Author: Chocolate Castles

Welcome to Chocolate Castles, a blog about food, family and stories that hopefully will bring a smile to your heart. Thanks for reading chocolate castles and may the recipes and stories help bring your family and friends a little closer around the table! Remember that Princess On The Porch is still available on Amazon! Makes a great gift for anyone who enjoys being in the kitchen and needs a little laughter in their lives.
Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

I love any recipe that has the word “mini” in it. It makes me think that even if I eat them, it will make me “mini”, no matter how much butter or cream cheese are in them. My neighbor, Nancy, has given me a couple of folders in which she and her twin sister have gathered recipes for years. I am so honored that they have allowed me to look through them and pick out ones I want to use. These are the same ladies who took me to the Pasadena Ladies club you might have read about in the blog. Sally, one of the twin sisters, has written a couple of cookbooks and is such a great hostess.  So when I saw this recipe, I knew it was a good one to try.

Makes 24

1 pkg (9.5 oz) Keebler Fudge Shoppe Peanut Butter Filled cookies (now, after seeing the first ingredient, you know these are going to be good)

2  (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs, at room temp

Chocolate Glaze:

3 oz semisweet baking chocolate

2 tables unsalted butter

2 tables light corn syrup

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

Heat oven to 325. Line muffin pans with 24 paper baking cups.

Break cookies into a food processor. Pulse until fine moist crumbs form. Press about 1 tables crumbs into each muffin paper liner and spread over the bottom of liner. Freeze while you are preparing the cheese mixture.

Beat next 4 ingredients in a large bowl with mixer on medium until smooth. On low speed, beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until blended. Spoon about 2 1/2 tables into each cup.

Bake 20 min or until puffed. Some may crack on top but that’s ok. Cool completely in pans on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, prepare glaze. Melt the chocolate, butter and syrup together in small saucepan until smooth. Do not boil. Cool slightly. Peel liners off each cupcake. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Spoon glaze over tops. Sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to give glaze a chance to set and cheesecakes to be cold.

Desserts

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Today, we have listened to thunder for about 4 hours and it has been heavenly. There is nothing I like better than being at home when it is dark and rainy with thunder and a stove. I don’t know if it is the cool weather, the thunder or just knowing that we are in the Fall season, that makes me want to make everything pumpkin.  We are having company this weekend and I wanted to make something different for dessert. I looked through cookbooks until I found this pie that combines cream cheese and pumpkin with a gingersnap cookie crust. I was hooked. Because the crust is made with cookies, it is so easy.

1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar, divided

1 teas vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 teas cinnamon

1/4 teas ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix the crushed gingersnaps, pecans and butter. Press this mixture into the bottom and 1″ up the sides of a 9″ springform pan. (if you don’t have a springform pan, you can a deep pie pan)

Bake crust 10 min. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each egg. Set aside 1 cup of this mixture.

Blend 1/4 cup sugar, the pumpkin, cinnamon & nutmeg into the remaining batter.

Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust and then drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.

Bake 55 min in oven or until filling is set. You might need to adjust the baking time if you used the pie pan. If you used the spring form pan, run a knife around the edge of the pan. Allow to cool before removing pan rim.  If you used a pie pan, cut servings as you would a pie after chilling at least 4 hours before serving with whipped cream.

 

Cakes · Desserts

Pumpkin Pound Cake

Chocolate Castles3 Comments

This weekend will be ever so busy and I needed a cake I could bake now and freeze for Sunday so I wouldn’t have to bake all weekend. Found this on Land O Lakes Butter web site. With six eggs and butter, how can it not be good?

Pound Cake

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups Land O Lakes® Butter, softened

6 Land O Lakes® All-Natural Eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 cup milk

Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Butter, softened

4 to 6 teaspoons milk

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.Combine sugar and 1 1/2 cups butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Continue beating, adding eggs one at a time, until well mixed. Add pumpkin; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture alternately with 3/4 cup milk, until well mixed.

Spoon batter into greased and floured 12-cup Bundt® pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely.

Combine powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons butter and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in small bowl. Glaze cooled cake.

*Substitute 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and cloves.

Desserts · Fruit

Twinkie Dessert

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Unbelievable, I really cannot tell you how surprised I am that I actually found this recipe in a very good recipe book. But there it was in black and white. Randy use to tell me about this and how he and his roommates use to buy Twinkies and make this back in college. So that tells you how old this recipe is. He has informed me that I should try it, because he loved it. He  is thrilled that I have agreed to make it. So, here it is….Twinkies, I still cannot believe I am going to the store to buy Twinkies. Think I will go right before the store closes when no one is in there. I’m afraid that if people see me buying them, they will think, “poor lady, she obviously cannot control her eating habits and had to run into the store to stock up on sweets to get her through the night.” They will probably picture me, sitting in front of the TV, watching soap operas with unwrapped Twinkie packages all around me on the floor. But, anything for my man, so here it is.

1 large box Twinkies

1 can Eagle Brand

1 large box vanilla instant pudding

1 large Cool Whip

2 packages frozen strawberries

Cut Twinkies in half and put in a 9×13 inch dish. Slice strawberries on top. Mix pudding according to directions on box. Stir in Eagle Brand and Cool Whip. Spread on top and chill several hours before serving. (And please don’t tell your company or family where you got the recipe) Just tell them you saw this on-line and it sounded interesting…I owe you!

Daily Thoughts

Free Popcorn, Flat Tires & Fresh Coffee

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

I thought an update might be appropriate since many of you have commented on the fun and cheap, (oops, I forgot, we are trying to be classy) I mean inexpensive Saturday that Randy and I had a couple of weekends ago.

We have now learned something else, very important. The more expensive the car dealership, the better the snacks you get. This past Saturday, we woke up to a flat tire which meant that we called AAA (the ones who come out to fix your car, no, we didn’t turn into alcoholics from just having a flat tire, that would have been AA) But back to the story. We had them put on the spare in order for us to get to the dealership where we were told it would only be a few minutes and they would have a new tire put on and we could just wait in the “lounge” until they called us. Well, I can tell you that I am headed back there next weekend after the grandkids leave. Not only were we treated to free cookies, free popcorn, free soda and free coffee, but oh this is good……they had  massage chairs that you see in the malls. So Randy and I just went on over, flopped down (yes, when you are as big as we are, you flop down), in the chairs, turned on the back roller, the up and down massager that makes you feel like a limp noodle and even had the leg massager that vibrates your legs. It was a wonderful morning. Having popcorn, coffee and watching TV all the while sitting in these glorious chairs.  We were so sorry when they called us that the car was ready. We weren’t through with our massage yet….but we paid for our new tire, which cheated me out of a new outfit the whole rest of the year, and headed out to other car dealerships, still trying to find Randy a car. We discovered that the AutoMall is not where we wanted to buy a car. They only had warm bottled water, no massage chair and a salesman that wore a really bad rug….(on his head, not one wrapped around him)…That did it. We decided that even if it were necessary to sell a couple of the grandkids (don’t think badly of me, we have plenty of them) to buy a car where you are treated like royalty, then that’s what we would do. So when you see “grandkids for sale” on Ebay, you will know that we have found just the perfect snack dealership, I mean, car for Randy. I’m asking Randy for a gift certificate to the Lexus Dealership Lounge for Christmas.

Casseroles · Chicken

Chicken & Dressing Casserole

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

It is true what they say, if you wait long enough, things come back in style and they were right. (have you ever found out who “they” are?)

The popularity of casseroles is coming back. Maybe it is the time crunch everyone seems to have, or economics or just plain wanting something easy and fast. The following casserole was a great seller when we used to have Mistletoe Market at our house in October. It was a gathering of different ladies who would sell jewelry, purses, holiday goodies and frozen casseroles which I made. Here was one that was so easy to make and it keeps well in the freezer for company at holiday time.

1 chicken, cooked and deboned

2 tables butter (to sauté the onion/celery)

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion (to make this easier, just buy the container of mixed chopped onions/celery mix in the fresh veggie section of your grocery store)

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1 package herb stuffing mix

1/4 cup butter

2 cups chicken broth.

Saute the onion, celery mixture in about 2 tables of butter until onion is clear and celery is tender (about 10 minutes). Set aside.

Place chicken in bottom of a 9×13 greased baking dish. Combine soups & milk. Pour over chicken. Add onion/celery mixture to dry stuffing mix and sprinkle this mixture over top of the soups. Melt butter in chicken broth. Pour over stuffing and bake at 350 for 35-40 min. Serve with green veggie and salad.

 

 

Casseroles · Starches

Zesty Corn Macaroni Casserole

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

It was just so exciting to find this long loved recipe that I had been looking for the last 10 years. When Randy and I first married, we used to go to Colorado for a week and stay where his mom and dad would park their travel RV. It was always such fun to sit around the campfire with people that had been camping together for as long as 25 years. They had seen each others kids grow up. They had experienced marriages, divorces, deaths, but most of all, they experienced friendship that grew over camping together for many years. It was at one of these camp cookouts that one of my mother-in-laws friends brought this casserole. I couldn’t quit eating it. It was one of those foods that became a comfort food and when I lost it, I was so disappointed. This past week, while at my daughter’s house, I was looking through her cookbooks and found this cookbook that came from all the wonderful cooks there at the campground where my inlays used to go. Leafing through, I saw “the recipe”…..I cannot tell you how excited I was. So here it is and you won’t believe how easy it is to make. Great for those church dinners or a side dish to any meat.

1 cup macaroni(uncooked) (isn’t that awesome, you don’t even have to cook it before using it)

1 can Rotel Tomatoes with green chiles

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 can undrained whole kernel corn

1 can cream style corn

1 cup Velveeta cheese, cubed

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

Combine all ingredient6s and pour into a 9×13 inch greased baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 375. Remove the foil and bake 30 min longer uncovered to give the casserole a crusty topping.

Makes 8 servings

Daily Thoughts

GrandkidsTakes Priority

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Since I am headed to hug some grandkids tomorrow, I will not be back until Oct 2nd. If I can use my daughter’s computer without having to share it with the 3 year old, I will write this week, but if not, will see you on the 3rd…..blessings and lets continue to pray for this country! In God We Trust……TKbakesalot

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Vegetables

Bruschetta Chicken & Veggies

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment
Tonight, since I am leaving town tomorrow for a week to go see grandkids, I figured that I should feed Randy a home cooked meal so he would appreciate me. After a friend of ours gave me this recipe last week, I have been waiting to try it and tonight was the night. It is so easy and so different. We loved it. Since bruschetta is one of those favorite dinners that we have on Friday or Sunday nights, I knew that this had to be a hit.
2-4 chicken breasts, uncooked
2 tomatoes
*1/4 to 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (if using 2 chicken breasts, use the 1/4, 4 breasts use 1/2 cup)
*1-2 tables butter  (if using 2, 1 tables, if using 4, use 2 tables butter)
2-4 fresh basil leaves
1-2 tables olive oil (yes, depends how many chicken breasts you are making)
In small saucepan, put the balsamic vinegar and the butter and cook over medium heat until the mixture is reduced by half and is thick. Set aside.
In the olive oil, sauté the chicken breasts and season with seasoned salt, seasoned pepper, garlic powder and onion powder (be sure these are not garlic and onion salt, but powder)
Brown the chicken on both sides and place about 1/4-1/2 cup liquid and place skillet over pan. Cook until chicken is tender and is completely done. (liquid can be chicken broth, white wine or water)
When ready to serve, place chicken over pasta, rice or asparagus and place a fresh basil leave on top. Place sliced fresh tomatoes on top of basil leave and then drizzle the balsamic reduction over the top one the tomatoes allowing to drip onto chicken. We served this with broccolini and brussels sprouts that I had sautéed in a skillet with bacon and onions. Made a delicious dinner that we didn’t miss having starches, which we are really trying to cut back on. 
Desserts

Snickerdoodles

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment
Soft, Chewy Snickerdoodles

I know, I know, there are a million zillion recipes out there for these delightful little cookies, but I happened to buy bagged  4.25 lb Gold Medal flour instead of the flour that comes in the paper sack and this recipe was on the back. It is different than the others I have made because of the cream of tartar. This told me immediately that this cookie would be softer and not as crisp as the other snicker doodles I have made, and that made me immediately just go to the kitchen to make them. I just ate 4 of them. There are so soft and delicious and just perfect to leave for Randy when I go out of town to see grandkids. I always use more cinnamon sugar mixture than they call for because I can never get enough cinnamon flavor.

Makes about 5 dz.

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup softened butter (I use 1 stick butter and 1 stick Parkay or you can use 1/2 cup shortening added to the butter) Just end up with 1 cup, whichever mixture you want to use. But if you use all butter, the cookie will tend to be crispier)

2 eggs

1/2 teas vanilla

2  3/4 cup flour (all purpose)

2 teas cream of tartar

1 teas baking soda

1/4 teas salt

1/4 cup sugar added to 2 to 3 tables cinnamon (this is to roll the cookies in before baking them)

Heat oven to 400. Mix the 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, shortening or margarine and eggs together. Add 1/2 teas vanilla to mixture and beat until creamed well.

Mix the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt together. Add to creamed mixture and using mixer, mix on medium until flour and butter mixture are well blended.  At this point, I cover the bowl and refrigerate for a couple of hours to make handling the dough to form little balls so much easier. You should put about a tables of dough into each ball. Mix the sugar and cinnamon tougher and roll each ball into this. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake about 8-9 minutes, depending upon your oven and size of balls that you made. I like them to be soft and chewy, so I tend to take them out before they feel completely done. Remove them from cookie sheet and place on paper towels you have laid out on the counter. I like the paper towels instead of cooling racks. It keeps the cookies a little softer and not as crisp as they tend to get on cooling racks.