Pop. Fizz. Clink! Fun Champagne Recipes {A post by me from Today’s Woman Now}

Today’s Woman Now.

So it may be past new year’s eve but really- do you need an excuse or holiday to drink champagne? I didn’t think so.

Citrus Champagne Cocktail
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh pink grapefruit juice, strained
1/2 cup fresh orange juice, strained
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, strained
1/4 cup sugar
1 750ml bottle champagne or sparkling wine, chilled

Preparation:
1. Mix all juices and sugar in a pitcher and stir until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
2. Divide juice among flutes and top with champagne. Serve immediately.
{From http://www.myrecipes.com}
Chambord Sparkling Champagne Cocktail
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Death’s Door Gin
3-4 oz Mumm Sparkling Wine Cuvee
1/2 oz Chambord liquor
Fresh raspberries for garnishing

Preparation:
Pour all ingredients into a champagne flute, garnish with raspberries and serve.
{From ideas.evite.com}

Semifreddo Bellini {Because a Bellini will fix any girl’s problems…}
Ingredients:
1 cup peeled, chopped peaches, frozen until hardened
1/4 cup peach schnapps
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chilled Champagne or sparkling white wine
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 cup small ice cubes
Peach slices, for garnish

Preparation:
1. Blend peaches, peach schnapps, 2 tablespoons Champagne, the sugar, and ice in a blender until smooth.
2. Divide mixture between 2 glasses; top off each glass with 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Champagne, and serve.
{From: http://www.marthastewart.com}

Peppermint Puppy Chow

Ingredients:
5 cups rice chex cereal
1 bag Andes mints (the red and white peppermint kind) melted
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Festive sprinkles

Directions
Measure out rice chex cereal in large bowl.
Melt Andes mint candies until smooth and creamy.
Pour over cereal and mix to coat well.
In a large bag, add powdered sugar and sprinkles.
Add coated cereal in bag and shake to mix/ coat well.
Pour back into large bowl and enjoy!

Happy Holidays :)

xx SSG

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Caramel Frosting

Warning- these are amazing! You’ll be glad it makes so many! My sister likes to call these “scookies” because they are thick and moist and she says they are like a cross between a cookie and a really amazing scone. {Yields about 60 or more cookies. Don’t double unless you need more than 5 dozen!}

INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar
2 cups shortening
2 cups pumpkin (the can should say 100% pure pumpkin…don’t accidentally buy the pumpkin pie filling! You don’t want the sweetened stuff)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
5 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. nutmeg
¾ tsp. ground cloves

BROWN SUGAR CARAMEL FROSTING
1 stick melted butter
2 T water
¼ c half and half or whole milk
4 ½ c powdered sugar
1 c brown sugar, packed lightly
2 t vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In an electric mixer, blend shortening and sugar.
Add pumpkin and mix.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each one.
Add vanilla extract and mix.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and cloves.
Add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients one cup at a time
Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes (12 seemed to be the magic number).
Meanwhile, make your frosting.
Let cool, frost and sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy!

BROWN SUGAR CARAMEL FROSTING
Prepare pan by spraying with Pam and rubbing down the sides. In the pan, melt the butter and then add the brown sugar and water. Cook and stir until the sugar has melted and isn’t grainy anymore.
Remove from heat and add the half and half and vanilla to cool the mixture. Let stand for 10-15 minutes to cool (don’t skip this step!)
Transfer brown sugar mixture to kitchen aid or bowl, add the powdered sugar, and beat until smooth.

Adapted from pinnedbydani.com.

Blackberry Bourbon Pie

Since fall is approaching sooner than we think, I decided to make a list of all the summery things I wanted to do before it ends. Mostly it consisted of recipes I wanted to make…. And that is how I got the urge to bake a pie! Fresh blackberries sounded so good so I went with just that. However, as always I like to add a twist on things- spice things up a bit! Hence, the bourbon part. What is great about this is that the alcohol pretty much bakes out of the pie so if you never told anyone you spiked it- they would never know. However, the bourbon does soak into the blackberries making them extra sweet and rustically delicious and the bourbon really makes the lemon zest flavors pop. I mean really, you can’t go wrong here.

Ingredients:

Oh, first, since most do not like to mess with getting a pie crust just right- you can easily use a store bought one. If you do, sometimes I like to shake things up a bit and maybe add sprinkle of vanilla (just slightly) and flour one I put the store-bought crust into the pie dish.

About 5 cups of blackberries (more or less depending on size)

2/3 cups sugar

A dash of salt

The juice of 1/2 lemon freshly squeezed

2 1/2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons Woodford Reserve bourbon

The zest of one lemon

A hint of cinnamon (to your preference)

1 egg (beaten) **used for dusting top layer of crust

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400. Take blackberries, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt and put them on the stove top at a low simmer for about 10 minutes to let the flavors blend and warm together…stir occasionally.

While this is simmering, place the pie crust into the dish or pan and lightly dust with flour (maybe a dash of vanilla if you like). Once the berries look warm and blended with the other ingredients, remove from heat and mix in the bourbon. Place berries (with juice- do not drain) into crust in pan. Add your lemon zest.

Next, cover with second layer of crust. Pinch or fold edges together to your liking and vent how you wish (cuts, slits, cute cut-outs, woven, etc.) Take the beaten egg and dust the pie crust nicely…I sometimes just use my fingers because it is easier- or you can use a brush.

Place in the oven for roughly 30-40 minutes- this you really should just eyeball. You want the crust a golden brown and you should be able to see the juices bubbling before taking out.

From there, just ENJOY! Happy summer lovelies :)

xxx SSG

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Avalanche Bark (aka Rice Krispie treats on crack)

Depending on where you live or where you have traveled to, you may be familiar with the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Mmmmm mmmm, can’t beat it! If you have been, you may know of what I am about to talk about. If not, you’re in for a real treat! (No pun intended)

Ohhhh the delicious Avalanche Bark at RMCF….. just amazing. If you like Rice Krispie treats, chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallows, and any kind of sensible goodness, you’ll love these bars!

Anyyy whooooo, I was perusing Pinterest the other day, naturally, and I came across a recipe for these babies. Of course, I had to check it out. Within minutes, I was craving these and decided to give the recipe a try. Pretty good, but I had to tweak most of the things so I am going to give you my own recipe which, trust me on this one, tastes IDENTICAL to the bars found at RMCF!

Okay so this recipe is super easy, but you have to follow the directions step by step or they won’t come out right. Again, trust me- my mom made these without precise directions and they tasted good but were not the same.

What you’ll need:

• 2 12oz bags of NESTLÉ Toll House white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Jiff)
• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 1 cup mini NESTLÉ Toll House milk chocolate chips
• 2 1/2 cups mini NESTLÉ Toll House milk chocolate chips for topping

What to do:

• On low heat, melt one bag of white chocolate chips on the stove top. Once almost completely melted, add in the second bag. Melt until creamy, stirring pretty constantly. Be careful, chocolate can burn pretty easily if you are not watching it.
• Once melted and creamy, remove from heat and add in the 1/2 cup peanut butter. Stir together.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the 6 cups Rice Krispies and the white chocolate and peanut butter mixture. Mix together, completely coating the Krispies with the chocolate.
• Let this cool for about 15 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally. (Do not skip this step!)
• Once cool, stir in the 4 cups mini marshmallows.
• After that, stir in the 1 cup of mini chocolate chips. **If you add the mini marshmallows and chocolate chips before the krispie mixture has cooled, they will all melt together so be sure to let it cool first.
• Once everything is mixed together, place mixture into a lightly greased pan and spread evenly. Press lightly with your spoon back but do not compact the treats because you want them to be fluffy and compacting them too much will cause them to get hard.
• Add the remaining 2 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips over top, also lightly pressing them so they stick.
• Once cooled, cut into squares and enjoy!

After testing the recipe, I took these to work with me and everyone went crazy over them! A few people began to refer to them as rice krispie treats on crack. Yep, that good. And of course, much cheaper than buying them individually from RMCF, if you have one near you.

Enjoy!

xxx SSG

Gooey dark chocolate fudge peppermint cookies and cream deliciousness cake!

Today I’m sharing with you one of the messiest cakes I’ve ever made but one of the most delicious as well. Some call it a Christmas poke cake, but personally I like to call it gooey dark chocolate fudge peppermint cookies and cream deliciousness cake. Long name, great (rich) taste! Anyways, I’ll stop blabbing about it and just give you the recipe.

Okay so this is pretty simple really! A lot of layering and the cake is just boxed so there isn’t anything too complicated, or slimming (sorry dieters) going on here.

What you’ll need:
1 chocolate fudge cake mix (plus ingredients it calls for)
1 cup peppermint dairy creamer
14.5 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 jar Smuckers hot fudge sauce
1/4 cup peppermint dairy creamer
1 cup crushed Oreos
8 oz cool whip (not frozen)
About 1 1/2 cup Andes peppermint candies (crushed) [for topping]
About 1 cup crushed Oreos [for topping]

What to do:
First, prepare and bake cake mix according to direction in box, let cool
Second, use the opposite end of a wooden spoon to poke holes (about 1 inch apart) in cake
Third, mix together 1 cup peppermint dairy creamer and condensed milk- pour over cake, try filling up holes
Fourth, mix together hot fudge sauce and 1/4 cup peppermint dairy creamer, then also mix in 1 cup crushed Oreos- pour and spread over cake evenly
Fifth, spread cool whip over top of fudge mixture
Sixth, sprinkle crushed Andes peppermint candies and remaining crushed Oreos over cool whip layer

Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours (the longer the better because it gives it all a chance to soak up and gel together making it nice and gooey)

Lastly, ENJOY!

This cake is really fun for the holidays. You can also nix the peppermint candies and swap the peppermint creamer for any other flavor to make just a cookies and cream cake as well.

xxx SSG

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

For this past Thanksgiving, I also made these simple and semi-homemade raspberry cheesecake brownies. These brownies, look so much more complicated than they really are and are soo good! Definitely a good sweet to take if you are not hosting or if you need any type of house warming gift.

What you’ll need:

• 1 box of your favorite brownie mix (I like to use Ghirardelli dark choclate)
• 1 cup cheesecake recipe (see below)
• Fresh raspberries

Cheesecake:

• 1 block regular cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Create brownie batter and put into pan just as you would regular brownies. Next, take the cheesecake recipe and put a few golf ball size dollops on top. Take a knife and swirl the brownie mix and cheesecake. Bake as directed on brownie package.

For the raspberries, you can either put them on before you bake, or sprinkle on top once fresh out of the oven. You can even make them a little sweeter with a light natural syrup to drizzle on top (this is my favorite way).

For the last option:

Take berries, 1/3 cup sugar and 1-2 tsp water. Mix together and let sit in the fridge while brownies cool. Drizzle on top.

There you have it, a simple, easy, delicious and impressive looking dessert!

xxx SSG

Merry Berry Glaze

While I was just finishing up my post on my coconut orange glaze, I thought of my mixed berry glaze recipe I also love. This is another easy recipe that goes well with many different cakes and other sweets! This berry glaze is perfect for the holidays too. Simple doughnuts and lemon cakes pair very nicely with this. It is sweet but since it is also a berry glaze, it goes well with cinnamon and even pumpkin. Any ways, no more chatter, you may chose to use it however you wish!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp suagr
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Over the stove top, cook the frozen berries and the sugar together. Add a couple of teaspoons water as well. Cook over medium heat until the berries are cooked down to a sauce (this takes about 15 minutes). Strain the berries into a bowl to get rid of any excess seeds. Add the powdered sugar and the vanilla. Mix well and viola!

 

xxx SSG

Coconut Orange Glaze

Since it was just Thanksgiving, I obviously was a baking fool! Recently, my parents had brought my sister and I a pumpkin walnut cake mix from Snoqualmie Falls in Washington this past month. So, this recipe is not for a cake or anything big but a glaze that I concocted to pair with the cake. My sister and I decided to make mini bundt cakes with this mix and then glaze them with a coconut orange glaze. This glaze really enhances the pumpkin flavor and the walnuts. This glaze is super easy peasy as well!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbs orange juice (I used fresh squeezed)
• 1/4 tsp coconut extract
• Add a little orange zest for extra flavor and presentation- optional

This recipe doesn’t make a ton but it was just enough for about 18 mini bundt cakes.

Hope you enjoy!

xxx SSG

Devil-licious Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake

Attention chocolate lovers! If you want to impress your guests this Thanksgiving or any other holiday, I highly suggest you use this recipe. It is a recipe I got from my mom and for years, people have hounded her for this recipe. It is super moist, super delicious, and super easy!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 small package instant chocolate pudding (not sugar free- sorry dieters!)
• 1 box dark chocolate fudge cake mix
• 1 8oz. sour cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 12oz. chocolate chips

;

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix together all ingredients, excluding the chocolate chips, in a large bowl. Once well mixed, stir in the chocolate chips.
• Grease with non stick spray (not flour) a large bundt pan.
• Bake about 50 minutes (or less depending on your oven).
• Let cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar on top.

;

Seriously, you just whip this all together and bake! It is so easy. The sour cream makes it super moist and you can even add variations such as different types of chocolate chips (butterscotch, dark or white, peppermint, peanut butter, whatever). If you like the peppermint idea, try adding a few drops of peppermint extract in as well. Very holiday-ish! However, the original recipe you cannot go wrong with. If I am not taking this to a party or get-together, I like to serve it with a dollop of cool whip! Sooo good!! I also have miniature bundt cake pans that I use sometimes to make individual cakes to share (mind you that if you try this bake for less time).

Hope you enjoy the recipe!

xxx SSG