Tag Archives: cool whip

Tea Time: Lemon Cookies

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In an attempt to drink less coffee I don’t allow myself to have a cup post lunch. Having said that though, sometimes the work day can drag and we all need a little afternoon pick me up. I have been turning to tea at around 2:30pm daily. (Earl Grey has been my jam although I try to mix it up with Green tea every so often for the antioxidants).

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Ok so I digress, with tea time I often crave a little snack. So, I thought of doing something sweet, but nothing too heavy that it will make you lethargic for the remainder of your day. When poking around the world wide web I came upon this easy cookie recipe and when I brought them into work I got mouthfuls of thumbs ups and yays from everyone. Hope you enjoy as well! (Also go out and buy a nice tea cup and matching saucer as it makes tea time more special, pretentious, fun etc…I got 4 recently! Some even monogrammed for the true tea snob factor.)

  • 1 box of store bought lemon cake mix
  • 1 lemon’s zest (if you don’t have a zester, a boxed grater works well also)
  • 1 tub of cool whip
  • 1 egg
  • Powdered sugar

Mix the first 4 ingredients well and the spoon mixture into the powdered sugar. The batter will be very sticky so you will need to coat with the powdered sugar in order to form into balls for baking sheet. I would do a little bowl of powdered sugar in which you can drop the spoonfuls into the bowl, as this can get messy if you don’t have it all set up beforehand. Lay out on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let them sufficiently cool after you remove from oven as they will still be too soft to handle/will break if touched right after cooking.

Lemon tea cookies

Happy Eating, XO.

Italian Love Cake: Happy Valentine’s Day

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Not sure on the history of why this is called love cake, but I will tell you its two major components are items I love dearly: chocolate & cheese!! (It’s ricotta, chill) Anyway, it’s not super laborious, but it’s also not your traditional cake. Set aside a good amount of time to make this and it’s actually best if you make the night before serving. Also! there’s an element of magic involved. That’s right kids, magic.

  • 1 boxed chocolate cake mix AND the ingredients listed on the box (I know I’m a disappointment to Martha but whatever, I love me a solid shortcut)
  • 2 lbs. (32 ounces) ricotta cheese (seemed like an insane amount when I was buying it but is actually the right quantity)
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar (my coworkers seemed to think 1 cup would’ve been better as that layer wasn’t quite as sweet, so use your judgment)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (5.1 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 1 cup cold milk (yes that seems like too little, but just trust the recipe please, also I may swap this for Kahlua next time and see if that improves/ruins this “frosting”)
  • 8 ounces Cool Whip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9×13 inch pan and set aside. In a large bowl, prepare your cake mix batter according to the directions on the box. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a super strong whisking arm like mine), beat together the ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and use an off-set spatula to spread evenly in the pan. Next, carefully pour the ricotta mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter. Gently spread the ricotta mixture so it evenly covers the cake batter. (The layers will switch while baking so the ricotta moves to the bottom and cake to the top – like magic or the scientific reason that ricotta weighs more than cake batter, whatever I am sticking with MAGIC.)

Bake for 60 minutes or until cake is set. Let cake cool completely before “frosting.”

Once the cake is cool, whisk together the pudding mix and milk until combined. Gently fold the Cool Whip into the pudding until combined. Spread the pudding mixture over the top of the cooled cake. Cover the cake and refrigerate at least 6 hours, or overnight, before serving. You know what -this cake SHOULD be called Love Cake because if I have to wait overnight to dive into this puppy I must really love you/it.

Not a very “pretty” picture but this is all I could sneak in as my coworkers devoured the cake.

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We are sending you all loads of Italian love this valentine’s day: tanti baci!

Happy Eating, XO.

Tasty Treat

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If you thought the Fall Favorite was easy, you don’t even know what you are getting into with this Pumpkin Dip. There is no cooking required. There are no utensils or dishes required. Yet this is the yummiest snack on the planet! Yup planet, not country, but the whole damn world. I get it, the lamb chops or roast chicken may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, I know damn well you can make this! Grab the 4 whopping ingredients and get stirring, this tasty treat won’t last long in anyone’s kitchen.

  • One container of Cool Whip (you can get the low fat stuff)
  • One small box of vanilla pudding mix (don’t make it, just the powder)
  • 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin (again not the pie mix, actual pumpkin)
  • One teaspoon of cinnamon
Directions:
  • Combine all ingredients
  • Chill for 30 minutes (throw it in your fridge & pull out as a snack, dessert, etc. whenever, the 30 minutes is more of a suggestion than rule)

Enjoy with:

  • Graham crackers
  • Vanilla wafers (I even crushed some up to decorate the top with)
  • Apples
  • Your fingers, a spoon, I am not kidding. So freaking good. Lick the bowl, good.

Happy Eating, XO.