Chocolate-peanut spread. People, I’m no good. I’m terrible news, a bad influence and possibly everything that your nutritionists, cardiologists and mamas warn you about. There I was, like most people with a pulse, enjoying the heck out of some Nutella on a slice of bread at my in-laws last weekend and I thought, you know what would make this even better? Peanut butter. I mean, is there any question that the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is at the very center of American hearts, gullets and junk food aisles?
And then I thought, But it’s January. You’re getting in a bathing suit in a month. So I started looking at recipes for homemade Nutella — pardon me, the non-trademark-protected gianduja paste — which is the smooth and shiny combination of hazelnuts and cocoa loved all over the world. Needless to say, I’m recommending the first method, which is to roast peanuts (or toast them further, if they’re already roasted) and then liquefy in them in a food processor. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Chocolate Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Mousse and a pretzel crust. I love this dessert - perfect blend of salty and sweet. For the recipe, visit my blog or keep reading.
And, before you consume, sprinkle with just a touch more sea salt. Chocolate Cheesecake with pretzel crust and salted caramel mousse This makes one 6” cheesecake, 2 mini’s, or 24 bite size For the crust: 2 cups crushed pretzels (this is about ½ of a 16 ounce bag), don’t grind into fine powder. 5 T. butter, melted 1/3 c. sugar ½ t. cinnamon Combine all ingredients, and press into the bottom of your pan(s). For the cheesecake: 16 ounces cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar 2 eggs, at room temperature ½ c. cocoa powder 1 t. vanilla 1 t. salt 2 T. corn starch 2 T. coffee, or 1 t. espresso powder Preheat oven to 350.
Bake in 350 oven for 40 minutes for 6”, 30 minutes for mini’s, and 15-25 minutes for bite size. Salted Caramel Mousse 8 oz caramel (I bought mine, but you can make yours!) 2 cups heavy cream ½ t. sea salt In a medium size bowl, microwave caramel until hot, but not boiling. The Best of The Best In Sugar Cookies! I’ve had a few requests for my favorite sugar cookie recipe, so I thought I’d post it before Valentines Day if you still were in the mood for rolling cookies! Thanks to my neighbor, Nikki, she passed this recipe on to me years ago and I have yet to make another sugar cookie. I’m not kidding folks, these turn out perfect every single time you make them.
Some sugar cookies are dry and tasteless, but these are soft, buttery and sweet. I was excited to try this rolled fondant I found at Michaels and I LOVE it! It’s a bit pricey, but I figured one box at $8 covers about 20 cookies. They look flawless and you can carve all kinds of fun designs in it, I just didn’t have much time to play around with it today. Give it a try if you like this smooth look, it really covers the cookies beautifully! Here’s what the box looks like. Love it! Here’s the classic vanilla frosting with sprinkles.
Soft Perfect Sugar Cookies 1. Fondant Frosting Directions:1. Other recipes you may enjoy... Could It Really Be My Paradise Bakery Black and White Chipppers? Oreo Cheesecake Pretzel Bites. Can I just say this recipe will be a forever family favorite of ours?! The boys and I wanted a fun treat for our family night this week and with some searching in the pantry and fridge, this is what we came up with! 5 simple ingredients and magic happened I seriously can’t wait for you guys to try this out, tastes just like little Oreo Cheesecakes with a Pretzel crunch. Rummage through your pantries and get the kids in the kitchen, these are too much fun not to try! So, here you have Pretzels, cream cheese (only 1 oz), 7 whole Oreos, some chopped chocolate and white sprinkles. Here are the stars of the show Break out your food processor and pulvorize those Oreos Next comes the cream cheese.
I formed about 1 Tablespoon of the dough into a square, pressed it onto a pretzel bottom then closed it with another pretzel. Melt your chocolate. Go crazy with these cute little sprinkles. Ta-da :) We didn’t even wait until the chocolate hardened. Oreo Cheesecake Pretzel Bites 7 whole Oreo Cookies 1. Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies (Treats For Co-Irkers) This marks the third week in a row that I've made treats for the co-irkers that include peanut butter in the ingredients. Am I a peanut butter freak? Well, yes I am, thank you very much for asking. However, if any of the co-irkers are not fond of peanut butter (or God forbid, allergic to it,) speak now or forever hold your peanuts. That was "hold your PEANUTS," in case you misread or have the mind of a 12 year old boy. These peanut butter sandwich cookies will delight any peanut butter lover.
The creamy filling takes them to a whole new level no doubt, but if you happen to find yourself alone at home while you're making these and promise to leave no evidence behind, I'd suggest you take one and roll it in mini chocolate chips. Peanut Butter Cream-Filled Sandwich Cookies (makes 3 dozen sandwich cookies) Cream together the peanut butters, shortening, butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peanut Butter Cream Filling To assemble the sandwiches: Steel-cut oats in ten minutes? Yes! Cool Copper Projects Warm metallic hues are easy to love but often pricey.
When you create the look... Easy Doily Bowl Craft a decorative bowl from a doily picked up from a flea market, antique... Camper Birdhouse Encourage birds to stay awhile with an adorable vintage birdhouse. Cheesecake for Christmas. Happy Holidays, everyone (sorry, mods, for the initial big pics!)! I decided that this year for Christmas, I'd make my "famous" cheesecake for my friends. The recipe came from a woman named Edith Levine, with whom my mother was on the PTA, and I started making it myself about fifteen, twenty years ago.
The cheesecake comes out rich but light, thanks to the whipped egg whites. Not hard to make and well worth the effort. Recipe and another photo behind the cut Recipe: The crust+++++++++++++1 box Zwieback teething cookies, crushed (trust me)4 tbs sugar4 tbs melted butter1/2 tsp cinnamon Mix all together. The cake+++++++++++++3 tbs flourPinch of salt1 1/2 cup sugar6 eggs, separated18 oz cream cheese1 1/2 cups sour cream1 tsp vanilla extract Sift together the dry ingredients and thoroughly cream with the cream cheese. Beat the egg whites until stiff, gradually incorporating 2 tbs sugar. Pour into the pan and top with the remaining crumbs. Notes -- This recipe is very adaptable. Stick to Your Ribs Wintry Porridge. Street Fair Cinnamon Almonds. " Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort. " -Norman Kolpas *This post is part of a series, Handmade Holiday Gifts.* Wow, the holidays are here!
We've been decking the halls, and listening to Christmas music, what a wonderful time. Part of getting ready for me, means cooking and baking for others. Ready for giving They're super easy to make and will last for weeks. Street Fair Cinnamon Almonds 3 cups raw unsalted almonds 1 cup sugar (I used white, you could also use brown) 2 Tablespoons cinnamon 1 egg white 2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. salt Preheat oven to 3oo degrees. Beat the egg white. Mix the sugar, cinnamon and salt together in a separate bowl. Add the almonds to the egg white and stir. Spread the almonds on the prepared pan. Cook the almonds for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Cool, then package them up. Our Christmas tree I even decorated my pot rack! Broke and Healthy: Stop Eating Crap. Eat Real Food. Feel Better. Canned condensed milk morphs into Dulce de Leche. Here are some notes for those using a pressure cooker: * 45 minutes at 15 PSI (natural release) results in a thick peanut butter consistency at room temperature. * not too sweet, very tasty. If I wanted a pour-able sauce, I would still cook it this long, and thin it out with whole milk and sugar over a double boiler or very low heat -- *more sauce!
* steam, don't boil. Add 2 cups of water for Fagor (you should know how much water your pressure cooker takes to steam for 45 minutes), and place can(s) of condensed milk on a trivet. Cans should not touch water. * after pressure has been released, open the cooker lid and let it cool for 10 minutes. . * open the can with a can opener. . * scoop into mixing bowl and stir vigorously with a whisk to break and milk lumps, and spreadthe burnt sugar evenly. The fact that the pressure cooker is applying 15 PSI of pressure to the can during cooking time means a can is more likely to explode in the pressure cooker. Salted brown butter crispy treats. As it turns out, the last days of October don’t awaken in me a desire to fly around on my broom, don a “sexy” nurse/maid/fireman outfit or even gorge myself on candy. Nope, according to a quick glance at my archives, apparently when Halloween approaches all I can think about is reinterpreting Rice Krispie Treats.
Unfortunately, I don’t seem to choose my recipes very well. Last year’s Peanut Butter Crispy Bars were delicious, but had structural issues that irked me. And two years ago, I fell prey to a Caramelized Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treat that was all sorts of a styrofoam-textured disaster. Nevertheless, I haven’t been able to get them out of my head, so this year I decided I would conquer them once and for all. But these, these I dare say are the best thing to happen to Rice Krispies Treats since Mildred Day of the home economics department at the Kellogg Company thought to apply marshmallows and melted butter to the puffed rice cereal in 1928. Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats.