Baking Challenge: Cool Summer Treat (#1)

The Baking Challenge started with a recipe posted by a good friend. She was unsure of how to decipher a recipe in a thrifted church cookbook, and I took it as a challenge to try it out. To see all The Baking Challenge posts, click here. And please join in and try out any that seem enticing!

Also, if you have any challenges for me please comment below or send me an e-mail. I'd love to try something for you!

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So I might have promised something like ice cream sandwiches, but I haven't had a lot of time lately. Pip has been going through a bit of a growth spurt, and has been feeding a lot! So I opted for something that takes a little less time than making ice cream, and because there is no cooking involved I could wear Pip in his carrier. And who doesn't love a sweet ice pop! This is such a simple treat to make, I just had to share. :)

Basically all you need is about 2 cups of liquid. If you are short on time feel free to use just plain old fruit juice. Or if you are looking for something a little more interesting here are a couple combos you could try:

Mango Vanilla Pops:

1 1/2 cups mango chunks

3/4 cup orange juice

3/4 cup vanilla ice cream

Combine mango and juice in blender. Pulse until liquid, but not smooth. Add vanilla ice cream and combine. Pour into pop moulds and freeze completely. Enjoy and cool off!

Strawberry Banana Rockets:

1 1/4 cups frozen strawberries (or fresh if you have some)

1/2 cup orange juice (or more if needed)

1/2 cup plain yougurt

1-2 bananas, peeled and chopped

honey to taste

Combine strawberries and orange juice in blender. More juice might be needed to get a consistency that will pour. Add honey to taste if desired. Pour into moulds. Combine yougurt and bananas in a bowl, add honey to taste if desired. Top off moulds with yougurt mixture and freeze completely.

I found these moulds at a local supermarket, and because summer is almost halfway over they were on sale! So if you were ever thinking about getting some, I would go look now. You might find a good deal. And feel free to try any combinations of fruit, juice, yougurt etc. I assure you they will all be good!

Let me know if you try any. And I promise to return with those ice cream sandwiches ;)

xox

Baking Challenge: Impossible Pie

The Baking Challenge started with a recipe posted by a good friend. She was unsure of how to decipher a recipe in a thrifted church cookbook, and I took it as a challenge to try it out. To see all The Baking Challenge posts, click here. And please join in and try out any that seem enticing!

Also, if you have any challenges for me please comment below or send me an e-mail. I'd love to try something for you!

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Here is the recipe for the Impossible Pie, that I shared two weeks ago:

It was super simple to simple to mix up. The recipe suggested mixing the ingredients with a blender, I decided instead to use my stand mixer, which worked fine until the end when I added the milk and I had to be careful that the mixture didn't fly out over the bowl. And the only other thing was the cooking instructions. We have a gas stove, which cooks faster than electric so I reduced the cooking time by 15 minutes. However, at the end of the cooking time the middle was still spongy, not 'firm' like it reads above, so I cooked it a little longer. And then I think it was over-cooked, so I think if I were to make it again I would go with the middle spongy, and not firm.

 

 

It was a pretty good treat, super simple and not overly sweet. The middle is a little custard-like, so if you don't like that you might want to avoid this dish. personally I really like the coconut on top, it added some crunch!


For my next baking adventure I am going to make a cake, it's my sister-in-laws birthday this week, and I promised her a cake. I'm not sure what kind I am going to make yet, but I have a few ideas. I usually avoid cakes because of the decorating part but I'm excited about this adventure! I will be sure to share the outcome and the recipe in two weeks time!


xox

Baking Challenge: Homemade Granola Bars

The Baking Challenge started with a recipe posted by a good friend. She was unsure of how to decipher a recipe in a thrifted church cookbook, and I took it as a challenge to try it out. To see all The Baking Challenge posts, click here. And please join in and try out any that seem enticing!

Also, if you have any challenges for me please comment below or send me an e-mail. I'd love to try something for you!

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So here is the recipe I left you with last time in the Baking Challenge. I actually had a chance to make these before Pip decided it was time to head to the hospital and was able to take a couple with me. We polished off the rest of the batch shortly after I made them :)

Click to enlarge - Source

I made a couple changes to the above recipe because I was a little concerned about eating too many raw oats. I decided to toast the oats and the nuts and seeds I chose to use.

So I used:
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup safflower oil
1 cup quick cooking oats (feel free to use
1 cup combined: sunflower seeds, coconut, slivered almonds, chocolate chips

I toasted the oats, sunflower seeds, coconut and almonds at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes - make sure to watch them you don't want them to burn. And then I followed the recipe as it reads above. I would recommend waiting a little while before adding the chocolate chips, mine were a little melted.

 

 

I wrapped mine in parchment paper. They get a little soft when left out, so storing them in the fridge seems to help - if they last long enough! I would definitely recommend these, so tasty and all good wholesome ingredients. If peanut butter is an issue in your some feel free to replace with another nut butter or something else similar :)

And here is a little challenge for the next couple weeks. Since it claims to be impossible I figured I would give it a try, and it seems simple enough that I can find time for it in between feedings! :)

Did you try the granola bars? And how about the impossible pie? Going to give it a try? I'd love to hear how you do :)

xox

The Baking Challenge: Chocolate Galore

The Baking Challenge started with a recipe posted by a good friend. She was unsure of how to decipher a recipe in a thrifted church cookbook, and I took it as a challenge to try it out. To see all The Baking Challenge posts, click here. And please join in and try out any that seem enticing!

Also, if you have any challenges for me please comment below or send me an e-mail. I'd love to try something for you!

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Two weeks ago I shared the new recipe. This time it is actually two recipes, because they are choc full of chocolate and seemed too simple to pass up!

In the past two weeks, maybe more, since I found these recipes I have baked them multiple times. They are so quick that when Reggie and I are looking for a quick and chocolatey dessert item these two recipes have been great to have on hand - especially the chocolate cake in a mug!

I would suggest using a small whisk to ensure all the dry contents are well combined - before adding the egg, oil and milk.

 

Make sure to choose large mugs, and be careful mixing in the wet ingredients - this can get a little messy!

A mug of cake, and jar of milk? Well why on earth not? Delicious! Just be careful, the cake will be really hot. Also, the recipe calls for a 1000 Watt microwave for 3minutes, ours is 700 Watt I believe, and I cooked them for 3:30 - and they were perfect! Something to check out :)

This recipe is great because you can mix it all in one pan. I used to make this with my mom when I was little - great recipe for kids! Also, there is no dairy or egg in this recipe, which makes it vegan friendly too :) And it is super moist and good for dessert, as a snack or even a second breakfast! lol

The recipe I have planned for next time is one I actually found online, a snack I might try to whip up before we head to the hospital sometime soon (i.e. I might have already made them):

Click to enlarge - Source

That's all for today!  Let me know if you try any of these recipes out, I would love to see what you think :)


Thanks for stopping by, and happy baking!
xox

The Baking Challenge: Apple Puff

The Baking Challenge started with a recipe posted by a good friend. She was unsure of how to decipher a recipe in a thrifted church cookbook, and I took it as a challenge to try it out. To see all The Baking Challenge posts, click here. And please join in and try out any that seem enticing!

Also, if you have any challenges for me please comment below or send me an e-mail. I'd love to try something for you!

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Two weeks ago I shared the new recipe I was going to try. This one wasn't lacking in instructions, but the name and ingredient ratio made me curious as to how it would turn out.

We regularly have dinner with Reggie's family, since his sister lives down the road. And on one particular night I offered to bring dessert. Now normally I wouldn't recommend trying a new recipe when you are planning on feeding it to other people. But I felt I was fairly safe with this one.

I elected to omit the nuts, because my niece has a possible allergy. But I think it would be good with them also. And I just need to comment on how quick this little treat was to whip up, and not a crumb was left in the pan. Quick and tasty! What more can you ask for? My version was served with ice cream and maple syrup, which I suppose is about all you can ask for really.

 

 

Did you try this one out? Comment below and let me know what you thought!

And a peek into the next Challenge - Chocolate Anyone? (to be revealed on May 15th):

Thanks so much for stopping by, happy baking!
xox

Baking Challenge: Frying Pan Cookies & New Recipe!

So two weeks ago I shared this recipe, which was originally posted by Thursday:

So I finally had the chance to try these cookies out, and I tweaked the recipe just a little. Here's how my version went:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup dates, chopped
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Rice Krispies
1-2 cups of shredded coconut (I used unsweetened, up to you)

Directions:
Melt butter, and allow to cool slightly. Beat eggs well, combine with brown sugar and butter. Add dates. Cook this mixture over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Allow mixture to cool slightly, add salt, vanilla and Rice Krispies.

Mixture must cool significantly before you can handle! Pour coconut into a low bowl, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

With greased hands roll teaspoon of mixture into a ball and then roll in coconut. Place on baking sheet and allow to cool completely. You will likely want to wash your hands and re-grease every 5 cookies or so, they can get very messy. Store in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to 1 week.

And here's the photo version of the recipe:

 

 

 

 

As you can see, I didn't actually make these in a frying pan. I chose to use a sauce pan. And I'm happy to report they are quite tasty! Please comment below if you try them, or if you have an interesting recipe you'd like me to try :)

As for our next project, this is what I'm looking at:

I'd love it if you'd join in! Check back in two weeks to see how I make out :)

xox