Monkey Bread
I’ve read about Monkey Bread before but never really tasted it until September last year when we moved to this new house. A neighbor gave us a bundt of Monkey Bread as a welcome gesture for being the new neighbors. That was really nice of her. She’d given the kids some goodies after that day too. Halloween and Christmas. I’m pretty sure she’ll give them something for Easter as well.
I had a sweet craving the other day, and I was really tired of the kids’ disappointed sigh every time they opened the cookie jar and it’s empty. Monkey Bread is really easy to make so I thought about it. It’s easy to make because most recipes call for tubes of biscuits. My dilemma was I didn’t have tubes of biscuits in my fridge. BUT, making biscuits dough is really not that hard. So, I googled for a monkey bread recipe that doesn’t use Pillsbury biscuit dough. Yup, I googled.
Banana Spice Cake W/ Blue Frosting
I’m still not sure if I should share the story behind this banana spice cake with blue frosting. It’s either good or bad, depending on how perfect you are as a parent. I’m not so you’ll probably pick bad.
I just can’t stand being judged…………………. Oh well, since I’ve already started, I might as well, right?
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Holiday Baking: Blondies
Are you in the midst of holiday baking yet? I just cooked up and decorated a second batch of Christmas sugar cookies that I’ll be sending to my brother and his family. Another sugary goodness you could bake up this year are snickerdoodles and/or what I have right now which is called Blondies.
According to my Better Homes & Garden BCA PINK Cookbook (Thanks Mom), Blondies are moist bars that are light-colored brownies. Instead of chocolate, you’ll be using brown sugar which gives it that butterscotch flavor.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 chopped pecans/almonds/cashews (take your pick)
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a baking pan.
In a medium sauce pan, heat and stir brown sugar and butter until the latter melts and mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Stir in the eggs, one at a time.
Stir in vanilla, then the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
Spread the batter into the greased pan.
Sprinkle the chopped pecans on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or test with a toothpick. It’s done when the toothpick comes out clean.
Cool slightly in a wire rack. Cut into bars while it’s still warm.
I have to tell you, these are just so easy to make. I actually made this at 9pm. My husband and I were sneaking 2 bars each at 10pm because we both know that once the kids see these Blondies the next day we’d never be able to have any.
YUP, Blondies at 10pm. We like to live in the wild side. These are great with a glass of milk by the way.
Busy-Day Cake
The name of the cake says it all, no? I discovered this classic, fast, and easy cake from the Better Homes & Garden BCA Pink Cookbook that I received from my mother-in-law. It’s so perfect for those days when you’re craving something sweet but you don’t necessarily want to spend hours preparing a dessert using complicated ingredients and then spending time decorating and doing all that fancy stuff. With the exception of whipped cream, any kitchen should have all the ingredients on hand. But since you’ve just read this recipe here, then I suggest you grab a tub of either cool whip or a can of whipped cream the next time you’re in a grocery store.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
whipped cream
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a round cake pan (8 x 1 1/2 inch). Set the pan aside.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder in a medium bowl. Add milk, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Spread into the round pan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes or so.
Cookbook said to cool for about 30 minutes but that’s too long in my opinion, hehe.
Cut in triangle slices, and serve warm with whipped topping on top. Add berries too if you want. If I’m being honest, it’s perfect for those PMS days, 
Red Velvet Cake W/ Cream Cheese Frosting
I made red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting last weekend. It was YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY. I don’t know how else to describe it but Yummy, heh. It’s not pretty, actually the round cakes were uneven but I only made it for us so It didn’t matter. It was still delicious.
SELF-FROSTING NUTELLA CUPCAKES
When I bought the jar of Nutella last weekend I made a vow (yes I did) that part of the Nutella will be made into cupcakes. I’ve always planned to do that whenever I buy one but it never gets that far. Darn those nutella sandwiches and occasional spoon licking. Well, I finally made self-frosting nutella cupcakes and golly they were so beautiful and delicious.
