Jenn’s Cook Book

Imagine a vanilla cheesecake, drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with pecans. Now, imagine that cheesecake swirled in with dark chocolate brownie batter and baked to perfection. These are delicious Turtle Cheesecake Brownies from Brownie Mix Magic. All you need is a box of brownie mix, some cream cheese, caramel ice cream topping, and chopped pecans. This simple but decadent treat is my tasty tribute to National Chocolate Brownie Day.

1 box (19.5 oz) dark chocolate brownie mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
3 large eggs
8 oz (1 bar) cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 13×9 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine brownie mix with oil, water, and 2 eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are mixed. Spread into the bottom of a prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Beat in vanilla extract and remaining egg. Spread over brownie batter (it does not need to cover completely). Dollop caramel over batter. Drag a knife through brownie batter, creating a swirl pattern. Top with chopped pecans.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden and just set in the middle. Allow brownies to cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate if desired. Cut in to squares and enjoy.

There are tons of recipes out there for Baked Apples, so I’m certainly not reinventing the wheel here, but I did try my own take on a Fall classic. The original recipe came from Real Simple magazine, using nuts, brown sugar, and butter. I jazzed it up with some raisins, cinnamon, and a topping of caramel sauce. This would also be great with walnuts and dried cherries or sliced almonds and dried apricots, but I decided on chopped pecans and raisins. You could also substitute cardamon or ginger for cinnamon. Use firm apples that are good for baking such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Northern Spy, or Braeburn.

8 large apples, such a Braeburn
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/3 cup raisins or other dried fruit
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt  
4 tbsp butter
caramel sauce or topping

Preheat oven to 400F

Rinse apples in cool water and pat dry. Using a melon baller, scoop out core of apples leaving about 3/4 inch at the bottom.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, nuts, raisins, cinnamon, and salt. Spoon mixture into each apple. Top each apple with 1/2 tbsp butter. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender. Sprinkle water on the apples if too dry.

To serve, cut apples in half and drizzle with caramel sauce.

Shown below, drizzled with caramel sauce:

Another tasty recipe from Cake Mix Magic, this one using fresh apples and homemade caramel frosting (yes, folks, you read right: HOMEMADE caramel frosting…don’t worry, it’s really easy). Pecans are optional in this recipe, I didn’t use them, but don’t let that stop you. Make sure that you are using unsalted butter, it lets you control the salt content of the recipe. In this case, the salt is built into the cake mix.

1 box (18.5 oz) Spice cake mix
1/4 dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup peeled, chopped tart apple, such as Golden Delicious (about 1 large apple)
1 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350F and position rack in center of the oven. Set aside a 13×9 inch baking pan, coated in cooking spray if needed.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, brown sugar, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed for 1-2 minutes, until all dry ingredients are moist. Fold in apple pieces (peel and chop apple after beating batter to prevent browning).

Spoon dough into baking pan and spread into an even layer (dough will puff up as it bakes). If desired, sprinkle with chopped pecans, gently pressing them into the dough.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until bars are golden brown but still soft. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.

Caramel Frosting:

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Over medium heat, melt brown sugar with butter. Bring to a boil and add milk. Bring back to a boil and remove from heat.

Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Using a spoon, beat until smooth. Use while still warm (frosting will thicken as it cools).

This is a creamy and delicious dessert without artificial sweeteners, found in a cooking magazine called “Leftovers Makeovers.”

2 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 can (15 oz) sliced peaches, drained
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sour cream, optional

Preheat oven or broiler to 400F.

Prepare rice according to package directions. In a saucepan, combine cooked rice, milk, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mixture will begin to thicken. Stir a small amount of rice mixture into eggs, then add all to the pan. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Spread into a greased shallow 1 quart baking pan. Top with peaches.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons full over peaches. Bake or broil for 5-10 minutes or until peaches are warmed and lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve in bowls, sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-brown sugar. Top with sour cream if desired.

Other suggestions:
Try peach pie filling instead of sliced peaches (omit sour cream).
Instead of sour cream, top with whipped cream.
Drizzle peaches with caramel sauce before topping with brown sugar mixture.
Mix sliced peaches with an equal amount of cherry pie filling before covering rice mixture.
Top with fresh sliced strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries or cranberries (for tartness).
Serve with cold milk or hot cocoa.

From Nestle Toll House, a yummy dessert with a twist inspired by the popular ice cream:

2 cups (12 oz package) Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate morsels, divided
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup granulate sugar
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375F and grease a 13×9 inch baking pan.

Microwave 1 cup of the morsels in a medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave in 10- to 15-second intervals if morsels are not completely melted. Cool to room temperature. Combine flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Beat sugar, butter and vanilla in a large mixer bowl until crumbly. Beat in eggs. Add melted chocolate and beat until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread batter into prepared baking pan.

Bake 16 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. While batter is baking, mix remaining 1 cup morsels, miniature marshmallows and walnuts in a bowl.

Remove baking pan from oven and sprinkle with morsels mixture. Return to oven for 2 minutes or until marshmallows being to puff and melt. Cool in pan on wire rack for 20 to 30 minutes. Cut into bars with a wet knife. Serve warm.

Serving suggestion: serve with plain vanilla ice cream on the side, or go fancy and add hot fudge or caramel sauce on top.

How to make Caramel Apple Cider like a Starbucks barista, but better!

1 cup apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
caramel sauce
whipped cream, if desired

Warm the apple cider in a microwave safe container until at desired temperature(careful not to over heat). Place cinnamon stick in an empty coffee mug or tea cup. Pour warmed cider over cinnamon stick. Add whipped cream if using. Drizzle caramel sauce over apple cider (you can use the lattice design like Starbucks, or just a pretty swirl in the cup).

Serving suggestions: Molasses cookies or chilled pumpkin pie