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

Bite-Sized Carmelitas

How about this recipe to warm your insides on a cold winter day. Enjoy some super delicious carmelitas with a hot cup of coffee or tea. It is a wonderful combination of caramel, chocolate, oatmeal and brown sugar.

I really enjoy cutting bars into small bite-sized pieces then 1. I have enough samples for work and 2. the co-workers don't feel so guilty eating a sweet treat because it's bite=sized. However, I can't help it if you want to eat more than one.  :) 

I made this recipe for work and the sounds that my coworkers were making while eating these tasty treats were hilarious. It certainly confirms how absolutely scrumptious and decedent the carmelitas were. :)

Carmelitas

Ingredients

35 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted (I may consider using a bit less butter next time)
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Combine caramels and heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 8" pan. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Drop remaining oatmeal mixture over the caramel. I tossed a handful of chips on the top. Return to the oven and bake an additional 20-25 minutes until edges are browned. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting. I left it overnight before cutting them into bite-sized squares.

Store and serve at room temperature so the ooey gooey caramel is soft and delicious.

~Enjoy
Michelle 


recipe from Luluthebaker

Yummy Rice Krispie Treats

 recipe from Mini Baker (great recipe)
I have made many rice krispie treats in my baking history, but these taste so good and are so addicting.  I cut mine into bite sized pieces so my coworkers could just pop one into their mouths.  It turns out that the treats are so tasty that everyone just popped more that one.


Mini Baker cut her treats so beautifully.  I placed mine into the freezer for a bit to set the chocolate topping so when I was cutting the squares they crunched a bit and didn't slice as perfectly as I would have liked.
Also, next time I make these I'm not going to add the caramel on the top. Too sticky.  I stacked them for the picture and they just stuck to the wax paper. I put them into the freezer again so I could take them in the car and they wouldn't be so sticky when I got to work. They were pretty sticky anyway.

 The chocolate and Nutella layer was divine.  Nice and thick and it set up beautifully. That was a big hit here at the station.

 ~Michelle

Caramel Apple Cookie Bites

I like to try interesting recipes, that's my motto. I also like bite size desserts.  I thought I'd give this recipe a try.  First, the cookies are super delicious, at least according to my brother. Second, I realized at the end of the baking and decorating  that I should have put ground nuts on the bottom. You will see why as we go along.

Recipe from Taste of Home magazine; Halloween issue 2005

FILLING:
1/3 cup chopped unpeeled apple
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

DOUGH:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

TOPPING:
1 package (14 ounces) caramels
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

In a small saucepan, combine filling ingredients.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened; set aside to cool.  In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars.  Add egg, vanilla and salt; beat well.  Add flour; mix well.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Flatten and place 1/4 teaspoon filling in center of each.  Fold dough over filling and reshape into balls.  Place 1-inc apart on greased baking sheets.  Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove to wire racks to cool.

In a saucepan over low heat, cook caramels and evaporated milk, stirring occasionally, until caramels are melted.  Insert a toothpick into each cookie and dip into caramel topping until completely coated.  Dip bottoms of cookies into nuts.  Place on wire racks to set.  Yield about 3 dozen. 

I got a little over 2 dozen.  We ate a couple of the cookies before they were frosted so I only had to make half of the topping mixture.

 I used a spoon to cover the cookies with the caramel topping.

 When I was adding the nuts to the cookies I thought oh how cute to sprinkle the nuts on the top of the cookies and did not dip the bottom in the nuts.  That caused them to STICK to the serving plate.  I had to use a spoon to get them off the plate.  You could not really use the toothpick to up the cookies because they were just too sticky.

 I learned my lesson.  The cookies tasted awesome, just a little messy.

I shall make them again and dip the bottoms in nuts.

~Michelle

Apple Caramel Cupcakes

I baked some cupcakes for the return of a co-worker to work after a long 5 month absence. I probably should have made him some carrots and hummus or something like that. But everyone knows I like to bake so what else could I do? except bake. right?

The recipe is from A Bakers Field Guide to Cupcakes

Ingredients

Streusel:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cupcakes:

18 paper liners

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp.

cut into small pieces

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

2/3 cup peeled and diced Granny Smith apples

18 caramels

Directions

1. To make the streusel, in a large bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt until well combined. Stir in flour until smooth. Mixture should clump and form "crumbs" when squeezed between fingertips. Set aside.


2. To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 F. Place paper liners in all wells of one 12-cup and one 6-cup cupcake tin.


3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.


4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scrapping down the bowl once or twice. Beat in extracts. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition, allowing each egg to be absorbed before continuing. Add the flour mixture in 4 additions, alternating with the sour cream. Begin and end with the flour mixture, stopping when there are still a few streaks of flour.


5. Fold the chopped apples into the plain cupcake batter. Fill each paper liner about one-quarter of the way full with batter. Top with a bit of streusel, then fill with remaining batter. Top with remaining streusel. Bake for about 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs. Cool pans on racks for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to cooling racks to cool completely.


6. Melt caramels in top of double boiler or in microwave. Drizzle over the cooled cupcakes. I added some milk to make a little smoother.

These turned out really good. I should have put a few more apples in them. The texture was kind of a crumb/coffee cake, which I love.

~Michelle