Oreo Cream Cake

Oero is celebrating its 100^th birthday this year.  What a grand accomplishment to have such a successful product that it’s still flying off of store shelves 100 years after the first sale.  I do my part to keep Oreo very alive in the sales industry.

Yesterday I anticipated would be a day of celebration!  It was J’s first volleyball game of the season!  She’s been working hard this summer to hone her skills, but with no club ball experience, we weren’t sure how she would be able to compete within her team for playing time.   

The team unfortunately lost both sets but battled pretty well.  On the way home, J mentioned that she was surprised she got to start but was pretty sure since it was her fault they lost the first game, she wouldn’t be a starter anymore.  She also spoke of her lonely plight at school having few classes with her friends and how hard it was to try and make new friends on her team and in her classes.  She was emotionally charged.  I was surprised she was so down on herself.  It’s true; she mishandled a deep set on the final play.  However, she had done well overall and the team as a whole had some rough transitions.  I wondered if someone had said something to her to make her feel it was her fault, or if we just needed to chalk it up to excessive raging hormones…

It was not the ride home I expected.  

We came home and I did my best to transition quickly to provide a hot meal on the table.  While I tasked, Y called from college and talked for awhile with J.  Without knowing it had been a rough night, in incomparable Y style- he pumped her full of confidence; she laughed at his exuberance. It was exactly what she needed. She happily ate her dinner and began homework.  I emerged from the garage with my celebratory cake.  Her eyes lit up.  

Oreo Cream Cake

Begin by making Yummy In My Tummy Chocolate Cake, omitting the chocolate chips.  Cool completely. 

For the Oreo Cream:

12 oz.  softened cream cheese

12 Oreos

Blend cream cheese with Oreos in Kitchenaid until smooth.  The Kitchenaid will automatically crush the Oreos into the cream cheese.  If using a smaller mixer, you can break up Oreos first. 

Fold in 16 Oz.  Cool Whip whipped topping. 

Layer cake and cream as desired.  Frost with remaining cream and garnish with crushed Oreos, Cool Whip dollops and whole Oreos.

I thought we’d be celebrating the first volleyball game of the season.  Such was not the case at all.  We celebrated family – the way we can lift and love each other in ways that make life’s mountains a little easier to climb.

Madeline's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

It's a welcome season of change in our home these days! The weather is warming bringing with it renewed growth of a green lawn, tiny leaves on the trees and definitely a skip in my step. The past few months have been tough on Y. He made a decision last fall to graduate early from high school. He finished up his course work in January at the semester break and gratefully and quickly found full time employment. While initially he enjoyed learning new things and expanding his skill set, he desperately missed the social side of life. His employment is working in a dark cool warehouse with minimal social interaction. He counts every paycheck in advance and puts it all in savings, but he is ready for the imminent change June will bring. He will begin as a full time student at Brigham Young University in a few weeks. I find myself busy with making a senior memory presentation, planning a celebratory backyard BBQ, and picking up random things at the store such as extension cords, paper clips, cold medicine and card games. I printed off a six page list from someone who thought to post one - of everything you need to set up a college dorm :) These tasks energize me as I envision Y at school playing pick up basketball games, Sunday afternoon cards with the guys (and gals) from the dorm, and hopefully finding time to utilize the school supplies I picked up...
This morning as I lie awake at 5:30 am mentally planning my day, my thoughts turned to a recipe I've been wanting to try. In actuality, the recipe had to be determined. It's the concept I was visualizing. Madeline's is a fantastic little bakery cafe in downtown Spokane. Last December I indulged with a peanut butter oatmeal sandwich cookie. It was fantastic! I've been wanting to experiment ever since, but got caught up in the excitement of Oatmeal Carmelitas and struggled to progress beyond them- for good reason. Today was the day to try and come up with my best copy- cat recipe. I'll give credit where due and call them -

Madeline's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups quick oats

Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Stir until well incorporated. Drop cookies onto greased aluminum baking sheet. Flatten a bit with your fingers. Bake at 350 degrees for 8+ minutes depending on size. Let cool completely.
Mix up peanut butter frosting:
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1/4 cup soft butter
1/3 cup peanut butter
2-21/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla.
Mix in Kitchenaid until fluffy.
Pipe a circle of frosting onto the back side of a cookie and place another cookie on top.

Madeline hasn't thought of this yet, but for a special occasion such as personal gratitude for doing some yard work, or checking your email... dip each cookie halfway in chocolate ( I used a package of Nestle's Milk Chocolate chips and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Crisco)and let set. Then build the sandwich!
Enjoy the seasons as they change and share some joy with a friend or neighbor with these sandwiches!

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Do you know how when you get out of town for a few days, quite often a flood of perspective is what you return with? That happened to me this past weekend. I was in Minden, Nebraska chit-chatting with some amazing distant relatives I had the pleasure of sharing lunch and laughs with. I love how we are oft times fortunate in life, to find things that connect us to each other. I shared what is most certainly my new favorite recipe and the honest comment of why I haven't blogged it yet. I've rationalized over the past twelve weeks as I've made it again and again that once it's blogged, I'll stop experimenting and thus I won't have the mental excuse to make it 1-2 times per week :) Nevertheless, it's time.  
Oatmeal Carmelitas
2 cups quick oats
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Mix the above dry ingredients.
 Add: 1 1/4 cups melted butter.
Stir until crumbs are the size of corn. (I did just come from Nebraska...) Press 2/3 of mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon on 1 1/4 cups of Carmel sauce. (make your own, or use jarred Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel topping as I do.) Sprinkle on 2-2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet). Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over the top and return to the oven for 18 more minutes. Remove from oven and be careful!!!
You will want to grab a spoon and sample. I have spent many a days over the past twelve weeks with a burned mouth due to my inability to be patient :) You can quicken the cooling process in the refrigerator. Otherwise they will take several hours to set making them able to be served without falling apart. But I can promise you if you are a fan of ice cream, caramel, and chocolate, let them fall into the same bowl together. You won't be disappointed! Here's to a season of happy reunions with family and friends!

Rudolph Cupcakes

Merry Christmas!!
The dynamics of our holiday has changed over the years as the kids have grown. Gone are the lines to see Santa or desires to write him letters. It's all been replaced by sometimes the very reverse. This year, Y and J had the opportunity to play Santa to some families who have very little. They took part in an activity organized by the local church youth group. They were able to see the wonderment and awe that shone in their own faces in Christmases past. It truly is a season of miracles. All we need to do is look for opportunities to be a part of it.
If you have or know some little ones who may like to give a shout out to Rudolph this Christmas, try these simple cupcakes.

Rudolph Cupcakes

24 chocolate cupcakes
1 can chocolate frosting
24 Nilla Wafers
24 Red M&M’s
48 pretzel twists
White frosting
48 mini chocolate chips

Frost cupcakes (I did about 6 at a time, so frosting stayed wet while decorating.) Press one Nilla Wafer for the snout and two pretzels for the antlers into wet frosting. Add a touch of white frosting to one side of an M&M and fix as the nose. Add two dots of frosting for the eyes, setting a mini chocolate chip upside down into the white frosting.

Share with the little ones you love as you spread some holiday cheer.

Acorn Place Cards

When B was little, he was a very active child. Part of our daily schedule would be to find a place where he could run. We lived in an apartment that was only 600 square feet, so we would often go to the park. While at the park, B may have hit the swings or slide for a minute, but he preferred to chase seagulls or squirrels in the open grassy areas. Back and forth, one after another, it took a lot for him to get tired. Usually I would have to bribe him to get him to leave for home.
This Thanksgiving, gather up your “squirrely” nieces, nephews, kids, siblings, or anyone else you can bribe and make some simple Thanksgiving Acorn place cards.

Acorn Place Cards

Silk autumn leaf
Hershey kisses, unwrapped
Bite size Nutter Butter cookies
Peanut butter chips
Peanut butter
Chocolate frosting

Use the chocolate frosting (Ziploc bag with a small hole in the corner) to “glue” the kiss onto the Nutter Butter cookie. Use some peanut butter (Ziploc bag with a small hole in the corner) to “glue” the peanut butter chip onto the top of the acorn.
Arrange a few acorns around each leaf with the name of your guest written in.
These Thanksgiving acorns can also be simple toppers for cupcakes!

Brownie Cup Turkey Treats

The “Kid Table” has got to be a great place to be…
You’re just out of sight of the adults that want you to use manners, keep your hands to yourself, and not giggle when your cousin burps. But, is it far enough away to hide the fact that you don’t want to eat your vegetables?
One night at dinner when I was a young girl, fresh green beans graced the table that evening. None of us six kids really loved our vegetables, but we knew it was not an option to not eat them. My attack was always to try and hold my breath while I ate them all in one mouthful, and wash down the nastiness with whatever Mom served for the main dish. After dinner, Dad would always head outside and do a few chores. On this particular evening, moments after Dad had walked outside; we were all called back inside to the kitchen table. There sat a very sad looking pile of string beans. Dad had found them just below an open window outside of the dining room. It seemed as though one of the kids had tried to opt out of their veggie and perhaps hope a neighborhood pet would quickly come and eat them all. It was a weak plan at best, and we all sat at the table looking at each other with a pile of now even “ yuckier” green beans in the middle of the table. Dad said no one was going anywhere until the owner of the beans confessed.
To be honest, I don’t remember which one of my sisters claimed the beans. I do remember wondering why I had never thought of an idea of how I could not eat them…
Nevertheless, if you have some cute kids sitting at your Thanksgiving table this year and you’d like to make them a special treat, try these:

Brownie Cup Turkey Treats

Make plain brownie cups by mixing up brownie batter from a boxed mix as directed. Then spoon the batter into twelve cupcake tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool. After they cool, frost them with chocolate frosting. Then place sliced almonds in for feathers, a candy corn for the beak, broken pretzel pieces for the feet, and a quick dollop of white frosting, followed with a dot of black for the eyes.

Simply add a name tag if you need place cards for your dinner.

Drumstick Scotcheroos

There’s been some Mama Bear heartache over the past couple of days, but as I keep watch on Y when he doesn’t know I’m looking, I think he’s doing okay. Over the years as my boys have had their struggles, especially in sports, I wait and wonder if I will see my DNA emerge. Y handled the disappointment of being cut with class and dignity. I would have been psychotically destructive. :)

Last year during football season, Y had a JV game against a team we thought would be a tough opponent. With the score of 27-0 after the first quarter, we realized all the talent for the opposing team was at the Varsity level. That was great news for us as we assumed it would mean some time for our #20 (Y). We waited and waited…and waited. Finally with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter, we get to see Y warm up his quarterback (2nd string) on the sidelines. This is the quarterback Y says he makes look good in practice with his amazing one-handed leaping catches that get replayed in the kitchen after practice. #12 (the quarterback) was sent into the game. Y held the football, waiting to be sent in as his receiver. Unfortunately the first string receivers were still getting all the reps. That’s it. That’s how the game ended. #20 never left the sidelines.
I became frustrated with the coaching staff, or rather those who deemed themselves such. Was it really that hard to rotate some kids in and give them an opportunity, essentially thank them for working hard in practice every day? Especially with a score like 27-0? I tried to distract myself with household business as I waited for Y to come home. As I saw the lights of his car slowly coming down the driveway, I seemed to become increasingly angry at the entire football program. How dare they ask me to volunteer and do my part when they can’t even rotate my kid into the ball game! It was raw Mama Bear anger!
Y comes into the kitchen. At my husband’s encouragement, I try to play it cool… I fail… It went something like this:
I asked Y if he wanted to go hit something.
He said no.
“Throw something? “
He said “No.”
“Slit someone’s tires?”
He said “No.”
“Make someone poisonous brownies?”
He said “No.”
I said “You’re not angry?”
He said “No.” Then he added, “It sucked not getting an opportunity. But I’m not angry, Mom. But if it would make you feel better, you can make cookies.”
And so I did. . .

This morning as I woke up early- 5:30 and failed in my attempt to fall back asleep. I wondered what Y’s course forward would be. He will meet all academic graduation requirements at the end of the first semester. His plan is to try and find a job and work full time until college in the fall. I’m just wondering what opportunities lay ahead for him. I hope his course forward brings him continued joy in the journey. Nevertheless, with my own angst filled energy at 6:00am, I headed to the kitchen to make one of his favorite treats—Thanksgiving style.

Drumstick Scotcheroos
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies
____
1+ cup choc. Chips
1+ cup butterscotch chips

Over medium heat, dissolve sugar into corn syrup. Remove from heat as it begins to boil. Stir in peanut butter. Add rice krispies and stir. Pam hands thoroughly and form rice krispy mixture into drumsticks. Melt chips on low stirring constantly. With a small spoon, cover the “drum” of the stick in chocolate. Let set.

If you have helpers, and the opportunity to make place cards for your Thanksgiving dinner this year, you can mark the drumstick with a guest’s name.