CANOLI DIP

 

CANOLI DIP

This is a delicious, quick and easy dessert that everyone loves.  

Just 4 ingredients that I usually always have on hand.  This dip is great with any cookies or pastry but we love to dip strawberries the most!  This is sure to be a big hit at your next get together!!

Ingredients:

1 - 8 oz block of cream cheese (softened)

1 - 16 oz container of whole milk ricotta cheese

2 cups of confectioners sugar

1 cup of mini chocolate chips

Preparation:

Whip cream cheese and ricotta cheese together until fluffy.  Next add confectioners sugar one cup at a time until fully incorporated.  Lastly, fold in mini chocolate chips.  top with a sprinkle of more mini chocolate chips and a little more confectioners sugar to serve.  Pair with your favorite cookies and fruit!

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

 This recipe is so super simple.  It's a great way to use up your avocados before they go bad.  I'm so tired of throwing avocados when no one eats them.  This recipe is perfect because you can use them right when they get a little too soft to eat them and I always have all of these ingredients on hand in my pantry.  It's also awesome because you throw everything into a blender or food processor and it literally takes less than 5 minutes to make.  It's a super smooth and dark chocolatey dessert!

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 Almond milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

pinch of ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preparation:

Add all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Spoon into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set up.  Enjoy!

Honey Comb Candy

 

I got really into candy making a few months back. Out of all the recipes I tried, my favorite recipe to make was honey comb. Its looks really impressive but it is super simple to make. You can make it plain or dip it into melted chocolate. I have also added chopped nuts to create a honey comb nut brittle (although if you add nuts you do deflate the honey comb a bit). Anyway you make it, it is a real crowd pleaser. At least my work friends think so. I found this particular recipe while searching through Pinterest. The only addition I made was a pinch of salt. You can find the recipe here. 

Ingredients: 

1 Cup White Granulated Sugar 

1/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup 

2 Tablespoon Honey 

1/2 Cup Water 

2 Teaspoon Baking Soda 

Pinch of coarse salt (optional)

Preparation: Line and 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper In a large pot on the stove top, over medium-high heat, add the sugar in an even layer to the bottom of the pan. Pour the corn syrup and honey over the sugar and then pour the water to moisten all the sugar. Do not Stir! Cook mixture until the temperature reaches 300-degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer. Remove the pot from the stove and whisk in the baking soda for a few seconds, until mixture stops foaming up. Pour mixture immediately into prepared pan. Let honeycomb set for at least an hour, or until completely hardened, before breaking into pieces (I used my hands). Option: Coat honeycomb candy in chocolate. Store candy in an airtight container. Candy stays fresh and crunchy for 3-4 days.

Chip and Pretzel Cookies

 

This cookie recipe is from our Mom.  She makes it for all the grandkids.  My kids love this recipe and Mom recently sent the recipe to my 11 year old son who loves to bake.  

The texture is crunchy and sandy with a nice salty crunch from the chips and pretzels.  

So yummy!

Ingredients:

1 cup softened butter salted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup coarsely crushed potato chips

3/4 cup coarsely crushed pretzels

Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips, melted (for dipping) You can also use white chocolate if preferred.

A little kosher salt or sea salt for sprinkling over the melted chocolate.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cover sheet pan with parchment paper.  Combine softened butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat until incorporated.  Gradually add flour and mix well.  Stir in crushed chips and pretzels and mix until fully combined.

Shape cookies into oval logs and flatten slightly.  Bake for 14-18 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool completely in baking sheet.  Dip one end of cooled cookie into melted chocolate and place onto parchment paper.  Sprinkle a little coarse salt onto the melted chocolate if desired.   Leave cookies out at room temperature or place in refrigerator to harden the chocolate.

Fruit Dip

Strawberry Recipe #4 

(well not really a strawberry recipe but delicious with strawberries)

This is the simplest but and most delicious fruit dip!  It goes amazing with any kind of fruit.  I especially like this dip with cut up apples.  But of course amazing with Strawberries too!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cream cheese ( any kind, whipped, lite etc)

1/3 cup plain greek yogurt

1/3 cup brown sugar

Preparation:

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and blend well with a hand mixer.  I like to use my whisk attachment on my hand beater to whip it up nice and light and fluffy.  Pour into a bowl and enjoy immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Strawberry Salsa

Strawberry recipe #3

This is the perfect summertime recipe and a great way to use up all those strawberries.  The most perfect combination of all things delicious!  Serve with cinnamon chips.  You can make your own or buy the store bought kind both will be delicious with this salsa.

Ingredients:

Salsa

2 lbs of fresh strawberries, diced

Zest from 1 lime

1 Tablespoon of mint, chopped

1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons strawberry jam

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

6 small flour tortillas cut into 1/8ths

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 Teaspoons ground cinnamon

A little canola oil

Preparation:

For salsa combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine.  I found it was easy to mix the jam in when it was warmed first in the microwave to make it a bit looser.

For cinnamon chips.  In a small bowl mix together sugar and cinnamon, set aside.  Next, using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife cut tortillas into 1/8ths.  Lay all the tortilla triangles on a piece of parchment paper and brush with oil.  Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar and bake in a 350 F degree oven until golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.

Strawberry Hand Pies

Here's Strawberry recipe #2.  My kids are obsessed with Empanadas both sweet and savory so I was excited to make this Hand Pie recipe!  This sweet version is perfect and easy to make.  Another great dough that you can fill with any filling you like.  We also made chocolate hazelnut hand pies too with the left over dough.  YUM!

Ingredients:

Dough:

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup all purpose flour

Filling:

1 cup chopped strawberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Zest of half a lemon

2 Tbsp cornstarch

Finishing:

1 egg, beaten for egg wash

Preparation:

Cream butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy.  Add in flour and mix just until dough comes together.  Place dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Place parchment paper on a pan and set aside.  On a floured or powdered sugared surface, knead the dough a couple of times until it is a nice round ball. Then, roll dough into a circle with a rolling pin, about 1/4" thick.  Cut circles using a large round cookie cutter about 2 1/2 to 3".  Place each circle on the parchment paper prepared pan.  You will need to re-roll the dough a few times until it's all used up.  You may want to refrigerate in between if it gets too soft.

In a small bowl, gently combine chopped strawberries, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and cornstarch.

Fill each pie round with 1 tablespoon of filling, don't over stuff.  Take one side of the dough and pull it over the filling. Use a fork to crimp the edges together and poke an air hole at the top of each pie.  Brush each pie with eggwash. Sprinkle with white sugar (optional). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until pie is golden brown.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Bread

I have a lot of Strawberry recipes heading your way!  I bought a huge 5lb container of strawberries and they were not as good as they looked for just eating by themselves but perfect to bake with!  Here is the first of many Strawberry recipes!  This Strawberry Cream Cheese bread is amazing.   It a very light but moist texture and it isn't overly sweet!  You can add really any berry that you like but I love it with strawberries.   Very easy to make all in one bowl!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk ( I used 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of lowfat milk - combine and let stand for a few minutes)
1 1/2 cups strawberries, diced

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.  Cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and combine well.  Mix in one at a time baking powder, baking soda and salt. Next add flour one cup at a time until batter if fully mixed and smooth.  Last add in the buttermilk and stir until combined.  Carefully fold in strawberries.  Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes.  The inside should be set (not jiggly) and the top golden brown.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

I just made these today when I noticed a full pint of blueberries untouched in my refrigerator.   Wow these are good!  Sweet and tart all in the same bite!  The addition of the Greek yogurt in the filling is perfect to cut the sweetness of all the sugar in the crust.  These were delicious straight out of the oven or once they are cooled!  You can also substitute any berry that you prefer as well as mixing all the leftover berries together! I will have to try that next time.

Ingredients:

Bottom Crust and Crumble Topping:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup cold butter, cubed

Filling:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup non-fat greek yogurt

Pinch of salt

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preparation:

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine all crust ingredients (flour, sugar, salt and cubed butter).  Using a hand mixer blend ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse sand.  It should be crumbly not smooth.  Remove 1 cup of the crust mixture and set aside to use as the topping.  Take the remaining crumb mixture and press into the prepared 9x13 baking dish covering the bottom.  Bake the crust in your preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the crust is firm but should not be brown.

While the crust is baking prepare the filling.  In a bowl whisk the eggs and hen add the sugar, greek yogurt, flour and salt.

When the crust is ready pour the blueberry filling over the top of the hot crust and then take your remaining cup of the crust mixture and sprinkle over the top of the filling.  Bake for 60 min until the top is slightly browned.  Wait about 20 minutes and slice into squares.  Or if you do not have the patience serve by the spoonful hot over ice cream! YUMMY!

Strawberry Crumb Bars

This recipe is just as delicious as it is easy!  I made this for Father's Day and everyone LOVED it!  It's the perfect summertime dessert!  It uses only fresh strawberries for the filling but when it bakes the strawberries bake into a jam consistency making this dessert sweet and gooey and perfect!  You can definitely substitute other berries such as blueberries, raspberries or blackberries if you prefer.  I'm exited to make this again maybe next time trying mixed berries, YUM!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

1 cup cold butter

1 egg, beaten

4 cups fresh strawberries, chopped

1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspoons corn starch

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 F.   Line a 9x14 baking dish with parchment paper (this make for easy removal and quick clean up) . In a large bowl whisk together sugar, baking powder, salt and flour.  Cut cold butter into the flour mixture using 2 knives until pieces are pea sized.  Stir in the egg to form a chunky dough.  Pat down half of the dough mixture into the baking dish and reserve the other half as a topping for your crumb bars.  In another bowl combine the chopped strawberries, sugar and cornstarch and then spread the strawberry mixture on top of the dough in the pan.  Crumble the remaining mixture of the top of the strawberry layer evenly.  Bake 45-55 minutes util slightly browned.  Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

Spring Time Rainbow Cookies

Rainbow Cookies have always been a favorite of my family.  I wanted to make them with a Spring Twist so here are my version of Rainbow Cookies in pretty Spring colors!  Really anything goes!  For Valentine's Day it would look so pretty in shades of Pink and Red, 4th of July - Red, White and Blue!  Here for Springtime I choose, Pink, Teal and Lime Green.  This recipe is a little labor intensive but I promise you, it's worth it!  It' a crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

8 ounces almond paste
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup apricot preserves
3/4 Cup chocolate chips

1 teaspoon coconut oil

Preparation:

Preheat the over to 350 degrees F.   Spray three 13" x 9" x 2"  pans with cooking spray. Line each pan with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray.

In a large bowl add almond paste. Use a fork to break it up into small crumbs.  Using a hand mixer  combine almond paste, butter and sugar and mix until fluffy.  Next, add the egg yokes and beat until incorporated.  Now add the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir until well combined. 

In separate bowl beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the almond batter until thoroughly blended.

Separate the cookie batter into 3 small bowls and a different food color to each bowl and mix until desired color is achieved. 

Add each of the three colored batters into one of the prepared pans, using the spatula to spread the batter to the edges. Bake at 350 degree F and rotate pans halfway through the bake time so that they bake evenly. until the edges are golden, about 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then invert onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.

To Assemble:

Place one layer on a large cutting board or a large inverted baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the top. Place the 2nd layer on top and spread with the apricot preserves. . Top with the last cake layer. Cover with plastic wrap and place a heavy cutting board on top to weight it down. If you don't have a large heavy cutting board you can put another sheet pan on top an weight down with cans. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil together in a microwaveable bowl. Spread the chocolate on top of the cooled cake and let it dry slightly. Trim the rim of the cake with a serrated knife to make clean edges. Cut the cake into strips and then cut each strip into squares. 

Raspberry- Blackberry Crisp

 My son Jack loves when I make apple or berry anything. This past weekend he requested a raspberry-blackberry crisp. He even went to the grocery store to pick out the fresh berries himself. $20 later (he's not much of a bargain hunter) I was making him dessert. I'm not a fan of using oats in my crisps, so this recipe is a simple flour, butter, sugar topping. The filling is the perfect amount of sweet and tangy and the fresh berries are so much more flavorful than using the frozen kind. 

Ingredients:

Filling: 
3 C. Raspberries
2 C. Blackberries
1/3 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Flour
1 T. Cornstarch
1 T. Lemon Juice

Crisp Topping: 
1 C. Flour
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 T. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 Stick of Butter, softened

Preparation: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss berries with sugar, flour, cornstarch and lemon juice. Place mixture in a greased 9x9 baking dish. Make the crisp topping next by cutting softened butter into the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. I like to use my hands to combine the crumb topping ingredients. Combine until mixture is moist and crumbly. Place crumb topping on top of fruit mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Pecan Pumpkin Pie

REPOST - Happy Thanksgiving!

Every year we all look forward to this pie.  Our Mom has been making it for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember.  We ONLY have it once a year and it's my absolute FAVORITE thing for Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving just wouldn't be the same without it.  In 1998 my niece, Rebecca was born on Thanksgiving Day so that was the only time that we didn't have our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner together.  Instead we all had some sub-par food at a diner near the hospital where Karen gave birth. I do believe however that our Mom brought some Pecan Pumpkin Pie to the hospital for Karen so she wouldn't miss out! 

Our Mom's sister, Aunt Bernice was just visiting from California and we were talking about the pie recipe.  She told me that the original recipe came from Better Homes and Garden Magazine from some time in the 1960's.  I think it's amazing that over 50 years later both our Mom and Aunt are still making this pie every year for Thanksgiving.  I told you it was GOOD!

If you love pecan pie and you also love pumpkin pie you MUST try this!

Ingredients:

3 beaten eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 9" unbaked pie crust
1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl mix all ingredients, except for the pecans.  Pour pie mixture into prepared pie crust and top with chopped pecans.  Bake for about 1 hour or until the middle of the pie is firm, not jiggly (how's that for a technical baking term?)  Cool completely before serving (I like it chilled in the refrigerator) Top with whipped cream (Our Mom always served it with Cool Whip)

Applesauce Cinnamon Mini Muffins with Cracker Crumb Topping

I'm always trying to think of different ways to use staples that I always have in my house to create recipes.  the classic salty and sweet combination is always a winner so why not use salty, buttery crackers as an ingredient in a crumb topping?  I had to actually change many things in this receipe to suit the ingredients I had on hand.  I made these muffins over a year ago but never got around to posting it so I decided to make it again and take new pictures.  The original recipe called for butter, yogurt and graham crackers so naturally I subbed in oil, sour cream and Club crackers.  I added more sugar to the crumb topping to cut the savory aspect of the crackers a bit and these little muffins were soooooo delicious.  Much better than the original recipe.  They were literally gone in minutes.  I guess I need to double the recipe next time :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2  cup applesauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups crackers, crushed into find crumbs. 
(You can use any delicate salted crackers such as Club or Ritz crackers)
1/4 cup brown sugar


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl beat together sugar, eggs and oil.   Add applesauce, sour cream and vanilla to the egg mixture and combine well.  In a separate bowl mix together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.  Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time until fully combined.

For the crumb topping.  Add crushed crackers, brown sugar and melted butter to a bowl and combine until all the crackers are moist and the mixture resembles a crumb topping.  

Spoon muffin batter by a heaping tablespoonful into a greased mini muffin tin and then top with a generous teaspoon full of cracker crumbs.  Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Cool before removing from muffin tins.

Mom's Carrot Cake

This is another old family favorite!! It is a super moist cake and really simple to make. This has also won awards at a few Girl Scout Bake Offs!! This recipe requires a bundt pan which I do not own so I decided to make a homemade version. I wasn't sure if it would work but I was willing to take the chance. Ellen thought it had a 100% chance of failing but I was much more confident than that. I gave it a 65% chance of success. LOL... And it totally worked! It was a perfect bundt...nothing stuck to the glass. I was very impressed with myself. So if you are in need of a bundt pan and do not possess one, no worries....you can make one. Just place a heavy bar glass in the middle of a round cake pan and spray that sucker really well. If you have a really thin batter that might not work as well but a thick batter doesn't move or run under the glass so it will totally work.

My Homemade Bundt Pan

I was nervous while it was baking...

The end result.....PERFECT!

Ingredients:

2 C Sugar
3 C. Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 tsp. Baking Soda
3 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 C. Oil
4 eggs
1 T. Vanilla
4 4 oz. Containers Carrot Baby Food

Preparation:

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add oil, eggs, vanilla, carrots. Spray bundt pan generously with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.   Cool completely before turning out of pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Pineapple Bars

A sweeter take on the traditional lemon bars!  We used fresh pineapple pureed for this recipe but a can of crushed pineapple would work just as well.  Sweet, fruity, yummy dessert that would be great for a Brunch or a BBQ and every occasion in-between.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups crush pineapple
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
1/2 cup of diced pineapple (optional)
3/4 flour
1/4 baking soda
1/4 salt

Bottom Crust
1 package of graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation:

Preheat oven to  350 degrees F.  In a large ziplock back, crush graham crackers into fine crumbs and empty into a small bowl.  Melt butter in a separate bowl and pour into graham cracker crumbs.  Stir to combine.  Press graham cracker crumb mixture into the bottom of a 8x11 casserole dish.  Bake graham crust for 10 minutes in preheated oven.  Remove and set aside.

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and lemon juice and mix until combined well.   Next, add in flour, baking side and salt.  Beat until smooth.  Now you can fold in the additional died pineapple if you want to add some more texture to your bars.  Once batter is combined well pour mixture onto of prepared graham cracker crust.  Return pan to the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the tops lightly browned and the bars are set.  Cool completely and top with a dusting of powdered sugar.  Slice into squares and enjoy!

Grain Free and Sugar Free Almond Banana Bread

In the effort to cut out as much carbs and sugar out of my diet, I found a recipe on Pinterest for a grain free banana bread.  It was posted on Bravo for Paleo, click HERE for the original recipe.  I did alter it quite a bit to suit my taste.  I love that I can have something sweet and bread like without worrying about breaking my diet.  The bananas are so sweet so I really don't miss the added sugar which in normal banana bread recipes can be up to 2 cups!!!  So here's a recipe you can feel good about eating yourself and giving to your kids.

Ingredients:

3 bananas, mashed

3 eggs

1 teaspoon almond extract

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup almond flour
3/4 cup coconut flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup sliced almonds

2 tablespoons flax seed meal

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl mash 3 bananas, add eggs and almond extract and beat together with an electric mixer.  Next add in coconut oil, melted and mix until combined.   In a separated bowl using a fork mix together almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and flax seed meal until completely combined and all lumps are broken up.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.  The batter will be VERY thick, almost dough like.  Spoon batter in to a loaf pan sprayed well with non-stick cooking spray (preferably coconut oil spray).  Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes.  It's really delicious severed warm with butter (if you are eating dairy), YUM!

Easy Colorful Powdered Donuts

I don't think this counts as an actual recipe but it is fun to make and the kids LOVED them.

Ingredients:

1 box of mini powdered donuts
A few cans of Wilton Color Mist food dye spray

Preparation:

On a covered surface place one donut at a time.  Hold spray can about 6 inches away from the donut and lightly spray the surface until you get the desired color and coverage.  You can spray the donuts all one solid color or have some fun with it and give them a tie dyed effect by spraying a few colors on each donut.   These donuts are a great addition to a color themed party.  You can buy this spray in many different colors so have fun!

French Toast Casserole Muffins

It's a super chilly spring morning today and I wanted to make something quick and easy for breakfast that the kids can grab and go to my son's soccer game.  These little muffins are super moist, sweet and yummy and they are just as good without syrup as they are with.  What a perfect breakfast treat.  I'm packing up a bunch of these to take to the game for any other parents who would like a sweet bite with their coffee as we freeze together on the soccer field.

Ingredients:

12 small rolls like hamburger rolls or 18 slices of bread torn into small pieces

9 eggs

3 tablespoons brown sugar (plus a little extra for sprinkling)

3 tablespoons white sugar

1 1/4 cup of milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla

2 tablespoons cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 2 muffin tins (24 muffins in all) generously with non-stick cooking spray.  In a large bowl beat the eggs until fluffy.  Add the sugars, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt and mix together until well combined.  Add the torn bread pieces into the egg mixture and stir until coated well.  Let the mixture stand so the bread can soak up all the egg mixture, about 3 minutes.   Spoon french toast mixture into greased muffin tins filling each cup up at least 1/2 full up to 3/4 full.   Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with some brown sugar.  Bake muffins for 25 minutes until golden brown.  Drizzle with maple syrup and serve hot.

**This is not a like a cake muffin but rather like a super moist french toast casserole in muffin form.

Coconut Yogurt Cream Pie

I love greek yogurt!  I recently bought Chobani coconut yogurt thinking it was vanilla and wow what a happy mistake, I love coconut and this yogurt is really delicious.  I have been eating this Chobani coconut greek yogurt almost every morning with fresh blueberries.  

I was really excited to make this pie and incorporate this yummy coconut yogurt.  This recipe is super easy and quick and delicious.  It's a really light and airy pie and you can definitely make it low fat by swapping out the reduced fat version of 4 ingredients which is what I did.

Ingredients:

2-5.3 oz containers Chobani coconut greek yogurt

1-8oz block of light cream cheese, softened

1 tub of light cool whip whipped topping, thawed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup of flaked sweetened coconut, toasted

1 reduced fat graham cracker pie crust

Preparation:

Toast coconut on a cookie sheet in a 350 F. degree oven until golden brown about  10 minutes.  Check often to make sure it doesn't burn.  Remove from oven and let cool.

In a large bowl using a hand mixer beat together cream cheese and coconut yogurt.  Add sugar and beat until full incorporated and smooth.   Using a rubber spatula fold in the entire tub of cool whip to the yogurt mixture until it is light and fluffy.  Poor coconut yogurt cream mixture into prepared pie crust.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.  Right before serving sprinkle toasted coconut all over the top of the pie.  Slice, serve and ENJOY!!