Caramel-Peanut Blondies

Here is another recipe that came out great. I baked it in an 8x8-inch pan. Next time I think that I am going to bake it in a longer pan. The sides were a bit over-cooked and hard. They were edible, but I cut them off and didn't serve them anyway. The taste is really amazing great combination and so chewy.

I didn't really measure the Dulce De Leche. I just added a bunch of dollops and swirled it around.

 They tasted so soft and full of flavor and texture. Nuts and caramel, beautiful combination.

It was a bye week for the Buffalo Bills so I placed the blondies on a football shaped cutting board. :)

I never bought Dulce De Leche before. I found the jar at Wegmans Supermarket in the ice cream section.

recipe from All You magazine, December 2013

Caramel-Peanut Blondies

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/2 cup pretzels, chopped
1/4 cup jarred dulce de leche

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on at least 2 sides. Mist with cooking spray. (I used Pam butter spray)

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in brown sugar until no lumps remain. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just incorporated. Stir in peanuts and pretzels.

Pour batter into baking pan and smooth with a spatula. Drop spoonfuls of dulce de leche on top; swirl decoratively with a knife. 

Bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into a solid part comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool fully in pan on a wire rack.

Grasping overhanging foil on either side of pan, lift out blondies and place on a cutting board. Carefully peel off foil before cutting into 16 squares.

~Michelle

Peppermint Patties

Candy making is quite an art form. It takes practice to melt the chocolate and dip the treats into the melted chocolate. I could use some practice. I find dipping to be challenging. I probably don't have the right tools. The final product never comes out smooth. Mine always have some of the insides showing and it is difficult to get it off of the fork. Well, these came out really tasty regardless of my challenges. I found them to be creamy and perfectly minty.

I had the patties in the refrigerator which is why they are sweating a bit. :)

*recipe tip
I used my finger dipped in powdered sugar to scrape the filling off of the spoon and to flatten it as well. The filling is pretty sticky I would never have been able to 'roll' it into 1-inch balls.


Peppermint Patties

Ingredients:
1 package (1 pound) confectioners sugar)
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
2-3 teaspoons peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 cups (12 ounces) dark chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons shortening


Directions:
In a mixing bowl combine first four ingredients. Add milk and mix well. *(see tip) Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Flatten with a confectioner sugar dipped finger or glass. Cover and freezer or about 30 minutes.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and shortening. Dip patties; place on waxed paper to harden.

recipe from Taste of Home magazine 2003

~Michelle

Donut Failure

You know how I love to search and search and read and read recipes, I get that from my Grandma, she used to read recipes all of the time. Well, I wanted to try a baked donut recipe. I found one on Pinterest. 

I know that my parents have donut pans, because I bought them, so I borrowed the pans and tried the recipe. I looked promising when I started.

Off to the oven.

This is a picture of the 'topping'. It came out awful. It wasn't crumbly. I was just runny and gross.

I tried to frost the donut and add the topping. 

The recipe didn't live up to my expectations. It was pretty awful. Luckily it only made one pan so after I tried one I tossed the rest out.

Recipe Fail. I won't tell you the recipe or where I found it. I just took these pictures with my phone. 

~Michelle

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Really now, who doesn't love the taste of chocolate and peanut butter? huh? who? I found this recipe and thought I would give a try. Oh, it is so rich and creamy. I cut it into small bite sized pieces because it is so rich. It has a brownie layer on the bottom and a creamy peanut butter layer on the top with chocolate drizzle. 

I really like the way they turned out. Happy Baking.

The recipe is from an older cookbook magazine and it calls for 1 square of unsweetened chocolate. Well, the newer Bakers chocolate come in these easy to break squares. So 2 'squares' equals 1 ounce. I like the new easy to break style.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
recipe from 2003 Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients
1 ounce  unsweetened chocolate baking bar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Filling
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
2-3 Tablespoons half-and-half or milk

Glaze
1 ounce semisweet baking chocolate baking bar
1 Tablespoons butter

Directions

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light and pale-colored. Add flour and melted chocolate; stir well. Pour into a greased 9-inch. square baking pan. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool.

For filling, beat confectioners' sugar, peanut butter and butter, in a mixing bowl. Stir in cream until mixture reaches desired spreading consistency. Spread over cooled brownies; cover and chill until firm.

For glaze, melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over the filling. Chill before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.

~Michelle

Chocolate Cream Bars

I am always on the hunt for something to bake and another reicpe to try. I decided to go back to and old cookbook. This is another recipe from Pillsbury - Simply From Scratch cookbook, circa 1978. I made one of my favorite take along snack cakes from this book. You will love it too. It is a Chocolate Chip Cake.
I thought I would try something else from the book. 

These looked tasty even in this old looking photo. 

These bars are on the left. Is that a candle in the background?

Cut into bars.

The topping really fell off as I was cutting it into bars. Hmmm

Chocolate Cream Bars

Crust / Topping
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter softened

Filling
12-oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine first six ingredients; mix at low speed until crumbly. Press 4 cups crumb mixture into ungreased 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan.

In medium saucepan, combine first four filling ingredients. Heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla and nuts.

Pour filling over crumb crust. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over filling.

Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool; cut into bars

~Michelle