Hobbies, Family, & Geekery from a Stay-at-Home Dad
Happy holidays!! Just to be clear, I’m not the politically correct type to tell everyone happy holidays. No offense to anyone, but I’ll Merry Christmas your ears till the elves come home. But since we’re in the holiday season and it’s not Christmas yet, that’s how …Read More….
Heart Shaped Glasses Happy Valentine’s Day! It wouldn’t be a holiday on this blog if I didn’t cut it super close! I’ve been pretty busy and I wasn’t really planning on doing something for Valentine’s Day, but I had a pretty big reason to besides …Read More….
It’s Christmas time!! Kris my Kringles, where the heck has the year gone?!
I know, I’m pretty bad with this blog thing during the holidays. So many great blogs out there with so many holiday posts coming out of their yule logs. Christmas cookies, pies, all that jazz, just overflowing the internet. It’s so great to see.
Sadly, I can hardly find the time to get in the kitchen to do anything these days. I mean, our outside decorations were just put up today! You’d think being a stay-at-home dad would give me some time to whip something up or get stuff done around here. Turns out tending and picking up after 2 of Santa’s little stalkers takes up a good amount of time and brain power.
But here I am! I may not have time to do things I wanted to do, like this awesome free class from Creativebug featuring The Wilton Method: Gingerbread House and Cookies. But I had time to put this bark together. It’s so insanely simple, it’s silly.
A few weeks ago I received a holiday mailer from Wilton, and in it was crazily addicting Candy Cane Candy Melts, and this sweet Stack-N-Melt Candy Bark Mold.
Now, you know me. I’ve become quite the Candy Melt aficionado around these parts. Heck, I was told from inside sources that I’m referred to as the Candy Melt King of Chicago! Of course, not to be confused with the Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago. Which embarrassingly enough, has happened before.
They’re such a great and simple ingredient, and so versatile as you’ve noticed from what I’ve done. This time though, there’s no baking, effort, or even experience required! Like I said, it’s silly how easy this is.
With so many possibilities you can make with this mold, I chose this one because of an old experience. I remember a few years ago, we were in a store after Christmas and were doing what everyone else does in stores after Christmas – walking down the clearance aisle. There, we found white chocolate covered pretzels with sprinkled candy cane bits. Intrigued, we tried them out and obviously missed the label on the bag that advertised they were laced with crack. We just couldn’t stop eating them and wanted to buy more but it was the last one! Ever since then, the combination has really stood out for me.
And here I am shedding light on it for you! With an ingredient list as complex as a candy cane, this is as easy as Christmas treats get.
Peppermint Pretzel Holiday Bark
1 1/2 bags – Wilton Limited Edition Candy Cane Candy Melts
about 1 cup – Pretzels, crumbled
2 each – Candy Canes, crushed
Notes:
For now, let’s get our candy melt on!
You want to get a good amount in there for a nice, thick bark. If you’d rather have it thinner then by all means. It looks like a lot but it’ll melt down nicely. Again, it’ll probably be about half the second bag. If you must, shuffle it around and make sure there are none taking up more space than they should. Channel that annoying guy at Disney telling you to take up all the available space in front of you in the line, even though you’re purposely leaving plenty of space because the group in front of you doesn’t believe in deodorant. Ugh. Too many times, I can’t even count…
Once they’re all out…
Victory!
Like I said. So freaking easy it’s scary. They’re absolutely fantastic for a holiday party or a cookie basket.
And remember what I said earlier, they’re amazingly versatile. I mean, you don’t have to use candy melts. Or pretzels. Or candy canes.
Just doing these inspired to make a few different ones for when I’m making my holiday stuff…
A few ideas:
Or! You can do like Heather, a fellow Wilton Sweet Treat Team ambassador, over at Sprinkle Bakes. She made this insanely amazing looking Sugar Cookie Bark using the mold. If this doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what will.
You should get the point by now. The list goes on and on with what you can do with this awesomely festive mold. And don’t even get me started on flavoring the chocolate because that’ll open up a whole new can of tinsel. My bottle of coffee liqueur calls my name every time I open the pantry..
Basically, what I’m trying to say, is this little mold can make you a downright superstar. Only regret will be that you didn’t buy 2!
Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I haven’t seen you guys since National S’mores Day! That was like 3 weeks ago right? I’m terrible at math, let me see how ma… whoa! That was almost 2 months ago!? How’s it going! What’s happenin’!? How’s the weather?? Ok, fine, I’ll cut …Read More….
Happy National S’mores Day!! I had original plans to celebrate this day, but thanks to a surprise mailer full of fall goodness from Wilton (Pumpkin Spice Candy Melts!), I decided to put in the extra effort and do something else. And if you know anything …Read More….
So I started thinking, and I couldn’t remember the last time I made cookies. I remember strawberry, nutella & balsamic reduction empanadas, and an obscene amount of key lime brownies. But not cookies. With being out of the cookie game for so long (yes there’s a cookie game, and I didn’t choose it, it chose me), I wondered if I still had it in me. Then, more importantly, I wondered if I even had anything to bake with. Looked around and among the basics I found a bag of Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips in the pantry.
To a cinnamon lover like me, these might as well be called crack chips. I don’t know if I ever told you, but years ago I went looking for these fabled chips and couldn’t find them aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanywhere. Stock boys up and down the east coast looked at me like I was on drugs. And one day I finally found them in a Wal-Mart of all places! My wife knowing the struggle I had trying to find them, didn’t question me when I threw 6 bags of them in the cart.
I’ve been slowly going through that stock over the past few years. Savoring every recipe I use them in and making sure I knew whatever I was making would be enjoyed. And all in fear of another great cinnamon chip depression. And this bag that I found in my pantry? It was the last one..
So what the heck do I do with them? I already came to peace with their sacrifice for the need of something sweet for the blog. But what?! Then as I was checking out the packaging (for the expiration date) I found a recipe for cookies. “ooooh, are you trying to tell me something, Mr. Cinnamon Chip Bag?”
Yes, I was totally talking to the bag of cinnamon chips. You stay cooped up in a house all week with 2 kids and try and tell me you don’t talk with inanimate objects. Shoot, sometimes it’s the deepest conversation you have all day..
..Alright let me stop right there before it gets awkward. Trust me, we’re not at awkward yet.
So I figured why not? Hershey’s has been around a while, they know what they’re doing. So I followed the recipe exactly, only I added a teaspoon of cinnamon because it’s my drug of choice and don’t know when to stop.
By the way, this would be a great cookie for the fall with the flavors going on. I’m not going to lie that I get that feeling of fall time with every bite I take.
And now, let me get on with it before I get into the whole “you know, fall is almost here” rant again.
Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies (adapted from Hershey’s Kitchens)
1 cup – Butter, softened
1 cup – Light Brown Sugar
1/3 cup – Sugar
2 each – Eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons – Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups – Flour
1 teaspoon – Baking Soda
1 teaspoon – Cinnamon
2 1/2 cups – Old Fashioned Oats
1 10oz package – Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips
3/4 cup – RaisinsNotes:
- It’s a pretty straight forward recipe with no twists or weird ingredients. I’d imagine if you had a kid who knew how to read, they’ll be able to make these.
- I added a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on the top but if you don’t have it, don’t worry about it. I just like my cookies with a little crunch and more unneeded sweetness.
- I didn’t have vanilla extract at the time so I just skipped it. The cookies were just find without it but I’m sure they would’ve been even better.
- You can leave out the raisins I’m sure, but since I had them on hand I added them. It was a little fight because I don’t usually put them in cookies but I’m glad I did. They really go good with all the other flavors going on.
- By other flavors, I mean the cinnamon.
- Again, this recipe is straight from the back of the bag, aside from the teaspoon of cinnamon and the sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Don’t look at me like I just committed a sin, remember, I’m trying to get back on my horse.
Ok, let’s get our cinnamon on.
Again, this is called the Creaming Method, and is possibly the most crucial step when baking if you’re using it. No pressure or anything. Besides, I’m sure you already knew that, when you’re mixing them, the sugar is cutting little tiny holes into the butter which create an airy base (hence “beat till light fluffy”) that remains until the baking process where the tiny air pockets act as a leavening agent expanding and creating a softer more tastier product, right? Right.
A peek behind the curtain: This is what happens when you’re trying to do stuff while looking through the camera. “Oh yeah, there you go, there’s the shot… Aaaaaaand I made a mess.” And this is just the counter. There’s 3 times as more on the floor.
This is something I didn’t always do before, but it became something of a fad over the past 2 years or so. You weren’t cool if you didn’t let your cookies rest! Now, I can totally understand why it would benefit the end product. You’re working the cookie dough an awful lot, so resting it and cooling it down just seems like the logical thing to do. If you sat there and told me resting it in the fridge let the liquids in the eggs absorb into the flour making the dough firmer giving it more texture, and not only that, but it also lets the enzymes in the flour and the egg yolk break down carbohydrates into the simple sugars fructose and glucose making the cookies sweeter and tastier… I’d buy whatever you’re selling! But there’s just something too convincing about the amazingly awesome Great Cookie Experiment conducted by Mel over at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. There she not only tested this theory, but documented it thoroughly. Go check it out if you’re curious.
With all that said, I’ll leave the decision of resting it or not resting it, up to you.
And out they come, ready to be eaten non-stop until they’re gone or you get sick, whichever comes first.
I don’t know if it’s the cinnamon chips, or the crunch from the sugar, but they remind me a lot of Panera’s Cinnamon Chip Scones.
Something tells me you know exactly what I’m talking about. I know I’m not the only one that has eaten the ever-loving heck out of those scones. So freaking good.
And if that’s not reason enough to get to making these, then I don’t know what is.
C.
Click here if you want to buy Conquistador by Thirty Seconds To Mars
Boom There are no words that can truly express the pure and utter joy I currently have. Not because we won the lotto or anything trivial like that. But because I can finally post these brownies.Let me tell you the story that led to this …Read More….
I really didn’t want to be that guy who does nothing but constantly remind you how fast time is going, but seriously, we’re almost done with October and it’s absolutely insane. I mean, it’s great, don’t get me wrong. Being able to open your windows …Read More….
Due to a lapse in government funding, this blog will not be updated until further notice. Please accept a picture of these awesome Pumpkin Swirled Brownies as consultation for any inconvenience this may cause.
Ok, fine. I’m not funded by the government.
Can you believe it though? I can’t. I refuse to.
I mean, when I realized my last post was almost an entire month ago, I was so disappointed in myself.
On top of that, it’s October! Stores have already had their Christmas stuff out for 2 whole months!
Anyway, what was I doing for the last month since I wasn’t blogging?
I got a job!
No, that’s a lie. The truth is I started a Daddy Day Care for my neighborhood so now in addition to my 2 boys I’m watching everyone else’s kids.
*shivers* Geeze no, could you imagine? I’d be rocking back and forth in a corner. No, no, no. I have enough on my plate already. Ok, here’s the scouts honor truth… I was traveling through the fabrics of time and space in a little blue box (that’s bigger on the inside) with a man who called himself The Doctor.
…No?
Ok, fine! I’ve been playing Grand Theft Auto 5, alright!? Whatever free time I had at night to blog has been sucked up and is being used to game instead. It’s been a good 2 years since I’ve sat down to enjoy a newly released title. 2 years! So cut me some slack. I’m sure I don’t have to go into details because there’s a good chance you or someone you know has been playing it too. I’m also not going to get into it because this is not a gaming blog. There are plenty of gaming blogs out there where you could read about that stuff to your hearts content. Like EZ-Mode Unlocked where I, coincidentally, have also been writing blog posts lately and getting back in touch with my gamer side.
Speaking of gaming, I better hurry and finish this up!
Quick rundown: These brownies are freaking amazing. Whatever you do, don’t listen to my wife. She’ll tell you they are terrible and that the recipe needs to be burned in a fire and its ashes scattered into the ocean. I guuuuuess it’s partly my fault for not warning her there was cayenne pepper in them. You should’ve seen her face! Boy, oh boy was she surprised.
I kinda felt a little heat too but it gave a depth to the brownies. The pumpkin really stands out and the cayenne pepper kinda helps it do so. Nonetheless I cut the amount of pepper in half from the original recipe just in case anyone feels the same way my wife did with pepper in her brownies. Just remember, I still back them 100% and would make them again!
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies (adapted from Martha Stewart)
8 tablespoons ~ Butter
8 ounces ~ Bittersweet Chocolate, chips or chopped2 cups ~ Flour
1 teaspoon ~ Baking Powder
½ teaspoon ~ Salt
1 ¾ cup ~ Sugar
4 each ~ Eggs
1 tablespoon ~ Vanilla Extract15 ounce can ~ Pure Pumpkin
¼ cup ~ Vegetable or Canola Oil
1 teaspoon ~ Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ~ Nutmeg, freshly ground
½ teaspoon ~ Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/8 teaspoon ~ Cayenne Pepper¼ cup ~ Chocolate Chips (optional)
small handful ~ Cinnamon Chips (optional)
Notes:
I’ve come to the conclusion that I am not a great brownie maker. I used to be! I used to make brownies for the night shift at work all the time and they were good! But these years of being domesticated must have neutered my brownie making capabilities. My last few batches have been extremely disappointing, and on top of that, my wife made some the other day in less than 10 minutes that were kick ass (shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh don’t tell her I said that). At least I was happy with this batch, I probably would’ve quit brownies if they came out bad.
But they didn’t! So here we go:
Ok, just to recap because I’m sure if you’re reading through this you’re picturing the devil in your kitchen with about 17 different bowls in front of him and an amazingly confused look on his face.
You should have one bowl of melted chocolate in front of you, along with one big bowl of batter. To add to your problems, you’re about to have a few more bowls join the mix…
Recap: You’re looking at 2 bowls. Congratulations, you just made one hell of a mess in your sink.
You’re welcome.
Moving on, it’s time for the final steps.
(Recap: Even more mess.)
Before you throw it in your oven cursing my name while looking at your disarrayed kitchen, you have one last thing to do.
And that be that. I feel like the season for posting fall recipes is already done and here I am with my first (or second if you count the banana bread) recipe for it. It’s partly due to me not making many goodies at home lately, and mostly… Well, mostly due to GTA V.
How do you like my snazzy new Fall gallery in the side bar? I never realized how much I work with pumpkin! If you’re interested in making your own, here’s the tutorial on Something Swanky that features the image mapping tool from image-maps.com.