Hi! Long time no See! Yes!! I see you! I know how many people see my blog and from what part of the world! It's so exciting when I see my friends from as close as across the United States to as far as other countries! Kuala Lumpur?? Really?? EXCITING!! I can see How you searched me, from what engine you saw me and when! Ok... Ok... Don't Panic .... I can't see your names or any specifics, but my Imagination knows who you are .... and I'm Happy to see you!

Back for one day and I'm already off the subject! I'll bet you missed telling me to "Get to It, Already!" Haha! You're so mean. ;P Anyway, I know I promised I wouldn't lose my Inspiration and I didn't, really... sort of. I mean, I've baked off and on (for some order or other), but every time I tried to bake for Pleasure... well.... it just didn't come out right. Sometimes when you try something over and over, and it's just not what it should be... it's time to take a break until the feeling comes back to you. (Hmm... that sounds like my dating life.. ugh.)

 

So, Here's my story! Not long ago I went to the Mall ... ugh... and it was on the weekend ... double ugh. Knowing that's NOT my favorite thing... it's funny, not even if I have money to spend. I don't know what it is about the mall that urks me so much. YIKES! Where was I? Yes, the mall... we were window shopping and happened to pass a new bakery. No names. actually, I don't remember... but the display case totally caught my attention! Beautiful!! I casually strolled up to the glass as if disinterested, because when you look Hungry ... they ask you to buy. I wasn't in the mood to buy, but  they sure got me in the mood to BAKE!! I saw these Huge, Sloppy Pineapple Upsidedown Cupcakes! I should've bought one, but of course, My EGO said .... I CAN BAKE THAT!! Before I knew it, the baker was standing in front of me, in her cute, white apron and sweetly said... "Excuse me, Miss. Can you not drool on the display case?" so I wiped my mouth and walked away. What a Sweet Girl ... She called me MISS!! Well, here I am. Weeks later. Baking the Upsidedown Thingies ... HEY!! That's what I'll name them ....

 

UPSIDE-DOWN THINGIES.

 

Brown Sugar Sauce

 

2 cubes margarine or butter (1 cup)

2 cups lightly packed brown sugar

2 TBSP Cinnamon

1 TBSP ground Chili Powder (omit or add less ... I like more.)

2 TBSP water (mine was Butterscotch Schnapps flavored) Umm... minus the water.

 









Decoration 

 

Pineapple Chunks (be sure to save the juice!)

Cherries (in liquid, not dried)

 

Preheat oven to 350* and spray tins with cooking spray or grease with shortening or oil.
Melt butter in large frying pan. While it's melting, add brown sugar, cinnamon and chili powder. stir until all melted and gooey and let boil for about 7 minutes. Man, that sure smells good! Be sure not to over-boil it .... it will harden into candy. Hmm... that may not be a bad idea! I'd eat it. I Know what you're thinking... What about the SCHNAPPS?? ...hold on... Your goo will be thick, so to thin it out you CAN use water... I happen to like Butterschotch Schnapps ... and I happen to have some on hand!  Remove the goo from fire and stir in the liquid, it will loosen up just enough. Now, working quickly, Spoon it into the tins. I'd say about 2-3 TBSP. Then, drop in pineapple chunks and cherries. Set aside. Ok, so, you don't have to be as meticulous about arranging them as I was. Believe me, I just wanted to drop them in... but who wants to see pics of a messy cake!? 

Upside-Down Thingie Batter 

 

1 box white cake mix
1 cube margarine or butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Pineapple Juice ... Yes, what did you think you were going to do with the leftover juice??

3 eggs ... What?? .... did you expect anything else?

I figured out why mine didn't come out as big and sloppy as the one's I drooled over.... my TINS aren't big enough! There are Mini tins, Regular tins, Texas-Size tins and then there are HUGE tins! LOL!! Yes, I know how that sounds .... it's all in how you use them! Wink!Wink!

 

.... Anyway.... Cream the margarine, and scrape down the sides. Margarine is a good substitute for Oil and truthfully, I think it adds a little more moistness than oil does! But not more than Mayonnaise! Yes, remember that? Oil, margarine, mayo, applesauce.... whatever makes your Muffins Moist!

(haha... I threw that one in for fun). 

 

 

Ok... on top of margarine, add the cake mix and mix for a second until crumbly. Then, measure liquids and add eggs into liquid. Break up the eggs, but don't scramble. Adding all the liquid at once helps to stop over-developing the mix. Mix on 2 for 1 minute, scrape down sides, and then mix for 2 minutes on 4. That would also be low and med, depending on your mixer. Note: You can use 2 eggs if you want, but 3 eggs will give it a richer, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Your choice.

 

Well, that's it!  As usual, thanks for reading my nonsense. And I hope to see you again, soon!

 

Happy Baking & ...... Don't forget your Apron!

Let's Eat CAP'N!

Raise your hand if you are a fan of sugary, sweet cereals! Sure, you can fix up a bowl of cereal and splash some boring, ol' milk over it .......... OR ..... you can mix up a batch of cookies using CAP'N CRUNCH Cereal! Yumm - Yummm! I bought a couple of boxes a couple of weeks ago and forgot about them! Apparently, noone else forgot about them because by the time I came around to baking the cookies there was exactly 3 cups left! Luckily ......... that's just enough!

One thing I don't quite understand, though ....... if CAP'N CRUNCH already has a Peanut Butter flavor ..... Why do they make Peanut Butter CAP'N CRUNCH?? I guess that's one of those things I'll just never figure out, eh? As a kid, I loved to put some in a baggie and eat them as a snack .... still do! C'mon! Don't tell me you don't stand against the kitchen counter (while noone's looking), with a cereal box in one hand and your other arm elbow deep in the box, absently-mindedly munching on the cereal! Yeah, I know you're grinning ......... that's what I thought. ; )  When it comes to Cereal ...... We are all KIDS at HEART! (.....just don't let me catch you drinking out of the Orange Juice carton!)

So, these cookies were
calling me and as usual, I googled a handy-dandy recipe. Now let me explain ........ I never claimed all my recipes are my own inventions, and I'm quite certain that there are others out there who can do the recipe better justice than I can ever do .... but, I Love to get INSPIRATION from others thoughts, ideas, recipes, and so on. With that said ...... I found a bevvy  of delicious recipes that after reading them, I made up my own version (so, I can't give credit to any one baker..... which I am always happy to do.) With recipe in mind, I moved on to the cereal. Have you ever realized how many choices of CAP'N CRUNCH flavors, alone, you have? There's Original, Peanut butter, Crunch Berry, Crunch Berry Berries, Chocolate...... the list goes on .... is your mouth watering yet?

Not only did the Scrumptious flavors jump out at me, but on the box was this cool offer of a FREE retro t-shirt! How Exciting!! FREE?? WoW! How could I pass up this offer? I'd be the envy of all my friends! Especially after all the Bedazzling I'd do to it!  I carefully cut the box tops out so I could order it..... Yes, I am serious! All I had to do was send in 3 box tops and $4.95 S&H plus Postage & not to mention the $12.00 I spent on the 4 boxes of cereal ...... in 10 - 12 weeks I could have this t-shirt. Then reality hit me! You'd think spending almost $20.00 for a "FREE" .... long awaited .... retro .... t-shirt would sway me from it. Nope, It was the fact that I put on my reading glasses to see where to send it ........ and ....... the DATE had expired 2 months ago!! Grrr!! If I had been able to see the fine print in the first place, I wouldn't have gotten so EXCITED!! ....... It sucks to get old!!

Alright! I'll quit blabbin' .....  Preheat the oven to 350* In a large bowl, sift 3 cups flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Next, beat 1 cup butter (or margarine), softened at room temperature, 1/2 cup brown sugar & 1 /2 cup sugar until light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides. Mix in 2 teaspoons vanilla and 2 eggs. Beat in the flour just until all the dry is wet. Fold in the 3 cups of cereal & 1 cup chocolate chips or white chocolate chips Or Get Crazy Wild and put half and half!  It would really look pretty if I had used Crunch Berry!

Here's a tip .... don't let this mix sit for too long. You know what happens to cereal when it gets moist ........ yep, it loses it's CRUNCH!! So, be quick about it. Ok, you know I hate when this happens but I ran out of parchment paper to line the sheet and as I'm frantically looking around my kitchen, I only found wax paper. Here's another tip ...... wax paper works in a pinch, but you don't want to use it to bake with if you don't have to. Here's why:  I dropped Tablespoonfuls onto the sheet and stuck it in the oven to bake for 9 minutes. As I'm filling the next sheet ... I start daydreaming of being a kid again, but this time I'm at the zoo! Do you remember those machines that molded souvenier animals? I loved those! I'm standing there, practically pressing my nose against the glass watching every detail of how it's made. Then, I'd ooh & ahh over it all the way to the car. By the time we got to the freeway, I'd notice that little knob of wax on the bottom that's messing up my perfect souvenier so I pick at it .... just a little. Before you know it, the whole thing is in crumbles because it was so fun to pick apart and I just couldn't stop!! I even had to bite a couple of pieces to see if it tasted the same as those wax lips! HaHa! It doesn't ..... Please tell me you did that too and I'm not alone in this world! It's so real that I start smelling the wax melting ..... OY VAY!! I look at the oven and smoke is coming out! No, it didn't catch on fire and the cookies didn't burn but ........ the wax paper has started smoking! And that, my friends, is why you don't want to use wax paper. Yeah, I couldn't have said, "The wax melts and it gets smokey" but what would have been the fun in that?  ..... you didn't really come to this page for a recipe, did you??

Remove the cookies and let sit about 5 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely. Really, they do taste better when cooled .... but I know you won't listen. So go ahead, Eat some warm. I don't have to tell you to repeat for the rest of the batch, do I? So, get busy! Bake these Crunchilicious Cookies! Or ..... you can call me and I'll do it for you. Just remind me to put in the chocolate chips! After I was done, I realized they were still sitting on the counter. Oh, well ...... next time.

Happy Baking & ............ Don't forget your Apron!

Fritter-ing with Kylee

So many new and exciting things happening so early in the year! It seems just last week that I was posting my last blog of 2011.... oh, wait........ it was last week that I posted it! HaHa...... just kidding! I told you I was going to work on that "procrastination" thing. However, Inspiration is growing by leaps and bounds! I'm itching to get back in my kitchen and try out some new stuff.......... especially now that I painted my kitchen a Beautiful, Sun-Shiny, Inspirational Yellow!! The feelings must be infectious because my niece, Kylee, has bravely tried her hand at baking again! I've been trying for YEARS to get an interest out of her.... and it seems that it's slowly making an appearance.

"You're going to blog about this, aren't you?!" hmm.... what gave it away? The camera in her face? She doesn't fool me! She digs it! and I LOVE that!

Anyway, I mentioned I wanted an Apple Fritter and Ky said, "Why don't you make some?"  Being too lazy to do it... I was just going to go buy some. Then she said, "I'll help you." My Heart sang and I didn't hesitate to jump up and find a recipe. I've never made fritters before and although they aren't the Huge, greasy, sugar coated Apple Fritters they make at the donut shop...... they were pretty tasty!

Now, this may not happen for everyone..... but, I just Love when I happen to have the ingredients on  hand. Oh, believe me, this doesn't happen as often as you think! I am always loaded with flour and sugar and the 500 bags of powdered sugar stuffed in my pantry is always at the ready, but cans of fruit fillings are not always available, but thanks to the explosions of the 99 cent stores and Dollar Trees....... they are much easier to find.

So, this recipe calls for chopped, fresh apple...... but, since I always look for shortcuts, I thought, why can't I use Apple Pie filling?? Well, I can!! Because I haven't made Fritters before, I did follow the directions exactly, except for the filling, and I found the recipe on a nice little blog that I stumbled upon called........ No Fear Entertaining! Check it out! Actually, you can find so many Amazing blogs out there..... Great reading..... Just look them up!

Apple Fritter's

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cup milk

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups Apple Pie filling

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 Sugar Icing

3 cups Powdered Sugar

3+ Tablespoons milk

Chop Apple Pie filling into small chunks. In a small bowl, mix 3 Tablespoons brown sugar & 1 teaspoon Cinnamon with chopped filling.

In another bowl sift  flour, sugar, salt, baking powder & cinnamon. Make a well in the center.

 Slightly beat the eggs with the milk and pour into the center of the well.

Gently stir the flour with the milk until all the dry is wet. Be careful not to overmix, you'll get tough fritters!  Noone likes a tough fritter........

Once that is mixed, fold in 2/3rds of the Apple Pie Filling. 2/3rds you ask? Well, just hold on... I'll tell you what to do with the rest!

Make sure your oil is hot! Drop a small bit of dough in it. If it bubbles and crackles..... chances are, it's Hot! Drop Large Tablespoonfuls in carefully.

 The dough should float immediately. If it doesn't, it's not hot enough. You'll have to play with the temperature so your Fritters don't get too dark on the outside before cooked on the inside. Fry for 2 minutes then flip and fry for 2 more minutes.

 See? just a little dark on the outside. We adjusted the fire lower. Place on a paper towel to soak up a little oil for a few seconds then move to a wire rack with paper underneath.

Mix up the remaining milk with 3 cups powdered sugar to a drizzly texture. Isn't Ky Beautiful? She likes to pretend I'm not taking notes of everything she's doing.

Drizzle and smear....... drizzle and smear........ repeat. Let them sit for about 3 minutes, then flip and do the same to the other side. Eat them warm or cold.

You can see it took us a while to figure out the perfect temperature. Either way, they were delicious! Kylee did all the work herself. She was pretty proud of herself and I was pretty proud of her! Her and I are going to be tackling a new project soon....... Teaching her how to cook! I'm considering starting a new blog about it... so many young people go out into the world not knowing how to cook! It's unbelievable! Well, we'll see about the blog..........

Ok, so with the rest of the apple filling.... I cut the recipe in half and used a Tablespoon ice cream scoop to drop into the oil. They came out in cute little Fritter Balls! I wrapped them up and gave them away to friends.  Everyone likes a Fritter Ball now and then...........

~ Happy Baking & ..................... don't forget your Apron!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Ok, so I still need to work on the procrastination thing! Obviously! I meant to get this out before the beginning of the new year........ but I didn't! C'mon....... you should know me by now!! New Year, New attitude and I'm going to try really hard and work on that ... um...... what was it again? ....... oh, yeah, PROCRASTINATION! So, here's what should have gone out a few days ago......OK! about a week ago!. I'm saying it now......... I'm going to put out at least 1 blog a month (if not more)! No resolutions..... they don't work for me.... Does this count as my first blog???

              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So there are just a few short days before the end of the year and I couldn't possibly tell you all that I have learned about myself & about baking, since starting my blog in January. But you know I'm going to try!

The first and biggest thing I've learned is how much I enjoy writing! Whether anyone reads it or not, I enjoy putting my (sometimes, nutty) thoughts down in words. I have enjoyed the many comments and posts to bexbayx, Facebook, texts & personally. Thank you so very much for your support and genuine interest in what I have to say & bake! You have touched my Heart and boosted my spirits, just by your kind words and I will always remember them when I need them again and again.

I have to tell you ........ my whole point of starting this was to find my Passion for Baking once again! Have I? You Betcha!! ... and then some. I've not only found what makes me happy when my hands are elbows deep in flour & sugar, but I've also discovered that others cannot control how I feel & what is inside of Me! I Love creating sweets, whether I eat them, make them for others, give them away or throw them away ..... I do it for ME!! I will admit that I have played it safe in creating things that I know I do well. I've stuck to what I know, even though I want to branch out and try somethings I've never tried before. Will I? Of course, I will! A new year is blossoming and I still have to try out my newfound INSPIRATION on  the unknown! Yes! Did you forget about the Best Book In the World?? It continues to INSPIRE me and, believe me, you will hear more about it and others in the new year to come.

This year has been stop and go in the baking department.... and even though there were a few months where I wrote nothing, that does not mean I wasn't baking. Unfortunately, a lot of things got left out. Good ones, too! So, if you were the STAR of those blogs... I'm sorry! I will feature you next year..... I Promise!! I'm posting pics with short recaps of what should have been blogs.

Thank you, ALL, once again for your kind words, encouragement and support in my journey to finding....... umm.... what did I find ........ oh, yeah! I found my LOVE FOR BAKING once again and in a whole new light. Not to mention all that I learned about myself along the way. It's been very enlightening and Super Fun! Looking forward to more changes in the future!

I want to wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR and please, follow your dreams... even if you never find them..... we all need something to look forward to and the journey brings so many wonderful surprises along the way!



My niece, Crystal, tackles her first BIG cake!

Isn't it Fantastic?? I was so Proud of her! ... I helped just a
little with the doggie on top.

Was this just this year?? My how time flies!
Jayden introduced his little brudder, Silas, to everyone!

I thought these two faces looked just like Jayden & Silas!
......... they still do!!

I'm so Jealous!! Crystal has a better hand than I do!
Of course, I'm kidding...... She does Amazing work!

Crystal was so proud of her cake and I was/am proud of her.

This is my nephew Robert's Luau cake. Wait....... I don't think
that was this year! How did that get in there? oh, well, next to
is Gina's Lemon cake & Dom's Triple Chocolate Mocha cake.
That was a BIG party!

The Best little INSPIRATION book!
Love, Love, Love this book!

Even the front page is ADORABLE!! And the scalloped edges??
OMGOSH!! So Cute!! My fingers have papercuts from
running them along the scallops........

In case you were wondering what my kitchen looks like........
aw, just teasin' ya! ....... don't I wish! How could you not be
Happy all the time with a kitchen like this??? It's the back cover
of the Best INSPIRATION book in the world.

.......and I thought I was being clever by using a meat cleaver
to pound peanut butter cookies! Just goes to show..............
Great minds think alike!

My Great nephew, Silas's, 1st birthday! Look at his little hands,
all balled up and ready to squeeze that cupcake!

Please don't tell my niece, Kylee, that I put this in here! But,
it's not often that I can get her in the kitchen..... 18 year olds
are so finicky! and just look at how dirty Sweetie is..........
How embarassing!

Silas bit a perfect little bite out of that mini mini. So cute!
Then he stuffed the whole thing in his mouth! Don't you just
want to kiss him all up?? smooches!

I am so ashamed of this picture! It's the lowest i've ever had my jars!
.......and you know it killed me!
These hold about 6 lbs each and there's not even 1 lb in them!

Do you remember my story about recipes written on
papers all over the place? See the wrinkles, and the
oil spots and the scribbly writing?
Yep, this one is always at the ready.... mix it all
by hand........gently.

I don't know why I put this in here.... except that I Love
Meringue cookies!

I didn't bake very much for Christmas this year! Ha Ha..... you
think I'm kidding, don't you?! I always get carried away and i
only baked 9 types of cookies this year........... can you imagine??

Have you ever heard of Ben 10? Me neither. Basically he's
made of Methane..... I imagine he smells like a big fart!
Not the CAKE! The CHARACTER!! .... what's wrong
with you??

For the last time in 2011.......................

 Happy Baking & .................. don't forget your Apron!! ; )

Fall or Autumn??

Aaahhhh, Fall!! When a young girl's fancy turns to Love! ... No, wait! ... that's a young man's fancy at Spring, isn't it? What's the saying for Fall?? Aww... forget it! The point is ... It's Fall ... and I can feel the change in the air! Is it Love? Is it just a Fancy?? LoL! Nah, it's LOVE! I LOVE the Fall! I can't describe it with justice, but I'll try! 

There's nothing like the changing of
the leaves. Even in Sunny California.

When I think of Fall, I think of a new beginning. Most think of New Year's Day as a new beginning. Nope. Ever since I was a kid, perhaps it started in Kindergarten, I have loved the feeling of the changing weather, the leaves gently falling from the trees from our Oak Tree lined streets. The way the leaves crunched and stuck under my black & white saddle shoes (still talking about Kindergarten here.)  as I walked home from school, dancing and skipping while I told my big brother about my day on our walk home. We'd make a game of stepping on the most sticky leaves to pile up on my soles and when  we reached home, he'd lift me up under my arms and I'd stick my feet straight out while his friends removed my shoes and handed them to me. I'd run in the house holding my shoes like a prize to show whomever was there to gush over my trophy. LoL! The things you remember!  Every year since then I couldn't (and still) can't wait for the new fall clothes and shoes to come out. A new chance to reinvent myself, my look. I still get excited at the sight of school supplies lined up in bulk boxes in stores... a new box of crayons, bright colored markers, colorful pencils and OMGOSH! don't get me started on all the different types of papers ... I'm talking loose leaf AND binder variety, here! All of these images floating around in my head are tied up in a pretty little package called..... Fall! And even though those beautiful, changing trees are few and far between in crowded suburban California, those shoes are no longer in my size and my brother definitely cannot lift me up under my arms..... the feelings are buried deep within my Heart, still.

I fell in LOVE with this pic!
It so reminded me of the old
days! Wanna jump in?
Thanks, Jeanine!

What does this have to do with baking? Hmmm.... you seem to ask that alot. My Dad was a big fan of having breakfast for dinner, tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, bean & cheese burritos, biscuits and gravy, meat & gravy over mashed potatoes & bread (which, in the Navy, he called sh** on a shingle) lol... I had no idea why he laughed every time I asked him If we were having that for dinner? Who knew I had such a Sailor's Mouth at such a young age! LoL! The point is .... I grew up with Comfort Food. Although, I still get excited when I see the school supplies at the beginning of Fall ... I also get as equally excited at seeing the baking displays when I walk into a grocery store! The flours, sugars, canned milks, nuts, vanilla & all the little bits & pieces that you can throw in to create so many different combinations ... just from a few common ingredients! The feelings overwhelm me and as the goosebumps & warm fuzzies spread through me, I'm transported back to that little girl that had such a Lucky & Happy childhood!

Comfort food is one thing. Comfort desserts are another. Comfort Desserts have the ability to, (**sorry Robert, I HAVE to quote you to get my point across) as my nephew would say, ".... roll around on your tongue and make love to your taste buds." He has quite the way with words, he does. LoL! Comfort desserts make you close your eyes and savor every flavor you are experiencing. There is total silence at first as you feel the texture, the essences that float through your olfactories to gently kiss your brain. Before you know what's happening, a low, rumbling 'mmmmm' escapes you and your eyes slowly open .... a little embarrassed and flushed faced .... as a satisfied smile spreads across your face. Shyly, you push that small crumb back onto your tongue, not wanting to waste it on your napkin. You sighhhh, and go back in for more.

A bit much, maybe, but you have all had that experience at one time or another. If you haven't.... I'm sorry! Maybe you haven't had the right dessert! Cheesecake has this effect on me EVERY time. but ONLY homemade Cheesecake. It's so versatile .... you can mix in any flavors, textures, cover it with any sauce, sprinkle it with nuts, glop on whipped cream, dip it in chocolate, or just eat it plain. After that, You'll never look at Cheesecake the same way again! .... and if you don't, then I've done my Job! ha!

In a Peanut Butter & Banana mood ..... that is the theme of my cheesecake! Oh, Come On!! Dont tell me you've never had a Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich?? ..... Good Grief! .... What kind of an ELVIS fan are you???  Well, then, you can be a little more sophisticated by having the flavors in a Cheesecake. I'll figure out how to get you to try it in a sandwich another time........

BexPeanutButterBananaCheesecake

Baking with a waterbath helps the cake stay
nice & flat. Be careful and don't bump it!
It just might fall!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup chopped Pecans

3/ 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1 cup Peanut butter

1 1/4 cups white sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

5 eggs

Ok! I got carried away with the decorating!
It's CHEESECAKE, for Gosh Sakes!

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 bananas, mashed

Candied Pecans or regular Pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly coat the bottom of a 10 inch cake pan with spray and cut out a parchment the size of the circle. Place parchment on oil spray.  Water bath: Fill a pan with water 1/2 way and put in the bottom of the oven. It will keep moisture in the cheesecake. To make the crust: Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter or margarine. Mix with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle on bottom of pan. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, Peanut Butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar. Cream on med. low. Add 3 tablespoons flour. Mix. One at a time, beat in 5 eggs and mix thoroughly. Add cream and mix only enough to blend. Gently stir in mashed bananas and Pecans. Pour filling over crust and bake for 10 minutes at 475 degrees F. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees F  and continue to bake for one hour. Turn oven off, but leave cake in for another hour. Don't worry if it looks a little jiggly in the center. Chill overnight. This is imperative! If desired, top with your favorite fruit or serve plain. Remember, the longer a cheesecake sits.... the better it tastes. enjoy.

In the Kitchen with Jayden!

The weather has been so perfect lately, unfortunately I have been too sick to enjoy it. Holed up in my room and not wanting to move, I've missed many opportunities to play with my favorite little men, Jayden and Silas! My Great Nephews & I have lots of fun together, which is why everyone else gets the title of Uncle or Aunt while I am simply.... Becky. "C'mon Becky, Let's go play waterguns!" "You feel better, Becky? Can we play?" These questions killed me, because the answer was always the same.... "Not today, Jayden. I don't feel well." Soon he stopped asking me. 3 weeks passed and not fully up to playing yet, I found Jayden in the room watching t.v.. "Want to make cookies, Jayden?" His sat up and got real close to my face and asked, "Are you better? Can we eat them?" We went to the kitchen only to discover that I had no more flour! GRRR!! I hate that. Meanwhile, Jayden was rummaging through my baking drawer and found Mnems! Hmmm... Improvise Becky! I can't let him down another day. I found a box of cake mix and still no strength to be creative.... I looked up a Cake Mix Cookie recipe. Yes, They have them! I've never tried it, but I figured, Hey! If it doesn't work out ... I can blame it on the 3 year old! LOL!! Turns out, they are Foolproof! Either that, or I have a Baking Genius Great Nephew! Hmmm.... something to ponder. I did mention 2 nephews. Silas kept me alert by crawling around my legs and pulling himself up on my pants, which were loose and I had to make sure he didn't pull them down. So, with everyone having a job to do ..... we began.

"Can we eat Mnems too, Becky?" start with 1 box white cake mix and 1 bag of M&M's. 

"What's the first step, Becky? What do we do first, huh?" Jayden drug the step stool all around the kitchen until I put it in one place and told him to stay there. Did you know a 3 year old talks non-stop? AND ... he only talks in questions?? This was going to be fun! What did I get myself into??

Beat 1/2 c. (1 stick) softened margarine until light & fluffy. Scrape down the sides. Add 1/2 box of cake mix.

"That's excellent, Jayden! You didn't drop any of the cake mix!" "Don't worry, Becky! I know what I'm doing!" oh. ok.

Add 3 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar.

Let's not tell anyone that he was curious about the textures and flavors so he kept sticking his finger in things and tasting it. "Mmmmm." Then he'd hop off the stool and say, "Wait, I have to wash my hands! Make the water warm, please." hehe.... a kid after my own heart. and I didn't even have to tell him to wash them.

Throw in 2 eggs.

"OMGOSH, Jayden! You're a Super Helper!" "Thank You, Becky! You're Awesome, too!" I swear I'm not making this stuff up! He really says these things! His Mommy & Daddy have done a Great job!  "What's the next step, Becky? What do we do next?" "Can I do the bunella?"

Add 2 teaspoons of Vanilla. "Mmm... that smells good, Becky!"

He tasted the Vanilla because it smelled good. "Yuck! That doesn't taste good, Becky! Do we have to put it in?" "Yes, Jayden. It's like perfume. It will make the cookies smell good." "ok then." Before I forget, he actually smelled the cookie before he bit it. "mmm.... smells like bunella!" lol.... smart kid.

Gently turn on Sweetie and mix for 2 minutes.

"What's her name again?" "Sweetie." "Oh, yeah, she's pretty." Aww... he's just trying to butter me up.

Make sure you watch it, so it gets mixed correctly.

"What the next step, Becky?" "Can we put Mnems in now?" "What do I do now, Becky?" Do you ever get tired of hearing your name? Not when it's said over and over by your favorite 3 year old. ; ) "I'm a Super Helper, Becky!"

At 3 years old, Jayden is an Excellent Scraper of the Sides!

He did this surprising well, getting every spot and scraping it down. "You're Amazing, Jayden!" " I'm a Super Helper, Becky!"

Hey! Becky has a picture just like this one.... Must be a requirement to bake.

He looked at the spatula for a bit, wondering if he should. "Do you want to lick the spatula?" I didn't have to ask twice. "What do I do next, Becky? Can I put Mnems now?"

"Are you sure we put in ALL of 'em, Becky?" Yes, put in all of them,
Along with the rest of the dry cake mix  and mix it by hand just until the cake mix is wet.

He only put in the M&Ms and I mixed the batter. "Hurry Becky! Can I put them on the paper?" "What are we going to do now, Becky?"

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

It took him a few minutes to figure out how to squeeze the scoop. But he got it. Squeezed with all his might. I wish I could've recorded the grunts he made.

Well, We're going to have 1 giant cookie here. Make sure they are at least 2 inches apart. They will spread.

"I'm a Super Helper, Becky!" "Did I do a good job?" "You did a Good Job too, Becky!" "Thank you for feeling better!" Ahhh.... does he know how to grab a girls Heart or what??"

"I take your picture, Becky! Your turn!" He has pretty good aim. I only held the camera steady. This is the 5th pic that he was happy with. It wasn't blurry. "You Look Gor-Just!" <3 he's so SWEET!!

I LOVE that he had a smile on his face the whole time and he was genuinely enjoying himself. "What's the next step, Becky?" He never lost interest.

It's very important to put more M&Ms on top to make them look pretty. See how well the red dots worked out?

Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 10-13 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the middles are just set. Remove. cool for 1 minute then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

He got so good at scooping the cookies up, after a while, he had 2 on the spatula! He's so Impressive!
Notice the cookies in the background? They're flipped over. We'll work on that.

 "Can I put them in the oven, Becky?" "Not this time, Jayden. It's hot. When you're older you can do it." "I'm a Super Helper, Becky and I'm going to get older!" "What do we do now, Becky?"

"Don't just say CHEESE, Jayden, smile and show your teeth!" He just wanted to eat the cookie.

He's SOOO ADORABLE!!

He did a Fantastic job! Dee-Lish-Ush!

Hmm.... I'll have to play around with this Cake Mix Cookie idea. I can see lots of flavors in our future! Stick around.

Don't look at me.... my hair's a mess, I'm sweaty & Exhausted! But, we had the BEST time!

"Don't just say CHEESE, Becky! Smile and show your teeth!" "Why I aughta...." The little Stinker turned my words around on me. But, seriously, sick or not ... I had the Greatest Day! Jayden didn't lose interest once and want to quit and he took his time with everything. He was very patient which is important in baking and very rare in a 3 year old .... especially with as much energy as he has. I didn't really do anything except take pictures, direct him and bake the cookies. He's a perfect student. You can find this M&M cake mix cookie recipe at best-ever-cookie-collection.com.

The whole time, Silas Crawled around my legs, picking up the M&Ms Jayden dropped on the floor (see the chocolate on his face?) Shhh.... don't tell his mama!  LoL! He's next .......... in a year or two.

~Happy Baking & ..................... Don't forget your Apron!