Chocolate Cookie Fudge

Try explaining to a bunch of Israelis what fudge is. Instead, I just let them belive that the chocolate-oreo confection that I presented them with was really fudgy brownies. Got no complaints from them :) This simple, three ingredient recipe comes from the A Taste of Home, Church Supper Desserts cookbook, which, I think I've already mentioned, is my go to book for easy but reliably delicious desserts. Consisting simply of chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and chopped oreos, you can not go wrong here at all and you can customize with add-ins, especially as the holiday season is approaching. Try crushed peppermint candies, more chocolate, graham crackers, white chocolate chips.. Go wild!

Marshmallow Candy Cups

Lord Almighty, the temperature's rising! It is indescribably hot and humid here in Israel to the point where it's difficult to breathe! I would give anything right now for a pool in my backyard but I guess that'll just have to wait a few weeks. Anyway, it's one of those seasons where you'd be crazy to turn on the oven. Well, I am crazy, and I bake in any season, but I decided to make something last weekend that didn't require turning on the oven. I've been wanting to make homemade marshmallows for a really long time (and I will!) so when I saw these Marshmallow Candy Cups in the most recent Baked cookbook, I thought it would be a good place to start. I did some research and these got rave reviews all around so out came the gelatin! These babies are a bit time intensive and because of the humidity have got to be stashed in the fridge at every stage to get them right. You start with melting some chocolate and brushing the inside of mini muffin cups with it. Then goes the marshmallow and they're topped with some more chocolate to seal the deal. I have to say, I was totally skeptical that some sugar syrup and gelatin was going to turn into ooey gooey yummy marshmallow, but after extensive beating, I'm glad to say they did. These babies were really well received and I'm happy to have this recipe in my files... but for a cooler day! I didn't have any milk chocolate on hand just some dairy bittersweet chocolate so I used a mix of that and regular dark chocolate. Although I halved the recipe, I still had plenty of chocolate leftover so you can afford to be generous with it.

Peanut Butter Squares

When my mom came, one of the books that I had requested from her to bring arrived as well. How To Be a Domestic Goddess was one of my very first baking books that I purchased in Israel, found in Steimatzky's, bought or around eighty shekels. Sadly, when I returned after my first year in Israel, I brought it back to America and I havent really seen it since. But when my mom brought it back I thumbed through it as if I'd never seen it. Tons of recipes jumped out at me immediately, but the first recipe I made was for these Peanut Butter Squares from the Children chapter. They were the perfect thing to make for my boss, to whom I owed something peanut butter and chocolate. No bake, and super fast and easy, they turned out delicious, and earned raves from everyone who tasted them. Definitely perfect for making with kids, and when you're looking for something fast, this is the way to go.

Tea Biscuit Buttercrunch

Marcy Goldman's famous buttercrunch recipe has received loads of rave reviews so when I was reminded of it while scanning through her most recent book, I decided to make it. The only problem was that I didnt have matzah or saltines. But I did have tea biscuits that I needed to use and so, tea biscuit buttercrunch was born. Of course, there werent that many left but enough to make a 9x13 pan. This recipe couldnt be easier- boil sugar and butter, pour over the tea biscuits, pour over and bake. Sprinkle chopped chocolate over and allow to melt. I used one bar of 60 percent and one bar of bittersweet chocolate. The tea biscuits got nice and toasty and the sugar nice and caramelized. When the girls asked what it was, I didnt quite know how to respond so all I said was, taste it. They did. The unanimous response was, this is really good. And that is how the tea biscuit buttercrunch was finished. Allowing the chocolate to set completely helps to handle and eat more cleanly. Because I used the tea biscuits, the pieces broke into large rectangular pieces. Using matzah will allow you to break into more shard like pieces.

Tea Biscuit Buttercrunch

slightly adapted from A Passion for Baking

25 vanilla tea biscuits

1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine

1 cup brown sugar

7 ounces chocolate

Preheat your oven to 350. Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment.
Line the pan with the tea biscuits, breaking them to fit if necessary.
In a saucepan, place the butter and sugar.
Stir until melted, bring to a boil and cook for two minutes.
Working quickly, pour the sugar mixture over the tea biscuits and spread as evenly as you can. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325 and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Meanwhile chop your chocolate.
Here is the baked product.
Sprinkle the chopped chocolate evenly over the baked sugar.
Give the chocolate a few minutes to soften and spread with an offset spatula. Break into pieces once set.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

For those who know me well, the following should come as no surprise. I think I've mentioned before that I'm quite anal about throwing away anything I don't need and compulsively deleting anything on my hard drive that isn't useful to save space. Same goes for my ipod, my closet and my recipe files. I can't explain this tendency, but if it's lying around and it has no purpose, to the trash it goes, with no regrets. I'm the same regarding food. When I open a jar of something, I don't like to have it lying around on the pantry shelf forever. Such raw baking materials I would never throw out, G-d forbid!, but I do like to use it up as fast as I can. That's why, on the blog, you'll often see recipes starring the same ingredients posted very closely together. My jar of peanut butter was sitting on the shelf with about a cup left in it. Wednesday, my in day, seemed the perfect opportunity to use it all up. (Next week, I'll have to deal with the leftover dulce de leche!) I'd long been wanting to make a homemade version of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups so working from a Baked recipe, I made them. They're fast, simple, adorable to look at, identical to the original and most importantly, supremely delicious, if a bit rich. These are made with but a few simple ingredients that you likely already have in the kitchen. The few who tasted these proclaimed these the best things I've ever made. Really? Not sure about that, but they were definitely up there. These are also so authentic looking that I swelled with pride every time someone pulled back the wrapper... This batch makes twenty four mini cups. If you can find black or brown mini muffin cups by all means use them. Your consumers are sure to be fooled. Be warned though.... these are far better than store bought....

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

based on Baked

Bottom Layer:

5 ounces milk chocolate

1 cup smooth peanut butter

Top Layer:

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1/2 tsp light corn syrup

4 tbsp butter or margarine

Line mini muffin tins with mini liners. You'll need two trays. Set aside.
Place the peanut butter and chocolate in pan,
and heat until melted. Stir until smooth.
Using a mini ice cream scoop, scoop this mixture evenly into all your liners. Set in the fridge to chill while you make the top.
Place the topping ingredients in a pan or a microwaveable bowl.
Melt, stirring until smooth.
Scoop this on top of the chilled peanut butter. Use a small offset spatula to spread the coating to the edges if necessary. Chill.
Serve. How easy was that??