When you read the ingredients you are going to think, WHAT?! But I am telling you this is the best “salad” you’ll ever eat!


Snickers Salad

Ingredients:
4 Snickers candy bars, chopped
1 tub cool whip
3-4 medium sized granny smith apples, diced (and spritzed with lemon juice to keep from turning brown)

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Chill before serving.

Done! How easy is that?! A great dessert for your next picnic!

Sprinkle some extra apples and snickers on top for a pretty garnish!

Enjoy!

This post linked to:
Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday
A Southern Fairytale’s Mouthwatering Monday

Today is my birthday!

So obviously I needed to post a cupcake recipe. But, also, I don’t know if you know this rule, I don’t cook on my birthday. I also don’t take the time to type out a really long recipe to share on my blog. So here is the “it’s my birthday and I’m being lazy and just giving you links to the original recipes that I found when googling” post.

You’re welcome!

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Banana Cupcakes
I found this recipe at Schweet ‘N Savory and it is just perfect. I didn’t change it a bit. Which is rare for me. It is light and spongy like a cupcake, not at all like a banana bread or muffin. And I used bananas that were just past ripened so they weren’t brown and the cupcake was a delightful shade of yellow.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting
I got this recipe from the queen mother herself, Martha Stewart.  I figured if anyone knew how to make a delightful ganache, it would be her. I was so right.  I followed the directions and then refrigerated it so it would be firm enough to frost with my cake decorator thingy. Actually, I stuck it in the freezer for a bit because it was taking too long (and I wanted a cupcake for crying out loud) and the texture still turned out creamy and smooth.

There you have it! Two delicious recipes put together for one amazing cupcake!

Happy Birthday!!

This recipe? YUM. Completely indulgent, save it for a get-together where you can serve it to lots of people so you don’t have to bring leftovers home.  Because trust me, you will eat it all after everyone goes to bed. Just sayin’.

Lemon Cheesecake with Fresh Fruit

Ingredients:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tbs sugar
6 tbs melted butter

Fresh fruit: I like to use blueberries, sliced strawberries and sliced peeled kiwis 

Mix together graham crumbs, butter and sugar.  Now, you can use the graham crumbs from the box like I started out….

 Then realize that you don’t have quite enough so you rustle up a random package of graham crackers from the pantry.  Crush them inside the now empty pre-crushed crumbs bag with the edge of an ice cream scoop.

Realize that it’s not working and use a rolling pin thingy.

Decide, “screw it” (excuse my language, I was very frustrated) and just use the mini food chopper to properly crush the graham crackers.

OR, just make sure you have enough of the pre-crushed ones on hand.  Whatever.

MOVING ON…

Line a 9×13 pan with foil, making sure to leave some hanging over the edges.

Press crust in pan and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes.

Beat the cream cheese on low until nice and smooth…low and slow is the name of the game with cheesecake, folks!  Add in sugar, dry pudding mix and sour cream, one at a time and beat until smooth again.

Add in eggs, one at a time until well blended.  I like to crack the eggs one at a time into a measuring cup.  Digging egg shells out of cheesecake batter is not easy…or fun.  Don’t be a baking snob, don’t crack the eggs into the mixing bowl!

Pour over crust.

Bake 30-40 minutes or until center is almost set (which means jiggly, but not “wet”).

 Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve:  Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan and place on a platter.

Remove cheesecake from foil to tray.  Spread with whip cream.  Top with fruit.

Try not to be a perfectionist about the fruit or your brothers will make fun of you.

This post is linked to:
Homemaker Monday
A Southern Fairytale
Beauty and Bedlam
Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays
Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays
Check them out for more recipes!

Oh yes, and I got the original recipe here but, of course, I changed it.

Oh yes, the one you have all been waiting for!  I won’t make you wait any longer, let’s get right to it!


Snickers Cheesecake

First of all, you are going to need a Spring-form pan.  You will see from the pictures that mine has been very well used.  I’m wanting one like this, maybe the cheesecake fairy will bring me one?  You can get a more affordable one like this if you are just starting out in your cheesecake making.  If you do not have a spring-form pan and can’t wait until your new one that you just ordered using my affiliate link so I can make some money, never fear!  Ahem.  Just line a 13×9 baking dish with foil, making sure to let the foil hang over the edges.  Spray the foil with a non-stick spray then follow the recipe below.  Then to serve the cheesecake just grab the corners of the extra foil and lift it right out of the pan. Look at you being inventive and adaptive in the kitchen!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:
20 chocolate graham crackers
4 tbs butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs water if needed

Crush or puree crackers until fine, add all other ingredients and mix together.  Add water if needed (if it’s too dry and won’t pat down).  Pat down into a spring-form pan.  Bake 6-7 minutes. Cool.

Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8 ounce) softened cream cheese packages (you can soften the cream cheese by microwaving it in small intervals until nice and soft, but don’t cook it!)
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
20 mini or 3 King Size Snickers candy bars

Beat cream cheese on low until smooth.  The key to a smooth cheesecake is to beat the filling nice and slow.  If you beat it fast, too much air gets into the batter and it will not be smooth, it may also crack.

Add sugar, then the sour cream. Beat until smooth.  Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth and creamy.

At this point, I like to get out my spatula and scrape the bottom of the bowl.  You don’t want any chunks in your cheesecake!  If you find some chunks around the edges or at the bottom of the bowl, beat again until smooth.

Chop up the Snickers candy bars, trying as hard as you can not to do the ol’ one for the cheesecake two in my mouth game.

 

Fold in Snickers, leaving a handful aside to top the cheesecake with.

 Pour into cooled pan.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until the center is still a bit jiggly but the rest of the cheesecake is firm.  Cool and refrigerate.

Ganache Topping:
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbs butter
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Slowly melt all ingredients together while stirring until smooth.

Pour over cooled cheesecake.  Sprinkle with extra chopped Snickers pieces.  Let cool.

Undo the pan (or pull out with the foil if not using a spring-form pan) and look at all the pretty layers.  Pat yourself on the back!

Now to the good part.  To serve, drizzle with caramel and whip cream.

 Wipe the drool of your chin and enjoy!