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!!!

Cookies N'Cream Scones

Where have I been for the last month??? Why haven't I posted?

Well... for starters there were family issues that had to be handled, then I was traveling a bit to be with the family.  Then somehow my schedule just got a bit out of control, though I'm not sure how it happened.  As a yoga teacher, I'm used to a certain amount of changes - even last minute ones - but for some reason it was much more challenging these past few weeks.

I decided to get back on the posting bandwagon as soon as possible because pretty soon my kitchen will be out of commission.  That's right, my hubby and I are renovating the kitchen.  It's overdue and thus the time has come.  Hopefully I won't have too much a gap between posts like this last month.  I'm hoping it's just a week or so... fingers crossed.

Anyhow, as I was experimenting with scone recipes recently I decided to give this latest one a whirl: adding Oreos.  OMG.  What results!  They came out GREAT!

Check them out...

COOKIES N' CREAM SCONES

INGREDIENTS:

Original scone recipe can be found here on a previous post.

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1 egg

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the butter. Stir the sour cream mixture and egg into the flour mixture until just moistened. Mix in crumbled Oreos. Add about as much as you want. I used about 1 cup.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.

PERSONAL NOTES:
 I chose to add sugar glaze icing to top it off, although it doesn't need it.  If you like sweeter scones, go for the icing.  Otherwise you can leave it off.
I used 1 cup confectioner's sugar, 1 tsp milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla (or you can use any variation thereof as you like it).  Then I took Oreo crumbles and sprinkled them on top. 

SO GOOD!!!

Layered Chocolate Banana Pudding Cake

Thank you Weight Watchers for putting together some yummy desserts that I can enjoy and not be all like, "Whah, I'm swearing off chocolate until I drop 5 pounds." Thank you, thank you, thank you! So this is a dish like that - eating something that tastes more sinful than it actually is.  Well, to tell you the truth I fattened it up a little bit by using some Oreos, but that was a total mistake on my part because I didn't have enough of the other cookies (graham crackers) that were preferred.  Oh well. 

I decided to make this dessert today for two reasons.  One: I took a two-hour Ashtanga Yoga class this morning so I worked hard enough to earn this and Two: I had a couple of bananas that were on the verge of not making it and I wanted to use them before having to toss them.  I really don't like wasting food.  It's well... it's a waste! And the other thing is I wanted to try something that required no baking.  I know that's typically a summertime thing, but I felt like doing it now.  Besides, it's getting warm out here...

Before I get into the recipe details, I just want to let you know that this dessert comes from the new (or new-ish, I don't know) special recipe edition of Weight Watchers magazine.  It's Weight Watchers Five Ingredient 15 Minute Recipes.

LAYERED CHOCOLATE BANANA PUDDING CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups 1% low-fat milk

1 (1.4 oz) package sugar-free chocolate instant pudding mix

2 cups frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed and divided

11 chocolate graham cracker sheets, divided

3 ripe bananas, sliced

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine milk and pudding mix in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk 2 minutes or until thick.  Let stand 5 minutes. Fold in 1 cup whipped topping.

2. Place 5 graham cracker sheets in the bottom of an 11x7-inch glass or ceramix baking dish.  Spoon one-third of pudding mixture evenly over graham crackers; top with half of bananas.  Spoon another third of pudding mixture over bananas; top with 5 graham cracker sheets.  Spoon remaining third of pudding mixture over graham crackers; top with remaining banana slices.  Spread 1 cup whipped topping over bananas. Crumble remaining graham cracker sheet; sprinkle over whipped topping.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1/10 of pudding).

PERSONAL NOTES:

Wow, where can I begin?  This is an easy recipe to follow, let's just start there.  I had it made in about 10-15 minutes.  Seriously. So the special magazine/book where the recipe comes from is telling the trute.  It really is a 15 minute dish.

Then I started deviating a little bit (of course).  When I was at the store the other day looking to buy the graham crackers for the recipe I stopped short when I saw that the box cost almost $5!  That's a little crazy, especially since my husband and I don't normally eat graham crackers.  Although when I mentioned this to him he said I could've made the recipe again.  Sigh.

So in lieu of the graham crackers I purchased a small box of Lorna Doone butter cookies (which I know, it's not chocolate, but I figured they would taste just fine - really).  That was all fine and good except as I was putting the dessert together I quickly realized I wasn't going to have enough cookies for a second layer.  What was I to do on short notice?  Well as it happened, I had a small box of Oreo cookies because I was going to make a different dessert on another day.  So I decided to toss the Oreos in for the second cookie layer.  I know it's not what Weight Watchers had in mind (for the Lorna Doones and the Oreos), but whatever.  So it's not exactly low fat, it's kinda low fat.

As the book states, each serving is only 116 calories! Obviously, the way I made it will have a higher calorie content.  I'm OK with that.

Slutty Brownies. You just gotta have them.

Any recipe called "Slutty Brownies" is going to get your attention.  It did mine.  When I saw the pictures I was instantly hooked.  It has 3 of my favorite things: brownies, chocolate chip cookies and Oreos!  Hel-lo!

By the way, finding this recipe kinda falls into the category of "Why Didn't I Think of This Before?"  It's true.  For someone as creative as myself I really have no excuse as to why I hadn't come up with something like this.  It's genius.
Just take a look at them, looking all sexy lounging on the plate.  They're asking for it!

SLUTTY BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS:

For the brownie layer:

10 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

1-¼ cup White Sugar

¾ cups Cocoa Powder

½ teaspoons Salt

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 whole Eggs

½ cups Flour

For the cookie dough layer:

1 cup Butter

½ cups Brown Sugar

1-½ cup White Sugar

2 whole Eggs

2-½ teaspoons Vanilla extract

2-½ cups Flour

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 package Oreo Cookies, 15 Ounce Package

DIRECTIONS:

For the brownie layer:

In a medium-sized sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the sugar and cocoa powder once the butter is melted. Whisk to combine and remove from heat. Add the salt, vanilla and eggs and continuously whisk until the eggs are combined. Add the flour and continue to mix. Set batter aside.
For the cookie dough layer:

Cream together the butter and sugars using a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set dough aside.

For the assembly:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line the bottom of a 9×9 baking pan with tin foil and then spray the tin foil with a layer of baking spray.

Layer half of the cookie dough on the bottom of the prepared baking pan, pressing down to form the bottom of the Slutty Brownies. Reserve the remaining cookie dough to be used to make cookies later in the day.

Layer as many Oreos as you can on top of the cookie dough. No need to overlap. One single layer will do.

Pour the brownie batter on top of the Oreo layer and make sure it’s spread evenly on top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Test with a knife to see if the center is done. If the knife comes out clean, then remove the pan from the oven and let the brownies rest before serving. If the knife comes out with batter still on it, allow the brownies to bake about 5 minutes more.

Serve with ice cream!


PERSONAL NOTES:
As per usual, I had to change things up.  Not intentionally, but more out of necessity.  I didn't have enough butter.  So when it came to making the brownie layer I only had 4 tablespoons of butter.  To compensate, I used 2 tablespoons of Olivio butter substitute and 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) apple sauce.  Wonderful.  And I also used Egg Beaters instead of regular eggs.  Just a little way to cut down on the cholesterol and saturated fat. 

By the way, these are absolutely delicious.  They're gooey and decadent.  Just the way nature intended ;')