Tag: sweet treats

Waitress’s In-the-Dark Dark Chocolate Pie

Original recipe: Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Pie — The BEST Chocolate Pie Ever!!

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

  • 1 package (about 36) whole Oreos
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter (*will need additional butter for the filling)

Caramel filling:

  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (*will need additional cream for ganache)

Ganache topping:

  • 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • 1 (12 oz) bag dark chocolate chips
  • Flaky salt like kosher salt or fleur de sel

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Finely crush the Oreos with a food processor or blender. Stir crumbs together with 8 tablespoons melted butter until well combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Freeze crust for 10 minutes until set.
  • Combine remaining 8 tablespoons butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to bubble. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream until smooth. Cool caramel about 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the Oreo crust, then return to freezer for about 30-45 minutes until just chilled and set. (You don’t want the caramel to fully freeze.)
  • Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl. In a saucepan, bring 1 cup heavy whipping cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth. Pour the chocolate over the caramel and freeze for a final 30 minutes, until just chilled and set. OR refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve. Before serving, sprinkle the top with a flaky sea salt like kosher salt or Fleur De Sel.

NOTES

I first tasted this delectable pie at a national tour of the Broadway musical Waitress in St. Louis. They were selling small jars of various pies prior to the show. The layers of caramel and ganache with a hint of salt made my toes curl. It has been a family favorite for special events ever since!

Feel free to bypass a step and buy a store-bought chocolate crust, if needed. However, you will really be missing out as the homemade Oreo crust really adds heft and structure to this amazing pie.

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Pecan Pie Bars

Original recipe: Pecan Pie Bars Recipe – Preppy Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour (300g)
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons of butter (170 g), browned

Filling

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1½ cups dark or light corn syrup (360mL)
  • ⅔ cup packed brown sugar (140g)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (40g)
  • 2 cups pecans roughly chopped (240g)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray then line it with parchment paper or foil.
  • Brown the butter for your crust.
  • In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar and salt. Drizzle in the browned butter and stir together with a fork. Use clean hands to mix and knead the dough together (it will be crumbly) then place it in the prepared baking dish. Press it into a thin, even layer.
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges turn lightly golden.
  • While the shortbread crust bakes, in a large bowl, whisk to combine the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Sift in the ⅓ cup flour and whisk to combine. Add the chopped pecans and mix once more.
  • When the crust comes out of the oven, pour the pecan pie topping over it and smooth out any piles of pecans. Return it to the oven for about 30 minutes or until the topping is puffed and dry.
  • Allow to cool completely and then chill slightly before cutting, in order to get nice clean pieces.

NOTES

This is it. The best of the best. Move over pecan pie, this is the one thing that my kids have decided they must have every Thanksgiving and Christmas. The rich shortbread crust and the luscious filling are absolutely to die for!

Please check out the original recipe linked above. For a step-by-step walk through, check out the embedded video below.

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Zach’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 3/4 cups (248g) all-purpose flour, scoop and level to measure
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 12 Tbsp (170g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
  • 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup (70g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (170g) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or mix-ins of your choice – see notes)
  • Maldon sea salt flakes to sprinkle on top, if desired

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place butter into cast iron skillet and put into oven as it preheats. Once melted, leave about 1 tbsp of butter in pan and put the remaining melted butter into a large mixing bowl. Allow the melted butter to cool down a little bit before slightly adding additional ingredients.
  • Once cooled, add the following to the bowl with the melted butter: brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt.
  • Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and stir until combined.
  • Sift in flour and baking soda, then stir until combined.
  • Mix in chocolate chips.
  • Scoop dough out into prepared skillet and spread into an even layer.
  • Sprinkle with Maldon flaked sea salt, if desired.
  • Bake in preheated oven until cook appears slightly under-baked in center, it will continue to cook from the residual heat of the pan for a few minutes once removed from the oven, about 18 to 20 minutes.
  • Spoon out and serve warm with vanilla ice cream if desired or let cool at least 30 minutes to cut into slices.

NOTES

The above recipe is a template. Feel free to add in any number of mix-ins. One of our favorites is the addition of marshmallows (that have been halved and pressed into dough), white chocolate chips, and graham cracker pieces. I like to press in additional chocolate chips on top for decoration purposes. Not to mention topping with flaked sea salt!

Enjoy!

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Ina Garten’s Brownie Pudding

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish
  • 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup good cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
  • 1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional
  • Vanilla ice cream, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside.
  • When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla seeds, framboise, if using, and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.
  • Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Add enough of the hottest tap water to the pan to come halfway up the side of the dish and bake for exactly 1 hour. A cake tester inserted 2 inches from the side will come out 3/4 clean. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.
  • Allow to cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.

NOTES

This is AMAZING! It walks a thin line between molten lava cake and brownie. Make sure you commit to the bit and cream the specified mixture a full 10 minutes as instructed as it does something magical to this decadent dessert. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

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French Vanilla Crinkle Cookies

INGREDIENTS

  • French Vanilla box cake mix (or cake mix of your choice)
  • 1/3 cup neutral oil
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • powdered sugar to roll cookies in for crinkle texture

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the red velvet cake mix, eggs, and vegetable oil. Stir until a thick dough forms. Chill the dough for about 15-30 minutes to make it easier to handle.
  • Using a cookie scoop or your hands, form the dough into balls (about 1 inch in diameter). Roll each ball in powdered sugar until fully coated. For a better crinkle effect, roll them twice in powdered sugar.
  • Place the cookie balls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are set but the centers are still soft. The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool.
  • Cool and Enjoy: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy your delicious red velvet crinkle cookies!

NOTES

These are just typical cake mix cookies, and any flavor cake mix will do. The cake flavor in the preview image is birthday cake flavored, for example. However, there’s something special about using the French Vanilla box mix for these treats. It provides almost a cheesecake-like flavor that is our favorite. Enjoy!

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