Lime Coconut Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Wow. For some reason I was craving a bundt cake. Any flavor. Weird huh? Oh well, it made me find this beauty. Although next time I will make sure to make it for a crowd so I can enjoy it for a couple nights and not a week, it was totally worth it. A fresh taste for dessert (versus the chocolate that inevitably finds its way into my mouth).

Photo Credit to mybakingaddiction.com

Lime Coconut Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Makes 12-14 servings
For the Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter , softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
zest of 3 medium limes (I will do 2 next time)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I will chop it next time for smaller pieces)
For the Lime Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons heavy cream
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 medium lime

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and lime zest mixing together with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant. Add the sugar mixture gradually to the butter and beat on medium speed until light fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bow, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with sour cream, beating until well blended after each addition. Fold in coconut.
Spoon mixture into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon or spatula.
Bake 50 minutes to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 8. Cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack. Invert cake onto wire rack; gently remove pan. Cool completely.
Lime Glaze:
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until smooth. If mixture is too thick add more cream one teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. I like my glaze to be thick so 5 tablespoons usually turns out to be to my liking.

Spoon over cooled cake.

Recipe Source: My Baking Addiction

Creamy Avocado Pasta

Okay, don't knock this til you try it. My good friend Laurel said they loved it, but when I read the ingredients, I was a little hesitant. I think it was the pregnant me saying "are you sure...?" But I decided to try it and SO GLAD I did. The only thing I did for you already was double the recipe. The recipe said it was for two, but there was definitely not enough "sauce" for the two of us. It says not to reheat...but Laurel tried it and said it tasted fine the next day...your call.

Picture credit to Oh She Glows

Creamy Avocado Pasta
Serves 4 (or 2, like I explained previously)
2 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
1 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
4-6 garlic cloves, to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/3 cup Fresh Basil, (or the bottled kind you buy in produce section...love it!)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor {this doesn't do well in just a blender...trust me}. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Please note: This dish does not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. Please serve immediately.

Recipe Source: Oh She Glows via Pinterest

Vegetarian Frittata with Feta

This was a very healthy, yummy breakfast. Nothing ridiculously great to write home about, but I will definitely make it again.

Photo Credit to Me

Vegetarian Frittata with Feta

Makes 4-6 servings

3 eggs

6 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon *minced fresh basil (see note)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 zucchini, sliced

2 cups spinach, torn into 1-inch pieces

1 ounce feta cheese

1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped

Whisk egg, egg whites, pepper, and basil in medium bowl until frothy (I think I'll add some salt next time as well); set aside. Preheat the oven broiler.

Heat olive oil in medium ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion and saute until softened. Add bell pepper and zucchini and saute until softened. Add spinach and fold until wilted.

Pour the eggs over the saute and fold to combine. Cook over medium-low heat, without stirring, until the eggs are mostly set. 

Sprinkle the feta over the frittata and broil until the cheese melts. (The broiler actually cooks the eggs the rest of the way quickly...5 minutes max). Garnish with tomatoes.

*Note: I was introduced to fresh herbs bottled (or in a squeeze tube) that you find in the produce section and have used them for everything...and never let herbs go bad! I highly suggest using these!

Photo Credit to Me

Recipe Source: Home Cooking the Costco Way

Better Than (Sex) Cake

I figured I would be judged less if I put parentheses around sex. But honestly, who doesn't know what I'm talking about when I title my post this? This delicious, moist, chocolatey, crunchy, smooth, sweet cake? Um, maybe I should stop...

Better Than Sex Cake

Makes 9x13 pan

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces caramel ice cream topping
3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, crushed (I used Heath Bars)
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Bake cake according to package directions for a 9x13 inch pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits (I used thick chopsticks to make holes) across the top of the cake, making sure not to go through to the bottom. Immediately pour sweetened condensed milk all over top (I suggest pouring most on the top and not so much on the outsides if your cake "domed" like mine did), then pour that caramel topping on as well. Place in fridge for at least one hour.
Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve!

Recipe Source: Combination of three recipes found on Food.com

Holycraptheseareamazing Cookies

Okay, so I think the name is funny and that's the only reason I kept it. If you've every had (or made from this blog) Oh Henry Bars, these are pretty much them in cookie form. So yes, they are amazing, plus you can get more chocolate to "cookie" ratio. Plus, they're so easy you almost ALWAYS have all the ingredients (bonus point).

Photo Credit to me

Holycraptheseareamazing Cookies
Makes 32-38
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 jar (18 oz ounce) peanut butter, crunchy or smooth (I like creamy)
6 cups corn flakes
3 oz good quality chocolate of your choice (or any quality if you're me)

Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and stir until the mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in the whole jar of peanut butter. Mix well.
Add corn flakes to a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over corn flakes and mix well, taking care to coat all of the corn flakes.
With a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop out and form into 1-2 inch balls, depending on your preference, and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
Put the chocolate in a small bowl and melt in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies.
When cooled, eat these cookies with reckless abandon. Be careful, though. We wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt!

Recipe Source: Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy

Cream Cheese Truffles

One get-together with some family, I wanted an easy, quick treat (to which I had all of the ingredients). These were just that, and ridiculously luscious! Seemed like I put WAY more time into them than I did...which I love.

Cream Cheese Truffles

Makes about 16 truffles

1 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
cocoa to roll

In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add melted chocolate. Beat until well combined. Let chill in the refrigerater for 30 minutes. Using your fingers, roll the mixture into small balls (about 3/4-inch in diameter). Sprinkle about 1/3 cup of cocoa on a plate and gently roll the candy to coat. Place on a clean plate and serve. You can also wait a couple of hours and they will have a more solid texture (I chilled mine before serving).

Note: I doubled to avoid having half a cream cheese block in my fridge (or to have more chocolate?)
          -Also, I don't love the cocoa on the outside. I haven't figured out what else to put on the outside, but I'm not a big fan of the dry bitter on the outside of such a good truffle. If you have any ideas...let me know!

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

S'mores Bars

Mrs Harding has become a really good friend because of her wonderfully easy and delicious recipes (although this one came from a friend of hers)! Also, most of the time, I have all the ingredients for her recipes, she is a very "down to earth" cook, which I love! We were in the same program (although different years) in college, and that's how I came to know her. I love s'mores, mostly because of the graham crackers...and chocolate...and marshmallows. Ok, fine, its a perfect combination for me. And these are a hit with my family...I've made them a few times for my mom...and she's made them for herself as well!

Photo Credit to Kathryn

S'mores Bars
Makes 8x8/9x9 pan
½ cup butter, room temperature
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 7 full graham crackers)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 super-sized (5 oz.) chocolate bars
1 ½ cups marshmallow creme/fluff

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. Crush graham crackers in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin, then add flour, baking powder and salt to bag and shake to combine. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

Divide dough in half. Press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. Flatten it out between your hands the best you can, place on top of fluff, and spread it to the edges using your fingers.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool and cut into bars. We served them warm with ice cream, which turned out delicious!

Recipe Source: Kathryn

Snickers Cupcakes

I went on a cupcake "spree" about a year ago and found a few really great cupcake recipes! One site I found through all of the searching was My Baking Addiction...holy cow, what a find! She's amazing. I love Snickers bars, so of course, these were a must try and were such a hit, everyone loved them! I hope you do too...

Snickers Cupcakes
Makes 24-30 Cupcakes

Photo Credit to mybakingaddiction.com

Cake:
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs; lightly beaten
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon of vanilla
24-30 frozen Snickers Miniatures

Frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup caramel topping; plus more for drizzling
1/4 teaspoon salt



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line (2) 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, vanilla and water. Evenly divide the batter amongst the prepared pans.
Gently push a frozen Snickers Miniature bar into the center of the batter and smooth the surface making sure to cover the candy bar with batter.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes thoroughly on wire rack.
Meanwhile: Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, salt and caramel syrup and combine well. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, give it a taste and decide if you want to add in more caramel syrup. For thicker frosting you can gradually add in a little more sugar.
Garnish with chopped Snickers bars and a drizzle of caramel of caramel syrup.

Recipe Source: My Baking Addiction

*Note: This recipe uses Jamie's Doctored up Cake Mix recipe which she uses for every cupcake she makes. And it is heaven. I've even used it in place of other chocolate cake recipes! {Although I always leave the espresso granules out and it turns out great}