Day 57 - Caramel Brownies

Friday, September 28, 2012

Tonight I had a special friend come over to bake and hang out with me. Mary is in 6th grade and I used to babysit her and her sisters when I was in college. We have such a special relationship, and even though her and her sisters are too old to need my babysitting now, I love to keep in touch with them as much as possible.

Tonight Mary and I are catching up (first and foremost), eating pizza, and baking! We decided to make caramel brownies. I found the recipe from the website Annie's Eats. The caramel brownies look amazing and are pretty easy to make.

First, we melted semi sweet chocolate with butter in the microwave. Next, to the chocolate mixture we added sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, and salt which created the brownie batter. In a pan lined with foil, we poured in half of the brownie batter and baked it for about 20 minutes.

Melted Chocolate

Finished Brownie Batter

While the first half of the brownies baked, we made the caramel filling by unwrapping a package of soft caramels and melting it with heavy cream until the mixture was thick and smooth. When the bottom layer of brownies came out of the oven, we poured in the caramel to create the center layer, which was then topped with the remaining brownie batter. The pan went back into the oven until the brownies were cooked through, which took another 20 minutes or so. When they came out they looked and smelled delicious!

Mary making the caramel!

Finished Caramel

Brownies ready for the oven!

Finished Brownies

We cut up the brownies after they cooled (cooling is especially important for these since the center is so gooey!) and they were so yummy! The only change I would make is baking these in a smaller pan. Since I only had a 10x13 pan on hand, instead of a 9x12 or smaller, the brownies came out fairly thin. They were still delicious and very gooey in the center, but I think they would have been better slightly thicker.

I not only enjoyed having Mary as a baking partner this weekend, but I loved spending time with her and catching up!

Day 56 - Mini Apple Crisp & Caramel Apples

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Happy Fall!

In honor of my favorite season, my friend Claudia and I went to Silverman's Farm in Easton to enjoy some fall festivities including a little apple picking. If you haven't been to Silverman's, I highly suggest going there just to walk around, it's so beautful (other than the crowds!). When we got home with our loot, we decided to make mini apple crisps (instead of a traditional apple pie), as well as caramel apples.

I have been dying to make caramel apples forever. The only other time I remember making them was when I was really little and I remember loving it - such great memories! I recently saw online the genius idea to make caramel apple slices. Who likes to awkwardly bite into a giant caramel apple anyways? Putting a slice of apple on a stick covered in caramel is the perfect solution because it's much easier to eat!

We started with preparing the apples by slicing them and putting them on lollipop sticks. Then we melted a bag of caramel squares with a little milk in the microwave and then started dipping away! The only thing about dipping the apple slices is that the caramel doesn't stick as well to the exposed center of the apple as it does to the skin of the apple. We just kind of finagled the caramel to sort of stick to the apples as best we could. I also happened to have some Autumn themed sprinkles on hand (don't judge!) which we tried to use to decorate the apples. Unfortunately, the caramel set quite quickly and make it difficult for the sprinkles to stick!

Apples ready for caramel 

Caramel

Finished!

Next, we decided to make mini apple crisps using a set of small ramekins I have. We cut up a bunch of apples into fairly small chunks and mixed them with sugar and cinnamon (at this point you have to try to control yourself so you don't eat the whole bowl of cinnamon sugar apples!). We spooned the apples into each ramekin until they were just over filled. The apples cook down so you want to make sure to really mound the apples in the ramekin. We then started on the best part, the crumb topping. All we did was mix a stick of butter with a cup of brown sugar and a cup of flour with a pastry blender until crumbs started to form. We piled the crumbs on top of each ramekin and they were ready to bake. These took about 35-40 minutes to bake (just until the apples are soft and the tops are browned). They looked and smelled incredible!

Ready for the crumb topping

Ready to bake!

The best part about making the apple crisp in the ramekins is that a single serving can easily be popped back into the oven or put in the microwave to be reheated. I would suggest serving these warm with a scoop (or 2) of vanilla ice cream. There's nothing better than that, guaranteed!

Finished Apple Crisps

YUM!

Day 55 - Oreo Cheesecake Bites

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Today I am making a dessert that I made for the first time on Labor Day Weekend, Oreo Cheesecake Bites. They were such a hit, I decided to make them again today and blog about it!

This recipe is super easy, it starts with the crust which is just two sleeves of crushed Oreo's and melted butter. They are mixed together until they form a sand like consistency, and then the mixture is pressed into the bottom of a baking dish.

Oreo Crust

Next, I made the filling which starts with cream cheese and sugar being creamed together. Once the mixture is smooth, I added sour cream and vanilla extract, followed by four eggs which are added in one at a time. Lastly, the remaining crushed Oreo's are folded into the mixture and it is poured over the Oreo crust.

Finished batter

Ready for the oven

The cheesecake bakes for about 40 minutes and then is left out to cool before being refrigerated. The last step before serving these is to cut them into bite size squares and drizzle with melted chocolate. These are seriously so delicious, I have a feeling I will be making these again soon!

Finished product :)

Day 54 - Frozen S'mores

Saturday, September 1, 2012

I actually made these frozen s'mores a while ago but I haven't gotten around to blogging about them. So here goes, better late than never!

I love s'mores, they just remind me of summer! Who hasn't had the wonderful experience of sitting around a fire on a summer night making s'mores? This version looked great because they can even be enjoyed during a hot summer day since they are frozen (and of course, you don't need to build a fire to enjoy them)!

These s'mores are really easy to make - the ingredients are just layered in mini muffin tins and frozen! The best way and neatest way to put each layer in the muffin tins (since their so small) is to use a pipping bag.

To start, I mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and pressed a small amount into each muffin tin. Next, I melt milk chocolate chips with heavy cream, and place a spoonful of the chocolate mixture on top of the graham cracker crust. The next step is to drop a few mini marshmallows in each tin on top of the chocolate (like a true s'more).

The next layer requires a little preparation. It's just instant chocolate pudding (which is prepared according to the instructions on the box), which is then folded into cool whip to create a mousse like texture. I add the chocolate "mousse" into the muffin tins (using a pipping bag), and then the entire muffin tray is placed in the freezer until frozen.

When you're ready to serve these, they are topped with a little of the extra cool whip and mini chocolate chips. They are so delicious and easy to eat since they are bite sized.

I know it's Labor Day Weekend but Summer isn't over yet so hurry up and give these a try!

Stay tuned until next time :)