Oreo Truffles

These are fun, quick, bake-free treats! Although I dipped these in white chocolate, I personally prefer them in milk chocolate. I make these as party favors, if you're interested email me!

WHAT YOU NEED (Makes 27-30 truffles)

1 Package of Oreo Cookies
1 Package of Cream Cheese (8 OZ)
White chocolate, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate for coating.
Food Processor

LET'S GET STARTED

1. Place the entire package of Oreos in food processor and keep pressing until it turns into crumbs.
2. Add the cream cheese (I mixed the cream cheese with the crumbs by hand, and then back in the food processor) Make sure you do it quickly so the cream cheese doesn't get too soft.
3. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls, then put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
4. Melt the chocolate of your choice over a double boiler, or the microwave.
5. Dip the truffles in the chocolate, and place it back on wax paper or parchement paper. You can then deccorate with swirls, coconut, sugar dust, etc..


Enjoy!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

This dates back to the summer when I first got married. My mother in law made fruit smoothies all the time, and I couldn't get enough!

It's sunny today and strawberries are affordable, so I decided to make some for my son and I today with more fruits and less sugar!

WHAT YOU NEED
2 Naval Oranges (you can substitute 8 oz of OJ)
3 Bananas Peeled and Chopped
10 Strawberries Chopped
1/4 Cup yogurt
1/2 Cup Whipped Cream (or heavy cream whipped)
1/4 Cup of Honey (or a little less)
2 Cups of Milk

LET'S GET STARTED
1. Zest the oranges then squeeze them
2. Mix yogurt, milk and whipped Cream together
3. Blend in in strawberries, bananas, orange juice, zest of the oranges, and honey


Enjoy!!!!

Sugar & Spice Donuts

This is the second time I've made these donuts. I don't know if they are for everyone, if you are not into the spice, then just eliminate them (cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice). However, they are fun to make, especially if you have kids that can join ya! (Inspired by Neely's Maple Glazed donuts on foodnetwork)

WHAT YOU NEED (Makes about 20-25 depending on size of cookie cutter)

DOUGH
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup buttermilk (or milk)
3/4 cup pear sauce puree (you can get baby food pear, or boil some pears until soft then puree)
3 tablespoons melted salted butter
Cookie Cutter (you can use a glass or anythign with round surface if you don't have)

CHOCOLATE GLAZE (crispy cream recipe)

1/3 cup butter

2 cups of powder sugar

4-6 TBSP hot water

4 OZ of semi-sweet chocolate (about 1/2 a cup)

LET'S GET STARTED

1) Mix first 8 ingredients (dry) in one bowl)

2) Beat together the rest of the dough ingredients, then slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix with wooden spoon (don't over mix)

3) The dough will be extremly stick, but don't panic!

4) Heat Vegetable oil in a fryer or a pan.

5) Over clean surface, put a generous amount of flour, then spoon the dough on top. Flour your hands well and pat down flat (it should be abut 1/2 an inc thick, it will rise!).

6) Cut the circles out, and using a flat spatula, pick up the dough, and drop into the oil for 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

7) Keep repeating step 5 & 6 until you run out of dough.

8) Once fried, glaze your donuts and enjoy!

GLAZE

Heat the butter and chocolate together until smooth, slowly add powder sugar, and water. You should have a creamy smooth glaze. This glaze develps a thick skin very quickly, so if you do want to add sprinkles, make sure you dip and sprinkle right away!

HINT: Try to drop 1 or 2 donuts at a time, so the oil stays at the same temperature. There are alot of different glaze recipe. You can just mix milk and powder sugar with drop of vegetable oil until you get your consistency. You can also squeeze oranges and add powder sugar for orange flavor, etc..

ENJOY!

Chocolate Pancakes

I made these for my dear husband as a breakfast-in-bed gift! Although he is not a chocolate lover, he still enjoyed them (and so did I!) They are very chocolaty, so I don't recommend you making them unless you really LOVE chocolate!

WHAT YOU NEED

1/2 cup of bittersweet chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large eggs
1 large egg yolks
1.5 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

LET'S GET STARTED

1) Melt the chocolate and butter in heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until it's all melted and smoothed. Let it cool for few minutes.
2) Wisk together the eggs and sugar until creamed. Whisk in the melted chocolate, then fold in the flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
3) melt 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat pan, and drop a full tablespoon of batter into pan.
4) Cook for two minutes on each side. Repeat until you finish the batter!

HINT: Serve it with vanilla ice cream, or whip cream, to compliment taste of chocolate

Cranberries & Almond Oat Bars

I needed a quick snack for my son, who's slowly turning into a picky eater. At the same time, i didn't want something unhealthy and super sweet, so I looked at many recipes, and fixed up few things, and this is what I got!

This literally took me 5 minutes to make and 25 minutes to bake. Make a bunch and store them in an air tight container for up to a week.

WHAT YOU NEED

1.5 cups of oats
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup of butter
1/3 cup cranberries
1/3 cup shaved almonds
1 tablespoon of honey


LET'S GET STARTED


1) Pre-heat stove to 375
2) Line a baking pan with greased(pref butter) parchment paper
3) Mix all ingredients together
4) Place the mix in the baking pan and flatten. It should be about 1/4 of an inch high.
5) Bake until browned, about 23-25 minutes
6) Take the pan out, and wait 5 minutes
7) Use a pizza cutter, and cut into squares
8) Let it cool for another 15 minutes before taking it out

Good Luck!!!

HINTS

I first just buttered a pan, but it was very difficult to cut and remove the bars, so I used parchment paper, removed from pan, then sliced it with pizza cutter

Optional Icing: I used juice from cranberries and mixed with powdered sugar until it turned into a thick liquid

Banana Ice Cream for Infants & Toddlers

I found this recipe on 'First Meals & More' by Annabel Karmel, and added few more ingredients. It's SOOO EASY! It is natural and great dessert for kids, especially if they are teething. Did i mention, no sugar added! My son was a little hesitant at first because he never tasted something that cold, but he then just kept eating!

WHAT YOU NEED

1 Banana (per serving)
Yogurt
Heavy Cream (Optional)


LET'S GET STARTED

1) Peel banana, put in Ziploc bag and freeze.
2) Once frozen, cut into small pieces, and place on food processor (or mixer)
3) Add 1 tablespoon of yogurt, and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream.
4) Mix together, and voila!

Apple Zeppole

Ok so I was watching the food network and Giada made these look so easy and delicious so I thought I'd give them a try. They came out great (for my taste buds) but the best thing is, it took me 25 minutes to prepare the dough and cook them, so I highly recommend them!

WHAT YOU NEED

1 large apple, peeled and grated (I used a cheese grater) 1/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup water 1 cup flour 4 eggs confectioners' sugar for dusting Oil for frying (She recommends Olive, I used vegetable)

LET'S GET STARTED

1) In a sauce pan, bring the following to a boil: Butter, water, sugar, and salt.
2) Add flour and stir for about 5 minutes
3) Transfer the flour mixture into a bowl and beat smooth, then add one egg at a time
4) Add the grated apple into the mix, and stir with a spoon
5) Start Frying!

I used half a teaspoon because it doubled its size when it was fried, dry on a paper towel, transfer to a plate and sprinkle with confectioner sugar.

For more details, please visit:

Food Network Site

Enjoy!

Algerian Holidays Sweets

Marzipan Fruits

These are delicious homemade Almond Paste cookies from scratch, and I mean from scratch! I first peeled the almonds, roasted, and then turned them into powder. After mixing with sugar and eggs, the fun begins!

Now as much as I want to put the recipe up, I think this one will remain a secret as it is in the process of turning into a business.

Algerian Cuisine: Roses

It is the Algerian tradition to celebrate with sweets. Holidays, weddings, births, you name it, we bake it! The more variety, the better. It’s not uncommon to see 5-10 different almond/walnut sweets at Algerian celebrations. I tried these for the first time, although it takes practice to make them look as actual roses, they are worth it!


WHAT YOU NEED

Dough

3 Cups of Flour
1 Cup of Melted Butter
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
3-5 Tablespoons of Orange Blossom Water (OB)
Red/Blue Food Coloring

Mix flour, salt, and sugar, then add the melted butter. Knead the dough well, and add the OB slowly. Mix red and blue food coloring (3:1 ratio) to get a rose color. Set aside to prepare filling

Filling

1 Cup of Ground Walnuts
1/3 Cup of Confectioner Sugar
Zest of 1 Lemon (I used orange)
1-2 Teaspoons of Orange Blossom Water (OB)


Mix the first three ingredients then add OB slowly. Mixture should not be too soft or too sticky but smooth when you roll it in your hand.

Syrup

1 Cup of Honey
1 Tablespoon of Orange Blossom Water (OB)

Melt honey in the microwave for about 45 seconds so it liquefies, then add OB.

LET’S GET STARTED

1) Pre-heat oven to 350, butter a tray then sprinkle with flour and set aside.
2) Roll the dough on a flat surface, use a cookie cutter or something circular to cut our even circles ( I used my napkin ring holder)
3) Place 5 circles overlapping each other
4) Roll the walnut mixture in a thin log and place in lower half of the circles
5) Roll the circles slowly from one end to the other, then cut the ending with a sharp knife. Place on tray, and repeat.
6) Bake for about 20-25 minutes
7) As soon as it comes out of the oven, dip the roses in the honey syrup then set aside on wax paper and voila!

This should make about 25-30 roses!

Enjoy!

(Click on Image to view a closup)

Eggless Tiramisu

This is a quick, easy to make dessert that always gets the crowd excited! However, there’s always a guest or two who are pregnant or nursing, not to mention little kids. I had to remake the recipe by making it raw eggs free and flexible with caffeine.

WHAT YOU NEED

8 oz Mascarpone Cheese
12 oz Cool Whip (or 2-3 cups of Heavy whipping cream)
2 Tablespoon Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup of Sugar (1 Cup if using Whipping Cream)
Cocoa Powder
1 Cup of Room Temperature Caffeine-Free Coffee (as strong or light as you want)
15 Lady Fingers (depending on size of your dish)

LET’S GET STARTED

1) If using Whipping Cream, beat until it looks like cool whip.
2) Beat Mascarpone Cheese and Cream Cheese with sugar, then add one tablespoon from the coffee you made
3) Fold the cheese with the whip
4) Start layering:

Quick Dip lady fingers in the coffee, then layer them on tray (They should not be soaked)
Pour half of the cheese mixture on top
Cover with Cocoa powder
Repeat for second layer

Creative Tip: You can add vanilla flavor to whip. Nutella can also be added to the whip for a more chocolaty flavor.

This recipe serves about 10-15 people