Raspberry Fool

Pressed for time but want to make an impression? Make a Fool! Not of yourself, of course, but with a delectable creamy dessert! I was planning the menu for my families Mother's day celebration and just was NOT feeling confident in my ability to do all of the cooking as well as dessert. I don't like to make people wait for their food and that's why this dessert is perfect for anyone who is in a pinch for time or just doesn't want the hassle of using an oven. 

This fool recipe IS NOT MINE. It is based off Ree Drummond's (The Pioneer Woman) fool recipe. The other two desserts pictured are a banana creme pie parfait and a cookies and creme parfait. Recipe is not given for those two in this post because they are simply crushed cookie, pudding mix, and whipped cream layered on top of each other.  

Tools:

• Mixing Bowl
• Wooden Spoon
• Mixer (stand or hand held)
• Gallon Freezer Bags
• Rolling Pin (optional)
• Sieve 
• Regular Bowl
• Fork
• Measuring cups/spoons

Raspberry Fool Ingredients: 

• 2 C. of Raspberries (frozen is fine if fresh is unavailable)(set 6 berries aside for decoration)
• 1/4 C. granulated sugar
• 3tbs. Raspberry liqueur (optional)
• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 1/4 c. powdered sugar
• 12 Nilla Wafer cookies
• fresh mint (to decorate with)

Add the raspberries to a bowl and sprinkle the granulated sugar and liqueur (if you chose to add it) and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add the heavy cream and sugar to the bowl and whip (use an electric mixer)  until soft peaks form. This can take a few minutes depending on the temperature of the room you are in. the cooler the better. When your raspberries have sat for 10 minutes mash them with a fork until they are all almost completely broken down. A few chunks here and there is fine. Now FOLD it into the whipped cream in the bowl. You want to keep those pretty red streaks so two or three full folds should be fine. Scoop berries and cream into cup, bowl, whatever you choose to serve in, and crumble two Nilla wafers on top. Top with a berry and garnish with a mint sprig.

 Tada! all finished.

Makes about 6 servings

Confetti Cake Cookies

Confetti cake is my fiance's favorite baked treat. I could make him anything in the world (or try to anyway) but he will always prefer his beloved confetti cake. Needless to say that makes these cookies an instant hit with him. The same great flavor without the hassle of using a fork!!

Tools:

• Mixing bowl
• Mixing spoon 
• Whisk
• Cookie dough scoop (regular soup spoon will work as well) 
• parchment paper (optional)
• Cookie sheet

Ingredients

• White cake mix (you can use confetti cake mix if desired)
• 1/3 C. oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1tsp baking powder
• 2eggs
• 5 tbs Sprinkles of your choice

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• whisk oil, eggs, and vanilla together  in bowl until combined
• add cake mix and baking powder to egg mixture until combined
• add sprinkles and fold them into the batter.
• place parchment paper on top of baking sheet (if you don't have wax paper grease pan liberally)

Consistency of dough will be thick and sticky! Use scoop or spoon to put approximately eight 1inch balls of dough onto the pan. Make sure there is plenty of space around each ball of dough, these cookies spread!!!

Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes. DO NOT LET THEM GET BROWN! For once, golden brown is not  a good thing. 

When finished the cookies will appear white-ish and slightly sponge-like, they might even look a little wet. That is okay. They will flatten and firm up a little after sitting on the pan for 3-5 minutes. 

Remove them from the pan after letting them sit for the 3-5 minutes and allow them to finish cooling on the cooling rack. 

Yield: 16 cookies. 

Donut Decorator

How cute are these!! I definitely don't miss working for Dunkin Donuts but I do miss the opportunities to custom design holiday donuts!

The Devil's Roses

These cups of delicious awesomeness are one of my absolute favorite creations. Inspired by a good friend of mine while I was in a pinch and didn't know what to get her for her birthday. Rich chocolaty brownie cups filled with a savory cream center, garnished with strategically placed slices of strawberries to resemble a rose, and then dusted with powdered sugar.

Tools:

•  Two Mixing Bowls
• Cutting Board
• Cupcake Tin
• Cupcake Corer (optional)
• Knife
• Cutting Board
• Whisk
• Mixer (optional, I prefer to use my KitchenAid but mixing by hand is fine)
• Spoon

Ingredients and Preparation:

Brownie Cups

• Brownie Mix (Boxed is fine or you can make a batch from scratch)

Preheat the oven and prepare the mix as the box or recipe indicates! Most box mixes require corn/canola oil as well as eggs and water. If you are using a recipe (either your own or online) make sure to purchase/acquire ingredients that you need as I cannot list them for you due to the fact that I don't necessarily know which recipe you are using. 

Grease the cupcake tin liberally, do not line them with cupcake papers! They are not needed. 

Pour the batter into the tins until they are all half way filled or until you run out of batter.

Bake for the amount of time indicated on box or recipe.

When baked thoroughly let brownies sit in the tin for five minutes  and then remove from tin. Be careful as they will still be hot. After removing the brownies set them  aside and allow them to cool completely. 

While they cool you can prepare the filling, unless you did that already while the brownies cooked. 

Filling

• 2 cups of Heavy Cream
• 1/4 cup of powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup softened cream cheese
• 1tsp of vanilla extract
• 4 tbs of Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur (optional) 

Whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy. Then fold in the brown sugar, liqueur, and cream cheese into the whipped mixture and continue to fold until combined. The mixture should resemble custard! Again, the booze is completely optional and can be left out if desired. Put in fridge while you prepare the roses. 

Strawberry Roses

• Carton of strawberries
• Powdered Sugar

Slice the top (green leafy part) off of the berry and throw away. Slice berries into thin slices. NOT paper thin, thin enough to be folded but thick enough to not break. Approximately 1 cm thick. The slices should be all different sizes. Take each slice (try to select the most circular slices) and cut them down the middle so you have two semi circles. Set halved slices to the side. 

Assembly

• Spoon out (use a cupcake corer if you have one)  and hollow each brownie cup. Be gentle! It can get messy! But you can feel free to eat the middle. Treat yo' self, honey ;) 
• After the center of the brownie is hollow spoon the filling into the void. Do not over flow! leave just a smidgen of space on the top for to arrange your flowers. 
• Working your way outward from the center place your "rose petals" (strawberry slices) in a layered spiral. Start with the smaller strawberries and use bigger ones as you work toward the edges. You can get crafty and play with this step, make it your own. 
• After your roses are places sprinkle powdered sugar over the top

Notes

These are very heavy! I really like how indulgent they are but if you are looking for a lighter treat go ahead and use hollowed out cupcakes instead of brownies and if you want a fluffier filling you can feel free to leave out the cream cheese. 

Voila!