Twix!

It's no secret that I love chocoalte. . .and caramel. . .and cookies. . .and sweets in general. I saw an idea for these bars and had to figure out how to make them. So I started with a very basic short bread crust. It's buttery, and delicate, and VERY tasty. Topped it with a homemade caramel, and used an old stand by recipe for the topping. They are amazing! I hope you make them, eat them, and love them!

Homemade Twix Bars

COOKIE CRUST:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour

1. Mix together butter and sugar until creamy.

2. Mix in flour until course and crumbly, and then continue till it looks like a dough.

3. Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.

4. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Cool completely.

CARAMELY DELICIOUS LAYER:
1 1/2 cups butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp corn syrup
2 14oz cans of sweetened condensed milk

1. In a large pan, melt together all ingredients.

2. Once everything is melted, slowly bring to a boil. (STIR CONSTANTLY. . .if you don't, you'll have a very bitter, burnt, chunky mixture. Trust me on this one. Learned the hard way.)

3. Once mixture is boiling, let it boil for about 10 minutes, stirring the whole time. The caramel will slightly darken in color, and become very thick.

4. Pour over the top of the cooled Cookie Crust and refrigerate for about an hour and a half.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER TOPPING:
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup peanut butter

1. Melt all ingredients together and spread over caramel.

2. Let set until topping hardens, cut, and enjoy!

S'mores Brownies

S'mores Brownies

2 pkgs. graham crackers, (packs, not boxes) crushed

10 Tbsp melted butter

4 Tbsp sugar

1 box brownie mix plus ingredients to prepare.

6 Hershey's bars

1 bag of large marshmallows

1. Mix together crackers, butter, and sugar and pat into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

2. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

3. Prepare brownie mix as directed on box and pour over the crust.

4. Bake as directed on box.

5. When brownies are still hot top with Hershey's Bars and let melt. Once chocolate is melted spread evenly over the brownie.

6. Cut marshmallows in half and arrange evenly over chocolate.

7. Put under broiler for about 3 minutes or until marshmallows are toasted. (They'll smell FANTASTIC!)

8. Cool, and cut with a plastic knife. (Plastic knife makes nice even cuts and doesn't mess up the marshmallow layer.) Enjoy!

Homemade Blue Raspberry Marshmallows

Homemade Blue Raspberry Marshmallows

1/2 cup water
1 small package blue raspberry jello
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp corn syrup
powdered sugar

1. Boil water.

2. Add to boiled water the jello and stir until dissolved.

3. Add in sugar and stir an additional few minutes until sugar is dissolved. (Do not boil.)

4. Stir in corn syrup.

5. Refrigerate until room temperature or till thickened and gel like.

6. Whip on high for about 12 minutes. Mixture will become pale in color and triple in size.

7. Spray a 8" pan with cooking spray and generously coat with powdered sugar.

8. Spread marshmallow mixture in pan and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or until set.

9. Cut into 1" cubes and roll in powdered sugar.

Toasted Coconut Cream Cupcakes

Toasted Coconut Cream Cupcakes

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes
CUPCAKES:
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup coconut milk (full fat)

1. Cream together butter and sugar.

2. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Mix in vanilla.

4. Sift together flour and baking powder.

5. Add dry mixture alternately with coconut milk.

6. Scoop into muffin papers and bake at 350 for about 14 minutes or until slightly browned on top.

7. Cool completely before filling.

TOASTED COCONUT CREAM FILLING:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
1 1/2 Tbsp water
2 cups toasted coconut

1. In a saucepan, combine the cream, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, and butter.

2. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water.

4. Add corn starch mixture to cream mixture and bring to a simmer.

5. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly for 10 minutes until thickened.

6. Fold in toasted coconut.

7. Chill in the refrigerator until cold.

8. This step can be made the day before.

9. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip, fill cupcakes.

10. I usually fill from the top, and squeeze bag until the cupcake top cracks.

11. Frost with vanilla buttercream and roll in toasted coconut.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
8 cups powdered sugar
about 1/4 cup milk

1. Whip together all ingredients until light and fluffy.

2. Add milk only a little at a time so that frosting isn't too runny.

3. If so, just add in a bit more sugar.