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THE SEMISWEET SISTERS

Two sisters who love to bake...

Easy Baby Back Ribs

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Easy Baby Back Ribs BBQ Oven Baked

Before I found this recipe, I tried so many times to make baby back ribs and they always turned out terrible. I tried grilling and broiling and they were always tough. Then I found this recipe and I thought no way, this is too easy. Then I made them and they turned out perfect. My husband, my best friend and her husband all loved them. Now when they are on sale at the grocery store my friend calls me and tells me to stock up since we make them all the time.

Easy Baby Back Ribs

Easy Baby Back Ribs
 
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Recipe type: Main
Serves: 3
Ingredients
  • 1 rack baby back ribs
  • 2 cups barbecue sauce
Instructions
  1. cut ribs into 3 pieces
  2. tear 3 pieces of foil large enough to cover each section
  3. put ¼ cup bbq sauce in middle of foil
  4. set one section of ribs on top of sauce
  5. put another ¼ cup of bbq sauce on top of ribs
  6. wrap foil so it's covered completely
  7. do this with the other 2 pieces
  8. set on rimmed baking sheet
  9. refrigerate 5 to 24 hours
  10. preheat oven to 300
  11. leave wrapped in foil on cookie sheet and bake for 2½ hours
  12. take out of oven and unwrap
  13. take ribs out of foil and place back on baking sheet
  14. brush with bbq sauce and broil for 5 min.

 

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Oreo Easter Dirt Cake

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We love dirt cake at our house, so we made this one for Easter. You can’t go wrong with oreo cookies, pudding, and cool whip. You can add whatever you want to the top, Peeps, jelly beans, edible grass, etc.

Easter Oreo Dirt Cake

For the carrots I just whipped up some vanilla frosting, then added food coloring to get it orange. Then I put it in a plastic bag and clipped the corner off. I squeezed  little orange blobs on some wax paper and put them in the freezer for 10 min. until they were set. Next I used a tooth pick and poked a hole in the top and added a few pieces of the edible grass (amazon affiliate). You should be able to find edible grass at places like Target & Walmart. I’ve seen it for sale at both places, it’s located with the Easter candy & usually costs $2 or less.

Easter Oreo Dirt Cake

My daughter came in after I put the carrots on the cake and asked for a carrot. I gave her one and she looked at me and said, “I want a whole carrot”. Then I had to tell her that the carrots didn’t go all the way to the bottom of the pan, they were just carrot tops. She was a little disappointed.

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Easter Dirt Cake
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1 pack of Oreo cookies
  • 1 package 8oz of cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup soft butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 ups milk
  • 2 Instant chocolate pudding 3.4 oz (you can use vanilla if you want)
  • 1 container 12 oz cool whip, thawed
  • peeps, edible Easter grass, 1 container of vanilla frosting (or homemade)
  • food coloring
Instructions
  1. crush the cookies, I used a food processor
  2. in large bowl mix cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy
  3. in another bowl, whisk milk and pudding until thick
  4. add pudding mixture into cream cheese mixture and mix until combined
  5. fold in cool whip until well blended
  6. add filling into 9x13 dish
  7. top with crushed oreos
  8. decorate

 This post contains amazon affiliate links.

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White Chocolate Covered Peeps

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White Chocolate Covered PeepsMy daughter has been asking for days if we can make our bunny cake yet. I keep telling her that we can’t make it until the day before Easter, so today I decided we would dip peeps to keep her happy. It was pretty easy and not too messy. Don’t make my mistake of using blue peeps, they showed through the vanilla. I should have used yellow.

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White Chocolate Covered Peeps
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • 12 Bunny Peeps
  • 6 Squared of Vanilla Almond Bark
  • 12 paper straws or wooden skewers
  • 6 colored mini marshmallows cut in half
  • food coloring
Instructions
  1. put your peeps on the sticks
  2. melt vanilla bark according to package
  3. mix in a drop or 2 of food coloring
  4. dip peep and use a spoon to smooth around the bark
  5. set on wax paper and add the halved marshmallow for the tail
  6. let dry then serve

 

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Peeps Sunflower Brownies

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Sunflower Peeps Brownies

My best friend Heather loves her Peeps, so I made this for her on her birthday yesterday. I made two because she is gluten free, so for one I used King Arthur’s gluten free brownie mix and for the other I used the Ghirardelli mix. The King Arthur’s did not come with icing, so I made a chocolate ganache. Then the peeps are gluten free. These are so easy to make and super cute. I will be making them again for our Easter Brunch. I can’t decide if I like the peeps facing up or down.

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Peeps Sunflower Brownies

Peeps Sunflower Brownies

 

 

Peeps Sunflower Brownies
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • 1 small box of brownies with frosting (should fit 9x9 pan)
  • 20 peeps
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
  • parchment paper
Instructions
  1. follow directions on brownie box (except you will use round pan)
  2. line a round cake pan with parchment paper
  3. bake as directed on box
  4. let cool
  5. flip upside down onto a plate, peel off parchment paper
  6. put frosting/icing on the top of the brownies
  7. place peeps around the outside of the brownies
  8. put mini chips in center of brownies
  9. put regular chocolate chips around the outside of the mini ones

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French Toast Casserole

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French Toast Casserole

This recipe came from my friend Jody. We were in a mom’s group called MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) together and we would meet twice a month and everyone took turns bringing in brunch food to share.  Jody brought this and EVERYONE asked her for the recipe, including myself. It’s great to make the night before and then just pop in the oven in the morning. I am also not a nut person, except of an occasional piece of pecan pie but I love this recipe even with the nuts.

French Toast Casserole

You can serve with maple syrup, but it’s not really needed.

 

French Toast Casserole
 
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Recipe type: Brunch
Ingredients
  • 1 loaf of French or Italian bread torn/cut into 1 in pieces
  • 1 tablespoon soft butter
  • 8 eggs
  • 2½ cups whole milk
  • 1½ cups heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • Topping:
  • 8 tablespoons butter
  • 1⅓ cups packed brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 2 cups chopped pecans
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 325
  2. spread bread out over 2 baking sheets and bake until dry and light golden brown, about 20 min.
  3. coat 9x13 baking dish with butter and pack the bread into the dish.
  4. whisk eggs in a large bowl
  5. then whisk in milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg
  6. pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread
  7. press bread to submerge
  8. Topping:
  9. stir the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together until smooth
  10. stir in pecans
  11. Stored:
  12. put the topping in an air tight container
  13. cover bread and egg mixture with plastic wrap
  14. refrigerate both for 7 or more hours. No more than 24.
  15. Cook:
  16. Preheat oven to 350
  17. unwrap casserole and sprinkle the topping over the top evenly
  18. place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet and place on middle rack of oven
  19. bake until puffed and golden about 60 min.
  20. serve immediately

 

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Cheesy Potato Casserole

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Cheesy Potato Casserole made with hashbrowns

Cheesy Potato Casserole

This is another recipe that I got from my moms group MOPS (mothers of preschoolers). We always took turns bringing brunch food in for our meeting and this was a staple food at every meeting. Then I started hosting Thanksgiving for 50 people and the first year that I made a double batch of this the pans were scrapped empty, but there were so many mashed potatoes left. Now I don’t even bother with mashed potatoes during the holidays because everyone likes this better. It’s better for me too because I hate peeling potatoes!

Cheesy Potato Casserole

Make sure you buy the shredded frozen potatoes, not the cubes ones. They don’t turn out as well and take longer to cook.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

Cheesy Potatoes
 
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Recipe type: Brunch
Ingredients
  • 1 package frozen hash brown/shredded potatoes (THAWED)
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1 8oz container sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes OR ¼ cup chopped onion
  • 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • pepper to taste
  • Optional Topping:
  • 2 cups crushed cornflakes
  • ¼ cup melted butter
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. In large bowl mix hash browns, butter, can of soup, sour cream, onions, cheese, and pepper.
  3. Put mixture in 9x13 baking dish
  4. Optional Topping:
  5. In medium saucepan over medium heat, saute cornflakes and ¼ cup butter.
  6. Sprinkle over casserole.
  7. Bake covered for 45 min.

 

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