Cheesecake Bites

Simple, delicious, cheesecake bites! I'm such a fan of this cheesecake reciepe because it requires few ingredients, it's easy to make, and it's delicious every time!

Classic Cheesecake Bites

Ingredients:

• 1) 8 oz. Package Cream Cheese

• 1/3 Cup Sugar

• 1/2 t. Lemon Juice

• 1 Egg

• 2 Graham Crackers

• 1 T. Softened Butter

How To: 

• Using a mixer, cream together cream cheese + sugar 

• Add lemon juice + egg, mix until well blended 

• Slowly add butter + mix well

• In a ziplock bag, crush up graham crackers 

• Place cupcake liners in muffin pan, spoon a layer of crushed graham crackers in liners 

• Spoon cheese mix on top of graham crackers 

• Place tin in preheated 375 oven 

• Bake 11-14 mins (it took 17 mins in my oven) 

• Refrigerate + serve chilled

• Top with fresh fruit, chocolate, caramel or whatever your heart desires! 

(I made a strawberry/sugar mix to top mine) 

There's such a nice light balance with the sweetness + slight lemon taste, and the consistency of this dessert is heavenly! Definitely one of my favorite desserts to make, hope you enjoy it as much as I do! 

Until next time friends, cheers!

<3 Noonie

Chocolate Avocado Mousse | Don't Be Scared!

Rich, creamy goodness!

I know some of you out there might have your face twisted up + head cocked sideways after reading the title of this post. I know I did when I first read it on a dessert menu while out at a restaurant one day. But my curiosity got the better of me, I ordered it + it was heavenly! So rich, creamy + full of chocolatey flavor, I swear if I didn't know it I would have never guessed there was avocado in it! I was hooked. But I definitely didn't want to have shell out $6 bucks every time just to enjoy this delicious dessert + so I decided to try to make my own Chocolate Avocado Mousse + it turned out delicious!

I searched around a bit before I decided on this particular recipe which can be found here. I decided to go with this one as it was very simple + had exact ingredient quantities, unlike other sites I looked at it. I also found some helpful tips on other sites which I will also share with you below. Although I did use this particular recipe as a guide I did end up changing it just a bit, but I'll get more into that later. As I mentioned you might be somewhat hesitant about this dessert, but I swear you'll love it! 

Let your curiosity take over, grab your ingredients + let the adventure begin! :)

Ingredients:

1 Avocado

3 tbs Honey

1/4 cup Cocoa Powder

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

2 tbs Milk
Garnish (optional)

Like I said I used the recipe above as a guide, I ended up adding a lot more of the ingredients than what the recipe originally called for. When I made my mousse I added a total of about 5-6 tablespoons of honey, 1/2 cup of the cocoa powder, a few pinches of salt, + about 4 tablespoons of milk. But that's just me, my sweet tooth is out of control which is the reason for adding so much honey. When I only added the 1/4 cup of cocoa powder like the recipe called for the mousse still had somewhat of an avocado flavor, the chocolate flavor wasn't prevalent enough which is why I added some more cocoa. I love a good sweet + salty balance which is why I added more salt, just to get it to an even keel. More below about why I added the additional milk.

How To:

* Blend avocado until smooth

* Add remaining ingredients + blend until smooth

* Pour into a bowl + chill for 2.5 hours

* Serve as is or garnish

(Garnish ideas below)

When I first started making this dessert, I did follow the recipe + used a blender to blend the ingredients smooth. However when I tried to just blend the avocado alone it wasn't working very well which is why I added 2 tablespoons of milk to it which made it a lot easier to blend. Once I had the avocado pretty much blended all the way I added the other ingredients + once again ran into the problem of it just not wanting to blend well for me, which is why I added 2 more tablespoons of milk, hoping it would help. But it didn't. So in the end I ended up using a mixer to get the mousse smooth. Next time I make this I think I will just use the mixer + see how that goes. 

Tips

This dessert is super rich so the serving size shouldn't be much larger than a big tablespoon. I swear it'll be enough. 

Garnishings: The possibilities are endless when it comes to a good garnish for this dessert. 
A few of the top of my head: 

+ Nuts

+ Caramel

+ Pinch of Sea Salt
+ Cinnamon + Sugar

+ Oreo Crumbles

+ Mint Oreo Crumbles

+ Andes Mint Pieces

+ Chocolate Sauce

+ Salty Cracker Crumbles
+ Fresh Fruit 
(Berries would be delicious!)
+ Dollop of Peanut Butter or Whip Cream

* If you want to make a simple 2 ingredient Chocolate Avocado Mousse simply combine avocado + hot chocolate mix until smooth, chill + serve!

Like I mentioned this recipe can easily be made into a Vegan friendly dessert by simply substituting Agave syrup instead of the honey, skip the Vanilla Extract, + instead of regular milk use almond or soy milk.

- I served coffee along side the mousse + it was out of this world! :)

Not only is this dessert super good it's also on the healthier side! If you're feeding this to skeptical/picky eaters, just don't tell them there is avocado in it until they've enjoyed it, they'll be shocked! :D

Until next time friends...Cheers!!! 

<3 Noonie

Pumpkin Cravings! | Muffins w/ Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting |

If you're a regular around these parts, you'd know this recipe was comin'! As part of my Musings of The Week I decided to try my hand at making these bad boys + they turned out delicious! I found the recipe for them on VeryBestBaking.com. The result of the recipe are muffins that are spongy on the outside + have a nice soft center on the inside, bottom line they are hella good! Wanted to share it with ya as is, although I did include a few little notes of what I plan on doing different next time I make them. Get your ingredients together + let's make some muffins! 

Ingredients 

* 3 C. Flour

* 1 T. + 1 t. Pumpkin Pie Spices

* 2 t. Baking Soda

* 1 1/2 t. Salt

* 3 C. Sugar

* 1 15oz. Can Pumpkin  

* 4 Eggs

* 1/2 C. Vegetable Oil

* 1/2 C. Water

How To 

- Preheat oven to 350

- Grease/line muffin tin

-Combine flour, Pumpkin Pie Spice, baking soda + salt

-In separate bowl combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil + water, mix well 

(will be runny but don't fret)

- Slowly add flour mix to pumpkin mix, stir well

- Spoon batter into cups filling them about 3/4 full

- Bake 25 minutes

- Cool + enjoy as is or...

-Add some frosting!

Tips: I'm one of those people who are constantly wanting to improve things. Like I said these are delicious as is, but next time I make these I'm going to add a little more Pumpkin Pie Spice + some Nutmeg to add a little more flavor. I would also like to add raisins + nuts next time I make these, as I think they would just put these muffins over the top!

Now the Cream Cheese frosting wasn't part of the original recipe I looked up, but after eating a muffin plain I decided they needed a little more kick of sweetness to them. (I am a confirmed sugar-holic after all)

Cream Cheese Frosting

This was my first time making Cream Cheese frosting from scratch, but as there are very few ingredients needed it was super easy + quick to make. I found the recipe for this frosting here. As this is not commercial cream cheese frosting the muffins will need to be refrigerated after being frosted. 

Ingredients:

* 1/2 C. Unsalted Butter, softened
* 1/2 C. Cream Cheese, softened
* 2 C. Powdered Sugar
* 1 t. Vanilla Extract

How To:

- In a large bowl combine butter + cream cheese together with a mixer
- Slowly add powered sugar until smooth
- Beat in vanilla extract

- Frost your favorite dessert! In this case the muffins :)

They taste great both cold + warmed up! 

Hope you enjoy these bad boys as much as my family + I have! :) 

Until next time friends...Cheers!!!

<3 Noonie

Peanut Butter Cravings

I don't typically eat peanut butter, but I had a craving for it that I couldn't brush off. What I really wanted was some peanut butter squares, like the ones we used to have in middle school. I hadn't had peanut butter squares since those days, but knew only they would be able to satisfy this craving of mine. The ones we had in school were no bake and served cold, + I initially planned on making this type of peanut butter square but happened upon a baked version + I had to run with it!

I found this recipe on TasteofHome.com. What I really liked about it is that it's simple + requires ingredients that most people already have on hand. Not only that but the squares are super delicious whether you serve them hot out of the oven or at room temperature. These peanut butter squares kind of have a brownie like texture to them which is another reason why I really liked them. But enough chit chat let's get down to business!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Bake Time: 25-32 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1/2 C. Butter

*1/2 C. Peanut Butter 

(I prefer to use crunchy PB for the added texture)

* 1 1/2 C. Sugar
(There is a diabetic in the family + so sometimes 
I cut the sugar amount in 1/2, still tastes great!)

* 1 C. Flour

* 2 Eggs, lightly beaten

* 1 t. Vanilla Extract

Directions:

* Preheat oven to 350

* Either in a microwave or on the stove melt butter + peanut butter together, stir until smooth

* Combine the sugar + flour in a separate bowl, slowly add to the butter mix

* Add the eggs + vanilla extract stir until mixed well

* Pour mix into a greased 13x9 baking pan
(This was my first time using an 8x8 pan instead of a 13x9 + I kind of liked the thicker cut
 but should have cut the bake time. These got a little browner than I wanted.)

* Bake until edges are golden brown

* Serve up + enjoy!!

Love Love Love this recipe + I know you will too!
Next time I think I'm going to add some bananas + maybe even some chocolate just to mix it up!

Until next time friends...Cheers!!

<3 Noonie

P.S. Let me know how yours turn out!
Comment below :)

Slumber Poppin'

They make it look so easy. By they I mean Starbucks + any other place that sells those perfectly dipped cake pops with their smooth candy coating. I would almost bet you $100 bucks those bad boys are not hand dipped though, that's for damn sure. There's just no way human hands could get those results. Well maybe there are, but I'd say achieving the perfect looking cake pop on your first attempt would definitely difficult if not impossible (but never say never right?) But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself, let me back up a few steps.

I've had a cake pop mold for over a year now, + I never used once during that time. It had already been packed up without use once, + as I was just about to pack it up again when I decided I better use this bad boy before it's schlepped off again into a cardboard box. God knowing when it would see the light of day again. So that's how all this talk of cake pops began. 

It so happened that I had the perfect excuse to make these delicious treats as I had planned to have a few girlfriends over for a...wait for it...Slumber Party!! As my girlfriend's boyfriend put it "I remember when I was 12" haha! (He said it in a humorous way :)). But really! Lol! I hadn't had a slumber party since my 16th birthday party, + I thought to hell with it why not?! May as well take advantage of having the extra space + guest room while I have it, that is before I move. What had initially inspired the Slumber/PJ themed party was a good friend of mine's sister had a PJ party themed bachelorette party + it looked like it had been so much fun!! The idea of a PJ party just struck me because a lot of the time you dress up to go out to parties, + I just really liked the idea of dressing down to go to a party (although I wouldn't consider my little get together a party by any means).

Anyways- the culmination of the sleepover + my want to use the cake pop mold before moving is what sparked my search for a cake pop recipe online. After some research + tip reading I finally decided upon a recipe that I found on the blog Elaine Catherine. I liked how the recipe featured was a recipe specifically for cake pops + it called for ingredients that I - and most people for that matter already have on hand. Now I should mention there are a couple of ways of going about making cake pops. One way being the one I'm about to go into and the other method is...

If you don't have a cake pop mold on hand, don't be alarmed. It isn't a necessity to make cake pops! Although I haven't tried this method I read on various sites that you can bake a cake using boxed cake mix. Cool it, crumble it, add frosting to it, mash + combine, form into balls, dip into your candy melts, refrigerate + enjoy! Like I said this route is the way to go if you don't have a candy pop mold handy but still wanna get your candy pop fix. I did have a mold handy + an excuse to make some candy pops so...that's exactly what I did. Here's how I did it...

Whatcha Need

Yields: 60 Cake Balls

* 3 C. Flour
* 2 1/2 t. Baking Powder
* 1/2 t. Salt
* 1 3/4 C. Sugar
* 2/3 C. Butter (softened)
* 2 Eggs
* 1 1/2 t. Vanilla Extract
* 1 C. Milk
* 1/4 C. Half + Half
* 1-2 Bags of Candy Melts
(I bought mine from Michael's + they were even on sale! Score!)
* Something to hold your cake pops in for drying 
(Foam, egg carton, silverware holder from a dish rack, colander , be resourceful!)
* Food coloring (optional)

Method

* Preheat oven to 350

* Get your cake pop mold ready! 
You'll want to either rub a little veggie oil in it or use some cooking spray. 
Place the empty mold on a cookie sheet (for support).

* Sift the flour, baking powder + salt, set aside

* In a separate bowl cream the butter + slowly add the sugar, mix well.

* Throw in eggs + vanilla extract to wet mix, combine well.

* Slowly add the flour mix, milk + half+half to the wet mix, combine well.
For this step I just combined the milk + half+half into one cup, made it much easier. 

* Although the recipe I originally looked at didn't call for this step I added a couple of drops of food coloring just for a little pzazz! Of course I didn't even think about adding the food coloring until I was already 1/2 way done baking my cake balls, but I kind of liked the mix of the colors :)

*Use a tablespoon to spoon batter into the molds. You want the cups to be completely full. 
You'll also want to make sure you level out the batter, + remove any excess batter from around the cups.

I can not emphasize enough the importance of the above tips if you want your cake pops to be perfect round balls! Learn from my mistakes which can be seen in the pictures below. 

Top Left: Cups are overflowing which resulted in the cake balls turning out uneven like the cake ball pictured on the bottom left.
Top Right: Cups are full but not overflowing which resulted in the smooth cake ball pictured on the bottom right. 

* Cover the battered filled bottom portion of the mold with the top, throw into the oven for 17 minutes or so. The original recipe I used called for the pops to bake for 22 minutes, which I found was a little too long, at least for my specific oven. 


* Using an oven mitt, softly push down on the both sides of the cups to ensure the cake pops don't stick. Remove from mold + place in freezer for about 20 mins or so (or until your next batch is finished baking). 

* Once you're done baking + all the balls of cake have cooled down in the freezer remove any excess batter from around the ridges to ensure a perfectly smooth surface.

---------------------------
And now...

Frosting these bad boys!
I apologize in advance that I didn't get a chance to capture any photos of this step. 
This step is rather messy + I didn't have a free hand to take any pictures! 

 I mentioned earlier on that I did indeed do a little bit of research before I even stepped in the kitchen to attempt to make these cake pops + a lot of my research was about this step. Everyone was hoopin' + hollerin' about how to frost cake pops the best way. I honestly had no idea what the big deal was about, that was until I was actually doing it + then I thought to myself "Ooohhhhh that's what they were talking about!!" Needless to say this step was definitely the hardest part of the cake pop making process.

* Your candy melts will come with instructions on how to melt them, + there are a couple of different routes you can go. I decided to go for the easiest method of melting them, by way of microwave. Throw a bit of candy melts into a mug + zap away! Once you've got your candy melted down, it's time to DIP these bad boys!

* To start out dip an end of your cake pop sticks into the melted candy + then stick this end into a cake ball, repeat. Let them completely dry before you move onto the next step.

* Once dried, warm up your candy melts once more. This time you're going to completely dip the cake pop into the candy melts to get that nice frosted coating. Now this is where all those tips I read started going through my mind. 

Tips for frosting cake pops:

- Make sure the candy melts are completely melted + are a smooth consistency before dipping. You can reheat candy melts as many times as your heart desires, but it will start to loose it's consistency. If this happens add a little splash of vegetable oil, stir + reheat to get the candy melts back to a thinner, smoother consistency.

- Dip once! Don't keep dipping your pops once you've got your first coat on! As one tip I read put it 'Get in + get out!' Otherwise there's goin' be trouble + you mind end up with a cake ball floatin' around in your cup. No bueno.

After I dipped my first couple of cake pops I knew then that I wasn't going to get the candy melt coat to be completely smooth, you know like the ones from Starbucks. But I didn't let that hinder my fun + I decided that they would be "abstract" looking cake pops, + so that's exactly what they became. Besides they tasted greeaatt, + that's what matters the most am I right?! LOL 

     

I'm pretty happy with how the cake part of this venture turned out, the cake itself wasn't too sweet which was a perfect balance with the frosting as it is pretty sweet. The cake was also really spongy + moist which I was really happy with, will definitely be keeping this recipe around! 

Needless to say these little treats were a hit at the Slumber party! We devoured them, pizza + some other snacks while watching scary movies, definitely a good time with great friends! Life doesn't get much better than that.

Until next time friends...Cheers!! 

<3 Noonie

P.S. I'd love to know...
Have you ever made cake pops?! 
Or maybe have a favorite Slumber party memory you'd like to share?!
Comment below :)

Ehh...Whats Up Doc?

Join me for a slice?

Carrot cake. Homemade carrot cake. That's what's up. Made my first carrot cake the other day, and it turned out juusttt riigghtt. So of course I had to share...
 
As I mentioned  I never had made a carrot cake prior to the other day, but I had almost an entire of bag of baby carrots that needed to be eaten asap before they were going to have to be tossed and so the idea of a carrot cake was born. I initially planned on making the cake in my slow cooker, but I realized after I had all my ingredients together that I didn't have a loaf pan small enough to fit into my slow cooker and so the oven it was.

I found the recipe for this cake on AllRecipes.com, and because it was my first time making it I didn't realize I would end up with as much batter as I did. So it was time to improvise once more and make a two layered cake. But I guess I should back up a little, I am getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about how I put the batter together.

Heavenly Carrot Cake

Prep Time: 30 mins or so

Bake Time: 40-50 mins

Whatcha Need

-4 Eggs
-1 1/4 cups Veggie oil
-2 cups White Sugar
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-2 cups Flour
-2 teaspoons Baking Powder
-2 teaspoons Baking Soda
-1/2 teaspoon Salt
-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
-3 cups Grated carrots
-1 cup Chopped nuts
(optional)
-Raisins
(optional)

Method
-Preheat oven to 350
-Grease your 9x13 pans
-Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla
-Mix in flour,baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
-Stir in carrots + fold in nuts/raisins, pour mix into pans
-Bake for 40-50 mins
-Leave cake in pan to cool for about 10 mins  then remove to cool completely
-Frost that bad boy up with some cream cheese frosting, toss a few nuts on top for a garnish and ENJOY!

My grater was hungry for finger that day.

My least favorite part about making this cake? The grating of the carrots. Just when ya think you've grated enough...you've gotta grate some more! It's the most time consuming step of the process other than the baking part of course. I suggest using large carrots rather than baby carrots so you don't have to deal with getting down to the little numbs as often which = lesser chance of grating your finger! Take my advice. As I mentioned I happened to have the baby carrots which is the only reason why I used them.  

Only took 1/2 of a day to grate this bowl.
(yes that's a joke)

My ingredients station.

Adding my dry ingredients to the mix.

Now we're getting some where!

Sprinkled some nuts on top for good measure :)

Getting frosted!

In all its glory.

Double layered goodness!

Healthy Modification: As promised I will try to add any modifications I can think of in order to make any recipe I post somewhat "healthier." To be honest there was really only one modification I could think of that could possibly make this recipe healthier and that would be to add little to no sugar and maybe substitute something else for the eggs such as apple sauce. I mean come on this is cake.

My Verdict: Although I hadn't initially planned on a double layered cake I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! Super tasty recipe the only thing I would do differently next time is to add more nuts! Definitely will be making another one of these bad boys soon as this one is already almost gone!! 

Until next time friends...Cheers!!

P.S. We are looking for some foodies out there who have some recipes they'd like to share for a future food feature!! See our Contact page for more info!

Gobble! Gobble!

This photo does NOT do this
dessert justice! :)

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone but I did want to share my little Turkey day creation. It is the season for pumpkin recipes after all. This was my boyfriend and I's 3rd Thanksgiving together, and just like many couples out there we have a split, run around, kind of day as we wanted to spend the day together and with our families. As typical this year we got to lounge around in the morning and spend some time together before we headed off to his uncle and aunt's home in Folsom, dessert in tote. After a delicious meal and dessert we headed to my mom's for "Dessert Round 2", which included pumpkin and cherry pies, as well as this delicious ambrosia salad that my mom makes for every holiday. It's one of those "I don't feel right if I don't eat it on a holiday" type desserts, that I truly look forward to. After all that grubbin', it was of course right to bed when we arrived home later that night. All in all a good turkey day.

So back to that "Turkey day creation" aka "Layered Pumpkin Dessert" that I mentioned earlier. I knew I wanted to make some sort of dessert that incorporated pumpkin. I also knew I wanted to make a dessert that I had never eaten before, or seen at a holiday function, and this is where this awesome recipe comes into play. I initially found this recipe on Pinterest, it immediately caught my eye because not only did it look good, but it sounded out of this world! So without further adieu.....

Layered Pumpkin Dessert

Prep Time: 3-4 Hours

Bake Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

25 Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (1 1/3 Cup)

1/4 Cup Butter, melted

2 pkg. 8 oz. Cream Cheese,softened

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 Cup Canned Pumpkin

1/2 t. Ground Cinnamon

1/4 t. Ground Nutmeg

2 Eggs

2 pkg. Vanilla Instant Pudding

1 Tub Whipped Cream

1/2 Cup Pecans,chopped

Method:

Heat oven to 350

Mix cookie crumbs and butter, press onto bottom of 13x9 pan, bake 10 mins

Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until well blended

Add pumpkin and spices mix, then add eggs 1 at a time blend all well, pour onto crust

Bake for 30 mins, then cool for 1 hour

Beat pudding mixes and milk with whisk for 2 mins, stir in 1/2 of your whipped cream, spread over dessert

Spread remaining whipped cream on top and refrigerate 3 hours or until firm

Sprinkle with nuts before serving.

I didn't change the recipe much except when I made it I opted to use Pumpkin Pie Spice instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg as it contained both of these spices. The other thing I did do different was use a muffin tin instead of a 13x9 pan as I wanted to make individual servings, this really pumped up the dessert's appeal! This recipe was pretty straightforward and the dessert turned out delicious! 

Hope everyone had a nice Turkey day! Heerrreee comes Christmas!
Until next time..cheers!!!