Brace yourselves. This is a recipe that involves VELVEETA CHEESE.

Yes, Velveeta “cheese”. Can it really be called cheese? Or is it more of a cheese “product”? Either way, it’s sinfully good and a guilty pleasure for most. I swear on my mother’s life (and I LOVE my mother) that you will, in no way, taste the Velveeta cheese in this fudge recipe. Trust me. I know you’re skeptical.

I like this fudge recipe because it’s easy and fast. No candy thermometers needed, no production.

Yield: About 36 pieces

Chocolate Cheese Fudge

Print

Don't let the Velveeta scare you!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound Velveeta cheese
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
• 32 oz. powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

Instructions

1. Spray lightly the bottom of a 9 by 9-inch square pan with a nonstick spray.

2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the cheese and butter together, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and nuts.

3. In a large bowl sift together the sugar and cocoa. Pour the cheese mixture into the sugar and cocoa mixture and stir until completely mixed. The candy will be very stiff.

4. Using your hands, remove candy from bowl and press evenly and firmly into pan. Because of the amount of butter in this recipe, pat the top of the candy with a paper towel to remove the excess oil. Place pan in refrigerator until candy is firm.

5. To serve candy, cut into squares.

Notes

Your yield will depend on how big or small you cut your fudge squares.

I’ll admit, I am completely and entirely brand-loyal to Pepsi products. I’m not quite sure where this stems from, but I always grew up with Pepsi products in my house and I just think Diet Pepsi tastes better. To each their own. It’s like the great debate over what to call soft drinks: soda? pop? coke? SODA!

I broke my brand loyalty to Pepsi and bought a bottle of Coke for this recipe. I know it would have worked just fine with Pepsi, but I’m a little type-A and had to use Coke. Enjoy!

Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake
Recipe source: Paula Deen
Print Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup Coca-Cola
1/2 cup whole buttermilk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9×13″ baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, Coca-Cola, buttermilk, and cocoa. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and add to flour mixture, whisking until smooth.
4. Add eggs and vanilla, whisking until smooth.
5. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
6. Pour Coca-Cola frosting over hot cake. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Coca-Cola Frosting
(makes about 2 cups)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Coca-Cola
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

In a medium saucepan, bring butter, Coca-Cola, and cocoa to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and gradually add powdered sugar, whisking until smooth. Stir in pecans.

I will be honest: I hate carrot cake. Carrots are my least favorite vegetable. Pecans are not my favorite nut. And the combination of the two doesn’t make it any better for me. But, it’s springtime! It’s the Easter season. Carrot cake is as much a part of spring as rain, flowers, pastel colors, and bunnies. And hey, I *do* love the cream cheese frosting!

Carrot Cake
Recipe source: Pioneer Woman
Print Recipe

2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 whole eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups grated carrots

For Icing:
1 stick regular butter, softened
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese
1 pound powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup pecans, chopped finely

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix together the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl. In another bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and combine. Then add carrots and mix well.
3. Pour into a greased and floured pan (bundt, sheet cake, 9×13 pyrex) and bake at 350F until done, 25 (sheet cake) to 50 (Bundt pan) minutes, depending on the pan you use. Cool completely.
4. For the icing, in larger bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla and blend, then mix in the nuts. Spread on cooled carrot cake.

I’m a sucker for anything that resembles a rice krispie treat.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can use any type of cereal. I used Multi Grain Cheerios — but you could try just about anything else. Honey Nut Cheerios would be delicious — and I also think Trix would be great, especially if you have kids that would love the color.

Yield: 9 bars

Cereal & Milk Bars

Print

This counts as breakfast, right?

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the bars:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter
• 1 10.5-ounce bag marshmallows
• 6 cups cereal of your choice

For the milk glaze:

• 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons water

Instructions

Make the bars:

1. Grease an 8-inch square pan. (I lined the pan with foil and then sprayed the foil with non-stick spray; it makes it super easy to lift the bars out of the pan)

2. In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. To brown it, keep the butter on the heat until it turns brown and smells nutty. The butter will foam and turn golden before beginning to brown. Stir frequently, scraping the bottom. Keep an eye on the butter – it can burn easily.

3. Once the butter is browned, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows.

4. Add the cereal once the marshmallows are smooth and stir until evenly coated.

5. Spread the cereal into the prepared pan. Press the cereal down. Let cool and cut into squares.

Make the milk glaze:

In a small bowl, mix together the milk powder, powdered sugar, and water until the powder has dissolved completely. Spread or drizzle on top of the cereal bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

Your yield will depend on how big or small you cut the bars.

I’m not a religious person. I don’t belong to a church. I don’t have any particular attachment to Easter – except for the pretty colors, warmer weather, and CADBURY MINI EGGS. Honestly, what does Cadbury add to these little bites of goodness that make them so addictive? The crunchy shell. The rich chocolate. Perfection.

These cookies were delicious. Chewy in the middle. Crunchy on the outside. Filled with Cadbury Mini Egg bits and pieces. I wish it were easier to take photos of chocolate cookies without them looking dark and unappealing, but trust me: these cookies are divine.

Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies
Recipe source: OurBestBites.com
Print Recipe

1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 10 oz bag Cadbury Mini-Eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Chop up the Cadbury Mini Eggs. Put them in a Ziplock bag and bang on them with a rolling pin until crumbled.
3. Cream together the butter, crisco, brown sugar and white sugar. Add in eggs one at at a time and the vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture to combine and then mix in the candies.
5. Drop onto a cookie sheet and cook for about 8-10 minutes.  Remove to a cooling rack and try not to stuff them in your face to quickly.

Note: Save some whole mini eggs to place on top of the cookies before baking – it makes them look prettier!