Strawberry and Chocolate Chip Muffins

*sorry the picture is so blurry (taken with my cell phone really quick)...this is what the kids took to their teachers today for teacher appreciation week!

Strawberry And Chocolate Chip Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

3 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

1 cup oil
2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
1 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin pans. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, eggs and oil. Mix until flour is not visible. Make sure there are lumps in the batter. Do not over beat. Add strawberries and chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes or until top springs back and is golden brown. Yield: 2 dozen jumbo muffins.

From priscillabakes

Chocolate Marscapone Brownies

CHOCOLATE MASCARPONE BROWNIES

BROWNIES:
1 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup mascarpone cheese, softened
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt

GANACHE:6 ounces best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 Tbs whipping cream
3 Tbs unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter an 8-inch square pyrex pan.

2. Place chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl; set aside. In a small glass bowl, melt butter in microwave (take it out before it starts bubbling.) Pour butter over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Sift in sugar and cocoa powder.

3. With a wooden spoon, beat in mascarpone, eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Gently fold in flour and salt.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Place into preheated oven and bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

5. Place pan on cooling rack and let brownies cool 10 to 15 minutes while you make the ganache.

6. Place chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and butter to just below boiling point, over medium heat. Pour this hot mixture over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds, then stir until smooth. Pour ganache over brownies while still warm, and spread to cover evenly.

7. Let ganache firm up before cutting. It’s best to refrigerate them until quite firm. Once the ganache is firm and the brownies have been cut, they do not need to be kept in the refrigerator.
Yield: About 16 brownies

recipe courtesy of recipe girl

Fluffy Frosting

Fluffy Frosting

1/3 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine corn syrup and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil until sugar is dissolved.

Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until stiff. Add vanilla. When the corn syrup/sugar mixture is ready, pour it in a stream into the egg whites while still beating. Beat until the mixture cools a bit and forms a smooth, marshmallow frosting.

The Festive Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

8 ozs. soft cream cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

1 bottle mango chutney (or apricot jam) enough to cover the cheese block

1/2 cup crasins boiled till soft and cooled

1/3 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

1 bunch green onions chopped up

Mix cheeses and coconut. Form into a 1 inch high square, oval, rectangle etc. and put in fridge. When ready to serve put cheese base of plate. Cover with chutney or jam then cranberries then nuts then green onions. Enjoy with crackers. I like it best with Wheat Thins. They are sturdy enough to cut into it and they just taste good with it. Enjoy!

(from Daily Scoop)

Lemon Bars

For the crust:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 tsp kosher salt

For the filling:
6 eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light. Combine the flour and salt and with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a greased 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2 inch edge on all sides. Chill for 15 minutes.Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust (crust does not need to be completely cooled) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.Cut into squares and dust with confectioners' sugar.

recipe from Rookie Cookie

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Snickerdoodle Blondies

8 ounces (two sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
3 ounces Mascarpone cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
¾ tsp cream of tarter
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Sugar for coating (about 1/3 cup)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Butter a 9 by 13-inch pan. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar and move pan around to make sure that the bottom and sides are coated. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cream of tarter. Using an stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat for three minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the Mascarpone cheese and beat until fully incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds. On low speed add the sifted flour mixture. Mix until fully incorporated.Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan. This will be hard as it is a thick batter. I found it easiest to just wet my hands a little and press the batter into the pan. Then even it out afterwards with a spatula.Sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on top of the batter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve. I like mine warm with ice cream.

(from culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com)

**PS Very good, especially with ice cream!