Chocolate Eclairs

I got this recipe in the mail with those bunches of cards that people randomly send. I put green food coloring in the dough and pudding filling for St. Patricks Day.

Prep Time 25 minutes

Baking 45 minutes

Makes 12 eclairs

Filling

1 package (about 3 1/2 ounces) chocolate pudding and pie filling (I used vanilla and put green food coloring in it)

2 cups milk

Pastry

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 medium eggs

Frosting

2 tbsp. butter

2 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

To prepare filling, cook pudding according to package directions. Chill for 1 hour.

To prepare pastry, in a heavey saucepan, heat butter, water and salt over medium high heat until mixture boils and butter melts.

Reduce heat to low. Vigorously stir in flour all at once until mixture forms a ball.

Transfer pastry to a bowl; cool for 5 minutes. Stir in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet. Drop dough into 12 mounds, about 5 inches apart, on prepared baking sheet.

Spread each mound into a 4 x 1/2 inch rectangle, piling dough on top and slightly rounding sides.

bake until golden, 35 minutes. Remove from oven; make a 1 inch long slit on side of each eclair. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cook.

To prepare frosting, heat butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth.

Slice eclairs in half. Spoon about 1 tbsp. of filling onto each bottom half and replace tops. Spread tops with frosting.

**I don't worry about making the dough mounds just so-so as you can see by my photo. And I like to add some flavoring to the frosting...like peppermint or orange. This things can be devoured very quickly.

Oreo Fudge Icecream Cake

This has got to be the easiest ice cream cake recipe out there! Brent found it on the internet from Kraft Foods and made it for me for my birthday. I made it for him on his birthday, but I used mint ice cream sandwiches and it was delish!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm fudge ice cream topping

8 oz cool whip, thawed

1 small pkg chocolate puding

8 oreos, crushed or chopped

12 ice cream sandwiches

Directions:

Wisk fudge and 1 cup of cool whip until well blended. Add pudding and stir until smooth. Add oreos and stir gently. Set aside. Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches side by side on a platter. Tip with half of the oreo fudge mixture. Repeat both layers. Top with remaining 4 sandwiches. Frost sides and top with cool whip. Freeze about 4 hours, or until firm.

Hope you like it!

Samoa Bars

I found this on a blog which is now no longer running or whatever. These definitely are the closest thing to the Girl Scout Samoa Cookies I've ever found. They take quite a bit of time but are well worth it! I was irritated that I had to share them at a party...I wanted to hoard them all to myself! Even with the time it takes, it's worth making!

Homemade Samoas Bars

Cookie Base:

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping:

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

14-oz good-quality chewy caramels

1/4 tsp salt

3 1/2 T milk

10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside. Unwrap the caramels and melt with milk and salt either in a sauce pan over low heat or in the microwave. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Spread into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl or saucepan stirring often to avoid scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.Makes 30 bar cookies.

Tips:
Next time I’d like to try spreading the cookie base in one 9x13 as well as an 8x8 pan. I thought the cookie base was too thick in just the 9x13 pan.
If I spread the cookie base onto another pan then I’d just use the whole bag of toasted coconut and add a handful more of caramels and maybe a ½ tsp. more of milk.
I used about a full bag of chocolate chips and had quite a bit as leftover. So I’d still just use a full bag since I’ll be making more of everything else…it will even the chocolate out.
The blogger who wrote the above instructions said greasing your hands to spread the caramel/coconut mixture was the only way to go…I didn’t have a problem at all with spreading the mixture with my spatula. So that’s a step that’s not needed.
I'd like to see if they freeze well for the future.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

When I first made chocolate chip cookies after becoming a wife, I was disappointed in my husband's disappointed reaction. He said his sister sent him cookies when he was on his mission and that they were the best. So, I got her recipe. They really are the best. I've tried others who claim that they are the best, but to no avail. These are soooo good! This is Mary's recipe:

Ingredients:
1 small pkg vanilla pudding
1 cube butter (1/2 cup)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 pkg chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375*. Cream butter, brown sugar, pudding, eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour and baking soda. Mix in chocolate chips. Place on cookie sheet in little balls. Bake 8-10 minutes. They should still look a little rounded with touches of golden brown. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheet, then move to a rack to cool the rest of the way. Brent thinks they're even better the next day.

*to send them to a missionary anywhere in the world, wrap them in aluminum foil and put that in a ziplock bag with a piece of bread in it. Freeze them and send frozen. I send them in either pringles or crystal light canisters that I've wrapped in paper or placed inside another box. They made it all the way to my brother in northern Russia and they were fine...even though their mail system is a wreck over there.

Teriyaki Chicken Alfredo

I know teriyaki and alfredo NEVER go in the same title together, but that is just what this is called and having tasted it, I can't think of another name for it. It's one of my all time favorite dishes!! It may sound a little strange, but it is SOooo yummy!

Ingredients:
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 chicken breast halves cut in 3/4" strips
1/2 c chopped green onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c milk (you can use cream to make the sauce thicker, but it may make you thicker too. ;)
1 pkg alfredo sauce mix
3/4 cup Very Very Teriyaki sauce (Yes, you need this brand. It is amazing!)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cup broccoli
1 sliced green pepper
1 sliced orange pepper
1/2 sliced red pepper
1/4 c chopped parsley
2 T chopped basil
1/2 c parmesean cheese
1 lb fettucini, cooked

Directions:
Melt butter and oil in a skillet and add chicken, onions, and garlic - stir fry until the chicken browns - it takes a little while. Add milk, alfredo mix, any veggies you may be adding, and teriyaki sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium for 3-5 minutes, or until thickened (I always let it thicken longer). Add parmesean, parsley and basil and remove from heat once cheese is melted. Toss with fettucini and serve.

I got this from my step mom. It's seriously my favorite dish, I think. And I also really love it because it's really an all-in-one dinner: veggies-check, protien-check, grain-check, milk-check. Today I served some fruit with it because that's really all it's lacking. I hope you like it as much as I do!

Just as good as it looks!

I saw fruit tarts at the farmers market and wanted one sooooo bad! So I decided to look it up and make it. This was pretty easy and so delicious! I got the recipe from cooks.com but I will post it all here! Enjoy!!

FRESH FRUIT TART WITH SHORTBREAD COOKIE PASTRY

TART SHELL: 1 stick butter, room temperature 1 1/2 tbsp. shortening 5 tbsp. confectioners' sugar 1 c. flour Dash salt 1 egg yolk TART FILLING: 1 c. granulated sugar 1/2 tsp. lemon juice Dash nutmeg Fresh fruit 1 oz. brandy (optional) 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature 1 tbsp. confectioners' sugar Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream together butter, shortening, confectioners' sugar. Add egg yolk. Beat in flour and salt - a stiff dough will result. Pat dough into 10 inch springform pan - bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes in the meantime. Soften cream cheese and then beat in 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar. Set aside. Bring granulated sugar, lemon juice and nutmeg to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add brandy - add fresh fruit - poach for 5 minutes. Drain fruit and reserve sugar sauce. Allow tart shell to cool completely. Spread cream cheese mixture in tart shell - arrange fruit - brush with reserve sugar sauce - MMM!!!

I didn't use the brandy and I didn't have any nutmeg. But it was still delish! It made a litle more than 4- 4" tarts. Or one 9" . Love love love it!