THE BEST LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Butter - Softened (we used Salted Sweet Cream Butter)
5 cups of Powdered Sugar
1 tablespoon of Lemon Zest
1/4 cup of freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
Wilton Color Right Food Coloring System - Yellow
Decorating Bags
Wilton 2D Decorating Tip
Mixer
Zester/Rasp

INSTRUCTIONS
In a mixer, add the butter and the lemon juice.
Cream together on low speed until they are completely combined.
Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and continue to beat on medium speed until the frosting is creamy.

Add the lemon zest and 1 small drop of yellow food coloring (if desired)
Continue to mix.
If the frosting is too runny, add 1/2 cup additional powdered sugar. Keep adding powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you have the frosting at the desired consistency.

Chocolate Lava Cake (Crock Pot)

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 1/4 C milk
1/2 C vegetable or canola oil
3 eggs
1 (3.9 ounce) instant chocolate pudding
2 C milk (I used 1 %)
1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips
parchment paper


1. Grab a 3-4 quart crock pot and line it with parchment paper. Spray the inside of the paper with cooking spray. The parchment paper helps the cake cook without burning along the edges. You can make it without the paper, just be sure to watch it closely.
2. Find yourself a nice chocolate cake mix and pour it into your stand mixer or medium-sized mixing bowl.
3. Add 1 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup oil and 3 eggs. Beat on low-speed for 1 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the batter in nice and glossy.
4. Pour the batter into the lined crock pot.
5. Pour one small box of chocolate pudding into your stand mixer or medium-sized mixing bowl. Add 2 cups cold milk and beat it until the pudding thickens. Should take about 3-4 minutes.
6. Pour the pudding over the top of the cake batter. Don’t stir it. Really, cross my heart and hope to die. It will cook up best if you leave the layers be.
7. Grab a bag of milk chocolate chips and pour the pretty little things all over the top of the pudding. Again, please do not stir it.
8. Cover the crock and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, or until the top of the cake is set. ***NOTE: Some readers have had a hard time getting this cake to cook in the 2 1/2 hour allotted cooking time. Every crock pot cooks a little differently. You may want to leave yourself 3-3 1/2 hours cooking time. If your cake isn’t cooking quickly enough, you could also turn the crock pot setting to high for the last 15 minutes or so. This recipe takes a little experimenting with, depending on how fast your crock pot cooks.***
The bottom layer of the cake will be all gooey and soft. Yum.Double yum.
9. Place some on a plate…and add a  cool scoop of ice cream or whipped cream right on top.
Enjoy!

Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bars

COOKIE BARS:
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 C flour

FROSTING:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 C butter, softened
3 C powdered sugar
3 Tb whipping cream
2 tsp peppermint extract
dash salt20 miniature candy canesInstructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl cream together the butter, sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and beat for an additional 1 minute.
4. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
5. In a separate bowl toss together the baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour. Add it to the creamed mixture and mix until combined.
6. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread the dough over the pan.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow the bars to cool completely.
8. To make the frosting, cream together all ingredients. Add more cream if the mixture is too dry and more powdered sugar if the mixture is too thin.
9. Place 20 miniature candy canes in a large ziploc bag. Use a rolling pin to crush the candy into shards.
10. Spread the frosting over the cooled bars and immediately sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the top.
11. Allow the frosting to set up (refrigerating will speed up this process), cut into bars and serve!

Cherry Pie Sheet Cake

Ingredients

1. 1 3/4 C sugar
2. 1 C butter, softened
3. 4 eggs
4. 3 C flour
5. 1/8 tsp salt
6. 1/2 tsp baking powder
7. 2 (21 ounce) cans cherry pie filling
8. 2 C powdered sugar
9. 4 Tb milk
10. 1 tsp almond extract
11. dash salt

Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream together 1 3/4 C sugar and 1 C softened butter until light and fluffy. Should take about 2 minutes.
3. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl so all ingredients are well combined.
4. In a separate bowl combine 3 C flour, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking powder. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Mix for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
5. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. I like to use this Bakers Joy that has flour in it. It works great!
6. Spread 2/3 of the cake batter into the pan and smooth it out evenly with a knife.
7. Carefully spoon 2 (21 ounces each) cans of cherry pie filling over the top of the cake batter.
Spread it out evenly with a knife.
8. Drop the remaining cake batter by spoonfuls onto the cherry filling. Spread it out a bit with a knife.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Like this! Allow the cake to cool completely.
10. Combine 2 C powdered sugar, 4 Tb milk, 1 tsp almond extract and a dash of salt. Whisk it together with a fork to until smooth. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake.

Serve and enjoy!