oreo ice cream (not exactly homemade btw)

Growing up I was always looking for sweets to eat.  Unlike my brother who could manage his dessert quantities, I could not.  My mom took to hiding the goodies which resulted in my own secret treasure hunt when I was alone in the house.  Or picking on all the sweets that were not hidden.  The pattern wasn’t good and I was always stressed and worried while I was nibbling and foraging.   I eventually figured it out.  Eat your food first (since I didn’t back then!)  Eat breakfast.  Eat lunch.  Eat dinner.  And eat dessert if you want it but make it very GOOD.  Oh, and not too much!

With all that in mind – the rule in our house is NO CRYING or COMPLAINING while eating your treat.  And don’t eat what isn’t good enough to eat.  Place what you want in a bowl or mug and sit.  Enjoy.  The kids all do this, but Andy oreosometimes inhales his dessert – but well, he is sitting, not crying or complaining.  I just feel like it goes so fast – but I guess not my business.

IMG_7159Onto the ice cream.  I made my own (kind of) Oreo ice cream for Sylvie because I wanted her to enjoy her little mug to the max.  You get the drift.  Some brands often taste really good but have very few big chunks of cookie.  Good problem to have I know.  Some brands taste artificial.  Some brands have so many ingredients that it bums me out.  So I bought Fresh Market’s vanilla (because it has so few additives but also isn’t as rich as the haagan daaz’s and ben and jerry’s).  Turkey Hill is also good.  And I bought Oreos.  Put them together and you make the very best Oreo cookie ice cream you can have.

To make:

Very simple.  Let the ice cream sit on the counter for 10-20 minutes or so.  And/or place in microwave on defrost for a few minutes.  You want to soften it, but not melt it.

While it is chilln (well the opposite of chilling) – bag up a bunch of Oreos and place in a plastic bag.  Crunch them with the bottom of a pan, or with a rolling pin.  Or grind them in a processor.

Place the ice cream and Oreo crumbs in the mixer and with the paddle attachment – beat well.  The ice cream will soften more and start to look less vanilla-y and more Oreo cookie-like.

You can also do this by hand – but the ice cream needs to be softer and you have to get your muscles on board.

Remove ice cream and place a layer of it back in the container.  Now add big chunks of Oreo cookies (as much or as little as you personally want since this is your treat!)  And continue to layer and add.

When done.  Place the lid back on and label it 🙂

Enjoy –

 

chocolate covered pretzels

Another love – the chocolate covered pretzels from Enjou Chocolate.  These are my favorites because the chocolate is sooooo good and the pretzels are firm and fresh.  And although dipped generously, it is not overdone.  As usual, pricey – but def worth it!

You can find them here.

 

 

things i love – chocolate drizzled pop corn

So I make this myself and I love love love it.  But I know that many don’t feel like tempering chocolate so this makes it easy…buying it!

Stever’s (they make those ridiculous marshmallows) makes an awesome drizzle popcorn.  First, the popcorn is fresh which is important.  Second, the milk chocolate is just so tasty and smooth and third, they lay it on so thick!  Thick thick so that big chunks of popcorn stick together with the chocolate acting like glue.  We love it.

As mentioned when I talked about the chocolate marshmallows, Stever’s has a website – but you can’t order on-line.  But call and they are so nice and friendly up in Rochester, NY that you will likely make a new friend :).

Click here for the link.

 

guittard superchips

I love these chips.  My sis in law Kathy introduced us (me and chip) about a year and a half ago.  They are bigger than a Nestle chip, but flatter and stay softer in baked goods.  But I do love Nestle and Ghiradelli and many more!

I searched the web (because I can’t find them locally) and found them at Chososphere!  I love this site – so many awesome products and chocolates.  And you can buy in bulk!

Again, no money for me here in this rec – just sharing!

Here is the direct link.  And they sell in larger amounts and so many other products – you will get lost in a chocolate haven.

more chocolate

super s’more crisps

Sweet, marshmallowy, graham crackery and full of rich milk chocolate – these are quite good!  I found myself muttering “ridiculous, ridiculous”  as I kept going back for another bite and another.  I could not stop.  Obviously not a hit with Rob – my bittersweet chocolate loving spouse – but everyone else in the house loved them.  Lot’s of mmmmms and aaaahhhs from Connor, Matt, Colin, Rachel and Katherine.  I will say that they are super sweet – you know, that almost sweet that puts you over the edge, but I like that edge.  Figure if you like s’mores and can usually eat more than one – you will be good.  I love the way the marshmallows melt and create chewy, clear and caramelized edges.  Yum!  

I suggest you use really nice quality milk chocolate.  I used Guittard baking discs.  Enjoy –

super s’more crisps (slightly adapted from bigfatcookies by Elinor Klivans):

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (about 8.5 ounces) good quality milk choc chips
2 cups mini marshmallows
vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 325.  Line pans with parchment.

With paddle attachment of mixer (or hand held) beat the butter and sugar until blended.  Scrape down sides and beat again.  Add the egg, and vanilla and beat again.  On low speed, mix in the graham cracker crumbs, flour, and salt.

Once just combined, add milk chips and marshmallows.

Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, drop large balls of dough on the baking sheet (about 1/4 cup capacity).  Flatten each cookie a bit.

Bake until the tops feel firm and the marshmallows near the edges caramelize and turn a bit golden.

Bake for a while – the recipe says 15 minutes but it takes a bit longer.  It will also take more time if you put two pans in at the same time.  If you do, remember to rotate the pans after 10 minutes or so.

Cool on sheet pans.

Once cool – drizzle with chocolate coating if you like.

To make the coating, place 1 cup of milk chocolate with 1 tablespoon canola or corn oil in a heatproof container over (and not touching) barely simmering water.  Once melted – remove and use a spoon to drizzle over cookies in a rapid back and forth manner.

Enjoy-

warm double chocolate brownie cakes

I’ve been meaning to bake these for 5 years.  Clipped from the February 2009 issue of Food & Wine magazine — Valentine’s Day seemed like the perfect occasion.  Made with milk chocolate and cocoa powder, butter and eggs – these are fairly simple and quite delicious.  If the milk chocolate bums you out, you should know that Rob (who doesn’t like milk chocolate) loved these.  Loved.  In fact, he won’t know until now (as he reads this) that they were made with milk chocolate.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take the buttering and flouring of the muffin pans seriously.  I was lazy.  As a result, I had many broken cakes and lots of pieces.  But no worries, I had plenty ofIMG_7123 pretty ones to photograph (and eat) and Rob has since used all the pieces in his chocolate sorbet (that I also made for Valentine’s Day).  He is normally left out of the cake and ice cream thing, so this was extra special for him.  Don’t save these for a holiday though.  They are not to hard to make and look impressive, even crumbled!

Enjoy –

warm double chocolate brownie cakes (from Food & Wine, 2009 by Emily Luchetti):

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 ounces good quality milk chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons cake flour
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs (room temp if possible)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

vanilla ice cream…yum!  (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour 8 cups in a standard size muffin pan.  So really butter and flour generously so they don’t stick!  Like mine.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter.  Add one-fifth (1 ounce) of the chopped chocolate, and mix until melted.  Set aside to cool.

Whisk together the flours, cocoa powder and salt and set aside.

Beat the eggs and sugar with the whisk attachment (or with handheld beaters) at medium speed for about 5 minutes.  The mixture should be pale and thick.

Beat in the vanilla extract.  Remove from mixer and gently fold in chocolate/butter mixture leaving it striped with chocolate and not yet fully combined.

Fold in the flour and the remaining chopped chocolate and mix until just combined.

Spoon the cake batter into the prepared muffin pans.  Bake for about 22 minutes but check often and before as usual.  You want to see the cakes rise, and a little springy to the touch.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.  Then gently turn them out onto a wire rack and let them cool 15 minutes longer.

Serve the cakes warm with ice cream (or chocolate sorbet!)  You can also reheat them later if you want to make them in advance.

 

 

things i love – Lilac Chocolate covered graham crackers

We have taste tested many many many chocolate covered graham crackersand these ones from Li-Lac are probably our favorite.  Even better than mine!

There is something about their chocolate that keeps us enchanted.  The coating is especially thin (like their All American Bars) yet very satisfying.  The whole big graham is coated so that too is appealing.

Li-lac has a great website and so many delicious items.  Again, very pricey so save these for those special people in your life (or just for you!)

Enjoy –

nutella blondies

Nice too for Valentine’s Day.  I was able to write these up quickly because they are soooo easy (seriously – 10 m) and a decadent treat for your loved one(s).

Nothing fancy here but a solid mass of goodness in a square shape.  Easy, rich, and so very pretty these will hit your speed spot.  I promise.  I made these for friends and many of them enjoyed – especially those who like Nutella (obviously!)  Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and I promise you will be very happy.  Not much else to say because well, a Nutella brownie kind of speaks for itself.  Cousin Daniel – next time you are here…well, you know — they will be waiting.  If I remember.  (Remind me!)

Oh, actually – the recipe calls for peanut butter chips or chocolate chips.  My family doesn’t love peanut butter – but if you do, then go for it!

Nutella blondes from Averie Cooks (click here for her link – with alternate ideas for Nutella as well):

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, room temp
1 egg
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips (you can use peanut butter chips here if you desire – or a mixture)
1/3 cup Nutella
1/3 kosher salt

Preheat oven 350.  Line an 8×8 pan with foil or parchment and lightly butter or spray.

Melt the butter and mix in the brown sugar.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix again.

Add the flour, salt and chips and gently fold until combined.

Pour into the prepared pan.  Smooth.  Then take small dollops of Nutella and plop all over.  (So eloquent I know.)

To decorate the top, drag a toothpick “draw” 4 or 5 lines.  Rotate the pan 90 degrees and repeat.  Alternately, you can just smooth it around.

Bake for 20-25 m – until a toothpick comes out just clean.

Let cool in pan.  Pull out by the sides of foil and parchment.  Slice and serve.

Btw, these freeze very well.

Enjoy-

choc espresso brownies (one bowl)

You have seen these before but with so many people turned off by white chocolate (although I’m serious when I say good quality white chocolate is delicious) I decided to make these with my semi-sweet super chips.  (Any semi sweet chips will do.)  And yummy yum yum.  Judy, Rob and I loved them.  (Although I still prefer my white chunk!)

FYI – good quality white chocolate is actually a bit more golden in color.  Very white white chocolate is probably not the best.

Here is the original treat – and you can substitute your own chocolate colored chocolate!

one bowl chocolate espresso white chocolate brownies

 

 

things i love – Lilac Chocolate All American Bar

Lisi's Kitchen

All  American Bars from Li-Lac Chocolates.

These are delicious.  Beyond good.  Greg and I have taste tested many or these bars often called “all american bars” or “s’mores” or “marshmallow bars” and well, these ones from Li-Lac Chocolate win.  There is something about the marshmallow,  it is light, fluffy and moist and not cloyingly sweet.  The chocolate is so delicate – thinly coated and therefore not overbearing.  It’s as if they dipped these in chocolate and shook vigorously to get rid of the excess chocolate  (and normally I like excess!)

As mentioned – Greg loves these very much.  So much that I kind of hide them from Andy and Sylvie so he gets to eat the bulk of them.  I can’t help it since he is so particular these days and it is nice to see him indulge.  Although only a half at a time for him.

These bars are pricey.  Very pricey so save for a special event or a special someone.  You can order on-line and they have a nice small shop in Grand Central as well as the West Village.

Again, I’m not making any money here – I’m just sharing some of the good stuff!