Tag Archives: vanilla

My Chocolate Fudge Brownies

October 12, 2010 admin Leave a comment

No matter what brownie recipe I try, I always go back to this one – it is a great recipe that serves up a cakey yet fudgy brownie that does not skimp on the chocolate flavor. The other great thing about this recipe is that is it ONE POT for prep – that’s it. And the baking pan stays clean because you line it with foil.

24 servings
211 calories per serving

1 c walnuts, chopped
2 sticks of butter
2 c semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 c sugar
4 large eggs
1 t vanilla
1 ¼ c flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil extended over the long side edges so you can grab the foil and pick up the whole brownie after it cools. Melt the butter in a pan on the stove and add chocolate and stir until all melted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Then add in eggs one at a time (just stirring with a wooden spoon). Stir in vanilla and then stir in flour in 4 batches. Pour into foil lined pan and sprinkle with walnuts. Bake 20-25 minutes. Do not overcook.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Chewy Coconut Bars

October 3, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This has just a small bit of cake to hold together the yummy coconut, nuts and raisins. It’s a perfect dessert with just a hint of sweetness.

16 servings
136 calories per serving

2 eggs
18 packets Equal
¼ t maple flavoring
½ c margarine, melted
1 t vanilla
½ c flour
1 t baking powder
¼ t salt
1 c coconut, finely chopped
½ c chopped walnuts
½ c raisins
Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs, equal and maple flavoring. Mix margarine and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and stir into egg mix. Add coconut, walnuts and raisins. Spray an 8 inch square baking pan with Pam. Spread mix in pan and bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on wire rack and then cut into 16 bars.

Breakfast, Kid Friendly

Oatmeal Pancakes

September 11, 2010 admin Leave a comment

These are nice hearty pancakes and make a great weekend breakfast.

4 servings
328 calories per serving

1 c quick oats
½ c flour
½ c whole wheat flour
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 c buttermilk
2 T canola oil
1 t vanilla
Berries for the topping
Pam

Combine the first 7 ingredients. Combine eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mix well. Stir into the dry ingredients. Pour batter by ¼ cupfuls onto a hot griddle sprayed with Pam. Turn when bubbles form and cook another minute or 2.

Serve with fruit, nuts, and a bit of sugar free maple syrup if you like. I usually serve with bananas 🙂

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Summer

Strawberry Dream

August 28, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This is like a pudding pop with strawberries – very rich, very creamy and very delicious !

18 servings
254 calories per serving

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c skim milk
1.5 oz. package sugar free vanilla instant pudding
1-1/2 c thawed cool whip
20 Nilla Wafers, coarsely broken
1 c sliced fresh strawberries (save some for tops of desserts)
1/2 c strawberry ice cream topping (or strawberry jam)

Beat cream cheese until creamy and gradually beat in milk. Add pudding and beat 2 minutes (it will be quite thick) then stir in cool whip and berries. Swirl in topping. Divide cookies among 18 cupcake liners (I use silicone ones) then spoon in the strawberry mix, garnish the tops with extra berries and freeze 4 hours. Let sit out 10 minutes before eating.

Drinks, Summer

Torani Tea

August 17, 2010 admin Leave a comment

When you’re in the mood for a great refreshing summer drink, why not make a flavored iced tea? Adding flavor definitely takes the ho-hum out of a glass of iced tea ! Torani makes some GREAT flavored syrups that you can use.

I use their syrups making lo fat lattes and all sort of coffee drinks. And they have a whole bunch of fruit flavored syrups that are perfect in a glass of iced tea. Some are sugar free and ZERO calories. Others have sugar and are 80 calories or so per ounce.

What I love is that their flavors don’t taste like fake flavoring – the blood orange tastes like you squeezed a blood orange into the tea ! Watermelon syrup makes you think you just bit into a slice of watermelon. And the coffee ones are the same – pumpkin, gingerbread, vanilla – – all GREAT flavors that don’t have any nasty aftertaste and make a real treat out of your everyday coffee and tea drinks.

1 serving
5-85 calories per serving

6 oz. hot black tea
Glass of ice
1 oz. Torani syrup – today I am using BLOOD ORANGE

Mix all together and enjoy 🙂 Can’t you just taste it from there ????

Food Buzz Daily Special

Vanilla – Worlds of Difference

June 3, 2010 admin Leave a comment

When it comes to vanilla flavor in your cooking and baking, the type you use can make all the difference in the world.

When choosing your flavoring you have several options – – Imitation vanilla flavoring, pure vanilla extract (bargain basement), pure vanilla extract (good quality), and vanilla bean paste such as Madagascar Vanilla by Nielsen-Massey. I pretty much try and stick to good quality pure vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste – if you use the others, you really end up with a inferior product at the end. It costs more, but the results are really worth it !

Here are some of my favorite vanilla flavored and vanilla added treats…
they are recipes where the vanilla flavor really comes out strong 🙂

Toffee
Banana Cake
Vanilla Ice Cream (no ice cream maker needed)

To find out more about vanilla, check out today’s Food Buzz Daily Special !

Breakfast, Kid Friendly

Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

May 1, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Take the whole frying hassle out of French toast preparation – and add some great apples and nuts along the way. This was a really easy way to prep a great breakfast. Add some extra maple syrup over the top to give it even more flavor !

4 servings
280 calories per serving

½ c Egg Beaters
2 egg whites
¾ c skim milk
1 T Splenda
½ t vanilla extract
½ t cinnamon
8 slices cinnamon raisin bread (80 calories per slice) cut in half diagonally
1 t buttery spread
1 T maple syrup
2 apples sliced thinly
4 T sliced almonds
Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with Pam. Whisk Egg Beaters, egg whites, milk, splenda, vanilla and cinnamon then pour into pan and top with the bread slices. Flip the bread over once to it gets a little coating on each side. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes then remove foil and bake another 8-10 minutes. Melt butter in skillet and add syrup, then apples. Cover and cook on low heat 10 minutes or until apples are soft then uncover and cook 1 minute to dry up the mix a little. Serve bread with the apple mixture over top and sprinkle with nuts.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Summer

Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream – NO ICE CREAM MAKER NEEDED

March 17, 2010 admin Leave a comment

It is amazing how creamy of a product this turns out considering there is no ice cream maker involved. I’ve made it many times, always with good results. It’s well worth the calories 🙂 If you are lucky enough to know what Carvel ice cream tastes like – – well, this is similar !

12 ½ c servings
299 calories per serving

½ c whole milk
1 T vanilla
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 t salt
2 c heavy cream

Stir milk, vanilla, condensed milk and salt in a medium bowl. Beat heavy cream to stiff peaks (but don’t over beat or the cream will begin to break down) and then fold into the milk mix. Folding is just a method to mix things a little gentler than stirring. You just keep inserting a spatula or spoon UNDER the ingredients and left or fold them up on top – keep repeating to fully incorporate the ingredients. Pour into a shallow 1 ½ quart METAL (because it conducts the cold better) bowl and freeze the mix 4 hours, stirring once halfway through.

If you keep this in the freezer for more than a day, it will get very hard and you need to let it sit a few minutes before scooping out servings.

Variations:

Strawberry – omit the milk and vanilla – instead stir in 4 c pureed strawberries and 2 T corn syrup.
Coffee – add 2 T instant coffee to the milk and dissolve , then continue with other steps
Others – add 2 T flavored coffee creamers to the milk mix (Irish Cream tastes GREAT)

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Banana Cake

March 5, 2010 admin 3 Comments

This was so incredibly delicious ! The cake is moist, the frosting is decadent – and at only 120 calories per serving, it is pretty much guilt free!

24 servings
120 calories per serving

Cake
1 2/3 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c mashed ripe bananas
1 1/3 c skim milk
2 T pineapple juice
2 large eggs
3/4 c Splenda
6 T butter, melted
2 t vanilla extract
Pam

Frosting
16 oz. fat free cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 c light butter, at room temperature
1/3 c Splenda
2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13×9 pan with Pam. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. Mix bananas, milk and juice and set aside. Beat eggs and Splenda at high speed for 4 minutes and then add melted butter, and vanilla extract and beat at medium a minute longer. Alternately add flour mix and banana mix and beat at low speed just until blended being sure not to over mix. Put the batter in the pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan. To prepare the frosting, beat the cheese and butter until creamy then gradually add Splenda and beat on medium. Mix in vanilla and then spread over a cooled cake. Chill 30 minutes and then cut into squares. Try serving with a few slices of fresh banana on the side.

Dessert

Chocolate and Toffee Bars

February 21, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Toffee and chocolate together – a combination you just can’t beat ! These bars are very rich and a great party treat.

30 servings
160 calories per serving

Crust
1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c Splenda brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 c flour
1/4 t salt
Pam

Toffee
1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c Splenda brown sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1/2 c evaporated milk
1 1/2 t vanilla

Topping
3 1 oz. square unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 T Splenda brown sugar
1 c chopped pecans, toasted (to toast just heat for 5-7 minutes in a dry skillet on medium high heat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 pan with Pam.

For the crust, beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed until blended and then add egg yolk and beat until combined, Add flour and salt and beat on low until blended. The mix will be very dry and look like fine bread crumbs. Firmly press the mix into the bottom of the pan to make a buttery crust. Bake 16 – 18 minutes or until golden. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

For the toffee, combine butter, brown sugar, syrup, milk and vanilla in a saucepan on low heat stirring constantly until the sugar all dissolves. Then bring it to boil over medium heat and cook about 10 minutes. Pour over the crust and spread and then bake another 10 minutes. Cool on a rack 5 minutes.

For topping, mix chocolate and sugar in the top of a double boiler until mixture is melted. Alternately, you can melt this in the microwave 10 seconds at a time stirring in between each cooking – be sure not to overcook. Drizzle this over the toffee and sprinkle with nuts. Cool completely on a rack and when firm, cut into bars.