Baking Junkie

Tag: Candy

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Cookies and Cream Bark

I imagine that many of you have been busy baking away in your kitchens. I usually try to spend one long day in the kitchen doing all of my holiday baking at once. Because of my schedule this year that isn’t possible, so I am spacing things out and just baking one thing here and there. My biggest dilemma is trying to find the balance between making all of my traditional goodies and also trying to add in some new recipes as well. I decided to kick things off with something new, and this is the recipe I chose.

It helps that it only requires two ingredients!

I have made various different barks in the past, but not for several years. I loved this recipe because of it’s simplicity, but mainly because of it’s taste. One piece was usually not enough for me. You know that something is good when Derek has to hide it from me! Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Bark
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15 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
1 (12 0z) bag white chocolate chips

Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals until melted, stirring after each interval.

Once the chocolate has melted, mix in cookies. Pour onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, smoothing out with a spatula. Chill for approximately 10 minutes, or until chocolate has hardened. Remove from wax paper and break into pieces.

Tags: Candy, chocolate, Christmas, No Bake, Oreo, White chocolate

Posted in Misc. | 2 Comments »

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie

Recipe adapted from Kevin and Amanda

Have you all been getting sucked in to all of the Fall TV shows like I have? I both love and hate this time of the year. While I get a lot of enjoyment out of watching all of these shows, it tends to send my anxiety skyrocketing just trying to fit them all in!

Glee (as some of you may remember) is among my favorites. This season I am also watching Two and a Half Men, Up All Night, The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Person of Interest, Dexter, and Storm Chasers.

Ok my head is about to explode now.

{Ok, not really, but I am catching up on tv as I type this}.

Do you know what helps fix my anxiety? Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. Chocolate and peanut butter is even better. This pie gives me both.

This was hands down one of the best desserts I made this summer, so much so that I have now made it twice (something that doesn’t happen very often in my kitchen). It starts with a homemade Oreo crust (you could use a premade crust, but I highly recommend the homemade), and next comes the homemade peanut butter ice cream (without an ice cream maker!). Throw in a layer of hot fudge topping, and then top it all off with pieces of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and it really doesn’t get much better than this. Ideally you should wait several hours to let the pie fully set before serving, but I can speak from experience when I say after only about an hour it’s edible Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie
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25 Oreos, finely crushed
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup peanut butter
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 jar hot fudge topping
23 miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Crush Oreos in a food processor. Mix together with melted butter and press into the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Place in freezer for approximately 10 minutes.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the whipping cream for several minutes until soft peaks form. Fold into the peanut butter mixture.
Remove the Oreo crust from the freezer. Place half of the ice cream mixture on top of the crust. Microwave the hot fudge topping according to directions and pour ¼ – ½ on top of the ice cream. Top with remaining ice cream mixture and more of the hot fudge topping. Coarsely chop the peanut butter cups (add more if you wish) and place on top of the pie. Place in freezer for 6-8 hours prior to serving.

Tags: Candy, chocolate, Ice cream, No Bake, Oreo, peanut butter, Pies

Posted in Ice Cream, Pies | 4 Comments »

Sunday, September 18th, 2011

Chocolate Snickers Cake

Recipe adapted from Kevin and Amanda

I ate a lot of chocolate this summer. A lot. Trust me, my waistline keeps reminding me. It was all definitely worth it though!

I made this cake for a friend’s birthday. He’s not much of a cake person, but he loves Snickers. I first saw this recipe in cupcake form and knew that it would be good either way, but for the particular situation bringing a cake was going to be easier than cupcakes. This was my first time making any kind of mousse and I had no idea it could be so easy (and delicious)! I decided to make two cake layers and tort them into 4 layers, with each layer being separated by a layer of mousse. The cake is frosted with a delicious chocolate buttercream and topped with chopped snickers. It would be easy to substitute and use any kind of candy on top (peanut butter cups anyone?).

Enjoy!

Chocolate Snickers Cake
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Cake:
1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Mousse:
2 cups milk chocolate chips
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Chocolate Buttercream:
1 stick butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder

3 Regular sized Snickers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all ingredients for cake. Batter will be thick. Pour into two well greased 8 or 9 inch cake pans. Bake as directed on box, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cakes cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove and place on wire rack to cool completely.

To make the mousse melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds. Pour the heavy cream into a separate bowl and whip with a mixer on medium high speed for several minutes, until stiff peaks form. Fold the chocolate into the whipped cream and mix until combined. Set aside.

To make the frosting beat together the butter and vanilla, then add in powdered sugar and cocoa powder.

To assemble the cake, cut each of the two layers in half, creating four thin layers. Stack the cake layers with ⅓ of the mousse filling between each layer. Frost the outside of the cake with the chocolate frosting. Set aside approximately ¾ cup of frosting to place swirls around the outer top edge of the cake, if desired. Chop Snickers into small pieces and place on top of cake.

Tags: Buttercream, Cake, Candy, chocolate

Posted in Buttercream, Cake | 10 Comments »

Sunday, August 28th, 2011

Butterfinger Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Gingerbread Bagels

I have been on quite a candy bar binge lately. It has mostly been Hershey bars and Peanut Butter Cups, but there have been some Butterfingers here and there as well. This may or may not be the reason that I am trying to cut myself off for a while and have stocked up on everything in the produce department.

These cupcakes were another birthday treat at work (I love being the birthday baker!). My coworker requested some sort of chocolate cupcake. Two instantly came to mind, and she decided on this one (I turned the other into a cake, recipe coming soon)! What I really liked about this recipe was the lack of piping on the frosting with a bag. I was able to go back to the gold old days of spreading it on with a knife, which was kind of fun.

{Don’t get me wrong, I still prefer cupcakes with nice piping on the top, but this was sort of like a vacation from cupcake decorating}!

One of the best parts about this recipe was the chocolate frosting. Oh my goodness was it good! I love that you get a double dose of it both inside the cupcake and on top. I’m actually really torn between the hot chocolate buttercream and this one. My life is filled with such tough decisions, isn’t it .

Enjoy!

Butterfinger Cupcakes
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1 box chocolate cake mix + ingredients listed on back
1 bag fun size Butterfinger candy

Hot Fudge Buttercream:
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
¼ cup shortening
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp milk
1 cup hot fudge topping
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make cupcakes according to directions on box. Cool completely before frosting.

Place the Butterfingers in a food processor and grind into crumbs (I had leftovers, you might want to start with just ½ – ¾ of the bag). Place into a deep set bowl and set aside

To make the frosting, cream together the butter and shortening until smooth. Add cocoa powder, then mix in vanilla and milk. Add hot fudge topping, then powdered sugar. Mix together until smooth.

Place about one cup of the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a long bismarck tip (any round tip will work). Insert the decorating tip into each cupcake, going at least halfway to the bottom. Squeeze out some frosting while slowly moving the tip out of the cupcake. Fill each cupcake in this manner.

Spread the remaining frosting onto each cupcake with a butter knife, placing a generous amount on each one.

Turn each cupcake upside down and dip into Butterfinger crumbs, turning to coat the entire frosting covered surface.

Tags: Buttercream, Candy, chocolate, Cupcakes

Posted in Buttercream, Cupcakes | 2 Comments »

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Oreo Cream Cake

Inspired by and filling recipe from Real Mom Kitchen, cake recipe adapted from Kevin and Amanda, frosting from Hershey’s
There are two times a year that I am guaranteed to make a cake, which means I’m also guaranteed to put a lot of thought into those cakes. The two occasions are my birthday and our anniversary (Derek has never actually requested a cake for his birthday, it’s usually some other sort of treat).

This was my birthday cake and I made this oreo cake for our anniversary.

I used my all time favorite chocolate cake recipe (which I can’t believe I haven’t shared with you guys yet!) I love that it starts with a box of cake mix, but the addition of the pudding, milk and sour cream just takes it to a whole new level. This cake is incredibly moist and flavorful and completely blew me away the first time I tried it. The combination of the chocolate with the Oreo cream filling is fantastic! While it doesn’t taste exactly like an Oreo, you still get the feeling that you are eating one (a giant one nonetheless)!

This cake is not for the faint of heart. It is completely rich and indulgent, and one small piece was usually enough for us. We managed to eat half of the cake before sending it in to Derek’s coworkers, who also gave it rave reviews. There have been several times this summer where I have said the words “this is the best thing I have ever made” and this cake started it all. Enjoy!

Oreo Cream Cake
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Cake:
1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Filling:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
½ cup sugar
2 cups Cool Whip
12-15 Oreo’s, coarsely chopped

Frosting:
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk

To make filling, beat together the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer. Using a large spoon, fold in Cool Whip, then Oreo’s.

For the frosting, melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir in cocoa powder then vanilla. Alternately add the powdered sugar and milk, whisking to spreading consistency.

To assemble the cake, level each cake layer with a serrated knife. Place one cake layer on cake round or serving plate. Spread Oreo filling in an even (thick) layer on top of cake. Be careful not to extend past the edges. Place remaining cake layer on top of filling and press down gently. Use a spatula to remove any excess filling extending past the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Tags: Buttercream, Cake, Candy, chocolate, Oreo

Posted in Cake | 21 Comments »