Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

Wouldn’t you just love to come home form a busy day at school – handing out valentines, playing silly heart games, using M&M’s for math class – and find these waiting for you?

(Heck – I’d like to find these waiting for me any day.)

 

 

 

Despite how decadent they look and how rich they taste – they are surprisingly easy to make. It doesn’t matter if your Valentine is 8 or 80 they will enjoy the thought and love baked into these cupcakes.

Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

Makes about 24 cupcakes

Click here to print this recipe

For the Cake Part:

 

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup semisweet chocolate chip

 For the Cheesecake Part:

1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese at room temp.

5 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.

3. To make the cake batter, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium sized mixing cup. Add the milk, butter, and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

4. To make the cheesecake batter, beat the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Spoon 1 tablespoon of cake batter into each cupcake liner. Add a tablespoon of cheesecake batter and then one more tablespoon of cake batter.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Or covered in melted chocolate chips but not batter)

7. Frost with fudge frosting and garnish with chopped pieces of white chocolate.

Snuggles Chocolate Cream Pie

 

DSC_2951

I am a big fan of giving edible gifts for any occasion. This pie is a wonderful Valentine for my Valentine who asked for nothing more than a scrumptious chocolate pie. It turned out so good, I’m thinking of trying a white chocolate version – I’ll let you know.

Since she was the only one home, Roo got this giant slice. I didn’t hear any complaints – nor did she ask for lunch that day…

DSC_2953

What you’ll need:

 

1 pie crust

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate baking squares

5 eggs

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (to make pie)

1 cup heavy whipping cream (for top of pie)

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

chocolate curls or shredded chocolate

 

What you do:

Bake empty pie crust according to package directions. Set aside to cool.

Chop chocolate squares into fourths and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan boil water. In a medium mixing bowl combine eggs and brown sugar. Set bowl over boiling water. (Make sure it doesn’t touch the water) Wisk as you cook to 160 degrees. Remove from heat. Add chocolate. Stir until melted. Add vanilla. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a small bowl beat cream almost to butter. It should be a thick whipped cream with stiff peaks. (I didn’t go that long on mine. Wish I had.) Add cream to cooled chocolate mixture. Stir together. Pour into prepared crust, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for four hours.

In a small bowl, beat whipping cream for topping. Once stiff peaks form add sugar and vanilla – beat. Remove plastic wrap form pie. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate curls or shredded chocolate.

PB&B Sandwiches

Oh the weather outside is frightfully cold! I’m not kidding. The other night when I went for groceries after dark, the car thermometer read -11 degrees. (That’s a big ol’ negative 11 – wow!)


When it gets cold like this, my whole family longs for warm meals. One of the challenges for me is to come up with a warm lunch. Soup is always a good option but there are very few canned soups my kids will actually eat and not just load up with crackers to try and cover the taste and textures of canned veggies and small chunks of meat. 


Because of the picky eaters around here, we’ve turned into sandwich lovers. Grilled cheese is always a favorite. As is a grilled tuna. That one’s fantastic. I’ll have to post it here one time because it is unreal how good a grilled tuna can actually be. Anywho, this grilled sandwich is a classic. 

 

Grilled PB&B 

(peanut butter and banana) 

 

 

What? You’ve never had a PB&B? Mock horror is written all over my face. Actually, when I was a kid, we would eat cold PB&B sandwiches. Though delicious, I always thought the PB was a little goopy and tended to stick to the top of my mouth. However, once I decided to heat it up, the PB melted and was delightfully drippy instead of sticky.

 

Teaching your kids to make a grilled PB&B couldn’t be easier. If you aren’t ready for them to tackle the stove top on their own, then have them sit down with some peanut butter and a knife and practice spreading the peanut butter across the bread slices. For some reason, being able to spread evenly is a hard skill for kids to grasp so the more practice the better. 

 

To print this recipe click here.

 

Grilled PB&B

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

 

4 slices of bread

1 banana

4 tablespoons peanut butter

2 teaspoons of butter

 

Directions

 

1. Set your sandwich pan or skillet on the stove and set the heat to med-low.

2. Spread 1/2 teaspoon of butter on one side of each piece of bread.

3. Spread one tablespoon of peanut butter on the other side of each piece of bread.

4. Once the pan is warm, set all four slices of bread into the skillet -butter side down.

5. Cut the banana in half, then cut each section in half lengthwise.

6. Set two banana pieces on one slice of bread and two on another slice. (The remaining pieces of bread will be the tops for your sandwiches.)

7.Cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the bottoms of the bread are nicely browned and the peanut butter has melted.

8. Using a spatula, pick up the sandwich tops and place them on the bottoms with the butter side up.

9. Transfer the sandwiches to a plate and eat!

 

 

P.S. I want to throw out a big thanks to my dad for help with my photography. I love the way these photos turned out and it’s all thanks to his camera knowledge. Thanks Dad!

Valentine’s Box Ideas

Every year the kids make cute boxes to take to school to hold their valentines. When I am busy, we cover a box with stickers and call it good. When I have a few minutes, we make something good. 

Here’s a link to the ones we made last year and here are a couple pictures. It can be hard to come up with a good Valentine box for a boy. They don’t want anything too cute or frilly. 

This year they came to me with visions of what they wanted. It wasn’t easy (took us an entire weekend) but here they are.

<–The Toilet Valentine’s Box

The Toss Game Valentines Box–>

 

I was so pleased with the way they turned out. The toilet is a little rough around the edges. I could even it out with some sandpaper (and I do love my kids) I’m just not willing to spend 45 minutes sanding a toilet for them. 🙂

 Toss Game Valentine’s Box 

Let’s talk about the toss game first. We took a paper box – you know one of those boxes that paper comes in when you buy it in bulk? – and pulled one of the long sides down so it laid flat. Then we cut the remaining sides at an angle that would support the front panel. We covered it in red tissue paper and added hearts. So festive!



  We poked holes all around the particle board and inserted Christmas lights for bling-bling. We also used glue and painter’s tape to make a white, glitter boarder before inserting the lights. As you can see here. 

We added the cutouts and glued on the words and shapes (I’m aware the s’s are on backwards. It was done for a bit of whimsy as this is supposed to look like a carnival game.) Anyway, glued the front of the board to the box with hot glue, plugged it in and we were done.  

Third-grader LOVES it!

 

Toilet Valentines Box

 When sixth-grader said he wanted a toilet that would flush I about died. I mean, flush? Come on! 

Turns out it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. We used white elastics to create tension to both hold the flap up and pull it down. We hid all the elastics and such in the box on the back. What would a toilet be without a tank?

 

 

So here’s how it turned out. You lift the lid, put your valentine inside. (Notice the heart shaped seat? Cute right?)

 

Pull the handle.

 

 And – PLOP goes your valentine. (See you can see how the flap drops down and then so does the treat.) When the handle is released the elastic pulls the flapper back up for the next person. I’m pretty sure no one else will have a box like this. 

 

 

Sixth-grader LOVES it!

 I want to put his name on the top of the tank before he takes it to school. With such outrageous boxes I’m thinking of driving them in the morning. Good luck with your boxes this year. Let me know what you come up with – I still have many more years of Valentine’s boxes to make.

Coconut Macaroons

The coconut macaroon is a very versatile cookie. It can be eaten warm or cold, by itself or drizzled in chocolate, and served at a tea party or a ball game. As such, they make the perfect homemade valentines for friends and neighbors. If you have a lot of people on your list, then you may want to double or triple this recipe. It makes about 24 cookies but they are small. 


We don’t do a lot with coconut around here. Those of us that like shrimp prefer it naked rather than clothed in coconut and fried. (I’m okay with it – especially with an apricot glaze. But I can’t seem to convince any of the kidletts.) So I figured that a cookie was a good place to introduce the unique texture of coconut flakes. 

 


For us, this wasn’t about learning a new skill it was about trying a new ingredient. I let the little ones feel the flakes in their hands. Smell it – if they wanted. The older three tasted it raw but the 4-year-old refused. Once they realized it wouldn’t kill them, they were much more open to the idea of a cookie made entirely out of coconut. (Love that I have to convince them I’m not trying to feed them poison.) 

 

 

 Coconut Macaroons 

Makes about 24 cookies

Click here to print this recipe.

 

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon rum extract

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Combine coconut, sugar, flour salt in a small bowl.

3. Add the egg whites, vanilla, and rum extract. 

4. Stir until well combined. 

5. Use a teaspoon to measure out a cookie ball and drop the ball onto a greased cookie sheet. 

6. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

15 ways to say I Love You

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner our thoughts naturally turn to those we love and how we can express it. Here are 15 ways you can let your kids know you love them.

 

 

  1. Say, “I Love You.” There are no substitutes for hearing those three magic words. They can instill confidence, calm a troubled mind, and lift a sad heart.
  2. Read with them. Time spent together is always good but quality time is better. Entering a new world through stories can create a bond between you. It increases yourunderstanding of one another and gives you more topics of conversation. It also allows you to gage your child’s reaction to different situations as well as explore multiple outcomes in the safety net of imagination.
  3. Ask them how school went and listen totheir answers. You may have to prod a bit to get past the cursory, “fine” that they throw at you but asking follow-up questions (like –How’d your math test go?) can provide them with the opening they need to discuss concerns or celebrate accomplishments. As you listen and respond, they will know you care about what is going on when they aren’t with you.
  4. Watch a movie that they pick. It could be pure torture but letting them choose the movie – even one with talking animals or moving Legos – allows them to feel comfortable being themselves around you.   
  5. Eat lunch with them at school. (If allowed.) Thankfully our school does allow parents to check in through the office and spend lunch with their child. I’ve gone in on birthdays and some holidays just to surprise my kids. They love having mom over for lunch.
  6. Check them out of school for lunch. Sometimes it’s just nice to have something special and a lunch date can be just that. If your child is struggling in school or just feeling down about things then taking them out for lunch is a good way to break up the day and let them know you understand.
  7. Try something new together. It doesn’t have to be rock climbing but it certainly could be. The important thing is to try something both of you haven’t done before. I took my first ski lesson on the same day as my kids. They progressed much faster than I did. I’ve had to work harder at displacing my fear and increasing my speed on the runs but it’s been worth the effort. Now we all look forward to family ski days. I could have taken lessons on my own but then we would have missed out on all the times we fell down and laughed at ourselves. Learning together has created an environment where we encourage effort.
  8. Buy their favorite flavor of ice cream. It’s not so much the ice cream that’s important but the factthat you know their favorite flavor. Taking time to notice the little things about a person lets them feel as though they are important to you.
  9. Do a service project. It could be as simple as making cookies to take to the neighbors or as involved as collecting coats for the local homeless shelter. Accomplishing good things together can create a positive bond between the two of you. When you’re in the planning stages, listen to their ideas and incorporate as many as you can. This will show them that you value their opinion and you believe they can make a difference in the world.
  10. Forgive them when they do something wrong. This is huge. Of course they should have consequences for their actions and many times you will be the one to set those up. This can make you look like the bad guy when in reality you’re teaching them one of life’s biggest lessons before they have to learn it the hard way. However, constantly holding their failures over their head doesn’t give them any room to view themselves in better light. Showing them how to forgive will not only let them know you love them unconditionally, it will set an example they can follow in their own families. 
  11. Tell them about God and that He loves them. The world is going to beat your kids down. It will tell them they aren’t good enough, that they’ll never be good enough and that they should just stop trying. Knowing that there is a God in heaven, that He loves them, and that He hears their prayers can bring great comfort to your child throughout their whole life. One of the best gifts you could ever give your son or daughter is a knowledge of their divine potential.
  12. Hug them every time they come home. It doesn’t matter if they are 4 or 40, welcoming a child with open arms will provide a level of confidence and security they can draw on when out in the world.
  13. Kiss them goodbye every time they leave the house. A simple little kiss can mean the world to a kid. It doesn’t take long and it takes nothing away from you so pucker up and share the love.
  14. Make them follow through with their homework, chores, or on their sports team. As much as it stinks to be the heavy, holding a child accountable for their commitments, grades and work assignments tells them you see them as a person whose word means something and that you see their contribution to the group/team as important.
  15. Play! As often as you take on the parent roll remember to shrug it off and just have fun once in a while. I’ll never forget my son’s face when the coach was late for basketball practice and I organized a game of Lightning. Not only did I teach the kids how to play, I took my own turn shooting. The boys and I were soon laughing as they tried to knock me out of the rotation by sinking a shot faster than me. Play releases the tension that can build between an authority figure and a child and allows the two of you to have fun. So often parents have to say no to a child that they forget to find reasons to say yes.

New Year’s Resolutions With Kids

You can still make a New Year’s resolution – even if you missed the supposed New Year’s Eve deadline. Really, the whole month of January is fair game for setting goals and making changes. What better time than the first of the year to start fresh and improve yourself? It’s a good time for kids too. They have settled into the school year and have adjusted to the major changes of a new grade, new friends, and new teacher. At this point, making voluntary changes in behavior is easier than when their little lives are in the midst of school stress.

 Work Together

A New Year’s resolution can be a highly personal goal. You wouldn’t choose a resolution for your spouse, your brother or your next-door neighbor. Your children should have the same consideration. If a person doesn’t have the desire to alter their life, they simply won’t do it. No amount of nagging is going to make them see the benefit of eating an apple over a candy bar or drinking milk instead of soda. That said, when people know better they do better. There is a huge difference between hearing and knowing. You can hear that the candy bar has higher calories and fat levels but until you internalize the benefits of apples and desire to apply them to your life, you haven’t learned a thing. Young children can be guided in their goal setting but shouldn’t be coerced. Giving them ideas and options will stimulate the brainstorming process. In the end the decision should be theirs. If you have something you’d like them to work on — say picking up their toys before bed time — make it your goal to teach them that skill and instill the habit in their lives through example, reminders, and instruction.

 Accountability

Even though it is their decision, the resolution shouldn’t be a secret. It seems we are often so worried about failing at something that we tend to keep our dreams close to our heart. We take baby steps toward them hoping no one notices our desire to change. Are we afraid of being judged because we fail or simply because we try? Any effort at self-improvement made by our friends, children, coworkers or ourselves should be championed and encouraged. Instead of judging or punishing when a child falls short of their goal, use the failure as an opportunity to teach optimism by encouraging them to try again. Review the reasons they weren’t able to accomplish the task then make a plan to do better next time. Many times a child stumbles after they hit the end of their natural talent. Once the homework, musical instrument, or sport becomes hard, they want to give up. Helping them to climb that wall and learn to work toward a goal when it is no longer easy will give them skills they can use throughout their life.

 Goals that Stretch

 Your child may be inclined to choose an easy resolution, something they are already doing like practicing the piano or turning their homework in on time. While it’s nice that they recognize those actions as important, they will not be growing and learning if they aren’t pushing past their current limits. Don’t allow your children to settle for mediocrity when you know they can be great. If they already play the piano and want to use that for their goal then have them pick a piece of music that’s above their skill level or increase their practice time for the year. Kids are smart. They’ll know if you are letting them cop out. By gently pressing your kids to push beyond their limits you’re showing them that you believe in them and what they are capable of accomplishing.

 

3x Chocolate Cookies

Since we haven’t picked the cookies we will be leaving out on Christmas Eve, the kids and I have been testing new recipes. Here’s one we particularly liked that is stuffed full of chocolate. Be sure and read all the way through for the bonus tip at the end. We happen to think Santa is a bit of a chocoholic around here. Well, maybe more Mrs. Clause than Santa himself.


This is a fantastic recipe to teach kids how to melt chocolate chips in the microwave. I was working with Roo, who is 4, so she and I talked about textures as we worked. 


“Is it lumpy or smooth?”

“Lumpy.”

“Then we need to cook it a little longer.”

“Is it lumpy or smooth?”

“Smooth.”

“How can you tell?”

“I don’t see any bumps.”

“Let’s put it in the dough.”


If I was working with my older kids, I would work on using the defrost setting for the microwave and programming in different cook times. 

 

Click here to print this recipe.

 

 

3X Chocolate Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup room temperature butter

1/4 cup butter flavored shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1 tablespoon butter

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, sugar and brown sugar.

3. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

4. Add the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined.

5. Put the butterscotch chips and the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Use the defrost setting to melt the chips and butter for one minute. 

6. Stir the butterscotch chips. If they aren’t melted all the way then place them back in the microwave for another 15 seconds. Stir again. Continue cooking them at 15 second intervals until they are smooth.

7. Add the melted chips to the batter and mix well.

 

 

8. In a small bowl, mix together the semisweet chips and the white chips.

 

 

9. Shape the batter into rounded tablespoons and press the top of them into the chips.

 

10. Place the cookie dough balls evenly apart on a cookie sheet.

 

11. Cook for 8-11 minutes.

 

 

 What started out as a moment to cool off… 

 

 

…quickly became an opportunity for three kids.

 

 

BONUS: How do you tell if a chocolate cookie is cooked through? Use a hot pad to lift the pan out of the oven and smack it on the counter. If the cookies fall, they are done. If they stay puffy then they need more time.

Utah Valley Magazine Holiday Meal Photo Shoot

 

I was asked to contribute a drink recipe to Utah Valley Magazine. The younguns and I spent an evening concocting all sorts of holiday punches. Some were so bitter we could hardly see and others were so sweet our teeth ached.

 

Finally, we had three we all liked and couldn’t agree on which one was better so we performed a blind taste test. The kids thought that was the coolest thing ever! I’m not kidding. We may have to stage blind taste tests more often. I think I could get them to eat all sorts of things that way. Who knew?

 

The day of the photo shoot dawned sunny and bright. I got the kids off to school and headed up to the studio. I must say, the people at Utah Valley Magazine are super nice! They were all very excited about the different dishes coming in. (If you’d like to see a picture of the entire meal, including the holiday punch that made the cut, click here.)

 

It’s not all glitz and glam at a photo shoot. There are a lot of details than need to be taken care of. Here are the photographer and editors setting up all the different dishes.

 

This is Sydney Cline, author of Feeding the Masses, plating her delicious eclair cake. I know it was delicious because she let me taste it! Wonderful lady! Wonderful book that she put together after years of planning ward Christmas parties and other activities. If you have a calling that involves planning food – it is a fantastic resource.

 

All in all, we had two food bloggers, two authors and one food critic who contributed to creating this holiday feast. All of them are super talented and super nice people. (I didn’t realize until I put this picture in that we all coordinated. No, we didn’t plan that – we just rock!)

 

 

 

Here is a link to the Utah Valley Magazine Blog. If you’d like to purchase a hard copy, they should be on the shelf in two weeks. You can get the on-line version today. Happy reading and Happy Holidays!!! (Let the madness begin.)

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. The leaves change, school starts, the weather cools off, pumpkins ripen on the vine and cinnamon, nutmeg and sweaters are once again in fashion. Fall is the anticipatory time period before the holidays kick into full swing. It’s the space between sweating and freezing and it’s so full of beauty it makes me want to sing through the hills.

 

The other thing it makes me want to do is make pumpkin flavored food. Last year I made my own pumpkin puree and froze it in zip-lock bags. It wasn’t hard and since canned pumpkin has gone up in price (like everything else at the grocery store) it saved me a lot of money for my baking. Since I’m the only one I know who does that, I figured this recipe for Pumpkin Bundt Cake with canned pumpkin. I know you’re going to love it and since your family will too, you’d better stock up on pumpkin!

 

 

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Serves 10-16

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 stick of butter at room temperature

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

Cream cheese frosting

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

 

 

Instructions:

 

 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

 

2. Grease and flour a large bundt cake pan or two small bundt cake pans. (I divided mine into two because I intended to freeze one for Sunday dinner – didn’t happen.)

 

3. In a stand mixer, combine the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between.

 

4. Add the vanilla and the pumpkin and mix well.

 

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

 

6. In a small cup, combine the milk and melted butter. 

 

7. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the pumpkin. 

 

8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

 

9. If baking one large bunt cake, bake for 45-50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. If baking two smaller pans, bake for 35-40 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 

 

10. Allow cake(s) to cool for ten minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling. 

 

11. Drizzle with cream cheese frosting. (Just heat the frosting in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to loosen enough to make a drizzle.) Then sprinkle with nuts if desired.