No bake Oreo cheesecake bites

I made these for a Relief Society function at church in July. We were supposed to be having a Garden Party and then 1/2 hour before the activity, west Lethbridge experienced a Micro burst. Can I just say how crazy that was? It's pretty fantastic when you have your mixer going and can't hear it due to the rain being so loud! Needless to say the Garden Party was moved inside.

I am all over desserts that look like you put a ton of effort into them, when in reality they were the easiest thing ever. Presentation is everything. So I present to you, No Bake Oreo Cheesecake Bites, brought to you in part from Cooking Classy.



Also loving all the picture editing apps on my phone... makes everything so much cuter!
 

 

Ingredients

• 33 Oreos, divided
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 (3.4 oz) pkg cheesecake flavored instant pudding mix (I used vanilla as living in Canada I don't have access to what I can only believe to be a magnificent creation.. cheesecake flavored pudding..Mmmmmmm. Guess I know what I'm buying next time I go to the States!) 
• 30 mini Oreos

In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Then use a wire whisk, stir in cream, milk and instant pudding (I actually have a whisk on my hand mixer so I used that). Whisk mixture for about 2 - 3 minutes until it is quite thick.  Freeze mixture for 5 minutes (I found that I had to freeze it a little longer than 5 minutes). While your filling is in the freezer, crush 3 oreos so they are nice and fine. I used my food processor but a rolling pin and Ziploc bag will apparently work as well according to the Cooking Classy site. Stir crushed Oreos into cheesecake mixture. Pipe cheesecake mixture over 30 large Oreos (depending on the tip will give you a different look. I like how mine turned out looking like soft serve ice cream), then top each one with a mini Oreo. For best result serve immediately (store in refrigerator if not used immediately).

 

And try not to eat all of them yourself!

 

: )



Chocolate Peppermint Cake

I was looking through pictures of stuff I've done, and came across this beauty. I had made a chocolate peppermint cake last Christmas for a Christmas party that I was in charge of organizing. It was so good I made it again. And made it cuter the second time. Here it is. I want a piece of that right now. A very small piece. It was one of the richest cakes I have ever eaten. But oh so good!

 

Sadly, I don't remember the exact recipe. If I ever do track down what I used, I will be sure to post it!

 

Until then just take in that waterfall of chocolate ganache.

 

: )

Nutella PB cookies

I love Pinterest mainly because it leads me to little gems like these. Nutella PB cookies. Yum. The recipe comes from The Sisters Café.

 

I'm picky when it comes to cookies. I like them to be soft and chewy. I am not a hard cookie fan. So these are absolutely perfect!

 

Here is the recipe;

 

1 Cup butter (room temperature)

2/3 Cup peanut butter (can use smooth or crunchy, I used smooth because it is all I had on hand, but I'm curious to try them with crunchy!)

1 Cup sugar

1 Cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla (I used Watkins double strength.. and still put in the 2 tsp. love vanilla!)

2 2/3 Cup flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

heaping 1/3 Cup Nutella (I just added Nutella till I felt I had enough in the batter)

 

Cream together the first 6 items on the list until they are smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Add the Nutella in big spoon fulls into the dough and use a knife to swirl the nutella throughout. Do not over mix. Chill the dough for 15 minutes to allow the Nutella to harden. Spoon onto cookie sheet (I used a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop). Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Let cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to wire racks.

 

Then pour yourself a huge glass of milk and indulge!

 

: )

Pineapple Flowers... Take 1

I found this fantastic tutorial on Annie's Eats. I love this lady! She has so many fantastic recipes. I was asked to make 6 dozen cupcakes for a bridal shower. The wedding colors were red and yellow, so I was asked to incorporate those into the cupcakes. I went with 3 different flavors, cuz you know me, simple??? What is that word? So here is the first one.

I had been wanting to try Pineapple flowers for awhile, and this gave me the perfect opportunity!

This became.....

 

THIS!

 

So, it isn't as pretty as the one on the tutorial, but I figured it wasn't too shabby for a first attempt! One thing I did discover though is that cutting pineapple really thin, is really hard. I had to turn up the heat (hence the brown edges) and leave them in the oven far longer than what the tutorial recommended.

They still turned out cute though, so I'm happy with it! And they were a hit! The cupcakes themselves were vanilla with a pineapple buttercream. Yum!

Well, I am happy to be back and blogging. In non-related baking news, I bought a house, with more counter space. I guess that does make it baking related, as it will give me more room to bake! I am incredibly excited for it! I will try to update more frequently. I do have a backlog of things to blog about that I haven't done. Oops.

To those who actually still care about my little blog.... thank you.

: )