Today’s treat is in honor of one of my co-workers, Marty Smith. He and Ryan McGee host “Marty and McGee” on ESPN Radio Saturday mornings. They are fabulous, funny, kindhearted guys who’s show is among the best ESPN has to offer. I love doing updates during their show because the provide a relief from all the crappy stuff in the world. Anyways, Marty loves lemon Pound Cake and even though he is in North Carolina (along w Ryan), I brought that treat in today. It’s a simple recipe, courtesy of Duncan Hines. If you don’t want to make 🍋 frosting, by all means use the canned stuff.

Lemon pound cake ingredients

• Lemon cake mix
• 3.4 oz pkg instant lemon pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup oil

Directions – preheat oven to 350. Spray large bundt pan with baking spray. Beat cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool completely. Turn over on plate.

Frosting ingredients

• 3/4 cups butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 1-2 tbs heavy cream
• 8 oz container cool whip, defrosted

Directions

Cream butter. Slowly blend in powdered sugar and lemon juice. Add cream. You may want to add more cream or powdered sugar to get the consistency you want. Blend in cool whip. Frost cake.

Store in covered container.

I loved all “Little Debbie” treats when I was little, especially the brownies! That weird frosting on top was awesome! It is funny how all the stuff you love when you were little was so appealing (twinkies and hostess stuff, boxed mac and cheese etc). Then as you when.. Ahem… Get older, it’s not so appealing. Do the formulas change for the treats or is it more our tastes change? Anyways, now, I like to make homemade versions these treats… And today, it is the Little Debbie brownies. They are very fudgy and soft. The frosting is a ganache..(melted chocolate chips and heavy cream). I can’t find a way to duplicate her frosting.

And, btw, is there really a little debbie?

Ingredients

• 10 tbs butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup + 3 tbs baking cocoa
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 yolk
• 1 tbs corn syrup
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2 tbs cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8×8 pan with baking spray or butter spray. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add cocoa. Mix in eggs, yolk, corn syrup and vanilla. Fold in flour, cornstarch and salt. Spread into pan (mixture is thick). Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely

Frosting ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions –microwave chips in a microwave safe bowl for one minute. In a separate microwave safe container, microwave heavy cream. Pour cream over chipa and let stand 10 minutes. Stir smooth and spread over brownies.

Store in covered container.

When I get a recipe request from my husband, it’s usually chocolate chip cookies. So today, I went into my chocolate chip cookies recipes (yes, that is with an “s”. I have roughly a billion of ccc recipes) and found this one. It is a pretty good one. I always chill my cookie dough to try and get a puffy cookie, which I prefer to make (I like my cookies to look good in addition to tasting good. Flat cookies are a no no!) Remember to scoop your flour from your container into your measuring cups to get the right amount. I added 3 1/2 cups flour to make the cookies less flat.Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 1/4 -3 1/2 cuos flour cups flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – mix butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in baking soda and salt. Mix in flour, one cup at a time (then the quarter cup or half cup). Fold in chips. Scoop dough into quarter cup cookies and form into tall mounds. Chill at least 4 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Stagger 6 on a sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners. Bake 10-12 minutes. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes. Store in covered container

Stephanie from,Georgia called in today to Marty and McGee to suggest I blog my baking for the show on Saturdays… Which reminded me I have neglected posting on my blog.. So here is today’s treat! I will be better about blogging.. And, I think I need to start doing baking videos again, too!

Cake ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup mill
• 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 12×17 cookie sheet with cooking spray. Add lemon juice or vinegar to milk. Let sit 5 minutes. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave butter, water and cocoa in 45 second increments until butter is melted. Add dry ingredients. In separate bowl mix eggs, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add to chocolate mixture then blend in milk mixture. Spread evenly into pan. Bake 12 -17 minutes (toothpick inserted in center should come out with a few crumbs.)

Frosting ingredients

3/4 cup butter, melted

3 cups powered sugar

1/3 cup milk

3/4 cup peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla

Combine and microwave in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. You can add more milk, one tbs at a time to make it thinner if you would like. Pour over warm cake. Let cool completely.

Cut and store in covered container.

I wanted to make a puffy peanut butter cookie and this recipe was perfect! I coated them all in sugar, per Rob’s request. Then I used a couple in smores and dumped melted chocolate on two others. Boom!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups flour

Directions

Cream shortening, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg. Stir in dry ingredients. Scoop out 2 tbs dough and pile mounds high. Roll in sugar. Chill. Preheat oven to 350. Stagger on cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 9 minutes. Cool.

Melt 1 cup Hershey kisses or chocolate chips w 1 tsp oil in 45 second increments until you can stir melted. Drizzle on cookies.

For smores – break graham cracker sheet in. Layer 1/2 Graham cracker sheet with a tsp melted chocolate, a pb cookie, 1 toasted marshmallow, 1 tsp melted chocolate and top with other Graham cracker half.

Store in covered container.


Today is one of the coolest days of,the year, if you are a sports fan – the first Friday of the NCAA tournament.. Basically 12 straight hours of games, from opening tip of the first game, until the final buzzer of the last. And, the hockey team at my alma mater, SUNY Geneseo, is playing in the frozen hour. So, I made chocolate cutouts, with some decorated as basketballs (orange frosting and homemade chocolate fondant for the stripes) and others were hockey puck sandwiches with a chocolate Oreo filling!

Go ice knights!
Cookies
2 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter (room temp)
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Roll and cut . stagged on cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 8 minutes. Cool completely and frost.
Frosting
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
Milk
1 tsp vanilla
Orange food coloring
Combine butter and powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Blend in milk, 1 tbs at a time until you get desired consistency. Stir in food color. Frost. Then put rolled and cut fondant as stripes.
Choc Oreo filling
2 tbs butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Milk
Crushed oreos
Combine. Use enough milk to get desired consistency. Spread between 2 cookies.

Store in covered container.

This is my absolute favorite cutout cookie recipe. It conjures up all these wonderful memories of baking with my mom, with cookies cooling all over the place, ready to be frosted. I have expanded this recipe for use beyond Christmas, but my decorating skills remain abysmal at best. Very few can ever really tell what the decorated cookies are. A co-worker friend once guessed a reindeer was a bicycle. Because yea, Santa rides a bike around the world December 24th. Today, I have used the shamrock option on this awesome cookie cutter bc St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow.

I forgot to sprinkle sugar on top before baking, bc I can never remember to do that.

And I made them into cookie sandwiches bc it was just easier. I have been up since 345 am and am tired.

Oh and frosting is a great mystery to me that I have yet to conquer. I make too little and have to make more to have enough… and then I have too much and am not sure what to do with the rest.. Or I make too much at first, and try to bake other items to use it up. I should bring the extra to work with spoons. I think people would enjoy that.

Cookies ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/3 cups shortening
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups flour (scooped from your flour container into a measuring cup)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – cream shortening and sugar for 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Slowly fold in dry ingredients. Chill in covered container for a few hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350. Roll and cut cookies. Stagger them on a cookiw sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 6 to 7 minutes. Let cool,on sheet 5 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. Store in covered container.

Frosting ingredients

• 1 tbs butter, melted
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Couple of tbs Milk or heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Food coloring

Directions

Blend butter and powdered sugar. Add 2 tbs of milk or cream. You can add more, a tbs at a time, to get your desired consistency. Stir in food coloring

I failed my people today. I ran out of time yesterday to bake for work, so I came in empty-handed today. (Unlike last week, when my cookies came up missing). So now, before Mass, I shall make up for this treatless Saturday, with a cookie Sunday. I noticed I have a ton of cake mixes, so I decided on cake mix cookies.

Simple enough. I have a bunch of different extracts (besides vanilla), so I can tweak the cookies that way. I opted for almond today in two versions – white and devils food.

My mint, orange and lemon extracts can be saved for another day. And i just did a basic vanilla frosting, flavoured (note the spelling in honor of Canadian friends and family) with almond extract.

Cake mix cookies

• 1 cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 tsp extract (I used almond)

Directions

-preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Combine cake mix, eggs, oil and vanilla. Roll into 2 tbs dough and form a ball. Scatter on cookie sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes (lightly browned on bottom) cool completely.

Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbs milk
• 1 tsp almond extract

Directions

Mix well with a hand or stand mixer. You may want to add more milk, by the tbs, to get the consistency you want. Frost cookies.

Obligatory pic of our Gracie, hoping for a smackerel of something

Store cookies in covered container.

I was looking for something different to bake because I have been making a lot of chocolate chip cookies lately (although I use different recipes). I was running errands and walked by a Little Debbie display and saw the oatmeal cream pies. I loved those as a kid! I thought I would make a homemade version to bring to work. My twist is instant oatmeal packets (I used brown sugar and maple flavor).

You can add chocolate chips if you want as well. The filling is a cream cheese frosting. You could also use vanilla frosting or something else if you want.

Cookies

1. 1 cup butter, melted
2. 1/2 cup sugar
3. 1 cup brown sugar
4. 2 cups flour
5. 1/2 tsp baking powder
6. 1 tsp baking soda
7. 2 eggs
8. 4 tbs milk
9. 12 instant oatmeal packets

Directions

1. Mix butter, sugar and brown sugar.
2. Add eggs and milk
3. Mix in dry ingredients
4. Fold in oatmeal packets
5. Form dough into balls using a cookie or ice cream scoop
6. Chill dough at least one hour
7. Preheat oven to 350
8. Stagger on cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or non stick baking liners
9. Bake 12 minutes
10. Cool on sheet 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack on cookie tray lid to to cool completely

Filling

1. 4 oz cream cheese
2. 1/4 cup butter
3. 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4. 2 tbs milk or cream

Directions

1. Cream butter and cream cheese.
2. Fold in powdered sugar
3. Add milk or cream
4. Beat to desired consistency
5. Spread spoonful or two between 2 cookies
6. Store in covered container

After wreaking havoc on other parts of the country, a whale of a winter storm is about to hit our area. Several inches of snow then ice, which freaks me out about losing power. In 2011, a freak winter storm in October, left us without power for a week. So Rob, Charlie and I spent 8 days in a hotel around the corner from our house. We were happy to find somewhere close that allowed dogs, but spending so much money on that was tough. Some day, I hope we have a generator…

Anyways, I made two kinds of treats for work today, bc I am staying in the hotel across from work and have no treata for tomorrow. These are a Ghirardelli brownie with oreo truffle topping, finished off with melted chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Brownies

• 8 oz 60% bittersweet chocolate
• 6 tbs butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup flour.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Melt chocolate and butter. Add sugar and salt. Mix in eggs, then flour. Butter an 8 inch square pan and line with parchment paper. Butter paper as well. Pour batter into pan. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool

Truffle topping

• 30 Oreos
• 4 ounces cream cheese

Directions – finely grind Oreos in food processor (or you can hammer them with a rolling pin and get out all your frustrations). Combine with cream cheese. Spread over cooled brownies. Cut the brownies.

Topping

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tsp vegetable oil

Directions – melt chips in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. Add oil. Spoon on each individual brownie. Store in covered container.