Pillsbury Bake-Off Countdown: Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Tarts

Don't these little treats look darling? They taste just as good, since they're made with the following: chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate hazelnut spread, sweetened condensed milk, and hazelnuts. The cherry on top is what kills me, though! Recipe via Doris Rizza of Scottdale, Pennsylvania.

Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Tarts

• Prep Time: 30 Min
• Total Time: 1 Hr 30 Min
• Makes: 24 tarts

Ingredients

• 1 roll Pillsbury™ refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
• 3/4 cup Jif® Chocolate Flavored Hazelnut Spread
• 1/2 cup Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk (from 14-oz can)
• 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts (filberts)
• 12 maraschino cherries, halved, well drained

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with Crisco® Butter Flavor or Original No-Stick Cooking Spray.
2. Shape dough into 24 (1 1/4-inch) balls. Place 1 ball in each muffin cup. Bake 8 to 16 minutes or until light golden brown. Do not over bake.
3. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix hazelnut spread, condensed milk and hazelnuts until well blended. Shape into 24 (1-inch) balls.
4. Remove cookie cups from oven; cool 1 minute. Place 1 hazelnut ball in each cookie cup; press lightly. Top each with 1 maraschino cherry half. Cool completely in pan 30 minutes. Loosen with tip of knife; gently remove from pan. Store covered.

Note: the Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming in November! Check out my coverage of the 45th and 46th Bake-Off, and follow the recipes posted so far by clicking the bakeoff tag below.

Pillsbury Bake-Off Countdown: Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Filled Pretzels

It's pretty safe to say I am obsessed with this recipe.

It includes all of the major food groups: carbs, chocolate, salt, and peanut butter. What's missing? Cream? Nope, they have that too. They have everything, delivered in twisty-turny-yoga-pose-pretzel form.

It's super sweet too that the recipe comes from Elizabeth Bennett of Seattle, Washington--my former hometown!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Filled Pretzels

• Prep Time: 25 Min
• Total Time: 45 Min
• Makes: 6 pretzels

Ingredients

• 3/4cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 can Pillsbury refrigerated original breadsticks (12 breadsticks)
• 1egg yolk

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, peanut butter, cocoa, whipping cream and vanilla until well blended. Unroll dough on work surface; separate into 12 breadsticks. Pinch ends of 2 breadsticks together; repeat with remaining dough to make 6 long breadsticks. Press each breadstick to form 12x2-inch strip.
3. Divide chocolate mixture into 12 equal portions, about 1 rounded tablespoon each. Roll each portion into 6-inch long rope. Place 2 ropes down center of each breadstick strip. Fold dough lengthwise over chocolate ropes; press edges firmly to seal. Stretch each breadstick slightly. Shape rope into U-shape; cross ends, and place over bottom of U to form pretzel shape. Place seam side down on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining chocolate ropes and breadstick strips.
4. In small bowl, mix egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water with fork. Lightly brush egg mixture over pretzels; sprinkle each with a pinch of kosher salt.
5. Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Note: the Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming in November! Check out my coverage of the 45th and 46th Bake-Off, and follow the recipes posted so far by clicking the bakeoff tag below.

Pillsbury Bake-Off Countdown: Chocolate-Almond Butter Turtles

Seriously. Don't these sweet little things look like sweet morsels of pure magic?

Credit for these sweet little treats goes to Christine Southard of Noble, Oklahoma, who will be attending the Bake-Off next week!

Chocolate-Almond Butter Turtles

• Prep Time: 30 Min
• Total Time: 1 Hr 10 Min
• Makes: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 2/3 cup crunchy almond butter
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
• 24 caramels, unwrapped
• 24 milk or dark chocolate-covered almonds

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften.
2. In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Add almond butter and vanilla. Mix with wooden spoon, or knead with hands until well blended. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.
3. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High 45 to 60 seconds, stirring once, until chips can be stirred smooth. Spoon and spread 1 teaspoon chocolate on each cookie.
4. In another small microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and 1 1/2 teaspoons water uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring once, until caramels can be stirred smooth. Spoon about 1 teaspoon caramel in center of each cookie; top with almond. Store covered.

Note: the Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming in November! Check out my coverage of the 45th and 46th Bake-Off, and follow the recipes posted so far by clicking the bakeoff tag below.

Pillsbury Bake-Off Countdown: Golden Fruit Brioche Rolls

I love making people think I'm all fancy in the kitchen when really, I've just lazed around all day and baked something awesome in just 15 minutes. This clever recipe by Christine Wilson of Sellersville, Pennsylvania only takes 15 minutes to make, 45 minutes total (much of that is inactive, though). That means even if you've been watching Mad Men all night and just woke up, you could still get these together in time for brunch. WOO!

Golden Fruit Brioche Rolls

• Prep Time: 15 Min
• Total Time: 45 Min
• Makes: 12 rolls

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons golden raisins
• 1 can Pillsbury refrigerated crusty French loaf
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup whipped butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon orange extract

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray.
2. In medium bowl, pour 1 cup boiling water over apricots and raisins. Let stand 5 minutes; drain.
3. Lightly sprinkle work surface with Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour. Remove dough from can; cut 2-inch piece from one end; set aside. Cut remaining dough into 12 (3/4-inch thick) slices; press each slice to form 2 1/2–inch round. Spoon rounded teaspoonful of apricot mixture onto center of each round. Bring dough up around filling to cover completely; pinch edges together to seal; shape into ball. Place 1 ball seam side down in each muffin cup.
4. Cut reserved 2-inch piece of dough into 3 (about 3/4-inch) slices. Cut each slice into quarters; roll into balls. Place 1 ball on top of dough in each muffin cup; press in lightly. Brush with beaten egg. Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix butter, honey and orange extract until well blended. Serve warm brioche with orange honey butter.

Note: the Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming in November! Check out my coverage of the 45th and 46th Bake-Off, and follow the recipes posted so far by clicking the bakeoff tag below.

Nutty Good: Candied Walnuts by Old School Favorites

I get samples of products in the mail sometimes. Some I test out and forget. Others, I feel that I need to tell you about because they make me so incredibly happy.

Here's how it went down. This company called Old School Favorites tells me they'd like to send me some of their products: either their "Szauce", described as "an indulgent gourmet chocolate sauce that's handmade using a blend of Hudson Valley Fresh Cream, North Fork sea salt, Madagascar vanilla, Valrhona cocoa and organic stone ground Taza Chocolate", or their "Nutsz", described as "premium quality California walnuts blanketed in a sweet shell made from the finest organic New York State maple syrup and a pinch of North Fork sea salt. "

I probably responded with something like "sure, surprise me". And a few weeks later, I received a vacuum-packed bag of nuts. I'm sorry--nutsz.

I opened the pack and tested one out. Good golly, that tasted good. It was softer than most candied walnuts I've tried before, but not like, soggy soft. Maybe I'm not a candy purist, but I actually liked that it didn't threaten to tear the roof of my mouth or break my teeth. The maple flavor was a little different than what you'd expect in a candied nut--it made them a little more complex and cozy-tasting. I loved the salt--for me, something like maple syrup, which is so sweet, needs a little touch of salt to balance it out. I would have added it if they hadn't, so they saved me the trouble. 

Before the end of the day, I was basically using them on everything: atop ice cream, to make my Nanaimo bars even richer by serving them with a nut or three on the side as garnish, heck, even on a slice of toast with butter and a pinch of sea salt.

In short: I was impressed. The nuts (sorry, nutsz) are not cheap at $12 plus shipping, but you need a treat every now and again, don't you? And in a world where lattes are regularly over $5 now (when did that happen, btw?) it's not so terrible.

Buy online at the Old School Favorites website.

Latest Drawing / Art Posts on Craftsy

Woo! I've done a bunch of awesome art/painting/design tutorials on Craftsy recently. Care to develop your illustrative prowess? Well, you'll find plenty of info and awesomeness in these posts:

Transfer paper how-to

First, how to use transfer paper. You know how awesome parchment paper is in baking? This is just as awesome in art, though its use is quite different. You'll find that you can draw things you never thought you could when you get a little tracing help from this easy to use medium. Here's my primer on how to use the stuff.

Urban Sketching

What is urban sketching and how do you do it? You'll find a fun article I wrote about finding artistic inspiration in the big city, including ways to express the energy and buzz of the city in fun drawing and sketching exercises. Check out the urban sketching tutorial here. 

How to Make a Classic Sandwich Bread Loaf

This is the bread that kicked off my recent bread-making obsession. It's so simple you might start making fresh bread weekly, like I have been!! Once you master this one, you'll also want to try my honey-wheat variation.

Full recipe and photo tutorial here. 

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

Image: BitrebelsI'm amused and horrified by this Sta-Puft figure. (BitRebels)

Not sweet per se, but still a baked treat. The history of the Cornish pasty! (History.com)

How to make fake cupcakes. A valuable life skill! (CakeSpy for Craftsy)

Oatmeal banana bread pancakes. YES! (Whipped)

Master recipe for biscuits and scones. Yes! (NY Times)

No blurred lines here: a guide to different types of lines in drawing. (CakeSpy for Craftsy)

Who knew? Unexpected uses for honey. (Philly.com)

You knead to know: how to test yeast. (Taste of Home)

DIY Nutella. It's such a good idea. (CakeSpy for Craftsy)

Incredible white chocolate brownies. (The Perfect Brownie)

Caramel apple pie scones. Just absorb all of those things together. Add clotted cream. YUM! (United Cakedom)

Say hello to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (!) (Food World News)

I'm sorry, but did you miss these white chocolate candy cups filled with sugar cookie dough? Too much joy! (Crazy for Crust via CakeSpy)

It's early in the season, yes,, but I'm so into pannetone French toast. (Colavita)

The art of the conversation: how to draw people talking (CakeSpy for Craftsy)

Book of the week: Southern Biscuits by Nathalie Dupree. Because the south does biscuits best (no offense, rest of the world) and this is the bible of how to do biscuits right! Om nom nom.

Sweet Tip: You can Bake Extra Pie Filling in Ramekins

Let me say first of all that this is a public service announcement, because as a bona fide crust lover, I would never-ever suggest that you avoid crust (or carbs in general).

But, I understand that there might be times to go crust-less. For instance:

• You need to abide by a gluten-free diet.
• You don't like crust (I don't understand you, but I can appreciate that you exist).
• You made too much pie filling. It's not enough to fill a second crust, but enough that you don't just want to toss it. 

OK, so now I'll tell you the little factoid I discovered that you can keep in your back pocket for the next time you need it:

You can bake your pie filling in ramekins and it will turn out just fine.

I've done this several times in the past, with pumpkin, sweet potato, and Bob Andy pie. And each time, it's turned out just fine. It occurs to me that you could make a conscious effort to do this, too, mixing up a batch of filling and baking it all in separate ramekins for a sort of sweet souffle-like dessert.

Should you want to do this, all you need to do is the following:

1. Grab a few oven-safe ramekins.
2. Fill them with the pie filling of your choice. Mostly, but not quite, full.
3. Put them on a baking sheet and into the oven, heated to the same temperature called for in the pie recipe.
4. Bake, but for significantly less time than a pie would take. For instance, if a full pie takes 45 minutes to bake, check the ramekins at 10-15 minutes or so. Look for the same signals of doneness as you would in a pie: mostly set with a slight jiggle in the center, slight pulling away from the sides, et cetera.
5. Remove and let cool in the ramekins. Serve right in them once cooled. I like mine slightly warmed with cookies or ice cream, but it's nice plain, too.

What do you do with extra pie filling?

Butter Me Up: Three Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits

Three. That is the sum total of ingredients required to make delicious buttermilk biscuits from scratch. Want to learn more? Lucky you. The entire recipe (as well as an explanation of how it all works) can be found on Craftsy.