Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

My kitchen is unpacked!!  I have been spoiled with a large kitchen for the last 5 years.  The kitchen in our rental is a very nice kitchen, but it is much smaller than my old one.  I was only able to unpack about 1/2 of my stuff (I have way too much stuff).  It is really nice that we have an unfinished basement to store everything in.  I attempted baking for the first time at high altitude this weekend.  The results weren't perfect, but they were not nearly as bad as I feared.  Stay tuned for some yummy recipes once I get the hang of it!

Thank you to Kita (Pass the Sushi), Liz (That Skinny Chick Can Bake), and Kelly (Eat Yourself Skinny) for filling in for me last week.  You all did a wonderful job, and I appreciate your help!




These bars are one of the last things I made in my old kitchen.  My husband and I were both going to meet friends for lunch, and I had a few things to use in my pantry so I made these bars.  Unfortunately my husband forgot his plate of treats on the counter.  Rami, this is what you missed out on!  Shannon on the other hand received her plate of goodies!  I received an email from her later that night asking if I posted this recipe yet, because they were TO DIE FOR!!!  Well here it is!  This would make a great alternative to Pumpkin Pie this week!


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
From Bake at 350
Printable Recipe

2 cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Allspice
1/8 tsp Cloves
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp  Salt
1 cup Butter, softened
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1 Egg
2 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1 bag Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 13x9 pan.

Mix together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt. (You could use 2 tsp pumpkin pie instead of all the spices if you had it).

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add in the egg & vanilla. Beat in the pumpkin puree.  (It will look chunky and gross, but don't worry, that is what it is supposed to look like).

Add the in the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread the batter into your pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.   A toothpick will come out mostly clean.  Cool completely in pan before cutting.

Nutella Croissant

I missed posting something yesterday, sorry about that.  I realized after I left for our weekend trip that I didn't have any pictures on my laptop.  We didn't really have internet access at our cabin in Colorado anyway, so I am not sure it would have mattered.  So I will give you this delicious treat today.  It is super easy, very versatile and extra yummy...hopefully you will forgive me :)

We had a great weekend in Colorado.  We went on a couple great hikes and enjoyed some much needed family time.  We looked at a house and a neighborhood that we really liked.  Now to figure out if we want to build a house again.  We were talking to a couple in the neighborhood we liked, and the guys got to talking about football.  He had tickets to the Colorado St vs Boise St game for that afternoon he wasn't going to use.  So he just gave them to us!  Great last minute activity!  Today was a really long day.  We drove over 800 miles back to Iowa, in 11 hrs and 15 minutes with just 2 stops.  I am exhausted!

Nutella Croissant
Printable Recipe

1 sheet Puff Pastry Dough, thawed
8 Tbls Nutella (chocolate chips, or any other chocolate you want)
1 egg + 1 Tbls water
1/3 cup chocolate chips
2 Tbls powdered sugar
1 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll thawed sheet of dough out slightly.  Cut into 4 equal squares.  Fill each square with 2 Tbls of Nutella.  Brush edges with egg wash.  Fold in half over the chocolate and seal the edges.  Place on a lined baking sheet.  Brush the top of with egg wash. 

Bake for 14-18 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then place on wire rack. 

While croissants cool, prepare the chocolate drizzle.  Melt chocolate chips and butter together.  Mix in Powdered sugar.  If too thick you can add in a little milk.  Drizzle over each croissant.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

I almost forgot to write this post.  We got an offer on our house last night, so the whole night was spent discussing what to do.  Do you take the offer, or do you counter?  Too much stress!!!  I just want it all over, so we can move out to Colorado and be a family again!  It has only been 2 weeks, but I am done with this living apart thing. 

It is a good thing I remembered to write this post though, you are going to want to make these bars.  Obviously I like peanut butter and chocolate, that is not a secret, but these were delicious.  I liked my Coconut White Chocolate Blondies so much, I wanted to try another version.  I found this peanut butter version over at Ravie NomNoms that was about what I was thinking.  I changed it up a little to use what I had on hand, and they were perfect! 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Adapted from Ravie NomNoms
Printable Recipe

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350º.  Prepare a 13x9 pan.

Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and peanut butter.

In a small bowl combine the flour and baking powder.  Slowly add flour to the peanut butter mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.  Spread mixture into your prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top starts to look dry.   Allow to cool before cutting and serving. 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies

A couple weeks ago I saw a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies over at The Farm Girl.  I could not get in the kitchen to make these fast enough.  I was trying to come up with all sorts of excuses why I needed to make them.  The one I ended up going with?  I had a meeting with my son’s teacher after school, and since she teaches first grade, she definitely deserved a brownie or two.  Turned out my in laws came the next day as well, so it actually worked out well.  Even my Father-in-law, who almost never eats dessert, loved these.  He was trying to corner the market on the couple that were left.  My husband, who isn’t a big fan of chocolate ate them as well!  So I suggest you come up with whatever excuse you need, and go make them now!  You will not be disappointed. 

I admit, I did adapt the recipe slightly.  I used my normal brownie recipe for the base.  Because this was last minute (and I am trying to clean out my kitchen due to the pending move) I didn’t have any chocolate chips. Although I did find 3 Hershey Bars in my cupboard from a camp fire we had this summer.  So I used those for the glaze.  I also added a little peanut butter frosting drizzle on the top… just because.  Well actually I had a tiny bit of frosting left over from something else, so I added a little peanut butter, thinned it out, and drizzled until my heart’s content.  I like drizzles!  And I liked these brownies.  Go!  Make!  Them!  Now! 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies

Adapted from The Farm Girl

Printable Recipe

Brownies:

2 envelopes unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cups flour
½  tsp baking powder
½  tsp salt

Filling:

1/2  cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbls milk

1 tsp vanilla

¾  cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

Glaze:

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips   Or Any melted Chocolate

2 Tbsp. shortening

Drizzle:

½ cup powdered sugar

1 Tbls milk

2 Tbls peanut butter

¼ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare and 8x8 baking pan. 

To make the brownies blend the chocolate and the oil together.  Mix in the eggs and sugar.  Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined.   Pour batter into pan and bake for about 25 minutes.  Allow to cool completely.

To make the filling cream together butter and brown sugar.  Mix in the peanut butter, vanilla and milk.  Stir in flour and salt until well combined.  Spread over cooled brownies.  It may be sticky. You can spray a spatula with non stick spray, or slightly dampen your hands to spread out. 

Melt Chocolate and pour over the peanut butter layer.  Put in fridge for 30 minutes to start to harden. 

Stir together the sugar, milk, vanilla and peanut butter.  Adjust the level of milk to get your desired consistency.  Drizzle over chocolate layer.  Store in fridge.  Enjoy!!

Twix Peanut Butter Brownies

Let it be known (not that it was a secret before), I like peanut butter and chocolate together.  I have seen so many different versions of peanut butter and chocolate brownies floating around.  Some have peanut butter cups, some have just peanut butter, others have peanut butter chips or other candy.  Well I had to jump on this bandwagon, late to the party or not!  I didn't want to have to go shopping though, so I raided my pantry.  Guess what I found?  Two Peanut Butter Twix candy bars from my son's Easter Basket.  As any parent out there, I ration the candy my son eats.  So we end up with a lot of it on a shelf in our pantry.  Every once in awhile I go through and clean it out.  Now I am going have reason to do it more often.  There are yummy treats in there, that should be turned into wonderful desserts! 

Twix Peanut Butter Brownies
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 Twix Peanut Butter Candy Bars

Mix together chocolate and butter.  Add in sugar and eggs, and stir until well combined.  Add flour, salt and baking powder.  Mix until just combined.  Chop the candy into small pieces.  Fold into the batter. 

Pour into a prepared 8x8 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Cool, and enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins

Chocolate and Peanut Butter is obviously a classic combination.  Usually you see it in desserts, but why not have it for breakfast?  I saw this recipe over at The Kitchenarian for her Muffin Monday series.  I knew I had to make them.  Muffins are always a hit here, chocolate and peanut butter is always a hit here, so I knew these muffins would be great.  And they were! 

Sorry for the lack of chit chat today.  I have a bad cold.  As luck would have it my 6 year old left today to spend 4 days with his Grandparents.  I had big plans for stuff to get done around the house, but so far nothing.  No energy.  Hoping this cold goes away FAST!!


Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins
Adapted slightly from The Kitchenarian
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups  flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin tins, makes approx 18 muffins.

In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla.

In another large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Fold the egg mixture into the flour. Do not over mix the batter or you will have tough muffins.

Fill the muffin cups. Bake about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from pan.

Fudgy Brownies

I always make the same brownie recipes, ALWAYS!!  It is the same one I made with my mom when I could barely walk.  I have tried a couple here and there over the years.  But never did I make them more than once. I am really not sure what tempted me to try this recipe last week, but I did.  Maybe it was the promise of super fudgy?  Whatever it was, I am glad I tried it.  It WAS fudgy, it was chocoately, it was moist, it was delicious.  If you like dark chocolate, you will really like this one.  My normal recipe is a little sweeter than this one.  I will make this recipe again, maybe not my go to recipe, but definitely a keeper. 


Fudgy Brownies
Adapted from An Edible Mosaic
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup butter
4 oz semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
6 Tbls flour
2 Tbls cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare an 8 in baking pan with butter and flour.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a microwave.  Cool slightly.  Stir in the brown sugar, sugar and vanilla. Beat in the eggs until light and fluffy.  Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and stir until just combined, being careful not to over-mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the brownies are set in the middle, about 30 minutes.

Nutella Cupcakes

Yesterday I posted about Homemade Nutella.  It was delicious!  I doubled the recipe, because I knew I wanted to make something really good with it.  I wasn't sure what it would be, but after some careful thought, I decided cupcakes!  I actually had some cake batter in the freezer from back when I made Molten Lava Cake.  Perfect opportunity to use that up!  So I thawed that out, baked some cupcakes, filled them with Nutella, and then topped them with a Nutella Buttercream Frosting. 

Oh My Word!!  I don't really have words to describe this, it was just AMAZING!!  The frosting was so good!  My 6 year old and I just sat over the bowl of cake balls I scooped out, and dipped them in frosting!  I immediately called my neighbor and made her come over.  She had to sneak in so the kids didn't see that she got one and they didn't :)  My 6 year old is already asking when I can make them again! 

Nutella Cupcakes
Printable Recipe

Cake:
Adapted from Paula Deen

8 (1 ounce) squares semi-sweet chocolate
10 Tbls butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract


Frosting:
I used my normal frosting recipe, and just added Nutella

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbls milk
1/4 cup Nutella
1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered Sugar
To make the cake: 
Melt the chocolate and butter together.  You can use a double broiler, or the microwave.  Just get it nice and smooth.  Add the flour and sugar.  It will be very thick. Stir in the eggs, yolks, and vanilla until smooth.  Pour batter into muffin tins.  Will make approx 12 cupcakes. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Cool completely. 

To make the frosting:
Mix everything together until it is the consistency of frosting.  You may need to adjust the sugar or milk to get it right. 

Once the cupcakes are cool, use a teaspoon to scoop out the center.  Fill with Nutella.  Top with Nutella Buttercream Frosting. 

Homemade Nutella

Nutella is the stuff dreams are made of.  Everyone loves it, and we all can find a million things to do with it.  So to start I figured why not make my own instead of buying it.  I still had tons of hazelnuts left, even after making this pie.  I researched a bunch of different recipes.  There are so many out there.  It was hard to decide what to do.  There seemed to be 2 directions - honey as the sweetener or powdered sugar.  Personally, I don't eat Nutella for the health benefits - so I picked powdered sugar!  Seemed like it would be closest to the original that way. 

It is a little richer than store bought.  I roasted the hazelnuts, and they really come through.  It is still the sweet delicious Nutella I love, just more intense.  It was pretty darn easy too.  Just let the food processor work for a few minutes, melt some chocolate, and you are about done.  And there are some yummy things you can do with it too!  Or you can just enjoy it for breakfast on an English Muffin, one of my favorites!  Just wait for the follow up to this post :)  If that isn't a teaser, I don't know what is!

Homemade Nutella
Recipe from Home Cooking Adventure
Printable Recipe

1 cup hazelnuts, roasted

4 tbsp powdered sugar

200 g milk chocolate

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Process nuts in a food processor for about 5 minutes until you get a smooth liquid butter texture. 

 

Meanwhile melt chocolate over a bain-marie until smooth. Add the melted chocolate, sugar, cocoa powder, oil and vanilla extract to hazelnuts and process until smooth. 

Transfer the spread into a small sauce pan and cook at over low for 5 minutes then place finished hazelnut chocolate spread to an airtight container, let cool then refrigerate. Stir before serving.  

Chocolate Hazelnut Pie

Remember back when I made Pistachio Ice Cream?  I promised more recipes with the goodies that Oh! Nuts had sent me.  Well I think it is time to share this delicious pie that I made with the Hazelnuts and Almond Flour.  This recipe was adapted from Giada.  I love her, we are on a first name basis :)  Anyway, I saw her make this years ago, and printed the recipe right away. I have just never had Hazelnuts around to try making it.  So that was first on my list when OH! Nuts contacted me.

I didn't really have a reason to make this when I did, so we called our neighbors over at 3:00 in the afternoon for dessert.  It was a hit.  My friend absolutely loves hazelnuts, she could probably live off Nutella alone.  So I thought of her right away when I made this.  So glad they liked it!

Note - the original recipe uses all purpose flour, I just wanted to try my almond flour.

Chocolate Hazelnut Pie
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Printable Recipe

Pie:
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup hazelnuts toasted
1/4 cup almond flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
4 eggs
1 stick butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat to 350 degrees F.

 

Put 1/2 of the chocolate chips, hazelnuts, and flour in the food processor. Pulse until the hazelnuts are coarsely chopped. Pour the nut mixture into a small bowl and set aside.



Combine remaining chocolate chips and sugar in the food processor. Blend until the mixture is finely ground. With the machine running, gradually add the hot water until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, butter, vanilla. Pulse until mixture is blended.



Return the hazelnut mixture to the food processor and pulse to incorporate. Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured 9-inch pie dish. Bake for 35 minutes. Cool for 1 hour in a cooling rack.  Refrigerate for 2 hours. Allow the pie to return to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

While the pie is cooling you can make the cream.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar, and vanilla. Continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks.

Serve each slice with a dollop of Whipped Cream!

Guest Post - Chocolate Caramel Dipped Pretzels

 Happy 4th of July everyone!  I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing day.  Today I bring you my first Guest Post.  I would like to introduce you to Janet.  She writes over at From Cupcakes to Caviar.  She has a great sense of humor.  You will leave her site hungry and laughing!  Today she made you a 4th of July themed treat!  So sit back and meet Janet!

Hey there everybody!
I'm Janet from Cupcakes to Caviar  and I was honored when Erin asked me to do a guest host post (heh... I made a rhyme. I'm so special huh?) while she is on vacation. We so won't get into how jealous I am that she GETS a vacation. I think the last time I went on vacation was...ummm...never. ERIN!!! WAIT UP!!! I'll sleep in the trunk of the car! I'm toilet trained!  I'll live on Cheetos!! Wait for meeeee! 

Erhmmm, moving on now. When she asked me to guest host, beyond feeling honored, I was nervous. What should I make? Maybe I needed to make something fancy like Truffled Pork Bellys served With a Lobster Testicle Risotto (umm...ew? Plus there goes my food budget for the year) or Filet Mignon made with rare Peruvian Emu Toes as a side dish. But then it occurred to me that that isn't what I do on MY blog so why pretend here? So I decided to make something simple because I'm all about easy 80% or so of the time (the other 20% it's Cheetos or Twinkies. Ok, I really DO cook fancy and complex sometimes...I admit it). So here we go! Hope you like it. Please like it or I'll cry and drop to the floor and kick my legs like my two year old does.

I've never been a huge fan of salty snacks. Well, other than Cheetos and you can't do to them what I've done to pretzels. Yes, what you're thinking...chocolate dipped; but with a twist. This IS me after all. Back to salty snacks.... these pretzels may make me change my mind. Yes, I know; they aren't strictly a salty snack anymore. But there is salt on them darn it! Salt! So it counts. I can now say that I like salty snacks :-D
But as much as I adore my beloved Cheetos (my orange stained keyboard and the fact that everyone thinks I wear orange nail polish all the time might be a clue) you can't coat them with chocolate and caramel (yes, that is todays secret weapon...caramel!) and decorate them. Well, I suppose you COULD but you couldn't make even ME try those. Seriously though, I know we've all heard of and/or tried chocolate dipped pretzels. I've never been a huge fan but I wanted to make something festive and holiday-ish (yes that is now a word. Shush. Don't argue.) for The Fourth Of July and I loved the idea of putting caramel on these. It took them out of the ordinary chocolate covered pretzel realm into something bit different. I knew my kids and husband would love this and the surprise was that so do I.  So try these. Right now. Go melt some chocolate and some caramel. Decorate. Eat. Say "ooo" and "ahhh" cause they are colorful. :-D


Side note because I'm honest- these are a pain in the BUTT to make lol. I think I had more chocolate, caramel and sprinkles on the walls, the counter and myself than I did on the pretzels. Mine certainly don't look professional but no one cared in the least. They are already gone lol. Next time I'm making the Emu Toes.


Chocolate Caramel Dipped Pretzels
20 stick pretzels
1 11 ounce bag Kraft caramel bits, melted
1 12 ounce bag semi sweet chocolate chips, melted
sprinkles, colored sugars, colored icings and/or whatever you want to decorate these with

Line your counter with about 4 rolls of waxed paper (ok, maybe it's just me that should have done that.) But seriously, line the counter with waxed paper. Spray it with cooking spray. Trust me; don't skip this step (I missed some spots) or like me, you will be peeling bits of waxed paper off of these and cussing loudly.

Dip the pretzels into the caramel. I had to kind of scoop it on and spread it around with the back of a spoon. Lay each one on the waxed paper and let sit until the caramel firms up somewhat.

Dip (scoop, use fingers... what ever works; not that *I* was using my fingers. NEVER! Ahem.) the melted chocolate over the caramel layer. Let sit for about ten minutes until it is slightly set. Sprinkle with whatever you are decorating them with. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm I will pray for you that yours look better than mine :-P. Oh heck, ANYONES would look better than mine do. :-D

Chocolate Peanut Butter Macarons

I interrupt my strawberry series to bring you Macarons.  Hopefully you will find them equally delicious!  Before I started blogging, I had never heard of a French Macaron.  Then I saw them everywhere, and everyone made them look so pretty, but they had a reputation of being so technically difficult.  I was scared to try them.  But after I made Pistachio Ice Cream, I had egg whites like crazy.  Normally I would throw away 1 or 2 if I had them, but 6 felt way too wasteful.  So I had to come up with something to do with them.  It felt like it was time to try Macarons. 

Being that I am not French, and I am not all that fancy of a person, I had to make these my way.  I picked a chocolate version with a peanut butter buttercream frosting.  A truly American flavor with a delicate French dessert.  I read up a lot before I made my first batch.  I consulted Annie's Eats, Tartlette's Tutorial, and of course how could I not read Mad about Macaron's? I think the main thing I learned is that it is humid in Iowa, even with the air conditioning on.  So I should have let them sit out longer before baking.  The first tray ended up in the garbage, the second tray was much better. 


Chocolate Peanut Butter Macarons
Printable Recipe

For the Macarons:
110 gm almond flour
200 gm minus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa powder (Dutch-process preferred)
100 gm egg whites (from about 3 eggs), aged at room temperature for 12-24 hours
50 gm granulated sugar

Peanut Butter Butter Cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tbls milk

Combine almond flour, confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder until well blended (I used my food processor).  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy.  Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating until a smooth, shiny meringue with stiff peaks forms.  Add the ground almond mixture to the bowl with the meringue and quickly but gently fold together using a wide rubber spatula until no streaks remain.  You want to achieve a thick batter that ribbons or flows from the spatula when lifted.

Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.  Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain wide round tip.  Pipe into small rounds on the prepared baking sheets (each round should be about 1-1½ inches in diameter), spaced about 1 inch apart.  Let sit at room temperature for about an hour to develop a hard shell.

Preheat the oven to 300˚F.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on size.  Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before moving the cookies. 

While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting.  Stir together all the ingredients until it is the right consistency.  I always just add the milk at the end to get the texture I want.  Put into a piping bag, fitted with a plain tip. 

Once the cookies are cool, match them up so they are paired with one that is a like size.  Squeeze some frosting onto the base, and place the top on.  Gently press down.  They are best to eat the next day. 

Homemade Milky Ways

Milky Way’s are one of my all time favorite candy bars.  Since I have started blogging I have seen people making all sorts of candy and crackers and other stuff I never would have thought you could do at home.  So when I was trying to come up with something to give my son’s teacher at the end of the year, I figured I would give these a shot!  I had already made Peanut Butter Cups, why couldn’t I tackle these!

They were really pretty easy, aside from the dipping part.  Dipping is easy, just very tedious, and never looks as good as I want it to.  But these did taste very good.  You do have to be careful when melting the caramel.  If you go for a few seconds too long you get very chewy caramel.  I would know, that is exactly what I did.  Sorry Mrs. E!!!  I would have started over, but I was out of caramels, and didn’t have time to go to the store to get more.  They still tasted really good, just chewy! 

Milky Way

Printable Recipe

1 bag milk chocolate chips

3 Tbls Evaporated Milk

1 container Marshmallow Fluff

1 (14 oz) bag of caramels, unwrapped

3 Tbls Evaporated Milk

Milk Chocolate for Dipping (about a pound)

Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for about 45 seconds.  Stir to completely melt all the chocolate.  If you need to microwave further, do for very short periods – you do not want the chocolate the burn.  Stir in the marshmallow fluff and the evaporated milk.  

Pour this into an 8x8 pan that is lined with foil, and sprayed with non-stick spray.   Place this in the fridge to harden while you work on the next step.  

Put the caramels and the rest of the milk in a bowl, and microwave until they are melted.  Start with 45 seconds, and then stir.  If needed heat for longer, checking every 15 seconds.  Once nice and smooth, pour over the chocolate mixture.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  

Once firm, remove from the pan and cut into desired size.  Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, and get to dipping!  I set it on a baking sheet, and then placed it in the fridge to harden.  

My son had one when the chocolate was still a little melty, and he said they were one of the best things ever!  My husband took the leftovers to work, and they got rave reviews as well.  I will be making these again for sure, but next time I will keep a better eye on my caramel melting!