rice krispies birthday cake

rice krispies sprinkle birthday cake

our sweet dinah, this blog's inspiration, turned four on sunday! all she asked for were sprinkles, so i planned the most colorful, happy, sprinkled cake i could think of.

also, after all the exuberance of the holiday season, january seems to be the time of the year we all want to cut back on rich decadent sweet treats, so i decided to forego the tradition heavy cake and make a lighter rice krispies cake instead. i used a traditional buttercream frosting though, because the pound of sprinkles needed to adhere to something, right?

i used this gluten free crispy rice cereal, rainbow sprinkles from nuts.com, and many many bags of mini marshmallows.

wishing she could eat her birthday cake for breakfast

rice krispies birthday cake

this makes a double layer 9 inch round cake

6 TBS butter

2 10.5 oz packages of mini marshmallows

12 cups of rice krispies cereal

2 tsp almond extract

prepare two 9 inch round pans with plenty of butter on the bottom and edges (i also used parchment paper on the bottom). melt butter in a large pan on the stove top. once melted, add marshmallows and coat with butter. melt over medium heat, stirring constantly (about five minutes). once melted, take off heat and add almond extract and stir in dry cereal. distribute evenly between both pans. pat into the pan with liberally buttered hands. let the cakes sit for an hour or more and then with a butterknife unmold cakes from the pans. 

almond buttercream frosting

1 cup butter, softened

2.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1- 3 TBS of heavy whipping cream

2-3 cups multicolor rainbow jimmies

whip the butter until smooth and then add powdered sugar and mix until combined. add extracts and cream and beat until light and fluffy. place the first cake on a stand, spread a thin layer of frosting over the top, then turn the second layer upside down and place on top of the first layer (this will give you a smooth top). gently press the layers together. pour the sprinkles in a baking dish and then frost just the sides of the cake. while holding the top and bottoms of the cake roll the sides in the sprinkles. stand cake upright on the cake stand and frost the top. then add sprinkles on the top. i cut out the number 4 from cardboard and laid that on top of the cake as i sprinkled around it. then remove the stencil carefully. 

oatmeal cookies (regular and healthy options)

healthy oatmeal cookies

today when i picked up dinah from preschool, her teacher told me she ate three (three!!!) helpings of lunch and then as i was buckling her into her carseat (about fifteen minutes after she had finished her third helping of lunch), she asked if i had anything for her to eat. whoa, this almost-four-year-old girl must be growing.

she ate an apple and some cheese as a snack as soon as we got home, but she wouldn't stop pestering me for something sweet to eat, "like cookies! yep, i need a cookie, mama!" since we had nothing on our agenda this afternoon and we're eating leftovers for dinner and it's even a cloudy cool day (perfect baking weather). so, i agreed, on the condition that they were healthy cookies. i got a thumbs up from dinah. as long as it's called a cookie and sort of resembles a cookie, healthy or not, dinah's happy.

these cookies use banana and molasses as sweeteners. okay, yeah. so, i realize molasses is sugar, BUT unlike refined sugars, it contains significant amounts of potassium, vitamin B6 and minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron. so, although it is a sugar, it's a nutrient packed healthy one.

oh, these healthy cookies passed the charlie test too

i made these molasses cookies today, and for being a healthy (aka boring) cookie, they're awesome and sweet and flavorful. but if you want a real oatmeal cookie, just keep reading....

healthy oatmeal molasses cookies

1 egg
1 banana, smashed
1 c. whole-wheat flour
1 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 c. blackstrap molasses
3 tsp. cinnamon
1.5 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. dried cranberries or nuts or chips (optional)

preheat oven to 350 degrees. in a medium mixing bowl, combine the egg, banana, and molasses and mix on high until well-combined. in another medium sized bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, and spices and mix with a spoon until well combined. add dry ingredients to wet, then add cranberries or nuts or chips, if you would like. mix until well combined. scoop out spoonfuls of batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (these cookies are sticky). bake for 15 minutes. this should make about 24 cookies.

~~~

classic oatmeal cookies

okay. so, you want a real oatmeal cookie? these are amazing. literally, THE best oatmeal cookie i have ever had in all of my life. they are soft, sweet, hearty, chewy, chunky, not dry, not crumbly. perfect. i made them last week to take to a friend who just had a baby. i saved back a few for us, but we could have quite easily scarfed down the entire almost three dozen in an afternoon, no problem. they are that awesome. seriously. i got the recipe from sally's baking addiction, but used butterscotch chips and dried cranberries instead of raisins and nuts. 

also, something important to remember about these cookies. it's important to to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes, because the dough is very sticky. it's supposed to be sticky. also, the cookies will look very soft and underbaked when they are done. don't leave them in the oven too long, but do leave them on the hot baking sheet to cool off for about five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 

classic oatmeal cookies

1 c. butter, softened to room temperature

1 c. light brown sugar, packed

1/4 c. white sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 TBS vanilla extract (yes, a tablespoon)

1 TBS molasses

1.5 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

1 c. dried cranberries

1 c. butterscotch chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees. in a medium mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugars together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. add the eggs and mix until well combined. add vanilla and molasses and mix on high until well combined. in a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. add to wet ingredients, and mix on medium until well combined. add oats, cranberries, and butterscotch chips and mix on low speed. the dough will be thick and sticky and will need to be chilled for at least 30 minutes. roll balls of dough (about 2 TBS of dough per cookie and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. bake for 11 minutes until very lightly browned on the sides. the cookies will look soft and undone. let them cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. makes about 32 cookies. 

six layer lasagna

six layer lasagna

who doesn't love lasagna? meat, pasta, cheese, yummmm cheeeese. there's lots of cheese in my lasagna. this is my original recipe too. i have been making lasagna since high school (or maybe even middle school?). it's definitely evolved over time, but i've been making it this way for several years. this is probably the first time i've ever written the recipe down though.

a little bit of parsley in the cheese sauce gives it some color and little extra flavor

the layers in order: meat sauce, noodles, cheese sauce, and repeat.

dinah is very helpful with the noodles

sprinkling shredded mozzarella and parmesan on top

whenever i ask my husband what he wants for dinner, his answer is almost always "lasagna." he doesn't realize it's sort of a labor intensive meal. i enjoy making it, of course, but it takes some preparation, and time, and it requires somewhat costly ingredients and lots of counter space (which i don't have in our new house). even though we would like to eat it weekly, we don't. i usually only ever make it for christmas eve dinner and maybe one or two other times throughout the winter. not only is it kind of a chore to make, it's also probably not very good for us. there is lots of protein, but also a lot of cheese and pasta. delicious, yes. healthy, not really.

six layer lasagna

meat sauce:

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1/2 medium onion
1 lb of burger (it would be good with sausage (or half sausage, half beef burger), but i always use lean beef burger)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or make your own. i, of course, have no time for this nonsense though!)

cook onion in a small drizzle of olive oil until soft, add garlic towards the end, and cook for another minute or so. add meat and brown over medium heat. pour off excess grease. add spaghetti sauce. heat through and set aside.

cheese sauce:

2-4 cloves garlic, finely diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely diced
1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
1 16 oz container of cottage cheese
3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, separated
1 1/4 cup shredded fresh parmesan cheese, separated
2 eggs

place ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, 2 cups of the shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of the shredded parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley, and two eggs in a medium size mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined. set aside.

noodles:

bring a large pot of water to boil. add noodles and boil over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes. drain immediately and rinse with cold water to avoid further cooking and sticking. spread out noodles on parchment paper to keep them flat until ready to use.

lasagna:

preheat oven to 375 degrees. spread half of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 inch rectangular baking dish. lay 6-8 noodles over the meat. spread half of the cheese sauce over the noodles. pour the remaining half of the meat sauce over the cheese sauce and spread evenly. lay another 6-8 noodles on top of the meat layer. spread the remaining cheese sauce over the top of the last layer of noodles. sprinkle with the remaining cup of shredded mozzarella and the remaining cup of shredded parmesan cheese. cover with tinfoil and bake for 45-60 minutes. remove tinfoil and bake an additional 10 minutes. let cool about 10 minutes before serving.