COOKIE WEEK!!! (part 2) Decadent Nutella No-Bakes

Wow what a week it has been!  When I decided to do a “Cookie Week,” this last week, I was completely underestimating what the second half of my week was going to have in store for me. On Thursday, I had what was supposed to be a “minor” surgery on my arm.  I thought it would leave me a little sore but completely able to function.  I knew my grandfather’s funeral service was Saturday, so my plan was to bake enough batches of cookies on Thursday and Friday for the remainder of the week, blog them, and take the cookies to the service… Wow, I was completely wrong!  Not only was I in excruciating pain, I got really sick from the pain killers.  So, needless to say, I was unable to finish out my cookie week this last week.

We had the most amazingly beautiful service for my Grandpa on Saturday.  While we cried so many tears, we also got to laugh a lot remembering what a funny, amazing man he was.  He had a full military (Air Force) grave-site service.  If any of you have ever experienced one, you know how incredible they are and how the folding and presenting of the flag with “Taps” playing in the background on the trumpet makes you gush tears.  I am so very thankful for my wonderful family.  I love that we are all so close and don’t just get together for funerals and weddings but several times every year and I am especially thankful that God blessed me with such a precious Grandfather.

I am feeling SO much better now (physically and emotionally), so it is back in the kitchen to give my wonderful followers the rest of their cookie recipes!  Sorry if any of you sat by your computers for three days, waiting for the remainder cookie week  ;).

Okay, on to cookies… I have been so excited to post this recipe because these are BY FAR the most incredible no-bake cookies I have ever had.  They are so rich, creamy and full of chocolatey goodness… not to mention, made with one of my very favorite ingredients on the planet… NUTELLA!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup milk

1 and 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup Nutella

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup quick oats

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar and cocoa.  Add milk  and stir until combined.  Add butter and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and continue to boil for three minutes, still stirring.

Remove from heat and add Vanilla and Nutella.

Add oats and mix well.

Let stand for a minute or two, allowing the oats to absorb some of the moisture.  When the mix starts to firm up, drop spoonfuls (or use your cookie scoop) onto waxed paper and allow cookies to cool and set.

COOKIE WEEK!!! – Fudge-Oatmeal Bars

These have been a favorite of mine since I was young.  I remember eating them at a little restaurant in my home town called Nibbley’s.  I came across the recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook about 15 years ago and have been making them on a regular basis ever since.  They are always a HUGE hit at parties, catering events, etc.  I made them for a Christmas Bazaar this last year along with tons of other stuff and they were my top seller.  People did the whole eyeball roll-moan thing when they tried them.  They are that good. Super soft cookie with a creamy, delicate fudgy center… by far the hardest dessert I make to be disciplined about not eating the whole pan (and it’s a big batch).  After I made them today, I only ate two, gave one to each of my kids, saved 2 for my hubby and wrapped them in about 10 pieces of plastic wrap on a platter so I would really have to make a pretty conscious effort to get in to them.  I am making my husband take them to work tomorrow because they are way too dangerous for me.   I promise you will love them!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 12-oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional, I don’t use them)

2 tsp vanilla (yes that’s 4 tsp vanilla total, two in the batter, two in the chocolate)

Directions:

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING… set aside 2 Tbsp of your butter for the fudgy filling (I forget almost every time).

In a large mixing bowl beat the remaining butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar; beat until well mixed.  Beat in eggs and 2 tsp vanilla.  In another large bowl, stir together flour and baking soda; stir in oats.  Gradually stir dry mixture into beaten mixture.  Set aside.

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, combine your chocolate chips, 2 Tbsp butter, and sweetened condensed milk. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir (above pic is what 1 minute in the microwave looked like for mine).  Microwave for another 20-30 seconds or until smooth and melted.  Add Vanilla.  Stir.

Press two-thirds of oat mixture (about 3 and 1/3 cups) to the bottom of an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan (bar pan – if you happen to own one of the Pampered Chef Stoneware bar pans, they work fabulous).  Spread chocolate mixture over oat mixture.  Using fingers, dot remaining oat mixture over the chocolate.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until top is lightly browned (chocolate mixture will still look moist).  Cool on a wire rack.  Cut into bars.  Binge Enjoy 🙂

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Most of us have maybe attempted chocolate covered strawberries at one point or another and probably been somewhat satisfied with them. I mean, really nothing that has to do with a strawberries and chocolate can possibly turn out wrong, right? Well, I just want to give you a few pointers to help you temper your chocolate properly and make your strawberry dipping success even  higher. Make it like the professionals with a shiny chocolate coating that has a crisp “crack” when you bit into it.  These tips can also apply to dipping homemade truffles, candies, or whatever your little heart desires. 

Ingredients:

Strawberries – try to find berries that are bruise-free.  The bruises tends to weep and make it difficult for the chocolate to stick. (Check out these huge berries I found at my local Winco in FEBRUARY… beautiful!)

Approximately 12 ounces of chocolate (you choose: dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate.)

Approximately 5 ounces of white chocolate 

 I unfortunately had to choose milk chocolate and white chocolate because even though dark is my favorite – the purer the chocolate, the bigger the headache, literally, for me.  Not so great since chocolate is my biggest weakness. Do not use chocolate chips for melting and dipping. Save them for the cookies.  While they will work ok, they have an additive that helps them keep that “chip” shape even when melted so they are not the best for melting and dipping. Instead try to find a good quality chocolate brick or bar.  Trust me when I say that the quality of the chocolate makes a huge difference in the taste. However, that being said, I have used Nestle chocolate chips and even though they weren’t tempered properly, they still tasted pretty  yummy, so don’t be discouraged if this is your only option.

Double boiler – I do not own a double boiler, never have, most likely never will because I just use a saucepan and a small bowl (see picture). Works just as good.  You just want to make sure your bowl fits good and isn’t just floating around.  The point of a double-boiler is for the chocolate to avoid the direct heat of your burner.  

Chocolate thermometer or an instant read thermometer – It is very important for your thermometer to be digital so you can get an exact instant read.  The chocolate heats up very fast and cools fast so you want to be able to get the temp without wasting precious seconds.

Directions: 

Start by washing your strawberries.  Lay them on a paper towel to dry.  One by one, hold each berry in a separate paper towel and remove any excess water from the leaves or berry.  You want your berry to be 100% dry or the chocolate will not stick.

Next, you want to chop your chocolate into small pieces.  I like to use a large chef’s knife and make my slices 1/4 inch at a time.  The chocolate will sometimes crumble as your knife passes through. Separate out 1/3 of the chocolate and set aside.

Add about an inch or two (depending on size of pan) of water to your sauce pan or double boiler pan.  Put it on your burner over medium heat.  You do not want your water to boil, only simmer. Insert bowl. Make sure your bowl is not touching the water.

 Add 2/3 of your chopped chocolate to your bowl or double boiler.  Be ready with your spatula, chocolate thermometer, and hot pad cuz yowza! those metal bowls get hot. Just trust me on this one, don’t test it for yourself 🙂 

Heat your chocolate to: dark chocolate 120 degrees, milk chocolate 115 degrees, white chocolate 110 degrees.  Remove instantly from heat when your chocolate reaches the proper temp. Transfer your chocolate to a different room temp bowl to help lower the temperature.

Add your remaining chocolate and stir until no chunks remain.  Return chocolate to original bowl over your double boiler and heat until your temperature reaches: 88-90 degrees for dark, 86 to 88 for milk and 82-84 for white.  Your chocolate is now tempered. Do not let your chocolate reach over 92 degrees for dark or 88 for milk and white at this point or the temper will be lost.  (meaning you still get a yummy strawberry but without the shine and crisp outer-shell). You can also cool the chocolate and start over if needed.

Start dipping your berries. Check your temperature often as you are dipping your strawberries as you want to keep it in that proper tempered range. After you dip the berry, while holding the stem shake the strawberry back and forth over your bowl to rid your strawberry of excess chocolate. Lay down flat on a platter, parchment paper, foil or wax paper. 

Let chocolate set while starting the process over again with white chocolate if desired.

After chocolate is tempered, scoop a little on the end of a butter knife and pass back and forth over strawberry rather quickly.  It does not have to be perfect.  Mine isn’t, but it still looks pretty.  You may also want to practice this a few times on a practice surface (maybe some parchment paper) just to get comfortable with it. 

I know these sounds crazy intimidating but IF you have an instant-read thermometer, you will be just fine.  AND after you have your shiny, beautiful chocolate covered berries on display, you will swell with pride.  Make a few notes about temps and steps on a small piece of paper to keep by your work station so you don’t have to keep referring back to the blog and possibly over-heating your chocolate.

Good luck! I always love to hear of your successes so be sure to let me know how it goes or if you have any questions at all. Thanks! 🙂

Caramel Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick), melted

My personal preference is generally to use margarine in my cookies rather than real butter.  Real butter produces a crunchier cookie and I prefer mine to be chewy;  However, I did use butter in this recipe as the base layer is  meant to be a bit more crumbly and crunchy. 

1-14 oz package wrapped caramel candies

2 tbsp heavy cream or evaporated milk (I used evaporated milk because I almost always have it on hand)

1 cup milk chocolate morsels

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl.  I use a whisk to mix my dry ingredients. 

Add butter to crumb mixture and mix until crumbly.  Press crumb mixture onto the bottom of an ungreased medium-sized sheet pan or 9×13 cake pan.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove pan from oven.

Unwrap caramel candies (I usually have the kids do this part). They are always begging to help me in the kitchen so this keeps their little hands really busy while I do the other work.  Place caramels in a glass bowl.  Add cream.  Microwave for 90 seconds, stir. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds, stir.  If the pieces are still not melted, cook for an additional 15 seconds at a time until melted. 

 

 

Pour over hot crust, spreading to the edges with a spatula.  Let stand for 10 minutes or until caramel is set.  

 

Cut bars lengthwise into three strips.  (I dipped my knife in boiling water before cutting so it didn’t catch on the caramel and pull it along with the knife.)

Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave for 90 seconds, stir.  If not melted, cook another 15 seconds at a time until melted.  It is important not to get your chips too hot or they will scorch.  It is best to stir and stir once the chocolate seems to be warm enough to melt.  The other chips will continue to melt while stirring.

Spoon chocolate into a resealable bag.  Trim off a tiny piece of the bag’s corner.  Pipe a continuous line of chocolate down each row (or whichever way your little heart desires).  Let chocolate set before cutting into individual bars.

 

*Adapted from Pampered Chef’s Simply Sweet Cookbook