Hershey's Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

Hershey's Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

Makes about 30 cupcakes

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Frosting

(I used two batches to frost all my cupcakes generously)

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Never Bashful With Butter's easy Caramel recipe

1 Cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla

In the pan you'll place the butter, half of the cream and half of the sugar. bring mixture to a boil. When the mixture begins to thicken slightly, add the remaining sugar. bring to a full boil. when the mixture starts to thicken and turn a light brown colour, add the remaining cream and sugar.

turn temperature down to a few notches below medium. The mixture should remain boiling. stir constantly and do not allow the bottom to scorch. keep stirring and heating for about 10 minutes. when the mixture starts thickening up like pudding, remove from heat.

Let cool about 5 minutes (caramel will still be hot) or until the cupcakes are out of the oven.

Peach Brulee

Peach Brulee

     for one serving, but can easily be increased according to your needs

     adapted from Good Food on kcrw 

1 peach, cut in half with pit removed

2 spoonfuls brown sugar

2 spoonfuls sour cream, creme fraiche, yogurt or whipped cream

Turn on the oven’s broiler.  Cut peach in half, remove pit and place in a broiler safe pan, cut side up.  Sprinkle brown sugar over the tops of he peaches.  Place in the broiler, very close to the flame.  Stand by the oven, you don’t have time to check the mail.  Check the peaches every minute, the sugar will brown in about 2 minutes, if not sooner.  

Remove from the oven once the sugar has become brown and toasted.  Let cool for one minute.  Carefully place peach halves on a plate and dollop the center of the peach with a touch of sour cream or creme fraiche or yogurt.  Serve immediately.

Roasted Red Pepper Mayonnaise

Roasted Red Pepper Mayonnaise

(makes about 1 cup of mayonnaise)

1 large egg yolk

3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1 roasted red pepper, coarsely chopped ( I used the jarred variety.  Easy!)

3/4 cup canola or grapeseed oil

Combine egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice, and chopped roasted red pepper  in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.  Mix for about 30 seconds.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper and whirl again.  

With the machine running (I know it’s loud), gradually add the oil until the mixture starts to thicken and emulsify.  I added the oil in a steady, but very thin stream.  The mixture will start to emulsify at about the 2 minute mark.  Once it starts to emulsify, you can add the fat more quickly.  If the mixture is too thick for some reason, just blend in 1 teaspoon of boiling water to thin it.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.  Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.  Lasts for 3-4 days.  

The Best BLT

makes one sandwich

2 slices of your favorite bread, toasted

3-4 slices of tomato

2 leaves of butter lettuce, rinsed

4 -5 slices of crisp bacon

generous slather of roasted red pepper mayonnaise

Cook up bacon and drain of a paper towel.  Rinse lettuce leaves, and pat dry.  Slice tomato slices and let rest on a paper towel, allowing some of the moisture to be absorbed.  

Toast bread and slather with as much roasted red pepper mayonnaise as you like.  Top with bacon, tomatoes and lettuce.  Top with other slice of bread and you’re in business.

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

For the Bacon

10 slices of bacon

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and line with foil.  Arrange bacon in a single layer on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle generously with brown sugar.  Place in the upper third of the oven and bake until sugar is caramelized and bacon is brown and crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Immediately remove bacon slices using a pair of tongs.  Place them on a cutting board (not paper towels, they’ll stick!) to cool before chopping.  Once cool, chop the bacon into bite size bits and set aside.  

For the Waffles

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cups canola or grapeseed oil

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups buttermilk

*If you don’t eat bacon for some reason, try adding 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon to the batter.  Yum!

Set up your waffle iron on a level, clean surface and turn on to preheat.  

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar.  Whisk to blend.  In a  medium bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold.  Once almost fully incorporated, add the bacon bites.  Stir.  Try not to over mix the batter or the waffles will become tough.  It’s ok if a few lumps remain in the batter.  

Cook according to your waffle machine instructions.  

Serve with maple syrup and strawberries.

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes ~ will feed 4 hungry mouths. :)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

heaping 1/2 cup old fashioned oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

healthy pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

2 cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup golden raisins

oil or cooking spray (for cooking)

Step 1: In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter , maple syrup and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Fold in raisins and let batter set for a few minutes.
Step 2: Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan or spray with cooking spray. You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water,  when the drops start to dance its hot enough. 
Step 3: Pour 2 Tablespoons of batter onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Let cooked pancakes rest on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.