I had been seeing all sorts of s'mores recipes on pinterest and it was just making me crave a s'mores related treat.  So this weekend, at my sister's house, was the perfect time to try one out.

I was also wanting Nutella, so thinking about nutella and graham crackers sparked the idea that we could make a nutella s'more bar.

Which is exactly what we did.

We used this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and it was SO good!

The only change was instead of 2 cups of chocolate chips, we did about 14 ounces of Nutella.  (The small jars are 13 ounces, the big jars are 26.5 - we used just over half a big jar) Put it in a glass measuring cup, then stick it in the microwave for 15 or so seconds to get it a little more melty.  Then we just drizzled a nice layer on top of the marshmallow fluff. 

They were amazing.

The best part - they were even better the next day.  (If you can handle to leave some that long).  The next morning they seemed to have a little bit of a different texture, and the Nutella taste was more clear.  They were so good, and I've already made another batch.

S'mores Nutella Cookie Bars (recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

*Note: Don’t be tempted to substitute mini-marshmallows for the fluff/creme. The marshmallow fluff/creme stays gooey and soft in the oven.
*Makes 9X13-inch pan of bars

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups marshmallow topping, like Marshmallow Fluff or Creme
12-14 ounces Nutella
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the 2 short sides. Grease the foil with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Divide the dough in half. Press half into the bottom of the prepared pan until the dough is evenly flattened. Dollop the marshmallow topping on top of the cookie base and gently spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Scatter the remaining dough over the top in clumps. Don’t worry about completely covering the top, the marshmallow and chocolate chips should peek through. Bake the bars until golden brown, about 30-32 minutes. Cool completely. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil overhangs. Cut into bars and serve.

white chocolate raspberry layer cake with white chocolate buttercream

Ever since I saw this cake in September 2010, I knew I wanted to make one like it for my daughter's first birthday.  I had a few different things I wanted to do, and I got everything ready.  However, we were living in a tiny hotel room with a very small oven and hardly any counter space on her first birthday.  The cake did not turn out how I'd hoped.  It was a complete disaster.  In fact, we didn't even do anything with it really.

So . . . on to the second birthday.  I still held on to my ideas and figured out ways to make it even better.  I was super happy with how it turned out.  It tasted delicious!

I love white chocolate and raspberry together, so that was one basis for my idea.

I also didn't want to make or eat fondant, so I decided to go with a white chocolate ganache for the cake, and to use white chocolate cutouts for the decorations.

I just used a white cake mix (1/2 a cake mix, actually, I didn't want too many leftovers)

and mixed it according to the box directions.

The cake mix called for 3 egg whites, or 3 whole eggs with extra cooking time.

I used 1 whole egg and 1 egg white (for my halved recipe).

I used one 4 inch pan and one 6 inch pan.

I divided the batter into thirds and colored them pink, orange, and yellow.

Then I divided each color of batter between the two different sizes of cake pans, trying to make them the same depth.

I baked three batches, because I only have one of each of my 4" and 6" pans.

I can't remember how long I baked them, I just stayed in the kitchen and checked on them often.

I was working on my white chocolate cutouts in this time.

I melted my white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water.

Then added my oil-based colorings to try to match the color of the cake batter.

Then spread the chocolate out in a really thin layer on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet.

Then popped it in the freezer for a while to set.

After they were firm, I took them out and cut out the shapes I wanted.  (I used about 1 inch size flowers)

I found a white chocolate buttercream recipe that was AMAZING.

Makes about 2 ½ cups

*I made half of this recipe, and I had a little bit extra*

1 C. unsalted butter, softened
2 ½ C. powdered sugar (or more, depending on desired consistency)
Pinch of salt
6 oz. good quality white chocolate, chopped (NOT white chocolate chips or candy melts!)
¼ C. heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp. vanilla extract

1. Put about 2/3 of the chopped white chocolate into a small bowl.  Heat the chocolate in 20 second increments in the microwave.  Stir after each increment, and continue to heat 20 seconds at a time until chocolate is almost melted. Add the rest of the chopped chocolate and stir in until melted.  (This just helps it to cool more quickly).  Set aside to cool.
2. Once white chocolate has cooled, sift the salt and powdered sugar over the butter, in a large bowl. Cream the butter and sugar mixture together until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Measure the whipping cream into a cup, and stir in the vanilla extract.
4. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually pour the cream mixture the bowl.
5. Once the cream mixture has been incorporated into the frosting, fold on the melted (but cooled) white chocolate until incorporated.
6. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and beat frosting for an additional 3 minutes.
7. Makes about 2 ½ cups of frosting.

Here are my pictures of the cake assembly process:

(6 inch cake in foreground, 4 inch cake behind)

I did the pink layer on the bottom

with a layer of seedless raspberry jam

then a layer of the buttercream

followed by the orange and yellow layers, with the same procedure

Then I did just a light layer of buttercream on the whole cake.

I intended to do the ganache thicker but it was not quite as set up as it needed to be when I was putting it together, so it wasn't covering the whole cake.

Then I placed the chocolate cutouts on the top.

This cake was really delicious - it was very sweet with the ganache though.  I didn't necessarily think it was too sweet, but next time I will just skip the ganache and spread the buttercream a little thicker on the outside of the cake.  It was really good!

peanut butter chunk swirled brownies

When I first saw this recipe from Picky Palate, I knew I had to try it.  And I knew it was going to be good.  Well, I still haven't tried it.  I just got my kitchen unpacked 2 days ago and since then, I've wanted to do a lot of baking.  I found 4 brownie mixes while unpacking, so last night I was thinking that I really *should* make one of them, to get it out of the way.

Then I started thinking about peanut butter.  I really wanted to do something with peanut butter and chocolate, but didn't know if just swirling peanut butter into a brownie recipe would work.  Then I remembered about the peanut butter truffles from the Picky Palate recipe, and this recipe was born.

Simplest recipe ever -

Brownie mix (made according to package directions)
Peanut butter truffles
        mix peanut butter and powdered sugar together, lay out on piece of tin foil coated with nonstick spray, put in freezer for 30 minutes.  Cut (or break) in chunks, refreeze for 10 minutes.  Then add to batter, and bake according to box directions.

I used about equal parts powdered sugar and peanut butter.  Maybe a little more peanut butter.  I did just more than 1/2 cup of each, with a 13x9 size brownie mix - only I baked it in an 11x7 pan because I wanted them thicker.  I thought the ratio of peanut butter was pretty good though, for this size.  They turned out delicious and I'll definitely be making them again.

Twix Bars

Mmmmmm.

Yes, let's say that again, Mmmmmmm.

These are tasty!  I made them for a family Halloween party and they were gobbled up quickly!

It might be partially due to the fact that there is 1 pound of butter in a 9x13 pan.  Oh yeah, and some sugar.  Throw in some sweetened condensed milk, and what's not to love?

Shortbread Crust:
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
Mix and press in 9x13 pan. Bake @ 375 for 20 min.

Caramel:
2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
 Cook over med heat- boil 5 min. Pour on crust. Put in fridge 1 hour.

Chocolate:
Melt 12 oz bag of milk choc chips
 2 tbsp veg. Oil
 Spread over caramel and put in fridge for 2 hours.

I discovered that if you 1/4 this recipe, it makes a perfect 8x8 pan.  It is thinner layers of the caramel and crust and I think it is a nice change.  Plus making only an 8x8 pan means there's less laying around that I am going to eat.

1/4 recipe:

4 T butter
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
Mix and press in 8x8 pan, bake at 375 for about 14-15 minutes.  Check it to make sure it doesn't get too dark.

4 T butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T corn syrup
5 T sweetened condensed milk
cook over medium heat - boil 5 minutes.  Pour on crust, put in fridge 1 hour

1/3-1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 T vegetable oil
melt together, spread over cooled caramel layer.  Refrigerate until set.

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake

This year when I was a few months away from my birthday, I happened to stumble upon this blog.  I don't even remember how I came across it but I was instantly intrigued.  Each recipe she posted just looked like something I wanted to try.  Then, I saw this recipe.  And I knew I wanted it to be my birthday cake.  I probably looked at it every other day during those two months.  I kept thinking about how it would taste and how much fun it would be to make.  A week before my birthday I went and bought the chocolate and the raspberries and the jam.  We were out of town over the weekend and got home in the afternoon of my birthday.  We were pretty busy that evening and didn't know if we would end up making the cake that night or the next day.  Finally we decided to just make it that night, and it wasn't done until about 11:30 - but it was so worth it!  I definitely recommend this cake - it is delicious!!

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake

from Elissa at 17andbaking.com
Makes a three layer 8″ cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
Raspberry Ganache (recipe follows)
2/3 cup raspberry jam **I used seedless raspberry jam and it turned out awesome!**

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8″ cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter again.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Whisk in the oil and sour cream, then gradually beat in the water. Add the vinegar and vanilla and mix to combine, and finally beat in the eggs until the batter is well combined. Divide among the three cake pans.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. **I checked mine at 33 minutes and the toothpick came out completely clean.  I think they turned out perfect, but definitely check the cakes a little earlier, depending on your oven**  Cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and peel off the parchment paper, letting the cakes cool completely. These cakes are very soft, and it helps to freeze them for 15 minutes at this point. While the cakes cool, make the Raspberry Ganache.

If the cakes are not flat, use a serrated knife to even the tops. Place one layer onto a parchment-lined cardboard cut out and spread 1/3 cup raspberry jam. Cover the jam with a thin, 1/4″ thick layer of raspberry ganache. Top with the second layer and repeat. Then invert the final layer and place on top.

To frost the cake, start with a crumb coat: barely cover the entire cake with a thin, see through layer of ganache. This is to help create a smooth finish later. Chill the cake for 10 minutes.

Frost the cake with the remaining raspberry ganache and top with fresh raspberries.

Raspberry Ganache
Makes just enough to fill and frost a three layer 8″ cake

15 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped **I used half 50% cocoa and half 70% and sometimes I felt like it was too bitter, other times I felt it was just right.  I definitely wouldn't want it more than 60%**
1 2/3 cups frozen raspberries
8 oz (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

Bring an inch or two of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. As the water heats, microwave the raspberries in 1 minute intervals, stirring and mashing with a fork, until they become a smooth liquid. Pour through a strainer (should yield 1/3 cup raspberry juice) **I didn't measure, but mine definitely yielded more than that - and I just used it all** and set aside to cool.

Place the chopped chocolate and the butter in a large heatproof bowl and set over the saucepan. The bowl should not touch the water or fall more than halfway into the saucepan. Stir until the chocolate and butter melt, then gradually add in the slightly warm raspberry juice, whisking to combine.

Take the ganache off the heat and let cool until spreadable, stirring once in a while.

Here are my pictures from the process -- enjoy!!

mixing the raspberry juice into the melted chocolate

My cakes weren't perfectly flat but I didn't care, so I didn't waste time cutting them with a knife.

first jam layer

and ganache

repeat the process

I hadn't ever made ganache before - so when it said cool until spreadable, I didn't really know what that meant.  And since it was really late, I just kind of poured it on.  It looks really drippy and sloppy here, but then we put it in the fridge and it hardened and looked really nice, except where it had all dripped down on the plate.  It was plenty thick too, so I wouldn't necessarily worry next time about waiting until it was spreadable just to prevent the ganache from slipping down.

MMMMMM!

Carmelita Bars

Carmelita Bars
***These are so tasty, so please don't automatically disregard them when you find out how much butter they have in them!***
--also, read the notes at the bottom--

2 1/4 cups melted butter
3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups oatmeal

6-12 ounces chocolate chips
17 ounces caramel ice cream topping

Combine first six ingredients.  Spread half of dough on an ungreased jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over the dough.  Pour caramel topping evenly over chips.  Use remaining dough to press into palm-sized sections and place on top of caramel.  Bake for 10-12 more minutes.

***Notes***
***** This makes a pretty big recipe -- I cut it in half and just use a 9x13 pan.  It works out great.
***** Instead of pressing the second half of the dough over the top, I just crumble it over, trying to spread it evenly.  It prevents you from having to touch the hot cooked part, with the melting chocolate chips and caramel.