Holidays Archives - Craving Cobbler

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

April 9, 2019/2 Comments/in Holidays, Sides /by kerrycolin

Everyone who loves mushrooms loves stuffed mushrooms. They can be filled with any of the foods and flavors that tickle your fancy: seafood, veggies, meat, cheese, um… more mushrooms! Whichever way you choose to stuff your shrooms here are a few tips and tricks to avoid a couple of common stuffed mushroom problems.

Bring forth the tips!

The first potential issue with stuffing shrooms is that mushrooms always release liquid as they cook. If you stuff raw mushrooms:

You’ll probably end up with soggy results no matter what filling you use.
There’s a chance that the mushrooms won’t be cooked through and tender at the point where the filling is cooked and ready.

To avoid this always roast your caps on a baking rack before filling them, and always use a filling that is completely cooked and just needs to be warmed and browned. This step cooks the mushrooms through so they’re already nice and tender by the time they get filled. It also allows the mushrooms to release their juices, and by baking them on a rack over a pan the liquid drips down and they don’t sit there in their sad little juices.

The second problem I’ve run into with stuffed mushrooms is getting that perfectly golden brown crunch on top without scorching it under the broiler. If the mushroom caps are topped with cheese instead of breadcrumbs then broil away (just don’t WALK away). But if you’re going for a crunchy topping I have two tips:

Use more oil in your breadcrumb mixture than you would think necessary. That oil is the key to getting those bready bits golden and not blackened.
Don’t have your oven rack too close to the broiler. To get any filling bubbly, cheese melty, or breadcrumbs goldeny you’re gonna need those mushrooms to broil at least 2-3 minutes under a really hot broiler. If they’re too close to the broiler then that’s gonna be tricky, especially with breading.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

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Ingredients

Shrooms

12-15 baby portobello mushrooms (2-3 inches wide)
4 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (divided)

Filling

1 small onion (diced)
4-6 cloves fresh garlic (grated or minced)
3/4lb bulk Italian sausage
4oz soft goat cheese
1/4 cup green onion (thinly sliced)
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

Topping

1/4 cup fresh parsley (minced)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cups panko bread crumbs

Directions

Step 1
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and set aside to mince and use in the filling. Divide the mushrooms evenly between two gallon-size resealable bags. Into each bag add 2 Tbls. oil, 1 Tbs. vinegar, and a pinch of salt over the mushrooms. Seal up the bags, toss everybody around, and set aside. Let the mushrooms hang out for about 10 minutes while the oven preheats to 350 degrees, flipping the bags every couple minutes. Once the oven is nice and hot and the mushrooms have soaked up some flavor place the mushrooms, flat side down, onto an oven-safe rack set on top of a rimmed baking pan. Bake the shrooms about 20 minutes, or until they are tender and have released their juice.
Step 2
Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and minced stems with a pinch of salt and stir occasionally for around 8-10 minutes. Once the onions have softened a bit and the stems have released their juices stir in the garlic. Cook until the garlic is nice and fragrant, about a minute or so.
Step 3
Add another tablespoon of olive oil and the Italian sausage. Cook the sausage, breaking it into very small pieces as you stir it until completely browned. When the sausage is almost finished browning stir in the 1/3 c. panko. Turn off the heat and stir in the green onion and goat cheese. Mush around and stir until the cheese has softened and thoroughly blended into the mixture.
Step 4
In a small bowl, mix together the other 2/3 c. panko, parsley, 1 tsp. kosher salt, and 1/4 c. olive oil. It may seem like a lot of oil, but that is what's really gonna help those crumbs brown up beautifully instead of scorching.
Step 5
Preheat your broiler to 450 degrees and make sure that your upper oven rack is at least 6-8 inches below the heat source.
Step 6
Using your fingers gently fill the mushroom caps with the meat & cheese mixture. You want plenty of filling in each cap, but keep in mind that you'll also be adding the crunchy topping. Go for slightly mounded, and make sure to gently pack it in so that when you dip them into the panko mix the filling doesn't fall out.
Step 7
Carefully dip/press each cap, filling side down, into the bowl of panko mixture. I like to use a small spoon to help gently get the cap upside down into the crumbs and then right side up again. Then I use my fingers to press another pinch or two of the crumbs on top for good measure.
Step 8
Place the filled and crumbed caps back onto the rack they roasted on earlier and broil for 2-4 minutes. They should be golden brown and bubbly. The tricks are: 1) Plenty of oil in the topping 2) Not placed too close to the broiler 3) Do NOT walk away or do anything else while they're broiling
Step 9
This recipe will make enough filling and crunchy topping to stuff about double this amount of shrooms. I personally love having the leftover filling and topping. I stuff pork chops, chicken breast, or a small loin roast with the filling and then bread with the panko mix. However, you can simply double your amount of mushrooms (around 24 mushrooms 2-3 inches wide). If you make a full batch of mushrooms, just remember to only use the stems from about twelve of them for the filling, and of course, you'll need more balsamic and oil to marinate the rest of the gang.
Step 10
Yum.

Sriracha Bacon

March 31, 2015/0 Comments/in Breakfast, Holidays, Main Course, Sides, Uncategorized /by kerrycolin

Sriracha Bacon is the way of the future.

I realize that it’s not exactly front page news that Sriracha is the best hot sauce in the universe. The whole world knows that at this point. But what you might not realize is that Sriracha Bacon is the best bacon in the universe. Okay, so maybe I’m being a little dramatic, but this truly is genius!

The idea for Sriracha Bacon occurred to me a couple weeks ago when Brian and I were having yet another conversation about how awesome Sriracha is, and trying to think of what to put it on next. It hit us at almost exactly the same time that it’s nuts, with as much as we use it, that I hadn’t added any Sriracha recipes to Craving Cobbler yet. This, of course, kicked off a whole new conversation. Well shouting match would probably be a more accurate description. Not the angry kind, just us shouting out recipe ideas at each other as fast and loud as our little Sriracha loving brains would allow.

The bacon idea was one that I shouted out I think, and it just seemed so simple. We both stopped shouting. Could something that seemed so simple and obvious once said out loud be as good as it sounds like it would be? It couldn’t. It’s just to easy.

Well I’m here to spread the word dear friends. It IS that easy! The only problem with this recipe is the fact that I haven’t already been making it for years.

Make this now or regret it later.

Sriracha Bacon Recipe

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Ingredients

10oz thick sliced bacon (about 8 slices)
1/3 cup Sriracha
1 1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

Directions

Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the sriracha, honey, and sugar to a bowl.
Step 2
Give it a good whisking, and then set up your bacon assembly line. This should include: your sweetened sriracha sauce, your bacon, and an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking pan topped with an oven-safe cooling rack.
Step 3
Give each slice of bacon a thorough dipping/coating of the spicy sauce only on one side. Lay the strips sauce side up on the cooling rack, being mindful not to overlap the slices.
Step 4
Pop them in the oven for around 40 minutes. I know it seems like a long time, but because of the Sriracha and sugars we have the oven at a lower temperature. Plus you really need to use some thick ass bacon here... Save the thin stuff for wrapping around tater tots or something. To keep your sweet and spicy strips of awesome from scorching in areas, you really want to roast these babies lower and slower.
Step 5
There's really nothing left to say except, "Pass the bacon!"

Roasted Potatoes with Kale Pesto

October 20, 2014/0 Comments/in Holidays, Sides /by kerrycolin

These potatoes are so delicious you’ll forget that they’re good for you!

A while back, my husband and I realized how much we love kale. It’s one of those veggies, like brussels sprouts, that were almost too scary to try. They seem ominous and a little bit threatening. I mean if they’re that good for you… how could they be tasty? Well I’m sure everyone won’t agree with us on this one, but we love getting down with some kale… especially kale pesto!

When I was working at Whole Foods I discovered three or four kale salads from the prepared foods department that really turned me onto kale, and it didn’t take long before Brian was on that healthy leaf train right along with me. We’ve played around with lots of different kale salads and sides, but one of our favorite kale recipes (that our son will actually eat) is my Kale Pesto. It’s absolutely delicious! The raw leaves are simply pureed along with garlic, oil, nuts, and cheese to make an easy sauce that works with almost anything. We put it all over noodles, of course, and our other favorite way to use the pesto is like a condiment on sandwiches. The pasta and paninis have been awesome, but we’re always trying to think of new ways to use up our kale pesto.

The other week the idea for these roasted kale pest potatoes hit me, and now it seems like such an obvious one. I had a jar of kale pesto hanging out in the fridge from a pasta night, and I actually thought of tossing the potatoes in it as they were roasting in the oven. It worked out beyond great! Pesto is an uncooked sauce, so I think it’s nice to keep it that way. I have a feeling these would still be tasty if you coated the potatoes in pesto pre-roasting, but I really think the flavor of the pesto gets to pop more as a finish.

As for the recipe itself it couldn’t be easier. Large chunks of potato are tossed in kosher salt and olive oil, and roasted to tender, wrinkly skinned perfection. While they’re still hot from the oven simply toss them in a large bowl with a generous amount of the kale pesto. That’s all it takes to enjoy some of the best potatoes ever!

Roasted Potatoes with Kale Pesto Recipe

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Ingredients

3lb red potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup kale pesto

Directions

Step 1
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Step 2
Wash the potatoes and cut them into roughly 1 1/2 inch chunks. The size of the chunks isn't as important here as making sure that the pieces are a consistent size. So just keep in mind that larger pieces might take a bit longer or a little less time for smaller ones.
Step 3
In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, olive oil, and salt.
Step 4
Spread out into a single layer on a baking sheet, taking the time to flip the cut side downs.
Step 5
Roast about 35 minutes or until fork tender.
Step 6
Toss the potatoes in the large bowl again, this time with as much or little kale pesto as you prefer. I used about 1/4 cup and it coated them perfectly for my personal taste, but feel free to add less or more!

Halloween Cupcakes

October 10, 2014/0 Comments/in Dessert, Holidays /by kerrycolin

Happy Halloween… Now Let’s Make Cupcakes!

My son Wyatt received some cupcake liners and decorations as a present for Halloween. So I did the only responsible thing that a level-headed mother would do… I planned a cupcake party and made tons of frosting! Ok so maybe “responsible” is a bit of a stretch, but at least it was fun. And I will say that we gave everything away except a small plateful for us to share.

I decided to used boxed cake mixes since I opted for three flavors of frosting! The boxed stuff was actually pretty good. We used Halloween funfetti and chocolate so there would be tons of frosting/cupcake flavor combos. The real fun and yumminess was with the frostings. I made a Chocolate Buttercream Frosting which is the only chocolate frosting recipe you will ever need. I’m serious… it’s perfect. It’s delicious of course, but also super easy. You don’t even have to think ahead and soften the butter. It’s just a matter of melting a couple things together in the microwave (butter and a bag of chocolate chips) and then whipping it up in your mixer with a few other things (powdered sugar, sour cream, and vanilla).

Next I made an Orange Buttercream Frosting. This was a brand new frosting that I made up just for this occasion, and it was awesome! It’s light and fluffy with just the right amount of orange flavor. Orange zest is blended together with butter before getting the traditional treatment of powdered sugar with flavoring (fresh orange juice) and cream. It was so good! I just keep thinking of ways to get it into my mouth. I WILL be putting some of this orange frosting between some cookies at christmas baking time… it has to happen.

The orange was great on the vanilla cupcakes, but the orange frosting/chocolate cupcake combo was my ultimate favorite of the day. Check out the orange ghost on top of a chocolate cupcake that my sister Mandy made!

The final frosting recipe I can’t take credit for. It’s the best vanilla frosting I’ve ever tasted and I have Sally’s Baking Addiction to thank for it. I speak for Pinners the world over when I say that we are all extremely thankful of both Sally and her baking addiction! Her Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars have become one of my go-to crowd pleasing desserts (especially when there are children or irresponsible women involved) and it’s the vanilla frosting from this recipe that I have adopted as my favorite! It’s the only vanilla frosting I ever make now.

Here’s the whole shebang!

They were all so cute… check out the witches that my mom put together!

We may have gone a little crazy, but it was a fun way to spend a Saturday! Happy Halloween!

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

October 10, 2014/0 Comments/in Dessert, Holidays /by kerrycolin

This is the only chocolate buttercream frosting recipe you’ll ever need!

As anyone who knows me at all can tell you, I need little to no provocation for making sweets. So when my son received gummy eyeballs and orange striped cupcake liners from Grandma for Halloween, it took me all of two minutes to decide to have a cupcake party in Halloween’s honor.

Did he go for it? Of course he did.

Could I have bought six plain cupcakes at the grocery store and let him slap the eyeballs on them? Sure.

Would it have been a better idea than making two different kinds of cupcakes and three different flavors of frosting for three adults and one four year old? Well I suppose that depends on what your definition of “better” is. For me, it was totally better trying a bite from every frosting/cupcake option and watching Wyatt mix all three buttercreams (vanilla, chocolate, and orange) together to make a “witch’s brew”.

Anyway, this chocolate buttercream is delicious and insanely easy. You don’t even have to plan ahead by softening the butter! It’s just a matter of melting a couple things together then using your mixer for a couple minutes. Its flavor will directly reflect the chocolate chips that you decide to use. I used semi-sweet chips for the Halloween cupcakes and it was great. I’m sure that milk chocolate would make a wonderful frosting as well, just expect it to be sweeter. Of course if you really wanna go to town try using some expensive chips or chunks… chocolate really is one of those items that you get what you pay for.

I promise if you try it once, you’ll make it over and over again!

Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

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Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter
12oz chocolate chips (one bag)
8oz sour cream
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Step 1
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the stick of butter.
Step 2
Stir in the bag of chocolate chips until thoroughly coated in the melted butter. Heat another 30 seconds in the microwave, then remove the bowl and stir again.
Step 3
You want the chips to completely melt into the butter and become luscious, shiny, and smooth. It may be necessary to heat everything another 30 seconds to get the desired results.
Step 4
Scrap the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of your mixer and allow to cool for a few minutes (2-3) before adding in the sour cream. Mix on medium speed with the paddle attachment for around 2 minutes, or until the sour cream is thoroughly incorporated into the chocolate.
Step 5
Mix in about half of the sugar on the lowest speed until just combined. Add the rest of the sugar and mix in on low again until just mixed.
Step 6
Scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl and pour in the vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and allow to mix, fluff, and expand for three minutes.
Step 7
You're left with a rich and delicious chocolate frosting that works for everything!
Step 8
Obviously we were having a Halloween cupcake party.
Step 9
As you can see, we piped the chocolate buttercream onto chocolate cupcakes and vanilla Halloween funfetti cupcakes...
Step 10
and topped them with fun decorations.
Step 11
Don't just save this chocolate buttercream recipe for Halloween... once you taste it you'll want it all the time!

Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

December 18, 2013/1 Comment/in Dessert, Holidays /by kerrycolin

Here’s the super fast and easy recipe for my Triple Chocolate Cookies… just in time for the holidays! What makes them so fast? They’re chocolate cake mix cookies with some great additions.

They come together so quickly. Your holidays are busy enough, so why not make some awesome cookies with a shortcut? Start with a chocolate cake mix, butter, and eggs. A dash of chocolate syrup plus some chocolate chips, and you’ve got yourself a plateful of soft and chewy triple chocolate cookies!

As you can see, I’ve opted for the red and green semi-sweet chips here. These were Christmas presents, and everyone went nuts by the way! I’ve also made batches of these using mini red and green M&Ms. Of course those were a hit too, because any time you’re talking about candy mixed into cookies, it’s never a bad idea. For any other occasion, I’d stick with plain old semi sweet chips, but feel free to add in any and all of your cookie favorites! I think white chocolate or peanut butter chips would be solid choices.

Hopefully these will make it into your cookie swap rotation like they have mine!

Merry Christmas!

Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies Recipe

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Ingredients

1 box chocolate cake mix (like Duncan Hines Double Fudge)
1 cup unsalted butter (2sticks) (softened)
1 egg
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
1 cup all purpose flour
1 bag chocolate chips

Directions

Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Drop 2 sticks of softened unsalted butter into your mixer bowl, and cream 'em up!
Step 2
Add in the boxed cake mix and mix again until incorporated into the butter. It'll be a chocolatey paste.
Step 3
Crack the egg into a small dish, and add the tablespoon of chocolate syrup.
Step 4
Whisk it all up with a fork,
Step 5
and pour in with the chocolate paste.
Step 6
Mix the syrup in thoroughly (about 30 seconds or so), then add in the cup of flour. Mix on low at first to make sure you don't get covered in flour. Once it's started to blend into the dough it's fine to increase the speed a bit. Make sure you don't walk away from the mixer at this point. With cookies it's fine to mix away during the first few steps while you're basically creaming butter and sugar, then also when you're adding the flavoring components. But once you begin adding the flour to cookie dough, you want to stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated. As soon as the flour seems mixed in, scrape the sides and all the way to the bottom of the bowl.
Step 7
I find it easiest to really scrape the bowl well if I take it completely off the mixer stand. Mix another 10 seconds or so, then dump in your chips! A lot of folks insist on mixing these in by hand. But in an effort to spare my hands and my spatulas from this super thick dough, I just dump in the bag of chips and mix one last quick time.
Step 8
Roll into roughly one inch balls and space about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. These don't spread much, so you can fit a lot on one sheet usually. Bake 10-12 minutes, then cool completely.
Step 9
These are insanely easy, and truly delicious!
Step 10
Enjoy!

Christmas Snickerdoodles

December 6, 2013/10 Comments/in Dessert, Holidays, Kid Friendly Tips /by kerrycolin

Happy Holidays!

As anyone who knows me could tell you, I love this time of year! I go a little nuts, especially now that I have my little Christmas cohort Wyatt to help. We decorate, read christmas books, watch christmas movies, make crafts, and of course We Bake!

It’s become a tradition that every year for a few weeks I bake like crazy, while across town my mom REALLY bakes like crazy. Then we get together, and in one day we bag up enough cookies and candies to choke an elf! Okay well I guess it probably wouldn’t take too much to actually choke an elf, but we make and bag enough to give as gifts to: mom’s friends, our families, my coworkers, and all of Brian’s clients. If it doesn’t sound like a lot then I’ve said something wrong… it’s insane! But it’s insane in a fun way, especially since my sister Mandy, Brian, and even Wyatt have been recruited to help with the baking and bagging.

Last year I adapted my favorite snickerdoodle recipe ever so slightly to turn them into Christmas Snickerdoodles! This is Trisha Yearwood’s Snickerdoodle Recipe, and it’s absolutely wonderful! I’ve adjusted the amount of salt because I always have unsalted butter on hand so I use that in place of her salted butter, and I’ve really upped the amount of sugar used to roll them in because… well that’s what makes them so darn Christmasy!

Please make these… I promise everyone on your Christmas list will love them!

Christmas Snickerdoodles Recipe

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Meal type	Dessert
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Christmas

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
5 heaped tablespoons Christmas sugar
2 heaped teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

Step 1
Let's start with the ingredient that transforms these from insanely delicious snickerdoodles into insanely delicious "Christmas" snickerdoodles! You'll need cinnamon, red sugar, and green sugar.
Step 2
I listed 5 tablespoons of Christmas sugar to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon as the ratio for the dipping/rolling sugar mix. This is just to give you a guideline of where to start, but please feel free to modify that. I know I always do.
Step 3
The thing is that as you start rolling the dough balls, you'll end up using up the sugar and being left with balls that are mainly rolled in cinnamon. These will taste great... however, if you want the pretty red and green cookies as your finished product, you'll need to add more sugar as you go. By the time I've made a few batches of these back to back (as I end up doing a lot this time of year) I never know exactly how much sugar or cinnamon are in my mixes... I just keep adding both as I see fit. I make tons of these during the Christmas season, and I've found that the sugar mix keeps great if it's stored in tupperware when you're done rolling.
Step 4
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and get ready to sift the dry ingredients. Add in the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, and salt to your strainer or sifter.
Step 5
Sift it all into well mixed fluffy pile, then set aside while you ready the creamy stuff!
Step 6
I always crack my eggs into a small bowl first before adding them into the mixer bowl on top of my other ingredients.
Step 7
I've gotten some weird eggs in the past, and let me say that one bad egg can waste a stick of butter faster than Paula Dean! Stir the eggs up with a fork so that they incorporate into the dough faster.
Step 8
Add the butter, shortening, sugar, and eggs into your mixer bowl.
Step 9
Mix on medium speed for about 1 to 2 minutes. It should look well blended and creamy.
Step 10
Scoop in about half of your dry mix.
Step 11
Mix until just incorporated, then add the other half.
Step 12
Scrape down the sides and especially the bottom of the bowl, then mix one last time for only about 5 or 10 seconds. This dough has a perfect soft Play Doh texture, and if I weren't pregnant I'd just want to start eating it right now!
Step 13
To minimize on messy hands and fingers (which wastes more of your colorful sugar mix as it sticks to you instead of the dough) I like to roll all the dough into balls first. I go ahead and line them up on two large parchment lined cookie sheets.
Step 14
This should make about 50 Christmas Snickerdoodles once they're all rolled out. Now it's just a matter of getting these guys thoroughly rolled in the red and green sugar mixes... you may need to recruit help for this step.
Step 15
Aren't they adorable already?
Step 16
Pop into the 400 degree oven and bake for about 10 minutes. When you pull them out, they should be puffed up like this.
Step 17
Let them cool for a few minutes right on the pan, and then carefully transfer them onto cooling racks to finish cooling off.
Step 18
These have become my favorite holiday cookies because they're so stinking cute,
Step 19
and insanely delicious!
Step 20
Merry Christmas!

Nutella Chocolate Cream Pie

November 27, 2013/2 Comments/in Dessert, Holidays /by kerrycolin

I’m not really sure what to say here.

This is a chocolate cream pie made with Nutella! So yeah, it’s pretty much awesome.

I did yet another spin on one of my favorite pies, the Pioneer Woman’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. A couple weeks ago I made a Biscoff Cream Pie by switching out the Oreos for Biscoff cookies, and the peanut butter for Biscoff spread. It was awesome! So I thought, why not push further? This round I decided to replace the Oreos in the crust with Golden Oreos, and swap out the peanut butter with Nutella. I hate to say I’m a genius, but while eating this pie it was hard not to at least feel kinda smart. Ok, so technically I guess if anyone is the genius here it would have to be Ree Drummond… but I like to think of myself as at least a half bright sidekick.

Alright, I’m gonna stop rambling!

Please try this pie, and let me know what you think!

Nutella Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe

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Meal type	Dessert
Misc	Pre-preparable, Serve Cold

Ingredients

Filling

1 cup Nutella (or another chocolate hazelnut spread)
8oz softened cream cheese
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
8oz thawed Cool Whip

Crust

25 Golden Oreos
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted and cooled)

Topping

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions

Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grab a food processor! Dump in 25 oreos. The Pioneer Woman has already done the Oreo math for us... so who's to argue?
Step 2
Pulse until you're left with some insanely delicious smelling sand.
Step 3
Remove the blade from the processor, and pour in the melted and cooled butter.
Step 4
Give everything a good stir to ensure that every crumb gets a touch of the butter.
Step 5
Pile all of your buttery crumbs into the center of a pie pan,
Step 6
and press into place using clean hands (you can tell I'm constantly talking to a four year old). Follow up with a final pressing using a measuring cup.
Step 7
I wouldn't say that pressing pie crusts into pans is one of my talents.
Step 8
Let's just call this one "rustic" and throw it into the preheated oven for about 7 minutes. This smells soooo good!
Step 9
Now onto the REALLY sinful stuff! Add the cream cheese and the cup of Nutella into your mixer.
Step 10
Beat on medium high until it's one big creamy mess.
Step 11
Dump in the powdered sugar.
Step 12
Beat for about a minute; scrape down the sides; beat a few more seconds to fully absorb the sugar.
Step 13
Scoop the entire 8oz container of Cool Whip into the mixer, and beat on medium high for about a minute.
Step 14
Thoroughly scrape down the sides of the bowl. Take special care to really scrape underneath the pile of fluff to the bottom to get any dark brown Nutella goodness off the bowl and into the mix!
Step 15
Give it another good beating until it's beautifully creamy and fluffy.
Step 16
Fill your cooled pie crust with your creamy chocolatey goodness, and refrigerate for several hours.
Step 17
Whenever you're ready to serve your pie (or eat it yourself... no one is judging here), I think it's best topped with some whipped cream. The cream cuts the sweet richness of the pie a touch. Plus it's just not chocolate cream pie to me without some whipped cream. Pour the cream into your mixer, along with the vanilla.
Step 18
Whisk on high around a minute or so. It should look thickened, and leave a soft peak on the beater when you lift it out.
Step 19
Here's a look inside the bowl at this phase to give you an idea of what to look for.
Step 20
Add the powdered sugar, and whisk on high for a few more seconds to thicken the cream a bit more.
Step 21
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and whisk one last quick time.
Step 22
I wanted my whipped cream nice and thick, but whisk it a little less if you prefer a looser whipped cream.
Step 23
Feel free to plop it right on top of your pie, or you can put it into a fancy piping bag like mine... aka a gallon sized ziploc bag.
Step 24
Snip off one corner,
Step 25
and voila!
Step 26
Look at how rich and creamy!
Step 27
This one is definitely not for the faint of heart! I think it's actually sweeter than a regular chocolate pudding pie.
Step 28
But if you've got a glass of milk and a can-do attitude... why not?!!
Step 29
Yum, yum, and double yum!

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

November 21, 2013/2 Comments/in Holidays, Sides /by kerrycolin

If you like sweet potatoes, then you’ll love Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes!

By the time these make it to your plate, all the work has been done for you. You’re left with a shell that’s filled with creamy sweet potatoes and topped with a brown sugar, candied pecan, and bacon awesomeness! It’s almost dangerous. Once you start eating it, there’s no going back… and there’s also no keeping count of how many you’ve had!

On that note, this recipe makes 6 stuffed potato shells. It would easily double or even triple depending on what kind of crowd your feeding. I think this would be a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving feast! This is a great recipe for doubling or tripling because it’s just a matter of adjusting your measurements without actually adding to your cook time!

Try these for Thanksgiving or any other meal that you’d like to make deliciously special!

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes Recipe

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Meal type	Side Dish
Occasion	Thanksgiving

Ingredients

Potatoes

3 sweet potatoes (on the small to medium size)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (cut into small bits)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping

2 thick slices of bacon
1/4 cup candied or honey roasted pecans
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (cut into small bits)
1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon all purpose flour

Directions

Step 1
Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees, and washing your potatoes. I thought I'd show you a reference picture of the potatoes I used since saying "small to medium" might be taken differently from everyone.
Step 2
Hopefully this will help, considering that almost everyone knows the size of an iPhone! Line a baking pan with aluminum foil, and poke around on your potatoes with a fork.
Step 3
Pop these guys into the preheated oven for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Step 4
When they're finished, you should be able to squeeze the sides and actually feel the potato squeezing. It's up to you how you choose to cook your bacon slices, but here's my little tip. I've started baking my bacon in the oven on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and it's so easy!
Step 5
As you can see, besides the fact that I accidentally baked four extra slices (yeah that's right, I thought I might need to sample a little bacon to make sure it was safe for my family to eat!) the bacon sheet baked right along with the potatoes. I usually cook bacon at 400 degrees for anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes depending on the thickness. Once your potatoes have cooled enough for you to handle them without yelping, slice them in half lengthwise.
Step 6
Carefully scoop the insides right into the bowl of your mixer.
Step 7
It doesn't have to be perfect, but try not to poke through the skins. Also try to leave enough in them to give you a fairly sturdy vessel for your fancied up insides.
Step 8
Add one tablespoon of the butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream in with the potato innards.
Step 9
Now beat the ever lovin' sweet potato out of it!
Step 10
Seriously though, I beat mine on high for about two minutes... scraping down the sides once. Lay your sweet potato shells on a parchment lined baking sheet, and refill with their new and improved insides.
Step 11
Make sure your oven is reset to 400 degrees, and prepare the yummy topping for the potatoes. I wanted to show you that when I say 1/4 cup chopped candied pecans I measured out a heaping 1/4 cup first,
Step 12
and then chopped them up.
Step 13
Add the chopped pecans, butter bits, bacon bits, sugar, and flour into a bowl.
Step 14
Give it all a good toss,
Step 15
and evenly distribute amongst your taters.
Step 16
Try to make sure that everyone gets a little of everything the topping has to offer, and bake for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off, pull them out of the oven and check for spots where the sugar still looks like sugar. Dot these with small bits of butter.
Step 17
Bake another 5 minutes, and prepare to fall in love!
Step 18
These are insanely good, so I'd say bake more than you think you need!
Step 19
I ate two easily, and I don't regret a single bite!

Biscoff Cream Pie

November 9, 2013/22 Comments/in Dessert, Holidays /by kerrycolin

Biscoff cookies are “Europe’s favorite cookie with coffee”. Many of you might be wondering, “The crunchy cookies you get on airplanes?” And to you I say, Yes, the pleasing little crispy cookies served in-flight. They are delightfully crunchy cookies with an almost caramelized flavor. But wait… there’s more!

A few years ago, America was introduced to Biscoff cookie spread! What!?! That’s right… a spreadable cookie cream! I can’t even begin to imagine how that creamy magic is made. All I really need to know is that it’s the texture of peanut butter, but taste like a Biscoff cookie. It’s insanely enjoyable to eat. I’ve mainly had it on apple slices or toast, but a while back I had the crazy idea for a Biscoff Cream Pie.

The idea came to me months ago while I was making one of my all time favorite pie recipes. I wish that I could take credit for this one, but I’ve got to give some serious props to the queen of food blogs herself, Ree Drummond the pioneer woman! Her Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie is not only one of my favorite pies to eat, but also to make! The flavor is pure peanut butter heaven, and the texture is just perfect. The phrase “creamy and dreamy” didn’t come about because of the catchy rhyme… it was because of this pie! And it’s almost wrong how easy it is to make. Anyway, thank you to Ree Drummond for your wonderful recipes and inspiration!

At any rate, while I was scooping out the peanut butter for yet another perfect peanut butter pie, I couldn’t help but to compare the texture of the peanut butter to the wonderful Biscoff cookie spread. Much too long of a story short… a new and wonderful pie was born!

This is the perfect cream pie for fall, and I seriously hope you and everyone you know try it today!

Biscoff Cream Pie Recipe

Print recipe

Meal type	Dessert
Misc	Serve Cold

Ingredients

Filling

1 cup creamy Biscoff spread (although I'm sure the crunchy kind would be delicious)
8oz softened cream cheese
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
8oz thawed Cool Whip

Crust

1 8.8 ounce package of Biscoff cookies
5 tablespoons butter (melted and cooled)

Directions

Step 1
This is a chilled pie, so the first thing we've gotta do is cook off that crust, so it'll have plenty of time to cool. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grab your Biscoff goodies!
Step 2
Of course now I see the coupon I could have used for the spread! Oh well. Dump the whole package of cookies into a large food processor.
Step 3
They smell so good! I'd say that they're almost like really fancy graham crackers, but that really doesn't do them justice! Press the pulse button until you're left with sweet sandy crumbs. It was about 10 pulses for me.
Step 4
If you're a priss like me that plans ahead for your garnishes, then scoop out about a tablespoon of crumbs.
Step 5
The crust won't even miss them, and they'll look super cute on top of the pie! Pour the melted and cooled butter in with the crumbs.
Step 6
Work the butter into the crumbs so that everybody gets a little.
Step 7
Pour the buttery bits into a pie pan.
Step 8
Press the crumbs into the bottom and sides of your pan using whatever you've got: a measuring cup, a clean hand, another pie pan, a bottle of wine... you get the idea. I used a standard sized pie pan, because it was my first time making this crust. I have a larger fancy looking pan, but I wasn't sure if I'd have enough crust to fill that one.
Step 9
This worked great, but it was definitely a thicker crust. The filling is so rich that the thick crust works well, but if you have a bigger pie pan I think you'd definitely have enough crust to go around.
Step 10
Bake the crust for about 7 minutes in your preheated oven, and prepare to swoon when you smell it hot out of the oven!
Step 11
Now on to the filling! Following along with Ree's recipe (I like calling her Ree like we're really friends!) you'll need a full cup of the Biscoff spread.
Step 12
As you can see, it's almost the entire 14.1 ounce jar. Add the cup of Biscoff spread along with the block of softened cream cheese into your mixer bowl.
Step 13
Cream on high; scrape down the sides; cream on high again.
Step 14
Add the powdered sugar in two batches, scraping down the sides in between mixes.
Step 15
It almost looks like cookie dough at this point. Anyway, enough about cookies... it's time for Cool Whip!
Step 16
The whole container gets toppled into the mixer.
Step 17
Doesn't that look like a bowlful of fun? As the name implies "whip" the filling on high to get it nice and creamy dreamy.
Step 18
Scrape down the sides, and whip one last time on high.
Step 19
It should look absolutely luscious and fluffy.
Step 20
Pour the creamy goodness into your cooled pie crust, and smooth out the top.
Step 21
Pop into the fridge and chill for at least a couple of hours before you try to cut into it. This will be harder than it sounds... especially after licking off your smoothing spatula! I won't blame you if you don't give it long enough... as you'll be able to see in a second, I couldn't wait either. It was definitely still on the softer side when I cut into mine. Once you can't stand the wait any longer, sprinkle the reserved cookie crumbs over the top.
Step 22
Now the only things left to do are to cut a slice,
Step 23
and grab a fork!
Step 24
Enjoy!