Kellog's Kocoa Krispies Mint Chocolate Pie

I love this pie! I found the recipe back when I was about 17 and looking for new holiday treats to make with my mom. One day I was reading cereal boxes and this was on the back of a Cocoa Krispies box. It's so easy and so yummy. We both love mint, so it was an instant hit in our house. I haven't made it in about 9 years now. The recipe used to be in her box, but somehow got lost and I sort of had forgotten about it until recently. Can't wait to make it again. I might tint it orange and make a jack-o-lantern face on it for Katie.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons margarine

• 1/4 cup light corn syrup

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 2 cups Kellogg's® Cocoa Krispies® cereal

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin

• 1/4 cup cold water

• 1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme

• 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint flavoring

• 1/4 teaspoon liquid green food coloring

• 1 container (8 oz.) reduced fat frozen whipped, topping, thawed

• Chocolate curls (optional)

Directions

1. Place margarine, corn syrup and chocolate chips in 2-quart saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.

2. Add KELLOGG'S COCOA KRISPIES cereal to chocolate mixture. Stir until cereal is coated. With back of spoon, shape mixture evenly in bottom and on side of 9-inch pie pan coated with cooking spray. (If mixture is too soft, refrigerate about 5 minutes). Chill crust.

3. Combine gelatin and water in small saucepan. Let stand 1 minute. Place over low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin has dissolved. Remove from heat.

4. In large mixing bowl, combine marshmallow creme, flavoring, color and warm gelatin, mixing until smooth. Gently fold in thawed whipped topping.

5. Spoon filling into chilled crust. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.
Serve garnished with additional whipped topping and chocolate curls, if
desired.

Chewy Butterscotch Brownies

You gotta try these babies! I'm not the biggest fan of butterscotch, but these are divine! This is Nestle's recipe, by the way.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

• 1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs

• 1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Flavored Morsels, divided

• 1 cup chopped nuts ( I used walnuts. Mmmm.)
  

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

COMBINE flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in 1 cup morsels and nuts. Spread into ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining morsels.

BAKE for 30 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

*They are called "chewy" for a reason. If you are not a fan of a very moist brownie, I recommend a brownie pan for more edges and less chewiness.

Katie's 2nd Birthday Cake

Here it is. I'd say it turned out pretty well. In all the commotion I forgot to take pictures of it. Thanks, Mom, for snapping a few shots before the party started. Easily the most even cake I've made to date. And Katie loved it! Well worth staying up till 11 pm to finish it the night before.

More Fun with Fondant

So, I made this cake yesterday. I'm going to meet my friend's baby today. (Her name is Adi, as you can see from the top of the cake.) I'll be making dinner for them and I wanted to have a special dessert, too. This is what I came up with. (I really hope Heather doesn't check my other blog and see this post before I can surprise her later.)

It looks pretty darn good from these first two angles...

but here you can start to observe the "pumpkin effect." Ya know how pumpkins aren't perfectly round? Well apparently, neither are my cakes! So annoying!

The reason being, I used a boxed cake (which is a little thicker batter than the homemade recipes I've tried) because in the past I've had better luck with them not sticking to the pan. Well, not this time. And of course, even a little un-eveness rears it's ugly head when you have a border with straight lines.

Because this is a mini cake (I think the bottom tier is only 6 inches in diameter) I had to use my pyrex glass bowls to bake the cake layers in. You should have seen how uneven the layers were when they came out of the oven! Oye. (What gives, anyway? Air bubbles? Batter too thick? If you have any ideas, leave a comment...)

So I did the best I could as far as letting them cool, chilling them, evening them out, doing a crumb coat, and then frosting the final time. (That crumb coat is a thing of genius, I tell you! So glad I saw that tutorial. [A crumb coat is just a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake and then giving it time to set up by placing it in the freezer for about 30 min.] It really made frosting it to coat SO much easier.)

I'm hoping that the recipients won't mind that it's not totally perfect. It sure does taste good! ( I outta know. I ate the pieces I trimmed off the top, even though I told myself I wouldn't...)

I'm also hoping that it's one of those situations where because I am intimately familiar with the cake I see EVERY imperfection and everyone else will barely notice...???

Lessons learned: 1) I need a mat and ruler if I am ever going to do ribbons again. Too frustrating trying to use the roller as a guide for the cutting tool. 2) I'm going to start putting parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and making the batter from scratch. (Because that should keep it from sticking and the homemade recipes are thinner, hence no super- duper, un-even, pointy mound on each layer that is impossible to trim evenly. 3) After I mixed each color I rushed rolling it out. I need to remember to let it chill in the fridge for at least 15- 30 before working with it. 4) To make the ribbons easier to apply to the cake, maybe I can chill them before I apply them. Maybe they won't flop all over if they're a little cooler? 5) I should just give in and take a class. (But I'm too cheap, so I won't.) Besides you learn more from your failures than you do from your successes, right?

On the plus side, look how nice my gumpaste bows turned out! (Just extra practice, not part of the cake project.) I'm getting better all the time.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Got this one from The MIL. So awesome. (Picture still to come.)

Twice baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 6 - 8 big russet potatoes

• 1 stick butter

• 1 container french onion dip

• ¼ c milk (maybe more, can't remember)

• ½ package bacon

• 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

• pepper to taste

Directions:

Wash potatoes and pat mostly dry. Bake directly on rack at 350° for 1- 1 ½ hours (or until soft inside). Meanwhile cook bacon on the stove top. Cut into small pieces when cooled. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Remove potatoes from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Using a pot holder, cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the insides, mix all ingredients (except the cheddar and bacon) using a mixer. Stuff the mixture back into the skins, put them on the cookie sheet, and top with shredded cheese and bacon pieces. Stick 'em back in the oven for about 10 or 15 minutes under the broiler. For a yummy change you can also top with a shredded meat for and instant meal.

Royal Icing, Three Different Recipes

I just can't seem to memorize this, so here we go. The first is the most popular recipe I've come across, the second is an eggless option, the third is less popular and (I think ?) better for candy making. At any rate, now I don't have to do a Google search every time.

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large (60 grams) egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

Directions: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until combined. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap

when not in use.

Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder:

4 cups (440 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar

3 tablespoons (30 grams) meringue powder

1/2 teaspoon extract (vanilla, lemon, almond)

1/2 - 3/4 cup (120 - 180 ml) warm water

Directions: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder until combined. Add the water and beat on medium to high speed until very glossy and stiff peaks form (5 to 7 minutes). If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more powdered sugar or water. To cover or 'flood' the entire surface of the cookie with icing, the proper consistency is when you lift the beater, the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface of the icing for a few seconds before disappearing.

The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

Makes about 3 cups

Other Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites, at room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• food coloring (optional)

Preparation:

1. Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature before beginning.

2. In the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer, place the egg whites, powdered sugar, and cream of tartar. Using the whisk attachment, beat all together on low speed until combined. You can use a hand mixer if you desire, but it will likely take longer for the icing to reach the right consistency.

3. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Restart the mixer and beat the mixture on medium speed until very thick, shiny, stiff and white. This should take about 7-10 minutes.

4. Check the texture to ensure that it is suitable for your needs. If you require a stiffer icing, add a little more powdered sugar at this point.

5. If you want to dye your icing just one color, you can add a few drops of food coloring into the bowl and mix it for a few seconds until the coloring is evenly distributed. If you want to make several different colors, divide the icing into several different bowls and stir in the food coloring by hand.

6. Royal icing dries to a very hard consistency, and it will begin setting as soon as it is made. To prevent the icing from getting hard before you use it, thoroughly wet a paper towel and place it over the top of the icing in the bowl. It is very important to keep the icing covered! Likewise, if you are using a pastry bag and piping tips with the icing, twist the back end of the bag tightly, and wrap a wet paper towel around the tip when not in use so the icing will not dry in the tip.

7. Depending on the temperature, humidity, and amount of icing used, royal icing should harden within 15-60 minutes of application. Do not refrigerate products with hardened royal icing, as the icing can become soft and sticky.

Simple Tuna Melt

Tuna has been on sale recently, so I stocked up. Later I realized I don't know what to do with it. So, I had Trav look online for a tuna melt recipe. He found this one on allrecipes.com and we both thought it was excellent. And no fuss whatsoever. (We were out of honey dijon, so we substituted spicy brown instead.)

Ingredients

• 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained and flaked
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 2 teaspoons chopped dill pickle
• 1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place bread slices in the oven to toast while it preheats, and while you make the tuna salad.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the tuna, mayonnaise, salt, balsamic vinegar, mustard and dill pickle until well blended. Remove bread from the oven, and pile the tuna mixture onto one slice. Sprinkle cheese over the other slice of bread.
3. Bake for 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is melted and tuna is heated through. Place the cheese side of the sandwich on top of the tuna side. Cut in half and serve immediately.