Blackberry Pineapple Crumble

I am always a sucker for recipes that are so simple you don't even have to write them down. And when they turn out to be UTTERLY FANTASTIC, well that is just the perfect alignment of the moons and stars of the Calorie Galaxy! THIS....is one of those recipes.

Got it from my not-my-aunt-but-I-call-her-Aunt Sandy. She made this over Christmas and when I asked her for the recipe, she was able to tell it to me (and I was able to remember) with no movement of the pen. GLORY BE!

To add to the glory, there is a lower-cal alternative, which is the version I went with. I'll detail both.

Scroll down for full recipe or stay tuned for the play-by-play.

First, the ingredients. All that are mandatory are vanilla cake mix, crushed pineapple, and a bag of frozen blackberries (oh and butter)...I also added cinnamon and pecans to mine (more on that later).

Start by thawing your blackberries and draining your crushed pineapple as much as you can. Then drain just a bit of the juice off your blackberries. Doesn't matter how much, just depends on how juicy you like your crumble to be.

Stir your pineapple and blackberries together just until combined, in a 9x9 baking dish. For the lower calorie version, sprinkle about half your cake mix over the fruit.

Cut your butter (about half a stick) in small slices and lay on top of the cake mix. I have seen recipes like this that use melted butter, but slicing it like this is WAY BETTER. You must trust me on this.

At this point if you want to add cinammon or pecans (like me), this is the time. I added about half a cup of chopped pecans and about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. Just sprinkle both on top.

Bake the whole she-bang for 40-50 min at 350 degrees. (Honestly what I do is bake for 30 minutes and then just watch until it is as brown as I like it to be).

ENJOY YOUR SIMPLE MASTERPIECE. Your friends will think this is very complicated and that you spent legitimate time on it. Score!

Blackberry Pineapple Crumble

1 15 oz can crushed pineapple in juice (not syrup)
1 bag frozen blackberries
1 box vanilla cake mix
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drain pineapple and blackberries, and mix together in 9x13 baking dish.

Sprinkle entire cake mix over fruit.
Cut butter in small slices and lay on top of cake mix.

Sprinkle nuts and cinnamon on top of butter.

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm. (with ice cream!)

Lower-calorie alternative: use same amounts of fruit but use half cake mix and half stick of butter, and 1/2 cup of pecans. Better in 9x9 baking dish this way.

A Quick Bite: York Peppermint Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Well I've just wrapped my Christmas baking and am about to settle in for a long winter's nap. Can't sign off for the official days of Christams until I share this with you though: York Peppermint Chocolate Fudge Cookies. Yes. Take it ALL in now, YES.

Can't take credit for it - came from Sally's Baking Addiction, found through Pinterest. Click here for the recipe. Easy peezy - the only hassle is that you have to use a few different bowls to mix everything. Other than that it's impossible to screw up. In the words of Honey Boo Boo's mom, they aint the most beautimous thang out the box, but THEY. TASTE. GLORIOUS. You'll be singin' Fa La La all the way to Grandma's house with these bad boys!!

And we still had time to enjoy the nice sunshine today.....

Cheers to you and yours my friends! I am reminded during this happy season that I have absolutely everything I ever wanted (see my adorables above) and am so thankful our Savior was born this Christmas!



Chocolate Crock Pot Candy

It is always a good thing when you like the people you work with. I have two dear friends in my office that teach me how to be domestic on a daily basis. One of them, Julie, is the quintessential city-girl-gone-country, thanks to her (precious) small-town husband she met at a funeral. Yep! Packed herself up and moved all the way up here from big-time Dallas! Anyway, she bounced into work the other day with these little goodies, which she calls Crock Pot Candy. I only ate two four, and then not only asked for the recipe, but asked her to go with me to the store to make sure I got the right stuff, because these things are GOOD. And EASY. My two favorite things!  Dang. I want to eat one right now. I think I will......

OK...The full recipe is at the bottom if you'd rather skip the photo play-by-play.

First things first - your ingredients. This makes a LOT of candy. Julie has two adolescent boys and a husband, so it's no wonder she likes this recipe! :)

On these, the only thing that might throw you for a loop is the two different kinds of peanuts - you want one bottle of UNSALTED and one bottle of SALTED. If you can't find salted (I couldn't), a bottle of Dry Roasted Peanuts is also just fine.

Now get out your crock pot, and start by layering the peanuts, unsalted first. Pour out the whole bottle and then pour the whole bottle of salted/dry roasted.

Next cut up your german chocolate bar into squares and layer it, followed by the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Finally, cut your almond bark (yes two packages) into squares and place it in on top. I must pause here for a shoutout to my BFF Cathy, because she works for the company that makes Ginsu knives, and she hooked me up with one that made this a LOT easier!! If you are in the market for a good knife I recommend them - you can buy on Amazon!

Now, turn your crock pot on low for three hours. DO NOT STIR IT. DO NOT STIR IT. DO NOT STIR IT. Before the end of the 3 hours you may smell a slight burning smell - do not panic. This is the peanuts roasting on the bottom. It will be glorious if you just wait it out, I promise.

Instead, go pour yourself a glass of Christmas Cheer and wrap some presents while you wait. Also, please note my Holiday Mantra: Christmas Calories Don't Count. These are great words to live by from Thanksgiving to New Years.

After 3 hours, turn your crock pot off and get to stirrin'!

Cover your countertops with wax paper, and if I were you I would double my wax paper layers. This mixture is pretty hot and I would not want it to melt the wax paper and stick to your counters. I say cover your countertops because remember I said this makes a LOT of candy.

Spoon onto the wax paper in big tablespoon sized hunks and let it cool for two hours (or until they are hard).

ENJOY! It made so much I stuck some in a mason jar with some twine and a card and gave to the neighbors as a Christmas gift (which they LOVED). Thanks Jules for getting me hooked on this!!

FULL RECIPE:

CHOCOLATE CROCK POT CANDY

Ingredients

1 jar unsalted peanuts

1 jar salted (or dry roasted) peanuts

2 packages white almond bark, cut in squares

1 8oz German chocolate bar, cut in squares

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

Layer all ingredients in crock pot in this order, starting on the bottom:

unsalted peanuts, salted peanuts, german chocolate bar, semi-sweet chocolate chips, almond bark

Cook on low 3 hours. DO NOT STIR.

After 3 hours, turn off crock pot and stir until all ingredients are mixed together. Spoon in big tablespoons onto wax paper (double wax paper layers) and cool 2 hours. Makes about 50 pieces.

Merry Christmas!!