The Secret Recipe Club: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies

January is here, group B’s reveal date is here, and The Secret Recipe Club is back! We took a little break in December for the holidays and decided to start off fresh again in 2013!

This time around I was given Erin’s fun blog Dinner’s, Dishes, and Desserts. With a name like that, I instantly knew I’d be baking up something sweet. I like when The Secret Recipe Club comes around the same time a UFC event is being played at my best’s friends home. I don’t like to come empty handed and a couple dozen cookies will make them all very happy. These cookies in fact were very popular.You have a peanut butter cookie, with chocolate chips and then topped with a chopped up miniature Reese’s peanut butter cup. You could only imagine how good these smelled baking up.

I can’t believe I found VALENTINE’S DAY candy ALREADY!!!

I thought 1 cookie would be enough because they are quite large but I realized I went back for seconds and thirds. I love chocolate and peanut butter and I had a good workout that day, so I deserved it! Oh and I’d recommend a glass of ice cold milk to wash it all down!

Please head on over to Dinner’s, Dishes, and Desserts for the recipe to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies. She has a cute blog and you will find many other great recipes there as well.

Happy baking!
Fallon

The Secret Recipe Club: Almond Butter Pretzel Truffles

September is here and there is a new installment of recipes this month for The Secret Recipe Club. Today is Group B’s reveal date and I had the lovely blog called Amy’s Cooking Adventures. She has a really fun blog and a lot of variety when it comes to recipes. She will share weekly photos of her family and the new adventures they are up too.

Out of all her delicious looking recipes her Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles intrigued me. I love chocolate and I love peanut butter. Well I use too but now I’m trying to make some changes to my diet. Having some issues (which I will not go into) and I’m trying to eliminate certain foods from my diet. I still included a little chocolate in my truffles because then they wouldn’t be truffles! I swapped out the peanut butter for almond butter instead. I tried to find gluten free pretzels but I sacrificed these truffles with some fun thin pretzels I found at Trader Joe’s.

I did have some issues getting the almond butter mixture to come together. I added a little raw honey to help bring it together because I kept adding more almond butter. Eventually I was getting annoyed that my jar of almond butter was almost finished and decided I probably should have measured out the pretzels. Oops. I spilt the mixture in half, added another spoon of almond butter and finally the mixture did not fall apart when I rolled them into balls. I used unsweetened shredded coconut instead of dipping into chocolate, to make it more healthier. With the rest of the mixture I had some leftover chocolate chips that I melted and added a little coconut butter to get a sheen. Added that mixture to the rest of my dry mixture and rolled that into balls as well and into coconut.

The end result of my changes were quite good. I ate a few but I know I can’t be eating them all the time. Even though I made some healthy changes, these are still delicious. Pretzels are great to mix with nuts and chocolate. It helps satisfy the salty and sweet combo, just like these truffles do!

My recipe below has both versions I made. Click Amy’s Cooking Adventures to get her original recipe.

Almond Butter Pretzel Truffles
Adapted from Amy’s Cooking Adventures

Ingredients:
4 cups thin pretzels
1 cup smooth almond butter and sea salt (save 1/4 cup for chocolate almond truffles), you may need additional spoonful's if mixture is crumbly
3 teaspoons raw honey
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1-2 teaspoons coconut oil/butter
Unsweetened shredded coconut

Pour pretzels into a food processor and grind down to coarse crumbs. You could also put them in a zip lock bag and smash with a rolling pin.

Divide pretzel crumbs into 2 bowls and set one aside. Stir in almond butter, 1/4 cup at a time until it is evenly blended. Drizzle in honey and mix. Refrigerate for 1 hour to let the almond butter firm up. If you need it to firm up quicker, place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of almond butter and honey to the bowl of crushed pretzels, mix and set aside.

This mixture was crumbly and addicting. I loved the clusters!

Line a 2 cookie sheets with parchment or wax paper.

Using a small cookie scoop or melon baller, scoop small balls of almond butter mixture and roll into shredded coconut. Place onto prepared cookie sheet and place into freezer to harden up.

In a small glass bowl, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in the microwave, 20 second intervals till chocolate is smooth. Add coconut oil/butter to make chocolate shiny. Set aside.

With the second mixture that has 1/4 cup almond butter, add most of the melted chocolate and combine. Save some chocolate if you’d like to drizzle on the truffles. Using a small cookie scoop or melon baller, scoop small balls of chocolate almond butter mixture and roll into shredded coconut. Place onto prepared cookie sheet and place into freezer to harden up.

Almond Butter Pretzel Truffles

Chocolate Almond Butter Pretzel Truffles

Remove truffles from freezer after 5 minutes. If you have some leftover chocolate drizzle over truffles. These are best kept in the fridge and enjoyed right away!

Fallon

The insides……

The Secret Recipe Club: Flourless Chocolate Cake

I know this is late and I have a somewhat a good excuse but not the best. I was in California this past weekend for a funeral. A family member of mine passed away living with dementia for 5 years and now she is peacefully at rest. Definitely a sad moment but we all know she is in a better place.

There was just NO TIME for me last week to do anything it seemed and I kept meaning to get my post up and ready for The Secret Recipe Club.. Crunch time came and I decided to email Suzanne, tell her my situation and I ended up sending my pictures and writing a small post that she gladly posted on her website. Thank you again Suzanne and thank you Living Lou for such a wonderful recipe!
Click here to see my recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake.

Here are additional photos that I had taken to go with my post.









I love you chocolate.. I do I do I do ooooo!







Fallon

The Secret Recipe Club: Skinny White Russians with Godiva Chocolate Vodka

I was looking at my calendar, wondering when I need to get my recipe set for the reveal date and realized it was this coming Monday. OOPS!! Luckily I knew what I was making, I just needed to buy my secret ingredient, chocolate flavored vodka from Godiva. I went to my local liquor store and was surprised to find out they didn’t carry it. I went to several more stores until I found the vodka at Smith’s. It was a bit expensive but I had no choice, I needed it. It was so delicious! I’m not a vodka fan but I can definitely sip on this vodka. What can I say, I like chocolate any which way.

This month for The Secret Recipe Club I had Hezzi’s-D Books and Cooks. Heather enjoys reading and baking. I wish I could find a love for reading like Heather but nothing can beat baking in my book. As I was cruising around her blog I came upon some delicious drinks using Godiva vodka and liqueur. Heather had a house party to feature these drinks. I didn’t get to have a fun house party like her but I did enjoy my drink while cooking dinner.

I was inspired to use the chocolate vodka with coffee. She made Café Godiva featuring their white chocolate liqueur, coffee and cinnamon whipped cream. I’ve always enjoy White Russians by using low fat milk instead of cream. Now that I use almond milk for everything involving dairy I came up with Skinny White Russians. This drink is low in calories and delicious in flavor that will save at your waist line.

Skinny White Russians (serves 1)
By Fallon, inspired by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Ingredients
4 oz of brewed espresso or bold coffee, room temperature
2 oz of unsweetened almond milk
1 oz Godiva Chocolate flavored vodka
Ice
Agave nectar
Unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions
To garnish drinking glass, place agave nectar and cocoa powder on two separate plates. Take the glass and swirl around in agave nectar then place into cocoa powder, shake excess powder off. Add in ice cubes. Pour 1 oz of vodka to 4 oz of espresso. Add in almond milk and stir with a straw. Take a sip and enjoy!

This is one of my favorite drinks as of now. It is light, tasty and so much fun to make. I love adding the garnish to the glass with cocoa powder. It is a must when having this drink.

Enjoy,
Fallon

Coffee Ice Cream Dream Cake

IT’S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha I know what you are thinking right now. Fallon is pregnant? NO WAY! My best friend is expecting her second baby due sometime end of October and she recently found out she is having a girl!

Mason!! He is my pumpkin and I’m his cupcake. ;)

She already has a handsome son, now it only makes sense that she has a princess. One of each is the way to go, that way you get best of both!

My best friend is craving a lot of sweets. Something with her first pregnancy she didn’t, but with this little princess inside of her, she just wants sugar, sugar, sugar! I came across this recipe for Kahlua-Coffee Ice Cream Dream Cake from Bakeeat350 and I thought of my best friend. Back in the day we would go to Baskin and Robbins and she’d always order the Jamocha® Almond Fudge. I must say that flavor is pretty rocking. It brought back those memories and I knew this cake would be something she’d love. I had to keep it a secret from her though because I knew it was going to be a good one.

I did make some adjustments like nixing the Kahlua. Pregnant mommies should not be having any alcohol, hence the name Kahlua-Coffee Ice Cream Dream Cake. Then instead of using heath bits, I bought heath bars and wacked them into chunks instead. The best part was getting chunks of the heath bar in every bite of the cake. This cake was amazing and out of this world, except it lacked ice cream.

A corner piece. Where’s the ice cream?? Must of it was hiding right in the middle!

The 1 gallon of coffee ice cream I purchased wasn’t enough. There was too much graham cracker and not enough ice cream. This can easily be fixed, just purchase 2 gallons of ice cream instead. That way you have plenty of ice cream and will have more thickness between layers. With summer here and people getting together for grill, this is the perfect dessert to bring. Feeds a crowd and you can’t go wrong with coffee ice cream, toffee chunks and tons of chocolate!

   

I have a feeling I’m going to have to make this cake again soon, bummer!!! ;)
Get the recipe for Kahlua-Coffee Ice Cream Dream Cake here!

Yum yum,
Fallon

 

It’s a S’mores Party!

S’mores Fudge with Spiced Rum

I may not be around as much as I’d like to be but I couldn’t leave you guys out of this fun party. Bloggers are linking up their favorite S’more recipes and joining the party over at Cookies & Cups. I linked up a few of my recipes like S’mores Cake, S’mores Cookie Bars and S’mores Fudge with Spiced Rum.

Come check out the party at Cookie & Cups. If you have any fun S’more recipes you should join the party and also check out the other fabulous recipes while you are over there.

I really want to try out this recipe S’mores Snack Mix. Yummy!!

It is Friday but only my Wednesday!!! So I guess you could say it is Hump Day too? ;)

Always,
Fallon

Wheat Free Brownies with Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

I couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you guys. I’ve been eating these brownies all week. At first I didn’t really like them but after 24 hours of cooling off they were super rich in chocolate flavor and were more dense/firm in texture. Kind of like a cake brownie but with the chocolate chips mixed into the batter they also had a fudgy texture. For gluten free I’d say these taste pretty darn good! I love baking with coconut flour. A little goes a long way and really absorbs all the moisture from the wetness. I couldn’t believe that these brownies called for 6 large eggs but in most gluten free baking, eggs are used as the leavening.

I’ve been enjoying these brownies with coffee.

I love my coffee cup, too cute!

I’ve been enjoying these brownies with red wine.

 
One of my favorite red wines right now, blended with zinfandel, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Picked it up at Wholefoods!

I’ve been enjoying these brownies with sunflower seed butter spread on top like frosting.

No one else has been eating my brownies so I’ve been slowly working my way through them. My dad doesn’t like “healthy” things and chocolate gives my mom headaches. I guess I win! I need to find gluten free friends to share all my creations with ;).

The original recipe for Wheat Free Brownies is at this link. They are made by a girl named Alison, I wonder who that is? I made a few tweaks to the original recipe and I love how they turned out. Coconut oil makes everything SO moist in baking. You can’t even taste coconut when using it, which is great. The pictures make the brownies look dry but I can assure you that they are very dense and tasty. A little goes a long way, even though I can have more then 1. ;)

    

Wheat Free Brownies with Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Adapted from Let’s Do…Organic (Edward & Sons)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 large eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup Stevia
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 cup semi- sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over low heat, blend coconut oil and cocoa powder. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs till they turn a pale yellow. Add the sugar and vanilla. Blend about 1/2 the egg mixture into the cocoa mixture quickly so eggs don’t curdle. Add the rest to the mixture and blend till combined. Stir in the coconut flour until the batter is no longer lumpy. Add the chocolate chips, if desired. Bake in a pre-greased 8x8 baking pan for 30-35 minutes.

Cool completely. If you do eat these warm, they will taste a bit off but still tasty.They were enjoyed with smears of sunflower butter as the frosting.

Enjoy,
Fallon

Gluten Free Cowgirl Cookies

I’ve had a real sweet tooth lately and cookies was something at the top of my list. When I bake for myself, if it is often I try to make the recipe a bit more healthier. I want my sweet tooth satisfied, which usually means chocolate better be involved. I found this recipe for Cowgirl Cookies from The Bikini Baker. She has already healthified the recipe by using applesauce, stevia, ground oats and egg whites. Instead of using butter, coconut oil was substituted. I was going to make my own oat flour but saw I had brown rice flour in the cabinet instead. I decided to swap that and see how the cookies would turn out. They definitely have a different texture, softer and more fragile. I’d probably experiment more with the brown rice flour and add a teaspoon of xanthan gum to make them fluffier.

These look like healthy cookies but they taste really good. It is important to use really good chocolate chips, to satisfy that sweet tooth! This batch ended up making 32 cookies (instead of 24 cookies) for me. I’ll eat them before a workout or have them as dessert!

To make these cookies 100% gluten free make sure the oats you are using are labeled as being gluten free.

Gluten Free Cowgirl Cookies
Adapted from The Bikini Baker

Ingredients
1 cup organic brown rice flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup Stevia in the Raw
1 large egg + 2 egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips
2 cups gluten free rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl beat the eggs and the coconut oil till pale yellow. Add the applesauce, stevia and vanilla; beat until smooth.

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Mix well and then add in the oats, chocolate chips and pecans until incorporated.

Drop by tablespoon full (or a cookie scoop) onto a prepared cookie sheet. Do not flatten.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit on pan for a few minutes to set, then transfer to wire rack to full cool.

I store mine in the fridge and in the freezer. These are really good right out of the freezer! Usually the stevia can add a bit of a bite but with the addition of the applesauce and chocolate chips, you can’t tell.

Enjoy,
Fallon

   

A Delicious Flop

I can’t believe it has been 2 weeks since I’ve last updated Fallon’s Cucina. My bad! It literally does not feel like it has been that long. I set some time to get this post together because 1) today is February 29th, 2012 and 2) it was time to get a more updated post. I couldn’t miss out on today because we won’t have another leap year for 4 more years. Happy Birthday to whoever is actually born on a leap year. I always wondered how that works? How old can you really be if your birthday only comes every 4 years? Hmmm ;)

Today I have a recipe for you which is easy to put together but ended up turning out to be something completely different. Remember those rolo cake mix bars I made? They were so good, I wanted to change them up and do something different. Like using a chocolate cake mix and adding marshmallows, caramel sauce and pecans. Sounds delicious right? Well the bars ended up turning into this gooey, lava like cake. These definitely required a spoon for consumption, unless you like sticky fingers! As much as I wanted to call this mess a flop, it actually turned out to be a delicious lava like cake.

I baked them for over 30 minutes because I thought the cake was still not cooked through but it just continued to stay gooey. I realized I might of gone a bit overboard when it came to the caramel sauce and it is what kept the cake so moist and lava like. Which isn’t a bad thing!

It was enjoyed throughout the night at my best friend’s house. I couldn’t stop picking at them either. The toasted marshmallows are the best part. I’d recommend this cake to someone with an urgent sweet tooth because this cake will solve all those problems.

Gooey Chocolate Cake mix with Marshmallows, Caramel and Pecans
By Fallon

Ingredients
1 box (18.25oz) chocolate cake mix
1 (5oz) can evaporated milk (I used reduced fat)
1/4  cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup caramel sauce, warmed
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13in pan with cookie spray. With a mixer, beat cake mix, evaporated milk and butter until combined. Mixture will be thick and sticky.

Divide batter in half and press 1 half onto the bottom of the pan. Bake until just set, approximately 8-9 minutes.

Remove base from oven and place marshmallows, caramel sauce and pecans on top. Drop remaining batter on top of marshmallow mixture in teaspoon sized amounts. Bake for 30 minutes longer until marshmallows are toasted and cake mix is cooked through but still fudgy.

Cool and serve by scooping into a bowl and if your feeling extra frisky, serve with vanilla ice cream!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope everyone has a great day today! I’m glad it is already the middle of the week. I’m so ready for my days off. ;)

Enjoy,
Fallon