Dessert

Recipe: Sweet Potato Brownies with Cream Cheese Icing

May 30, 2012 by Denisesawyer Leave a Comment

Okay, so you’ve heard of brownies with black beans. I’ve got you one better…brownies with sweet potatoes! These are delightful little fudgy bites that you won’t feel bad about giving to your kiddos.

So, I guess technically this isn’t the best way to get your kids to eat their veggies but hey, it still counts! And, it can’t hurt to squeeze in one more serving of vegetables in all of us!

:: Sweet Potato Brownies with Cream Cheese Icing

1 medium sweet potato
1/2 stick butter
1 egg
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

{For Icing}
2 oz butter (at room temp)
2 oz cream cheese (at room temp)
1 cup powdered sugar

Peel and boil the sweet potato. Once tender, mash with butter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the egg, cocoa powder, sugar, & vanilla to the potatoes. In a second bowl sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir the potato mixture and the flour mixture together until well combined.

Divide the mixture into 24 mini muffin cups. Bake about 15 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow them to cool in the pan before removing.

In the meantime, beat together all of the icing ingredients. Once brownies have completely cooled, frost them with the cream cheese icing.

Devour.

Filed Under: Dessert, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: brownies, dessert, hidden veggies, recipe, sweet potatoes

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Recipe: Strawberry Crumble

May 11, 2012 by Denisesawyer 9 Comments

I LOVE strawberries and apparently so does my daughter {did you see the pics from our strawberry farm excursion? Hilarious}. Once we brought our berries home I immediately had to use them for this crumble recipe. I swear you will not be disappointed. We basically inhaled it. Which I must disclose that sweets are typically inhaled in our household. BUT…this one was particularly delicious. (:

:: Strawberry Crumble

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
2 sticks (½ lb) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
4 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp of lemon juice {I used REAL lemon}

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place flour, 1 cup of the sugar, baking powder, and salt into your food processor. Place all the butter that has been cut into pieces into the food processor. Pulse until crumbly. Then, drop the egg in and pulse until blended. (You can also do this the old school way – with a pastry blender or two butter knives. BUT…make your life easier {and your belly happier, faster} by putting all of this in the food processor.

Take out about half of this mixture and press it into the bottom of a 9×11 glass dish. This will be the bottom crust.

Place all the strawberries, the 1/4 cup of {remaining} sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice into a separate boil and stir. Pour the strawberry mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the top with the remaining crust mixture.

Bake for about 45 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

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Filed Under: Dessert, Wholesome Recipes

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Recipe: Frozen Banana BonBons

May 8, 2012 by Denisesawyer Leave a Comment

Here’s a little late night snack that you are going to love! Chocolate Covered Banana Bonbons. Yum. Yum.

You know those chocolate covered bananas that you can buy at chocolate shops and ice cream parlors? Well this is better.

Why? Because you can make them to order. Add some chopped nuts or Biscoff spread and you’be got something special!

Here’s what I did:

Melt some chocolate chips in the microwave at half power or over a double boiler. Slice up a banana (or two or three).

For plain banana bonbons just dip the banana into the chocolate and then place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Freeze until hard.

For biscoff and chocolate banana bonbons spread a dollop of Biscoff spread on the top of a banana slice. Dip into chocolate (I actually found it easier to drop a spoonful of chocolate on top and then spread it around rather than dipping). Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Freeze until hard.

Sprinkle either type with a few chopped almonds for a fancier look and for a little texture.

This is a great summer time treat you can pull out of the freezer. You can pull out just a few or a bunch depending on how many you/your guests want!

Can you think of other yummy variations?

*Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. This post is sponsored by Walmart. Walmart has provided me with product and/or compensation in exchange for my time and efforts in creating this post. My participation is voluntary. As always, my opinion is my own.

Filed Under: Dessert, Snacks, Uncategorized, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: banana, bonbons, dessert, frozen treat

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Chocolate Cream Puffs

April 2, 2012 by Denisesawyer Leave a Comment

I had the opportunity to try out Kraft Philadelphia Indulgence Chocolate Spread. Since it is humanly impossible to turn down chocolate, I’ve had fun trying it on anything and everything in my kitchen/pantry/fridge. I mean…really. This stuff is so good, you could spread it on a flip flop and be thrilled with the result!

Lately, it has become my “mama snack” during the late hours of the evening when the kiddos have gone to bed. I savor it spread on top of fresh, local strawberries. Sure, I’ll share it. Eventually. But, right now…its all mine. I predict my chocolate-lovin’ three year old will discover it soon and then we’ll have trouble keeping it in the house.

So, besides being fabulous spread on fresh fruit, I think this would make a delicious filling for cream puffs. My sister-in-law has a weakness for cream puffs so I can’t wait to surprise her with this yummy dessert next time they visit. (:

My Inspiration from The Cooking Photographer

:: Chocolate Cream Cheese Puffs

1 package of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp sugar
1 (8 oz) tub of milk chocolate indulgence philadelphia chocolate spread (at room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Unfold the puff pastry and cut 9 circles using a 3 inch cookie cutter or the rim of a glass. Place the puff pastry circles on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut the remaining sheet of puff pastry into 9 more circles and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to completely cool.

Meanwhile, Whip the heavy cream with the sugar to make whipped topping. Fold the chocolate spread into the whipped topping. Cover, and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.

Cut the puff pastry in half horizontally. Spoon in (or pipe in with a pastry bag) the chocolate whipped topping into the bottom halves of the puff pastry cream puffs. Place the top back on. Serve immediatly. Or, if you can stand it, you may refrigerate until you are ready to serve them.

These are best made and eaten on the same day – so lucky for you they are both easy to make AND delicious! (:

Filed Under: Dessert, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: chocolate cream puffs, cream puffs recipe, dessert recipe, puff pastry

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Upside Down Apple Pecan Pie

December 17, 2011 by Denisesawyer Leave a Comment

I love pecans but there is nothing worse than stale nuts! Fisher has come up with a solution to stale nuts and has made cooking with them even easier with their brand new stand-up bag – the first of its kind in the baking nuts category. The innovative design features a flat, expandable bottom and a wide open top, making it much easier to scoop nuts right out of the bag and into the mixing bowl. The Fisher Freshness Seal Bag also features a press-to-seal closure that locks in freshness and preserves the flavor and crunch of the nuts after opening.

Now, when I buy a big bag (because it is cheaper) I don’t have to worry about the remainder going rancid before I use them in my next recipe!

Looking for a new way to try Fisher pecans? This Thanksgiving I made a fabulous new pie … Upside Down Apple Pecan Pie. It is a cross between deep dish apple pie and a southern favorite -pecan pie. Can’t decide which pie to have – have ‘em both – in one pie!

:: Pie Crust (Make a double batch for top and bottom)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
10 Tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 -inch pieces. (I use organic and use it straight out of the fridge)
3 Tbsp of ice water

:: Pecans

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup pecan halves

:: Filling

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
8 cups thinly sliced apples

Make pie crust: Combine flour, salt, and sugar in the food processor. Add chunks of butter a little at a time and pulse until it resembles crumbs. Add water in a drizzle while the food processor is running and it will form a ball in food processor. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Coat a 9 inch deep dish pie plate with cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides of the plate with parchment paper. coat paper with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the pecans. Arrange in the bottom of the pie plate. with rounded sides of the pecans facing down.

Roll out the pie dough on a floured surface. Transfer to the bottom of the pie dish on top of the pecans and up the sides of the plate. Trim edges.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Add apples; toss to coat. Fill crust. Roll out remaining pie crust and place over filling. Trim and seal edges. Cut slits in the top of the pie crust for venting.

Place the pie on a foil lined baking sheet to catch spills. Bake pie at 375 degrees F for 60 to 70 minutes. Carefully loosen the parchment paper around edge of pie, invert hot pie onto a serving plate (I needed a second person to help me with this). Remove paper. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

If you make it, I would love to hear your thoughts! My family loved it!

I received some nuts from Fisher to use for this post. {They were yummy in my pie!} The opinions here are my own and as always… they are honest.

Filed Under: Dessert, Uncategorized, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: apple, apple pie, dessert, pecan, pecan pie, pie, recipe

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Vanilla Cinnamon Apples

December 15, 2011 by Denisesawyer 1 Comment

Throughout its more than 100 year history, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas has earned its reputation as a manufacturer of the finest extracts in the world. The full line of Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Vanilla products include: Vanilla Beans and Extracts from Madagascar, Tahiti and Mexico; sugar and alcohol-free Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar and Certified Organic Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract and Beans.

My personal favorite is the Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Paste. As a matter of fact, it is so good I’d like to use it in every recipe in place of regular vanilla extract. It has the specks of vanilla bean all through out it so it makes sauces, butters, and ice cream absolutely beautiful, besides the fact that it is delicious.

If you are looking for a delicious dish this winter I’ve got one to try:

Nielsen Massey Vanillas’ Vanilla Cinnamon Apples

The recipe, found below, combines the savory flavor of Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste with the delicious tart taste of fall apples to create a treat that is overflowing with gooey goodness. (Just don’t forget the napkins.) It is a beautiful presentation and is so delicious your guests will be lining up for seconds!

Vanilla Cinnamon Apples

4 baking apples
3 tbsp. butter
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
1 tbsp. brandy
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup walnuts
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat the bottom of a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each apple so it will stand upright. Scoop out the core of each apple from the top down with the small end of a melon ball cutter, making sure not to core all the way through the apple.

Combine the butter, brown sugar and vanilla paste in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon, allspice, brandy, raisins, walnuts and salt. Fill the apples with equal amounts of the filling using a teaspoon. Place the apples in the prepared baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until caramelized and fork tender.

With the right vanilla, vanilla desserts will be far from bland. Check out my recipe for Vanilla Brioche with Vanilla Honey Butter.

Disclosure: I received some Nielsen Massey products to review as part of this post.

Filed Under: Dessert, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: apples, dessert, review, vanilla

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Egg Roll Mania!

November 18, 2011 by Denisesawyer Leave a Comment

My mom makes fantastic egg rolls. They are a little bit of work so we don’t have them too often. They are kind of reserved for a treat so we make them at special times when we are off from work and together with family and friends. New Years is typically a time we might have them.

But recently I found two new ways to use those egg roll wrappers and I’m thrilled with the results! These recipes as super simple – one doesn’t even require any special rolling technique and they are both keepers…

Image Credit: Can You Stay For Dinner?

These are Chicken Parmesan Wraps and they make a fantastic quick lunch or dinner if you’ve got some left over chicken and some leftover marinara or you happen to have some homemade sauce ready and waiting in the freezer like I do. The ingredients include some fresh spinach, shredded chicken, some mozzarella, and some marinara sauce. All wrapped in an egg roll wrapper they are crispy , deliciousness! Get the recipe here.

Image Credit: Miss In the Kitchen

And, I saved the best for last… because who doesn’t love apple pie …fried. The idea is so simple I don’t know why I didn’t think of it! Fried apple pies are delicious and I love to get them when I can find them at our local craft fairs here in the south – homemade by some sweet little ol’ southern lady. They are the best! These egg roll wrapped apple pies are just as delicious and so easy! The egg roll wrapper makes a fantastic crispy crust. I’ve already made them twice! Definitely a must try! Get the recipe here.

Filed Under: Dessert, Main Dishes, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: apple pie, apples, chicken, dessert, dinner, egg rolls

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Caramel Corn

November 1, 2011 by Denisesawyer Leave a Comment

My family celebrated Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles last week and I made lots of yummy treats with the help of my sous chef, Judah to share with our friends. One morning Judah and I made our favorite recipe for caramel corn.

We pop organic popcorn all the time for a healthy snack and taking it from yummy snack to decadent treat doesn’t take much more effort. Making homemade caramel corn isn’t hard and doesn’t take a lot of time either. If you’ve never tried it, you’ll be surprised!

This time I wanted to make the treat a little more special and turn it orange in honor of fall. So, I added a little orange Wilton food coloring gel. It is the same food coloring you use to color icing for cakes and you can find it at Walmart. You don’t have to use the food coloring, but I think it added a fun element. And, you could turn it any color for any event for that matter!

:: Caramel Corn

1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 cup unpopped popcorn (I use organic from the bulk bins)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (I use organic)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Warm the oil over high heat in a large pot. Add popcorn, cover and cook, shaking pot, until all the popcorn is popped. Put the popped corn into a large bowl and set aside.

In another large pot combine 1/4 cup water. sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce temperature to medium and allow to cook without stirring until the mixture turns the color of iced tea (a light amber color).

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, and salt (and if your using it, now is the time to stir in food coloring gel as well.

Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir quickly to coat the popcorn. Pour the caramel corn out onto the prepared baking sheet and allow to cool and harden about 15 minutes before breaking into pieces. Enjoy!

* A Note from Wholesome Mommy

I tripled this recipe for our party. It made a ton! This recipe is a good amount to share with your family. I’ve made a single batch and it was enough for my family to enjoy for a week. It will keep for a while if you put it in a covered container.

Filed Under: Dessert, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: caramel corn, carnival food, dessert, fall, party, popcorn

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The Best Sugar Cookies – Decorated for Fall

October 27, 2011 by Denisesawyer Leave a Comment

Last week I made some sugar cookies to get into the fall frame of mind. After seeing the project sheets that Wilton sent I was inspired to make some fun sugar cookie cut outs. {These project sheets are available where the cake supplies are at Walmart by the way}. Last time I made sugar cookies I frosted them with royal icing. Although they turned out pretty, I was really disappointed with the taste of the royal icing – especially after seeing how long it took to do! So, I’ve vowed to never waste my time again – I’m using the good stuff, butter cream icing … and lots of it.

I cut the dough into pumpkin and candy corn shapes using the cookie cutters that Wilton sent. I actually cut the cookie recipe in half since it makes so many. I didn’t have time to do that many and I really didn’t need to eat that many!

After allowing the cookies to cool I iced them with the butter cream frosting that I had colored with Wilton’s food coloring gel. I also added some fun orange sugar from Wilton as well to dress them up! I love colored sugar – so sparkly… it is like glitter and bling for food.

The recipe I use boasts that it is the best sugar cookie recipe and it is my opinion that they are absolutely right! These cookies didn’t last long, they were so yummy. I’m sure I ate my share!

:: Best Ever Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup almond paste
4 egg yolks
2 cups butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Beat the almond paste and egg yolks until crumbly. Add the butter, sugar, and salt and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and mix well. Divide into 4 portions. Roll the dough in a ball and then flatten into a disc shape and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours (until easy to handle).

On a floured surface (flour is important!), roll one portion of the dough with a floured rolling pin until it is 1/4 inch thick. (Leave other portions of dough in the fridge until you are ready to roll them, they heat up and get hard to work with quickly!) Cut with cookie cutters and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 6 to 8 minutes (until the edges begin to brown). cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them onto cooling racks to cool completely.

Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting. I used Wilton’s buttercream frosting recipe. Except, I prefer to use almond extract instead of vanilla and I use all butter instead of half butter and half solid shortening. I prefer the flavor but if you like a stiffer icing the shortening will help it to stabilize and not melt at room temperature. I didn’t have any trouble with mine melting though. Use food coloring gel to color the icing the shades you need. (It is important to use gel and not liquid so you don’t water down the icing).

I am a participant in the Walmart Moms program. Walmart has provided me with compensation for my time on this post. Participation in this program is voluntary. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Filed Under: Dessert, Holidays, Kids Can Cook, Wholesome Family, Wholesome Fun, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: baking, buttercream, dessert, fall, recipe, sugar cookies

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Fun Fall Snacks: Colored Chocolate Covered Pretzels

October 19, 2011 by Denisesawyer 2 Comments

Since Eliana has made her entry into this world I’ve been trying to find a little time each day to do something fun with Judah. This is usually during Eliana’s napping in the morning. I think it is important to give him a little private time with mommy and I enjoy it also.

Last week we had fun doing a few fall projects. I’ve been finding lots of great ideas on Pinterest and you can see whatI’ve been finding by checking out my boards here.

One idea I found that Judah and I did together were these delicious little chocolate covered pretzels. Chocolate covered pretzels are always a hit – who doesn’t love this salty and sweet snack?! – and we made them especially for fall to share with some friends by using Wilton chocolates in orange, yellow, and white.

I melted each color one at a time and dipped the pretzels using a skewer allowing the extra chocolate to drip back in the bowl. I put them on parchment paper to dry. My sous chef, Judah, helped by putting the sprinkles on while the chocolate was still wet. I had some sprinkles in these exact same colors that I had picked up in the fall baking stuff.

It took a little reminding to get him to ease up on the sprinkle coverage. (: I kept reminding him to “save some for the other pretzels,” and to “only use a little.” He had so much fun though.

And my sprinkle-covered kitchen floors were proof. (:

Once all the colored pretzels were done and dry I packaged them up into small little bags and added a cute sticker that read, From the Kitchen of Denise Sawyer. I purchased this digital file a while back on Etsy and now I can print and punch these cut tags/stickers any time I want.

Judah, Eliana, and I delivered these to my coworkers at Berry College the following day. Judah had fun helping me hand out our creations. And, we kept a few for ourselves too… and they were yummy!

Filed Under: Dessert, Holidays, Kids Can Cook, Wholesome Family, Wholesome Fun, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: chocolate, chocolate covered pretzels, dessert, fall, fun, fun with kids, how-to

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Recipe: Sweet Potato Brownies with Cream Cheese Icing

:: Sweet Potato Brownies with Cream Cheese Icing

Recipe: Strawberry Crumble

:: Strawberry Crumble

Recipe: Frozen Banana BonBons

Chocolate Cream Puffs

:: Chocolate Cream Cheese Puffs

Upside Down Apple Pecan Pie

:: Pie Crust (Make a double batch for top and bottom)

:: Pecans

:: Filling

Vanilla Cinnamon Apples

Nielsen Massey Vanillas’ Vanilla Cinnamon Apples

Egg Roll Mania!

Caramel Corn

:: Caramel Corn

The Best Sugar Cookies – Decorated for Fall

Fun Fall Snacks: Colored Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Click the Image for a Printable Meal Plan

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