halloween treats: part 4

This tart didn't work out as well as I wanted, logistically at least. But it is delicious. It tastes a lot like hello dollies, if you've ever had those.

dark side chocolate caramel tart

from the Taste of Home Halloween magazine 2008

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 tbsp. light corn syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Pastry for single-crust pie (9 in.)

1/2 cup each chopped pecans (I used walnuts), milk chocolate chips, and semisweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

Drizzle:

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. milk

1. In a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture turns an amber color, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat; slowly stir in cream (mixture will appear lumpy). Cook and stir over low heat until mixture is completely smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, press pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9 in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom; trim edges. Prick the botom with a fork. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips into crust. Whisk eggs, one at a time, into warm caramel mixture. Pour over chocolate and pecans.

4. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until top is completely bubbly and crust is golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

5. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips with milk; stir until smooth. Cut a small hole in corner of plastic bag. Fill with chocolate mixture; pipe a spider's web over tart. Store in refrigerator.

Yield 12 servings.

halloween treats: part 3

This recipe was much better than I thought it would be. It's easy, fast and really quite good. It's also really good to give away since it packs well. That's what I did with most of the batch I made. But I can make it again, and I think I just might.

halloween layered fudge

from Taste of Home Halloween magazine 2008

1 tsp butter

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, divided

8 oz. white candy coating

1/4 tsp. orange extract

2-4 drops orange paste food coloring

1. Line an 8 in. square pan with foil; butter foil and set aside.

2. In microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and 1 cup milk on high for 30 seconds; stir. Repeat until mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Chill 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating with remaining milk. Stir in extract and food coloring. Spread over chocolate layer.

4. Chill for 1 hour or until firm. Using foil, remove fudge from pan. Cut into 1 in. squares.

Yield: about 2 pounds

halloween treats: part 2

These little ghosts didn't quite turn out like the picture in the magazine, but they tasted good. They even looked spooky when poorly done, so I may try them again next year. They can't look any worse than they did this year, right?

hosts of ghosts

(from Taste of Homes Halloween magazine 2008)

10 oreos

3 oz. softened cream cheese

6 oz. white candy coating, chopped (I used candy melts, so that may be part of my problem)

1 tsp. shortening

1. In food processor, cover and process cookies until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Cut cream cheese in to three pieces; add to food processor. Cover and process until mixture forms a soft dough.

2. Using 2 tsp. of dough for each, form 26 ghost shapes. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (This is where my problems began: my ghosts didn't hold their shape very well at all. They look pretty squatty, huh?)

3. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating and shortening; stir until smooth. Slowly spoon over each ghost shape to cover.

4. Use a toothpick to create eyes. (My favorite one also had a mouth and they were fun to experiment with.) Store in the refrigerator.

halloween treats: part 1

Joey and I made these fun little Halloween fruit cups for dinner on Saturday. She loves oranges and went crazy eating the leftovers. She is a great kitchen companion when you need someone to come up with creative faces for the jack-o-lanterns. The kids loved them, although William tried to take a bite of the whole thing, orange rind and all, and was a little put off. He enjoyed it when I showed him how to eat it right.

Jack-O'-Lantern oranges

from Taste of Home Halloween magazine 2008

8 small navel oranges (or one for each person you're feeding)

1 small apple, chopped

1/2 cup halved seedless grapes

1. Choose which side of the orange will be the jack-o'-lantern's face; cut a thin slice from the bottom of each so that it rests flat. Cut another small slice from the top. Spoon out pulp. (They make that sound so easy. I cut around the edges with a knife and then scooped out what I could with the spoon.) Chop pulp and combine with apples and grapes; set aside.

2. Cut faces as desired. (You just have to cut through the orange layer, so don't slice in too far.) Optional: decorate with cloves and/or slivered almonds (for teeth). Spoon mixture into jack-o'-lanterns.

ps

I am planning some fun Halloween treats, so stay tuned for those posts.

cookies

I took these cookies to church on Tuesday night and the recipe was requested. Since they are so easy and we really like them, I thought I'd share. This is a variation of the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe I love. I use a similar variation for mint chocolate cookies during Christmas time.

Chocolate Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies (did you get all that?)

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 1/4 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips (I like the Hershey's special dark ones)

1 cup peanut butter chips

Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and mix well. Add all dry ingredients at once and mix well. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips last.

Drop by spoonful onto baking sheets and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

brownies in review

Here is the first of the brownie recipes I've tried. They were a big hit at the baby shower and I got a request for the recipe, which came from Jessica. They are definitely worth a try. Thanks for sharing!

Best Brownies – Jessica

1 c. (2 sticks) butter

2 c. sugar

1/3 c. cocoa

1 ½ c. flour

¼ t. salt

2 t. vanilla

4 eggs

1 ½ c. chopped nuts (optional)

Melt butter. Add sugar and cocoa and mix. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Add remaining ingredients. Put in greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Frost.

Frosting:

½ c (1 stick) butter

1/3 c. cocoa

2 ½ c. powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1/3 c. evaporated milk

Melt butter. Combine remaining ingredients and spread over brownies.

Don't you just want to eat them up?

October, here we come!

Yeah, it's a new month! That means I can stop feeling guilty about not posting daily. Who was I kidding with that schedule? So, we're lowering our expectations and moving into some of my favorite baking time of the year. Are you ready? I'm getting there.

I'm going to be trying some brownie recipes tomorrow. I get to take a treat to a baby shower, so it's the perfect excuse to try a couple batches and not have to eat them all by myself. Oh, what torture that would be, right?

I'll let you know how it all goes...

And thank you to everyone who contributed a recipe for me to try!