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How To Heat Treat Flour

By · PUBLISHED · 2 Comments

This simple tutorial will show you How to Heat Treat Flour in the oven or microwave in minutes. Heat treating or baking raw flour makes it safe to eat in no bake recipes.  

A clear jar of heat treated flour with a spoon in it.

Who hasn't licked the beaters or bowl after making a batch of cookies? Most people know the risks associated with consuming raw eggs, but did you know that raw flour can also be harmful?

Whether you are using flour in edible cookie dough or cookie dough truffles, using baked flour is a must. It is easy to do, and your treats will be safe to eat.

Why Do You Heat Treat Flour?

The FDA has shared that raw flour may contain traces of salmonella or E coli which can be harmful. The process of grinding and making flour does not involve any heat, and therefore does not kill any bacteria that may be present.

Usually flour is used in recipes that are cooked or baked, so this does not pose any issues. The issue comes when you use that flour in no bake recipes.

Heat treating the flour helps to kill any bacteria that may be lurking in your flour bag, so you can use it in no bake desserts

Luckily, it's easy to make this flour safe to use in no bake recipes. Learn how to bake flour with these two easy methods. It takes just a few minutes and is well worth the peace of mind.

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Homemade Vanilla Pudding Recipe

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Box mix? What box mix? This Homemade Vanilla Pudding Recipe is creamy and delicious. With just a few ingredients you can make an easy vanilla pudding that is better than store bought.

Two white bowls filled with vanilla pudding.

One of my favorite childhood treats is pudding. I grew up making boxes of instant pudding as a quick and easy last minute dessert for my family. Chocolate pudding and vanilla pudding were always my two go to flavors.

Have you ever made pudding in your kitchen? Not the box mix, a completely homemade recipe made from scratch.

Homemade pudding is actually very easy to do in minutes. After one bite, you will never buy a store bought pudding cup again.

Why Make This Recipe

Homemade vanilla pudding is easy to make on the stove top with just 7 simple ingredients. You'll love how simple it is to make this classic dish in minutes.

  • This pudding is rich and creamy, and downright dreamy.
  • It's a delicious after school snack, or you can dress it up with toppings for an elegant after dinner dessert.
  • The best thing about this homemade pudding is that it is low in sugar.
  • It does not have preservatives and additives in it.

Serve this easy vanilla pudding for dessert tonight and watch your family and friends rave about what a great recipe it is. Add whipped cream and fresh berries for an extra special touch.

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Banana Fudge

By · PUBLISHED · 106 Comments

A creamy Banana Fudge with a Nilla wafer crust is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. It's easy to make and tastes so delicious. Trust me, you won't be able to resist a few squares of this pudding fudge.

Three squares of banana fudge with a crust stacked on top of each other.
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Banana Cream Fudge

One of the easiest treats to make is fudge. I know this dessert is considered a holiday treat, but I'm all about making it all year long.  It is so easy to jazz up a two or three ingredient fudge recipe with different extracts and colors.

Favorite fudge treats in our house are fantasy fudge, orange creamsicle fudge, and our award-winning Neapolitan fudge.

Did you know you can add flavor to fudge using an instant pudding mix? That's right! By mixing the dry pudding mix into the hot fudge mixture, you can add a fun and unique flavor.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

If you love banana pudding, do yourself a favor and make a pan of this banana fudge today. It's creamy and has the most incredible banana cream flavor. 

  • This fudge is easy to make in minutes.
  • You do not need a candy thermometer to make this fudge recipe.
  • A Nilla wafer crust makes this fudge stand out. Plus, it really give it that banana cream pie look and taste.

With a creamy banana flavor and a Nilla wafer crust, this pudding fudge is sure to satisfy your cravings! Go ahead and indulge.

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No Bake Rainbow Cheesecake Parfaits

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These fun and easy Rainbow Parfaits have layers of golden Oreo cookies and no-bake vanilla cheesecake in little cups. Gold coins and candy rainbows add a festive touch to the St. Patrick's Day dessert.

A blue vanilla cheesecake cup topped with cool whip and a rainbow candy.
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Rainbow Parfaits

I love making themed treats for every holiday. Our kids always look forward to the fun and amazing desserts I make. A few of their favorite treats I have made over the years are these Lucky Charms cookies, Fruity Pebbles crispy treats, and this unicorn cheesecake.

I know green desserts are all the rage this month, but I like to be different. So, the other day, I made sky-blue cheesecake parfaits with whipped cream clouds and rainbow candies for a quick dessert.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

Are you looking for a delicious and fun dessert to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? It's your lucky day because these rainbow parfaits are the perfect treat.

The layers of cookies and blue vanilla cheesecake will satisfy everyone. Plus, they literally come together in minutes!

And don't forget the toppings! Gold coins and rainbow candies make these pot of gold parfaits extra special.

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Lemon Cheesecake Cake

By · PUBLISHED · 92 Comments

This Lemon Cheesecake Cake is incredible! It has a creamy vanilla cheesecake layer between two lemon cakes. The entire cake is covered with pudding frosting and topped with fresh raspberries for a dessert that will impress everyone.

A lemon cheesecake cake slice on a white plate.

When I need to make a fancy dessert for dinner or parties, I like to make a funfetti cheesecake, a banana pudding cheesecake, or a lemon cheesecake cake.

This cheesecake cake recipe is really my favorite choice because I love that it is two desserts in one. No need to choose a dessert when you can have both.

Why You Will Love This

This lemon cake may look complicated, but it really is quite easy to do because it uses store bought mixes for some of the layers. 

A fluffy Cool Whip frosting adds just the right amount of sweetness without overwhelming the cake flavors. We also added fresh raspberries to give it some color. Blueberries or blackberries would be great too.

Serve this lemon cheesecake cake for Easter or Mother's Day. Everyone will love the combination of lemon and cheesecake.

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Chocolate Banana Cake

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This Chocolate Banana Cake is soft and moist, and full of banana flavor. A creamy Nutella frosting adds the perfect touch to the chocolate snack cake. It's so easy to make and will get smiles from all your taste testers.

If you love banana desserts, be sure to check out this banana breakfast cake and this banana zucchini cake.

A slice of chocolate cake topped with frosting and banana slices.

What is your favorite thing to make with ripe bananas? Most of the time when we have brown bananas on the counter, we make sour cream banana bread.

Every once in a while though I get the urge to make something different with those bananas. When that happens I like to pull out my 9x13 pan and make banana cake. It's a great way to use up 3-4 bananas at a time.

Why You Will Love This

One of the most popular flavor combinations is chocolate and banana. So it only makes sense to put them together in one delicious banana chocolate dessert.

This chocolate snack cake is just like our best banana cake except that it has cocoa powder added to it. Trust me, you are going to love it.

Plus, it has Nutella buttercream all over the top. It takes the banana cake to a whole new level of awesomeness! You won't be able to resist taking another bite - or two, or three...

It is the perfect chocolate cake for any occasion! Whether you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or just want something sweet and tasty, this chocolate banana cake will hit the spot. 

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How To Make Toasted Coconut

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Learn How to Make Toasted Coconut using three simple methods - oven, stove top, and microwave. It adds a delicious flavor and texture to any recipe or dish.

A white bowl filled with toasted coconut.

One of my favorite ingredients to use during the spring and summer months is sweetened shredded coconut. I enjoy adding it to coconut cake, Nutella no bake cookies, and coconut scones because it adds such a delicious tropical flavor.

But what I really love is making toasted coconut. Toasted coconut gives baked goods and desserts an even better flavor. Not to mention the awesome crunch and texture it adds to the tops of cakes and trifles.

Why This Recipe Works

Love the flavor of toasted coconut, but don't know how to do it yourself? We've got you covered.

We'll show you how to toast coconut using 3 easy methods. You can use shredded, flaked, or chips - whichever suits your recipe or dish best.

Toasting coconut is very similar to toasting nuts. It adds more flavor and gives shredded coconut a nutty crunch. This flavor and texture gives new life to your recipes.

Once you try our methods, you will never go back to store-bought toasted coconut again. It tastes so much better when you toast it yourself at home. Plus, it makes your kitchen smell like the tropics!

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Samoas Brownies

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These sweet Samoas Brownies were inspired by your favorite girl scout cookies. A thick layer of caramel coconut goodness, plus a chewy homemade brownie will satisfy all your sweet cravings.  

Two brownies with a caramel coconut layer stacked on top of each other.

Do you look forward to girl scout cookies every spring? I love buying a few boxes of each variety. Some for eating and some for creating decadent desserts like this thin mint cheesecake and this fudge mint popcorn.

This new brownie recipe was inspired by Samoas cookies. I know they were renamed to caramel delites, but I will always remember them by their original name.

Why This Recipe Works

Caramel and coconut are the two important parts to a classic Samoa cookie. A gooey caramel coconut layer makes these brownies taste like your favorite girl scout cookies.

Plus, you don't have to wait all year to enjoy them. Go ahead and indulge on these caramel coconut brownies whenever the craving strikes.

They are easy to make with just a few ingredients. Plus, this brownie recipe with coconut is simple enough for anyone to follow.

If you are looking for a sweet dessert to make for a crowd or potlucks, this brownie is a good one to make. They are rich, so you can cut them into small bite sized squares.

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Funfetti Bundt Cake

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This Funfetti Bundt Cake is the perfect treat for any occasion. It's easy to make and will bring a smile to everyone's face. Extra rainbow sprinkles make this funfetti cake recipe bright and colorful.

A slice of vanilla bundt cake with sprinkles baked into it.

Bundt cakes are one of my absolute favorite cakes to make. Mostly because they are super easy and because they have a fun shape. I've made quite a few over the years, but this chocolate caramel bundt cake and this pina colada bundt cake are two of my all time favorites.

My love for bright colors inspired another bundt cake that has quickly become one of my new favorite recipes to make for any party. I mean who can resist the rainbow sprinkles in this fun cake?

Don't want to make an entire cake? Try out this single serve vanilla mug cake. You can add any kind of sprinkles to it and make it look like this funfetti cake!

Why This Recipe Works

  • Easy to make! This funfetti bundt cake starts with a box cake mix that gets doctored up with a few extra ingredients.
  • Lots of sprinkles! There are plenty of rainbow sprinkles inside and on top of this colorful cake.
  • It travels well. The cake is solid and doesn't move around much, so it is the perfect choice for parties and potlucks.
  • Perfect for birthdays or any occasion. You can change up the sprinkle colors to match any theme or event.
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Strawberry Butter

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The best thing about this Strawberry Butter? It's made with just 3 ingredients and can be used on anything you want! Spread it over toast, muffins, or rolls to make them more delicious.

A white plate with an english muffin on it that has pink butter.

Looking for something different to spread on your toast in the morning? Most of us get in a breakfast rut, where we just keep eating the same things over and over.

I'm the same way. Whenever we have an extra box of strawberries, I find myself making this strawberry chia jam or this strawberry sauce because it's just easy and we like them. This time I wanted something different to make with the berries.

This strawberry butter was the perfect solution. It was so easy to make in minutes with ingredients I already had in our kitchen.

Why You Will Love Strawberry Butter

  • Only 3 ingredients! That's right. Just butter, strawberries, and sugar are needed.
  • Ready in 5 minutes. All you need to do is mix everything together until you have strawberry butter.
  • Fancy breakfast spread. This pretty pink butter will add a special touch to breakfast or brunch.
  • Easy to customize! You can add other flavors like vanilla, honey, or lemon zest to change up the compound butter.

What I love the most about this whipped strawberry butter is how good it tastes. It's sweet and delicious and makes me feel like I'm eating at a bed & breakfast.

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