dessert Archives - Page 8 of 14

Cocoa Crispy Sunbutter Bars {Alida's Kitchen}

Cocoa Crispy Sunbutter Bars #SundaySupper

August 18, 2013 ·

Cocoa Crispy Sunbutter Bars are easy, no-bake bars made nut-free with sunflower seed butter, and topped with a layer of semi-sweet chocolate. They are also gluten-free.

With back-to-school just around the corner, we are starting to think about ideas for what to pack for school lunch. Something nutritious, delicious and easy isn’t too much to ask, right? A little variety might be nice too. Fortunately, today I am joining the Sunday Supper Movement, and the theme is ‘lunch box.’ Several wonderful bloggers have come up with fantastic recipes and ideas to help solve the lunchbox dilemma. These are recipes are helpful when packing your own lunch to bring to work! You can find links to all of the wonderful recipes at the bottom of this post. But first, let’s talk about these Cocoa Crispy Sunbutter Bars! …

Filed Under: dessert, gluten free, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: chocolate, easy, no bake, quick, snack, sundaysupper, sunflower butter

Cocoa Pebbles Dirt Pudding

August 12, 2013 ·

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This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Post Pebbles but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PebblesBTS http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

The other day Adam and I made a trip to Walgreens for some Post Pebbles Cereal, but if you follow Alida’s Kitchen on Instagram, you already know this. I had several tasty recipe ideas swirling about, but also wanted to show Adam that you can take everyday items, such as cereal, and be creative. While I do have an easy recipe to share with you, first I have to tell you about the fun project we made with our Pebbles Cereal!…

Filed Under: Admin, dessert, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: baby/toddler, chocolate, easy, quick, snack

Marble Cake with Fudge Frosting

July 25, 2013 ·

Marble Cake with Fudge Frosting is the perfect party cake! Enjoy a swirl of yellow cake and chocolate cake in every bite, topped with a fudgy chocolate frosting. Delicious, a crowd favorite, and easy to make!

Recently, we celebrated Mike’s birthday, and as always I asked him to pick his birthday treat. He usually just tells me to make whatever, but this year he got some advice from our resident 3 year old (who may be a bit opinionated these days). After consulting a couple of his favorite cookbooks (really!) and a few of my printed recipes, Adam’s decision was made ~ Marble Cake with Fudge Frosting. While Adam had never had marble cake before, and at the time was not a fan of chocolate, he was sure this was the perfect cake for his daddy. He was absolutely right!

With yellow cake and chocolate cake in a pretty little swirl, we enjoyed the best of both worlds and the fudge frosting was the perfect icing on the cake (ha!) And while it looks fancy, this cake is super simple to make. The frosting was a bit stiff during the stirring process and goes on thick, yet is a thin layer on top of the tasty cake. Decorate it as you wish, and here is the perfect party cake to celebrate any special occasion.

Marble Cake with Fudge Frosting

Marble Cake with Fudge Frosting is the perfect party cake! Enjoy a swirl of yellow cake and chocolate cake in every bite, topped with a fudgy chocolate frosting.

Yields: 16-20 servings

Ingredients

Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa
1¼ cups granulated sugar, divided
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 cup milk (I used skim)
2 teaspoons vanilla
Cooking spray
Frosting:
1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk (I used skim)

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE: Preheat oven to 350* F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate medium bowl, combine cocoa, ¼ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup water.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer (hand or stand) set to medium-high, beat butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low, and add eggs, milk and vanilla, beating until smooth. Add flour mixture, continue beating on low until combined.
Pour 2 cups of the vanilla batter into the bowl with the cocoa mixture, and stir until smooth.
Pour vanilla batter into the prepared baking pan. Spoon chocolate batter into six puddles on top of the vanilla batter. Drag a knife through the two batters, creating a swirly marble effect.
Bake 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost once cool.
FOR THE FROSTING: Put chocolate chips in a glass or metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or use a double-boiler), until melted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add butter, powdered sugar and milk. Beat on high until frosting comes together. Add more milk or sugar as needed to achieve desired consistency. (If frosting is too stiff, add more milk; if it's too wet, add more powdered sugar)
Spread over cooled cake and decorate as desired.

Source: Real Simple

Filed Under: dessert, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: cake, chocolate, easy, frosting, holiday, marble, vanilla

Chocolate Banana Brownies

July 11, 2013 ·

Chocolate Banana Brownies are so rich and fudgy, you would never guess they are low in fat (and can be made vegan)!

Chocolate Banana Brownies | alidaskitchen.com

I’ve been on a bit of a brownie kick lately and found myself choosing between three different brownies recipes to share with you today. These Chocolate Banana Brownies were at the top of the list. A brownie that is so rich and fudgy, you would never guess it’s low in fat (and can be made vegan)? Yes please!

The addition of bananas not only puts a tasty twist on these brownies, but it also helps reduce some of the added fat. There are also no eggs in this recipe. Changes from the original recipe include using whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose (either one works fine, I just wanted a whole wheat brownie) and using brown sugar instead of granulated, because I love the flavor brown sugar adds to baked goods. Use your favorite non-dairy milk and non-dairy chocolate chips, and you have a delicious vegan dessert that everybody will love!

Chocolate Banana Brownies

Author: Alida Fischbach

Yields: 13x9-inch pan of brownies (see note for servings)

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
2 cups packed brown sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup mashed overripe bananas (2-3, depending on size)
¼ cup milk (use soy or almond for vegan)
¼ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (use dairy-free for vegan)
Cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, stir bananas, milk, oil, and vanilla until well-blended.
Add banana mixture to flour mixture, gently stirring until just combined. Add chocolate chips, folding gently.
Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Be careful not to over bake, otherwise the brownie may not be as fudgy). Move pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into squares to serve.

Notes

Note: 24 squares = 150 calores/brownie, 36 squares = 100 calories/brownie. These amounts are approximations based on the ingredients I used.

Source: About.com

Have more overripe bananas? Here are some other healthy, easy recipes to try:

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Banana Buttermilk Muffins

Healthy Banana Cookies

Filed Under: dessert, Favorites, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes, vegan Tagged With: banana, brownies, chocolate, vegan

White Cupcakes with Truffle Filling and White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

May 30, 2013 ·

truffle filled white cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese icing

White Cupcakes with Truffle Filling and White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting are a fun cupcake with a gooey truffle center. They are super easy to make too!

This past weekend marked a special second birthday ~ Alida’s Kitchen turned 2! Of course a birthday is not a birthday without cake, right? I’ve been looking for a white chocolate cake for a long time and actually have several recipes I want to try. This particular recipe won me over with two little words “truffle filling.”

truffle filled white chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese frosting

While the original recipe called this cake white chocolate, it strikes me as closer to a white cake with a little tang from the sour cream. So my quest for a white chocolate cake continues, but these White Cupcakes with Truffle Filling are definitely tasty. I used a combination of white chocolate and dark chocolate truffles for the center, and both were good. The White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting deliciously rounds everything out, making these cupcakes worthy this special 2-year celebration!

White Cupcakes with Truffle Filling and White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

Ingredients
1¾ cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
⅔ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites, room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup sour cream
12 round white or dark chocolate truffles (such as Lindt)
Frosting:
4 ounces white chocolate baking bar, chopped
1 package (8 ounces) light cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk flour and baking powder.
In a liquid measuring cup, combine milk and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add sour cream, and continue beating until smooth.
On medium speed, alternate adding flour and milk to butter mixture, ending with flour, and beat until smooth.
Stir in ⅓ of the egg whites. Fold in remaining egg whites until combined.
Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove cupcakes from oven and while hot, cut a ½ inch "X" into the tops of each cupcake. Insert the truffle and press until truffle is flush with the top of the cupcake. Truffle will melt into cupcake. Let cool completely before frosting.
Make frosting: Place white chocolate in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute and stir. Continue in 30 second increments until melted. Let cool for 3 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine melted chocolate, cream cheese, butter and vanilla and beat on medium speed until combined. Slowly add powdered sugar and continue beating until smooth.
Frost cupcakes and decorate as desired.

Notes

Source: Pampered Chef

Filed Under: dessert, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: cupcakes, white chocolate

Oreo Cookies and Cream Muffins

May 22, 2013 ·

Oreo Cookies and Cream Muffins are a tasty vanilla muffin studded with large chunks of chocolate sandwich cookies throughout. If you like Oreos (or Joe Joe’s!) and are looking for a fun recipe to try with them, these muffins are for you. While Oreo muffins are not something that I would make every day, after making the crust for my Lighter Chocolate Cheesecake Bars, I found myself with leftover Oreos (if there is such a thing). Why not try something new for a change! Oreo Cookies and Cream Muffins are glorious and definitely something worth trying if you’re a cookies and cream lover, like myself!

Oreo Cookies and Cream Muffins

Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
⅓ cup cold butter, cut into 12 pieces
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
16 Oreo cookies, chopped
Topping:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
2 tablespoons cold butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a standard muffin tin, line 12 muffin cups (or spray with cooking spray) and set aside.
Make topping: In food processor, combine flour, sugar and crushed cookies until combined. Add cold butter, pulsing until crumbly. Put in a small bowl and set aside.
Make muffin: In a food processor, put flour, sugar and baking powder and process until combined. Add cold butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour into large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk milk, egg and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Gently fold in chopped cookies.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with topping. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Source: Taste of Home

Filed Under: breakfast, dessert, Recipes Tagged With: brunch, chocolate, cookies, cookies 'n cream, easy, muffins, oreo, quick, vanilla

Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

May 17, 2013 ·

These Chocolate Cheesecake Bars are made on the lighter side! They are chocolaty, decadent and soooo good!

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a dessert, so to make up for that, I decided you deserve some chocolate. Not just any old chocolate though ~ Chocolate Cheesecake Bars, and they’re made on the lighter side. Despite being made light, each bite of these Chocolate Cheesecake Bars is chocolaty, decadent and sooooo good!

The hands on work takes all of 10 minutes, which is awesome. First you start with a simple chocolate cookie crumb crust. Then toss the rest of the ingredients the food processor (minus the chocolate chips, which are used for topping) and process until smooth. Pour the filling over the crust, sprinkle with chocolate chips, and bake. Easy peasy! After baking, just chill the bars for a few hours, or overnight. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 cup chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (such as Oreos) - approx. 15 cookies
2 tablespoons butter, melted (I used light butter)
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white
⅓ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used miniature)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line pan with 2 strips of parchment (or waxed paper) set cross-wise in the pan. Spray with cooking spray again and set aside.
In a small bowl, stir cookie crumbs and melted butter until moistened. Using waxed paper, press cookie crumbs into the bottom of prepared pan.
In a food processor, blend cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add cocoa, cornstarch, sugar, vanilla, egg and egg white and process until smooth. Pour into pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until set (be careful not to over bake). Cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to overnight.

Notes

Notes: I made cookie crumbs by whizzing the Oreos in the food processor and then proceeded to make the filling - no need to wash in between. If you're gluten free, you can use gluten free cookies for the crumbs.

Adapted from Everyday Food, January/February, 2004

Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: cheesecake, chocolate, easy, light, make ahead

Lighter Lemon Cake

April 19, 2013 ·

Right now, I am listening to the sounds of our snowplow service plowing our driveway. Again. We got 5 inches of snow yesterday and are projected to get at least another inch today. It’s mid-late April. Yikes! So while I had a different recipe to share with you today, I thought we all could use a little sunshine, well…for a variety of reasons these days. Nothing says sunshine quite like a lemon dessert, and this Lighter Lemon Cake will definitely brighten any day.

Back in February, I shared Adam’s Baseball Birthday cake, and the flavor of that cake was this Lighter Lemon Cake. Lighter Lemon Cake has become my ‘go-to’ lemon cake. It has a generous amount of lemon zest and juice, yielding a vibrant lemon flavor, and the buttermilk helps yield a nice, moist crumb. The lemon zest and juice in the frosting gives an extra lemon boost, which is bright and delicious. If you like lemon, you’ll love this cake!

This cake is made on the lighter side, which means less frosting than a typical cake, or a typical layer cake anyway. While I stretched it to cover the sides of a layer cake for purposes of making a last minute baseball cake, I recommend just spreading frosting between the layers and on top of the cake, leaving the sides exposed OR make 1 1/2 times the frosting amount to have enough to fully cover the cake.

And while we are all a little snowed out after this winter, I can tell you one little boy who is elated. Here is a picture of Adam after the snowstorm we had last week. He’s loving every minute of it,…which is a different kind of sunshine that is sure to brighten any day.

Lighter Lemon Cake

Yields: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons finely granted lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Icing:
3 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¼/ cup fresh lemon juice, add as needed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 9-inch (or 8-inch) cake pans with cooking spray, line the bottoms with waxed paper and coat the waxed paper with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter at medium speed with a hand (or stand) mixer until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beating on low after each addition until just combined. Last, beat in the lemon zest, juice and vanilla.
Pour equal amounts of batter in prepared pans and sharply tap on counter to remove any bubbles.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from pans to cool completely. Remove waxed paper.
To make icing: In a large bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter, lemon zest and juice until combined and smooth. Frost cake as desired.

Source: Cooking Light, May 2008

Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: buttermilk, cake, cooking light, easy, lemon, light

Oatmeal Fig Bars | Homemade Fig Newtons

April 15, 2013 ·

Oatmeal Fig Bars are a chewy, fig-filled bar made on the lighter side. They taste pretty close to a Fig Newton, but homemade is always better, right? When I was researching for a healthy fig bar recipe made with oatmeal, I was surprised to find there weren’t many (or rather any that were suitable). So I decided to take the dough of a oatmeal date bar recipe and replace the date filling with a fig filling. Because I wanted these to be healthier, I reduced the amount of sugar in the dough and eliminated added sugar from the filling. In lieu of sugar, I added lemon juice and zest to the filling to brighten the flavor and also act as a thickener. The result was just what I had in mind for a healthy fig bar, and they were also really simple to make.

When I was making these Oatmeal Fig Bars, I couldn’t help but think about my grandma and grandpa and chuckle. I’ve talked many times about my grandma and what a wonderful baker she was. While I’m sure my grandpa loved all of her (delicious!) baked goodies, he always had a stash of Fig Newtons in their pantry. I really can’t blame him. Not much beats a Fig Newton (except for these bars of course!.. but I digress). I don’t think my grandma ever attempted to make a homemade variety of his beloved fig bars, but I’m sure they would have been similar to these…and my grandpa would have stashed these instead!

Oatmeal Fig Bars | Homemade Fig Newtons

Yields: 16 bars

Ingredients

1 cup chopped dried figs, stems removed (8 ounces)
½ cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1½ cups rolled oats (I used quick oats)
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup butter, melted (I used light butter)
1 egg white
Cooking spray

Instructions

In a small sauce pan, put figs, water, lemon juice and zest, and bring to a boil. Simmer until mixture starts to thicken (about 3 minutes). Let cool for about 5 minutes.
Put filling in food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Add butter and egg white to oat mixture and stir until combined.
Press half of the oat mixture into the prepared baking pan. [Note: I used waxed paper to press and spread the mixture into the pan]. Next, carefully spread with fig mixture. Last, drop pieces of remaining oat mixture over the fig mixture so it appears crumbly and then gently pat it down [Note: I used waxed paper for this step].
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

This marks the third installment of the Eating the Alphabet Challenge, hosted by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic. This month we’re featuring healthy recipes using fruits, vegetables, grains or legumes that start with letters E or F. This was a no-brainer for me. I’ve been wanting to come up with a healthy Fig Bar recipe, so this was just the incentive I needed!

Filed Under: dessert, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: bars, brown sugar, fig, lemon, oatmeal, snack

Chewy M&M Sugar Cookies

March 26, 2013 ·

Chewy M&M Sugar Cookies add M&M chocolate candies to the best chewy sugar cookie recipe, resulting in one of my favorite cookies of all time. These are also fun for holidays!

When I first saw a recipe for Chewy M&M Sugar Cookies, and realized it used the same base recipe as my Chewy Sugar Cookies I knew they were going to be good. Since those cookies are one of my favorites of all time, I figured M&Ms could only make them better, right? Right! The sugar cookie base is deliciously chewy and the cream cheese adds a little tang. Chocolate bursts of M&Ms are studded throughout. Chewy sugar cookies made with M&Ms. Genius idea.

I love how cute these look and that they can be made festive for any occasion. Truth be told, I have been trying to make these cookies for months. I have M&Ms for every holiday stocked in my treat drawer that were intended to be used for Chewy M&M Sugar Cookies. While I used Easter “Bunny Mix” M&Ms, these are made in honor of Spring (since there won’t be any left for Easter…Oops!).

Chewy M&M Sugar Cookies

Yields: 24 cookies

Ingredients

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups sugar, plus ⅓ cup for rolling
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into 12 pieces (I used ⅓ less fat cream cheese)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot
⅓ cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk (I used skim)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1⅓ cup M&M chocolate candies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place ⅓ cup sugar in a shallow bowl and set aside (this will be used for rolling).
In a medium bowl, whick the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add 1½ cups sugar and cream cheese. Pour butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps may remain). Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk and vanilla; continue to whisk until smooth.
Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula. Add 1 cup of M&Ms and continue mixing until dough forms.
Divide dough into 24 equal pieces. Using hands, roll dough into balls. Roll balls in reserved sugar to coat and place on prepared baking sheets, 12 balls per sheet. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten balls until 2 inches in diameter. Using remaining M&Ms, gently press 2-3 candies onto tops of cookies.
Bake 1 tray at a time until edges are set and beginning to brown, about 9 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

Source: as seen on Carrie’s Sweet Life, originally fromTracey’s Culinary Adventures