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M and M Coconut Bars

MMMMMMMM.... The Best thing I've baked in a loooooong time!

 M&M Coconut Bars

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 (12 oz.) bag mini M&Ms (with a few reserved for the top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray lightly with nonsticking spray.  

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it browns.  Allow the butter to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the browned butter and sugars.

Stir in eggs, vanilla and salt. Add the flour and stir just until combined.

Add  the coconut and M&Ms and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Sprinkle a few additional M&Ms on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Let the blondies cool completely before turning them out onto a cutting board and slicing into squares.

Yummy Layer Bars

Layer Bars:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
spray a 13 by 9 pan with no-stick cooking spray
mix the graham crackers and butter- press into the bottom of the pan

layer evenly the chocolate chips- then the white- then the butterscotch- and then the coconut

drizzle the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top- and garnish with a few chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Double Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Chocolate Fudge Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake:
18-½ ounces,Chocolate Cake Mix-  I used double fudge chocolate chip
2 small packages Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
2 cups Sour Cream
3  Eggs
⅓ cups Vegetable Oil
½ cups Water
2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
For the ganache:
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch bunt pan. Beat all ingredients (except chocolate chips) until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon batter, which will be thick, into prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While cake is cooling, make the ganache: In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream just to a boil. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until the melt and the mixture is smooth.

Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, allowing the ganache, to drip down the sides. Let the cake stand until the ganache is set, at least 15 minutes.

Chocolate Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
Crust:
 1 1/4 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Cocoa
1/3 cup melted Butter/margarine


Filling:
2 (8 oz) Packages Cream Cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 eggs
1/2 cup Starbucks dark chocolate frappuchino
1 tsp vanilla

Optional Chocolate Ganache Topping:
1/4 cup Heavy cream
4 oz. (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips


CRUST:
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Press into LARGE Pie Pan or spring form pan.
Bake at 325 for 5 min. COOL.

FILLING:
In Mixer, Beat cream cheese first.
Gradually add sugar. Mix well.
Beat in Cocoa, eggs, coffee, and vanilla.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 375 for 25-30 min.
Filling will be soft but will firm up as it cools.
COOL at ROOM temperature on wire rack.
Then refrigerate. 

TOPPING:
Heat cream over the stove, pour it over the chocolate chips and stir till they all melt. Spread over hot cheesecake.
Bake at 425 for 5-7 min. Let cool at ROOM TEMPERATURE.

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
Topping:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) margarine or butter, cold, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Filling:

• 5 or 6 large apples, (I used fuji)  peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2  tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, salt, and granulated sugar. Cut butter into flour, using a fork.  Add oats, and use your hands to toss and squeeze mixture until large, moist clumps form. Transfer to freezer to chill while you prepare apples.
   
   
2. In another large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Transfer to a shallow 2-quart baking dish, and sprinkle with topping mixture.
   
   Bake until golden and bubbling, 50 minutes.
   
   Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
   

Dark Chocolate Peanut butter cups

First- line the mini-cups with mini-liners (2 or 3)

Use a pan w/ boiling water underneath a bowl with the chocolate chips in it to melt them.

Chocolate should be fully melted- like this- after you stir it for a while.

The peanut butter mixture

put 1/4 inch chocolate in the bottom

Then use a pastry brush to spread it to the sides.

balls of PB mixture

After freezing the bottom chocolate for 10 min. I put the PB balls in place- not touching the sides.

Then I covered them in chocolate and put it back in the freezer to set.

 Voila!

Ingredients:
3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (60-70% cacao-I used Ghirardelli's)
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup crushed graham crackers
1 tsp. salt
In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and graham crackers. I put mine in the fridge to harden up a bit as it’s easier to form into balls.

In a double boiler, carefully melt the chocolate (set a metal bowl on top of a saucepan with boiling water).
Use regular or mini cupcake tins and line them with cupcake liners. It is best to use 2-3 liners per each compartment as this will help hold the structure of the pb cup.

Using a pastry brush, brush the melted chocolate on the bottom and sides of mini cupcake liners; when in doubt, add more chocolate, since this will be the base for your candy. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

While those are in the freezer get out the peanut butter mixture and form into teaspoons or tablespoon balls depending on what size peanut butter cup you are making.

Remove the cupcake tins from the freezer, and place about one teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture in each cup, make sure to put it in the middle, not touching the sides of the cup. Spoon more melted chocolate on top of each cup, make sure to get the chocolate in around the sides too.

Place the peanut butter cups back in the freezer for another 15 minutes to set. Let them sit at room temp before devouring. Should make 24  mini PB cups.

Oreo Fudge Brownies

This is a pic of 1/2 the batter underneath the oreos- before I put the other half on top of the oreos.

I found this recipe online-  http://www.withsprinklesontop.net/?p=1192

It is simple, and amazing!





 Ingredients:

1 box brownie mix (I used Ghirardelli Double Chocolate brownie mix)
Eggs & oil (as called for by the brownie mix)
3/4 cup cookies & cream ice cream
1/4 cup hot fudge topping ( room temp)
Double Stuf Oreos


1. Preheat oven according to box directions & spray a 9X13 baking dish generously with cooking spray.
2. Combine brownie mix, eggs, and oil as directed on the back of the box, but do not add the water.
3. Add ice cream and hot fudge to the brownie batter and stir to combine.
4. Pour half of the brownie batter into the baking dish, layer with Oreos, then top with remaining batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes or as directed on the back of the box.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate cream frosting

 

Dark Chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate cream frosting 

and white chocolate chips on top!

Recipe originally from Ghiradelli's chocolate baking book...
I changed several ingredients! 

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 cup and 2 tbsp. flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup and 2 Tbsp. whole milk

1/3 cup Starbucks dark chocolate frappuchino

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Frosting Ingredients:

6 oz. semi-sweet baking bar or 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter- softened

1 cup white chocolate chips-( for the tops!)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line 1 cupcake pan with paper liners (12 cupcakes).  

 Stir together in a medium sized bowl the dry ingredients. (flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt)

In the mixer (or another bowl), whisk together the egg, brown sugar, and white sugar.  

Add the milk, starbucks, and melted butter.

Put in the dry ingredients.

Spoon the cupcake batter into the cupcake molds evenly- fill about 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan.  Continue to cool them till they are room temperature.

To Make the Frosting:

 Melt the chocolate chips or pieces in a bowl- put a saucepan on the stove with an inch of water in the bottom.  Place the bowl on top of the pan- so the simmering water is beneath the bowl and can melt the chocolate.  Stir until smooth.

Heat the cream until hot, remove it from the heat and whisk it with the melted chocolate.  Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool until it's just warm.  Add the soft butter- whisk it in.  Let the frosting sit in the fridge for about an hour, so it can harden.  

Use a pastry bag to squirt the frosting onto the cupcakes, sprinkle the white chocolate chips over the finished cupcakes.  Enjoy!

Makes: 12 cupcakes 

S'mores Turnovers

Ingredients

Finished Turnover....mmmmm

MMMMMMMMMmmmmmm

laying out the dough and ingredients

I put peanut butter in some of them (for me) and some of the jet-puff marshmallow in the other ones (for Brian)

I found this recipe on a blog online  recipe girl blog- it is amazing!  And super easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 box of puff pastry (2 sheets)
3 graham crackers
I small jar of jet puffed marshmallow creme
Hersheys bars (small ones- or break off one of the really big ones like I did :)
Peanut butter
1 egg and 1 tbsp. water (for egg wash)


Instructions:



1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2. Lay Puff Pastry on clean surface. Working with one sheet of Puff Pastry at a time, cut on three folds, creating 3 rectangles (about 3″ x 10″ each). Cut each 3 x 10 rectangle in half. You’ll have 6 pieces to work with for each sheet of Puff Pastry.

3. Assemble turnovers:(see above picture)   Lay graham cracker on 1/2 of each square, top with chocolate that has been cut down to match the length of the graham cracker. Put 1 Tbsp. peanut butter (or marshmallow creme)  on top of each chocolate bar.

4. Working with one turnover at a time, wet edges of Puff Pastry and fold (over) in half. Gently push edges together to stick; use fork to seal edges together and create ridged pattern. Repeat with each turnover until all are sealed up.
5. Mix egg with the 1 tbsp. water.  Brush turnovers lightly with egg wash, then use a sharp knife to cut two small slits into the top of each turnover.

6. Bake 15 minutes, or until turnovers are puffed and golden. Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes. Scoop marshmallow creme into a zip baggie (don’t zip). Microwave for 8 seconds to soften. Zip bag and snip a small piece off of the corner of the bag. Drizzle marshmallow onto the top of each turnover. Serve immediately.

Makes  12