Monday Morning Sneak Peek: Gluten Free Peanut Butter

While they can’t be found yet on store shelves, you’ll see them soon. . . Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookie Dough is coming, and I was lucky enough to bake some up this weekend. While they are amazing plain, I experimented with a reverse peanut butter cup. After baking them in muffin tins, I filled them with chocolate pudding. Wow — so good. The kids also reminded me I could make it even easier by using Nutella as filling. However you choose to dress them up or down, you are in for a real treat with these.

You’ll need a package of Gluten Free Cookies (this will totally work with Chocolate Chunk or Fudge Brownie varieties too).

A muffin tin with some muffin paper cups.

Pudding or Nutella or Your favorite filling.

Preheat the oven to 325, put the cookie dough into the muffin papers in the tins.

Bake according to the directions, and right before they are done, I use a spoon to press down the middle; this will let you have more filling room . .

Let them cool a bit and FILL!

Recipe Monday: Biscuit Quiche

Sunday morning, I was feeling especially lazy, but Sunday family brunch is a big deal in our house, so this quick recipe made it seem as special as ever. It’s essential some gussied-up eggs poured over an impromptu biscuit crust. EASY.

You’ll need:

A can of Immaculate Baking Biscuits

6 slices of bacon, chopped up.

A shallot.

3/4 cup of shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

8 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375, pop open the can (with care), and using about 6 biscuits, layer the bottom of a 9×9 baking dish with them. You can see, I’ve broken some in half and simply pinched together the holes. It’s ok if some of the egg mixture leaks through. You’ll have a biscuit or two left over that I saved for baking later as a quick snack.

While the oven is preheating, fry up some bacon and the shallot until the bacon crisps a bit and the shallot softens.

In a bowl, scramble the eggs and cheese, and then add the bacon and shallot mixture. Mix it all up and pour it over the biscuit crust.

Pop it in the oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the eggs rise and firm up. Let cool a bit, and slice. A big hit.

Recipe Monday: “Hot Pockets” at Home!

One of my kids is not a fan of leftovers for lunch, but if I recycle the leftovers in some way, he’s none the wiser. So one morning, after grilling way too much steak the night before, I chopped up the meat, mixed in some cheddar cheese and put it between 2 squares (or 4 triangles) of crescent rolls. A huge hit, and requested again for later this week. I imagine it could be great with bacon and eggs, chicken, and I’ve been challenged to try it with left over moo shu tofu.

Once you decide on the stuffing, here’s all you need to do.

Preheat the oven to 350 and open the crescent roll canister (carefully!).Unroll a “square,” but don’t separate as you normally would into triangles. Use a fork to rbing the perforation together a bit.

Put the filling into the center, leaving about a half inch around the border of the dough.

Grab another square of dough and, again,  smooth over the perforations with a fork. Place on top of the other filled square, and use a fork to seal the edges.

Bake until the dough browns a bit (about 15 minutes) and let cool since the pocket will be HOT!

Wrap in waxed paper, pack in lunch box, and wait for the after school compliments!

Emergency Birthday Cake (Chocolate Rolls!)

Saturday morning, the kids decided at the last minute to have some friends over, and upon arrival we learned it was someone’s birthday. Since it was a beautiful day, and I felt like getting into the garden for a bit, I was loathe to whip together a cake from scratch, so knowing the birthday boy was a chocolate lover, I improvised! With only a can of Chocolate Sweet Rolls on hand, I fashioned this 20-minute chocolate “cake.” So easy.

You’ll need

A can of Immaculate Baking Chocolate Rolls (set aside icing)

A tablespoon of Cocoa

Some chocolate chips.

Preheat the oven to 350, and open the can (carefully — under pressure!). Set aside icing. Place one roll in tact in the center of a baking sheet. Take a second roll and unravel. Wrap this roll around the first one and repeat until you have a big roll.

Bake. Watch it closely, since you want the center to cook all the way.

While it’s baking, put the icing into a bowl, add the cocoa and mix together.

Remove the “cake” from the oven (about 20 minutes) and let cool for a bit.

Spread the “frosting” and adorn with chocolate chips and candles. Voila!

Cut as you would a cake.

Guest Blogger Monday: Egg Muffins!

Special thanks to Susanne Pepple for sending along this great recipe. I made them for my family over the weekend, and they were amazing!

Recipe for 12 Egg Muffins

1 1/2 tubes Biscuits

4 eggs

2TBS evaporated milk

Shredded cheese

*optional chopped & sauteed bell peppers & scallions

Spray muffin tin with nonstick coating. Press biscuits into each tin, Sprinkle with cheese. Stir together egg, milk,salt & pepper, add veggies. Pour into muffin cups. Do not overfill. Place on baking sheet. Bake 375 for 18 minutes or until puffed and center comes out clean.

I discovered that my muffin tins are a bit shallow (sorry, tins), so in order not to overfill, I might slice the biscuits in half lengthwise. This give you more space to work with (and then you only need 1 can of biscuits).

The Easter Basket!

This Sunday, after an Easter Egg Hunt, we’ll be heading out to see some friends and family. Since we’ve been waiting for Spring for so long, and my neighbors have been lovely about helping us all shovel out, I’m making some Spring Baskets with goodies to share before we venture. With a few extra baskets lying around, I am baking up Cranberry Orange and Chocolate Rolls. Bake them as you normally would, spread the icing, and top with coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips.

Once they are cooled a tiny bit — I still want them to be warm – I’ll put them all in a basket for a fun delivery.

What am I bringing to Easter Dinner? A basket of biscuits and crescent rolls, complete with my last jar of incredible, homemade raspberry jam. These are a perfect addition for dinner or post-dinner snacking — even lunches the next day.

It’s easy, fast, and festive! Enjoy — and Happy Spring!

Guest Recipe Monday: Lemon Cheese Squares

Special thanks to Marissa Burton for this amazing recipe!

Lemon Cheese Squares

2 cans Immaculate Baking crescent rolls
1/2 c sugar (or sweetener of choice)
2 pkgs 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
5 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 c butter, melted
Extra sugar for top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Lightly coat 9″ X 13″ baking dish with non-stick spray. Unroll one package of crescent rolls and press them flat into bottom of dish. Mix softened cream cheese, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup sugar together until smooth; spread mixture evenly across pastry. Unroll remaining crescent rolls and press out slightly so they are smooth and not curled on sides; lay entire piece over top of cream cheese mixture, then drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle the top with white sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned on top; cut into squares & enjoy!

Guest Blogger Monday: Crescent Roll Cheesecake!

This recipe has been all over Pinterest. I couldn’t resist…it has cream cheese in it. Yum!

Ingredients:
-2 cans Immaculate Baking crescent rolls
-2 (8oz) packages cream cheese (softened)
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/4 cup butter (melted)
-Cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll and spread one can of crescent rolls on bottom of ungreased 9×13 inch pan. Be sure to smooth out the seams before adding the filling.

Combine softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Spread mixture over crescent rolls. Unroll and spread remaining crescent rolls over mixture, being sure to press together any seams.

Spread melted butter over the top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake for 20-30 minutes.

We had this with bacon and eggs…everyone loves breakfast for dinner.

What did the family think? The kids LOVED these!

Did I change anything? I think these might also be good of you took out the sugar and cinnamon and added some berry jelly in with the cream cheese. I haven’t tried it, but it might be a nice variation.

Cinnamon Rolls: Not Just for Breakfast

The Cinnamon Roll Apple Tart . . .

I’ll admit that I sometimes fall into a rut with desserts, and for a long time, cinnamon rolls meant breakfast, but needing a quick dessert and having some not so fresh apples and a can of cinnamon rolls, this easy, delicious tart was born.

You’ll need:

A Can of Cinnamon Rolls

3 Apples (I had Granny Smith on hand)

Sugar

Cinnamon

A Skillet and Parchment Paper.

Preheat the oven and open the can very carefully. Put the icing aside for later. Line the skillet with parchment or baking paper.

On some waxed paper, unravel a roll and cut in half. Place it in the bottom of the skillet and continue cutting to fit the shape of the skillet. When you are done, the bottom should be covered. Pinch together the separate strips.

In a bowl, peel and slice the apples, mix with sugar and cinnamon, and layer over the top of cinnamon un-rolls.

Bake for about 30 minutes.

Let cool for about 5 or 10 minutes, transfer to a plate, ice with the icing packet, and slice. You might even add some creme fraiche, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream for more decadence. Then, watch it disappear . . .

Guest Recipe Monday: Biscuit Rings

In the midst of all the snow we’ve had lately, when I am not shoveling, I am fantasizing about Spring — waiting for my crocuses and imagining a lovely Spring dinner table.  Back around Thanksgiving, we heard from Charlotte, and writing to us from California, she shared her recipe for a perfect, edible, and easy, table adornment — a biscuit ring. I began experimenting last week, and I’m planning on using these for Easter Dinner.

Depending on what herbs or adornments will compliment your meal, you have lots of flexibility here. I went pretty simple, using rosemary (dried from last year’s plant!) and sesame seeds. But I’ve been fantasizing about using Herbs de Provence, sage, and tarragon — or some combination thereof. A friend also suggested I could get even more sophisticated by making some lavender butter, but. . .

Here are the basics:

You need a can of Immaculate’s Biscuits (I chose Flaky, ’cause that’s what was on hand).

Some butter, melted.

Sesame Seeds, Chopped Dried Rosemary, or your favorite.

I also used a pastry brush, a mezzaluna for chopping the rosemary (because it has a cool name), some cooking spray, and a Bundt pan.

Preheat the oven and carefully open the biscuit can. Butter the top of each biscuit and cover the buttered side with as much — or as little — of the sesame seeds or rosemary. I went light on the rosemary, heavy on the seeds. Charlotte also suggested you could alternate between each biscuit. Place in the pan, smooshing a bit as you go along. For my first experiment, I used 7 of the biscuits — too little. For the second, I was bolder and put in the whole can. I like this better, and if I have an extra can, I might try to squeeze in a few more.

Then bake, keeping a good eye! You want the biscuits browning a little bit. After cooling, I turned the pan into a dish, then turned the ring onto another dish for serving. Aside from making the office smell amazing, the biscuits are easy to tear apart and totally delicious. Enjoy!