Chocolate caramel bars

This morning brought mine and my nearly-six-year-old's first snow-shoeing experience. My oldest boy, who did not take his first step until he was three years old, was running around in sub-zero temps with snow shoes strapped to his feet. I don't know that I would have believed this three years ago! I'm a proud mama. And I want more snow-shoeing! Er, maybe when it's 20 degrees warmer outside.

Tomorrow is Elijah's sixth birthday, so I have cupcakes to bake. In the meantime, I will share these delicious bars with you. This recipe comes from my husband's side of the family. After I made this batch, he sank his teeth in and said, "Mmmm, childhood." Gotta love treats that bring back a little piece of childhood.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

Mix until crumbly. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine:

14-oz. bag caramels, unwrapped

1/4 cup milk

Warm over low heat, stirring constantly until caramel is melted and smooth.

Remove the bottom crust from the oven and sprinkle an 11.5-oz. bag of milk chocolate chips evenly over the top.

Pour the melted caramel evenly over the top of the chocolate and top with the remaining flour-oats crumbles.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool completely before serving.

Enjoy! I hope you are staying warm, wherever you are today!

Printable recipe: Chocolate caramel bars

Baby Ruth caramel corn

We made it! It's Day #12 of Twelve Days of Christmas Treats! It went fast, didn't it? I still plan on sharing a few more goodies, but perhaps after a few days off. Any requests?

I have spent a good deal of time thinking about this particular recipe. I wanted to make caramel corn, but not just plain old caramel corn. And then one day I was in the grocery store and I spotted a Baby Ruth candy bar as I waited in the checkout line. I thought about how Baby Ruths are the most underrated candy bar in existence. Have you eaten one recently? They are good. The best! Well, one of the best. And that is how caramel corn and Baby Ruths became one.

I hope you enjoyed my string of treats! It has been a ton of fun posting and of course eating all of it (which is why I sit here at my computer sipping a mean green veggie juice).

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F. Coat a large, rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Prepare 10-12 cups of popcorn in a large, heavy-duty saucepan. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat.

Add:

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 cup light brown sugar

Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth and amber in color, 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add:

1/2 cup marshmallow creme

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir until the mixture is free of lumps.

Pour over the popcorn.

Carefully stir with a large spoon until the popcorn is well-coated.

Add:

12.5-oz. package of fun-size Baby Ruth candy bars, unwrapped and coarsely chopped

Carefully fold in the candy bar pieces.

Pour the popcorn onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, occasionally reaching in to stir and flip the popcorn around.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the popcorn cool for a few minutes. At this point you can either let it harden on the sheet and then break pieces off, or you can form the popcorn into balls (or whatever shape you wish) and then let it harden.

Either way, you are going to love this stuff. 

See you in a few days, friends. 

Printable recipe: Baby Ruth caramel corn

Twix brownies

Yay for a rainy day! The boys are at daycare playing with their friends until 3:00, so I have seven hours of productivity that lie ahead. Ahhhh, that feels good.

We spent six nights in Iowa with family, which was nice. Really really nice. We have two nights at home before heading out for another little trip. I love this summer! I was reminiscing with a few family members over the past week about what a very bad place I was in one year ago. It makes my stomach turn thinking about it. I am grateful for where I am at and how good I feel. Last summer=no bueno.

I cannot speak of our family gathering without mentioning how much all of us love food. My gracious aunt prepares a ton of delicious food for the masses for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day. I did my best to help out this year by providing a few edible treats. My pan of Twix Brownies didn't last long, which I took as a good sign. I found the recipe over at Jasey's Crazy Daisies, and knew I had to make it and share with my family.

Start by lining a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor, place a 12.8-oz. package of Simply Sandies shortbread cookies.

Pulse until fine crumbs form.

Add 6 tablespoons of melted butter and pulse until crumbs are moist.

Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared dish.

In a large mixing bowl, prepare a family size (9x13) box of brownie mix according to the package instructions.

Add 1/4 cup of hot fudge ice cream topping.

Stir until combined.

Pour the batter over the crust. 

Bake as directed on brownie package (adjust the oven temp, if needed). Let cool.

In a medium saucepan, add:

14-oz. bag caramals, unwrapped

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the caramel is completely smooth.

Pour it evenly over the cooled brownies.

Place in the refrigerator until the caramel layer is firm, about 20 minutes.

In a small saucepan, add:

11.5-oz. bag milk chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until melted and creamy.

Spread evenly over cooled caramel layer. Place back in the refrigerator until the chocolate layer is cooled and firm.

Cut into squares and serve! You will love these! Thanks for the recipe, Jasey!

Printable recipe: Twix brownies

Salted caramel pie

It's been another weird week. I wonder how many weeks I have labeled as "weird" in the past year. The older I get, the weirder my life feels. Or maybe it's just the constant sleep deprivation? Elijah and I spent a night in the hospital this week, trying to get some scary croup under control. Nights in the hospital are always quite the experience, resulting in general weariness.

In my weary state of mind, I created this oh-my-goodness-heavenly pie last night and this morning. It's a bit of a messy one, but it is totally sinful and delicious beyond words. I adore the salt-caramel combo that seems to be so trendy these days.

(Recipe adapted from: Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2012)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor, combine:

13 graham crackers, broken into pieces

1/4 cup light brown sugar

5 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Pulse until moistened fine crumbs form. Press the crumbs evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

Pour two cans of sweetened condensed milk into a glass baking dish. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt evenly over the top. Cover the dish with foil. Place the baking dish inside a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with 1 inch of hot water.

Bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. Replenish the water in the roasting pan as needed.

Let cool, stirring occasionally.

Pour the caramel filling into the prepared crust.

Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it over the pie, sprayed-side down. Chill in the refrigerator until the filling is set, about 4 hours.

In a medium bowl, combine:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for 5 to 6 minutes, or until firm.

Remove the plastic from the pie and mound the whipped cream onto the pie.

Cut into wedges and serve!

Printable recipe: Salted caramel pie

Salted caramel butter bars

It finally snowed! It looks strangely like winter outside today. The snow that fell was the wet heavy kind, causing our satellite dish to cease working last night. Did I mention that this happened just as I was sitting down to watch a show that I get really excited about watching every week? I was super bummed, but it opened up time to accomplish a few other tasks, such as writing out a birthday post for my 5-year-old boy! Our journey with Elijah has been one filled with challenges and incredible joy. Seven heart catheterizations, three open heart surgeries, two bronchoscopies, one spinal cord surgery and one urethra surgery later, I can honestly say that I wouldn't change any of it. Happy 5th birthday, beautiful son of mine! What an incredible journey it has been.

Yesterday was an emotional day for me. Looking back on the first 5 years of this boy's life made me weepy. Grateful and happy, but still weepy. At the end of yesterday, I needed comfort! Especially since the snowed-upon satellite dish ruined one of my comfort sources. So I broke out the ice cream and Bailey's! If I would have had a pan of salted caramel butter bars nearby, it would have been completely demolished. Sadly, these bars were long gone.

I found these through the beloved Pinterest, on Cookies & Cups. It looks like the original source is the cookbook Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth. Why in the world do I not own this cookbook?!

I about died when I saw how much butter was used for this recipe. I had my husband check and double check amounts and conversions before adding FOUR STICKS OF BUTTER to my bowl. Let me tell you, though, they are weak-in-the-knees delicious.

In a large bowl, combine:

4 sticks (yes, 1 POUND) salted butter, at room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Using a hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and beat until combined.

Gradually add 4 cups of all-purpose flour to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Press one half of the dough evenly into the prepared pan to form a bottom crust, and place the remaining dough in the refrigerator.

Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.

While the crust is cooling, make the caramel filling. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine:

One 14-oz. bag caramel candies, unwrapped

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If the caramels are not completely melted, microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the crust. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt over the top.

Remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel layer. 

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.

After your first bite, you will likely forget about all of that butter. I did. 

Printable recipe: Salted caramel butter bars