Category: Sweet Treats

Sweet Treats

Recipe—Homemade Marshmallows

Diva di Cucina

divadicucina_marshmallows

I was trying to come up with a cute idea for a Christmas gift for my son’s teachers and came up with the idea of making hot cocoa gift baskets. You know, a mug, some hot cocoa, some homemade cookies, and marshmallows. Well I am never the person to take the easy way out by just buying an actual bag of jet puffed marshmallows at the store, I wanted these gift baskets to be special, made from the heart. So I decided to attempt to make my very own marshmallows. Gourmet marshmallows seem to be all the rage this season but unfortunately they can cost a fortune. With this recipe you can make your own at home. They are a little bit of work, and one might by intimidated, but they are actually easy. I think the hardest part was waiting for them to set! These homemade marshmallows put store bought marshmallows to shame and are so totally worth making on your own. If making your own marshmallows isn’t on your bucket list it should be. Give these a shot. They will take your hot cocoa on a cold winter night over the top!

divadicucina_hotcocoa

Note: The original recipe I followed called for using a stand up mixer but I used a hand mixer. You can use either. The marshmallows can be very sticky and difficult to handle so the trick to cutting them is to constantly coat them in powdered sugar after every slice of the knife.

INGREDIENTS
3 c sugar
1 1/4 c light corn syrup
water
4 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 c powdered sugar

STEPS

  • Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  • While sugar water is heating up add 3/4 cup water to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the 4 packs of gelatin over the top. Set aside.
  • Bring the sugar water mixture to a rolling boil and boil for 5 minutes or until a candy thermometer reads 235º.
  • Carefully pour the hot sugar water into your mixing bowl with the water and gelatin and mix on low.
  • Add the salt and increase mixer speed to high.
  • Beat the sugar mixture on high for 5 minutes and than add vanilla.
  • Continue beating the mixture for another 5 minutes.
  • When you are done, pour the marshmallow cream into a greased 9” x 13” pan.
  • Smooth the top and gently tap to release air.
  • Leave the dish on the counter for at least 10 hours.
  • After the waiting is up sprinkle the entire top of your marshmallows with powdered sugar making sure it’s coated and place a cutting board over the top of your dish.
  • While holding the cutting board and dish together carefully flip the dish and cutting board upside down simultaneously releasing the marshmallows onto the cutting board. (Your set marshmallows will now be upside down on the cutting board.)
  • Lift the baking dish and sprinkle all of the exposed marshmallow with powdered sugar making sure there are no exposed areas.
  • Using a large sharp knife cut into 1” strips and coat each exposed side with powdered sugar.
  • Cut those strips into 1” cubes making sure you coat each cut side with powdered sugar.
  • Once done, sprinkle all of the marshmallows with the remaining powdered sugar making sure there are no exposed sticky areas.
  • Enjoy in a big mug of hot cocoa!
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Confetti Cake Batter Cookies

Diva di Cucina

Awhile back I posted a recipe for lemon crackle cookies. It was a cookie recipe that is primarily made from a box of cake mix. I love the concept of taking cake batter and sprucing it up with a few extra ingredients to make one heck of a fabulous cookie These types of cookies always come out really light and super moist and best of all they are quick and easy to make. Well ‘tis the season for complete chaos and busy schedules so what better time to share a recipe for super quick and scrumptious confetti cake batter cookies. I used red and green sprinkles to make them festive for Christmas but keep this recipe in mind throughout the year. Just change the sprinkle color for the appropriate holiday. Perhaps pink and red for Valentine’s Day?

INGREDIENTS
1-18.25 oz box of white cake mix
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2–3/4 c sprinkles

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • In a large bowl mix together the dry cake mix and baking powder.
  • Whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla.
  • Add the egg mixture to the cake mixture and stir until all ingredients are combined.
  • Fold in the sprinkles but be sure not to over mix or the dye will stain the batter.
  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it.
  • Drop 1” balls of dough onto the baking sheet leaving approximately 2” apart.
  • Bakes cookies for 9–10 minutes making sure they don’t brown.
  • Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for about 3 minutes.
  • Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a cutting board or cooling rack.
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Diva di Cucina

Talk about a match made in heaven! Two classic American desserts coming together to make one heck of a fabulous and indulgent dish. This delicious recipe is perfect for all the holiday social events this time of year. I recently made it for my office party and it was a hit. I cut the squares pretty small so that they were easy to handle and could be eaten as a finger food. This reminds me a lot of Dutch apple pie á la mode. You have the crisp topping drizzled with syrupy caramel, the soft spiced apples, and the creamy sweet cheesecake layer all over a buttery crust. This is a great recipe to keep in mind come Christmas since you can prepare it a day or two in advance giving you some extra time with your guests on Christmas day. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

CRUST INGREDIENTS
2 c flour
½ c brown sugar
1 c butter, softened
½ tsp cinnamon

CHEESECAKE FILLING INGREDIENTS
3-8 oz packages cream cheese
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

APPLE LAYER INGREDIENTS
3 apples peeled, cored, and finely chopped
3 tbsp sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

STREUSEL TOPPING INGREDIENTS
1 c brown sugar
1 c flour
½ c oats
½ c butter, softened
1 c caramel topping

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • In a mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon and mix with your hands until crumbly.
  • Line a 9” x 13” baking dish with foil making sure to go up the sides. (The helps you to easily remove the final cheesecake from the dish making it a breeze for cutting into bars.)
  • Press the crumbly mixture into the bottom of the lined pan making sure it is an even thickness.
  • Bake crust for 15 minutes.
  • In a large mixing bowl use an electric mixer to beat together the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
  • Pour the cream cheese mixture over the warm crust and using a rubber spatula carefully spread it so that it is an even layer.
  • In a small bowl stir together all the apple layer ingredients.
  • Sprinkle the apples over the cream cheese layer.
  • In a small bowl combine the streusel ingredients and using your hands mix until crumbly.
  • Sprinkle the streusel over the apple layer.
  • Bake for 40–45 minutes.
  • Allow the cheesecake to cool and then drizzle with the caramel sauce.
  • Once cheesecake is room temperature store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
  • To serve, carefully lift the finished cheesecake from the pan by holding the edges of the foil.
  • Transfer to a large cutting board and cut into bars.
  • Serve cold.
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Lemon Crackle Cookies

Diva di Cucina

The other day when I dropped my son off at daycare there was a signup sheet for a bake sale. I signed up because, well… I love doing that sort of thing! I didn’t even pay attention to the date until I got to work and went to write it on my calendar. Holy smokes! It was the next day! That meant that after I got off working a long day I had to pick up my husband from work, go get my car from the shop (this is why I had to pick up the husband from work that day), go to the grocery store, swing by daycare to get the munchkin, cook dinner, bathe the little rascal, and THEN bake something for the bake sale! And being a mom there is always dishes and laundry in the mix too. What had I gotten myself into?!? I am not one to flake out so I just decided I had to come up with one heck of a quick and easy item to make. That’s when I had remembered seeing easy chocolate cake cookies. Basically you use boxed cake mix as the base for the cookies.

There always seems to be plenty of chocolate at bake sales so I mixed it up and made what I am calling Lemon Crackle Cookies. These were so incredibly quick and easy to make. They were super cheap and they turned out really good! Think of a fluffy version of a lemon bar. This recipe makes between 3 and 4 dozen cookies so they are perfect for a bake sale or even a cookie exchange. I recommend you give them a shot whether or not you are strapped for time.

INGREDIENTS
2-18.25 oz boxes Duncan Hines lemon cake mix
4 eggs
2/3 c vegetable oil
grated rind from one lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 375º.
  • In a large bowl mix together dry cake mix, eggs, oil, lemon rind, and lemon juice.
  • Put the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl or plate.
  • Form small balls with the dough and then roll them in the powdered sugar. Be sure the cookies have a really thick coating of the sugar if you want them to have that crackle look.
  • Place at least 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Bake for 7–9 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
  • Allow cookies to sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cutting board or cooling rack.
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Chunky Monkey Cookies

Diva di Cucina

Do you have some overripe brown bananas on your counter that are about a day away from looking like a science project? Don’t toss them out! Put them to use. Typically when I have overripe bananas I make my banana nut bread. Well I already had a couple extra loaves in the freezer the other day so I decided to try something else. I thought to myself, chocolate and bananas are an awesome flavor combination so why not try to make some delicious cookies. This recipe is for chocolate chip banana oatmeal cookies but I like the name Chunky Monkeys, an ode to my favorite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. These cookies are relatively more healthy than most oatmeal cookies since far less butter is needed with all those bananas in there keeping them moist. Be sure to store these in an airtight container and they will stay fresh for days. Hope you and your little monkeys enjoy them as much as mine did.

INGREDIENTS
3 overripe bananas
4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick), melted
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 c brown sugar, packed
1 c sugar
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 c old fashioned oats
24 oz bag semisweet chocolate chips
1 c chopped pecans

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • In a large mixing bowl mash the bananas until smooth.
  • Beat in butter, eggs, vanilla, and sugars on low speed until smooth.
  • In a second mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  • Gradually add flour mixture to banana mixture and continue mixing on low speed until combined.
  • Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and nuts.
  • Drop cookie dough by the spoonful onto greased baking sheets.
  • Bake for 11–14 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
  • Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2–3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack or board to cool using a spatula.
  • Enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk!
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Pear and Pecan Crisp

Diva di Cucina

I have these fabulous friends who always have loads of fresh fruits and veggies on hand and I am lucky enough to have them share with me. The other day when I was visiting they had palettes of beautiful golden pears and I was fortunate enough to score some. Saweeet! I waited until the pears were perfectly ripe and then I created this delicious pear crisp for an office party. (My coworkers are so lucky to have me!) It was really a hit and super easy to make. Most people expect apple crisp when they see something like this so the pears are a pleasant surprise. They really were so sweet and packed with juice. Rather than an oat topping like many of my crisps, I made this with a streusel topping. This is a perfect fall dessert. I think I may be serving it up come Thanksgiving!

FILLING INGREDIENTS
5 large pears, cored and diced
2/3 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt

STREUSEL TOPPING INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 c flour
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c pecans, finely chopped
1/2 c butter (1 stick), melted

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • In a large mixing bowl combine all the filling ingredients, pears, sugar, and salt. Set aside
  • In a separate bowl stir together the following topping ingredients flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans.
  • Drizzle the melted butter over the dry ingredients stirring while you go until it is evenly combined. The mix should be nice and crumbly.
  • Pour the pears into a large greased baking dish (7″ x 11″ worked great for me) and top with streusel crumbs.
  • Bake for 30–35 minutes or until the topping just begins to turn a golden brown.
  • Serve warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Brunch, Sweet Treats

Recipe—Spiced Carrot Bread

Diva di Cucina

With my produce now being delivered weekly, rather than bi-weekly, I am finding myself with leftover items when the weekend rolls around. This equates to some creative cooking. I still had some giant carrots from the previous week and decided to make some spiced carrot bread with them. This bread is quick and easy to make, the challenge is waiting for it to bake and cool because it smells so incredibly good while in the oven. You just want to eat it right away! My entire house had the aroma of sweet spices wafting around for days, perfect for fall. While this would be fabulous with a cream cheese based frosting, I wanted something that didn’t require refrigeration. It gives the bread just the perfect amount of sweetness. Enjoy it as is for breakfast or topped with whipped cream for dessert, either way you will be indulging your sweet tooth while getting in a healthy serving of veggies.

Note: This recipe makes two loaves of spiced carrot bread. Enjoy one now and freeze one for later! 

BREAD INGREDIENTS
1 c oil
4 eggs
1/2 c buttermilk
1 tbsp vanilla
2 1/2 c sugar
2 c shredded carrots (2–3 large carrots)
4 c flour
1/2  tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2  tsp baking soda
1/2  tsp nutmeg
1/2  tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves

FROSTING INGREDIENTS
1/4 c butter, melted
1 tbsp water
1 c powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

BREAD STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • Spray two loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl whisk together oil, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and sugar.
  • Stir in the shredded carrots.
  • In a second large mixing bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
  • Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until well combined.
  • Evenly distribute the batter between the two pans.
  • Bake for 60–70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean when inserted in the middle.
  • Allow loaves to sit in the pans for 5 minutes and then carefully remove and place on a cutting board or cooling rack.
  • Allow loaves to cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING STEPS

  • Once the loaves have cooled completely stir together the melted butter and water.
  • Add in half of the powdered sugar and beat using the fork until smooth.
  • Add in the remaining powdered sugar and continue beating until the frosting is nice and smooth.
  • Stir in the cinnamon.
  • Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag. (If using a Ziploc bag cut off a small corner of the bag.)
  • Drizzle both loaves with the frosting and allow to set for 15 minutes before slicing.
Appetizers, Snacks, Sweet Treats

Recipe—Toffee Apple Dip

Diva di Cucina

I love it when I can find festive after school snacks for my little munchkin. While this isn’t the healthiest snack, we sure had fun making it together. We had it “whipped” up in less than 5 minutes and eaten in almost the same amount of time. Just kidding, I demonstrated some self-control and saved a little for my husband to enjoy for dessert that night. This was so good that when we ran out of apples I was just using my fingers to scoop it out. I know, I’m ashamed, but I couldn’t help it! It was really yummy! A better name for this is probably “Apple Crack”. After we finished the dip off we were trying to think about what else would go well with it and we think some graham crackers or Nilla wafers would make great dippers too. Enjoy! (And I know you will!)

Note: This is the perfect amount for 3–5 people but if you want to make it for a group definitely double or triple the recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1 Heath bar
8 oz cream cheese (1 block)
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3–5 apples sliced

STEPS

  • Using a very sharp knife cut the Heath bar up into small bits. Set a tablespoon of the bits aside.
  • In a small mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese, sugars, and vanilla,
  • Stir in the majority of the Heath bits.
  • Transfer to a small serving bowl.
  • Top with reserved Heath bits.
  • Serve with sliced apples.
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Cherry Cheesecake Bars

Diva di Cucina

My name is Rebecca and I am a cheesecakeaholic. There I said it and boy does it feel good to get it off my chest. I love the stuff. Cherry cheesecake is my kryptonite. I could sit there and eat filling by the spoonful before it even hits the crust. One of the many reasons I LOVE this recipe is that it is quick and effortless to make. There is no need to wait for cooking and cooling for hours like a traditional cheesecake. This takes less than 20 minutes to make and just an hour to cool. It just doesn’t get any easier. The Cool Whip makes it incredibly light and fluffy unlike some of those dense baked cheesecakes. Hope you enjoy this as much as I do! I have a feeling you just wont be able to get enough.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
½ c sugar
½ c butter (1 stick), melted
8 oz package cream cheese, softened
8 oz tub Cool Whip
3 c powdered sugar
2-21 oz cans cherry pie filling (I like the ones with more fruit)

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • In a medium sized mixing bowl combine graham crumbs, sugar, and melted butter and stir until well mixed.
  • Pour the crumb mixture into a greased 9” x 13” baking dish.
  • Using the backside of a spatula press the mixture down to pack it into a thin crust.
  • Bake crust in the oven for 15 minutes.
  • Remove crust from oven and allow to cool.
  • While crust is cooling use a hand mixer and beat together the cream cheese, cool whip, and powdered sugar until smooth.
  • Spread the cool whip mixture over the crust.
  • Next, spread the cherry pie filling over the cream cheese base.
  • Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
  • Devourer!
Brunch, Sweet Treats

Recipe—Plum Crisp

Diva di Cucina

I have been getting lots of purple plums in my produce boxes this summer and that has resulted in me having fun creating delicious plum desserts. I think I finally have one worth sharing, a tart plum crisp! The sweet crunchy crisp perfectly complements the tartness of the plum filling. Having an oat based topping makes this the perfect breakfast appropriate dessert. It really is like eating a warm bowl of oatmeal with baked plums. That’s right, I’m encouraging you to eat dessert for breakfast. You only live once after all!

Note: If you don’t have any fresh plums, or they are out of season, you can replace the fresh plums with two 15 oz cans of purple plums. Just be sure to remove the pits and drain them.

INGREDIENTS
10–12 sliced plums
1/2 c juice of choice (cranberry, pomegranate, or apple juice are great)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c oats
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp light corn syrup

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 400º.
  • In a large saucepan, combine fruit juice, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch and mix until smooth.
  • Bring to a boil over medium-high heat stirring frequently.
  • Add in plums and continue cooking and stirring for 1–2 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and set aside.
  • In a mixing bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
  • Mix in butter and corn syrup until mixture is crumbly.
  • Place plum mixture into in a small baking dish. (9” pie dish or square pyrex are perfect size.)
  • Top plums with the crumb topping.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Serve warm or cold, and don’t forget the scoop of ice cream!