Super Easy Home-made OREOs

2 boxes Devil's Food cake mix

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup butter crisco

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together, either use a Kitchen-Aid or a tough spoon and mix it by hand (it is really thick, it is not hand mixer friendly). Once mixed roll dough into small balls, just bigger than a bouncy ball, you can make them smaller if you'd like - it's really up to you. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Once the cookies are cool add cream cheese frosting to the underside of one cookie and sandwich together. Cream cheese frosting can be bought or home-made.

For Valentine's Day I added some colored sugar to the edges of some, dyed some frosting red and cut hearts out of others. Let your creativity have some fun.

PW's Apple Dumplings

This is a slighly modified version of Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings, you can find the original recipe here.

The first time I made them, I felt they were a little too sweet for my taste, so I tweaked it ever so slightly.

2-3 Granny Smith Apples
2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
1 1/4 sticks Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Cinnamon, To Taste
1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda (I use about 3/4 of the can)

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 5-6 slices each (PW say's 8, I like bigger pieces of apple). Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

All-in-One Cake

All-In-One Cake

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon ginger

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 (packed) brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree

1 large (2 small) apple, peeled, cored and chopped

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 cup pecans, chopped

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.

In a stand mixer, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat for 1 minute. Add pumpkin and apples (the mixture will look curdled). Add in dry ingredients, mixing only until incorporated. Stir in (by hand) pecans and cranberries.

Pour batter into a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes.

This cake does not cut smoothly due to all of the "chunky" ingredients.

Optional:

Maple Sugar Icing

6 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

add more syrup to make right consistency

Lemon Souffle

*From Martha Stewart.com

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more, room temperature, for dishes

1/2 c. sugar, plus more for dishes

8 large eggs yolks, plus 10 large egg whites, room temperature

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 c. plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus 2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 c. whole milk

Powdered Sugar (Garnish)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter six 12-ounce souffle dishes (I used eight 8-ounce dishes), with the room temperature butter, use a pastry brush and brush up the sides of the dish and then dump in a little sugar and coat the butter, dump out remaining sugar.

2. Whisk together yolks, flour, zest and 2 tablespoons sugar.

3. Bring milk to a boil in a small sauce pan. Slowly pour milk into yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the yolks from cooking. Return mixture to saucepan and whisk until thick (like a pudding). Strain through a sieve, and whisk in butter and lemon juice. Set aside.

4. Beat whites until foamy and gradually add in 1/4 c. plus 2 tablespoons sugar, beat until stiff peaks form. Stir a third of the whites into the yolk mixture. Gently fold in the remaining whites using a rubber spatula.

5. Fill each souffle dish to the top, and smooth. Run your thumb around the edge to remove batter from rims.

6. Bake on a rimmed cookie sheet until souffles rise and are golden, about 16-17 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately, before souffles lose their height.

Warm Honey Sauce (optional, but good)

Heat 1/4 c. honey with a pinch of nutmeg over low heat until warm and loosened. Whisk in 2 tablespoons heavy cream and bring to a boil. Make a small hole in each souffle (after they are cooked) and pour in sauce.

This had a very light lemon flavor, I am going to up the amount of lemon zest and juice next time I make them, as well as add some lemon zest to the honey sauce. Don't let the eggs intimidate you - this was my first souffle EVER and it work.