Sweet Vanilla Cashew Cream

This is healthy, yummy, dairy free and sugar free!  Almost doesn't seem real?! But it totally is! This is so yummy on fresh berries, in Choffy (if you don't know what this is, click here!) or any drink you want to be creamy and sweet! Or just eat it by the spoonful (I obviously DON'T do this). You should totally try this!

Sweet Vanilla Cashew Cream

makes about two cups

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews

1/2 cup almond milk

2-4 T pure Maple Syrup (depending on sweet you want it)

1 t vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Let them soak for at least two hours.

Drain the water and place the cashews in a blender. Add the almond milk, syrup, vanilla and salt and blend on high for 30 to a minute or until smooth.  Refrigerate to thicken. Will keep in the fridge for unto 5 days or freeze.

Graham Cracker Cookies

I found these on the back of a box of graham crackers and thought I would give them a try.  Not only are they fantastic, but they are also egg free! So, if you just want to eat the dough, there is no guilt (well, almost!)  I also thought the dough would be great to use in cookie dough ice cream or in cookie dough truffles.  The cookies reminded me of Magic Cookie Bars, most of the same ingredients, just put together differently!

Graham Cracker Cookies

(4-5 dozen)

1 1/2 cups honey graham crackers, finely crushed

1/2 cup flour

2 t baking powder

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 t vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs, flour and baking powder.  In another bowl, beat sweetened condensed milk and butter together until smooth.  Add vanilla.  Add the crumb mixture and stir until smooth.  Add in the chocolate chips, coconut and nuts and stir until combined.  Drop by the teaspoonful onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.   Let them cool for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.

Gourmet Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

These are always impressive and always delicious (and SUPER easy! Shhhhh, don't tell!)  I made these for the boys in my life on this stay-at-home-with-3-sick-kids Valentine's Day!  They are so easy my 3 year old helped me do them!  So, no excuses!  These puppies can be $1 a piece at candy stores! (I have totally posted this before, but these are GOURMET, hence the nuts and coconut!)

Gourmet Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Fresh strawberries, washed and dried (leave the stems on for dipping)

Good chocolate (I always use Ghirardelli) milk chocolate, white chocolate, or semi-sweet 

nuts, chopped fine (I used pecans)

coconut

mini chocolate chips

toffee bits

oil

Line a cookie sheet or two with wax paper, set aside. Mix chocolate chips with about 1 t oil per cup of chips in a sauce pan.  Heat over LOW heat stirring constantly until the chocolate is melted and smooth.  Remove from heat.  Repeat process with as many different kinds of chocolate as you want to use. (I used milk and white for these).  I always melt my chocolate stove top, I have more control this way and I have found it helps the chocolate to not seize (especially the white chocolate).  Dip the washed and dried strawberries in the chocolate one at a time and then roll in what ever toppings you want, or a mixture of them.  Place dipped strawberries on wax paper. Let them sit for a couple of minutes and then drizzle with alternating kids of chocolate if desired.  I just use a spoon with a side to side motion.  Try it first over a separate piece of wax paper to get the feel for it.  Let the strawberries set up completely.  I find this is best in a cool place or the fridge. Store extras in the fridge for a few days.

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Hello Beautiful!  I absolutely LOVE German chocolate anything!  It is the perfect combination... pecans, coconut and chocolate!  I saw a picture of something like this on pinterest but wanted to use all of my favorite components.  I LOVED how they turned out and will be skipping lunch so that I can justify having these multiple times today, is that wrong?  Oh well, who cares!  These are to good to pass up!

German Chocolate Cupcakes

(24 cupcakes)

Cake:

My favorite recipe, I already posted it here! I made it with a chocolate cake mix and chocolate pudding. Cool completely before frosting.

Coconut-Pecan Frosting:

(Recipe from my BFF Abby!  Here is the link)

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 t vanilla

1 1/3 cups shredded, sweetened coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

In a medium sauce pan, combine evaporated milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks and vanilla.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, but do NOT boil.  It should coat the back of the spoon.  Stir in the coconut and pecans.  Let the frosting cool for 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

2 heaping T cocoa powder

1 t vanilla

a pinch of salt

3-4 T of milk, or more until desired constancy

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or on the stove top over low heat until smooth.  Beat together all the ingredients until the frosting is smooth and whipped.  Start with the least amount of milk and add more as needed to desired constancy.

Assembly:

Using a pastry bag and frosting tip, pipe on a ring of chocolate buttercream frosting around the top of each cooled cupcake.  Fill the middle of the ring with a spoonful or two of the coconut-pecan frosting.  Store in a cool place to let the frosting set up a little.

Almond Roca

I have LOVED Almond Roca for as long as I can remember!  It is totally one of my favorite candies.  So, you can imagine how excited I was to come across this recipe.  But I was even more thrilled when it was easy, quick and OH SO GOOD! 

Almond Roca

3/4 cup toasted, chopped almonds*

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

6 oz (about 1 cup) milk chocolate chips

Butter a 7x11 inch pan.  Sprinkle half of the almonds on the bottom of the pan.  

In a heavy sauce pan, over medium high heat, melt the butter and then add the brown sugar.  Stir gently until boiling.  Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling until the temperature reaches 300 degrees (hard crack stage).  The best is to use a candy thermometer, doing it with timing can be tricky, especially if this is your first time making this.  If it gets higher than 320 it will NOT remain solid.  

Pour the hot mixture over the almonds in the buttered pan.  Pour the chocolate chips over the top and let them sit for a minute or two to melt.  Once they are melty, use a spatula to spread them evenly over the top.  Sprinkle the remaining chopped almonds over the melted chocolate.  Let the whole thing cool until the chocolate has set.  Use a sharp knife to break the almond roca into pieces.  Store in an air tight container.

*to toast almonds spread them in a dry skillet and cook them over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to lightly brown and you can smell them.  Let them cool completely.  Toasting nuts gives them a much crunchier texture and a richer flavor.

Candied Pecans

I made these for the previous salad post but lets be honest, I ate most of them NOT in my salad!  I just LOVE these!  They are so easy, so good and will be made often in my house! There are lots of recipes for these, they are all pretty much the same.  So here is what I did...

Candied Pecans

(2 cups of pecans)

2 cups unsalted pecans (or walnuts or almonds) 

2 T butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 t vanilla

nutmeg or cinnamon (or both)

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan.  Add the sugar, nuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg or both.  Stir constantly over medium high heat until the sugar melts and turns a golden brown color.  Once the sugar has melted and turns brown remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  Mix well. Dump the candied nuts onto the cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and spread out as much as possible.  Let them cool completely. 

Use the nuts in salad or keep in an airtight container for munching! These would be great over ice cream as well!

Upside Down German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake has always been a favorite of mine. I think it is because it combines all of my favorite things...chocolate, pecan, coconut! What is not to love right?! I LOVE this because it is a fun spin on the original, with all the same great tastes! Besides, it is all in one pan, and you know how I like simple, easy recipes! I found this recipe at See Jane Cook, but like always made a few adjustments. Here is what I did...

Upside Down German Chocolate Cake


1 chocolate cake mix (or 1 yellow cake mix plus one (4 serving) box of chocolate pudding) prepared according to package
1 cup coconut
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup melted butter
8 oz cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar

Grease a 11x15 in dish (the one that is bigger than a 9x13 but still has deep sides).  Spread the coconut and chopped pecans on the bottom of the pan*. Prepare cake mix according to box directions and spread over the coconut and pecans.  Mix butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar together in another bowl and place spoon fulls on the top of the cake batter.  Swirl together with a knife.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Serve warm with ice cream and chocolate ganache...

Chocolate Ganache

1/2 cup each milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips

cream

start with about 2 T of cream and melt the cream and chocolate together.  Add more cream until you can drizzle it over the top of individual servings of cake.

*Next time I am going to mix the coconut and pecans in to the cream cheese and butter mixture and swirl it into the cake.  My coconut and pecans got a little too done on the bottom.

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa

I am LOVING quinoa right now. It is so good for you and I just love the flavor and texture. It is so versatile and can be used for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I found this recipe on a website called 101 Cookbooks. This is such a wonderful, healthy breakfast I couldn't help but share it! I may have just found my new favorite breakfast!

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa

(4 servings)

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1 cup quinoa*

2 cups berries (I used a frozen triple berry mix, thawed)

1/2 t cinnamon

1/3 cup pecans, toasted (you can use whatever nuts you like)**

honey or agave, to taste

In a medium pan mix together milk, water and quinoa. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed (about 15 minutes). Add the berries and cinnamon and fold to combine. Top with nuts and honey.

*Some quinoa needs to be rinsed before using otherwise you get a bitter taste. I use Bob's Red Mill and have never had this happen but I know other brands can be bitter if not rinsed before using.

** To toast nuts place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and cook in a 350 oven for 5-7 minutes.

Cinnamon and Sugar Almonds

These are my husbands most favorite. So when I saw them over at My Kitchen Cafe, I of course had to give them a try. I love everything about these from smell of my house while they cook to the sweet crunchy flavor. These are such a great holiday treat, ok, maybe an anytime treat!

Cinnamon and Sugar Almonds

(about 2 cups)

1 egg white

1 t cold water

1/2 t vanilla

2 cups unsalted almonds

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a large 11x17 rimmed pan with foil and lightly spray it with cooking spray.

In a large bowl beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Add the water and vanilla and beat again until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the almonds until they are coated with the egg mixture.

In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add this to the almonds and stir until mixed well. Spread the coated almonds into an even layer on the prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until the almonds look and feel dry. The coating should be crunchy. Let cool completely before serving and packaging.