Double Decker Oreo Fudge

Yes, I've been experimenting with fudge. Once I found out how ridiculously easy it was to make I've been putzing around with different ideas.  This one isn't exactly mine (original recipe can be found here) but I played around with it to bring you the following...

DOUBLE DECKER OREO FUDGE

INGREDIENTS:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk, portioned in half

10 Oreos, chopped

1 cup white chocolate

2 tablespoon butter

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate

DIRECTIONS:

1. Split sweetened condensed milk in half and set aside. Chop Oreos and set aside
2. Place white chocolate, one ½ of sweetened condensed milk, 2 tablespoon of butter in a heat proof bowl over simmering water. Stir and mix until melted and combined. Fold in Oreos and stir to combine. Pour mixture into pan.
3. Place semi-sweet chocolate and remaining half sweetened condensed milk in a heat proof bowl over simmering water. Stir and mix until melted and combined. Pour mixture on top of Oreo layer and refrigerate for 1 an hour to set.
4. Remove from refrigerator and peel away foil once set. For ease of cutting make sure to clean knife between cuts to prevent sticking.

PERSONAL NOTES:

As I've mentioned, these are ridiculously easy to make. That's actually a liability as I've eaten far too much of this lately. I really need to slow it down on the sugar!  Bad, bad... but oh so good...

Chocolate Caramel Macchiato Pie

This is serious guys.  Chocolate. Caramel macchiato. Pie.  All rolled into one bit of fabulousness.

Tomorrow is the Roaring 20's Lawn Party on Governor's Island.  This will be the first time attending.  For the last 5 years or so I was either working or in a yoga teacher training program.  This year I was determined to BE THERE.

That said, my sister-in-law informed me of a pie contest at the event and encouraged me to register.  So I did.  Then the big question of which pie would I make arose.  I tried experimenting with a few different options, but I'm pretty sure this chocolate caramel macchiato pie is the one I'm going with.  It's YUMMY.  And...it's pretty much all my own creation.  Well - at least the combination of layers involved.  The recipes are all from different places - none I can truthfully say are all mine.

I started with a sugar cookie layer, then espresso chocolate chip, then caramel, topped off with Oreo cookie truffle.

Here it is...

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL MACCHIATO PIE

INGREDIENTS:

For the sugar cookie layer:

1 1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C plus 2 TBLS margarine (I use butter sometimes)
1 C granulated sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the espresso chocolate chip layer:

1/2  stick butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 of a large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tsn instant espresso coffee powder

3/4 C semisweet chocolate chips

For the caramel layer:

25 caramel candies
2 Tbls heavy cream

For the Oreo cookie layer:

1 package Oreo cookies
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

DIRECTIONS:

For the sugar cookie mix:

Combine flour, baking powder and salt then set aside.  Using a mixer, cream together margarine and 2 C sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Slowly beat in dry mixture.

For the espresso chocolate chip mix:

Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 30 seconds. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.

For the caramel layer:

Place the caramel candies in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the heavy cream and stir until completely melted. Pour hot caramel mixture over shortbread crust and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate until set, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

For the Oreo cookie truffle layer:

Using a blender or hand held mixer, mix Oreos and cream cheese together. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place a layer of sugar cookie mix on bottom of 8x8 pan (or just use a pie pan).  Chill at least 30 minutes (or an hour) then layer on the espresso chocolate chip mix.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes (or until edges turn brown) and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. 

Drizzle on the caramel and chill for about an hour.

Top off pie with the Oreo cookie truffle mix and chill again for about an hour.  Serve and enjoy!

PERSONAL NOTES:

Oh my, are these just yummy!  Since I pretty much put all of these layers together myself I already included any important notes.  If you let the pie sit out for a few minutes before eating it will be a little softer.  Either way it is DELICIOUS! Plus, my husband gave it 2 thumbs up so it passed the test :)

Keeping my fingers crossed it wins tomorrow!!!

The Best Fudgy Brownies Ever!!!

For starters, I'm not on my home wireless connection and this one at my mother-in-law's is dodgy. Apparently. I've already lost my post once.  Fingers crossed it doesn't happen again.

Getting back to what I originally came here to do... these fudgy brownies are incredible!  I made them for my husband for Valentine's Day so he could enjoy his favorite treat.  It doesn't hurt that brownies are among my all-time favorite goodies too ;')

So back to trolling online I went in search of THE recipe that would deliver me decadent, chewy, gooey brownies.  I found them here on allrecipes.com

They're easy to make and the longest part of the process was actually mixing it all together.  No biggie.

FUDGE BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, melted

3 cups white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

Valentine's Truffles

I began experimenting with this at Christmas time.  You can find those results (and recipe) here.  These are some of the yummiest and easiest treats you can make.  And with Valentine's Day only 2 days away, you don't need a ton of time to put these together.

Well actually, that's not entirely true.  The Red Velvet Cream Cheese Truffles required baking in order to make the Red Velvet Cream Cheese-iced treats. 

RED VELVET CREAM CHEESE TRUFFLES

The recipe for the Red Velvet Cream Cheese Swirl Bars can be found here.  You'll need these in order to make the Red Velvet Cream Cheese Truffles.

DIRECTIONS:

Melt down whatever chocolate you want to use to create the shell for these truffles (ie; milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white, etc...).  Be sure to use baking chocolate as it will melt and coat the truffles best.  I use Callebaut morsels.  They're on the pricey side but so worth it.

Mix red velvet cream cheese swirl bars together in a large bowl. But do NOT overmix.  You still want to be able to see the cream cheese bits.  Using a tablespoon-sized scooper, scoop out some of the mix into the melted chocolate.

Use a fork to remove the truffle from the chocolate and place it on wax paper to harden.  Once the batch is done you can allow them to chill in the fridge.  If you want afterward, melt some additional chocolate and drizzle on top of the truffles to make some fun designs.


VALENTINE'S COOKIE TRUFFLES

These are so easy to make you don't even have to bake!  They just require a little bit of love and patience (so they come out all pretty :)

Again, recipe and directions for the Oreo Cookie Truffles are here. 

Chocolate Swirls

These Chocolate Swirls are not as tasty as the Marble Cookies were that I made for the holidays.  They're not bad, they taste fine, but I'm not crazy about the consistency of them.  They seem a little chewier than they ought to be. 

CHOCOLATE SWIRLS

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


In large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in cream cheese, egg, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; mix into creamed mixture to form a soft dough. Fold in the melted chocolate until the dough is just marbled. Do not over mix. Drop dough by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are light golden brown. Cool completely before storing.

PERSONAL NOTES:

I used a mini ice cream scooper (the size about 1 tbls) to scoop the batter onto the cookies sheet.  It's just easier.  I highly recommend investing in one of these; they come in mighty handy.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Muffins

What more can I say about pumpkin?  I simply love the stuff and it's versatility.  You can do so much with it.  I mean, you can have it as dessert, make it as a bread, have it in soup or as a main dish.  So many options.  And although pumpkin is a winter squash I'll be eating it pretty much all year.  Plus, since you all know how much I love muffins as either a breakfast food on the go or as a midday snack, I had to try these out...

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE SWIRL MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 egg

3/4 cup egg substitute

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin 

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

In a mixing bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In another bowl, combine egg, egg substitute, pumpkin, applesauce and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray; fill two-thirds full with batter. Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

PERSONAL NOTES:

The recipe originally states to use chocolate chips.  Something in my mind made me think that melting the chocolate first and making chocolate swirls would be a little more fun, more whimsical.  It tastes absolutely fine.  My only recommendation with making swirls is mix the melted chocolate with about 1/2 cup of the batter first.  Since it's just the melted chocolate, it has a different consistency in the muffin.  As I said, still yummy, just different.  Next time I'll be mixing it with the batter first. 

Super yummy!

(Original recipe can be found here from allrecipes.com)

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I tried this this week for the first time and while I think they're tasty, I also think they're lacking more of a chocolate "bite".  They'll have to have another go and either with more cocoa or more melted dark chocolate.  Oh, and the chips I placed on the muffin tops all sank in as they baked.  Can't remember if I've had that happen to me before.  Odd.  Although, it was a nice little surprise to bite into the muffin and catch a bit of milk chocolatey heaven.

Anyway, they looked really good...

The original recipe can be found here. 

CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, water, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

PERSONAL NOTES:

I substituted applesauce for the oil and milk chocolate chips in place of the semi sweet.  These definitely need more than milk chocolate chips!  While the taste is nice, I felt like it could use more of a chocolate punch. 

Cookie Experiment: Oreo Cheesecake Truffle Cookies

Yes, I do sometimes sit around wondering how to improve my favorite cookie recipes. Or even the ones that aren't my favorite to make them better in general. But this recipe here brings together 2 of the better cookies from this past holiday season. Oreo Cheesecake Cookies and Cookie Balls. It's not all that complicated. I literally brought the two together to create:

OREO CHEESECAKE TRUFFLE COOKIES

INGREDIENTS (For the Oreo Cheesecake Cookies):

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup Oreo cookie crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and well-combined.

Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix until the ingredients are well-combined. Add the flour and mix on low until the flour is incorporated.

Scoop the cookies into about 1½ to 2″ balls and then roll in the cookie crumbs. Place the cookie balls on the baking sheet.



OREO TRUFFLE INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package Oreo cookies , crushed

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese , softened

DIRECTIONS:

Using a blender or hand held mixer, mix Oreos and cream cheese together.  Chill for one hour.

To combine cookies and truffles...

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Scoop 1 tbls cookie dough and scoop 1 tsp Oreo truffle mix.  Place the truffle mix in the middle of the cookie dough and roll so truffle mix is completely covered.  Place the Oreo cookie crumbs in a small bowl. Roll dough in the Oreo cookie crumbs and place on cookie sheet. 

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the tops are slightly puffed. Cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

YUM!!!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

These are YUMMY!  I found this recipe last year when I was looking for something different to make for Thanksgiving dessert.  It was a big hit - people keep asking for it!

No personal notes to add; I make it as-is...

 

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Makes 16 | Prep time: 25 minutes | Total time: 5 hours

For the Crust:

20 chocolate wafer cookies, (half a 9-ounce package)

2 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

2 packages bar cream cheese, (8 ounces each)

1 cup sugar

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin puree

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

282 calories per serving (16 servings)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Set aside.

In a food processor, blend cookies with sugar until finely ground (you should have about 1 cup crumbs); add butter, and pulse until moistened.

Transfer crumb mixture to prepared pan, and press gently into bottom. Bake until fragrant and slightly firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Place cream cheese in food processor; blend until smooth. Add sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, flour, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt; process until combined. Set aside.

Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted. Add 1 cup pumpkin mixture; stir to combine. Set aside.

Pour remaining pumpkin mixture into prepared pan. Drop dollops of chocolate mixture onto pumpkin mixture; swirl. To create swirls, drag the blade of a paring knife through the chocolate and pumpkin mixtures several times to make a marbled pattern.

Bake until cheesecake is set but jiggles slightly when gently shaken, 40 to 50 minutes.

Cool in pan. Cover; chill until firm, at least 2 hours (and up to 2 days). Using overhang, transfer cake to work surface. With a knife dipped in water, cut into 16 squares. Serve.