Wednesday, August 28, 2013

No-Bake Marshmallow Oreo Bars


These bars I made for Christmas. I saw them on Pinterest and they were called Lump Of Coal bars. They only use 3 ingredients and there is no baking involved! I think mine were a little over mixed (and the Oreos a bit over chopped).  I would maybe not mix as much so you could see the Marshmallow and Oreo's a bit separately. As it was, mine turned out a bit like Oreo Taffy. They were still really good though!
 
 
First you want to ground up your Oreo's. I used a food processor. They should end up looking like the below picture.
 
Set the Oreo's aside and start working on the Marshmallows. You want to take your butter and your Marshmallows and in a small pan, melt them over low heat.  Make sure you stir constantly as this WILL stick and burn to the bottom of the pan. Once they are melted, immediately pour the Oreo's into the marshmallow and mix. Press into a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
 
 


Once it has cooled, you can slice into bars.  These had a really strong and nice Oreo flavor. As I said before, I would have mixed mine a hair less so you could see the Marshmallow and Oreo.
 
RECIPE (Adapted from Picky Palate)
1 pkg Oreo's (crushed)
4 tablespoons butter
1 pkg Jet Puffed Marshmallows (or 5 cups)
 
Crush Oreo's
Melt Butter and Marshmallows on low heat.
Immediately mix in Oreos
Press mixture into parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Slice into Bars and enjoy!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Chocolate Fudge Pie


This pie (IMO) goes by two different names, Chocolate Fudge Pie, and Chocolate Chess Pie. I think the only difference, and I could be wrong, is the crust. Typically the Chess pie uses a traditional pie crust while the Fudge pie uses a graham cracker crust.
Now my love for Chess pie started when my husband worked for NC State. For Thanksgiving, the whole football team and staff would eat at The Angus Barn . The food was awesome, but my favorite part was the dessert. It was the first place I had ever had Chess Pie. The only down side for me was the crust. I really don't care for traditional pie crusts. I typically will try pies with different crusts (like pumpkin with graham cracker). My sister actually told me she made a pie similar to the Chess Pie but that it was called a Fudge pie. So for Thanksgiving, I decided to make the pie using a chocolate graham crust.
Ingredients
 
Since I always like to go the easy route, I used a premade crust. I honestly thought about using an Oreo crust, but figured I'd go more traditional. Though, I may try that the next time. So really the fist thing you need to do is take the cover off and set the crust aside. Easy Peasy right?
Then melt your butter with the cocoa powder in a microwave safe bowl until the butter is all melted. I usually cut up the butter so it melts faster and microwave for 20 second intervals. It should look like the below picture when it is all melted.
Melted butter and Cocoa powder
 
Once it is melted and mixed, add the sugar, salt, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk together until it has been thoroughly mixed.

All mixed
 
Pour your mixture into the pie crust and bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until the top has set.
Ready for the Oven
All Baked!
 
When the pie is done baking, it should have a crisp, shell like topping, while the inside is a fudgy, brownie-mix like consistency. Which is basically how this pie tastes. Like yummy hot brownie mix. Needless to say, this entire pie was gone by the end of Thanksgiving.  You can eat it plain, or top off your piece of pie with some vanilla ice cream. Either way, I think you will enjoy it!
 
Recipe:
1 premade 9 inch pie crust (I used Chocolate Graham)
1 Stick of Butter
3 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
 
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Melt butter and cocoa powder in microwave safe bowl
Add Sugar, Eggs, Vanilla and Salt and whisk together
When mixed thoroughly, pour into your pie crust
Bake for 40 minutes or until top is set.
*optional.. Serve with vanilla ice cream*
 




Tuesday, August 6, 2013

A quick note.....

I have been totally ignoring this blog recently. I am just now getting around to posting recipes I have done that are almost a YEAR old!! How bad is that?!?!  It's been a stressful year, let me tell ya.  But, I promise that I will try to be better at posting new recipes.
Besides.. Football season is getting ready to start and we all know that that is when I do most of my baking.

'Talk' to you soon!

S'mores Cookie Bars

 
 
 
Anyone that has seen my Pinterest boards knows that I LOVE S'mores. I pin just about anything S'mores related that I see. They are seriously one of my favorite desserts and I have made them a couple different ways (check out THIS recipe).  I then saw a picture posted on Pinterest of S'mores paired with chocolate chip cookies. HEAVEN! They also looked extreamly easy, so I knew we had to try them.
 
INGREDIENTS
 
 
I used two smaller (8x8 i think) square pans for this recipe. Lay down the graham crackers first so they cover the bottom of the pans. It should look like the below picture:
 


 
You will probably use about 9 graham crackers total.  Once you have that done, take your cookie dough and spread it out on parchment paper so that it is a thin layer. You want to spread it out to the size of your pan. Then place the cookie dough on top of your graham cracker.


Bake that at 350 degrees for about 9 min, or until they are mostly cooked through. Once it's done cooking, break up your chocolate bar and spread it over the top. I'm not exactly sure how much chocolate I used, but it's really up to you. I probably used about all 6 for two pans. But we love chocolate in my family! Then add your marshmallows. The marshmallows should totally cover the top.
All covered in marshmallow goodness!
 


Bake in the oven (which should still be at 350 degrees) until the marshmallows are brown and puffy. I like my marshmallows a bit crispy, so I went until the edges were darker.
ALL DONE!
 
Surprisingly, this cut into squares really easily.  Since I made them for a Halloween Party (and yes I know I'm just now blogging this and it's almost Halloween AGAIN), being able to have them cut up and not fall apart was great. And less messy for little hands!!

RECIPE
About 9 Graham Crackers
Hershey's Chocolate Bars (6 pack)
1 Bag Mini Marshmallows
1 Tube Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Lay graham crackers in bottom of 2 8x8 pans or one larger pan.
Flatten cookie dough and lay over graham crackers.
Bake at 350 Degrees for 9 min until Cookie dough has mostly cooked through
Drop chocolate pieces over top.
Cover entire top of pan with Marshmallows.
Bake at 350 Degrees until marshmallows are brown and puffy.
Let cool and enjoy!