Tiramisu Bowl

Tonight, Malu and I are going to my friend, Leah's, house for dinner!  The theme is Italian night and since I didn't feel like making a salad or pasta dish, I opted to make some dessert.

Now, I've never attempted to make a real Italian tiramisu before.  I think it's because it's a little intimidating to me.  So...I opted for a faux tiramisu recipe from a Jell-O/CoolWhip/Baker's Chocolate (Kraft Kitchens) cookbook--you know, the kinds you find with the magazines at the register of grocery stores?  And not only is the dessert so pretty...it's so easy to make! 

I have to admit...I made a boo-boo.  I was supposed to drizzle coffee on both layers of Vanilla Wafers, but forgot to do the second layer.  I hope no one notices.  It still looks great though and I can't wait to taste it tonight!

Tiramisu Bowl

(Kraft Kitchens, Simply Stunning Holiday Desserts)

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream   Cheese (softened)

3 cups cold milk

2 pkg. (4 serving size) Jell-O Vanilla flavor instant pudding & pie filling

1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip (thawed & divided)

48 Nilla Wafers

1/2 cup brewed strong coffee (cooled & divided)

2 squares Baker's Semi-sweet Baking Chocolate, coarsely grated

1 cup fresh raspberries

Directions:

1.  Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually beat in milk.  Add dry pudding mixes; mix wellStir in 2 cups of the cool whip.

2.  Line bottom and side of 2 1/2 qt. serving bowl with half of the wafers.  Drizzle with half the coffee.  Top with layers of half each of the pudding mixture and chocolate. (I added half of the raspberries to this layer).  Repeat all layers, starting with wafers.  Top with remaining cool whip and raspberries.

3.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Now, doesn't that look delicious?!?

Great Snacks--Little Turtles

I found this sweet little recipe on a blog that I just found--and already love--the other day.  The blog is called The Luckiest Mrs. and I actually found her blog through her mom's blog, Personalized Sketches & Sentiments.  Both blogs are phenomenal and these ladies are beautiful and truly inspirational and so talented...so you should check them out.

In any case, The Luckiest Mrs. said that her mom used to make these for her when she was younger, and send them to her while she was at college.  When I saw them, they looked so delicious and so easy to make...I just had to have them. 

Try them...you'll find that you can't have just one, two or three.  You can be like me and eat in upwards of thirty!  But hey, I like to tell myself that it's okay...I'm pregnant!

~Little Turtles~

(compliments of The Luckiest Mrs.)

Ingredients:

Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Snaps

A bag of Rolo's

A bag of Pecan Halves

1.  Assemble the pretzel snaps on a cookie sheet.  I lined the sheet with parchment paper.

2.  Unwrap and cut a whole bunch of Rolo's in half.  I LOVE Rolo's!  Doesn't this bring you back to your childhood?  I used to eat them all the time!

3.  Top each pretzel snap with a Rolo half.

4.  Place in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes or until chocolate is softened/melted.  Top each with a pecan half to make the "turtle shell".

5.  Let them sit for about 5-10 minutes to let the chocolate and caramel set.

Now aren't they just darling?  Oh, and they're so good.  My handsome test-taster wholeheartedly agreed.

We packed a bunch of them and gave them to my friend Jennifer, just because!

Thanks to The Luckiest Mrs. for sharing the recipe!  I'm definitely going to be making these for years to come!

Christmas Day Yummies!

Okay, so I think I may have gone a little overboard on chocolate during our family Christmas Day party. Actually, my entire family went overboard on food period, but it was a great time. In this picture, you can see some of the sweet treats I served up that day. In addition to chocolate fondue, complete with pretzels, marshmallows and angel food cake, I served up some delicious brownies and some truffles. I also whipped up a pulled pork recipe that I borrowed from one of my fellow bloggers. These were only a few things featured on that day's menu. We had everything from Beef Bourguignone and traditional Filipino food to various side dishes and casseroles. I'm still feeling the tightness in my jeans from that day! So scroll on down, and I'll you'll find recipes for the desserts/dishes that I made.

Up first are these Ooey Gooey Bars, compliments of my TWD Elfster Secret Santa, Melissa, of Love at First Bite. As I've mentioned before, Melissa and I go way back to our high school days and she got me started with blogging. She has an awesome blog, which I reference quite frequently. With her Christmas card, she enclosed two of her favorite family dessert recipes. One of which, were these Ooey Gooey Bars, which were very rich and completely delightful!

The only problem is that I'm a dud and the card with the recipe on it was packed this morning with the rest of my cookbooks and kitchen items. So I'll have to post the complete recipe later on in a few weeks. I will be in sunny El Paso, Texas by then. So sorry Melissa, this post doesn't really do you or the Ooey Gooey Bars any justice, but I want you to much how much I appreciate you sharing your family recipes with me!

So you know how those 8 oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese boxes have neat recipes inside them? Well, I found this particular recipe in one of those boxes and turned out some lovely looking chocolate truffles--my first batch ever. They make a lovely presentation, but were very rich. I still have some leftover, probably because they were overshadowed by Melissa's brownies and the chocolate fondue. They're extremely easy to make and perfect if you have a little helper that loves to be in the kitchen with you.

Simply Sensational Truffles

(from 8 oz. package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese)

2-1/2 pkg. (20 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
decorations: chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts, multi-colored sprinkles

1. Melt 8 chocolate squares. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm.

2. Shape into 36 balls. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.

3. Melt remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles; return to baking sheet. Decorate, then refrigerate 1 hour.

Finally, months back I saw this recipe on Pamela's (one of my favorite foodies!) blog--Cookies With Boys. Who would have known that root beer would make the perfect marinade/sauce for pulled pork? Not I, but I do love the drink as do a couple other members of my family. So it was an instant hit and received rave reviews. Thanks Pamela for featuring this on your blog! As I am typing this, my mouth is watering. But since all my stuff is being packed as we speak, it'll be a little bit before my crock pot will be available for me to make this again.

Pulled Pork with Root Beer Sauce

(from Better Homes & Gardens)

1 2-1/2- to 3-pound pork sirloin roast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
1 cup root beer*
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups root beer (two 12-ounce cans or bottles)*
1 cup bottled chili sauce(used a whole 12 oz. bottle)
1/4 teaspoon root beer concentrate (optional)

Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)
8 to 10 hamburger buns, split (and toasted, if desired)
Lettuce leaves (optional)
Tomato slices (optional)

1. Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut roast to fit into a 3-1/2- to 5-quart crockery cooker. Sprinkle meat with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet brown meat on all sides in hot oil. Drain off fat. Transfer meat to cooker. Add onions, the 1 cup root beer, and garlic.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

3. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan combine the 3 cups of root beer and the chili sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2 cups. Add root beer concentrate and bottled hot pepper sauce, if desired.

4. Transfer roast to a cutting board or serving platter. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions from cooking juices and place on serving platter. Discard juices. Using 2 forks, pull meat apart into shreds. To serve, line buns with lettuce leaves and tomato slices, if desired. Add meat and onions; spoon on sauce. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

*Note: Do not substitute with diet root beer

Operation Baking Gals: Round 4

First of all, since I just returned from a trip to Texas, I wasn't able to make this week's TWD recipe, Kugelhopf. I'd try to pronounce it the way my friend, Anna (who is German), says it, but I'd still mess it up. It sounds like "google-oopf" and she laughs when I try to say it. The recipe was chosen by Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl. She has a beautiful blog, so check it out as well as the other TWD-ers who have turned out some beautiful Kugelhopf cakes! At any rate, this is my second round of Operation Baking Gals and I was honored to be a part of Team Angry Asian, hosted by Lan, whose blog, The Angry Asian, is just fantastic! Her blog features details of our soldier, PFC Amie McMillan. To sum up, Amie is a Public Affairs Specialist within a Military Police unit overseas. I am a huge fan, on the basis of her being in the ARMY, since both my husband and I are as well. I was so happy to bake her some Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies--a recipe featured on the Joy of Cooking website. Click here for the deliciously simple recipe. My cookies didn't come out as big and chewy as those on the website, but they were scrumptious!

Of course, the package would not have been complete without all other essentials, as seen below. I love putting these together! Shopping for the items is so much fun!

I don't know when the next round is, but I'm anxious to get people baking for Malu and his teammates! I've already told him to be prepared to received tons of packages!

TWD Break & Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

Folks, I'm going to have to bow out of TWD for the next two weeks, only because they will be busy and I won't have time to make the recipes. I have a friend visiting from North Carolina this week, not to mention I have two exams, one of which is a midterm! Arghh! Then, this weekend, I'll be out of town to find a place to live in El Paso, Texas-my next duty assignment. I won't be back until Tuesday evening. So please forgive me! Who knows, I might feel guilty and actually make the Rugelach post tomorrow after all...even if I do have to study!

Anyway, on Halloween I made a Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Pie. I found the recipe in this month's issue of Better Homes and Gardens. I took one look at the picture and decided that I had to make it. Halloween was the perfect opportunity since I had company over and it was so simple to make and well worth the effort, as you can see in the pictures. I love cheesecake and the addition of the pumpkin is not only perfect for the fall season, but was a perfect complement to the sweetness of both the chocolate and the cream cheese. It was creamy and delicious and I will definitely make this for Thanksgiving! Oh, and I must admit that I "cheated" by using a refrigerated pie crust. It sure helped to speed the process, since I'd prepared the pie about an hour or so before company arrived.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, November 2008)

For Deep Dish Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablsepoons shortening

5-6 tablespoons cold water

For Pie Filling:

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 cup finely chopped semisweet chocolate or mini chocolate pieces

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup half and half, or light cream

Chopped Chocolate (optional)

1. In medium bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and 1/4 tsp. salt. Using pastry blender or two forks, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoons of cold water over part of flour mixture; gently toss with fork.
2. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon of water at a time, until all flour is moistened. Form into ball. On lightly floured surface, flatten dough and roll pastry from center to edge into a 13-inch circle.
3. Preheat oven to 450. Transfer pastry to a 9 1/2 to 10 inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim crust edge 1/2 inch beyond pie plate. Flute edge high. Line pastry with double thickness of foil. Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 6 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 375.
4. In medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 egg; beat on low speed until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture into cooled pastry shell. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate.
5. In bowl combine pumpkin, brown sugar and spice. Stir in 4 eggs. Gradually stir in half and half. Slowly pour pumpkin mixture on chocolate layer. To prevent overbrowning, cover pie edge with foil.
6. Bake 60 to 65 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove foil. Cool on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours. Top with chopped chocolate. Serves 8.

The pie was a hit. Ask Jacques; he was there. Lucky for me, I didn't have too many visitors, so I had some leftovers. My visiting friend, Heidi, and I had some for a snack yesterday and for breakfast this morning and it is still so delicious! So try it! You'll love it!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

Clara of I Love Food for Thought chose this week's recipe challenge, Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes. Since I didn't get to make my cupcakes until this afternoon, I had a chance to check out other TWD blogs and people have whipped up some of the most creative cupcakes I've ever seen. Most of the cupcakes are appropriately decorated for Halloween. Prudence Pennywise's blog, for example, has some spectacularly decorated cupcakes...you should definitely check hers out! I mean, making words with melted orange chocolate? Too cool!

I loved making these cupcakes. Could it be because of the CHOCOLATE??? Absolutely. I made these just before I got picked up to go to school. And since my carpool mates are such fantastic friends, I shared my chocolatey creations with them. Totally lacking any creativity with cake frosting and decorative tools, I opted to cheat by buying these fall-themed cupcake cups, equipped with these cute pumpkin decorations/toothpick thingys. I thought they added a nice touch to my cupcakes, if I may say so myself!

Many TWD-ers mentioned that this cupcake came out dry. Unfortunately, I had the same result. Nevertheless, the cupcakes were quite tasty....and very chocolatey! I honestly don't think they taste any better than the mix I usually use straight out of the Duncan Hines box, but I like the fact that I can say that I made them from scratch and even more, that my friends told me they tasted really good! So thanks Clara for choosing this recipe! It was tons of fun. Rush on over to her blog for the complete recipe!

As others have mentioned, this Friday is the last day for anyone to become a TWD member, so you'd better sign up, like, NOW!!! Don't let the opportunity pass you by!

Ghirardelli Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies...My Final Sunday Post!

I've been a baking fool lately...mostly sweet stuff. You know, gotta keep the sweet teeth happy--not to mention I have tons of lady friends who share the same passion for all things CHOCOLATE! It's no wonder we all complain about the weight we can't seem to lose! Whatever, gotta live life to the fullest right? The recipe came from a Ghirardelli ad in this month's Better Homes and Gardens issue and in all honesty, comes real close to Dorie's Chocolate Chunkers recipe. It was perfect because for the past week or so, all Ghiradelli baking chocolates have been on sale at Wal-Mart for $2.00 a bag. I stocked up--I mean STOCKED UP--on bags and bags of these, from bittersweet, to white, to milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips. You name it, I got it! Maybe you can rush on over to your local Wal-Mart to see if you can snag some.

Anyway, the recipe yielded about two dozen moist, chocolately, nutty cookies. I'll be using this recipe to send a couple dozen to my soldier for this month's round of Operation Baking Gals! And get your tall glass of milk ready...they're pretty darn rich!

Ghirardelli Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies

(from November 2008 issue of Better Homes and Gardens)

1 bag (11.5 oz) Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 bag (12 oz) Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 cup (4 oz) chopped walnuts

1. In double boiler over hot water, melt the bittersweet chocolate chips and butter. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick; stir in chocolate mixture. In small bowl, stir together flour and baking powder; stir into chocolate mixture. Gently mix in semi-sweet chocolate chips and walnuts.
2. Using a sheet of plastic wrap, form dough into two logs, each 2 inches in diameter and about 8 inches long. As dough will be very soft, use plastic wrap to hold dough in log shape. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degreees. Unwrap dough; with sharp knife, cut into 3/4-inch slices. Place slices 1 1/2 inces apart on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until shiny crust forms on top but interior is still soft.
4. Cool on baking sheet.

Yields 2 dozen cookies.

P.S. I found that 375 was too hot. I ended up with some slightly burnt cookies on the bottoms. The next batch, I lowered the temperature to 350 and they came out much better.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Chocolate Chunkers

And were they ever so chunky! This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe challenge was so nicely chosen by Claudia of Fool for Food. If you take a peek at her blog, you'll be able to find the recipe for these delicious cookies. This is my third week with TWD and all three weeks have been cookie recipes. These cookies are, by far, my favorite cookie to date! And why? Because I am a total chocoholic and this cookie had so much chocolate in it! Yummy!

Charisse (above on right), as you probably met in earlier posts, wanted to take some cookies to her co-workers this week, which was perfect! I didn't want to get stuck eating tons of cookies during the week. After all, I've been doing that for the past two weeks! After eating a few of them, however, I kinda wish I hadn't sent about two dozen of the cookies with her. Because today, I was craving them and I didn't have any. Even my mom complained that we hadn't baked her enough. Now there's a learned lesson....keep more for us and less for others! Nah, just kidding. We'll just have to bake more now, won't we?

Anyway, the recipe called for four kinds of chocolate, which you see below. For the bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate we used the Ghiradelli brand and used baking squares for the white chocolate and Nestle's Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips.

The cookies are called Chocolate Chunkers for a reason! In addition to all those chocolate chunks, we had to add raisins and toasted pecans! So the batter ended up being sooooooooo, well, chunky, and looked like this. It definitely made for an easy transfer to the baking sheets though. At least we thought so!

And after a few minutes, we had the most delicious chocolate cookies I've ever had in my life! Now I'm not a huge fan of raisins, but it made such a nice accompaniment to the chocolate and pecans. Even more so, I didn't think that all that chocolate made the cookie so overwhelmingly chocolatey. Does that even make sense? They were just so perfect, gooey, and soft--and went so nicely with my glass of milk.

Since I'm busy with classes during the week, we usually do the TWD baking on Sundays after church. So today, Charisse sent me a text message saying the cookies were a huge hit at her office. My mom even asked if I could make them this weekend. I have to admit--I might be making them tomorrow! They're just that great. So, Claudia, thanks for choosing this cookie recipe, although I probably won't be thanking you weeks from now after I've gained ten pounds making and eating them over and over again!

I'm very much looking forward to next week. I think I'm ready to move on from cookies and on to something else. Next week's Dimply Plum Cake looks like just the recipe I need to take on! So bring it!

Tuesdays With Dorie: Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops

Thanks to Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart, my sister, Jolene (my brother's fiance), and I were able to whip up a few batches of delicious Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops. This is my second TWD recipe and happened to be another cookie recipe which we all enjoyed very much. Here's a picture of Jolene getting her elbows greasy, stirring the batter!

I am sure that chocolate runs through my veins and I was sure these cookies were going to soothe my sweet teeth. The recipe calls for cocoa, chocolate chunks (we used the Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks), and 2 cups of chopped Whopper balls (a favorite!), so it was a total chocolate overload! You would have expected the cookies to be so rich, considering the chocolate content and the batter being so thick. There was so much of it that I have a container in the freezer to use later on.

Surprisingly enough, the cookies ended up being absolutely delicious, soft, chewy, and light (at least I thought so), especially with a tall glass of milk! If you want to take a sneek peek at the recipe for these awesome cookies, check out Rachel's blog and thanks to her again for picking such a delicious recipe!