S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know it’s September and that many are gearing up to welcome fall this Labor Day Weekend, but I’m not there yet and I don’t think I will be for a while. (It certainly doesn’t help that its 100+ degrees around here either.)

As much as I LOVE fall, in all its crisp air, crunchy leaf and comfort food glory, I’m nowhere near ready to say goodbye to summer. Not even close. This may have something to do with the fact that this summer has felt a little like a dream.  You know the kind of dream when you are trying to run and no matter how hard you try you never make any progress…yeah, that’s been my “dreamlike” summer. It really hasn’t been that bad but work schedules and doctors appointments have kept me from really basking in the simple joy that is summer and until I do that, I don’t think I’ll be ready for autumn.

For now, while everyone else is about to be up their eyeballs in apples, pumpkins and gourds, you’ll be able to find me here in my little fantasy world of endless summer, posting about the  “SOOOOO last season” picnics, barbecues and barefeet. I know I did more than just work all summer and until my blog can prove that, summer it must stay. Plus since I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to let current trends determine how I wanted to live my life, I’m ok with being passé and lovin’ on summer just a little bit longer.  This post can stand as my declaration of that philosophy.

It’s not so hard to do really, holding on to summer, especially when you have such great food to hold onto it with. I’m not kidding, with a handle as big as these cookies, we could hold onto summer FOREVER!

And now I feel like singing Karaoke to “Total Eclipse of the Heart”

…And if you only hold me tight

We’ll be holding on forever…

Thanks Jenny at Picky Palate for your stuffed cookie series, it’s incredibly fun to see the look of disbelief on everyone’s face when you serve these giant cookies. If you want pictures on how to shape these cookies, her site has them….I don’t know how she does it, my hands were a mess through that stage and althought my camera isn’t the best, it’s all I’ve got and I didn’t really want to see it get all gummed up with cookie dough, so no pictures from me.  J

S’mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

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bakers dozen

Ingredients:

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup granulated sugar

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

24 graham cracker quarters

3 Hershey Bars, broken into rows of 3 bars

12 large marshmallows cut in half lengthwise

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment or silpat liner.
2. In a stand or eclectic mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluff. Add eggs and vanilla; continue to beat until well combined.
3. Place flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl; mix to combine then add slowly to wet ingredients. Once mixed, add the chocolate chips.
4. Make your s’mores stack: layer a quarter of a full graham cracker sheet with three Hershey chocolate squares and 2 marshmallow halves, top with another quarter of a full graham cracker sheet.)
5. Surround the s’mores stack with cookie dough by placing cookie dough balls on top, bottom, front and back of the s’mores. Play with the dough until the s’more is completely enclosed. The dough balls will be about the size of a child’s fist.
6. Place 6 of the large cookie dough balls on a prepared baking sheet. And bake for 15-17 minutes until the edges are golden and centers are cooked through. Let cool for 10 minutes on the hot cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack or serving plate.

Notes: The s’mores stack shifts around while you are putting the cookie dough around it – don’t sweat it, it will still taste delightful. Also, prepare to have sticky fingers; this process is a bit messy. If you would like your cookie to be a little bit smaller, make smaller s’mores: saw the graham quarters in half with a serrated knife (it reduces the likelihood of crumbs and breakage) then stack with ½ a large marshmallow, 1 Hershey’s chocolate square and top with anther 1/8^th of a graham cracker sheet. Cover with dough as instructed above.

Source: Picky Palate

Gwenevere

Knock You Naked Brownies

Did you see “Knock You Naked” Brownies when Pioneer Woman posted them on her blog in May? Probably for the first time ever, it wasn’t the picture of the food that piqued my interest, it was the name - Knock You Naked Brownies. Why on earth would anyone name brownies after something that would leave you naked after eating them? (Especially something that certainly wasn’t going to help reduce the measure of your waistline.)  After I scrolled through Pioneer Woman’s pictures and read through the recipe I decided the last thing I wanted was to be caught naked after eating one of these brownies so I moved on… no bookmarks and no pins.

But see, thrs [yes I mean thrs] caramel in there so although these brownies were out of sight…they most definitely were NOT out of mind! Caramel and I get along quite well so naturally, I thought about these brownies a lot. A LOT. I even tried to think about how I could possibly make them healthier….that was a short thought.

Finally, while on vacation this summer with my parents, siblings and our families, I decided it was time to bust these babies out… and of course a single batch wasn’t gonna cut it. Oh no, I had to double it! My justification for such an action went as follows:

ONE) - I have a big family. I need enough of the goodness to be shared.

TWO) - It’s vacation. It’s ok to splurge a little.

THREE) - Since this recipe called for a box mix, which I usually try to steer clear of, I justified that with the vacation excuse too... I didn’t want to go buy a lot of ingredients to make this ONE treat and then have a bunch of leftover foodstuff that I’d have to schlep across the country or throw away.  Box Mix and I made peace for this recipe.

After I returned home from our vacation, I didn’t have any of my handy excuses to justify making these brownies again, so the second time, I was just going to have to own my actions….I made them, because I needed them to live.

And now after having made (and eaten) these twice, I now understand why these are called, “Knock You Naked Brownies”.

It’s cuz…if you make these, you are going to eat so many that you won’t fit into any of your clothes so you, quite literally, will be, “knocked naked”. J

So be warned: If you like caramel and you like chocolate these brownies just may be too much too handle. If you can manage to just eat one of these moist, chocolaty, gooey, drippy, caramely treats you should be prepared for  their deliciousness to, at very least, knock your socks off!

FYI: there are three ways in which these brownies can be made. A single version in a 9x13, a single version in an 8x8 and a double version in a 9x13 (same as the single version in an 8x8- just with less servings)

The pictures you see are of the doubled version in a 9x13 pan however the recipe I’ve included is of the single version in a 9x13 pan. The single version in a 9x13 pan makes for a more fudgy brownie where the caramel really stands out.

Knock You Naked Brownies

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1 9x13inch pan of brownies

Ingredients:

1 box (18.5 oz) German Chocolate Cake

1 can (5 oz ) Evaporated Milk (divided)

½ cup Butter, melted

60 whole caramels, unwrapped (14 oz-16 oz-I opted for 16 oz)

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.
3. Press half the mixture into a well-greased square baking pan (9x9 or 8x8). Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
4. In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup (remaining – if using a 5 oz can) evaporated milk.  (For thicker caramel, use more caramel – not less evaporated milk). When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.
5. Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.
6. Bake for 20 to 28 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies.

Notes: If you’d like you could add 1 cup of finely chopped pecans to the batter however due to allergies, I skipped that part.

Source: Adapted from Peetabear @ Group Recipes AND The Pioneer Woman

Gwenevere

S'mores Brownies

I won something! Actually I’ve wont two somethings. The first something was a cookbook: Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers by Debby Maugans given away by Sommer at A Spicy Perspective. I love Sommer’s blog, her food is delicious, her pictures are amazing AND she lives in Asheville, NC – what’s not to love? By the way, if anyone knows of any legal/attorney job openings in Ashville, I would greatly appreciate the referral. Living in NC (specifically Ashville) has been a fantasy of mine since I visited there over 20 years ago as a freshman in high school.

When the book was delivered, it “fell open” to the S’mores Brownie recipe. I’m not one to argue with fate…actually I am, but not in the case of s’mores or brownies, so I willfully obliged. The original recipe suggested baking the brownies is a 5x3 inch  (2 cup capacity) mini loaf pan but since I didn’t have a 5x3 inch loaf pan I figured muffin cups would work just as well. Good call on my part if I must say so myself – every bite gets it’s own “edge crust” (the corner pieces of brownies are fought over in my family).

These brownies are so darn good. They are soft and fudgy with a crunch from the graham cracker crust and of course the marshmallows and s’mores component makes these puppies brilliant. The only issue I had with these brownies is that I have no idea how to photograph them. I had some issues with the white marshmallows, shiny tin foil and rough top. So if you make these and manage to get some pictures of them, please let me know so that I can learn from your awesomeness.

I made this treat (and many others) while wearing the super cute apron (the second something I won) from Shawnda at Confections of a Foodie Bride. Shawnda's blog is another great one everyone should have added to their reader. It is her blog that brought me my favorite Real Strawberry Cake, Vanilla Bean and Ginger Carrot Cake recipes. Thank you Sommer and Shawnda for hosting these giveaways and turning me into a giveaway junkie. I love free stuff and now that I’ve actually won something, I find myself even more hopeful that I can win more…and this is why I don’t gamble (with my own money).

S’mores Brownies (small batch)

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Makes 8 brownies in regular muffin cups

Makes 4 brownies in jumbo muffin cups

Ingredients:

3 regular size graham crackers, crushed (1/3 cup)

4 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoons unsweetended cocoa powder

1 large egg, lightly beaten

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 regular size Hershey bar, roughly chopped or 1-cup milk chocolate chips

1 graham cracker rectangle, roughly chopped

1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8 regular muffins cups with 4 x 4” tin foil squares (or line 4 jumbo muffin cups with 6 x6” squares). Spray with cooking oil.
2. In a medium microwave safe bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs with sugar then add in the melted butter. Mix with a fork until well combined. Press about 2 teaspoons of graham mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup (If using jumbo cups, use 4 teaspoons). Bake until it is light and golden 4-6 minutes.
3. Wash out your bowl and dry with a clean cloth. Place chopped chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter into the bowl and microwave on medium power until the chocolate is soft and butter is melted, about 1 ½ minutes. Stir until smooth.
4. Add sugar and cocoa powder and whisk the mixture to blend. Whisk in the egg, vanilla and salt. Stir in the flour until just combined.
5. Spoon 4 teaspoons of the batter into each muffin cup (8 teaspoons if using jumbo). Bake the brownies until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 24-27 minutes; the top will appear puffed and slightly cracked. DO NOT OVERCOOK.
6. Remove pan from oven and turn on the oven broiler. Scatter the chopped heresy bar and graham crackers on top of each brownie then sprinkle on the marshmallows. Broil until the marshmallows are lightly browned, about 1 minute. Let the brownie layer cool completely in a pan or on wire rack.

Source: Adapted from Small-Batch Baking – for Chocolate Lovers by Debby Maugans

Gwenevere

Fauxstess Cupcakes

Perhaps you’ve seen a cupcake like this before?

From the time I was small, I’ve been a big fan. Come to think of it, the original Hostess Cupcake may have been the start of my cake obsession. I really like cake, “good cake”, as the Barefoot Contessa would say.

I saw these little knock off cupcakes all over the web and I knew I wanted to try to make one. When I saw that Cook’s Country had a rendition all their own, I knew this would be the version I would try first. Their recipe did not disspoint. The cake is so tender and moist. I think I will actually start using it as my go to chocolate cake recipe (when my cake doesn’t have to be stacked or loaded with frosting – because I don’t know if this cake has the tensile strength to stand up to much frosting.)


The only problem I had with these cupcakes is that they looked like everyone elses. How do you make something so great, just different enough to add your own “signature”?


As I thought about how I could do this, a popular  poem kept coming to mind….

The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Not that my version of these cupcakes have or will make any huge LIFE differences for me or anyone else for that matter but they certainly can represent the opportunity. No one can know for sure where our choices will take us but even if the choices seem insignificant, like changing the pattern of icing on a cake, they may just make all the difference. We’ll never know unless we take that road.

Fauxstess Cupcakes

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Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

CUPCAKES

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup boiling water

1/3 cup cocoa powder (natural unsweetened)

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon instant espresso (optional)

¾ cup sugar

½ cup sour cream

½ cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FILLING

3 tablespoons water

¾ teaspoon unflavored gelatin

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups marshmallow crème

GLAZE

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

CUPCAKES

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and adjust oven rack to middle position. Grease and flour wells of 18 muffin cups or put in paper liners.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
3. Whisk water, cocoa, chocolate chips, and espresso (if using) in a large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, sour cream, oil, eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Whisk in flour mixture until incorporated.
4. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out with few dry crumbs attached, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool cupcakes in tin 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely before filling or frosting 

FILLING

1. Combine water and gelatin in large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Stir in butter, vanilla, and salt until combined. Let mixture cool until just warm to touch, about 5 minutes, then whisk/stir in marshmallow cream until smooth; refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. (I let mine sit overnight and then when I was ready to put it into the cupcakes I just stirred it up to loosen it a bit.
2. Transfer 1/3 cup marshmallow mixture to pastry bag fitted with small plain tip; reserve remaining mixture for filling cupcakes.

ASSEMBLE CUPCAKES

1. Microwave chocolate and butter in small bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 30 seconds.
2. Cool glaze to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Hollow out a cone from top of each cupcake and fill cupcakes with 1 tablespoon filling each. Replace tops, frost with 2 teaspoons cooled glaze, and let sit 10 minutes.
3. Using pastry bag, pipe curlicues (or center road marks) across glazed cupcakes. Serve. (Cupcakes can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.)

Notes: Cooke’s Country advises to use the cone method to fill the cupcakes because the cake is so light. Piping the filling into the cake will compromise it’s stability and the cupcake will fall apart.

Source: Adapted from Cook’s Country: Chocolate Cream Cupcakes

Gwenevere

Samoa Cookie Knockoff

How is your Girl Scout Cookie stash holding up?

Ours is gone and has been for a while. In fact due to participation in a biggest loser competition with my sisters and some recent dietary restrictions, I asked Boy if he would please, under NO circumstance, bring ANY Girl Scout Cookies home this year. He obliged. (Although, I have found a ½ eaten box in the pantry every now and then. Is there a Girl Scout Cookie fairy?)

I’ve had Samoa Cookies on my “to bake” list for a while and when I finally decided on the dessert I would serve after our Easter feast, I knew now was the time. Samoa’s were going to play the major roll in the dessert presentation.

And so it began. I used the recipe from BakingBites.com because it looked the most like the cookies I was used to and I didn’t have to make my own caramel. (I don’t have a problem making my own caramel its just that I have a 5 POUND brick of caramel in my pantry that I’d like to put a dent in.)

I didn’t need to use the milk to bring the dough together but I kept in on the recipe just in case someone else needed it. I used milk chocolate instead of semisweet for the bottom and drizzle because I had some leftover melting wafers from a chocolate fountain that I wanted to use up. Next time I’ll NOT use chocolate fountain chocolate as it was a little softer that what I would have liked it to be.

I also had to make up another 1/3 batch of coconut topping (recipe below reflects the larger batch) because, I guess I’m more liberal when it comes to my coconut, caramel, cookie topping.

If you are using a pre-made caramel, take care not to cook it when you melt it. Cooked caramel = hard caramel, hard caramel = a topping that is difficult to spread. With that said, although I did over cook my caramel and the chocolate was a little soft, no one seemed to notice or complain. In fact I heard a few people say, these were better than the real thing….MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Samoa Cookie Knockoffs

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Makes 5 dozen 2 ½ “ cookies

Ingredients:

COOKIES

1 cup butter, soft

½ cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

up to 2 tbsp milk

TOPPING

4 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

16 oz. quality chewy caramel

¼ tsp salt

4 tbsp milk

8 oz chocolate (recipe suggests dark or semisweet and states chocolate chips are ok. I used milk chocolate)

Directions:

COOKIES

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla.  Add in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
3. Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 2-inch cookie cutter to make the rounds. Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. Cool cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

TOPPING:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast for 7 - 13 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet then transfer to a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high in 30-second intervals, stopping to stir the caramel to help it melt. When smooth, drizzle the caramel over the toasted coconut with a spatula. Using a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
4. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Source: Adapted from BakingBites.com

Gwenevere