Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cake Bars with Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Topping

Can you believe that something with a title like that started out as a simple cake mix?

Today is Jeff's birthday, and he loves lemon-flavored desserts. I didn't feel like baking a whole cake, but naturally had to do something special for the occasion. I used the basic cake mix cookie recipe and changed it around a bit, and came up with these delicious cake bars with a rich, brownie-like texture, and a light lemon flavor. The topping is my favorite cool whip and cream cheese frosting, flavored with lemon extract.

Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cake Bars
1 box white or yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Topping

Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, lemon juice, and lemon extract. If using white cake mix, you can also add a few drops of yellow food coloring. Mix well. Stir in white chocolate chips. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 14-16 minutes. Let cool, then cut into bars and top with cheesecake topping.

Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Topping
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 8-oz carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 tsp. lemon extract

Beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Beat in whipped topping and lemon extract. Spoon on top of cake bars.

Seriously, this stuff is freakin' fantastic.

Taste&Create - Min's Pear Pie (but with apples)

Been a long time since I posted, I'll just jump right into this post and we'll forget about the fact that I haven't put anything up here since, um, September. Yeah.

This is a super yummy pie from The Bad Girl's Kitchen, my partner for November's Taste&Create. Taste&Create is a monthly blog event where you're paired up with another blogger, and you make a recipe form your partner's blog while they make one from yours. I chose to make Min's Pear Pie, because it looked tasty, and simple to make. And I love pie. I made it with apples instead of pears, because that's what we had on hand. I would love to try it with pears next time I make it, because there will definitely be a next time. :)

Pear (or apple) Pie

7-8 large pears (or apples), pared, cut into slices
3 TBL lemon juice
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
3 TBL flour
1 tsp. lemon zest

Mix all together and spoon into one 9 inch unbaked pie shell

Sprinkle with the following mixture:

[ 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. each ginger & cinnamon
cut in 4 TBL butter until crumbly ]

Bake Pie in preheated 400 oven for about 45 minutes.