Dessert Ideas- Guilty & Guilt-Free Options

Guilty Option- Cake Balls

I had leftover cake mix and icing from a dessert from last week and leftover almond bark from Christmas (I don't know how it didn't get used earlier!).  So I cleaned out the pantry and made this little treat that I've only eaten and never made.

You could use any cake mix, but I had half a box of red velvet, so that's what I used.  Make the cake according to the box and bake.  When the cake cools, crumble it with a fork.

You could use any icing, but I had half a tub of cream cheese icing that I used.  Empty the icing into the pan and mix throughout the cake.

Next (no picture here; my hands were too messy!), take the cake/icing mixture and roll it into small balls.  This is messy!  The smaller the balls, the easier they are to manage and dip.

Once the balls are rolled, dip them into melted almond bark.  This can be tricky, because the cake balls can crumble.  The key is to dip while the almond bark is the right temperature.  As you can see in the picture below, my cake balls don't look very pretty.  I walked away to tend to grilling burgers, and my almond bark got a little sticky.  But no matter how they look, they're yummy!  I also made my cake balls a little too big.

I'm not sure how many treats this will make.  It depends on the size of the balls you make up, but I know that just half a cake mix made a lot!

Guilt-Free Option- Asian crepes

My husband came up with the name because I used wonton wrappers to make these fruity pastries.  Once again, I was using what I had around the house.

I keep wonton wrappers in the fridge for several recipes.  Hungry Girl has a ton of ideas of what you can make with these things.  I had four wrappers left, so that's how many pastries I made.  I used Laughing Cow low-fat cheese wedges and Amish black raspberry jam.  You just use what ever fruit topping you want and even change out the cheese.

Place half a cheese wedge on the wrapper and a dollop of jam.  I recommend mixing the two together so you get a taste of both when you bite into it.  Brush some water (I used my finger) on the edges of the wrapper; this will be your seal.

Bring up each corner together to seal.  Do this to all four corners.

Seal all four corners to together and any part of the wrapper that's sticking out.  Use a little water to help seal it.

Bake at 350 degrees until edges are brown.  I think I baked these for about 10 minutes.

I know this is a terrible picture of the finished product!
My husband loved these.  I thought they were yummy, but I might try some different combinations next time.

Let me know what yummy treats you make with items in your pantry!