Two-Bite Brownie Santa Hats

I really love holiday baking. I can go crazy in the kitchen and no matter how much I bake, I won’t be tempted to eat any of it because I give so much of it away to friends, family, school teachers etc. This particular recipe was as an idea I saw online. There are a lot of recipes for these brownies but I thought it would be so much easier to just buy two-bite brownies and make cream cheese frosting (the easiest and also the best) although... Betty Crocker Icing would have made this even easier. The entire assembly process took around 10 minutes and I heard from my dad, that these were a huge hit at his office! Furthermore, I’m pretty sure they are the cutest thing to ever come out of my kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 Lbs Strawberry

1 Bag of Two-Bite Brownies

For the Frosting:

8 Oz of Cream Cheese

5 Tbsp of Butter

3 Cups of Icing Sugar

A Splash of lemon juice

Cream the butter and the cream cheese until light with a hand mixer, slowly add icing sugar while slowly mixing. Add the lemon juice squeeze. Place the frosting into a Ziploc freezer bag or actual piping bag with a round tip. Place icing on each brownies. Wash and pat dry all the strawberries. Cut the stems off. Place one strawberry on each brownie. Top each strawberry with a dollop of icing and serve shortly after. Don’t make the mistake I made by placing these in the fridge over night… The strawberries will sweat, and you'll have to wipe them down and start over!

Bon Appétit!

Vegetarian Chili with Corn Bread Muffins

Chili is most definitely not a meal I’ve ever been used to having growing up in my household… Once again, it’s one of those dishes that my mom doesn’t really enjoy thus never bothered making it for us. I guess I’m looking to rebel because I try to make dishes like these just to prove her wrong about what qualifies as a good meal and what doesn’t. I have to say: this chili was actually pretty good and even my brother ate his entire bowl. He didn’t realize there were any vegetables in it I guess… The response I got from my mom for this recipe was very positive so I encourage you to all try this one! She says, and I quote: “This was really good. I would never order it in a restaurant and so long as you never make it again, I enjoyed it.” I have NO IDEA what that means, but in her words, that’s very positive!

Ingredients for the Chili:

1 Tbsp of Vegetable Oil

1 Cup of Chopped Celery

1 Pepper (yellow is always my go-to colour)

1 Yellow Onion (chopped)

2-3 Cloves of Garlic (minced)

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

1 Can of Vegetarian Spicy Chili (I used an organic tofu can from Whole Foods, nobody noticed)

1 Can of Kidney Beans

1 Can of Black Beans

1 Tbsp of Cumin

1 Tbsp of Chili Powder

1 Tsp of Red Pepper Flakes

Green Onion

In a Dutch oven, or beautiful Le Creuset pot, heat the oil on medium high heat. Cook the celery, onion, pepper and garlic for 3 minutes.

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Simmer for an hour. Sprinkle with grated cheese, sliced green onion and sour cream (we didn’t have any!) and enjoy.

Ingredients for the Cornbread:

1 Cup of Flour

1 ½ Cup of Cornmeal

2 Tsp of Baking Powder

½ Tsp of Baking soda

½ Tsp of Salt

1/4 Tsp of Pepper

1 ¼ Cup of Milk

1 Egg

4 Tbsp of Butter (melted)

In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, whisk the egg, butter and milk. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until combined, and dough-like. Fill a greased muffin pan (12 regular sized muffins, 24 minis) ¾ full and bake in a 400-degree oven for 15 minutes. The muffins should be golden on the top. Serve warm (always with butter) as a side for the vegetarian chili.

Bon Appétit!

Chipits Toffee Crunch Blondies

A lot of times, you don’t have to go very far at all to find recipes with your favourite snack foods (rice krispies squares are a fine example). I’ve been obsessed with SKOR bars for as long as I can remember, so much that my grandfather bought me an entire box for my birthday one year! This recipe is on the back of the SKOR Chipits bag, and I dare every single one of you to try it out to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Ingredients:

½ cup butter (at room temperature)

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups of flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup of Chipits SKOR Toffee Bits (plus more for topping)

The recipe suggests adding a cup of chocolate chips, but I didn’t have any and they were great without it too!

Cream the butter, sugar and eggs until fluffy. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the Chipits SKOR Toffee Bits. Press batter in a greased 13”x9” dish. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes. Immediately after taking the dish out of the oven, sprinkle more Chipits SKOR Toffee Bits, and let cool. Cut into little squares or bars, and enjoy. Simple as that!

Bon Appetit!