Ooey Gooey Almond Cookies

If you like Ooey Gooey Butter Cakes, you will love these delicious easy 6 ingredient cookies. That’s right 6 ingredients plus the sprinkles. I had a great time in the kitchen with my sous chef Princess Willow. She loved adding sprinkles to the cookie dough.

Sprinkle Station and powdered sugar

Willow likes the Frozen sprinkles with the snowflakes best

A fun cookie to bake with kids.

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix, I prefer Duncan Hines

1 stick room temperature butter

1 8 ounce block of cream cheese, room temperature

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon almond extract or you can use vanilla

Sprinkles for decorations

Powdered sugar to roll cookies in

Mix room temperature butter and cream cheese together until fluffy. Add egg and extract. Add in cake mix and mix until combined. Place in refrigerator 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make your sprinkle station, we used several Christmas sprinkle colors and pour about a cup of powdered sugar in a separate bowl. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop cookies with a scoop and roll into balls. Roll in sprinkles and roll again in powdered sugar. Place on your baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly brown. Cool five minutes on your cookie sheet before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

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Cranberry Brie Bread Bowl

Sorry, we dug in before I took a picture.

This recipe was inspired by Cook It Erica on Tik Tok. There is one minor adjustment I would make the next time I make it but other than that, it was perfect and absolutely delicious. This will be made for a Christmas appetizer this year. Yes, it was all that and then some.

Ingredients:

1 pound of Brie, I bought 2 wedges totaling a pound, room temperature, rinds removed

1 1/2-1 cup of cranberry sauce, jellied or whole berry*

1/4 cup of dried cranberries/Craisins *

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 Tablespoons chopped pecans

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

4-6 Tablespoons melted butter

1/2 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, or more to taste

1 sourdough loaf, uncut

Brie in the bread bowl.

Brie topped with cranberry sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.. Cut a large hole in the center of the sourdough bread, reserve what you cut out and tear or cut into pieces. Set aside and toast while Brie Bowl is baking in the oven. When I make this again, I would toss the tensing bread pieces in melted butter and thyme leaves and bake those with the Brie bowl. Cut down the sides of bread bowl to form petals of bread that you can pluck off and eat. In between the petals, pour or brush inside the bread with melted butter and thyme leaves.

Brie topped with craisins.

Brie topped with streusel.

Ready for the oven.

So yummy, we couldn’t stop eating it before a picture was taken.

Fill inside of bread bowl with room temperature Brie. Spread into the cavity in the bread bowl. Top with cranberry sauce. I did not measure the cranberry sauce but I used about half a can of jellied. I honestly believe the whole berry would be great as well. if you use whole berry cranberry sauce, I would skip the craisins. For the streusel, mix 2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of chopped pecans. Stir to combine and place over the cranberry sauce. Bake for 20-25 minutes until Brie is nice and melty. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Animal Cookies On My Cake

I purchased animal cookie flavoring because I wanted to make an Animal Cookie Cake for Willow. She loves to help in the kitchen. We had a great time making this cake. She put on very sprinkle and carefully placed every animal cookie around the bottom and on the top. I ordered this flavoring from Get Suckered Flavoring.

Princess Willow placed every sprinkle on her cake.

Cake Ingredients:

1 box of Duncan Hines White Cake Mix

1 cup of all purpose flour

1 small box of instant vanilla pudding

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cup of water

1 cup of sour cream

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 dropper full of animal cookie flavoring

4 egg whites

10 Tablespoons sprinkles

Princess Willow also placed the animal cookies on her cake.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two 9” pans with nonstick cooking spray that contains flour.

One proud little girl of her beautiful cake.

Whisk cake mix, flour, pudding, sugar and salt in your mixing bowl. Add water, sour cream, oil, egg whites, vanilla and animal cookie flavoring. Mix for 4 minutes on low speed. Pour into 9” cake pans.

Bake 25-35 minutes until cake tester comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting.

Animal Cookie Frosting:

1 1/4 cup Crisco

3 sticks room temperature butter

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 dropper full of animal cookie flavoring

8-10 cups of powdered sugar

3-4 teaspoons of milk

1 bag of frosted or iced animal cookies

Mix all ingredients together adding sugar one cup at a time. Decorate with sprinkles and animal cookies. Enjoy!

A very yummy ending!

This is the flavoring I used.

Maui Muffins

It’s been hot and I have been feeling like I am in the tropics. These are not your typical breakfast muffins. I created this recipe as a muffin recipe but both my daughter in love Danielle and I thought if they had cream cheese frosting on top, they could also double as a cupcake. Delicious no matter how you eat them, muffin or cupcake. You decide.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour, all purpose or gluten free

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar

Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

2 carrots grated

2 ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 stick butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 small can crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup shredded coconut

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Also add coconut.

Mix together and fill muffin liners 3/4 full. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven. Bake 16-18 minutes or till tester comes out clean. Serve warm and enjoy! Yield about 18 muffins.

This recipe was loved by daughter in love Danielle, Princess Willow and grand pup Hermione who cleaned up the bites Willow dropped off of her plate. 😉 🐶 👑

Copycat Jalapeño Holly Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad and I also love spicy things but most of the time, spicy things do not like me. I have many different kinds of chicken salad on my blog but none are spicy. I have had several requests for a spicy chicken salad and here is a delicious one. This is named after the chicken salad at Chicken Salad Chick. I know and love many hotheads (my term of endearment for those who love and crave hot and spicy food). So I dedicate this recipe to my son Jeff, my sweet friend Devan Pryor and my dear friend and co-worker Kim Stephens. I did try this recipe, and in a very small quantity and I loved it. I think you will too.

Ingredients:

1 large rotisserie chicken (I get mine at Sam’s Club)

1 1/2 teaspoons of Montreal Chicken seasoning

2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon distilled vinegar

3 large jalapeños (4-6”) chopped, seeds and ribs too

3 large celery stalks chopped

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 heaping Tablespoon of sour cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

Shredded chicken, Montreal Chicken seasoning, celery and jalapeños

Shred chicken in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Or tear by hand or use kitchen shears if you do not have a stand mixer. Add Montreal Chicken Seasoning, jalapeños, celery, vinegars, mayonnaise and sour cream. Mix to combine and taste to see if you want to add salt and pepper. This is great on a bed of greens, by the scoop, in a pita, sandwich, bun or slider. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Cannoli French Toast Casserole

My favorite breakfast is French Toast. Always has been. I love a recipe I can make ahead and pull out of the fridge in the morning and bake it. Perfect for special occasions but it’s so easy and delicious, make it anytime. I made this for Easter Brunch but I will be making it again for Mother’s Day.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of Brioche bread, a day or two old is best

4 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup or more of mini chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, sugar, cream, ricotta cheese, vanilla and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

I never measure chocolate or cheese!

Cannoli Filling:

1 8 ounce container of mascarpone cheese

1 1/2 cups of ricotta cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Cannoli filling

Mix to combine. Butter a 9” x 13” pan. Place about 2 tablespoons of cannoli filling on each slice of bread. You will also spread this on another slice of Brioche on top of the cannoli covered slice in the baking dish. Cut into fourths. Continue until pan is filled with cannoli filled sandwiches. Pour cream mixture over top, cover and place in fridge overnight. Remove baking dish from fridge 30 minutes before you place it into a preheated 350 degrees. While your casserole comes to room temperature, sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top. Bake for 33-43 minutes until custard is set and toast is brown. Dust with powder sugar on top and enjoy!

Dust with powder sugar.

Recipe adapted from The Food Dolls.

Cheesy Broccoli Bites

Hot right out of the oven!

My Cheesy Broccoli Bites are so easy to make and delicious to eat. Perfect for meatless meals or appetizers.

Ingredients:

1 8-count can of Grands Buttermilk Biscuits

4 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup steamed broccoli, cooled

1 Tablespoon of chopped chives

6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1-2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Parmesan cheese, the dry kind that has a shaker top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Open biscuits and flatten out with your hand or rolling pin. Set aside on parchment paper lined baking sheet. In a food processor or blender, finely dice broccoli, add cream cheese, chopped chives, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix well. Drop a generous tablespoon of filling into each biscuit. Pinching the sides together, roll into a ball, like a meatball. Brush each biscuit with melted butter and sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Bake 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!

Mom’s Pumpkin Crunch

This is my Mom’s recipe. Not a fan of pumpkin pie, this recipe I love. My sons love it too. It has been around for a long time. Some people call it Pumpkin Dump Cake and some also refer to this recipe as Pumpkin Cobbler. Whatever you call it, it’s amazing!

Pumpkin Crunch

1 can of solid pack pumpkin (not pie filling)

1 can of evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped pecans

1 stick of butter, melted

Whipped cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 pan with Pam.

Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and pumpkin pie spice with your mixer. Pour into your baking dish. Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle pecans over the cake mix. Drizzle the top with melted butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes. *The top seems to get brown very quickly so I tent foil over the top the last 20-30 minutes of baking.

This can be eaten warm, I typically serve it room temperature topped with whipped cream. I do refrigerate leftovers if there is any. Enjoy!

Cocktail Weenies

I recently made appetizers for Thanksgiving and I wasn’t planning to post a recipe but everyone was asking for it so here it is. I remember my Mom making these and keeping them warm in a fondue pot. I used a one quart crockpot. They are small and inexpensive if you get them at Walmart.

Ingredients:

1 package 24 ounce Little Smokies

1 cup barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Original)

3/4 cup grape jelly

In a saucepan, combine jelly and barbecue sauce. I heated the two until the jelly had combined with the barbecue sauce. I added the Little Smokies to the the saucepan and heated the Little Smokies until they were hot. I transferred the warm sauce and Smokies to the crockpot and kept it on warm setting during the day. Have toothpicks nearby for serving. This is an old vintage recipe my Mom made when I was a kid. Simple, easy and tasty. Enjoy!

Key West Key Lime Pie

Best Key West Key Lime Pie

I have vacationed in Key West many times. It’s my favorite city in Florida. Love the food, the history, the art galleries and overall everything about the city. A very fun place to visit. I am really not a pie fan but I do love Key Lime Pie. A lot. Key West makes the best. Now you can make your own and feel like you just visited The Keys.

Here is a picture of a key lime compared to a regular size lime.

The best way to juice a key lime is with a garlic press. It’s like it was made to juice!

As you can see, it works like a charm. Garlic press, my top secret weapon to juice key limes.

Ingredients Pie Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 stick of butter, melted

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt and butter in a bowl. Form crumbs into a deep dish pie pan. Bake for 8 minutes and cool completely before adding filling.

Whip it good!

Strain your key lime juice, I found seeds and it also removes the pulp.

Zest of a regular size lime added to the filling.

Baking away in Margaritaville 😉

She loves my Key West Key Lime Pie

Proudly modeling pie

Key Lime Pie Filling:

2 cans of sweetened condensed milk

8 egg yolks

1 cup of fresh key lime juice, strained,* (2 one pound packages of key limes)**

Zest of one regular lime

Beat sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks until thickened. Add lime juice slowly and lime zest. Add pie filling to completely cooled pie crust. Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Do not let your pie get browned, it will have a jiggle but the pie will solidify after it’s cooled and chilled. Chill pie for minimum 3 hours, or longer. Garnish with fresh whip cream and a lime slice. Enjoy!

Simply the best!

*I have never used bottled key lime juice for anything. I know some of you may have trouble finding key limes. From research, I understand this is a good product but fresh juice is always best. This juice can purchased at grocery stores, Sam’s Club and ordered on Amazon.

**Before juicing limes, microwave them for 1 minute per pound. The heat will making juicing easier and yield more juice.