Desserts

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies Recipe

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Best Ever Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies Recipe – Hands down the best Blondies you can make at home. Chock-full with Chocolate Chips, Pretzels and a very generous drizzle of Salted Caramel.


Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies are the happiest accidental creation to have come out of my oven over the past few weeks.

The main reason why I adore this recipe so much is that they bake up beautifully every time. They’re slightly browned and crisp on the outside, but the best part, the inside, stays so moist, gooey and chewy. The similarity to brownies is undeniable.

Brownies are my absolute favorite bars. All things chocolate really are my favorite. Adam, on the other hand, prefers anything that doesn’t involve chocolate or contains small amounts. So just in case you are that someone or live with anther person who doesn’t love chocolate quite as much, these blondies are the best compromise. Not as rich and fudgy as brownies, but every bit as satisfying.

The batter for these blondies holds a healthy amount of chocolate chips and broken pretzel pieces. Giving the blondies great texture and that sweet & salty thing so many of us love. The caramel drizzle at the end totally sets each and every yummy square over the top.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies Recipe

Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12

These blondies are all about salty & sweet. Get ready to have your taste buds tickled!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup broken pretzel pieces, plus 12 whole pretzels for decorating each square (optional)
  • 1/4 cup salted caramel sauce, for drizzling

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8-x-8-inch baking pan with parchment paper that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or grease the pan thoroughly.
  2. In a medium bowl, using a rubber spatula combine butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Stir in salt and flour until fully incorporated and no lumps remain. Fold in chocolate chips and broken pretzel pieces.
  3. Pour batter into prepared baking pan in an even layer. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely. Drizzle with salted caramel sauce. Cut into bars and place 1 pretzel in the center of each blondie square. Enjoy!

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Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie Stack Recipe

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Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie Stack Recipe – Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cheesecake, and Chocolate Ganache collide into one breathtaking dessert.


While it might look like this could be difficult to pull off, let me tell you that it really isn’t. If you can bake chocolate chip cookies, you can totally do this. It’s made up of two chocolate chip cookie layers, two no-bake cheesecake layers and lots of chocolate ganache.

Basically the dessert of my dreams.

For the cookie layers, I adapted our favorite chocolate chip cookie dough and simply baked it into two giant square cookies and let them cool completely. Once cooled, I moved onto the easiest cheesecake I know. Made up of 3 ingredients and so, so yummy. While chocolate ganache sounds fancy, it really is a cinch to make on your own. Heavy cream and chocolate are the best together.

This is by far the tastiest frozen treat I’ve eaten in quite a while.  I was most definitely inspired by the warm weather and my relentless sweet tooth.


Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie Stack Recipe


Total time: 30 mins
Servings: 12

Ingredients


For the Cookie Layers

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

For the Chocolate Ganache

  • 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • For the Cheesecake Layer
  • 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-x-8 inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray.
  2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add baking soda and salt. Mix another minute or until incorporated. With your mixer set to its slowest setting, add flour and mix until a smooth dough forms. Add chocolate chips and incorporate with a spatula. Press half of the cookie dough into the prepared pan. Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Lift cookie layer onto a wire rack and line baking pan again with aluminum foil and spray. Bake the second half of the cookie dough as the first.
  3. Once cookie layers have completely cooled, return one layer to the bottom of the baking pan (that’s been sprayed and lined with aluminum foil).
  4. Using a double boiler, combine heavy cream and dark chocolate. Heat and stir frequently until dark chocolate is melted and incorporated with the heavy cream. Remove from the stove and let sit.
  5. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
  6. Pour 1/3 of the chocolate ganache over the cookie layer in the pan in an even layer. Place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Remove and spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate. Stack second cookie sheet on top and spread another 1/3 of the chocolate ganache in an even layer over the cookie layer. Return to the fridge for another 15 minutes. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture evenly over the chocolate layer and pour remaining chocolate ganache over the final cream cheese layer. Cover pan and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.

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Best Ever Caramel Nougat Chocolate Bars Recipe

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Best Ever Caramel Nougat Chocolate Bars Recipe – Irresistible Caramel Nougat Chocolate Bars a.k.a. Snickers! These bars a ridiculously amazing.


I have no words for this. Well, maybe one. RIDICULOUS. That’s exactly what these bars are. There is no way I could come even close to describing to you what these taste like. All I can say is that you’ll feel overwhelmingly happy. So much so that you won’t know what to do with yourself. It starts out with a huge smile, which quickly turns into uncontrollable giggles, followed by laughter and the slapping of anything and everyone you can find. You’ll be so enamored you might even start rolling on the kitchen floor… yep, you’ll be a complete loony. But hey, at least you have something to blame. Caramel Nougat Chocolate Bars are prepared to change your taste buds. Are you ready to give it a whirl?


Best Ever Caramel Nougat Chocolate Bars Recipe


Total time: 3 hours
Servings: 24

Ingredients

First Chocolate Layer

  • 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Nougat Layer

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts

Caramel Layer

  • 1 12-ounce bag of caramels
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Final Chocolate Layer
  • 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 9×13-inch aluminum baking pan, optional

Instructions

  1. Thoroughly grease your aluminum baking pan.
  2. For the first layer, melt 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips and 1/4 cup peanut butter and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour into the bottom of the aluminum pan and spread in an even layer. Let cool completely in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
  3. For the nougat layer, melt 1/4 cup unsalted butter and add 1 cup sugar plus 1/4 cup evaporated milk. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to cook (over medium-high heat) while stirring until sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Next, add 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff, 1/4 cup peanut butter, and vanilla. Stir until creamy and thoroughly combined. Mix in 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts and spread evenly over chocolate layer. Let cool completely on the counter or in the fridge until firm.
  4. For the caramel layer, combine caramels and 1/4 cup heavy cream in a pot. Melt caramel mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly! Spread over nougat layer and let cool once again.
  5. For the fourth and final chocolate layer, melt the remaining 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips and 1/4 cup peanut butter and mix until thoroughly combined and creamy. Spread evenly over the caramel layer and let cool completely. Refrigerate for two hours or until ready to serve.

Notes

  • Caramel Nougat Chocolate Bars will keep in the fridge for 1 week.
  • Cut the corners of the aluminum pan with scissors and flatten the sides of the aluminum pan. This makes cutting and removing the bars from the pan much easier.

Best Ever Brown Butter Salted Caramel Espresso Bars Recipe

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Best Ever Brown Butter Salted Caramel Espresso Bars Recipe – Brown Butter, Salted Caramel, Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans, and more Chocolate. These bars have your name written all over them!


Recently, I found myself digging through my baking pantry and discovered a container of chocolate covered espresso beans. Pretty sure I purchased those on a whim one day in Trader Joe’s and decided to hide them from myself. Burying the container amidst large bags of flour, sugar, and everything else you could possibly need to satisfy your baking addiction. Because I cannot be trusted around them.

You know that awesome feeling when you find something unexpectedly like a $10 bill in a pair of jeans you’ve forgotten about? That’s what I felt like after discovering my hidden chocolate espresso beans. After waiting a couple of weeks due to my forgetfulness, I was all about making a pan of bars featuring those espresso beans that I would remember for years to come.

And will I ever. These are the bars of my dreams. Stuffed to the max with ingredients I couldn’t possibly love more. Gooey caramel, chocolate chunks, espresso beans covered in chocolate and flaky sea salt to put the perfect finishing touch on each square.

When they came out of the oven, I almost had no words… almost.

Best Ever Brown Butter Salted Caramel Espresso Bars Recipe


Total time: 50 mins
Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup caramels, cut into pieces
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chunks
  • 3/4 chocolate covered espresso beans
  • coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-x-8 inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted and starts to foam, whisk constantly. Once the butter turns brown, begins to smell nutty, and little brown bits form on the bottom of the pan, immediately remove from the stove and pour browned butter into the bowl of your stand mixer. Let cool for a couple of minutes.
  3. Once cooled, add brown sugar as well as granulated sugar to the bowl and mix until combined, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla.
  4. Next, mix in coffee granules, baking soda, and salt and mix until incorporated. Add flour and mix until combined. Fold in caramels, chocolate chunks, and chocolate covered espresso beans. Press dough into the prepared baking pan. Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sea salt and let cool completely. Cut into squares and enjoy!

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Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats Recipe

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Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats Recipe – Enjoy the ultimate Rice Krispie Treats. These bars are packed with the wonderful flavor and aroma of brown butter and also happen to be one of the chewiest and gooiest treats everr!


I know what you might be thinking. Rice Krispie Treats. Really? We all know how to make them since they have been around forever.

Because I thought the same thing. Before attempting to make these, I was brainstorming ideas what else I could possibly add to these bars to bring them over the top.

Wait a second. We’re talking brown butter here. Outrageously nutty, buttery and reminiscent hints of caramel. Surely that had to be enough.

And boy was it ever.

Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats Recipe


Total time: 10 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 5 1/2 cups Rice Krispie cereal
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 10 oz. bag marshmallows
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Thoroughly grease an 8-x-8-inch baking pan.
  2. Pour cereal into a large bowl. In a mid-sized saucepan over medium heat, brown the butter. Keep your eye on it while stirring frequently. As soon as the butter turns slightly brown, turn off the heat and add marshmallows to the pot. Stir until melted and thoroughly combined. Add salt.
  3. Pour marshmallow mixture over the cereal and combine until fully incorporated. Press into the prepared baking pan. Let cool and cut into squares.

Notes

  • Treats will keep up to 5 days stored in an airtight container.

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S’mores Cookies Recipe

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S’mores Cookies Recipe – With a dough made from graham cracker crumbs, milk chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and a square of Hershey’s chocolate bar on top…these soft, chewy, gooey cookies scream S’MORES!


I’ve never grown up eating s’mores, nor have I even been to camp to experience the ritual of making them.

So nope…not a speck of nostalgia do these treats strike.

As a matter of fact, I’ve only learned about their existence about a year after becoming a mother.  Thanks to Barney (the purple dinosaur of our imagination) for introducing me through a song my then toddler daughter loved.  Mmmm…S’mores!  Which quickly turned this simple creation into one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations.

You could read more about this eye-opening discovery of mine by clicking here, and while you’re at it make sure you give these Grilled S’more Sandwiches a go.

S’mores Cookies Recipe


Total time: 40 minutes
Servings: 16 cookies

INGREDIENTS 

  • 1 cup (120g) tightly packed graham cracker or digestive biscuit crumbs (I used 8 Digestive Biscuits ground into fine crumbs)
  •  1 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour
  •  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  •  1/2 teaspoon salt
  •  A pinch of cinnamon (less than 1/8 teaspoon)
  •  1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (128g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
  •  1/2 cup (100g) soft light brown sugar, packed
  •  1/3 cup (72g) granulated sugar
  •  1 teaspoon honey
  •  1 large egg, at room temperature
  •  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  •  1 cup (172g) chocolate chips, I used Hershey’s milk chocolate chips
  •  1 cup (57g) mini marshamallows, I used Campfire brand (*see note)
  •  2 regular size (1.55 oz) Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars, plus extra if making cookie sandwiches
  •  Extra graham cracker pieces & mini marshmallows (optional)
  •  Large marshmallows, optional (if making s’mores cookie sandwiches)


INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line 2 baking sheets with silicon baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together graham cracker (or digestive biscuit) crumbs, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl and an electric hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy; about 1 minute.
  4. Add both sugars and beat together until lightened up in both texture and color and looks fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in the honey until incorporated.
  5. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
  6. With the mixer running of lowest speed, gradually add in the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. DO NOT OVERMIX.
  7. Add in the mini marshmallows and chocolate chips and lightly mix until just combined.
  8. Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, divide the cookie dough into 16 equal balls. Arrange dough balls, 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet.
  9. Press a Hershey’s chocolate square on top of each cookie ball and gently press down. Optionally, add a few broken graham cracker (or digestive biscuit) pieces and mini marshmallows onto the top of the dough for looks and a toasty marshmallow surface.
  10. Bake cookies 1 sheet at a time until cookies are golden brown, flattened but still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft but no longer wet, 10 to 12 minutes. Set the timer to 10 minutes to check for doneness, then add 1 minute at a time if needed. Do NOT overbake or they’ll end up hard instead of soft and chewy. A trick to know that they’re done, is to lift the edge of the cookie with your finger, if it lifts, then they’re done, if its still too soft to lift then give it another minute or so. The cookies will continue to cook from the residual heat of the baking sheets as they cool.
  11. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and let the cookies cool on the baking sheets, at least 15 minutes. Resist the urge to eat them right away or they’ll taste raw and undone. Store in an airtight container to maintain their softness.

TO MAKE A S’MORE COOKIE SANDWICH: (OPTIONAL)

  1. Roast a large marshamallow over a fire pit or over the stove burner rotating occasionally until golden brown or under the oven’s broiler placed in a pan. Transfer the roasted marshmallow (or two), on top of the flat side of a cookie and top with half of a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar (4 squares or more) or any other chocolate of your choice or NUTELLA. The heat of the marshmallow should be enough to melt the chocolate, if it doesn’t melt as desired then place the whole thing back in the oven for less than a minute or give it a quick spin in the microwave.
  2. Alternatively, you could melt the chocolate separately in the microwave and dollop it over the cookie before placing the toasted marshmallow. Place another cookie, right-side-up, on top of the chocolate. Gently press and enjoy right away.

RECIPE NOTES

  • I’ve found that the brand of marshmallows makes a difference in this recipe. I wouldn’t recommend Jet Puffed brand as they melt too much causing flatter, unevenly shaped cookies. Campfire brand works great here as the marshmallows hold their shape really well.
  • Make sure you use the soft kind of brown sugar that feels and looks like damp sand like Dominos brand. Avoid the coarse, granular type of brown sugar like demerara. Use fresh, moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry.
  • Cookie dough balls could be chilled in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for up to one month in a zipper lock bag. Bake straight from frozen. You might need to add an extra 2 minutes to the baking time.


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Molten Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe

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Molten Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe – Takes 5 minutes from start to finish, and tastes like a cross between a molten lava cake and a chocolate soufflé!  With a moist, cakey outside and a gooey, saucy inside, it’s hard to believe it’s made in the MICROWAVE!


Try it once, and I assure you addiction will follow.

You know those late night cravings when you’re dying for something sweet, that candy can’t satisfy, yet you’re too lazy to get up and bake something?  So you shove down any junk in sight, hate yourself for it, then force yourself to sleep?

Not anymore!

Because this is the answer to the spontaneous feeling of: I WANT DESSERT AND I WANT IT RIGHT NOW!!!

This cake takes 5 minutes from thought to table and tastes like you went to a fancy restaurant and ordered a gourmet dessert.  You don’t even need to turn on your oven.  The microwave does all the magic in less than 2 minutes!!  Plus you get to enjoy it in the comfort of your PJs.  Nothing beats that!

If you’re still skeptical…so was I.

Until I tried this one and now I’m a believer of mug cakes.

Molten Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe


Total time: 6 minutes
Servings: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS 

  • 1/4 cup (30 grams) all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (12 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons (43 grams) unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) whole milk
  • 1 smallish egg, (weighing around 43 grams out of the shell)
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 teaspoon if using imitation vanilla flavoring)
  • 1 oz (28 grams) lightly broken up chocolate of your choice (I use semi sweet or milk chocolate, but anything from chocolate truffles to Nutella are great additions)
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) water
  • Berries and Ice Cream (optional for serving)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a 2-cup capacity microwave-safe mug or bowl* (see note), whisk together with a fork, the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until well combined.
  2. Add in the melted butter, milk, egg and vanilla. Whisk well to combine, making sure to mix in the flour mixture in the bottom.
  3. Place the chocolate pieces in the center of the mug. Do not push down; it will sink as it bakes.
  4. Drizzle the tablespoon of water right on top of the batter.
  5. Cook in microwave on full power for 1 minute and 15 seconds to 1 minute and 30 seconds (1 minute and 15 seconds is my magic number), or until the cake rises to the top, the edges look set but the surface of the center looks slightly wet and shiny, and sticks to the finger when touched. It will set up as it sits. Timing will vary according to your microwave, so you’ll have to experiment until you find your perfect cooking duration. Do NOT overbake to ensure that saucy, molten-y interior. If the center still looks raw then give it another 5 to 10 seconds. The cake will fall after it comes out of the microwave.
  6. Let it cool for about 5 minutes so you don’t burn your tongue, and the waiting will also help thicken the sauce in the bottom. Top with berries or ice cream if desired, then share with a loved one or enjoy all by yourself…not gonna judge 🙂

Recipe Notes:

  • A short mug with a wide mouth works best for this recipe. If not available, a small bowl could be used instead. To know if your mug/or bowl is the right size, pour 2 cups of water in it and this should fill it to the top.
  • If trying to avoid the microwave, this cake could be baked in a 400F/200C oven for 10 to 15 minutes.


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Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe

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A rich, super moist chocolate bundt cake covered in a dark chocolate glaze made with coffee and sour cream. Yields: 12 Ingredients For the cake: 1 1/3 cups brewed coffee  3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 1/4 cups sugar 1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt (reduce to 1 teaspoon if using table salt) 2 1/2 teaspoons … Read more

Easy Cannoli Cake Recipe

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A cannoli cake recipe made in a baking pan, so it’s easy to take to dinner parties and potlucks! Plus, it couldn’t be easier because it uses store-bought pound cake, and only 6 ingredients in total! Servings : 9 Ingredients 1 16 oz. “family size” store bought frozen pound cake (see notes) 1 15 oz. … Read more