Valentine’s Day Cherry Chip Pancakes with Cheesecake Sauce Recipe

January 6, 2017 No Comments

I know it seems a little soon to think about Valentine’s Day but I can’t help myself. Ever since I had daughters, I just became obsessed with the color pink and Valentine’s Day is the one time of the year that you just can’t go overboard on pink. I found several really awesome recipes on Yelp, so be sure to check these out too!

Since our kids are still young and responsible babysitters are hard to come by, my husband and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day in the traditional sense. While other couples are out enjoying a quiet steak dinner, we’re at home making the holiday fun with our children. That fun typically begins with breakfast and whatever pink food I can put on the table. This year it’s going to be these oh-so-pretty pink pancakes made with a cherry chip cake mix batter and a sweet pink cheesecake pudding topping. Plus this recipe gave me a chance to pull out my electric griddle which I LOVE cooking on.

Valentine's Day Cherry Chip Pancakes with Cheesecake Sauce Recipe Pink Valentine's Day Pancakes Recipe

Valentine’s Day Cherry Chip Pancakes with Cheesecake Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
⅔ cup Betty Crocker cherry chip cake mix
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups milk

Topping

1-3.4 oz box of JELL-O cheesecake instant pudding mix
2-1/2 cups milk
pink or red food coloring

Instructions

Preheat electric griddle to 375 degrees F.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cake mix, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Add eggs, extract and mix, whisking just until combined.
Pour ¼ cup of the batter on the griddle for each pancake and cook until the top has bubbles and the edges appear dry. Flip pancakes and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes until light brown on the bottom.
Set pancakes aside.
In bowl, whisk together pudding mix, milk and food coloring. Mix for 5 minutes until thickened and smooth.
Spoon topping over warm pancakes and top with sprinkles.

Donut House Baked Chocolate Glazed Donuts Recipe

January 5, 2017 No Comments

Every month or so I get a special delivery from Green Mountain Coffee (the makers of KCup packs for your Keurig brewer). This month the delivery featured a variety of coffees from Donut House. Now, I’ve heard a lot about this brand but I’ve always been partial to my favorites, never stepping out of my routine to try something new but I’m glad I did.

They’ve got a delicious collection of flavors that includes: Donut House Light Roast Coffee, Cinnamon Roll Coffee, Chocolate Glazed Donut Coffee and Donut House Light Roast Decaf Coffee.

If I had to pick a favorite … it would be the chocolate glazed donut.

Chocolate Glazed Donuts with Donut House Coffee

This one little KCup pack goes right into the Keurig brewer and smells like a liquid donut dripping right into the mug.

Keurig Chocolate Donut KCup

And nothing goes better with chocolate glazed donut coffee than an actual chocolate glazed donut! I finally got a chance to use my Wilton donut baking pan and baked up a half dozen of these rich, chocolaty donuts.

Baked Chocolate Donuts

The chocolate glaze on these makes them doubly delicious because there’s a bit of the brewed coffee mixed in.

Baked Donut House Chocolate Glazed Donuts

If you’re feeling adventurous you could even dip the donut right into the coffee.

Recipe: Chocolate Glazed Donuts

Ingredients

The Donuts

2 cups flour
2 cups tablespoons sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of melted butter

The Glaze

3 tablespoons of brewed Donuts House Chocolate Glazed Donut Coffee
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2-3/4 cup of sugar

Instructions

Put oven at around 325 F
For the donuts, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl
Add the egg, milk, butter and vanilla, then whisk
Fill each donut hole half-full with batter
Bake between 10 – 12 minutes
For the glaze, mix all ingredients properly
Dip each donut in the glaze, sprinkle with chocolate and it’s ready to serve!

THINK SPRING WITH CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE STUFFED STRAWBERRIES RECIPE

January 4, 2017 No Comments

After discovering Hershey’s Spreads for the first time, I’ve found dozens of ways to incorporate these rich, chocolate flavored spreads into every day snacks and desserts. My family loved the easy oatmeal s’mores cookies with the chocolate spread. Those were such an easy dessert to whip up. And then of course there was the Strawberry-Banana Chocolate Stuffed French Toastfor breakfast. My personal favorite is keeping it simple with healthy fruits and low-calorie cookies dipped in a bit of the Hershey’s Spreads chocolate with hazelnut flavor. Well, okay, that’s what I thought until I turned a little bit of the chocolate spread into a creamy cheesecake filling for fresh strawberries. For something a little healthier, check out chia seeds!

Chocolate Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries with Hershey's Spreads Chocolate

This is the perfect dessert for a romantic Valentine’s Day at home. If you’re like us and have young children at home with no babysitter, you can whip up a tray of chocolate cheesecake filled strawberries in minutes and share them over a few stolen moments after the kids have gone to bed.

Strawberries Stuffed with Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE STUFFED STRAWBERRIES RECIPE #SPREADPOSSIBILITIES

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
⅓ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup Hershey’s Spreads Chocolate spread
1 dozen strawberries

INSTRUCTIONS

Add all ingredients to the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on high until smooth.
Cut an “X” into the top of each strawberry and spread open.
Fill the enter of each strawberry with the chocolate cheesecake mix. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

For even more tasty flavor combinations, visit Hershey’s Spreads online. You’ll find a variety of snacks and sweets that are perfect for pairing with Hershey’s Spreads. You can also follow the hashtag #SpreadPossibilities on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see what other fun pairings people are coming up with. And if you want to be really adventurous, check out the Hershey’s Spreads recipe collection for ideas on baking with them.

Recipe | Baked Strawberry-Banana Oatmeal

January 3, 2017 No Comments

Not a day goes by that my 4 year old daughter isn’t begging for a bowl of warm oatmeal. During the past winter my husband got on an “oatmeal kick” and of course, being the little daddy’s girl that she is, she got hooked on it too.

I’m not one to knock pre-package food considering how convenient it can be but when it comes to oatmeal, nothing beats homemade. You can smell this baked strawberry-banana oatmeal throughout the house and digging in, it just doesn’t compared to the little oatmeal packets.

strawberry banana baked oatmeal

You can most definitely use whatever fresh fruit you have hanging around in the kitchen but since strawberries are in season and over-ripened bananas give dishes a natural sweetness, they’re the perfect combination for a baked oatmeal on a Sunday morning with the family.

baked strawberry banana oatmeal

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups milk
1 egg
2 over-ripened bananas, smashed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 over ripened banana, sliced
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl, beat together milk, egg, smashed bananas, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon until combined.
Add baking powder oats and half the strawberries. Stir well.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and pour the mixture in the dish, spreading evenly.
Top with the remaining strawberries and bananas slices.
Sprinkle with brown sugar and bake 25 minutes.
Turn broiler to low and broil 5 – 7 minutes until topping is caramelized.
Serve warm.

Notes

Be sure the bananas you use are well past ripe. The natural sugars in an over-ripened banana will create sweetness. If that bananas you use are not over-ripened, consider doubling the brown sugar.