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Thursday, April 21, 2011

Carrot Cake Double Doozies


I wanted to make a carrot cake to take to work as an early Easter treat for my co-workers but...one of my co-workers is known as "the cake lady" and she is making a carrot cake next week for someone's birthday, so I didn't want to have 2 carrot cakes back to back.  I will probably make the carrot cake that I've been wanting to try this weekend and take it to my friend Brian's for Easter.

So, I was thinking...what can I take to work?  Then I remembered how popular my Red Velvet Double Doozies had been so thought, 'why can't I make them but with a Carrot Cake twist to them?'

And . . . that is just what I did.

This makes about 20 cookies.  I doubled the recipe for the cookies but not the filling (since I remembered I had more than enough last time).

Carrot Cake Double Doozies
Cookies:
1 box carrot cake mix (I used regular not the Deluxe kind - no raisins for me!)
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix together cake mix, eggs and oil (mixture will be thick).

Roll into balls about the size of a walnut and place a couple of inches apart on an un-greased cookie sheet (I line it with parchment paper)

Bake in pre-heated oven 8 – 10 minutes (until tops kind of look cracked).

Removed from oven, set aside until completely cooled.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix cream cheese and butter until blended. Add milk, vanilla and confectioner’s sugar (a cup at a time) and blend until smooth and creamy (should be slightly thick but spreadable) – add milk a little at a time to thin or add more confectioner’s sugar to thicken.

When cookies are completely cooled, spread filling on half of the cookies, top with the other halves.

I wish I had some pecans to roll the edges in but I didn't have any.  But it didn't matter, they were still very yummy !!


Saturday, April 9, 2011

Pinterest

Pinterest? What is Pinterest, you say? Pinterest is, in its simplest definition, a place to catalog the things you like/love.

Basically, it is kind of like bookmarking the websites you like but in a visual way.

You create your own "boards" - for instance, a board for recipes you want to try, a board for free knitting patterns you like (or perhaps want to make one day), a board for your favorite childhood toys, etc.

For instance, say you want to make this delicious these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars to take to a family reunion 3 months from now. Instead of bookmarking the recipe only to try to find it later among all your other bookmarks, you can "pin" it. Instead of printing it and wasting ink and paper only to try to remember where you put it after you printed it, you can "pin it".

When you pin it, the picture shows up on the board you selected, like this:


Then when you want to make it, you just click on the picture...you are taken directly to the website so you can see the recipe and make this delicious dessert. Very easy and since it is so visual - it is easy to see everything you like at a glance.  You can also see what your
friends are "pinning" - the web pages they like - you can get some good ideas from other's good ideas

Try it now... Here is a PIN of this recipe (click here) - then when you see the pin, click on the picture, see how it takes you directly to the website and the recipe?  Pretty cool, huh? And...much easier to locate than searching through a bunch of bookmarks trying to remember what the name of that recipe was.

Right now the site is still in beta mode so you can request to be added (then you have to wait a bit for them to add you) or you can have a friend invite you and be added right away.  If you would like an invite, leave a comment (with your e-mail address) and I will send you one.

If you like to follow my Pinterest Boards just click HERE