Carrot Cake Cheese Cake Fudge

At one of the local farmer’s markets, there is a vendor who sells fudge, and one of the flavors she sometimes carries is Carrot Cake Cheesecake.  Well, Eammon just adored her fudge so we worked to replicate the recipe at home as a treat over the holidays.  Yes, another holiday recipe which only took us 4 months to finally post!  We dissected the farmer’s market fudge layer-by-layer and noted that the fudge was the cheesecake flavor and the bottom crust, even without any carrots, tasted like carrot cake.  So, we researched all sorts of recipes to finally come up with this one which is indistinguishable from the farmer’s market one he loved.  Though there are a few steps to the recipe, it is simple to execute and the results are worth the time.

Carrot Cake Cheese Cake Fudge

For the carrot cake base:

• 1 sleeve  Ritz Original crackers
• 1/2 cup butter 
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar , packed
• 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk 
• 1 tsp. vanilla  
• 1 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp.  ground nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

For the Cheesecake Fudge:

• 3 cups white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter  
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 7 oz. Marshmallow Fluff (1-1/2 cups)
• 1 - 3.4 ounce instant cheesecake pudding mix, DRY

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with aluminum foil and grease with butter or coconut oil.  Arrange the Ritz Crackers in a even layer on the bottom of the baking dish, breaking some to fill in all the gaps and overlapping as needed.  In a medium saucepan, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil over medium-high heat.  Once the mixture is at a FULL boil, cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, cocoa,  nutmeg & walnuts.  Pour the mixture over the crackers and bake for 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool while making the fudge.

In a medium saucepan combine the white chocolate chips, butter, salt and condensed milk and heat until melted and smooth. Add the dry pudding mix and stir until the mix dissolves and is smooth.  Add the Marshmallow Fluff and stir until melted and smooth. Pour the melted fudge over the crust and use an offset spatula to smooth. 

Refrigerate until set.  Carefully remove the fudge from the pan and peel back the foil.  Using a sharp knife which has been heated in a bowl of hot water and then wiped dry, cut the fudge into small squares.  Clean the knife between each cut with a dish towel and reheat it as necessary.   Store the fudge at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Special Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fluff Frosting ~ Gluten, Egg & Dairy Free

Today is a triple special day, it's my A-Maisie-ing Maisie's eighth birthday, it’s Improv Cooking Challenge reveal day AND after weeks of neglect I'm finally adding a new recipe to the blog. How appropriate is it that this month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the specified ingredients of cake & frosting! She must have known that it was my girl's day and that she adores cake and frosting.

Of course Maisie with her allergies, I had to make her special treats gluten, egg & dairy free...but still delicious. These cupcakes were a big hit with my girl and since I made them just for her, I only frosted one and then wrapped and put the extras in the freezer to be thawed, frosted and enjoyed another day.

Special Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fluff Frosting ~ Gluten, Egg & Dairy Free

• 1 1/2 cups pitted dates
• 1 1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 5 TBS. Hershey's Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting:

• Marshmallow Fluff
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Using a food processor, combine the dates, almond milk, coconut cream & vanilla bean paste, pulsing until you have a smooth and creamy paste. In a separate bowl whisk together the rice flour, corn starch, cocoa powder, baking powder & salt. add the wet to the dry ingredients. Beat the mixture by hand for two minutes. Portion the batter into 4-6 cupcake liners.

Bake 15-20 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting. To make frosting, stir together the desired amount of Marshmallow Fluff and flavor to taste with cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. Pipe frosting onto cupcake and decorate with sprinkles.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

• September 2013 Macaroni & Cheese: Creamy Mac & Cheese, Gluten, Egg & Dairy Free
• August 2013 Vanilla & Chocolate: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats with Vanilla Coconut Frosting
• July 2013 Peaches & Herbs: Peachy Cola Ribs
• June 2013 Fish & Chips: Salt & Vinegar Crab Cakes
• May 2013 Cinnamon & Sugar: Cinnamon Bun Cookie Bars
• April 2013 Bacon & Eggs: Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups
• March 2013 Carrots & Peas: Mom’s Beef Vegetable Soup
• February 2013 Hearts & Flours: Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites
• January 2013 Bananas & Nutmeg: Baked Bananas
• December 2012 Chocolate & Marshmallows: White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark
• November 2012 Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp
• October 2012 Oatmeal & Raisins: S’mores Granola Bars
• September 2012 Zucchini & Brown Sugar: Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar
• August 2012 Tomatoes & Peppers: French Fries Hash Browns
• July 2012 Corn & Butter: Fritos Crusted Pollock
• June 2012 Cherries & Almonds: Dried Cherry Almond Tart
• May 2012 Strawberries & Cream: Strawberry Soup
• April 2012 Peanut butter & Jelly: Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
• March 2012 Potato & Cheese: Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole
• February 2012 Ginger & Carrots: Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
• January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream: Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart
• December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries: Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter
• November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese: Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
• October 2011 Caramel & Apples: Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

 

Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies

Maisie and I switched up her Math Book and Nutella No Bake Cookies so to make them “safe” for Maisie and her allergies and to also add some extra healthy calories to them because with Maisie’s intense workout schedule at the gym she needs all the calories I can get into her.  The cookies in this recipe are gluten-free and vegan so safe for my girl and according to her, absolutely delicious!! 

Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies 

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate soy milk or “milk” of your choice
1/2 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread or non-dairy margarine of your choice
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter or nut or seed butter of your choice
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional, added for extra healthy calories)
3 cup Old Fashioned oats

In a microwave safe bowl combine the sugar, cocoa, chocolate soy milk and buttery spread.  Heat in one minute intervals stirring after each minute until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are combined.  Once the ingredients are all melted and combined, microwave on high for two minutes.  Remove from the microwave and add the vanilla, salt & peanut butter.  Stir to combine until smooth.  Stir in the walnuts & oats until combined.  Drop by teaspoon or medium cookie scoop onto a Silpat or wax paper.  Refrigerate until they are set.

Enjoy!

Texas Chicken Sandwich

Back in early December I posted my Secret Recipe Club entry of Texas Chicken with Lime Butter and I raved about the recipe.  We enjoyed that recipe so much that I made it again…twice.  First I made it just as written and then I decided that the marinade and lime butter sauce would be awesome on pork so I used the same recipe on a pork loin which I served on Christmas Eve to rave reviews.  If you haven’t yet tried this Texas Chicken recipe, you’re missing out and you need to do it!

With some of our leftover chicken I made delicious sandwiches.

Such a wonderful and delicious way to enjoy leftovers from our great dinner of Texas Chicken with Lime Butter.

Spread the lime butter on a roll and grill until golden.

Add some spring mix greens.

Top the greens with warm sliced Texas Chicken.

Followed by slices of cool creamy avocado.  Deliciousness on a toasty bun, YUM!

Enjoy!

Texas Chicken with Lime Butter

Here we are, the first Monday of the month and it’s Secret Recipe Club time again…WOOHOO!!  I adore reveal day, not only posting the wonderful new recipe that I made but also checking out what all the other participants chose to make.  Each month the members of The Secret Recipe Club are assigned a blog from which they can make any recipe of their choosing.  It sounds easy enough but there are some amazing food bloggers in the group like my assignment this month, Si of A Bountiful Kitchen.  Si has a gorgeous blog and so many fabulous recipes that choosing just one was near impossible and though I’m only posting one recipe today, you will be seeing more of her recipes on my blog very soon. 

Si is from Bountiful, Utah and every time that I go out to Utah to visit friends in SLC the first place I ask to dine is at Cafe Rio because I absolutely adore their Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salad and though here in Georgia, Chipotle has a pretty similar version, it’s just not the absolutely delicious same.  So right off the top when I saw that Si had a recipe for Cafe Rio Style Sweet Pork Salad I knew that was what I wanted to make.  The only problem was, I was completely slammed for time between Maisie’s schedule, her Level 3 Gymnastics State Meet, Maisie and I being sick, my parents coming to visit, Thanksgiving, cooking for the Level 2 & 4 State Meet which Maisie’s gym hosted and some travel thrown in, well looking at my first choice recipe was just more than I was able to handle as it included not only making the Sweet Pork but Black Beans, Cilantro Rice, Pico de Gallo, Guacamole and Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing and if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right and do it all.  Yes I probably could have pulled it off but when I make it, I want to be able to really enjoy it so I’m saving those recipes for another day. 

What I did decide to make was Si’s Texas Grilled Chicken with Lime Butter because one can never have too many good chicken recipes, it was something that would be an easy weeknight dinner and I knew from the flavors that we would adore it and I was right as we loved, loved, loved this recipe and it was so quick and easy to prepare and get on the table.  I had originally planned to grill the chicken outside but the night I made it we were having tornado watches and warnings and it was raining like nobody’s business so I high temp baked the chicken and it came out perfectly, nice, juicy and delicious.  My only other little change to Si’s recipe was I cut the butter and upped the lime juice in the lime butter sauce.  I’m even betting that I could make the spice coating for the chicken, pop the chicken into it and then freeze it so that when I wanted to prepare it it would be an easy thaw, quickly make the butter lime sauce and dinner would be on the table.  Either way, this recipe will be prepared time and time again in our home as it was absolutely delish!!

Texas Chicken with Lime Butter (Adapted from here)

• 4-5 boneless and skinless chicken breast halves

Spice coating for chicken:

• 1 TBS ground cinnamon 
• 1 TBS dark chili powder 
• 1 TBS brown sugar
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar 

Lime Butter:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• Juice of half a lime, not out of the bottle
• 1 Serrano chili, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced Vidalia onion 

In a large Ziploc bag combine all of the spice coating ingredients and smoosh to blend well.  Add the chicken to the spice mixture, squish it around to make sure all the pieces are covered with the spice coating and allow the chicken to marinate for a few hours or overnight.  Preheat oven to 450F.  Line a baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Lay the chicken breast pieces with what would have been the skin-side up, on the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. 

While the chicken is resting, in a small bowl combine the melted butter, lime juice, minced Serrano & onion. Drizzle the lime butter over the chicken pieces and garnish with fresh lime slices.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts:
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry