Chocolate-Pumpkin Cupcakes

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Yesterday my darling Bug was home from preschool and begging me to help her cook something.  I had found this awesome recipe for "pupcakes" (this is what she calls them and I refuse to correct her)
Anyway..get this..two ingredients.  You read that right...2.  Now THAT is my kind of baking!  So simple you could probably let your kid make it themselves (just help with the oven of course)

Lets just say that I was totally skeptical about how these would taste.  I read through many of the reviews and added a bit more pumpkin spice so the pumpkin flavor would stand out a bit.  Also, good luck finding apple cider here, so I had to use regular apple juice and it made the icing a bit sweeter than I think it was meant to be.  Nevertheless, these are moist delicious pupcakes!  Beyond simple to make and no added fat from oil or eggs.  

So, what are you waiting for??  Get baking already!  :)

Chocolate-Rasberry Crescents

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There isn't much to do here in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia...so us ladies find ways to keep ourselves occupied.  One of those ways is to have a ladies get together once a month.  We all meet at a house just for us...nicknamed "the Little House" and have tea, coffee and snacks.  It's a lot of fun and we enjoy getting to visit.  Not to mention...the women here can COOK!  I mean, seriously, there are some amazing dishes each time.  (I'm never going to get in shape again at this rate!)  LOL
A few months back I signed up to get the Pillsbury daily email.  Usually its all kinds of pastry goodies that I know I shouldn't be making.  But, the other day they had some crescent rolls filled with fruit roll ups.  Man, did they look good.  Then I got depressed because I hadn't seen and refrigerated crescent rolls here.  (and there is no way I'm making those puppies from scratch...I'll leave that to my Greek friend here who is a killer baker).
Anyway, the other day the hubby had to run to the store and I asked him, in the off chance there might be some, to look for the crescent rolls.  He came home with two!!!  I was so happy.  I knew I was going to use them to make something for the ladies.
Now, I don't think I now a woman who doesn't like chocolate.  ;)  So I used some hazelnut spread and some chocolate with a creamy raspberry filling.  They turned out super yummy (or so I was told)  :)  I also made some with the hazelnut spread and peanut butter.  (hubby liked those better)  The only thing is that they didn't puff up and get super flaky.  I think the spread was a bit heavy.  Next time I may adjust the amount.  But all in all, they were a big hit. (and simple enough for my horrible baking skills to pull off!)  Now, here's the best part, you can really experiment and fill these with just about anything!  Plus...don't just think sweet...savory filling would be awesome too (I plan to try that next time I get my hands on more rolls).
Happy baking!  

Bite-Sized Banana Splits

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 We're not a family who eats a lot of sweets.  Don't get me wrong...I LOVE chocolate, especially the dark kind, but we don't keep it in the house.  (if I can help it)  Does this mean I torture my children with no fun foods?  Nah, we just do it in moderation.  Sometimes a "special treat" after dinner will be applesauce, other times it's strawberries and whip cream.  And there are those few times we get ice cream.  I just want my kids to realize that sugary foods aren't great for you and you should only indulge in them periodically.  (yes, I speak to them like that too...j/k)

That being said, I'm always looking for fun sweet treats that aren't over the top.  I'm not going to bake an entire cake, because seriously, who the hell is going to eat it?  We're trying to be healthy here people!  So, when I stumbled on this recipe, I thought...PERFECT!  They get the sweet ice cream and chocolate (plus healthy bananas) in fun, little kid portions.  I think these might have to be once a week treats.

Go grab your kids and make these for dessert tonight!  :)

photo from Bakers Royal...(mine to come!)  :)

Birthday Cake Tradition

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The other day was my birthday.  Funny how, the older we get, the less special birthday's seem.  At least to me.  Perhaps it's the fact that my world revolves around my kids now...or the fact that I don't want to start looking at the numbers getting bigger.  
Figured this year's birthday would be pretty uneventful.  Nothing really planned.  Then my mom decided to come for a visit.  (yippee!)  There's just something special about having your mom around on your birthday.  (could be the fact of the matter that you wouldn't be having a birthday if it wasn't for her...)  :)  So, my uneventful birthday turned into a great little family event.  My hubby is going to come home early to cook for me and my mom is going make our traditional birthday cake.


Our family is fond of traditions.  And birthday's were one of them.  For my brother and I, on our birthday, we would wake up to see the house decorated with balloons and streamers.  But, the best part was the cake.  Mom always made this cake...ya know, tradition and all.  And to this day, if mom is around for my birthday, that's all I want her to make.  It's simple and delicious.  Over the year's, she's changed the recipe to make it a bit healthier too.  But, if you want to go full fat, have at it!  :)      


So, Happy Birthday to me!  And thanks mom!  (now it's time to chow down on this cake!)

This may not be the most gorgeous looking cake...but it's even more special knowing my daughters help to make it for me.  (oh, yeah, and the Skittles were their idea...not normally part of the cake...in hindsight, M&M's would have tasted better.)