Icebox Cake...Blast From The Past Monday

It's Monday...so that means it's time for a blast from the past recipe! This is our first post like this but eventually we would like to get others to join in with their retro recipes. Until we get the word out, which may take a long time since we are not "mom bloggers", it'll probably just be our recipes. But we promise to make them good ones! First up...Icebox Cake. We first heard of this from a friend of our mom's...Ronda from Stellas Mom. She has made this for years for family birthdays. Jordie decided to try it the other night as a dessert for Super Bowl Sunday...and we LOVED it! We did our homework and learned a bit about Icebox Cake... It is called an Icebox Cake in America, a Zebra Cake in Great Britain and a Chocolate Ripple Log in Australia. The first icebox cake was from the early 1900's and became more popular in the 1930's with housewives eager to use their "iceboxes". While there are a number of variations, the basic icebox cake is a dessert consisting of whipped cream (real whipping cream is the secret), and chocolate wafers. (This is how we did it but our actual recipe is listed below in our post.) The recipe is also on the back of the box of Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers. It says the wafers are stacked to form a log with whipped cream holding them together, and then the log is laid on its side. A second log is formed and the two are set side-by-side and more whipped cream covers the exterior. The cake is then left overnight to chill in the refrigerator (or icebox:-) The wafers absorb moisture from the whipped cream and it reminded us of an oreo cake. You can really play with this cake and make it how you like. We recommend layering the whipping cream generously between the wafers. It doesn't look like a fancy cake but it tastes good:-) This dessert is usually served by cutting it into slices at a 45 degree angle, so bands of chocolate and cream are visible across each slice. We thought the wafers would be in the cookie section at the grocery store but we actually found them with the ice cream toppings. Maybe they're good crumbled on ice cream, too! If you ever need an easy and delicious dessert, give it a try. As you can see by this picture, Maui liked it. He managed to sneak a lick when we had it on the counter...he knows anything with whipped cream on it must be good! Icebox cake Prep Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: ~~1-2 pkg. plain chocolate wafers (Famous Wafers), about 60 ~~2 cups heavy cream ~~1/2 cup powdered sugar ~~1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation:

Beat together cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff. Spread a generous spoonful on each cookie and stack them on a serving plate to make a long log. When all the cookies are frosted and stacked, cover the entire log with more whipped cream to cover thoroughly. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least four hours. Slice on a diagonal to serve. Or, you can divide the wafers into eight groups. Frost the top of each wafer and stack them vertically, making eight stacks of cookies. Then frost the top and sides of each little stack, like you would a cake. Top each with a maraschino cherry half and chill for at least four hours. Serve one stack to each diner. Serves 8 Here is another variation...this sounds good too!

“Chocolate Éclair” Icebox Cake

Makes 14 servings

16 oz. package of graham crackers

2 (3.5 oz.) packages instant vanilla pudding mix

3 cups whole milk

8 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed

16 oz. container chocolate frosting

Blend the pudding mix, whipped topping, and milk in a medium sized bowl. Stir until well blended.

Place one single layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x13" baking pan. Do not crumble, but leave the crackers whole. Fill in gaps with crackers broken in half if necessary. Spoon half of the pudding mixture over the crackers and spread evenly. Repeat with another layer of crackers and remaining pudding mixture. Finish with a layer of graham crackers. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set up a bit.

Stir the frosting and spread it over the whole cake up to the edges of pan. Cover and refrigerate cake for at least 4 hours before serving.

Red Velvet...

... Whoopie Pies. What could be a better treat for valentines day than red velvet whoopie pies? These look so good. We haven't made these yet... but we will. Happy Valentines Day from The Blondes in the Kitchen!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Makes 30 sandwiches

Cake: 2 cups (9.5-10 ounces) unbleached flour* 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (not Dutch processed) ½ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened 1 cup (7 ounces) packed light brown sugar 1 egg, preferably room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup buttermilk, preferably room temperature 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) red food coloring

Filling: 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, softened 2 cups (8 ounces) powdered sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

2. In large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium-high speed for 30 seconds, until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With mixer at medium speed, add egg and beat until thoroughly combined, then beat in vanilla. Add about one-third of flour mixture followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture. Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour.

3. Spoon (or pipe) batter in 1-inch diameter rounds about ½-inch high on prepared baking sheets, allowing 1 inch between each round.

4. Bake 7 to 9 minutes, or until tops are set. Cool cookies on cookie sheets.

5. To make filling: Add cream cheese and butter to mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with vanilla. Beat until smooth.

6. To fill, dollop (or pipe) cream cheese filling on flat sides of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat sides down.

To store: Refrigerate in airtight container up to 4 days. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

Source: Dinners and Desserts

Skillet Lasagna

Okay, we found this recipe recently and made it for dinner. It was so good and easy to make. Everything is in one pan so that was nice, too. The only thing we might do is make extra since our family ate it ALL!!!:-) Serve it with a salad and some warm, crusty french bread and Voila!:-)

Skillet Lasagna

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 clove minced garlic

• 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes, undrained

• 1 1/4 cups water

• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 1/2 cups bow tie pasta, uncooked

• 1 cup cottage cheese

• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheeseDash basil, pepper

In large skillet, brown beef with onions and garlic; drain. Add tomatoes, water, tomato sauce, parsley, basil, oregano, and salt. Mix well. Stir in uncooked pasta. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover, simmer for 20 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring once. Stir in cottage cheese and then mozzarella cheese. Cover with Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle in basil and pepper to taste if desired. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. * we used fresh but you can also use dried chopped onion and garlic. * Strain the cottage cheese before adding it. * We didn't have parsley so we left it out and it was still good Au revoir, Taylor and Jordan

Turkey Cupcakes...

Happy Cupcake Tuesday! These cupcakes are so cute and taste amazing :-) We love to make these during fall as gifts and special treats to have around the house. This is a Betty Crocker recipe and it is good!

Ingredients: ~ 1 box of devils food cake mix ~ 2 containers of milk chocolate frosting ~ 1 tube of white decorating icing ~ 1 tube brown decorating gel ~ candy corn ~ chocolate sprinkles Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and cool cake as directed on box for 24 cupcakes. Frost cupcakes with frosting. Place remaining frosting in corner of resealable freezer plastic bag. Snip off small corner of bag. To decorate each cupcake, pipe 1-inch mound of frosting on 1 side of cupcake to look like head of turkey. Make eyes with white decorating icing and brown decorating gel; add candy corn for beak. To make feathers, pipe remaining chocolate frosting on opposite side to hold candy corn; place candy corn upright on frosting to look like feathers. Sprinkle chocolate candy sprinkles near head and at base of feathers. If desired, add candy corn at base of cupcake for feet. Store loosely covered. ENJOY :-) Jordan and Taylor

Tollhouse Cookie Bars...So Good!

So we were watching the Florida Gators on Saturday Night... (Go Gators...GO TEBOW!!!) and our Dad asked us to make Nestles Tollhouse Cookie Bars. We make chocolate chip cookies ALL THE TIME but we couldn't remember having them in a bar. He had them like that when he was a kid so we went to the store, bought a bag of choc. chips and made them. OMG...these were amazing!!!!! We might never make regular cookies again. So if you're looking for a quick, easy, delicious dessert or snack, make a pan of these. We just followed the directions on the back, except we used a 9 x 13 cake pan instead of a 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. This made them thicker...and we think they're better!:-) Ciao!

Cranberry Coffee Cake

This is delicious and great for the Holidays. One of our neighbors made it for us a few years ago and now it is one of our favorites. It is really moist and the funny part is...we don't even like cranberries! But we love this so try it and see what you think. Please visit Beauty and Bedlam for more Tasty Tuesday recipes and thanks for stopping by our blog!

Cranberry Coffee Cake

INGREDIENTS • 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened • 1/2 cup sugar • 2 eggs • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 2 cups all-purpose flour • 2 teaspoons baking powder • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 1/8 teaspoon allspice • 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed • 1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce (We added a small amount of mik to the batter because it seemed a little bit dry and it turned out perfect!) • TOPPING: • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar • 1/2 cup chopped pecans • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS 1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture alternately with bananas. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Top with cranberry sauce. (Sometimes we use a large square pan for a thicker cake) 2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans (optional...we didn't) and flour; stir in butter. Sprinkle over cranberries. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Enjoy!!! Ciao...Taylor & Jordan

Red Velvet Cake Balls...

In August, we were in the Keys for our mom's birthday. It was so much fun and for her birthday, we went to dinner and bought a cake to have later. The cake was great but we usually give my mom a homemade cake, not a store bought one. So a few weeks after we got home, we made these red velvet cake balls to surprise her. You can find the recipe on Bakerella which is an AMAZING site for unbelievable baking recipes. Okay, we decided to do this at the last minute so we had to do things differently from the recipe. We made a red velvet cake from scratch and since we had no baking chocolate in the house, we melted chocolate chips. It wasnt what the recipe called for but it's all we had. They were soooooo good! Even our dad, who doesn't eat a ton of chocolate loved them. They were gone so fast...almost by breakfast the next day! Next time we make them and we are planning to for Christmas, we'll use white chocolate too. We'll drizzle a few lines of white chocolate over the dark chocolate and we'll totally cover some of the cake balls in only white chocolate. These are one of the best tasting things we've made in a long time! Ciao! Taylor & Jordie

Tie Dye-Cupcakes...

The other day, we saw a recipe for Rainbow Cake. When we looked at the instructions, we thought it would be cool to make cupcakes, so we did and called them Tie Dye cupcakes:-) They're really simple to make. All you need to do is use any white cake recipe...from scratch or a box. We used food coloring in purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Divide the batter into 6 containers and color each container with a different color. You can use cupcake liners or just grease the pans...that's what we did. We used a scooper for mini muffins or cookies and placed one scoop in the cupcake pan. We then got another color and put it over the first color. Do this until you have used all colors of batter. If you want, you can use as many or as little colors that you want. Bake the cupcakes the amount of time listed in the recipe or on the box. For frosting, we used our Grandma's special family recipe, which is our favorite. Maybe we'll post it sometime. Maybe!:-) You could use any frosting recipe you like, frosting from a can or whipped topping. These are so beautiful and they are very moist. They would be great for a party! Hope you like them. Taylor & Jordie

Taylor's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Worlds Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients:

~ 1 cup all-purpose flour ~ 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder ~ 1/4 tsp. salt ~ 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature ~ 1/4 cup vegetable shortening ~ 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar ~ 1/2 cup granulated sugar ~ 1 egg ~ 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract ~ 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips ~1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir together the ingredients until well blended. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, shortening, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat the mixture until smooth, scrape down the sides. Add the egg and vanilla and continue on medium speed until well blended. Add the flour mixture. Pour in the chocolate chips. Space the cookies about 1 1/2 in. apart. Bake the cookies until golden brown, 12 to 14 min. Let cool for about 10 min. You can store the cookies in an airtight container for up to one week. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

I got this recipe from my best friend when I moved. My sister and I love making these cookies together!! Jordie loves these cookies so much that every year she wants me to make them on her birthday!! I suggest that you double this recipe because it does make a small batch. My favorite thing about these cookies is how the semisweet and milk chocolate chips complement each other!! Our motto is "We make it, You eat it!!"

Starbucks Mint Chocolate Chip Frappucino

Okay, so we love Starbucks like every other girl. I mean...what's not to love? Caramel frappucino, java chip frappucino, white chocolate mocha latte... The other day we were in our favorite Starbucks and we ordered the Mint Chocolate Chip Frappucino, a creme based drink. The cashier told us it wasn't an "official" drink but one they had made up...but it SHOULD be on the menu. It tastes like an Andes mint candy, seriously. Anyway, they gave us the recipe so we can request it at other Starbucks so we are passing it on. It does call for an ing. called matcha powder, which is an anti-oxidant powder they put in their green tea drinks. You can hardly taste it and the cashier thought they used it just to make the drink green:-)

Recipe: 1 scoop vanilla, 1 scoop matcha, 1 scoop java chip, 1 pump peppermint, 1 pump white mocha. That's it! Take this to your Starbucks and enjoy. Make sure you get the whipped cream on top!!!!!!!!!!! Peace & Love, Taylor and Jordie