CHOCOLATE CARAMEL BLAST COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 ¾  cup self rising flour        
¾  tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

½ cup shortening

¼ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar
1 egg
3 tbs buttermilk
1 tbs vanilla

1 cup of chocolate chunks

½ cup caramel bits

Handful of toffee bits

Directions:

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in bowl and set aside.  Mix shortening, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, milk and vanilla together.  Add dry ingredients and mix.  Fold in chocolate chips, caramel bits, and toffee bits.  Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 10 minutes per batch.    

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

Dough

Dough with Chocolate and Caramel

Cookies ready to Cook

Just Out of the Oven 

Ready to Eat

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL FRENCH SILK PIE

Crust:

1 refrigerated pie crust (from 15 oz. package)

Dark Chocolate Filling:

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut into pieces

¾ cup butter, softened (do not use margarine) I used Kerry Gold Irish Butter

1 cup baker’s extra fine sugar (if available)

½ teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup refrigerated fat free egg product

Caramel Swirl:

4 oz. unwrapped caramels (12 – 13)

3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

¼ cup butter, softened, I used Kerry Gold Irish Butter

1/8 cup refrigerated fat free egg product

Topping:

½ cup sweetened whipped cream

Chocolate Curls, if desired

Heat oven to 450 degrees F.  Prepare pie crust as directed on package for one crust baked shell using 9-inch pie pan.  Bake at 450 for 9 to 11 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled.

Melt caramel and whipping cream in small saucepan over low heat; let cool to room temperature.  Set aside.

Melt chocolate in small saucepan over low heat; cool.  In small bowl, beat  ¾ cup butter until fluffy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add cooled chocolate and vanilla; blend well.

Add egg product to the dark chocolate mixture, ¼ cup of  egg product at a time, beating at high speed 2 minutes after each addition.  Beat until mixture is smooth and fluffy.  Pour into cooled baked shell. 

Add ¼ cup butter to the caramel and beat until well blended.  Then add the egg product.  Mix well.

With a teaspoon, drop dollops of caramel mixture in a circular pattern on top of the chocolate filling.  Using a knife, spiral the caramel mixture through the chocolate filling.  Then, using a flat spatula, smooth the top over.  Then, drop a few more smaller dollops and drizzles of the caramel mixture and using the spatula, make shallow swirls with the caramel in the chocolate.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.  Top with whipped cream and chocolate curls.  Store in refrigerator. 

 

Ingredients

Caramels

Melting Caramel

Chopped Chocolate

Melted Caramel

Melted Chocolate

Melted Caramel in Mixing Bowl

Creamed Butter and Sugar

Adding Chocolate

Butter and Chocolate

All Mixed Up

In Pie Plate

Dollops

Swirling

Drizzles

Ready to Set with Shallow Swirls

PUMPKIN APPLE CRISP

Baked

Slow Cooker

Ingredients:	Doubling Quantities:
Apple Filling	Apple Filling
4 medium large apples (I used Honey Crisp), peeled, cored, chopped	8 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped
½ (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree	1 (15 oz.)can pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons lemon juice	4 Tablespoons lemon juice
A splash of vanilla	1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ½  tablespoons tapioca flour	7 tablespoons tapioca flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon	1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice	1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice
1/8 – ¼  cup white sugar	¼ cup white sugar
3 teaspoons caramel	6 teaspoons caramel
Streusel/Crisp Topping	Streusel/Crisp Topping
¼  cup flour	½  cup flour
½  cup spice cake mix or caramel apple cake mix	1 cup spice cake mix or caramel apple cake mix
½  cup quick oats	1 cup quick oats
¼ - 1/3 cup white sugar	1/3 cup white sugar
¼ - 1/3 cup brown sugar	1/3 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon	1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg	1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch salt	2 pinches salt
Approx. ½ cup butter, cut into little cubes	14 tablespoons butter (2 tablespoons less than 2 full cubes)
½  cup chopped pecans	1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. * or line a slow cooker with Reynold’s slow cooker liners.

Pour the lemon juice into a large bowl.  Peel, core and chop each apple individually, stirring them into the lemon juice (to keep them from browning).  Add the pumpkin, tapioca flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and sugar.  Stir into the apples.  Place pumpkin apple mixture in a 9X9 baking dish (or a 13X9 if you are making a double batch)  Meanwhile, prepare the streusel topping.

Combine the flour, cake mix, quick oats, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Stir.  Add the butter a little at a time and use a pastry blender or a fork to cut into coarse crumbs.  Stir in the chopped pecans.  Pour over the apple pumpkin mixture.  Put a large baking sheet under your baking pan.  The filling will bubble up and spill over.  Place in the preheated oven bake for 60-70 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla or butter pecan ice cream.

*if using a slow cooker, cook on high for 2 hours.  For the last hour of cooking, remove the lid part of the way to help It crisp.  (It does not crisp as well in the slow cooker)

Ingredients

Apples

Pumpkin and Apples

Apples, Pumpkin and filling ingredients

Apple/Pumpkin Mixture

Apple Pumpkin Mixture in Crock Pot

Crumb Topping

Ready to Cook in Crock Pot

Letting it Crisp

Double Batch Ready to Bake

Apple Pumpkin Mixture Double Batch

Just Out of the Oven

Baked

BACON, AVOCADO & CHICKEN CROISSANT SANDWICH

Ingredients:

Croissant (from Costco)

Rotisserie Chicken Breast (from Costco), or just chicken breast

1 avocado sliced

2 slices bacon

Sandwich spread of your choice, optional

Directions:

Slice the chicken, slice the avocado, cook the bacon (remove the grease) and slice the croissant in half.   Add the sandwich spread to the croissant (optional).   Layer the avocado, then the chicken then the bacon.  Serve and Enjoy.

Ingredients

Avocado Layer

Chicken Layer

Bacon Layer

Yum