Chocolate Chip Bars

August 9, 2012

This is another lost recipe but now it is found! Thanks to my friend Jess for this recipe, we love it and now even my girls make it.

Chocolate chip bars

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 ½ c brown sugar
¾ c cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ c flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c chocolate chips

Directions
Mix brown sugar and oil together, add eggs and vanilla, stir well. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into egg mixture, add chocolate chips.

Pour into greased 9×13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. These are really yummy but they don’t photograph very well.

By ange Leave a Comment Filed Under: dessert

If you happen to follow The Blooming Hydrangea on facebook you know that I was trying to be all healthy so I went out and purchased some plain Greek Yogurt. I proceeded to put some honey on it and tried a big ol’ spoonful. Ummm….it was pretty gross, like eating a big ol’ spoonful of sour cream. Yuck, even now I am starting to gag a little while typing this thinking back to the white spoonful of ~~yuck~~ yogurt. So there in my fridge sat the big container of greek yuckgurt, my $3 failed attempt at healthy eating. Many of you told me to try the greek yuckgurt with the chunks of fruit in it but I’m here to tell you, I would be making my own chunky yuckgurt if I had to eat that. I do not like chunks in my yuckgurt. it is wrong I tell you, wrong.

While browsing Pinterest the other week, I came across this pin:

This seemed like a perfect way to eat some chocolate while using up my $3 failed greek attempt, kind of like the economy in Greece right now in fact. What did I have to lose at this point? Well besides a love for chocolate cake?

Here’s all you need to make this concoction, although I strongly recommend a handsome helper around the age of 2 or 3 years old.

Combine the cake mix and 1 cup of Greek Yogurt

Mix together, this was very hard to mix after a few minutes, it reminded me of making play-doh.

Add in 1 cup of water.

Whisk together the water and cake, yogurt mixture, pour into a 9×13 pan that has been greased.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. At least that’s how long I baked mine. Check the back of your box mix for timing.

It doesn’t look very appealing in the pan like this but it tastes great! Kind of a mix between a cake and a brownie.

As with most anything in life, I find frosting makes it better!

Verdict: Hubby loved this, he said if I hadn’t told him that it had Greek Yogurt in it, he would never have known. I liked it, it was easy to make and tasted really great. I would make this again, although that means I need to buy more Greek Yuckgurt. At least this way it’s not a fail in my fridge!

Thank you Hungry Girl and maybe Dr. Oz? for helping me use up my Greek failure and make something YUCKY into YUMMY! Check out this newsletter from Hungry Girl for more ways to make a cake without using oil and eggs.

Have you made anything with Greek Yogurt? I’m wondering how it tastes as a substitute for sour cream in dips so if you have tried the substitution, let me know how you liked it.

By ange 20 Comments Filed Under: dessert

Guest Blogger: At The Picket Fence

July 1, 2011

Hello readers and friends! I am officially losing it, as I posted this blog post and didn’t even properly introduce the guest bloggers for today. I am getting us all settled in at the new place, can’t believe it’s only been one week since we moved. It feels like we’ve been here for longer than that! Everyone is adjusting well, the kids have been playing hard everyday, daddy/hubby started working from his office basement and I’ve been unpacking and organizing the house. But enough about us, because for the final guest blogger post I have two very special blogger friends, Heather & Vanessa, the girls from At The Picket Fence! I just love both of these ladies and I know you will as well. They just were part of a super awesome blogger block party which if you haven’t checked it out yet, please head over there now! You can also link up with them every Friday for Inspiration Fridays. Now, on to the last and certainly not least, guest blogger post!

We were so honored when Ange invited us gals at The Picket Fence to guest post at The Blooming Hydrangea while she is in the process of moving. We adore Ange and she has been such a fabulous friend to us gals at the fence. When she asked if we would share a recipe with y’all we knew just the perfect one! Thank you Ange for letting us share it with your friends here at The Blooming Hydrangea!

4th of July Week! My favorite summer holiday! I love celebrating the 4th for so many different reasons.

First, and foremost, because I love my country, no matter how I feel about politics, the economy, gas prices or the war in Afghanistan…I am still thankful everyday to wake up an American. Where I can practice my faith in freedom, homeschool my children without persecution and have my voice heard in the election of my government leaders. I am so grateful for our forefathers who this holiday honors, for believing in the rights of a republic to govern itself. If you have never read “Rise to Rebellion” or“Glorious Cause” by Jeff Shaara I highly suggest them. They opened my eyes to the true sacrifice the colonists made fighting for the freedom of our country.

Second, I love the 4th because I love a party! It’s such a great holiday for family and friends to come visit. The fireflies are in full force, the flowers are in full bloom, and the heat is at perfect Popsicle melting temperatures. Fireworks are available (a little secret I still love writing my name in the air with a sparkler, anyone else ever do that?) and our neighbors have their annual Friday after the 4th firework show. And I mean “SHOW” people, you’ve never seen a neighborhood firework display like this…it’s just hard to even explain.

Third, and certainly not least, I love the 4th because I get to break out some great patriotic recipes. When else can you create a whole menu dedicated to the colors red, white and blue, and it not be a little weird. I always love to have one dessert that shouts 4th of July, and this one did not disappoint.! I was so excited when I came across this fun and very easy recipe. It just seemed perfect for a summer day…no baking! And it has Americana written all over it with the blueberry and raspberry combination. The lime glaze gives it a little zing and even better it has only 4 grams of fat per slice!

Layered Lime Glazed and Berry Cake-adapted from Woman’s Day

Serves 10

Ingredients:

1 box (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 store-bought 8-in. angel food cake

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp raspberry preserves

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 Tbsp lime juice + additional juice/water to thin to right consistency

Garnish: Extra raspberries and blueberries

Preparation:

Rinse, drain and combine berries in colander. In a medium bowl, whisk pudding mix, sour cream and milk 2 minutes until blended and thickened.

Invert cake onto serving plate; cut horizontally into 3 equal layers. Spread bottom layer with 1/4 cup raspberry preserves; top with half the raspberries.

Spread 3/4 cup pudding on top. Place second cake layer over pudding; spread with remaining preserves, raspberries and 1/2 cup pudding. Top with remaining cake layer.

Stir confectioners’ sugar and lime juice in a small bowl until blended and smooth. Spoon on top of cake, letting some drip down sides. Garnish with additional raspberries.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice with a large serrated knife.

Hope you’ll give this fun and festive recipe a try! Let us know if you do. Thank you again to Ange for inviting us to be her guest today! ~Heather from At The Picket Fence

Thank you Heather & Vanessa, can’t wait to try out your super fabulous recipe this weekend! I hope everyone has enjoyed the past two weeks of guest bloggers, I’d love to hear what you thought about it and if it’s something we should do more of around here. Also, I will be announcing the Pier 1 gift card winner tomorrow so check back for that!

By ange 4 Comments Filed Under: dessert, guest post

Kit Kat Bars

March 22, 2011

This recipe is from my mom. They are a big hit whenever I make them, I wouldn’t say they taste like a Kit Kat Bar but whatever they taste like, it’s delicious!

Ingredients:

2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 c. butter (softened)
1/3 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 c. chocolate chips
2/3 c. peanut butter
Box of club crackers

For some reason I added the butterscotch chips to this picture, you don’t need them for this recipe. Sometimes it gets a little crazy around here and things like this happen. So just to clarify, you don’t need butterscotch chips.

Directions:
Place crackers in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Have enough crackers available for 2 more layers. I usually open two packages so they are ready to go because you need to get them on quickly.

In a medium saucepan combine butter, graham cracker crumbs, white and brown sugar and milk. Stir constantly for 5 minutes at a boil.

Spread 1/2 of this mixture over the club crackers, add another layer of crackers and spread the remaining mixture over the crackers and then top with a layer of club crackers.

In a small saucepan or in the microwave, melt together the chocolate chips and peanut butter.

Spread over the top of the crackers, then refrigerate to set. Keep refrigerated.

Serve and ENJOY! These bars are hard to photograph, mainly because as soon as I tried cutting into the pan I had children surrounding me like a pack of wolves. I had to quickly photograph the bars before they disappeared!

I’m linking up here:

By ange 9 Comments Filed Under: dessert, recipes

The Best Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

February 25, 2011

Here is my favorite, easy as pie or in this case cake, banana cake recipe! Also, this cake is not a light cake, it has cream cheese, butter and sour cream in it! Although it does have fruit in it. That counts, right?

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
2 to 3 medium ripe or overly ripe bananas
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 c to 1 c sour cream

Make the cake according to the box directions. Smash, mush and pretty much annihilate the bananas, then add them to the cake mix. Add 1 tsp. baking soda and sour cream, mix into batter. Pour into a greased 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until cake is done in the middle.
I usually end up putting my cake in the freezer for a while to cool down and it helps when you put the frosting on so you don’t get crumbs in the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz Package of Cream Cheese softened
1/2 c Butter softened
2 c Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix all ingredients in a bowl on medium speed. You can add more or less powdered sugar depending on how sweet you want the frosting to taste.
Frost your cake and then refrigerate for a while before serving.

Keep cake refrigerated. Enjoy!

I’m linking up here:

By ange 4 Comments Filed Under: dessert, recipes

Lemon Bars

January 26, 2011

Last night I really was craving lemon bars or/and pineapple upside down cake. I gave in and made the lemon bars and they are oh so yummy! My friend gave me this recipe and I love it, thanks Jess!

Lemon Bars

Crust:
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix with mixer until crumbly. pat into a greased 9×13 pan and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Filling:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp lemon juice

Beat together and pour over baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min.
Sprinkle with powder sugar when it’s cooled.

I’m linking this recipe up at:

By ange 5 Comments Filed Under: dessert, recipes

Oreo Truffles

December 24, 2010

My friend shared this yummy recipe with me. It’s another quick and easy one, so if you don’t have a lot of time, this might be a good one for you. Sorry for the instructions but this is what I did and it worked for me.

1 package Oreo cookies
1 8oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1 12 oz bag of white chocolate chips

I placed the Oreo cookies in a large freezer bag and then went to town with my rolling pin, crushing and rolling those Oreos into a fine crumbly mess. I then dumped the crushed up cookies into a mixing bowl, added the softened cream cheese and mixed it all together until it looked like a big bowl of mud. Yummy, right? I then rolled the mixture into about one inch balls. I placed them on a cookie sheet and refrigerated the balls for about an hour or so, pretty much until they weren’t sticky to touch. It was suggested that I place a toothpick in each one before they hardened to make it easier to dip them in the white chocolate but I just didn’t have a lot of luck with that method. Here’s how mine looked before they went dipping! Not my prettiest or most perfectly rolled balls but they get covered in chocolate, so who’s gonna see them? If you will be eating these at my house this weekend, just ignore this picture. Ahem….so anyways, back to the recipe.

Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave until it’s nice and smooth and perfect for dipping in. Cover your tray with wax paper, less mess to clean up off the tray. I dropped the yummy balls of Oreo goodness into the bowl of white chocolate, swirled it around until it was covered and then just dug it right out with a spoon and placed it on the wax paper to harden. I then set the tray of Oreo truffles in the refrigerator for an hour to make sure they set. Transfer the Oreo truffles into a covered container and keep refrigerated.

Here they are, in all their glory, ready to be eaten!

You could also use semi-sweet chocolate chips or maybe mix half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate chips for dipping instead of the white. Another idea is to save some of the Oreo you crushed and sprinkle the crumbs on top right after you dip it. I’m sure you could also use candy cane crushed up. You could also drizzle some of the extra dipping mixture on top and make a pretty design. However you decide to dip them and decorate them, I’m sure they will be gone in no time, these are really yummy!!!!

By ange 3 Comments Filed Under: dessert, recipes

Peanut Butter Blossoms otherwise known as "kiss" cookies

December 24, 2010

I’ve already made one batch of these cookies but they were scarfed down before I could even get a picture of them. For some reason this batch didn’t turn out as pretty as the last batch but the pictures will just have to do for now. Maybe next Christmas I will take a nice photo of them and update this recipe. Ok, who am I kidding, I probably won’t remember.

Here is the recipe:

1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
48 Hershey kisses unwrapped

Combine all the ingredients and mix on low speed with your mixer. Shape into small balls, roll the balls in sugar and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

When cookies are done baking, top with a Hershey kiss and press down gently.
Let cool and then they are ready to ~~devour~~ eat.
Enjoy!

By ange 1 Comment Filed Under: dessert, recipes

New Recipe: Yummy Bars

December 21, 2010

If you’re looking for something fast, easy and yummy then this recipe is for you! My mom made these bars and I remember them being a special treat just at Christmas time. They are so easy to put together, definitely a recipe the kids can help with and usually most ingredients you already have on hand. Just make sure you give yourself enough time to let them chill in the fridge!

Ingredients:
16oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
12oz butterscotch chips
1 c. smooth peanut butter
3 c. miniature marshmallows (you can use the colored ones to change it up a bit too.)
1 c. peanuts

Melt together in the microwave the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter. (I melted this together on the stove top and it didn’t turn out well so use the microwave, trust me on this!) Mix in the marshmallows and peanuts. Pour into a buttered 9×13 pan and let set in the fridge.
See, wasn’t that easy!!!

This is what it will look like about part way through melting it.

After adding in the marshmallows and peanuts this is what it will look like in the pan.

And this is what it should NOT look like! This is the one I did on the stove, still tastes good but doesn’t look quite as appealing!


I cut this corner piece out for blogging purposes and promptly put it back in the pan! Ok, I ate it.

By ange 2 Comments Filed Under: dessert, recipes

Spritz Cookie Recipe

December 11, 2010

This is a recipe that my grandma used and I made these cookies with my mom when I was a little girl. Now I make them with my girls. Every year I forget with the first batch to put sprinkles on the cookies BEFORE they get baked. I haven’t made these yet this year but will be making them later today. Here is the recipe and before I forget, you need a cookie gun for this recipe! You can use whatever shapes you like but I always use the tree, a wreath and some other weird design. You can buy a cookie gun at Target and other retailers and they are usually under $20. Here is one that target has, Wilton Cookie Pro Ultra II. Now, onto the recipe!

1 c. Oleo (does anyone use that anymore?) I just use butter instead.
1 1/4 c. Powdered Sugar
Cream these together and then blend in 1 Egg and 1 tsp. Vanilla.
Gradually add 2 1/2 c. Flour and 1/2 tsp. Salt. Mix well and then put in your cookie press. Press onto ungreased cookie sheets, add sprinkles and bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes. This is what they look like prior to baking, the spinkles make a nice mess on the sheet.