Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

Ingredients: 

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 bag of mini or regular pretzels (I used 50 mini sized pretzels)
• 12 oz bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
• sea salt for sprinkling  

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 400º. Line a 13 x 9 pan with parchment paper. Cover the pan with pretzels (only one layer). 

In a medium sauce pan melt the butter. Once the butter is bubbling add the brown sugar. Stirring occasionally let the brown sugar and butter melt down and brown. Do not let this mixture boil. The browning should take about 3 minutes. When the butter and brown sugar is browned poor it over the pretzels evenly. Use a spatula to spread it evenly, but quickly, the caramel will harden quickly. Bake the pretzels and caramel for 5 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the entire bag of chocolate chips over the caramely pretzels. Place back in the oven for 45 seconds, but no longer because the chocolate will burn. 

Remove from the oven. With a spatula, spread the chocolate gently over the caramel pretzel bark. Sprinkle with sea salt and place in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour. 

Peanut Butter Frosted Brownies

Ingredients: 

Brownie:

• 1 brownie mix box with extra ingredients instructed on the box 

Peanut Butter Frosting:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/4 cup butter, softened 
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons milk 

Instructions: 

Brownie:

Make brownies in an 9x9-inch pan according to package directions.  Cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting:
Put powder sugar, vanilla extract, butter, peanut butter, and milk into a medium sized bowl. Beat with a mixer until combined. Add more milk if needed to get desired consistency. Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies. Cut into squares and serve!

Graham Cracker Toffee

Ingredients:

• 12 plain graham cracker (the double or long crackers)
• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 1/2 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup toasted nut (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts), chopped

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 375º. 

Line a 13 by 10 inch rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang. 

Arrange the graham crackers in a single layer along the cookie sheet, breaking the crackers if needed. Set aside. In a sauce pan over low heat, heat the butter and brown sugar. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Poor the hot butter mixture over the graham crackers, spreading evenly, and completely covering the graham crackers. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. 

Scatter the chocolate chips evenly over the top of the crackers. Put back in the oven and let cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the chocolate softens. Remove from the oven, with a spatula, spread the melted chocolate over the crackers. Sprinkle the nuts evenly over the chocolate. 

Let cool until the toffee hardens completely. For a quick cool let the toffee cool for 30 minutes and then put into the freezer for 15 minutes. 

Once completely cool, break or cut the toffee into pieces. 

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

•1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
•5 tbls unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate chip cookie dough:

•5 tbls unsalted butter, room temp
•1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
•3 tablespoons granulated sugar
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•3/4 cup flour
•1 cup chocolate chips 

Cream cheese filling:

•10 oz cream cheese, room temp
•1/4 cup sugar
•1 large egg
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

Directions:

•Preheat oven to 325 F. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper allowing an over hang, and then spray with nonstick spray. 

•Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until well combined. Press the graham cracker crust in the prepared pan and bake for 6 minutes. Then remove and allow to cool. 

•While the crust is cooling, start making the chocolate chip cookie dough. Mix the butter, sugars, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer. Once well combined, mix in the flour. Stir in the chocolate chips and then set aside. 

•Now start to make the cream cheese filling. Beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla until just incorporated. Pour the cheesecake better into the prepared crust. 

•Using your hand form the cookie dough into clumps. Flatten the clumps and distribute them on top of the cheesecake batter. Make sure to use all the cookie dough; you will end up covering almost all of the cheesecake batter. 

•Bake for 30 minutes until the cookie dough feels dry and firm and the entire pan feels set if you give it a shake. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. 

•Once completely cool lift the bars out by using the over hang. Slice into desired size and store in the fridgerator. 

Carrot Crinkle Cookie Sandwiches

Ingredients: 

Carrot Cookies:

• 6 tbs of butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 18.25 oz Carrot Cake mix
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 3 ounces cream cheese, room temp
• 3 tbs unsalted butter, room temp
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Carrot Cookies:

Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place powered sugar in a shallow bowl and set aside for later use. 

Combine butter, eggs, and carrot cake mix until there are no lumps. Roll the dough into balls (about one tablespoon) and coat in powdered sugar. Place on the cookie sheets leaving 2 inches apart. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops have cracked and they look set. The centers will still look slightly gooey. Once pulled out of the oven let sit for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cream butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in vanilla and cinnamon. Add powdered sugar and beat until well combined. 

Spoon the frosting into a piping bag or directly onto the cooled carrot cookies. If using a piping bag pipe a dollop of frosting into the center of the cookie and then sandwich together. 

Serve immediately or store in an air tight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Mini Reese's Cheesecakes

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 12 miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
• 16 oz (two 8 oz packages) of cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup Reese's Peanut Butter chips
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 12 cupcake liners

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350. Place 12 liner in each cup of the muffin pan.

To make the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Combine until nice and crumbly. Press a heaping tablespoon the crust into the bottoms of each cup.

Remove the wrappers from 12 of the Reese's. Place a reese's in the center of each crust.

Beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add in the sugar, flour, and vanilla and continue beating. Add in the eggs one at a time.

Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the reese's, about 1/4 cup for each cup. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheesecakes are set.

Let the cheesecakes cool.  Melt the chocolate and Reece's chips, then drizzle the peanut butter and chocolate over the mini cheesecakes using a fork.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Oreos

Ingredients: 

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
• 32 Oreo cookies

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Add in the egg and the vanilla extract. Slowly add in the flour, baking soda, and salt until the cookie dough is well blended. Mix in the mini chocolate chips with a spoon. 

Arrange the 32 oreo cookies on the baking sheet. Remove one cookie from the oreo cookie. Place the cookie WITHOUT the white cream filling on the baking sheet. Set aside the cookie WITH the white cream filling (do not bake). 

Place a little less than a tablespoon of the cookie dough on each of the blank (non-cream) oreo cookies. Press down a little on the cookie dough. 

Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until baked through. 

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake

Ingredients: 

Cake:

• 3 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder 
• 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 2 tsp instant coffee granules

Filling:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 5 to 6 cups powdered sugar

Frosting:

• 12 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup very hot water
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• pinch of salt

Instructions: 

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9" cake pans and set aside. 

In an electric mixer, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the eggs, milk, and oil. Stir for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the coffee granules to the boiling water and stir into the batter. The batter will be very thin. 

Distribute evenly between three cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Filling:

In a saucepan, slowly combine the sugar and water. Be careful not to let the mixture splash upon the sides of the pan. Set the pan over low heat and stir gently until the sugar completely dissolves, about 10 minutes. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved before letting the mixture come to a boil. 

Once the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat and bring the syrup to a boil. Once brought to a boil, cover the saucepan and let boil for 2 minutes. After the 2 minutes reduce the heat, and continue to let the mixture boil until the edges turn golden brown. Once the edges turn golden brown, gently swirl the pan until the syrup turns a dark amber color. 

Remove the syrup and add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted. Next stir in the cream. Stir in the vanilla and the salt. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove any caramel lumps. Pour into a bowl to let cool to room temperature, or put in the refrigerator to speed up the process. 

Once the syrup is room temperature place 1 1/2 sticks of butter into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until the butter is light and fluffy. Add in the caramel sauce and then add in the powdered sugar until desired constancy. 

Frosting:
Place the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in a double broiler. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Let the melted chocolate cool to room temperature. In a small bowl stir the cocoa powder and water. 

With an electric mixer, combine the butter, powdered sugar, and salt. Add in the room temperature, melted chocolate, and the cocoa powder water mixture. Beat until smooth.

Assembly:

Level the cake layers if necessary. Place the cake layers on a cake board or platter. Top the cake layer with 1/3 of the caramel buttercream and smooth out evenly. Place the second cake layer on top and smooth another 1/3 of buttercream. Place the final cake layer on top. Cover the top and sides of the layer cake with the chocolate frosting and smooth out with an offset spatula. 

Use additional caramel buttercream to pipe decorative accents on the top and bottom of the cake like I did in the picture above. 

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Crackle Cookies

Ingredients: 

• 14 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups packed dark brown sugar (divided)
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions: 

Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat until melted. Continue to cook, swirling regularly until the butter turns brown. Once the brown color appears immediately take the butter off the stove and place the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in the browned butter. 

Preheat oven to 350º

Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl mix the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the packed brown sugar, stir with a fork to combine. 

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. 

Add remaining 1 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar, salt, and browned butter and beat for about 30 seconds. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, until fluffy. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until well incorporated. 

Once the dough is completely cooled, add in the cup of semi sweet chocolate chips.

Create about 2 tablespoon ball and toss them and roll them in the prepared sugar mixture. Align the sugar coated cookie balls only 12 on a sheet. 

Bake for 11-13 minutes, the edges will be slightly browned while the centers will still be soft. (Cookies will look raw between cracks and seem undone, but don't over bake). Let cookies cool on a cooling rack for 1 to 2 minutes. 

Berries and Cream Tart

Ingredients:

The toppings:

• 4 cups of fresh berries of your choice

The crust:

• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

The Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Adopted from: http://www.marthastewart.com/354026/berries-and-cream-tartlets. 

The Curst:

beat butter and sugar with a mixer on a low speed until just combined. Add in the flour and salt. Beat for 3 to 5 minutes. Make dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. 

Preheat over to 325º. Roll out dough and fit into a pie sheet. Trim the excess dough. Bake the dough, pressing down if puffing for about 25 minutes, or until a very light gold. Let cool completely. 

The Filling:

Heat the milk and 1/2 a cup of the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium high until almost boiling. Whisk together the yolks, sugar, cornstarch, flour, and a pinch of salt. Slowly add some of the warm milk mixture to the yolk mixture. Pour the yolk mixture in to the remainders of the milk mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. After one minute of boiling and constantly whisking remove saucepan from the stove. Whisk in the vanilla. 

Place a plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream, and refrigerate for a least 1 hour or overnight. When ready to use, whip remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold the heavy cream into the pastry cream. 

Fill the tart crust with the pastry cream. Top with berries of your choice! 

Cookie In a Cup

Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3 drops of vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (slightly less than full)
• 3 tablespoon mini chocolate chips OR 2 tablespoons of regular chocolate chips

Directions:

Melt the butter in a coffee cup in the microwave. Add in the sugars and salt, mix well. Separate the egg yolk from the white. Discard the egg white, and then add the yolk to the coffee cup. Add the flour and chocolate chips, mix completely. 

Cook in the microwave for 40 to 60 seconds. Check for doneness at 40 seconds.