Tres Leches Cake

I recently became kind of obsessed with Tres Leche Cake. It is SO yummy. I had it for the first time in a really long time about a year or so ago at my favorite little lunch spot, Beehive Bakery and Cafe. I remembered how much I loved it and realized it was something that I needed to make. So I found a great recipe and made it. Then I made it again a couple weeks later. Then again a few weeks after that. And now as I am typing this, I am realizing that I am way overdue to make it again. This is a great dessert to serve company, or just have with your family. Nobody will be disappointed in this dessert.

Tres Leches Cake

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups whole milk
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9X13 cake pan. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, then add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Slowly add flour and baking powder, a few spoonfuls at a time. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 
When cake is done, cool completely. Pierce the top of the cake several times with a fork. Combine the whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Pour over pierced and cooled cake. refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Whip the whipping cream with desired amount of sugar and the vanilla until soft peaks form. Spread over top of cake. Keep cake refrigerated. 

DeAnn's Cinnamon Rolls

You know those friends that Heavenly Father sends into your life because you desperately need them, but you just didn't realize you needed them until they were there? That is who DeAnn is in my life. She filled a hole I didn't realize was there. I met her when we moved to Ankeny Iowa, after grad school. She was instantly my BFF and I knew that would never change. We lived in the same town for 3 years, then I moved again-several states away. It ripped my heart out when I left her. After we moved, I cried every day for weeks because I missed her so much. Thank heavens her in-laws live just 15 miles from me. That means that she and her family come to Utah once a year. She and I spend one glorious day together every time she comes. It is a highlight of my whole year. Thank heavens for hours of phone conversations, because once a year just isn't near enough. I can't count the hundreds of hours we have spent talking, laughing, and crying together. I could write pages about our friendship and what we have been through together, but we should probably get to the cinnamon rolls... These cinnamon rolls. Holy Moly! They are absolutely amazing, and DeAnn is famous for them. If you know her, chances are you have had her cinnamon rolls. And chances are you are drooling right now just thinking about them. They are THAT good! I am going to list the ingredients and directions just how she wrote them out for me.

DeAnn's Cinnamon Rolls

1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup butter
Put in pot and heat on stove until butter is just melted. Not to go over 120 degrees. (she told me to take it off the stove before the butter is all the way melted, and just let it sit to finish melting)

In mixer, mix:
4 cups flour
6 Tbsp sugar
5 tsp yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt

Put 3 eggs into mixer when you are ready for the milk mixture to be poured in. Turn mixer on to mix eggs while you are slowly pouring in the milk mixture. Add 3-4 more cups of flour, until dough pulls away from the sides. Let raise for about 1 hour. Roll out and cover with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut. Raise again until they are the size you want. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown on top.

Frost with homemade cream cheese frosting! Enjoy!

Lee-ann's Gingersnaps

I was telling my husband one evening that I really wanted to find a great gingersnap recipe. The very next day, I was having lunch with my friend Lee-ann, and she pulled a baggie out of her purse, and said "I brought a treat for you". The baggie was full of gingersnaps, and they were amazing. It was the recipe that I had been waiting for!
Lee-ann is one of those friends that honestly changed my life. I met her when I was 23, and had just returned from serving an LDS mission. I had never met anyone like her before. She was so confident, charismatic, and comfortable in her own skin. She was "herself" no matter who she was with. She was also one of the funniest people I had ever met, but in a totally unique way. From the moment I met her, I admired her and wanted to be like her. I was so blessed to have her become one of my closest friends, in a very short time. Not only did she change my life by showing me those characteristics, but she is also responsible for me being married to Steve. How could I ever repay her for that?
Now Lee-ann and I both have 4 kiddos, right about the same ages. She still continues to inspire me. She is an amazing mom, and one of the strongest women I know. I love every second that I get to spend with her, and always come away wanting to be a better person.

Lee-ann's Gingersnaps

1 1/2 cups shortening
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
white sugar for rolling dough in

Cream together shortening, brown sugar, molasses, and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Roll dough  into small ball and then roll in sugar to coat. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Pumpkin Bars

Last summer my cousin's wife Cathy brought these amazing pumpkin bars to our Rigby Family Reunion. I seriously had never had a pumpkin bar as good as they were. I fell in love with them and I'm pretty sure that I ate 3 or 4 of them that day. I let her know that I really wanted the recipe for them, and about a week later it showed up in the mail. I was delightfully delighted!
Well, for some crazy, unexplainable reason, it took me 7 months to get around to actually making them. Who the heck knows why! But then, I made up for lost time and made 3 pans of these in 1 week. I tell no lie. 3 in a week! Now, don't worry, my little family didn't eat all 3 pans. Each of them were shared. But we definitely ate our fair share of them, and they were soooooo good. You don't need to wait until the fall to make this pumpkin recipe. Make it RIGHT NOW! They are amazing. Make sure you make the creamy, dreamy frosting with them. You can't substitute anything else! Promise me that you will NEVER put a can of store bought frosting on these delicious pumpkin pieces of heaven.

Pumpkin Bars

2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)

Blend together sugar, oil, and eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add can of pumpkin and mix well again. Put batter in a sheet pan that has been sprayed well. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool completely, then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
1 lb powdered sugar

Mix together well until light and fluffy.

Hot Chocolate Bar

I was in charge of my family Christmas party this year. Because there are a bunch of us, we had the party at our church building. We had a fun dinner of all appetizers, then we watched the movie "Tangled" on a big screen with a projector. I rented a big popcorn machine and had tons of candy on hand for the movie. It was a whole lot of fun. It was a nice and relaxing evening for everyone during such a busy time of year.
I also had a Hot Chocolate Bar which everyone seemed to love. I saw the idea on Pinterest, and knew it would be a really fun addition to the party. Here is a list of what I included on the bar:

• Stephens Hot Chocolate Mix
• Stephens Cider mix (because my mom can't have chocolate)
• Mini Marshmallows
• Mini Peppermint Marshmallows
• Cans of Whipped Cream
• Chocolate Chips
• Crushed Andes Mints
• Crushed Candy Canes
• Crushed Whoppers
• Crushed Heath Candy Bars
• Rolos

Grandma Walker's Brownies (a.k.a. Texas Sheet Cake)

My mom makes the most amazing brownies. She's never really been a big cookie or cake baker,  but there are a few cakes that she is an expert at. No one makes an angel food cake like she does, and she does these brownies right!

Grandma Walker's Brownies

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together sugar, flour and salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, bring cocoa, water, butter and oil to a boil. Pour over sugar/flour mixture and mix well. Add buttermilk and soda, mix again. Then add eggs and vanilla. Pour into jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides) that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 Tbsp cocoa
4 Tbsp milk
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Bring butter, cocoa and milk to a boil. Pour into bowl with powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour and spread over brownies while they are still warm.

Funnel Cakes

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• It is State and County fair time! I am jealous that all of my Iowa friends have been at the Iowa State Fair this last week. It is the most amazing state fair and has been ranked the best in the US. The state fair is like a holiday in Iowa. I love Utah, but our state fair is like a county fair compared the Iowa State Fair. We have had the Davis County Fair going on around here this last week. The other night we told our kiddos that we were going to spend the evening at the fair, but for various reasons, it didn't happen. They were a little disappointed, so I decided to surprise them the next morning with these funnel cakes. I had no idea how easy these were to make. Super easy! Everyone loved them, especially the husband! We may never go to a fair again... 
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• Funnel Cakes
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• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar (optional)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
• 1-2 cups vegetable oil
• Powdered sugar
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In a mixing bowl, mix eggs and milk together. Add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla (the original recipe didn't call for the sugar and vanilla, but I added these ingredients) and mix until smooth. .

Heat oil in an 8 inch skillet to about 360 degrees. (I turned mine up to medium/high until it was hot then turned it down to medium and it stayed the perfect temperature.)
Place your finger over the the bottom opening of the funnel and fill the funnel with about 1/2 cup of the batter. Hold the funnel close to the surface of the oil and release the batter into the oil while making a circular motion. Fry until it is golden brown (it takes a few minutes). Use tongs and a spatula to carefully turn the cake over. You will want to make sure you get a hold of it in the middle and not just the edge. Fry the second side for about 1 minute, or until it is also golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and/or cinnamon-sugar.

**If you don't have a funnel, you could put the batter in some type of a squeeze bottle (such as an old ketchup bottle), or even in a ziplock baggie and cut the corner off. 

Indoor S'mores

These are to die for, unbelievable, and simply amazing. I don't even really like s'mores. I sit around the campfire roasting marshmallows and making s'mores for all the kiddos and never eat one. I will eat one (but only one) if we are making them with Keebler fudge stripped cookies, but not if we are making traditional s'mores. They just aren't appealing to me. My hubby isn't a huge s'more fan either, but let me tell you, my husband LOVES LOVES LOVES roasted marshmallows. Watching him eat them is an experience everyone needs to have.  He literally sucks them right of the stick... right out of the fire. Then with his mouth completely full of hot molten marshmallow, he exclaims how much he loves them.
Anyway, back to the Indoor S'mores. They are seriously good. I made them recently for the first time in about 5 years and remembered how much we absolutely love them.

Indoor S'mores

10 cups Golden Grahams Cereal
about 8 cups miniature marshmallows
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 stick butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Spray inside of a large bowl with non-stick spray. Measure cereal into bowl, set aside. Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick spray, set aside. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat, then add marshmallows, chocolate chips an corn syrup. Stir constantly until marshmallows are completely melted. Pour over cereal and  stir until completely coated. Spread into 9x13 pan. Let cool then cut into squares.

Oatmeal and Coconut Cookies

If you don't like coconut, don't disregard this recipe. I am not a huge coconut fan (you couldn't pay me to eat a Mounds candy bar) but I love these cookies. The coconut is really subtle but gives the cookies a yummy, chewy texture.

Oatmeal and Coconut Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 cup quick oats

Cream together sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined (I use parchment paper) cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Creamy Lemon Bars

I am not really a fan of lemon bars. I usually like the first bite, but then they just leave a horrible taste in my mouth.  When I saw this recipe on Our Best Bites, I decided to try it and see if I liked them better than the regular ones. I did. These were really good. I tripled the recipe and made a big ol' pan of them because I needed to take them to two different gatherings; my niece's bridal shower and a BBQ with friends. I had tons of people ask me for the recipe, so I guess they were a hit! Next time I make them, I think I will try lime instead of lemon.

Creamy Lemon Bars

20 Nilla Wafers, crushed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, cold
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temp.
2 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. grated lemon peel, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. baking powder
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8 inch square baking pan with foil (this isn't absolutely necessary, I actually forgot to do this. It just makes it easier for cutting and serving). Spray lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
In a bowl, combine Nilla Wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour, and the brown sugar. Cut butter into small pieces and then cut into the crumb mixture with pastry blender or 2 knives, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press this mixture firmly into bottom of prepared pan, and bake for 15 minutes.
While crust is cooking, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 2 Tbsp flour, and baking powder. Mix well. Blend in 1 Tbsp lemon zest, and lemon juice, then pour mixture over crust.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely, then refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining lemon zest just before cutting and serving.  Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Orange Carrot Cookies

My friend Caroline made these cookies for me when we were both living in Iowa City, Iowa.  Our husbands were both students there, my husband getting his MBA and her husband going to Dental School.  We lived in the same apartment complex and traded babysitting. We were instant friends and have been blessed to stay in touch while both moving to different parts of the country. Caroline also taught me how to make a killer bbq beef brisket that I will have to share the recipe for sometime soon!
When I made these, I was out of baking powder, so I found a way online to make a substitution using baking soda and cream of tarter.  I don't know if it affected the outcome, (they were still AMAZING) so if yours look a little different than my picture, don't be alarmed; that could be the reason.

Orange Carrot Cookies

3/4 cup shortening (I used butter)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup raw shredded carrots or mashed cooked carrots (I used the raw shredded)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
a little grated orange peel

Mix ingredients together.  Form dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp orange juice
a little grated orange peel
a pinch of salt.

Mix together and frost cookies while they are still hot.

Pioneer Vanilla Ice Cream

When I was a little girl, my dad made this homemade frozen custard that I absolutely loved.  It had this distinct flavor that was really amazing.  When it was done churning, he would take the paddle out of the ice cream maker and lay it in a 9x13 pan and we would get spoons and eat the ice cream off of the paddle.  He stopped making it for some unknown reason when I was probably somewhere around the age of 10. I asked him after I was married if he had the recipe, and he didn't.  I didn't think I would ever have that amazing custard again.
Then about 3 years ago, our friends the Woodruffs, had us over for a 24th of July (Pioneer Day in Utah) BBQ and they told us about this ice cream that they made every year for Pioneer Day and told us that it was an authentic pioneer recipe.  When dessert time came and they brought out the ice cream, I took one bite and couldn't believe that it was that same distinct taste that I remembered from my childhood; it was my dad's frozen custard!  It took me right back to the days of eating it off the paddle.  I was so happy that they shared the recipe with us.  We make this ice cream all the time now, and I love it more each time we make it! Thank you Woodruffs!

Pioneer Vanilla Ice Cream

2 quarts milk
3/4 cup flour
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2/3 tsp. salt
1 1/3 Tbsp vanilla
2/3 tsp lemon extract (this is the secret ingredient that gives the distinct taste!)
4 cups half and half or whipping cream
(we usually use 3 cups whipping cream and 1 cup milk)

Whisk together a small amount of milk (1 1/2-2 cups) with the flour. Heat the remaining milk in a large pot, and add flour mixture to it (we pour the flour mixture through a strainer as we are adding it, to eliminate any clumps of flour there may be).  Heat and stir this mixture until it is slightly thickened.  When I say slightly, I mean that it really won't seem any thicker, just make sure it is good and hot, stirring almost constantly so it doesn't scorch.
Beat eggs and sugar together then slowly stir/whisk into hot milk mixture. Cool thoroughly (several hours in the fridge), then add salt, vanilla, lemon extract and cream.  Freeze in a 4 quart ice cream freezer. (We usually have a little bit that doesn't fit into the ice cream freezer)

Crepes

I have wanted to make crepes for a really long time, but was a little afraid. I decided I was going to be brave and try them, and found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I didn't realize how easy they could be. I loved standing side-by-side with my amazing husband  while we made them together and had contests on who could flip their crepe into the air, and catch it perfectly flat in the pan (I won, by the way... although he came in a close second).  We tripled this recipe and made some crepes for dinner (recipe for filling to come), and some for dessert.  The ones pictured above are obviously the dessert ones.  I mixed cream cheese, whipped cream and a little powdered sugar together for the filling on these.  Then we also filled them with fresh strawberries and topped them with whipped cream.  They were seriously amazing.

Crepes

1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs.  Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. (We found this to be almost impossible! The flour and the eggs together made this super thick glop that got completely stuck in the whisk.  We ended up putting everything into our blender, and it worked perfectly.  I would definitely recommend doing it in the blender).  Add the salt and butter, mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe.  Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
Cook the crepes for about 2 minutes (once we got them cooking, they took a lot less time than this) until the bottom is light brown.  Loosen with a spatula, turn (or flip!) and cook the other side.

Sour Cream Cake

This is the PERFECT cake to make for strawberry shortcake, but it is super yummy by itself too. The flavor is subtle, the cake is dense, and it has this amazing, crispy-ish crust that is so darn good. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law.  She made it for us shortly after I married her amazing son, and I loved it. When she wrote out the recipe for me, she wrote "freezes well" on the recipe card.  I am just passing that info along as a FYI, in case you would like to freeze it.  I have never yet had a need to freeze any of it... it is always eaten up to quickly.

Sour Cream Cake

3 cubes butter
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 cups + 3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
1 cup sour cream

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and flavorings.  Stir in sour cream, then flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Spray 2 loaf pans, and divide the batter between the two. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

My oh my, I have found a new "go to" cake.  This cake is flippin amazing. I have my friend Aly to thank for this yum yum yummy recipe.  When I told my husband I was making a new recipe for dessert last Sunday when we were having friends over for dinner, he said "why make something new when you already have tried and true, amazing dessert recipes?"  Well, he was eating his words... and his snickerdoodle bundt cake, that evening!
**this isn't a cake that you can just quickly whip up.  It takes time to get things to room temp, and each step takes a little bit of time.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. white sugar

2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used salted, because that is what I had)
1 c. white sugar
1 c. light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. sour cream, at room temperature

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix together really well and set side.

Preheat oven to 325. Generously spray a 9" Bundt pan with cooking spray. Make sure to spray the creases and the inner tube. Gently dust the entire inside of the pan, including the tube, with the sugar and cinnamon mixture (About 1/4-1/2 cup). Set the remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter on medium speed for one minute. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and blade and add the brown sugar.

Mix for 2 minutes until the mixture looks light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for 1 full minute. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/3 of a cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture over top the cake. Spread the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack.

Marshmallow Brownies

Whenever I take these somewhere, I get asked for the recipe. They are always shocked when I tell them that the brownies are from a box.  I think the secret to this recipe is using this chocolate frosting, because it really is the best.

Marshmallow Brownies

1 brownie mix, prepared as directed for fudge-like brownies
1/2 package miniature marshmallows
chocolate frosting

Spread marshmallows in a single layer over the brownies during the last couple of minutes the brownies are baking.  Frost with chocolate frosting.

Pudding Parfait Dessert

This is one of my most favoritest desserts in the whole big wide entire world.  The first time I remember having it was while I was in college.  I have been served it many times, and it is called something different every time.  I had it once in Liberty, Missouri at a restaurant called the Hardware Cafe.  They called it "The Robert Redford" there.
I got this recipe from one of my best friend's mom.  My friend Carrie is one of those people that Heavenly Father just knew that I needed in my life. We became friends in High School.  We went to college together, roommates our first year, next door neighbors our second year.  Then we left 3 weeks apart from each other on 18 month missions for our church; got home and went to college again together. Carrie was my rock during a time when I was trying to figure out who I was.  Now we are both married with kids, and our little ones go to preschool together.
Carrie's mom, Rea, was also such a big influence in my life.  She treated me with respect, treated me like one of her own, and treated me like an adult, when that was what I needed.  Rea passed away suddenly on August 12th, 2003.  It was 2 days before my second child was born, and I was living in Iowa City, Iowa.  It broke my heart that I wasn't able to travel to be at her funeral, and be with Carrie who was pregnant with her first child. I think of Rea often, and I can still hear her voice.  I can hear her say my name as she always did whenever she would start a sentence in talking to me.  She is an amazing lady and is missed.  I am so thankful for both her and Carrie in my life.

Pudding Parfait Dessert

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup chopped pecans
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups Cool Whip
2 small pkg. lemon or chocolate instant pudding
3 cups milk

Combine butter, flour, and pecans to make the crust. Press into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Cool completely.  Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and Cool Whip. Spread over crust. Beat pudding and milk for 2 minutes. Pour over cream cheese layer. Spread additional Cool Whip on top and garnish with chocolate shavings, if desired.  Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Rocky Mountain Cookies

These could be my new favorite cookie.  They are for sure my new favorite cookie dough.  Holy smokes, I could eat the whole bowl of this cookie dough.  The rice crispies add this little crunch to the dough that is amazing.  I like to tell myself that these cookies are a little healthier than regular cookies since they have oatmeal and cereal in them.  I'll just keep on telling myself that while I eat the dough one little smiggin at a time.
Some of you may have heard that I decided to boycott our school's cookie dough fundraiser.  I was upset because they offered this "early bird prize" to any kids that sold 4 tubs in the first week.  The prize was this little stuffed frog, that suddenly became the coolest toy in the whole world to every child at the school. And if they earned the frog, everyone knew because they got to go to office and pick it up and then go back to class to show everyone.  In the past, they earned prizes for selling certain amounts, but the prizes just came with the cookie dough and it was never a big deal.  The prizes weren't made public, so there was no peer pressure involved. So, we decided that we would let our friends and family know that we were accepting donations for the school and that we would make homemade cookies for those that donated. This way, the school gets all the money, and my children get a better lesson in helping in the community.
So, if you donate to our school, you just may get a batch of these yummy cookies (or if you just want a bowl of the dough, we could do that too!)  I made a batch of these cookies for my parents yesterday for their donation.  My mom can't have chocolate, so I left the chocolate chips out and added pecans and craisins instead.  They turned out really good.  It's a great recipe!

Rocky Mountain Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups Rice Crispies cereal
1 bag chocolate chips

Cream together sugars and butter  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Mix well then fold in oats, cereal, and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Could there be an easier cookie recipe than these?  And they are really good too.  They kinda taste like licking the bowl of bownie batter...not that I have ever done that before and would know.  You can make homemade oreo's with this same recipe, just don't roll them in powdered sugar first.  I have also had snickerdoodles made this way, but with a yellow cake mix.  The possibilities are endless.  Enjoy this super easy recipe!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

1 box Devils Food cake mix (any chocolate cake mix works)
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together first 3 ingredients. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar and place on greased cookie sheet  (I use parchment) Bake 8-10 minutes. Don't overbake them, they will flatten when cooling.

Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

Oh man... these are so good.  I made these as a little Valentine surprise for my husband.  My husband has a serious sweet tooth, and especially for chocolate.  He loves chocolate. He inherited his mom's sweet tooth. A while back he took me on a date to one of his favorite lunch spots in Salt Lake City called Faustina's. After lunch he said that we both had to order the chocolate lava cake for dessert.  He informed me that it was probably his favorite "restaurant dessert".  As I ate it, I wondered if I could make it. I looked at quite a few recipes, but this one that I found on allrecipes.com was by far the easiest, so I tried it.  I was worried the whole time that it was going to be a total flop.  It just seemed like there was a whole lot of room for disaster. But to my surprise, they turned out perfect, and were actually really easy to make.  My Valentine surprise was a success!  He loved them! I made them this time in my muffin tin, but I am thinking that I need to invest in some ramekins, just for this recipe.


Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

• 1 cup unsalted butter (I used salted, but omitted the pinch of salt in the recipe)
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or bars, cut into bite-size chunks
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 4 teaspoons flour 
• 8 extra-large paper muffin cups (or use regular paper muffin cups, which will make 12 cakes)
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  Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; remove from heat. (I melted mine in the microwave, in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval until it was smooth) Beat eggs, sugar and salt with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour. 
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a standard-size muffin tin (1/2 cup capacity) with 8 extra-large muffin papers (papers should extend above cups to facilitate removal). Spray muffin papers with vegetable cooking spray. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until batter puffs but center is not set, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift cakes from tin and set on a work surface. Pull papers away from cakes and transfer cakes to dessert plates. Serve immediately.
• **Batter can be made a day ahead; return to room temperature an hour or so before baking.
• **After reading a bunch of reviews of the recipe, people said that it worked better if you made the batter at least a couple of hours ahead and let it sit.  I made mine about 2 hours before we baked it, just letting it sit on the counter.
• **I didn't use the cupcake liners when I made it.  I didn't have the large ones, so I just put the batter right in the tin.  They were a little hard to serve right out of the tin, but they worked.