Pretzel, Hershey Kiss, and M&M Bites

 Cuisine: American

Inspiration: I first had these little snacks a few years ago when my Mom brought some home from a friend at work who had made them. Then, I ran across them again a few weeks back  on The Cooking Photographer and was reminded of how good these little treats are. I had a family cookout coming up and decided to make these as a quick and easy snack to bring along.

What we Loved: These are just a really fun little variation on chocolate covered pretzels. I have always loved snacks like trail mixes or Chex mixes that are both salty and sweet, and that’s the reason that I love these so much. They’re not so much a dessert as a salty, chocolatey snack. Plus, they’re incredibly easy to make, and they travel well. I always love finding snacks that are easy to take along to a party.

Helpful Hints: With all of the different kinds of Hershey Kisses and M&Ms that there are now, you can use any number of different flavor combinations with these. You can also use Rolo candies instead of Hershey Kisses, like The Cooking Photographer did, and there are plenty of other little chocolates/toppings that could be used in place of the kisses or M&Ms. And of course, with M&Ms, you can always coordinate the colors for a holiday or season.

Pretzel, Hershey Kiss, and M&M Bites
Source: From my Mom’s work friend and The Cooking Photographer

Pretzel snaps
Hershey Kisses
M&Ms

1. Place the pretzel squares on a baking sheet, and top each one with a Hershey Kiss.

2. Cook for 3 minutes in a 200 degree oven.

3. Press an M&M into the center of each Hershey Kiss. Refrigerate for approximately 15-20 minutes or until cool.

Blondies

Before I made this recipe, I’d never eaten a blondie before in my life, and neither had B. Since I’ve heard of them, though, I’ve always been curious what a brownie without chocolate would taste like, and yesterday was finally the night that I decided to try them out. I searched around on the internet and found this recipe, and both B and I ended up being super happy with it. I had to stop myself before I ate the whole pan, so I’d say that they were good :) They were so buttery and gooey, and they tasted almost like a cross between a chocolate chip cookie bar and a brownie.  I’m now happy to add another item to new foods that I’ve tried, and I’ll definitely be making these again and trying out more blondie recipes in the future. I do have to say that they don’ t hold a candle to brownies, what with the lack of chocolate and all, but they certainly are delicious just the same :)

Blondies
Source: Amber’s Delectable Delights, originally from Baking Illustrated

I only used white chocolate chips instead of the semisweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and nuts that the original recipe called for, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly.

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips

1.  Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl, and set aside.

3. Whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together in medium bowl until combined. Add the eggs and the vanilla, and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined, being sure not to overmix. Fold in the white chocolate chips, and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake until the top is shiny and cracked and feels firm to the touch, approximately 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack to room temperature. Cut into bars and serve.

Chocolate Christmas Truffles

For the past three years, I’ve made tins of truffles for Christmas. I try different flavors every year, with this year’s flavors being almond, orange, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, and French vanilla. B and I like the almond and orange flavors best, so those always get made, but I usually throw in a few flavors that are new. In the past, some of the flavors that I’ve tried were chocolate chip cookie dough, mint, cinnamon, and peanut butter. For the truffles that I made this year, I used one recipe and simply switched the extract flavorings and toppings, which was a lot easier than using several recipes as I’ve done in the past. These are a whole lot of work, but I think they’re worth it :)

Chocolate Truffles
Source: Adapted from a recipe given to us by a friend of B’s

*This recipe will make approximately 60 truffles. I made three batches, dividing each filling in half before adding the extract. This gave me approximately 30 truffles for each of the six flavors.

Filling

1 small bag of semisweet chocolate chips
9 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Extract flavorings of your choice

Coating

Additional semisweet or white chocolate chips (several bags, depending on how many batches of truffles you make)
Desired toppings (I used crushed almonds for the almond truffles, powdered sugar for the orange truffles, red sprinkles for the raspberry truffles, crushed dried strawberries for the strawberry truffles, plain white chocolate for the French vanilla truffles, and plain semisweet chocolate for the cherry truffles)

1. Melt the bag of semisweet chocolate chips in a double boiler. In another small saucepan, heat the whipping cream over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan (right before the cream starts boiling).

2. Mix the whipping cream into the chocolate to combine.

3. Add a tablespoon of butter and whisk until smooth. If desired, split the mixture into separate bowls before adding the extract, allowing you to make more flavors. Add the desired amount of extract to the chocolate mixture(s), and whisk until smooth. I use a lot of extract because I like the flavor to be strong (approximately 2-3 teaspoons per half batch). It’s best to mix in a little extract and then taste the chocolate, adding more extract until you’re happy with the strength of the flavor.

4. Chill the chocolate mixture in the refrigerator until hardened, at least 1 hour.

5. Remove the mixture from the refrigerator. Using a spoon and your hands, form the mixture into truffle-sized balls and place on a wax paper- or foil-lined baking sheet. It helps to wash your hands often with very cold water while you are working, which will leave your hands cold and make it easier to work with the chocolate without melting it. When you’re finished rolling all of the truffles, place the sheet into the freezer to harden.

6. While the filling is hardening, melt 2/3 of a bag of chocolate chips in a double boiler. Place a candy thermometer in the chocolate and heat it to 113 degrees F. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and place it on a pot holder or a towel on the counter. Add the remaining 1/3 bag of chocolate chips, and mix to combine. Place the thermometer back into the chocolate and let it cool to 88 degrees. This process of tempering the chocolate will ensure that the chocolate coating for the truffles will be hard when it cools, instead of melting to the touch.

7. Drop a truffle into the tempered chocolate (one at a time), coating it quickly with a spoon and removing the truffle to a foil-lined sheet to dry. It takes some practice to get the coating on the truffles to look clean and pretty, but I’ve found that the best method is to roll the truffle off of a spoon onto the baking sheet, smoothing as necessary. After placing a chocolate coated truffle on the baking sheet, you will want to add any toppings to the truffle before the chocolate coating hardens. Work quickly, because the chocolate you are using for the coating will cool quickly, and your truffle fillings will begin to warm and melt.

8. When the chocolate you are using for the coating begins to cool to the point where you can’t work with it, heat it again in a double boiler to 113 degrees, and then let it cool back down to 88 degrees. Place your remaining truffle fillings back into the freezer until you’re ready to begin coating again.

9. Repeat Step 8 as necessary until all of the truffles are coated, adding more chocolate chips to melt as you run out (keeping the ratio at 2/3 melted, 1/3 added cold to the melted chocolate).

9. Refrigerate the coated truffles until hardened (approximately 15 minutes), then place in air-tight containers.

White Chocolate Christmas Trail Mix

I love this Christmas candy. It’s so hard to stop eating it once I’ve started. B’s mom always makes it at Christmas, so I always associate it with Christmas time, but I suppose you could use any color M&Ms that you’d like and eat this at any time of the year. It’s sweet, salty, and very addicting :)

White Chocolate Christmas Trail Mix
Source: B’s Mom and a family friend  

*I divided the below recipe in half, and it still made enough to fill a large mixing bowl.

3 cups Cheerios
5 cups Crispix (I used Chex)
4 cups pretzels (I used mini twists)
3 cups peanuts
16 oz M&Ms
1 1/2 pounds white chocolate

1. Mix the Cheeros, Crispix, pretzels, peanuts, and M&Ms in a large mixing bowl.

2. Melt the white chocolate in a microwave or double boiler.

3. Pour the chocolate over the cereal mixture, and stir until everything is evenly coated.

4. Spread the mixture onto a wax paper- or foil-covered cookie sheet, and cool in the refrigerator until hardened. Break the mixture into chunks and store in an air-tight container.

Amaretto Cheesecake Bars

You know, like I said before, I really don’t bake all that often….but it’s Christmas time, so I have a feeling that my blog posts are going to be a little dessert-heavy :) Anyway, if I had to pick one dessert to choose as my favorite, and that’s a hard question for me, I think that I might pick cheesecake. Which is a bit odd, considering my undying devotion for chocolate. But I really do adore cheesecake….it’s just so fresh and rich and delicious. This was my first time making any type of cheesecake dessert at home, and I really enjoyed the recipe. There’s a nice cheesecake layer sandwiched between two crumbly crusts, with almonds mixed in on top. The end result is a very rich dessert that tastes wonderful after being chilled in the fridge. I tested these out after cooling them for an hour or two, and I thought that the amaretto flavor was much more pronounced than when I ate one the next day. So, next time, I think I might add some almond extract to the recipe as well. Either way, these are very creamy and rich, and they taste wonderful.

Amaretto Cheesecake Bars
Source: Cookie Madness

1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
4 tablespoons Amaretto
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons whole roasted almonds, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch baking pan.

2. Combine the flour, salt, and brown sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse to mix. Add the butter, and pulse until the mixture is coarse. Set aside approximately one cup of the mixture to use later as the topping, then press the remaining mixture into the greased pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, and then set aside.

3. Clean the food processor bowl, and then add the cream cheese and sugar. Process the cheese and sugar until it is very smooth. Add the egg, amaretto, and vanilla, and pulse until mixed. Spread the batter (it will be thin) over the partially baked crust.

4. Add the chopped almonds (I chopped mine in a mini food processor) to the reserved crumb mixture, and sprinkle the mixture over the cream cheese mixture.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Set the dish on a wire rack to cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator.

6. Cut the cheesecake into bars.

Chewy Fudge Brownies

I don’t bake very often, but when I do, I tend to make brownies more often than other treats. They’re B’s favorite dessert, and there are just so many brownie recipes out there to be tried. I usually pick a new recipe each time I’m making brownies, and I thought that this one was very, very good. I tend to like really dense, fudge-like brownies, and these certainly fit that description. These are so dense and chewy that it’s almost like you’re eating fudge. Yum. And they are incredibly rich, too. Hmmm. It seems that all of the desserts that I choose to make turn out that way :)

Chewy Fudge Brownies
Source: Cookie Madness

5 oz semi-sweet chocolate
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch baking pan.

2. Melt both the chocolate and the butter together in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring often. Stir in the cocoa powder, and remove from the heat to cool slightly.

3. Whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture. Add the flour and stir until blended. Pour the mixture into your greased pan.

4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack until completely cool, and then cut the brownies into squares.

Caramel Dip

I made this dip for a party that we had a few weeks back. It has a layer of cream cheese mixed with brown sugar, then a layer of caramel apple dip, and then a layer of Heath Bar bits. At first I was a little disappointed because you can’t taste the cream cheese layer as much as I’d hoped, but man did this grow on me. It’s a wonderfully crunchy, caramelly dip. It’s intended to be served with apple slices, but I served it with Trader Joe’s animal crackers, which, by the way, are the best animal crackers that I’ve ever had. Lemony delicious. Anyway, this dip is pretty tasty and perfect for fall.

Caramel Dip
Source: Adapted from Janet is Hungry

1 8 ox package cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 container caramel dip (from the produce section. I used fat free Marzetti’s)
1 package Heath Bar bits
Animal crackers for dipping

1. Mix the cream cheese with the brown sugar until smooth. Spread into your serving dish.

2. Heat the caramel slightly (15-30 seconds in microwave) to make spreadable. Spread the caramel on top of the cream cheese layer.

3. Sprinkle the package of Heath Bar bits over the caramel layer.

4. Serve with animal crackers for dipping.

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween. Such a strange day.

I made this batch of snack mix for a Halloween party last weekend. Just Indian corn, yogurt pretzels, and chocolate covered raisins. I think it could have used some Halloween M&M’s and maybe some more chocolate covered peanuts, etc., but I thought that this was a festive Halloween photo :)

Have a spooky day :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

My Mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies that I’ve ever had. Buttery, chocolatey, delicious. I have her recipe, but every time I try to make them they come out of the oven ugly-looking and burnt. I’m not much of a baker, and it seems that I can’t make a good chocolate chip cookie to save my life. So, I make the cookies in bar form instead. It’s much more difficult to screw up, and the cookies are still super tasty. This recipe is by far my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies, even if I can’t make them as delicious as my Mom. And the cookie dough is the best thing ever, too. The thought even crossed my mind while I was making these to make an extra batch of dough and freeze it in individual snack-size portions. Yes, I know that there’s uncooked egg in there that will cause me all sorts of illnesses. But really. This chocolate chip cookie dough is my favorite sweet of all time, which is saying a lot coming from someone who has such a big sweet tooth that it’s almost a disease. And yes…the cookies in cooked form are probably my second favorite sweet :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Source: Mom

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz package chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, combine the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla and mix until creamy.

3. Add the eggs to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. Gradually stir in the flour mixture, and then mix in the chocolate chips.

4. Spread the cookie dough into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.

Fudge Brownie Cake

Another birthday for B, another brownie cake :) This year, I made plain fudge brownies baked in a round cake pan with just a handful of chocolate chips for decoration. And let me tell you, this recipe is incredibly chocolatey and dense. Like usual, I tend to pick out the richest dessert recipes that have ever been created in the history of the world. If you prefer a stick-to-your-insides kind of brownie, then this is the perfect recipe. Happy 25th B :)

Fudge Brownie Cake
Source: Kitchen Chick, Adapted from Martha Stewart

I found the recipe for these Martha Stewart brownies at the above link, where the proportions were so nicely converted to 9 inch pan requirements, which is what I needed. I didn’t make a single change to the recipe, so I’ll leave the above link as the source. I used Ghirardelli chocolate, but I think next time (if there is a next time…I make desserts so rarely that I always love trying something new or making my childhood favorites), I might use something different – I always think that Ghirardelli chocolate doesn’t taste as dark as it should, regardless of what the package tells me.

Here’s a photo of the inside of the cake…mmm.