Banana Whoopie Pies with Milk Chocolate Swiss Meringue: Baked Sunday Mornings

We are makin' whoopie this week!  ;)  Whoopie pies that is!  I am going to my nieces graduation party this afternoon so I thought that I would make these today and bring them along so everyone could enjoy these little treats!  I wouldn't have made them otherwise.  Don't need sweets hanging around in my kitchen right now!  These were really easy to make.  I was a little worried about the Swiss Meringue but it came together like a charm! 

The cake/cookie part was a much more fluffy than I thought they would be but they were delicious and the banana came through and complimented the milk chocolate filling very nicely!

These are good!
They all raved about the milk chocolate Swiss Meringue!  These were a hit! Everyone loves whoopie pies!

recipe here

So get busy and make some whoopie! 

Enjoy!

Bourbon, Vanilla and Chocolate Milkshakes and Simple Chocolate Syrup (NOT!)- Baked Sunday Mornings

Okay, Okay....I cheated A LOT with this.  Sorry Baked Peeps but I just had to take advantage of this recipe!  As some of you might know, I have been on a weight loss journey this year.  So far I have lost nearly 60 pounds!  I have been juicing and eating clean since January.  I do indulge in an occasional treat (I am only human).  The above is pretty much a big treat to me!  We were suppose to take vanilla ice cream, whole milk, ice cubes, bourbon and a homemade chocolate syrup and make a chocolate shake.  As much as I wanted to do that....I took a different route.  My ice cream was frozen bananas and avocado.  My whole milk was almond milk.  The bourbon...well, I left that out and the chocolate syrup???  I made a vegan chocolate syrup from coconut milk, cocoa powder, Stevia and vanilla extract. 

This made one decadent, smooth, creamy, chocolaty smoothie-shake or whatever you want to call it!  I loved it!  And will add this in as a treat smoothie every now and then.

To see what the other bakers did please go here

Have Fun and As Always

Enjoy!

Here is the vegan chocolate sauce recipe I used....

Vegan Hot Fudge and Chocolate Sauce
source My Little Celebration

Ingredients
1 c full-fat coconut milk
1/3 – 1/2 c cocoa powder
5 T sugar or other sweetener (or to taste)
1/2 t vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Method | Heat the coconut milk and cocoa powder in a saucepan or a double boiler over medium heat to combine. Whisk in sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour into heat-safe container – like a pyrex bowl – to cool. Once it’s cooled, transfer into a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to a month. 

Alfajores

Alfajores are shortbread sandwich cookies with yummy Dulce De Leche 
in the middle.

I made my own dulce de leche by simmering a can of sweetened condensed milk for 3 hours.  It is so easy!  You just have to be sure that the can always has plenty of water over it or they say it will explode!  

I spread some dulce de leche around the edges of some of these cookies and rolled them in various toppings such as nuts, toasted coconut, 

chocolate jimmies, and multicolored sprinkles.  

I like how festive they look!

Try these...You will love them!

Enjoy!

I used the recipe from Baked Elements.  You can get the recipe here.

The is the Dulce de Leche recipe I used:

DULCE DE LECHE MADE IN THE CAN

COOK TIME

3 hours

TOTAL TIME

3 hours

INGREDIENTS

1 can of sweetened, condensed milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil. Make sure that you put enough water in the pan to completely cover the can you’re about to cook.

Remove the label from the can of sweetened, condensed milk and carefully submerge it into the boiling water using a pair of thongs or a slotted spoon. Make sure you place the can on its side, so it can roll around. If you place the can bottom or top-side down, the boiling water can cause it to bounce up and down, which is really annoying…

Cook the can for 3 hours, making sure the can is covered with water at all times. Add more boiling water if necessary.

Using a pair of thongs, a fork or a slotted spoon, take the can out of the pan and place it onto a heatproof surface to cool. Make sure it has cooled to room temperature before you open the can, otherwise the dulce de leche will squirt out like a fountain… Once cooled, stir until smooth.

Cooled dulce de leche can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks

Source: The Tough Cookie

Scones: Avid Bakers Challenge

This months ABC challenge is scones!  
Have I told you that I love love LOVE scones!  The recipe that we were to use is a basic scone recipe and we were to choose how we wanted to flavor them.  I decided to make a Lemon Glazed Strawberry Poppy Seed Scone.  I added strawberries, poppy seeds, lemon zest and glazed them with a bright lemon drizzle.  These scones were easy to make, as most scones are, the flavors I chose were beautiful together.  Especially with the lemon curd I hanging around in my fridge leftover from my lemon macarons.  So yummy!  I halved the recipe and it made 8 nice size scones which will be wrapped up and put in the freezer.  

If you have never tried scones...please do!  They are so easy and make a special breakfast treat.  You will find the recipe on the King Arthur Flour site here.  And if you would like to take a peek at what the other bakers did with this challenge go here.

Next challenge is a strawberry filled angel food cake!  So reminiscent of a cake my mom would make for birthdays!  Can't wait to give that a try!

Until then,

Enjoy!