Peppermint Bark

http://www.food.com/recipe/peppermint-bark-345124?photo=29873 

• 12ounces chocolate chips
• 1lb white chocolate chips
• 1⁄2teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1⁄2cup peppermint candy, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 250. Line a 9x13 pan with foil, letting it hang over the sides. Spray foil. Pour the chocolate chips in an even layer on the foil. Place in oven for 5 minutes or until almost melted. Remove from oven, smooth with an offset spatula or knife. Place in refrigerator until cold and firm, about 20 minutes.
2. Melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a metal bowl over simmering water (don’t let bottom of bowl touch water), until chocolate is almost melted. If you are daring, you can use your microwave. Remove bowl from water and stir until completely melted, stirring in extract. Let cool a little bit so it doesn’t melt the chocolate layer when you pour it on top. Pour this over chocolate layer, and, working quickly, spread to cover. Sprinkle with crushed candy (I pressed the candy in just a bit).
3. Chill until both layers are firm. Lift foil out of pan and shake off excess candy. Trim edges. Cut into 2” wide strips. Peel bark from foil and cut each strip as desired. Chill in covered container. Makes about 2 pounds.

Daring Bakers: The World of Caramels!

It's crazy caramel time! This months Daring Bakers Challenge is all about Caramels! I was very excited about making the caramels but a little nervous if the cupcakes with the caramel frosting would be too sweet but my guinea pigs loved them, they said the cupcakes were dense but good and the frosting made it! The guys at work were taking two at a time and we ran out super quick!

I was sooo excited to make the caramels but in my excitement I added way too much sea salt! But I fixed it by covering them in melted chocolate (some melted chocolate chips and butter) - they were like ghetto Riesens - they were delicious!!!!

Thank you to Shauna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater for her signature caramel cake. Also, thank you four our wonderful Daring Bakers hostess Dolores and her helpers Alex and Jenny

I couldn't find any Golden Syrup but Jane came to our rescue and found a recipe from Recipe Zaar. The recipe makes 3/4 C so I had to double it.

I can't wait to see all of the delicious recipes!














CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F

Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder.

Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.


CARAMEL SYRUP

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

DIRECTIONS

In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.
To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light


GOLDEN VANILLA BEAN CARAMELS- makes eighty-one 1-inch caramels -

INGREDIENTS

1 cup golden syrup
2 cups sugar
3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure ground vanilla beans, purchased or ground in a coffee or spice grinders, or 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened

EQUIPMENT

A 9-inch square baking pan - I used an 8 inch
Candy thermometer

PROCEDURE

Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. Combine the golden syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.) Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F. Meanwhile, combine the cream and ground vanilla beans (not the extract) in a small saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.

When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 260°f for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F; for firmer chewy caramels.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if using it. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight until firm.

Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane.


GOLDEN SYRUP

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon water
1/3 cup light corn syrup

Directions

1. Put sugar in a small heavy pan and shake pan so the sugar is in an even layer.
2. Sprinkle it with vinegar and water.
3. Cook over low heat, without stirring, for 5 minutes.
4. Increase heat to medium and cook until syrup has taken on a light caramel color, 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Immediately remove from heat and pour in the corn syrup. DO NOT STIR, but let it bubble for 2 to 3 minutes. When the bubbling stops, stir well.
6. Pour into sealed container. It can be stored at room temperature for several months.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies!!

I am off to Philly to visit one of my best friends and I figured since she always listens to what I am baking it is only fair that I bring her something - plus a great excuse to try a new recipe. After my original recipe idea went down in flames (I didn't have a key ingredient)I looked for a recipe where I could still use the miniature Reeses Peanut Butter Cups I bought (and started eating). This recipe was so simple and came out great!

Some key things I found for this recipe was that my mini offset saptula was awesome in getting the cookies out of the mini muffin tin. Also after I took them out of the tin I let them sit on a plate in the fridge for a little bit so it would be easier to pack them and then they sat patiently in my fridge over nite but they are delicious when they are first done all melty and gooey! When they came out of the oven they don't look cooked but they are and the bottoms are defiently more cooked then the top so don't fret! The recipe said that it made 40 - I got about 33-35. I unwrapped the peanut butter cups while the cookies were in the oven.


Before they went into the oven


All ready to go!


YUMMY!!!



PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES
(Source: allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped


DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
- Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
- Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
- Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

O What A Day!

The other day was just one of those days! I was in the supermarket picking up a few things and the only thing I wanted was something chocolatey, minty, and ice cream! But because it was one of those days I could not find something I truly wanted so I decided to take matters into my own hands!

A few years ago the supermarkets briefly had chips that were made out of Andes Mints, now this was my idea of nirvana! However, I have not been able to find them in years so instead I took a box of Andes Mints chopped them up and threw them into some brownie mix! I also found these mini containers of ice cream, now this was heaven!! I bought one box and used most of it, minus a few that I ate along the way!

I thought that these brownies could possibly be too minty but none of my taste testers (aka coworkers) said anything about that! Though my officemate's 8 year old daughter said they smelled a little funny, that my dear is the delicious smell of mint!

Sinfully Snickers!

Whenever I go home in the summer my parents' friends always ask/expect cookies at the beach. Thanks to the rain there were no beach days when I was home two weeks ago but I still made the cookies and dropped them off at their houses. These cookies are delicious, even for a non-snickers fan! Unfortunately, my dad got a hold of the bag of the mini snickers and ate some so with the extra dough I threw in some chocolate chips and made chocolate chip cookiea, which came out delicious!

The recipe said that it makes 2 dozen but I definetly made more then that, I don't put alot of dough around each snickers. Also, the recipe states 10-20 minutes but the problem with these cookies is that they harden up after they cool down so the key is to take them out when they are just lightly brown, I always take them out at the 10 minute mark. If need be you can put them in for a minute or two.


Snickers are ready to go!


Preparing to be covered!


Balls of dough and snickers, pre-oven!


Cookies right out of the oven!


Inside the cookie!!!


Yummy Melted Snickers!


Extra chocolate chips cookies

SNICKERS SURPRISE COOKIES
(Source: A TO Z Teacher Forums)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

24 Snickers miniature candy bars

24 servings 2 dozen

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degree Fahrenheit.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, mix together butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs and vanilla and combine thoroughly.
5. Then mix in flour mixture.
6. Cover and chill dough 2-3 hours.
7. To form cookie, scoop a tablespoon of chilled dough and flatten.
8. Place a miniature Snickers in the center and form the dough into a ball around the Snickers.
9. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 10-20 minutes.
11. Cool cookies on a rack.
12. Optional: Decorate cookies with powdered sugar or drizzled melted chocolate or both.