Baking Tips

Hey
Over at Sally's Baking Addiction she is getting back to the basics and has some wonderful tips for all your baking needs! Check her out!

Rainbow Bark

Ingredients:

16 oz.  Chocolate, Dark or Semi-Sweet
Waffle Pretzels
Mini M&Ms
Rainbow Sprinkles

Directions:

Arrange Waffle Pretzels in a single layer on a Baking sheet along with Mini M&Ms.
Melt Chocolate in a small bowl either over a pot of boiling water or in the microwave.
Pour the melted chocolate over the pretzels and smooth carefully with a spatula.
Sprinkle more M&Ms and Sprinkles over the chocolate.
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until firm.
Break the bark into pieces and serve.

Banana Bread Cookies

3/4 C butter flavored shortening
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 C mashed bananas
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 C flour

FROSTING:1/2 C butter
6 Tb brown sugar
4 Tb milk
3 1/4 C powdered sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream 3/4 C butter flavored shortening and 3/4 C sugar together in your stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Add 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla and beat it for an additional 2 minutes.
3. Grab a couple of bananas. You'll want to use bananas that have brown spots all over them. Brown spotted bananas are super ripe and very sweet. Peel the bananas and mash them. You'll need 1 C total. Add them to the mixing bowl and beat to combine.
4. Into a small mixing bowl combine 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda and 2 C flour.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix until combined. The dough will be sticky and slightly thick.
6. Spray the inside of a kitchen scoop with cooking spray. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray as well and scoop the dough out onto it.
7. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown along the bottoms. Remove them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
8. Make the frosting while the cookies are baking. Place 1/2 C butter, 6 Tb brown sugar and 4 Tb milk into a medium-sized sauce pan. Melt them together on the stove top.
9. Pour 3 1/4 C powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla and dash of salt  into the melted ingredients and whisk it well to combine. Let the frosting sit for about 10 minutes. It will continue to thicken as it cools down.
10. Frost each cookie. 

Miniture Smores Pie

1 Pillsbury pie crust (comes in pack of 2 just need one)
2 tablespoons melted butter
6 graham crackers squares crumbled
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup marshmallows

Instructions:
1. preheat oven at 350. using a 2.5 inch cookie cutter cut out circles in your pie crust. I was able to get about 15 out of one pie crust. press circles into mini muffin tin and bake for 10-15 mins until crust is lightly brown
2. In a microwave safe bowl melt butter and allow to cool slightly. mix in graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, and marshmallows.
3. remove pie crusts from oven. carefully spoon smore mixture into each shell. if needed add a few more on top if desired
4. place filled shells back in the oven for about 3 mins or until marshmallows start to brown. keep a close eye on them as they don't take long.

Broccoli Salad

I am really enjoying being with Kraft Works and its only been a few days! They are just flooding my inbox with recipes, tips and special promotions! I got this recipe today and I had to share it. Its pretty much exactly like my recipe for Broccoli Salad!
For more recipes check out www.kraftcanada.com

• 3/4 cup Miracle Whip Calorie-Wise Spread
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 6 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 6 slices reduced-sodium bacon, cooked, crumbled
• 1 small red onion, chopped

• Make It

  • Mix dressing, sugar and vinegar in large bowl.
  • Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly.
  • Refrigerate 1 hour.

  
  
• TIP:
• I add a cup of Shredded Cheese to my salad!

Rolo Cake Mix Bars

• 1 box (18.25 oz) yellow, vanilla or white cake mix ( I used Duncan Hines), dry
• 5 oz evaporated milk
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 40 Rolo Candies, unwrapped and cut in half

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
3. With your mixer, beat cake mix, evaporated milk and butter until combined. Mixture will be thick and sticky.
4. Divide batter in half and press 1 half into the bottom of the pan.
5. Bake until just set, approximately 8-9 minutes.
6. Remove base from oven and place Rolo candies, caramel-side down on top.
7. Drop remaining batter on top of Rolos in teaspoon sized amounts.
8. Bake for 20-24 minutes longer until top begins to golden.
9. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Watchamacallit Treats

ingredients:

7 cups Rice Krispies cereal
8 cups mini marshmallows
4 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup peanut butter

1 bag (11oz.) caramel bits
2 Tablespoons milk
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions:

Prepare a 9"x13" baking pan by spraying lightly with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside.

Get two very large bowls. Into one bowl, add the rice cereal, and set aside.
Into the other bowl, add mini marshmallows and butter. Microwave for 2-4 minutes, or until the marshmallows are very soft and puffy.
While the marshmallows melt, measure out the 1/3 cup peanut butter and set aside.
Carefully remove the bowl of marshmallows from the microwave and stir until the (now melted) butter is incorporated.
Working quickly, add 1/3 cup peanut butter to melted marshmallows and stir.
Pour the peanut butter/marshmallow mixture over the bowl of rice cereal and use a rubber spatula (sprayed with non-stick spray) to quickly stir and combine the ingredients.
As soon as the cereal has been coated with the mixture, pour/scoop the rice krispies mixture into the prepared pan.
Use the spatula to press the mixture into the pan and flatten and even out as needed. Set aside to cool.

While the treats cool, in a small saucepan add caramel bits and milk.
Heat over medium heat until melted, stirring as needed.
Pour melted caramel over rice krispie treats, as evenly as possible.

In a small bowl, add chocolate chips and melt at 50% power in the microwave until almost melted (in 30 second intervals). Stir until melted and smooth.
Pour chocolate over caramel layer, using an offset spatula to spread, as needed.

Allow to cool about 30 minutes before cutting.

Store treats covered and in a cool place (on the counter) up to two days.

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Brownie Batter Parfaits

Ingredients

• Prepared brownies in cut into cubes

Brownie Batter Whipped Cream

• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup dry brownie mix

Egg-free Brownie Batter

• 2½ cups dry brownie mix
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3-4 Tbsp water

Instructions

Brownie Batter Whipped Cream

1. In a large mixing bowl combine heavy cream and dry brownie mix. Using whisk attachment, beat cream for 2-3 minutes on medium high speed until whipped cream forms stiff peaks.
2. Set aside.

Egg-Free Brownie Batter

1. In a medium bowl combine dry brownie mix, oil and water. Stir until it is a smooth consistency. Adjust amount of water on the thickness of batter desired.

Assembling parfaits

1. In a small jar or parfait dish, layer brownie batter, brownie pieces and whipped cream. Repeat process.

Notes

I used 2 tbsp of batter, ¼ cup brownie pieces and ¼ cup whipped cream and repeated this one time in an 8 oz jar.
I yielded 6 desserts.