brownies

10 Treats to Make with Leftover Halloween Candy

November 2, 2017

Halloween may be over, but I would guess you still have lots of candy left over at your house. The problem becomes, what do you do with all that leftover candy?! Except eat it, of course!

When I was a kid, my parents would ration my candy and let me have a few pieces here or there. Funny thing, though, somehow the candy stash didn’t last as long as I thought it would. I wonder where all that candy ended up, mom?

Now as an adult, I try to find ways to get rid of the candy as fast as possible because I know if it’s left around long enough, I will just eat it. For the past couple Halloweens I have tried to find ways to make other treats using the leftover Halloween candy. One year I made a Halloween candy bark, which was as easy as melting chocolate and tossing chopped up candy on top. Another year I mixed them into some cookie dough.

Surprisingly, there are lots of things you can do with leftover Halloween candy other than eating it. I found 10 that look really delicious and quite easy in case you are like me and trying to get rid of all your candy.

1. Loaded Brownies (above) by yours truly.

2. Loaded Peanut Butter Cookie Bars by Pass the Cookies

3. Candy Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars by Joy, Food, Sunshine

4. Candy Bar Trifle by Lil Luna

5. Candy Corn Soft Batch Cookies by Averie Cooks

6. No Churn Snickers Cheesecake Ice Cream by Cook with Manali

7. Halloween Candy Cookie Cake by Baker by Nature

8. Butterfinger Pie by Life in the Lofthouse

9. Reece’s Marshmallow Peanut Butter Chip Cookies by Oh Sweet Basil

10. Trick or Treat Pretzels by 30 Handmade Days And if you still have leftover candy, just send a little bit my way! Please and thank you.

Mexican Chocolate Brownies

May 1, 2017

Looking at these brownies and you may think there is nothing special about them. Sure, they look like plain ol’ brownies. They even smell like plain ol’ brownies. But they are anything BUT plain ol’ brownies.

They are Mexican chocolate brownies!

What is Mexican chocolate, you ask? Well, I am sure someone can give a very technical definition of it, but to me Mexican chocolate is a rich chocolate that is flavored with cinnamon. Sometimes it packs a little punch with some chili. All you really need to know is that it’s delicious and that it makes one damn good brownie.

Don’t worry, you don’t need any fancy or expensive Mexican chocolate to make Mexican chocolate brownies. Actually, your favorite brownie mix and a couple of spices will do the trick just nicely.

Now’s the time I will throw in my quick unsponsored PSA about my favorite brownie mix. I have still yet to find a brownie mix better than Ghirardelli. In fact, I have no motivation to make my own brownies from scratch because this mix yields some of the best brownies that I have ever made. (No they aren’t paying me to say this. I bought that bulk sized box of brownie mix with my own cash money.)

But I do have a trick to making really good brownie mix even better: Replace the water with milk and oil with butter. It will give you the richest, moistest (is that a word?) brownies.

Now you can not take my advice and use another brownie mix or you can make your brownie batter from scratch. But if you want to make them Mexican chocolate brownies, you will need these three things: cinnamon, cayenne, and nutmeg.

You don’t need a lot of any of them to pack a punch. In fact, I recommend only using a dash of cayenne. Just enough to give the brownies a little bit of a kick without people actually realizing what it’s from.

I also used Ceylon cinnamon versus the cinnamon you just buy at the grocery store. I know, you are thinking, “what’s the difference?” If you subscribe to my newsletters you already know the answer. The short story is that the cinnamon that we all know and love isn’t “true” cinnamon. It’s actually a close relative of cinnamon that sort of tastes the same. Ceylon cinnamon is what is used in Mexican chocolate and has a much spicier, richer taste. Of course, if you can’t get your hands on Ceylon cinnamon, you could use the cinnamon you have in your spice cabinet. I am lucky enough to live next to a great spice shop, so I am pretty well stocked with a couple different varieties of cinnamon.

After the spices are added, they are just like any other brownie. Mix up the batter and pour it into a pan. I like to line my pans in parchment so that I can easily lift out the brownies when they are done.

The parchment make it so much easier to get the brownies out of the pan that way they can cool faster…which means you can cut into them faster! The worst part of making brownies is the waiting! Sometimes I will stick them in the fridge to help them cool faster.

If you find that your brownies don’t have enough cinnamon or cayenne, you can always dust them with a little bit of powdered sugar mixed with either….or both. If you want really rich brownies, you could sprinkle on some cocoa powder with some cinnamon mixed in. You can’t go wrong with whatever you do. The brownies are just delicious on their own, but with the added spices they are just at a whole other level. Definitely not your plain ol’ brownie!

Just make sure you have a cup of milk handy when you dive in!

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Cookies and Cream Brownies

September 2, 2016

This is going to be a pretty quick post because as I sit here writing this we are waiting for our Uber to pick us up and take us to the airport and this is the last post I wanted to get scheduled before I go. Where are we?? Well, if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you probably already know. We start our trip in Berlin, but by the time you read this we will be in Prague.

So I apologize for the short post, but these brownies pretty much speak for themselves. I don’t have to tell you how good they are because they look delicious! I know they were delicious because my husband, who lacks a sweet tooth, devoured about half the batch in 2 days.

I started with my favorite brownie mix (Ghirardelli) and mixed in some crushed Oreos. Then I made a cream cheese mixture and folded in some more Oreos.

I then poured the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter and swirled it all together. I should note, I would have loved to add more cookies on top, but my husband ate a few too many Oreos before I could make these. Silly boy.

I baked these following the same instructions on the back of the brownie mix box and they turned out perfectly. It was a struggle to let them cool all the way before I cut into them. Clearly I didn’t wait to long before digging in.

The brownies along are amazing. Ghirardelli seriously makes the best brownie mix. Like I don’t even bother making them from scratch because it’s so much easier to mix up their batter. But with the pieces of cookies and the creamy swirl that almost tastes like cheesecake, these brownies are delish! It is just such an easy way to take a basic brownie and make it even better.

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Peppermint Bark Brownies

December 2, 2015

I made these peppermint bark brownies this weekend after coming home from Charleston (because if there was anything I needed after the Thanksgiving holiday, it was more baked goods). After baking them and taking pictures, I put them out on the counter and my husband commented, “these are so creative”. I thought he was just being nice, because…come on, its essentially peppermint bark.

Then after a Costco trip on Monday, my husband came home and excitedly told me that Costco had stolen my idea. “They are selling these huge bags of chocolate covered in peppermint candy, just like your brownies.” Bless his heart. He had never heard of peppermint bark before, and he really did think I was creative. I barely had the heart to tell him that this is not a new idea, and I am not really that creative. I just swapped the milk/dark chocolate for a brownie.

It all starts with a large slab of brownie. I whipped up a box of my favorite brownie mix (Ghirardelli) and poured it into a 9″x13″ pan, which is larger than the recipe called for. I used a large pan so that the brownies were thinner and a little bit crispier so that the brownies can break into pieces a little bit better. This, of course, is a personal preference. If you like gooey brownies, just cut these up with a knife instead of breaking into pieces.

While the brownies cooled, I put 3 unwrapped candy canes in a plastic zip-top bag, zipped the top, the whacked the crap out of them with a meat tenderizer until only small crumbs remained.

Once the brownies were totally cooled (this took over an hour), I melted about 8 ounces of white chocolate in the microwave, then stirred in a bit of peppermint extract. Once all the clumps were stirred out of the chocolate, I haphazardly poured it over the top of the brownie then smoothed it out with the back of a spoon.

While the chocolate was still wet, I sprinkled the crushed candy canes all over the top until I was satisfied with the candy cane to brownie ratio. Or until I ran out of candy cane crumbs.

The end result is a little bit peppermint bark and a little bit brownie. Enough of each to be totally satisfying!

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The Loaded Brownie

October 28, 2015

Have you guys heard of the slutty brownie (variations here, here, and here)? If you haven’t, you need to acquaint yourselves quickly! It has been called, by some, the best brownie ever. Well, that may be true, but I would like to throw my brownie into the competition. This is my version of the slutty brownie. Instead of a cookie dough base, this is 100% brownie loaded with whole Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Oreos. So I will lovingly refer to it as the Loaded Brownie.

To make these brownies, all you need is your favorite brownie recipe or mix (confession: I used a brownie mix) and some leftover candy and Oreo’s. I used peanut butter cups because…well, just because. Who doesn’t like chocolate and peanut butter?

I cut each peanut butter cup and Oreo in half and placed them on top of half of the brownie mix. I wanted to ensure that each brownie would have both pieces of Reese’s and Oreos. I topped them with the rest of the brownie mix and baked according to package directions.

I found that these took a little bit longer to bake because they are thicker than normal, but if you like fudgey, gooey brownies, then don’t worry about the extra time.

It took every patient fiber of my being not to cut into these brownies immediately out of the oven. And I clearly didn’t wait long enough because the chocolate was still melted inside….but OH MY GOSH…how could I resist?! This brownie is simply amazing! Don’t believe me? Well, don’t take my word for it, but take my sweet coworkers word for it. A little old man on my floor who I rarely see, let alone talk to sent me an email to tell me this was the best brownie he’s ever had. Proof!

And he’s not wrong. It’s the best brownie I’ve ever had! So if you have any leftover Halloween candy (wait, whats that?), make these brownies. Load them up with Reese’s, Oreos, Snickers, Rolos, Twix, or whatever chocolaty candy you like best.

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Worms and Dirt Brownie Cups

October 30, 2014

One of my favorite things to make for Halloween parties is worms and dirt. I have made it in various forms: as a cupcake, a pudding cup, a cake. And this time around, as a brownie. It’s just so easy and really gets me into the Halloween spirit!

I decided to make these for a bake sale we had a work this week (to support diabetes of all things!). I wanted it to be easy to eat and package, which is why I decided on a brownie in a cup. The cup helps hold in the “worms” and the “dirt”, which really are the key features of this dessert.

And just to be clear…these are SUPER easy. Sometimes I like to attempt complicated things, but these are not one of them. Literally they are a boxed brownie mix baked in a cupcake tin, topped with butter cream, cookie crumbs, and gummy worms. Boom. You’re done.

Of course you can make all of the elements from scratch, but I don’t really feel the need. I don’t think people are going to notice if you made the brownie from scratch when they are digging in to their little worms and dirt cups.

And it doesn’t have to be just worms. You could use gummy spiders or other insect or reptile shaped candy. Even little tombstones made from cookies or white chocolate would be a great touch. And if you don’t want to make these in cups, you can certainly make a pan of brownies and top with the frosting and cookies. There are no limits!

Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!!

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