Easy Sugar Cookie Orange Cream Mini Tarts

 
These little tarts have been all the rage on Pinterest lately. I ignored them for awhile, because sometimes small things are more time consuming to make than the regular size. However, I had a Young Living Girls Night Out last week, and knew these would be perfect!

Now, I also know the rage is all homemade, no mixes, no preservatives, right?   If I had had more time and energy, I would have made my own cookie batter.  I've also wanted to try my hand at pastry cream, but this was not the time for it.  If any of you have a great recipe, let me know!

So, I went with simple.  Sugar Cookie mix, and Instant Pudding.  Of course, since it was a Young Living Girls Night Out, I had to include Essential Oils! 

These were a huge hit at the party.  A little on the sweet side... which motivates me even more to make my own pastry cream.  But, really, really good.  

This is a Life Diffused recipe, which means it contains Young Living Essential Oils. This one includes this amazing oil:

Young Living Orange Essential Oil

Sugar Cookie Orange Cream Mini Tarts
Double Dipped Life - Life Diffused 

1 box Sugar Cookie mix (or make your own!) 
Ingredients to make sugar cookies 
1 box Instant Vanilla pudding.  Cheesecake would also be yummy! 
2 cups milk
3-4 drops of Young Living Orange Essential Oil  (Lime, Grapefruit, Lemon, or Citrus Fresh would also be good!)
Strawberries, sliced thin
1 Orange peel, grated

Special tools needed:
 Mini cupcake pan


Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray a mini cupcake pan with cooking spray. 
Mix the Sugar Cookie dough as directed on package, or make your own.  Roll the dough into Tablespoon sized balls. Place the balls into the mini cupcake pan. 
Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
After baking, take the handle of a large wooden spoon, and poke a hole in the center of the dough. You might need more than one hole, and to stretch the dough as you poke.  
Let the shells cool. 

Make the pudding according to package directions.  Stir in a few drops of Orange Oil, and taste. Add more if needed. Refrigerate pudding until set. 

Fill the tart shells with the pudding mix.  Place strawberry slices on top, and sprinkle with Orange peel.  Serve cold. 

Enjoy! 

 Young Living Orange Essential Oil is fantastic for flavoring food and drink. Did you also know it's great for skin? I use it in my homemade face wash, and as a toner.  It's a pretty cheap oil, cost wise. It retails at $14, or get it wholesale for $10!  

How do you get wholesale prices?  See my Young Living Oil post, or click on my Membership link. 
Email me at DoubleDippedLife@gmail.com with any questions! 




 
 

Strawberry Lemonade Cobbler

It's my favorite time of the month again! Secret Recipe Club time!  This month I got the honor of browsing recipes from The Healthy Jalapeno.  Laura lives in Connecticut, and is a self-proclaimed health nut.  She has so many amazing looking recipes, like her Skinny Baked Onion Rings with Basil Sauce, or her Tomato and Onion Casserole.   I really, really wanted to make her Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Tart, but sadly, another SRC member had already featured it.  I did go out and buy a tart pan though, so that recipe WILL get made!

I finally decided to make a dessert. Her Fresh Strawberry Lemonade Oatmeal Bars jumped out. I had everything I needed, and with whole wheat flour, they were not quite as sinful as they could be.  They are supposed to sit for 2 hours after baking, but we couldn't wait that long, so ours were more like a cobbler instead of bars. Same fantastic taste though! I loved the addition of lemon to add a brightness to the strawberries.  I did use coconut oil, but did not add flax seed.

Strawberry Lemonade Cobbler
'Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-free'
Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 16 servings

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup Organic Kelapo Coconut Oil
2 cups oatmeal, rolled oats
1 tbsp organic finely ground flaxseed
2 1/2 cups strawberries, fresh, chopped
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Kelapo coconut oil, for greasing pan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 X 13 baking dish with coconut oil or parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and salt. With your hands mix in the coconut oil, oats and flax seed until well blended. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the mixture for topping. Press the rest of the mixture firmly into the bottom of the baking dish.


For the filling mix strawberries, honey lemon juice and zest with a spatula until the fruit is well coated. Spread the mixture on top of the crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the filling. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let cool for 2 hours, cut into bars and refrigerate in an airtight container to store.

Enjoy with some whipped cream or ice cream on top for an additional treat!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

It's time for the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake! If you missed the first post, explaining how I ended up making 3 different cupcake flavors in one day, see it here! 

 

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Adapted from Betty Crocker


1 box  yellow cake mix
1 container (8 oz) sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
3 Tb strawberry preserves
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, cut into 24 pieces 

Cream Cheese Frosting
The Double Dipped Life 

8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1/4 lb butter, softened

1 teas vanilla

2 teas coconut extract

4 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until fluffy.  Add vanilla and coconut extracts.  Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached. I use all 4 cups.

Toppings:

Sliced Strawberries
I used Strawberry Sugar from Orcas Alchemy
 
Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. In large bowl, mix cake mix, sour cream, oil, water and eggs with spoon until well blended (batter will be thick). Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

In small bowl, stir preserves until smooth. Place 1 piece of cream cheese on top of each cupcake; press into batter slightly. Spoon 1/4 measuring teas preserves on top of cream cheese in each cupcake.

Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until tops are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly in center (some preserves may show in tops of cupcakes). Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Spread frosting over cupcakes. Just before serving, garnish each cupcake with strawberry slices. Store covered in refrigerator.

Enjoy!