Category Archives: Easy recipes

Chocolate Easter Eggs with Peanut Butter Filling!

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Ruthanne

These chocolate eggs are filled with a creamy peanut butter mixture.  Fill your Easter baskets with this easy to make recipe!!!

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

  • Combine margarine with peanut butter and add powdered sugar until mixture is thick enough to be rolled and molded by hand.
  • Form eggs in any size (I use an egg-shaped 1/3 cup measuring spoon, but you can shape by hand in other sizes as well)
  • Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well in between until smooth.
  • Using a fork, dip peanut butter eggs into chocolate until completely covered and slide off fork onto parchment paper.  Allow chocolate to cool and harden.
  • Decorate as desired (drizzle with other colored chocolate, or sprinkle with spring candy…).

My thoughts:  This is my second year making these eggs as a fundraiser for missions trips at my church.  We have improved our technique for making these in large quantities and had a lot of fun this year.  These are HUGE peanut butter eggs.  I always warn people to not eat a whole one all at once!  The filling is so creamy and rich.  I hope you get a chance to try these out for YOUR Easter baskets!  Here’s some shots of our egg-making extravaganza:

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Chocolate Cheesecake Fudge!

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Ruthanne

If you like cheesecake and you like fudge, this is a perfect combination!  Plus, I am convinced this is the easiest fudge recipe EVER!!!!!!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 bags (11.5 oz each) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tub (10 oz.) Philadelphia Original Favor Cooking Creme
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 c. finely chopped nuts

 

DIRECTIONS:

  • Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well between until smooth.
  • Add cooking creme, vanilla and nuts and stir until well blended.
  • Pour into a 9×9 pan that has been lined with aluminum foil.
  • Refrigerate for about 40 minutes (until fudge is hard).
  • Remove from pan, peel away foil, cut and serve!!!

 

My thoughts:  I created this recipe for Kraft.  They sent me all of their flavors of cooking creme to experiment with before it was placed in stores.  This is one of the “Original” flavor recipes I made.  I LOVE how easy it is and I love the cream cheese flavor– it adds a unique twist to the basic fudge recipe.  This is a wonderful dark chocolate fudge- but if you want it sweeter just use milk chocolate chips instead!  ENJOY!!!!!!!   r-

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Caramel Chip Bars!!!

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Ruthanne

These chewy cookie bars are packed with 4 types of chips and a thick layer of soft caramel- YUM!!!

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of yellow cake mix

1/3c. oil

2 eggs

1c. each of white chips, semi-sweet chips, milk chocolate chips and butterscotch chips

1/2 c. margarine

32 unwrapped caramels

1 (14oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

 

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13pan.  Combine cake mix, oil and eggs.  Blend well and stir in all of the chips (mixture will be very thick).  Press half of the mixture into bottom of pan (it will press into a very thin layer).  Bake for 10 minutes.

While this is baking, in a medium saucepan, combine butter, caramels and condensed milk.  Cook over low/medium heat until melted and smooth (stir constantly!)  Spread caramel over partially baked cake mixture.  Top with remaining cake/chip mixture (it will not completely cover, but you can press the mixture flat with your fingers and lay it in sections over the caramel.  Bake and additional 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool 20 minutes.  Run knife around edges.  Cool completely before cutting. Makes about 20 bars.

 

My thoughts:  I’ve been making these bars for years and its fun to try them with different types of chips and flavors of cake mix.  These were inspired by a recipe given to me by a friend of a friend.  Her name is Lily and for years we called these Lily Bars in her honor :0)  They have evolved into this recipe (my personal favorite combination of ingredients) –but next time I am adding some coconut!  If you like experimenting with flavors, this is a perfect recipe for you!  Another note:  the caramel sauce used in this is SO good and wonderfully soft that I’ve incorporated it into many other desserts – so when you see this caramel appear in another post you’ll know– it all started here!   Have fun with this one– I hope you enjoy it!   -r

 


 

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Black-bottom Peanut Butter Cookies!

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Ruthanne

A new twist on the traditional peanut butter cookie!

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

  • Mix peanut butter, sugar and eggs together in a mixing bowl. Using a Large Cookie Scoop,  scoop batter onto cookie sheets and press with fork for surface design.   Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes.  Cool completely.
  • Melt chocolate candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between.
  • Spread parchment paper on a flat even surface
  • Spoon about 2 tsp of melted chocolate onto the parchment paper
  • Press a cooled cookie into the center of the chocolate.


  • Allow chocolate to cool and harden.  Drizzle chocolate over the top if desired.
  • When chocolate is cool and hard, peel cookies off the paper and serve!

Makes about 24 cookies.

My thoughts:  I love peanut butter cookies- and this recipe is incredibly simple (even kids would love making this!)  I had extra candy melts from another project and that was the inspiration for the “black-bottom” part of this cookie (that, and the fact that I am ADDICTED to Fudge stripe cookies!!!)  I wasn’t sure if the cookie and chocolate would stick together well- but they were inseparable!  The drizzle on top just adds to the gourmet feel of these cookies.  I hope you get a chance to try these– the “WOW’s” when you serve them are well worth the little extra time with the chocolate!  Enjoy!  r-


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Not Just ANY Old Peanut Butter Pie!

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Ruthanne

Craving peanut butter pie?  This one has a surprise- a layer of rich, smooth chocolate inside!  Quick and easy to make– its sure to become a family favorite!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2c. of Nilla Wafers (crushed)
  • 1/4c. brown sugar (firmly packed)
  • 1/3 c. butter (melted)
  • 1/4c. heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1c. creamy peanut butter
  • 8oz. Philadelphia cream cheese
  • 1/2c. sugar
  • 3c. Cool Whip topping

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine Nilla Wafers, brown sugar and butter to make crust.  Press mixture into the bottom and up sides of a 9 inch pie plate.  Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

In a small saucepan, heat whipping cream until it starts to bubble at edges (20-30 seconds).  Turn off heat, but leave pan on burner.  Add chocolate chips to cream, cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.  Stir until well blended and pour into bottom of crust.  Place crust in refrigerator until chocolate is completely cool.

Beat together peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar.  Gently fold in Cool Whip and spoon mixture into crust and spread evenly over chocolate layer.  Garnish as desired. (I drizzled melted chocolate onto parchment paper that was wrapped around a rolling pin to get these fun decorations)

Keep chilled until served.

My thoughts:  This is such a wonderful combination of ingredients!  The crust was an inspiration from an ice cream pie I made once.   Nilla Wafers have such a great flavor and hold together so well for this.  The chocolate layer was in a Paula Deen cookbook- but she just put chocolate chips in- which hardened into an un-cuttable layer.  Adding the whipping cream makes this layer more like fudge (a ganache, in fact).  The peanut butter filling is 100% Judy Schneider- I can’t improve on it, its such a yummy peanut putter filling!  In this case, it does indeed take a village of amazing cooks to make a pie!  Hope you love it!

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In the beginning…..there were chocolate chip cookies!

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Ruthanne

Everyone needs a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  For big chewy perfect-every-time goodness this is your recipe!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2c. margarine (use tubs of Fleishmans for best results)
  • 2c. brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 c. sugar
  • 6 c. flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 t. baking soda
  • 2 tbsp vanilla
  • 2c. (one bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2c. (one bag) milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Cream together butter and sugars.  Add the rest of the ingredients except for the flour and chocolate chips.

Add flour (batter will be fairly dry).  Fold in chocolate chips.  Drop using a Large Cookie Scoop onto cookie sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes.

My thoughts:  I’m starting this blog at the request of many of you who ask for my recipes and ideas.  I hope this becomes an easy place for you to find fun and yummy things to bake for your family and friends that make them smile!   After all— that’s what baking is all about isn’t it?  This cookie recipe is one of my VERY favorite go-to recipes and by far my most requested recipe– so here you go!  ENJOY!!!!  *hugs* r-

 


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