Birthday

Last weekend we celebrated the hubby’s 35th birthday. (Happy birthday babe!) I wanted to make him a fabulous dessert but he is not much of a cake guy. You may remember this from last year when I shared a recipe for Snickers Cake. He does however like chocolate so I threw together these triple chocolate jars of goodness and they were a real hit! You have the nice cakey layer from the Oreos, a thick rich chocolate pudding layer, and then the Cool Whip combined with pudding creates a lite and airy chocolate mousse. Layer upon layer of tasty goodness! And I am totally loving desserts in mason jars. One of our guests couldn’t finish hers so we just threw a lid on it and she took it home for later. Super convenient and and so cute!

Note: This recipe will make enough to fill four 12 oz mason jars (pictured) or six 8 oz mason jars. These can be made a full day in advance. The Oreos take on a nice cake like consistency the longer they sit.

INGREDIENTS
5.9 oz box instant chocolate fudge Jell-O pudding
3 1/2 c milk
8 oz container Cool Whip
20 Oreos, crushed

STEPS

Prepare instant pudding per package instructions using the milk.
Place pudding in fridge and chill for 20 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl stir together the container of Cool Whip and about half of the prepared pudding until well combined.
Place a heaping spoonful of the crushed Oreos in the bottom of your serving dishes and then top with a couple of tablespoons of the pudding, followed by a couple tablespoons of the Cool Whip mixture.
Repeat until the containers are full making sure to finish off with the crumbled Oreos.
Chill until ready to serve.

Snacks, Sweet Treats

Recipe—Funfetti Cake Batter Cookie Dip

July 3, 2013January 26, 2018 Diva di Cucina

The other day I was going to be attending a pool party for one of my favorite munchkins. I knew there would be plenty of kids there and I wanted to bring a snack that all the kids would love and have fun eating. Well turns out the grownups liked this just as much as the little ones. This cookie dip was a HUGE hit! This is a cream cheese based dip blended with a scoop of dry cake mix giving it the true cake batter flavor. It was delicious! Super creamy and just the right amount of sweet. I’m guessing this will forever be a staple on our party menus. It would be perfect for a birthday party or any type of social event, and I’m sure it will get people talking. This is by no means healthy, but sometimes you just need to relax and let the kids have a little fun enjoying a special treat. It’s all about moderation after all, not that you will be able to control yourself with this dip. So dive in, let loose, and enjoy this perfect youthful treat! I know you can’t resist.

Note: I served this dip with Nilla wafers but I know it would go great with graham crackers or animal crackers as well.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c butter
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 cup dry funfetti cake mix
1 tsp vanilla
1/4–1/2 c milk
1/4 c sprinkles, plus more for garnish

STEPS

Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside to cool.
In a large mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and cake mix for 2 minutes.
Add in vanilla and cooled butter and continue beating for another 2 minutes.
Beat in the vanilla and then 1/4 cup of the milk. Add more milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
Fold in 1/4 cup of the sprinkles.
Transfer the dip to a small bowl for serving and garnish with additional sprinkles. Serve immediately with your favorite dippers or refrigerate until ready to serve. (Note: the dip will get very firm in the fridge so remove it 15–20 minutes before you plan on serving it to allow it to soften.)

Sweet Treats

Recipe—Snickers Cake

May 10, 2013January 26, 2018 Diva di Cucina

This cake should be called the Devil’s cake. Because that is exactly what it is. It will suck you in and you won’t be able to resist it’s evil chocolately goodness! My husband loves his sweets but isn’t much of a cake guy. (How did I ever marry him?!?!) Just kidding, I love my husband, so much so that I was on the hunt for the PERFECT birthday cake for him. One of his favorite candy bars is a Snickers so I knew if I could make a cake that even remotely resembled a Snickers bar, he would probably like it. I think I gained 10 pounds just making this cake because I was indulging myself while putting it together. That is part of being a good cook right? Taste everything you serve. Well I did. I tasted the cake batter, the caramel sauce, the chocolate chips, the chopped snickers, the whipped cream, etc. I was so bad, and it was soooo good! Every layer of it! If you are or have a Snickers lover in your family bake them this cake. They will love you forever, unless they are on a diet. This is a fabulous cake, not a diet cake.

Note: This cake can be made a day ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

INGREDIENTS
16.5 oz box of Duncan Hines Devil’s Food cake mix
1 c water
1/3 c vegetable oil
3 eggs
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
12 oz jar Smucker’s Hot Caramel ice cream topping sauce
1 c chocolate chips
1 pt heavy whipping cream
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 Snickers candy bars, chopped
1/2 c peanuts, coarsely chopped
caramel sauce
chocolate sauce

STEPS

Preheat oven to 350º.
In a large mixing bowl beat together the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs at medium speed for 2 1/2 minutes.
Pour the cake batter into a greased 9” x 13” Pyrex.
Bake the cake for 25–30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
While the cake is baking mix together the condensed milk and jar of caramel sauce until thoroughly blended.
When the cake is done cooking, but still hot, poke 20–30 holes in the cake using a straw.
Pour the caramel sauce over the entire cake.
Allow the cake to finish cooling completely.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the cake.
In a medium mixing bowl beat together the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla at high speed until it is nice and thick, about 3–5 minutes.
Fold the chopped Snickers into the whipped topping.
Spread the whipped topping over the top of the cake.
Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the top and drizzle with caramel and chocolate sauce.
Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Recipe adapted from Plain Chicken.

Sweet Treats

Recipe—Sugar Cookie Bars

March 13, 2013January 26, 2018 Diva di Cucina

Last month we celebrated my son’s third birthday. I knew I wanted to send him to school with some sort of treats to share with all his friends. Well, his birthday is the day after Valentine’s Day so that week is already pretty hectic for me. I didn’t have tons of time to spend on baking and frosting individual mini-cupcakes like I wanted to. I needed something easy that I could make a lot of, and fast. I stumbled upon a recipe for sugar cookie bars. I knew they would be perfect! They had a cute festive look to them and were so easy to make. They turned out perfect! They were just the right size for a bunch of toddlers and I didn’t have to frost them all individually. These sugar cookie bars are perfect for any occasion. Have fun with different festive colored frostings and sprinkles. (I love sprinkles!)

COOKIE BAR INGREDIENTS
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

FROSTING INGREDIENTS
1/2 c butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
2 c powdered sugar
2–3 tbsp milk
food coloring
sprinkles

STEPS

Preheat oven to 375º.
Using an electric mixer beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla making sure to mix well.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir to combine.
Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the creamy mixture.
Line a xx” x xx” baking dish with parchment paper going both directions.
Press the cookie dough into the lined baking dish.
Bake for 12–14 minutes.
Allow cookie bars to cool completely.
Using an electric mixer beat together the butter, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar until well combined.
Gradually add in the milk until your frosting reaches the desired consistency. (If it becomes too runny just add in a bit more powdered sugar.
Once your frosting reaches desired consistency beat in the food coloring.
Spread the cookie bars with the frosting and top with sprinkles.
Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour and use a pizza wheel to cut into squares with ease.