Attempts to be sweet and healthy...

...are futile!  Especially when there are birthdays!  I mean, who wants to eat a healthy, low-sugar, whole wheat excuse for a cake for your birthday?

NOBODY!

Okay, it wasn't my birthday.  It was my mother-in-law's birthday and I, as her first and *cough* favorite *cough* daughter-in-law had to make her a wonderful, sinfully delicious birthday cake.

This cake was not healthy.

But boy, was it good!  Totally worth the deduction of points I got for that day having indulged in one piece of this chocolate cake.  (I had already used up my two "indulgences" for the week, so I lost two points by eating one slice of this cake.)

Still... I only had ONE slice!  It was super hard not to go back for another slice, but I DID IT!

So, that counts for two extra points in my challenge, right???

Chocolate Sheet Cake (aka Texas Sheet Cake)

• 2 c flour 
• 1 c sugar
• 1 t baking soda
• dash of salt
• 1 c butter
• 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 c water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• 1/2 T vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 cake pan.
2. Stir together flour, sugar, soda, & salt in a medium bowl.
3. Combine butter, cocoa powder, & water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
4. Remove from heat & add to flour mixture.  Beat with electric mixer until well-combined.
5. Add eggs, buttermilk & vanilla.  Beat batter for 1 minute.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes until a knife/toothpick comes out clean from the center.

While cake is cooking, prepare Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting as follows:

Combine 1/4 c butter, 3 T unsweetened cocoa powder, & 3 T buttermilk in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and add 2 c powdered sugar & 1/2 t vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Pour warm frosting over warm cake & spread evenly.  Cool completely before serving.

Take that, diet!

Blueberries are sweet...

It's hard to make healthy food when you are a sweets addict.

I am currently participating in a "Feel Great in 8" challenge.  I am not supposed to eat more than 2 servings of "forbidden foods" per week (including chips, fries, fatty meats, white breads, sugary cereals, and sugary desserts).

It's not easy for me.

Like I said, we usually have a special Sunday breakfast that is loaded with sweets.  Chocolate chip pancakes, chocolate muffins, cinnamon pull-aparts, bubble bread, crepes, and cinnamon rolls are common Sunday breakfast items.  So it's difficult to find a good Sunday breakfast that doesn't violate all the rules for the challenge.  I could just cook something different for the rest of my family, but where's the fun in that?  If I'm cooking something sugary, I better be able to enjoy some of it for myself, right???

So, I attempted a new recipe: Whole wheat blueberry coffee cake with honey and applesauce.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Coffee Cake

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/3 c honey
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c plain yogurt (or flavored yogurt, depending on your preference)
• 1 T oil
• 1 T applesauce
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 c blueberries (fresh or frozen, raspberries would work too)
• 1 T almonds (I was out, so I used oatmeal instead)
• optional: 2 T brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8 inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt in a medium bowl.  Make a well in the center.  Add wet ingredients (honey, egg, yogurt, oil, applesauce & vanilla) and mix into dry ingredients just until combined.  
3. Spread 2/3 of the batter on the greased pan.  (Batter will be thick!)
4. Toss berries with almonds (or oatmeal) and sugar (if desired) in a small bowl.  Sprinkler over 2/3 of the batter in the pan.
5. Spread the remaining batter over the berries.
6. Bake in preheated oven 20-30 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched.

If you need it a little more sugary (and aren't doing some stupid challenge that forbids sugary foods), add a glaze.  A good glaze only takes powdered sugar, a little bit of milk, and an even smaller bit of vanilla.  Stir to the consistency and pour over cooled cake before serving.  Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Blueberry Pancakes

I have seriously been neglecting this blog, but am hoping now to post a recipe once a week!  We shall see how this goes...

I love Sunday mornings.  We always have a big breakfast with lots of sugary goodness.  Today's breakfast was extra special because I was able to include a special something that I don't often have:

My parents went to Canada last week and I begged them to bring me back some authentic, Canadian maple syrup.  My awesome parents obliged and brought me back this beautiful bottle of pure maple syrup.  In honor of this special guest, I had to make pancakes, of course!  (Yes, I know I can get this stuff here, but it just seems a little extra special to have some brought from Canada, eh?)

Homemade pancakes can be wonderful things, but quite often, they turn into flat & disgusting discs that are only edible beneath a river of good syrup.  Not wanting to waste this special syrup, I knew I had to pull out my finest pancake recipe.  I first discovered the power of yogurt in pancakes when I found the recipe in a Sesame Street cookbook.  Yes, I'm serious.  Who knew such yummy recipes could come of puppets?

Now, these pancakes are really to my taste (since I am the one cooking!), but they can be modified.  I personally love how thick and hearty these are, but if you want them thinner, use less yogurt and more buttermilk.  I love using all whole wheat flour, but have also used a combo (1 cup of each, 1 1/2 cups of white/wheat and 1/2 cup of the other).  Also, I do often make these as chocolate chip pancakes to satisfy my sweet tooth (and my kids).

Yogurt Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 T honey
• 1 T olive oil (or other oil)
• 2 cups wheat flour (or combo white/wheat)
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 cup blueberries (or other fruit/chocolate chips)

1. Preheat griddle/pan to medium and coat with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix the egg, buttermilk, yogurt, honey, and oil until well blended.  Combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Pour dry ingredients into wet and stir just until combined.  Fold in blueberries.
3. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter and pour onto preheated griddle/pan.  Cook for 5-8 minutes and flip.  Cook 5 minutes on the other side (or until golden brown).  Serve with or without syrup and enjoy!

My husband told me today that you are what you eat.  I asked what that makes me and he said that I am "extremely sweet."  :)  What a cute Valentine he is!

Sweet Thirty

I have been told that your thirties are your best years.  You are confident in who you are, what you want, and your body is still strong.

I will let you know if this is true.  I just turned 30 and don't feel like it is yet...

But maybe I just need a cheesecake!  Mmmmm.... cheesecake.

When my hubby and I first started dating, we shared a Dulce de Leche cheesecake at TGI Fridays.  Since then, we have had a soft spot for Dulce de Leche.  When I found a recipe for the cheesecake, I said, "Why not?"

Dulce de Leche is essentially just caramel, but it sounds a little more exotic, right?  I mean, let's compare "Caramel Cheesecake" to "Dulce de Leche Cheesecake" and determine which one would have the higher price tag...

You can either buy a can of Dulce de Leche at the store (if you are lazy/impatient like me) or buy a can of sweetened condensed milk and cook it.  Bring a pot of water to a boil, immerse a can of sweetened condensed milk on its side, and boil for 2 hours.  Remove the can and let it cool for 1 hour before opening.  I didn't have the patience for 2 hours of boiling + 1 hour of cooling, so I just splurged a bit and bought the stuff at the store! (It was in the baking aisle right next to the sweetened condensed milk.  If you can't find it there in your store, look in the Latin Foods area.)

I have tried this cheesecake with both a graham cracker and gingersnap cookie crust.  I think I like the gingersnap better just because it is different, but either way, it is yummy!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

• 1 c graham cracker crumbs (or gingersnap cookie crumbs)
• 1/4 c melted butter
• 3 packages cream cheese, softened (8 oz- sometimes I use neufchatel instead of original cream cheese)
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/2 c Dulce de Leche (caramel) sauce + more for topping
• 3 eggs

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2. Combine butter and graham cracker/cookie crumbs.  Press into the bottom of the springform pan.
3. Beat cream cheese & sugar in a large bowl until creamy.  Mix in 1/2 c Dulce de Leche.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating on low until blended.  Do not overmix.
4. Pour batter over crust and bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes.  Center will still be a little jiggly.  Cool completely before taking the rim off.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
5. Use reserve Dulce de Leche sauce for topping by microwaving 15-20 seconds before drizzling over cheesecake.

Snickerdoodle Skookies

Have you ever heard of Skookies?  My in-laws introduced them to us a few years ago.  It's a cookie baked in a small skillet with ice cream and whatever other toppings you want on it.  Believe it or not, I can down a whole skookie all by myself.  Shocking, right?  My kids love 'em too!  My husband, on the other hand, is not a big fan of ice cream (I know, I know, what on earth do I see in him???) and doesn't get into the skookie craze like we do.

When first we tried these, we only used chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream.  However, I have come to discover that snickerdoodle skookies are HEAVEN!!!  Something about the cookie consistency with vanilla ice cream makes it so incredibly and delectably sweet.  I am not too secretive about my snickerdoodle recipe, so I will share it now!

Snickerdoodles (for 1 skookie and a few extra regular cookies)

• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 butter (softened)
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t cream of tartar
• cinnamon sugar (for sprinkling & rolling, about 2 T)

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Grease small cookie sheet and skookie skillet.
2. Cream sugar and butter in a large bowl.  Beat in egg and vanilla.
3. Stir together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a small bowl.
4. Stir dry ingredients into wet until well-mixed.  If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
5. Put about 1/4 cup of dough into skookie pan.  Press to the edge of the pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake for 10-13 minutes (depending on how doughy you want your skookie to be).
6. Meanwhile, roll the rest of the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar.  Put dough balls on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake 8-10 minutes.
7. When skookie is done, let cool for about 5 minutes.  Top with vanilla ice cream and other toppings as desired (nuts, whip cream, fruit, syrups, etc.).  Eat quickly (with a friend or two, unless you have a large dessert stomach as I do) since the ice cream melts fast!
8. When cookies are done, let cool for 2 minutes on the pan and then move to a cooling rack, eating them warm or saving them until later.

Sorry, no pics.  The skookies don't last long enough for good pictures!

I'm Steph and I'm a sweetaholic... or whatever!

I come from a long line of people addicted to sweets.  We have serious issues.  Growing up, my Mom would have to hide the sweets in my house from my dad so he wouldn't eat them all.  Usually he asked her to do this.  Despite our sweet tooths, my family and I are fairly active.  Both my parents have run marathons and are self-proclaimed gymrats.  I believe it is due to our activity that we are not obese.  I'm pretty sure that is the only reason I am not 300 pounds.

Now that I have a family of my own, and my children are keeping up the family tradition of sweet addiction, despite my husband's shocking disinterest in sweets, I am in charge of family nutrition as the planner, cook, and server of most meals in our house.  I try to set limits for my kids and how many desserts they can have (truth be told, I let them eat less sweets than I do myself on occasion), but some days are better than others.  I enjoy cooking and finding yummy recipes that I can modify to suit my taste for the day.  I also enjoy eating out, especially at local places and especially when I have a coupon!  I like deals, but am not obsessive.  I won't spend hours and hours to scout out the best deals on everything or hours and hours in the kitchen to make the best recipes.  If a recipe calls for too much work, I probably will find a different one.  After all, I don't want to spend my whole life in the kitchen!  Especially if I'm going to be blogging more...

I decided to start this blog to share recipes and stories about the sweeter things in life.  I have started to test out desserts to see what my family and I like best.  I think I have found a few staple recipes, but I have a lot left to find out.  And my tastes may change!

So that's a bit about me and what I aim to do on this blog.  So without further adieu... let's get started!