Sunday Funday 10-13-13

This was a pretty busy week for me, baking and otherwise.  I have a new frosting recipe I wanted to get out to you before today, but I got a little distracted.  I'm sure you'll forgive me when I post it in the next day or two, right? Awesome, you're cool.

1. My cousin who lives in Texas had a baby and was in Ohio visiting.  I had an awesome afternoon hanging out with her and my other cousins and meeting her new little guy.  He is so cute and looks just like our grandpa, but with Asian eyes.  She is the first of the cousins to have a kid and she seems to have gotten pretty lucky with her awesome baby.

2.  My husbands rugby team had their 10th annual breast cancer fundraiser and it was a huge success!  The event is held at a bar, they have bottomless beers, a split-the-pot raffle, baskets for raffle, food, and a bake sale. I donated beer marshmallows and they were amazing! For this batch, I used Guinness and drizzled chocolate over the marshmallows instead of dipping them.

3. I made bread this week!  I usually stray away from yeast breads, but this one got great reviews and seemed fairly easy.  This is the recipe I used.  Next time I make it (and I definitely will) I will use less sugar per some comments.  Per another reviewer's suggestion, I found it really helpful to turn on my oven for 20-30 seconds, then turn it off, and use it to help my dough rise.  I used my homemade white dough to make two loaves of pepperoni bread that I can grab for quick lunches or pair with soups for dinners.

4. My mom and I split an order of Ugandan vanilla beans from Beanilla and I'm so excited to to say that they arrived in the mail! I can't wait to drop these fragrant beans into a bottle of vodka and get a new batch of vanilla extract started!

5. Ohio State football had a by-week but next week the Buckeyes will take on Iowa...bring it on!  My high school played and lost to a pretty good private school in Cincinnati.  Bummer we lost but I was so impressed with the other schools facilities - their sports complex was really nice, they had a latte cart with their concessions (really, who has a latte cart), and when their team entered the field they had purple smoke!..crazy!

Bookmarks:

1. Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake by Pin Cookie.
A chocolate cookie crust, a layer of ganache, an espresso cheesecake, and a silky creamy topping make this cheesecake something that needs to be in my life.

2. Creme Brulee Cookies by Oh Bite It.
Oh Bite It! takes a genius approach to creme brulee by turning it into a handheld treat.  Premade sugar cookie dough gets baked, dented and filled with vanilla pudding, sprinkled with sugar, and toasted to a crunchy perfection.

3. White Chocolate Lemon Bread by Lil' Luna.
I love lemon loaves! Anytime I go to Starbucks I have to exercise an absurd amount of will power to not by an overpriced slice of their lemon bread.  This lemon loaf by Lil' Luna seems like an easy treat to through together since it utilizes a lemon cake mix and (dry) white chocolate pudding.  What a tasty combination!  I would be interested in figuring out how to completely home-make it but there's nothing wrong with using a box to get things started.

Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest: Sweet Your Heart Out

  I can't remember if I've already shared this one...

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Sunday Funday 10-6-13

What's up!? It's Sunday again.

 1. What an amazing football weekend! My school had their homecoming and actually won.  We almost botched it in the 4th, but an amazing interception kept us in the lead.  I made really cute sugar cookies for the cheerleaders and they loved them.  When I made these, I used all vanilla extract instead of orange and/or almond extract - and I definitely loved the vanilla flavor they had. Next time I make a batch, I think I will reduce or omit the baking powder, because my cookies rose and spread just a little bit.

2.  Speaking of football, OSU had an amazing game against Northwestern.  What an exciting game - I love when my Buckeyes can pull off a win and keep the game interesting!

3.  I'm so excited it's October and all the great things that can be baked with pumpkin.  Seeds, breads, muffins, pancakes, the list is endless.  What are your favorite pumpkin recipes?

4. We had an awesome Saturday hanging out at our friends farm! Another couple was there and brought a bow and arrow, so we spent a good bit of time shooting arrows at some stacked hay bales with a spray painted target on it.  Turns out, I'm not too accurate with a bow and arrow, so in case of zombie apocalypse, I'm gonna need a better weapon of choice.  Still, lots of fun hanging out :)

5. Next weekend is my husband's rugby team's breast cancer fundraiser.  It's a cause that is near and dear to the team, as one of the woman players passed away from the disease.  My friend Amy and I are baking some amazing treats to sell as bake sale items.  I'm making beer marshmallows and some sort of cupcake.  For the cupcake, I'm stuck in a three way tie: chocolate cupcakes with a cookies and cream frosting (pretty standard), brown sugar cupcakes with maple buttercream and candied bacon, or salted popcorn cupcakes (complete with popcorn flour and popcorn scented milk) with salted caramel buttercream and caramel corn topping.  What do you think? Feel free to vote in the comment section below!

Bookmarks:
1. Chocolate Filled Pizzelles by Dolce Pizzelle Cookie Company.
Not an actually recipe, but definitely an inspiration.  I imagine making your favorite pizzelle recipe and while they are still warm off the press wrapping them in half around a dowel or chopstick, letting them cool, filling them with ganache or any other delicious filling, and dipping in chocolate to seal closed.

2.  Ham and Cheese Waffles by Epicurious.
Definitely a more savory recipe.  Seems like it would be a good and interesting twist on a classic sandwich.  This might be good dipped in a sweet barbeque or honey mustard sauce.  Yum!

3. Chevron Cake Roll by And Cute.
What a cute way to give a peak to what kind of flavor is hiding in a cake roll! And Cute made pink zigzags and filled her cake roll with a strawberry and whipped cream filling.  I've never made a cake roll before, but when I do I definitely like the idea of decorating the outside - chevron, stripes, polka dots.... the options are endless!

Don't forget to follow me and Sweet Your Heart Out on Pinterest

Have a fantastic week, ya'll!

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Snickers Brownies

I'm sorry, I'm a terrible friend.  You come here looking for delicious recipes, and here I am hiding one of my favorite bar recipes since JULY.  You forgive me, right?  Okay, good, because I'm about to share a life changing twist on brownies.  Better late than never. 

I can't even put into words how incredible these brownies are.  It's all the sweetness and textures and flavors of a Snickers candy bar sitting on top of a brownie.  For me, these are even better than regular ol' Snickers bars....I mean, the brownie is like the perfect vessel to deliver the nougat, peanuts, and caramel to your mouth.

I admit, I cheated a little bit....I used a boxed brownie mix to speed things up.  But really, go ahead and make home made brownies.  Usually I do, but with all the other home made components and honestly feeling lazy, the boxed mix worked out just fine. Just make sure to use the large family-sized box that will make a 13x9 inch pan; likewise, if you make your own favorite brownie recipe.

So now I bring you Snicker Brownies, because you're not you when you're hungry.

Ingredients
Brownies
1 box of brownies, family-sized, baked according to package directions in a foil-lined pans

Nougat
1/4 cup butter, unsalted
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk (you can DIY your own by mixing 2 1/2 tablespoons of dry nonfat milk powder with 3 tablespoons water)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel-Peanut Layer
 14 ounces Kraft caramels
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, roughly chopped

Topping
About 1/4 - 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips for drizzling.


Directions

1. Prepare a 9x13 inch pan of brownies baked in a foil lined baking pan.  Set aside to cool completely.

2. Prepare the nougat.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Add evaporated milk and sugar and stir until dissolved.  Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, and vanilla, and stir until smooth.  Pour over brownies, smooth with an offset spatula, and set aside to cool.

3. Prepare the caramel-peanut layer. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat combine the unwrapped caramels and heavy cream.  Stir occasionally until smooth.  Once smooth, stir in peanuts.  Once the nougat layer is cool (or mostly cool), pour the hot caramel over the nougat.  Spread evenly with an offset spatuala and set aside to cool.

4. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a microwave (at 30 second increments at 50% power, stirring between rounds, until melted and smooth).  Put chocolate in a small zip top bag, snip a small hole in the corner, and drizzle over caramel layer.

5. Refrigerate for a few hours or over night so that everything can mingle together.  Before cutting, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Cut with a hot knife (I ran a metal knife under hot running water, quickly dried with a paper towel), cleaning knife between cuts as needed.

Eat and be amazed at a new and improved Snickers bar.


 Nougat and caramel recipe sightly adapted from How Sweet Eats.