Kiss Pies - January 29, 2012

Interesting looking little buggers huh? Easy peasy lemon squeezy... there's only 4 ingredients total! This is another Pinterest find. Mmmm, I love the easy recipes.

Kiss Pies

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust, thawed
14 Hershey Kisses of choice (original, Hugs, Truffles, Mint, be creative)
1 egg white whisked with 1 Tbsp water
Powdered sugar for dusting

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Roll out pie dough onto a lightly floured counter top.  Place 10 kisses around the edges of pie dough, about 2 1/2 inches apart (as in the photo above).  Take a knife and cut a 2 1/2-3 inch circle around kiss. (I used an upside down paper cup. A round biscuit cutter would be perfect to use here.) Fold half of pie dough around top of dough and pinch edge around top of kiss. Now, fold up both sides of remaining dough up to the tip of the kiss pinching edge.  Now press together edges and form criss cross. Continue cutting dough around kisses until all dough is used up.  I got about 14 rounds cut when I re-rolled my scraps 
2.  Brush all little pies with an egg white wash then sprinkle with granulated sugar. (I totally forgot to do the granulated sugar... in hindsight, I think that was an important step I forgot.) Bake for 20-28 minutes or until little pies are golden.  Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Dust each with powdered sugar and serve.

Makes about 14 little pies. (I believe I had more than 14 actually)

The pinner I repinned this from mentioned adding a little raspberry jam inside as well. That doesn't sound good to me, but maybe a yummy idea for you to try. 

See how nice and perfect mine look... all same size and shape... bwahahaha!

Husband Review:

I personally did not like these at all. Like I've said before, I'm all about sweet and chocolatey, and this little number did not do it for me. All I tasted was pie crust. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE pie crust, but this just wasn't what I was going for. Dan, on the other hand, liked them. Of course he did. Anything I don't like, he likes and anything I like, he doesn't. He really liked the overwhelming pie crust flavor. I, however, will not be making these again.

Tips and Tricks

 I'll be updating this post from time to time when I come across (or remember) tips and tricks that help in the kitchen.

*If I can use a box cake/brownie/muffin mix I will. No point in reinventing the wheel, and in my book, if you have to add eggs, oil, and water it's still pretty close to homemade. I tried to make a red velvet cake from scratch once, and it was not pretty.

*Because of my lack of understanding the chemistry that goes in to baking things from scratch, I use a box mix whenever possible.

*When making cookies, always always always use parchment paper. Always. Am I being clear? Always! I use parchment paper for my brownies, bars, and cakes too. It makes life so much easier.

*Also, when making cookies, take them out before they look done. This will give you a yummy soft cookie. They will continue to finish cooking when they're cooling and you don't have to worry about over cooking them and them being as hard as a rock. 

*If you have a baked good that is a bit hard, toss a slice or two of bread in the container with the item/s. It'll soften them right up.

Oreo Brownies - January 22, 2012

Ok, no judging. When I can take a shortcut, I do. I've never made brownies homemade. I guess I just liked the box mix so much that I never thought to make them from scratch. Maybe I will someday, but not today. Here's a really easy twist on a box mix of brownies.

Oreo Brownies

Ingredients:

Your favorite box of brownie mix (I use the one with the triple chunks of chocolate... mmmmm chocolate)

However much oil, water, and eggs your mix calls for

1 tub cream cheese frosting

1 package of Oreos (Double Stuf or not to Double Stuf... that is up to you) - you won't use the whole package of Oreos, but I'm sure you'll find something to do with extras. :)

Directions:

1. Mix and bake brownies per instructions on the box. (Or make your favorite brownie mix from scratch)

2. Let the brownies cool completely before moving to the next step.

3. Frost brownies with the cream cheese frosting.

4. Sprinkle crushed Oreos on top of frosting. Sometimes I'll crush up some Oreos and put them in the brownies before I bake them, but my husband doesn't really like them that way.

5. Cut and enjoy. (Or don't cut and just dig in. I won't judge.)

 

 

Husband Review:

Dan is not a big fan of these brownies. I like them, and I'm not a frosting person. They are super sweet, but very good. I think he just doesn't love brownies as much as other sweet treats. They are quick to make and easy to take somewhere for a dish to pass. Make them and tell me what you think.

Homemade Snickers Candy Bars - January 15, 2012

 Snickers Bars? Yes please! I found a recipe for these on Pinterest, and I'm so excited to try them. Snickers are one of my favorite candy bars (the other being a Kit Kat, but that recipe is for another day.) 

Homemade Snickers Candy Bars

Ingredients

2 cups milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups marshmallow cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups salted peanuts, chopped

1 (14 ounce) package caramels

1/4 cup whipping cream

Directions

1. Melt together 1 cup milk chocolate chips, 1/4 cup butterscotch chips, and 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter then spread on bottom of 9 X 13 cake pan-lined with aluminum foil (I used Reynold's Release). put in refrigerator or freezer to set up while next layer is prepared. (Use the freezer, it works faster and better in my opinion)

2.Boil 1/4 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup evaporated milk together for 5 minutes.

3. Take off stove and add 1 1/2 cups marshmallow cream, 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups salted and chopped peanuts. (The only thing I would change in this recipe would be to add more peanuts. Make it with the 1 1/2 cups first to see how you like it. Don't worry, you'll make these again so you can experiment later.)

4. Pour over first layer that was chilling then place back in freezer.

5. Melt 14 ounces of caramels with 1/4 cup whipping cream until smooth then pour over second layer that is chilling- place back in freezer.

6. Melt together 1 cup milk chocolate chips, 1/4 cup butterscotch chips, and 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter then spread on the top of third layer in the pan. (I didn't really measure... I just eyeballed the chips and threw a glob of peanut butter in with it.)

7. Return to chill until set up.

8. Store in refrigerator to keep from getting too soft and to aid in cutting and serving. (You'll want to store these the fridge for sure. If they sit at room temp too long they get really gooey and messy. Still unbelievably yummy, but very very messy.)

Husband Review:

He loved them. So did my parents and everyone else that tried them. I posted a picture on my facebook wall and my mom said that her and my dad wanted to try them "diet or no diet". Then after she tried them, she wrote this: "They were wonderful, however, I thought I saw your Dad bring a whole container of treats, he only gave me 1/2 of one of these. I wonder where the rest could have gone?" These babies are soooo good, but you can't eat too many of them. I think I'll call them "One and Done Bars". Make these... you'll be so happy that you did! Super Bowl treat anyone?

Inside-Out Twix Cookies - January 8, 2012

This is my take on the Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies I found in the Betty Crocker Super Simple Chicken Recipes cook book (page 73 & 74). And no there is not, in fact, chicken in this recipe. :) 

This is the first time I've made these cookies so it took me FOREVER and I messed up a few times. I am not too good at making sugar cookies... they actually infuriate me. I have never made shortbread before, and didn't realize how alike shortbread dough is to sugar cookie dough. I'll know better next time.

Here's the recipe I followed from the cook book...

Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies

(aka Inside-Out Twix Cookies) 

Ingredients:

Cookies:

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened (whoops! I just read *unsalted* - I used salted, my bad)

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 1/2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour (I ended up using a lot more than that to get the consistency I needed to get the dough in a more solid state.)

Topping:

1 bag (14oz) caramels, unwrapped (or if you're like us, better get two bags to start with so when one mysteriously goes missing, you have a back up.)

2 Tbsp. milk

4 oz.semi sweet baking chocolate, chopped (I used a half of a bag of chocolate chips.)

1 Tbsp. butter (I also used some Crisco)

1 tsp. coarse (kosher or sea) salt (Don't be like me and go to the store and grab the sea salt assuming that all sea salt is coarse... it's not by the way - read the label)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups butter with electric mixer on high speed until creamy. Beat in sugar and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour until blended. Divide dough in half. Between 2 sheets of waxed paper (I used parchment paper), roll 1 portion of dough 1/4 in. thick. Cut with 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. (I used the rim of a small plastic cup.) On ungreased cookie sheet, place cutouts about 2 inches apart. Repeat with second portion of dough. (I always always always use parchment paper on the cookie sheets whenever I make cookies, I suggest you do too.)

2. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until set and just barely light golden- do not overbake. (I took them out when they had been in for 11 ish minutes. Some of them didn't look like they had changed color... that's ok.) Remove from cookies sheets to cooling racks; cool completely.

3. In medium microwaveable bowl, microwave caramels and milk uncovered on High 2 minutes 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. (I found that I needed to nuke it for just a little longer and I think I put more milk in than I was supposed to, so I poured a little out. At one point, I thought that there was no way these caramels were going to mix with the milk and become smooth and creamy...  but it does.) Frost each cookie with about 1 rounded teaspoon caramel mixture. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate and 1 Tablespoon butter uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth. (I was getting ticked because my chocolate was not melting properly into ooey gooeyness like it's supposed to, so I added a Tablespoon of Crisco to the chocolate mixture, and it made it the perfect consistancy.) Drizzle chocolate over caramel on each cookie. Sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand until set.

Husband Review:

The first thing he said was "eh, they're not bad." Hmmm, after almost 3 hours of working on these things, they're not bad. He sat down and said that they reminded him of something else, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He said they tasted like a candy bar...not a KitKat, but a...... and then it hit me. It tastes like a Twix. It's got everything a Twix has, but it's inside out, hence my new name for this cookie. I didn't think the cookie was too bad, but it will be a LONG time before I make them again because of the work that went into them. I ended up taking this cookies to a party and everyone there loved them. I think the reason that we didn't like them as much as everyone else is because we are programmed to prefer the cookies that are full of chocolate flavor. These have more of a shortbread cookie flavor. Try them for yourself and let me know what you think!

Snickerdoodle Bars - January 1, 2012

I found this recipe in my newsfeed on facebook. If you like different yummy ideas just happening across your newsfeed once in a while, "like" Betty Crocker on facebook. You'll enjoy it.

Snickerdoodle Bars

Ingredients:

2 1/3

 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 1/4 

teaspoons baking powder

1/2

 teaspoon salt

3/4

 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 1/4

 cups granulated sugar

1/2

 cup packed brown sugar

3

 eggs

1 

teaspoon vanilla 

Cinnamon Filling:

1 

Tablespoon granulated sugar

1 

Tablespoon cinnamon 

Glaze:

1 

cup powdered sugar

1 

to 2 Tablespoons milk

1/4

 teaspoon vanilla 

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spray or grease bottom only of a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. (I used Crisco) In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on high speed until creamy. Beat in sugars. Gradually beat in eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients until combined. (I don't like to use a mixer all that much so I tend to use a fork and a little elbow grease.)
3. Spoon half the batter into pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over batter.
4. Dollop teaspoon size amounts of remaining batter evenly over cinnamon-sugar mixture.
5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (I cooked it for exactly 26 minutes and it might have been just a couple minutes too long... still good though. Just a little crunchier around the edges than I would have liked.) Cool completely, about 1 hour.
6. In small bowl, stir glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over bars. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. ( I cut first then drizzled so all that ooey gooey glaze got deep into the sides of each bar.)

Makes 24 bars 

Husband Review:

He LOVED these. He's a big cinnamon-guy and these were right up his alley.
I say make them, make them, make them! They are delicious and so easy to make. I've eaten 2 of them and they have only been done for about, oh, 10 minutes. When I read reviews on these, one person described them as a cross between a cinnamon roll and a coffee cake. I knew I had to try it. I am so happy I did. This will be on my list of easy and quick things to make on the fly when I don't have time to run to the store and have to use ingredients on hand. I will also be eating this for breakfast... why not?! Please make this... you'll be happy you did. :)

Day 1 of 2012 Dessert Blog

Welcome to Day 1 of my dessert blog. I am a big fan of crockpot365.blogspot.com. In 2008, Stephanie O'Dea made a New Year's resolution to use her crockpot every day for a year. Awesome idea, no? Well, I don't really enjoy cooking all that much, but I love to bake. Originally, I was going to take a page out of Stephanie's book and try to bake a new dessert-type recipe every day for 2012. My husband has convinced me that I will kill him this way, so I am revising my original idea and baking/blogging about a new dessert every week. Every Sunday, there will be a new dessert recipe posted with tips and tricks and a review from my husband (or whoever the recipient of the dessert is). I hope you enjoy this blog and follow it. I am so excited to start baking! I'm sure my husband is not too excited about a growing waistband, but he'll get over it. ;) So, enough about this and let's get on with the show...