Foodielicious: Chocolate Chip Cookie Marble Bark

Marble Bark using Chips Ahoy! I use whatever I like!
Pic from KraftRecipes.com

As many of you know, I am always searching for ways to use up boxes of cookies! As a Girl Scout leader, my pantry is filled year-round with Girl Scout cookies. In addition, we have other cookies we like as well, some we buy and some I bake. Sometimes, you just get tired of eating cookies! So I like to mix things up a bit and use the cookies in other recipes. Here is one I found when searching for a way to use up some chocolate chip cookies. It's very, very easy, which I what I like most about it! The original recipe calls for Chips Ahoy! brand cookies, but as we never have those around (and likely never will), I substitute with whatever I have on hand.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Marble Bark

1 pkg. (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
1 pkg. (6 squares) BAKER'S White Chocolate, chopped
9 Chocolate Chip Cookies (original recipe calls for White Fudge Chunky CHIPS AHOY! Real Chocolate & White Fudge Chunk Cookies), coarsely broken
1/4 cup Slivered Almonds, toasted

1.Microwave semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate in separate medium microwaveable bowls as directed on package.
2. Add half of the cookie pieces to chocolate in each bowl; mix well.
3. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixtures onto wax paper-covered baking sheet, alternating the colors of the chocolates. Cut through the chocolate mixtures several times with knife for marble effect.
4. Sprinkle evenly with almonds; press lightly into chocolate.
5. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm. Break into 14 pieces. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

My notes: This recipe is so simple you can use pretty much any crumbly cookie you have on hand! Someone else noted they used Oreos. Yum.

FoodieLicious: Fizzy Cranberry-Lemonade Punch

This recipe brings back lots of memories. I first learned how to make it in college, I think my junior year, which would have been 1991 or 1992? I was at an Asian Beauty seminar, believe it or not, and the woman hosting the event started mixing up this yummy and incredibly easy punch for everyone. I was in no way interested in cooking back then, but I did like this punch and it was easy enough to remember through the years whenever I needed a punch recipe. I have made it countless times. Even kids love it.

This version of the recipe is from Good Housekeeping and I wrote it down finally because it was similar to the one the Shiseido lady made for us 18 years ago.

Fizzy Cranberry-Lemonade Punch

Servings: about 9 cups or 12 servings

4 cups cranberry-juice cocktail
1 container (6 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 bottle (1 liter) seltzer or club soda, chilled
1 small orange, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then each slice cut in half

In large pitcher, stir together cranberry-juice cocktail and undiluted lemonade concentrate until blended. Then, stir in seltzer, and ice cubes if you like. Garnish with orange pieces. Serve immediately.

Note: You can blend this ahead and keep it chilled, but don't add the cold seltzer and ice cubes until just before serving.

My Notes: I have also garnished it with frozen cranberries at holiday time.

52 Cakes: Dr. Pepper Cake

Hmmm . . . how busy was I in March and April?! Apparently too busy to blog! My poor blogs, so neglected, yet I think of them often enough. You have no idea how many brilliant posts I've written in my head these past few weeks! Oh, if only wishing made it so.

I'm back for now, with apologies aplenty and hopefully enough interesting content for those of you who missed it!

The cake of the week is one I made for the first time a few weeks ago; I can honestly say I've never made one quite like it before! It calls for a can of Dublin Dr. Pepper. That's the Dr. Pepper bottled in Dublin, Texas, the "oldest Dr. Pepper bottling plant in the world." They use the original Dr. Pepper formula that calls for pure cane sugar, kind of like the Mexican Coke. I didn't have any cans, but I had 2 bottles of Dublin Dr. Pepper which I used for this recipe. However, the recipe states that you can also use Dr. Pepper from your grocery store or even Diet Dr. Pepper.

This recipe, quirky as it is, turned out possibly the moistest chocolate cake I've had in a while. However, it did not have a distinctive Dr. Pepper taste to me. But it was still quite good.

Dublin Dr. Pepper bottles at DublinDrPepper.com

Dublin Dr. Pepper Cake

Ingredients:
1 pkg. German Chocolate cake mix
2/3 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 pkg. Vanilla instant pudding mix
1 can "Dublin Dr. Pepper"

Directions:
Mix all ingredients well and pour into a greased
9x13-inch pan or jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees
for 30 minutes. Let cake cool.

By Belinda Starnes of Dublin, Texas on CakeClubRecipes.com