Rocky Road Brownies

   My son brought home a sheet of paper that told me he had volunteered to bring a dessert in for the last day of school.  I knew, without even asking him, that he wanted brownies. 

  He decided he wanted me to try a new brownie recipe, instead of the usual Mint-filled Brownies (from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes) that I make for his birthday every year.  We looked at a couple recipes on the internet and as soon as he saw this one for Rocky Road Brownies, we didn't have to look any further.

The brownie batter comes together quickly and the chocolate chips, marshmallows and nuts are layered on top after they have almost completely baked through.   I made them the night before and the melted chocolate chips hardened into a nice, almost solid chocolate layer that could've passed for a frosting of some sort.  My self control was in high gear the night I made these and I didn't try even a nibble.  My family each tried a small bite and declared them delicious.  My son said they disappeared at school before he could even take one! 

 Here is the recipe for Rocky Road Brownies from Martha Stewart

Rice Krispy Bundt Cake and looking forward to a great 2012!

My husband's birthday is on December 23rd and mine is the next day, so our birthdays are usually a busy, fun celebration that involve many Christmas festivities thrown in with the birthday stuff. Neither of us mind this at all.

Last year I spent way too much time in the kitchen on Matt's birthday making these totally decadent, divine Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes. This year I wanted to keep it simple and so when I saw Mary post this fun idea for a Rice Krispy Bundt Cake a couple of months ago, I knew it would be the perfect birthday treat for my hubby. One of his fave treats happen to be rice krispy treats, so he was very excited. The preparation was easy. The celebration was simple and there was absolutely nothing fussy about this fun birthday treat. We decorated the top with Christmas shaped marshmallows and each enjoyed a slice after going to a basketball game.

I am excited about 2012. I think it is going to be a great year. I am looking forward to fun, challenges, growth, excitement, laughter, hard work and much more. I'm not sure what exactly that means for my blog, but I have made some changes to my diet over the past 2 1/2 months and I don't know for sure how that is going to translate to what goes on over here.

On another note, I saw this Food Lover's Cleanse on Bon Appetit last year and really wanted to try it. I am thinking about starting it within the next day or two, but I'm pretty sure the only part I will include my family in is the dinner portion. Maybe I will choose the best 7 days of it and do it for only a week. I hope you all had a great holiday and are as excited about the new year as I am!


Here is the post about the Rice Krispy Bundt Cake from the Food Librarian
* I made a double batch of rice krispy treats so they would fill a normal sized bundt pan and
made sure to use lots of baking spray so the cake would come out easily

Sweet Potato Casserole Cookie Bars

I still had some sweet potato puree left in my fridge and decided to try out these beautiful cookie bars I saw on Pinterest. Mine are not quite as delicately cut, but here they are none the less. This is a basic cookie batter and then sweet potato puree is folded in at the end. I only made 1/2 of the recipe and it still made quite a bit. My daughter declared that they are delicious and the rest are headed to work with my husband. These would be a great addition to any Thanksgiving dinner or fall outing.

Have a great Thanksgiving! I hope you get to share it with your family and friends!

Here is the recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole Cookie Bars
* I omitted the ancho chili powder
* I substituted 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice for the canela
* I made 1/2 recipe

S'mores Ice Cream

My siblings begged me to make this sweet treat while they were visiting. I had mentioned a couple of things that I had been wanting to make and when they heard S'mores Ice Cream- that was it. I like s'mores anything since graham crackers are a serious problem food for me, so I decided it would be better to make this ice cream when I had extra mouths around to eat it.

I had a couple of issues getting my ice cream to the right consistency because my countertop Ice Cream Maker couldn't handle the hot ice cream mixture. I wrote more about it below the recipe.

Once we got a couple of problems worked out and we added more toasted marshmallows, we were in business. This ice cream was delish. A friend who tasted it a couple days after it had churned said it was the best ice cream he had ever tasted. If you like s'mores or any or all of the flavors involved in s'mores, I'm positive you will love this ice cream.

Here is the recipe for S'mores Ice Cream
* I used Jet Puff marshmallows
* I tried to make this recipe the way it said to, but my ice cream maker couldn't handle the hot mixture, so I put it in the freezer to thicken up a little bit and then rechurned it. The marshmallow flavor wasn't very pronounced so I toasted a bunch more jet puffed marshmallows under the broiler and just stirred them into the ice cream. This was fabulous- it left some larger chunks of marshmallow in the ice cream that were soo yummy.

* I added more graham crackers than called for

Hot Chocolate Brownies topped with Homemade Marshmallows

Last week my son celebrated his 9th birthday. He doesn't usually care for cake with frosting, so his birthday treat of choice is brownies. Last year he chose Mint-filled Brownie Cupcakes
and these Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies (in cupcake form).

This year we stumbled upon this Hot Chocolate Layer Cake with Homemade Marshmallows,
and my son decided his b-day treat should be a hot chocolate brownie topped with marshmallows.

Of course when I went to find a Hot Chocolate brownie recipe, I found two and had to do a comparison.
The Hot Cocoa brownies from NY City Dish were definitely very fudgy, gooey, and a little bit sweeter than the Hot Chocolate Brownies from Sugar Plum, which were firmer, and had a little bit more of a dark chocolate flavor. They were not cakey at all, but definitely the sturdier of the two. My neighbor tasted both and requested the recipe for the Hot Cocoa Brownies. It just depends on what your personal brownie preferences are.
I made the marshmallows from the cake recipe and they turned out amazing. I usually avoid recipes that require gelatin, but used it here. The texture was lovely and they were a lot of fun to make. Not scary at all. Although my sugar syrup did require 10 more minutes than the recipe stated, to come to the right temperature.
I cut some rounds out of the brownies and placed the marshmallows on top, then gave them a dusting of cocoa powder.
Then I realized I had some dipping chocolate in the fridge that was leftover from something and I warmed it up, dipped the marshmallows in it and stuck them to the brownies. This worked better for keeping the marshmallows in place.



I also cut some brownies into little squares and took them to my son's school for a special treat. They were enjoyed by all.

Hot Chocolate Brownies adapted from Sugar Plum
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with foil; coat foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar and egg until well combined. Whisk in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in milk chocolate chips until combined. Scrape batter into prepared dish.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until set and crusty looking around the edges.

Hot Cocoa Brownies adapted from HERE
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour baking pan. (I used an 8x8 metal pan)

Stir together butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add eggs and beat well.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredient mix to the egg mixture and beat until blended. Add chocolate chips if desired. Spread batter evenly in pan.

Bake the brownies for roughly 20 minutes, until almost baked through.

Cool completely and sprinkle with decorative sugar, if desired. Should make roughly 16 brownies.

For the marshmallows from Fine Cooking
Three 1/4-oz. envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar; more as needed

Make the marshmallows

Pour 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Attach the bowl to the mixer and fit it with the whisk attachment.

Clip a candy thermometer to a 3-quart saucepan; don’t let the tip of the thermometer touch the bottom of the pan. In the saucepan, boil the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water over medium heat without stirring until it reaches 234°F to 235°F, about 10 minutes (mine took about 20 minutes to hit the right temperature). With the mixer on low speed, pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin in a slow, thin stream.

Add the vanilla, carefully increase the speed to high, and beat until the mixture has thickened and cooled, about 5 minutes (the bottom of the bowl should be just warm to the touch). Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. (I sprayed a 9x13-inch glass pan with cooking spray, instead of using foil. It worked great) Sift 1 Tbs. of the confectioners’ sugar into the bottom of the pan, then pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan and sift another 1 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar on top. Let sit at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours.

Use the foil overhang to lift the marshmallow from the pan. Using a knife that has been dipped in cold water, cut along the edge of the marshmallow to release it from the foil. Transfer to a cutting board and remove the foil. Put the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Cut the marshmallow into cubes of different sizes, from 1/4 to 3/4 inch (you will need to continue to dip the knife in cold water as you cut the marshmallows). The marshmallows will be very sticky—dip the cut edges in the confectioners’ sugar to make them easier to handle. As you work, toss a few cubes at a time in the sugar to coat, then shake in a strainer to remove the excess.

Idea came from this Recipe for Hot Chocolate Cake topped with Homemade Marshmallows

S'mores Cookies

When my sister was here visiting in August, we cooked dinner a couple of times together at my mother-in-law's house, (which also happens to be her mother-in-law since we married brothers)
and one day we decided we needed to make some cookies.
I had seen this recipe online and wanted to try it, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity since there would be lots of kids around.

I mixed up the dough and took it over to my mil's house. I baked the cookies while we were getting dinner ready and then we all enjoyed them before we watched a movie together.
These were pretty popular all around.
The combination of the oats and whole wheat flour give the cookie a nice texture that is slightly reminiscent of graham crackers. There is also a little bit of cinnamon which goes nicely with the other flavors. And who can resist toasted marshmallows? I don't know, but not very many people in my family can.

Recipe for S'mores Cookies
* I used dark chocolate squares for some of the cookies, but also used some plain old Hershey's chocolate for those who prefer milk chocolate

Homemade Graham Crackers with Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes

I saw the idea of Homemade Graham Crackers a couple of months ago and decided I would give them a try. I have mentioned my unfortunate "problem" with graham crackers here before, just that I like them a lot, so can't have them around.
I guess I was just curious to see if the homemade version had the same effect.
I used a recipe I saw on Smitten Kitchen and the dough came together easily. I realized when I was getting ready to roll out the dough that I had forgotten the +2 Tablespoons of flour and that is probably why my dough was so extremely sticky.
I still managed to get some of it rolled out and cut. My crackers were done in about 15-18 minutes, so watch these.
I didn't bake all the dough. I rolled some up and put it in the freezer for a later date.

Now, about the taste and texture.
Did these remind me of store bought graham crackers? Not really. The texture wasn't the same and the flavor wasn't really that close, in my opinion.
Were they yummy? Yes. Just not really what I would call graham crackers.
I slliced some of the frozen dough into rounds and baked those, which produced a chewy cookie. My kids preferred the round cookies, which I didn't photograph.
So, final answer on these- they don't really taste like graham crackers, but they are tasty.
Bake them yourself and see what you think!

Now, these graham crackers weren't alone. This wierd looking shake was the accompaniment.
Have any of you seen The Best Thing I Ever Ate, on the Food Network?
I don't watch a lot of tv, but this is one show that I really like. Basically it is just chefs and other food personalities talking about the best thing they have ever had in a certain category. It is pretty fun to watch.

On one of the episodes- I think it was about sweets, someone mentioned a Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake and how it was so good, they immediately ordered a second one.

I saw a recipe for this milkshake in Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine and once again, curiosity got the best of me.
It is so simple and broiling jet-puffed marshmallows might just be the best idea ever. (I think you could easily do indoor s'mores using this method).

I used slow churned vanilla ice cream and skim milk, and it turned out really good.
My husband even requested that I make him another one the next night after dinner.

The Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake stole the show!


Recipe for Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes


Recipe for Homemade Graham Crackers from smitten kitchen who adapted from Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery and 101 cookbooks

MSC- S'mores Cupcakes

This month's MSC cupcake choice- S'mores Cupcakes, was chosen by yours truly.
It isn't as easy to choose an item to bake for a group like this as it may seem.

I debated for awhile. I really wanted to choose the Rhubarb Cupcakes with Whipped Cream (pg 33), but I haven't seen any fresh rhubarb yet this season and some fruit choices cause more debate than other things. The Bluberries-and-Cream Cupcakes (pg 42) also looked really good and the Iced Pistachio Cupcakes (pg68) made their way into my choice list too. There were others, but in the end, it all came down to the 1 cupcake that caught my eye the first time I flipped through this book.

I have this thing with graham crackers, which I have mentioned before, which is- I cannot have them in my house because I will eat them all. I never buy them, unless I know that I am going to be using all of them in a recipe, or if I am willing to sacrifice an entire meals calorie allotment on a package of graham crackers, dipped in milk. I know I have a problem and therefore I avoid the item which causes a complete lack of self-control.
I was curious about a cupcake that actually tastes like a S'more.
The marshmallow frosting looked billowy and yummy and so, this is my pick.

I made them yesterday for our Valentine's Day dessert. I skipped the frosting called for, simply because it said that it would harden if not used/served immediately and I knew I had to make and assemble these a few hours before we would eat them.
I also made a ganache with milk chocolate, to keep the flavors true to an actual S'more and used chocolate chips, instead of chopped chocolate and cream. No corn syrup. On the first try, the ganache was too thin, so I tried again with less cream, until the consistency was spreadable.

I also used the marshmallow topping that we used for the Sweet Potato Cupcakes a couple of months ago, which is simply broiling little piles of mini marshmallows and transferring them to the top of the cupcakes.

I made half the recipe and ended up with 9 cupcakes and 15 mini cupcakes.
Please ignore the Halloween cupcake liners- I ran out of plain ones and didn't know it until it was too late.

My 3 yr old and I tasted the cupcakes without the chocolate and marshmallows and they were really good.
I am definitely going to make these again when I can serve them immediately and try out the frosting called for. I took them to a family dinner and everyone enjoyed them. I thought that they really tasted like a s'more, which is the whole point. I was pleasantly surprised.

Go to the MSC Blogroll to see everyone else's thoughts on these!

More Christmas Cookies and Treats

When my sister was here visiting a couple weeks ago, I asked her what cookies she wanted me to make and send her for Christmas. I gave her some Holiday Baking Magazines and told her to pick as many as she wanted.
She folded down lots and lots of pages and then I narrowed it down to 6. I chose things that I could make all in the same day and then threw in a couple more treats at the end.

First up is Peppermint Bark. This is a Christmas goodie that my mom has made for quite a few years and she uses Martha Stewarts recipe. I actually like it better when you use almond bark instead of white chocolate, so that is what I did. I like to sprinkle some of the chopped candy canes on top, as well as mixing them into the melted white stuff. My hubby really likes this and so do my kids. Great gift.
Recipe for Peppermint Bark
My sister requested a molasses cookie and I decided I would make Dorie's recipe, because I knew it was a crowd pleaser. This time I didn't flatten my balls of dough, so I had smaller, chewier cookies. This recipe is so great that it really deserves a repeat.
I sent some of the last batch to my family, so they will be super excited to get more of them in the mail.

Recipe for Sugar Topped Molasses Spice Cookies
I saw this cookie in a Martha Stewart Holiday Cookie issue and was intrigued by the combination of cornmeal and dried fruit in a cookie. I knew sending this cookie to someone else would be great, since most members of my family do not like cornmeal. The recipe originally called for dried cherries, but I subbed in dried cranberries because that is what I had in the pantry.
These also have orange zest and they aren't overly sweet. Great cookie.
Recipe for Cornmeal-Cranberry Cookies

I saw this cookie in a couple of different Martha Stewart mags and remembered that Tracey made them a couple weeks ago. I figured bars are great for sending and these have all types of mix-ins, so they were added into the bunch.
I subbed in peanut butter chips for the butterscotch chips, toffee bits for the white chocolate and then, on top of that, these have chocolate chips, cut up caramels, and marshmallows.
What a combination. I think I will have to make these again. My son was upset that he didn't get to sample one.
Recipe for Rocky Ledge Bars
My sister wanted these peanut butter bars. They were supposed to have Hershey's Kisses on top, but I thought they would send better if they didn't have those on top. They are a play on Peanut Butter Kisses, but easier to make because they are a bar. I used creamy peanut butter in these, instead of chunky.

Recipe for Peanut Butter Bars

My sister chose these bars and I thought they were a great choice because they have green and red in them naturally. They have a basic butter, flour, brown sugar crust, which you prebake for a few minutes and then the cranberry-pistachio topping is added and they are put back in the oven to finish baking.
Great way to use fresh cranberries.
Recipe for Cranberry Pistachio Bars
My sister also chose these pumpkin oatmeal raisin cookies. They are just like an oatmeal raisin cookie, but with pumpkin puree added to the batter. I made these into bars, simply because I was trying to bake 8 different things all in one day and it made it easier for me.
I wasn't too excited about these, but I did taste a small square and they really were good. Definitely more tasty then they might seem.
So, these are all the items that made it into my treat box. I sent a few of most of these cookies to my Secret Baker.
I also made a batch of Spiced Pecans and the upcoming cookie for Tuesdays with Dorie got thrown into the mix too.
Needless to say, after this day of baking, packaging and mailing, I was wiped out. It was worth it though.
I also threw in a picture of the Cake Pops I made last weekend for a birthday party. These are a fun little treat for a Christmas or Holiday get-together, if you need a fun idea.
How-to for Cake Pops
Pumpkin Raisin Oatmeal Cookies from Woman's Day Holiday Cookies 2009
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup quick oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup walnuts (I omitted these)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets.
2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in nuts and raisins.
4. Drop by rounded Tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 14 to 16 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and set in centers. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe for Peppermint Bark

Recipe for Cornmeal-Cranberry Cookies

Recipe for Rocky Ledge Bars

Recipe for Peanut Butter Bars

Recipe for Cranberry Pistachio Bars

Recipe for Sugar Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

Cake Pops

Spiced Pecans, S'mores Cookie Bars, Chocolate Gingerbread Bars, and Peppermint Brownies, oh & a Birthday Cake

I had so much fun this morning helping one of my best friends with her daughter's 8th birthday party. It was a tea party, very fancy. The cake I made was so cute. I had a great idea and it worked. Can't wait to get photos up of that cake.
I haven't yet, so these delicious treats will have to do.
The first thing here is Spiced Pecans. I made these a couple of weeks ago, along with the Holiday Biscotti as an idea for a Holiday Gift.
They were a big hit. They are coated in a sweet/spicy mixture. Mostly sweet, because of the cinnamon, sugar but also spicy because of the cayenne pepper and ground ginger.
Delicious. We couldn't stop munching on them. I am making a big double batch next week to send out with some cookies in the mail. Yum...
Next, is a treat that I made for one of the Thanksgiving Dinners we went to. I was asked to bring a kid-friendly treat and remembered some S'mores Cookies that I had seen awhile ago.
What is more kid friendly than something covered in marshmallows and chocolate?
I thought I would turn these cookies into bars and just made them in a 9x13-inch pan, instead of making individual cookies. I let the pan of cookies bake for about 23 minutes or so, and then I dumped on an entire bag of mini marshmallows and some chopped Hersheys milk chocolate.
Put them back under the broiler and let the marshmallows get really toasted.
These were very sweet (not like that is a surprise or something) and had to be eaten in small doses. They were good. The graham cracker crumbs in the cookie base made them taste like a real S'more.
Ooey and gooey, which is a great combination for kids, even if parents might not agree!
Next are Chocolate Gingerbread Bars. I threw these together for a potluck over Thanksgiving weekend. They came together really quickly and disappeared just as quickly. I think most people probably thought they were brownies, so they must have had a little surprise when they tasted the molasses/ginger. A great christmas treat.
Then we had some Peppermint Brownies. I saw this idea in a Holiday Baking magazine, but can't remember which one it was. My sister was visiting for Thanksgiving and we had a lot of fun with all these marshmallows.
We just made basic brownies and then covered them with marshmallows, chopped candy canes and drizzled melted milk chocolate over the top.
Gooey and delicious.
The last thing I wanted to share was a picture of the birthday cake my little girl got to share with her great grandpa. They share the same birthday, November 27th and we decided to celebrate with a sheet cake at our Thanksgiving Dinner. My mother-in-law requested the same cake that I made for her birthday back in July, so I just doubled it and tried out a new frosting recipe. The frosting recipe was really great to decorate with. It also had just a hint of cream cheese that was really delicious. I am definitely going to be using the frosting recipe in the future. You can find the frosting recipe at the bottom of this post. My sister helped me come up with the design for the cake. It was fun. The birthday girl and grandpa were very happy to share the cake and their birthdays with everyone.
Recipe for Spiced Pecans

Recipe for S'mores Cookies

Recipe for Chocolate Gingerbread Bars

Recipe for Vanilla Buttercream

MSC-Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes

This months MS: Cupcakes Club cupcake was chosen by Karen, who blogs over at Karen's Cookies, Cakes and More.
Karen chose the Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes for November. You can find the recipe on page 243 of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.
These cupcakes are a play off of a popular Thanksgiving side dish, which combines sweet potatoes, pecans, and marshmallows. I am not really familiar with it because we never had it growing up, but I know those are the 3 ingredients.

The cupcake uses sweet potato puree from roasted sweet potatoes and since I knew quite awhile ago that this cupcake was coming up, I froze the leftover sweet potato puree I had from these Sweet Potato Biscuits, so I wouldn't have the extra step of roasting sweet potatoes (even though it isn't that difficult to roast a sweet potato, I planned ahead).
I made 1/4th of the recipe, which ended up being 6 cupcakes. I simplified the cupcake a step further by not making the candied pecans. I just toasted pecan halves in the oven and used those to top my cupcakes.
I was very skeptical about the marshmallow topping. The instructions said to make mounds of mini marshmallows, broil them, and then carefully transfer them to the tops of the cupcakes. I did just what it said and was amazed that perfect little browned mounds of marshmallows came out of the oven.
I quickly transferred the marshmallow mounds to the cupcakes and stuck a toasted pecan half into the warm topping. Perfect.
I upped the nutmeg in the cupcake and had a taste, which was wonderful.
I let my kids try one and they loved the marshmallow topping. I am definitely going to use the marshmallow topping in the future for all sorts of cupcakes. So easy and so cute. Just perfect.
I shared a couple with my hubby's co-workers and they were really well liked.
I think these would make a great addition to Thanksgiving as a dessert or even as a side!
Check out the MSC Blogroll for lots of great cupcakes!