My Very Own Turkish Delight

[Picture Unavailable, but by the time you are done reading this you will know what they look like.]

So, I made some cinnamon doughnut holes a month or so ago and store half of them in the freezer. Every time Tim opens the freezer he thinks that this little treat is inside of the bowl. I thought the doughnuts were good but apparently not this good. I decided yesterday that I would make some of these and put them in the freezer to surprise him. I usually just call these chocolate balls, but then I thought that they are more of a mousse so I thought about calling them mousse balls... but that didn't sound very good, so I have no idea what to call these EXCEPT delicious! Oh and Cool Whip is like the major ingredient and I hate cool whip but I really love these. So if you are like me and really don't like cool whip... don't stick your nose up at this recipe... unless you don't like chocolate either.

16 oz. Cool Whip
2 Giant Hershey's with (or without) almonds (6.8 oz)
1/2 box Nilla Wafers
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)

First of all you need to make sure that the cool whip is in it's soft state, not frozen state. Now, you are going to need to turn your wafers into crumbs. Food processor, ziploc bag and rolling pin, blender... however you do it just make crumbs. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or in my case a medium-ish pot filled with water and a medium pyrex bowl sitting on top.) If you are brave you can melt the chocolate in the microwave but be sure not to burn it because if you do, these will not be delicious. Once the chocolate is melted remove from the pot. If you so desire, go ahead and add a splash of vanilla at this point. I usually put the vanilla in the chocolate but it does something weird to the chocolate that makes me think I did something wrong... BUT you could stir it into the cool whip before adding it to the chocolate. I dont know why I didnt think of that before now. So at this point you have the cookie crumbs, the melted chocolate, and the vanilla flavored cool whip. Right? Now stir the cool whip into the bowl of chocolate. I usually add the cool whip gradually between stirring but whatever you want to do... you pretty much cant screw these up. Once you have your chocolate mousse, put it in the refrigerator until it thickens up... 30 minutes to an hour. Once thicker, it will be easier to roll the mousse into the cookie crumbs. Just drop by the spoonful and coat with nilla wafer crumbs. We think these are best stored in the freezer. I just open the freezer and grab one out an enjoy. Yummm...

Citrus Poppy Seed Cake

Alright, so last night was enrichment (Hilary has a pasta salad recipe that I love and want to post but... it might be a secret? Hil?) Anyway, Enrichment was a birthday theme. Each table (Jan-Dec) needed a cake and since no one volunteered to do the 12th cake... I did. I think I am becoming more and more like my mom and decided on a cake despite the fact that it might make life a bit more difficult than just doing a box mix. I had been wanting to make this cake since I had made it years and years ago in Japan. I found it on Martha Stewarts website so if my directions are not sufficient you can go to her website. But she says things like, "Sift the dry ingredients 20 times" or "Churn your own butter for this recipe, you can really taste the difference" so.. I needed to simplify things. I really like this cake (it might be my new b-day cake request) and I think it looks impressive.. although that might have been Brittney's cake stand.

Ingredients

Makes 1 eight-inch-round 3 layer cake

* 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
* 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* 7 large eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup milk, room temperature
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
* 1/3 cup poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling
* Shiny Cream Cheese Frosting
* Lemon Glaze

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients. Prepare 3 8x2 round cake pans... I only had two to use so I had to wait on the last one. Wasn't a big deal at all. Martha says to butter, parchment, and flour the pans but I just sprayed them really well and they cakes came out perfectly. What does Martha know. JK. Cream your butter until light, then add sugar. Cream again until smooth. Drizzle in eggs one at a time. Since there were so many I cracked them all into a pyrex cup and just dropped them in one at a time.... it was so much easier than cracking and hoping you dont get a shell. Beat until smooth and fluffy. You will need to scrape down the sides every now and then. Add vanilla. Add the flour and milk gradually, alternating between the two. If you end with the milk I find that the batter tends to be more velvety... Martha says otherwise. Whatever. Scrape sides and beat in the 3 zests and the poppy seeds. Divide and Conquer. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Once completely cooled make sure to borrow your sister-in-laws fancy cake stand so this cake will look as good as it tastes. Martha only frosts the middle layers but I frosted all three layers. I thought it looked better but it might taste even better with lots more yummy frosting in the middle of the cake. So frost away. Refrigerate. Glaze. Done.

Shiny Cream Cheese Frosting
* 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
* 3 cups confectioners' sugar

Mix the cream cheese well before adding the butter. Cream together. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar.

Lemon Glaze
* 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
*** I grated orange peel into this. I thought it looked nice.

No Guilt Double Chocolate Brownies

My mission was to find some low calorie, low fat desserts that would allow us to feel like we are treating ourselves to something yummy. And while this recipe isnt as good as a moist and fudgy brownie, it actually is fairly tasty. Just keep in mind that these brownies have almost half as many calories (111 calories), zero cholesterol, less than half the fat, and nearly half as many carbs as your typical fudge brownie mix. Plus it is a small pan so you arent stuck eating an entire 9x13 all by your lonesome while your husband is at school/work. I dont think these brownies taste like cardboard (like most things diet do) They have a good chocolate flavor and the chocolate chips get melted so there are little supreeze's of ooey chocolate. If you dont care about the calories they would be great with some Farr's Old Fashion Vanilla ice-cream. Tim and I both thought that they were pretty good. So for all of you who are looking to trim down but have a hard time staying away from the treat drawer... whip up a pan of these. P.S. They were super fast. Double Bonus.

Here is the recipe:

Nonstick cooking spray
4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate pieces
2 teaspoon powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat the bottom of a 9-x-9-inch (I used an 8x8) baking pan with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, melt butter in microwave. Stir in sugar, water, and vanilla. Mix in flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder until combined. Add chocolate pieces. Pour batter into pan; bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Starbuck's Cranberry Bliss Bars

Alright, well, my mom and I mastered these while in Japan with very limited resources. So if we could do it so can everyone else.




Bars:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup dried cranberries (crasins)
6 oz. white chocolate pieces or chips

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, mixing between eggs. Add vanilla, ginger, and salt. Mix. Add flour and continue mixing. Add dried cranberries and white chocolate. Spread cookie dough in a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until just barely turning brown. Blend frosting ingredients and spread on bars after they have cooled. Top with more cranberries and white chocolate.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 Cup Shortening
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 Egg
1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon
Chocolate Chips

Cream shortening and sugar. Add the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and gradually add to creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips. Pecans are a nice addition as well.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 13 minutes... they will be slightly turning brown in some places and even continue to cook a little more on the cookie sheet.