Happy Birthday Oreos

Today is Oreo's 100th birthday! To celebrate this momentous day, I figured I would do a round -up of all the recipes we've made that involve Oreos.

Oreo Pudding Poke Cake



Easy Oreo Truffles



Brownie Covered Oreos



Mint Oreo Truffles



Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies



Chocolate Chip Cookie n'Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar



I guess us pinster sisters love us some Oreos! Sometime in the near future I'll also be trying this Oreo pin.

Decorative Tray

Recently my office at work under went a major renovation. Walls were knocked down, moved and rebuilt; new carpet & flooring was installed; and fresh paint was put on the new walls. Previously my office was the size of a closet…a very small closet. I could barely fit another person in there with me. Not to mention, there was a rather large column/pole in the middle of the room. 

Given its size, I never bothered to put any thought into decorating the office. I just had a few pictures randomly placed and that was about it. Unfortunately, I never took a picture of what it looked like previously.  

With the new renovation, they made my office significantly bigger. I decided now that the office is larger, I might as well put a little effort into the décor. After all, I spend the majority of my waking hours there!

I stole a few DIY ideas from pinterest to use as the new décor. In the next week or two, I’ll have a few posts featuring the items I tried to make. Then hopefully, I’ll have a post with a reveal of the finished office. (It’s not quite done yet.)

First up is this Martha Stewart tray I’ve had posted since the summer. I figured it might be nice to go on my desk and hold my stapler, tape, etc.

MarthaStewart.com

It looked simple enough. Basically, it’s just covering a cookie sheet with fabric.

So, I gathered my supplies.

There isn’t a fabric store convenient for me to get to.  I had to improvise with the fabric and ended up buying a shower curtain from Target. I decided to go with a blue theme/look throughout the office. In hindsight, blue does not match the new carpet they installed but its too late now!

I started by cutting my fabric to cover the tray.

Then I sprayed the adhesive glue on the tray and smoothed the fabric onto the tray. Apparently, I didn’t cut my fabric square big enough so on the first tray I made, it barely made it to the back of the tray.

I also had a difficult time wrapping the corners of the tray. I have no idea how Martha’s tray came out so seamless! Mine ended up looking like amateur hour!

After adhering the fabric, I cut a piece of felt to fit the bottom of the tray and glued it on. I neglected to take of picture of this step.

Martha also has a step to place an acrylic sheet cut to fit in the inside of the tray. I had no idea where to purchase an acrylic sheet so I skipped it.

I ended up making two trays. Both came out less then ideal. However, I have one on my desk currently and with everything in it, it really looks cute. I even got a compliment on it the other day!

Honestly, I was in a rush when I made them. I think if I took my time I could have fixed the corners a bit and made it more professional looking. Martha’s site has a video of how she did it. She makes it look a bit easier then it really is but the video does help a great deal.

Stay tuned for more office décor projects!

Cake Batter Dip

This past week it was my turn to host book club. Of course I used this opportunity to try out some recipes that I’ve found on pinterest.

I’m sure by now everyone with a pinterest account has seen this tasty looking cake batter dip…

TastyKitchen

I thought it was about time I gave it a try. So I gathered my ingredients –cake mix, yogurt, & cool whip. The original recipe calls for plain yogurt. I read the reviews and someone suggested using vanilla yogurt to punch up the flavor so I went with it.

Mix the ingredients together.

Chill for at least an hour and then enjoy!

The Verdict: The dip was delicious and a huge hit at the book club. It tasted EXACTLY like cake mix and only took minutes to prepare (plus the chill time). I will definitely be making this again!

Things to Note/Consider: When I first finished mixing the dip, I did a taste test and it seemed a bit bland. I decided to add a spoonful of sugar (or two) to sweeten it up. Then I let the dip chill overnight. By the next day it was perfection!

And in case anyone is wondering, we read We Need to Talk about Kevin. It definitely was not an uplifting read! However, I really enjoyed it. It’s one of those books that gets you thinking and sticks with you days after you finish it. I'm curious to see the movie adaption.

Cake Batter Dip

adapted from TastyKitchen.com

1 package of funfetti cake mix

1 ½ cups vanilla yogurt

2 cups cool whip

A spoonful of sugar

• In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients until smooth and creamy
• Chill for at least an hour
• Serve with crackers, cookies, or fruit

Update: If you like this dip, check out these other delicious dips!

Kaytucky Chicken

Here's another post that's been sitting on my computer for awhile. I made this before Christmas!

Source

It's called Kaytucky Chicken and it can be found on Kayotic Kitchen. I am always looking for new chicken recipes, so I decided to give it a whirl.

I mixed up the filling

Stuffed it in the chicken

Wrapped them up and baked them

Finished Product

The Verdict: It was alright. I don't fault the recipe for it not being better, I think it was more my fault. I didn't give the dough enough time to defrost so I tried to defrost in the microwave. That made it super hard to work for, so I wound up with tons of pastry around each piece of chicken. Also, I bought large chicken breasts in order to have room to stuff, but I think it ruined the chicken to filling ratio (too much chicken).

Things to Consider: I think I would attempt this again (although to be honest I haven't even thought about that in the 2 months since I tried it the first time). I would use smaller breasts though, and perhaps just wrap them around/fold them over the filling, Then wrap the whole thing in puff pastry (that's properly defrosted). I liked the flavors together, and the whole thing had potential, I just need to perfect my methods.

Kaytucky Chicken

From Kayotic Kitchen - she has some great pics of each step as well!

4 chicken fillets

4 frozen puff pastry sheets

4 oz cream cheese (the firm kind)

few rashes of bacon

flat-leaf parsley

1 spring onion

1 large egg

pepper

salt

Directions:

• Cook up your bacon (I used pre-cooked to save some time).
• Chop up spring onion and parsley.
• Add the spring onions, parsley, crumbled up bacon and a good pinch of pepper to 4 oz firm cream cheese.
• Mix it all up. Adding a little garlic, chili pepper and/or grated cheese also tastes great!
• Make a fairly deep cut in each chicken fillet. And spread 1/4 of the cream mixture in there.
• Place the chicken on top of the puff pastry, with the cream cheese side down. Season the chicken with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
• Beat a large egg, and brush a little on the edges of the puff pastry.
• Just fold them until you end up with small packages. The egg will function as a glue. Lightly brush the top of the puff pastry with the egg as well.
• Pop them in a preheated oven, and bake at 400F (200C) for 30 to 35 minutes.



Cake Batter Bars

Sorry for my lack of posts lately. I went back to work a couple weeks ago and sort of underestimated how little time I would have left to do things like blog or sleep. On top of that JJ got sick and there was some family stuff to take care of. Things are starting to settle down and I am getting into a "working mom" groove so hopefully I can get back to blogging more regularly.
Anyway, weeks ago, before the other sister went back to school after winter break, my brother and sister in law invited us over for dinner. Joe was actually away for work so JJ and I went alone. I decided to try these Cake Batter Bars I pinned from Lovin' From the Oven.

My partner in crime slept through most of it:

I followed the directions and mixed up the batter:

 Mixing in the sprinkles

Spreading it out

 After baking

Finished product

JJ woke up in the middle and decided to munch on his hands.



This proves how long ago this was - it was the night the Giants secured a place in the Superbowl - JJ was sporting his Giants shirt!

Verdict: I loved them. I love all things funfetti and they sort of tasted like a funfetti blondie (they had the consistency of brownies). I am not sure everyone else loved them, I think my brother called them "interesting" which usually means "gross". I would definitley try them again though - I thought they were great and were super easy to make.

Things to consider: For some reason the middle never really rose. I am not sure if I didn't leave them in long enough or that's how they were supposed to turn out. I like them anyway, like I said they had the consistency of brownies - moist in the middle. Not sure what to do with the left over cake mix either now. Perhaps find another recipe that uses it?

Cake Batter Bars

From Lovin' From the Oven

• 1 1/4 cup funfetti cake mix
• 3/4 cup AP flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 5 heaping tablespoons sprinkles of your choice (I used stars)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8 x 8 inch pan.
2. Cream both sugars, butter, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. 
3. Gradually mix in flour, cake mix, and baking soda until just mixed. Stir in sprinkles.
4. Spread batter evenly into greased pan.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is lightly browned and middle still jiggles slightly. Cool completely before cutting.

Pudding Cookies

Last Sunday, I gave these pudding chocolate chip cookies a whirl.

Sunday Baker

I started by mixing up the dough.

And baked as directed.

Easy as that!

The Verdict:  I thought these cookies were delicious! They were some what drier then your normal chocolate chip cookie. They tasted a bit more like a scone but I really liked that. Also, they come out much puffier then your typical chocolate chip cookie. Their size and shape kind of reminded me of the puffy sugar cookies I made around Christmas time. For anyone having trouble making Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies, this might be the perfect dough to use – it won’t pancake out.

Things to Note/Consider: The original recipe called for 4 cups of chocolate chips (or whatever add in you wanted to use). I cut it down to 2 cups and I think it was perfect. I can’t imagine how I would have been able to incorporate another 2 cups of chocolate chips into the dough. Also, this recipe made a million cookies! The picture above is barely a quarter of the cookies it produced. I was bringing cookies into work for days – but I didn't hear any of my coworkers complaining. 

Pudding Cookies

adapted from Sunday Baker

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 cups butter (3 sticks) softened

1-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar

2 (3.4 oz.) pkgs. instant vanilla pudding

4 eggs, room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Stir together flour and baking soda and set aside.
• In a large separate bowl, cream butter, brown and white sugar.
• Beat in pudding mix until well blended.
• Stir in the eggs and vanilla. When smooth, slowly add in the flour mixture. This can take a little while, but make sure it's well incorporated into mix.
• Add in chocolate chips.
• Roll the dough into balls and bake 8-12 minutes

Donut Muffins

This past weekend I was invited to enjoy brunch at my friend's house before we went on a Valentine’s Day Bar Crawl. I wanted to think of something cute to bring (in addition to the Prosecco for mimosas) and I came across this pin on Pinterest:

Macandcheesereview

I figured that this would be the perfect carby thing to eat before a bar crawl.

I was also excited to try this recipe because it finally gave me the opportunity to try this flex edge beater that Grace gave me for Christmas. It’s supposed to scrape the edges of the bowl so you don’t have to stop every so often and use a spatula.

I started by making the batter as directed.

See how the new KitchenAid attachment scraped the sides? It definitely made mixing the batter easier.

Then I went ahead and filled the muffin pan up 2/3 of the way.

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.

Once the muffins are cool, you can spread some melted butter on them and cover in sugar. Before I started this recipe, I read the comments on Macandcheese and a few people suggested to put some cinnamon into the sugar coating. I followed the advice and I think it added a little something.

The Verdict: Did they taste like donuts? Not really. But, they tasted alright. Personally, I thought they were a bit dry. Without the sugar coating, they would taste awful. Everyone at the brunch seemed to enjoy them. I don’t really eat fruit but my friends paired them with strawberries and said that the combination of the two was awesome! Also, they were super easy to make.

Things to Note/Consider: I would definitely follow the comments and add cinnamon to the sugar coating. Make sure you put the sugar coating on no more then a few hours before serving or else the sugar crusts up. Also, this recipe only makes 10 muffins. So if you’re having a large gathering, you’ll have to double it up. 

As a side note, my friends nicknamed these muffnuts and I thought that was hilarious.

Donut Muffins
adapted from Mac and Cheese Review

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Coating

2 tablespoons butter, melted (optional)

1/2 cup sugar

• Lightly grease a muffin tin with vegetable oil or spray.
• In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color. Add vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla to sugar mixture and combine.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Then pour into liquid mixture and stir to combine.
• Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, and bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.