mini oatmeal cream pies

who doesn’t love an oatmeal cream pie? when ever i think of them, i can’t help but remember that scene from ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids’ where the kids are lost in the backyard and spot a GIANT oatmeal cream pie. i always thought that would be the most amazing thing as a kid, a giant sized snack cake. all of that cream filling. sigh. delicious. so, this post is an ode to childhood, when you could eat what ever you wanted without any regret.

ingredients
cookie
1 1/4 cups butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats

cream filling
2 teaspoons very hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

first things first. preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

in your mixing bowl, beat your butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy, then add your egg and the vanilla to the mix and blend together. add all dry ingredients, except for the oats and stir. once mixed together well, add the oats and mix some more. you’re almost there. :)

i used a tablespoon to mold my cookie to make them  consistent in size. however, they didn’t spread out or flatten the slightest bit while in the oven. i was a bit disappointed. i suggest you do the same, but flatten them with a  wooden spoon once you place them on the cookie sheet. unless you want them to look like hamburger buns, but i’ll let you make that call. so, spoon these out onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. once baked, let them cool completely on wire racks.

in a very small bowl, dissolve the salt in hot water stirring constantly and until cooled. in your electric mixer’s bowl, combine marshmallow cream, shortening, vanilla and powdered sugar. mix until creamy. once fluffy add salt water and mix.

now for the best part. spread your filling onto the underside of one cookie and smoosh it together with another cookie. and there you have it, your very own mini oatmeal cream pies!

enjoy and have a wonderful week!

b

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lemon tart

winter is finally here, as we in Dallas have just received our first snow, and i’m already over it. a mere 2 inches that barely stuck to the ground and i’m ready for spring. i’m a spoiled southern girl that enjoys the sun and warm weather.

now that the holidays are over and we all begin to cut back on all the calories per our new year’s resolutions, i’ve decided something tart and fruity is in order. so, please enjoy this mouth watering lemon tart.

crust:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and sliced.

filling:
1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 cup milk

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 cup sour cream

1 (9 inch) tart pan or 6 mini tart pans.

heavy whipping cream

white chocolate for melting

preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

mmmm dough. in a bowl mix all ingredients for the crust until it forms a ball. press the dough into your 9-inch removable bottom tart pan. or, grease the bottom and sides of all mini tart pans, followed by a coating of flour and then press your dough into each mini pan making sure your dough is even throughout. bake for 10-12 minutes or until crust is lightly brown. let cool completely.

here comes the best part, the filling. in a sauce pan combine the sugar and cornstarch. gradually add milk until your mixture is a smooth consistency. stir constantly and cook over medium heat until it thickens. mine didn’t thicken a considerable amount and that’s ok. reduce your heat and cook/stir for 2 more minutes. remove your pan from the heat. in a bowl combine all egg yolks. from your sauce pan ladle out a small amount of your heated mixture and add it to your bowl of egg yolks and whisk together. pour egg mixture into the pan. turn your heat back up and bring to a boil while you stir constantly. once brought to the boil cook for 2 minutes longer and your mixture will begin to really thicken. you must continue stirring. it’s quite the workout but you don’t want to burn your mixture.

finally remove from the heat for good. stir in your butter then gently stir in your lemon juice. cover pan and let completely cool.

while everything is cooling, go ahead and make your whipped cream. add confectioners’ sugar to taste and mix your heavy whipping cream for about 8 minutes.

once your filling is completely cooled off, fold in your sour cream. this is what tames the lemon and gives it that extra creamy taste. then poor into your pastry shell. if you want to get fancy go ahead and melt some white chocolate and drizzle ontop. once you are finished, refrigerate and don’t cut into your tart for at least 2 hours. you want it to set before digging in!!! and don’t forget to add your whipped cream when you serve!

enjoy and try to stay out of the cold!

b

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spiced apple turnovers

“mmmm doughy. i really love dough.”

this is the last week before we kick off the holiday season. so, we had to do something traditional to fall. we’ve done pumpkin, cobbler and salted carmel brownies so the obvious thing left was something with spiced apples. this has been such a busy month for me so i tried my best to create things that were delicious but balanced well for a busy schedule. these turnovers were the perfect choice. give yourself about 30 minutes for this project! that’s all it took.

1 large granny smith apple

1/2 cup applesauce

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

a dash of nutmeg

2 tubes of Grands Jr. Biscuits  (10 per tube)

1 T melted butter

2 T granulated sugar

preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

peel your apple and chop it into small chunks. in a small bowl add the applesauce, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and dash of nutmeg to the chopped apple. mix well.

separate your biscuits and flatten each out to about 5 in. in diameter. take about 1T of the apple mixture, place in the center of your biscuit, fold dough over in half to cover the mixture and pinch the edges together to seal it up. place on a greased cookie sheet.

melt your T of butter and brush on the tops of each turnover. in a very small bowl add the remaining 2/4 cinnamon to the 2 T of granulated sugar and mix together. sprinkle on top of each turnover. throw it in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. once out of the oven, let cool and enjoy!!!

happy fall,

b

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4th of July starberry pie (spoken in your best southern belle accent)

“Oh, that’s pretty”

it doesn’t get more american than this. marshmallow cream, strawberries and stars. it damn near looks like a dang ole’ american flag. it’s that time of year folks. barbecues, vacations, pool parties and oh yea for us workin folk, just another day in the office. so i decided to bring a little patriotism and summer delight into work today. this recipe is so easy, it’s almost lazy. which you would think would be right up our alley given the name lazy bird but some us might not think that’s good enough reason to take short cuts, but let’s not talk about L behind her back. so in honor of L and the level of quality expected here at lazy bird this recipe has been modified to include home made crust rather than the recipes call for pre-made refrigerated crusts.

preheat your oven to 450.

crust

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cups shortening

2 T shortening

4-6 T cold water

pie filling

2 pkgs. cream cheese (8oz each)

2 jars marshmallow creme (7oz each)

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 tub of strawberry glaze (12 to 14oz total)

let’s start with the pie crust. in a large bowl mix flour and salt together. now cut the shortening into the flour using a pastry blender. you will blend this until the dough becomes crumbly. next sprinkle water, a tablespoon at a time using a fork to turn the dough as you are sprinkling. i only used 4T but the recipe does say that you can go up to 6T. once the water is added mix the dough up into a ball and roll out to fit a nine inch pie pan. set remaining dough off to the side. that dough will be used to make your stars. fold your round pie crust into 4ths and place into your pie pan. unfold the dough so that it covers the entire pan. fit dough into pan and bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned.

let’s move onto the stars. roll out the remaining dough and cut out whatever shape you want. i chose stars in honor of the 4th. place stars on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned.

while your pie crust and cutouts are cooling. slice up your strawberries and place in a large bowl, add pie glaze and mix. set 1 cup of this mixture off to the side. in a medium sized bowl beat your cream cheese on high until it is light and fluffy. add both containers of marshmallow creme and mix together. once your pie crust is fully cooled, take 1/3 of your marshmallow mix and spread it on top of the pie crust. now take the majority of your strawberry mixture and layer that on top of the marshmallow mixture. layer the remaining marshmallow mixture on top of that. now add the 1 cup of strawberry mixture remaining to the center, not covering all of the marshmallow below. then place your cutouts on top of that. cover your pie and chill in the fridge for 8 hours.

and that’s how it’s done. it’s an easy recipe and everyone here at work loved it, so make it this weekend and bring it to whatever 4th of july party you may be off too! most everyone will love it, and if they don’t well then they’re just un-american ;) have a safe and happy 4th!

– b

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