Muffin Tin Pizza

I was surfing the web thinking of a snack for the kids then I saw this super easy mini pizza.  I had all the ingredients on hand and it took me only about 15 minutes to make this tasty snack.

Ingredients

Pillsbury cresent roll
Mini pepperoni
Chicken sausage (optional), cooked
Pizza sauce
Mozarella cheese, shredded

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12 cup muffin tin.
• Put the pepperoni, sauce, mozarella cheese and mix to blend.
• Take the cresent rolls apart and lay inside each  muffin tin taking care to close the bottom so the filling does not come out.  
• Top each filling with more cheese if desired.
• Bake until golden brown.  Remove and serve. 

*  There is no measurement here,  use your best judgement

Cream Cheese Tortilla Roll Ups

I made these easy appetizer for my church event and its was refreshing and delicious.  What I like about this is you do can it couple of hours ahead of time and refrigerate it.

Ingredients

Flour Tortilla

1 block cream cheese (room temperature)
Shaved turkey or any meat
Carrots, cucumber, bell pepper ( or any vegetables) cut into thin matchsticks
Chopped cilantro and green onions
1 tsp honey ( or chutney)
salt n pepper

With a spoon soften the cream cheese and add the honey, salt and pepper. Mix throughly.
Spread on a tortilla evenly till the edges. Layer the vegetables and meat on one side of the tortilla.
Roll tighty. Wrap with saran wrap and refrigerate.  Just before serving cut into 2 inch circles.

These rolls can make with any meat or just vegetarian.

Cinnamon Roll without Yeast

These truly are a jiffy cinnamon rolls.  I wanted something really fast before my kids got home from school but using yeasted bread dough can take some time so I adapted these quick mix dough and these were amazing.  My girl almost finished everything.  If the cinnamon buns get a little hard the next day, just microwave it for couple of seconds and you will have a soft and fluffy cinnamon bun.

 Ingredients


 1/3 cup butter
 1 cup packed brown sugar
 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

 2 cups all-purpose flour
 2 tablespoons white sugar
 4 teaspoons baking powder
 1 teaspoon salt
 1/4 cup butter, chilled
 1 cup cold milk
 1/3 cup currants

 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
 3 tablespoons milk

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease the bottoms and sides of a 12-cup muffin tin.
Cream 1/3 cup butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Drop 1 teaspoon into each muffin cup. Reserve the remaining mixture.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in 1/4 cup cold butter until crumbly. Make a well in center, and pour in the milk. Stir to form a soft dough, adding a bit more milk if needed.
Turn the dough out on lightly floured surface. Knead 8 to 10 times. Pat dough into rectangle about 1/3 inch thick and 12 inches long. Spread the remaining cinnamon mixture over dough rectangle. Sprinkle currants over top. Roll up like a jelly roll into a long log. Mark the dough first, to make sure you know where to cut, then cut the log into 12 slices. Place cut-side down in the prepared muffin pan.
Bake in in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn rolls out on a serving tray.
For the glaze, add milk to the confectioners' sugar and stir well, adding more liquid if necessary to make a thin glaze. Drizzle over cinnamon rolls.

Brie and Chutney Phyllo

I guess the name explains it all.  This is a super easy and no brainer appetizer if you are in a rush to entertain. I found this wonderful tangy and sweet chutney in TJ Max and also I had some frozen prebaked phyllo cups.  I needed some kind of snack idea before the kids got home from school and this worked out fine.

Ingredients

Phyllo cups
You favorite chutney mix or any sort of preserves
Brie or any soft cheese

Lay all the phyllo cups on a sheet pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Top the cup with brie.  Put in the oven and bake for couple of minutes or until brie has melted slightly.  Take it out and top with 1/2 tsp of the fruit chutney and a mint leaf (optional)

Enjoy..

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is a heathy version of the regular Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and surprising enough it stayed soft even after 2 days.  My children actually enjoyed eating homemade cookie.

Source: Eating Well - Bev's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar ( increase the sugar if you want it to be sweeter)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Method

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
• Grind oats in a blender or food processor but not too much. 
• Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. With the mixer running, add the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls, at least 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. 
• Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until firm around the edges and golden on top, about 15 minutes. 
• Cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Whoopie Pie

I have never had a woopie pie before today. I would say a Woopie pie is sort of a cross between cake and cookie. It is pillow soft and has filling in it.  There are many different recipes for this but I am making a lighter version. I absolutely enjoyed this treat.

Source: Eating Well

Ingredients


1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup nonfat milk

Filling

1/2 cup cold water
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray.
• To prepare cookies: Beat oil, brown sugar, egg and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with milk; beat until smooth. Let the batter stand for 15 minutes.
• Drop batter by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, spreading the batter into a 2- to 3-inch circle with the back of a spoon if it doesn’t spread itself. (Each large baking sheet accommodates 8 cookies"they will be close together.) Bake the cookies until firm to the touch, about 8 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Wash, dry and coat the baking sheets with cooking spray again. Repeat with the remaining batter.
• To prepare filling: While the cookies cool, stir water and gelatin in a small heatproof cup or bowl. Let stand 1 minute. Microwave, uncovered, on High until the gelatin has completely dissolved but the liquid is not boiling, 20 to 30 seconds. (Alternatively, bring 1/2 inch water to a gentle simmer in a small skillet. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture in the simmering water until the gelatin has dissolved completely.) Stir the mixture until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes.
• Beat cream, yogurt, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until very thick, about 1 minute. With the mixer beating constantly, add the gelatin mixture in a steady steam until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until the cream filling is thickened to the consistency of pudding, about 30 minutes. Whisk again until smooth.

To assemble whoopie pies

Turn half the cookies bottom side up and top with a generous 2 tablespoons of the cream. Top with the remaining cookies. Chill in the refrigerator until the filling is set, about 30 minutes.

My filling is little but you can top as much filling as you want

Browned Butter Brownie with Walnut

As you know, I am a chocoholic and when I saw this post, I thought to myself,  I needed to try this. It has a little hard crisp top and soft inside with a little crunch from the walnuts.  This brownie is a must try.  Make sure to use a good butter for the best flavor.

Source: Sweet Pea Kitchen

Ingredients

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, chilled

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup walnut pieces

Method:

Preheat oven to 325F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 8 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture one at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts.

Spread into prepared baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (with a few moist crumbs attached). Cool on a wire rack.

Coconut Butterscotch Brownie

Actually today is a sad day, my neighbor had passed away. I could hear his daughter crying from behind my door. I could not believe myself that  after knowing my neighbor had passed, I was really shaken up and kept thinking of the times when we would just say hello whenever he would pick his mail up. I know that I just had to get my mind off from thinking about him and I may seem crazy but I just went to the kitchen and baked me some brownie and sat on the couch and ate almost half of it. As you can see, the pictures look horrible but I had to put it up.  On the other hand, this brownie is a winner; or so I say because I love love coconut...

Ingredients

2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated white sugar
1/3 cup (75 grams) soft natural buttery spread*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup (45 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (35 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup (60 ml) light sour cream
1/4 cup of butterscotch chips, optional
4 tbsp sweetened coconut, toasted

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Spray an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan with a nonstick vegetable cooking spray.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and buttery spread until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract and egg.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Fold this flour mixture into the sugar and buttery spread mixture. Stir in the sour cream.
Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the coconut and butterscotch chips. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the center of the brownies is still slightly soft. (Do not over bake or the brownies will be too dry.)
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. These brownies can be frozen for a month or two ( In my case, the brownie never stays for more than a day)

Coconut Crepe ( Kuih Dadar)

Tea time....I am so hungry and needed something to munch when I came across this wonderful tea time snack which is super easy.  Its made just like any crepe except that you add some pandan paste to get the beautiful green coloring and smell.  Inside is coconut filling with brown sugar.

Source: Asian Cakes and Desserts

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2/3 cup thin coconut milk ( I used soy milk)
3/4 cup water
1 tsp pandan paste
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

• Sift flour and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl.  In a another bowl, whisk the egg, milk, water and pandan paste together.  Slowly add the liquid to the dried ingredients.  Whisk well so there are no lumps.
• If you feel the batter is too thick, feel free to add more liquid.
• Heat a small nonstick pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.  Stir batter and pour about 3 tablespoon of batter and rotate the pan immediately so that it covers the pan in a thin circle.  Allow batter to set and just begin to brown. Flip the crepe over and allow the other side to cook, just for few seconds.
• Turn the pancake over to a plate and place a spoonful of filling in the centre of the crepe and fold both sides towards the middle and roll the crepe away from you, just like a swiss roll.

Coconut Filling

2/3 cup palm sugar or brown sugar
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water
1 pandan leaf, knotted
1 cup grated coconut


Method

• Place palm sugar and water in a pan and cook until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 10 min until liquid starts to thicken and become syrupy.
• Add the pandan leaf and grated coconut and continue cooking over low heat for 10 to 15 min until the coconut filling is thick and glossy. Most of the liquid should have evaporated. Cool and use as desired. Keep well if stored in a covered container in the fridge

Brownie Tart

The unique and striking part of this tart is the addition of polka dots filled with chocolate ganache. This recipe definitely takes the brownie out of the realm of casual food and makes it an elegant dessert.
This brownie tart  itself has deep flavor and fudgy texture. Its flavor is also highlighted by addition of cream cheese.

Source:  Joy Of Baking

Ingredients

3 oz semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup walnut, toasted and chopped into pieces
14 tbsp (200gm) unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 oz regular cream cheese, cut into pieces ( do not use fat free)
1/2 cup of purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Ganache

2 oz choc chip
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Method

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease or spray with nonstick vegetable spray a 9 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

In a heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water,  melt the butter and chopped chocolate. When the chocolate has melted transfer the mixture to a larger bowl.

Beat in (I use a hand mixer) the cocoa, then the sugar, into the chocolate mixture, until incorporated. (If you are doing this by hand, use a whisk.) Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla and then beat in the cream cheese, until small pieces remain. Add the flour and salt and mix by hand just until the flour is incorporated. Stir in the nuts.

Place the tart pan onto a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Pour the batter into the tart pan and spread it evenly with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. The batter will fill the pan almost to the top.

Bake for about 30 to35 minutesor until the batter has set. If you insert a toothpick about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the edge of the pan it should come out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Then, with the end of a wooden spoon (1/2 inch diameter) (1.25 cm) that is well greased (I spray it with Pam), make holes (spacing them evenly about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart) into the top of the brownie tart. As you insert the end of the wooden spoon into the tart twist the spoon to prevent the tart from tearing. You should have about 25-30 small holes. Then, with a small spoon fill the holes with the ganache. The ganache will sink as it cools so add more ganache, as needed. Let the tart cool completely and then cover and refrigerate. It is best to make this tart the day before serving to allow the flavors to blend. This tart will keep in the refrigerator for about two to three weeks.

Make little holes on top and fill with ganache.

While the tart is baking make the Ganache

Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.  Set aside.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring just to a boil.  Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Stir until smooth.

Upside Down Peach Biscuit

A wonderful easy to prepare dessert that my daughter prepared by using canned refrigerated biscuit.  I used peach since we had a can lying around but this would be super delicious with pineapple rings and topped with whip cream or with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

1 can refrigerator biscuits

3 tbsp margarine

1 can canned peaches, drained but reserve 1 tbsp

1/2 cup brown sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 in round pan.

Melt the margarine and pour evenly over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the melted margarine evenly.

Arrange the peaches over the brown sugar.  Layer the biscuits on top of the peaches.

Bake for approximately  15 minutes or until the biscuits are lightly golden brown.

Let cool for 3 min.  Place platter over the top of the pan, invert so that the biscuits are served as a pineapple coffeecake.

Variations :  If using pineapple....1/2 cup of drained crushed pineapple  mix in with the brown sugar and then spread over the margarine.

Butterfinger Blondie

The color of my blondie is not too dark because I used less of the brown sugar...

Who doesn’t love a Butterfinger? I think they may have been one of my favorite things to get during Halloween. The only bad part was having to get all of the crunchy peanut butter candy out of your teeth! I know its too soon for halloween but I saw this recipe and was wondering how it was gonna taste and it so happened that I had to bring in a treat for my son's tennis team and this was perfect. 

Source: All recipes

Ingredients

2¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup butter, softened
2¼ cups brown sugar
3 large eggs
1½ tsp vanilla extract
4 regular-sized butterfinger candy bars, crushed

Method

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13×9-inch baking pan.
• In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, with electric mixer at medium speed, combine butter and brown sugar.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth.
• Stir in flour mixture and 1 cup of crushed butterfingers.
• Spread in prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining crushed butterfinger bars over top of batter.
• Bake 30- 35 minutes, or until the bars are a bit firm to the touch. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

1-2-3 Snap Brownie

This is a super fast snack.  Tastes almost like a blondie but a milder version.  I thought it tasted really good with the condensed milk.  

Ingredients

Cooking Spray 

4 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 (14 oz.) cans Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk

3 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

Method

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter and vanilla in large bowl. Mix until blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars.

Frozen Chocolate Banana

A wonderful afternoon or anytime snack for kids.  Simple yet tasty. The frozen banana tastes almost like vanilla ice cream with a crunch on the outside from the chocolate.

Ingredients

2 large banana, cut into bite size
1/4 cup chocolate chip, melted
1/4 cup peanut butter, melted (optional )
Unsweetened coconut flakes

Method

Set out a large plate with wax paper and set aside.
Cut the banana's into bite size pieces and freeze it for about 30 minutes.  Melt the chocolate and peanut butter and stir them till smooth,
Coat the banana with the chocolate mixture and sprinkle some coconut on top.
Place them on wax paper and freeze.  Once frozen, place them in container and freeze to be eaten anytime.

Rice Krispies Treat

I usually buy this snack a lot for the kids and so I finally thought it would be nice to just make it since all the ingredients needed are readily available at home. I was just amazed how few ingredients can turn something so delicious and kid friendly. No more store bought!

Ingredients

6 cups Rice Krispies
1 bag (10.5-oz) miniature marshmallows
¼ cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter ( I used only 4 tbsp)
1 cup milk chocolate chips or couple of tablespoon of Nutella, melted

1. Butter a 9×13-inch pan and set aside. Make sure you grease everything...

2. Measure the cereal into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Melt the marshmallows and butter together in a medium saucepan over medium heat (or in the microwave for about 3 minutes, but keep watch so the marshmallows don’t puff over the sides of the bowl!). Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the cereal and mix well so the cereal is coated. Pour into the prepared pan and use a buttered piece of wax  paper or the back of a plastic spoon to press evenly into pan.

3. In the microwave, melt the chocolate chips. Using a spoon, drizzle or spread the melted chocolate across the top. Place the pan in the refrigerator to set before cutting and serving. Store in an airtight container.

My lil darling sinking his teeth into the yummy treat...