Tag Archives: caramel

Alfajores (Peruvian Caramel Cookies)

Posted on May 3, 2013 by easybaked

These shortbread-like cookies are sandwiched around caramel and topped with chocolate and sugar…yum!

Machu Picchu!

I’m back! For those of you who follow the comings and goings of Easybaked you know that I spent about 10 days in Peru. It was a wonderful trip. I visited my childhood friend Deb in Lima and then the two of us toured Machu Picchu and spent a few days in the Amazon jungle. The foods were incredible, especially the fresh fruits! I will add some pictures of our trip at the end….

One of the treats we had in Peru was a cookie called an Alfajore. The cookie is very subtle- not too sweet- and very dense. It is served with a caramel filling called Manjarblanco. I had this filling in a variety of desserts and kept thinking that it tasted like Dulce de Leche. When I returned home and looked it up I found that it is Dulce de Leche- in a convenient little pouch and ready to eat.

Here is my version of this yummy cookie. If you like things that aren’t overwhelmingly sweet, this is your dessert!

INGREDIENTS:

Cookies (makes about 24 sandwich cookies)

1/2stick (2 oz) butter (softened)
1/4c. sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
a few drops of rum (optional)
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Dulce de Leche:

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (or Manjarblanco if you live in an area that offers this!)

DIRECTIONS:

{If you can’t purchase ready-made manjarblanco (dulce de leche), you will need to make your own. Do this before making your cookies as it takes some time and will need to cool. My favorite method of making dulce de leche involves boiling cans of sweetened condensed milk, and I have detailed instructions if you click here.}

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Cream together sugar and butter.
Add eggs, corn syrup, vanilla and rum.
Add flour and baking soda last, and knead dough together with clean hands. (The dough will be dry- a little like play-dough in consistency. You can add a little water to soften it up if necessary.)
Roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thick and cut using a 1 1/2 inch or 2 inch cookie cutter.
Place on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until just turning brown on top.
Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a rack.
Spread cookies with cooled caramel and sprinkle with powdered sugar/ drizzle with a little chocolate if you like.

My thoughts: I love international recipes. One of my favorite parts of travel is trying new foods and hearing stories about how those foods fit in with the lives of the people I meet. These cookies are really good, and available all over in Peru. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!!

A few glimpses at Peru…such a beautiful country full of kind and beautiful people!

Sunrise at Machu Picchu

Stairs up Wayana Picchu

Beautiful Machu Picchu!!!

Amazon Village

Piranha fishing!!

Jungle hike…baby ferns

Fresh watermelon in the market at Iquitos

Sloth cuddles

Anaconda!

Amazon sampler: Jungle pig, Cayman and Paiche (Arapayma)

Deb and I – we’ve been friends since we were two! Fun trip!!

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Posted in Cookies, Travel Recipes and tagged alfajores, amazon, baking, caramel, caramel cookies, chocolate, dessert, dulce de leche, machu picchu, peru, peruvian cookies, shortbread cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Turtle Brownie Bars

Posted on April 19, 2013 by easybaked

Everyone loves a good bar dessert. These are absolutely stuffed full of yummy goodness. Caramel and three kinds of chocolate mixed with chocolate cake….these will certainly satisfy your sweet tooth!!!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of chocolate cake mix
1/3c. oil
2 eggs
1c. each of white chips, semi-sweet chips, milk chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips
1/2 c. margarine or butter
32 unwrapped Kraft caramels
1 (14oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13pan.
Combine cake mix, oil and eggs. Blend well and stir in all of the chips (mixture will be very thick).
Press half of the mixture into bottom of pan (it will press into a very thin layer). Bake for 10 minutes and then remove from oven.
While this is baking, in a medium saucepan, combine butter, caramels and condensed milk.
Cook over low/medium heat until melted and smooth (stir constantly!)
Spread caramel over partially baked cake mixture.
Top with remaining cake/chip mixture (it will not completely cover, but you can press the mixture flat with your fingers and lay it in small sections over the caramel.)
Bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 20 minutes.
Run knife around edges. Cool completely before cutting. Makes about 20 bars.

My thoughts: I make this recipe with a variety of cake mix flavors every time I start accumulating odds and ends of chips in my pantry. When you bake a lot, you end up with lots of almost-empty bags of baking chips in all sort of flavors. I just use them all up in this recipe! I’ve made this with yellow, chocolate and caramel cake mix. I’ve used dark, milk, white, swirled, peanut butter, cinnamon and butterscotch chips. Each time I make it there’s a whole new flavor and look. I *love* recipes like that! It’s like having so many recipes all in one. I hope you have fun – both following this recipe AND experimenting with it! Enjoy!! ~r

We love chocolate and caramel here at Easybaked!! Check out some of our other recipes that use this favorite combination. Just click on an image to be taken to the recipe.

*****SPECIAL NOTE****** Ruthanne will be wandering the Amazon Jungle when this recipe posts. If you don’t get replies to your comments or questions it is because I have no internet….I’ll be back soon though!!!!

10 Comments

Posted in Bar cookies, Brownies and tagged baking, brownie, cake mix, caramel, caramel sauce, chocolate, chocolate chips, dessert, dessert bars, easy bar dessert, Kraft caramels, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Mocha Caramel Cream Cupcakes

Posted on February 22, 2013 by easybaked

It’s that time of year here…that yummy cup of frou frou coffee just whispers your name until you find yourself nestled into an armchair at the local coffee shop watching it snow and sipping a mocha or a latte. One with chocolate drizzled on top…or caramel.

Why not capture those flavors in a cupcake?

These yummy treats are coffee-infused chocolate cupcakes filled with creamy caramel and topped with coffee buttercream.

Oh. My.

Bring it on winter!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
1/4c milk (warmed)
2 T instant coffee granules

Caramel Cream Filling:

1 cup sugar
1/2 c. water
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 T. powdered sugar

Frosting:

2 sticks (8 oz.) salted butter
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter
3 c. powdered sugar
2 T. vanilla
2 T. instant coffee granules

Directions:

Cupcakes:

Place 2 T. instant coffee granules into milk and stir. Allow this to sit and dissolve.
Make mix according to box
Add coffee/ milk mixture to cake batter and blend well.
Scoop into 24 cupcake liners in cupcake tins and bake at 350F degrees for about 20 minutes.
Remove from tins immediately and allow to cool on counter.

Caramel Filling:

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and cook until mixture turns a caramel brown color. (about 10 minutes)
Remove from heat and slowly add cream, whisking vigorously (this will spit and splatter as you add it, so use caution!).

Chill in refrigerator until cold. (I did this the night before and just left it overnight)
When mixture is cold, add powdered sugar and beat on high until creamy and smooth.

Frosting:

Add 2T vanilla and 2T instant coffee granules together in a small bowl and allow the coffee to dissolve.
Place butters and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until very fluffy.
Add vanilla/coffee mixture and beat until well combined.
Core cupcakes and pipe caramel filling inside.
Pipe frosting on top and sprinkle with a little cocoa powder.

My thoughts: Goodness, I love these cupcakes. The filling is a touch fussy since you need to chill it until cold, but I have to say that it is WORTH the wait. I’m on a diet and I took ONE bite (to get a picture of the filling, of course..!) and I couldn’t stop. I had to finish the cupcake. I blew my diet for this cupcake…it is just so good. Two people have asked for *just* a bowl of the coffee buttercream frosting…haha!

Sigh. I will dream of these cupcakes until the diet is over….in two months….and then I will eat 3 of them.

Make these and enjoy them on my behalf!!!! ~r

In other (non-recipe!) news, I finally have a DSLR camera! (Nikon D5200) Yay! I feel like my photos are a little off as I adjust to it though. I had a system for making my point and shoot work for me and now I’m trying to adjust my system to get the right lighting and exposure. I previously used a homemade light box to control my lighting and now I’m just so excited to sit down at a coffee shop and take pictures using natural light. Yesterday I met my friend Ben for coffee and before he could take a bite or sip of his treats I was like, “WAIT!!! I have to take a picture of that!” So much fun. So my apologies for my fairly awful pictures in this post– I’m learning!!!

Yummy coffee shop treats (and practice with my new camera!)

Want some other winter dessert ideas? Click on the image to be taken to the recipe.

37 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baking, buttercream, caramel, caramel cream, caramel filling, chocolate, chocolate cake mix, chocolate cupcakes, coffee, coffee buttercream, coffee cupcakes, coffee granules, coffee mixture, cupcake, cupcake liners, dessert, filled cupcake, food, mocha, powdered sugar frosting. Bookmark the permalink.

Dulce de Leche Caramel Sauce

Posted on November 25, 2012 by easybaked

This creamy sweet caramel sauce couldn’t be easier to make. Ingredients? One can of Sweetened Condensed Milk and a very brave spirit…..

I had heard from several people about the “boil a can of condensed milk to make caramel” idea, and I knew someday I would try it. That “someday” arrived when I was asked to bring a birthday cheesecake for my brother this weekend. He likes PLAIN cheesecake. For those of you who have followed easybaked for awhile, you know I don’t do “plain” anything. I take plain and add peanut butter, chocolate, glazes, ganache, frosting, candy….nothing plain. But for my wonderful brother John….I present: a plain white cheesecake…..

so…..plain. In case you are wondering, this recipe is the basis for almost all of my cheesecakes, and you can click on one of the following pictures to get the recipe using white chocolate (plus fun toppings!!!!) Using other chip flavors gives you chocolate, peanut butter, cinnamon or even butterscotch cheesecakes.

In any case, I made the plain cheesecake, but I wanted a fun topping sauce to serve with it. Dulce de Leche. Now, I don’t know about you, but in my mind boiling a can of any sort sounds like a disaster….so I looked up the technique- just to be sure I did it right and didn’t explode anything.

I found a cute blog called Not Without Salt that gave instructions….scary instructions….and I quote:

“In a large pan, completely submerge the can of sweetened condensed milk in water. Make sure it is covered by at least one inch of water and remains covered throughout the entire process – this is VERY important otherwise it could explode. Cover the pan with a lid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for three hours. Continually check to make sure the can is completely covered with water.”

Yes, it could explode. Needless to say, I obsessively checked my water level for 3 hours. I never needed to add any…but I imagined lovely dulce de leche covering my ceiling and walls and I obsessed.

After 3 hours of fear, I took the pan off the stove and had a debate with my friend Danielle about if I should leave it in the hot water to cool…or take it out…? I took it out. And I set it outside on my sunporch to cool- or explode.

It cooled beautifully and when I opened the can….oh my.

I love it. I would do this again in a heartbeat— it is SO good. I’m so excited to serve it with my cheesecake in a few hours. It would be good over ice cream or apples…so many possibilities. ENJOY!!! (and be very careful that your water doesn’t evaporate!!) ~r

Happy Birthday!!!

Dulce de Leche in your coffee???

Other recipes you might enjoy: Click on the image to be taken to the recipe.

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Posted in Candy, Cheesecakes, Easy recipes, Miscellaneous and tagged baking, brave spirit, candy, caramel, caramel sauce, cheesecake, dessert, dulce de leche, easy recipe for caramel, food, how to make dulce de leche by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk, sweet caramel, sweetened condensed milk, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

DIY Caramel Corn and other great gift ideas from Easybaked!

Posted on November 22, 2012 by easybaked

I love making and getting creative edible gifts. I’m not talking just a plate of Christmas cookies here…I’m talking unique and different. Take Caramel Corn, for example. It is my grandmother’s favorite and I remember spending long evenings watching my parents try various caramel corn recipes in search of the perfect (yet not too messy!) one. There was the giant brown sack method (where you shake the caramel in) and the cookie sheet one where you pour the caramel on and try to mix it on the sheet (my dog liked that method– lots of popcorn on the floor!)

A few years ago a friend handed me an adorable little Christmas package with mysterious items inside (all tied up with a cute tag and bow) and when I opened it I found ingredients for caramel corn. All I needed was butter….. I promptly made it and YUM!!! Quick, easy, delicious and SUCH a creative gift. This post is dedicated to the recipes you can use this Christmas to make creative and memorable gifts for your friends and families.

CARAMEL CORN:

Place 1/2c. packed brown sugar in a small bag and zip or tie it tightly.
Place 8 large marshmallows in a small bag and zip or tie it tightly.
Place both of the above ingredients in a larger bag or gift box with one packet of microwave popcorn.

Close the bag or box with the following directions:

Pop corn in microwave according to package
Place brown sugar, marshmallows and 1/2 stick (4T) butter into a 2 qt. bowl
Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring well at 1 and 1/2 minutes. Syrup should be smooth and bubbly.
Pour over popped corn and enjoy!

Click on the photo below to get free printable tags to use with this gift:

OREO POPS:

These fun chocolate-covered Oreos on a stick are great for any season. I made them for the 1st time last spring for a baby shower. Change up the sprinkles and tie some cute Christmas tags on and you have a great stocking stuffer- or even a holiday centerpiece bouquet! All the how-to tips, including pictures are available if you just click HERE. I also made up some free tags for you to tie on your pops~ Click on the picture below to get the free printable file:

HOT CHOCOLATE POPS:

I made these as gifts for SO many people last year. I made extra for myself. These are so easy and SO delicious~ everyone will LOVE them. What are they? Chocolate (in a variety of flavors and colors) hardened over a marshmallow on a stick. You stir them into hot milk and make the most creamy, delicious hot chocolate ever. The best part? You can make them WAY ahead. I made some in December and used them in March…still wonderful. The recipe and directions can be found by clicking HERE. If you want to print some free tags to tie on your pops click on the image below:

SPICED MOCHA MIX:

My cousin Eden made little jars of this wonderful mix for us several years ago at Christmas and I’ve used the recipe ever since. It’s just wonderful, easy to make, keeps for months in a sealed bag or jar and makes a great gift. Want the recipe and easy directions? Click HERE. Free printable tags? Click on the picture below to get them: (I actually printed these on full-sheet labels, cut them apart and made stickers for my jars…just another idea…)

I hope that these ideas have inspired you to create your own fun and unique Christmas gifts!!! Enjoy! ~r

Want to try some other fun Christmas recipes by Easybaked? Click on an image below to be taken to the recipe:

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Posted in Beverages, Cake Pops, Candy, Cookies, Easy recipes, Miscellaneous, Seasonal dessert and tagged baking, candy, caramel, caramel corn recipe, caramel corn recipes, chocolate, Chocolate covered Oreo, christmas, Christmas candy, Christmas printables, Cocoa mix, cooking, creative dessert, creative gifts, dessert, desserts, DIY gift ideas, edible gifts, food, free Christmas tags, free printable tags, Gifts in a Jar, great stocking stuffer, Holiday treats, Hot chocolate pops, Mocha mix, Oreo on a stick, oreo pops, popcorn, stir in hot chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Butterscotch Caramel Cheesecake

Posted on November 16, 2012 by easybaked

Creamy butterscotch cheesecake and a thick layer of caramel sauce over a gingersnap crust . A unique combination of delicious seasonal flavors!!!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? Have you decided what you’re having for dessert yet–other than the proverbial pumpkin pie? This cheesecake combines three unique fall flavors- ginger, butterscotch and caramel- and it simply melts in your mouth. Wow your guests with an Easybaked cheesecake!!

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

One bag (13 oz.) of Archway ginger snaps, finely crushed. (approximately 2 cups)
1/4 c. butter

Cheesecake:

2 (8oz.) packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
1/2c. sugar
3 eggs
2 c. butterscotch chips (melted)
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3 tsp. vanilla

Caramel Topping:

32 Kraft caramels (unwrapped)
1/2c. butter
1 can (14oz.) sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Crush cookies into fine crumbs and add melted butter. Combine well and press into the bottom of a 9-Inch Springform Pan
Beat softened cream cheese with sugar until smooth.
Add eggs one at a time, beating in between each one.
Add remaining cheesecake ingredients, beating until smooth.
Pour into crust and allow to sit at room temp for 30 minutes.
Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 60 minutes,
Turn off oven, open oven door a little and allow to sit for another 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and run knife around edge of pan. Remove edge of pan.
Allow to come to room temperature (make caramel topping during this time.)

Put caramels, condensed milk and margarine into a saucepan and melt over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth (6-8 minutes)
Pour caramel over the top of the cooled cheesecake, spreading to edges.
Refrigerate overnight
Remove bottom of pan when cheesecake is thoroughly chilled.
Before serving, pipe whipped cream around edges of cheesecake if desired and sprinkle with a little cocoa powder.

My thoughts: A flavorful creamy cheesecake. I love the gingersnap crust– that adds a lot of the fall spice to this. I ADORE caramel- so there’s a lot of it on this cheesecake. If you want less, simply halve the recipe and be happy!! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends!!!! Enjoy! r~

One last yummy bite…..

Other cheesecake recipes from Easybaked that you might enjoy~ click on the image to be taken to the recipe:

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Posted in Cheesecakes and tagged baking, butterscotch, butterscotch cheesecake, butterscotch chips, caramel, caramel cheesecake, caramel sauce, cheesecake, cocoa, Cream Cheese, dessert, dessert ideas, fall flavors, food, ginger snap crust, ginger snaps, gingerbread, heavy whipping cream, holiday dessert, Kraft caramels, philadelphia cream cheese, recipe, seasonal flavors, springform pan, thanksgiving, unique dessert, whipped cream. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes (with Halloween MISfortune cookies!)

Posted on October 13, 2012 by easybaked

Caramel cupcakes dipped in gooey caramel cream and topped with tangy green apple frosting~ yum! Add a caramel MISfortune cookie on top to celebrate Halloween with some laughs.

INGREDIENTS:

One box of Duncan Hines Caramel cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
One bag (14 oz) Kraft Caramels
1/2c. sweetened condensed milk
1/4c. butter or margarine
1 stick (4oz) salted butter
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
2 c. powdered sugar
2 t. clear vanilla flavoring
1 packet of Crystal Light drink mix- Appletini flavor

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Make cake mix according to box and divide into 24 cupcake liners in a cupcake tin.
Bake according to box. Remove from oven and cool completely.
In a small saucepan, combine 16 unwrapped Caramels, 1/2c. sweetened condensed milk and 1/4 c. butter.
Melt (stirring constantly) until creamy and smooth.
Pour warm caramel into a small bowl. Dip tops of cooled cupcakes into caramel to coat the top. Stir caramel occasionally to keep it smooth. (I had to spoon the remaining caramel onto the last few cucpcakes instead of dipping them)

Allow caramel to cool completely.
Make frosting by adding butters, powdered sugar, vanilla and Crystal Light drink mix together in a mixing bowl. Beat together on low until combined and then beat on high until light and fluffy. **note: the apple flavor in the drink mix is strong and tart– I LOVED it, but you might want to add it a little at a time and taste as you go to decide how strong a flavor you want.**
Pipe frosting over the caramel on each cupcake and enjoy!!!

To add fun little misfortune cookies on the top for Halloween party:

Unwrap the rest of your Kraft Caramels and place about 15 in a large ziplock bag. Microwave for about 15 seconds to soften them, remove them from the bag and knead them into a ball.
Place the ball back in the bag and using a rolling pin, roll the caramel out flat and thin.

Carefully remove the flattened caramel from the bag and use a round cookie or fondant cutter to cut circles out of the caramel.

Slide a funny misfortune in the center and fold into a fortune cookie shape (fold lightly in half and then pull the corners back and together).

Need ideas for MISfortunes? Print a free PDF of my favorites here

Place each MISfortune cookie on a cupcake and enjoy!

To give credit where it is due: this GENIUS idea of using Kraft Caramels to make fortune cookies came from a wonderful book called What’s New, Cupcake? I was browsing the cookbook aisle a few weeks ago and came across this book- it is AMAZING. If you click on the title it will take you to Amazon and you can see pictures of some of the cupcakes other people have made using this book…..amazing creativity!

My thoughts: These are such a unique cupcake– the tart green apple frosting is the perfect balance to the sweet caramel and the misfortune cookies just make everyone laugh. The frosting is a tart and strong green apple flavor- a little like Jolly Rancher candies. You can add less drink mix to tone it down if you’d like- just add a little at a time and taste as you go. I loved it exactly the way it turned out!

I want to apologize ahead of time to my international fans. I’m pretty sure you are going to have a hard time finding caramel cake mix and almost positive you won’t be able to get your hands on the Appletini drink mix. A homemade caramel cake would work, and any powdered drink mix with a green apple flavor..? As I said- my apologies!!!

I hope you really enjoy surprising people with these unique cupcakes!! ~r

14 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cupcakes, Seasonal dessert and tagged apple frosting, appletini, baking, butter cream, caramel, caramel cake, caramel cupcake, caramel fortune cookies, crystal light appletini drink mix, cupcake liners, cupcakes, dessert, desserts, food, gooey caramel, green apple butter cream, green apple frosting, Halloween, Kraft caramels, misfortune cookie, misfortune cookies, party recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Fudge Brownies

Posted on August 31, 2012 by easybaked

Layers of brownie, soft caramel and fudge make this dessert irresistible!!!
If these brownies look familiar to you, it is because they are the very same recipe as my Mint Creme Brownies but with a thick layer of caramel instead of the mint creme. I love these brownies because they hold together so well and are so chocolatey and rich- the sky is the limit as far as different toppings you could layer on top of them, but here’s a recipe for caramel:
INGREDIENTS:
BROWNIE:

1c. butter
2c. sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2c. cocoa
1/2tsp. salt
2 c. flour
1c. milk
1 c. chopped pecans (optional)

CARAMEL:

32 Kraft caramels (unwrapped)
1/2c. butter
1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk.

FUDGE GLAZE:

12oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 T. butter (do not substitute margarine here!)

DIRECTIONS:
BROWNIE:

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugar together.
Beat in eggs, cocoa, vanilla and salt.
Add flour and milk (alternating them and mixing well in between).
Spread evenly in greased jelly roll pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until done in center and just starting to pull away from sides.
Cool.

CARAMEL:

Place unwrapped caramels, butter and sweetened condensed milk into a saucepan and heat until completely melted.
Stir this constantly to prevent scorching (about 6-8 minutes).
Gently pour over cooled brownies and spread to edges.
Put entire pan in freezer while you make the glaze (10-15 min) to allow the caramel to harden a little.

FUDGE GLAZE:

Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
Pour over cooled caramel and gently spread evenly over top
Chill until top layer is hard and cut into bars.

My thoughts: The mint creme brownies are one of my favorite desserts— add caramel instead and these are just soft gooey sweet amazingness. If you want a harder caramel layer just store these in the fridge until you serve them. Softer caramel? Leave at room temperature and serve with a fork! I wish I didn’t have a plate of them left in my kitchen….they are calling me….do you hear them?? Enjoy!!! r-

31 Comments

Posted in Brownies and tagged baking, brownies, caramel, caramel brownies, chocolate, dessert, food, fudge, fudge brownies, jelly roll pan, Kraft caramels, sweet chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, turtle brownies. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Cream Cupcakes

Posted on August 4, 2012 by easybaked

These cream and caramel filled cupcakes are topped with a rich caramel frosting.

A few months ago I visited Sprinkles cupcake shop in Chicago. My favorite cupcake was the salted caramel- because of the frosting. It was so thick and creamy and had a wonderful buttery caramel taste. I’ve been obsessed with recreating it and I think I have finally come close- thanks to my sister-in-law who recommended her mom’s Penuche frosting. I’d never heard of Penuche frosting before– I learned that Penuche is a fudge-like candy made by caramelizing brown sugar with butter. So penuche frosting…? Well…its pretty much amazing.

The cupcakes aren’t anything crazy. I used a Fun-da-Middle mix again and added caramel sundae topping in the middle with the cream (sooooo yummy!) Use any mix or recipe you like– it is all about the frosting today!

INGREDIENTS:

Fun-da-Middle cupcake mix (with eggs, oil and water to make according to box)
1 cup caramel ice cream topping
3/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4c plus 2 T. whole milk
1/2 tsp. salt
4 c. confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to box, but after adding cream to centers, spoon a little caramel ice cream topping into centers as well.
For frosting: Melt butter and stir in brown sugar.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 2 minutes (stirring constantly)
Carefully add milk and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
After cooled, add salt and vanilla. Stir well.
Beat in 4 cups of confectioners sugar.
Frost cupcakes immediately (frosting hardens quickly and becomes hard to spread).

My thoughts: What a yummy and beautiful frosting. This recipe makes enough to frost about 16 cupcakes if you pipe quite a bit on. I’d use less next time as it is a VERY rich frosting. You could easily frost 24 cupcakes using a little less on each than I did. I keep think of other things to use this frosting on….you might see this recipe again someday soon… enjoy!!!! -r

24 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged brown sugar frosting, caramel, caramel frosting, cooked frosting, cream-filled, cupcake, frosting, fun-da-middle cupcakes, penuche. Bookmark the permalink.

Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce

Posted on November 3, 2011 by easybaked

What was your least favorite Halloween Candy? You know…the one left at the bottom of that plastic pumpkin at Thanksgiving? Mine was the Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kiss. The distinctively wrapped orange and black chewy candy with peanut butter in the middle– remember those? I remember trying to trade my brother 10 of them for a Nestle Crunch and being refused.

My goal: Make something WONDERFUL out of Mary Jane PB Kisses.

The result: AMAZING! Seriously the best caramel sauce I’ve ever had.

This creamy caramel with just a hint of peanut butter flavor stays soft even when used as an ice cream topping (it’s really good with apples too!– reeeeeallly good…..!)

INGREDIENTS:

15 Kraft Caramels (unwrapped)
15 Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses (unwrapped)– (I found mine at Walgreens: 99 cents/bag)
1 (14oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. butter

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and melt, stirring constantly.
Stir until melted and completely smooth (about 6 to 8 minutes)
Cool a little and pour over ice cream (or anything else that would taste good with gooey caramel sauce!)

My thoughts: I experimented with these horrible little candies all weekend…They melt in the microwave in 15 seconds (and they smell TERRIBLE burnt!) Once they melt, they harden and form crystals within seconds (no dipping apples in THAT). They do not combine with chocolate. They DO combine with peanut butter, but YUCK– they form a dough-like consistency that sticks to your teeth.

Adding them to my best caramel sauce was the answer– and they really do taste WONDERFUL in this-they add a sweet peanut butter flavor that goes PERFECT with caramel. So a month from now, when you find these little gems still sitting at the bottom of your kids plastic pumpkins, think of easybaked and make some caramel! -r

5 Comments

Posted in Candy, Easy recipes, Miscellaneous and tagged apple dip, caramel, caramel and peanut butter, caramel and peanut butter sauce, caramel sauce, creative dessert, dessert, Halloween candy dessert, ice cream topping, mary jane peanut butter kisses, sweets. Bookmark the permalink.

eASYbAKED

Tag Archives: caramel

Alfajores (Peruvian Caramel Cookies)

Turtle Brownie Bars

Mocha Caramel Cream Cupcakes

Dulce de Leche Caramel Sauce

DIY Caramel Corn and other great gift ideas from Easybaked!

Butterscotch Caramel Cheesecake

Caramel Fudge Brownies

Caramel Cream Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce

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