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.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Peanut Butter Caramel Filling

Difficult: No
Time Consuming: No

This is one of my favorite desserts to bring to events because... 1) They come together quickly.  2) The filling makes them incredible soft.  3) The caramel adds a sweetness that's tempered by the peanut butter, so it's not too sweet.  4) I can't stop eating them.

These bars are amazing.  Possibly one of my favorite things I've made this year, they're that good.  The cookie layers perfectly sandwich the peanut butter caramel middle.  To make it extra special, as I was cooking the caramel for the filling, I dropped in a vanilla bean and stirred until all the little flecks of vanilla caviar speckled the gooey filling (just make sure you take it out before you spread it over the cookie base).

This recipe makes a 13x9" pan of incredible bars.  When you're spreading the first layer of cookie into the pan, you will worry that there is no way that two-thirds of the dough will cover it.  But just keep squishing it around until you get the whole bottom covered - it will seem thin, but the layer will puff up when it bakes.  For the cookie topping, I dropped teaspoon sized dough balls all over the surface, they puff up and spread out, but still leave little windows for the silky, gooey peanut butter caramel to peak through.

The Recipe:

yields one 9x13 pan, cut into whatever size you'd like

Ingredients
 chocolate chip cookie dough
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt 
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
5 tablespoons shortening (if you have a tablespoon sized cookie scoop, it makes quick measuring from a tub of shortening)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips 

Peanut Butter Caramel Filling
1/2 cup (4 oz) evaporated milk
11 ounces caramels, unwrapped (you can buy Kraft Caramels, Kraft Caramel Bits, or Werther's Original Chewy Caramels - I used Werther's because someone bought out all the Kraft caramels)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
*optional: the caviar from 1 vanilla bean, or 1 whole split vanilla bean

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Optional: Coarse salt, like Kosher or Sea Salt.  You can be extra special by using vanilla sea salt if you have it.

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 9x13" pan with foil - leave enough overhang so you can lift the bars out of the pan when they're done.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, lightly whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together, set aside.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and shortening together until combined.  Add both sugars and beat for about 2 minutes - until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla, beat until combined.  Mix in chocolate chips.

3.  Add half of the flour mixture, and mix until just combined.  Then add the remaining flour mixture and mix again until just combined.

4.  Take about two-thirds of the dough and press it into the bottom of the pan.  It will seem like it won't cover, but just keep smooshing it until it covers - it will be fairly thin.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until it's just set and hardly brown.

5.  While the base layer is baking, begin making the filling.  Unwrap caramels and place in a medium saucepan.  Add peanut butter, evaporated milk (and the vanilla bean if you are using it).  Whisk over medium heat until smooth.

6.  When the cookie base is finished (which probably happened while you were making the filling), pour the peanut butter caramel over top, and spread evenly (if you put in a whole split vanilla bean, make sure to remove it.)  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of chocolate chips (or more, I'm not judging) over the peanut butter caramel.

7.  Drop teaspoon sized dough balls over the surface of the caramel layer.  Sprinkle lightly with salt (optional) and bake for 18-20 minutes (until the cookie dough on top is lightly browned)

8.  Cool completely in pan then cut into 24 squares (or however many you want).  I chilled mine in the fridge to make cutting a little easier.


From Everyday Reading

Caramel Bourbon Heath Ice Cream

Difficulty: Easy
Time Consuming: not actively, but it needs a chill overnight in the freezer

As soon as I got back from vacation, I was itching to get back into the kitchen.  I really wanted to make ice cream and I found an awesome recipe from Pinterest.  I adapted it to use in the popular 2 Ingredient Ice Cream recipe that's amazing because it doesn't require an ice cream machine, turns out super soft, and is amazingly adaptable with flavors.

This ice cream is so good, I might have kept sneaking back into the freezer for little bites.  And it's definitely a flavor the husband approves of.  The bourbon still has a little bite but it's quickly sweetened by the caramel.  The bits of heath provide a crunchy texture and the flavorscompliments the caramel and bourbon perfectly.

If you don't have any sweetened condensed milk on hand, you can make your own following this simple recipe from Paula Deen:

Dissolve 3/4 cup white sugar with 1/3 cup water (microwave until boiling).  Mix the sugar water with 4 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 cup dry powdered milk in a food processor and blend until smooth (or smooth-ish, the milk powder might not be completely dissolved, but that's ok).  If using immediately, set aside to use, or store in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.  This makes an equivalent to a 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk.

So, it's confession time....all the ice cream might have been eaten before I took a picture of it.  I know, I'm aweful, but it was so creamy and sweet and awesome, and before long, it was gone.  So the picture below comes from the source of the original recipe, and I've included a link to that below.  I'll definately be making another batch of this again soon, and will update with original pictures later.

Image from How Sweet It Is

Caramel Bourbon Heath Ice Cream Recipe
Yields around 4 cups (1 quart) of ice cream

Ingredients

2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup bourbon (more or less to taste)
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (or one batch of the recipe above)
2/3 cup prepared caramel sauce (more or less, to taste)
3/4 cup toffee bits or chopped up Heath Bar (more or less, to taste)

Directions

1.   In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream to stiff peaks (be careful not to overmix, or it will separate and start to turn into butter).  Reduce the mixer speed to low, and slowly add bourbon to the whipped cream.

2.  Using a spatula, fold in the sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce.  Fold in toffee bits.

3.  Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

The great thing about this recipe is that as long as you stick to using 1 pint of whipping cream to 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, you can really play around with the other ingredients.  You can replace the Heath with Snickers, the caramel for fudge, and the bourbon with Bailey's....just as an idea.  Play around and really make it what you want it to be. 

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Difficult: no
Time consuming: yes - there are 4 different components that are completely homemade, but you can make it less time consuming by using some store bought items.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!!  The teachers in my district are some of the most hardworking people and definitely deserve some appreciation.  I thought I'd contribute to the day by making some caramel apple cupcakes - it's my take on "apples for the teacher."

The cake is a cinnamon cupcake adapted from Annie's Eats.  It has a delicate, light texture and is seasoned with just enough spice to make the apples in the filling shine.  The cakes are cored and filled with homemade cooked apples and vanilla bean caramel sauce.  Either of these components could be purchased already made from the store, but just make sure that the apples are diced finely enough to stuff into the little cake.  The cupcakes are then topped with a caramel swiss meringue buttercream.  One bite into these explode into caramel apple deliciousness that make you roll your eyes and savor the moment.

The cupcakes have a lot of components to them, and I wanted to make them homemade.  In part because I like to do things 100% homemade, but also I really wanted to go above and beyond to make these treats special for the teachers.  That made this a two day project.  On day one, I made the caramel sauce, the apple filling, and the cupcakes.  On day two, I made the frosting and put the whole sha-bang together.

Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce
makes about 2 cups (but you only need about 1/2 - 1 cup)
from Not Without Salt

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean 
1 cup sweetened, condensed milk

Directions
1.  Combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and lemon juice in a medium sauce pan.  Remove any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan by wiping down the sides with water (use a pastry brush).  Heat over medium-high and bring to a boil.  DO NOT STIR.  Let the mixture cook and boil.  When it starts to even slightly turn brown, pop in your candy thermometer and continue to heat until it reaches 300 degrees.

2.  Remove from heat, let the bubbles slow, and whisk in heavy cream.  Scrape the caviar from the vanilla bean and add to the caramel.  Then add the sweetened condensed milk and whisk.  Return to heat, and cook until a candy thermometer reaches 240 degrees.

3.  Let mixture cool to room temperature before using in cupcakes.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Apple Filling
makes about 2 cups
from the Craving Chronicles

Ingredients
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds baking apples (I used 2 large honeycrisp because I like their texture best), finely diced (~1/4" cubes)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
1.  Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl.  Set aside.

2.  Melt butter in a large sauce pan.  Add apples, lemon juice, white and brown sugars, and cinnamon.  Mix over medium-low heat, until the apples become soft and release their juices.

3.  When you see a good amount of juice in the pan, add the slurry, mix and continue to cook over low heat until thickened.  Set aside and let cool to room temperature.  Store extra in an airtight container in the fridge.

Cinnamon Cupcakes
 makes 24-26 cupcakes
adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

2. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

3.  Beat eggs and sugar using a paddle in the stand mixer until thick ribbons form (about 5 minutes).  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and mix to combine.  Add 1/2 the milk mixture, mix.  Then 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix.  Then the rest of the milk and the vanilla, mix.  Then finish by adding the last 1/3 of flour mixture, and stir until just combined.

4.  Place just over 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake liner (filling about 2/3 of the way full).  Bake for 16-18 minutes.  The tops will still look sticky but a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.  Let cool in pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Caramel (Apple*) Swiss Meringue Buttercream
yields enough to generously top 26 cupcakes and still have over a cup leftover
adapted from Flour Child

Ingredients
6 large egg whites (about 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Pinch of coarse salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
1/2 cup Vanilla Bean Caramel sauce (above), cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(*if you have leftover apple filling, you can puree it until smooth - I added about 3/8 cup pureed apples)

Directions
 
1.  Create a double boiler by placing a saucepan with about 2 inches of water over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites, sugar and salt. Place bowl over pan of simmering water and whisk constantly until mixture reads 160°F on an instant read or candy thermometer. (Note: the sugar will be dissolved and mixture will start to resemble loose marshmallow fluff.)

3.  Remove the bowl from the heat and attach it to the stand mixer.  Beat with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form and the bowl feels neutral (not too warm) to the touch - about 10 minutes.  Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment.

4.  Slowly add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding the next tablespoon.  Once all the butter is added, slowly add the caramel (which should not be warmer than room temperature - if it's too warm, it will melt the butter).  If you are adding pureed apples, do that now and mix until well blended and the mixture resembles frosting.

(Note: my buttercream was very loose and soupy, so I popped the bowl into the fridge for 20 minutes, then returned to the mixer and beat on a low speed.  I stared at it for awhile and it was still loose, and while I was googling how to fix it, I turned around and it completely came together beautifully.  Lesson of the story: just keep mixing and it will come together eventually.  If after 5 minutes it doesn't come together, return to fridge for 10 minutes, then mix.  Repeat as needed).

To make the cupcakes:

1.  Core the cupcakes with a cupcake plunger or a paring knife.  Save cupcake holes if you want to make lids.

2.  In a small bowl, mix a quarter cup or so of caramel sauce with about 3/4 of the apples.

3.  Fill each cupcake with a heaping teaspoon of caramel apples. Trim cupcake holes to lids and close each cupcake.

4.  Frost cupcakes (I used a Wilton 2D) and drizzle with caramel sauce.


See more of the same at The Craving Chronicles where adapted the recipe from.

Homemade Twix Bars

Difficulty: medium to hard (you gotta be comfortable making caramel
Time consuming? Moderate

First and foremost, happy New Year! I know I've been a little MIA recently, so sorry everyone :/  I hope everyone had a good holiday season and lots of successful baking.  I'm still eating Christmas cookies, ha!  I've been a little baked out recently - I did make some cupcakes for New Year's and some cookies for a meeting at work.  I think I'm resting up until I bake my birthday cake for a party this weekend! It's gonna be a chocolate heart attack - everything a birthday cake should be.  But that'll be for a later post ;)

But anyways, onto the good stuff...onto the Twix bars!

A friend of my husbands got his US citizenship not too long ago and had a party to celebrate. I wasn't thinking about bringing anything because we lent his family folding tables, chairs, and cornhole bags. But of course, day of, I changed my mind and wanted to bring a dessert. I mean, I'm always looking for a crowd to bake for. I had to forgo showering and getting ready for the party, writing progress reports for my job, and writing an IEP to get this done. But ooooooh my they are totally worth it.

The homemade shortbread has ground rice (not rice flour) to make it extra crispy. The homemade caramel is freaking amazing and will probably be my go-to caramel recipe from now on. The chocolate on top is only enhanced by a sprinkling of sea salt. I love when everything in a recipe is homemade.

This recipe is easier done one component at a time, but if push comes to shove, you can easily make the caramel and shortbread simultaneously, but I wouldn't recommend it because it's pretty easy to lose track of checking the candy thermometer on the caramel.

The recipe:

yields a 13x9 inch pan

Ingredients:

Shortbread
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground rice (process in a spice grinder or coffee grinder, sift threw a fine mesh sieve to remove chunks)

Caramel
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sweetened condensed milk

Chocolate topping
12 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
4 tablespoons butter

+ sea salt to garnish.

Directions:

1. Make the caramel first, it'll need to cool some anyways. Before you start, check your candy thermometer: boil water and make sure that the candy thermometer reads 212 degrees when the water boils. If it starts boiling at 202 degrees, then you'll know to subtract 10 degrees from all the temperatures mentioned. And vice versa.

2. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Turn on the heat, and don't stir again. It will start to bubble. When it starts to turn golden brown, stick in your candy thermometer and continue to boil until it hits 300 degrees. Remove from heat and wait for the boiling to stop (less than a minute). Add cream and whisk to combine - be careful because it will bubble up and steam a lot. Add sweetened condensed milk (you'll have 6 extra ounces of the S/C milk, I'll explain later how this didn't go to waste) and salt and mix until combined. Put back on heat and whisk continuously until it reaches 240 degrees. Remove from heat, set aside, and start making the shortbread crust.

3. Line a 13x9 inch pan with parchment or foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add flour, rice powder, and salt. Mix until combined. The mixture may be crumbly but should hold together when pressed. Press into the prepared baking pan. It will be thin. Bake for 22-27 minutes, rotating once during baking. It should be golden brown on top.

5. Pour prepared caramel over shortbread and sprinkle with sea salt. Pop into the fridge or freezer to help it set - this can take as long as 2 hours.

6. Once the shortbread and caramel have cooled, make the chocolate top. Combine the chocolate chips and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power. Stir. Repeat until chocolate is melted. Pour over caramel layer, sprinkle with more sea salt and pop it back into the fridge/freezer until set.

Don't cut into the bars until everything is cooled or you will have a runny mess. Cut into desired sizes and enjoy!
 

*I used the extra sweetened condensed milk in 2 ingredient ice cream, adjusting the ratio of heavy cream to account for the extra S/C milk.

From Not Without Salt.

Caramel Apple Bars

Difficult: Nope.
Time consuming: Nope


Thursday was parent-teacher conferences.  From 8 in the morning til 7 at night.  It was exhausting!  I whipped up these treats for the special ed team meeting but then we decided to go off campus to Cracker Barrel.  These bars were great snacks for our long day since we didn't have them in the morning. 

The oat crust layer was crunchy and just hefty enough to hold the tart apples and caramel.  The topping reminded me of an apple crisp - sweet and crunchy and just a little crumbly.  Eat these quickly though because after a day or two the topping starts to get soggy - although I doubt they'll last that long!

The Recipe:

Ingredients
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c butter (1 stick), softened
1/4 c shortening
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c quick-cooking oats
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
4 1/2 c coarsely chopped peeled tart apples (I used 5-6 small granny smith apples)
3 T all-purpose flour
1 bag (12-14 ounces) caramels (I used kraft brand)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a 13x9" baking pan with foil and set aside.

2. Start melting caramel over low heat.  Keep an eye on it while preparing the recipe, stir occasionally.

2.  Mix brown sugar, butter and shortening in large bowl using an electric mixer. Stir in 1 3/4 cups flour, the oats, salt and baking soda (I used my hands to crumble everything together). The mixture will seem loose but that's ok. Set aside 2 cups oat mixture and press remaining oat mixture in pan.

3. Toss apples with 3 tablespoons flour and spread evenly over pan.

4.  When caramel is completely melted and smooth, pour evenly over the apples (work quickly because the caramel will start to harden - just smoosh it around as best you can).

5.  Top with reserved oat mixture and press down lightly.

6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

For 36 bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows while warm (I waited for about an hour after they came out of the oven). Store covered in refrigerator





Recipe from Betty Crocker

Caramel Flan (Creme Caramel)

Difficulty level: medium
Time consuming: not actively, but bake time can take as long as 75 minutes, plus it will need to refrigerate overnight before you can eat it.

Flan, also known as creme caramel, is a Latin American style custard that has a creamy, velvety texture with a layer of soft caramel on top (unlike a creme brulee which is a custard with a layer of cruncy caramel on top). There are several varieties, but I think my Aunt Lili's recipe is the best. And I have been craving it for MONTHS!

 I finally made it when my husband and I were visiting my parents last week. This flan is amazingly good and super easy to make. I try to only make it when theres a crowd (or at least more than me and the hubs) or else I will eat it all. My aunt is Cuban, and in my opinion this makes her an expert on Latin American dessert, and therefore her recipe is superior to all others :)

Put sugar in a 9x9" baking dish. Put this dish on the burner of a stove on medium heat. As soon as the sugar begins to brown and bubble, stir continoulsy until all the sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook until the sugar has a dark amber color and is completely liquid. If it begins to smoke, STOP! Set the pan aside to cool.

In a blender, combine a can of sweetened condensed milk, a can of evaporated milk, regular milk (any percentage, I use skim), eggs, sugar, and vanilla. My blender was filled to the brim. Put on the lid, hold tight, and blend to combine the ingredients. You can taste the mixture and add more sugar if you'd like it sweeter, but I find that it's not necessary. Pour through a fine wire mesh sieve into the pan with the caramelized sugar. Cover tightly with foil.

Place a larger pan (like a roasting pan) in the oven, then place the foil covered 9x9 pan into the larger. Create a hot water bath by running the hottest tap water possible (but not boiling) and filling the roasting pan until the water reaches about half to two-thirds up the 9x9 dish. Bake for 50-70 minutes (mine took 75 minutes). You'll know it's done when you take it out of the oven, peel back the foil, and jiggle the pan - the outside edges should be set and the middle should wiggle just a little, like Jell-O. DO NOT OVERBAKE THE FLAN!! It will have a tougher texture with bubbles in it when you finally get to slice into it to enjoy (it will still taste fab, though). Let it sit out at room temperature for a bit, then refrigerate overnight.

Now it gets complicated. First (and most importantly), run a knife around the edge of your pan. Using another (larger) baking pan or sheet pan (with edges), flip the flan by putting the sheet pan on top, holding tight, and flipping 180 degrees. Don't hesitate when you do this, one quick, smooth movement is best. There is tons of delicious caramel sauce that will run out and if you flip too slowly it will make quite the mess. Mine flipped pretty sloppily and the flan broke, but if you flip better than me your custard will look beautiful.  Remember that sugar you caramelized in step one? It cooked into the flan and created the caramel sauce. (*Note, the caramel sauce will not be thick). Cut and serve with caramel sauce spooned over top.

 Look! My flan had no bubbles and the most delicate and silky texture. This makes a great dessert. Or breakfast. Or snack. And the nice thing about this recipe is that it's pretty forgiving. You can use low fat ingredients or whole-fat ingredients without drastic changes to taste. You can use 5 eggs instead of 6 if after you've already started and you look in the fridge and find only 5 eggs. You can also bake in an 8x8 pan if you don't have a 9x9" one (or if after you've started you realized you grabbed the wrong pan), just make sure the hot water bath goes a little higher (but NOT into the flan) or you risk overbaking the edges of the flan - this also flips nicely into a 9x9" pan preserving all that delicious caramel sauce.

RECIPE:

Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar and 3/8 cup white sugar
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
14 oz milk (whole, low fat, whatevs)
6 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a 9x9" baking pan, caramelize 1 cup of sugar (melt the sugar until it is liquid and brown). Set the pan asize and let it cool. Be careful!
3. In a blender (or large bowl using a hand mixer), combine all 3 milks, eggs, 3/8 cup sugar, and vanilla, then blend. Take a small taste and add more sugar if desired.
4. Pour through a fine wire mesh sieve over the hardened caramelized sugar in the baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
5. Put the 9x9" pan inside a larger rectangular pan (like a roasting pan). Add the hottest tap water to the larger pan so that it comes halfway (or so) up the sides of the 9" pan (this is the hot water bath).
6. Carefully place the pan in the oven and bake 50-70 minutes, until the edges are set and the middle only jiggles a little.
7. Remove the 9x9" pan from the oven and let cool for 20-30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, but preferably over night. (Wait for the roasting pan to cool, then remove from the oven to avoid accidently spilling hot water on yourself)
8. When ready to seve, invert the baking pan onto a serving platter with sides. Let the liquified caramel sugar run down onto the flan. Enjoy!