Tag Archives: Dessert

Brownies: Marshmallow Fluff and Cheesecake Candy Bar

15 Saturday Aug 2015

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We recently went over to our friend’s house for a good old fashioned BBQ; nothing too fancy just burgers and dogs. Our gracious hosts of course said don’t worry about bringing anything, but there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to bake something.  These are my favorite moments when I can make something yummy, have a few bites and then leave the rest of the dessert on someone else counter. I don’t know about you, but when something yummy is on my counter it calls to me all the time and I have very little restraint.

Since I couldn’t decide which type of brownies to make, I made two batches!

Marshmallow Fluff Brownies…Marshmallow Fluff

… and Cheesecake Candy Bar Brownies!Cheesecake Candy Bar Brownie

Since this was a last minute BBQ and I wanted to make something that would be quick and easy. I cheated a little and used boxed brownies as the base for both recipes.  However, I did use the mix that includes a packet of chocolate sauce which gets added to the batter. I think this helps a bit.

The Marshmallow Fluff Brownies are definitely the quicker and easier of the two recipes.  To help give them an extra boost of chocolate I sprinkled semi-sweet chips on top of the batter before baking. **Tip – use more chips next time. 🙂 **

IMG_2577 The marshmallow fluff was a little tricky, because it’s so sticky, but don’t be afraid to plop it on and then use a spatula dipped in warm water to help spread. For the chocolate drizzle I kept it simple and just melted chocolate frosting.  It was easy and set up nicely. IMG_2600For the candy bar part of the Cheesecake Candy Bar Brownies I really wanted something with a little bit of caramel and nougat, so I went with Milky Way, but I think almost any kind would be good.  By the way I love that you can get them unwrapped and bite size – though it does make snacking on them a bit too easy. 🙂

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Unlike the first recipe, where you bake the brownies first and then add the toppings, with this one you layer batter, cheesecake and chopped candy bites and then bake.

Also, Mr. E strongly suggests that you eat the Cheesecake Candy Bar Brownies warm and serve with vanilla ice cream… he is pretty spot on with that recommendation.

Marshmallow Fluff Brownies

1 box brownie mix & ingredients per box (I use Ghirardelli Chocolate Supreme)
½ jar of Marshmallow Fluff
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ chocolate frosting (I used store bought)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line a 9×9 baking dish with foil and lightly grease.

Make brownie batter following the recipe on the box and pour into prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle the top with the semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few chocolate crumbs, but not raw batter.

While still warm spread the top of the baked brownies with the marshmallow fluff.  Place the frosting in a microwave safe cup. I used a glass measuring cup. Using the microwave melt the frosting, but don’t let boil.  For my microwave this was 10 seconds on high.  Then drizzle the chocolate over the top of the marshmallow fluff. 

Let cool completely before cutting.

Cheesecake Candy Bar Brownies

1 box brownie mix & ingredients per box (I use Ghirardelli Chocolate Supreme)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
⅓ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 to 1 ½ cups chopped candy bites (I used Milky Way, but Snickers or any of them would be good and I chopped them into quarters)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line a 9×9 baking dish with foil.

Make brownie batter following the recipe on the box and set aside.  In a separate bowl using a hand mixer or using a stand mixer, blend the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the sugar, vanilla and egg.  Mix well.

Pour ¾ of the brownie mixture into the foil lined pan.  Carefully pour the cream cheese mixture over the brownie batter, using a spatula to spread it evenly and almost to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle the chopped candy evenly on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Drop spoonfuls of the reserved brownie batter scattered over the top.  Using a butter knife, gently drag the knife through the spoonfuls of batter, making swirls and combining the batter with the cream cheese mixture a bit.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.  Let cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

Lemon Gooey Bars

06 Sunday Jul 2014

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Super delicious, super addictive and super sweet!  These bars are absolutely amazing and are perfect for the sweet tooth in your family and doubly perfect if that person likes lemon.

Lemons

I wish I could say that I used the lemons from our lemon tree to make this (and so does Mr. E in order to justify the trees existence), but our citrus trees (we have four of them – all different) can’t decide from year to year if they want to produce fruit and how much.  So, I usually end up waiting till lemons are a good price and then make a couple of batches to share with friends and co-workers.  You’d think living in AZ that lemons would always be a good price and they’d be giving them away, but not so much…

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Technically you should let it cool a bit before cutting into bars and eating because it’s so hot – think molten lava hot, however, Mr.  E is not one to follow the rules and so he dug in with a spoon as soon as they were out of the oven…  I knew it must be pretty good because after he hopped a bit from one foot to the other with his mouth open trying to fan (cool off) the lemon lava in his mouth.  He looked at me and said “totally worth it” and took another spoonful.  I don’t know when I’m going to start taking his advice on matters like this because the only thing better than lemon gooey bars is a spoonful of hot lemon gooey pudding mess.

Lemon Bar Slice

Gooey Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 yellow cake mix – pudding in the mix
½ cup butter, melted
1 egg
 
Filling:
¼ cup lemon juice
2 eggs
8 oz. of cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoon butter, melted
3 ½ cup powdered sugar
1 to 1 ½ teaspoon lemon zest
 
Preheat oven to 350.
 
Crust:  In a medium bowl mix dry cake, melted butter and egg.  Mix well; the mixture will be thick.  Grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13 pan and press the mixture into the pan.  Set aside.
 
Filling: In a separate bowl, I used my electric mixer, beat cream cheese well until smooth.  Add eggs and melted butter and mix well until the eggs and butter are fully incorporated.  Add lemon juice and mix well.  At this point there may be some lumps; mix at a high speed to try and get most of the lumps out but it’s okay if you don’t get all of them.
 
Add the powder sugar 1 cup at a time and mix well after each addition.  Once all the powder sugar has been added, add the lemon zest and mix.
 
Pour the filling over the crust and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the center just barely jiggles when shaken.  The edges, and even the center, will be a medium golden brown.
 
Remove from oven, let cool and cut into bars.  Cover and store in fridge.
 
Enjoy!

“Stained Glass Candy”

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

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This “candy” is a Christmas tradition around our house going back to when my mom was little and she would make this with her mom! I know its past Christmas but maybe this real intrigue you enough to add it to you baking list for next year or maybe even try it for some mid-year cheer.

So I have the name, “Stained Glass Candy” quoted because this is not the name I grew up calling it. In fact my mom threw a bit of a fit and got a little uppity with me when I told her I was re-naming it! 🙂 So,  the real name of this is….and please, please don’t judge it by its name…but…it’s called Uncooked Fruit Cake.  Wait!! Before you go running- I don’t like fruit cake either but this is different.  I PROMISE!!! 🙂

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This recipe makes a lot and freezes perfectly, which is great because it does take a bit of time. My mom and I always make this together as part of the tradition, which does help it to get done quicker.  Another part of the tradition is that we crush the graham crackers in a zip lock baggy with a rolling pin.  You may be thinking poor girl doesn’t have a food processor – surely she would use that instead.  You would think – but No, we do it with a rolling pin while my food processor continues to collect dust in the cabinet!

(If Mr. E sees this post he will quickly add my food processor to the garage sale pile.  I’ll have to make something soon that uses it so I can justify its continued existence in my cabinet. )

The first time we made this I didn’t know what my mom was talking about when she said we need the packages of candied cherries, pineapple and peels, so I’ve included a picture of what the containers look like to help.

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After crushing the graham crackers we mix those with the cherries, pineapple, dates, raisins and citrus peel in the roasting pan.

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Then we added the melted butter, marshmallow, brandy, whipping cream mixture. The mixing part is really hard and this is another reason to make it with someone – you can take turns mixing!

Once mixed, we placed log shaped portions on pieces of wax paper that had a dusting of powdered sugar on the bottom.  We then used a small mesh colander to dust the top with powder sugar.

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Using the wax paper we pressed on the sides of the log and then rolled it up in the wax paper followed by wrapping each one in foil.  This candy is really rich but oh so delicious with its graham cracker flavor!

Stained Glass Candy

1 lb. Honey Maid graham crackers. (In my opinion this is a recipe where the name matters) finely crushed.
2 cups total of red and green glazed cherries (not maraschino)
1 cup glazed pineapple
1½ cups dried dates, cut into pieces
⅔ cup white or golden mixed raisins
1½ cups total of candied orange peel and lemon peel
16 oz. marshmallows
Brandy extract
1/4 lb. (half a stick) butter
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
Powdered sugar
Wax paper
Foil
 
In a big roasting pan – yes a roasting pan, it makes mixing easier – add the finely crushed graham crackers, raisins, cherries, pineapple, candied peel and dates and mix well.  In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter, marshmallows, brandy extract and whipping cream in the microwave in 30 second intervals – stirring well after each interval until melted.
 
Once the marshmallow mixture is melted add to the graham cracker mixture and mix well.  Try using a big mixing spoon or even a spatula.  If it seems really hard to mix it, that’s normal.  The consistency should be moist enough that it will hold together and a little sticky to the touch.  However, depending on how much liquid is in the candied fruits, you may need to add more crushed graham cracker; the mixture should not be overly moist.
 
**See the picture above for help with this next part** 
 
Place a sheet of wax paper on the counter.  Using a fine mesh colander dust the wax paper with powdered sugar almost to the edges.  Using a spoon scoop some of the graham cracker mixture in a row along the center of the powdered sugar dusted wax paper.  Use the sides of the wax paper and moderate pressure; press and shape the mixture into a log.  Thoroughly dust the top and sides of the log with more powdered sugar.  Then roll up the wax paper, tucking in the sides and wrap in foil. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.  If freezing, put directly in the freezer.  It lasts about 2-3 months if wrapped tightly.  When ready to enjoy, (thaw if necessary) slice thinly and serve!
 
Enjoy!