Chocolate Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels Blondies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 2 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large stand mixer, combine the melted butter and brown sugar and mix with a whisk attachment for 1 minute until combine. Add the vanilla and eggs, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix until fully incorporated.
3. Add the dry ingredients into the stand mixer, flour, baking powder and baking soda and slowly mix until just combined. The batter will be a bit stiff, but that's normal. Fold in the Chocolate Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels.
4. Spray a 9x9 baking pan and line it with parchment paper. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking sheet and transfer it into the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Once the blondie brownies have baked, remove them from the oven and let cool for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Notes

Once cooked, I like to let my blondie brownies cool to room temperature and then transfer the entire baking pan into the refrigerator to cool before slicing. That way the slices are neat and close to perfect!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1½ cups white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup chocolate mint baking chips or chopped chocolate mint bars
  
  
  

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
4. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined. Remove the batter from the mixer and stir in the chips by hand.
5. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper and spread the batter evenly into the pan. Place the baking pan into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
6. After 35 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Once slightly cooled, transfer the baking pan to the fridge and chill for 1 hour before slicing and serving.

Tiramisu Ice Cream Sandwich

Tiramisu Ice Cream Sandwich

Ingredients

For the Mascarpone Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
• 8 ounces mascarpone
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chunks 3 tablespoons dark rum


For the Espresso Cookies
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Mascarpone Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
1. In the bowl of a blender or food processor, puree the mascarpone, milk, cream, sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
2. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface.
3. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 30 minutes.
4. Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. During the last 5 minutes of freezing add the chocolate chunks and rum. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, press plastic wrap against the ice cream surface, and freeze until it is firm and the flavor is ripened, at least 4 hours.
For the Espresso Cookies
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
7. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt.
8. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the milk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until combined. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and beat until just combined.
9. Using a spoon or spring-loaded scoop, drop 2 tablespoon–sized balls of dough onto pre- pared baking sheets.
10. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Freeze the cookies until frozen, at least 1 hour. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 1 month.
For Decorating:
11. To assemble, top one cookie with a scoop of ice cream. Place another cookie on top of the ice cream and gently press down to form a sandwich. Immediately place the sandwich in the freezer. Repeat for the remaining cookies. Freeze for at least 2 hours.

Peach Streusel Ice Cream

Peach Streusel Ice Cream

Ingredients

For the Ice Cream
• 4 ounces butter
• 3 cups half and half
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup caramelized peaches (recipe below)
• 6 tablespoons cinnamon streusel (recipe below)
  
  
For the Caramelized Peaches:
• 3 semi-hard peaches (about 1 day away from being perfectly ripe)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup white sugar
  
  
For Cinnamon Streusel:
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 ounces cold butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

For the Ice Cream
1. Place the butter in a small sauce pan and simmer until the butter turns golden brown. Remove from heat before browning too much and let the butter cool completely.
2. In another larger saucepan, heat the half and half over medium high heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, white and brown sugars and salt until smooth.
4. Temper the mixture by adding 1/2 cup of the warmed half and half to the egg mixture and stir together. Add another 1/2 cup of the half and half to the egg mixture and stir together while tempering the egg. Transfer the entire egg mixture into the remaining half and half in the saucepan and stir over medium heat until a thick mixture has formed. The mixture should be 170 degrees F when it's done. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the seeds from the vanilla bean as well as the browned butter mixture. Let the mixture sit for about 1 hour to infused all the flavor and then strain through a mesh sieve. Discard anything that didn't make it through the mesh sieve and refrigerate the mixture until chilled.
5. Once the mixture is cold, put it into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturers directions.
6. Once fully churned, stir in the streusel and caramelized peaches and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.
For the Caramelized Peaches:
7. Cut the peaches into bite sized pieces and discard the pit. I left the skin on for extra flavor and color. Place the peaches into a sauce pan with the lemon juice and white sugar. Heat the sauce pan over medium heat until the peaches start to cook. Cook the peaches for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently and then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
For Cinnamon Streusel:
8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
9. In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, sugar and cinnamon and pulse for a few seconds to break up the butter. Place the mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes.
10. Remove the streusel from the oven and let cool. Once cooled, break it into bite sized pieces if needed and use as needed.

S’more Pudding Cake

S’more Pudding Cake

S’more Pudding Cake

Ingredients

For the S’Mores Pudding Cake
• 4 cups (1 batch) Rich Chocolate Custard (recipe below)
• 4 sleeves graham crackers
• 3 cups mini marshmallows
• 1 (13-ounce) jar marshmallow crème
  

For the Rich Chocolate Custard
• 6 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cream
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Smear a thin layer of chocolate custard in the center of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover the bottom with a layer of graham crackers and spread 1/3 (about 1 1/4 cups) of the chocolate custard on top of the crackers. Sprinkle 1 cup of mini marshmallows over the custard, and torch them lightly with a kitchen torch, until soft and browned. (You can also put them under an oven broiler for 45 seconds.) Repeat two more times and top with a final layer of graham crackers. (There will be four full layers of crackers, and three of pudding).
2. Warm the marshmallow crème in the microwave or in a saucepan. Spread over the top of the icebox cake and spread while still warm. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the crackers have softened to a cakelike texture (test by inserting a thin knife along the side and bringing up a few crumbs). (This can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time, but it is best consumed with a day or two as it will get soggy if it sits too long.)
3. When ready to serve, brown the top of the cake until tan and toasty with a kitchen torch or under the broiler.
For the Rich Chocolate Custard
4. Prepare the chocolate: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.
5. Make a cornstarch and egg slurry: Put the cornstarch and salt together in a medium bowl and whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Slowly whisk in the cream, making sure there are no lumps. (To be really sure, reach into the bowl and gently rub out any lumps between your fingers.) Whisk in the egg yolks.
6. Warm the milk: In a 3-quart (2.8-L) saucepan over medium heat, whisk the sugar into the milk. Warm for 3 to 5 minutes, until the sugar dissolves, bubbles form around the edges, and the entire surface of the milk begins to quiver. Turn off the heat.
7. Temper the slurry: Pour 1 cup (240 ml) of the hot milk into the bowl with the slurry, whisking constantly. The mixture should come together smoothly, with no lumps. If you see any, add a little more liquid and whisk them out. Pour it back into the pan, counting to 10 and whisking constantly as you pour.
8. Thicken the pudding: Turn the heat back on to medium and bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking frequently and vigorously, working all the angles of the pot and scraping the bottom. Continue whisking for about 5 minutes, until the custard becomes very thick and starts to boil, with large bubbles that slowly pop up to the surface. Boil for 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
9. Flavor the pudding: Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Stir the chocolate into the pudding and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk gently until the pudding is smooth and glossy and has fully absorbed the chocolate.
10. Chill the pudding: Immediately pour the hot pudding into a shallow container. Place plastic wrap or buttered wax paper directly on the surface of the pudding (if you don't like pudding skin). Cover and refrigerate.

Slutty Blondie Brownies

Slutty Blondie Brownies

Ingredients

For the Brownie layer:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp of vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 cup cup white chocolate chips
  
  
For the Oreo layer:
• 1 package of Golden Oreos
  
  
For the Cookie Dough layer:
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temp)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions

For the Brownie layer:
1. In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and transfer into a mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and whisk to combine. Add the vanilla and egg and continue to whisk until totally incorporated.
2. In another bowl mix together the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until fully combined. Stir in the white chocolate and set the batter aside
For the Cookie Dough layer:
4. Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer. Add the egg and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Set aside.
Assembly:
5. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. Line the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan with tin foil and then spray the tin foil with a layer of baking spray.
7. Layer the cookie dough on the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan, pressing down to form the bottom of the slutty brownies.
8. Layer as many oreos that will fit on top of the cookie dough. No need to overlap. One single layer will do.
9. Since the blondie brownie batter is thick, carefully press the brownie batter on top of the oreo layer and make sure it's even on top.
10. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Test with a knife to see if the center is done. If the knife comes out clean, let the brownies rest for at least 1 hour before serving. If the knife comes out with batter still on it, allow the brownies to bake about 5 minutes more.
11. Serve with ice cream if desired

White Nectarine Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 4 large white nectarines,pitted and chopped (about 1 1/3 pounds)
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp meyer lemon juice
  
  

Instructions

1. Place the nectarines and water in a medium sized saucepan and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat until soft. Stir every few minutes to ensure even cooking.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir in the sugar and let the mixture come to room temperature.
3. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Place the liquid into a large bowl and chill for 2 hours. Once the mixture is chilled, transfer it to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers directions.