Funfetti Cake Sandwich Cookies

Hello!  Long time, no posting.  It's all my fault.  Spring has been busy for me.  I know that is a lame excuse, but it's true.  But I am feeling back on my game now that the nicer weather is (finally) upon us.  And just because I have not been posting, does not mean I have not been cooking.  It's very much the opposite, actually! 

This past weekend we got together with friends who have two young kids.  I offered to bring dessert and went through my "to make" files to see what I could whip up.  I have so many things I have yet to try, but I did want to avoid anything with nuts because I know one of the kids is allergic to peanuts.  Therefore, my list became smaller and a little easier to go through.  I picked out this recipe I had seen on Serious Eats posted by Cakespy figuring it was the perfect thing to make for the kids. Kinda like cupcakes, but in cookie form.  Just as cute, but less mess. 

They came out great.  Everyone loved them (especially the kids).  I was actually surprised how much I liked them.  I will definitely be making them again!  The beauty of this recipe is that you can change it up by using different cake mixes and icing options. 

Funfetti Cake Sandwich Cookies

adapted from Cakespy

For the cookies:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 package funfetti or rainbow chip cake mix

For for the icing:
1 stick of butter, softened

3-4 cups confectioners sugar

evaporated milk (as needed for consistency)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch or two of salt

food coloring (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Cream the butter and cream cheese. Blend in egg and vanilla.

3. Add cake mix in two parts, mixing well (it will be a super thick batter—if it is too stiff, add a small quantity of heavy cream to the batter and mix well).

4. Form balls of cookie dough (about a tablespoon each) on an ungreased baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between the cookies.

5. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool cookies for at least 15 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack; the cookies are very delicate when they first come out of the oven and they will break if you try to transfer them too soon.

6. Once completely cool, add a generous dollop of frosting to the bottom of half the cookies, and then sandwich the rest of the cookies on top to form something that vaguely resembles a whoopie pie, but tastes like something else entirely.

Skillet Lasagna

One of my favorite Christmas gifts I received this year was a cast iron skillet. I have been wanting one for awhile, so I had several dishes in mind that I wanted to try.  So far I have used it to make jalepeno cornbread, crab cakes, seared salmon and skillet potatoes/hash browns, all which were delicious.

My most recent experiment using my cast iron skillet was veggie lasagna.  When I first heard about this, I thought that the lasagna would be assembled in the skillet and then baked in the oven just like a regular lasagna, but that's not the case.  The cool thing is that the lasagna gets assembled in the skillet while it is on the burner and then stays there until it's cooked through.  The result was a fabulous tasting lasagna in about half the time.  

I did look at a couple recipes before doing this, mostly for technique, but as far as measurements and ingredients used, I did not follow a specific recipe. 

What you will need:

Sauce - I used a jar of low country tomato sauce from my sister in Charleston.  It's so good and adds so much flavor, but homemade or any jarred sauce will do.
Cheese - I used ricotta, parm and asiago, but mozzerella would obviously work too.
Noodles - You may use pre-boiled noodles, but I only had regular ones, so I soaked them in hot water before adding.
Veggies - I had asparagus, mushrooms and kale on hand, but any veggies would do, just make sure you par-cook them first if needed (I sauteed the mushrooms and asparagus but put in the chopped kale raw and it worked fine).

Method:

Place skilled over medium heat, add a layer of sauce, then noodles, then cheese mixture (15oz ricotta, 1 egg, parm, salt and pepper), then veggies.  Repeat layers until you get to the last set of noodles - top those with sauce and your melting cheese - in this case, asiago.  Cover and simmer lasagna on stove top for about 20 minutes.  For the last 5 minutes, take cover off and place under broiler so the top gets crispy and brown. 

It would be best to let this sit about 10 minutes before cutting into, but as usual, we could not wait a minute longer to start digging in.  I bet the leftovers will be even better!