Take 5 Candy Bar Pie
Print This Recipe
Happy Pi(e) Day!
Have you ever had a Take 5 candy bar? It’s one of those treats that satisfies any salty sweet craving you may have because it’s filled with pretzels, caramel, peanuts, and peanut butter then covered in chocolate. Yes, it’s as amazing as it sounds. Needless to say, when I saw Brown Eyed Baker’s tweet about a Take 5 candy bar pie recipe, I knew it had to be bumped to the top of my to-make list.
These pies are amazing. Salty, sweet, gooey, crunchy–they’re perfect! Because I love everything mini, I made my pies in mini tart tins. Unfortunately, the crusts did not hold up well at all (major crumble) and I’m not sure if it’s because the pretzel crumbs were so fine or because I used the tart tins, but I think if when I make these again, I’ll leave the pretzels in chunks rather than finely grind them.
Pretzel Crust Ingredients
4 ounces pretzel sticks, finely ground in a food processor or blender
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Caramel Sauce Ingredients
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¾ cup heavy cream, warmed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Pie Ingredients
½ cup creamy peanut butter, melted
1/3 cup prepared caramel sauce
¼ cup coarsely chopped peanuts
10 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
Crust Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the ground pretzels, melted butter, and sugar. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and chill in the refrigerator until firm, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Caramel Sauce Preparation
Whisk the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a medium-size heavy saucepan until well combined. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the sugar mixture, without stirring, until it becomes a rich caramel color, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the cream until the caramel sauce is smooth, using caution as the mixture may bubble up. (If the sauce seizes, stir it over low heat until the hardened caramel is melted.) Whisk in the butter and set aside.
Assemble the Pie
Smooth the warmed peanut butter evenly over the bottom of the pretzel crust. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Pour the caramel sauce over the peanut butter layer and gently spread with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the caramel layer. Refrigerate for another 10 minutes. Finish with a smooth layer of melted chocolate. Refrigerate the pie until the chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes.
Pie can then remain at room temperature until serving. If you have leftovers, cover with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker.
Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies
Print This Recipe
Wanting to make something easy to bring to the office for Valentine’s Day, I decided to finally give this recipe from Smitten Kitchen a whirl. Not needing any special ingredients, I made the dough the day before, whipped up a batch of the cream filling I used for the Homemade Oreos, sandwiched the cookies together, and expected to fall in love.
But I didn’t, I was disappointed.*** (Sorry Deb’s mom.) And well, I likened these cookies to online dating; stay with me for a sec. They’re like the picture where the guy looks friendly and happy then you meet him in person and he’s silently pining over his ex and you kick yourself for wasting your time having drinks when you could have been home in your PJs watching Teen Mom 2. (Don’t lie, you watch it too.) These cookies are cute and nice looking then you try them and you wish you hadn’t wasted your calories. Get it?
Anyway, I found the dough difficult to gather together and roll out–it kept cracking and was really dry. I thought the cookies were a little bland and not very sweet; if I were to make these again I’d sprinkle the cookies with sanding sugar or something to sweeten them up a bit. Of course, I’m curious to see what my coworkers say tomorrow, as they sometimes love things that I’m not very fond of.
***Update: These were a hit at the office. Maybe I just had a bad tasting day or something.
p.s. Happy Valentine’s Day from Nosh With Me!
Cookie Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
Cookie Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Vanilla-Cream Filling Ingredients
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Filling Preparation
Place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
Cookie recipe from Smitten Kitchen.
Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes
Print This Recipe
Have you discovered Pinterest yet? If you haven’t, DON’T. It’s crazy addictive and it’s where I found insane recipes like this one. But if you’ve already discovered the time suck, then you should follow me.
So anyway, about this recipe. It’s a chocolate cupcake. But it’s not your everyday chocolate cupcake. Oh no, it has an Oreo on the bottom. And a mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in the middle. And peanut butter cookies and cream frosting on top. This is a chocolate cupcake on crack. And it’s delicious, but crazy sweet. (Shocking, right?)
Side note: I went to the store on the Saturday before the Super Bowl (yes, it was crazy) to buy the ingredients and since I was overly anxious, I didn’t read the quantities and realized I didn’t have enough Oreos to double the recipe and make the frosting. However, because the frosting requires you to remove the cream filling from the Oreos, I decided to just make a quick batch of the chocolate cookies I used for the Homemade Oreos a while back rather than brave the store on the day of the game. Plus, the temptation is then gone to eat the cream filling, because you know I totally would.
Cupcake Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 ounce bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
16 chocolate sandwich cookies
16 mini peanut butter cups, unwrapped
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 16 muffin cups with paper liners. Place an Oreo in the bottom of each liner.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl then stir in the chopped chocolate.
In a large bowl or the bowl of stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the buttermilk and allow to incorporate for 30 seconds.
Pour in the flour mixture and beat on medium until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Divide the batter evenly among the paper liners, filling each about 2/3 full.
Bake for 9 minutes, then remove from oven and press a peanut butter cup into the center of each cupcake. Allow to bake for 9 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes from the muffin tin to cool completely on a wire rack. Frost with Oreo peanut butter buttercream. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
Frosting Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup peanut butter
2-3 cups confectioners sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons Oreo cookie crumbs
Frosting Preparation
Separate 12 Oreo cookies and discard the cream filling. In a food processor or plastic bag, crush the cookies into fine crumbs.
In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening on high until fully combined. Beat in peanut butter.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add 2 cups of the confectioners sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and a pinch of salt. Start the mixer on slow, then eventually crank it up to high and beat for 2 minutes. Add more confectioners sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.
Add the cookie crumbs and beat on high for 2 minutes.
Recipe from The Sweet Life.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake
Print This Recipe
I’m not sure how I came across this recipe, but I’m sure glad I did! Not only did I think it was fantastic, but it was it a huge hit at the office as well. And since it’s yet another spectacular recipe from Baked, you can believe I’ll be checking out the bakery next time I’m in NYC!
Referring to this as a cake is a bit misleading–it’s more like a 9×13 pan full of delicious, addictive, chewy oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips topped with cream cheese frosting. I know, how can it possibly be bad?
Note: Until this recipe, I’d never made anything that required pouring hot water over oats and butter, so I found this a little strange. Also, my oat mixture got got a little gummy while it was cooling, so I wonder if I should have used slow cooking rather than quick cooking oats. Anyone know?
Cake Ingredients
8 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups water
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teas baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Frosting Ingredients
5 tbs unsalted butter, softened
5 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cake Preparation
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and position the rack in the center. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9 x 13 inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Heat 1 1/4 cups water to boiling.
Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl and toss them with the vanilla until covered. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the flour over the chips and toss until coated. This will keep them from settling at the bottom during baking. Set aside.
Place the oats and cubed butter in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the oat mixture, wait 30 seconds, and stir to moisten all the oats and melt the butter. Set the mixture aside for 25 to 30 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, both sugars, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon until combined. Fold in the cooled oatmeal and stir until well combined. Gently fold in the remaining flour and then chocolate chops. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.
Frosting Preparation
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it is completely smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.
Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (The frosting can be made 1 day ahead. Let it soften at room temperature before using.)
Spread a thin, even layer of frosting over the cooled cake then chill for 15 minutes until set. Slice and serve. The frosted cake can be kept, refrigerated and tightly covered, for up to 3 days. Bring the cake back to room temperature before serving. (An unfrosted one will keep for 3 days, tightly covered, at room temperature. )
Recipe adapted from Pass the Sushi.
OXO Egg Beater Giveaway
As I mentioned in in my Brown Sugar Cupcakes post, OXO provided me with an additional egg beater to give away to a reader and now is your chance to win it!
This egg beater is perfect for those times you have to mix a few ingredients but don’t want to break out the stand mixer. Plus, not only is there a non-slip grip for people like me that constantly wash their hands while baking, but the beaters are super easy to clean–each beater can be removed separately and the base detaches and can go in the dishwasher.
To enter to win your own egg beater, leave a comment telling me about your favorite kitchen tool.
OXO provided me an egg beater for myself and one reader. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 29, 2012. One winner will be selected at random shortly thereafter and contacted by email. Please note this giveaway is only open to residents of the U.S.
***Comments are closed.***
