Better than Sex Cake

I remember my mom making this cake for baby & bridal showers when I was a kid (although she always called it "Better than Robert Redford" cake). Thanks, Mom, for making the name a little less R-rated for us:) This cake really is so so good no matter what it's called!
Better than Sex Cake
From AllRecipes.com
Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix




• 1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk




• 6 ounces caramel ice cream topping




• 3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped




• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Method:

• Bake cake according to package directions for a 9x13 inch pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits across the top of the cake, making sure not to go through to the bottom.
  


• In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly pour the warm topping mixture over the top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm. (Hint: I crush my candy bars into small chunks as opposed to crumbs - I used my food processor and it worked perectly).



• Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate and serve right from the pan!

Chocolate M&M Pretzel Buttons

Luckily, I came across this recipe just in time for a bridal shower I was throwing and also right before I hosted Easter at my house. I tied a handful of them up in bags with a pretty ribbon for both events and everyone loved them. These pretzel buttons are very fun for kids to make and there's really no way they can make a mess with just 3 simple ingredients.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and arrange mini pretzels on a baking sheet.
Step 2: top each pretzel with any flavor of chocolate melting wafer (I used white vanilla, obviously). Place baking sheet in the oven for 2-3 minutes, just long enough for the chocolate to melt and stick to the pretzel, so you are able to stick the M&M into it.

Step 3: Take out of oven and place an M&M on top of each one. Put the tray in the fridge to set for a while and viola! You're done!!

Be careful...they're addicting!

Quick & Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know I already have a few chocolate chip cookie recipes posted on this blog, but I figured you can never have too many right? Since I use different recipes for different occasions, I thought I'd title the recipe according to the reason I use it. Thus, this recipe for "quick and easy chocolate chip cookies" is one that I use if I just need a quick dessert or something to take to a playdate. There is no sifting or extra mixing necessary, just pile everything into your mixer and they turn out perfectly everytime!
A few posts back, I wrote about Mexican Vanilla so I thought I'd show you exactly what I was talking about. This vanilla actually came from my Aunt Stacie who brought it back from Mexico for my Grandma, and she gave it to me the last time she was here visiting. I LOVE it and I'm so sad I'm almost out! It's clear vanilla and its absolutely amazing, so if anyone knows where to find this vanilla in the states, please share!

Quick & Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter-flavored Crisco
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 & 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Method:

• Mix the first 6 ingredients together.
• Add the flour and soda and mix well.
• Add chocolate chips.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.

*Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies

Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

I think I've tried every possible recipe for peanut butter cookies, so I can honestly say this is my favorite recipe! I found it in a magazine at Christmas time, so in stead of the usual fork-prong design, they suggested using the edge of a fork to make a star pattern. I thought it was so pretty and I've been doing it ever since...who cares if it's not Christmas, stars are always "in season" right?

Irreisistible Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup Crisco (I always use butter-flavored)
• 1 & 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract (If you can find Mexican vanilla, I highly recommend it. I get it at Cost Plus World Market and it tastes amazing)
• 1 large egg
• 1 & 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Method:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended.
• Add egg and beat until blended.
• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture at low speed.
• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheet.
• Flatten slightly and draw star pattern with edge of fork.
• Bake 7-8 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown.
• Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet then remove cookies to cooling rack to cool completely.
• Makes 3 dozen cookies

Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm convinced any recipe sounds better when it includes the words "cream cheese." This frosting recipe is no exception! The cookies are equally amazing and are so soft and thick, you could eat them without any frosting and be happy. Thank you to my great friend Krista for sharing this recipe. I doubled both the cookie and frosting recipes and was able to cut out over 60 large heart cookies and have more than enough frosting for my Valentine's party. The cookies also freeze very well. I made mine 4 days ahead of time and pulled them out of the freezer a couple hours before the party and they tasted just as fresh as the day I made them.

Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 2 & 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 beaten eggs
• 1 & 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 & 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup butter
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 4 & 1/2 cups flour
• 1 & 1/4 tsp. salt

Method:

• Cream sugar and butter.
• Add eggs, vanilla, and milk.
• Add flour and dry ingredients.
• Roll out and use cookie cutters to cut into shapes.
• Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. (I like to under cook my sugar cookies a little because if they cook too long, they become hard and crunchy).

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups powder sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup)butter
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons milk

Method:

• Cream powder sugar, butter, and cream cheese together.
• Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency you like.
• Keep frosting refrigerated. Before use, remove frosting from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for approx. 10 minutes so it's a spreadable consistency.

Sandra Lee's Sugar Cookies

I am a huge fan of Sandra Lee, as is my 3 year old, and the two of us discovered this fabulous sugar cookie recipe while watching her show together one morning. I'm in the process of tripling this recipe and making heart-shaped cookies with red and pink M&M's for the Valentine parties we have coming up this week. I got a little antsy and just had to post this recipe before I could snap a picture of the finished product, but these butterfly cookies that Sandra Lee made on her show were absolutely darling and would be perfect for Easter or any other spring party!Semi-Homemade Sugar Cookies:
Ingredients:

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1 (17-ounce) bag sugar cookie mix
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
• 1 (12-ounce) bag mini M&M's

Method:

• Heat cream cheese in a large microwave safe bowl for 1 minute on 80 percent power in microwave to soften. Add sugar cookie mix, 1/4 cup flour, egg and extract. Stir with wooden spoon until dough is well combined and forms a ball.
• Sprinkle a flat rolling surface with 1 tablespoon flour. Divide dough in half and roll out onto lightly floured surface using a rolling pin. Roll the rolling pin back and forth, turning the dough as needed so it does not stick. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness.
• Take cookie cutter and dip cutting edge into a shallow bowl of flour. Then press cookie cutter into rolled out dough. Begin cutting out shapes at the center of the dough and work your way towards the edge, cutting shapes as close together as possible. Once the entire slab of dough is cut, use a small spatula to remove cookies from rolling surface and place on un-greased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining half of dough.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Decorate each cookie by pressing mini candies into dough. Refrigerate cookies for 15 minutes to prevent spreading while baking.
• Using oven mitts, place cookies in oven on top rack. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven using mitts and let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute before moving them to cooling rack.
  

S'mores Brownies

Last Tuesday my husband called me 2 hours before his church activity to tell me he offered to bring dessert for 40 kids. We had just returned from a vacation and my little 3 year old wasn't feeling well that day, so it had been over a week since I'd done my grocery shopping. I was out of everything, or so I thought. I opened up my pantry hoping for inspiration and I saw a brownie mix, marshmallows, a hershey's bar, and graham crackers....voila!...s'mores brownies for a crowd!*fyi-I tripled the brownie mix recipe (I had the big Costco Ghirardelli box) and used a jelly roll pan when I made these, so if you're making them for less than 40, feel free to scale down the ingredient amounts.

S'mores Brownies:
Ingredients:

• brownie mix
• 12 graham crackers
• 4 king size Hershey's bars, broken into individual pieces
• 1 large bag mini-marshmallows

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease jelly roll pan generously or line with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
• Make brownies according to package directions.
• Pour half brownie mix into pan, then layer the graham crackers, followed by the Hershey's bars, and finally the marshmallows.
• Pour the remaining half of the brownie mixture on top of marhsmallows.
• Bake for approx. 45 minutes then let them cool completely before removing them from the pan.
  

Oatmeal Raisin/ Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love to bake and freeze cookies so my freezer is always full of something homemade to pull out at a moment's notice. After the holidays, my supply was very limited, so I found this recipe and tripled it. I added chocolate chips to half of the dough and raisins to the other half. My husband and kids couldn't be happier to have a new stash of cookies to munch on!
Oatmeal/Raisin:

Oatmeal/Chocolate Chip:Oatmeal Raisin/Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Makes approx. 4 dozen
Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter-flavored Crisco
• 1 cup formly paccked brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup raisins or chocolate chips

Method:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• beat together Crisco and sugars until creamy
• add eggs and vanilla; beat well
• add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well
• stir in oats and raisins/chips; mix well
• drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet
• bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown
• cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack

F.Y.I: You can also make this recipe into bar cookies by placing the dough into an greased 13x9 inch baking pan for 30-35 minutes.

Guilt-Free Marshmallow Fudge

With only 41 calories per serving and 15 minutes prep-time...these were the perfect treat to whip up on a warm, sunny Tuesday afternoon.

Marshmallow Fudge

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cups fat-free sweetened condesnsed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 & 1/3 cups mini marshmallows
• 2 whole reduced-fat graham crackers, broken into bite-size pieces

Method:

• Line an 8-inch pan with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
• In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips with milk; stir until smooth. Remove from heat; cool for 2 minutes.
• Stir in vanilla. Fold in graham crackers and marshmallows.
• Pur into prepared pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Lift out of pan and remove foil; cut into pieces.

Peanut Butter Bars

I have 2 apologies to make. First, I apologize for the delay in recipe posts. It's just been a crazy busy couple of weeks. Second, I apologize for the crummy picture of these fabulous tasting bars. I had just enough time to snap this photo before my husband whisked them away to a church meeting. If you ever need a recipe on hand that serves a crowd, tastes great, and is easy to throw together last-minute, then this is it!

Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy butter
• 1 & 1/4 cups peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. rich vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups old fasioned oats
• topping: 1 & 1/2 cups peanut butter and 1 & 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in baking soda, salt, and flour. Blend well. Fold in oats. Press a thin layer of dough into a jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Drop tablespoons of peanut butter over hot cookie. Sprinkle semi-sweet chocolate chips over top of hot cookie and let melt. With a spatula, spread peanut butter and melted chocolate chips over the entire pan like frosting. Let cool so chocolate and peanut butter firm up. Cut in squares and serve.

Carrot Cake Cookies

My dad's favorite dessert is carrot cake, so when he came over for dinner last Sunday I tried out these cookies and he loved them! Everytime I make something new, I ask my dad for his opinion and if he gives me his approval and tells me he likes it, that's the biggest compliment I could get. He is definitely difficult to please since he grew up with my grandma making him homemade everything and she is absolutely amazing in the kitchen. His opinion means a lot to me....and believe me, he's brutally honest at times and will tell me if he doesn't like something I make. Luckily, these cookies got the stamp of approval! Give them a try! (and don't forget to add a little dollop of cream cheese frosting on top).Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup grated carrots (about 2 medium)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins or chopped dried pineapple
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper (I use Silpats). Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.
2. Beat brown sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer (I use my Kitchenaid) until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well blended. Stir in flour mixture; mix well. Stir in carrots, walnuts, and raisins.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
*makes about 3 dozen cookies

Maple Bars

This is one of my all-time favorite desserts for a crowd (also given to me by my friend Katie and made for the same baby shower as the mint brownies). It has since become a favorite recipe among the ladies in my ward, so we have them at almost every church gathering. If you like maple donuts, you'll love these maple bars!! They would be the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving if you plan on hosting a big crowd. Enjoy!Maple Bars

Yellow cake:

• Make a yellow cake (sometimes I use a box mix, other times I make it from scratch) and put it in a jelly roll pan that's been sprayed with Pam and dusted with flour. Bake for about 12-14 minutes, just until the top is a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the midle comes out clean. Let cool.

Frosting:

1 cup butter

4 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

3 & 1/2- to 4 cups powdered sugar

• Melt butter in medium saucepan on stove. Add sugar and milk. Turn up to med/high heat and continue stirring until it starts to boil. Cook for one minute. Remove from stove and add powdered sugar. Mix and Mix until all the lumps are gone. ( At this point, I suggest pouring the hot mixture into your kitchenaid, then add the powdered sugar, so you can start your mixer as soon as possible and let it do all the work because mixing by hand doesn't work as well. It hardens pretty quickly). . Immediately pour onto cooled cake and spread evenly.

3-Layer Mint Brownies

The first time I made these brownies was for a baby shower a few years ago and everyone begged me for the recipe afterward. My friend Katie had given me the recipe, so it's her I have to thank for all the compliments! Before I had this recipe, the only way I'd ever made mint brownies was to unwrap Andes mints and lay them on a pan of warm brownies and let them melt. Then I'd spread the Andes mint "frosting" on top. If I'm short on time then I still use that method, but otherwise this is my all-time favorite mint brownie recipe....and it's really easy!

3-layer mint brownies

1. Make a pan of brownies and let cool (I like the Ghirardelli brownie mix from Costco).

2. Mix together: 1/4 cup butter, 1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 capful peppermint extract, 2 tbsp. cold milk, green food coloring. Spread over brownies and place in fridge for 1 hour.

3. Make chocolate sauce: in microwaveable bowl, combine 1 healthy overflowing cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 tbp. butter. Melt in microwave in 30 second increments and mix until barely melted. Spread over buttercream layer and place in fridge 1 hour.

4. Serve cold.

Yellow Cake With Chocolate Frosting

My friend Katy asked me to help her make a birthday cake for her husband last week and, of course, I obliged! She wanted to use my "giant cupcake" pan from Williams-Sonoma that I used for Mackenna's first birthday cake and wanted to make a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I searched around for a good yellow cake recipe that would be sturdy enough and I came across this wonderful recipe from the Wilton website. It's nice and dense, but still soft and delicious, perfect for decorating. After we finished decorating the cake and putting the fall-colored M&M's around the platter, we relized our cake perfectly resembled a pinecone! So, Katy's husband got a yummy pinecone cake for his birthday party...that's what he gets for being born in the fall!

Ingredients:
3 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans and line with waxed paper or parchment paper. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Cream sugar and butter together until light. Add eggs and vanilla to creamed mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Continue beating one minute. Spread batter evenly in prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Fill and frost as desired.

Chocolate Frosting:

I was at Trader Joe's earlier that day and one of the checkers recommended the chocolate frosting mix to me when he saw I was buying cake ingredients. I was definitely skeptical at first, but I couldn't have been more pleased with the look, taste, and ease of it. It's a great mix to have on hand just-in-case!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

When I was a newlywed, I would sit at my desk at work and look up new recipes to try for dinner and dessert everynight ( ya, I had a really hard job). Besides chocolate chip cookies, my husband's favorite dessert is coffee cake, so I tried this recipe one day and it instantly became our favorite. Now that Fall has finally made it's arrival to So Cal, I decided to make this cake for dessert and I'm so happy I did because my house smells amazing!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. plus 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 & 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 & 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 12 tbsp. chilled, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 & 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1 & 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp. nonfat milk
• 1 & 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch square springform pan.

In a bowl, combine 2 tbps. sugar, the walnuts, and cinnamon. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; sift the mixture twice and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the 2 cups sugar and beat until light and smooth, 5 to 6 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs a little at a time and continue beating until the mixture is thick, fluffy, and double in volume, 4 to 5 minutes. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla, 2 minutes more.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the flour mixture in 2 additions until smooth. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread to the edges. SPrinkle the walnut/cinnamon mixture evenly over the batter. Spread the remaining batter over the top, making the sides higher than the center.

Bake until the top is set and springs back when touched, and the cake pulls away slightly from the sides of the pan, about 55-60 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Remove from the pan and set the cake on a stand or plate.

*I reserved some of the walnut/cinnamon sugar and made my own crumble for the topping, but you can also make a glaze that is amazing on top:

In a bowl, whisk together the milk and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Garnish the cake with raspberries, if desired, and drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Banana Drop Cookies

I wanted to make something besides bread, cupcakes, or muffins with my ripe bananas today, so I opened up an old cookbook given to me by my grandma and found this recipe. It was so easy and these cookies are so soft and moist! I added mini chocolate chips, but you can make them without chocolate chips if you want. Either way they'll taste great!Banana Drop Cookies
1 cup butter (I used butter-flavor Crisco)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups mashed bananas

Cream butter well, adding sugar gradually. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Sift flour with baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture, alternating with bananas. Add a few handfuls of chocolate chips if desired. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

My favorite frosting

I've signed up to bring cupcakes to three different Halloween parties this year, so I went looking for a different frosting recipe than my usual Betty Crocker cookbook one. I came across this recipe given to me by a friend a few years ago and it was so easy to make and so delicious. It would be especially good on banana or red velvet cupcakes, but I used it on top of vanilla cupcakes and it was great too.
ingredients:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 package (16 oz.) powdered sugar
method:
beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gradually add sugar, beating well after each edition.
*keep refrigerated*

We're Back!

After a long break from our repice blog, we are back with some great recipes for this holiday season!
This recipe was given to me by my friend, Lisa, and is one of my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. My two favorite ingredients to add to cookies are oatmeal and vanilla pudding mix and this recipe includes both of them! I doubled the recipe, added Fall-colored M&M's, and brought them to a church gathering this evening, and they were a hit. I can't wait to make them with green and red M&M's this Christmas!

Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies
½ cup butter
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
Put above ingredients in mixer and let run on medium for 10-15 mins.
Add 1 small package of instant vanilla pudding and mix.
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups flour
Sift above ingredients together then add to wet ingredients
. Mix on low until combined.
Add ½ package chocolate chips and ½ package of m&m’s and stir to combine.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

My pilates instructor knows how much I love to bake, so she wanted me to try this recipe she found in her Cooking Light Magazine. I was asked to bring a dessert to an Easter party tommorrow morning, so I thought tonight would be the perfect time to make this cake and I can't even tell you how delicious my house smells right now. And the cake tastes even more delicious than it smells! This recipe is a great alternative to the usual heavy, buttery coffee cake I'm used to making.
The "Enlightened Cook" (who published the recipe) explains, "Some coffee cakes might as well be called fatty cakes...We slimmed down this classic and used whole grains in the batter. The result: a moist and satisfying breakfast cake. Light baking is always tricky and adding the whole-grain goal upped the ante again. A combination of all-purpose, whole wheat, and homemade whole-grain rolled oat flour anchored the batter. With a little butter, light sour cream, and a mix of granulated and brown sugars, we acheived the best texture and flavor for the fewest calories and saturated fat."


Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, divided
1/3 cup butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (8 oz.) carton light sour cream (such as Daisy)
2 tbsp. finely shopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 tp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degress.
2. Spread oats in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 30 for 6 minutes or until oats are barely fragrant and light brown.
3. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
4. Reserve 1/4 cup oats, set aside. Place remaining oats in a food processor; process 4 seconds or until finely ground. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine processed oats, flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.
5. Place granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 cup butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.Add eggs, 1at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
6. Combine remaining 1/4 cup oats, remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in 1 tbsp. butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until well blended. Sprinkle top of batter evenly with nut mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 38 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, top is golden, and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes; remove from pan. yield: 10 servings

Nutrition Facts:
calories 276, fat 11.5g, protein 5.5g, carb 38.5g, fiber 14g, cholesterol 61mg, iron 1.5mg, sodium 247mg, calcium 59mg

Cheat Day- Easy Chocolate Cake

I call this recipe "easy" because it does not involve any baking on your part at all, just a trip to your local Costco! If you haven't ever tried their All-American Chocolate Cake (found in the bakery section), then you are truly missing out. It's AMAZING! My sister and I have used this cake for many different parties, showers, church functions, etc because it's such a pretty, impressive-looking cake and serves a lot. It's always a hit and one cake can easily serve 25-35 people, depending on how thick you slice it.



Costco All-American Chocolate Cake

1. Get in your car and drive to Costco (don't forget your card)!
2. Head back to the bakery section and look for a massive, 3-layer, round, chocolate cake with chocolate shavings around the outside.
3. Purchase cake
4. Slice and serve either by itself or with ice cream, whip cream, fruit/berries...the options are endless.
*The photo above was taken at a baby shower we threw and we served the cake with sliced strawberries and whipped cream.