Food, Feminism, & life

Cake Batter Blondies!

Oh yes, these happened. I’m known for bringing the sweetest of desserts to family parties. So much so that my dad’s best friend (who has a sweet tooth like no other) said to my mom, “Jamie’s coming right? What dessert did she come up with?” I tend to make fairly complex & time consuming desserts. Instead of standing over my stove & hand dipping truffles, I opted for these this year & they were by far the easiest thing I have ever made.

I originally saw these on Pinterest, and then followed link to link until I found the original recipe on Girl Meets Life. I love stumbling on new blogs. I made them in a 9x13 baking pan, which made them a bit thin. Next time I’ll use an 8x8 brownie pan instead. I bet these would be amazing as cake pops also.

Cake Batter Blondies

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl & then mix in the 1/4 cup sprinkles & 1/2 cup white chocolate chips.

2) Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray & spread the cake mix into it. Add more sprinkles on top for decoration. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. You want the center to still be a bit gooey when you take them out of the oven.

3) Let cool & cut into squares. Stare at how pretty they are.

Butterscotch & Chocolate Chip Blondies

These were awesome. I’ve been having a serious blondie craving lately & had to make them yesterday. It also helped that we were going to a 3rd birthday party & I had an excuse to make them. I’m not a fan of chocolate so I think blondies are way superior to brownies.

Butterscotch & Chocolate Chip Blondies

Makes about 20-25 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
• 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt (about a 1/4 tsp)
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a baking pan - 8x8 square pan if you want thicker blondies but less of them. 9x13 pan if you want thinner blondies & a few more. I used the 9x13 cause I like thin ones.

2) Place the brown sugar & butter in a mixing bowl & beat on medium until blended together. Add the egg, vanilla, & salt & beat until blended.

3) Add flour & beat on low until dough forms. Add the butterscotch & chocolate chips & use your hands to mix the dough & chips together.

4) Press into the baking dish & make sure the entire thing is even.

5) Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. The edges will be browned when you’re finished & no dough will come off on a toothpick.

6) Let them cool when you remove them from the oven. Once cooled, remove from pan & cut into about 25 bars.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I made these for a 4th of July BBQ & they came out exactly like I wanted them to. I love when that happens! If I had time I would have made cookie dough frosting from scratch, but I was pressed for time so I used store bought frosting & cake mix. The cookie dough center is the main taste in this cupcake so using store bought cake mix is fine for this. They were a huge hit at the party.

The trick is to freeze the cookie dough ball before you put them in the cupcake. Doing this lets the cupcake cook while the cookie dough only defrosts so you still have a gooey cookie dough center to bite into. The cookie dough is egg-less so eating it raw is fine.

The cookie dough recipe is for a large batch of cookie dough balls. I put them in candy cups & brought them to the party & served the leftover cookie dough balls on the same platter as the cupcakes. If you don’t want any leftover then half the recipe. I’ll definitely be making cookie dough frosting next time.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Servings: 24 Cupcakes

For the cookie dough center:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Place the butter & sugars in a large mixing bowl & beat on med then high with an electric mixer. Add flour, baking soda, & salt and beat until blended.  Add milk & vanilla extract & beat until gooey dough forms. Add in the chocolate chips & mix with your hands to combine them with the dough.

2) Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough & form into 1” balls. I filled about half the cookie scoop for each truffle. Place balls onto a baking pan. When finished, place in freezer for at least 4 hours. I left them in over night.

For the Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• Cookie dough balls
• 1 box vanilla cake mix
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• Vanilla frosting (2 cans)
• Chocolate sprinkles for decoration
• 24 cupcake liners

1) Make cake batter according to instructions on the box. Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full & place a frozen cookie dough ball in the center. Don’t press it down - just drop it & let it sit there.

2) Bake cupcakes according to package instructions on the top rack of your oven.

(You don’t know that cookie dough is hiding in the middle!)

3) Let them cool & decorate with the frosting & sprinkles.

Cookie Dough Truffles

Inspiration: Here.

My sister’s birthday was yesterday so I made these for her since cookie dough is one of her favorite things in the world. I’ve seriously never seen someone love cookie dough as much as her. These were little balls of heaven. I decided to keep some un-dipped & by the time we had dessert last night they were soft & mushy, just the way the dough would be right before you turned them into chocolate chip cookies. I highly recommend leaving some un-dipped if you make these.

These are eggless so don’t feel weird about eating the dough “raw.” Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Truffles

Servings: Makes about 40 truffles

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 14 oz milk melting chocolate
• chocolate sprinkles for decoration

Directions:

1) Place the butter & sugars in a large mixing bowl & beat on med then high with an electric mixer. Add flour, baking soda, & salt and beat until blended.  Add milk & vanilla extract & beat until gooey dough forms. Add in the chocolate chips & mix with your hands to combine them with the dough.

2) Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough & form into 1” balls. I filled about half the cookie scoop for each truffle. Place balls onto a baking pan. When finished, place in freezer for about 30 minutes - an hour.

3) Melt chocolate according to instructions on the package. Use toothpicks to dip each ball, tapping off any excess. Top each with some chocolate sprinkles & enjoy. You can store these in a container in the fridge for up to one week.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

I have a strong distaste for pudding, custard, & jello, so I thought this meant that I must hate creme brulee also. This is why I never had it before I was 27. I tried it in a restaurant & LOVED it. The crunchy top is just what I needed to eat custard. I gave it a shot as part of Valentine’s Day dinner & now my creme brulee torch is my favorite kitchen gadget.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split & scraped
• 1 cup vanilla sugar, divided into 2 halves (you can find this is the baking section)
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 quart hot water
• 6 ramekins
• Creme brulee torch (or broiler)

Directions:

1) Place cream, vanilla bean, and its pulp in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Once boiling, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, whisk together 1/2 cup vanilla sugar with the egg yolks until they’re well blended and the mixture just starts to lighten.

3) When the cream is done sitting, add a little at a time to the sugar & yolk mixture, stirring constantly.

4) Set the ramekins in a baking dish. Fill the dish with hot water until the water is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Ladle the cream mixture into each ramekin, leaving about a 1/2 inch of room.

5) Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until the custard is set but still trembling on top. Remove ramekins & refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to 3 days.

6) To serve: remove ramekins from fridge at least 30 minutes before servings. Sprinkle a TB of vanilla sugar on top of each custard & torch until slightly caramelized & serve immediately.

**If you do not have a creme brulee torch then you can simply broil these on high for a few seconds each. Keep an eye on them because the sugar will burn easily.

*Note: It’s fun to let your guests torch their own creme brulees! Simply put a dish of the vanilla sugar out with the creme brulee torch & let them do it themselves.

Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

I made these for Easter this past weekend. I always make some sort of chocolates or truffles for holidays, but I think these are my favorite so far. What’s better than pastel colors & sprinkles? I also made Oreo eggs. They’re just egg shaped versions of my Oreo truffles with pastel melting chocolates instead of white.

These look so pretty on a cake plate! Each batch makes about 30-35 eggs & you can use any color melting chocolate that you like. I chose to do pink, green, yellow, & white.

Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

Servings: 30-35

You will need:

• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar, plus 1/2 cup on the side
• Melting chocolates. Figure at least 2 lbs, but assorted colors are nice.
• Sprinkles!
• Bowls to melt chocolates in
• Toothpicks or lollipop sticks

Directions:

1) In a bowl, combine the peanut butter & 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix together & add the other 1/2 cup if the dough isn’t firm. This works best with refrigerated peanut butter.

2) Wrap dough in plastic wrap & refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3) Remove dough from freezer and line a baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Take about 1 TB of dough, roll into a ball, and then shape into an egg. Place on the baking pan. When all eggs are formed, place back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

4) Using one color at a time, melt chocolates in a bowl according to instructions. Using a toothpick or lollipop stick, dip a peanut butter egg into the chocolate & top with sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet. Just like with the Oreo truffles, don’t worry about making the chocolate perfect. The sprinkles will cover up any mistakes. Repeat with all of the colors & arrange on a cake plate!

7 Layer Magic Bars (Christmas Bars)

I tend to only make these around the holidays, so I’ve started calling them Christmas Bars. They are so good. DBF eats them, and he normally runs away from things with coconut in them. These go very quick at parties & are crazy simple to make. I’ve been told that the traditional recipe has peanut butter chips in it, but I like to use butterscotch chips instead.

7 Layer Magic Bars

Servings: About 18 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
• 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick spray.

2. Place 1 cup of the coconut on a baking pan & toast until the edges begin to brown, about 4-6 minutes. Keep an eye on it because it will go from browned to burnt in about a minute.

3. Melt the stick of butter & combine with the graham cracker crumbs. Press the crum mixture onto the bottom of the pan. Flatten out until the entire pan is lined with a crust. It might seem like you don’t have enough of the crumb mixture, but you do!

4. Once the coconut is toasted, layer the remaining ingredients on top of the crust:

• crushed walnuts
• chocolate chips
• white chips
• butterscotch chips
• toasted coconut
• condensed milk (cover entire pan with this)
• 1/4 cup untoasted coconut on top

5. Let sit for about 15 minutes until the condensed milk soaks into the other ingredients.

6. Back at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. It will be bubbling & the edges should be browned when finished. Let cool completely. Remove entire square from the pan & cut into 18 bars.

*NOte: If you try to remove the bar from the pan before it cools it will break apart because everything is still warm & melted. You want this to harden before cutting.

Homemade Snickers

One random Sunday afternoon I decided to make the boyfriend something he’d love while he was out playing sports (he does this a lot). I remembered that Snickers are one of his favorite chocolate bars & after some Googling I found this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker. They appear to be very tedious at first, but they actually came together quicker than I imagined.

The hardest part is making the caramel peanuts. I had never worked with homemade caramel before, and I burned the first batch. You can simply buy caramel peanuts if you don’t want to go through the hassle of making them. Though, I assure you that once you get the method down you’ll never want store bought caramel peanuts again.

Homemade Snicker Bars

Servings: 16 bars

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 TB powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, cut into small pieces & chilled
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Filling:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 TB water
• 1 1/2 cup salted peanuts
• 1 1/2 cup thick toffee sauce

Topping:

• 7 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
• 4 TB butter, cut into small pieces & kept at room temperature

Directions:

1. Place your oven rack in the center & pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8” square pan with non-stick spray or butter it.

2. Make the crust:

• 
• Place the flour, sugar, powdered sugar &salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. 
• Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. 
• Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps. Stop before the dough comes together in a ball.
• Place the dough into the 8” square pan and press it evenly across the bottom. Pierce the dough all over with a fork and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the sides begin to brown. Remove from oven & let cool before using.

3. While the crust is baking, begin making the filling:

• Have a foil lined (and sprayed) baking pan ready & a wooden spoon.
• Put the sugar and water in a medium pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Turn the heat to high &  continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color (for some reason mine rarely changes color. After about 8 minutes I throw the peanuts in anyway. Just make sure the water & sugar is thickening a bit before you add the peanuts).
• Toss in the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with the sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and it should begin to caramel. Keep stirring otherwise they will burn (I’ve burnt them twice!). When the peanuts are coated with a deep caramel color, turn off the heat & pour the peanuts onto the baking pan. spread them out with the wooden spoon & let them cool.
• When the peanuts are cool, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in large pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping.

4. Spread the caramel sauce over the crust with a small border left around the edges. Sprinkle the whole candied peanuts over the caramel.

5. Make the topping:

• Melt the chocolate in a double broiler (don’t know what a double broiler is? Look here).
• Turn off the heat & stir in the butter. Stir until the butter is completely melted into the chocolate.

6. Assemble together:

• Pour the chocolate over the caramel & peanuts. Smooth it out the best you can.
• Sprinkle the chopped peanuts on top.
• Place the pan in the refrigerator to set the topping, about 20 minutes. Leave them in the refrigerator for a few hours if you want them served very cold.

7. Once cooled in the fridge, pop the entire square out of the pan & cut into 16 bars.

*Note: I almost always buy a disposable tin 8” pan at the grocery store when I make these. It makes it MUCH easier to pop the square out at the end!

Oreo Truffles

I am no longer allowed to show up to family parties without these. They come together very easily. I used to make one batch for parties, but now I make at least two. They also tend to slowly disappear out of my fridge before any party actual happens.

I almost always top these with crushed Oreos. At Christmas time I top them with red & green sprinkles. So pretty! You can either put these on lollipop sticks, or make them as truffles & place them in small candy wrappers. I’ve posted pictures of both ways.

Oreo Truffles

Servings: About 2 1/2 dozen truffles ●  About 7 PP per truffle (if you make exactly 2 1/2 dozen)

Ingredients:

• 1 box Oreo Cookies
• 1 brick Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• About 1 lb white melting chocolate (I always buy 2 bags, 2 lbs, just in case)
• Lollipop sticks or toothpicks for dipping.

Directions:

1. In a food processor, crush the Oreo’s into a fine powder. Remove about a 1/2 cup of crumbs for the topping and set aside.

2. Using the baking blade, mix the crumbs with the cream cheese until no white traces of cream cheese are visible and “dough” is formed. If you don’t have a baking blade for your food processor, then you can also do this with your hands. Just knead the cream cheese with the Oreo crumbs until all of the crumbs have been blended with the cream cheese. It will look like you don’t have enough cream cheese, but you do. Just keep kneading it.

3.Once the dough is formed, roll it into small balls (about 1-2”) & place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. They need to be hardened before you dip them.

4. Line a baking pan with wax paper or tin foil. In a double broiler, melt the chocolate in small batches at time, as you need them.

5. Using toothpicks, dip the Oreo balls into the melted chocolate and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the top of each one with crushed Oreo’s while the chocolate is still hot.

6. Once all of the truffles are dipped, place in the fridge & let the chocolate harden. Store in an air tight container.

*Note: When dipping, don’t worrying about trying to make the chocolate look perfect. I almost always have a hole at the top of mine from where I remove the toothpick. Just take the tip of a knife & fill in the spot with some melted chocolate. Once you sprinkle the crushed Oreos on top no one will be able to see it anyways.