Chocolate Covered Love Struck Strawberry Hearts

Who doesn't love a chocolate covered strawberry?  I created these love struck strawberries because I had some left over almond bark from the Minnie and Mickey Mouse Oreo Pops I made last week, so I wanted to create another use for that almond bark I had left.  These are a fun new twist on chocolate covered strawberries for Valentines Day.  I did also try these with milk chocolate and I didn't think they were near as cute, so you're welcome to try it but in my opinion the white version looks better.  Did I mention how easy these are to make?  They're a great last minute Valentines treat to gift to a friend or loved one, and they are sure to put a smile on their face.  Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Love Struck Strawberry Hearts
Yields 6 (you could easily double/triple this recipe)


Ingredients:
6 fresh strawberries
6 oz. vanilla almond bark (white chocolate would also work)
Pink sugar crystal sprinkles


You will also need:
12 toothpicks
hot glue gun/glue


Directions:
Cut a "V" in the top of each strawberry and round edges with knife (think of carving a pumpkin), set aside.  Melt almond bark in a small microwave safe container in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth.  Dip strawberries just below bottom of the "V" to cover top, allow excess to drip off then immediately sprinkle coating with pink sprinkles before coating hardens.  Set on wax paper to dry.
To make arrows:
Cut 1/2" off the ends of 6 toothpicks.  Place a tiny drop of glue 1/2" in down (an uncut toothpick) and glue pointed ends of two 1/2" toothpick pieces to the toothpick.  Insert toothpick arrows just below chocolate coating on a diagonal (I cleaned the tip that was inserted through the strawberry with a wet paper towel to remove some of the red).  Note: the strawberry will start to break down after a few hours, so it's best to serve these before then.

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Healthy Cookies

Finally, a cookie I feel great about eating!  Once you see the ingredients list of these cookies you will see what I mean by healthy.  They are full of fiber, antioxidants and vitamins.  They are also low in fat.  I created this recipe because I happened to only have 1/4 cup butter in my fridge so I had to improvise and try something healthier.  I'm so excited about how delicious they are!  I need, yes need, dessert everyday or it's just not a great day for me =).  Sort of a problem, but not now with these.  I can curb my sugar craving with this nutrition packed cookie.  These moist, cake like cookies melt in your mouth!  The glaze is totally optional, I mostly added it for looks so feel free to leave it off.  Also if you wanted to you could ice them with a low-fat or even fat free cream cheese icing.

Carrot Applesauce Cookies
Yields about 2 1/2 Dozen


Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1 cup finely grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries (such as Craisins)


Optional Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, whole wheat  flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, optional nutmeg and salt, set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together applesauce, butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well blended and smooth about 1 minute.  Stir in egg and vanilla.  Slowly add in flour mixture.  Stir in quick oats, carrots, raisins and dried cranberries, mix until combine.  Drop mixture by heaping tablespoon fulls onto a Silpat lined cookie sheet two inches apart and bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden and set.  Allow to cool several minutes before removing to wire rack to cool.  If using glaze: in a small mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and milk until well combine and smooth.  Pour into a piping or ziploc bag, snip a small tip off the end and pipe over cookies (note: store cookies in a single layer).

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Monkey Bread Muffins... quite possibly the best thing I've ever eaten!

These muffins are quite possibly the best thing I've ever eaten!... Did I really just say that?  Yes, I did!  These are without a doubt a-maz-ing!  I need a moment to pause life and take in everything this muffin has to offer while I pull apart one of it's delicate, tender, fluffy, buttery, crystallized sugar and cinnamon coated pieces and gently bite into it.  =)
I created these muffins because sadly I don't even own a bundt pan.  I know many monkey bread recipes use store-bought biscuit dough but I wanted these to be from scratch, isn't everything that much better when it's made from scratch?  For the dough base I started a very similar dough to the one I used for my 15 Minute Donuts from Scratch.
I won't lie, when I first pulled these out of the oven the presentation wasn't what I was looking for.  For me presentation is an important part of good food, so I thought, hmm what can I do to make them pretty?  Ah, yes indeed, glaze.  It adds a delicate touch to these delightful muffins.  Enjoy, try not to eat the whole pan at once =).
PS don't wash your muffin pan until you've eaten all those delicious cinnamon sugar chips off of it, yum!

Monkey Bread Muffins
Yields 12 muffins


Ingredients:
2 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup unsalted butter. melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon


Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a muffin tin, set aside.  In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, 3 Tbsp granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.  Pour buttermilk, 1/3 cup milk and melted butter into flour mixture.  Stir with a fork or clean hands just until mixture comes together (don't overmix, key to fluffy muffins).  
Pour 1/2 cup granulated sugar into a medium container that has a lid to cover.  Scoop dough out 1 even teaspoon at a time and drop into container in an even layer, working in batches (I fit 18 dough balls in at a time).  Then cover container with a lid and shake to coat.  Drop 6 sugar coated dough balls into each muffin cup.  Repeat this process until all muffin cups are filled.
Whisk together 6 Tbsp melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until well combine.  Pour about 1 scant Tbsp brown sugar mixture evenly over each muffin.  Place muffin tin on a cookie sheet and Bake 18-19 minutes until golden.  Allow to cool 5 minutes in muffin tin before removing muffins (I lifted mine out with a fork).
In a mixing bowl whisk together powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp milk until well blended.  Pour mixture into a piping bag or ziploc bag, snip a small tip off the end of the bag and drizzle glaze over each muffin.

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Raspberry Cheesecake Ideas for Valentines Day

Click on link below image for full recipes...

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Raspberry Cheesecake Truffles

Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

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Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

All I'm going to say here is I LOVE this soup and I created this recipe because of my love for enchiladas and Mexican food.  It's easy to prepare and incredibly delicious!  Enjoy =)!


Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
Yields 8 servings


Ingredients:
3 large chicken breast halves
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
2/3 cup chunky salsa (I use Pace Chunky Hot Salsa)
1/2 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Masa Harina
2 cups milk
2 cups frozen corn
1 (14 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
2/3 cup shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
Salt and Pepper, to taste


For Serving (all optional, but I'd say sour cream is a must):
Additional shredded Cheddar and Monterrey Jack Cheese
Diced avocados
Sour Cream
Chopped cilantro
Chopped green onions
Tortilla Chips or strips




Directions:
Place chicken in a slow cooker.  Pour chicken broth, tomato sauce, salsa and Zesty Italian Dressing over chicken.  Sprinkle in chili powder, cumin, onion powder and garlic powder.  Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 6 hours.  
Once cooked, remove chicken from slow cooker and set aside.  Prepare a roux in a saucepan by heating olive oil over medium heat then stirring in Masa Harina (mixture will be thick), slowly pour in milk.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is very thick and it reaches a gentle boil (it should be like the consistency of a porridge).  Pour mixture into slow cooker and whisk until smooth.  Add in corn, Black Beans, Pinto Beans, Cheddar Cheese and Monterrey Jack Cheese.  Shred chicken and stir into soup.  Season soup with salt and pepper to taste (I didn't add any salt at all I didn't think it needed it just pepper).  Allow to cook about 10 minutes until all ingredients are heated through.  Serve warm garnished with additional shredded cheese, diced avocados, sour cream, cilantro, green onions and tortilla chips.

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Minnie and Mickey Mouse Oreo Cookie Pops

I love the color of these for Valentines.  These are an easy, delicious treat to make for your kids for the upcoming Valentines Day.  These would also be great for Birthday parties, just double/triple the recipe as needed.  You may think that they are only a good treat for kids, I couldn't stop eating them =).  They taste like cookies and cream since almond bark is an imitation of white chocolate.  Just be sure to have a few spare Double Stuf Oreos because it's likely a few will break as you prepare them, they are pretty fragile and a few come cracked in the package unfortunately.  With that said, I would recommend checking for cracks and pick out 12 good ones to start with.

Minnie and Mickey Mouse Oreo Cookie Pops
Yields 12 pops or cookies


Ingredients:
12 Double Stuf Oreos, plus a few extra in case they break
12 mini Oreos
6 oz. vanilla almond bark (4 squares)
Pink and red sugar crystal sprinkles
Pink mini conversation hearts, for Minnie bows (thinnest you can find, I used Ferrara Pan brand)


12 8 inch sucker sticks (optional)


Directions:
For Minnie Mouses:
Using a knife, split mini oreos and remove cream center so you know have 24 mini Oreo pieces.  Pour pink sprinkles into a small bowl.  Melt almond bark in a microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth.  Dip the bottom tip of a conversation heart in the almond bark, scrapping off excess then insert into top center of the oreo with the "converstion" facing the backside (you may have to carefully open the oreo a bit to get it to fit inside), then take 2 of the mini oreos and dip the bottom tip in the melted almond bark then insert each one next to the conversation heart.  Dip bottom half of the Double Stuf Oreo into the melted almond bark, allow excess to drip off then scrape excess from the back and bottom edge.  Dip almond bark coated cookie into pink sprinkles and coat evenly.  If making pops, dip about 1" of the sucker stick into almond bark then scrap of excess and insert stick through center of oreo before coating hardens.  Lay cookie on wax paper and allow coating to harden.  Spoon some of the melted almond bark into a small ziploc bag, snip a tiny tip off of one corner of the ziploc bag and pipe polka dots over pink sprinkles and one oval in the center of the conversation heart bow.  Allow to harden.
For Mickey Mouse:
Follow directions listed above, omitting conversation heart and using red sprinkles in place of pink.  Pipe two small buttons with melted almond bark rather than polka dots.
Note: reheat almond bark in microwave as needed for 20 seconds if it starts to harden and thicken too much.

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Chocolate Cake Pancakes

It's official, these are my new favorite pancakes.  How could they not be, they are dessert pancakes!  This is the perfect way to enjoy chocolate cake in 10 minutes.  I get so impatient waiting for the chocolate cake to bake, then cool, then be frosted.  It's far too much waiting for me, so I decided I needed to create a chocolate cake dessert that could be ready to eat much quicker.  You could call these brownie pancakes if you'd like, since they are made with brownie mix but I decided to call them Chocolate Cake Pancakes because their texture is much more like that of a chocolate cake rather than brownies.  Also, they taste just like chocolate cake.  They are moist, oh so chocolaty and purely divine.  It's time for pancakes to become more than just a breakfast food, they are now a dessert food too!  
I love these pancakes with my signature Vanilla Cream Syrup (that you've seen like 10 times already if you've been following =), but there are so many variations on these pancakes.  They give me another wonderful use for any leftover Vanilla Cream Syrup I have left from making breakfast pancakes.  So, I'd recommend trying them with Vanilla Cream Syrup at least once, then switch up the toppings as you'd like as long as you've tried them with that amazing syrup at least once =).


Chocolate Cake Pancakes
Yields about 15 pancakes


Ingredients:
2 cups Betty Crocker Brownie Mix
1 tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp applesauce
2 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Vanilla Cream Syrup, for serving
Banana slices or strawberries slices, for serving


Alternate Serving Ideas:
Caramel Ice Cream Topping
Hot Fudge Sauce
Raspberry Syrup
Frosting or Nutella
Vanilla or Chocolate Ice Cream
Sweetened whipped cream and powdered sugar
Chocolate Ganache


Directions:
Preheat a non-stick griddle to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups brownie mix and baking powder.  Add in melted butter, applesauce, eggs, buttermilk, milk and vanilla and stir until combine.  Pour 3 Tbsp mixture onto non-stick griddle (if your non-stick griddle is slightly warn you may need to butter it, I just found it was better not to butter the griddle because they spread less if not using butter).  Cook pancakes several minutes until tiny bubbles start to appear on surface and you are able to lift an edge, then carefully flip and cook opposite side only about 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Serve warm with Vanilla Cream Syrup or alternate serving ideas listed.

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Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

Are you looking for a fanciful, romantic and even glamorous breakfast to serve to a friend or loved one this Valentines Day?  Want to make someone feel like they are royalty =)?  Then all you have to do is prepare this exquisite, yet simple dish and serve it to that someone for breakfast in bed on a tray (or even cookie sheet) that you've decorated with a single fresh flower that you "borrowed" from the neighbors flower garden (I'm totallly kidding), along with a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice that you squeezed by hand with love (aww... Valentines is so cheesy :). 

I adore this french toast, not just love, adore!  I created this recipe because I'd been making banana stuffed french toast for many years and wanted to switch it up a bit (I will post the banana stuffed french toast recipe sometime in the near future).  It's safe to say this is gourmet french toast, but not the gourmet thats like one string bean topped with a sliver of moldy "gourmet" cheese followed by some unknown meat and a drizzling of strange looking and smelling sauce.  This is the gourmet like, tastes incredible, looks incredible and makes you feel incredible gourmet =). 

Also, if you'd like to decorate your plate with the strikeingly fancy red dots, simply fill a clean medicine syringe with seedless raspberry jam (I strained the seeds from my jam with a fine mesh strainer) then pipe small drops along the edge of the plate.

I've mentioned in a previous post but I have to mention it again in case you missed it, here is the link to my favorite raspberry jam.  I made it this past summer, thankfully I made half a freezer full. It's so good I could eat it like soup.  I never knew the less sugar recipe would be better than the average but I promise it is.  Anyway, that's the jam I use in this recipe and I don't strain the seeds because I don't mind them.  Enjoy, and have a fun Valentines Day!

You may also like to try my White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, decadent and beautiful.



Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

Yields 10 slices

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Neufchatel Cheese or 1/3 less fat Cream Cheese (about 5 oz)

1/2 cup raspberry jam, seedless if preferred
1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup milk

5 large eggs

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 pinch salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

10 graham cracker sheets crushed, or 3 cups cornflakes, crushed (I've tried and love both)

10 - 1 1/4" (one and a quarter inch) slices day old french bread

Vanilla Cream Syrup, for serving

sweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Preheat a nonstick griddle over medium heat or an electric griddle to 325 degrees. In a mixing bowl, using a fork, combine Neufchatel Cheese and raspberry jam, stir until well combine and nearly smooth (it's ok if theres a few small lumps), set aside.  

In a blender combine buttermilk, milk, eggs, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.  Blend on low speed for 10 seconds.   Pour mixture into a shallow bowl, set aside.  Pour crushed graham crackers or corn flakes into a seperate shallow bowl, set aside.   

Make a slit down the center of each slice of bread cutting about 3/4 of the way down (basically your making a butterfly, the bread should be slit down the middle but still connected).   Spread 1 1/2 Tbsp of the raspberry mixture on one side of the inside of each slice of bread where slit was made, then very gently press bread together.  

Butter preheated griddle and dip one side of filled bread into milk/egg mixture (giving it a few seconds to soak up mixture and being carefull not to immerse the center filled with raspberry mixture) then flip and dip opposite side several seconds.  Allow a bit of the excess to drip off then dip and coat both sides in crushed graham crackers. Place coated slice on preheated buttered griddle and cook until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes) then lift french toast with a spatula, butter griddle again and flip french toast. Cook opposite side until golden.  Repeat process with remaining slices of bread.  Serve cooked french toast immediately along with vanilla cream syrup and optional sweetened whipped cream.

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