Disney's "The Grey Stuff" Copycat Recipe

 Photo Source: amomblog.com 

"Try the Grey Stuff! It's delicious! Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!" The recipe at the infamous "Be Our Guest" Restaurant in Disney World, may be a little more complicated, but the recipe is so similar and has had rave reviews! Basically, this is an oreo mousse! Yum! This recipe is paired up with the Family Movie Night: Beauty and the Beast!

Photo Source: attractionsmagazine.com

Ingredients: 

1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

1 1/2 cup milk

15 regular Oreos

1 (8-ounce) tub whipped topping

3 tablespoons instant chocolate pudding mix

edible pearl sprinkles, for garnish

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, mix the vanilla pudding mix and the milk with a whisk. Set in the fridge to chill for 5-10 minutes. 

Place the Oreos in a food processor and blend until they are fine crumbs with no chunks. 

Take the pudding from the fridge and mix in the Oreo crumbs. The mixture should be a dark gray/black color. Then, fold in the container of whipped topping. The color will be lighter. Next, mix in the chocolate pudding mix and stir until completely combined! 

To serve: using a cake decorating bag and a Wilton 1M Star Tip. Swirl a small amount onto a dish and  top with a few of the pearl sprinkles. An alternate serving style is to swirl a small amount on top of a graham cracker to make it look more like it does in the movie! 

Source: The Disney Diner

Strawberry Pizza

A sweet fruit topping with a cookie-like crust. Looking for a sweet dessert pizza? Here it is! The dough for this pizza, seems like a mix between a cookie and pie crust. It has a layer of sweet cream cheese filling and is topped with fresh strawberries and a strawberry glaze. We made this with our "pizza decorating" meal!


Ingredients
For the crust:
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups crushed strawberries 


Directions:
Make the crust: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and cream until it forms a dough like consistency. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough. Place the dough on a 12 inch pizza pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Let cool completely before adding any toppings.

Make the filling:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Spread over the crust and top with the sliced strawberries. 

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and crushed berries until blended. Bring to a boil, let boil and stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened. Let cool slightly and then spoon over the pizza. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Need a dinner idea to go with this? Try our "pizza decorating" dinner!

Source:What Megan's Making

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookie and Icing

We love this recipe! It so easy to make and we usually have all the ingredients in the house. This recipe is made for cutting out shapes and decorating. I used this recipe to make a birthday gift to Grandma from my 19 month old, "painted" cookies, check out that post here. 


Ingredients:

For the cookies:  **This recipe makes about 30 cookies. 
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Icing: **If you are using this for "painting cookies, add more milk to make the icing easier for little kids to "paint" their cookies with.
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla



Directions:
1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour baking powder and salt. Cover and chill for at least one hour (or overnight). 

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough on a floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. 

3. Bake 6-8 minutes. Let cool completely before decorating. 



To Make The Icing:
1. Combine all ingredients with fork, until smooth. **To make painting icing, add a tiny bit more milk to make it thinner and easier to "paint" with. 








Source: tablespoon.com, allrecipes.com

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these for the first time for Valentine's day 2 years ago. They are amazing! It's a delicious red velvet cake recipe and the frosting is amazing! This is a Paula Deen recipe, and it is always my go to recipe for red velvet cake. I hope you like it as much as I did!


Ingredients:

For the Cake:
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teapsoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting: 
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
chopped pecans for garnish



Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin pans with cupcake liners. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Divided the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 of the way full. Bake the cupcakes for 20-22 minutes, making sure to turn the pans once, halfway through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick to make sure they are done, and let them cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar in on low speed, until thoroughly mixed. Beat the frosting on high until the cream cheese frosting is light and fluffy.




Enjoy!






Source:  pauladeen.com

S'mores Cookie Bars

 

A graham cracker cookie crust sandwiched between a layer of warm melted chocolate, and a layer gooey melted marshmallow. These will make you feel like your eating s'mores at a campfire! Everytime these cookie bars are made, they are gone within a few hours!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 king-sized Hershey's chocolate bars

1 1/2 cups of marshmallow creme or fluff

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease an 8-inch baking pan

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. 

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter and sugar mixture, and mix until thoroughly combined.

4. Divide the dough in half. Press half of the dough evenly onto the bottom of your prepared baking pan. Lay out the chocolate bars in even layers (breaking the chocolate if you have to). Spread the marshmallow creme on top of the chocolate. Then, roll the dough out between 2 sheets of parchment paper, until about the size of your pan (try not to go any bigger). Gently, remove the parchment paper and place the dough on top of the marshmallow creme. 

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until light golden brown. Let cool slightly before enjoying (they taste better warm)!

*TIP: Heat the leftover room temperature cookie bars in the microwave for 30 seconds to make the chocolate and marshmallow warm and melted again! 

Enjoy! :)

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

Peach Raspberry Popsicles

A healthy, yet sweet treat that will satisfy any sweet tooth. A creamy greek yogurt based popsicle, combines fresh peaches and raspberries to make a treat that anyone would love!

Ingredients:

1 cup fat free greek yogurt

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 peach, skinned and chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Place the raspberries in a blender, and blend until smooth. Push the mixture through a strainer to strain out and discard any seeds.

2. Place the mixture back into the blender and add the greek yogurt, peach, lemon juice, and sugar and blend until smooth.

3. Pour the mixture into popsicle molds and put the in the freezer until frozen. 

Enjoy! :) 

Source: fooddonelight.com

S'mores Bar and Free Recipe Printable

S'mores are the perfect dessert! We eat them in the summer at a cookout, and during the winter with a bonfire! They are a year round dessert that is sure to please everyone! Try making a s'mores bar for you guests at your next outdoor cookout or bonfire! The key to a great s'mores bar is variation. We all know and love the traditional s'mores recipe, but try mixing it up by laying out tons of different options! Have a variety of different cookies, flavored marshmallows, candy bars and chocolates, and fun add-in's.

Cracker Variations:

 Traditional Graham Crackers

Chocolate Graham Crackers

Chocolate Covered Mint Cookies

Chocolate Striped Cookies 

Chocolate Variations:

Traditional Hershey's Bar

White Chocolate Bar

Peanut Butter Cup

Carmel Filled Chocolate Bars

Dark Chocolate Bar

Fun Add-In's:

 Flavored Marshmallows (Strawberry, Chocolate, Mint)

Marshmallow Creme or Fluff

Nutella

Peanut Butter

Fruit (Strawberries, Raspberries, Bananas)

Caramel Sauce

Butterscotch Sauce

Take this free printable, frame it, and put it out on your s'mores bar! Let all your guests know what the best s'mores combinations are. Click here to download the s'mores recipe printable.

Sources: martieknows.squarespace.com

bettycrocker.com 

Strawberry Torte

 

This beautiful swirled torte dessert is perfect for summertime. It combines fresh sweet strawberries to make a homemade angel food cake with a whip cream and strawberry swirl inside.  

Ingredients:

unsalted butter, for buttering the pan

8 extra-large eggs, room temperature, separated

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted

1 pint (16 ounces) heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

1 quart strawberries, washed, dried, hulls removed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a jelly roll pan, and then line with parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar together until light in color, about 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Add cake flour and baking powder and stir until well combined.

3. With an electric mixer, beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into flour mixture.

4. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 20 minutes, until cake springs back when touched.

5. Set aside 6 strawberries for garnish. Thinly slice the remaining strawberries. With an electric mixer, beat heavy cream on medium speed. Add remaining vanilla and 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Set half of the whip cream aside, and add sliced strawberries into the other half. 

6. Lay a clean kitchen towel out on a clean surface, with the short end facing you. Dust the towel with the confectioners' sugar. Flip cake onto towel, remove from baking sheet, and peel off parchment paper. Using the towel, roll the cake away from you and let cool.

7. Unroll the cake. Gently spread the strawberry and whip cream mixture onto the full surface of the cake, and the gently re-roll the cake. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and spread the reserved whip cream onto the top and sides of the cake. Garnish the top with set aside strawberries. 

Enjoy! :)

Source: marthastewart.com

4th of July Snack Mix

 

The perfect snack mix for a sweet and salty 4th of July treat! Fill up individual bags or paper cups for a take home treat from you cookout party! 

Ingredients:

Mini pretzels

Popcorn (air-popped)

Cereal (Chex Mix, Cheerios, your choice)

Peanuts (or any nut of your choice)

M&M's (or other candy)

Festive sprinkles

Chocolate for melting (white, milk or dark)

Directions:

1. On a sheet pan, spread out the pretzels, popcorn, cereal, and peanuts. Do not over fill the pan, you will need room to move them around.

2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is fully melted and smooth.

3. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the sheet pan of snacks, you can lightly stir or toss the snacks to coat them even more with chocolate. While the chocolate is still warm add the M&M's and sprinkles. Stir lightly to combine

4. Spread the snack mix back out onto the sheet pan. If you want, you can drizzle with additional chocolate. Let the mixture cool completely, and then begin to break it apart.

5. Store in an air tight bag or container. The mixture will be fresh for 2-3 days

Enjoy :)

Source: glorioustreats.com

Berry Flag Pull-Apart Cake

 

"This showstopping flag dessert combines sweet vanilla cake with colorful strawberries and blueberries for a patriotic 4th of July treat."

-Christina Stanley-Salerno

Ingredients:

For Vanilla Cake:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil 

4 eggs

2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:

2 (8 ounce) packaged of cream cheese

1/2 stick of unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

For the Topping:

25-30 Strawberries, cut in half and thinly sliced
3/4 cup blueberries

Directions:

1. Make The Batter: Preheat oven to 350°. Place 20 cupcake liners in 2 (12 cup) cupcake pans. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add the flour, milk, oil, baking powder and vanilla and beat for another minute, until batter is smooth and creamy. Fill each cupcake liner 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full.

2. Bake The Cupcakes: Bake for 18 - 21 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Take the cupcakes out of the pan, and set them out until the have cooled completely.

3. Make The Frosting: With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. Slowly add in the confectioners' sugar and beat until thoroughly combined.

4. Assemble The Cake: Ice each cupcake. Deceorate 4 cupcakes with 4 rows of blueberries. With the remaining 16 cupcakes, decorate with 4 rows of 2-3 strawberries. Line the cupcakes up side by side, with the blueberry cupcakes in the far left corner to resemble a flag. Serve immediately or chill for up to 2 hours. 

Enjoy :)

Source :spoonful.com

Patriotic Ice Cream Sandwich Pops

 

Who doesn't LOVE Ice Cream Sandwiches? This is an easy way to dress up a family favorite and serve it at any BBQ or Cookout Party! Its even on a stick! Which means you can easily spend more time watching fireworks!

Ingredients:

Cake Pop Sticks

Box of Ice Cream Sandwhiches

Festive Sprinkles

Festive Cupcake Wrappers

Directions:

1. Cut the Ice Cream Sandwich in half (if desired)

2. Place on stick and add sprinkles to the edges, leave in freezer on wax paper until its time to serve.

3. Serve on a festive cupcake wrapper   

Enjoy! :)

Source: livinglocurto.com

Red, White and Blue Marshmallow Pops

These Marshmallow Pops will brighten up any 4th of July BBQ or Cookout Party! They are fun to eat, yet simple to make! Did I mention they taste amazing? Anything on stick is fun for a kid, so go ahead and give these a try at your next BBQ Party!

Ingredients: 

Bag of large Marshmallows

Cake Pop Sticks (decorative straws will work too)

Chocolate, for meltin

Lots of festive sprinkles

Directions: 

1. Melt the chocolate (it can milk, dark, white, or semi-sweet)

2. While the chocolate is melting place the marshmallows on the sticks, and pour the sprinkles out onto a plate or in a bowl.

3. Once the chocolate has melted, dip the marshmallow in, making sure to cover all sides. Hold it over the chocolate until it stops dripping. Then roll in the sprinkles, making sure to get an even coat.

4. You can lay the marshmallow pop on its side, on the top of the marshmallow, or you can have them stay upright by using a cardboard box with holes for the sticks, a piece of styrofoam, or by using a cake pop stand!

Enjoy! :)

Photo Source: melaniescrafts.blogspot.com

Brownie And Fruit Kebabs

 

The perfect dessert for a fun day! It has fruit, chocolate, and marshmallows! You can even drizzle it with more chocolate! And best of all.. its on a stick! The kids will love this. Its an easy dessert, that you don't need a plate and fork to eat, so you can spend more time watching the fireworks! 

Ingredients: 

9x13-inch pan of brownies (chilled and cut into 1 inch cubes)

1 pint of blueberries

1 pint of strawberries, hulled

Bag of Large Marshmallows

Hot Fudge Sauce for drizzling (optional)

Wooden Skewers

Directions: 

1. Alternate putting brownies, blueberries, strawberries, and marshmallows onto skewer

2. Drizzle with hot fudge sauce

Enjoy! :)

Source: melskitchencafe.com

Stars and Stripes Cookies

 

"Celebrate the freedom to express your creativity with this recipe for NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Stars and Stripes Cookies.An inspired display of American pride - these star-shaped cookies are decorated with red juicy strawberries and plump blueberries on velvety white cream cheese - all topped with a sprinkle of chocolate chip mini morsels.These star-spangled cookies are the perfect Independence Day treat."

-verybestbaking.com 

Ingredients:
1 pkg of Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Dough
1 pkg of Light Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup of Sugar
24 fresh, medium Strawberries, sliced
3/4 cup of fresh Blueberries
2 tbsp of Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º

2. Roll cookie dough between two pieces of wax paper, until it is 1/4 inch thick

3. Cut the dough into star shapes and place on an ungreased baking sheet

4. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown, use a knife to press the sides to keep the star shape. Let cool completely

5. Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a small mixing bowl until fluffy

6. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the cookies. Top each cookie with strawberries (facing outward to resemble a star), blueberries and chocolate mini morsels

Enjoy! :)

Source: verybestbaking.com

Flag Cake Pops

A patriotic way to display a sweet dessert! Cake pops are so easy to make! Just make any cake (even a box kind), crumble it after it bakes, mix it with icing to make it firm. Roll into balls, and dip into melted chocolate. In this case, you would used white chocolate and dye it blue and red, add some white chocolate strips and pearl candies or sprinkles for the stars!

Source: bedifferentactnormal.com

Snickers Cake

I made this Snickers Cake for Father's Day this year! It was unbelievably delicious! The cake is so moist and the nougat filling tastes just like a candy bar! It was so rich, that I opted out of the chocolate ganache, and just used a ice cream topping caramel sauce. I highly recommend this! The best chocolate cake recipe I have ever used!

"A cake reminiscent of a Snickers bar - chocolate cake with a peanut nougat filling, covered in a salted caramel buttercream and topped with a milk chocolate ganache and chopped peanuts." 

-The Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

For the Cake:
2½ cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup + 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1½ cups strong black coffee, hot
¾ cup vegetable oil
4½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Nougat Filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup evaporated milk
1½ cups marshmallow fluff
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups salted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup salted caramel sauce
2 cups powdered sugar

For the Milk Chocolate Ganache:
8 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
4 ounces (½ cup) heavy cream

For the Assembly & Garnish:
Additional salted caramel sauce
Chopped peanuts

Directions:

1. Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper, grease the parchment, then flour the insides of the pans, tapping out excess; set aside. 

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or large mixing bowl if you're using a hand mixer), sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for an additional 20 seconds (the batter will be very thin). 

4. Divide the batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pans in the oven. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs), about 12 more minutes. Cool the cakes (in the pans) on wire racks for 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.

5. Make the Nougat Filling: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and evaporated milk, stirring until dissolved, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and add the marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, and vanilla extract, stirring until completely smooth. Fold in the peanuts. Let the nougat mixture cool to room temperature before using it in the cake. You can do this leaving it at room temperature or you can pop it into the refrigerator to speed up the process. Be sure to give a stir occasionally as it cools.

6. Make the Frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 5 minutes (I like to use the whisk attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer, but it's not necessary). Pour in the salted caramel and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until it has all been incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional two to three minutes, until light and fluffy.

7. Assemble the Cake: If your cakes baked up uneven or have domed on top, level off the tops. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Cover with half of the nougat filling and then spread a couple spoonfuls of the salted caramel sauce over top to evenly cover the nougat filling. Top with a second cake layer and cover with the remaining nougat filling and top with caramel sauce. Place the final cake layer on top face-down. Frost the cake with the salted caramel frosting, finishing it as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour, until the frosting is set.

8. Make the Chocolate Ganache: While the cake chills, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and warm until it just comes to a boil. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Begin whisking the mixture in the center, gradually working your way outward until the ganache is completely smooth. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally, until it has thickened slightly, yet still a pourable consistency.

9. Garnish the Cake: Transfer the ganache to a 2-cup measuring cup. Slowly pour the chocolate ganache into the center of the cake, letting it push itself outward and flow over the sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes, giving the ganache a chance to set up. To finish garnishing, drizzle some additional salted caramel sauce over the top and side of the cake, and top with chopped peanuts. Keep the cake refrigerated, removing it from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to serving.

Enjoy :)

Source: The Brown Eyed Baker