{Caramel Apple Cake}

I think you all should know that today is Hermione Jean Granger's birthday, BUT, I promised not to talk about Harry Potter for a while, so, I did NOT just tell you that. (However, I WILL tell you that Darla has some aweeeeeesome cuppies made for our favorite smartypant's birthday. Oh, and there are also these that I made for her a while back!).

Anyway...

I've been following the production of what promises to be an amazing movie (no, not the new Potter universe film). The movie is called The Fault in Our Stars and is based on the best selling book of the same title by John Green. If you didn't already know, I'm a Nerdfighter and rabid fan of John Green. For reference, or to figure out what the heck a Nerdfighter is, see my post here.

Finally watching one of John's movies head to the screen (Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns were all optioned by movie companies, but never made) is pretty exciting. John has been on set and keeps posting videos and photos. It's all so much fun to see come to life.

The Fault in Our Stars has been by far John's most successful book (although they have all been on the best sellers list. In fact, early this year, they were all on the best seller list at the same time). Many celebs have read TFiOS, it's been in magazines, and John's even been on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

So, it's pretty popular. It's also going to be an AMAZING movie and I can't wait. I wasn't too excited about the actress cast as Hazel Grace, but, meh, I'm giving her a chance. She WAS nominated for a Golden Globe, so I guess the bad acting on the "teen" show was due to poor writing!

I'm totally over here in my corner having a hipster moment. You know, I liked John Green before it was cool, I read TFiOS before it was the big time. Yeah, I'm cool like that.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!! (I know, I know, I just lost my cool points yelling like a fool).

What does this have to do with the cake I made?

Exactly....nothing.

However, read the book. You'll need cake after. I promise.

This cake is a wonderful fall recipe. It's sweet but spicy, moist and covered in a delicious streusel. It's great for dessert or for breakfast. 

  Drizzle with a bit of caramel topping to make it even more delicious.

Then... eat up! 

 Hello, my lovely Fall treat. I've missed you and your friends so.

 

Le yum.

And as they say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome,
Tina

If you haven’t already,  you can ‘like’ my Facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here, and you can follow me on instagram here.


Caramel Apple Cake 
recipe by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

Cake:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

Topping:

1/4 cup butter, cold
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease a 9x9 baking pan and set aside

For Cake:
Beat together melted butter, egg, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add in caramel topping. After incorporated mix in dry ingredients. Finally, fold in apples. Pour into prepared pan.

For Topping:
In a mixing bowl, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles peas. Sprinkle over prepared cake.

Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool, drizzle with caramel ice cream topping, if desired.

{Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats}

Bean will kill me for posting this, but the fact is, school starts here in just over one month.

One month? AREYOUSERIOUS? Yes, and that's just really, really dumb.

Maybe it's the fact that I only have one kid, I'm not sure, but I LOVE summer break. While my child is 16 and headed full steam ahead toward Junior year (talk about dumb! Junior  year? That's not possible!), we still  love hanging out together. In fact, this year we even made a Summer Bucket List.

At the beginning of Summer, I handed him a piece of paper and a pen and told him to write down what he wanted to do this summer. I typed it, printed it, and hung it on the refrigerator. I'm happy to say that the list is about 2/3 completed!

We still have to go on a picnic, have a board game -a-thon, go to the outlet malls, go to Comic Con (not THE Comic Con in San Diego though), finish the River Song episodes (we started), drive with no place to go, have a movie-a-thon, and go to Half Price Books.  Also, the last day of summer thing, obviously. Since Bean was little, on the day before school started, we go out to lunch and to the movies. Sometimes we end up at the cheap theater, sometimes, it's the regular one. We actually watched several movies we expected to not be great and LOVED on these days. Including Ratatouille and How to Train Your Dragon. This year we are hoping to hit up Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

Anyway, all too soon we will dragging out that dreaded backpack and heading off to school.

When Bean was young, one of his favorite lunchbox treats were Reese's Krispie Treats. They were pre-packaged treats you bought alongside regular Krispie Treats (but not made my Kellogg's). Then, poof. Gone. I looked everywhere for them over the years before I finally gave up. I even tried to google a photo to post here. I found nada. WHAT IS THIS MAGIC? I know they existed. I ATE THEM, people!! They were real. And delicious. Does anyone else remember these?

They were little rectangles of peanut butter krispie treats with chocolate bottoms.

They aren't hard to make at all, of course, but buying them was so much easier. I enjoy making them now as to not have all the icky additives and preservatives in the boxed treats.

What we are looking at here is your basic Krispie Treat recipe with peanut butter, then cooled, cut, and dipped in chocolate.

Easy.

Also, extremely popular. I made a batch last night for Bean's Pool Party (refer to Summer Bucket List), and there were 3 left, with only 8 kids here.

Super great for lunchboxes. Or Pool Parties. Or, really, any time because chocolate. And peanut butter.

Tina

P.S. Don't tell the kids, but SCHOOL IS COMING.


Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Adapted from Kellogg's

For the treats:

1/4 cup butter
10 ounces mini marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal (or store brand)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter


Prepare dish, spray lightly with cooking spray and set aside. You can use a 9x13 for thinner treats (like mine) or an 8x8 for thicker treats.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. When melted, add marshmallows. Remove from heat. Stir until fully melted. Add in peanut butter. Stir until well combined. Add cereal and mix until fully coated.  Press into pan. Allow to cool completely. Cut into squares.

For the chocolate:

Chocolate bark or chocolate chips
(I much prefer chocolate bark for dipping)

Melt in microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until fully melted.

Dip each square into chocolate and then place on well greased cooling rack (with paper towels under to catch drips) or onto parchment paper. Allow chocolate to cool and harden.

Enjoy.

Makes approx 24 treats, depending on size.

{Raspberry Shortbread Crusted Brownies}

Ok, confession time.

My favorite cookies? Plain jane.

Sugar. Butter. Shortbread.

I don't need that extra stuff. Delicious, pure flavors. That's what I like.

Shortbread cookies are probably my favorite. I love the rich, butteriness of them.

I was recently invited to join the Ambassador Program for Walkers Shortbread. The awesome news here is that Walker's was the brand I already buy!

Here's a little info about Walkers:

The brand is imported directly from Scotland. The company was started in 1898 by Joseph Walker. It is still family- owned & ran today. They bake their shortbreads, cakes, traditional cookies, oatcakes, and puddings in the village of Aberlour in the Highlands of Scotland.

Authentic Scottish Shortbread? YOU BETCHA.

What I love most about Walkers' is that their shortbread products are guaranteed to contain no GMOs, preservatives, hydrogenated fats. In addition, no antibiotics or bovine growth hormones are given to their grass fed cows.

The classic shortbread is made of only FOUR ingredients: Flour, Sugar, Butter, and a pinch of Salt.

I love that. Seriously.


Walkers Shortbread products are also 100% vegetarian and certified Kosher OUD.


 My first shipment from Walkers contained Raspberry Thins. I knew right away what I wanted to make.

The raspberry in these cookies (biscuits? I want to feel Scottish, so, I'm going with biscuits!) is intensely real tasting. No 'fake' raspberry taste. They smell amazing.

What pairs perfectly with raspberries? Why, chocolate of course!

I decided to make a Raspberry Crusted Shortbread Brownie.

Super easy to do. Just pulverize your biscuits, add a bit of sugar, flour, and butter to make a crust. Press into an 8x8 pan. Then, whip up this 1 pan brownie from my friend Darla, at Bakingdom. I love her recipe because it has the slightly crisp crust and the deep, fudgey middle. Yum.

After cool, dust with a little powdered sugar & top with fresh whipped cream if you wish! You could also top with fresh raspberries.

Honestly, I intended to put a chocolate glaze on these, it it was NOT needed. They are so good as is!

The biscuit I topped the brownie with is the Vanilla Shortbread, which is not only delicious, but a really lovely looking cookie.

Walker has extended an offer to my readers! You can get 20% off your purchases made at www.walkersus.com when you use my promo code #SBBSPRING until May 24, 2013. This code excludes sale products.

I think you'll love these all natural, delicious biscuits as much as I do!

You know what makes brownies even better?

Shortbread.

You know what makes shortbread crusted brownies even better better?

Raspberries.

Yeah.

Tina

As part of the Walkers Blogger Buzz Ambassador program, I was sent this product to review. However, opinions expressed are my own.

Raspberry Shortbread Crusted Brownies

Preheat oven to 350 F

For the crust:

1 package (4.2 oz) Walkers Raspberry Shortbread Thins
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Pulverize the cookies in a food processor. Stir in the melted butter, flour, and sugar until well mixed. This should be a 'wet sand' texture.

Press into a greased 8x8 glass dish. Set aside.

For the Brownies:
(recipe by Darla of Bakingdom)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup  unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together the cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. When butter is melted, remove from heat and mix in sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Slowly, whisk the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture.

When well combined, pour batter on top of the shortbread crust.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean with only a few crumbs clinging to it. Allow to cool totally before cutting and serving.

P.S. If you haven’t already,  you can ‘like’ my Facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here, and you can follow me on instagram here.

· 

{Neapolitan Brownie Bites}

This story has nothing to do with anything Neapolitan. 

It's about my Mamma. That's Mam-maw. My grandmother.

You can read more about her here.

Next Monday, April 28, 2013, she will be 93 years old. Yes, Nintey-Three.

She's a spitfire. I love her sooooo much & when I grow up, I want to be just like her.

On Sunday we are having a cookout for her birthday and I'm making her favorite cake- Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I bought her a huge angel for her garden (3'). She loves angels and gardening, so it seemed like a win win. 

I wish you all could meet her. She's just the best. Ever.

And she's darn funny too!

I took this photo of her in December when she was over. She loves my dogs, Jingle and Luna, who she calls 'boys'. She always says, "Oh, I know they are girls, but I just call them my boys!". Hilarious.

I'm blessed not only to know this incredible lady, but to call her my grandmother.

Wishing her the happiest of birthdays!

Also, I made these.

Like I said, they have nothing to do with my Mamma.

Oh, she'd like them, I know she would, but I just had to dedicate today's post to her!

These little gems are white bottom brownies with strawberry buttercream.

Easy & delicious.

This is the most amazing brownie recipe. It's super easy too. They are moist and fudgey, but they hold together well enough for you to cut them however you like.

For these, I cut the brownie into a circle, dipped in white chocolate, and topped with the icing.

Cause yummy.

Want more Neapolitan? You HAVE to go see the totally adorable (and delish) Neapolitan Sugar Cookies Darla made over at Bakingdom!

Tina

P.S. If you haven’t already,  you can ‘like’ my Facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here, and you can follow me on instagram here.

Neapolitan Brownie Bites

For the brownies:
recipe by Darla @ Bakingdom

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour and 8 x 8 inch glass baking pan.

Combine the cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl; put aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Once butter is melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sugar until combined. One at a time, add the eggs, mixing well after each. Stir in the vanilla. Whisk in the dry ingredients until well combined. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it. Allow brownies to cool completely before dipping/icing.


After allowing brownies to totally cool, cut into desired shape & dip the bottoms in melted white chocolate. Place on parchment paper/wax paper/foil to dry.

When dry, top with Strawberry Buttercream.


For the Strawberry Buttercream:
Recipe by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup finely crushed berries
1 Tablespoon heavy cream OR 1 Tablespoon melted and lightly cooled white chocolate

Beat butter until fluffy. Add powered sugar and mix well. Beat in the heavy cream, or melted chocolate*. (If using chocolate, be sure to add it WHILE the mixer is going.)  Add in the berries. Mix until combined.

 *the wateriness of the berries tends to 'break' the buttercream. The heavy cream or melted chocolate will bind it back together.

{ Gooey Cheesecake Squares }

Ever have one of those trippy moments as an adult where you are just like, "Wait... whattttttt?". You know, the ones that leave you feeling as confused as Bill and Ted on their Excellent Adventure?

"Whoa... duuuuuuude."

I had one of those a few weeks ago.

I was out to lunch with my friend Jackie. She was one of my best friends at church growing up. She recently moved back home and we try to get together about once a month for lunch. 20 years had passed since Jacks moved away & we lost contact, but when she moved back, it felt like yesterday.
We always have way too much fun together.

Jacks and I were sitting there talking about the good ole days of Sunday School. We LOVED our teacher. Kids could not wait to hit Jr. High so they could be in Joyce's class. Joyce was legendary. She was just generally great. We loved her parties and other all her other fun activities. Her Sunday School lessons were never boring. She made coming to church fun at an age when it, let's be honest here, often isn't. Grades 7-12 were the primo time to be a kid in Sunday School at our church, thanks to her.

I am now the Jr High/High School Youth Leader/Sunday School teacher (along with our Associate Minister, Robby). Now, I don't wanna sound big headed or anything, but the kids love me. The main difference, however, is my maturity level. Joyce was very mature. I'm a 3 year old. Ok, fine, I'm a 13 year old. I geek out over the same things the kids do. I listen to the same music. I watch the same shows. I read the same books.

And apparently... they like that.

Except Bieber. I'm sorry. That's where we part ways.

I'm still the adult, but I'm just cool like that. ;)

Plus, I bring them baked goods.

Surely, that's not why they love me though. 

Right? 

RIGHT??

Anyway, as we were sitting there talking, it all hit me.

"Jacks! I'm JOYCE!"

Jacks: "Yes, you are."

When did this happen? When did I become a grown up? Who let me be in charge of other humans? WHY did they let me be in charge of other humans?? Are they SURE they want me to be in charge of other humans???

It's all so... well... trippy.

What you need to know upfront here though, is that our youth grouppers are amazing. I'm not sure how we got lucky enough to get the group of kids we got, but we did. They are smart, witty, well behaved, and just generally phenomenal kids.

And since I promised them mention:

Eric, Gabby, Caitie, Jarrett, Emily, Danny, Seth, Alyssa, Lauren, Dare, Alex, Tate, PJ, and Katrina... and also to our newbies:

Robby and I love you guys. Thanks for being awesome.

Ugh. Mushy stuff. Grody.

Moving on.

What does that all have to do with this recipe?

Very little.

Except that I got this recipe from one of the Bean's old Sunday School Teachers.

This is a very rich and tasty little treat. It goes FAST whenever I make it. Even people who don't like cream cheese love this puppy.

It's fast. It's easy. You'll wanna make it.

Often.

So, thanks, Sharon!

Gooey Cheesecake Squares

Base:

1 box Yellow Cake Mix

1 stick butter

1 egg

Topping:

1 package cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

In a mixing bowl, add the cake mix, melted butter, and 1 egg.  Beat until it forms a dough.

Press this into a lightly greased 9x13 pan or dish. This will be a play-doh consistency.

In mixing bowl again, add the cream cheese and eggs. Mix until well combined. Add the powered sugar, mix on low until incorporated.

Pour over the dough layer.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until the edges are brown.

Dust with powdered sugar.

Allow to cool & then cut into squares.

~Joyce

Wait. I mean Tina. Yes, yes, I'm Tina.

~Tina

{ Peanut Butter Cheerio Treats }

Now, we all know about Rice Krispie Treats. I mean, really. Those are about as lunchbox standard as PB&J Sandwiches.

But Cheerio Treats are probably not quite as common.

You know how much of a joke school lunches are, right? It's been told and retold in TV, books, and movies. Sadly, a lot of the time it's true. School lunches are BAD. That can be said of the Bean's High School Cafeteria. He packs. EVERY.DAY.

However, when I was in elementary school, our lunches were DEEELISH. So much was made from scratch then, not over processed, frozen foodsicles.

One of our (and by our, I mean EVERYONE'S) favorite things were Cheerio Treats. It was just so exciting to see that on the lunch menu! My mom, who was the President of the PTO for 910 years, asked Alberta, our head cook for the recipe.

I adapted it just a smidge, by adding vanilla, and a little more peanut butter & butter.

Now, I shall share it with you.

It's pretty much just as easy as making Krispie treats. 

What you'll need:


Peanut Butter Cheerio Treats

1 Bag Mini Marshmallows

1/4 Cup Butter

3/4 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

5 Cups Cheerios (or other sweetened oat cereal)

Melt butter in large pan on stovetop.

Add in mini marshmallows. Stir constantly until melted. 

 Remove from heat & add vanilla

 and peanut butter

Stir until glossy.

Pour in your Cheerios. 

I actually used these, by Quaker, because they are tooooooooooo adorable.

Press into a greased 13x9 inch pan & allow to cool.

Cut & Serve.

Or..... melt up a little chocolate and drizzle over.

You know you want to.

A couple weeks ago, I showed the cute little heart shaped cereal on my Facebook page. One of my school friends said I should make these.

 

See, I'm not kidding. They were a huge hit!

So, Lora, this post is for you. Hope they bring back some memories!


Tina

{ Can You Handle S’more? }

So, my last post was about S'mores. If you scroll down, you can see it.

If your finger is out of shape and just can’t handle the scroll, I’ve linked it here, as well.

You are welcome.

When left alone, with graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows, my mind started to wander.

Or wonder, depending on how I look at it.

I needed a snack to take to church (to a group of chocolate hungry teenagers, no less), and I had little time to prepare.

Always a good thing to shove at teens?

Brownies.

It’s just a fact of life.

Good news? Brownies are fast. Gotta love something you can plop into a pan and not worry about.

I’ve made my brownies with fudge glaze for them before. So, I wanted to do something different.

This is back to where my mind started to wander (and wonder).

S’more Brownies!

I’m sure I’m not the only person to think of it. Most likely far from it… but, I’m posting this anyway.

Because I can. :D

Needed:

1 box or recipe for a 13x9 pan of brownies

3 (or more) full sized Hershey Bars, broken into small pieces

6 graham crackers, broken into small pieces

2 cups (or more) mini marshmallows

If you remember from my last post, I had those new square mallows. I didn’t have minis. I used them anyway. 

Minis would cooperate better.

And spread more marshmallowy love.

Break up the crackers, and the Hershey bars. Throw into a bowl with the marshmallows and toss to mix well.

Bake brownies according to directions, but with about 5-8 minutes remaining, remove from oven, cover with this topping, then finish baking.

This will allow enough time for the chocolate to melt, and the mallows to brown without over baking.

Allow to cool, cut, and if you are serving teenagers… STAND BACK.

I wouldn’t want you to lose an appendage. 

ooey, gooey, messy goodness.

If you want to take it a step further (toward sugar comas), you can make this fudge glaze I mentioned earlier, and drizzle on top when fully baked.

(The recipe is near the end of that post)

I decided to do just that after I took the photos. 

As far as I know, no sugar comas were induced.

Printable Recipe

Tina