Review: Ben & Jerry's Berry Voluntary

The last cheesecake ice cream i tried wasn't that great so i didn't want to try this one as much. But i saw that it did have some type of chocolate in it so i decided to try it. It's Raspberry cheesecake ice cream with white chocolatey chunks and a raspberry swirl. There wasn't much chunks in there but i'm glad because it would have ruined the whole thing. There's a nice swirl and it tastes just like cheesecake too! The ice cream is really creamy and it almost melts in your mouth. I would recommend this to anyone. It was a great flavor and i'll probably have it again soon.
Rating: 4/5

Strawberry Cupcakes

I've never been much of a strawberry cake person but when i saw this recipe, i just had to try it! The cake looked so moist and delicious. And after i got my new giant cupcake/muffin pans i knew it'd be perfect together. The cupcakes taste very moist, and they almost melt in your mouth. I even had leftover batter so i made mini cupcakes too. The only change i would make next time is using a cool whip type frosting. It would taste amazing.
Strawberry Cupcakes
from All recipes
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 package strawberry flavored gelatin
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberry puree made from frozen strawberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour cupcake pans.

In large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder in separate bowl. Stir into batter, alternating with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Spoon the batter into cupcake pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in oven or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting:
from Rachel Ray Mag.com
Ingredients:
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confections sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

In large bowl using a mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the confections sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk. Beat at high speed until fluffy, adding an additional tablespoon milk if necessary.

Review: Ben & Jerry's s'mores ice cream

I think I've pretty much declared every Sunday Ben and Jerry's ice cream day. So i'll pick one, eat it and post a review. This week i decided to try the s'mores one. It says it's a "chocolate ice cream with fudge chunks, toasted marshmallow & a graham cracker swirl". And for once, that's actually what it tasted like. There was a distinct marshmallow, graham cracker, and chocolate taste. The weird part was, some of the graham cracker swirls were liquid and some were almost like cookie dough. But that was the great part about it! I kind of wished there was more graham cracker cookie dough pieces but that also might have ruined it. When there was, it almost tasted salty. Not really salty but almost like a good, sweet kind of salty.
Overall, it was a pretty good ice cream but it was too chocolatey and i think next time i'll just stick to regular s'mores.
Rating: 3/5

Review: Ben and Jerry's half baked frozen yogurt

I was really excited to try this. I love all things that are not baked. Like cake batter and cookie dough. I couldn't find the original half baked ice cream so i just decided to try the frozen yogurt. After all, the picture made it look so good! It looked like there was a lot of brownie and cookie dough chunks in there, which i love. So how did it taste? Well.. you could tell that it was frozen yogurt but it still tasted pretty good. But i was a bit disappointed by the lack of brownie and cookie dough chunks. I thought they would at least be all at the top but there wasn't much chunks in the entire container. Overall, i would have it again but i think there are better things out there.
Rating: 3/5

Lemon Loaf.. and some other stuff

Many people reading this blog probably realize something.. i have an eating disorder.. yup. It sucks but I'm finally, finally getting help. And i feel really good about it too. I've refused help for so long but now I'm finally accepting it. It's this out patient place and when i went there, i honestly didn't think it was that bad, but i was very wrong. Eating under 500 calories a day is really bad for you and they almost wanted to put me in inpatient hospital care. But after i left, i realized something. I don't want to eat under 500 calories a day anymore. It's not enjoyable, or fun and I'm getting way too thin. I want to eat the foods that i used to eat, and love (like this lemon loaf). I like food. Not the eating disorder. So I'm starting another blog, about my recovery. Read it, if you want. Or just read my recipes and reviews.
Lemon Loaf Recipe:
from Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook
Ingredients:
1 medium lemon
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. From lemon, grate 1 tablespoon peel and squeeze 4 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice. Set aside and great 9 x 5 loaf pan.
In large bowl with fork, mix flour, baking powder, salt and 2/3 cups sugar. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissor fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in peel.
In small bowl with fork, beat eggs slightly and stir in milk; then stir this mixture into flour mixture until flour is moistened.
Spoon into pan. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan.
In 1 quart saucepan over medium high heat, heat lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar to boiling. Cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. With pastry rush, brush sugar mixture evenly over top of bread. Serve warm.

Sugar Cookie Bars

Aren't they cute? They're sugar cookies in bar form. Well.. kind of. They taste almost like cake and like a cookie at the same time. I put less sugar in them because the frosting is very sugary and the whole thing tastes amazing! I made these for my 8 and 10 year old cousins and they had a blast decorating them with me. If you want a treat little kids will love, this is the one to make!
Sugar cookie bars
adapted from what megan's making
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. line a 9 x 13 baking pan with aluminum foil. spray with cooking spray
In large bowl with electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.
In separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to wet mixture until just combined. Press into prepared pan.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and lift bars out using aluminum foil. Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 tablespoons heavy cream
Food coloring

S'mores Cheesecake Bars

If you haven't tried these or even thought about making these, then i think you must be crazy.
I was kind of skeptical to try this recipe at first because i didn't think s'mores and cheesecake went together very well. But after i tasted it, i couldn't have been more wrong! The cheesecake bars really resemble s'mores and they're very rich and almost melt in your mouth. Sure, they have to sit in the fridge for a few hours for the cheesecake to set, but the wait is worth it. Even the little ones will like these.
S'mores cheesecake bars:
(slightly adapted from Annie Eats )
Ingredients
For the crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine, melted
For the cheesecake:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
10 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup marshmallow cream
2 tsp cocoa powder
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips, melted
Directions:
To make the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8x8 baking pan with foil; spray lightly with cooking spray. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in a small bowl. Stir together with a fork until well combined. Press the mixture in an even layer into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake 6-8 minutes; Transfer to wire rack will you prepare the filling. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

To make the filling, melt the bittersweet chocolate in a greased pan over low heat. Stir constantly until chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside. In a large bowl with a mixer, beat the cream cheese and marshmallow cream until smooth and well combined, about 2 minutes. Blend in cocoa powder, vanilla, and eggs until incorporated. Stir in the melted chocolate until well blended. Pour the filling over the graham cracker crust and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake about 30 minutes or until the center is just set (does not jiggle when shaken) Remove from oven.

Evenly top the cheesecake layer with mini marshmallows. Return to oven for 2-3 minutes or until the marshmallows begin to melt into each other. Transfer to wire cooling rack. Once the cheesecake is cool, drizzle the top with melted chocolate. Transfer to refrigerator and chill 2-3 hours before slicing and serving.

Review:Oreo Brownie Earthquake Blizzard

There's only a few things i hate in life. Cats, mean people, cookies and cream anything, and mint. You're probably wondering why i'm reviewing the oreo brownie earthquake then. You're probably thinking, it's not cooking and cream! Well.. i thought that too and we're both wrong.
The only reason i went to Dairy Queen today was because if you buy a blizzard there today, a dollar of every blizzard purchased goes to the Children's Miracle Network Hospital. As soon as i found this out i knew i had to go there because i do anything for charity.. and sometimes food.
This blizzard was described as Oreo cookie pieces, fudge brownie pieces, hot fudge and marshmallow blended with creamy vanilla soft serve. And here's what it actually tasted like: a bunch of oreo cookies pieces with about five fudge brownie chunks, vanilla ice cream, and no hot fudge. Or marshmallow. It pretty much tasted like the brownie batter blizzard with less brownies and more Oreo's.
Next time i think i'll stick to the fruity blizzards.
Rating: 2/5

Yoplait Light Boston Cream Pie Yogurt: A review

I love Yogurt. I used to hate every type of yogurt because i thought it all tasted the same but when i saw the Boston cream pie yogurt i knew i had to try it. I love anything boston cream pie related. The pie, the donut, and i even made a version of the cupcakes with chocolate frosting on top and french vanilla pudding in the center.

Well if you want to try Boston Cream pie, then don't get this yogurt. It doesn't taste like it at all. I love how it's very creamy, like the french vanilla pudding but it tastes like a mixture between an overly sweet version of the pudding with some chocolate mixed in. So all in all, i wouldn't try this Yogurt again. Maybe next time if they put less sugar in i'll give it a try.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I was really excited about making these. Not only are they healthy, but they taste great too! I saw this recipe in a recent Cooking Light magazine and knew i had to make them. Because of the name, many people think that they're gross because they have oatmeal in them or something. Well they're wrong! The texture is soft and moist and they taste like you wouldn't believe.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fat free buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
2 large eggs
2 cups frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
cooking spray
2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place oats in food processor or blender and pulse 5 to 6 times or until oats resemble coarse meal. Place in large bowl.
-Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Add flours and next five ingredients (through salt) to oats in bowl. Still well with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture.
-Combine buttermilk, oil, rind, and eggs in small bowl. stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture and stir just until moist.
-Toss blueberries with 2 tablespoons flour and gently fold them into the mixture.
-Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups coated with cooking spray and sprinkle batter with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when gently touched. Remove from pan, cool or wire racks, and enjoy!