Guest Post - Pamela from Pamela's Heavenly Treats

Hi friends!  If you haven't met Pamela yet, you are in for a treat!  I've been a fan of her blog for quite a while now, she makes some beautiful desserts!  I'm so happy that she is here today at Addicted to Recipes!

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Hi! My name is Pamela the lovely behind Pamela's Heavenly Treats, where I make healthy cupcakes and cookies mainly, I will dabble in other desserts if need be.  I make all my treats with 100% whole wheat flour and I have a few special ingredients that I also add to give my healthy treats that moist, delicious taste.  I am so excited to be over here at Addicted for Recipes with my wonderful friend Dawn.  Today I am going to make Cinnamon Banana Whole Wheat Mini Muffins, these muffins are so moist and delicious, this is a very simple recipe.  You can have these for breakfast or for a snack.

Ingredients

2 bananas (smashed)

2 egg whites

3 packets of Stevia

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/3 cup plain greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Mix all wet ingredients together, stir in your dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix together well .  Spray muffin pan liners and fill 1/2 way, bake on 350 for 20 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.

I want to thank Dawn for allowing me to guest post on her lovely blog.  Please come and visit me at Pamela's Heavenly Treats and I also have an Etsy Shop where you can get my healthy mixes. 

Morning Glory Muffins

I'm on a muffin kick again...are you surprised?!   It was hard NOT to make these ones, found over at Ezra Pound Cake.  Hey, I'm heading back to work after my extended maternity leave and I already know that mornings are going to be a challenge.  I am NOT a morning person...yet I am surrounded by morning people!  My hubby leaves for work really stinking early, so I'm on my own with the kids to get ready for the day.  I need all the help that I can get...and be prepared to see some breakfast type recipes here over the next while :-)  Here is today's recipe:

Morning Glory Muffins

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sweetened coconut (shredded)
3/4 cup raisins, dried cranberries, or in my case, a mixture of the two
1 large apple, peeled and grated
1 cup pineapple, crushed and drained
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add in the coconut, raisins/cranberries and nuts.  Mix. 

Add in the apple, pinapple and carrots.  Mix.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, oil and vanilla.  Whisk well.  Add to the dry ingrediants, stir to combine. 

Line muffin tins with cups, fill cups full with batter.
Bake for 28-30 minutes (original recipe said 35 minutes, but mine were done by 30 minutes).

Remove from oven, cool on cooling rack, and store in airtight container.

VERDICT:
These smelled amazing when they came out of the oven.  Our oldest son ate one as soon as it was cool enough to do so, and he LOVED it.  He's usually not a muffin kid, but these passed with flying colours!

Guest Post - Dawn from DJ's Sugar Shack

Hello everyone! I'm delighted that Dawn invited me to share a recipe today. I'm Dawn and normally you can find me sharing my adventures in baking at DJ's Sugar Shack. I started blogging in December to catalog the recipes I'd tried and to spare my friends from my endless baking stories. I love sharing my work with people that are a passionate about food and baking. Being from New Orleans, food has always been a big part of my life, but I didn't really start cooking & baking until I moved to Alaska after college. The first thing I remember baking from scratch was Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake that I found on a Philadelphia Cream Cheese package. It was pretty good but it started me on my mission to bake the perfect cheesecake. Ten years later, I finally got it right! Sorry I'm not sharing my cheese cake recipe today. That's top secret. All of you have at least one recipe that you don't share, Right? I am going to be sharing a recipe for Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites. I printed this recipe from Cookies & Cups a while back and I sure wish I had tried it earlier. I tweaked it just a little bit. These little bites full of cinnamony, cream cheesy goodness are easy as pie to make. The hardest part will waiting for the cream cheese layer to set before digging in. I may or may not have had one for breakfast this morning.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites

To make these you will need:

• 2 cans of Crescent Rolls

• 2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 cup butter, melted

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray a 9 x 13 pan with Pam. Unroll one package of crescent rolls and place the dough in the bottom of the pan.
• Sprinkle some cinnamon on the unbaked crescent rolls.
• In a bowl mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls.
• Unroll the second can of crescent rolls an lay on top of the cream cheese layer.
• Pour the melted butter over the crescent roll. Don't be afraid to use all of the butter!!! Just do it.
• In a small bowl mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon together then sprinkle mixture over the butter
• Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
• Let cool for 20-30 minutes before placing in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours

What's not to love about that cinnamony crusty goodness?

I would love for you to come over to DJ's Sugar Shack & check out my sweet treats. Many many thanks to Dawn for the opportunity to guest post today!  

German Apple Cake

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms!  I know, Mother's Day was yesterday, but I'm choosing to celebrate all week long!  Yes, I'm a little cheeky sometimes :-)  In honour of Mother's Day, I asked the two wonderful Mom's that I am so lucky to have in my life to share with me their favourite recipe.  Today I am sharing my Mom's recipe for German Apple Cake, and on Thursday when you come back you will see my Mother-in-Law's recipe for Hint of Thai Sirloin with Mango Pepper Salad. 

Here is my Mom's recipe: 

German Apple Cake (source: my Mom’s recipe binder)

Cake

1 ½ cups flour

¾ cup sugar

½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

Topping #1

Apples (about 3-4, peeled and sliced)

Topping #2

1 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar (white)

Topping #3

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Make the cake batter by mixing the butter, eggs, milk and vanilla.  Add in the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and baking powder), blend, and pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish (I use glass for this cake).

Place the sliced apples (Topping #1) on top of the batter.  Slice more apples if needed to cover the cake. 

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for Topping #2 (butter, flour and sugar) and spread on top of the apples.  This topping will be very crumbly. 

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for Topping # 3 (sugar and cinnamon).  Sprinkle on top of the crumbly mixture.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  Cool before serving, though this cake is delicious when served warm (and with a heavy cream!)

VERDICT:

I grew up with this cake…so I am a little biased – this is like a comfort food for me, I love this cake!  As a teen, I would sneak pieces for breakfast (healthy, I know!).  It is SO not low-cal…but that’s OK, it’s DESSERT!  My oldest son LOVED it and has already asked me to make it again.  My husband, the non-dessert guy, also enjoyed the cake and he was sneaking pieces of it too for the short time it lasted in our house.  Thanks Mom for sharing!

Easter Bunny Carrot Cake and a Feature!

Let's talk about DESSERT!

For the first time in a few years, we did not host our son's birthday party over the Easter long weekend.  So, I had a little extra time to make a different sort of cake (not the birthday sort...yet!), and with our son nearly 5, he is caught right up in all the Easter excitement.  I saw this picture at The Southern Lady Cooks, which inspired me to try my own Easter Bunny cake for dessert.  And I figured, since it is Easter, we need carrot cake!  I was going to try out my Mom's carrot cake recipe for the project, but then I found that the full baking instructions weren't written on the copy of the recipe that I have, and since she and my Dad are off rv'ing I can't just call her and ask her all the details. So I found a different carrot cake recipe to try.  I based my cake on one found in Company's Coming - Desserts and combined it with my Mom's recipe.  Here is how I made my carrot cake:

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 1/2 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and cooking oil.  Add in eggs, one at a time, beating.  Add in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Slowly add to the wet ingredients, stirring to mix.

Stir in the carrots and raisins.  Pour into greased cake pans (two 8x8s, two 9x9s or one 9x13 pan).

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool and frost.

I baked the cake late at night, so I left the cakes to cool overnight and made my frosting in the morning.  I frosted the cake with the same Cream Cheese Icing recipe that I used earlier in the week to frost the yummy Carrot Pineapple Raisin Bran Muffins that I made for my son's preschool, except that I doubled the recipe to ensure that I had enough icing :-)

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups icing sugar

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, butter and vanilla.  Beat well.  Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. 

Now, onto putting the cake together!

Assembling the Cake:

You'll see that I made the cake to look a little more "bunny" like.  I made the cakes using two 8" rounds, and cut both of the cakes in half.  I took three of the halves to make the back end of the bunny - I put some icing between each layer and stuck them together. The remaining half I cut in half again and made the bunny's head (again, icing between the layers and stuck them together.  I generously frosted the cake with the cream cheese icing, and used decorating gel for the eyes, whiskers, nose and mouth (in black and pink).  I sprinkled unsweetened coconut on top of the icing for a more fur-like effect (I used as much as I thought was necessary - probably 1/3-1/2 cup).  I used some of my crafting paper to make the ears (in pink and white).  It was a cute little bunny, not bad for someone who isn't very good at decorating cakes!!

VERDICT:

The cake was well-received by everyone!  Everyone thought it was pretty cute and said it was tasty.  My icing only eating 4 year old ate some of the cake, which rarely happens!  He even asked me to make him a bunny cake for his birthday party next weekend.  That's a good sign.  My husband, who "does not like cake" said that it was really good, which was also evident by how clean his cake plate was after dessert!  My maternal Grandparents, who joined us for dinner, both said "whoa, those are big pieces" when I was slicing the cake, but both of their plates were clean afterwards too!  I thought it was delicious, a nice, moist, heavy but not heavy cake (does that make sense?!), very tasty indeed.  The cream cheese icing was perfect - not overly sweet, and the unsweetened coconut on top was great too!  This one could become a new Easter tradition, you never know!

I am so excited to share with you that another of my recipes has been featured!  Thank you My Favorite Finds for featuring my Baked Not Fried Fries - these have been a popular post!  If you haven't checked out the recipe yet, you should.  They were so good!

Would love for you to "Like" me on Facebook! 

Scrumptious Sunday #1 Picks!

Good morning everyone!  As promised, I've picked three recipes to be featured this weekend from my first Scrumptious Sunday link party!  THANK YOU to everyone who partied! 

Those of you who are featured, I would love it if you would link back to my blog...either add in a link, grab my button, mention me in a post, whatever works for you!  Greatly appreciated! 

Here are this week's features:

1) #16 - Broccoli and Cheddar Soup from Scratch from Pocket Change Gourmet

2) #15 - Giant Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk Glaze from GirliChef

3) #35 - Easy Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken from Hot Eats and Cool Reads

These will also be featured on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AddictedToRecipes


Don't forget, tomorrow is Sunday....Scrumptious Sunday Link Party #2 will be on!  I look forward to reading everyone's submissions!