapple Confetti Cake

I enjoy making cakes from scratch, but every once in awhile I need to make something faster, or I feel lazy, and a box comes in handy. This cake is a lazy example. I could have shaved the top layer to make it flatter, but that would have been far too much effort!

Pineapple Confetti Cake

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp butter
8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained (press into strainer and retain juice)
pinch salt
pinch nutmeg

Cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 cup water
retained pineapple juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 large egg whites
1/4 cup colored sprinkles

1 can white frosting (or 2 cups homemade buttercream frosting)
1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes


Preheat oven to 350. Combine all filling ingredients in medium saucepan. Simmer and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and no longer looks cloudy (about 5 minutes). Set aside to cool.
Spray 2 9” round baking pans with baking spray. Combine cake ingredients in mixer (or by hand) and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined. Pour equal amounts batter into pans, smooth out with a spatula. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and pick inserted comes out clean.
Let cool, remove from pans. If desired, trim layers to make them more flat and even. Spread thin layer of frosting on top of first layer. Spread pineapple filling on frosting. Place second cake layer on top.
Frost cake and sprinkle with coconut flakes.

Avocado Coconut Pound Cake

More fun with avocado! When I open up an avocado, one of the first things that comes to mind is the buttery texture. I love to bake, and I was curious to see how well avocado would substitute for butter in a cake recipe. Pound cake seemed to be the perfect buttery cake to experiment with. It worked wonderfully. The result was a very moist cake with a beautiful color and great flavor. I paired it with coconut and lime flavors, which were very complimentary.
I used a fancy bundt pan, because I have one, but any bundt pan will do. Mine is non stick, but I still sprayed it liberally with baking spray. If you don't have cake flour, you can substitute 3/4 cup all purpose flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch for each cup of cake flour.

Avocado Coconut Pound Cake

2 avocados, peeled and mashed
3 cups white sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups cakes flour
1 tsp baking powder
zest 1 lime (reserve a tsp for glaze)
1 cup sweetened flake coconut (plus a little extra for garnish)

Glaze :
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 tbsp lime juice
reserved lime zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees . Thoroughly spray standard size bundt pan with baking spray. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the avocado and sugar until thoroughly mixed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla, lime juice, sour cream, lime zest and coconut. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then invert onto another plate.
Combine garnish ingredients and drizzle on warm cake. Sprinkle with coconut.

Apple Walnut Skillet Muffin

Normally I make muffins from scratch, but I had some muffin mix in the pantry that I wanted to use up, and I thought I'd do something different with it. Different flavors of muffin mix would work too, and you can use a pan that is a little smaller (it just might have to bake longer). As always, real maple syrup, no fake stuff!

2 7 oz packets Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 cups granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Spray an 11" cast iron pan with baking spray. Preheat oven to 425. In a medium bowl, combine muffin mix, milk and 1/2 cup syrup. Mix until just combined, pour into prepared pan.
In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Spread on top of batter.
Bake approx 25 minutes or until golden brown.
1 tsp cinnamon

Sweet Potato Citrus Cupcakes

2 leftover baked sweet potatoes and a box of lemon cake mix were my inspiration for these light and airy cupcakes. You can frost them as much or as little as you would like. I prefer just a little because I don't think that they need much, but the frosting recipe makes enough that you can add more if you wish. Without frosting, they would be great as breakfast/brunch muffins.
Simple to make, the sweet potato makes them moist enough that you don't even need to use any oil.

1 18.25 oz box lemon cake mix
1 1/3 cups orange juice
1 1/2 cups baked sweet potatoes, mashed (about 2 medium sweet potatoes)
3 eggs

Frosting:
1 8 oz package cream cheese (softened)
5 cups confectioners sugar

2 tbsp orange zest (optional for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350. Line two 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners. Combine cake mix, orange juice, sweet potatoes and eggs in mixer bowl. Beat for 30 seconds on low, then 2 minutes on medium.
Spoon equal amounts batter into muffin cups.Bake for 18-22 minutes or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes then frost as desired.
To make frosting - combine cream cheese and sugar in mixer bowl, beat on low until combined.

Easy Focaccia Bread

This is one of those recipes that tastes/looks like you put a whole lot more effort into it than you actually did. You can use either homemade pizza dough (my favorite crust recipe is listed under pizza in the label section) or refrigerated dough. I never have any leftovers when I make this!

Fresh or refrigerated pizza dough
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup Italian salad dressing
2 tsp Italian seasoning
3/4 fresh grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil a pizza stone with the olive oil. Spread the dough on the stone, and made indentations in it with the tip of a wooden spoon. Pour on the dressing and spread it over the crust. Sprinkle with italian seasoning, then the grated cheese.
Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Slice into wedges and serve.

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

This is a delicious pie, another Martha Stewart recipe. Good for pumpkin and chocolate lovers, but not too “pumpkiny” for people who don’t really care much for pumpkin. If you don’t tell those people, they probably won’t even know there is pumpkin in it.
As with most Martha recipes, I simplified the steps a little. Melting chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave works just fine. No need for a heatproof bowl over simmering water.
This is supposed to be a triple chocolate pie, but I ran out of time to do the final step of drizzling the milk chocolate. I was taking it somewhere, so I couldn't cut it up and get a photo of it sliced like I would have preferred

* FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
* 2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)
* 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
* 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped
* FOR THE FILLING
* 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 55 percent cacao), chopped
* 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
* 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
* 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
* 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
* 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* Ground cloves
* 1 ounce milk chocolate, melted

Directions

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt, and cinnamon in bowl. Firmly press mixture into bottom and up sides of a deep, 9 1/2-inch pie dish. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Remove from oven, and sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over bottom of crust. Return to oven to melt chocolate, about 1 minute. Spread chocolate in a thin layer on bottom and up sides. Let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
3. Make the filling: In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt semisweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.
4. Mix pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/3 pumpkin mixture into chocolate mixture. Whisk in remaining pumpkin mixture until completely incorporated.
5. Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet, and pour pumpkin mixture into crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pie dish on a wire rack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours (preferably overnight). Before serving, drizzle melted milk chocolate on top. Serve immediately.

Apple-Honey Challah Bread

I've been going through my Martha Stewart magazines (not to get rid of them, for that would be blasphemy, just to move them to a different place) and I found this recipe. I knew that I was going to be home all day doing housework, and I had all of the ingredients, so it seemed a good day to try it.
I do find some of Martha's recipes to be arranged strangely, and a bit hard to follow, as well as overly complicated at times. I didn't butter my plastic wrap, and I was too lazy to go downstairs to get a cake pan, so I just baked it on a pizza stone. Worked fine.
A more appropriate name might be "House Arrest Bread", because it is very time consuming due to all of the risings. IIt was a big hit with the family, something I will definitely make again. On another gloomy day where I don't plan to leave the house.

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch round loaf

* 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter or nondairy margarine, plus more for bowl, pan, and plastic
* 3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour, plus more for surface
* 3/4 cup warm water (100 degrees)
* 2/3 cup honey
* 2 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
* 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from one 1/4-ounce envelope)
* 2 teaspoons coarse salt
* 1 1/2 tart green apples, preferably Granny Smith, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1 3/4 cups)

Directions

1. Butter a large bowl, and melt 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat; let cool. Combine 2 tablespoons melted butter, the flour, water, 1/3 cup honey, the eggs and yolks, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Mix until dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes.
2. Transfer dough to buttered bowl, and brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Cover with plastic. Let rise in a warm place until dough almost doubles in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Pat into an 8 1/2-by-14-inch rectangle. Top with apples; knead to incorporate. Return to bowl. Brush with remaining tablespoon melted butter; cover. Let rise again in a warm place until dough almost doubles in volume, about 1 hour more.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Roll dough into a rope (about 24 inches) on a floured surface. Coil into a circle, and transfer to pan. Butter plastic wrap, and cover dough. Let rise again until dough almost doubles in volume, about 45 minutes more.
5. Heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup honey in a saucepan over medium-low heat until butter melts. Brush dough with half the honey-butter. Bake until golden brown and firm, about 35 minutes.
6. Brush challah with the remaining honey-butter. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Turn out loaf from pan, and let cool.

From Martha Stewart Living, September 2009

Blueberry Chai Quick Bread

2 green tea bags
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg (lightly beaten)
2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 350, Spray a 5”x9” loaf pan with baking spray. Steep the tea bags in the boiling water for at least 10 minutes, until the tea is very strong. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a large bowl. In a small bowl. combine the sugar, applesauce, sour cream, and egg. Add brewed tea.
Gradually add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring just enough to combine. Fold in the berries with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake approx 30 minutes of until pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Lemon Bars

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's "Baking" book. Many great recipes in that book, although sometimes things can be a little overly complicated. I melt chocolate in the microwave with no problem, where Martha would call for a double boiler. I highly recommend the book though, haven't found a dud recipe in it yet. This is the best lemon bar recipe I've ever had, although the crust is a little involved. You can mix it by hand with a pastry blender, but it would take forever. A food processor is really a must. You can use the lime called for in the recipe, or substitute with more lemon juice/zest.
I won a blue ribbon for these at the county fair (they don't care about the recipe, just the final result). These are real artery cloggers, so I don't make them very often!

• FOR THE CRUST
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• FOR THE FILLING
• 8 large eggs
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, wheat germ, confectioners' sugar, and salt. Add butter, and cut in using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers, until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas.
2. Press evenly into a 12 1/2-by-17 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.
3. To make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together, eggs, sugar, and flour. Add lemon and lime juice, lemon and lime zest, and salt. Whisk to combine. Pour over cooled crust.
4. Bake until center is set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Will keep, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 2 days.

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

I've had carrot cake cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory, and wanted to try to make it myself. I found a copycat recipe online at CD Kitchen, so I didn't have to come up with my own from scratch. This is a bit of a lengthy recipe to prepare, and I made afew minor changes such as adding more spices. I used reduced fat cream cheese, even though the original recipe said not to, and it turned out fine. I frosted the cooled cake, and let it chill in the refrigerator overnight prior to cutting and serving. Below is the recipe with my changes.

**Cheesecake:***
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon flour
3 eggs

***Carrot Cake:***
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
8 1/2 ounces can crushed pineapple, packed in juice, drained well, reserve juice
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

***Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting:***
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon reserved pineapple juice

In large bowl of electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in flour, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside. Meanwhile prepare Carrot Cake.

Carrot Cake:

In large bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract; mix well. Stir in dry ingredients; mixing well. Stir in drained pineapple, carrots, coconut and walnuts.

Spread 1/2 carrot cake batter over bottom of greased 9- or 9 1/2" springform pan. Pour cream cheese batter over carrot cake batter . Top with large spoonfuls of remaining carrot cake batter. Do not marble with a knife. Bake in preheated 350ºF oven for approx 60 minutes or until cake is set and cooked through. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. When cake is cold, prepare Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting.

Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a bowl of electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and reserved pineapple juice. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. Frost top of cheesecake. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Sweet Potato Apple Muffins

Apples and sweet potatoes are a great flavor combination. These muffins use no oil, so they are low in fat. I prefer to use skim milk and unsweetened applesauce, so as not to add any unneeded fat or sugar. Granny Smith or Fuji apples both work great, depending on whether you want more tartness, or sweeter muffins.

1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
1/4 cup milk
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup applesauce
1 egg
1 cup peeled apple, chopped in small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda,baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sweet potato, milk, brown sugar, applesauce and egg. Blend until combined. Add in flour mixture and blend just until combined. Do not overbeat. Fold in apples with a spoon.
Spoon into muffin liners, bake 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato Dessert Ravioli with Pineapple Sauce

Sweet potatoes are a food item I'm always looking to incorporate into different dishes, because they are so nutritious and versatile. For this dish, I just bake the sweet potatoes in the microwave until they are soft, let them cool, and the skins easily peel off.

Sweet Potato Dessert Ravioli with Pineapple Sauce

2 refrigerated roll out pie crusts
2 cups cooked sweet potato (peeled and mashed)
4 oz cream cheese (half a brick)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg

4 tbsp milk
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Pineapple Sauce:
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 8 oz can of juice packed crushed pineapple
1 1/2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350. Unroll the pie crusts. Using a 2 1/2 round biscuit cutter, cut as many circles as possible out of each pie crust. About 14 per crust. Place half of the circles on a large, nonstick baking sheet. Set other half aside.
In a large bowl, thoroughly combine sweet potatoes, cream cheese, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, ginger and nutmeg. Place approx 1 tbsp of sweet potato filling on each pastry circle. There will be some filling left over, but if you re-roll the pastry scraps you can make enough additional circles to use it up.
Place the remaining pastry circles on top of the filling. Using your fingers or a fork, seal the edges of the circles. Poke the top of each “ravioli” with a fork. Lightly brush each ravioli with milk, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake approx 25 minutes until golden.
Prepare pineapple sauce - In a medium saucepan, combine salt, cornstarch, sugar and pineapple (including juice). Stir over medium heat until mixture starts to boil. Reduce heat slightly and stir for 5 minutes, or until the filling has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter until combined. Serve hot or cold with Sweet Potato Dessert Raviolis.

Cannoli Cookies

Inspired by cannoli filling, these chocolate chip cookies contain ricotta cheese as a twist, for something a little different.

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp orange zest
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking powder & salt in bowl, set aside. In the bowl of a mixer, combine sugar and butter. Beat at medium until fluffy. Add ricotta, vanilla and eggs (one at a time). Beat until combined.
Reduce speed to low. Add orange zest. Add flour mixture a little at a time and mix until dough forms. With spoon, mix chips into dough.
Drop by level tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake approx 15 minutes until edges are golden. Makes approx. 3 dozen.

Kahlua and Cream Brownies

This recipe was my first national recipe contest win, for Better Homes & Gardens magazine. It is soooo easy to make. People always seem to think it involves a lot more effort than it really does. I do variations on it all the time when I need to take treats to school or another function. This recipe has afew add ins, but you can make "brookies" using any refrigerated cookie dough, and any brownie mix you like. Just make prepare the brownies as directed on the package, pour over the cookie dough "crust" and bake. They usually take a little bit longer to bake than what is listed on the brownie instructions.

Kahlua & Cream Brownies
1 16.5-18 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 19.5 oz package milk chocolate brownie mix
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/3 cup kahlua
1 cup semi sweet or white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with baking spray. Crumble the sugar cookie dough and press it into the pan to form a crust.
In a large bowl, combine the brownie mix, eggs, oil and Kahlua. Spread the batter over the cookie crumb crust, sprinkle with chips.
Bake approx. 40 minutes or until edges are set. Cool and cut into bars. Makes approx. 24 brownies.

7-up Cupcakes

I had to make cupcakes for school Valentine parties today. I wanted to make them at LEAST a little bit less unhealthy for the kids, and I didn't feel like baking them from scratch today since I had quite afew other things to do for the parties (plus the kids just inhale them anyway).
To make simple, not-quite-as-bad-for-you cupcakes - Just take a box of white cake mix, a can of diet 7-Up or Sprite, and one egg white. Mix together, pour batter into liners, bake about 20 minutes. They do seem to to take afew more minutes to bake than if using the regular box instructions. The egg white is optional, but I find that they hold together better. I also try to go easy on the frosting. Other flavors of cake mix and soda will work too.