Fancy Rice Krispie Treats

Posted on May 15, 2011 by kitchenbelle

I wanted to make a Mother’s Day dessert that would really satisfy that unrefined sweet tooth that I sometimes find yelling for attention. (I know you all have one too…Yodels, anyone? How about a stack of IHOP pancakes with a whipped cream smiley face and blueberry syrup? No? Would you prefer a bag of gummy peach rings?  Swedish fish? How about some blue cotton candy? I digress…) I briefly considered ignoring that tooth and making a truly fancy dessert that does not require the word fancy in front of it (creme brule, flan, chocolate tart) however, the tooth won.  I decided to go for a basic and dress it up a bit!

There is something so primitively satisfying about thick, chewy Rice Krispie Treats.  And they are simple to make.  It turns out dressing them up is easy too!

Tips to delicious Rice Krispie Treats (fancy or not):

  • lots of butter (not enough butter = dry treats)
  • lots of marshmallows (not enough marshmallow = dry treats)
  • parchment paper (without parchment paper you might go crazy trying to press treats into pan. More treats will be stuck to your hands, spoon, and face than make it into the dish!)

Fancy Rice Krispie Treats:

  • 2 – 10.5 ounce bags mini marshmallows
  • 5.5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
  • 8 tablespoons butter
  • 1  – 4 ounce semi-sweet Ghirardelli chocolate bar
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter baking chips
  • 10 Oreo cookies crumbled into a bowl
  • rainbow sprinkles in a bowl

Make the Treats

Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Set aside.

Melt butter and marshmallows in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until evenly combined. Remove from heat.

Spray a wooden spoon with cooking spray. Use the wooden spoon to stir Rice Krispies into marshmallow/butter mixture.  Be certain all of the cereal is coated by the marshmallow mixture.

Use wooden spoon to turn cereal/marshmallow onto parchment paper in dish.

Cut another piece of parchment paper and place on top of the cereal/marshmallow mixture. Use the top piece of parchment to press the mixture evenly into the dish. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Once cool, measure 3.25 inch increments across the top of the pan and score treats with a pastry knife. Across the side of the pan, measure 3 inch increments and score with a pastry knife. Press pastry knife into treats to cut along the lines you scored. Use pastry knife to trim off uneven edges.

Dip the Treats

Fill a saucepan with two inches of water and bring to a low boil. Create a double boiler by placing a heat safe glass bowl on top of the saucepan. Snap pieces of chocolate bar into the glass bowl.  As it melts, use a wooden spoon to swirl chocolate together.

Dip one treat at a time into the melted chocolate and then into either the sprinkles or the Oreo cookie crumbs.

Once you have used half of the chocolate, return the double boiler to the heat and add the peanut butter chips. Swirl with a spoon until melted with the chocolate.

Dip the remaining treats into the peanut butter/chocolate mixture and then into either the sprinkles or the Oreo cookie crumbs.

Place each treat on a cooling rack and let sit until chocolate and peanut butter are completely dry. Enjoy!

Filed under: candy, chocolate, Dessert, Peanut Butter | 3 Comments »

Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling

Posted on February 22, 2010 by kitchenbelle

I am crazy about these chocolate cake and chocolate frosting recipes!  As you can see I have used them here and here and here.  The cake is so rich and moist!  The frosting is fluffy and sweet, but not too sweet.  These recipes have been very good to me.  (I originally found them on Annie’s Eats. Thanks Annie!)

Well this past week my parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary! (Isn’t that fantastic?) We made dinner for them and of course I was in charge of the cake.  I was set on using this chocolate on chocolate combination, but I really wanted to add a new spin with an elegant flair.  I decided to use raspberry filling!  I used Wilton’s recipe and I am so happy with how it turned out!

The raspberry and chocolate combination was really fantastic!

Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling:

For the cake:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

For the Filling:

  • 1 16 ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

    • For the Frosting:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
  • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

    • Garnish:

    • chocolate chips (optional)
    • fresh raspberries (optional)

    Bake the cake:

    Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round baking pans.

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

    Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely.

    Make the frosting:

    Melt the butter in a medium bowl.  Stir in the cocoa.  Alternately add confectioners’ sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.  Add small amount additional milk, if needed.  Stir in vanilla.

    Make the raspberry filling:

    Drain raspberries, reserving liquid. Add enough water to liquid to equal 1 1/4 cups. In large saucepan, combine liquid, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice; mix well. Heat and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Cool completely. Stir thawed raspberries into cooled mixture.

    Assemble the cake:

    Level off both cakes using a serrated knife. Place bottom cake on a cardboard cake circle.  Pipe a ring of the chocolate frosting around the outside edge of the cake.  Fill the area inside the ring of frosting with a thick layer of the raspberry filling.  Place the second cake layer on top. Frost the sides of the cake layers with chocolate frosting.  Pipe a decorative border of the chocolate frosting on top of the cake.  Fill the area inside this border with a thick layer of the raspberry filling.  Garnish with chocolate chips, fresh raspberries, and/or additional frosting if desired.

    Filed under: cake, chocolate, Dessert, frosting, raspberry | 8 Comments »

    Black and White Cookies

    Posted on January 11, 2010 by kitchenbelle

    Black and White Cookies are my husband’s absolute favorite.  He isn’t totally a sweet lover but when it comes to Black and Whites, he is on board.  On the evening of our rehearsal dinner I presented him with a Black and White Cookie CAKE.  It was a giant Black and White cookie that could be shared.  It has become a little tradition, in fact, that every time I see a Black and White cookie in a store or bakery, I buy one for him.  They are sometimes hard to come by.  I fully intended to make these cookies for him for his birthday, however, the meal ended up being more time consuming than I expected and I barely had time to bake a cake.  (The cake actually had to share the oven with the baked beans!)  Needless to say, there was no time for cookie baking and cookie frosting and the recipe sat on our counter.

    Then, almost serendipitously, the very sweet Shannon organized a cookie swap!  It was the perfect occasion to bake these cookies.  (Thanks again Shannon!) 

    Not only did I get to take home extras of these Black and White cookies (making for a very happy husband!) but also, I received the following DELICIOUS cookies as a result of the swap:

    Recipe Notes:

    • I am in love with the puffy cake like texture of these cookies.
    • I was not happy with my chocolate frosting per the recipe instructions and after frosting about 12 cookies, I decided to switch to the always-satisfying Hershey’s Chocolate frosting.  Muuuuuch better.  It doesn’t have the sheen of the white frosting but it definitely tastes good.  (I have included this in the recipe below.) 
    • This recipe yielded approximately 55 medium-sized cookies.
    • Just out of the oven, the cookies looked like delicious silver dollar pancakes!
    • Set aside a decent amount of time to frost these little guys.

    Black and White Cookies:

    Cookies

    • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
    • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
    • 4 large eggs
    • 1 1/2 cups milk
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
    • 2 1/2 cups cake flour
    • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt

    White Frosting

    • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
    • 1/3 to 1/2 cup water

    Black (Chocolate) Frosting

  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
  • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

    • Make the cookies

    Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

    In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter. Mix using an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and lemon extracts, and mix until smooth.

    In medium bowl, combine cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until mixed. Add dry mixture to the wet in batches, stirring well after each addition. Using a rounded tablespoon spoon, place heaping spoonfuls of the batter 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.  Use your finger to spin the batter into perfect circle shapes. Bake until edges begin to brown, 16 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.

    Make the white frosting

    Boil a cup of water in a small pot. Place confectioners’ sugar in a large mixing bowl. Gradually stir in enough boiling water to the sugar to make a thick, spreadable mixture.  Spread frosting on half of the flat side of each cookie.

    Make the black (chocolate) frosting

    Melt the butter in a medium bowl.  Stir in the cocoa.  Alternately add confectioners’ sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.  Add small amount additional milk, if needed.  Stir in vanilla. Frost remaining halves of cookies.

    Adapted from SmittenKitchen.

    Filed under: chocolate, cookies, Dessert, frosting, icing | 9 Comments »

    Heath Bar Chocolate Cake

    Posted on December 11, 2009 by kitchenbelle

    Wow–the days and weeks have gotten away from me! I came down with a nasty cold after Thanksgiving and I am not, what you might call, a quick “rebounder.”  I take some time to bounce back!  I am working on it, though.  With the help of some roasted garlic cloves I hope to be 100% soon!  Needless to say, I have not been cooking anything too snazzy in the kitchen as of late.  Roasted winter vegetables, simply grilled steaks, some pasta, sweet potatoes, and beans are pretty much it.  That said, I hope to get back on it and squeeze in some fun holiday treats before the season spirals away from me. 

    I recently did some baking  for my wonderful co-worker, Jill, who is getting married in the Bahamas next month.  We had a surprise shower for her at work and I made this celebration cake for the gathering.  It is an adaptation of Annie’s Eats Cookies and Cream Cake, which won me our office bake-off.  This time, instead of crushed Oreos I used Heath Bar chocolate bits folded into the whipped cream filling. 

    I must say I was quite pleased with the result.  The chocolate cake is rich and moist, the whipped cream filling is light and fluffy, yet not too sweet, and the Hershey’s chocolate frosting is fudgy and delicious.  I’d say this cake has mass appeal, which makes it perfect for an office occasion or a party where you might not know everyone’s tastes. 

    Heath Bar Chocolate Cake:

    For the cake:

    • 2 cups sugar
    • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
    • ¾ cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
    • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 cup whole milk
    • ½ cup vegetable oil
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 cup boiling water

    For the filling:

    • 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
    • 1/8 cup confectioners’ sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 bag of Heath Bar chocolate bits 

    For the frosting:

    • ½ cup unsalted butter
    • 2/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
    • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
    • 1/3 cup milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

    To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 F.  Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round baking pans.

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

    Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely.

     To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.  Beat on low speed until all sugar is incorporated; increase speed to high and whisk until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold in candy pieces with a rubber spatula.

     To make the frosting, melt the butter in a medium bowl.  Stir in the cocoa.  Alternately add confectioners’ sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.  Add small amount additional milk, if needed.  Stir in vanilla.

     To assemble the cake, slice two cakes in half cross-wise using a serrated knife.  Place one cake layer on a cardboard cake circle.  Pipe a ring of the chocolate frosting around the outside edge of the cake.  Fill the area inside the ring of frosting with a thick layer of the cookies and cream mixture.  Repeat with remaining layers. Place the last cake layer on top.  Frost the sides of the cake layers with chocolate frosting.  Pipe a decorative border of the chocolate frosting on top of the cake.  Fill the area inside this border with a thick layer of the cookies and cream mixture.  Garnish with extra candy pieces and chocolate frosting.

    Adapted from Annie’s Eats.

    Filed under: cake, candy, chocolate, Dessert, frosting, icing | 6 Comments »

    Mini Chocolate and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

    Posted on November 16, 2009 by kitchenbelle

    October

    I am very late in sharing with you these little bites of heaven!  I made them for a Halloween potluck luncheon and everyone seemed to really enjoy them.  The cakes are very puffy and fluffy.  The filling is light and sweet.  The pumpkin gives the filling an orange tint.  (If you want to be especially festive you could add a few drops each of yellow and red food coloring to enhance the orange/black contrast!)  These were great for Halloween, but I think they are a very nice fall treat in general.  They would certainly add some spunk to a traditional Thanksgiving table.  (Minus the eyeballs, of course!)

    I love packaging treats individually these days!  I just can’t get enough of it!  Not only does it look super cute, but I find people enjoy slipping a treat into their pocket or purse for later–especially after a heavy meal.

    Here are some other treats I have wrapped individually:

    Kitchen Sink Cookies

    Better than Brownie Cookie Peanut Butter Sandwiches

    Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Pink Frosting and Sprinkles

    Mini Chocolate and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies:

    Cakes

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    • Filling

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Pinch of nutmeg

    • Preheat oven to 375 F. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

    Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg and mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

    Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks.  Cool completely.

    In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Whip until smooth

    Spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies.

    Adapted from Martha Stewart.

    Filed under: cake, chocolate, cookies, cream cheese, Dessert, Fall, frosting, pumpkin | 6 Comments »

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