Iced Caramel Macchiato

I'm baaaaaaack! 

So, I've been away a while, doing this: (warning: proud mama in the house)

But now I'm getting a bit of sleep again, and a routine has been carved out and I'm bursting with inspiration! I sat down last night and wrote out 25 recipe ideas I want to try.

Given my current state of perpetual zombieness this bevvie went right to the top of the list.

I love a good iced coffee in the morning. It's instant gratification for my caffeine needs (some mornings even my Tassimo takes too long!), and I much prefer a cold coffee to hot in the sweltering heat of summer. I used to be a straight up Mocha girl at coffee shops but lately I'm all about the Caramel. I was curious to see how the caramel flavour translated to an iced coffee and I'm thrilled to report my experiment was scrumtastic! (I couldn't decide between the two adjectives.)

I will definitely be brewing this up for the rest of the summer!

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Iced Caramel Macchiato

10 cups strong-brewed coffee, hot
1/2 cup caramel sauce (I used Torani)
1 tsp vanilla
Ice
Cream

Instructions

1. Brew 10 cups of your favourite coffee.
2. As soon as the coffee is done brewing pour in the caramel and vanilla.
3. Stir to melt the caramel into the coffee.
4. Allow to cool to room temperature and then place in refrigerator.
5. Serve over ice with milk or cream. Garish with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel for an authentic coffee house experience.

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Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bites

I write the school newsletter for my daughter's preschool. It's a labour of love. Every issue I include a recipe from one of the families that go to the preschool. I put a call out a couple months ago for a newsletter recipe and my friend Laurie sent me this. As soon as I read it I ran out and got waffle pretzels, Rolos and pecans. Then they sat in my cupboard... until today. (Not sure why but perhaps the fact my kids have been trading the flu back and forth for 2 months might have something to do with it!)

I was looking for a little sweet snack to send into work with my husband on night shift, those poor guys need a little sugar around 3am to make it through, and that's when I came across the Rolos in the cupboard. I'm not even joking here, 5 minutes later they were done. No mess, no dishes to wash, and even though they went in the oven, I'd hardly call this baking. SO freakin' easy! And did I mention delicious? Yeah, they're good. Thanks Laurie!

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bites

Waffle Pretzels
Rolos or other Chocolate Caramel candies (Caramilk Secrets would be awesome)
Whole Pecans

1. Place as many waffle pretzels as you'd like on a parchment -lined baking sheet.
2. Top each pretzel with a chocolate caramel.
3. Put in a preheated 350˚F oven for 2-3 minutes or until the candies are just softened.
4. Remove from the oven and immediately press a pecan into the melty candy.
5. Pop in your mouth and fall in love.

Snicker Squares

Nougat. Say it with me, Noooooougat. It's a funny word. I've never really given it much thought either. Caramel, I enjoy. Chocolate, I obsess over. But Nougat? Meh. Ranks up there with eating soda crackers or watching football in my books (What are "things I don't usually enjoy doing unless necessary" Alex?").

But then I came across a recipe that changed my opinion, dare I say my life (Praise Nougat!) and now I will share with you my new love. Home made Nougat! Oh. Mah. Gawd. Nougat in commercially prepared chocolate bars, or candy bars if you will, tends to be chewy, and sometimes hard. Home made nougat is the stuff angels sing of. It's fluffy and rich and melts on your tongue. (is it getting hot in here or is it just me?) This recipe very closely rips off pays homage to a very popular chocolate bar that is totally satisfying (hee hee!).

You must try the Nougat. Just try not to eat the whole pan yourself, I'm pretty sure nougat isn't low-fat...


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Snicker Squares adapted from Taste of Home Best Holiday Recipes 2009 edition

Base layer:
1 c. milk chocolate chips (I used 1/2 chips, 1/2 PC Mini Fudge Melts)
1/2 c. butterscotch chips
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

Nougat:
1/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. marshmallow fluff (if you buy Kraft it's the whole jar)
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. chopped salted peanuts

Caramel layer:
1 package (14oz) caramels
1/3 c. heavy cream

Top layer:
1 c. milk chocolate chips (I used 1/2 chips, 1/2 PC Mini Fudge Melts again)
1/4 c. butterscotch chips
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

Instructions:

1. Spray a 9" x 13" pan with cooking spray (or grease with butter).
2. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter together.
3. Spread the melted chips and peanut butter mixture over the bottom of our pan and refrigerate until set.
4. For the filling, in a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and the milk and bring to a gentle boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the marshmallow fluff, peanut butter and vanilla. Add peanuts and stir to incorporate.
6. Spread nougat over chocolate base and refrigerate until set.
7. For the caramel layer, in a double boiler, combine cream and caramels and melt until creamy and smooth. Spread caramel over nougat layer and refrigerate until set.
8. For top layer, in a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter together. Spread over caramel layer and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
9. When ready to serve, remove from the fridge and allow to warm up for 10-15 minutes. Cut and serve immediately. Store in the refrigerator.

It's a lot of steps but totally worth it!

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enjoy!

The Great Recipe Exchange: Caramel Almond Dream Bars & Toblerone Shortbread

Caramel Almond Dream Bars

A few weeks ago @maggiesavage sent me a message asking me if we'd like to do a recipe exchange and then blog about our results. I thought about it for about 2 seconds and said "sure!". Then I found out that Maggie cooks and bakes gluten free and vegan on her blog She let them eat Cake! What I know about vegan and gluten-free baking could fit in a shot glass, but I like a challenge. Maggie suggested that I would re-glutenize her recipe and she would de-glutenize mine. Easy enough right?

I had no idea what some of her ingredients were! After asking Maggie a bunch of questions and hitting Google pretty hard I figured out what all the ingredients did in the recipe and proceeded to replace them with their gluten-laden counterparts.

What I got was a wonderful, delicate shortbread topped with ooey gooey caramel and toasted almonds. Deeee-lish!

Caramel Almond Dream Bars original recipe by Maggie Savage

For the base:
1 c. butter, softened
½ c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 c. all purpose flour
2/3 c. ground almonds
¼ tsp sea salt
½ tsp cinnamon

For the Caramel:
¾ c. milk
¾ c. sugar
1/3 c. clear corn syrup
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp hot water
2 tbsp butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 335˚F and grease an 8x8 pan.
2. Toast the sliced almonds on a cookie sheet.
3. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until whipped. Add the vanilla and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, ground almonds, sea salt, and cinnamon until combined.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
6. Spread into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes until edges start to get golden brown.
7. While your base is baking, prepare your caramel.
8. Place milk, sugar, and corn syrup in a saucepan and whisk to combine.
9. Cook on medium heat, whisking regularly, for 3 minutes.
10. In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch into the hot water water and add to the saucepan.
11. Cook this mixture until it thickens (stirring constantly) for approximately 20 minutes. You want your caramel to be a little bit runny.
12. Remove from heat and add butter.
13. Pour slightly cooled caramel on top of your base.
14. Sprinkle with toasted almonds.




I sent Maggie my Toblerone Shortbread recipe. I will be posting the original recipe below and Maggie will be posting her gluten-free version on her blog, be sure to head on over and check out what she came up with!

This shortbread is light and buttery with chunks of my favourite holiday treat, Toblerone bar, running through it. What's not to love?

Tolerone Shortbread

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Toberlone Shortbread original version

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. icing (powdered) sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. coarsely chopped Toblerone bar

1. Preheat oven to 300˚F.
2. In a medium sized bowl using an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth.
3. Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add vanilla and salt until combined.
5. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour just until mixed.
6. Stir in 1/4 c. of the chopped Toblerone.
7. Scrape dough into an ungreased 8"x8" pan.
8. Lightly flour your fingers and pat mixture to an even thickness.
9. Using a fork, lightly prick dough every inch.
10. Bake in lower third of the oven until edges are deep golden and centre is lightly golden, 30-40 minutes.
11. Using a serrated knife, cut into fingers, squares or diamonds.
12. Melt the remaining Toblerone and dip 1/2 of each cookie into the melted chocolate and place on a rack to cool.
13. Store in an airtight container, in a cool place or the refrigerator, for up to 2 weeks.

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Enjoy,

Amanda

Orgasmic Mars Bar Fudge

I heart sugar. For me there is no substitute. So when I find a way to add MORE sugar to something that is already basically pure sugar, I'm all over that like.... sugar on sugar! The Orgasmic Caramilk Fudge I (and some of you) have made before is one of the tastiest fudge recipes I've ever come across, so naturally I felt the need to mess with it.

I stood in front of a very large candy display and pondered which delicious chocolate bar would be improved by surrounding it in a delicate creamy-fudge layer. After several minutes of hmm-ing and haw-ing the Mars bar screamed out "pick me! pick me! I want to be wrapped in fudge! oh pleeeeease pick me!". So I scooped up 8 bars and ran like the dickens back to my kitchen. I adjusted some other flavours and voilà, a whole new fudge to make you scream out "Yes! Yes! Yesssssss!"

Orgasmic Mars Bar Fudge

2 c. packed brown sugar
1 can condensed milk
3/4 c. butter
1 c. icing sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
8 Mars bars
2 squares semi-sweet Baker's Chocolate, melted

Instructions:

1. Microwave sugar, milk and butter for 8-9 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.
2. Add icing sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and mix with a hand mixer for 4 minutes.
3. Be quick for next step, as mix hardens. Place 1/2 of the mixture into a well greased 8x8 pan.
4. Lay the Mars bars out to cover the fudge mixture
5. Pour the rest of the mixture on top and smooth with a spatula
6. Using spoon or piping bag (a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped works well too) drizzle the top with melted chocolate.

Set aside 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Amanda

Lilianna's Caramel Apple Mini Pies

I am always looking for ways to get my kid(s) involved with cooking. My gran had me up on the counter stirring batter and dumping ingredients when I was knee high to a bug's eye, and I loved it. Lily's 3 so knives are a no-no, but stirring and dumping are well within her skill set.

I went with her class to the apple orchard last week and have been staring at the apples she picked with her own little hands ever since wondering what we were gonna do with them. Eat them as is and enjoy their naturally crisp and slightly tart taste? Make apple sauce? Or perhaps a pie.... yep, a pie.

The apples (as I said) were a little tart (for a child's palate) so I thought what better to add to them than a healthy dose of caramel! I had some mini tart shells in the freezer so I pulled them out cause I would have lost her interest completely if I had to make pie dough, and their tiny size is perfect for little ones.

I'm going to do this post a little different cause I went a little picture happy...

The ingredients*: apples, tart shells, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar, caramel dip (* not pictured, butter, flour & egg, cause I'm not used to taking this kind of picture)

When I told Lily we were going to make apple pies this is what she did. She was very proud that she made them all by herself.

I chopped up the apples and she put them in the pot. She also helped me line up the tart shells on a baking sheet and fill them with the apple mixture, and then she watched them closely while they cooked.

Lilianna's Caramel Apple Mini Pies

5 apples, peeled, cored & chopped into small pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground if possible
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
splash of water
1/4 c. caramel apple dip
12 frozen tart shells
1 egg

Instructions:

1. Peel, core and chop apples and put them in a small pot.
2. Add spices, butter, sugar, flour and mix. Add a splash of water and put on the stove at medium temp. and cook until the apples are tender.
3. Add caramel apple dip to the cooked apples and stir to mix.
4. Fill 6 of the tart shells with the apple mixture.
5. Beat egg with a wee bit of water and brush rims of the filled tart shells.
6. Remove the remaining 6 tarts from their aluminum plates and invert over top the filled tarts pressing the edges together to seal.
7. Make a little slit in the top of the pie with a knife and brush tops with more of the egg/water mixture.
8. Bake in a preheated 350˚F oven for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.

Serve warm with cinnamon whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

Makes 6 mini pies.

enjoy cooking with your kids!
Amanda

Better than Sex Cake

I was on twitter the other day musing about how I should do more recipes with the word sex or orgasms in the title (since my posted fudge recipe is so popular), and thought "That IS a good idea!", so off I went in search of some pleasure inducing recipes. I came across this one and knew I had to try it out, cause I like cake, but the title makes some lofty claims.

Chocolate, caramel, Skor bar... hello? Have you slipped into a sugar-coma yet? It was TO DIE FOR. This cake comes together pretty quickly which is great cause we invited my in-laws over for an impromptu dinner and I was able to whip this bad boy up in an hour.

If you liked the fudge, this cake won't disappoint. Give it a try and let me know if you think it's better than sex?


Better than Sex Cake adapted from allrecipes.com

1 boxed devil's food cake mix (you can make a from scratch cake if you like, I was impatient!)
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg. Kraft Caramels
4 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, crushed
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Instructions:

1. Bake cake according to package directions BUT use only 1/2 the oil the recipe calls for.
2. Remove cake from the oven and poke several holes (like 15-20) about 3/4 of the depth of the cake all over with the handle of a wooden spoon.
3. In a bowl combine the milk and caramels and microwave until the caramels are melted. Mix well.
4. Pour the warm topping mixture over the top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the holes.
5. Sprinkle the crushed chocolate bars over the caramel while it's still warm reserving a bit for the top of the cake.
6. Let the cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping and melted chocolate.
7. Refrigerate until set (about 20 minutes) and serve.


Enjoy,
Amanda

While I was taking pictures, my 3 year old came wandering by and said "Ooooo, look mommy, chocolate!" and before I knew it she had scampered up on a chair and was reaching for a hunk of Skor bar as I was snapping a picture. Sneaky bugger!

(Orgasmic) Caramilk Fudge

My favourite chocolate bar of all time, hands down, is Cadbury's Caramilk Bar. I've enjoyed other bars, even loved some of them, but I always come back to the amazing milk chocolate & caramel combination that is Caramilk. I used to get one everyday after school in middle school on my way home from the bus. I can honestly say the majority of my babysitting funds in seventh grade went to the corner store.

I have no recollection as to how I stumbled upon this recipe, but I know I found it in a chatroom for wedding planning. This super easy microwave fudge will blow your mind. I am not even a fudge fan but I really have to restrain myself from lapsing into a sugar-coma with this stuff.

Try it and tell me it doesn't live up to it's name.
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(Orgasmic) Caramilk Fudge

2 c. packed brown sugar
1 can condensed milk
3/4 c. butter
1 c. icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
6 caramilk bars

1. Microwave sugar, milk and butter for 8-9 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes
2. Add icing sugar and vanilla and mix with a hand mixer for 4 minutes
3. Be quick for next step, as mix hardens. Place 1/2 of the mixture into a well greased 8x8 pan
4. Lay the caramilk bars out to cover the fudge mixture
5. Pour the rest of the mixture on top and smooth with a spatula

Set aside 30 minutes.

I suggest you cut this in pretty small pieces, it's is very sweet but totally yummy!

enjoy,
Amanda

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Caramel Bars

My third favourite flavour combination, after chocolate and peanut butter, and chocolate and mint, is chocolate and caramel. I love the rich buttery flavour of caramel, and the smell reminds me of my grandma's kitchen. I read the ingredients for this recipe and decided I had to try it. Oatmeal, caramel, chocolate, what's not to love?

The original recipe called for chopped walnuts but since my husband will be taking most of these into work, as he does with all my baking, I thought I would leave them out in case there are any allergies. I don't think it hurts the taste at all. I gobbled down 3 of these wonderfully rich bars while photographing them and I have to say they were pretty darn tasty, although I think next time I make them I'm going to double the chocolate chips but that's just cause I'm a chocolate junkie.


Caramel Bars adapted from allrecipes.com

50 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
7 tbsp heavy cream
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt together the caramels and heavy cream, stirring occasionally until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.
3. Stir in the melted butter until well blended.
4. Press Half of the mixture into the bottom of a 8x8 inch baking pan. Reserve the rest.
5. Bake the crust for 8 minutes in the preheated oven.
6. Remove and sprinkle with chocolate chips (and walnuts).
7. Pour the caramel mixture over the top and then crumble the remaining crust mixture over everything.
8. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 12 minutes, or until the top is lightly toasted.
Cut into squares while it is still warm.