don't try this at home...

Epic Fail…  If you read my bio I boldly stated I would share my "epic fails!"  Here is one for the books!  On Sunday we had the family over to celebrate Wyatt's birthday.  I thought I would kick the cupcakes up a notch for Wyatt.  In my head I had visions of him sharing with his friends "wow you should have seen what my GG made for my birthday!"  Well I can honestly say I didn't even show him this disaster!  I've seen this on Pinterest several times and thought, "I can do this!"  I used a basic chocolate cake mix and filled the ice cream cones part way as the directions indicated.  What came out of the oven isn't even close to the pictures pinned.  The batter over flowed all over the cone and when I took the "test" bite I quickly spit it out in the sink!  The cone tasted like moist cardboard!  I can assure you I will never try this again!  If anyone out in cyber world has tried these and has had success please share the secret!  I think I will stick with filling the cones with ice cream as it was intended to be!  Guess some things just can't be improved… but hey, I tried!

Brownies Extraordinary

Mom was a master in the kitchen and I am so grateful she taught me how to cook many of our favorite recipes.  I don't remember mom baking many pans of plain ole brownies but I do remember these yummy delights!  What I find so comforting is I have mom's original recipe in her own handwriting!  Long gone are the days of reaching in our recipe box for a blank recipe card and writing down a recipe to share with a friend or loved one.  Remember the cute cards that said "from the kitchen of…?"  We now jump on our computers and "google" a recipe and save it to our files.  Hey I have been known to take a picture of a recipe with my phone for later use!  Don't get me wrong, I love being able to find a recipe at the click of a button, but I miss going to mom's recipe box and pulling out a recipe and whipping up something delicious.  Anyone remember picking out a recipe box for your wedding registry?  I think I just aged myself!  Okay back to brownies!  If you are looking for an ooey gooey chocolate treat, this is a must for you!  I've added my own twist by drizzling melted caramel, course salt and chocolate over the top after the brownies have baked and cooled.  Not quite enough richness for you… take it to the next level, and add a dip of ice cream!  Shut the front door and get in my mouth now!

Brownies Extraordinary

Filling:
1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese softened at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Brownies:
2 - 1 ounce squares unsweetened chocolate (I use Baker's Chocolate, found in your grocery store)
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:

In a mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar, egg and almond extract.  Beat with a hand mixer until all combined, set aside.

Batter:

Melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a sauce pan or microwave, set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Beat together the eggs and sugar, add the melted chocolate to the egg and sugar mixture.  Combine the chocolate mixture with the flour and mix well.  Butter a 9x9 pan.  Add 1/2 of the chocolate batter to the pan and spread evenly.  I find it useful to use those little offset spatulas but of course anything will do!  I'm the queen of gadgets and I have my favorites!  Okay back to the brownie batter!  Now spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the batter.  Add remaining brownie batter to the top and spread evenly.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 - 45 minutes.  To test if the brownies are done, just insert a toothpick in middle, if toothpick comes out clean- brownies are done!  There are a couple of things you can do at this point.  After the brownies have cooled you can sprinkle powdered sugar over the brownies and they are yummy.  To kick it up a notch or two… melt in a double boiler 8 - 10 ounces of caramel.  I like to add a tablespoon of cream for a bit more creaminess after the caramel has melted.  Drizzle over the brownies, and at this point if you would like, sprinkle with a little course salt.  Maybe a teaspoon in all, a preference call on this one!  Melt 8 ounces of chocolate chips, your choice of milk, dark or semi sweet.  White chocolate chips would be good as well!  Drizzle the chocolate over the caramel and course salt.  Let the caramel and chocolate set up a bit before cutting.  Now for the best part… pour yourself a glass of ice cold milk, cut a brownie and enjoy!  Oh and don't forget the ice cream!

© Images taken by yours truly, and edited once again by the lovely  n e l o u G R A C E.

new direction...

     I took a little "hiatus" from my blog.  Let's be honest, I haven't posted since July, 2014 and not often before then!  Over the past year I have dabbled at many things.  Learning guitar, blogging, reading, photography, cooking, & even taking French lessons on my computer.  And while I love the "idea" of doing so many things, I have discovered my true passion is being in the kitchen.  What warms my heart the most is making something yummy and then passing it on to someone else to enjoy.  I have been working the past couple of years with an amazing woman, photographer and a person I now call friend!  Nelou of nelougrace.com is so talented in so many areas- photography, computer skills, Lightroom, design and so on…  I have learned so much and look forward to learning more from my sweet friend.  What I have discovered over the past few months is when I have time to do as I please, I often gravitate towards the kitchen and whip something up!  While driving in the car the idea came from the back of the Suburban… "bake and take!"  Perfectly fitting, since I just adore to bake and take to family, friends, coworkers and whoever will be my guinea pig!  So I am putting my "big girl" camera on the shelf for a while and placing my primary focus on baking, along with taking pictures with my iPhone (seriously… so handy!!).  Don't get me wrong, I love my "big girl" camera and I plan to use it a lot, especially when we go to the cabin.  But for now… I'm finding the iPhone camera does an amazing job and is super simple when it comes to photographing my yummies for blogposts!  Thanks to Nelou for "re-designing" my blog!  Nelou has fantastic ideas and I highly recommend her services!

     One of my favorite treats as a kid were Rice Krispy Treats!  Mom made them all the time and she would vary the ingredients from time to time.  Today I am sharing her "kicked up treats."  These treats aren't your basic off the box recipe… no sireeeee!  They are soft and just the right amount of "goo!"  Altogether now… mmmmmmmm.

Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons butter

8 cups mini marshmallows

1/2 cup peanut butter (I prefer smooth)

6 cups Krispie Rice Cereal

1/2 teaspoon salt

Melted chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Butter a 9x13 pan, set aside.
2. In a large pot over low heat, melt butter and peanut butter.  Add 8 cups of mini marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted.  Add salt.
3. Once the marshmallows and peanut butter are melted, stir in the cereal.  Mix well and press into the prepared pan.
4. Allow to cool completely before drizzling chocolate or cutting into squares.  I usually put the pan in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.  

Additional Notes:  You can omit the peanut butter if you prefer.  If you omit the peanut butter I would add 1/2 cup - 1 cup more cereal.

Adapted from my mom's recipe.  Thanks mom!

Grab a cup of tea or coffee, kick back and enjoy!

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