Our Kitchen

===================== You DON’T really need to melt chocolate or chocolate chips with butter together to make brownies, AND you don’t need two separate bowls. Just one bowl and 5 minutes bringing it all together to make the BEST freaking brownies you’ve ever eaten in your lifetime. The best part is they are only 144 calories EACH! Better than the usual 356 calorie brownies. After testing what feels like a lifetime of brownies, these FINALLY came out a perfect texture, and have been made weekly ever since. The one ingredient that is added into these brownies, which is different from most recipes is a small amount of oil. The oil is JUST enough to keep the centers incredibly fudgy, without compromising the crispness. Serves: 16 Ingredients     ½ cup unsalted butter, melted     1 tablespoon cooking oil (olive oil or coconut oil are fine)     1⅛ cup superfine sugar (caster sugar)*     2 large eggs     2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract     ½ cup all-purpose | plain flour     ½ cup unsweetene

=============   The French Strawberry Cake is really quite delicious.  I was worried about the genoise being dry but since there are two layers of strawberries and whipped cream it turns out perfect.  If you were to use a moist American cake it probably would end up mushy and overly sweet.  I made the recipe twice.  The second time I did not have cake flour and used all purpose flour with a tablespoon of cornstarch instead.  I can't see that it made any difference.  Also, the second time I did not sift the flour mixture onto wax paper but instead mixed them in a bowl with a whisk.  This also seemed to be fine.  The only change I would make to the recipe is to increase the amount of whip cream frosting that you make.  The first time I did not have enough frosting to pipe rosettes on the top. Recipe >> French Strawberry Cake @ foodtasticmom.com ================

====================== This Mini Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes recipe will become your new BFF. They’re fluffy and bursting with cookies and cream flavor in a nice bite size cupcake. Yum! It’s one of our favorite Oreo Cheesecake recipes. Nobody seems to know who invented cookies and cream cheesecake, but it definitely became a thing recently and it’s easy to see why! This easy oreo cheesecake recipe is great for a casual treat at home, and it’s perfect for kids birthday parties. If you’re entertaining, make them ahead and serve them with some fresh berries to wow your guests. Bite-sized Oreo Cheesecake Cups are so easy for your guests. The Best Mini Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes    12 servings Prep Time     10 minutes Cook Time     22 minutes Ingredients     18 Oreo cookies 12 whole and 6 coarsely chopped     16 ounces cream cheese softened     1/2 cup granulated sugar     1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract     2 large eggs lightly beaten     1/2 cup sour cream     Instructions     Preheat oven to 350

=========================== Baking key lime pie squares is much less daunting than baking key lime pie.  Well, for me at least.  There’s no fear that your slices of pie will turn out ugly.  I aim to avoid ugly food at all costs, so these easy squares came to life. NO words can do these squares justice.  When I took the first bite, I stepped back in my kitchen and told Kevin, “these are the best thing I’ve ever baked.”  Truly, they are.  The combination of cool, creamy, tart lime filling sitting atop a spicy sweet gingersnap crust is unbelievable.  And I made sure to make an extra thick gingersnap crust. For obvious reasons. These key lime pie squares are truly one of the most refreshing, flavorful summer desserts I’ve had. And you know what?  They are insanely easy to make.  Why spend hours slaving away in your kitchen?  With these, you don’t have to. I made these yesterday and wow, they are amazing!!! I used half Anna’s ginger thins and half graham crackers. Packed the crust in tight

Apple Pie Tacos are a fun twist on apple pie. Because they’re baked instead of fried, they’re easy to make. We’ve served them on their own for dessert and also as a party snack with tons of compliments. You just need six ingredients and 15 minutes to make them, and you can make them ahead of time. That’s about as easy as it gets! Just be sure to make enough as they’re totally addictive… Recipe >> Easy Apple Pie Tacos @ tipbuzz.com ====================

I made these for the family and everyone loved them. I am not a fan of semisweet chocolate so I think next time I will use milk chocolate. I also used Heath toffee bits. I kept them in the freezer until serving time and peeled off the wrapper right before serving. So so yummy! The cinnamon really stands out, but in a good way. They do get soft pretty quick, so eat them as soon as you can after taking them out of the freezer. All in all they were a huge hit! Recipe >> NO BAKE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MINI CHEESECAKE @ sweetspicykitchen.com ================

I love this pie! There is nothing tastier in the summer! I've never bought the store bought strawberry glaze. I followed the recipe from Joy of Cooking that calls for 3 c hulled and crushed strawberries. Strain and then add 1/3 c sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp cornstarch (red food coloring if desired--I leave it out, but it does mean the pie is pink without it). Cook all ingredients over low heat until thick/transparent and cool. For the crust, I'll use a storebought one or make my own. Recipe >> F RESH STRAWBERRY-PEACH PIE @ mamaplusone.com =============

I’ve been looking for the perfect simple Italian sponge cake for a tiramisu and this one works very well. For some reason I have a lot of trouble with separating eggs so ladyfingers are not practical for me. Anyway, thought you’d like to know that this is the best one I’ve tried so far. I put a little extra vanilla in but that’s just personal taste. I’m thinking about bringing a tiramisu to Thanksgiving this year so this will definitely be what I use. Oh, and just a little pro-tip for anyone reading this. If you make strawberry shortcake don’t use angel food. Use sponge cake. And use this sponge cake specifically. I promise anyone to whom you serve it will be very happy you did :) Recipe >> Italian Sponge Cake (Pan di Spagna) @ aseasyasapplepie.com ==========

I found this recipe on pinetrest and thought it was extremely interesting so i tried it tonight... I have made these with a healthier twist. You can BAKE these instead of fry them. Preheat your oven to 425. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray (I used butter flavor.). Place the rolls seam-side down and lightly mist with more cooking spray. After 10 minutes, flip them and cook additional 10 minutes (total of 20). Apples soften up nicely and no deep-frying mess. I mixed some brown sugar and butter in with my apple mixture. SO good!!! I'll definitely make these again. We got a gift of a bushel of MacIntosh apples and I sort of made these as an afterthought when all the other apples were used up. These turned out to be one of my favorite things we used all those apples for! They're so simple to make.. Recipe >> Apple Pie Egg Rolls @ spendwithpennies.com =====================

Made these this morning. Turned out great. I used 1/2 cream and 1/2 milk as well as an extra egg because I was concerned about the moistness of the finished product. They were awesome. They came out better the second time and tying the knots isnt as intimidating as some might think. The dough seems very sticky and moist so I added a little extra flour when kneading.. They look very fussy and high end,but were actually quite easy to do. I’m going to keep experimenting with flavors using this as a base. Recipe >> 30 Minute Cinnamon Sugar Knots @ ihearteating.com =================