Cream Cheese Sausage Dip

Sometimes I like to pretend like I don't sit around in my pajamas eating things like this and watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but really I'm just lying to myself.  This dip is kind of a play off of the very Texas queso dip made with velveeta, but with this recipe you know exactly what the cheese portion of the recipe is made out of!  Hope you enjoy this as much as I do with or without the reality tv. 

Cream Cheese Sausage Dip

1 lb. spicy sausage

2 (10 oz.) cans rotel*

2 (8 oz.) pkgs cream cheese

*I like my dips kind of saucy instead of thick, use one can and then adjust from there.

In a large skillet cook the sausage until completely cooked through and browned over medium heat, drain the excess fat.  Add the rotel and the packages of cream cheese and stir over medium heat until the cream cheese is melted and everything is warmed through.  Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

-D

Cinnamon Ripple Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

I always like the idea of breakfast foods that could also be dessert...then you don't have to feel guilty about the large amounts of sugar you're consuming before noon.  I took three different recipes I found online and combined them to make one mega-muffin so there are three different components, the muffin, the topping, and the cream cheese filling.  I think it would be good without one of them, but with their powers combined (Captain Planet shout-out) they really make a great treat for the morning.  This recipe definitely doesn't save you from calories, but if you need a pick me up in the morning to get you to lunch, these should definitely do the job.

Cinnamon Ripple Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

Makes 12 muffins

For the cinnamon ripple:

1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed

4 tbl butter, softened and cut into small pieces

1/4 c. flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

For the batter:

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. oats

1/2 c. flour

4 tbl. butter, softened

For the cream cheese filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and grease a 12 muffin tin.

First, let's make the cream cheese filling since it needs to sit in the freezer for awhile.  In a bowl combine the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Spread the mixture into a log formation on a piece of saran wrap.  Wrap tightly with the saran wrap into the log shape and put in your freezer for at least 1 hour, but preferably 2. 

Next,  make the cinnamon ripple by combining the brown sugar, butter, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl with a fork until completely combined.  Set aside.  Then, make the topping by combining the brown sugar, oats, flour, and brown sugar in a bowl with a fork until combined, set aside.

Now onto the muffins!  In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In the stand of a mixer beat the butter and the sugar until fluffy and light in color.   Add both eggs, milk, and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined.  Pour the cinnamon ripple mixture on top and fold with a spatula just a few times.  Use a scoop (I used an ice cream scoop) to fill the muffin tin (this made 12 muffins for me).  Next, take the cream cheese mixture from the freezer and divide into 12 equal sized pieces.  Drop one piece into each filled muffin tin, pushing it down into the middle of the muffin.   Then, evenly divide your topping between the 12 muffins.  (Are you exhausted yet from all these steps?  I'm exhausted from typing them.)

Bake the muffins for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the muffin (be careful not to prick the side with the cream cheese) comes out clean.  Let cool for about 5 minutes and then enjoy!

-D

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

I think I've been living under a rock.  A very big rock where there is no such thing as chocolate cream cheese frosting.  It may be because I am a vanilla cake and frosting kind of girl but the thought had never crossed my mind that chocolate could be added to cream cheese frosting.  This recipe is creamy and very chocolatey with a tang of cream cheese.  I only did half the recipe to cover some funfetti cupcakes (the only boxed cake mix worth buying!), and I wish I had made the full batch so I could eat it with everything in the house.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
from Cupcake Project

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
4 c. powdered sugar (I didn't use the full amount since I wasn't piping it and it was plenty sweet)
1/2 c. cocoa powder

Beat the cream cheese and butter together in a stand mixer until smooth and creamy.  Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time until fully incorporated.  Then, add the cocoa powder.  Eat by the handful while no one is watching...maybe that's just a step for me.

-D

Baked Sunday Mornings: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we're baking Red Velvet Whoopie Pies this weekend over at the Baked Sunday Mornings group. If I had to describe these, I would say they were ruby-colored gems, sent down on a cloud from heaven. No doubt about it, these were good. Apparently the whoopie pie is the state dessert of Maine. They know what they're doing up there. These whoopie pies were soft and cakey with classic cream cheese frosting in the middle. If loving this dessert is wrong, I don't want to be right.


I can't wait to try these again! Head over to the Baked blog for the recipe and to see the other member's pies!

Baked Sunday Mornings: Double Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread

Wow! That title is a mouthful. And so is this double chocolate loaf. I have to say, this has been my favorite recipe so far from the Baked Explorations book. Or maybe it was the Sweet and Salty Brownie. Maybe I have a chocolate obsession.


I mixed it up this time and made mini loaves instead of one big loaf. There is only so much one girl can eat. The loaf has cocoa AND chocolate chunks running through it, and I'm just fine with that. Let's not forget the spread that goes along with this. It's. divine. It creates a perfect companion to this loaf. I'll be making this again for sure. Head over to the Baked blog if you want the recipe!

{T}

Eggnog Spiced Cookies

To me there are two different types of people during the holidays. Those who love eggnog and those who refuse to drink it, for what reasons, I have no clue. I refer to those in the second category as the grinches of Christmas. Nothing says the holidays to me like a big cup of egg-nog with nutmeg sprinkled on top. Lucky for me you can buy eggnog by the gallon during this time of year and I decided to do a little more than just drink it.....

This recipe is for an Eggnog Spiced Cookie with Eggnog Cream Cheese Glaze. Yeah, it's a mouthful, but if you're a fan of all things nutmeg then it's worth a try. The end result is a thick spice-filled cookie with a creamy glaze that will definitely trigger all things Christmas. I'm going to be honest, if these cookies were people then you'd probably say they "have a nice personality". But just because these aren't the cookie equivalent to Heidi Klum doesn't mean they aren't very tasty. Here are the two original links I used for the cookies and the glaze. I'll detail below the couple of changes I made and the changes I will make in the future when I make them again.

First, for the cookies. The recipe calls for all white sugar, but per the comments to the recipe I used 1/2 c. of brown sugar and 3/4 c. of white sugar for a little more taste. Also, again per the comments, I only used 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg. This proved to be more than enough as the flavor comes through in the eggnog, the frosting, and the garnish on top.

For the glaze, I just replaced the milk with eggnog and used probably about 4 tablespoons instead of the 3 in the recipe along with adding another tablespoon of powdered sugar. Note to the wise, make sure your cream cheese is fully creamed in the mixer before adding said eggnog. My end result was less than profesional with some cream cheese chunks still in it.

I hope all the other fellow eggnog lovers out there will appreciate this post, and hopefully you can sway "those other people" to come over to our side with the cookies.

-D

Rustic Strawberry Tart

Summertime has some great qualities, doesn't it? Vacations, lazy days by the pool, a carefree attitude that even catches up with those of us who spend most days (summer or not) inside working. And lets not forget the blessing of the most wonderful assortment of summer fruit in our grocery store. It all makes the heat a little more bearable, for a few seconds anyway.

Rustic Strawberry Tart: easy peasey, just like summer. This is the kind of dessert you can whip up in a jiffy and still impress people. And because there is a heaping mound of fruit on top, you can even pass this off as breakfast. Here we go:

1 pie crust
6 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 to 2 lbs fresh strawberries

Start by mixing together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

Roll out your pie crust to about 12 inches round. I used a homemade pie crust I had in my freezer, but store bought or any other kind will also work.

 

Spread cream cheese mixture over pie crust. Leave a 1 inch border around the crust so you can fold the edges over later.

 

Place strawberries on top of cream cheese mixture. This can be as informal or particularly placed as you want it to be.

 

 

Fold over and lightly crimp the edges around the tart.



Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.



Get baking!

~T