Here are my recipes that were featured on News 9 today!!
Easy Rocky Road Fudge Ring
1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate morsels
9 ounces (3/4 of a 12-ounce bag) butterscotch morsels
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla paste
1 cup pecans, chopped
8-inch cake pan, lightly greased with softened butter
1 jar Maraschino cherries, drained & chopped
1/2 cup marshmallows
Place chocolate and butterscotch chips in a bowl and microwave on medium until melted. Add milk and stir until chips and milk combined. Save the empty condensed milk can clean and remove label. Stir in vanilla, nuts, marshmallows and cherries.
Cover empty condensed milk can with plastic food wrap and center it in the greased cake pan. Spoon fudge into pan around can, making sure to re-center can if it drifts. Chill until set. Place on platter and garnish with more cherries, nuts and marshmallows!
Apricot Bars
1 package yellow cake mix with pudding
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
½ cup almonds, finely chopped
1 ½ cups apricot preserves
1 package (8 ounce) Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside an ungreased 13 x 9 baking pan.
Place the cake mix, melted butter and almonds in a large bowl and mix together till it comes together yet is crumbly. Remove 1 cup of mixture and set aside. Press remaining mixture into the bottom of the 13 x 9 baking dish. Spread apricot preserves over the top of the almond crust.
To make the cream cheese filling, place softened cream cheese in a bowl and mix in a bowl till creamy. Add in sugar, flour, almond extract and egg. Spread mixture over the top of the apricot preserves. Crumble crust mixture over the top. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is set, 30-35 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars.
Red Velvet Whoopie Pie with Peppermint frosting
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1-oz. bottle red food coloring (2 Tbsp.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment; set aside. In medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition just until combined. Stir in food coloring. Spoon batter in 1- or 2-inch diameter rounds, ( I use a small ice cream scoop!) about 1/2-inch high on prepared baking sheets, allowing 1 inch between each round. Bake 7 to 9 minutes for 1-inch cookies or 9 to 11 minutes for 2-inch cookies, or until tops are set. Cool completely on baking sheets on rack. Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets.
To fill, dollop Whoopie Pie Filling on flat sides of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat sides down. Makes 60 one-inch or 42 two-inch cookies.To store: Refrigerate in airtight container up to 4 days. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
Frosting:
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2cups vegetable shortening
9 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 cups marshmallow creme
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 lb hard peppermint candies
Mix together first 7 ingredients. Spread generous amount on cookie and top.
Starbucks Peppermint and Fudge Brownies
Brownies
one 19.5-ounce box fudge brownie mix (Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix works great)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
green food coloring
Chocolate Frosting
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
one 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, then prepare a 9 x 9-inch baking pan by spraying it with a light coating of nonstick spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil to the same width as the bottom of the pan, but make it much longer than the pan so that the left and right ends go up and out of the pan on the left and right sides. This will create a “sling” that will help you lift the brownies out of the pan after they’ve baked.
Make the brownie batter by first sifting the box of ingredients. This will destroy any clumps. Add the melted butter, water, eggs, and peppermint extract and mix the batter by hand just until all the dry stuff is mixed in. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake it for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Allow the brownies to cool before frosting.
Make the peppermint buttercream frosting by beating together 1 cup of powdered sugar and the softened butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. Mix in another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, then add the milk and the peppermint and vanilla extracts. Mix for about 1 minute to make the frosting smooth. Add an additional 1/4 cup of powdered sugar if the frosting is too thin and light. You want a frosting that can be spread easily, yet it should be firm enough to hold up the layer of chocolate frosting that’s coming next. When the brownie has cooled, use a spatula to spread the frosting evenly over the top. Put the brownie in the fridge to firm up the buttercream frosting. To make the chocolate frosting: by bringing the whole milk and butter to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the chocolate chips into a heat-safe bowl. When the milk and butter comes to a boil, pour the mixture over the chocolate chips and let it all just sit there in the bowl for a couple minutes. Add the vanilla to the mixture and whisk until smooth. Use an electric mixer to beat in the powdered sugar until the frosting is smooth. Spread the chocolate frosting over the white frosting on the brownie.
Mom’s Sugar Cookies
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla paste
½ teaspoon lemon extract
2 ½ cup all purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Cream together the butter and sugar till fluffy. Add eggs on at a time and beat into butter mixture. Add in vanilla and lemon extract. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to butter and mix till dough comes together. Divide dough into 2 portions. Flatten into a disc and place in fridge for one hour. To roll out: Lightly flour space and then place disc on flour and roll till about ¼ inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Return leftover dough to refrigerator till ready to roll again. (This keeps them from spreading while baking) Bake cookies in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Depends on the size of your cookie. Just cook till edges are light brown. Cool and then decorate!
Oh sweet Lord Caryn! Now I am going to have to make those Starbucks brownies! They look soooo good!
Plus, Mike will LOVE the bacon bark!