Butter Pecan Ice Cream

I knew when I spotted this dessert in the new Grilling and Campfire Cooking cookbook (affiliate link) from Gooseberry Patch, I was going to make it. And boy howdy, am I glad I did.

We all loved it!

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

1/3 c. chopped pecans

1 T. butter

1 c. brown sugar, packed 

1-1/2 c. half and half

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c. whipping cream

1 t. vanilla extract

In a small skillet over medium heat, sauté pecans in butter until lightly golden, stirring frequently. Set aside. In a saucepan over low heat, stir together brown sugar, half-and half and eggs until smooth. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in cream, vanilla and pecans. Pour mixture into an ice cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Makes 4 servings.

It had a nice soft serve consistency. If you want it firmer you could put it in the freezer for a little bit. I will be making this again for sure. So yummy and such a nice treat.

You can find this on page 208 of the Grilling and Campfire Cooking cookbook. (affiliate link)

I used this ice cream maker to make this.

I could have eaten all of it. But I don’t think my family would have gone for that. They were hovering like vultures. *smile*

Bon Appetite’

Kim

The Easiest Rice Pudding

Here is another yummy recipe from the Gooseberry Patch cookbook I’m reviewing called “101 SUPER-EASY Slow-Cooker RECIPES”. (affiliate link)

 This recipes comes with a little bit of a funny story. When reading over the recipe, I read in my precious little mind “long grain” not “long cooking”. There is a difference. Don’t use long grain because you’ll end up with mush. Now the mush tasted great and everyone loved it despite the fact that it looked like baby food, so nothing went to waste. But I can’t wait to try it again the right way. Learn from this people. Learn from it. *smile*

Because I’m a good sport I did take a picture of the finished product and because I plopped whipped cream on top you can’t really tell how badly I butchered this recipe, so here you go. Oh and it’s brown because I used coconut sugar.

 With that said, you will have no lovely set of photos showing you the delicious details because most of the pictures didn’t look very appetizing. Ha! Ha!

But here is the yummy recipe that I’m sure you will love.

The Easiest Rice Pudding

8 c. milk

1 c. long-cooking rice, uncooked

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. half-and-half

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

Spray a slow cooker with vegetable cooking spray; set aside. In a bowl, combine milk, rice and sugar; mix well. Spoon milk mixture into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 hours, or until rice is tender. When rice is tender, beat together eggs, half-and-half and remaining ingredients. Whisk 1/2 cup of milk mixture from slow cooker into egg mixture. Continue whisking in milk mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until only half remains in slow cooker. Spoon everything back into slow cooker; stir. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.

Serves 8 to 10

Bon Appetite’

Kim

Cranberry-Date Oat Bars: Gluten Free Conversion Recipe

I’m pretty excited about this recipe because it involves cranberries. Real life, in the bag cranberries. I find myself drawn to them (which is weird in and of itself) but then I never really know what to do with them outside of making cranberry sauce.

What’s even more exciting is this recipe comes out of the new Gooseberry Patch cookbook Hometown Christmas that I will be having a giveaway for next month.

And as always my gluten free conversions are in (parenthesis )and in italics beside the original recipe’s ingredients. I try to make things a bit healthier too, so you also get my “healthier” conversions with each recipe. *smile*

Cranberry-Date Oat Bars

Ingredients:

12 oz. pkg. fresh cranberries

8 oz. pkg. chopped dates

1 t. vanilla

2 c. rolled oats, uncooked (Be sure to use gluten free oats if you are worried about cross contamination.)

2 c. all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups of brown rice flour.)

1-1/2 c. brown sugar, packed (I used coconut sugar. I actually cut the sugar in half and we still thought it was great. But we don’t like things overly sweet either.)

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 c. butter, melted (I used coconut oil. If you choose to use coconut oil you’ll be better off storing them in the fridge. Which is no problem as they still taste really good cold.)

Place cranberries and dates in a saucepan over low heat; do not add any water. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until cranberries pop and mixture is pasty, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and set aside. In a bowl, mix together remaining ingredients except butter; stir in butter until well blended. Pat half of oat mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13”x 9” baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes; do not overbake. Spread cranberry mixture carefully over baked layer. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top; pat gently. Bake an additional 20 to 22 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Drizzle with Orange Glaze; cute into bars. Makes 2 dozen.

Orange Glaze

2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

2 to 3 T orange juice

Mix together all ingredients, adding orange juice to a drizzling consistency.

(I opted to make my own less sugary drizzle using a 1/4 of an 8oz. bar of softened cream cheese, 1 T. of maple syrup and orange juice to adjust taste and consistency. Everyone loved this version as well. It’s up to you.)

 

These got 6 out of 6 thumbs up. The beautiful red color in the middle makes it a festive treat for Christmas. 

It’s on page 138 in the cookbook below.

This recipe is part of a series that I started with permission from Gooseberry Patch. Click on the logo below to find more recipes.

I have also started a Gluten Free Conversion Pinterest board for these recipes as well, if you are interested.

Feel free to use the Printer Friendly option below the post to print it out in .PDF format.

Have a lovely day my friends.

OXOX,

Kim

*By law I must tell you that the links to Amazon are affiliate links and I get a small kickback if you happen to order through them. *smile*

Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Sundae Cake (GF Conversion)

I’ve got another Gooseberry Patch recipe conversion for you. You’re going to LOVE this recipe.

When I asked the question on my FB page about what people missed the most when going gluten free, most of the answers involved dessert. I know with us, that seemed to be the biggest issue.

With that said I decided to convert another dessert recipe for you. I made this two nights in a row and the second night it was eaten by someone who admitted to not liking gluten free desserts in the past and he ended up really liking it.

(As always my conversions and comments are in italic and surrounded by parentheses.)

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Serves: 6-8

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 c. all-purpose flour (I used 3/4 c. sorghum flour and 1/4 c. arrowroot powder)

1/2 c. sugar ( I used coconut sugar)

6 T. baking cocoa, divided

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. milk (I used Almond Milk)

2 T. oil (I used coconut oil)

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. chopped nuts (I put walnuts in the first time and omitted them the second time and I liked it better without the nuts. Just my opinion, either way was good.)

3/4 c. brown sugar, packed (I only used a 1/2 cup of coconut sugar and it was plenty sweet)

1-1/2 c. hot water

(Try adding a tablespoon or two of instant coffee to the hot water. It turns this into a mocha chocolate sundae, I’m just sayin’.)

Directions:

Spray a 2 to 3 quart slow cooker with non-stick vegetable spray. In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons baking cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, oil and vanilla. Fold in nuts. (Mixture will be thick) Spread batter evenly in slow cooker. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar and remaining baking cocoa; stir in hot water until smooth. Pour evenly over batter in slow cooker. Do not stir. Cover and cook on high setting for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Turn off slow cooker. Let cake stand, uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes before serving. Spoon warm cake into dessert dishes; spoon sauce from slow cooker over top.

(This makes a yummy fudge sauce that sits on the bottom, make sure you scoop that up with the cake when serving.)

Feel free to it and use the handy dandy print button below the post.

You can find this recipe on page 158 of this wonderful Gooseberry Patch book.

Click the logo at the top of this post for more GF conversion recipes.

OXOX,

*This post does include affiliate links.*

Cinnamon Apples

I recently wrote a post about my new cooking endeavor with Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks. You can read about that here.

While I was flipping through one of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks for my first converted recipe, I stumbled across this one. It looked really quick and easy. A combination I love. 

Although this recipe was already gluten free I did modify it to make it a bit healthier. My adaptations will be in parenthesis.

Imagine eating the inside of an apple pie. That’s what this tastes like.

Cinnamon Apples

Serves 4-6

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 T. Butter (Use the butter, embrace the butter)

4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used 5, mine were small)

1/3 c. brown sugar (I used Coconut Sugar, it’s way better for you)

2 T. lemon juice (I use bottled Organic Lemon Juice , it’s just quicker and easier)

3/4 t. cinnamon

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add remaining ingredients; cook and stir until apples are golden and soft. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

(I chose to add whipped cream to this using REAL cream and it just sent this over the edge.)

This recipe can be found on page 143 in this Gooseberry Patch cookbook.

Remember you can use the handy print it button below the post to convert this recipe into a pdf. And please feel free to if you so choose.

Click the logo at the top of the post for more GF conversion recipes.

OXOX,

Kim

*This post does include Affiliate links *

Gluten Free Carrot Cake!

I’ve made a similar carrot cake in the past using agave as the sweetener and using white wheat flour. You can find that version here if you are not worried about gluten.

But since we’ve had to go gluten free I’ve slowly been adapting my recipes to fit our needs and when they are worthy, I put them on here to share with you all. This one was worthy.

I made this particular version yesterday for my Mom’s belated birthday. It came out delicious. A lot of you know that I gave up eating regular sugar and have found wonderful alternatives for making my goodies. Feel free to use whatever sugar you prefer.

GLUTEN FREE CARROT CAKE

Ingredients:
1 cup coconut sugar
1 cup coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup brown rice flour + 1/2 cup starch of choice (either arrowroot, potato or corn)                                                                                        1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt                                                                                               1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
5 medium carrots, shredded (about 2-3 cups)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (1/4 reserved)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch pan. Mix the coconut sugar, coconut oil, and eggs in a large bowl until well blended. About 1 minute. Stir in dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Fold in carrots and walnuts. Mixture will be thick.
Pour into pan.
Bake for 35-40 mins.

Healthier Cream Cheese Glaze/Frosting

1 8oz. block of cream cheese, room temp.

3-4 TBS. of Honey

1 TBS. milk (I used coconut milk)

Mix on high speed until creamy and smooth. Pour over cake and smooth over top; then sprinkle remaining nuts on top.

ENJOY!

 

Applesauce Cake! With a behind the scenes photo!

This cake came out so moist and delicious. I had made homemade applesauce the day before and used it in this cake and let me tell you, it’s worth the little effort to make your own sauce. It was out of this world delicious.

Here is the picture I posted on FB yesterday. Everything looks so wonderful and pretty doesn’t it?

Stay tuned till after the recipe for the behind the scenes photo that should make you chuckle.

APPLESAUCE CAKE

2 eggs

2 cups unsweetened applesauce, preferably home-made

½ cup honey

1/3 cup coconut oil

2 cups brown rice flour (replace with regular flour if you aren’t GF)

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a large bundt pan with cooking spray.
2. Place your eggs, applesauce, honey and coconut oil in a blender and puree. Whisk flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl. Pour your wet ingredients into your dry and stir until combined.  Plop it into the prepared pan, smooth it out and transfer to the oven. Bake until golden brown and the cake springs back when lightly touched, 50 to 55 minutes.
3. Let cool in pan 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Okay so I happen to have been out of non-stick cooking spray so I improvised and did a oil and flour thingy. You know like back in the olden days? Yeah, now I know why they invented non stick cooking spray. *sigh*

Here’s what happened as I tried to turn it out onto the cooling rack.

Ain’t it purty?

I took a piece of the intact chunk and got the picture at the top of this post. But I thought you’d like to see that things don’t always turn out for me either.

 But regardless of what it looked like, it tasted DELICIOUS!

I hope you give it a try. Let me know if you do and how you liked it.

HUGS!

Kim

 

Chocolate Raspberry Truffles!

Most of you know by now that I’m trying hard not to eat any processed or added sugar. But once and a while my sweet tooth wants a little something something.

You won’t believe how good these taste!!!

Can you tell I made these for Valentine’s Day?

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of pitted dates

1/3 cup pecans

1/3 cup of thawed raspberries (if frozen)

2 TBS. of Dark Chocolate Cocoa ( I used Hershey’s)

1 tsp. Vanilla

Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until completely combined. Then roll into balls and coat with either more dark chocolate cocoa or unsweetened coconut. Keep in fridge until ready to serve.

Makes about 12

ENJOY!

Apple Crisp!

Since I’ve been off sugar I haven’t had anything really sweet, but today I wanted a little something so I threw this together and it was delicious. Gluten free and diabetics will love me for this one.

Ingredients:

6 apples (your choice) peeled and thinly sliced. I used Gala.

1/4 butter, melted

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup Coconut Crystals or sugar, but the Coconut Crystals are better for you and low glycemic.

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup Oatmeal ( use gluten free if you have allergies), not quick cooking.

1/2 cup brown rice flour, (you can use regular white or wheat flour)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Before you melt your butter, take it and butter the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish. Combine your butter and coconut oil in a small saucepan; heat just until melted. Meanwhile combine your coconut crystals and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons into your apples and stir to coat. Now place your apples into your butter pan. In the same bowl as your cinnamon and sugar mixture place your oatmeal, flour, and pecans. Stir to combine. Take your melted butter and coconut oil mixture and pour it over your oatmeal mixture and stir until it is coated and crumbly. Evenly distribute your crumb mixture on top of your apples. If you feel so inclined you may dot the top with a little more butter. I felt so inclined! Ha! Ha! Now bake it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. This is delicious by itself but I’m sure vanilla ice cream would send it over the top!

Enjoy!

 

Root Beer Float Cake

With permission from Gooseberry Patch I give you yet another YUMMY recipe. Enjoy!

Our family LOVED this cake. So simple and easy. I had to use a gluten free cake mix and adjust some measurements because of that but it still came out yummy. Below is the original recipe, no changes made.

Ingredients:

18-1/2 oz. pkg. white cake mix

2-1/4 oz. cup root beer, chilled and divided

1/4 c. oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 env. whipped topping mix ( I used heaving whipping cream)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine dry cake mix, 1-1/4 cups root beer, oil and eggs; beat until well blended. Pour into a greased 13”x9” baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes; cool completely. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat whipped topping mix and remaining root beer until soft peaks form; frost cake. Makes 24 servings.

This recipe is from

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies!

When Gooseberry Patch asked me to be an Early Bird Book Reviewer I jumped at the chance. 

I have 2 books that I am in the process of reviewing and they have given me permission to post the recipes that I have tried.

This is the book that this recipe came out of.

Not yet released but you will have a chance to win one soon on my main blog so keep an eye out.

The recipe I chose had me curious. It contains no flour so for this GF family that was intriguing.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies!

Ingredients:

1 c. creamy peanut butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

Favorite jam or jelly

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except preserves; mix until well blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Make a criss-cross pattern with a fork on top of the cookies.(I skipped this step. I used my thumb to make an indent into the cookies.) Carefully spoon jam into holes. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-11 minutes. Allow to cook 2 minutes on baking sheets; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 3 dozen. (I got about 2 dozen. I must have made them big. LOL!)

Big thumbs up from me and all the kids! (Dad wasn't home yet!)

ENJOY!

Gooseberry Patch 25 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes!

I thought I'd share this with you all. 

Who doesn't love 25 different ways to make chocolate chip cookies? LOL!

Enjoy!

25 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes by Gooseberry Patch

Rice Pudding!

It had been a LONG time since I made rice pudding and now that I've made it I wonder why!

I put my own twists on an old favorite. I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Jasmine Rice (rinsed)

1 can coconut milk

2 large eggs and 4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup dried cherries

2 1/2 cups of milk ( I used 2%)

1 tsp. vanill

a

1/4 tsp. salt

cinnamon

Whipped Cream

1. Heat rice and coconut milk to boiling in a sauce pan, stirring once or twice; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 14 minutes or until done. Do not lift cover or stir. All milk should be absorbed.

2. Heat oven to 325

3. Beat eggs in an ungreased 2 quart casserole dish. Stir in sugar, dried cherries, milk, vanilla, salt and hot rice. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

4. Bake uncovered for 45 mins., stirring every 15 mins. (Overbaking may cause curdling)

5. Stir well; let stand 15 mins.

Serve warm or cover and refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled.

Serve with whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon on top!

Refrigerate any remaining dessert!

ENJOY!

EASY No-Bake Cookies!

I love easy, I love quick and I LOVE chocolate.
So this is the perfect cookie!

Ingredients:
I'm a kind of throw it in there until it looks right kind of gal so these are estimations.
1 3/4 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 stick of butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup of shredded coconut (optional)
2-3 cups of oatmeal (not instant)

Directions:
In a large saucepan, SLOWLY melt chocolate chips, milk and butter over low heat. (Don't rush this or chocolate will scorch and that's just nasty. (TRUST ME!)
When completely melted, bring to a slow boil and boil for one minute.
Remove from heat and add vanilla and mix well.
Add coconut and enough oatmeal to be able to mix up all the chocolate and cover the oatmeal.
You want to be able to drop by spoonfuls on wax paper. You don't want them runny.
Start with the 2 cups of oatmeal and slow add more as needed.
Drop by spoonfuls on wax paper that's been placed on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 1/2 an hour or less. You want the cookie to set up nicely and this speeds it along.
We actually find that leaving them in the fridge makes them taste better and they hold up better.

You can let them set up on the counter but it takes longer and who wants to wait to eat chocolate? Not me!


ENJOY!

Gingerbread Cake with GF Alternative

Wet Ingredients:

1/4 of butter, softened
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1 egg
1/2 c. of molasses
3/4 c. honey

Dry Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. white/ wheat flour (For GF use 1 cup of Brown Rice Flour, 1 cup of Sorghum Flour and 1/2 cup of Arrowroot OR Potato Starch)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup hot water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.
Whisk together the wet ingredients.
In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet and blend thoroughly.
Add your cup of hot water and blend.
Mixture will be soupy. I was a little concerned here but trusted that all will be well and it was! Don't freak out! LOL.

Pour into 9" greased square pan.
Bake for 50-55 mins or until knife comes out clean from center. It's best when eaten warm.
Top with freshly whipped cream and you have a wonderful dessert!
Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Coconut Brownies!

The Best Dark Chocolate Coconut Brownies!
I know everyone always says it but these truly are THE BEST!
If you didn't get a change to check out the guest post I did based on these brownies you can check it out here. I even Vlogged it!
Here's the recipe and yes it's the full fat version. You can substitute apple sauce for half the butter and it will still taste "good" but not "great" like with REAL butter!
Ingredients:
½ cup butter – room temp
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup Whole White Wheat flour
1/3 cup Special Dark Cocoa
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded sweet coconut
Handful of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x9 pan. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, almonds & coconut. Add flour mixture to egg mixture & stir just until blended. Spread evenly into pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips if desired.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on rack.

Hawaiian Cake

I love this cake! Especially around Spring and Summer. It's so light tasting and I've had people that don't even "like" cake ask for seconds.
There are two ways to make it. The "EASY" way or "MY" way! LOL.
I'll give you the "EASY" way first.
Ingredients

1 Vanilla Cake Mix
1 8oz cream cheese softened
1 20 oz. crushed pineapple
1 3oz. package of vanilla instant pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 9oz container of cool whip
nuts and coconut for garnish

Directions:
Prepare cake mix according to package directions, using the reserved pineapple juice and water for the liquid called for in the directions.
Split between 2- 8 inch round pans.
Bake at 350° F. for about 30 minutes
Cool in pans, set aside.
In a large bowl blend together cream cheese, pudding mix and milk until smooth. Fold in drained pineapple and spread half of the mixture over top of 1st cake. Place second cake on top of first and spread with remaining filling.
Cover with whipped topping and sprinkle with nuts and coconut.
Refrigerate.

Now the only difference between the "EASY" way and "MY" way is I make my cake from scratch and my vanilla pudding from scratch!
So if you feel like it here is the recipe for Vanilla Pudding. Just make sure you omit the milk in recipe above if making this from scratch. And here is a Vanilla Cake Recipe.
I've made it both the easy way and the "MY" way and it comes out delicious. My way is just a bit "healthier" LOL.
ENJOY!

Healthier Carrot Cake

I admit that I made this in a rush, because my husband was leaving for work so it wasn't completely cooled and I left it in the pan and frosted. But it tasted so good warm!!! But wasn't as pretty as if you would have taken the time to let it cool, take it out of the pan and then frost it. But I'll leave that all up to you. To me this is just a way to get it in your mouth quicker! LOL.
Okay on to the recipe.

Ingredients:
3/4 Agave nectar
1/2 coconut oil
1/2 unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups White Wheat flour
1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
5 medium carrots, shredded (about 2-3 cups)
1 cup chopped walnuts (1/4 reserved)

Cream cheese frosting
1-80z. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
milk of choice ( I eye ball this)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch pan. Or use something equivalent.
Mix the agave, coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla and eggs until well blended.
Stir in dry ingredients. Mix until well blended.
Stir in carrots and walnuts.
Pour into pan.
Bake for 40-45 mins.

Frosting
Beat cream cheese and about 1 1/2 TBS of milk and your vanilla on low speed until smooth.
Gradually beat in powdered sugar, until smooth and spreadable. Add more milk if necessary.
Spread over warm cake.
Sprinkle remaining walnuts over top.
Mmmmm!!!

To make this even healthier, I may not frost it next time. It was so good I may just sprinkle a little powdered sugar over the top and call it done.

Let me know what you think.
Enjoy!!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Ok so if any of you love chocolate syrup as I do but don't like all the "stuff" they put in the store bought brand, here is a recipe (though not exactly healthy) that you make and you can pronounce everything in the ingredient list. Team it up with your homemade ice cream and yummo!!

If you substitute 1/2 n 1/2 or cream for the water, you end up with a hot fudge topping, but it won't keep as long in the fridge.

Chocolate Syrup

1/2 cup cocoa (I usually sift it for easier mixing)

1 cup sugar

dash of salt

1 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

Combine cocoa, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Add water, and mix until smooth. Bring to a boil, and allow it to boil for 1 minute - be careful it doesn't boil over. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool and refrigerate.

Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Crinkles

This recipe is adapted by me from my very first cook book by Betty Crocker. I always cut back on sugar and fat so if you want the "real" version check out the Betty Crocker Website.

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 apple sauce
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar


Instructions:

1. In large bowl, mix oil,applesauce, chocolate, granulated sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray your cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
3. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll around to coat and shape into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Enjoy!