Cinnamon Apple Crescents

Could it get any easier? This is a canned crescent roll, wrapped around an apple slice, then baked for 9 minutes. Nope, can't get much easier than that.

This is a mixture of brown sugar & cinnamon, although I prefer using white sugar.

Ingredients:

1 apple

 Yet another version of the recipe.

1 can of 8 Pillsbury crescent rolls

1/2 cup of butter, melted

1/2 cup of cinnamon/brown sugar mixture

whipped cream & caramel (Optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Wash and cut the apple into 8 pieces. Take out the Pillsbury rolls and separate into 8 triangles. Brush a thin layer of butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar onto both sides of the triangle, place on pan and roll up the apple.

3. Bake for approximately 9 minutes, or until golden brown. If desired garnish with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

*To make the dessert even sweeter, brush the apple with the butter and cinnamon sugar.

Pretty easy right? There are lots of different versions for this recipe. I honestly thought that I was making an original. But alas, when I searched the internet for "cinnamon crescent apples," they were already made....sigh...oh well.

P.S. I'm experimenting with making this a Wordpress Blog!!! I'm hoping it will be ready by the blog's first anniversary (March 2nd). =D

Snickerdoodle Surprise

Could someone please tell me what "snickerdoodle" means? Or who came up with the word?  Because it's a very catchy name. Does it mean a Snickers bar and a doodle? Or what about a snick and then a er with a doodle. Is that what it means???  No, it means a warm delicious cinnamon cookie and in this recipe, it comes with a cream cheese surprise inside!

The Ingredients

See the difference between the two bowls.

Never underestimate the power of eggs in a recipe.  It can turn your
dough into a lovely ball of fluff.

Come Luke Skywalker to the darkside...I have cream cheese.

And this is the surprise part of it.

Now wrap the surprise in the sugar, so it looks nice and pretty.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

1. Make the cream cheese filling by mixing the cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp vanilla. I used the electric hand mixer for this.
2. Cover the cream cheese mixture and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about HALF of the flour, the 1 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
4. Beat till thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. Cover and chill 1 hour.
5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Combine the 2 Tbsp. sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degrees oven for 10-11 minutes or till edges are golden. Cool cookies on a wire wrack. ( Makes 36-48 cookies)

Since we didn't actually find out what the meaning of snickerdoodle was, let's just call it a warm little sugary cookie, and in this case, with a dash of cream cheese inside. The cream cheese was definitely a new thing for me, especially wrapping the dough around it.  That took some practice. You know, come to think of it I can hardly wrap presents either, which is why we have those lovely gift bags to make use of!

This is Gracerdoodle signing off...
Why weren't my parents this creative when naming me? =/

(My editor/mother just added these last 2 lines.)
(facepalm)
And now my "punny" Dad just said, "Maybe Snickerdoodle stands for
a doodler with a sense of humor."
(double facepalm)

GB2- God Bless, Go BAKE!!!

"Empty Tomb" Marshmallow Delights

It's Easter! Well, not quite, but it's close enough to start preparing recipes for this very special holiday. I found this recipe here and I love it. It's supposed to represent the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Below is the symbolism of each of the ingredients. 

(This would be a great project for Moms of "little ones" to make for Easter.)

Two of my very good photogenic friends!
(The one on the left liked it so much she was blinded by the goodness!)
She also has a really cool cooking blog!

Large Marshmallows - body of Jesus
Melted Butter - oils of embalming
Cinnamon and Sugar Mix- spices used to anoint the body
Crescent Roll - the wrapping of Jesus’ body or the tomb
Oven – the tomb

Cavity in bun – the empty tomb or the empty cloths

The Ingredients.  I have no idea why the cream cheese ended up in this picture, maybe it's because I've been using a lot of cream cheese lately!

The dough - if you buy the Pillsbury brand it comes pre-cut,
another time saver. 

"Marshmallows dipped in butter??? Sweetie what are you making???" These were my Dad's questions for me.  I assured him it would all turn out fine in the end. =)

I tried to wrap this like a present, but it didn't turn out to well.

              Look out Dippin' Dots! I'm coming in with Dippin' Dough!             

My first Dippin' Dough creation...hmm the FDA might not be too happy with raw dough.
Eh..never mind. =)

Whoops... I guess I'll need to pinch the edges some more next time.  What's SUPPOSED to happen is...the marshmallows melt away and you are left with a round empty shell of dough like the empty tomb.  Check out the recipe link at the top for the real deal!

I've noticed that professional bloggers have cool stuff behind their food,
so I figured my jean skirt would work...or not. =)

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

8 large marshmallows

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

1. Separate Crescent rolls into eight triangles

2. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip each marshmallow into the butter, roll in cinnamon-sugar and place on top of the triangle.

3. Pinch dough around marshmallow, sealing all edges. (Make sure to seal well or the marshmallow WILL escape instead of dissolving away like it's supposed to.)

4. Dip tops of dough into remaining butter and cinnamon-sugar. Place dough with sugar side up in a greased muffin tin.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes. Eat warm.




I don't know who the original author of this recipe is, but I loved it! My Grandmother who lives in PA was the one who sent me the link! During the summer I'm going to visit her, so I'm sure there will be lots of new country recipes on the blog. I can't wait! (My brother Luke counts down the months, weeks, days and minutes until we go...yeah we're very excited to see our family!)

GB2- God Bless, Go BAKE!!!

Cinnamon Cheesecake Bars

The first time I laid eyes on these beautiful cheesecake bars was on a Wednesday night at the chapel. Although they tasted really good, they seemed rather  complex to make. A friend of ours, Mrs Joanne Johnson, she's a really good cook, posted it on my Mom's Facebook wall and I just had to try it! The real name of this recipe is Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars. I have no idea how to pronounce that...so I'll just give them the nickname Cinnamon Cheesecake Bars.

The Ingredients (Anyone notice anything in the cream cheese?)

I took my own advice and stirred this by hand... I think I'll go back to a mixer.

The first layer.



My hand whipped cream cheese mix. It's not as smooth as when you use the mixer, oh well.

Make sure to pinch the edges of the crescent dough! Don't worry, I'm pretty sure the dough won't mind if you pinch an inch. ; )

I like to pretend I'm an artist. =)

I think I played with my butter to much, because the cinnamon sugar is supposed to dissolve. =/

It's done!

Ingredients:

2 cans crescent rolls

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese (room temp)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Unroll 1 can of crescent rolls and lay flat in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Stretch the rolls to cover the bottom of the pan. Pinch any seams closed.
3. In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla until combined and smooth.
4. Spread this over top of the crescent roll.
5. Unroll your remaining can of crescent rolls and lay this on top of the cream cheese mixture, again, pinching closed any open seams.
6. Pour your melted butter on top of the crescent roll.
7. In a bowl, mix the remaining sugar and tablespoon of cinnamon together and sprinkle that evenly on top of butter.
8. Bake for 30 minutes until top is golden brown.
9. Let cool for approximately 20 minutes and then put in refrigerator to completely chill before cutting into squares.

I hope you guys liked this recipe!  As I said before if you have any tips, recipes, or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment! Whoa, 1,000 views, thanks faithful viewers! =)

GB2- God Bless, Go BAKE!

I wonder what's going to happen to GB2 if Tim Tebow doesn't play for the Broncos next year? (for those of you who don't follow football like my brother does, GB2 is Tim Tebow's motto and stands for "God bless, Go Broncos.") 
Any thoughts on that???