Sticky Carmel Spice Cake

I love Autumn time... and the treats you can make. Anything with spices and caramel is perfect especially with vanilla ice cream. I saw this recipe on the Pioneer woman (see recipe here ) and had to try it out. She put hers in individual cast iron skillets but I don't have those but I had individual ramekins. Worked great. Also she just poured her caramel sauce over the top of her cakes but mine came pretty much to the top of my ramekin so I poked my cakes with a tooth pick all over before pouring on the sauce. That way the caramel can soak down into the cake. I also would move the sides of my cake away from the ramekin with a wooden spoon while I poured so the sauce could leak down the edges. This is soooo good! Enjoy!

Sticky Caramel Spice Cake
Cake:
Butter, for greasing the pots
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
1 cup vegetable oil or grapeseed oil 
1 cup sugar 
3 large eggs 
1 cup buttermilk 

Icing:
1 cup sugar1/2 cup buttermilk 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter 1 tablespoon light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

Ice cream, for serving, optional (is ice cream ever optional with cake:)

Special equipment: four 15-ounce cast-iron melting pots, or 4 individual ramekins optional (you can also make 1 large cake in a 9-by-13-inch pan)

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and butter four 15-ounce cast-iron melting pots (or 4 ramekins or a 9-by-13-inch pan if using instead).

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and eggs. Combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl and splash in the buttermilk. Stir until just combined. The mixture will be slightly lumpy.

Pour into the prepared pots (or 9-by-13-inch pan if using) and put them on a baking sheet. Bake until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes; do not over bake. (If using a 9-by-13-inch pan, bake for 25 to 30 minutes.)

For the icing: While the cake is baking, make the icing. Combine the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, baking soda, vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a slow boil over medium-high heat without stirring. Continue boiling until the icing turns a light caramel color, 5 to 7 minutes.(mine took 2 more minutes to be a good Caramel color) Important: The icing should be the color of caramel, but not yet firm and sticky. It needs to be pourable.

Remove the cakes from the oven. While they are very warm, poke all over the cakes with a toothpick and pour the icing evenly over the tops. Work fast, as it will quickly start to soak into the cakes. Serve with ice cream if desired.

Apple Pandowdy

 Say good bye to pie and howdy to Apple Pandowdy! this is so yummy and just what I was craving since the air started to turn chilly! I love this more than apple crisp too! It's not too sweet and the apples get a buttery taste that is divine. I have made this twice since I saw it on America's test kitchen. The second time I used 1 large apple a 2 large pears... yummy! I had it for breakfast today, it has fruit in it right?

Apple Pandowdy
for the Pie Dough:
3 Tablespoons Ice Water
1 Tablespoon Sour cream
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces, chilled

Filling:
2 to 3 large Golden delicious Apples or Ambrosia Apples (2 1/2 pounds) Peeled, cored halved and cut into 1/2 thick slices
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup apple cider
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Topping:
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Vanilla Ice cream for serving

FOR THE PIE DOUGH: Combine ice water and sour cream in bowl, set aside.  Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until size of large peas, 6 to 8 pulses. Add sour cream mixture and pulse until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, 3 to 6 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Form dough into 4-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. 
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 5 minutes, before rolling. Roll dough into 10-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Using pizza cutter, cut dough into four 2½-inch-wide strips, then make four 2½-inch-wide perpendicular cuts to form squares. (Pieces around edges of dough will be smaller and I wasn't too picky about getting them all even) Transfer dough pieces to parchment paper–lined baking sheet, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
FOR THE FILLING: Toss apples, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in large bowl. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add apple mixture, cover, and cook until apples become slightly pliable and release their juice, about 10 minutes, (if using pears too I started my apples cooking for about 5 minutes then added my pears and cooked another 5 minutes) stirring occasionally.
Whisk cider, cornstarch, and lemon juice in bowl until no lumps remain; add to skillet. Bring to simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Off heat, press lightly on apples to form even layer.
FOR THE TOPPING: Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Working quickly, shingle dough pieces over filling until mostly covered, overlapping as needed. Brush dough pieces with egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake until crust is slightly puffed and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove skillet from oven. Using back of large spoon, press down in center of crust until juices come up over top of crust. Repeat four more times around skillet. (this is called dowdying) Make sure all apples are submerged and return skillet to oven. Continue to bake until crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.
Transfer skillet to wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes (or you might burn your mouth). Serve with ice cream, and enjoy

No Churn Peanut Butter Ripple Ice Cream

Oh my heavens this is good..... and easy. I found this recipe here and had to give it a try. I have been wanting to make a rich creamy homemade ice cream for a while. I borrowed my parents ice cream make this summer and made a root beer ice cream but man after getting the ice, the ingredients and then letting in churn and churn and then still having to freeze for a couple of hours before eating, this recipe seemed like heaven. AND it was!! So rich and creamy and perfect. I did have to top mine with chopped dry roasted peanuts.... I love ice cream and nuts.... but that's optional. Go ahead... give this one a try. You won't be sorry.

No Churn Peanut Butter Ripple Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 6 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter, divided

• ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons peanut butter chips

• 2 cups (16 ounces) heavy cream

• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1 In a medium size saucepan, combine 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) of the creamy peanut butter and peanut butter chips. Heat over low heat until completely melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit.

2 In a large bowl using a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and remaining 2 Tablespoons of the peanut butter on high speed until smooth and thick (about 3-4 minutes).

3 Spoon ⅓ of the ice cream into the bottom of a freezer-safe container or bowl (I prefer a loaf pan). Layer half of the melted peanut butter chips evenly over the ice cream, using a spatula to spread it around. Spoon another ⅓ of the ice cream on top of the peanut butter layer, and repeat layering with remaining melted peanut butter chips and ⅓ of the ice cream. Submerge a butter knife into the container and run it up and down the length of the container to "swirl" the peanut butter. Cover tightly and freeze overnight, or at least 8 hours. Ice cream can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

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Puff Pastry Tarts

I love baking... I love autumn time and the fruits that are available at the grocery stores and farmers markets. I especially LOVE the smell of fall baking... Yum!! I haven't baked with puff pastry much but Alton Brown had a Good Eats episode on puff pastry and showed this recipe. I tweaked it a little but the original recipe is here. Enjoy!!

Puff Pastry Tarts
Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
Sugar, for dusting (I used cinnamon sugar)
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced into wedges
1 ripe peach, peeled, and thinly sliced into wedges
1 ripe plum, thinly sliced into wedges
Apricot or peach  jam

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. After puff pastry has thawed, place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Unfold, and cut into 3 even strips. Move so they are a couple of inches apart.
I used a mandolin to cut my apple slices, just have them thin as possible. The peaches and plums I had slightly thicker. 
Poke pastry sheets with a fork down the center but leave about a 1/2 inch on the sides un-poked to provide an outlet for steam. Sprinkle pastry with sugar (or cinnamon sugar) and arrange apple slices an plum / peach slices on top.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Poke the crust; if it feels soft it needs more time in the oven.
Microwave some apricot jam for 30 seconds. When the tarts come out of the oven dab (don't brush) the jam on the tarts. Cool tarts at least 4 hours and seal in a resealable plastic bag. Serve at room temperature or heat in the microwave and top with ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
Enjoy

"Samoa" Truffle Bites

Don't you love spring and girl scout cookie time? As you know from some of my other posts, I LOVE samoa cookies. I love making truffles that are a bite size taste of things I love. Like my key lime truffles... I came across some recipes for samoa truffles so I combined what sounded yummy from the recipes I found and came up with this. Yum!

"Samoa" Truffle Bites
2 cups toasted coconut
1 cup crushed vanilla wafers
1-11  oz package caramel candy's, unwrapped
3 Tablespoons heavy cream or half n' half
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

First of all , toast your coconut according to the directions on the package. Ok, I will put the directions here as well. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut onto a baking sheet in a thin layer. Bake in the oven until golden brown. This can take 7 to 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on it,  once it starts to brown it browns quick. When nice and toasty brown remove from the oven and set aside.

Place unwrapped caramels into a medium size saucepan along with the 3 Tablespoons of cream. Melt over a medium / medium low heat, stirring occasionally until the caramel is all melted. Stir in the crushed vanilla wafers and toasted coconut.
Once the mixture is all mixed together you can either scoop out by teaspoon full onto a parchment lined being sheet or buttered baking sheet. OR you can roll into about a 1 inch in diameter log once it's cool enough to handle (this is what I did) you can set this on a baking sheet and let it cool in the refrigerator. DON'T wrap in wax paper ... it sticks to caramel.
Once the logs are cool you can cut into bite size pieces... no need to roll them in a ball. Set aside.
Melt your chocolate in a microwave safe bowl by microwaving for about 30 seconds... then stir. Melt again for 15 seconds then stir. Keep microwaving for 10 to 15 seconds and stirring until all the chips are melted.
Now, dip each piece of the coconut caramel balls/ bites into the chocolate. I just dipped the bottom but you can dip the whole thing if you desire. I dipped the bottom then placed on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once they were all dipped I put the remaining chocolate in a pastry bag and striped the tops.
Let cool to set either in a cool room or in the refrigerator. Then enjoy! YUM!

Almost Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Bars

Oh man... this recipe is awesome. I found it while browsing on pinterest. You know what I love most about peanut butter cups? the peanut butter filling and this recipe just about does it for me! I think the secret is the crushed graham crackers.... If I let myself I could probably eat this whole recipe in one sitting...
Enjoy!
Almost Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Bars
1 cup finely crushed Honey Maid Graham crackers, (about 1 sleeve)
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup Jif creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Milk chocolate chips

Mix graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, melted butter, and all but 2 Tablespoons peanut butter in a mixing bowl.
Smooth mixture into a parchment paper lined 8 x 8 baking dish. (make sure the parchment paper hangs over the sides of the pan, that way you can lift your bars out of the  pan for easier cutting.)
Set aside.
Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl with the 2 Tablespoons peanut butter. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Microwave for another 15 seconds and stir... keep melting and stirring until all the chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is smooth.
Spread melted chocolate mixture over the peanut butter mixture in the baking dish.
Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. Then cut into squares.... and go ahead have 1 or 2 or 3....
Enjoy!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman one Saturday and had to try for a Valentine's Day Dessert... I adapted to what I had on hand. I had also watched America's Test Kitchen make a Raspberry Charlotte so I did just a bit of what they did to the raspberry filling. This was delicious....Instead of putting mine all in one pie, I divided into 4 ramekins....that way we could romantically share one... or we could each have our own. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
recipe adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

One 10-ounce package shortbread cookies, such as Lorna Doone

4 tablespoons butter, softened1 pint raspberries

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup granulated sugar (divided)

1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Approx. 8 oz-White chocolate (like what you would use for dipping candy) coarsely chopped

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Raspberry jam for garnishing if desired.

Directions:

In a food processor, add the cookies, butter, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar and pulse until finely chopped. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan or divide into 4 ramekins  Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Set aside 4 raspberries or a few more for garnishing. 

Place the rest of the raspberries in a saucepan with the lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes. Strain into another bowl... this is to strain out the seeds

While the raspberries are simmering, Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin over 1 tablespoon lemon juice , let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. 

Once the raspberries are strained add your softened gelatin to the raspberry puree and whisk for about a minute to dissolve. Set aside.

In a double boiler or a microwave, melt the white chocolate. Set aside to cool a bit.

Next, in a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and vanilla until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Slowly add the melted chocolate and beat to incorporate. Pour in the raspberry puree and beat to incorporate.

Spread the raspberry mixture into the crust (if using ramekins divide into the 4). If you would like to do what I did,  I put a spoonful of raspberry jam on the top of each ramekin and swirled in with a knife just to make look swirly. Then you can decorate with the reserved raspberries. And if you would like -chop up a bit more white chocolate and sprinkle on top.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. 

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Bars

I had to re-post this recipe!! LOVE it and it's perfect for this time of year!!

I love Caramel Apples and anything with caramel and apples in it! They remind me of Autumn time and Fair time! This is a recipe I got out of one of my Pillsbury Recipe Magazines a few years ago. The original recipe made a huge batch, but my recipe fits in a 9x9 inch pan. If you need a bigger batch, just double the recipe or go to Pillsbury's recipe site and search for Caramel Apple Bars. I tweaked the recipe a bit, I like to  use Kraft caramels instead of caramel ice cream topping that the original recipe calls for. I like the flavor and texture better!! This recipe reminds me a bit like Apple Crisp but even better because it has the crisp on the bottom as well as the top..... and that's the best part isn't it??? Yum!!

Caramel Apple Bars

Crust and Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup quick-cooking oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Dash or two of salt

1 cube  plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

35 Kraft Caramels, unwrapped (approximately 35)

2 Tablespoons milk or half and half

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 peeled apples, coarsly chopped ( (I quarter and slice the apples into thin bite size pieces)

1 to 2 Tablespoons Butter

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

DIRECTIONS :

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9x9-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
 In a large bowl, melt butter  in the microwave, then add the rest of the topping ingredients and combine with a fork or pastry blender. Mixture should be crumbly. Press half of the mixture in pan to form crust; reserve remaining mixture for topping. Bake 8 minutes. When done remove from oven and set aside on cooling rack.
While the crust is cooking, in 1-quart saucepan, melt caramels with 2 Tablespoons milk over medium / low heat stirring occasionally.
While carmels melt, add the 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet and melt over medium heat, then add the apple pieces and lemon juice and cook for about 5 minutes or so until tender. (My apples don't cook enough in the time it takes to cook the bars, so I give them a head start)
When caramels are melted and apples are tender, whisk the  2 Tablespoons of flour into the carmel, then add the apples and nuts to caramel and stir to combine, continue to cook over medium heat for about another minute, stirring constantly, mixture should be slightly thick.
 Pour caramel mixture evenly over top of cooked crust. Sprinkle with reserved topping mixture.
Return to oven; bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack for about an hour. Cut in to squares. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Yummo!!!

Blueberry Nectarine Crisp

This recipe is adapted from one the Pioneer woman did. I love watching Saturday morning Cooking shows. I also love Fruit Crisps warm from the oven with a healthy scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top...what's better than that? You could use Peaches in this rather than nectarines if you want. Enjoy!

Blueberry Nectarine Crisp

Ingredients:Filling:
5 or 6 nectarines, sliced, no need to peel ( or peaches, but peel those)
1 quart blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 orange, zested and juiced (reserve the zest for the topping) Or you could use lemon if you don't like orange (Like my husband)

Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup oats (you can use quick or Old-Fashioned..Old Fashioned will be a bit chewier)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1-1/2 cubes cold butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans ( OR more)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or spray with a non-stick cooking spray.
Gently toss the sliced nectarines and blueberries with the granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt and about 1 Tablespoon of the orange juice in a large bowl until combined. Gently dump the fruit mixture into the prepared baking dish.
For the topping:
Combine the flour, oats, both sugars and salt in another medium to large mixing bowl. Slice 1- 1/2 cubes of the butter into pea sized cubes, then cut the butter cubes into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or your fingers. Next add the pecans and orange zest and stir to combine.
Sprinkle the topping over the fruit.  Cover with crisp with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until the top is browned and the fruit is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool a bit before serving.
Serve while still slightly warm and top with a generous scoop of Vanilla Bean ice cream. 
YUMMO!

Peach Almond Crisp

I love fruit crisp.... especially with extra 'crisp' on it and vanilla ice cream. I loved this recipe, I saw it on one of the cooking channels and had to give it a shot. But I doubled my Crisp recipe... you can never have enough of the stuff. Perfect with peaches and this time of the year when peaches are in season. Enjoy!

Peach Almond Crisp

INGREDIENTS

• TOPPING:

• 1 cup rolled oats

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

• 6 Tablespoons butter, softened

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

•

• FILLING:

• 6 cups sliced peaches (about 4 to 6 peaches)

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

For the topping: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

In a small bowl, combine the oats, sugar, almonds, butter, cinnamon and salt and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside. 

For the filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the peaches sugar, cornstarch, almond extract and nutmeg and transfer to an 8- or 9-inch shallow baking dish. Crumble the topping over the peach mixture. Bake until the filling is hot and bubbly and the topping is golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes. 

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if desired.

"Boston Cream Pie" Cream Puffs

I had a wild hair to try my hand at Cream puffs the other day. They weren't as hard as people make them sound! I decided to dip the top of mine in ganache like a Boston cream pie... so yummy! I found the recipe for the Cream puff shells and pudding here and followed it pretty much to a tee.... She suggested baking the cream puffs in a muffin tin, which I did. Next time I think I will try just on a cookie sheet on parchment paper... just to see which method I like best. I loved the custard recipe for these.... YUMMO!

"Boston Cream Pie" Cream Puffs

Ingredients

• Cream Puff Shells
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• Custard Cream Filling
• ¾ cup sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk, heated to warm
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Ganache
• 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp corn syrup (optional)

For the cream puff shells:
Place oven rack one place below middle. Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Set aside a large (12 or more) muffin tin, very lightly buttered. Note: If you can, use a regular aluminum muffin pan, NOT a dark non-stick pan. The puffs will be much bigger with the regular "silver" colored pan. It's worth investing in one of these pans, as you'll be making these again and again.
In a medium sauce pan, bring water and butter to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add flour, stirring well until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs, one at a time, beating with spoon or large fork until dough is smooth. Beat additional 10 seconds to continue to increase volume of the dough.
Using a tablespoon, drop dough into deep muffin tins. This doesn't have to be an exact measurement, but depending on how big you want your shells to be. Divide all the batter between 12 tins.
Bake shells in 400 degrees F oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Important that the puffs are golden/crisp or they may collapse. Remove from oven and cool completely.
(The shells can be prepared the day before. Just lightly cover with foil when completely cooled and let sit at room temperature.)
Cook's note: Ingrid just baked the shells on a baking sheet about three inches apart, but my smart aunt decided the muffin tins make a nice shape to hold the cream. Either method works, but Ingrid's way will produce a little flatter shaped shell.
For the custard cream filling:
Place the 4 egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk them together and set aside.
Mix sugar, flour and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir in warm milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring almost constantly. Mixture will thicken and bubble. Once it starts to bubble, cook one minute more while still stirring.
Remove from heat. Stir about half of the mixture into beaten egg yolks.
Blend this back into remaining hot mixture in the saucepan. Stir constantly just until mixture begins to bubble again.
Add vanilla and stir until combined. Remove from heat. Set aside.

For the Ganache:

Combine chocolate, cream and corn syrup (if using) in a medium sized, microwave-safe bowl and cook on high just until the cream starts to simmer. Whisk or stir thoroughly until all chocolate has melted and ganache is smooth. Let this set for a few minutes, thickens as it cools.
If you add the corn syrup, your ganache will be slightly glossier when it sets, but it is optional and you don’t need to add it to have a good result.
Assembling the cream puffs:
Cut off shell tops.
Dip the top of puff into prepared ganache. Set back on parchment paper lined cookie sheet to set.
Fill bottom of puff with Custard Cream Filling. 
Replace top of puff. Place puffs in refrigerator, uncovered, chilling for 4 hours (at least one hour).  Puffs can remain in fridge overnight this way.
More notes for preparing ahead of time: 
You may completely assemble cream puffs the night before serving, but do not cover them.
For transporting, place completed cream puffs back into muffin tins, cover lightly with foil and they're ready to go!
Makes between 12 cream puffs if made in muffin tin.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cup bars

Over the years I have tried a lot of times to come up with a recipe that tasted like the inside of a peanut butter cup. I may have found it!!! I usually melt peanut butter and then stir in powdered sugar till I have the consistency I want, but something was missing. I found this recipe here and followed it pretty much to a tee except I added salted roasted peanuts. I love nuts and love crunchy candy. Enjoy!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cup Bars

½ cup butter
1¾ cups powdered sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
2 Tablespoons butter
½ cup milk chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

1/2 cup chopped salty roasted peanuts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line an 8x8-inch square pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to hang over the sides.  Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the ½ cup of butter over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and chopped peanuts until completely combined and smooth. Spread the peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
3. In the now-empty saucepan, melt the 2 Tablespoons butter. Add the chocolate and stir until almost completely melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until completely melted. Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter layer and smooth into an even layer.
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set. Remove from the pan using the foil overhangs and place on a cutting board. Use a knife to slice into 16 bars. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!!

Cinnamon Nuts

I Love candied nuts... almonds, pecans, peanuts you name it. My favorite Dairy Queen blizzard is the butterfinger blizzard and one time when I lived in Albuquerque I got one and they had candied peanuts in it... LOVED it. But since I have been unable to find a Dairy Queen that makes it like that. But that's beside the point. Don't you love walking in the mall during the Christmas season and you smell those cinnamon nuts cooking?? This recipe is like that. I always wondered how they did those and this recipe was it! I found it on You tube... you can watch the video Here and then I have written the recipe down for you. So easy and your home will smell YUMMO!

Cinnamon Nuts
2 cups raw nuts (almonds, pecans or peanuts are all good)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water

Vanilla extract
Cinnamon
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Place the nuts, sugar and water in a large heavy duty skillet. Heat over medium high heat and stir, bringing to a boil. Keep stirring and letting boil until it crystallizes. You want this to crystallize so keep stirring. Now you will think you are ruining the nuts, but keep stirring after about 5 or so minutes you will see the sugar start to melt again, this means it's caramelizing. Keep cooking and stirring, if you think the nuts are burning lift off the heat once in a while. After the nuts look glazed with the caramelized sugar, remove from heat. Add a couple of splashes of vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon or so cinnamon. Stir to coat. Pour the nuts out onto the prepare cookie sheet and separate with your wooden spoon or spoon you stirred the nuts with.
Let cool and enjoy! Can be stored in a zip lock baggie in a cool dry cupboard.

I did dry roasted peanuts with just vanilla and they were delicious just like the candied peanuts in that Dairy Queen blizzard.  My favorite nuts are a mix of almonds and pecans with the vanilla and cinnamon. These are better than the ones you get in the mall at Christmas time.

Molten Lava Cake

I love chocolate.....Loved this recipe. I"m slow posting it but I served for dessert on my wedding anniversary. You know those desserts at restaurants that are individual chocolate cakes filled with molten chocolate? Well this is them!! This recipe is delicious and just what a lava cake should be....ooey gooey chocolaty yumminess. I served mine with raspberries and vanilla bean ice cream. Enjoy!

Molten Lava Cake

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces (squares) Semi-sweet Baking Chocolate

• ½ cups Butter

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar

• 2 whole Eggs

• 2 whole Egg Yolks

• 6 Tablespoons Flour

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Spray 4 custard cups with Pam and place on cookie sheet.
Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about 1 minute, until butter is melted. whisk until chocolate is also melted.
Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour.
Divide between cups.
Bake about 15 minutes until sides are firm and center is soft. Let stand 1 minute.
Invert cakes on dishes and top with vanilla ice cream and raspberries. You can also drizzle with chocolate syrup if desired.

Salted Caramel Candy Corn Peanut Butter Treats

OK... I must say these are Yummo! I usually make rice crispy treats for Young Women's activities, you know, the scotch-a-roo recipe? only sometimes I don't put the melted chocolate on them. When I was in grade school on Fridays, the lunch ladies would make them only with Corn flakes ... LOVED 'em! so that is what I did to my normal crispy treat recipe, substituted Corn flakes. Also this time of the year they have Candy corns on the shelves.... and they come in different flavors! Like pumpkin spice, caramel, and s'more flavor. I bought the caramel ones YUM! So I threw in a cupful after I had added the cornflakes to the syrup then sprinkled the finished product with about 1/ 2 teaspoon of sea salt..... oh so yummy! Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Candy Corn Peanut Butter Treats

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light karo syrup
Mix together in medium size saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, make sure it comes to a good rolling boil, don't boil too long or treats will be too hard, just . Then remove from heat.
Stir in:
1 cup peanut butter
Stir until PB is melted.
Meanwhile have 6 cups Corn Flakes measured in big mixing bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over corn flakes and stir till they're all coated.
Stir in:
1 cup Caramel Candy Corns
Pour into buttered 13x9 can pan. Spread out with spatula coated with pam spray. 
Next, sprinkle about a 1/2 teaspoon Sea salt over the top (i pinched between my fingers and sprinkled randomly over the treats... you don't want too much in one spot but you do want a little salty flavor all over. 
Cut into squares and enjoy! YUM!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pastries

I went to Utah to help my daughter move from Orem to South Jordan last week. She moved in with my niece and her family...so nice that they had room and were willing to let Sarah live there until she's done with her internship and knows where she's going. My niece's daughter LOVES to bake and try out new recipes just like me!! I'm always happy when kids love to bake. She made strawberry cream cheese crepes on Sunday morning for all us and for memorial day there were lots of strawberries and cream cheese left over. She googled this recipe and it looked yummy so she thought she'd try it out. She let me help and this is the recipe we came up with. SOOOOO good! I'm posting the recipe I did, (I halved the recipe as the full one made 3 big pastries and it's just me and my hubby at home, but feel free to double) My hubby loved this! He said it was one of the 3 best pastries I've made! I asked him what the other two were and he said my Maple Bars with bacon on them but couldn't remember the second... made me laugh. Hope you enjoy as much as we did! :)

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pastries

Dough:

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1Tablespoon yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 cups flour

Cream Cheese Filling:

4 oz softened cream cheese

3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

Strawberry filling:

1 pint of strawberries, washed and cut in half

1 to 2 Tablespoons Sugar (depending on how sweet your berries are, start with 1 tablespoon)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 heaping teaspoon cornstarch.

Icing:

1- 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter (melted)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon  vanilla

2 teaspoons Milk (may need 3 teaspoons, you want to be able to drizzle it in a pastry bag)

Directions:

Stir together the yeast in  the water with a teaspoon of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; let dissolve about 5 minutes or until it starts to foam. Add  rest of the sugar, butter, milk and egg. Mix together. Add salt to  2 cups flour and stir to combine; then add to the yeast mixture and stir well.  Add the last cup of flour a little at a time  until the dough is a smooth mixture- just a little sticky ( you may not need the whole last cup... I used 2 1/2 cups when I made them, but it depends on the humidity of the day)  Knead until smooth. Let dough rise in a greased bowl covered with plastic wart for 1- 1/2 hours or until double in size. 

Make your fillings while the dough is raising. For the Cream cheese filling just mix together in a small bowl with a fork or spoon until smooth and set aside.

For the strawberry filling place the cut up berries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch in a small saucepan. Mash with a potato masher until mostly all mashed up. Some big chunks are good mixed in with the mashed. Bring this to a simmer over medium heat and stir for a minute or two until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool.

When ready to make your pastry;
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with a nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
Divide your dough into 2 balls. Roll each ball of dough into a rectangle so that the dough is about 1/2 inch (maybe slightly less) thick all over.  Place your dough rectangles on prepared baking sheet. Spread 1/2 of the cream cheese filling down the center of each rectangle. Spread 1/2 of strawberry filling on top of cream cheese filling.

Cut 1″  thick strips all the way down each long side of dough from the edge of the filling to the outer edge of the dough to weave with. Braid the bread by starting with the strips in each top corner, laying them over the filling and criss-crossing over each other. Continue braiding and tuck the last braid under when you get to the end.

Let the braids rise for another 15-30 minutes. ( I think I did the full 30 minutes)

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. 
Let cool while you make your frosting. In a large mixing bowl mix all frosting ingredients and stir until smooth. If slightly thick add another teaspoon of milk. You want to be able to spread or drizzle on the top of your pastries. I put my frosting in a pastry bag with a small round tip. You can place in a sandwich or freezer bag and cut the very tip out of one corner. Drizzle over pastry while it's still slightly warm. Or if you don't want to go to that trouble you can just spread over the top with a knife or spatula.

I suggest eating this while still warm! YUMMO!

Berry Cheesecake Trifle

I love Trifles....I'll be honest, I haven't made many but you can do anything you want when it comes to a trifle. You can use brownies, angel food cake, cookies..... but I used a pound cake. You can layer any flavor pudding , whipped cream, fruit, just use your imagination. I decided to make one for Mother's day. I LOVE Cheesecake with fruit on top, so that's the flavor I was going for. I layered cut up pound cake, pudding, berries and a little bit of graham cracker crumbs and whipped cream. Sooooo yummy! and not too filling. Use your imagination and go create a trifle... you won't be sorry. :)

Berry Cheesecake Trifle
1 pkg.  (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Cheescake Flavor Instant Pudding
2 cups cold milk
1- (8oz.) container  COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh sliced strawberries
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 prepared loaf pound cake, (I made mine from a mix)
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Prepare the pudding according to package directions in a separate bowl. 
Slice 1/2 the pound cake (or as much as you want, I used half and it was plenty) into slices, then cut into bite-size cubes. 
Place half the pound cake cubes in the bottom of a trifle bowl (or any clear bowl will work) then spread 1/2 of the pudding on the pound cake. Next sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of the graham cracker crumbs on the pudding. Now place half of each of the berries around for the next layer. REMEMBER to save 4 or 5 of the prettiest of each kind of berry to decorate the top of your trifle, set these aside. Now spread half of the cool whip on top of the berries. Repeat with more pound cake, then pudding, then graham cracker crumbs, berries then cool whip. To garnish the top sprinkle with a little graham cracker crumbs and the pretty berries you saved.
Serve and enjoy!! This was so yummy!

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

I love cheesecake..... my hubby's birthday was coming up and knowing that he LOVES peanut butter when I ran across this recipe, I just knew I had to make it for him. It was YUMMO! I love the peanuts in the topping and in the crust...they added a bit of saltiness which is good in a rich cheesecake. I think next time I make this I will add a few more peanut butter cups... but it was still yummy.  I followed the recipe almost exact, but I did tweak just a bit taking some things that I had found on other recipes that sounded delish and adding to this recipe. If you make this just have plenty of friends around to help you eat it, it's rich so you can't eat a very big piece! Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
**Please note--this is a Plan ahead cheesecake, it needs to chill for at least 4 hours

For the Crust:
4 1/2 cups crushed chocolate graham crackers
1 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar

To make the crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combined the crushed graham crackers, sugar, and peanuts with the melted butter. Pat the crust mixture into a 10-inch springform pan. Be sure to pat crumbs up the side of the pan. Bake the crust for 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool

For the Filling:
4 (8oz) packages cream cheese
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 Reese's Peanut Butter cups, broken into small pieces (I might try 2 packages mini reese's next time I make this)

To make the filling:
Beat cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next add the sugar, peanut butter and whipping cream; mix until smooth.
Stir in the vanilla, then gently fold in the peanut butter cups with a rubber spatula.
Pour the filling into the crust. Place in a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil (you want this to be one piece and fold up the sides, you are going to place the cheese cake in a water bath and don't want water to seep into the spring form pan) Place the aluminum protected spring form pan into a larger baking pan. Place in the oven and pour hot water into the bigger pan until it comes 1 inch up the spring form pan. Bake at 275 for 1-1/2 hours or until firm and lightly browned. (if cake is not quite set, turn oven off and let sit in oven for another half an hour) Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and aluminum foil.

For the topping:
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup  unsalted peanuts

Combine Sour cream, sugar and peanut butter , mixing until smooth.  Spread over cheesecake and return to the 275 degree oven for 5 minutes.
Let cool for one hour on a cooling rack. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts on the top. Refrigerate for another 4 hours before serving.
Enjoy!!!