Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

Recipe Adapted From:
Weight Watchers

Ingredients:
1 box Spice Cake Mix
15 oz. can of pumpkin
½ cup water

Preparation:
Combine ingredients and mix well with mixer. Pour into lightly sprayed 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 32-35 minutes. Cool. Cut into 20 pieces. Serve with fat-free Cool Whip. 1 point per serving.
For bundt pan, spray lightly and bake 38-40 minutes or until done. Can heat 2 Tbsp. of canned cream cheese frosting in microwave and drizzle over cake. Serves 20. 1 point per serving.

Notes & Tips:
I made this as a bundt cake. I "iced" it with about 1/2 cup canned vanilla frosting that I melted in the microwave for 25 seconds and poured over the cake. If you're using this for weight watchers it's 1 point for 1/20 of the cake. You can make this as muffins if you'd rather, just cook for about 20-23 mins. instead. Super easy, quick, and not horrible for you.

Butterscotch Chocolate Cake

Recipe Adapted From:
Taste of Home Cookbook 2010

Ingredients:

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) chocolate cake mix
1 jar (17 ounces) butterscotch ice cream topping
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 Butterfinger candy bars (2.1 ounces each), coarsely crushed

Preparation:
Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, poke 12 holes in warm cake. Pour butterscotch topping over cake; cool completely.
Spread with whipped topping; sprinkle with candy. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Notes & Tips:
I didn't have a box of chocolate cake mix, so I made my own. I used a yellow cake mix plus 1/4 cup cocoa powder. This cake was a huge hit!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Recipe Adapted From:
101 Cookbooks

Ingredients:
■ 2 cups all purpose flour
■ 1 cup cocoa, sifted
■ 1/2 teaspoon salt
■ 2 teaspoon baking soda
■ 1 teaspoon allspice
■ 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
■ 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
■ 1/4 cup melted butter
■ 3/4 cup vegetable oil
■ 3 eggs
■ 1 teaspoon vanilla
■ 1/2 cup buttermilk
■ 2 cups zucchini, washed and dried, ends and stems removed, cut in half lengthwise and seeded, and grated
■ 1 cup dark chocolate chips (you can also use semi-sweet if you prefer)

Preparation:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 20 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2.In a large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, allspice and cinnamon; set aside.
3.In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, butter and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined. Stir in vanilla, buttermilk, zucchini and chocolate chips. Gently stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
4.Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and muffin tops are springy to the touch, 20 to 24 minutes; rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Notes & Tips:
If you use 1/4 cup scoop to measure out batter, you will end up with more than 20 muffins...oh darn! This is a great way to use up some of that surplus zucchini you have from the summer crops.

Nutrition Facts:
Just be happy you're adding a vegetable into a treat!

Strawberry Lemonade Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon zest, then blend in the eggs one at a time.

Stir in about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix well, then add in vanilla extract and half of the lemon juice. Add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining juice and the remaining flour mix. Stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Mix in finely chopped strawberries quickly, just to distribute them evenly into the batter.

Spoon batter out into prepared muffin cups. The muffin cups should be very full.

Bake for 17-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, or with only a few moist crumbs attached. Start at 17 mins and keep adding time in 3 min. increments until cooked through. Turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins.

Notes & Tips:
You'll need about 3 or 4 large lemons to get enough juice for the quantity needed. Please use fresh lemons and strawberries. It gives the muffins a fizzy pop. Also, the 1 1/2 cup chopped strawberries looks like alot but the amount is just about perfect. Fresh and delicious. The muffins don't rise very much so feel free to fill the cups to the top.

Monster Cookies

Recipe Taken From:
www.thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients:

* 2 sticks (1/2 Pound) Butter (salted) Softened
* ½ cups White Sugar
* 1-½ cup Brown Sugar, Packed
* 2 whole Large Eggs
* 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
* 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
* ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
* 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
* 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
* 1-½ cup Oats (either Quick Or Regular)
* ½ cups M & M's (more To Taste)
* ½ cups Pecans, Chopped (more To Taste)
* ¾ cups Chocolate Chips (milk Or Semi-sweet)
* ½ cups Peanut Butter Chips
* 2-¼ cups Rice Krispies

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter with sugars until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add to mixing bowl and mix till combined. After that, add in remaining ingredients in whatever quantity you prefer. Add more nuts if you’d like, or more M & M’s, more peanut butter chips or chocolate chips.

Add Rice Krispies at the very end, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix!

Use a cookie scoop to scoop balls of dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, then allow to cool on a rack.

Serve with glasses of cold milk.

Notes & Tips:
These are sooo yummy. I was a little disappointed that they weren't as fluffy as I wanted them to be.

Oreo Dirt Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 18 Oz Package Oreo Cookies
• 1 8oz package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 small boxes Jell-O Vanilla Flavored Instant Pudding
• 3 Cups Milk
• 1 8 Oz. Package of Cool Whip (thawed)

Preparation:
Pour half of the crumbled cookies into bottom of dessert or casserole dish. Mix together softened butter and cream cheese. Mix pudding mixes and milk together in separate bowl. Mix in with butter/cream cheese mix. Fold thawed Cool Whip into pudding. Pour pudding/Cool Whip mixture evenly over cookie layer in into dessert dish. Top with remaining cookies.
Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Notes & Tip:

Very easy to customize for children's birthday or leave plain for a pot luck.

Nutrition Facts:

Serves 10: Calories: 833 Total Fat: 46g Cholesterol: 56mg

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

Ingredients:

• 2 c. crushed pretzels
• 3/4 c. melted butter
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temp.
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 lg. Cool Whip (16oz)
• 1 (6 oz.) box strawberry gelatin
• 2 c. boiling water
• 2 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries, including juice (fresh berries slightly mashed and sweetened may be used)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix crushed pretzels, butter and sugar and pour into a 9 x 13 pan. Press into the bottom and bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup sugar. Stir into the Cool Whip. Spread on cooled pretzel crust.
Mix together the gelatin, boiling water and frozen strawberries. Let set in refrigerator until it begins to jell. Pour over cheese mixture and refrigerate several hours or overnight. This can be served as a salad or a dessert.

Notes & Tips:
Very yummy and an easy pot luck dish!

Silver White Birthday Cake

Recipe taken from:
Betty Crocker Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 large egg whites

Preparation:
Mix together dry ingredients. Mix in shortening. Pour in 1/2 cup milk and vanilla extract. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add 1/4 cup milk and egg whites to mix and beat for 2 minutes. Pour into two eight inch round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until done.

Notes & Tips:
I frosted this using Betty's White Mountain Frosting. Makes a great easy birthday cake.

Honeydew Orange Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced ripe honeydew melon

• 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
• Ice to thicken

Preparation:

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, add ice as desired to thicken. Enjoy immediately.

Notes & Tips:
A refreshing smoothie for a hot day. You can sub any other flavor frozen juice concentrate to change the flavor of this smoothie.

Nutrition Facts:
Serves 2
181 calories, 2g fat, 35g carbs, 7g protein