Desserts – Page 9 – Simply Made Kitchen and Crafts

Jumbo Oatmeal Cowboy Cookies

Posted on June 5, 2013June 5, 2013 by lmc

Jumbo Oatmeal Cowboy Cookies

Crunchy on the outside, chewy in the middle…that’s how I would describe these awesome oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Years ago, when I was a Daisy Girl Scout Leader, one of the Daisy parents gave me a sweet gift in a jar. She had stacked all of the dry ingredients for this cowboy cookie in a Mason jar and attached the recipe so that I could add a few ingredients to bake up a batch of these tasty delightful treats. I have tweaked the recipe a bit so that the cookie comes out flat with a crispy exterior and a chewy interior. This week, as the school year draws to a close, I made a huge double batch of these cookies to stuff into decorative gift bags and send off as teacher gifts to be passed out to all of our favorite teachers. I’ve attached a small gift card from Starbuck’s to complete the gift pack.
Nuts are delicious in this recipe but I often leave them out when I’m not sure about the food allergies of those that will be consuming the cookies. I, myself, especially love them with chopped pecans. Give them a try, you won’t be disappointed!

Jumbo Oatmeal Cowboy Cookies

2 cups flour
2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cups chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, cream the margarine, oil, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. ( I use an ice cream scoop for evenly shaped cookies.) Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Transfer to wire rack after just a few minutes of cooling.

Baked goods, Desserts, Food, lunch box

Simply Made Pineapple Snack Cake

Posted on May 27, 2013May 27, 2013 by lmc

This is one of my favorite cakes to bake! It’s crazy delicious and super easy to throw together. The taste reminds me of a Kentucky Butter Cake recipe I used to make when my children were little. The first time I made this cake, I was delighted to learn that there is no butter, shortening, or oil in this recipe. During the school year, I omit the glaze, and pop it into lunch boxes for a tasty lunchtime treat…Yum!

Simply Made Pineapple Snack Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9″ baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and baking soda. Add eggs, vanilla, almond extract and crushed pineapple, with liquid. Mix well to combine.
Bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
On warm cake, frost with my Powdered Sugar Glaze.

Baked goods, Brunch, Desserts, Food

Scrumptious Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Posted on May 25, 2013May 25, 2013 by lmc

Oh My Goodness…the sun is shining and it finally feels like Spring! I made these delicious cupcakes to celebrate the beginning of a long holiday weekend.
Rummaging through my pantry shelves yesterday, I noticed that I have a few plastic containers of powdered lemonade drink mix that no one seems to be interested in consuming. This got me thinking about a recipe I recently found for cupcakes combining cake mix and lemonade drink mix. They looked pretty yummy so I thought I would make them and add a few of my own ingredients. Here’s what I came up with…

Scrumptious Strawberry Lemonade Cake

1 box yellow cake mix, with eggs, oil, and water as directed on the box
1/2 cup lemonade powdered drink mix (I used Country Time Lemonade Mix)
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup finely diced strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix cake batter adding eggs, oil, and water as directed on the cake mix box. With a mixer on medium speed, incorporate lemonade mix and almond extract. Fold in strawberries.
Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan. Fill each to 2/3 full.
Bake for 16-18 minutes. Cool completely and top with cream cheese frosting or with my Powdered Sugar Glaze. Garnish with sliced strawberries. Make 2 1/2 dozen.

Baked goods, Desserts, Food, lunch box

Candy-Coated Triple Chocolate Brownies

Posted on May 21, 2013May 23, 2013 by lmc

Late study nights and early morning swim practices have been a household routine these last several weeks. As the school year winds down, it seems that my children have been bombarded with advanced placement tests, college standardized tests, and final exams. Thinking about our busy schedule this afternoon, I realized that I haven’t baked a fun dessert in a while. Hoping to whip up something delightful, my Candy-Coated Triple Chocolate Brownie Recipe was the first thing that came to mind. A wonderfully sweet treat, sure to put a smile on anyone’s face!

Candy-Coated Triple Chocolate Brownies

2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 can prepared milk chocolate frosting
1/2 cup candy coated chocolates

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking pan. In a large bowl, mix together first 4 ingredients. In a second bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, and chocolate chips; mix into egg mixture, just until moistened. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until set brownie edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool for 5-7 minutes before spreading prepared frosting over brownies. Sprinkle with coated chocolate candies. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Baked goods, Desserts, Food, lunch box

Kate’s Favorite Glazed Strawberry Cupcakes

Posted on December 31, 2012May 23, 2013 by lmc

Did you know that you can spruce up a cake mix by adding a package of flavored gelatin to the batter?
These semi-homemade cupcakes are quick and easy to whip up and they’re so moist and yummy. During the holidays, many weekly sale ads feature greatly reduced pricing on baking supplies. So stock up on white cake mix when it’s on sale and keep lots of different flavored gelatin in the pantry for a variety of flavorful treats.

Kate’s Favorite Glazed Strawberry Cupcakes

1 box of white cake mix
1 3 oz box of strawberry gelatin
2/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1/2 cup chopped strawberries

Mix dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer beat in remaining ingredients until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared cupcake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool and drizzle cupcakes with powdered sugar glaze.

Baked goods, Desserts, Food, Gifts, lunch box

Melt In Your Mouth Christmas Cut-Outs

Posted on December 30, 2012May 23, 2013 by lmc

Throughout the month of December, we love to turn up the Christmas music, drag out the baking supplies and bake cookies to celebrate the holiday season. My children love to search through the box of cookie cutters to find the perfect shape for their individual cut-outs. They delight in combing through the baking cabinet for all of the colorful sprinkles and sugars as our tasty treats bake in the oven. These moments create the memories for a lifetime. I hope you enjoy the holiday baking season while making wonderful memories with your family.

Melt In Your Mouth Christmas Cut-Outs

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup canola oil
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp almond extract
4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream butter, oil, and sugars
Add eggs and extract; beat well
Mix in remaining dry ingredients
Form into a disk and chill for 1 hour
Roll out on floured surface and cut into shapes with cookie cutters
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges.
Cool completely and glaze cookies with powdered sugar glaze