Reese's Krispie Treats

Don't you love when you finally get around to making one of those recipes that you've had pinned or bookmarked for several months, especially when it's a really good one? This is one of those for me and I'm telling you I shouldn't have waited this long to try it. 

These remind me a lot of Scotcheroos (if you've ever had those) but without the butterscotch flavor and rather more peanut butter flavor thanks to the topping of those ever so amazing Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I love Scotcheroos but I'd have to say I like these even more. These incredible easy to make treats are chewy, crunchy, deliciously sweet, perfectly peanut buttery along with just the right ratio of chocolate (to mimic the flavor of the Reese's) and then they are finished of with the crowning jewels, the melt in your mouth Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. All that and it's destined to make one highly addictive, not to be forgotten treat. This is one you'll want to pin and try in the very near future. Enjoy and share, and thanks Sweet Basil for a great recipe!

Reese's Krispie Treats
Yields 12 squares

Ingredients:
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
6 regular size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, each diced into 8 pie shaped wedges

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine corn syrup, sugar and salt and bring mixture just to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly (to dissolve sugar). Once mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat slightly and allow to gently boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add in peanut butter, chocolate chips and vanilla, stir mixture until chocolate chips have completely melted. Pour in Rice Krispies Cereal and toss mixture to evenly coat. Pour mixture into a buttered 8x8 (or 9x9) baking dish and gently spread and press into an even layer. Allow to cool until just warm to the touch then evenly distribute diced Reese's Peanut Butter Cups over top and lightly press them onto the coated cereal. Enjoy warm, with ooey gooey melted chocolate topping (my favorite, I love melted candy bars though =) or cover and refrigerate until chocolate has set, then remove from refrigerator and rest about 10 minutes at room temperature and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Source: Sweet Basil

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Irresistible White Chocolate Lemon Popcorn

Someone please take this popcorn from me, I can't resist it =)! How I love specialty popcorn. This is definitely one of my new favorites. It taste like lemon cream pie, in sweet, crunchy, popcorn form. Basically, it's literally irresistible.

The method of preparing this popcorn recipe may seem a bit odd. That is due to the way the oils and acidity of the lemon juice and zest react with the white candy melts. I made four different batches, knowing ahead of time what I was getting into. I thought the lemon juice probably would cause the white candy melts to seize up after melting and they did. I wasn't sure if the lemon zest would do it too, but it did. So, I found the best method was as listed. I coated the popcorn in the plain white candy melts without mixing the lemon juice and zest into the candy melts. Then while the coating over the popcorn was still moist I added the lemon zest so it would stick well, then I let the coating dry a bit before adding the juice so it would kind of create a shell over the popcorn so the lemon juice wouldn't make it soggy and stale, and just be absorbed into a few pieces of popcorn. Then lastly, I baked it to create a perfect crunch, and again to get rid of the of any stale-like popcorn. 

The entire family loved this popcorn! I'm definitely going to be trying it in a lime version too. Enjoy!

Oh and I thought I better mention, I took these photos just before baking the popcorn (because I didn't decide to bake it until after taking the pictures) so the finished product should look a bit more golden.

White Chocolate Lemon Popcorn

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernals
12 oz. white candy melts (such as Wilton)
2 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Pop popcorn in a popcorn popper, according to manufacturer's directions, into a very large bowl. Melt white candy melts in a microwave safe bowl, on 50% power, in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Pour melted white candy melts over popcorn and toss with a rubber spatula until evenly coated. Sprinkle lemon zest over popcorn and toss until evenly distributed. 
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Allow coated popcorn to dry at room temperature, about 10-15 minutes, then drizzle lemon juice over popcorn and toss well to evenly coat. Spread popcorn onto a rimmed cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes until lightly golden. Allow popcorn to cool completely, store in an airtight container or large ziploc bag (note: this is best enjoyed the day it's made or one day following).

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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Auntie Anne's Pretzel's Copycat Recipe

Mall pretzels that you can now enjoy in the comfort of your home for a fraction of the price with countless dipping sauce options, yes please! I found this recipe over at one of my favorite food blogs, Yammie's Noshery. It's such a great blog to follow, so if you're not yet following I suggest you do it now =). She takes amazing photos, creates many of her own recipes and she has great taste in food. This recipe she posted is one example of her great taste in food. I mean, who doesn't love a fresh, warm Auntie Anne's pretzel? And with Yammie's homemade garlic cheese sauce you've got a match made in heaven. Save a few for dessert and you can try them with a warm glaze, caramel or chocolate sauce for dunking. How ever you dunk them I recommend you eat them warm, they just aren't the same cool. This Auntie Anne's Pretzels copycat recipe is one you are going to want to try. You get a chewy yet fluffy, perfectly tender, beautifully golden brown pretzel that will have you savoring every last flavorful, salty little bite. Enjoy!

Auntie Anne's Pretzel's Copycat Recipe
Yields 12 pretzels

Ingredients:
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast (2 packets)
6 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar
4 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus an up to an additional 1/2 cup as needed
2 tsp fine salt

1/3 cup baking soda
2 cups warm water
coarse salt, to taste
6 Tbsp butter, melted

Dipping sauce for serving, optional*

Directions:
Warm milk in a microwave safe bowl in microwave (or alternately over stove top in a small saucepan) until temperature of milk reaches 110 degrees, about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on HIGH power. Pour milk along with yeast into the bowl of an electric stand mixer and whisk together until yeast has dissolved, let rest 5 minutes. Add brown sugar, 4 tbsp softened butter, 1 cup flour and 2 tsp fine sea salt to milk mixture and using the whisk attachment, stir until blended. Switch attachment to a dough hook, add remaining 3 1/2 cups flour and kneaded mixture on medium low speed until elastic. Mix in up to an additional 1/2 cup flour, as needed, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper (alternately you could grease them). Punch dough down several times to release any air pockets. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces (the easiest way to do this is to divide the dough in half, then divide the halves into halves then those and into thirds). Cover divided dough loosely with plastic wrap (just to prevent a dry crust from forming on the outside) and roll each piece out into a long, thin rope about 32 - 36 inches long (I found working on a non-floured to very very lightly floured surface worked best, I began with a lightly floured surface and realized it was much harder to get more stretch, plus it was much faster to roll them out when working on a less-no flour surface). Form dough rope into a pretzel shape. 
In a shallow bowl, whisk together baking soda and warm water then fully immerse pretzel into water mixture and allow excess water to drip off (I ended up shaping most of them into the pretzel shape once placing on the cookie sheet rather then doing it twice, I would just fold the rope into halves several times then immerse in water mixture then shape them on cookie sheet). Place on prepared baking sheet, reshape as needed and sprinkle to taste with coarse salt. Repeat this process with remaining dough. Bake pretzels in preheated oven 7 - 11 minutes until golden brown (note that you will likely only be able to cook 6 at a time among the two baking sheets) Remove from oven and brush top and bottom of pretzels with melted butter. Serve warm with optional dipping sauce. Reheat in microwave or in a warm oven once they've cooled, if desired.

*Dipping sauces I would recommend are Yammie's amazing garlic cheese sauce (click here for the recipe), marinara sauce, or honey mustard. For a sweeter option, try with a warm homemade doughnut glaze, caramel sauce or chocolate sauce. Alternately if you want another dessert option, skip the coarse salt step of the recipe and sprinkle instead with lots of cinnamon sugar.

Recipe Source: adapted from Yammies Noshery and Food Network

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Browned Butter Crinkle Cookies with Salted Caramel Frosting

Looking for a new favorite cookie recipe? With these, I know I've found one of mine. This is a cookie that will melt in your mouth as you savor every last exciting flavor it has to offer. It's loaded with decadent, rich, browned flavor (from not only the browned butter but the browned sugar of the caramel). I love the pairing of browned butter and caramel because they are both forms of browned ingredients. They just makes sense to go together don't they? The coarse sea salt takes these to a whole new gourmet level. You get lots of sweet with a delicious sprinkle of the perfect amount of salty. These cookies are simply amazing all on their own (without the Salted Caramel Frosting) but the silky frosting just adds so many exciting flavor compliments to the cookie that they just shouldn't to be made without it. Enjoy and share!

Browned Butter Crinkle Cookies
Yields just over 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup salted butter, diced into cubes
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rolling cookies

Directions:
Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook just until butter has browned, swirling occasionally (butter will go through stages, it will melt, then splatter a bit, then foam and golden bubbles will begin to appear in the center on the surface with little brown specs - this is when you want to remove it, don't burn it). Pour butter (and scrape out all of the browned butter with a rubber spatula) into a heat proof bowl. Allow butter to cool until just warm to the touch, about 20 - 25 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. Add cooled butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and light-brown sugar to an electric stand mixer and mix until well blended. Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until combine. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. Scoop dough out 1 1/2 Tbsp at a time and form into balls (dough will seem a bit dry, I think this is due to using warm butter it seems to slightly begin the cooking process before baking), then pour 1/4 cup granulated sugar into a small bowl and roll balls in sugar to evenly coat. Place sugar coated dough balls onto a Silpat lined or greased baking sheet. Using the bottom of a flat measuring cup or drinking glass gently flatten each ball to 1/2 inch, then bake in preheated oven 9-11 minutes. 
Allow to cool several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost each cookie with Salted Caramel Frosting and sprinkle each cookie evenly with a small pinch of sea salt immediately following (so the salt sticks before frosting sets). Store cookies in a single layer in an airtight container.

Salted Caramel Frosting

Ingredients:
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp caramel sauce or caramel ice cream topping (I used Hershey's)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 tsp coarse sea salt, divided

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, using and electric hand mixer on low speed, whip together caramel sauce, butter and vanilla until pale and smooth about 1 minute. Add in powdered sugar and mix until well blended and smooth. Use coarse sea salt to sprinkle over frosted cookies.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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