Bless…Yum Gooey! I must explain my spelling…and thoughts…

I am not talking about this!!! (Well it might be attractive to other (?) Geoducks…Hmmm…I have to think about this one without offending (PC).  This ridiculous looking creature is not something I would want to see on my plate, or near my mouth…  They say that I affecting their diets regime…I say YUM!  I like affecting diets…especially my own, which if I want to go there doesn’t include gooey, or geo…especially geoducks.  According to my wife, she says whenever I go on a diet, I watch the food channels, or look at all of the blogs about baking and making delectable desserts.  I am here to say…she is right L Yes you caught me…I am a closet Yum person…Whenever I look at Facebook.  I see all of these goodies.  I see every ingredient that I dream about.  I know that others in the same situation also dream about them.  Carmel, Chocolate, sugar (white or brown), marshmallow, a variety of fruit, a lot of cereal and nut items, of course flour and last but not least a picture…of it…in all its glory which looks like it was taken from an artist’s rendition.  Mine of course never look like that.  But, where would my creativity be if it did? The rest of my posting will include the gooey kind like the items below… get your bibs out and join me in a “break the diet” look at the culprits like these…

I am talking about this…yummy item (below) that I about to fall in love with, or that is debatable I have already fallen in love with the love of my life…my wife…but back to this I have been posting in this blog and my Facebook to the chagrin of my followers and Facebook friend.

Carmelitas

Carmelitas are a no-mixer, layered bar, and the crust and topping are made with the same buttery, brown sugar, vanilla-infused oatmeal and flour mixture. In the middle there's chocolate and caramel sauce. They're like the softest oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, with a streusel-crumble topping, and more melted caramel than you have napkins for. The oats provide a light amount of texture and chewiness to the otherwise buttery-soft bars, just oozing with juicy caramel everywhere. You can add salt, to taste, to the caramel sauce for salted Carmelitas. I melted caramels with heavy cream (in the micro, use stovetop if you prefer), and while I haven't tried using a jarred sauce like Trader Joe's Salted Caramel, I think you'd be okay; I'd use 1 1/2 jars. You must let these bars set up for at least 4 hours before slicing, but overnight is strongly recommended.

Yield: one 8-by-8-inch pan, 9 to 12 squares

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 to 28 minutes, divided

Total Time: 4+ hours or overnight, for proper cooling

Ingredients:

·         3/4 cup butter, melted (1 1/2 stick; I use unsalted butter but salted may be used)

·         3/ 4 cup light brown sugar, packed

·         1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·         1 cup all-purpose flour

·         1 cup whole-rolled old fashioned oats (not instant or quick cook)

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         pinch salt, optional and to taste

·         40 caramel squares, unwrapped

·         1/2 cup heavy cream

·         1/2 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste, if you prefer salted caramel sauce

·         1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (I used a combo)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Lining your pan is highly recommended for ease of cleanup due to the stickiness of the caramel; set pan aside.

1.     In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 90 seconds.

2.     Add the brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.

3.     Add the flour, oats, baking soda, optional pinch salt, and stir until combined. Mixture will be quite thick.

4.     Add half of the mixture to the prepared pan (just eyeball it), and smooth it with spatula or the back of a spoon, to create an even, smooth, flat layer; set remainder aside.

5.     Bake for 10 minutes. While it bakes, make the caramel sauce.

6.     In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, combine the caramels, cream, and heat on high power in 60-second bursts to melt caramels, stirring after each burst. It will likely take about 4 to 5 minutes total to melt; heat until mixture can be stirred smooth. Alternatively, combine caramels and cream in a medium saucepan, and heat over medium-low heat to melt, stirring nearly continuously, until mixture can be stirred smooth.

7.     Optionally stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste, for salted caramel sauce; set sauce aside.

8.     After 10 minutes, remove pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle with the chocolate.

9.     Slowly and evenly pour caramel sauce over the chocolate.

10.  Evenly crumble reserved oatmeal-brown sugar mixture over the top.

11.  Return pan to oven and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes (I baked 16 1/2), or until edges are lightly browned and center is bubbling slightly.

12.  Allow bars to cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving, giving the molten caramel time to firm up. This can take up to 4 hours, or overnight, at room temperature. You can speed it up by placing pan in fridge with a sheet of foil over the top to prevent fridge smells. If you don't wait for bars to cool completely, they'll be a literal hot mess. They'll taste fine (don't burn yourself), but they won't slice neatly with clean cuts. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Chocolate Lasagna

Prep Time: 20mn

Cook Time: N/A

Total Time: 1hr 20mn

Ingredients:

1 package regular Oreo cookies (Not Double Stuff) - about 36 cookies

6 Tablespoon butter, melted

1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons cold milk

1- 12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided

2 - 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding.

3 1/4 cups cold milk

1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Begin by crushing 36 Oreo cookies. I used my food processor for this, but you could also place them in a large Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. When the Oreos have turned into fine crumbs, you are done.
2. Transfer the Oreo crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in 6 tablespoons melted butter and use a fork to incorporate the butter into the cookie crumbs. When the butter is distributed, transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the additional layers.
3. Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in 2 Tablespoons of milk, and sugar, and mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the crust.
4. In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer. Allow the dessert to rest for about 5 minutes so that the pudding can firm up further.
5. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.

Mississippi Mud Pie Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:

• 1- 1 lb. Brownie Mix with contents (egg, oil, water)
• 1.5 Quart Rocky Road Ice Cream
• 2- 7 oz. Marshmallow Fluff jars
• 16 oz. chocolate icing
• 1 c. candy milk chocolate, chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
2. In a large bowl, add the brownie mix contents along with egg, water, and oil. Mix well and until smooth. Spray a 9 inch Spring-form pan and pour the brownie mix into the pan. Bake according to the times indicated on the brownie mix box. Once finished baking, let cool completely.
3. Take the carton of frozen ice cream and cut the carton away from the ice cream. ACT QUICKLY. Cut the ice cream into slices and place on top of the brownie mix. Fill in the missing spaces of the ice cream layer by cutting smaller pieces of the ice cream. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the layer evenly. I used about all of the ice cream except about a 4th but you can use all of the ice cream. Once the layer is spread evenly, place back in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes.
4. Take the cake out of the freezer, and quickly spread the jars of marshmallow fluff on top of the ice cream layer evenly. Next, spread the chocolate icing on top of the marshmallow fluff with a butter or serrated knife and sprinkle with milk chocolate chunks. Place back in the freezer for 8 hours or overnight.
5. Carefully remove from spring form pan and serve immediately.

Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Cookie batter cake is full of white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate chips, nuts and topped with chocolate frosting. Kids and adults will love this Chocolate Chip Snack Cake!

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

·         ½ cup butter, softened

·         ½ cup white sugar

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         2 eggs

·         1 cup milk (I use whole milk in baking)

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         3 cups all-purpose flour

·         ½ teaspoon soda

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         ½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

·         ¾ cup white chocolate chips

·         ¾ cup chocolate chips

·         1½ cups chocolate frosting

·         Extra chocolate chips and chopped nuts for decorating the top, if desired

Instructions:

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.    In a medium size bowl, mix together the butter, sugar and eggs.

3.    Stir in the milk and vanilla.

4.    Add the flour, baking soda and salt.

5.    Mix well.

6.    Then fold in the nuts and chocolate chips.

7.    Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.

8.    Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

9.    Allow the cake to cool and then frost the top with chocolate frosting. Sprinkle nuts and chocolate chips on the top, if desired.

Brownie Blackout Mousse Cake

Prep time: 40 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

This is the ULTIMATE chocolate lover's dream cake. Mike never gets chocolate, so I decided to give him ALL THE CHOCOLATE at once! This cake is the perfect balance of sweetness, and it is super rich as you might expect! It tastes best when made a day in advance and allowed to meld in the fridge overnight. Pour a big ol' glass of milk and dig in.

Serves: 20

Ingredients:

Brownie Layer Ingredients:

    2 boxes brownie mix (plus ingredients needed to prepare it)

Pudding Ingredients:

    1¼ cups water plus ¼ cup water, separated

    1¼ cups granulated sugar

    1½ teaspoons honey

    ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

    a scant ⅓ cup cornstarch

    a little less than 3 tablespoons unsalted Plugrá butter, cold and cut into 1-inch cubes

    ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mousse Ingredients:

    1 cup heavy cream

    8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

    3 eggs

    ¾ cup granulated sugar

    2 tablespoons water

    1 tablespoon vanilla extract

    8 tablespoons unsalted Plugrá butter, at room temperature, cut into ½-inch pieces

Topping Ingredients:

    1 cup heavy whipping cream

    ½ teaspoon gelatin

    2 tablespoons cold water

    3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:

    Prepare the brownie layers: Prepare two 9-inch spring-form pans with a parchment paper round in the bottom each. Spray the pans with cooking spray. Prepare the brownie batter according to the package directions and bake it in the spring-form pans for about 30 minutes (brownies look underdone when they're ready, so be careful not to overbake. My package said to bake them 39 minutes but they were ready at 30). Allow to cool completely and then open the spring-form and lift the layers from the parchment to ensure they will come unstuck easily later. Close the spring-form again (with layers still sitting inside but loosened now) and set aside.

    Make the pudding: Bring the 1¼ cups of the water, sugar, honey and cocoa powder to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. In a separate small bowl, whisk the remaining ¼ cup of water and the cornstarch together until smooth. Whisk the corn starch mixture into the cocoa mixture and bring it to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking constantly, until very thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Pour the pudding into a separate, shallow bowl. Cover with plastic wrap pressed right to the surface (to prevent it from forming a skin) and chill it in the fridge until firm, about 45 minutes.

    Begin assembly: Spread half the pudding over one brownie layer inside its spring-form pan (this is the pan you'll build your whole cake in). Remove the other brownie layer from its spring-form pan entirely and place it on top of the pudding layer. Top it with the rest of the pudding and smooth it into an even layer. Set this in the fridge to chill.

    Make the filling: Melt chocolate by heating on half power for 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until it's smooth. Transfer it to a shallow dish and allow it to cool completely. In a chilled bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks. Place it in a bowl in the fridge to chill until it’s needed. In the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer, beat together eggs, sugar, and water for 5 minutes until pale yellow and slightly thickened. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water to form a sort of double boiler. Heat, whisking occasionally, until a candy thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

    Put the bowl onto the stand mixer carefully and beat on medium speed until cooled to room temperature and thickened, about 8 minutes. While beating, add in the chocolate and vanilla. If your chocolate seems to stick to the bowl and get difficult here, just turn the mixer up for a few seconds and all will be well. Beat in the room temperature butter a piece at a time, mixing between each. Fold in the whipped cream until no white streaks remain, and then pour the mixture over your last pudding layer. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

    Make the topping: In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the 2 tablespoons cold water to soften for 2 minutes. Heat it for about 15 or so seconds in the microwave, whisking to dissolve the gelatin. Whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks, adding the gelatin and powdered sugar halfway through. Gently spread the whipped cream over your mousse layer and chill in the fridge until set. Slice your cake and serve!

Graham Streusel Coffee Cake

 

Serves: 16

 

 Ingredients:

·         1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (see Note)

·         ¾ cup packed brown sugar

·         ¾ cup chopped pecans

·         2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

·         ⅔ cup butter, melted

·         1 (15.25-oz) package yellow cake mix (and ingredients called for on the package such as eggs and oil)

·         1 cup powdered sugar

·         1 tablespoon milk

Instructions:

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking pan.

2.    In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon. Stir in butter; set aside.

3.    Prepare cake mix according to package directions.

4.    Pour half of the batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake for 5 minutes so that the streusel doesn't sink to the bottom. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with half of the graham cracker mixture.

5.    Carefully spoon the remaining batter on top. This is tricky but it's very forgiving. Sprinkle with the remaining graham cracker mixture.

6.    Bake at 350° for 25-35 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

7.    For the glaze: combine powdered sugar and milk; add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time to desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled coffee cake.

***Notes

You can crush your own graham crackers or look in the baking aisle where they sell the graham cracker crumbs.

Molten Lava Chocolate Chunk Streusel Coffee Cake

 

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Yield: 10 - 12

Ingredients:

·         8 egg yolks (about 1/2 cup)

·         1 cups (2 sticks) butter, softened

·         2 cups brown sugar

·         1/2 cup Greek yogurt

·         1 1/2 cups whole milk

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         1 tablespoon baking soda

·         3 3/4 cups flour

·         1/2 cup cocoa powder

·        
Chocolate Chip Streusel:

·         1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

·         2/3 cup sugar

·         1/2 cup cocoa powder

·         1 cup flour

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or chips)

·         Drizzle: (optional)

·         1 tablespoon cocoa powder

·         2 tablespoons milk

·         1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and grease a 10 inch spring-form cake pan with oil.

2.    Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

3.    Add yolks, salt, vanilla, and soda and beat until combined.

4.    Stir in yogurt and milk, then cocoa.

5.    Stir in flour a bit at a time until batter is smooth.

6.    Set aside while preparing streusel.

For Streusel

1.    Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth.

2.    Add salt, cocoa, and flour and mix until it forms a crumbly dough mixture.

3.    Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.    Pour approximately half of batter into prepared pan and crumble half of streusel over batter.

5.    Pour remaining batter on top and then top with remaining streusel.

6.    Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until edges are dark brown and cake only jiggles slightly when nudged.

7.    Cool for at least 40 minutes before adding drizzle and serving.

8.    For drizzle, whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth.