St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

Pin It Having grown up in St. Louis my whole life I just assumed that everyone knows about toasted ravioli, frozen custard and gooey butter cake.  Apparently I'm wrong.  If you have never experienced a gooey butter cake you are missing out.  But the good news is you don't have to travel to St. Louis to taste this delectable treat.   You also only need 5 ingredients!!!!  This is definitely going to be my go-to dessert for summer gatherings this year.

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs, divided
1 stick butter, melted
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix cake mix, butter and 1 egg.  Press mixture into the bottom of a greased  9 x 13 pan.
3. In a bowl combine cream cheese, 2 eggs and powdered sugar.  Mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
4. Pour over cake mix crust and bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
5. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cooled.

Coca Cola Cake

Pin It We have family dinners every Sunday.  I am in charge of dessert.  I like to get creative and make new tasty creations to share with everyone.  Sundays are also my excuse to try out all of the recipes that I find on Pinterest because I have lots of hungry mouths ot share with.  (This also prevents me from having to eat the entire cake myself.) 
I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest and it's definitely a winner.  It's moist, gooey and chocolately without being overly rich or sweet.  Delicious when served with fresh strawberries or whipped cream.

Coca Cola Cake
2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup cola

1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk with 1 tsp vinegar)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Glaze
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup cola
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Add flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon to a mixing bowl.

3. In a saucepan melt butter.  Add cocoa, cola and buttermilk and bring to a boil.  Watch closely because it bubbles up quite quickly once it starts to boil.

4. Mix butter mixture with dry ingredients.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.

5. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Just before cake is done baking make the glaze.  Melt butter in a saucepan.  Add cocoa and cola and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar until there are no lumps.

7. Pour glaze over hot cake.  It will look like the cake is floating, but it really isn't too much glaze.  Don't worry.

8.  Allow cake to cool slightly and glaze to set before serving.  Delicious served warm or room temperature.  Leftovers are amazing.

Mini Donuts

Pin It I got some pretty awesome presents this year, but one of my favorites that is definitely going to get a lot of use is my Babycakes Mini Donut Maker.  Whip up delicious donuts in a matter of minutes.  I'm so excited to use this on one of those days that I really want donuts, but don't want to venture out to get some.  These are also much healthier than your average onut because they are not fried.  This was my first attempt and they turned out pretty good.  I will definitely be experimenting so look forward to new donut recipes soon.  This recipe makes 24 mini donuts.  I know this sounds like a lot, but since they are small they tend to get gobbled up.

Mini Donuts
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 Tbsp vegetable oil

Powdered sugar
cinnamon and sugar

Chocolate Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp milk

1. Turn on donut maker to allow it to heat up.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Add egg, milk and vanilla and mix unil large lumps are gone.
4. Stir in oil until well blended.
5. Generously coat donut maker with cookig spray.
6. Put batter into a gallon size ziptop bag and seal.  Cut off one corner so the batter can flow out.**
7. Fill each donut mold with about 2 T of mixture.  Work quickly because the machine is very hot and starts to cook immediately.
8. Close lid and allow donuts to cook for about 5 minutes.  (Wait at least 3 minutes before checking on them or the donuts will split in half)
9. Remove from maker to cool.

** My instruction manual recommended using a bag to pour the batter into the molds.  It worked well for filling the donuts, but since the batter is quite runny it would leak out between batches.  I tried to spoon the batter into the molds and ended up with a mess and donuts without holes.  That being said, use the bag to fill your molds, but have a container to rest the bag in so you don't end up with a disaster.**
Topping Options
For powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar coated donuts:

1. Put sugar mixture of your choice (about 1/2 cup) in a brown paper lunch bag. 
2. As soon as donuts are finished cooking, put them in the bag and shake until they are covered.
3. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

For Chocolate Glazed donuts:

1. Mix glaze ingredients until smooth.
2. Allow donuts to cool completely before frosting.
3. Dip donut tops in glaze and allow to dry on a wire rack.

Gooey Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pin It While I have been MIA, I have not been idle.  I was also anxiously awaiting my early Christmas present from my hubby: a brand new high def camera so I can take decent pictures of my culinary creations.  Lots of posts in the days to follow. 
These are my go-to cookie recipe for the holidays (or really any time of the year).  I learned to make these while working at a catering company when I was 16.  They have been a staple in my kitchen ever since.  I love them because I generally have all of the ingredients handy.  The recipe is also quite versatile and can be changed to a new flavor instantly.



Gooey Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix

1 pkg cream cheese, softened (can be reduced fat, but not fat free)

1/2 stick butter, softened

1 egg

1 cup mini chocolate chips

powdered sugar

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cream butter, cream cheese and egg until smooth.

3. Mix in cake mix until well combined.

4. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Pour about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl.  Drop tablespoon sized globs (not perfect balls or sugar won't stick) into the powdered sugar and coat well.

6. Place dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or unil golden brown on bottom and when the cookies can be picked up off of the parchment paper without sticking.

Nutella Fruit Dip

Pin It So you probably noticed the 2 tone fruit dip in the last post.  That's because I was feeling creative and decided to make 2 flavors or dip for a holiday gathering.  My fruit dip recipe is extremely versatile.  You could add any flavor of yogurt, pudding, peanut butter, or anything else delicious you can blend in to the mixture.

Nutella Fruit Dip
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 c Nutella
1 container whipped topping

1. Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
2. Stir in Nutella until well blended.
3. Fold in whipped topping.
4. Serve with fruits, cookies and graham crackers.

Crowd Pleasing Fruit Dip

Pin It Albert loves fruit dip.  He would eat it all day if I let him.  I don't mind making it though because then I know he will eat some fruit.  It has now become our go-to item to bring to potlucks and family gatherings because everyone loves it.  Only 3 ingredients and you can easily whip it up in 5 minutes.  Leftovers keep for up to a week in your fridge.

Crowd Pleasing Fruit Dip
1 pkg cream cheese (reduced fat is fine), softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tub whipped topping

1. Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
2. Fold in cool whip until well blended.
3. Enjoy on your favorite fruits or graham crackers and cookies.