Cranberry, Apricot, and White Chocolate Blondies

Laura, Brittany, and I picked up this reciped during the cookie tour. We didn't get to try these bars since Jay Design Studios (who got the recipe from the Cookie Bible) ran out, but I knew I had to make them! I ended up finally getting the apricots later in the week and making them just in time for girl dinner. They were a success. The flavors worked together perfectly. I used the leftover fresh cranberries from making Laura's cranberry crumb bars.

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 2/3 cups white chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup apple cider or orange juice (I used apple cider)
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

Grease a 9 inch baking pan and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. I used Brittany's gorgeous Le Creuset pan. That pan has seen so many great desserts.
Anyways, stir in 1 cup of white chocolate chips into the melted butter and let sit for 1 minute. Stir until chips are melted.
Beat eggs in a separate, large bowl until foamy. Add granulated sugar and beat until pale yellow. Add flour, juice, melted chips, and stir until just combined.

Spread half of this batter into the pan. Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is just lightly browned at the edges.
Take out of the oven. Mix cranberries, apricots, and the rest of the chocolate chips into the remaining batter.

Spread over the hot baked mixture.
Sprinkle the nuts and the brown sugar on top of this mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes more until the edges are lightly brown. Cool and then cut into bars and enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

This is mac and cheese on butternut squashy steriods, it is so good. I got an enormous butternut squash at Schramm's and roasted it a couple days ago since I knew I wouldn't have time to roast and make this on the same workday evening. 

So when I did make this it was really quick. Making the cheesy squashy part took about as long as boiling the pasta.

I'm just going to post the original recipe from How Sweet It Is because I'm really not sure about the quantities I used for anything - I made it in a loaf pan with about a third of the huge squash I'd roasted. I also used cream cheese instead of mascarpone cheese. I roasted the butternut squash with cayenne pepper instead of nutmeg. I used a different kind of pasta, I think it's called fusilli, and I used monterey jack cheese instead of mozza and parmesan. No bacon this time. I'm sure it would be great, but I don't think it needs it. I added halved grape tomatoes on top.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Baked Penne

From How Sweet It Is

ingredients:

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small shallot, chopped
1 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
2/3 cup milk
1/2 pound whole wheat penne
1/4 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
sage leaves
crumbed bacon, if desired

Hear ye, hear ye - let's exchange some cookies

We want to do a holiday cookie exchange! Make some cookies, one or two kinds, and bring them to Michelle and Brittany's apartment next Thursday, Dec. 13, at 7:00. Or just come and eat some cookies.

We will eat cookies and bring cookies home! Christmas cookies! And Michelle is making sugar cookies for us to decorate, so bring anything but sugar cookies. If you have some kind of fun frosting for sugar cookies, you could bring that. Also, you can bring a Christmas movie and we will see what we want to watch.

Comment here or on Facebook to RSVP! If you don't know where Michelle and Brittany's apartment is, we will let you know.

Just so you know, Brittany wanted to say "hear ye, hear ye." She feels really strongly about it.

Death by Truffle

Christmas is coming, which means of course that it's time for me to try making all sorts of desserts that I'd never make at any other time of year.  Now that I've discovered these ridiculously easy and delicious truffles, however, I think I'm going to have to make them year-round.  Or maybe just eat so many before Christmas that I'm content not to look at them again for the rest of the year.  I got the original recipe here and then played around a little bit to try out my own flavor combinations.

Ingredients:
1 c. cake mix (I started with a good old classic white)
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp sweetened evaporated milk
a splash of vanilla (let's face it, I never actually measure vanilla.  I think the original recipe called for 1/2 tsp)
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips

Combine cake mix, evaporated milk, and vanilla.  Stir until completely mixed.  The mixture should be nice and dry, but not flaky.  If it's too dry, add more milk.  If it's too runny, add a little more cake mix.  Refrigerate mixture for 15 minutes.