End of my Blogging Career 4th of July Brownies

So, it has been 2 and 1/2 weeks since I started on this diet thing of mine, and the sugar cravings have all gone away, just as my mom promised they would (isn't that crazy, my mom was right!), but we have a problem. I said that I would keep posting sugary things until my sugar cravings were gone, and they are, but I thought that these 4th of July brownies were very characteristic of a 'last post of ever' post. We have been given a prompt to write about in this last post, so that is what I am going to do, but if you are only on this page for the recipe, then just go on ahead and read the recipe, I won't be insulted that you don't care enough to read what I have to say. So, now that I have gotten rid of all the readers who don't care about what I have to say (lame-os!) So, now to more important things, how have I changed throughout this school year. I think that I have grown a little bit taller, naturally, but I used to be way short, and now I am much more average height, which is a good change. I have also gotten much faster at track, my mile time having improved from a 6:47 minute mile, to a, wait for it, 5:51 mile! I am actually pretty proud of myself for it. Apart from obvious changes like height and those sort of things, I have also matured a lot this past year. I have made some really great friends which was hard to do since I only moved here a couple years ago and finding good friends in a new place is always hard. I think that I can happily say that I have matured as a person through this last year, and although it sounds very cheesy, I really think it is true. Now, enough of this gooey, 'maturing as a person' stuff, and on to the delicious part of the post, the brownie from Betty Crocker.

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs as called for on brownie box
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 1/3 cups halved fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Method:

Heat oven to 350ºF.
Grease or spray bottom only of 12-inch pizza pan.
Make brownies as directed on the box.
Spread in pan.
Bake 20 to 26 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out clean.
Cool completely.
In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth and creamy.
Fold in whipped topping; spread on brownie.
Arrange berries over cream mixture.
Refrigerate 1 hour.
Store covered in refrigerator.

Image curtesy of Garnish and Glaze

Chocolate-y Chocolate Mint Bars

So, as promised last week, I have another beautifully sugary dessert her for you. Since I have not made it, I have obviously not tasted it because of my 'not eating any sugar' thing, so you will have to make your own judgement on this one, but I have a little hunch that it might just taste kinda good. I once made mint brownies that were the best things I have ever eaten in my life (wow, I think I say that kind of a lot...) at my friend Morgan's house, and she looooves to bake delicious desserts. We once made Cake Pops, best baked good I've ever had in my life (there I go again, over exaggerating, but only by a little), and another time we made magdalenas, but that was for a spanish project, and I kinda ruined all of them by dropping the tray of them when we were putting them in the oven (maybe I should not be a chef...). And that is my story of why I think you will love these Chocolate Mint Bars from My Recipes.

Ingredients:

For the bottom layer:

4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup
Cooking spray

For the mint layer:

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

For the glaze:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
To prepare bottom layer, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level with a knife.
Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk.
Combine granulated sugar, egg substitute, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water. vanilla, eggs. and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth.
Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended.
Pour batter into a 13 x 9 inch metal baking pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350º for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

To prepare the mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/ 4cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth.
Spread mint mixture over cooled cake.

To prepare glaze, combine chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes.
Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cut into 20 pieces and enjoy!

Image curtesy of Very Best Baking

Whoopily Delightful Whoopie Pies

I have recently gone on a diet, and that diet is the worst possible diet that you can ever go on. It is called the Paleo Diet, and you can basically eat meat and vegetables (don't ever go on this diet, it is so hard!) and so the main things that I have to avoid and be the most strict about not eating are sugar, gluten (so I can't have anything that has flour in it), and dairy. This means that I can eliminate the idea that I might have dessert after dinner, which is a very hard thing to do for a fourteen year old girl who loves to eat sugar. I went on this diet earlier this year, I think I blogged about it as well, and shared a good Paleo breakfast smoothie. So, now that I am unable to consume the substance called sugar, I am lacking a certain sweetness in my life that used to be there, and let me tell you, I am really missing that sweetness. I have decided that to bring that sweetness back into my life, I have 2 options: I can start eating sugar again, or I can fantasize about eating sugar and therefor not break my diet. I decided to go with option number 2. So, from now on, all of my posts will be full of sugar, and will always be desserts until this diet has finished or my sugar cravings have disappeared (probably never). So, since I am currently greatly craving a Whoopie Pie, y'all are going to get a recipe on how to make whoopie pies from food.com.


Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg white

1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk

3/4 cup marshmallow cream

Method:

Combine the flour,  cocoa, baking soda and slat in a small bowl.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar, shortening and egg white in a medium bowl until fluffy and well blended (about 2 minutes).

Stir in the flour mixture, then the milk until just blended.

Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto large, ungreased baking sheets, making 36 cookies.

Bake until top springs back lightly when touched (5-7 minutes).

Cool completely on the sheets on a rack.

Spoon 2 tsp marshmallow spread on the bottoms of half of the cookies.

Top each with a half cookie that does not have marshmallow spread.

The Finished Whoopie Pie
Image curtesy of Jerry's Nut House

Lovely Lemon-cream Icebox Cookie Sandwiches

So as I was searching for a lovely recipe to post about, my mom said to me "Daisy, how come you aren't eating healthy anymore? I mean, it was so good for you!" It was right about then that I found this recipe, and that was all the reasoning I needed. I turned my computer screen towards her and said "Mom, this is the only reason I need to quit eating healthily is this recipe right here. It is the most delicious thing I think I have ever seen in my entire life.! I mean, when you look at these sandwich cookies, couldn't you just die?!" And so that was what started a big long discussion between me and my mom about healthy eating and whether or not I should make, and eat, these sandwich cookies. In the end, we decided to make them because, ya know, who wouldn't? So anyways, I made the cookies and they were so good! so I suggest that you go check out some of their other recipes as well here.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter-flavor shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely shredded lettuce peel
Finely crushed lemon drop candies or decorating sugar (optional)

For the Frosting:

5 ounces cream cheese (not low-fat or whipped), at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons lightly packed, finely grated lemon zest
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 ounces confectioners sugar (1-1/4 cups, spooned and leveled)

Method:

In a large bowl, beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
Add sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Beat until combined, scraping sides of the bowl occasionally.
Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.
Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour and the lemon peel.
Divide dough in half.
Shape each half into a 10-inch roll.
Wrap each roll in plastic wrap or waxed paper.
Chill for 1 to 3 hours or until dough is firm enough to slice.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut rolls into 1/4-inch slices.
Place slices about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set.
Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute.
Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool.
Spread lemon cream frosting on the bottom sides of half of the cookies, using about 1 tablespoon of frosting per cookie.
Top with remaining cookies, bottom sides down.
I desired, roll edges of sandwich cookies in crushed candy.

These lemon-cream icebox cookie sandwiches have not been rolled in crushed candy
Image curtesy of Honeyville Farms

Cool Kid Caramelized Banana Pudding

I was 'surfing the web' the other day and I came across this recipe, and I just thought to myself, "Oh. My . God. I am so hungry!" I realized how hungry I really was and that I really needed to fill the giant hole in my stomach, because I really needed something to eat. Anyway, back to the recipe. I was 'surfing the web' and I came across this caramelized banana pudding recipe, and it looked so delicious (especially on top of all my hunger), and so I told myself that I just had to make it. I mean, when you see something this delicious (imagine the most delicious thing you can imagine), how can you not resist the urge to just rush to the kitchen (I know, I know, that sounds really cheesy, but it didn't in my head!)? So, with that delicious thing in mind, think of a caramelized banana pudding, and you will realize how un-delicious that other thing you were thinking of is. So I found the recipe for this super cool kid caramelized banana pudding at My Recipes, and  while I was looking I found some pretty great other recipes if you wanted to check them out here


Ingredients:
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon bananas, sliced
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 cups milk
4 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
48 vanilla wafers

Method:

Cook first 3 ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbly.
Add bananas; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Remove from heat.
Whisk together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, next 3 ingredients, and 4 egg yolks in a heavy saucepan.
Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 8-10 minutes or until a pudding-like thickness. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted.)
Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
Divide half of banana mixture, pudding, and vanilla wafers.
Beat 4 egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy.
Add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes).
Spread meringue over ramekins.
Place ramekins on a baking sheet.
Bake at 325º for 15 to 20 minutes or until meringue is golden.
Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

Image curtesy of Southern Living

Plum And Cinnamon Oat Slices That Are Better Than What You Buy In The Store

So, the end of the quarter is coming up in about a week and, of course, most of my teachers have decided to give me tests this week. Of course we have the vocab final on Wednesday in English, but I have known about that for the entire quarter, same thing with my vocab final in AP Geography. That makes them acceptable. My french on the other hand, not quite. She decides to give us this huge, 6 part test, with barely any warning. What happened was, apparently on Monday it was on her canvas page saying we had a test on wednesday, but then on Tuesday, it wasn't on her canvas page and same thing on Wednesday. It did not say that we had a test.But.. she gave it to us anyways, and so we had to take the test with about a ten minute warning (as if that would have changed how I studied for that particular test), but I still managed to scrape a 100% (not meaning to brag, JK, I kinda am :\ ). So then she announced that we would be taking the next four parts of it on Friday (2 days away) and so we all said out loud, "ooh, I need to study up on the vocab" and in our heads "god, why does she have to give us a stupid test that we are supposed to study for but I'm really not because I will end up watching movies on Megashare instead." So that was how the second to last week of the quarter went for me. Not too great because now I need to prepare the whole weekend for my four gimongous test that are coming up in the next week before the quarter ends. So since I had that French test, I figured, why don't I be different from everyone else and instead of watching movies, I'll make myself a little snack for all of this hard work I will soon be doing to prepare for my quarter finals, and so I riffled through my copy of Delia's How To Cook Book Two, and I came across the recipe for Plum And Cinnamon Oat Slices. So, since you will probably be studying for finals soon, let me give you the recipe so that you can concentrate better whilst studying.

Ingredients:

1 lb (450 g) fresh plums
1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 oz (275 g) organic plain wholemeal flour
5 oz (150 g) organic porridge oats
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz (255 g) butter
4 oz (110 g) light brown soft sugar

Method:

First, preheat the oven to 400ºFahrenheit
Cut all of the plums in half, around an through their natural line, give a little twist to separate the halves and remove the stones, then cut them into thin slices.
Now place them in a bowl and toss them around with the cinnamon.
Next mix the flour and the porridge oats together with the salt in a mixing bowl, then melt the butter and the sugar in a small saucepan over a fairly gentle heat.
Stir from time to time until the butter has melted.
Now mix the melted butter and sugar with the oat mixture, starting with a wooden spoon but finishing it off with your hands so you end up with a lump of dough.
Now half the mixture and press one half into a lightly greased non-stick baking pan measuring 10 x 6 inches and 1 inch deep, pressing it firmly all over the base with your hands like a wall-to-wall carpet.
Next scatter the plums evenly over the surface.
Then top with the remaining oat mixture, again pressing down firmly.

Now place the pan on the center shelf of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or a bit longer if you like the top really crispy.
Then, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into 15 squares (To do this make 2 cuts lengthways, then 4 cuts width ways. Don't worry if they aren't perfectly even.)
If you would like it to be round, it can also be made in a 9 inch springform pan.

Beautiful Strawberry-Buttermilk Sherbet

So I was surfing the web the other day for some pretty amazingly good recipe for sharing, and I came across this one on MyRecipes, and it caught my eye. I had never made ice cream before, or at least nothing that looks or tastes anything at all like ice cream. I thought that this would be a super cool recipe to try out, and that alls y'alls would want to see the recipe. I think that it would be a really great one to try out, but the only catch is that you need an ice cream maker. Even though you need an ice cream maker to make it into ice cream, you could probably also just freeze it in the freezer, or make it in a blender with lots of ice, or pre-frozen fruits instead of fresh fruits.  I wanted to try and make this because I have an older sister who can be kinda judge-y. I wanted to make it super-duper good, because then I would have bragging rights because she used my recipe to make scones, and so she had been saying "I made the best scones!" and so I really wanted to show her up. So let's see if this recipe helps you to impress people just like it did for me.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh strawberries
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh mint sprigs for the garnish

Method:

 Process strawberries in a food processor or blender 30 seconds or until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. 

Pour strawberry puree through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing with back of a spoon. 

Discard solids. 

Add the buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla to puree; stir until well blended. 

Cover and chill 1 hour.

Pour strawberry mixture into freezer container of a 1 1/2-qt. electric ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times may vary.) 

Garnish, if desired.

Image Courtesy of Schnitzel and The Trout Blog