Tag: cream cheese

Time commitment not a deal-‘baker’ for no-bake pie

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date September 17, 2020

This no-bake chocolate peanut butter pie has quite a few steps that require refrigeration in between, so have plenty of time to prepare—and plenty of people to enjoy—this decadent dessert.

As a general rule, when I see the words “no-bake” in the title of a recipe, I assume I’m about to have a really easy time in the kitchen.

Those are the types of recipes I save for when I need a quick dessert to bring at the last second.

Well, this week’s recipe completely defies its no-bake moniker, my friends. I’m a little embarrassed to tell you that I started this recipe on a weekend and didn’t finish it until the end of the next week.

Despite that—and I mean this seriously—you absolutely have to try this. It’s delicious and created a pie that was completely demolished during a backyard get-together.

This no-bake monstrosity comes from the blog “Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons.” You can find the original at https://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com/no-bake-chocolate-peanut-butter-pie. I added extra vanilla in my version, and while calories are the least of your problem with this pie, you can substitute fat-free cream cheese and whipped topping with ease for this.

No-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

This no-bake chocolate peanut butter pie has quite a few steps that require refrigeration in between, so have plenty of time to prepare—and plenty of people to enjoy—this decadent dessert.

Course Dessert

Keyword chocolate, M&Ms, no bake, Oreos, peanut butter, pie

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

15 to 20- ounce package double-stuffed Oreos
1/4 cup mini M&Ms
1/2 cup butter melted

Filling Ingredients

16 ounces cream cheese softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
8 ounces whipped topping
1/4 cup mini M&Ms

Ganache Ingredients

1 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips plus a handful for sprinkling
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup mini M&Ms

Frosting Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
3 to 5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

For the crust, pulverize the entire package of Oreo’s with a blender or food processor. In a bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, butter and M&Ms until everything is well mixed, and press the mixture into a 9- to 10-inch springform pan (or a pie pan, but the springform is so much easier!), going up the sides.
Place the crust in the fridge for 30 minutes.
For the filling, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the whipped topping, and then fold in the M&Ms. Spread the filling evenly over the crust, and refrigerate for one hour.
For the ganache, combine the chocolate chips and cream into a glass bowl and microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between each, until the mixture is smooth. Pour the ganache over top of the filling and spread it evenly. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips and M&Ms, and refrigerate for another hour.
For the final step, beat all the frosting ingredients until it’s fluffy, and then transfer to a piping bag or a plastic bag with the tip cut off to pipe the frosting around the edges of the pie. Or, if you’re exhausted at this point, just spread it on there and decorate with a couple more M&Ms and call it good.
Serve immediately and keep any leftovers in the refrigerator.

I highly encourage you to cut this pie into small slices, as it is sinfully rich. Joey called it comical after it was finally done. It would be absolutely a show stopper for a birthday celebration.

And even though it took me a few evenings to finally get through all the steps, it was worth it, especially since I might have “accidentally” purchased too many M&Ms and had to clean those up myself. Waste not, want not, right?

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 17, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Tags chocolate, cream cheese, M&Ms, no-bake, Oreos, peanut butter, pie

Main Dish

Let’s embrace the ‘pasta’bilities this week

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date August 20, 2020

Ziti pasta bake is full of lots of cheese and Italian herbs. It's perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

Until I began this column, I had no idea how many variations of pasta there are.

I used to think I was pretty knowledgeable until I continued to discover new types that often were tough to find in small-town Kansas grocery stores.

My recipe this week called for ziti, a tube-shaped pasta I’m definitely familiar with, but my local store didn’t have any in stock, so I opted for some penne instead.

That got me to thinking that there are at least three tubular pastas I could think of: ziti, penne and rigatoni, and I decided to do some digging to figure out what the real difference is.

An article online by Brette Warshaw went into great detail about the minuscule differences between the three—most notably, the length. Standard penne is 2.12 inches long, ziti is 2 inches, and rigatoni is 1.8. Other than that, there are small differences in end cut and ridges, but that’s really about it from a visual standpoint. So, when I made this week’s recipe for a ziti pasta bake, I just grabbed what was available as far as tube-shaped pasta and hoped I wasn’t making a mistake.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Together as Family.” You can find the original at https://togetherasfamily.com/cheesy-ziti-pasta-bake/. I added lots more herbs in my version.

Ziti Pasta Bake

Ziti pasta bake is full of lots of cheese and Italian herbs. It's perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword basil, cheese, cream cheese, garlic, Greek yogurt, marinara, mozzarella, oregano, parsley, sour cream, spaghetti sauce, ziti

Ingredients

16 ounces ziti
24 ounces spaghetti sauce
14.5 ounces petite diced tomatoes undrained
8 ounces cream cheese softened
2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons oregano
6-8 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside.
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sauce, diced tomatoes, cream cheese, basil, parsley, oregano, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper.
Once the pasta is done, drain it (don’t rinse it) and add it to the mixing bowl and stir.
Pour half of the pasta mixture into the baking dish and then spread the sour cream over the top. Sprinkle on about half of the mozzarella, spread the remaining pasta on top, and then finish with the rest of the cheese.
Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until the top of the cheese is melted fully and slightly browned.
Serve with some garlic bread.

This was creamy and cheesy and really yummy. It was also meatless, and I didn’t miss the protein at all. You could easily use a meat sauce in this, though, if you would like to.

And despite the use of penne, it was pretty good. I will warn you, though, that apparently my substitution is not without controversy. Chef Paula Ghosh wrote a blog post about ziti vs. penne, and she notes that despite the two pastas having similar origins, ziti is meant to be used in baked dishes, and penne is meant to be mixed in with sauce.

She claims that even seemingly insignificant differences in pastas can change the entire flavor profile of a dish. Since she’s the expert, I suppose I’ll have to take her word for it, but I can tell you this was great even with the penne. It might be even better if you followed the pasta rules.

This piece first appeared in print on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020.

Tags basil, cheese, cream cheese, garlic, Greek yogurt, Italian, marinara, mozzarella, oregano, parsley, quick dinner, sour cream, spaghetti sauce, vegetarian, ziti

Cookies Dessert

Butter cookies have toddler tickled pink

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 18, 2020

Pinkalicious cookies are made with a cake mix base, with butter and cream cheese added for a rich, soft cookie.

My folks recently invited all of us over for hot dogs and hamburgers on a Saturday afternoon. We hadn’t all been in the same room since the stay-at-home orders began, and with things opening up and gathering sizes expanded, it seemed like a good time for the seven of us to socialize just a bit.

As I have been doing throughout the quarantine, I sent a video message through my sister to my two-year-old niece, asking her what I should bring for lunch.

The video I received back wasn’t quite what I expected, but I was ready for the challenge.

“Dessert, Lindsey,” she said.

“A dessert? What kind of dessert,” my sister prompted.

“Ummm…pinkalicious,” she said with a grin.

My sister pushed a little more on what kind of pink dessert she meant, and she said “pinkalicous” was another word for pink cookies.

Who knew?

Well, when the niece asks, the aunt must deliver, so this week, I’m sharing with you what was originally called “Gooey Butter Cookies” but has now been deemed “Pinkalicious” in our family.

This recipe comes from the blog “Lil’ Luna.” You can find the original post at https://lilluna.com/recipe-tip-of-the-week-gooey-butter-cookies. I added quite a bit of pink food coloring to get the color I wanted, doubled the vanilla and used sprinkles on some of the cookies in my version.

Pinkalicious Cookies

Pinkalicious cookies are made with a cake mix base, with butter and cream cheese added for a rich, soft cookie.

Course Dessert

Keyword butter, cake mix, cookies, cream cheese, pink, powdered sugar, sprinkles

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 egg
1 box yellow cake mix
pink food coloring to desired hue
powdered sugar or sprinkles for coating cookies

Instructions

Beat the butter, vanilla, cream cheese and egg until the mixture is fairly smooth. Beat in the cake mix and then mix in as much food coloring as you desire.
Chill the batter for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and while the oven is preheating, roll the cookie dough into about one-inch balls and then roll them in a bowl of either powdered sugar or sprinkles. Place the balls about two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown.
Let them cool for a bit to set up before transferring them to an airtight container for storage.

Well, if you’re wondering how these turned out, these were absolutely fantastic. They’re soft and flavorful, and even the grownups were pretty happy to eat some “pinkalicious.”

I actually thought they were even better after sitting in my Tupperware overnight than they were straight out of the oven.

And, after sending the leftovers home with my sister and brother-in-law, I got another video message of my niece, cookie in hand.

“Thank you, Lindsey,” she said into the camera, making me absolutely melt.

My sister accused me of spoiling my sweet niece, but I’m pretty sure that’s my primary job as her aunt. And, if you’re wondering, the toddler decree was that the cookies coated in sprinkles were the best ones.

I don’t know if I’ll always be able to accomplish every kind of food that comes out of her little imagination, but I’m sure going to try.

This piece first appeared in print on June 18, 2020.

Tags butter, cake mix recipe, cream cheese, pink, powdered sugar, sprinkles

Appetizer Snack

A good dip recipe can go ‘onion’ and on

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date May 30, 2019

Onion and corned beef cream cheese dip is an addictive addition to the snack table and takes almost no time to put together.

When I rented my first house after I graduated from college, I got the experience of regularly mowing my lawn—a chore my dad normally claimed when I was a child.

My first lawnmower was electric, leading to me learning to wrangle an extension cord around the yard and moving it to various outlets as I reached different corners.

I’m proud to note that I never managed to accidentally run over the cord in the process.

Now that I’m married, Joey has lawn mowing duties—something I was all too happy to relinquish with my grass allergies, but I couldn’t help but have flashbacks with all the rain this week to having to clean out a clogged lawnmower when Mother Nature soaked the grass for a few days in a row.

Part of that memory of mowing my first lawn is the distinct smell of onions.

A past owner or renter of the house must’ve had a vegetable garden at some point, and mowing the backyard meant encountering quite a few volunteer green onion plants.

I never minded the aroma, actually preferring it to cut grass, and once I figured out where the patches were, a few onions made their way into my kitchen, too.

I don’t know how those of you who have gardens are faring so far with the floodwaters, but I hope the green onions still manage to make their way into the local grocery stores and farmer’s markets this summer.

My favorite way to use green onion is in a cream cheese dip my mom makes for family get-togethers. I’m sure the recipe exists somewhere online or in a cookbook, but I know this as one of her specialties.

A couple notes: the corned beef it calls for is a small package, sliced for sandwiches. If you can’t find corned beef, another thin-sliced beef can be substituted. The idea is to have little wisps of meat throughout the dip rather than big chunks.

Also, you can form this into a cheese ball rather than keeping it in a bowl for serving once it sits in the fridge over night, but I’m a firm believer in making it easy to store leftovers and not making more dishes than necessary, so I always just serve it straight out of the bowl.

Onion and Corned Beef Cream Cheese Dip

Onion and corned beef cream cheese dip is an addictive addition to the snack table and takes almost no time to put together.

Course Appetizer, Snack

Keyword corned beef, cream cheese, dip, onion

Ingredients

2, 8- ounce blocks cream cheese
1 bunch green onions
1, 2- ounce package sliced corned beef
1 box of sturdy crackers

Instructions

Slice the green onion into about quarter-inch slices and dice the sliced corned beef into small pieces.
In a microwave-safe bowl that also has a lid for storage, add the cream cheese and microwave on half power for about 30 seconds, until it’s soft and easy to stir.
Dump the green onion and corned beef into the cream cheese and stir to combine well.
Cover and store the dip in the refrigerator over night and serve with your favorite crackers (my recommendations are Wheat Thin or Ritz type crackers).

If you’re not a fan of onions, you won’t be a fan of this dip (if that wasn’t obvious on its own). Our family loves it. My mom will often double this recipe for our get-togethers, because it’s always a huge hit. Make sure to have plenty of crackers on hand to enjoy every last bit of it. Also, definitely let it sit in the fridge overnight. The flavors will meld much better, and the consistency will be perfect.

Since I no longer have free onions out in my backyard, I had to resort to the grocery store for my ingredients this time. Maybe someday I’ll have to try growing my own.

For now, though, with all the moisture, our backyard has begun to resemble a jungle more than a garden. Maybe I’ll have to try growing something tropical instead.

This piece first appeared in print on May 30, 2019.

Tags corned beef, cream cheese, dip, green onion

Breakfast Dessert

Coffee cake comes highly rec’almond’ed

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date May 23, 2019

Almond coffee cake is pretty to look at and delicious to eat.

I only have a few rules for choosing recipes I want to try.

First, it has to be decently easy and not need a bunch of weird kitchen implements. Second, the ingredients need to be something I can find locally and not have to order online. Third, I have to want to eat it.

I feel like that third one goes without saying, but I thought I’d mention it anyway.

This week’s recipe just barely met my criteria, because I had no idea almond paste even existed until I examined the ingredients list. I was able to find it in my local grocery store, so I’m hoping the rest of you can, too. If not, there are also other recipes online to make it yourself.

It also nearly upset my rules because the part of the recipe where you’re supposed to “spread” the batter is not an easy task. This stuff is thick and tough to spread, so I recommend dolloping the batter and filling into the pan before spreading it so you have an easier time.

The recipe’s author said she used her fingers to spread it, but I had more luck with a rubber scraper instead.

I found this recipe on the blog “Curly Girl Kitchen.” You can find the original at https://www.curlygirlkitchen.com/2013/01/almond-cream-cheese-coffee-cake.html. I doubled the almond extract and cinnamon.

Almond Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Almond coffee cake is pretty to look at and delicious to eat.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword almond, almond paste, coffeecake, cream cheese

Ingredients

Streusel Ingredients

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Filling Ingredients

8 ounces almond paste
2 tablespoons sugar
4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Batter Ingredients

1/2 cup butter room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by coating it with cooking spray.
For the streusel, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl, add the cold butter and use a pastry cutter or fork to work it in until it’s nice and crumbly and stir in the almonds. Put in the refrigerator for now.
For the filling, beat the almond paste, sugar and cream cheese until it’s smooth and set it aside (you’ll add the almonds later).
For the batter, beat the butter and sugar for about three minutes to get it light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla and almond extract until it’s well combined.
Beat in the sour cream.
Once the mixture is smooth, beat in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until everything is just combined.
Put half of the batter into your prepared springform pan and spread it to an even layer (it’s a thick batter, so this is easier said than done).
Spoon the cream cheese filling in dollops all over the batter layer and spread it out as best as you can. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of sliced almonds on top of the filling.
Spoon the remaining batter in dollops on top of the almonds and spread it again.
Bake the cake for 15 minutes.
Remove it from the oven and top it with the streusel and then bake for another 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (don’t stick it all the way down to the filling layer, since that will stay gooey even after baking).
Let the cake cool for about 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Let it cool completely and then store in an airtight container if not serving right away. (I kept mine in the fridge.)

While this recipe was a bit more complicated than I often choose, it was totally worth it. The cake was beautiful, and it would be great for breakfast or dessert.

And although it stretched rules one and two, definitely fit rule three, since I managed to eat more than one slice of this cake before it was gone. I guess one out of three ain’t bad.

This piece first appeared in print on May 23, 2019.

Tags almond, almond paste, coffeecake, cream cheese