Sami's Peanut Butter Cups

These are MY favorite Christmas candy...I have a hard time sharing these, they are SO much better than the good old Reese's!

This is the process I came up with to make these after a few years of trial and error this is what works great for me!  Phil bought me a mini crock pot a year ago so I melt my chocolate in their (I buy the bag of fountain chocolate from Hobby Lobby and use a coupon on it.)

 

I melt my chocolate and spoon little amounts into each cup, I then get a paint brush and paint the sides of the cups, then tap the tray on the table and set in the freezer for 5 minutes.

 I then make the Peanut Butter Mixture...note I do three trays of the peanut butter cups at a time to make the process go a lot quicker! 

 

Mix in your Hand Mixer: 

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar

 Pull your cups out and fill your cups with peanut butter mixture....

 Spoon a little more chocolate on top, tap the trays once again to make the chocolate go smooth and even on top.  Stick back into freezer for 5 min. 

 Flip them over on a clean surface, and put into mini wrappers.  Store in a air tight Tupperware someplace cool until ready to devour. 

Chocolate Pie, Banana Cream Pie, Very Berry Pie, and Peach Pie

**This is my go to chocolate pie recipe and was a hit at Thanksgiving! **

On the crust I left the cream centers in the oreos and it didn't hurt it at all!

 

Emeril's Vintage Chocolate Pie

Emeril Lagasse, 2000

print recipe

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cups buttermilk
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
4 egg yolks
2 1/2 ounces Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate, or other good quality semisweet chocolate
1 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 (9-inch) Chocolate Cookie Crust, baked, recipe follows

Prepare crust first, let cool completely while preparing filling.

In a small saucepan combine the sugar, heavy cream, buttermilk, cornstarch and pinch of salt, and whisk until smooth. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, whisking from time to time, for the sugar and cornstarch to dissolve and the mixture to thicken, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking at a low boil for an additional 5 minutes, whisking constantly.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly. Pour 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and whisk thoroughly. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and whisk over the heat into thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl, and whisk in the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Continue whisking until thoroughly combined (mixture will be very thick).

Pour the chocolate batter into the prepared pie crust and refrigerate until firm and cool, at least 4 hours.

Chocolate Graham Cookie Crust:

2 cups graham cracker cookie crumbs
1 1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (white centers removed)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, process the graham crackers and Oreos to make crumbs.
In a bowl mix together the cookie crumbs, sugar and butter with your hands. Press the mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie pan. (It will seem like an excessive amount of crumbs, but it will compress down quite a bit with pressure.) Cover the crust with plastic wrap and top with another 9-inch pan, pressing quite firmly to make a smooth surface. Bake the crust for 15 minutes.
Remove the crust from the oven and let cool completely before filling.

 

Banana Cream Pie

I seriously can not make a pie from powdered pudding anymore...after having the homemade deliciousness you will never go back!

I used a graham cracker crust** or you can bake a homemade one!vanilla custard filling:1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
dash of salt
5 large egg yolks
2 c. milk (whole)
1/2 c. evaporated milk
2 t. pure vanilla extract
3 T. butter (no substitute)
2-3 ripe (but not black-ripe) bananas, soak in lemon juice to prevent browning.Pour the custard into a bowl and lay plastic wrap across the top of the custard, touching it (this will prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Add half of the custard to the pie shell. Layer the bananas on top:Pour the rest of the custard on top, smoothing it to the edges. Cover again with the plastic wrap touching the custard and refrigerate for 4 more hours before serving. Top with your  a whipped topping.

Very Berry Pie

This is my most favorite pie recipe...sometimes I'll swing by Deseret book for a slice!

Lion House Recipe:

       

Ingredients: 

Pie Crust:
1/4 C. butter
1/3 C. lard
1/4 C. margarine
1/3 C. shortening
1 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. nonfat dry milk powder
1 1/2 C. pastry flour plus
1 1/2 C. bread flour or 3 C. all purpose flour
1/2 C. plus 1 Tbs. cold water

 

Filling:
1 16 oz. bag no sugar added frozen boysenberries
1 8 oz. bag no sugar added frozen blueberries
1 8 oz. bag no sugar added frozen raspberries
1 3/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C. cornstarch

**Honestly I can't ever find boysenberries I've checked all the stores in Utah county....so I improvised with the mix from Costco of Raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries.  It still taste wonderful!

***I have my husband roll out my pie crust, he can get them thin and keep them beautiful...I tear them apart and they are way too thick.

 

Directions

To make crust, in mixer cream butter, lard, margarine, and shortening. In bowl, mix sugar, baking powder, salt, and dry milk powder; add to creamed butter mixture and mix briefly. Add pastry flour and beat until blended. Add bread flour and mix slightly. Pour in water and beat again only until water is just blended in. Divide dough into two or three balls. Roll each out on floured board. Line pie pan with dough and cut off excess dough. Flute edges. Prick holes in bottom with fork. Bake empty pie shell at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Or fill unbaked pie shell and bake according to recipe. Makes 2 to 3 pie shells. Note: This crust may also be made by hand-cutting fats into dry ingredients.

To make filling, thaw all berries; pour berries and all juice in mixing bowl. In separate bowl, mix sugar, salt, and cornstarch; pour on top of berries. Mix well with rubber spatula. Fill crusts, add top crusts, and bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 2 piesFrom: Chef Brenda Hopkin, The Lion House Bakery

Peach Pie
Sami Carter
I've never made a peach pie before but my five year old kept requesting one we just kind of made up a recipe and it tasted so yummy!  Make sure you make a homemade crust and bake the bottom first before you fill it :)
1 Quart of Bottled Peaches
1 tsp. Almond extract
1 cup of sugar
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
4 Tbsp. Butter cut up
Combine peaches with ingredients except butter.  Cut up the butter and sprinkle on top.  Lay a top crust on top, I just used my little pampered chef tool to cut the zig zaggy things.  I then baked at 375 for 40 minutes.

 

Cornflake Peanut Butter Balls

This is my new go-to treat...I now always have cornflakes and peanut butter on hand when I need to make a treat in a pinch.  I made a batch of these for our Yellowstone trip and they didn't make it home same goes for my enrichment night they were gone in a flash! They are amazing, gooey, sweet goodness! 

 

Cornflake Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients

Makes around 2 1/2 dozen

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 jar (18 oz ounce) creamy peanut butter
• 5 1/2 cups corn flakes
• 1/2 C melted chocolate chips

Directions

1. Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir until the mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in the whole jar of peanut butter. Mix well.
2. Add corn flakes to a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over corn flakes and make sure you mix it all well.
3. With a   cookie scoop, scoop out and form into 1-2 inch balls, and place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
4. Put the chocolate chips in a small bowl and melt in the microwave for about 30 seconds stir until melted.
5. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies.

Ezra is a great helper when I make these!

Moist Sugar Cookies

This is my absolute favorite cookie recipe...yes I have to contain myself from eating the dough while I make them.  These sugar cookies are super easy, and super moist and yummy...I think its the sour cream that does the trick!  I wouldn't trade this sugar cookie recipe for another.  This is it for me!

 

 

Moist Sugar Cookies

(my most favorite cookie recipe)

 

2 Cubes of Butter                                                                   2 Cups Sugar

2 Eggs                                                                                    1 Cup Sour Cream

1 tsp. Vanilla

 5 1/2  Cups of Flour                                                            1 tsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp. Baking Soda                                                             ½ tsp. Salt

 

Mix first 5 ingredients together.  Add dry ingredients, adding flour until dough is workable.  Put in the fridge for 30 min. Roll out dough, cut with cookie cutters.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 min.  Let cool and frost.

 

Grasshopper Mint Cookies

 

These are a hit at our house.....and they are easy peasy!

Grasshopper Mint Cookies:

For the cookie part:
1 Devil's food cake mix (un made)
1/2 C. Oil
2 Large eggs.
1/2 tsp. Peppermint flavoring
Mix ingredients together and drop spoonfuls onto baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes.

While baking prepare the frosting:

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 Tablespoons milk

2 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

Green food coloring

 

Mix together all the ingredients, spread on top of cookies once they are cooled.

 

Finally make the chocolate topping:

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 c. butter

or

1 bag of milk chocolate chips

Melt chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave....I usually microwave 1 min, and then take to 30 second intervals.  Make sure you stir each time, and do not over cook!

Drop a little on each cookie and spread on!

Cupid Corn

For Family Night on Monday me and the kids made some cupid corn to give to their teachers, and some of our friends!  I'm so glad I saved  me some it made a yummy treat!

 The kids helped me pop some popcorn, but you could use 2 bags of unbuttered microwaveable popcorn. We popped 2 cups of popcorn in my whirly popper.

 I melted 1 1/2 cups of white chocolate, and added some red food coloring to make it pink.  Poured on top of the popcorn.  Emma added a 1/2 bag of m&m's (the bigger bag), and topped it off with some pink, red, and white sprinkles.  I don't know what it is with popcorn, white chocolate, and m&m's.  YUM! Happy Late Valentines, hope you all had a good one!

Oreo Dessert

On Saturday night we had some friends over and I made my knock off Cafe Rio Salads and our friends that were bringing dessert weren't able to come.  So me and the kids whipped this bad boy up.  I'd seen a recipe floating around on pinterest for a oreo dessert but we'd been having some issues with our internet so I wasn't able to pull it up so we just put this together and man was it GOOD!

1 Bag Oreos
1 8oz Cream Cheese
1 Container of Cool Whip
1 Large Box instant Chocolate Pudding
1/2 stick Butter
1 tsp of Vanilla

I used a 9x9 dish, but I'm sure you could use whatever size you have on hand depending on how thick you want the dessert to be.

Take the bag of Oreos and put them in a Ziploc bag, and smash them with your rolling pin.  Melt the butter in the microwave.  In the bottom of your dish put 1/2-3/4 of your Oreo mix and dump on melted butter.  Make up your instant Chocolate Pudding as directed on box.  Put in the fridge to set up for 5 minutes. While the pudding is setting up put your cream cheese in microwave for 45 seconds so its a little warm and easy to stir with your mixer.  Combine with container or cool whip and Vanilla. Take your pudding out of the fridge and layer on top of the oreo crust, then put your cream cheese mix on top of that.  Take the rest of your oreos and sprinkle on top.  Put back in the fridge to set up until you are ready to serve.
 

Easy Peanut Butter Bars....

Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Bars

These are Phil's favorite and a dear friend gave me a yum recipe once...but it had 10+ingredients and so I improvised when I saw this package in my pantry!  And they turned out great!

I sprayed the bottom of my 9x9 pan, I'm sure you could do 8x8 or even 13x9 if you want them really thin.  Prepare the mix as if you were making the cookies and press into the bottom of the pan.  Bake and allow to cool.

Put one package of Chocolate Chips in your microwave for 3 minutes stir each minute then spread on top of Peanut Butter mix.  If you don't have chocolate chips or if you prefer use store bought frosting.

Cake Batter Cookies!

Source: All Recipes

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 oz.) box cake mix
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2-In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and baking powder. Add eggs and oil, then mix until well blended. (It was a bit crumbly for me so I used my hands to really mix it well- it's not as smooth as typical dough.)
3-Stir in chocolate chips, or your choice of additions. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.
4- Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

If your looking for a quick treat try making these!  They are so yummy and have a nice taste to them!

Smore Cookie Recipe

Smore Cookie Recipe

1/2 C Butter

1/4 C Brown Sugar

1/2 C Sugar

Cream together

Beat in 1 Large Egg

1 tsp. Vanilla

In separate bowl combine:

1 1/2 C. Flour

3/4 C Graham Cracker Crumbs

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/4 tsp. Salt

Combine Mixtures, divide in half

Put half in greased 8x8 pan

Smash up 2 King Size Hershey bars (I used 2 C Choc. Chips)

1 1/2 C. Marshmallow Cream

Layer on top of mixture, add remaining mixture on top

Cook at 350 for 30 Min.

Louis the Alligator....

So yesterday was E's 6th birthday! I asked her what kind of cake she wanted...she proceeded to her room and brought out her Princess in the Frog cookbook....I immediately knew what she wanted and I have been putting her off since her last birthday when she actually got the cookbook. She opened it right up to Louis the alligator cake....I took a deep breath read the instructions and thought I can do this, I can do this. Monday while the kids were at school I took my little side kick to the store to pick up the supplies! We had to be creative because I had never heard of some of the candy they had used. We went over to the candy bins, and luckily they had all their Christmas variety's out and we were able to sift through things to make the alligators claws, plus we got some yummy sour apple circles, white chocolate covered pretzels, Green M&M's, and Whoppers.

We cooked up a chocolate fudge cake in a bundt pan the day before. I was praying so hard when I flipped it out that it wouldn't fall apart, but I had carefully crisco'd that pan up then dusted it with flour making sure every speck of that pan was covered! Luckily it came out like a charm. We cut it into 3 pieces (mind you I had my niece and nephew all day, all 5 kids gathered around the table in awe and watched) and I went to work! E kept saying, "Good job mom," "That looks awesome" "mom you rock" (I couldn't of done it without her encouragement!) 1 1/2 hours later Louis was all done! Isn't he a cutie! I had a hard time cutting into him last night, but he was oh so yummy!

Easy Chocolate Fudge

Chocolate Fudge
Forest Gump Chocolate Book

3 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels (I prefer Milk Chocolate)
1 (14 oz.) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 c. butter cut into pieces
1 Cup Walnuts, chopped (Optional) or 1-2 C. Mini Marshmallows

Combine first 3 ingredients in a 2 quart glass bowl. Microwave at Medium 4-5 Min. Stirring at 1 1/2 min. intervals. Stir in Walnuts or even marshmallows. Pour into a buttered 8 in. square dish. cover and chill at least 2 hours; cut into squares.

Turtles....

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is....baking, yummy fattening treats!
A favorite in my family is Turtles...granted they don't look like turtles but they are divine: Here is the recipe!

First you have to make the Carmel, which is yummy by itself! I myself would never do this by myself, it's good to have two sets of hands!

Carmel:
4 Cups of Sugar
2 Cups White Karo Syrup
1/2 lb butter (Sweet Cream)
2 Cans Evaporated Milk
Melt butter in a saucepan, add Karo then sugar. Cook on a medium heat until boiling. Add milk a little bit at a time so candy doesn't stop boiling. Cook to a firm soft ball staget and stir CONSTANTLY. Pour into a well buttered cookie sheet. If making turtles be sure to read the following recipe before you pour the carmel into your pan....

Easy Turtles
1 Batch Carmel
2 Lbs. Pecan Halves
Dipping Chocolate

Butter 2 cookie sheets (I like using my old ones cuz they will get cut marks in them) Spread one pound of pecans on each sheet, covering entire sheet but not overlapping. Pour one batch of carmel equally between 2 sheets, covering all the nuts. Let cool overnight in a cool place. Cut into 1 in. squares and dip in melted dipping chocolate. Set on waxed paper until set.

Easy Eclair Cake

I've been wanting to make this yummy recipe for awhile! I finally made it for a family party a couple of weeks ago. It was soooo tasty! I couldn't believe how much it tasted like regular eclairs with half the work!

Homemade Eclairs

Pastry Shell:
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 Cup Water
4 Large Eggs

Filling:
2 pkgs. (3.4) French Vanilla Instant Pudding (not made up)
2 1/2 C. Milk
8 Ounces of Cream Cheese (Room Temperature)
1 Container of Cool Whip (12 oz.)

Topping:
4 Ounces Real Milk Chocolate Chips (I love Ghirardelli)
2 Tbsp. Butter
4 Tbsp. Milk
1 Cup Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 400* Bring water, butter, and salt to a boil until the butter is melted. Add the flour all at once and mix quickly with a wooden spoon. Stir until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Dough should be soft, let cool 5 minutes. Add eggs on at a time beating thoroughly after each until smooth. Spread in a un-greased 10x15 baking pan. Bake until a golden brown 30-35 min. Crust will puff into bubbles, prick the bubbles with a fork and let cool.

To make filling: Beat the pudding mix, milk, and softened cream cheese until thoroughly blended. Spread pudding mix over the baked crust. Spread cool whip over pudding mix.

To make Chocolate Topping: Melt chocolate chips and butter, add confections sugar and milk alternately until a thin glaze forms. Put into a zip lock bag and cut the corner off the side. Drizzle all over the top of the Eclair filling. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Pumpkin Cookies....easier than pie!

Easy Pumpkin Cookies

2 Spice Cake Mixes

1 Large Can of Pumpkin (do 1 1/2 if you really want to taste the pumpkin)

1 Bag of Chocolate Chips

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. This recipe makes 5-6 dozen depending on the size of cookie scoop you use.

OREO's....yum

This picture is old...but my favorite Homeade OREO's, Phil loves them too! Super easy....

Moist Oreo's

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix (I prefer Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)

2 Eggs

1/3 Cup Oil or Shortning

Mix with hands, use a small cookie scoop or melon baller to get the perfect size. Cook at 350 for 8 minutes! Cool and stack cookies one on another to find the perfect matches. Frost in between with Cream cheese frosting. I can't make these fast enough.....

Amazing Chocolate Cake

The name says it all.....and yes it was AMAZING....amazingly rich, and delish....the frosting especially.....needless to say we licked the bowl clean. So goodbye good workout we had earlier.... My sister in law Bobbi is an amazing cook and she sent me this lovely recipe.

Amazing Chocolate Cake
1 3/4 cups boiling water
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, OR chocolate chips (for a double recipe, use 15 oz. chocolate chips, which equals 2 1/2 cups.)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder*
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
10 oz (2 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 9-inch round cake pans with circles of wax paper or baking parchment.
Pour the boiling water over the chocolate chips. Add cocoa and stir until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool. Cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and half of the chocolate mixture. Beat on low to combine, then on high for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the remaining chocolate mixture and beat on low until mixed.
Pour batter into pans and bake 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out completely clean. Cool for 10-15 minutes; remove from pans. Wrap in double layers of plastic wrap while still warm and freeze. Double recipe makes two 10" layers plus two 8" layers or four 9" layers. Never fill pans more than 2/3 full.

Frosting:
2 1/2 sticks plus 2 T. butter, softened
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (For really dark frosting, use part Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa, about 4 T.)
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup plus 2 T. Milk
Cream butter with electric mixer. Whisk together sugar and cocoa. Beat one-third of the sugar/cocoa mixture into the butter. Mix in vanilla. Add the rest of the sugar/cocoa mixture alternately with milk and beat until frosting is smooth.
When cake is frozen solid frost between the two layers and spread a thin layer over the whole cake. Freeze again for about 20 minutes. Frost again. Repeat if desired. (Frost the last time on the day you plan to serve the cake and let it stand at room temperature to thaw.)
Tips:
-*The best kind is Saco Premium Cocoa, which comes in a round container with a picture of a baker on the front.
-I doubled this and it made 4 perfect 9" layers.