Bacon & Egg Salad Sandwiches

"This is such a versatile sandwich spread.  It is yummy served on any type of bread-bagels, croissants and of course my favorite, classic white bread.  If you need to use up all of those leftover eggs that the Easter bunny delivered, this is a DELICIOUS way to do it!" 

6 eggs
1/4 cup chopped pickles or pickle relish
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon chopped chives
1/4 teaspoon pepper
classic white bread, bagels, croissants or your favorite bread

Carefully place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring to a full boil; cover with lid and remove from the heat.  Let sit for 15-17 minutes.  Drain.  Run cold water over eggs until cool.  Peel eggs and place in a large bowl.  Using a fork, break eggs up.  Add chopped pickles, bacon, mayonnaise, mustard, chives and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Serve on bread of your choice.  ENJOY!

Mini Cream Pies

"My Grandma's Cream Filling is the perfect custard for these mini cream pies.  To turn them into Easter desserts, just decorate with colored coconut and candy to make adorable Easter egg nests!"

To make Mini Cream Pies, first prepare Cream Filling (recipe follows).
 
Cream Filling:
2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

3 Tablespoons flour

3 egg yolks, beaten

2 Tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Spray the bottom of a medium saucepan with non-stick cooking spray (to ensure that custard won't stick to pan) and pour in milk.  Scald milk (heat milk just to the point before it's going to boil-about 180 degrees).  In a bowl, mix together sugar, cornstarch and flour.  Add to heated milk and cook on low until thickened, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in egg yolks, 1 Tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly.  Return pan to the heat and add butter and salt.  Stir until butter is completely melted (2-3 minutes).  Remove custard from the heat and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.  Stir in almond and vanilla extracts.

Now spoon cream filling into:

6 mini graham cracker pie crusts (about 3-4 Tablespoons of cream filling in each pie crust)

To decorate mini cream pies with Easter egg nests:

Dye sweetened flake coconut with a few drops of green food coloring and mound coconut on top of cream filling and top off with malted milk Easter eggs.    

**The cream filling recipe can easily be doubled if you need a dozen mini cream pies. 

Vanilla Almond Cupcakes

"Hippity Hoppity, Easter's on It's Way!"

Vanilla Almond Cupcakes 

1 white cake mix (eggs, oil and water called for on the box)

1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Follow the directions on the cake mix, adding almond and vanilla extracts. Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full.  Bake following box instructions for cupcakes.   Allow cupcakes to cool completely and frost and decorate.

 

Whipped Vanilla Almond Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup shortening

1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter, softened

1/2 of a 2 pound bag of powdered sugar, or you can use a 1 pound box

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons almond extract

desired amount of green food coloring (I used 6 drops to make a light green color.)

candy decorations, if desired

Using the whip attachment of your mixer, whip together butter and shortening. Add powdered sugar a little at a time until all combined. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Color with food coloring.  Frost cupcakes and decorate.  (I used a Wilton #233 tip to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes to resemble grass for the little bunnies to sit in.)  Store cupcakes in the refrigerator until needed.

*TIP:  If frosting is too thick, you can thin it out with milk.  I have also used corn syrup to thin the frosting, which gives the icing a nice sheen.

To see more yummy cupcake recipes, please visit my Kandy's Kupcakes page:
http://kandyskitchenkreations.blogspot.com/p/kandys-kupcakes.html

Lemon Bar Biscotti

"If You love Lemon Bars, You will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this Biscotti!  It's so yummy with coffee in the morning or with tea at the end of the day and it makes a delicious dessert too."

1-1/4 cups sugar
1 stick or 1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
zest from 2 lemons, 2-3 teaspoons
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter.  Add  eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Stir in flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined.  Divide the dough into two equal portions.  Roll out each portion and shape into 10x3 inch rectangles and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Cool on baking sheet for 15 minutes.

After cooling, cut each rectangle crosswise into 1/2-inch slices.  Place slices cut sides down on cookie sheet.  Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove from the cookie sheet and allow to cool on wire racks.  Drizzle with or dunk ends in Lemon Drizzle (Recipe follows).

Lemon Drizzle:
1 (11 ounce) package of white chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon shortening
1 teaspoon lemon extract
10 drops of yellow food coloring
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Powdered sugar for dusting

Melt white chocolate chips with shortening in a saucepan on low heat.  Remove from heat and add extract and food coloring.  Mixture will become thick so stir in vegetable oil to thin into a drizzling consistency.  Drizzle over cooled biscotti or dunk ends of biscotti into melted chocolate.  Allow Lemon Drizzle to set and then dust biscotti with powdered sugar.  Serve with coffee, tea or enjoy as a yummy dessert.

Let's Celebrate! Cream Cheese Cookie Bars

"I made these cookie bars for a family barbecue recently and everyone enjoyed them.  Whether you are serving them at a Special Birthday Bash or sharing them with the special people in your life, these cookies are a fun addition to any gathering.  They would be perfect for bake sales too!" 

 

1/2 cup or 1 stick butter, softened

1-(3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup jimmies sprinkles

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl of a stand mixer (I used a stand mixer because the dough is thick.) cream together butter and cream cheese.  Add flour, sugar, egg, milk, cornstarch, baking powder, almond extract and vanilla and mix until all ingredients are well combined.  Stir in jimmies.  Spoon dough into a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray with flour.  Using your fingers, press dough evenly into pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool and frost with Whipped Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting (Recipe follows).

 

Whipped Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup or 1 stick butter, softened

1-(3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening (Crisco)

1-(1 pound box) of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

food coloring, desired color (I made peach frosting by adding 3 drops of red and 2 drops of yellow.)

Sprinkles for decorating

 

Using the whip attachment of a stand mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese and shortening until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar a little at a time until all combined.  Add vanilla, almond extract and food coloring.  Whip for 2-3 minutes.  Frost cooled cookie bars.  Decorate with Sprinkles.

 

*Tip:  I used a pizza cutter to slice the cookie bars into squares.     

 

Variation:  You could tint the frosting any color that fits your occasion and use any combination and color of jimmies and sprinkles too!     





Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

"These cupcakes are the perfect combination of  spiced carrot cake and creamy coconut frosting.  They would make the perfect treat for even the Easter Bunny himself!"   

Carrot Cupcakes:

1 Duncan Hines Carrot Cake Mix 

eggs, oil and water called for on the box
Cupcake liners

Prepare cake mix according to package directions.  Divide cake batter into cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 full.  Bake following box instructions for cupcakes.  Allow cupcakes to cool completely and frost and decorate.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

1-(8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened

2 sticks or 1 cup of butter, softened

2 pound bag of powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tablespoons milk

1 (7 ounce) package of sweetened flake coconut 

Easter candies (I decorated my cupcakes with carrot cake flavored candy corn)

Cream together cream cheese and butter.  Add powdered sugar a little at a time until all combined.  Add vanilla and milk.  Stir in coconut.  Frost cupcakes and decorate.  Store in refrigerator until ready to eat.

"Happy Easter to all of my Family, Friends and Followers!"

Check it out!

Springtime Lemon and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

"These cookies are so easy to make because they start with a boxed cake mix.  I used lemon cake mix and added Springtime sprinkles to make them into the perfect Easter treats."

1-(18.25 ounce) lemon cake mix, dry

2 eggs

1/2 cup cooking oil

1/4 cup flour*

1 cup white chocolate chips

2-3 Tablespoons decorating sprinkles (I used a Springtime mix that included little chicks, bunnies and flowers.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil and flour*.  Mix well until thoroughly combined.  (Dough will be thick.). Stir in white chocolate chips and sprinkles.  Using a small scoop or Tablespoon, form cookies into a ball and place onto a non-stick or silicone lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes and then continue cooling on cooling racks.

*If you don't live at high altitude, you may not need to add the flour to this recipe. My suggestion is to mix the cake mix, eggs and oil together and if the mixture is too thin, you can then add the flour. Where I live in Wyoming, adding the flour made the perfect cookie dough.  However, when my sister made these cookies where she lives in the Pacific Northwest, the flour made the dough too thick. 

TIP:  You can use any flavor cake mix and substitute any mix-ins to make cookies that your family will love.  For example, you can use a carrot cake mix and stir in a cup of chopped walnuts or mix in 1 cup of chopped Andes mints into a chocolate cake mix.  The combinations are endless!  

Happy Easter! Recipes



"I hope that you and your family have a Happy Easter!  These adorable cupcakes or a slice of Bunny Banana Cheesecake would be a sweet ending to your Easter dinner!"

Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Almond Buttercream Frosting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vanilla Almond Cupcakes 

1 white cake mix (eggs, oil and water called for on the box)

1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Follow the directions on the cake mix, adding almond and vanilla extracts. Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full.  Bake following box instructions for cupcakes.   Allow cupcakes to cool completely and frost and decorate.

 

Whipped Vanilla Almond Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup shortening

1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter, softened

1/2 of a 2 pound bag of powdered sugar, or you can use a 1 pound box

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons almond extract

desired amount of green food coloring (I used 6 drops to make a light green color.)

candy decorations, if desired

Using the whip attachment of your mixer, whip together butter and shortening. Add powdered sugar a little at a time until all combined. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Color with food coloring.  Frost cupcakes and decorate.  (I used a Wilton #233 tip to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes to resemble grass for the little bunnies to sit in.)  Store cupcakes in the refrigerator until needed.

*TIP:  If frosting is too thick, you can thin it out with milk.  I have also used corn syrup to thin the frosting, which gives the icing a nice sheen.

To see more yummy cupcake recipes, please visit my Kandy's Kupcakes page:
http://kandyskitchenkreations.blogspot.com/p/kandys-kupcakes.html

 

 

 Bunny Banana Cheesecake

 

Crust

1-3/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter, melted

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Set aside 1/2 cup of mixture to sprinkle on top of cheesecake. Press remaining mixture in bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before filling.

 

Cheesecake Layer

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 (8 ounce) container of non-dairy whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed and divided

3-4 bananas, sliced

1-3/4 cup milk

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant banana cream or vanilla pudding mix

 

Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Fold in 2 cups of Cool Whip. Place half of the banana slices on the bottom of the cooled crust and top with half of the cream cheese mixture. Arrange remaining banana slices on top and cover with remaining cream cheese mixture. Whisk together milk and pudding mix. Allow to sit for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Fold in remaining Cool Whip. Pour over cream cheese layer and spread evenly. Sprinkle top of cheesecake with reserved 1/2 cup of crust mixture. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

 

TIP: Of course you can eat the cheesecake without decorating it and it will be DELICIOUS! The following directions will show you how I decorated the cheesecake for Easter, but you could decorate it for any holiday, including Birthdays.

Easter Decorations:

I used the following ingredients to decorate my cheesecake, but feel free to use any Easter candy to decorate yours.

 

Easter Marshmallow bunnies (Peeps)

malted milk eggs

Pastel sprinkles

To decorate the cheesecake, I stood 4 marshmallow bunnies in a circle in the center of the cheesecake, pushing down slightly to help them stand. I then scattered the malted milk eggs around the bunnies and placed the pastel sprinkles around he edge of the cheesecake.

  

 

Visit my MooseCreek CheeseCakes page to see more cheesecake recipes.

http://kandyskitchenkreations.blogspot.com/p/moosecreek-cheesecakes.html

Bunny Banana Cheesecake

"I made this adorable cheesecake last Easter for my family.  It was a 'hoppy' ending to our holiday meal!"

Crust  

1-3/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter.  Set aside 1/2 cup of mixture to sprinkle on top of cheesecake.  Press remaining mixture in bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before filling.

Cheesecake Layer

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 (8 ounce) container of non-dairy whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed and divided 

3-4 bananas, sliced

1-3/4 cup milk

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant banana cream or vanilla pudding mix

Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Fold in 2 cups of Cool Whip.  Place half of the banana slices on the bottom of the cooled crust and top with half of the cream cheese mixture. Arrange remaining banana slices on top and cover with remaining cream cheese mixture.  Whisk together milk and pudding mix.  Allow to sit for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Fold in remaining Cool Whip.  Pour over cream cheese layer and spread evenly.  Sprinkle top of cheesecake with reserved 1/2 cup of crust mixture.  Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

TIP:  Of course you can eat the cheesecake without decorating it and it will be DELICIOUS!  The following directions will show you how I decorated the cheesecake for Easter, but you could decorate it for any holiday, including Birthdays.

Easter Decorations:   

I used the following ingredients to decorate my cheesecake, but feel free to use any Easter candy to decorate yours. 

Easter Marshmallow bunnies (Peeps)

malted milk eggs

Pastel sprinkles

To decorate the cheesecake, I stood 4 marshmallow bunnies in a circle in the center of the cheesecake, pushing down slightly to help them stand.  I then scattered the malted milk eggs around the bunnies and placed the pastel sprinkles around he edge of the cheesecake.   

Visit my MooseCreek CheeseCakes page to see more cheesecake recipes.

http://kandyskitchenkreations.blogspot.com/p/moosecreek-cheesecakes.html