Oreo Fluff

Aunt Wilma's Oreo Fluff Dessert

This is my husbands all-time most requested family get together dessert! His Aunt Wilma made it when he was young, and he's asked his Mom to bring it to almost every holiday meal for as long as I can remember. I've been asking for the recipe for years, and I finally got it! 
I've had lots of other Oreo desserts that look the same, but none are quite as light and fluffy as this one. And, surprisingly it's not too sweet, it's just right. It is really good, I mean, like so good that it would be impossible to just take a bite. Impossible. Consider that a dare!

There are only 4 ingredients, pretty simple, but don't skip on using the real whipping cream, the extra step is worth it!

Oreo Fluff

Recipe by Christy Squyres

A light, fluffy, whipped, no-bake Oreo dessert.

Yield: 12 Servings
Ingredients

• 1 Bag Mini Marshmallows
• 1 Quart Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 Bag Crushed Oreo Cookies, Divided
• 2/3 Cup Milk

Cooking Directions

1. Heat marshmallows and milk in a double boiler (or in a sauce pan on low) until they melt. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Crush cookies.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream until it peaks.
4. Fold the cooled marshmallow mixture into the whipped cream.
5. Cover bottom of baking dish with 1/3 of the crushed cookies.
6. Top with 1/2 of the whipped cream mixture.
7. Add another layer of 1/3 of the crushed cookies.
8. Add a layer of the rest of the whipped cream mixture.
9. Top with the last of the crushed cookies.
10. Serve immediately or store covered in the refrigerator.

Cheers!

Christy

Paradise Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Extra Chocolaty Chip Cookies

I found this recipe when I was teaching Culinary Arts several years ago, but I have NO IDEA where I got it! It's labeled Paradise Bakery and Cafe Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, and I'm not sure if it really is their recipe, but I know it's a darn good recipe, and it's worth saving. 

If you are a "the more chocolate the better" kind of person, you will love this! My husband isn't a fan of semi-sweet chocolate (double eye roll), so this is not his favorite. But, I say BRING ON THE DARK CHOCOLATE!!! I find this recipe a little saltier than most recipes, which I like, but feel free to cut down on the salt if you don't. 

The recipe makes a good 4 dozen cookies if you use a small portion scoop (about 1-/14" balls of dough). They also freeze really well, you can scoop them onto a sheet pan covered in wax paper and freeze them for 30 minutes, then dump them in a zip lock, and bake however many you want, when you want. Just say no to grocery store cookie dough (JK, but you could totally make a couple batches of these and they would last a while).

I'm going to be homeschooling all three of my girls in the Fall, and my eldest daughter isn't quite on board. I am trying to make lots of plans for her to stay busy and one of them is adding an extra-curricular course in nutrition and cooking. We went shopping last weekend and let her pick out a basic set of her own cooking supplies. She got a nice saute pan, measuring utensils, mixing bowls, and cooking utensils. I let her put them to use this week and make these cookies all on her own. She absolutely loves to cook, she's also very interested in nutrition, I think we are both going to enjoy her course this Fall. I spent a few years teaching safety and sanitation, knife skills, and entry level cooking, it should be like riding a bike!

Paradise Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 36 minutes
Yield: 4 dozen
Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
• 2-1/4 Cup Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 12 Ounce Bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I used my stand mixer, if you don't have one, use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Then stir in the chocolate chips. Use a small portion scoop if you have one, if not, spoon rounded teaspoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes. They will look raw in the middle, leave them on the sheet pan for 5-10 minutes to finish cooking as they cool.

Cheers!

Christy

Mom's Banana Nut Bread

Mom's Banana Bread Recipe

We put the Christmas tree up and decorated the mantle yesterday, and started on the ornaments in the evening. Our tree is 11' tall and 6' wide, it's ginormous, it takes us 2 days to put it up and decorate it. We LOVE it!!! I would have totally put it up in October if my garage wouldn't have been so messy that I couldn't get to it! Garage has been cleaned, the tree has come out.

We are hosting Thanksgiving next weekend and wanted to get the house decorated before, so it will feel more festive. Plus, we had zero plans this weekend (outside of watching the OK State vs. Baylor game), and knew we would have the time to get it done. 

This was the longest day ever (don't you love those days?)! We decorated, we made wheat bread in the bread maker, grilled burgers, and finished the evening with warm banana bread, straight out of the oven. My house smelled phenomenal all day! This a was the perfect kick off to the holiday season.

 

 

I had 7 browned bananas that were begging to be used in a batch of homemade banana bread. I dug through my Mom's recipe box and found this recipe. It was simple and fantastic, so I'm documenting it and sharing it! (I added vanilla and switched out pecans for walnuts.)

 

 

Mom's Banana Bread Recipe

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

6 bananas

4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

1 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla (optional)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar using a stand or hand mixer. Mix in eggs, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl mash bananas, then add to mixing bowl. Add vanilla. Slowly add in flour, mixing as you go. Stir in pecans.

Grease 2 loaf pans with baking spray.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
 

 

Cheers!

Heart Shaped Cherry Pastries

Heart Shaped Puff Pastry Treats for your Valentine

Sharing my simple homemade cherry pastry treat on Moms of Tulsa today!

 

 

Find the recipe for these Valentine treats with step by step instructions here.

 

Happy Heart Day!

DIY Gingerbread Man Kits

Homemade Gingerbread Cookies Packaged with Icing, Ready to Decorate

Christmas Gifts for Neighbor Kids

My neighbor Kathy Rogers gave our girls gingerbread men and icing one year and it was the most adorable, and sweetest little gift.  The girls and I decided to make our first batch of gingerbread this year, and thought we would share this fun treat with our younger neighborhood friends!  Baking is a huge Christmas tradition in our family, we do lot's of cooking the entire month of December, and we buy pounds and pounds of butter, sugar, and flour, and this is great addition to our festivities.

You can do little gingerbread men or big ones. You can fit 8 or so small cookies or 2 of the extra large cookies in a standard size plastic treat bag.  Add a little bag of frosting, that can double as a piping bag, and you have an instant kid gift.  It's a craft and snack all in one!

For reference: The gingerbread recipe we used made 4 extra large cookies and 20 small cookies.

Supplies needed:

A gingerbread recipe, I used this one- Gingerbread Man Recipe 

Store bought frosting

Gingerbread boy/girl cookie cutter- Cookie Cutters

Any treat bags (mine are from Party City) - Treat Bags

Bakers Twine or ribbon

DIY Gift Tags or any gift tags

Mini bags for frosting - Snip off a corner and use it as a piping bag

Merry Christmas to our Littler Friends!

In the Kitchen- Cookies for Santa

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe for Santa

These golden cookies are like little buttery discs of gooey, Christmas goodness!  

My sister Amber came over for dinner and brought the girls a bag of Nestle Toll House's Holiday Morsels, to make cookies for dessert.  We came up with these festive cookies for Santa, and I am positive, after thorough taste testing, that Santa will clean the plate.  He will be getting milk dyed green with food coloring too, we call it elf juice!  

White Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Makes 48 cookies

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups flour

2 eggs

2 cups Nestle Toll House Holiday Morsels

1 cup sugar

1 cup salted butter (at room temp)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream room temperature butter with sugars.  Stir in eggs and vanilla.  In a separate medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Slowly add flour mixture to the sugar mixture.  Mix until combined.  Stir in chocolate morsels.  Using a small portion scoop or teaspoon, drop rounded spoonfuls onto a non-greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.  Bake for 11 minutes. 

Merry Christmas!

In the Kitchen: Pumpkin Bread Neighbor Gift

Christmas Neighbor Gift: Pumpkin Bread in Mini Loaf Pans

I am so excited that I was asked to be a regular contributor to the Moms of Tulsa blog!  My first post is up today, and I am super duper happy to share it with you!  Head on over for the recipe and some more cute packaging ideas for this budget friendly neighbor gift:

 Moms of Tulsa.

Merry Christmas!

In the Kitchen- Pink Stuff or Pink Fluff

Mom's Holiday Food Recipes: Pink Stuff

I want to share some of my Mom's favorite Holiday recipes over the next few weeks.  I am starting with a dessert staple, we always called it 'the pink stuff' or pink fluff.  If you like whipped cream, cherries, and pineapples, you will love this!  It's sweet, creamy, and a little tart.  It was always, always, always on the menu at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and usually sprinkled in an additional few times a year.  My Mom loved it, I love it, and two of my three girls love it!  Phoebe doesn't like whipped cream...so weird.

The ingredients, so simple.  You can also add shredded coconut, chopped pecans, and mini marshmallows, but I think they just get in the way and like to stick to just cherries and pineapples.

This may be the easiest dessert recipe of all time.  You dump all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and fold them together, and you're done!  It will store it in the fridge for up to seven days, that means it's something you can make ahead of time (always a plus).

Pink Fluff Stuff Recipe

Ingredients:

16 oz Light Whipped Topping (it's the larger tub)

1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk

1 can cherry pie filling

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained

Optional:

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and fold together.  (Folding instead of stirring will keep it fluffier.)  Refrigerate for an hour before serving.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

In the Kitchen- Pumpkin Cake Bites

3 Ingredient Mini Pumpkin Cupakes

I always use applesauce instead of oil when using boxed cake mixes, to cut down on the fat  content.  I have tried a few other things too, like Greek yogurt, and diet soda.  But, had not yet tried the boxed cake mix with a can of pumpkin puree, until now...

 

I was planning on taking cupcakes to a pre-trick or treating Halloween party at the Westfall's, when I realized I had the tiny list of ingredients to make the cupcakes a little more festive.  I used my Babycakes cupcake maker, because its fast and I don't have to wait for the oven to heat up.  I also like the size, they are a little larger that a standard mini cupcake, and they are come out really fluffy. 

 

It's so easy... you pre-heat the Babycakes machine for a few minutes, while you stir the cake mix and pumpkin puree, using a portion scoop, fill each cupcake holder, close the lid and set your timer for 6 minutes (I usually do 5 minutes, but these needed the extra minute).  You don't even have to use cooking spray!  Just use a small rubber spatula to pry them out.  Let them cool and top with sifted powdered sugar.  I sat them in standard size cupcake liners to dress them up a bit.

 

I loved them!  They are not very sweet, perfect for adults, but the kids weren't huge fans.  If you want the kids to eat them, you may need to add some cream cheese frosting.

 

I know this calls for boxed cake mix, but they are almost 50% pumpkin, so they are still a pretty smart choice... when compared to a traditional cupcake.