4th of July Cuppie Cakes

Sorry guys..this post is a little boring, but it turned out just so pretty that I had to share!

4th of July Cuppie Cakes

Ingredients:

Cake:

* 1 box of white cake mix

* Red and Blue food coloring

Icing:

* Fat Free Cool Whip

* Marshmellow Cream

Directions:

Prep: Line muffin tin with wrappers and lightly spray.

1. Mix cake mix according to directions. (The only thing I did differently was use half coconut oil, half unsweetened applesauce in place of oil).

2. Divide cake batter into 3 bowls. Leave 1 alone, tine 1 red, and tint 1 blue. 

3. Mix.

4. Layer the cakes however you want ( did blue, white, and red on top). I ended up having enough batter for about 30 cupcakes, so keep that in mind while layering.

5. Bake in preheated oven according to directions.

6. While baking mix icing. I did 2 parts cool whip, 1 part marshmellow.

7. Top and enjoy!

Candy Cane Cookies

This is another cookie from my favorite cookie book! (P. 74) 

My grandma (the best cook EVER) even commended me on how well these came out! It was a HUGE compliment! 

The directions on this cookie were a little funky. I think I was actually supposed to save the candy cane/sugar mix to scatter on the end..but I mixed it in the dough...Next time I will try it the right way!

Candy Cane Cookies

Ingredients:

* 1/3 cup finely crushed peppermit candy

* 1/3 cup sugar

* 1/2 cup shortening

* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

* 1 cup sifted powdered sugar

* 1 egg, slightly beaten

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* 1 teaspoon almond extract

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

Directions:

1. Combine candy and sugar and set aside.

2. Cream shortening and butter in a large mixing bowl.

3. Gradually add 1 c. powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy.

4. Add egg, beat well. Stir in flavorings (I'm assuming this means extracts, but I added extracts AND candy..only add extracts!). Add flour and salt; mix well.

5. Divide dough in half. Tint half with food coloring. Shape a pinch of each into logs and then twist together.

(Flour helps during this process--but because I added the sugary mixture, the dough kept falling apart, so I gave up and did 2 balls of each color) Place cookies on an UNGREASED cookie sheet.

6. Bake at 375 for 9 minutes or just until edges brown. Remove cookies from sheets while warm; immediately coat with candy mixture (yea..this is when I was like, oops!). Cool completely on wire racks.

Yield: 4 dozen

HG's Candyland Peppermint Pie

Hungry Girl's Candyland Peppermint Pie

Ingredients:
Crust:
* 4 sheets (16 crackers) chocolate graham crackers
* 2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread

Filling:
* 1/2 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk (I used Eagle Brand)
* 1/4 cup fat-free milk
* 1 small (4-serving) box Sugar-Free, Fat-Free Vanilla Instant pudding mix
* 3 cups Fat Free Cool Whip, thawed
* 3 tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 2 standard-sized peppermint candy canes, lightly crushed, divided (I couldn't find candy canes, so I used about 10 small peppermints
* Optional topping: Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. To make the crust, crush graham crackers in a food processor or blender (or place in large sealable bag and crush with a meat mallet). Transfer crumbs to a bowl and set aside.

3. Place butter in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted, about 15 seconds. Add to the bowl of graham cracker crumbs and mix until uniform.

4. Spray a pie pan with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute crust mixture along the bottom of the pie pan, using your hands or a flat utensil to firmly press and form the crust. Press it into the edges and up along the sides of the pan. Bake crust in the oven until firm, 8 - 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

5. To make the filling, combine condensed milk, milk, and pudding mix in a large bowl. Mix well.

6. Fold in Cool Whip until smooth.

7. Gently stir in chocolate chips and about 3/4 of the candy cane pieces.

8. Once crust has cooled completely, evenly pour filling into the pan.

9. Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 2 hours. (Overnight is best.)

10. Sprinkle pie with remaining candy cane pieces. If you like, top with Reddi-wip just before serving. Dig in!

Each piece (1/8) is 5 Pointsplus OR:

Calories: 202

Fat: 4.5g

Sodium: 250mg

Carbs: 37g

Fiber: 0.25g

Sugars: 24g

Protein: 2.5g

****UPDATE**** I made individual cups of this pie, used only 1 sheet of grahams and NO butter..I was able to distribute it between 7 cups, and topped with some graham crumbs. I counted 3-4 points per custard cup.

Frightening Fingers

I got this wonderful recipe from a Taste of Home mega book. It's 3 Halloween cookbooks in one and I love every bit of it! This one is on page 20, and let me tell you, these are crowd pleasers for sure! And O so tasty!!

Ingredients:

* 1 cup butter, softened

* 1 cup confectioners' sugar

* 1 egg

* 1 tsp. vanilla extract

* 1 tsp. almond extract (I just use an extra tsp. of vanilla)

* 2 3/4 cups flour

* 1 tsp. baking powder

* 1 tsp. salt

* Red decorating gel

* 1/2 cup sliced almonds

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.

2. Beat in the egg and extracts.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to work with.

4. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into 1-inch balls.

5. Shape balls into fingers. Using the flat tip of a table knife, make an indentation on one end of each finger for the fingernail. With the knife, make slashes for knuckles. Place 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets (or on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet). Bake at 325 for about 15-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

6. Let cool 3 minutes.

7. Squeeze small amount of red gel on nail bed; press sliced almond over gel for nail (sometimes I slide it gently into the cookie). Remove to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 5 dozen (or less, it all depends on the size of your fingers!)

*Have a spooktacular time with these scary fingers!!*

Spicy Pumpkin Pancakes

Spicy Pumpkin Pancakes

This recipe originally comes from the Bisquick Cookbook. I had to make some changes to make it WW friendly. In the end it should make about 26 pancakes at a little under 1 WW points a piece.

Ingredients:

* 2 1/3 cup Heartsmart Bisquick

* 2 tablespoons sugar/truvia mix

* 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

* 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

* 1 1/4 cups 1% milk

* 1/3 cup canned pumpkin

* 1/4 cup SF Applesauce

* 2 Egg Whites

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk ingredients until blended.

2. Pour batter by 1/4 on warm griddle.

3. Flip.

4. Serve.

***I like to add a few semi-sweet chocolate chips to mine!

Hungry Girl Red Velvet Insanity Cupcakes

This is an AWESOME recipe! I made these for a fourth of July party and they were a hit! The recipe comes from Hungry Girl's book, 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories.

Each cupcake has 4 WWPP points, and it is worth every point!!

(When I took the pics to go with this I doubled the recipe, the actual recipe only yields 12-14 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
For cupcakes:
*1 cup moist-style devil's food cake mix
*1 cup moist-style yellow cake mix
*Two 25-calorie packets diet hot cocoa mix
*1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
*1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
*1 tbsp. red food coloring (I actually didn't have enough, so that is why the cake isn't quite as red as it should be)
*1 tsp. Splenda No Cal granulated sweetener
*1/8 tsp. salt
For Frosting:
*6 tbsp. marshmallow creme
*6 tbsp. fat free cool whip, thawed
*1/4 cup fat-free cream, room temperature
*1 tbsp. Spenda No Cal granulated sweetener



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all frosting ingredients except for the Cool Whip. Fold in Cool Whip and refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.


3. In a tall glass, place half of the mini chocolate chips and the contents of both cocoa packets.


4. Add 1/2 cup boiling water.


5. Mix until cocoa mix dissolves.


6. Add 1 cup cold water and mix well. Pour mixture into a bowl. Add cake mixes.


7. Add egg substitutes, remaining chocolate chips, food coloring, Splenda and salt. Whisk about 2 minutes until smooth and blended. **note: batter will be very thin, but that is ok!


8. Line 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute batter among the cups.


9. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Cupcakes will look shiny when done.

10. Allow cupcakes to cool completely, then evenly distribute frosting over tops. (In this case I added 4th of July sprinkles for the party!)