Banana MILKshake

I don't typically eat bananas. But put them in pudding or a milkshake and I'm sold. I also don't drink milk, but make me a smoothie or milkshake with milk and again, I'm sold.

This one is so simple, I bet you have everything on hand right now! Just put some bananas in the freezer and they'll be frozen in time for you to make this for dessert tonight. 

Enjoy.

Serves 1 or 2 (depending on how hungry you are)

1 1/2 frozen bananas
1 c whole milk - whole is better, trust me
2 T malted milk powder
3 T coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
4-5 ice cubes
crushed cookies to top (opt.)

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend well. 

Another ginger cocktail...Rhubarb Fizz

Rhubarb Fizz!

Rhubarb Fizz  

Originally done by Martha Stewart

8 oz gin (doesn't have to be top shelf....we used middle shelf gin)
1 c Rhubarb Simple Syrup
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
1-2 cans ginger ale
1-2 lemons, cut into rounds

Divide lemon rounds between 6 glasses and fill with ice. Stir together gin, simple syrup, lemon juice and divide evenly between glasses. Finish with a splash (or more, if you like) of ginger ale. 

Enjoy!!!

Clean out your jam stash because summer is coming...Peach Cake!

Are you like me? Are you a jam-hoarder? It's funny, when peach season comes around, I'm in full force with jam making....but the thing is, I don't eat JAM! So I put it in (and on) a cake!

Enjoy. This one's a keeper. Adapted from The New York Times Dining and Wine recipe. 

Yield: 1 9 x 5 loaf

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min

12 T (1 1/2 sticks) soft butter
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs
1/3 c peach jam
1 T orange zest
1/4 c sour cream
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

glaze:
1/3 c peach jam
1 T honey

Preheat the oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in jam, zest, and sour cream. Sprinkle in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 

Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper and spray that with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake for 50 - 55 min or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. Flip cake onto cooling rack and poke the cake multiple times with the toothpick. This will help distribute the glaze when you pour it over the cake. 

For the glaze: gently heat the jam and honey in the microwave or stove top. You can adjust the proportions here to suit your tastes...I preferred less honey on mine. Pour warm glaze over warm cake and enjoy!

Award Winning Salted Caramel Mocha Brownies

Guest Post...Thanks Ashley!

First Place Brownies at the 2014 Chocolate Festival Fundraiser for Planned Parenthood!!!

Salted Caramel Mocha Brownies

These brownies are a really rich, dark brownie with a hint of coffee and a dribble of caramel sauce.

The base brownie recipe is a modification of one of the easiest and most delicious brownie recipes I have ever found. It is my “go-to” brownie recipe and you can find the original recipe here at Smitten Kitchen: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/08/my-favorite-brownies/

My modified recipe and caramel topping:

Brownies:

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 heaping teaspoon flaky sea salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 350F and grease an 8x8 baking pan (or line with foil for extra easy clean-up).  Melt the chocolate and butter together in a large sauce pot over a double boiler, add espresso power to chocolate mixture and stir until well-combined.  Let the chocolate mixture cool just slightly and then mix in sugar. Mix in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and sea salt; mix well.  Finally, stir in the flour.  Bake for 20-30 minutes (or until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs).

Cut brownies into squares or hearts like I did for The Chocolate Festival. Bonus: You can eat the scraps if you cut them into hearts. J

Caramel Topping:

Note: If you have a caramel sauce recipe you already use and like, go ahead and use that one. I like this version because there is no gelatin involved, there is just a little bit of corn syrup, and the light brown sugar gives the caramel a really lovely flavor.  Also, I do not add any more salt to the caramel sauce because the brownies are very salty already and sea salt will be used to garnish the brownies at the end.

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Heat heavy cream, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a medium sized pot until boil.  Be sure to stir the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved and then you will want to stop stirring and just let the caramel do its thing.  Once the mixture is brought to a boil and the sugar is all dissolved, insert a candy thermometer.  Continue to boil the caramel sauce until the candy thermometer reaches 215F. Heating to 215 will make the caramel sauce soft enough to chew but hard enough to allow you to drizzle it over the brownies. If you want a softer caramel “glaze” remove the caramel mixture from heat closer to 210F or 212F.

Once the caramel mixture reaches 215F (or whatever temperature you decide based on the desired consistency of the caramel sauce), remove from heat and quickly stir in vanilla.  I let the caramel sauce cool just slightly until it began to thicken and then with kitchen mitts (the sauce will still be hot!) and a heavy duty pastry bag, I piped caramel sauce on my heart-shaped brownies in a crisscross pattern.  Any leftover caramel sauce can be stored in the fridge and used to top ice cream! Once decorated with caramel sauce, sprinkle sea salt on top of the brownies and enjoy!

Monster Cookies!

These could also be called everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-cookies. Adapted from Pioneer Woman's recipe.

Yield: approx 2 1/2 dozen cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min

Monster Cookies

2 sticks soft butter
1/2 c sugar
1 c brown sugar (if you only have white sugar, just use that plus 1-2 tsp molasses)
2 eggs
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c oats
1/2 c M & M's or Reese's pieces candies
1/2 c toasted pecans or almonds or walnuts
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c toasted unsweetened coconut
2 1/2 c corn flakes (or any other neutral tasting cereal you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and sugars, add eggs, vanilla, mix. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt and mix well, blend in flour. You'll need to stir the rest of the ingredients in as this batter gets pretty thick. No need to overmix - just make sure everything is well incorporated. Scoop about 2 Tblsp of dough onto cookie sheet and bake for 14-18 min. (less time for a chewier cookie). These are a great crowd pleaser! Trust me. 

CCC!

Chewy Carrot Cookies!!!

Adapted from The Natural Health Cookbook by Dana Jacobi

1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c oats (toasted)
1/2 c chopped pecans (toasted)
1 c shredded carrots
1/4 c canola oil
1/4 c coconut oil*
1/2 c maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. To toast oats and pecans: place in cast iron skillet over med/low heat, stir every couple minutes. Cook until oats and nuts smell fragrant and look toasty.

Combine flours, baking powder, salt, oats. Stir in toasted nuts, oats, and carrots. In a separate bowl whisk oils*, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined. 

Bake for 14-18 minutes until just browned around the edges. Let cool on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes - this will help the cookies to set up.

*Depending on what time of year it is, your coconut oil may be solid as a rock, which makes it a little difficult to measure. If this is the case, just scoop some into a bowl and microwave until the coconut oil is liquefied and then measure it out. This will also make whisking the wet ingredients easier. 

BAKLAVA!

Okay, I admit it. I was listening to my favorite NPR show, The Splendid Table a couple weeks ago, and instantly felt intimidated. Let me explain. The story that caught my ear was about 'How to Spot a Good Recipe.' I respect the host of this show (Lynne Rossetto Kasper) immensely, and when she listed some of the important parts of a good recipe, I suddenly felt like the recipes I've posted here didn't meet those standards. 

So, if you've attempted one of my recipes, and it hasn't turned out...do tell. 
If you've attempted one of my recipes, and it has turned out...again, do tell. 
I am always welcome to feedback, so if something seems odd...off....confusing....just ask.  

I have taken Ms. Kasper's advice to heart, and will do my best to explain and improve my upcoming recipes. So, this morning I put on my oven mitts, rolled up my sleeves, and I got to cookin'...

I hope you enjoy this Baklava recipe. I've adapted it to have less refined sugar (but still has some) and less butter, too. I can't tell the difference, can you?

Makes one 9x9 pan or 9 inch spring form pan
Prep time: approx. 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Notes: This is better when left to sit for a day before slicing

Ingredients:

1/2 lb phyllo dough (phyllo dough comes in a 1 lb. box)
11 T melted butter 

Filling:
3 1/2 c unsalted, toasted nuts (use a combination of pistachios, almonds, walnuts, pecans)
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Simple Syrup:
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c honey
3/4 c water
1 cinnamon stick (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon)
1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla)

Thaw phyllo dough according to directions on package.

Make Filling:
Place nuts in blender, pulse to chop finely, add sugar, vanilla and spices. Dump contents into large bowl. 

Make Simple Syrup:
Combine all ingredients in pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Let cool.

Make Baklava:

Line your pan with parchment paper - don't skip this step - it will make your life much easier in the end. Unroll phyllo dough, being gentle, cover dough with a damp towel to keep from drying out. Brush parchment paper with melted butter. Then begin the layering process: Layer 8 sheets of phyllo dough - each one brushed with melted butter - into the baking dish. (You'll lay one down, press into the edges of the pan, brush with melted butter...repeat...)

After the 8th (or so) layer, place 1/4 of the filling mixture on top, and follow with 4 more layers (and butter) of phyllo dough. You will do this 3 more times, (4 layers of phyllo dough, 1 layer of filling, 4 layers of phyllo dough, 1 layer of filling, 4 layers of phyllo dough, and then end with 8 layers of phyllo dough (and butter, of course). If you run low on butter (you might, depending on how liberal you are with the brushing action), go ahead and melt another tablespoon or two. 

Place dish in refrigerator for 1 hour. After 30 min, preheat oven to 350 deg., remove pan from refrigerator and with a butter knife, slice baklava into triangles or rectangles (all the way through to the bottom of the pan). Remove cinnamon stick and vanilla bean from simple syrup, pour over baklava and cover lightly with foil. Place in oven. If you are using a spring form pan, you may wish to bake this ON a cookie sheet, to catch any drips that may sneak out of the pan, this is why the parchment paper is essential. After 25 minutes, remove foil and bake uncovered for 15 more minutes. It is done when the top is lightly browned. 

Total baking time: 40 minutes, plus or minus 10 minutes. 

This baklava is better if you leave it to sit in the refrigerator for 12 or so hours, but this step is not necessary. 

enjoy! 

Mini Apple Pie Tarts

Melissa Ranglack in Accounting....here you go!*

I made this on a whim. I have quarts and quarts of apple pie preserves and I need to use them up before fall! (Well I don't have to use them up...but it's a little ridiculous how much my mom and I canned this fall...and I need the cabinet space!)

makes 12 apple pie tarts

Crust (slightly adapted from Martha Stewart):
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick cold butter, cut in cubes
1 1/2 T ice water
1 1/2 T vodka (if you're not keen on using vodka, just sub ice water, but it really ups the flaky factor and the alcohol cooks out!)

Filling:
Use your favorite. I used apple pie preserves, but this one from the NY Times looks great, too. Or this appleberry pie...

Topping: 
1/2 c four
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c oats
pinch salt
1/2 stick cold butter

Crust:
In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, butter and combine well. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, add ice water and vodka, pulse just until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. Do not overmix. If the dough isn't holding together well when squeezed, add a splash more water or vodka. Don't wash the food processor...you still need to make the topping. 

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, roll dough out, using knife or dough scraper cut 5x5 inch squares and press into muffin tin. The edges will look rough - but that is just fine. Re-roll the scraps and repeat. The number of tart shells you get depends entirely on how thick you roll the dough - I aimed for 1/4 inch (I made this recipe 2x and got 12 tarts the first time and 11 the second time). Freeze tart shells for at least 1 hour before filling and baking. 

Topping:
Combine all ingredients in food processor, pulse until thoroughly mixed. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove tart shells from freezer, spoon in filling, top with desired amount of crumble topping. Place in oven, lower temp to 375 and bake for 20-30 min. Keep an eye on the topping, if it is browning too quickly, tent with foil for remaining time. enjoy! (I've had one for breakfast the last 3 days...these do a body good!)

*you can make these into 'hand pies' if you wish, however you won't get 12, probably more like 6 large hand pies. Just roll out the dough, cut into a 6x6 square or use a large round cookie cutter, fill with filling, fold over, seal and crimp with fork, cut a slit in the top, freeze for 1 hour or so, brush with egg wash and bake as directed above. 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie EVER

Perhaps you've already heard about the best kept secret (make the dough today, and bake it 3-5 days later!) for creating the perfect chocolate chip cookie. If so, then please excuse my late entry to the game. I usually only post recipes that I've created or re-created, but I didn't mess with this one. So here it is.

This is by far, the most delicious chocolate chip cookie that I've ever had. 

Hands

down.

Now what are you waiting for? 

Get baking...

My Chocolate Cream Pie

I've been eyeing this recipe in my binder for a couple months now, and the thought of using 9 egg yolks all in one recipe was a little disconcerting...so I adapted it and made it my way. Consider yourself warned: this is a very rich dish...so use little plates when serving!

Enjoy.

My Chocolate Cream Pie 

Adapted from Saveur

Crust:
8 oz. graham crackers
1 stick melted butter

Filling:
3 c milk (I used 1%)
1/2 c heavy cream
2/3 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
7 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 stick butter (cut up 1" pieces)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 oz unsweetened chocolate

Topping:
2 c heavy cream (this can vary, depending on how thick you want the top layer to be)
1 tsp vanilla
2 T sugar

For the crust:
Preheat oven 350 deg. Combine graham crackers in blender, blend until crushed, add melted butter, stir and press into 9" pie plate. Bake for approx. 15 min or until nice and brown. Cool the crust.

For the Filling:
Combine milk and heavy cream in heavy duty sauce pan over med heat. Whisk constantly to ensure the mixture does not burn. When it just begins to simmer, remove from heat. In a large separate bowl combine sugar and cornstarch, whisk, add egg yolks and eggs, whisk until smooth. Add this egg mixture very slowly into the hot milk/cream mixture. You want to temper the egg mixture and be sure not to scramble the eggs. There is a very thorough demo on tempering here. Once all the eggs have been added, return the saucepan to the stove, cook over med heat, stirring often until bubbles rise to surface and mixture is very thick. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, butter and vanilla. Whisk until chocolate and butter are melted and incorporated. Cool.

For the topping:
beat cream, vanilla and sugar until stiff peaks form.

When crust and filling are cool, dump chocolate filling into crust, smooth the filling and top with whip cream. This pie is best if it has been chilled for a couple hours before serving, but who really can wait that long...I say dig in as soon as you get it into the dish. Enjoy.

Lemon Bars

This recipe is really cool because you use the WHOLE lemon. Maybe I'm the last one to have heard of this trend, but it works, and the result is a super delicious lemon bar - and you only have to get 2 kitchen tools get dirty! (Blender and mixing bowl)

Adapted from David Lebovitz's recipe. 

Crust:

3 oz butter

1 T canola oil

3 T water

1 T sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c plus 1 T all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375. Place all the ingredients except the flour(s) into an oven-safe bowl. I know this is weird. Put the bowl in the oven for about 15 minutes, when the butter starts to brown around the edges, remove bowl from oven, - be careful, the bowl is hot! - and add flours. Stir until dough gathers into a ball. Let cool for a couple minutes, then press into a parchment or foil lined 8 x 8 pan (don't pay attention to my tart pan below, that was a bad decision as the filling oozed under the crust because it didn't come up high enough on the sides of the pan.) Prick about 10x with a fork and bake for 10 (ish) minutes - until light brown. If you like a thick crust, you can 1 1/2 x this recipe. It makes a relatively thin crust as is.

Filling: Adapted from David Lebovitz, again. 

1 organic lemon, (2 if the lemons are small)

1 c sugar

3 T orange juice

3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp cornstarch

3 T melted butter

Preheat oven to 300. Dice lemon and remove seeds, place all lemon pieces in blender with the sugar and orange juice. Blend it up, don't be alarmed if a few lemon pieces remain. Add the rest of the ingredients and pour into the hot crust shell. Bake 25 min. 

Last minute holiday baking anyone?

Thanks to Leah Lewis for this awesome guest post. Check out the great pictures below. 

(Merry Christmas everyone!)

Almond Biscotti

  

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

pinch of salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

4 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tablespoon liqueur (optional: brandy, Disaronno) * I used Disaronno

2 tablespoons Raw Sugar (optional)

1 cup almonds, sliced or chopped (or substitute for any other type of nut)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Place nuts on a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes until golden brown. 

Beat eggs and remove 1 tablespoon of egg and set aside for egg wash. Beat sugar, vanilla, and liqueur into egg mixture.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.  Blend this flour into the egg mixture. This will form soft and very sticky dough. Divide the dough in half and place onto a very well floured piece of parchment paper. With well-floured hands, pat the dough down into an approximately 9-inch square. Scatter half of the nuts and press into the dough. Divide the dough in half and place onto a very well floured piece of parchment paper. With well-floured hands, pat the dough down into an approximately 9-inch square. Scatter half of the nuts and press into the dough. 

Divide the dough in half and place onto a very well floured piece of parchment paper. With well-floured hands, pat the dough down into an approximately 9-inch square. Scatter half of the nuts and press into the dough. Roll the dough into a cylinder and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat this process for the remaining dough.

Stir in a small amount of milk or cream to the egg that was set aside. Brush this mixture onto the biscotti logs and sprinkle with raw sugar (optional).

Bake at 350° for about 25-30 minutes or until slightly firm and golden. Remove from oven and let cool about 10 minutes. 

Place biscotti onto cutting board and slice into ½ inch pieces. At this point the biscotti will still be slightly moist. Be sure to use a sharp, serrate knife to ensure a clean cut. I also like to cut the biscotti at an angle. 

Return these slices onto the baking sheet (you may need an additional baking sheet) and bake another 20-30 minutes or until dry and crisp. They will harden slightly as they cool. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Makes about 36 biscotti.

**This recipe is very easy to adapt for a variety of flavors. If you want a chocolate almond biscotti replace ½ cup flour with ½ cup of Dutch cocoa. You can also add a variety of nuts or dried fruits as the filler. Another great combination is orange zest and cranberries. The options are nearly endless.

(Adapted) Devil's Food Cake with Hazelnut Crunch

pretty proud of myself for this one...

I've never attempted a 3 layer cake before. Always seemed too intimidating. Well, a friend's birthday calls for a special effort. So here goes....

I adapted Gourmet's version of this Devil's Food Cake with Hazelnut Crunch

A couple notes about the recipe:

For the hazelnut crunch:

1. I didn't use hazelnuts (I'm a grad student, not a fancy-pants lawyer or something, who can afford hazelnuts??? I used toasted almonds instead)

2. I didn't use Nutella, instead I used peanut butter and added 1/2 oz square of unsweetened baking chocolate 

For the frosting:

3. I didn't use upscale Scharffen Berger chocolate like the recipe calls for. I used plain ole' semi-sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips, again, see fancy pants comment above.

For the assembly:

4. I didn't cut off the domed parts of each layer to create even layers when I assembled the cake. Excuse me but I worked hard for this cake and I really don't care enough about how it looks to sacrifice any part of it!

Now that I got that off my chest, go to the store, stock up on butter and chocolate and get baking. enjoy...

apple pie preserves

Adapted from the recipe found in Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton

12 lbs peeled, chopped apples (any combination of apples...)
4 c sugar
5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 T molasses
3/4 c lemon juice
6 c water

combine water and lemon juice in big pot, as you peel and dice apples - add them to the pot to prevent browning. when finished, bring apples and lemon juice and water to a boil, stir in the sugar, molasses, and spices, simmer until thickened, about 10-15 minutes. feel free to adjust the sugar content, my apples were quite sweet, so 4 c did the trick, but you may need to add more...

can using the boiling-water method. leave 1/2 inch headspace. process for 15 minutes, unless you live at elevation, in which case, adjust using this guide.

makes about 6 quarts.

Peach Pie...why not?

I baked this pie and put it in the window to cool. I half expected some kid to come up and snatch it...it smelled that good. I adapted it from this site, there were way too many steps in the original recipe that made making a peach pie a little too complicated for my taste. With a little planning, you can have this pie ready in no time, enjoy....

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surfaces

1 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter, very cold

1/2 cup water, very cold

1 T milk or cream

1 T sugar

Filling:

1 T lemon juice

1/4 c EACH brown and white sugar, depending on how sweet the peaches are

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Enough peaches to mound into your pie plate, I know, this sounds a little too rough, but approx. 4 lbs, and I used frozen peaches, cut in about 1/2 inch slices

pinch nutmeg

1/8 salt

2 tablespoons minute tapioca, ground to a powder (I was too lazy to grind it, and it still came out fine...)

To finish:

Crust:

mix flour, sugar, salt, and with a pastry blender or in a cuisinart, mix in cold butter until mixture is the size of small peas, add water in a couple additions, you might not use all of it, mix just until dough comes together and you can pat it into 2 round discs. wrap in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator (if you have patience) or in freezer if you don't.

When the dough is cold, roll into 2 pie shells, place one in bottom of pie pan.

Make the filling:

Mix peaches (you don't have to peel them, I used frozen, unpeeled peaches), lemon juice, spices, salt, and tapioca together. Mound into pie shell. If it seems like too many peaches, its fine...they will cook down...

Cover peaches with 2nd pie shell, crimp edges, brush with milk or cream, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 425 for 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 375. bake for another 30-40 min. You might want to cover edges or entire pie with foil to prevent burning...I did...

No Bake S'mores Tartlets

Guest Post! Thanks to Ashley D'Antonio for this awesome recipe.

Summer is ending but before it fully turns to Fall in Utah I wanted to sneak in one last “summer-y”, no-bake dessert.  I recently bought a few small tartlet pans and have been thinking about making Smore’s tartlets for a few weeks now.  I wanted to combine some of my other favorite recipe components to make what hopefully results in an amazing Smore’s tartlet.

I created my recipe using a combination of these recipes (makes two tartlets):

For the graham cracker crust: http://thebeeroness.com/2012/04/10/chocolate-beer-cheesecake-with-a-pretzel-crust/

For the chocolate ganache (halved this recipe): http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2012/08/no-bake-blueberry-truffle-tartlets.html

For the marshmallow cream (halved this recipe): http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/now-baking-first-prize-piess-smores-pie/

Basically, I followed the recipe for the graham cracker/pretzel crust and refrigerated the crust for an hour.  I filled the refrigerated crusts with chocolate ganache and let the ganache solidify in the fridge for about 30 minutes. While the ganache was in the refrigerator, I made the marshmallow cream. Then I topped the ganache with a bit of the marshmallow cream and refrigerated the almost finished tartlet for another hour.  As an optional finishing touch, you can follow the directions for the Smore’s Pie and use a torch or broiler to brown the top of the marshmallows.  I did not do any toasting this time as I do not own a kitchen torch and have not quite mastered the broiler in the house that I just moved into. So, I just took the safe route and ate the tartlets as is.

A note on the homemade marshmallow cream – it does contain gelatin but there are some gelatin alternatives that you could use if you wanted to make this recipe vegetation.  I have used agar-agar as a gelatin replacement with success.  The crust could also be made gluten-free using almond flour, honey, and cinnamon instead of graham crackers and leaving out the pretzels completely. 

PB & J (in a cookie)

I finally found an awesome peanut butter cookie recipe, and instead of filling them with the salted caramel which was how they were served by David Lebovitz...I filled them with pear butter. you could use jam or whatever you prefer, but pear butter was really good...

feel free to leave out the jam or fruit butter and just flatten into regular peanut butter cookies. they are great with a cup of coffee...

recipe slightly adapted from this site.

1 stick soft butter

1/2 each brown sugar, white sugar

3/4 c peanut butter, I used crunchy and it worked well

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 c flour

preheat oven 350. cream butter and sugars, add peanut butter and egg, vanilla, mix well. add cinnamon, baking soda, salt, mix, stir in four. (if dough seems too dry, add a splash of 1/2 n 1/2 or milk). roll into balls, put on cookie sheet, flatten and put an indent in middle of cookie.

bake approx. 13 minutes, rotate cookie sheet 1/2 way through baking. remove from oven, make indent more pronounced with the back of a spoon and put approx. 1 tsp jam or fruit butter in the indent. cool on rack. enjoy!