Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake

I have been craving something made with poppy seeds lately.  They just keep shouting at me every time I open the refrigerator!  I paired them with lemon, reduced the fat in a typical cake and came up with this light, heavenly lemon poppy seed bundt cake which did not disappoint.  It's robust on lemon flavor, moist and delicious!  It's even better the second day after making too!

Servings: 16
Serving Size: 1/16 of bundt cake
Points Plus: 7pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 55-60 minutes

Ingredients:
Cake Ingredients-
1 Duncan Hines Lemon Cake Mix (16.5 oz)
2 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1 package instant lemon pudding, sugar-free
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup poppy seeds
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 egg whites
1 egg

Glaze Ingredients-
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp. fresh lemon mice
1 drop yellow food coloring

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a bund pan with cooking spray.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cake mix, flour, instant pudding, buttermilk, water, applesauce, oil, poppy seeds and lemon juice (2 Tbsp).  Mix until well blended.  Add the egg whites and egg and beat until smooth.  Pour into prepared bundt pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly.  Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.  Carefully loosen sides with a knife and remove the cake onto a plate.  Cool completely before glazing.

To make the glaze - combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Blend until very smooth with a whisk.  Add the food coloring and mix well.  Drizzle the glaze all around the top of the cake.  Slice and serve!

Tip:
Keep your poppy seeds in the fridge to make the last for up to 6 months!  Because poppy seeds are high in oil content they need to be preserved a bit otherwise they won't last long.  The fridge is the perfect home for them!

YUM!
XOXO Nancy

Happy Labor Day + 15 Amazing Pies!

In celebration of Labor Day I would like to post a fun little project I have been working on this summer - #14piesofsummer (that actually turned into 15)! The week after Memorial Day I was tasked with baking a pie. And I since it was so fun and tasty, I thought, why not make one pie a week all summer?!?! And so I did, and it was a great leaning experience, and I am proud of what I accomplished and baked!

It was also fun to share all of these pies with my peeps, as any good Weight Watcher knows, having desserts in the house is dangerous. I brought them to dinner parties, birthday parties, cabin parties, fourth of July parties, going away parties and more! Please enjoy this recipe for the unexpected front runner - Key Lime!!! 

Key Lime Pie!!

Other pies included, in no particular order; blueberry, cherry, apple cheddar, peach cobbler, peaches and cream, chocolate chip, chocolate pecan, yogurt, banana cream, lemon, strawberry glaze, french silk, rhubarb & banana cheesecake (pie).

Key Lime Pie
Servings: 12
Serving Size: 1/12 pie
Points Plus: 10pp
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes total
Chill Time: 2 hours
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Kay Lime recipe can be found here!
Check out all the PIES here!

Tip
I substituted light sour cream and light butter for the regular versions in this Key Lime pie, and it was amazing!!

XOXO - Katie

Ammie's Buttermilk Waffles

Sunday morning waffles were a staple in our house growing up.  My mom always made them for us before church.  This recipe actually comes from her mom.  Ammie (the affectionate name we used instead of Grandma) got this recipe with her Sunbeam Mixmaster stand mixer which was a wedding gift back in 1948.  This recipe is sooo good that we are still using it 66 years later!  I know she would be proud to know that is the case. Although you are indulging a bit with this breakfast, it is SO good that I think the points are worth it!  Balance out your day with a lighter lunch and dinner.  The full recipe makes a lot of waffles, you can easily cut the recipe in half to only serve four!

Servings: 8
Serving Size: 1 waffle
Points Plus: 8pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. baking poswer
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
8 Tbsp. light pancake syrup
8 tsp. mini chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt. Beat the eggs in a smaller bowl with a hand mixer.  Add the buttermilk and vanilla to the egg mixtue. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until smooth - make sure you don't overmix the batter.  Make the waffles in a preheated waffle iron and serve immediately with light pancake syrup and a little bowl of mini chocolate chips!

Tip:
Buttermilk is really the key to this recipe.  It makes sure the waffles aren't dry and it gives a homemade flavor that is just so good!
XOXO Megan

Glazed Donut Muffins

I had been wanting to try this recipe out for a long time and I finally did!  I made these on Easter for quick, light-ish breakfast before church and a bigger Easter meal with family around noon.  They were delicious!  I mean what an awesome combo?!?  Glazed donut meets muffin form!!!  They are definitely a bit indulgent, but in my opinion, completely worth the splurge!

Servings: 16 muffins

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: 15-17 minutes

Ingredients:

Muffins:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 2/3 cups flour
1 cup skim milk

Glaze:
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. hot water

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°.  Line a regular muffin tin with liners.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter, oil and white and brown sugars.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth.  Add in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla, stirring until just well combined.  Alternately add the flour and milk seperately; add about 1/2 the flour, then 1/2 the milk and repat.  You want to make sure to not overmix this batter. 

Spoon the donut muffin batter into the muffin cups.  Bake for about 15-17 minutes or until the muffins are just turning golden brown.  Cool muffins on a wire rack.  It's important you allow the muffins to cool before you add the glaze to the tops.  Make the glaze in a small bowl by mixing together the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and water.  Use a whisk to make sure the glaze is smooth and void of lumps.  Dip each muffin top into the glaze by turning the muffins upside down.  Allow the glaze to harden and then transfer back to the wire rack to cool/harden further.  You might need to dip the muffins a second time.  It kind of depends on your preference!

Tip:

A tip I use often when I make muffins is to split the batter into regular muffins and some mini muffins.  Mini muffins are obviously less pp value and you still get the taste!  Obviously mini muffins are a bit easier to overeat though, so make sure to practice portion control if you take this strategy.

XOXO Megan

Recipe adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Double Chocolate Cookies

I love cookies!  This recipe calls for two types of chocolate chips to make some seriously delicious treats.  The original recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman's blog.  I scaled back the recipe a bit to save some pp – I took out some butter and reduced how many chocolate chips the recipe calls for.  I also made the cookies a bit smaller to add an extra ½ dozen to the total recipe yield. They are still a bit indulgent, but every once in a while it is okay to splurge a bit. Katie and I actually made these together when we got together with our husbands for a dinner party a few months ago!

Servings:  3 ½ dozen or 42 cookies

Size:  1 cookie

Points Plus:  5pp per cookie

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time:  9-11 minutes per batch

Ingredient List:

2 sticks butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

2 large eggs

3 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.  Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add in the eggs, one at a time; make sure they are mixed well.  Add in the vanilla extract.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the dry mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in multiple batches.  Gently fold in the semi-sweet and white chocolate chips.  Scoop out the cookies (about 1 Tbsp. per cookie) onto cookie sheets.  Bake for approximately 9-11 minutes, until just set in the middle.  Cool on wire baking racks and enjoy!

Tip:

Okay these cookies are delicious!  You can easily cut this recipe in half to only end up with 21 cookies so you don’t go crazy.  Or bring the extras into work and share with your coworkers (and get them out of your house J)!!!

XOXO Megan

Cake Batter Valentine's Blondies

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!!

These little treats are SO GOOD!  I made these to serve at a birthday party I recently hosted and they were definitely a hit.  I choice to serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but believe me they are delicious on their own too!  I found these on Sally's Baking Addiction blog. Try them out next time you need a fun dessert!

Servings: 18 
Size:  1 cake batter blondie 

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Bake Time:  25-30 minutes

Ingredient List:

1 box yellow cake mix
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 egg

½ cup milk

½ sprinkles (I chose to use Valentine's sprinkles)

½ white chocolate chips

Vanilla ice cream (optional, not included in pp value)

  

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, oil and egg with a whisk.  Slowly add in the milk, whisking until well combined.  Fold in the sprinkles and white chocolate chips.  The batter will be very thick and dense.  Don't be surprised by this - they are called cake batter blondies for a reason!  Spread the batter into a lightly greased 9x13 pan and add some additional sprinkles to the top of the blondies before baking.  You can defintiely use a smaller pan, but it will make for thicker blondie bars.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.  Allow the bars to cool for awhile before you cut into squares.  Serve alone or with ice cream! 

Tip:

The original recipe is made with with funfetti, multi-colored sprinkles which would be perfect for a kid's birthday.  You can also substitue in Christmas, Easter, or St. Patrick's day sprinkles instead to make these for any holiday you want!

XOXO Megan

Valentine M&M Cookies

Are you having a Valentine's day party? Or are you looking for a fun sweet treat for your husband, boyfriend or someone special??? Try this for the old stand-by recipe from Nestle Toll House and simply replace the chocolate chips with Valentine colored M&Ms!

Servings:  Recipe will make 5 dozen

Size:  1 cookie

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time:  9-11 minutes per batch

Ingredient List:

2 ¼ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened

¾ cup sugar 

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup M&Ms (Valentine's package)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt until well mixed.  In a large bowl, cream butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, making sure to beat thoroughly after each. Gradually add the flour mixture.  Fold the M&Ms in to the batter.  Drop heaping spoonfuls onto ungraded cookie sheets.  Bake for 9-11 minutes.  After removing from the oven, allow to cool for a minute or so on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Tip:

I used all butter when I made these cookies and I have to admit my cookies turned out kind if flat. :( My mom and grandma's cookie baking tip was to always replace half the called for butter with crisco instead.  Try that trick next time you bake cookies!

XOXO Megan

Champagne Orange Bundt Cake

I came across this recipe on Pinterest as I was searching for a fun, festive dessert to serve on New Year's Eve.  The original recipe (found here) comes from the Muffin Tin mom's blog.  I wasn't able to find the orange mimosa flavored sparkling wine that her recipe calls for so I improvised and used a combination of champagne and orange juice instead - two ingredients you already need for the frosting!  I also chose to omit the sliced almonds to cut down on pp.  Enjoy this bubbly cake!

Servings: 10

Size: One slice of 1/10 of the cake

Points Plus: 8pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 25-30 minutes

Rating: 4 stars - Very good

Ingredient List:

Cake Batter

1 box white cake mix

2/3 cup champagne

1/3 cup orange juice

3 eggs

Baking spray

Frosting

¼ cup champagne

¼ cup orange juice

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, champagne, orange juice and eggs until well combined.  Pour batter into a lightly greased bundt pan.  Bake according to the directions on the box, about 25-30 minutes.  Allow the cake to cool completely before you frost it.  To make the frosting, first combine the champagne and orange juice in a large bowl.  Add the powdered sugar a ½ cup at a time until the frosting reaches the consistency you are looking for.  It will be more of a glaze than a thick frosting.

Tip:
I don't know about you, but I REALLY struggle when it comes to making frostings!  I think the key is to not have too much liquid so you don't have to add as much powdered sugar to even out the consistency.  That said, you could use slightly less champagne and orange juice in the frosting to make for a thicker frosting if you prefer. 

XOXO Megan

Raspberry Almond Bars

These bars are super easy to make and taste delcious!  The raspberry preserves helps you save time instead of making a raspberry sauce from scratch.  You could easily substitute in another fruit preserve instead if you prefer something else - strawberry, blueberry, blackberry etc!

Servings: 16

Size:  1 bar

Points Plus: 4pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time:  25-30 minutes

Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

Ingredient List:

1 cup flour

¾ cup oats

½ cup sugar

½ cup butter

½ tsp. almond extract

½ cup red raspberry preserves

1/3 cup almonds, sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan.  In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats and sugar.  Add in the butter and cut with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in the almond extract and mix well.  Reserve about 1 cup of the oat mixture.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, pressing down firmly to bind the crumbs together.  Spread the raspberry preserves over the top to about ½ inch from the edges of the pan.  Mix the sliced almonds with the reserved oat mixture and sprinkle on top of the preserves; press down gently.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Tip:

Not everyone owns a pastry blender!  That’s okay, this recipe can still be made without one.  Use a fork instead to cut the butter into the oat/flour/sugar mixture.  You have to keep working at it, but eventually the mixture will turn into crumbs!

XOXO Megan

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cakes

These are DELICIOUS, indulgent little cakes!  I served these at a family brunch recently and they were very popular.  Adding in chocolate chips is a perfect pairing with pumpkin!  And mini chocolate chips are just so cute. :)

This recipe comes from Skinnytaste.  The original recipe has these made into mini-muffins which would make 28 mini muffins or 14 regular sized muffins if you wanted to try a different variation for less points (see all pp values listed below).

Servings:  6

Size:  1 mini bundt cake

Points Plus: 8pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  25-28 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very Good

*PP value for 1 regular muffin would be 4pp, 1 mini muffin would be 2pp

Ingredient List:

½ cup whole wheat flour

¾ cup all purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

¾ tsp. baking soda

1 ¾ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

¼ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

1 ½ cup canned pumpkin (equal to 1 15 oz. can)

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 egg whites

2 tsp. vanilla

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray the mini bundt pan with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine the two types of flour, sugar, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt; mix well.  In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, egg and vanilla – beat until well combined, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.  Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture in multiple steps.  Do not over mix.  Fold in the mini chocolate chips with a spatula.  Using a spoon, drop spoonfuls of batter into each mini bundt mold.  Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let your mini bundt cakes cool before serving.

Tip:

An easy way to get your mini bundt cakes out of the pan is to flip your cooling rack upside down and place on top of the bundt pan.  Flip both the pan and rack upside down so the cooling rack is right side up (set on your counter) and the bundt pan is upside down. Your mini bundt cakes should pop right out of the pan and be perfectly placed to cool!

XOXO Megan

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

We are excited to bring you PUMPKIN WEEK!!!

Fall, autumn weather always gets me in the mood for something pumpkin.  You are in luck this week as Katie and I bring you lots of delicious pumpkin recipes to try out and add to your fall recipe list.   

I love finding new ways to bake with pumpkin.  This is a modification from my original cherry cheesecake recipe, but with pumpkin instead of cherry pie filling.  Enjoy!!

Servings: 20
Size: 1 mini cheesecake
Points Plus: 3pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Rating: 3 stars – Good 

Ingredient List:

Gingersnap cookies

2 8 oz pacakges of reduced fat cream cheese

¾ cup white sugar

1 cup pumpkin, canned

2 eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Pecan halves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a regular muffin tin with paper or tin liners. Place one gingersnap at the bottom of each liner; this will act as the ‘crust’ for your cheesecakes. Cream together the cream cheese, sugar first until fluffy.  Add in the pumpkin, mix well.  Next add the eggs, one at a time, and the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.  Fill each muffin liner with the cheesecake mixture, about ¾ full.  Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.  Top each mini cheesecake with a pecan half.  Refrigerate before serving.

Tip:

One piece of candy corn would also be a cute topping for each cheesecake.  Unfortunately, I made my batch of these the week after Halloween so all the shelves had been cleared of candy corn.  Pecan halves worked great as a substitution though!

XOXO Megan

Beer Pretzel Dip

This is an easy appetizer dip you can throw together and serve with pretzels.  It's not too bad for you since you use light beer and reduced fat cheeses, but like anything... make sure you eat this in moderation!!

Servings:  Recipe will make 2 1/2 cups or about 13 servings
Serving Size: 3 Tbsp.
Points Plus: 3pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredients:
2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese, 1/3 less fat
1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1/4 to 1/2 cup light beer
1 cup. shredded sharp cheddar, reduced-fat

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, Ranch dressing mix and light beer with a mixer.  Fold in the shredded cheddar cheese, stirring until well mixed.  Serve with pretzels and enjoy!!

XOXO Megan