Chewy Granola Bars

These were so YUM it’s not even funny!  I am a total granola enthusiast…I eat it in either cereal form or bar for at least once a day so when I saw these I NEEDED to make the ASAP.  These are so easy it’s a wonder why I ever buy them in the store…

So basically you can put pretty much whatever you want in these.  I chose raisins, pecans, almonds, flax seeds and wheat germ since I like all of those things and happened to have them in my pantry.  Just stir all of the dry stuff together until well combined. 

In a separate bowl combine all of your wet stuff.  This again is totally customizable.  I used vanilla, melted butter, honey with a splash of maple syrup, corn syrup (which you kind of need for them to stay chewy) and some water.  You could use oil or maybe some applesauce or maybe even some juice (you can be sure I will be experimenting)

Mix the dry and the wet together and press the mixture into a pan and bake! 

Cool em’ and slice em’.  I even went so far to wrap them individually in plastic wrap for my co-workers…I know, I am sickeningly nice.  These got RAVE reviews!

Chewy Granola Bars

1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats

1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits, nuts and seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.

Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter, liquid sweeteners and water.

Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan.

Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on the tops too.

Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack.

Once cool, a serrated knife to cut the bars into squares

 

Burnt Sugar Cake

I was really attracted to this cake (almost as attracted as I am to the guy at the gym, but that’s a WHOLE other story).  I think I just really wanted to make it because I love things to be a little burnt…especially PIZZA.  Anyway, this was not really what I expected although I didn’t really know what I was expecting.  It seems complicated but really, its not. 

Ok first, you gotta make the burnt sugar syrup…really easy…just put some sugar AND NOTHING ELSE in a pot and let it go at medium low heat until it completely melts.  Once it melts add the same amount of hot water and let it sit for about 10 more minutes then let it cool to room temperature.

Now that you have the main component to the cake, the rest is all downhill; combine your dry ingredients and set aside.  Cream your butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add your yolks and mix well.

In a one cup container measure out a ½ cup of the cooled burnt sugar syrup, a teaspoon of vanilla and fill with warm water until you have a full cup of liquid, add this to the creamed mixture.  Next, add your dry ingredients alternately with your milk (ending with dry) and mix until just blending. 

In a separate bowl, beat your egg whites until white and fluffy.  Fold them into the batter until just combined. 

Divide into pans and bake.

Now for the frosting…

Combine all of the ingredients and mix well…that’s it. 

I will say that I found this icing to be really thin and way too harsh in taste (after all you are adding lots of burnt sugar…its kind of bitter) so I added waaaaay more sugar than the recipe called for.  I just added until it felt “right”. 

So, all in all not bad.  No one really raved over these but everyone liked them just fine (this includes me).  They are very… “different”…

 

Burnt Sugar Cake

Syrup:

1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups hot water (boiling is good)

Dump the sugar in a skillet on the stove. Turn the heat to medium-low and heat until sugar melts, stirring occasionally.  Add the hot water, continuing with your heat on medium-low. The mixture will bubble like crazy but will eventually settle down.  Let it go for another 10 minutes and turn off the heat and set it aside to cool to room temperature.

Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs (yolks/whites divided)
1/2 cup Burnt Sugar Syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup water (minus one teaspoon)
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In another bowl, combine room temperature butter and the sugar, cream.  Add two egg yolks and beat again.

In a small bowl, beat egg whites till fluffy.

Measure out a ½ cup of burnt sugar mix in a 1 cup vessel and add 1 tsp of vanilla and fill with warm water until you have a full cup, add to creamed mixture. 

Add in flour mixture alternately with milk until just blended. 

Fold in egg whites – do NOT over mix

Divide into two round, greased cake pans.

Bake at 350-degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool and frost with Burnt Sugar Icing.

Icing:

16 oz powdered sugar

Remainder of burnt sugar syrup

1/4 butter - room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients and mix well. 

 

Double Chocolate Oreo Cookies

Holy delicious cookie…

Very easy to make and even easier to make disappear.  If I wouldn’t have felt so shameful afterwards, I would have eaten ALL of them myself.  Thank goodness I have a very gracious office to unload these things on.

Most people would say this is overkill but I say its perfection…

Ok lets get down to brass tax (what the hell does that even mean and where did it come from??).  Chop up a bunch of Oreo’s…not too small…

Mix your batter and add the aforementioned Oreo’s and throw in some chocolate chips for good measure. 

Fold all of that goodness together and put the dough in the fridge to chill.

After about an hour or two of chilling (I spent the hour and a half at the gym just so I could eat LOTS of these…not kidding) roll the dough into balls and bake!

Let them cool (or burn your lip with molten chocolate like me) and eat the crap out of them.  My god these are GOOD.

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup crushed Oreo cookies

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips and crushed oreos. Refrigerate dough for 2-4 hours (or more). When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350, roll into balls or scoop with an ice cream scooper and set on baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely.

 

Hummingbird Cake

I have wanted to make this for a long time I just never really have any extra ripe bananas hanging around BUT this week I got smart and bought extras so I could make something banana flavored!  I know, I know, I’m a genius…I even amaze myself sometimes…

So back to this cake, it’s really just a glorified banana cake.  What makes it hummingbird-ish is that it had crushed pineapple and chopped pecans mixed it. 

It’s pretty easy to make; you don’t even need to use a mixer!

IT’S GOOD!  Like waaaay good.  I ate a lot of it…

Like I said this is really easy…just combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another.

Pour the wet into the dry and mix by hand.  Once it’s combined, fold in your pecans. 

Divide the batter between two pans and bake!

Let the cake cool completely before icing.  I like to trim the cakes before icing so I just take a serrated knife and level off the top. 

Next step is to make your icing, which is just like any other cream cheese icing.  Just cream your butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy then add your sugar and vanilla.

You can’t go wrong with this… Now ice your cake, decorate it anyway you want and ENJOY it!

Hummingbird Cake

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups chopped ripe bananas

1 cup drained crushed pineapple

1 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

8 ounces cream cheese - room temperature

1/2 cup butter - room temperature

1 pound confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Position oven racks to middle position and preheat oven to 350.  Grease (2) 9 inch pans.

Sift together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt) into a bowl.  In a separate bowl combine the bananas, pineapple, oil, eggs and vanilla.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix BY HAND until relatively smooth.  DO NOT OVER MIX.  Once mixture is smooth, fold in pecans.  Divide batter between (2) 9 inch cake pans and bake for approx 35 minutes or until the cake springs back when pressed in the center.  Cool cakes completely before icing. 

To make icing: Using an electric mixer, cream the butter an cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Slowly add confectioners sugar, then vanilla.  Beat until smooth. 

Brownie Truffles Part 2

Yeah yeah yeah, I know I have already done these but these ones are BETTER I promise.  This brownie recipe is by far my favorite brownie recipe…it tastes just like boxed brownies and lets face it, who doesn’t love those???  I guess I should have really just posted these as brownies but it was Valentines Day and I just NEEDED to make a “box of chocolates” so here goes…

Ok first things first, make the brownies…

As you can see I couldn’t resist…          

After you have them baked and cooled, break them up into little pieces (sneak a few bites) and add them to your mixing bowl.  Add some chocolate frosting and mix it up really well until you get a uniformed consistency that would work well for molding and shaping (I recommend taking a taste, for the purposes of checking the consistency of course).  Refrigerate until firm. 

 











After your mixture is firm, using a scoop portion out equal sized amounts and mold them into your desired shape.

Next, melt some chocolate and get your topping ready.  Using a fork, dip each brownie ball into the chocolate until completely coated and tap excess chocolate off.  Immediately coat your “truffle” with the topping of your choice and allow to dry.

That’s it!  Couldn’t be easier!  Now eat them…lord knows I did. 

My Tummy Hurts!

This is all that's left...
















The New Favorite Brownie

·         1 cup butter, melted

·         3 cups white sugar

·         1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·         4 eggs

·         1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

Petit Fours

I have wanted to make these for the longest time and finally I had a good reason to…VALENTINES DAY!  These take some patience, there are a lot of steps to follow but people are always impressed by them when they are finished.  I started with a really good pound cake recipe (which I will post below) and baked it in 2 sheet pans.

Once the cakes were cooled I brushed on a thin layer of heated raspberry jam, added a really thin layer of marzipan, brushed another thin layer of jam and topped it off with the second layer of pound cake. 

After building the “sandwich” I let the whole thing rest in the fridge for about an hour just to let things settle.  I then used a heart shaped cookie cutter (you could use any shape) to cut my individual cakes.

After cutting all of my hearts out, I placed them on a cooling rack with a covered tray underneath.  I mixed up my icing (recipe below) and spooned it over the individual cakes until they are completely covered.  The only real tip I can give you with this icing is that the warmer it is the thinner it gets, making it waaaay easier to cover the cakes.  If it gets too cool it gets gloppy and hard to spread.

After letting the icing dry for about an hour or so you can decorate them any way you like.  I used royal icing to decorate my cakes. 

ENJOY!  Not only are these super cute to look at, they are also really delicious!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
3.5 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
Using a mixer, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar for about 6 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add vanilla and milk until combined.
Add flour mixture until completely combined.

Pour into two greased and floured 9 X 5 loaf pans.

Bake for approx. 60 minutes or until done.

Poured Fondant
2lb bag powdered sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and heat on low until well combined.