Pink Cake Mix Cookies

In keeping with my very busy schedule, I now present to you another super-quick and easy recipe:Cake Mix Cookies!

What could be cuter than pink cookies? These are made with a strawberry cake mix, but you can use any cake mix and add food coloring if you like. I also added white chocolate chips, which really made these cookies stand out. For the best taste, I usually go for butter flavored or yellow cake mix. This time I opted for strawberry to up the fun-factor. I have made this recipe countless times. I actually make more cookies from cake mixes than I do cakes! They may not be the prettiest looking baked good but they are really really tasty. Oh yeah, added bonus: they are the chewy type of cookie too!

Cake Mix Cookies
Makes 24 | Adapted from Food.com

1 (18.25 oz) cake mix (any flavor)
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk (evaporated milk if you have it)
1 cup chocolate/white chocolate chips (optional)
food coloring (optional)

In a large bowl mix cake mix, butter, egg and milk. Shape dough in a ball. Chill for 2 hours. Roll out to 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface. Cut out with a floured cookie cutters. Place 2" apart on a cookie sheet that has been very lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees F for 6-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Easy Faux Petit Fours

"Petit Fours" literally means "Small Oven". French always makes everything sound fancier and prettier, doesn't it? These classy little cakes are traditionally eaten after a meal, served with coffee or tea. Please excuse the poor quality of the photos as they were taken with my Blackberry. I left my camera in a different purse that day.





The version I'm posting here is a fun, kid-friendly one. It is easy to make and relies on storebought vanilla frosting that you liquify in the microwave and tint with food coloring. Dip your cake cubes in to coat them and you are done! Easy and really really cute. We went all out with the color palette here as you can see.



Easy Faux Petit Fours
Makes 4 dozen cubes

1 recipe Classic Pound Cake <--click for recipe
1 can storebought vanilla frosting (not whipped)
food coloring
toothpicks

1. Cut the cooled pound cake into 1" cubes. Try to cut them as evenly as possible for the prettiest petit fours.

2. Scoop some frosting into a small bowl. Add a couple drops of food coloring and microwave for 15-20 seconds to melt. Stir to combine coloring.

3. Pierce a cake cube with the toothpick and dip it into the frosting to coat fully. Let the excess drip off. Place cubes on a cooling rack for a few hours to let the frosting set fully.

Peanut Butter Cake Mix Cookies

This is an easy and fast recipe for peanut butter cookies. They start with a yellow cake mix (but if you are feeling adventurous, you might want to try devil's food cake mix!). They are chewy, especially if you take care to underbake them. My favorite parts were the caramellized, slightly crisp edges that surrounded the chewy centres of the cookies.

These come from a really cute little book called "101 things to do with a cake mix". Amazon users rate this as 4 1/2 stars! With recipes for brownies, cookies, bundt cakes, etc. you will never use the recipe on the back of the box again.



Peanut Butter Cake Mix Cookies
adapted from 101 Things to do with a Cake Mix

1 package (18.5 oz) yellow cake mix
1 cup peanut butter (either creamy or chunky)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the cake mix into a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add peanut butter, oil, eggs, and water. Mix until well blended.

2. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly using a fork dipped in water if desired.

3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cookies set on cookie sheet for 2 to 3 minutes before carefully removing from the cookie sheet to cool on wire racks.

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Light and flaky and so good with soup or made into elegant little tea sandwiches or even just plain. Red Lobster's popular little biscuits have inspired many variations of this copycat recipe floating around the internet. I have tried a couple of them but this version is my favorite. I am not usually one to use pre-made mixes, but I really like the results you get from the Bisquick. I have heard that Red Lobster uses butter flavored shortening. I have also heard of other people using Mrs. Dash in these biscuits instead of the garlic powder/parsley. Try them once then make them your own.

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Makes 12 | adapted from Food.com

2 1/2 cups bisquick baking mix
1 cup cheddar cheese; finely grated
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Combine Bisquick with cheddar cheese, milk, 2 tablespoons of butter that has been melted in the microwave, and 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder in a medium bowl. Mix until well-combined.

3. Drop approximately 1/4-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Combine 1/4 cup butter with 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, parsley flakes and salt. Brush this mixture over the tops of each unbaked biscuit.

5. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

Sugar Cookie Streusel Bars

These bars start out with a sugar cookie mix. They are so quick and easy to throw together. I am not usually one to use cookie mixes since cookies are so easy to make from scratch. I made these one morning when I was at my boyfriend's house. I was in a baking mood and he didn't have any baking stuff beyond a package of cookie mix and some jam. My bf likes to sleep in while I'm used to getting up at 6:30 AM! Total time: 35 mins including baking. Total dishes used : 1 bowl, 1 wooden spoon.

They turned out looking really pretty and tasted deceivingly homemade. The sweet jam layer added a burst of color as it peeked out from between the sturdy cookie base and crumbly topping. One of my bf's friends said it reminded him of a fruit pizza.



Sugar Cookie Streusel Bars
8-9" square pan

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam (or any fruit jam)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray bottom of 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, flour, almond extract and egg until dough forms. Press half of dough into bottom of pan; bake 15 minutes. Spread jam over base. Crumble remaining dough over jam.

3 Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 2 hours. For bars, cut into 5 rows by 5 rows.

Cake Mix Sugar Cookies

When I mixed up this dough, it looked really sticky and I was concerned that it would not firm up enough to roll out. Well, fight the urge to add more flour!!! A couple of hours in the fridge and it was perfect for rolling out and cutting into shapes. For quicker cookies you could easily refrigerate in logs then do a slice 'n bake cookie.



Cake Mix Sugar Cookies
Makes 24 | Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 (18.25 oz) cake mix (yellow or butter is my fave)
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dump all ingredients into a bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until fully combined. Drop by tablespoonful onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden around edges.

Candy Bar Bars

With their crispy, buttery, sweet crust, these are more like candy than like cookies. They remind me of Twix bars - gooey caramel on top of a cookie base covered in chocolate. Using a cake mix for the base made the process go really quickly while creating a nice, sturdy base for all that caramel and chocolate to rest on. The recipe comes from one of my favorite books called Bars and Squares: More than 200 Recipes.

Just a little heads up: When I went to remove these from the pan, my heart just about stopped. I thought they were totally and completely stuck to the pan and I would be left with a pile of cookie crumbs rather than cookie bars. There was no way I could have cut these in the pan. I ended up scoring the top as deeply as I could then breaking the bars along the scored lines. I often skip the step of lining my pans with parchment, but for these bars I definitely, definitely recommend lining your pan.

Candy Bar Bars
9 x 13 inch pan | adapted from Jill Snider

1 pkg white or yellow cake mix (18.25 oz)
3/4 cup butter, melted

14 oz. soft caramels, unwrapped (approx 60 pc)
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line VERY WELL a 9 x 13 inch pan. Do not skip this step!
2. Combine cake mix with melted butter. Press into prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.
3. While crust is baking, melt the soft caramels, milk and butter together, stirring frequently. Stir in powdered sugar and walnuts. Spread evenly over hot crust and bake for 5-10 minutes.
4. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let it sit for a few minutes to soften the chips then spread the chocolate out evenly over the bars with an offset spatula. Score them deeply to make it easier to break into pieces once it is fully cool (several hours).

3 Minute Microwave Brownies

This recipe has given me new-found respect for my microwave. I was skeptical but now know that it's true - you can make delicious single-serving brownies in the microwave in under 5 minutes. All you do is dump the ingredients in a mug or microwave safe bowl, mix them to combine, microwave for 1-3 minutes and TADA! Throw a scoop of ice-cream on top (I opted for Haagen Daz Coffee ice-cream) and dessert is served.



Note: They are best served immediately and eaten with a spoon. I'm not sure how good they would be once they have cooled, but when they are eaten warm they are fudgy, gooey and yet somehow manage to have the classic slightly crispy outer crust. I swear, it's like magic! I cannot wait to try these using white chips or butterscotch and adding nuts.

Microwave 3 Minute Brownies
1 serving

2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp water (might need more if your batter seems dry)
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp chocolate chips

Stir all ingredients together in a small microwave safe mug or bowl. Microwave for 1-3 minutes depending on how fudgy you like them. [I did mine for 1.5 minutes and it was perfect.]

Chocolate Syrup Coffee Cake

You can tell I'm super-busy when my baking starts to rely more on doctoring cake mixes and canned crescent rolls. I'm a huge proponent of baking from scratch, but life has been passing by so fast that sometimes a girl's just gotta cheat a little. If you are planning on using a cake mix anyway or if you need to make a cake quickly, I highly recommend this recipe. Your reward for all your "hard work" is a very vanilla-y, very moist and very chic tube cake with a swirl of chocolate syrup running through the middle. I love the way it split down the middle and has a tight crumb similar to that of pound cake. It even looks homemade! Chocolate Syrup Coffee Cake 1 Bundt | Cake Mix Magic 1 box (18.25 oz.) yellow cake mix 1 pkg vanilla instant pudding 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup vegetable oil 4 large eggs 1/2 cup chocolate syrup 1. Place a rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 10" tube pan with vegetable oil spray then dust with flour. Shake out excess flour and set pan aside. 2. Place cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with electirc mixer on low for 1 min. Stop and scrape down sides of bowl. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 min. more. Batter should look thick and smooth. Pour half of the batter into the pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Pour the chocolate syrup evenly over the batter, making sure not to let the syrup touch the sides of the pan. Pour the remaining batter over the syrup and swirl gently with a knife, making sure to keep the chocolate syrup away from the sides of the pan. 3. Bake for 55-60 min. Remove from oven, cool for 20 min. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto a rack then invert onto another rack so that the cake is right side up. Cool completely. Serve, no frosting needed.

Pumpkin Pecan Braid

This pretty braid gets a head-start from the use of Pillsbury Crescents. It's one of those recipes where the end product is more impressive than the effort required to produce it. The crescents have a fragrant pumpkin filling and tender pecans. We enjoyed it both fresh from the oven as well as for breakfast the next morning. Once cooled, they are easy to transport hold their shape nicely when sliced.

If you had the time and the inclination you could make your own dough from scratch or try this Copycat recipe for Pillsbury Crescents.

On the topic of Clone or Almost Famous recipes, I want to remind you lovely bloggers about my cook-along club which started last month: The Copycat Club. It features clones of famous favorites in a monthly round-up. I will be doing the next one on the 7th of November, so please send me any blog posts - old or new - to be included. I will post a pic of your creation with a link to your blog in the round-up post. Click Here to view October 2010's round-up. There were some great recipes posted! I also just got my copy of More of America's Most Wanted Recipes and I'm excited to try some of the P.F. Chang dishes and the Cheesecake Factory pastas!

Pumpkin Pecan Braid
Pillsbury

3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg, separated
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1/2cup powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milk
1 tablespoon chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Mix pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and egg yolk. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans.

2. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough onto cookie sheet; firmly press edges and perforations to seal. Press to form 13x7-inch rectangle. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough onto cookie sheet. Press to form 13x7-inch rectangle. Spread filling in 3 1/2-inch-wide strip lengthwise down center of dough rectangle to within 1 inch of ends.

3. With scissors or sharp knife, make cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle just to edge of filling. Fold strips at an angle across filling, overlapping ends and alternating from side to side. Beat egg white in small bowl until foamy; brush over dough.

4. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Combine powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl to drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the braid and sprinkle with chopped pecans before serving.

MM: Overloaded Caramel Pecan Brownies

I am proud to be guest-hosting Magazine Mondays this week while Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice is on holidays. MM is a casual, laid back group and an effective way to get you cooking through your pile of magazines. To have your post included, just email it to me (starrysugar{@}hotmail{dot}com) for today's entry and to the following co-hosts for the dates specified. Your post doesn't have to be on a Monday although the round-ups are done on Mondays.



Tina on August 30th (e-mail entries to hexandkobe{@}yahoo{dot}com)
Janie on September 6th (e-mail entries to jtray4{@}mac{dot}com)



For my own MM submission, I did a shortcut (ie. Cake Mix) recipe from Taste of Home's Holiday Annual 2006. Beneath a layer of ooey-gooey caramel lies fragrant toasted pecans atop a fudgy brownie base. Prior to today, I narrow-mindedly thought that a warm, gooey brownie was the only way to reach brownie bliss. Well, that school of thought went out the window after I tried a COLD turtle brownie.

Here's what happened: I put the baked brownies into the fridge to speed up the cooling so I could cut them into squares faster and could therefore eat them faster. Then I got busy and forgot all about them. By the time I remembered, they had been chilled all the way through. I was disappointed for a split second, and then I tasted one. They were DELICIOUS! The caramel sandwiched in the middle was still smooth and soft but now had a little more 'chew', held the pecans in place perfectly and and provided more textural contrast to the moist brownie layers. Chilling also helps these bars hold together better. They can be messy if you try to eat them warm or even at room temp. (Recipe at the bottom of this entry).

Check out the other delicious treats below, fresh from the oven of my fellow MM-ers.

Catherine of "Buttery Bakery" made:
Zucchini-Pecan Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting from Bon Appetit, August 2010.

Janet of "Tastespace" made:
Wild Rice Pudding with Rhubarb Compote from Canadian Living.

Janie of "Panini Girl" made:
Bombay Sliders with Garlic Curry Sauce from Bon Appetit, March 2007.

Ranjani of "Four Seasons of Food" made:
Barley Risotto with Eggplant, Summer Squash, and Tomatoes from Cooking Light, September 2009.

Melissa of "It’s the Way She" made:
Pink Grapefruit Sorbet from Cooking Light, April 2010.

Brenda of Brenda's Canadian Kitchen made Salisbury Steak from Cook's Illustrated Magazine "American Classics" special interest publication.

Patricia of ButterYum made a Quick Lemon Mousse from Everyday Food, May 2010.

Janice of Kitchen Heal Soul made Tomato Tarte Tatin from Bon Appétit, August 2010

Joanna of Go Ahead and Snicker made Mark Bittman's Almost Meatless Sloppy Joe from Cooking Light, May 2010

Allyson of Retorte made Sour Cream Chocolate Crumb Cake from the current issue of Canadian Living.

Thanks everyone!!!

Overloaded Caramel Pecan Brownies
9x13 pan | Taste of Home's Holiday 2006

1 package (18.25 ounces) chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk, divided
75 caramels
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Combine the cake mix, butter and 1/3 cup milk. Spread half of the mixture into a greased 13x9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a microwave, heat caramels and remaining milk, uncovered, on high for 2-3 minutes or until caramels are melted; stir until smooth. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with pecans and chocolate chips. Drop reserved cake mixture by tablespoonfuls over the top.
Bake for 10 minutes; remove from the oven and smooth top. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until top appears dry and is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack (or in the fridge to speed up the process). Cut into bars.

Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake

This is embarrassing and totally ridiculous. I spent $70 on baking ingredients at Walmart yesterday. The crazy thing is that even though it sounds like a lot of money to spend, I came home with double the amount of stuff I could have bought in Canada. I used to think that the $20 limit on dairy products from the USA coming back into Canada was pretty high but now I find myself exceeding it and hoping they don't ask me too many questions about the break-down of my spending. Did you know you are only allowed 2 dozen eggs per person?

Other than spending way too much and feeling guilty about it now, I had an amazing day. My 'day of freedom'! I felt like a teenager again. My ex had my son for the weekend and I had nobody to be accountable to but MOI. It felt amazing. I haven't felt so light and carefree in a very very long time. I went where I wanted to, I ate where/when/what I wanted to, I turned off my cell phone and basically disappeared for 13 hours. OK, enough about my trip, back to this delicious cake-mix-based cake.

The recipe comes from a Duncan Hines book that is quite similar to The Cake Mix Doctor. However, I dare say it's better! After all, it bears the Duncan Hines name on it and aren't they THE cake mix people? If you're in a cake mix mood (or come across some cake mix on sale like I did at Walmart), try this recipe. It works with any kind - yellow, white, butter pecan, etc.

**Tip** Make extra streusel topping and store in the freezer. Then it's easy and right at your fingertips when you want to add that little extra to muffins. It's also a time saver (and saves me from dragging out the food processor) when you find yourself unexpectedly in the mood to make coffee cake!

I brought this cake to work and a few comments I got were:
"Shh.... I had 4 pieces, it's so good!"
"OMG. I love you and hate you all at the same time for bringing this in."
"There goes my diet!"



Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake
9x13 inch cake | adapted from Duncan Hines' Cake Mix Magic

1 pkg (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding powder
4 eggs
1 1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup oil
1 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9 x 13 pan.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients into a batter. Pour into prepared pan, spreading out to the edges.
3. Make streusel by mixing melted butter into flour brown sugar and rolled oats mixture so it resembles slightly clumpy wet sand. Sprinkle over batter evenly.
4. Bake 35-45 minutes until toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. This is a soft and tender cake so it might be a bit crumbly if you don't let it cool enough.

Fast Orange Rolls (No Yeast)

No yeast required! The dough comes together in seconds in the food processor.
Perfect for a quick morning fix when you just don't have the patience to wait for yeast to rise. These rolls get their tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture from the pureed cottage cheese and buttermilk. The filling/frosting is heavenly. I was tempted to call these sunshine rolls because of their bright color from the flecks of orange zest.

Fast Orange Rolls (No Yeast)
Makes 12 | Adapted from Beth Hensperger

Cottage Cheese Dough:
1 cup cottage cheese, well drained
1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/3 cup milk and 1 tsp vinegar)
1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

Filling/Frosting:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
zest of one orange
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp fresh orange juice

Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9" springform pan.

Make the dough:
In a food processor, combine the cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together (don’t overprocess). The dough will be soft and moist. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with floured hands 4 or 5 times until smooth. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12"x15" rectangle.

Make the filling/frosting:
Blend the filling/frosting ingredients and beat until creamy. Spread 1/2 mixture evenly over dough.

Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan; they should fill the pan and touch slightly, but don’t worry if there are small gaps.

Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 28 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a spatula around the inside edge of the pan and remove the springform ring. Transfer the rolls to a serving plate and spread remaining filling/frosting on top.

Marbled Pecan Blondies

Another quickie recipe using a cake mix. I couldn't help myself - Betty Crocker cake mixes were on sale for $1 each, so I stocked up. I'm such a sucker for buying in bulk when things are on sale. Especially baking ingredients. I go through so much flour as I bake almost every day so when it goes on sale I buy a 2 or 3 bags. Same with sugar. I also find myself buying ingredients just because they are cheap, then finding myself in a rush for recipes to use them up before the best before date. Silly me.

I'm curious... How closely do you adhere to "best before" dates? I use them as a guideline but I often find that things are still good for a lot longer than the date on the package. What confuses me is the "sell by" date because then I really have no idea what the expiry date is! Hmmm... maybe I overthink such things?



These blondies are dense with a pleasantly chewy-sticky centre of caramel and pecans. If you eat them slightly warm, the chocolate is still gooey and melty. Mmmm. With their marbled topping they look dressed up with minimal effort. Cake mix doctored recipes are great because they offer so much instant variety. Switch the cake mix and suddenly you have a different recipe!

Marbled Pecan Blondies
9 x 13 pan

1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil

40 unwrapped soft caramels
2 tbsp whipping cream
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 cup semisweet chocolate or chips
1 cup white chocolate or chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. Combine cake mix with eggs and oil. Press into greased pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until almost fully cooked. Remove from oven but leave oven on.
3. Melt caramels with whipping cream in a heavy sauce pan over low-medium heat, stirring frequently. Stir in pecans then spread over base. Return to oven until base is fully cooked (5-10 more minutes).
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften chocolate then spread chocolate with an offset metal spatula, creating a marble pattern. Cool fully - several hours - before cutting. If you want to refrigerate these, make sure you score the chocolate top first or it will crack when you cut them.

Gooey Caramel Peanut Brownies

I bet you're all getting sick of my posts featuring caramel! I can't help it though... I'm such a sucker for caramel, butterscotch, dulce de leche... anything along those lines. That sweet, ooey-gooey-ness is MY ultimate comfort food.

I made these bars using a shortcut brownie mix for the base. I like to stock up on cake mixes and brownie mixes when they go on sale because even though I could easily whip up a batch from scratch, sometimes it's nice to indulge in super-processed out-of-a-box fare. To my defense, at least I doctored these to make them seem more home made! I usually have at least one yellow, one white, one chocolate/devil's food, one brownie mix in my pantry - for 'emergencies' - wink wink.

The bars are totally moist and fudgy, no cakey brownies here! They also have a nice dense, firm but chewy texture.

Caramel Peanut Brownies
9" x 13" pan

INGREDIENTS
1 pkg brownie mix & ingredients as needed to make mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1 cup coarsely chopped unsalted peanuts, divided

1 lb. caramels - about 60 pc.
3 tbsp heavy cream (or more as needed)
1/2 cup rice krispies

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

PROCEDURE
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. Make brownie mix as directed on box, omitting a tbsp or so of liquid so you hve a thicker batter. Stir in 1/2 cup peanuts. Pour into prepared pan. It should be quite a thin layer of batter - about 1/2". Bake until almost fully done - 20-30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt caramels with cream in a saucepan on low-medium heat until smooth. Stir in rice krispies. If mixture still seems too thick, add more cream bit by bit. It should be about as thick as honey or Jell-o pudding. Spread over hot baked brownie and return to oven for 8-10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let sit for a few minutes to melt, then spread evenly with a metal spatula. Sprinkle immediately with remaining 1/2 cup chopped peanuts. Set aside to cool fully (overnight is good!). Do not refrigerate before cutting or they will be too hard to cut through.

Sticky Chewy Pecan Buns

I am not fond of using pre-made doughs or cake mixes, but I have a soft spot for Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. Having just gotten back from vacation in L.A., I wanted something easy and foolproof to start me back on the baking track.

Crescents are so versatile, there are so many things you can do with them ranging from sweet to salty, appetizer to entree. There are whole cookbooks on Crescent make-overs! These sticky chewy pecan buns are such an easy treat to throw together and they are absolutely decadent. The caramelized sugar around the edges combined with the buttery burst of flavor and crunch of the pecans. The key is to flip them immediately after they come out of the oven so that none og the topping gets a chance to stick to the pan. It's a good thing I buy tubes and tubes of this dough when it's on sale because nobody can stop at just one sticky bun.

Sticky Chewy Pecan Buns

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2 tbsp sugar
1 can (8 oz.) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 tbsp butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon and 1/4 cup butter. Spread mixture in bottom and up sides of 8" square pan. Sprinkle pecan over butter mixture.
2. In another small bowl, mix sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; set aside. Unroll dough and press perforations to seal. Press to form 12x8-inch rectangle. Brush dough with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar mixture.
3. Working width-wise, cut dough into 12 strips. Make 4 braids - 3 strips per braid and place side by side in prepared pan. (For bun-shapes: Starting with one short side, roll up tightly; pinch edge to seal. With serrated knife, cut into eight 1"-slices. Place each slice, over pecans in muffin cup.)
4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until deep golden brown. Immediately invert onto serving platter.