Glazed Fruit Pie Bars

I got this recipe from my girlfriend Kylee (and she in turn found it at The Recipe Critic via Pinterest). She mentioned them one day so of course I had to try them.  She gave me the recipe and I got right to work.  The original recipe uses cherry pie filling but my son doesn't love cherries so I doubled the recipe and made the bars with apple pie filling and blackberry pie filling (for my husband). 

They got an A+ from my family!

GLAZED FRUIT PIE BARS

1 c. butter, softened

2 c. sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

3 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling (2 cans may be used if you're a fruit lover)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light yellow in color.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add the vanilla and almond extract.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture, 1 cup at a time.

Lightly spray a 15 x 10-inch pan with non-stick spray.  

Spread 3 c. dough evenly  on the pan. 

Spread the cherry pie filling over the top.

Drop remaining dough in little dollops over the top of the fruit.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool.

GLAZE

1 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 Tbsp. milk

Combine well and drizzle over the cooled bars.

THANK YOU KYLEE!

White Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Whipped Frosting

During the summer I was at an event where this cake was served, and everyone there fell in love with it.  I immediately knew I needed to make this for my son, the self proclaimed cake aficionado. 

My recipe has been adapted to make a standard size cake ( 9 x 13 pan), while the original recipe makes a half sheet cake size.  I have posted the recipe for the larger size cake at the bottom of page.

These photo's are from the 1st cake I made, the 1/2 sheet size cake.
The adapted recipe makes a much thicker/taller cake.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE WHIPPED FROSTING

1 (18.75 oz) box golden vanilla cake mix

1 (3.4 oz) box instant white chocolate pudding mix

3 eggs

3/4 c. oil

1 c. sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bow, combine all of the cake ingredients and beat for 2-3 minutes.

Pour the batter into a 9 x 13 baking pan that has been coated with non stick spray.

Back for 28-32 min or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool completely.

WHITE CHOCOLATE WHIPPED FROSTING

1 3/4 c. whipping cream

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. milk

1 (3.4 oz) box instant white chocolate pudding mix

In a large mixing bowl partially whip the cream until it is about 1/2 way thickened.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the milk and pudding mix and whisk until it is just mixed. Pour the pudding mix into the half whipped cream and continue to whip until the frosting is thick and spreadable.  Add the sugar and vanilla extract and continue to mix until it is the desired consistency that you like.

Spread on cake and serve.

Note:  I like to chill this cake for a couple of hours before serving and I love serving it with fresh fruit.

1/2 sheet size recipe:

Cake

1 ½ boxes golden vanilla cake mix

1 white chocolate pudding mix (3.4 oz.)

6 eggs

¾ c. water

¾ c. oil

1 ½ c. sour cream

Prepare as directed above.

Whipped Frosting

2 ½ c. whipping cream

¼ c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. milk

1 white chocolate pudding mix (3.4 oz.)

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Calzones

This is a really lovely recipe.  It's simply delicious.  The left overs warm nicely in the microwave too.  YAY!

SPINACH ARTICHOKE CHICKEN CALZONES

1 c. cooked chicken, shredded

1 (6 oz.) jar of artichoke hearts(about 1/2 c.)

(I use canned artichokes)

2 Tbsp. canned sliced jalapeno's, diced

1 c. spinach leaves, finely chopped

1 tsp. minced garlic

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded 

salt and pepper to taste

1 (8 count) can Pillsbury Grands refrigerated biscuits 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl combine the chicken, artichokes, jalapeno's, spinach, garlic, cream cheese, shredded cheeses and S&P.  Mix well.

Open the can of biscuits, and flatten each one out.  Divide the chicken mix evenly placing it on each biscuit. 

Fold the biscuit over the filling and press the edges together (I used a fork to do this). Poke a couple of holes in the top to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown. 

Serve.

Potato Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have a very serious love affair with potato chips.  Not flavored potato chips, not tortilla chips, not Cheeto's, pork rinds (eeewww), or any other kind of chips.  I simply love the crinkly and regular deep fried and salted potato chips.  I've tried to kick this weight sabotaging habit, but I can't do it...just love me some potato chips!

A while back I stumbled across this recipe (I can't remember where I found it!) and knew I was going to try it.  You see, I also LOVE chocolate chip cookies.

POTATO CHIP CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 c. butter, softened (I don't recommend substituting margarine for the butter, the water content in the margarine will cause the cookies to flatten)
1 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 c. chocolate chips, milk or dark-whichever is your personal fave

2 c. salted potato chips

2 eggs

2 1/2 c. flour

1/3 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar, until very creamy.  Add the eggs and mix again.  

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda, whisking well.

Add the flour to the creamed sugar mix 1 c. at a time. Add vanilla and mix one more time.

With a wooden spoon or other sturdy utensils, stir in the chocolate chips and lightly crunched potato chips.

 Roll the dough into individual balls about the size of a large walnut, place on a cookie sheet around 2" apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a light golden brown.  Immediately remove and transfer to a cooling rack.
  
Snarf them up (OK, that's what I did).

Yield is approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Our 2013 Most Popular Recipes Review

Our 2013 Year In Review!

I thought it would be fun to create a post that reflects on our 10 most popular recipes in 2013... here's the count down, from our 10th most viewed recipe to the #1 winner of 2013!

#10

Pineapple Lemonade Punch

#9

Asian Style Noodle Pancakes

(this recipe is a personal favorite)

#8

Oreo Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

#7

Indiana Easy No Bake Cookies

#6

Pumpkin Spice Fudge

(I love everything pumpkin!)

#5

Pumpkin Spiced No Bake Cookies

#4

Sensational Taco Pie

(one of my family's favorite dinners)

#3

Vanilla Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

#2

Coconut Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

And the #1 most popular recipe, for a 3rd year in a row is  (drum rolls please...) our

Diet Coke Brownie's

I also found a few interesting and fun facts about the people who visit us.
Microsoft Windows is the top operating system for browsers while the iPhone is the top mobile platform.

The biggest driving factor that bring visitors to our blog is Pinterest (no surprise here), while Facebook was only the 9th largest website to bring viewers to our blog ( I was surprised here).

Visitors from around the world are ranked by countries with the most visitors in the following order;

#1  United States
#2  Canada
#3  United Kingdom
#4  Australia
#5  Germany
#6  Russia
#7  France
#8  Mexico
#9  Philippines
#10  South Africa 

And finally, as of December 31st 2013, Aunt Peg's Recipe Box has had 2,293,788 visitors (that's 2.2 MILLION!).  Wow!

Thanks to each one of you for making this a fun year for me!  It's amazing how we can be connected globally by simply sharing a recipe.

Wishing you all the best for a fun, peaceful, prosperous 2014!