PB&J Pie

This recipe takes every kids favorite sandwich and turns it into an adult dessert!

Ingredients:
-1 store bought gram cracker pie crust
-1 pkg cream cheese left out to soften
-1 cup creamy peanut butter
-1 jar mixed berry jam
-1/2 cup sugar
-home made or store bought whipped cream
-2 eggs
-1teaspoon flour

Pre heat oven to 375. Mix softened cream cheese and peanut butter together using a mixer. Then and sugar and flour, continue to mix. Add eggs one at a time and continue to mix until everything is smooth and creamy. Take your jam and spread evenly on the bottom of your pie crust. Then pour peanut butter mixture on top of that. Bake for 30 minutes or until center is firm. Set out to cool completely. Then top with whipped cream and place in fridge for 2 hours to chill. Slice, serve and devour.

xoxo,
gim

Mixed Berry Pie

Talk about easy! This is a dessert anyone can make and it will turn out delicious! Even those of you who don't bake, this is almost impossible to mess up.

What you'll need:

-1 pkg store bought pie crust. (We like the Pillsbury one that comes in the red box.)
-1 glass pie dish
-1 pastry brush
-6oz blueberries
-6oz rasberry
-12oz blackberries
-4 tbsp melted butter
-1/2 raw sugar
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 egg white

Preheat oven to 400. Leave first pie crust out for 15 mins, then place it in the pie dish. Poke holes in the bottom with a fork and bake for 10 mins. While its baking take out the other pie crust. In a large bowl mix berries, sugar, vanilla and butter. Once the pie crust is finished baking, remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Add berry mixture to pie crust and top with other crust. Now for the edges you can either pinch them together with your fingers for a more rustic look or use a fork and press the edges together. Use a very sharp knife to cut 4 slits in the middle of the pie. Mix egg white with a fork and then use a pastry brush to brush the egg white on top of the pie, then sprinkle the top with a pinch of sugar. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until crust is nice and golden brown. If the edges of the pie start to get too brown cut a whole in a piece of foil and place on top of the pie until it finishes baking. Let the pie cool and then go to town! It's even better if you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Xoxo,
Gim

Simple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Baking is a much different art form than simply cooking. It involves precise measurements and there is really no improvising. I love to do both but think that baking is much harder and there for I am constantly trying recipes over and over again. This is the current recipe for these chocolate chip cookies but it will definitely change and evolve over time in my quest for making the perfect chocolate chip cookie.

I like my cookies kind of chewy and a little under done. How do you like your cookies??

Chocolate Chip Cookies:
~2 cups all purpose flour
~2 sticks softened butter
~1 cup granulated sugar
~1/2 cup dark brown sugar
~2 eggs
~1 tsp salt
~1 tsp baking soda
~1 tbsp good vanilla
~2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips
(I prefer enjoy life vegan chocolate chips)

Cream (mix) the butter, vanilla and sugar together, and add eggs one at a time. Then slowly add dry ingredients. Once mixture is smooth stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, over night works best (but Gigi can never wait this long).
Preheat oven to 375
Take heaping tablespoons of dough and roll into balls
Place on an un-greased baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes
Cool and then devour!

Kisses,
Gim

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Alright guy's... this is a really exciting post for me because this is the first cake I have ever baked and it turned out so good!!!!!!

Baking is not really my thing. I hate following a recipe (oh the humor in writing a recipe blog) I really just don't like following rules. The struggle is real! So baking and I just never got along, until now!

The idea of baking a carrot cake came to me when we pulled up these amazing and beautiful carrots out of our garden. I knew there were only so many carrots we could eat over the next week and so I thought we could use some to make a yummy treat. After days of talking about, I finally got down and dirty in the kitchen and whipped this bad boy up and man if he was a be-a-u-ty. I do have to say I am pretty proud of this one and am excited to bake another, I'm thinking a coffee cake is next!


CARROT CAKE INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
1 cup organic sugar
1 cup organic brown sugar
5 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups flour
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
2 cups finely-grated fresh carrots
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
2 (8 oz.) bricks cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
8 cups powdered sugar


HOW TO MAKE THE CARROT CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Grease four 8-inch round baking pans.

In the bowl of a large stand mixer, mix together oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined and smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves) until combined. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the mixing bowl, and beat on medium-speed until well combined. Then fold in the grated carrots and walnuts by hand, and stir until combined.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Then bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Remove pans and let them cool until the cakes reach room temperature.

Layer the cakes with the cream cheese frosting, and then frost the outside of the cake as you desire. Serve that day or store, covered, for up to 4 days.

HOW TO MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
Using an electric mixer, mix together cream cheese and butter on medium speed for 1 minute or until smooth with no lumps remaining. Add in vanilla extract and continue mixing until combined. Lower speed to medium-low and gradually add in powdered sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until combined.

If frosting is too thick, you can add in a teaspoon or two of water. If it is too thin, you can add in more powdered sugar.

I really hope you give this cake a try!

xoxo,
gigi