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Tag: Dessert recipe

Easy baked sopapillas using flour tortillas

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

A simple summer dinner dessert idea!

Continuing on with the simple summer dinner ideas, I must include a simple summer dessert idea: easy baked sopapillas! I have a sweet tooth all year long. But I don’t want to spend forever in the kitchen or hours with my oven on during hot weather. I love desserts that are easy and delicious — perfect for hot summer days.

One of my favorite summer desserts is this whipped pudding pie recipe my family loves. But lately we’ve also been loving these easy baked sopapillas using flour tortillas. My daughter, actually, is the person who usually makes them for us. They are a perfect ending to a summer meal, especially something Mexican like this stuffed peppers skillet recipe.

Another bonus to these baked sopapillas is that they use ingredients I always have on hand, so I don’t have to plan ahead for them. Win-win!

Getting started

Preheat your oven to 400-degrees. Line two baking sheets with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper. This makes for easier clean-up. If you don’t have either, then be sure to spray the baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or grease it with butter.

Next, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. I usually do this in a small bowl in the microwave.

Place four flour tortillas on your prepared baking sheets. I use taco-sized flour tortillas for these baked sopapillas and can usually fit two per baking sheet.

Brush each tortilla with melted butter to cover the top well.

Sprinkle each with about 1 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar. I usually have premade cinnamon sugar to make life easier around here because we like it on so many things. But it’s super easy to make yourself if you don’t have it. Just mix 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon.

Baking the sopapillas

Put the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes until golden brown and crispy. If you are using two baking sheets, switch them on the racks about halfway through for even more even baking. The baked sopapillas may bubble up a bit, which is completely fine!

Serve the baked sopapillas warm. Top them with whipped cream, cherries, chocolate syrup, vanilla ice cream and/or honey if desired. Usually we keep it simple with whipped cream and cherries. My son, however, loves them most just plain. No matter how you serve them up, these baked sopapillas are delicious!

Easy baked sopapillas using flour tortillas

Stacey A. Shannon
A super easy cinnamon tortilla dessert
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 8 mins
Total Time 13 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 flour tortillas taco size
  • 3 tablespoons butter melted
  • 4 tablespoons cinnamon sugar (or mix 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon)
  • whipped cream optional
  • cherries optional
  • chocolate sauce optional
  • honey optional
  • vanilla ice cream optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
  • Place 4 tortillas on a baking sheet(s) lined with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper. (Or at least sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.)
  • Brush each tortilla with butter.
  • Sprinkle the tortillas with the cinnamon sugar, about 1 tablespoon per tortilla. If needed, use your clean fingers or a spoon to make sure the cinnamon sugar is spread over the tortilla.
  • Put the tortillas in the oven for 8 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
  • Serve topped with whipped cream, cherries, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and/or honey, if desired. Enjoy!
Keyword baked sopapillas, dessert, easy dessert, sopapillas, sopapillas with flour tortillas, weeknight dessert

Check out these other simple summer dinner ideas:

The best puppy chow recipe

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

An extra ingredient kicks this puppy chow recipe up a notch!

The best puppy chow recipe Pinterest image

Whether you call this a puppy chow recipe or a muddy buddy recipe, I can tell you that you’ll call it addictively delicious! Here in the Midwest, I hear it called puppy chow most often, so that’s what I’m going with. It’s one of the easiest and scrumptious recipes I make.

You can’t go wrong combining peanut butter and chocolate in any capacity, but not every puppy chow recipe is created equal. I’ve tried multiple ones through the years and have finally found the best recipe. When I made puppy chow for this post, I made a half batch since my husband doesn’t like it. (I know. He’s crazy! But he doesn’t like semi-sweet chocolate.) The very next day, I made a second half batch because we ran out. It’s just so good and hard to resist.

I’ve always liked puppy chow, but for whatever reason, it is what I’ve craved most throughout quarantine time with COVID. The good news is I’ve made it enough now to know how to best tweak it and make it yummy. The bad news is that I can’t make it too often or I’d be in a sugar coma. 🙂

The ingredients

Ingredients for the best puppy chow recipe: Rice bitz cereal, powdered sugar, peanut butter, chocolate chips, butter and vanilla extract

The ingredients are important because the wrong thing changes the taste. As you can tell from my ingredient photo, though, brands don’t matter so much. You want to make sure of a couple of things. First, use smooth peanut butter for this puppy chow recipe. Second, use rice squares instead of corn squares. I’ve used both and the rice squares taste better for this!

Not all puppy chow recipes use butter but I find it coats better and tastes better by using a bit of it. I use salted butter, but if you have unsalted, I think it’d be just fine, too, since you get some saltiness from the peanut butter as well.

Finally, my extra ingredient that doesn’t show up too often in muddy buddy recipes is vanilla extract. Trust me on this. You use just a bit and it will kick your flavors up a notch!

Preparing the puppy chow

One of the things I love most about this puppy chow recipe is that it’s quick to make and you can use the microwave. This means even my kids can make it or help me make it. I love that!

Start with putting your butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips in a large microwave-safe bowl. I use a big glass bowl so I can rinse it and put it in the dishwasher when I’m finished.

The butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips ready to go into the microwave for this puppy chow recipe

Put the bowl in the microwave and heat for 45 second and then stir. Remember that chocolate holds its shape as it melts, so you have to stir to tell how melted it is.

The butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips halfway melted for this puppy chow recipe

Continue heating in your microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each time until it’s completed melted and runny like the photo below. Usually mine is ready after the first 30-second round.

The melted butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips for the puppy chow recipe

When it’s nice and runny, stir in the vanilla extract. Once it’s all combined, it’s time to gently fold in the rice cereal squares. For a half batch, I use about 5-1/2 cups of cereal. You want the cereal to be well coated but not too thickly covered.

Mixing the cereal into the melted concoction for this puppy chow recipe
Getting there!
Scooping out the cereal coated in the peanut butter and chocolate mixture of this puppy chow recipe with a measuring cup
Nicely coated!

Once the cereal has a nice coating of the chocolate and peanut butter mixture, it’s time to covered it in powdered sugar. I place powdered sugar in a gallon-sized zip-top bag and then pour the prepared mix on top of it. However, I do this in batches as well using about 1/2 cup per three cups of cereal mix. So for a half batch, I do this twice. For a full batch, it takes four times.

A zip-top bag with some powdered sugar for the next step of this puppy chow recipe

The zip-top bag works great for this puppy chow recipe shakedown. Once it gets too messy, it may not re-zip, but just fold the top over tightly and you’re good to go. Shake it to cover the cereal in powdered sugar. Carefully break apart clumps from the outside and make sure all the pieces are coated in powdered sugar.

The puppy chow covered in powdered sugar in the bag

Get your snack on!

That’s it! Your puppy chow is ready to munch on. Place it in an airtight container and keep it covered, but it doesn’t have to be refrigerated. For us, containers with lids work better than using a zip-top bag which can be harder to seal well once it gets powdered sugar in the track.

The finished puppy chow

Stored well, it should last for up to a week. Well, it should stay fresh for up to a week, but I’m not sure it will ever last that long. It’s too yummy. Puppy chow also makes a great gift for friends and family. I have often included it in my holiday goodies.

The finished puppy chow

The best puppy chow recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 5-1/2 cups rice square cereal
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions
 

  • Place the butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter in a large microwave-safe bowl.
  • Heat for 45 seconds in the microwave and then stir. Return to the microwave and heat in 30 second increments until it is fully melted and runny. (Usually a total of 75 seconds works for me.)
  • Stir in the vanilla.
  • Gently fold in the cereal until all the squares are well covered with the chocolate and peanut butter mixture.
  • Put 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a gallon-sized zip-top bag.
  • Add 3 cups of covered cereal into the bag with the powdered sugar and shake. Break up clumps of cereal from the outside and make sure all the pieces are well coated. (You can add more powdered sugar if needed.)
  • Transfer to an airtight container and enjoy!

Looking for more easy, microwave desserts? Check out these:

Easy mint chocolate chip mousse recipe

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

With 5 ingredients and no cooking needed, you’ll fall in love with this mint chocolate chip mousse recipe!

A few weeks ago, my daughter wanted to try making a new recipe. We tried an ice cream based recipe that used chocolate sandwich cookies and mint to make a mint chocolate cake. It was good. But the topping was what we loved the most. It was like a mousse. So that inspired us to do some tweaking and develop this mint chocolate chip mousse recipe. As a lifelong lover of all things mint and chocolate, I have fallen in love with this mousse!

But the flavor isn’t all I love about this mint chocolate chip mousse recipe. I also like that only uses five ingredients and is easy to whip up. In fact, you can make it ahead of time for guests, pop it in the fridge and be ready to go. If you want a less creamy and airy texture, you can stick it in the freezer. But, I love the creamy, airy texture of mousse!

This would also work great as a pie if you pile the mousse on top of a chocolate cookie crumb crust!

Ingredients

Seriously, this mint chocolate chip mousse recipe only needs five ingredients that are pretty basic.

You need one 7-ounce jar of marshmallow creme, one 16-ounce container of heavy whipping cream, 1/4-cup of milk, 1/2 teaspoon of mint or peppermint extract and 3/4- to 1-cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. If you want to color your mint chocolate chip mousse, you also need a few drops of green food coloring, but that’s completely optional.

And if you are more of a cookie fan than chocolate chips, you can easily replace the mini chocolate chips for crushed chocolate sandwich cookies. Milk chocolate chips would be a bit rich, so if you go that route, use less of them. You could try dark chocolate as well (that’s what I would love but my family not so much!). Of course, if chocolate isn’t your thing, just skip the chocolate all together and enjoy a mint mousse!

Directions

Pour your heavy whipping cream into a mixer bowl. You can use a stand mixer or a handheld mixer. Use the whisk attachment(s) for the mixer and beat the whipping cream for a few minutes until soft peaks form. Start with a lower level of mixing and gradually increase it as the whipping cream begins to thicken. (If you go too fast too soon, the liquid will splatter out of the bowl.) The whipping cream should look like this:

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, marshmallow cream and mint extract. If you’re going to use food coloring this is the best time to put it in. (I completely forgot to put it in until the next step. So if you forget this, it will work in the step next as well. However, you will end up needing to use more food coloring if you wait until the next step.)

Stir the milk, marshmallow cream, mint extract and optional food coloring together well but carefully so as not to splash out of the bowl. The mixture should be less sticky and look like this:

Next gently fold the whipped cream into the bowl with the marshmallow cream mixture.

Before mixing together
I added the green food coloring in this step since I forgot it in the previous one. I ended up needing to add about double this amount of food coloring gel to get a light green tint to my mousse.
The light, airy mousse all mixed together.

The mousse is all ready for mix-ins. I suggest mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use the chocolate you prefer or even skip the chocolate all together if you’d rather. I started with 3/4-cup of the mini chips and then added about another 1/4 cup. My kids say I should use less chocolate next time, so the 3/4-cup of mini chocolate chips is probably best. But, if you’re a chocolate lover like I am, feel free to add a full cup or even more. I didn’t think there was any issue with the amount of chocolate chips!

Whatever you decide to mix in, do so gently like you folded in the whipped cream to keep the mousse light and airy.

Once everything is mixed in, the mint chocolate chip mousse is ready! I let mine hang out in the fridge for about an hour before we ate it, but you can eat it right away. Definitely store leftovers covered in the refrigerator. If you want a firmer consistency for your mint chocolate chip mousse, then put it in the freezer.

Mint chocolate chip mousse

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 jar marshmallow creme 7 oz.
  • 1 container heavy whipping cream 16 oz.
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon mint or peppermint extract
  • 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Green food coloring optional

Instructions
 

  • Pour the heavy whipping cream into a mixing bowl. Using a mixer with the whisk attachment(s), beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the marshmallow cream, milk, mint extract and food coloring (if desired). Stir until combined.
  • Fold the whipping cream into the marshmallow cream mixture.
  • Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
  • Store covered in the refrigerator until serving. For a firmer consistency, store in the freezer. Keep all leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer.

Are you looking for other no-bake, easy and delicious dessert recipes? Check out these!

4-ingredient lemon squares recipe

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

Easy to make yet so delicious!

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This lemon squares recipe is one of my favorite things to make and take places. They sound complicated and taste so yummy, but they couldn’t be easier. I’ve taken them to numerous carry-in dinners and friends’ houses.

Every October, I make a batch of these lemon squares for my father-in-law’s birthday because he loves them. Even better, they don’t require a single lemon or lemon zest, so the ingredients are easy to always have on hand. The batter itself only takes three ingredients. That’s it!

I found this recipe years ago in one of my favorite cookbooks, “101 Things to do with a cake mix” by Stephanie Ashcraft. I have the sequel cookbook as well. Both are loaded with lots of yummy and super easy recipes that I love!

Literally all you do is mix together the cake mix, two eggs and 1/3-cup of oil in a bowl. I use my trusty stand mixer many times just because it makes my life easier in so many ways, but I have also mixed this by hand many times. The mixture will be thick and a bit stiff.

After it is mixed well, you spread the lemon square dough into a 9×13 pan that’s been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I use a spatula to spread pretty well. Then many times, I use my clean hands to pat it into place so that it is even throughout the pan.

And, of course, I use my beloved Rachael Ray cake pan. I really love her non-stick bakeware line. It is my absolute favorite because nothing sticks to it! I got it as a gift and have since give it to a gift for both my mom and mother-in-law.

Bake it for 13 to 15 minutes until the lemon squares are slightly golden on top. Here is what mine looked like fresh from the oven:

Once it has cooled for 10 minutes or so, sprinkle with some powdered sugar.

All that’s left is to cut, serve and enjoy delicious lemon squares!

Look at that crumbly, yummy, citrus-y goodness!

4-ingredient lemon squares

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lemon cake mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • powdered sugar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
  • In a bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs and oil. Mixture will be stiff.
  • Spread the mixture evenly into a greased 9×13-inch pan.
  • Bake 13-15 minutes until slightly golden on top.
  • Cool for 10 minutes then sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.

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