Dessert to Impress: Pecan Pie Bars

I don't really like cooking from scratch. I cook from a box more often than not, and I enjoy recipes along the lines of "semi-homemade", like the show, instead of baking from scratch. This dessert recipe is one of those "semi-homemade" recipes, but not from the show, and I've been making it since Christmas!

If you like pecan pie, you will LOVE these! (And even if you don't really like pecan pie, or thought you didn't like me, you'll probably STILL like these too!)

This recipe sincerely couldn't be easier! This is what the finished product looks like!

Ingredients:

1 Tube of sugar cookie dough

1 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

2 eggs

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. SPRAY YOUR PAN! THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!

3. Spread the cookie dough out in your pan:

(All the finger prints will bake away!)

4. Bake until it is BARELY golden brown, it will finish cooking with the filling! You want it very light still!

5. Mix all other ingredients to make filling. It will be gritty and a little runny, these are both good!

6. Put filling into hot crust. You can flatten the crust a little before you add the filling, but the weight of the filling will help flatten it too!

7. Bake until the middle doesn't jiggle anymore. You want it to be solid! That's usually about 15 minutes when I make it, give or take, depending on  your oven:

It will look like that! You can see the crust has like almost NO color on it, like I said, just barely golden brown!

8. Let it cool completely! This is the hardest part!! I've cut into it before it's cooled all the way and it's really not as good! Be patient, this can sometimes take up to 2 hours!

9. Cut into cookie bars and enjoy:

This recipe is seriously SO easy and SO yummy! It's fun to bring to potlucks or to impress the in-laws! Plus it won't last long wherever you take it!

xxKatie

Dip & Done

I went to an organization's potluck on Wednesday night and since it was a potluck, we all signed up to bring different things. What a great exam breaker! It was held by two friends at their ADORABLE home and another friend did all the cooking! We ate yummy bacon-wrapped, feta-stuffed pork tenderloin and all the side dishes that everyone brought including two types of stuffing, salad, two kinds of roasted potatoes, and not to mention all the appetizers and desserts!

I brought two dips from Pinterest to the potluck:

Cheddar Bacon Dip

16 oz sour cream

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Mix

3 oz bacon bits (from a bag, NOT bacos)

1 c shredded cheddar

I ended up doubling the recipe to suit the large group but we had TONS of leftovers that we were able to eat until yesterday. I served it with tortilla chips and pretzels and preferred it with the pretzels!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1/2 c butter, softened

1 c powdered sugar

2 tbsp brown sugar (I used light)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla (I skipped this)

1 c chocolate chips

I c toffee bits (I skipped this)

Impatient me over here didn't let either the cream cheese or butter soften properly so this was a tad difficult to make for me. My poor mixer was on major overdrive trying to whip stiff cream cheese and butter. Also, this is best served after letting it sit out for about 1/2 an hour or so. Once it's soft it tastes better. We also found that it didn't really taste like chocolate chip cookie dough anyway, MUCH more like a cannoli filling! I doubled this recipe as well and it was a good size, but we still had plenty of leftovers.

Have any great potluck recipes that you like? Any go-to recipes?

xxKatie

The "S" Word

SNACKS

I love snacks. Salty, sweet, 100% snacks. Some of the yummiest snacks I've seen have been on Pinterest!!! How good do all of these sound? (I have an entire snack board on Pinterest...shh!)

Cake Batter Blondies...YUM-O

Baked Cinnamon Breakfast Bites!

Mini Cannoli Cream Pastry Cups

Pizza Party Dip

Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Truffles

Not to mention, how cute do all of these look? With all the fun sprinkles I've managed to collect, I can't help but think of how fun all these snacks could be decorated!!

Got any good snacks to share with me? Are you on Pinterest? Follow me!

xxKatie

Sweet Tooth: Momofuku's

It's no secret I have a huge sweet tooth. Actually with all the sweet teeth I have, it's like I have an entire sweet mouth really. I love all things sweet. Just yesterday we got some caramels to get us through the rest of the workday! Candy and sweet snacks are an everyday occurrence for me (I know, all you dentists and health critics are shaking your heads in shame...). Just the other day I reblogged this from ichatblog on tumblr:

I think I've found the sweet find of a lifetime though! I was stumbling (via stumbleupon...yep) and came across these:

Momofuku's Birthday Truffles 

How GOOD do they look?!

I really want to try to make these on my own! With the rise of Cakepops and how everyone's attempting their own spin on those, I think Birthday Truffles could be the next big thing! Imagine how fun you could decorate these? Personalization? Everything! The possibilities are endless!!

The recipe for these Birthday Truffles is very elusive...you know what that means? That these MUST. BE. THAT. GOOD. It means that the recipe is vaulted somewhere with the likes of Coca-Cola, McDonald's french fries, and Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream...that good.

Anyone ever been? Let me know! I'd love to hear about it!!

xxKatie

Summer Food: Cream Cups

There are a few things that we make that just scream summer. Grilled chicken cooked by my Daddyo, bruschetta pasta salad, crabs, and cream cups. We just made the cups two nights ago sort of on a whim for dessert. Momma had bought all the ingredients and with a little prodding from me, we made them!

There are 2 types you can make: fruity and decorative. The fruity cups have little slices of in-season fruit in them! In the past we've used strawberries and blueberries for the 4th of July (you get the idea). For the kids, or the really picky 20-somethings you can use sprinkles instead of the fruit. We make both kinds because I don't like the fruit ones (nor do I like the ones that even used to have fruit in them....) and I have fun sprinkles here at home. These cups are also NOT scientific. It's a taste-based recipe...for sure.

The way you make them is really easy! You take any store bough sugar cooke dough in a tube and cut it into 36 pieces and roll them into circles. This requires working quickly and I couldn't do it on my own so my mom took the cutting job and I did the rolling. After rolling, spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and put the rolled balls in the pans. Follow the regular cookie directions putting the time at LESS THAN the package. Ours called for 13 minutes so I put them in for 10. Once they start to puff up, but before they're done completely, take a fat bottom spoon (or wine stopper like we used) and make the puffy balls into cup shapes by gently pressing the middles down. Some will collapse on their own. Cook them for MAYBE 4 more minutes and then take them out. Let them cool and harden further.

For the filling, it's Cool Whip, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Basically take the entire pack of cream cheese (this it not healthy...), and add the sugar and Cool Whip to taste. We added about two big squeeze of vanilla (new bottles...squeeze now from McCormick!) and were good to go. Then you combine them until semi smooth. Momma used the blender last time and said it got too runny--you want it to be thick for the next step!

Finally you squeeze the combo into your cooled cups. We used the Wilton Cookie Press with a star tip instead of the cookie disc. Then you put in the cream and they're ready to decorate! YUM!

Any tried and true summer recipes for your family? Any good go-to desserts that you like?

xxKatie