Cinnamon Churro Chex Mix

Cinnamon Crunchy Goodness. That's what these little bites of heaven are!

This recipe makes a LOT, so it's best to save it for a party! 

Cinnamon Churro Chex Mix

Adapted from Babble.com

9 cups rice Chex cereal (That's one big box)
1 cup cinnamon chips (like chocolate chips! They are usually found in the same section in your grocery store)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 granulated sugar
1 1/2 teas cinnamon

In a small microwavable bowl, zap cinnamon chips and butter for 1 minute; stir until smooth. Microwave about 30 seconds longer if needed. Drizzle mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. Toss the coated Chex cereal into the sugar mixture. Spread on a piece of parchment until cooled.

Enjoy! 

Classic Cinnamon Rice Pudding

I had a craving to cook the other night, and oddly enough, it was to make pudding or panna cotta. This would have been easy, except it was late and we wouldn't have gotten to actually eat the results that night. So I was scrolling through my blog looking for something pudding-like that would set up faster. I came across my Tropical Rice Pudding.  My husband loves Rice Pudding. Loves it. It's something that I don't have a lot of experience with, and prefer regular pudding over rice pudding.  But, it's quick, and fit the bill.

Instead of Tropical Rice Pudding, I decided to just do a Classic Cinnamon Rice Pudding. The basic mixture is the same, and I just added cinnamon to get a bite of taste.  It does have to rest for 30 minutes after cooking, but that's fast compared to traditional puddings.

Classic Cinnamon Rice Pudding
The Double Dipped Life

Makes 4 1 cup servings

3 cups milk
1 cup uncooked minute rice (You can also use cooked leftover rice)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teas salt
2 eggs
1 teas vanilla
1 teas cinnamon

Combine milk, rice, sugar, and salt in a medium pan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Beat eggs and vanilla lightly in a small bowl. Stir small amount of hot rice mixture into eggs. Then, stirring constantly, slowly pour egg mixture back into the hot rice mixture. Mix in cinnamon.

Stirring constantly, cook on low heat 1 minute until thickened. Do not boil.

Remove from heat. Let stand 30 minutes.

Serve warm or cold! Store any remaining pudding in refrigerator.


Enjoy!

Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

In my house, when I mention "making cookies" I always get multiple responses. I'm usually thinking warm, soft chocolate chip cookies. My sons are thinking snickerdoodles. My daughter doesn't care, as long as she gets to help. She usually wants to make "something special for daddy" though! And then there is Dad. His request? It is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies every time. With coconut, if you please.

Over the last few years, I've tried a few different recipes, but we think we've found perfection in this combination.  The addition of cinnamon and nutmeg adds a gentle flavor without overpowering the chocolate or oats. You can add raisins, chocolate chips, coconut, even cinnamon or butterscotch chips would be good.

The batter is a little crumbly, but don't worry, they bake just fine!  Another plus is that the dough doesn't spread very much, so you can fits a lot on the baking sheet, and even form them in fun shapes! I use a cookie scoop, and then press them down a little bit.Cook them until they are golden, and look a little gooey. They'll cool down into perfectly baked, soft, yummy cookies!

Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 
The Double Dipped Life

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teas vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teas baking soda

1 teas cinnamon

Freshly grated nutmeg-just a bit

1/2 teas salt

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture. Blend until combined. Stir in the oats, chocolate and any other add-ins.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  You can bake them right away, but I prefer to chill the dough.Chilling dough helps the cookies rise, and not be flat.

When you are ready to bake, spoon about a Tb of dough into a round ball, leaving space between each cookie. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes. Take them out when they are golden at the edges but still a little under baked in the middle. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for two minutes before transferring them to cooling rack.

Enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk!

Cheesecake Pillows

We had some friends over for dinner this weekend. The theme was Italian, with Lasagna, Bruscetta, and Oil/Vinegar dipping sauce. I had seen this recipe on Allrecipes.com, and was instantly hooked.  I decided to use my muffin top pans and make individual "pillows'.

Let me just tell you... Wow. These are little pillows of heavenly goodness. I expected to bite into a big glob of cheesecake filling, but that's not what happened. The filling cooked into the crust, and it was one big, yummy, pillow of goodness. Seriously good.  We drizzled blended strawberries over the top, and every last person loved them.  There was a little 4 yr old boy in the group who sat eating his saying "Mmmmm... Mmmmm..."! His mom called it his "Yummy Motor"!

After I snuck another pillow when cleaning up, I decided that these are going to be made again and again and again... they are even good cold!


Cheesecake Pillows 
Recipe by Double Dipped Life

Makes 12 pillows

2 cans of Crescent Roll dough. *Pillsbury now has a seamless crescent dough that makes this really easy.
2 packages cream cheese, softened. *You want this at room temperature so the filling isn't lumpy.
2 cups sugar
2 teas vanilla
1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) of melted butter 
3/4 cup sugar
1 TB cinnamon

Strawberries or chocolate for topping!

Preheat the oven at 350.  Spread the crescent roll dough out, and cut to fit your muffin tins. I used muffin top pans, but you can use regular muffin tins. The other option is to use an 9x13 pan,  layer one crust on the bottom, spread the filling on top, and cover it with another layer of dough. Then you have cheesecake bars instead of pillows.

Once you have your dough placed in the tins, spoon roughly 1/2 cup of filling into the middle.

Now, fold each corner up and over the filling. Try to enclose it completely. A few leaked after cooking, and deflated when cool, but they were still yummy!

Melt the butter, and brush generously over each pillow. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, and sprinkle over each pillow.  Bake for 30 minutes, and let cool for 10 minutes.

Drizzle strawberries or chocolate over the top and enjoy!

Cinnamon Fruit Dip

I made this dip for a Christmas Party. It is an excellent and EASY dip to make and eat with fruit. The problem I had was that the original recipe was way to sweet. It tasted like cinnamon cake frosting! I have cut down the sugar, so the fruit goodness can shine through!

Cinnamon Fruit Dip

8 oz cream cheese (only use regular for a smooth dip)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp milk

Melt the cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute. Mix in the other ingredients, and stir to combine.

Serve with apple slices, bananas, or your favorite fruit!