Thin Mint Truffles

Recipe from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

INGREDIENTS

9 oz box of Thin Mints
4 oz (1/2 block) cream cheese, softened
Dark chocolate almond bark or dark chocolate candy melts
Nonpareils

Crush the Thin Mints very finely. You can do this by placing them in a large Ziploc bag and rolling them with a rolling pin, or use your food processor, which is what I did.

Once they are crushed, pour them in a large bowl and add the cream cheese. I would like to say that you can just mix it up with a wooden spoon, but if you want to do things properly you are going to have to get your hands involved. Squish them up real good until it’s thoroughly combined and the cream cheese is no longer visible.

Roll into 1 inch balls, place on a wax paper lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Melt almond bark or candy melts and using a toothpick, dip truffles completely and twirl to allow the excess to drip off. Place back on lined baking sheet and sprinkle with nonpareils before set. Refrigerate until firm.

*Makes about 24 truffles.

Lindsay's notes:  mine didn't quite make 24 truffles, but I think I made them bigger than 1 inch balls.  Also, Walmart's knock off thin mints are a 10 oz box, where as GS Thin Mints are 9 oz.  I didn't add any more cream cheese, but next time I'd add just a little bit more.  Some of the truffles were a little bit more dry and crumbled when I dipped them in the candy melts.

This is Walmart's version of Thin Mints:  

Crock-pot Cobbler

The best part about this cobbler is you can use any fruit that you want. My sister makes hers with candied cherries, pineapple, peach, and blueberry. You can use fruit pie filling, fresh fruit, or frozen fruit. Really, anything goes... it's all about how you like it. It's also super low fat- score!

Ingredients:

1 cake mix- vanilla works best

1 can soda- I used Diet 7-up. Last time I used Diet Mt. Dew- YUM!

Fruit-

I used 2 cups frozen blueberries

1 can can of peaches; with juice

Directions:

Grease your crock-pot with cooking spray. Spread the fruit evenly on the bottom. In a separate bowl, combine the cake mix and soda. Pour the batter over the fruit.

Take a paper towel and lay it over the top of your crock-pot before putting the lid on.

*This is the secret to getting it to cook*

Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Using a toothpick, check to see if the middle is done.

Serve with ice cream or cool whip.

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Tarts with Chocolate Mousse

Courtesy of OBB - although you won't find them on the blog or in the cookbook. They made them special just of the people that came to the cookbook launch event. They were SO yummy!

The recipe:

1 12 oz. bag mini peanut butter cups, divided

2 Tbl creamy peanut butter

10 chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos

1 1/2 Tbl butter, melted

1 8 oz. package cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

Mousse Topping:

1 tsp unflavored gelatin

2 tsp cold water

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided

1 1/2 Tbl granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Unwrap 16 mini peanut butter cups and place in microwave safe bowl. Add peanut butter and microwave on 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted an smooth. Set aside.

In a food processor, process the cookies until they are crumbs. Add the melted butter and mix to combine. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with foil liners. Drop about a tablespoon of crumb mixture into each foil liner and lightly press the crumbs down to form a crust.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, and beat on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn beater speed down, and with the mixer running, add melted peanut butter cup mixture. Mix in sour cream and stir until combined. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared foil liners, filling each one about 1/4 to 1/8 inch from the top. Bake for about 15 minutes or until very light brown and still a little jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hour or overnight. 

To prepare the mousse topping: Place gelatin and cold water in a small bowl and set aside to soften. Place chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons of the cream in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 to 40 seconds. Whisk until smooth, heating more if needed. Add softened gelatin and whisk to dissolve. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to cool until just warm. Place remaining cream in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add sugar and beat until medium peaks form. Add about a quarter of the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture and stir. Gently fold in the remaining cream, a quarter at a time, until incorporated. If mixture is too soft to hold its shape, place in fridge for 10 minutes. Otherwise, spoon on top of chilled cheesecakes and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set up.

Makes 12 mini cheesecakes.

Garnish with additional peanut butter cups.

S'mores Stuffed Brownies

DELICIOUS and ridiculously easy!  (I got this recipe from www.picky-palate.com)

Batch prepared in 8x8 inch baking pan

1 box of your favorite brownie mix
4 1/2 full graham crackers
3 1/2 full size Hershey's bars (I found that I needed 4 full bars)
16 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions.  Line foil into an 8x8 in baking pan and spray generously with cooking spray.  Pour half the brownie batter into lined pan.  Layer graham crackers over brownie mix, then Hershey bars and marshmallows.  Pour remaining brownie batter over marshmallows.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out mostly clean from center.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Carefully remove foil and brownies from pan.  Peel any foil away from edges and cut into squares.

Lindsay's notes:  I used a Betty Crocker brownie mix, and I don't know if the batter is too thick or what, but when I poured the second half on top of everything, it didn't spread out as nicely as it did on the website.  As it warmed up in the oven it spread over everything, it just doesn't look as pretty as on Picky Palate, because my marshmallows weren't all covered by a thin layer of chocolate.  It still tasted DELISH though!  These are good a little bit warm, but maybe even better totally cooled (the next day) because you can really taste the yumminess of the s'more on the second day because the chocolate bar is cooled.  Yum, yum, yum.

Applebee's Maple Butter Blondie

Deeee-lish!!!
I took the advice of the anonymous comment I found and omitted the salt and increased the cream cheese a bit in the sauce...(not a full half cup, just a few extra blobs).

Applebee's White Chocolate and Walnut Blondie

A Gooey Dessert Worthy of a Restaurant

From the Kitchen of Todd Wilbur

Servings: 8

Difficulty: Easy

Cook Time: 30-60 min

Dare to indulge at home? Do it right with a warm, white chocolate
and walnut blondie under a scoop of ice cream and chopped
walnuts, dripping in sizzling maple butter sauce.

For Applebee's regulars, this is a hands-down favorite. In a hot
skillet comes a delicious slice of white chocolate and walnut
cake (it's similar to a brownie in texture) topped with a scoop
of ice cream and warm maple butter sauce bubbling as it hits the
pan. Commence with the salivating.

To re-create this pile of pleasure at home you start by making
the cake from scratch. For the white chocolate, get a couple of
4-ounce bars or one 8-ounce bar and chop it into chunks. White
chocolate chunks work best in this recipe, but you can certainly
use white chocolate chips in a pinch. While the blondie cake is
baking, whip up the sauce -- it will be fluffy at first. When
you're ready to serve the dessert, zap the sauce in the microwave
until it's hot and creamy. Arrange the decadence in a hot skillet
and serve it sizzling to happy, drooling mouths.

Ingredients

Blondie
4 egg whites
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces white chocolate (cut into chunks)

Applebee's White Chocolate and Walnut Blondie - continued(page 2)

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Sauce
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 scoops vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

To make the blondie cake whip the egg whites until they are stiff
and form peaks. Add softened butter, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar,
1/4 cup granulated sugar, and vanilla and mix with an electric
mixer until smooth.

In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda, baking
powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet
ingredients and mix well until smooth. Mix in milk, white
chocolate chunks, and walnuts. Pour ingredients into a greased
9-by-13-inch baking pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until
cake is golden brown on top. Slice cake into 8 equal slices when
cool.

While cake bakes, combine all ingredients for the sauce in a
medium bowl with an electric mixer.

To prepare dessert, heat a small skillet on your stove over high
heat for about 5 minutes. A cast-iron skillet is best. (You can
also serve the dessert on a plate, but you'll miss out on the
showy sizzle.) Arrange the cake in the center of the skillet or
plate. Heat up the sauce for 30 to 60 seconds in the microwave
until hot. Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the cake, then
drizzle some of the sauce over the top, followed by a tablespoon
of chopped walnuts. Serve immediately.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the recipe! I was looking for just the sauce recipe since that is the best part of the blondie and thought your second version was definitely worth a try. I used to work at an Applebee's and have been addicted ever since (I also order extra sauce :).
As is, the sauce recipe turned out saltier and not quite as creamy as Applebee's sauce. It was still delicious and my family devoured it! After two more batches (for a total of 3 batches in 24 hours), I'm pretty sure I have it just right. I eliminated the salt and increased the amount of cream cheese to half a cup. Perfect!

Angel Lush Trifle

This is the Trifle I brought for GNO last night. I love this kind of recipe where you can change the flavor of the pudding or use whatever fruit you want in it.

Ingredients:

1 small instant sugar-free vanilla pudding

1 (20 oz) crushed pineapple in juice; undrained

16 oz. fat-free whipped topping; divided

4 bananas; sliced

1 package angel food cake; cut into bite size pieces

Mix the dry pudding with pineapple and juice. Gently stir in half of the whipped topping. Layer half of the cake, pudding, and bananas in the trifle dish. Repeat layer. Spread the remaining whipped topping over top. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Chocolate Scotcheroos

WARNING: Do not leave these on your counter expecting them not to be consumed by you or other family members!

Ingredients:

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups rice krispies cereal

(or 6 cups cocoa krispies cereal)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 cup butterscotch chips

1. Place corn syrup and sugar into 3 quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. mix well. Add cereal. Stir until well coated. press mixture into 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together in 1 quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Let stand until firm. Cut into bars when cool.

Almond Cake

For you Amanda! ;)

Ingredients:

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. real butter; softened

1/2 c. shortening

3/4 c. milk

4 eggs

2 1/4 c. flour

2 tsp. almond extract

Using a mixer- cream the sugar, butter, and shortening. Add the eggs, milk, and almond extract and mix well. Slowly add the flour 1 cup at a time until well blended. Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake 20-30 minutes; until the edges are brown; at 350.

Cool completely.

Frosting:

3/4 c. real butter; softened

1-2 tbsp. milk

3 c. powder sugar- or more

1 tsp. almond extract

food coloring

Using a mixer- add the butter, milk,and almond extract. Add the powder sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it is the consistency you want. Add food coloring for color and frost cake. Leave it for an hour to set then cut into small pieces.