Oreo Ice Cream Cake

I got this recipe off http://www.utahshoppingsecrets.com/.  It just looks so delish and maybe a great way to end out this summer?!  ;)  Here's the original text from the post:
Who doesn't like a delicious ice cream cake in the summertime? If you purchase ice cream cakes from stores and restaurants they are expensive. Try making your own for a fraction of the cost!

For my husband's birthday a few weeks ago I wanted to make him an ice cream cake. But I wanted an ice cream cake that didn't have cake in it (make sense)? I found this superb recipe from Kraft Foods. Just take a look at it!

Oh it was divine! And super easy to make too. It looks like you slaved over a difficult cake when really it only tool minutes to prepare. Here is the original recipe with my changes marked in red.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

24 OREO Cookies, divided
2 cups Strawberry ice cream, softened (I used vanilla instead, and abt 3 cups)
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided
2 cups Chocolate ice cream, softened (3 cups also)
2 Tbsp. Hot fudge ice cream topping (I used crushed oreos instead)

LINE 9-inch round pan (I used a 10 in springform pan. Didn't have to use the plastic wrap) with plastic wrap, with ends extending over side of pan. Stand 14 cookies around edge of pan. Crush remaining cookies. Reserve 1/2 cup crumbs for later use; sprinkle remaining crumbs onto bottom of pan. Spread strawberry ice cream over crumbs; top with 1 cup COOL WHIP and reserved crumbs. Cover with chocolate ice cream.
FREEZE 4 hours.
REMOVE dessert from freezer 10 min. before serving. Use plastic wrap handles to lift dessert from pan. Carefully peel off plastic wrap; place dessert on serving plate. Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly. Top with remaining COOL WHIP; drizzle with fudge topping.

Apple Streusel Bars

Okay, so maybe I'm a bit addicted to www.ourbestbites.com. It must be, cause the last few recipes that I've posted here are all from there!

Even better, this recipe is SUPER easy, and you probably have all the ingredients at hand.

Seriously, these are so yummy. A friend of mine brought some over to me, and I HAD to know the recipe. Of course, it was from ourbestbites.com!

SWEET PASTRY:

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. real butter, softened (no substitutions!)

1 egg, beaten

APPLE FILLING:

1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 c. (about 4 medium) sliced, peeled baking apples (I used Gala, and instead of slicing, I chopped them up with my Pampered Chef food chopper)

GLAZE:
2 c. powdered sugar
About 3 Tbsp. milk (whole milk is best)
1 tsp. almond extract

To prepare crust, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish. Preheat oven to 350 and set aside.

To prepare apple filling, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Toss with apples and spread apples out on prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. When finished, allow to cool completely.

To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, almond extract, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to harden (you can place it in the freezer to hurry things along). Cut into bars and serve.

You'd better have someone to share these with, cause otherwise you'll eat the whole pan!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Yum yum! I tried yet another recipe from www.OurBestBites.com, and it was GREAT!

Dough
1 T active dry yeast (1 package)
1/2 C warm water (105 degr F--I did the scientific warm tap water method)
4 1/2 C all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp

Filling
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 T cinnamon

Glaze
1 C powdered sugar
2 T butter, melted
2 T milk or cream
1 t vanilla extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, allow to bloom for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1/2 C of the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot for about 30 min.

Add the eggs, sugar, butter, and remaining 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium speed until smooth 10-12 minutes (I did it MUCH shorter). Add a bit more flour to reduce stickiness if needed.

Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

While dough is rising, prepare filling. Take 2 T of the stick of butter and set aside. Beat remaining butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until combined and slightly fluffy, about 1 minute.

Butter a 9*13 baking dish. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Roll out into a rectangle about 15*10 in. Spread filling onto dough and roll up lenght-wise.

Use string or dental floss to score and cut the dough into rolls (didn't work for me, I just used a sharp knife). You can make 12 smaller rolls, 10 medium ones, or 8 large. Place cut side up in baking dish. Melt the reserved 2 T butter and brush on top of rolls. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight (Or, I assume, bake immediately!).

The next morning remove from fridge and let rise until half again as high, about 1 hour. While rising mix glaze ingredients until combined. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Spread the glaze over warm rolls and serve!!!

.:Holiday Baking:.

Here's what I made this year:

** Homemade Thin Mints **

I've already done a tutorial/recipe for these before on my other blog (probably put them on here, too!), so just check out the link. They are super easy and really quite tasty!

** Peppermint Bark **

I used the recipe and directions found over at The Idea Room.

12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (you could also use baking chips, bark, etc.)

1 pound white chocolate (I just used one bag of white chocolate chips - close enough to a pound!)

Candy canes

Peppermint extract

Pre-heat your oven to 250.

Line your cookie sheet with foil and spray it. (She used a 9x13 dish, which I'll talk about later in the post.)

Cover the lining evenly with your semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Bake for about 5 minutes or until they look melted.

Use a spatula to spread out your chocolate evenly. Place in the fridge to harden.

You can melt your white chocolate however you want. I always brave the microwave! I melted my chips for about 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between intervals.

Add your peppermint extract (to taste).

Pour over your hardened chocolate, and spread evenly - and quickly! It starts to harden up quickly!

Sprinkle your crushed up candy canes over the top. Place in fridge to harden.

Remove the foil from the cookie sheet and shake off the excess candy. Cut your bark however you'd like.

Sooo....I didn't do so well with my first batch of bark. I didn't spread my white chocolate quickly enough, so not a lot of candy stuck to it. (As you can see!) I decided to give it another try doing it with 9x13 dishes.

This worked great. I also put my candy in a strainer and let the powder go through into my melted white chocolate, along with the peppermint extract. I like the look and the taste this gave my bark. Then the larger pieces are what I sprinkled on top.

Now, I had a problem with both of my batches. When I cut the bark, almost always my two layers of chocolate would separate. I know the white layer alone will taste delicious, and I also know that people can just hold the two layers together as they eat it. But why would it not stick together??? Can someone help me out? I was so frustrated that I about swore off ever making bark again!

** Chocolate Candy Cane Whoopie Pies:.

My mom posted this recipe on her blog a week or two ago, and I decided to put my own spin on it.

I decided to make cake mix cookies instead of cookies from scratch. Call me lazy if you want (I also used canned frosting!) but I also really love cake mix cookies.

So here's what you need:

Cake mix

1/2 c. oil

2 eggs

frosting

crushed candy canes

peppermint extract

Andes baking bits (optional)

Pre- heat your oven to 350.

Mix your cake mix, oil, and eggs.

Stir in your baking bits. (I LOVE these candy cane bits!)

Put scoops of dough on your cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Let your cookies cool completely before adding frosting!

I mixed peppermint extract and red food coloring into my canned vanilla frosting. I just add extract to taste.

Frost one cookie and then roll the edges in the crushed candy canes. My mom's recipe says to frost the cookie and place the other cookie on top to make a sandwich before rolling the edges, but I found it easier to roll the edges before the second cookie was added.

Add your other cookie on top.

DONE! And delicious!

I also made another batch with just regular Andes baking bits - not the candy cane ones, but the chocolate and mint ones. For those, I used chocolate frosting instead of the peppermint frosting, and still rolled the edges in candy canes. Yum!

.:Pumpkin Muffins:.

My sister gave me this recipe a couple of falls ago, and it has become a traditional favorite at our house! This recipe makes a TON, so I usually do half of it with butterscotch chips and the other half with chocolate chips. They are a great visiting teaching or neighbor gift, or even just to freeze for later, and believe me, you'll have plenty to go around!

INGREDIENTS

3 c pumpkin (be sure not to get the pie filling!)
1 1/2 c vegetable oil
4 c sugar
6 eggs
4 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 1/2 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t cloves
1 pkg. butterscotch chips (or chocolate chips - or both!)

Pre-heat your oven to 350.

Mix the pumpkin, oil, sugar and eggs.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (except the chips) and mix.

Stir in with the pumpkin mix.

Stir in chips. (Be sure to set aside half of your batter if you are choosing to do half butterscotch chips and half chocolate chips.)

Line your muffin tin (if you are a liner sort of baker - I despise cleaning out muffin tins, so I always have to line mine!) Fill 2/3 full with batter.

Bake 18-20 minutes. (My oven is more on the 25 minute side, and they were still very moist and soft!)

.:White Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies:.

I saw this recipe on a local T.V. program the other day, and visiting teaching gave me the perfect excuse to try it out!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup shortening
• ¼ cup butter or margarine softened
• ¼ cup white chocolate chips melted
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips

• 8 oz package cream cheese softened
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 Tbsp milk

• 1 can cherry pie filling (I used raspberry because I'm not a fan of cherry pie filling)
  

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine sugars, shortening, butter, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat until it is blended well.

Melt 1/4 cup white chocolate chips in the microwave.

Add to the bowl and beat until creamy.

Add flour, soda, and salt. Beat until a soft dough forms.

Hand stir in 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips.

In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy.

Stir in milk until it is absorbed.

Drop spoonfuls of dough on to cookie sheet.

Make an indention with the tip of your finger or a spoon.

Drop a teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into each indention.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. (Mine were more on the 12 side).

Let the cookies cool for 1-2 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.

Allow cookies to cool and spoon on your filling.

Store in the fridge!