Monday, July 23, 2007

Caramel Mini Brownie Cups

This recipe is from The All-American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett. (An amazing cookbook with tons of tips and trouble-shooting solutions along with fabulous recipes.) I love caramel and couldn't resist trying a brownie that incorporates Rolo candies. You can also use Reese's peanut butter cups!Preparation:
  1. Several hours ahead- unwrap the candy and put it in the refrigerator to chill.
  2. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
  3. Spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray or lightly grease. (makes 24)
You will need:
  • 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
  • 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 24 Rolo candies, unwrapped and chilled
Some advice: use good chocolate if you want the brownies to taste good. Got everything? Let's start.
1. Melt the butter and chocolates. I put a stainless steel bowl over simmering water for a makeshift double boiler. You can use the microwave if you prefer. With chocolate the key is to go slow and stir frequently. If using the microwave, remove before chocolate is completely melted and stir to finish the job.2. Add 2/3 cup sugar and stir well. Let cool slightly.

3. In a small bowl mix together 2/3 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda. Set this aside.

4. Now the chocolate mixture should be barely warm. Beat in the egg, then add 1 tsp vanilla. Stir until mixture is smooth and shiny.

5. Add in the flour mixture and stir until incorporated.

6. Spoon the batter into the mini muffin cups. (A mini scoop makes it so easy and neat.)

7. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-14 minutes. You want the brownies to be almost firm in the middle.

8. Immediately press 1 candy into the center of the brownie until it's flush with the surface.
9. Put muffin pan on a wire rack and leave them alone until totally cool. I know it's hard, but find something useful to do. Read a book. Do laundry. Take a nap. Go for a walk.10. Remove from pan and enjoy! Yum! (Warning = be sure you have milk in the house)

Variations:
  • Use mini Reese's peanut butter cups instead of Rolos.
  • Add 2 Tablespoons smooth peanut butter to the batter with the egg in step #4.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Rice Kripsie Treats - Super Secret Recipe!!

Like I said yesterday, everyone knows how to make Rice Krispie treats. The recipe is right on the box. Being the sweet tooth I am, I like to spruce up the recipe with a few changes; including my secret ingredient. Here it goes:
  1. Melt 4 Tablespoons butter in large pot over medium low heat.
  2. Add 5 cups mini marshmallows. Stir, stir, stir.
  3. When the marshmallows are almost melted, add the secret ingredient. Are you ready?
brown sugar! (a bit less than 1/4 cup). Are you surprised? More sugar!

4. Keep stirring until the marshmallows are totally melted.
5. Add 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal. Mix well.
6. Press into buttered 9x13 pan. Use waxed paper or butter up your hands.



Enjoy your ooey, gooey treat!
And remember: if you lick it off the spoon, it doesn't have calories!






Other ideas:
  • Spread the still warm treats on a cookie sheet and use cutters to make treats in fun shapes.
  • Make different colors by adding food coloring to the melted marshmallows.


Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Coming Soon.....

Soon, very soon I will be posting my very own secret Rice Krispie treat recipe. I know what you're thinking, everyone can make Rick Krispie treats. Yes, they are easy to make. Yes, I've been making them since I was a kid as well. Only I figured out a way to make them super-duper sweet and tasty. My sister has been trying to figure out what I do to make my treats so darn good for years. Well, her wait will soon be over. I will soon reveal my secret to the world...or at least to anyone who happens to see this blog.
Stay tuned...

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Cats Can Be Sweet Too

This is my cat, Cleo. Isn't she sweet?

Friday, July 13, 2007

Strawberries and Cream


One of the best things about summer is fresh strawberries. When you have fresh strawberries, you must have thick, creamy whipped cream. I like mine so thick it's a few beats away from butter. How do you like your strawberries?

Chocolate Pudding, Yum, Yum!

I'm not vegan. I don't drink soy milk and rarely eat tofu. I normally consume copious amounts of dairy products without regret. However, my mom has severe allergies to milk; so when I saw these soy pudding snacks I decided to taste test them for her. They are fabulous. Creamy and chocolaty. I'm addicted. I don't think I like 'regular' pudding this much. Don't ever buy them.

King Arthur Flour

Why do I love King Arthur Flour? Let my count the ways:
  1. The catalog. I drool over this like some people do the Victoria Secrets catalog. They have fantastic baking gadgets and tools.
  2. The recipes. Their recipe collection is extensive and has never failed me. Everything on it has been tested.
  3. Baking mixes. From scones to pet treats. Tastes like you made it from scratch. You can tell everyone you did. After all you did have to add things like eggs and water to the mix. You had to put it in the oven. My favorite is the crumbcake.
  4. Free classes. If you live in or near Vermont I envy you. The rest of us can enjoy a class when they come to our neighborhood. Which isn't often enough. Or check out online classes.
  5. The Baking Circle. Join this message board and if you ever, ever have a question about baking. Ask. You will be answered. Also get special offers via email.
  6. The company is employee owned. Nice to see in a world were everything is becoming owned by mega corporations.
  7. I only use their flour. Mostly I use all-purpose unbleached. I want to start using more of the white whole wheat. Check out the variety. They are even starting to sell more organic products.
  8. They have fabulous cookbooks. Of course they're more like baking books, but what do you expect from a flour company. Buy them from KAF's website, or buy them from Amazon.

Are those enough reasons? If you haven't been to their website or received their catalog, why not? I've given you enough links. I also put them in my side bar.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Trader Joe's Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cookies


I noticed these dangerous looking candies at Trader Joe's many months ago. My substantial will power prevented me from buying these particular candies because I knew that without wrappers to peel off these would go in my mouth by the handful.


Recently I thought of the perfect excuse. Infinitely more acceptable than swallowing them by the handful. These tiny peanut butter cups seem to be just about the same size as chocolate chips. Of course I couldn't stop thinking about cookies full of these tasty sweets.


Here are the results:
I used my standard chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Mix until creamy:
  • 1 cup butter (room temperature- but not too soft)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sugar
Add, mix after each addition:
  • 2 eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
In a separate bowl mix:
  • 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
Add flour mixture to butter mixture a little at a time.
Finally, add the peanut butter cups (or chocolate chips). If you use your electric mixer for the batter, I recommend not using it when you add the chocolate. It just smashes them up.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 9-10 minutes. Enjoy!