This Week's FHE Treat......Blondies!

Our family looks forward to Family Home Evening every Monday night.  The kids really enjoy doing activities together as a family, but most of all, they like the treats that come with it.  This week we decided to make Blondies loaded with butterscotch and chocolate chips.  They look good, don't they?  They taste even better than they look.  Rich, yummy, goodness.

This is what you need to make these treats.

1 cup of butter (2 sticks), melted
2 cups of light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of butterscotch chips
1 cup of chopped pecans, finely chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 X 13 baking dish (I used cooking spray with flour in it).  Combine baking powder, flour, and salt.  Set aside.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Mix in eggs and vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and mix well.  Stir in the baking chips and nuts.  Pour mixture into your greased baking dish.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (the center will still be kind of gooey).  Allow to cool completely before cutting. Preferably overnight.

Blondies are so delicious with a little ice cream on top....

...and even better topped with a home made caramel sauce!

This is Ina Garten's Caramel Sauce.  

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup water

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves.  Do not stir.  Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5 to 7 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture.  Be careful- the mixture is extremely hot!  Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly.  Turn off the heat.  Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla.  Don't worry- the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.

Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes.  Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours.  It will thicken as it sits.

ENJOY!

Bakerella's Book Signing and a Giveaway!

I have the best husband in the world.  He didn't want me standing in line all day at a book signing because I just had the baby.  So, he went to Salt Lake early this morning to get me a ticket to meet Bakerella.  He even had to do some sweet talking to get me a ticket.  I was so very grateful.  I got number 10!

Here she is.......Bakerella!  She is cute and sassy, just as I had envisioned from reading her blog.

I have always been a fan of Bakerella, and I love to make her cake pops.  She just put together a Cake Pop book, with amazing illustrations and step by step instructions to make the delicious treats.  I was so excited to see that Salt Lake was on her list of stops on her book signing tour.

Williams Sonoma had cute displays of her books all over the store.

We ended up getting to Trolley Square just in time for Bakerella to arrive.  There were SO, SO, SO many people there!  And once again, I was happy to have a ticket that said number 10 on it.  They took people back in groups of 10, so I was able to get in quickly.  Bakerella was a lot of fun!  She was so nice to let us get our picture taken with her.  My daughter passed up an opportunity to go to the park with the other kids, just so she could meet Bakerella.  I was so glad to have her with me.

My daughter was a little shy when it came to meeting Bakerella.

When we left, there were still hundreds of people in line waiting their turn.  We had so much fun!

Now for the giveaway.  I have a signed copy of this wonderful book, that I will give to one lucky reader of my blog.  There are 4 ways to enter (you can do all 4 if you would like).....  Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each.

-First, leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite fall treat is.  

-Second, put a link to this post on your Facebook page, and leave a comment telling me that you linked on Facebook.

-Third, become a fan of Crazy About Cakes on Facebook.  Leave a comment telling me that you've become a fan.

-Fourth, become a follower of my blog.  Leave a comment telling me that you follow Crazy About Cakes.

I will be choosing a winner on Tuesday, October 19th using Random.org.  Good Luck!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!
Congratulations to Carrie...comment #24!  I will be contacting you!

 Carrie said...

My favorite fall treat is pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. (Although, I tend to make them year round because they are so yummy.)

Thanks to everyone who entered. 

Mini Orange Cupcakes..... A Fun Fall Treat

I'm excited to be back in commission after having my baby.  I now have a baby boy that is 10 days old, and he is cuter than ever.  I really lucked out with him.  He is a very good baby, which makes having 5 kids easier for me to adjust to.  The older kids adore him and always beg to hold him, which gives me time to get things done.  Sometimes I wish I could just have him all to myself, but I take all the snuggles I can get.

Anyway, I've been aching to get back into the kitchen.  I always love Fall and Halloween time.  There are so many fun treats and goodies to make that fill my home with wonderful aromas.  I found a recipe for these Orange Cupcakes on a blog that I follow.  Laura over at http://realmomkitchen.com/ always has fun recipes to try.  I couldn't resist these cupcakes.  I changed them up a little and made them mini.  I also added a candy corn on top to add a little pizazz.

Fresh Orange Cupcakes

• 1 package of yellow cake mix
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of orange zest
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1/2 cup of canola oil
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs

1. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, sugar, and orange zest. Whisk to combine. Add orange juice, canola oil, vanilla extract and eggs. Blend with the mixer on low speed for one minute, then speed it up to medium and beat for 2 more minutes.

2. Fill cupcake papers about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake at 350F until golden in color and a toothpick test comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes.

3. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Orange Butter Cream Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
• 6-8 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. (I also added orange food coloring)
2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

I think I will make some brownie bites also, and top them with this orange butter cream frosting.  You can't go wrong with chocolate and orange!  I'll save that for another day.