Desserts Archives - Page 2 of 8

Grapefruit Brûlée

March 8, 2013 by Stephanie

Grapefruit Brûlée

Citrus, citrus, citrus. I can’t get enough right now and I think that this grapefruit brûlée might be one of my new favorite treats!

Grapefruit Brûlée

Yet again, you can tell my mind is ready for spring and summer foods. While good ol’ crème brûlée is one of my most favorite desserts of all time sometimes ya just gotta have something a little lighter. This grapefruit brûlée is stupid easy to make. The hardest part is segmenting the grapefruit. Other than that all you need is your kitchen torch, brown sugar, and a little whipped cream! I took the time to segment my grapefruit, but if you do not want to do that, you can just cut one in half and prepare it that way, but I like being able to actually eat the slices instead of digging a spoon in and squirting grapefruit juice all over the place and making a huge mess which is basically what happens to me every time I eat a grapefruit.

This dessert is refreshing with just the right amount of sweetness! I think this dessert would also work nicely with pineapples if you want to use that instead or in combination to the grapefruit.

Grapefruit Brûlée

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients

1 medium sized grapefruit, peeled and segmented
1 tbs. light brown sugar
whipped cream or Greek yogurt
ground cinnamon (for garnish)

Instructions

Peel and segment your grapefruit and layer the slices onto a small bowl or creme brulee dish.
Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top of the slices.
Using a kitchen torch, burn the brown sugar until it caramelizes.
Scoop a dollop of whipped cream or Greek yogurt on top and sprinkle some cinnamon on top for garnish and serve immediately.

Notes

If you do not own a kitchen torch, you can use your broiler. Just place the slices into oven-safe dishes.

If you decide that you do not want to worry about peeling and segmenting the grapefruit, you can cut it half and it will serve two people.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/03/grapefruit-brulee/

Grapefruit Brûlée

Filed Under: Desserts, Low-Carb, Low-Fat · Tagged With: dessert, Grapefruit Brûlée, healthy, low calorie, low-fat, snack, yogurt 16 Comments

Nutella Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

March 4, 2013 by Stephanie

Nutella Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

I’m sorry.

Why am I sorry? I’m sorry because of these brownies. These incredibly decadent and fudgy brownies. There is nothing healthy about these brownies. Nutella cheesecake swirl brownies. It’s pure magic. So actually, I’m not sorry at all. Not even a little bit.

Nutella Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

We had a potluck party for work last week and I signed up to bring a dessert. I wanted something loaded with chocolate. I brought these brownies and they were a total win. I highly recommend making them for a party because first, everyone will love them, but also, everyone will eat them and you won’t be stuck with a ton left over that you will just feel forced to eat. Because I mean, how could you ever let these babies go to waste?!

I sit firmly in the fudgy brownie camp as opposed to the cakey brownie camp. These brownies are made with dark chocolate and Nutella. It really doesn’t get any better! The key to the perfectly fudgy brownie is using only a small amount of flour and lots of chocolate! And I just really love the cheesecake topping swirled with even more Nutella. You can never have enough!

Nutella Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Yield: About 20 squares

Ingredients

For the brownie layer:

6 tbs. unsalted butter
6 ounces of good quality dark chocolate chips (I like Ghiradelli)
3 eggs
3/4 cup Nutella
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour

For the cheesecake layer:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup Nutella, slightly melted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease or spray a 9x13 baking dish.
Prepare a double boiler by placing a pot filled about half way with water on medium high heat. Place a glass bowl over the pot. Melt the butter and the dark chocolate together, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
Beat in the eggs, Nutella, sugar, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour and cocoa powder. Set the bowl aside.
In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
Pour the brownie mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly with an oiled knife or spatula.
Pour the cheesecake mixture over the top of the brownies and spread evenly.
Stick the 1/2 cup Nutella in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 15 seconds. Drizzle the Nutella over the top of the cheesecake. Using a sharp knife, swirl the Nutella around into the cheesecake.
Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until the brownies are cooked and the cheesecake has set.
Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/03/nutella-cheesecake-swirl-brownies/

Nutella Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Filed Under: Desserts, Kid-Friendly · Tagged With: dark chocolate, homemade, nutella cheesecake swirl brownies 21 Comments

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

February 20, 2013 by Stephanie

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

It is my boss’s birthday this week and I wanted to bring in something to celebrate. I mean, you kind of have to, right?!! I wasn’t exactly sure what time we would want to break into the cupcakes, so I didn’t want to make something that was too over-the-top in case we would be eating these earlier in the day (And it was good idea too because we ate them before having lunch). I opted for vanilla cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, not if you are not the best baker, like myself. These cupcakes were a labor of love for me. First, I tried to make the cupcakes from scratch and for whatever reason, they tasted like cornbread, so I threw them out and had to start again. Except, I didn’t have much time so I went for Plan B…my doctored up cake mix recipe which is still totally delicious, by the way.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Then came the frosting. Oh, the frosting. I wanted to do a strawberry meringue buttercream, but after adding my puree to the mixture, the frosting just did not come together. Luckily I had powdered sugar on hand so that I was able to to just make some simple buttercream.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Despite my difficulties with these cupcakes, I was pretty happy with how these turned out. The cake is light and is perfectly moist. The fresh strawberry buttercream is definitely my favorite part though. It’s just magical and bursts with fresh strawberry flavor.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Yield: 18-24 cupcakes (see note)

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 box vanilla cake mix
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the strawberry buttercream frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4-5 cups confectioner's sugar
1/3 cup fresh strawberry puree (about 1 1/2 cups hulled strawberries)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
milk (to thin out if needed)

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and lightly spray with non-stick spray.
Add the cake mix to a large bowl. Stir in the flour. Make a well in the center and add in the eggs, oil, milk, sour cream, pudding, and the vanilla extract. Mix everything together until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly amongst each baking cup. I prefer for my cupcakes to be larger, so I fill mine to just over 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for about 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow for the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and confectioner's sugar.
Pour in the strawberry puree and the vanilla extract and mix until the frosting is well-combined. If the frosting seems to thick, add some milk, one tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
Spread or pipe the frosting on cooled cupcakes. If you are going to pipe the frosting, I recommend putting the frosting in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes first as this will make the piping easier.

Notes

Because I like my cupcakes to be larger, I get about 18 out of this recipe instead of the usual 24 that a box of cake mix typically yields.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/02/vanilla-cupcakes-with-strawberry-buttercream-frosting/

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

Looking for a doctored chocolate cake mix recipe? Go here!

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Desserts, Kid-Friendly · Tagged With: box mix, cake mix, doctored, homemade, strawberry buttercream frosting, vanilla cupcakes 44 Comments

Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats

February 11, 2013 by Stephanie

Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats

Yes, more red velvet. Red Velvet Pancakes were just not enough. Valentine’s Day gets me all in the red velvet mood, what can I say?

Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats

Valentine’s Day always makes me miss being a kid. I used to love going to the store to pick out cards to hand out in class. I usually went for ones that had a Disney princess or the girliest ones I could find. I remember giving the “coolest” cards to my closest friends. Valentine’s Day at school was always kind of a waste of a school day. Decorating bags or boxes to hold all of the cards, and then of course came all the treats and candy. And then of course, it was always fun to go through cards. It always sucked when someone else gave out the same cards as you did.

Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats

These red velvet rice krispie treats are perfect to bring to a school party, but also perfect to enjoy with a glass of champagne! I love the look of the pink candy melts drizzled on top, but you can also use white chocolate (but, you guys know how I feel about that…). Oh, and then sprinkles. Sprinkles are a must.

Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: about 18 treats

Ingredients

3 tbs. unsalted butter
1 (10 oz.) bag mini mashmallows
1 cup red velvet cake mix
6 cups Cocoa Krispies cereal
pink candy melts or white chocolate (for drizzling on top)
sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray.
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Pour in the marshmallows and stir constantly until the marshmallows are melted. Mix in the red velvet cake mix.
Pour in the cereal and mix until it is well-coated with the marshmallow mixture.
Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Using greased hands, spread and press down with your hands.
Melt some pink candy melts or white chocolate in the microwave and drizzle on top. Add sprinkles if desired.
Let the treats dry for about 2 hours before cutting.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/02/red-velvet-rice-krispie-treats/

Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats

Filed Under: Cookies, Desserts, Holidays, Kid-Friendly · Tagged With: cocoa krispies, dessert, red velvet, rice krispie treats, valentine's day 17 Comments

Chocolate Caramel Blossoms

December 20, 2012 by Stephanie

Too…many…cookies….

I’m not sure I can eat another cookie right now. I know, I sound like a crazy person, but I just can’t eat any more for a while…maybe for like 3 days or something.

But, before I start my cookie hiatus, I have to tell you about these cookies first. Earlier this week, I told you I don’t like peppermint. Today, I am going to tell you that chocolate and caramel are two of the greatest things in the universe. Yup, the universe.

So I am not going to waste any more time and will go straight the recipe. Hubs and I are off to Ohio to spend Christmas with my family. And yes, we are driving. Why? Because we hate ourselves. And also, plane tickets were out of control.

Chocolate Caramel Blossoms

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes

Yield: About 16 cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. instant espresso (optional)
about 16 Hershey's caramel kisses (chilled in the refrigerator or the freezer)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and 2/3 cup sugar. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, and espresso powder.
Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until well-combined.
Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Place the remaining sugar in a small bowl. Using your hands, roll the dough into 1-inch balls (about 1 tablespoon). Roll each ball into the sugar until lightly coated and place on the baking sheet about 1-2 inches apart.
Bake cookies for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for about 2 minutes. Place a kiss in the center of each cookie and press down gently.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/12/chocolate-caramel-blossoms/

Filed Under: Cookies, Cristmas, Desserts, Holidays · Tagged With: blossoms, caramel, chocolate, christmas, cookie, hersheys, kisses 13 Comments

Butterballs

December 12, 2012 by Stephanie

I’m so excited for today’s post. This year, I participated in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. This is the second year of the swap. The premise is simple, bake 3 dozen cookies and send them to three different bloggers. And in return, you get 3 dozen cookies from other other bloggers! Fun, right?!

I signed up without a clue of what I was going to make, I just knew I wanted to join in on the fun. After looking through 10 thousand different recipes, I settled on an old family favorite…Butterballs. Some of you may call them Snowballs. But, I call them Butterballs, so that’s what we’re going with here!

I bet you can’t guess the main ingredient in these cookies…it’s butter! Lots and lots of butter. So you know these are good. They are pretty simple to make. We usually just mix in some chopped walnuts in ours, but you can also add mini chocolate chips if you wanted.

I sent my cookies to three lovely bloggers: Linda of Tumbleweed Contessa, Carrie from Kiss My Whisk, and Kelli from The Corner Kitchen. Ladies, I hope these cookies made it to you safe and sound and that they were not in a million pieces!

Butterballs

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: About 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 lb. butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar (plus extra for rolling the cookies in after they bake)
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup finely chopped nuts (walnuts)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream together the butter and powdered sugar until smooth.
Sift together the flour and salt. Add the flour gradually to the butter and sugar mixture until well-combined.
Blend in the vanilla and the walnuts using your hands. Chill the dough for about 30 minutes in the fridge or 15 minutes in the freezer.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Form the dough into balls (or into crescent shapes) and place on the baking sheet.
Bake cookies for about 14-17 minutes or until a very light golden brown.
Allow the cookies to cool slightly. While still warm, roll each one in extra powdered sugar.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/12/butterballs/

Filed Under: Cookies, Desserts · Tagged With: butterball, butterballs, christmas, cookie, cookie swap, food blogger 13 Comments

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

November 19, 2012 by Stephanie

I’ve got one more Thanksgiving post for you guys! No doubt your oven is going to be working overtime this week. Between the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and who knows what else, oven space is often limited. And for those of you with double ovens, I am totally jealous, bt dubs.

How about a little dessert that comes together in less than 20 minutes and requires no baking? Yeah, that’s what I thought you would say! These little cheesecakes are rich and full of pumpkin flavor. They can also be made the night before. In fact, I recommend you make them the night before. I’m all about making things the night before!

The perfect ending to your meal before all that tryptophan kicks in!

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: about 6 servings

Ingredients

2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 (8-ounce) block reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) container light whipped topping thawed
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Toppings:

whipped topping (optional)
nuts (optional)
caramel (optional)
graham cracker crumbs (optional)

Instructions

Melt the butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Divide the graham cracker crumbs evenly amongst individual serving bowls or ramekins and press down to make a crust. Drizzle some of the butter over the crumbs in each dish. Place the bowls in the freezer.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, whipped topping, pumpkin puree, and the pumpkin pie spice until well-combined.
Remove the bowls from the freezer. Pipe or spoon the filling into each bowl. Add additional whipped topping and other desired toppings. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes

Depending on the size of your serving bowls, you made need to add more or less of the graham cracker crumbs.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/11/no-bake-pumpkin-cheesecake/

Filed Under: Desserts · Tagged With: cheesecake, low-fat, no bake, pumpkin, thanksgiving 27 Comments

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

November 2, 2012 by Stephanie

Some Friday things:

1. First, I just want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all my friends up in the Northeast. I hope you all are safe and sound!

2. Who else is stuck with a gazillion tons of candy? Though we suspected there wouldn’t be much trick-or-treating going on in our new neighborhood, we still bought a bunch of candy. UGH, WHY?! And just as I thought, we did not get one trick-or-treater so now all that candy sits in the pantry, taunting me all day long. Damn you, candy, damn you!!

3. Every Halloween, my husband and I like to torture ourselves by carving fancy things on our pumpkins. Here is a picture of our work this year. Anybody want to guess who they are? The winner will get a virtual high five from me.

4. November 1st always depresses me. Two reasons. 1. It makes me realize that I need to start thinking about Christmas shopping (kill me now, please), and 2. Halloween month is over and I have to take down our decorations.

5. Speaking of decorations, I seriously want to put up our Christmas decorations. Like, today. I don’t want to wait until Thanksgiving. And for this, I blame Pier 1. Have you seen their Christmas decorations?!!

6. Just in case you want to keep your sugar high going, today I am sharing my apple cider doughnuts! I’ve actually never made doughnuts, but I hear apple cider doughnuts are a big thing and I am totally on an apple cider kick right now. Hubs got me a doughnut pan and it needed to be put to good use! So, these are not your traditional fried doughnut, but they are still pretty darn tasty! The apple cider isn’t too overpowering and they just taste like fall!

Apple Cider Baked Doughnuts

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 18 doughnuts

Ingredients

For the doughnuts:

1 1/2 cups apple cider
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 tbs. butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used non-fat)

For the cinnamon sugar coating:

4 tbs. melted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (or more, if desired)

Instructions

For the doughnuts:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small saucepan, boil the apple cider until it is reduced to 1/4 cup (out 15-20 minutes).
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and the sugar. Add in the eggs and mix well.
Stir in the buttermilk and reduced cider.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and the nutmeg.
Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients, mix just enough to combine.
Spray a donut pan with cooking spray. Either pipe or spoon the batter into the each mold until they are about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow doughnuts to cool before coating.

For the cinnamon sugar coating:

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
Using a pastry brush, brush the melted butter on both sides and in the middle of each doughnut. Dip and roll the doughnut in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Pumpkin Patches and More

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/11/baked-apple-cider-doughnuts/

Filed Under: Desserts · Tagged With: apple cider, baked, cinnamon, donuts, doughnuts, sugar 34 Comments

Pumpkin Banana Bread

October 16, 2012 by Stephanie

Happy Tuesday, internet friends! Before I get to today’s post, I found out that I was nominated as one of the Top 25 blogs on Skinny Scoop! I would so appreciate it if you guys could take a minute to click on over and vote for meeee!! Just click the icon below and then scroll down the list to find Eat. Drink. Love. and “like”!

Ok, now the recipe…Since we moved from one hot place to another hot place, it certainly hasn’t felt like Fall to me, but that has not stopped me from going pumpkin crazy in my house. The pumpkin candles are out and I think I bought every pumpkin product that Trader Joe’s sells this past weekend. Seriously, I can’t even tell you how happy I am to have TJ’s back in my life! So after buying crap tons of pumpkin, it was time to put it to good use!

First up, pumpkin meets banana meets bread. Pumpkin Banana Bread. Yes, it totally works. Trust. This bread is made with whole wheat flour and flax. It is not overly sweet, so you can eat it any time of the day! Yeah!

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: about 12 slices

Ingredients

1 large overripe banana, mashed
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
5 tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup low-fat or fat-free plain yogurt
3/4 cup brown sugar plus about 2 tbs. for sprinkling on top
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp. salt
nuts and/or chocolate chips, if desired

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together the butter and brown sugar. Mix in the mashed banana, pumpkin puree, and eggs.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, ground flaxseed, baking soda, salt, and the pumpkin pie spice.
Combine the flour mixture in with the wet mixture until just combined. If you are using nuts or chocolate chips, stir them into the batter. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the extra brown sugar on top. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/10/pumpkin-banana-bread/

Filed Under: Breakfast, Desserts, Kid-Friendly, Snacks · Tagged With: banana, bread, fall, flax, low-fat, pumpkin, quick, sweet, whole wheat 21 Comments

Apple Cinnamon Popcorn

October 12, 2012 by Stephanie

This week is all about snacks! Today I am posting for Wendy over at Around My Family Table! Did you know that October is Popcorn month?! Wendy is doing a whole month of popcorn posts to celebrate and I have come up with a tasty fall-inspired popcorn flavor, apple cinnamon!