Root Beer Float Cake

Kayla started not drinking soda (and I've since joined as well) but was really craving root beer so when I saw this recipe using root beer extract without the carbonation (which I think is really what she was trying to avoid) I wanted to make it for her to help satisfy her missing the root beer. The cake and frosting didn't really have a strong root beer flavor to me so I added more root beer extract to the frosting then was called for, it definitely made a difference! I liked how moist this cake was but it was a little over the top sweet for me. 

Root Beer Float Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe from Reluctant Entertainer

Root Beer Float Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package white cake mix (18.25 ounces)
• 1 cup root beer
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. root beer extract (McCormicks)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 tsp. root beer extract (McCormicks)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, root beer, water, oil, extract, and eggs. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes or stir by hand for 3 minutes.

Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, and extracts. Gradually fold in the powdered sugar.

Beat until soft peaks form. Frost the cooled cake. Store in a refrigerator before serving.

Chocolate Cake Cage

Libbey asked me to make Alexia's birthday cake this year, she requested something girly. I wanted to d something different, I had an idea in my head so I started googling to help the image in my head develop into something real. I had googled chocolate flourishes when THIS came up, I knew immediately had to try it, I think that with time and more practice it will become better but I think that it turned out pretty good!

Chocolate Cake Cage 

Recipe/Instructions came from Doughmesstic

Chocolate Cake Cake

Gooey S'mores Cookie

This is the second new recipe that I tried yesterday. I absolutely did not like them at first and I was semi tempted to just throw them out. I went out of the house for a couple of hours, when I got home I tried them again and they tasted better. They still aren't really my favorite but I made a double batch of cookies and they are disappeared so everyone else must have been a fan of them :D I think part of why they weren't my favorite is because although I love all of the parts that go into s'more I don't really like actual s'mores put together. I loved that this lady talked about using cinnamon graham crackers rather than normal graham crackers, it gave a great taste. 

Gooey S'mores Cookies

Recipe came from Kevin and Amanda

Gooey S'mores Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Butter, softened

1/2 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 Egg

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 1/3 cups Flour

3/4 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs (7 full graham cracker sheets)

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Mini Hershey's Kisses (or Chocolate Chips/Chunks)

1 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. 

Meanwhile, use a food processor or blender to crush 7 graham cracker sheets into 3/4 cup fine crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Add the chocolate and marshmallows and stir to combine. 

Place 1.5 tablespoon sized scoops of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. 

Makes 2 dozen cookies. 

Butterscotch M&M Pudding Cookies

These cookies are really soft, I like the butterscotch flavor but it's still something that is growing on me. I made two new kinds of cookies yesterday and this one definitely came out on top of the other kind. This has a good mixture of chocolate, butterscotch and softness. 

Butterscotch M&M Pudding Cookies

Recipe came from Inside BruCrew Life

Butterscotch M&M Pudding Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Butter, softened

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 1/4 cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 box Instant Butterscotch Pudding Mix (3.4oz)

1 1/4 cups Mini M&M Candies

1 cup Butterscotch Chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again. 

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix. Slowly add to the butter mixture. Stir in the candy and butterscotch chips by hand. 

3. Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes. Do not over bake! Leave on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing to a wax paper lined counter. Let cool completely. Makes 40 cookies. Store in a sealed container on the counter. 

Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bar

I've had this recipe on my list to make for a few weeks. When I read my list to Kayla she immediately zoned in on this one and wanted me to make it, I thought that I was out of caramel so I wasn't able to make it right away. I made this recipe and did not bring it right away to work (for which I got in trouble for :D). I brought it Friday morning and Derek immediately ate 3 or 4 pieces, he told me that it was the best thing that I have every , another employee told me that this brought me "this" much closer to being an angel again, plus I received several other positive reviews. I hadn't realized until I started making the recipe that it contained peanut butter and wasn't sure if Kayla was actually going to like it, luckily the peanut butter doesn't actually have that much of a flavor (so you could add more or take it away based on if you like peanut butter or not). These are super soft and gooey, best if they are kept in a cool area as they get even messier to eat when it is warm. 

Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars

Recipe came from Mom on Timeout

Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars

INGREDIENTS

   Caramel Filling

      11 oz. bag Vanilla Caramels

      14 oz. can Sweetened Condensed Milk

      4 Tbls. Butter

   Cookie Dough

      1 1/2 sticks Unsalted Butter

      2 cups Light Brown Sugar

      1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

      2 Eggs, room temperature

      1 Tbls. Vanilla

      2 cups Flour

      1 cup Old Fashioned Oats

      2 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

      1/4 tsp. Salt

      2 cups Chocolate Chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper. 

3. Unwrap caramels and place in a small saucepan with butter and sweetened condensed milk.

4. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramels have fully melted and the mixture is nice and smooth. 

5. Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Add peanut butter and continue mixing. 

6. Add eggs one a time, mixing well after each egg. Add in vanilla. 

7. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in a small mixing bowl. 

8. Add the flour mixture slowly stirring until well combined. 

9. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

10. Spread 2/3 of the dough on the bottom of the pan. 

11. Slowly pour caramel mixture evenly over the dough. 

12. Drop the remaining dough on top by the teaspoon. It doesn't have to be perfect!

13. Bake for about 30 minutes. Let cool completely and then cut into bars. 

Cinnamon Roll Cake

This was a delicious find. I don't think that it really tasted like a cinnamon roll, but it was still super yummy and wasn't very hard to make at all! 

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Recipe Came From Chef In Training

Cinnamon Roll Cake

INGREDIENTS

3 Cups flour

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 cup Sugar

4 tsp. Baking Powder

1 1/2 cups Milk

2 Eggs

2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 cup Butter, melted

TOPPING

1 cup Butter, softened

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. Flour

1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

GLAZE

2 cups Powdered Sugar

5 Tbsp. Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 glass baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In an electric or stand mixer add the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Once combined well , slowly stir in the melted butter. Pour into the prepared 9×13 baking pan.

For topping

1. In a large bowl mix the 2 sticks of butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together until well combined and creamy. Drop evenly over the batter by the tablespoonfuls and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake.
2. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out nearly clean.

FOR GLAZE

1. In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together with a whisk. Drizzle evenly over the warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

White Chocolate Brownies

Derek had made a request that I make some kind of white chocolate brownie, I had to clarify with him that he didn't want a blondie. I had never heard of a white chocolate brownie before so I started googling to see what I could find, I sent him about 7 different recipes asking which one he wanted me to try, this is the one that he picked for me to try. I'm not 100% sure where the blogger comes from because half of the recipe is metric and half of the recipe is in US measurements. I thought it was a little interesting that they were cooked in "patty cake" pans or in the muffin pans that I did. The consensus was that they tasted like a thick soft cookie, they were good but didn't have the texture or taste of a brownie. 

White Chocolate Brownies

Recipe came from One and Only Chocolate Chic

White Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

125g butter, chopped

250g white chocolate chips

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 eggs, lightly beaten,

1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

2 cups chocolate chips, see recipes below for other suggestions

TIP:

I have used two patty cake pans with a 1/4 cup (water) capacity. Generously spray with non-stick baking spray or line with paper cases. Larger muffin pans can be used just be aware that you will make less brownies and need to bake them a little longer.

Method:

The oven should be preheated to 160oC (325oF)

In a medium size microwave safe bowl heat the chopped butter on high for 30 seconds. Stir then repeat for another 30 seconds, the butter should be melted. Add the white chocolate and heat for another 30 seconds. Remove and stir until blended. You may need a further 20 seconds. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly so that you do not cook the eggs when you add them.

Add the brown sugar and the beaten eggs. Stir through.

Add the sifted flour and stir through until smooth.

Divide the brownie batter evenly into the patty cake pans. Using a small ice cream scoop makes this quick and easy.

Evenly divide the chocolate chips and press lightly into the top of the batter. Don’t be surprised by how many there are I have been very generous but then again I really love rich chocolate brownies. The reason I do not mix the chocolate chips into the batter is that this way you can instantly see what type of brownie you are eating increasing their WOW! factor.

Bake in a preheated oven set to 160oC (325oF) for 22 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing to a cake rack to cool completely. If you have not use paper liners take great care, I usually use a flat knife to help lift them out.

Store in an airtight container for one week. The white chocolate brownies can be frozen for up to two months.

Makes 24 brownies