7 Minute Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 egg whites
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place sugar, cream of tartar or corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. Beat with a handheld electric mixer for 1 minute. Place pan over boiling water, being sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top pan. (If this happens, it could cause your frosting to become grainy). Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

Skinny Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
1 1/2 - 2 c. strawberries, hulled
1/8 tsp. almond extract, opt.

Slice bananas and place in an air-tight container and freeze overnight.  Add frozen bananas (break into chunks), strawberries and almond extract to a food processor or powerful blender and process until very smooth and creamy.  It will happen, just be patient.  It will take a few minutes.  Enjoy now as soft serve ice cream or place in an air-tight container and freeze until solid; several hours. Yield: around 3 cups of ice cream.

Chocolate Marshmellow S'mores Cupcakes

 

Graham Cracker Layer:

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup melted butter
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• pinch of salt

Cupcakes:

• 1 pkg. Devil's Food Cake Mix
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 2 cups marshmallow fluff
• 2 cans Duncan Hines® Frosting Creations™ Frosting Starter
• 2 packets Duncan Hines® Frosting Creations™ Chocolate Marshmallow Flavor Mix
• 2 tbsp. graham cracker crumbs
• 24 mini-marshmallows

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cupcake liners in muffin pans.

2. Mix 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt in small bowl.
3. Place 2 tsp. of the graham cracker mixture in bottom of each cupcake liner. Use bottom of small juice glass to pack and flatten graham crust in liners.
4. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until graham cracker layer is golden. Let cool.
5. Meanwhile, prepare cake batter as directed on package. Scoop cake batter on top of graham cracker crust, filling cupcake liner no more than two-thirds full.
6. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcakes comes out clean.
7. Let cupcakes cool for 5 minutes, then turn out of pans to finish cooling.
8. Cut a cone-shaped piece from middle of cupcake. Do not cut through graham cracker layer.
9. Put marshmallow fluff in a piping bag or plastic bag with the corner cut off and squeeze fluff into hollow of cupcake.
10. Pour 1 packet of Duncan Hines® Frosting Creations™ Chocolate Marshmallow Flavor Mix into 1 can of Duncan Hines® Frosting Creations™ Frosting Starter. Stir until evenly blended. Repeat with second can and packet.
11. Frost cupcakes with the Chocolate Marshmallow frosting you just created.
12. Sprinkle tops of cupcakes with extra graham cracker crumbs and garnish with a mini-marshmallow.

13. Tip:

1. To replicate the cupcakes in the photo, pipe frosting using a piping bag and large round decorator tip.

Chocolate Marshmellow Frosting

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup marshmallow creme
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Sift sugar and cocoa powder together into a large mixing bowl.
2. Place the marshmallow creme, butter, and milk in heavy saucepan over medium-low heat.
3. Stir until melted, 2-3 minutes and remove from heat.
4. Pour the sugar-cocoa mixture over the marshmallow mixture and add the vanilla.
5. Stir until the frosting is smooth and satiny.

Taco Cake

 

Ingredients

• 1 vanilla or white boxed cake mix
• 1 (16-oz) can vanilla frosting
• Green food coloring
• Yellow food coloring
• 1 cup canned chocolate frosting
• 1 cup cornflakes
• 5 orange circus peanuts
• 5 red Swedish Fish
• 1 cup finely crushed vanilla wafer crumbs
• ½ cup chocolate-covered raisins or chocolate crunch candy
• Whipped cream

Directions

1. Bake 2 (8-inch) round cake layers from mix. Let cool.
2. Tint 3 Tbsp vanilla frosting bright green with green and yellow food coloring; tint remaining frosting light yellow with yellow food coloring. Spoon 1 cup canned chocolate frosting into a zip-top freezer bag.
3. Trim cake tops to make flat. Cut, sandwich, and arrange layers as shown below.
4. Microwave green frosting in a bowl, 5 seconds. Stir and toss with cornflakes (for “lettuce”); spread on waxed paper to dry.
5. Slice circus peanuts into strips (for “cheese”). Dice Swedish Fish into bits (for “tomatoes”).
6. Spread yellow frosting over both cakes. Press about 1 cup finely crushed vanilla wafer crumbs all over each and transfer to a serving platter.
7. Snip ¼ inch from 1 corner of zip-top bag and pipe chocolate frosting down center of each cake. 8. Top with chocolate-covered raisins or chocolate crunch candy. Sprinkle green cornflakes, circus peanut strips, and Swedish Fish bits over each. Top with whipped cream.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Ball

 

 

 

Ingredients

• One 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• ¼ c cocoa powder
• ¼ c honey, or to taste (substitute agave or maple syrup for strict vegan)
• ½ c peanut butter
• 1 t vanilla
• Optional, about 1 c total of any of the following or a combination for coating the dough ball: chopped peanuts, milk, semisweet, or white chocolate, or peanut butter chips, chopped chocolate, etc.
• Cookies, crackers, tortillas, bread, etc. for dipping and spreading

Instructions

1. Combine the chickpeas, cocoa powder, honey, peanut butter, and vanilla in your food processor.
2. Process until a dough consistency forms, stopping to scrape down the sides, as needed.
3. Gather the contents of the food processor together in a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.
4. Refrigerate at least an hour, or until firm.
5. Place your desired coating ingredients in a shallow pan and roll the ball in the coating, pressing firmly to adhere.
6. Return the dough ball to the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve with fruit, crackers, etc., or on sandwiches or tortillas, as desired.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

 

Ingredients

GOOEY CHOCOLATE FILLING:

• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
COOKIES:
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch pan and line with parchment paper, allowing enough overhang on the long side to lift the bars from the pan.

For the gooey chocolate filling:

Place the chocolate chips and condensed milk in a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat, add vanilla, and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

For the cookie dough:

Place the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Beat well.

Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

Add to the butter mixture. Beat until everything is well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Stir in the milk chocolate chips and the white chocolate chips.

To make the bars:

Using half of the batch of cookie dough, place dollops into the prepared pan and press down lightly to even it out.

Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the dough and then add small dollops of the remaining dough on top. Don't worry if the dollops don't completely cover the chocolate mixture. Just spread it together as much as you can, and let some chocolate peek through.

Bake until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

Refrigerate to make cutting the bars easier and then enjoy at room temperature or return to the refrigerator.