caramelitas

17 September 2013

First of all, I will tell you that I didn’t get pictures of these yummy yummy caramelitas. Adelia made these for friends. And right after they were fresh out of the oven, we cut them up straightaway, packed them up and sent them off to be enjoyed. But you do get one picture though. From the recipe book Adelia made these out of. That’s the closest I could get to taking of pictures of how these caramelitas actually look like.

But second of all, I will tell you that you have to take my word for how good these are. If you don’t believe me, just ask our friends because I think they all quite liked it. Imagine a layer of chocolate + caramel + nuts. Oh so good.

Try it and let me know how you like it!

Caramelitas

Makes: 20
Baking time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup pecans, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
1 cup caramel sauce (or Dulce de Leche)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Base line a 12 x 12-inch shallow baking pan with parchment paper.
Put the oats, flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt into a bowl and mix together. Add the butter and mix well. Spread half of the mixture in the base of the prepared pan. Press out evenly using the back of a spoon.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the chocolate and huts evenly over the surface. Drizzle the caramel sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle the reserved oat mixture on top and press gently with the back of a spoon.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Leave in the pan to cool completely and cut into bars to serve.

NOTE: Feel free to substitute the nuts for your favorites!

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

Adelia Makes no. 015 // maple glazed cookies

10 September 2013

Maple Glazed Cookies

These were addictive and so, so good. We finished these cookies in just a couple of days, down to the very last crumb. They were that good.

Maple Glazed Cookies

Makes: 18
Baking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons or 3/4 stick butter, cut into cubes
1/3 cup sugar
Scant 1/2 pecans, chopped (we used walnuts instead of pecans)
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a bowl. Add the butter and blend with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar and pecans.
Add the egg and 4 tablespoons of the maple syrup and mix until well combined.
Drop small heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough, slightly spaced apart onto the baking sheets. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
Brush the cookies with the remaining maple syrup while still hot, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

NOTE: Adelia use less concentrated maple syrup so she made up for the flavor by adding more tablespoons of syrup in the batter. This made the cookies soft and chewy but we still liked them that way (:

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

Adelia Makes no. 014 // chocolate pistachio fingers

27 August 2013

Chocolate Pistachio Fingers

With the array of pinterest recipe boards and online recipes nowadays, recipe books hardly make an appearance in our kitchen anymore. But once in awhile, they show up and we get to try some yummy recipes from them (:

These chocolate pistachio fingers came together in no time at all and the salty pistachios gave a nice contrast to the chocolate.

Chocolate Pistachio Fingers

Makes: 12
Baking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Scant 1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup golden superfine sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup shelled pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a shallow square 7-inch pan with parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour and cocoas powder. Add to the butter mixture and work in using your hands until the mixture is smooth. Add the pistachios and knead until soft and pliable.
Press the mixture into the pan and smooth the top using the back of a tablespoon. Prick with a fork and mark into bars.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Do not allow to become too brown or the cookies will taste bitter.
Allow to cool slightly then cut through the marked sections and remove from the pan. Cool on a wire rack and dust sparingly with cocoa powder.

Try it and let me know what you think.
Happy Tuesday!

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

Adelia Makes no. 013// chocolate mint brownies

20 August 2013

Chocolate Mint Brownies by Joy of Baking

Chocolate + mint have always been one of my favorite combinations. So I absolutely loved these chocolate mint brownies. They especially make a good post-dinner dessert, like those After-Eight mints. Mmm.

These were pretty simple to make – the brownie was nice and fudgy, and the balance of all three layers was good. Adelia used more peppermint extract than was stated in the recipe but really, I think it’s up your personal preference and how minty you like your brownies to be. And instead of chocolate glaze, Adelia used a chocolate ganache (cream + melted chocolate) since we already had some of those on hand.

I think these make a fancy-looking dessert, which actually isn’t as hard as it seems. That, is always a plus.

Let me know what you think if you try this out!

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

Adelia Makes no. 011 // salted caramel chocolate cupcakes

6 August 2013

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes by Annie’s Eats

As I’ve mentioned before, Adelia can be pretty ambitious. In a totally I-can-do-this-because-I-put-my-mind-to-it sort of way (which is good!). While I, on the other hand, much prefer to well, take things easy sometimes.

So while I’ve made several cupcake recipes in my life, Adelia decided to tackle this salted caramel chocolate cupcake recipe all by herself, for her very first cupcake recipe attempt. For that, I have to give her major props because I most certainly wouldn’t have picked this slightly complex recipe. But because she’s determined like that, she did.

This cupcake has a filled center that oozes caramel when you bite into it. But piping it in takes a little bit of work, especially if you don’t have a pastry bag (which we didn’t). Adelia tried using a regular disposable plastic piping bag. But with hot caramel and all, things got a little messy. So the pastry bag is mucho importante. She eventually settled on just using the cone method – using a knife to cut out some of the cupcake, adding some of the caramel, and then putting the cone back on top. This method was much better and much less time-consuming. Sometimes, you gotta improvise to make things work.

In addition to the caramel filling, this chocolatey cupcake had a Swiss Meringue buttercream, which is more buttery than the usual American buttercream. The butter taste isn’t as strong if you stick it in the refrigerator, but then your caramel filling hardens up. So it’s a little bit of a dilemma. But it’s probably best to store it in the fridge, then take it out to room temperature for a bit before eating.

Adelia made a mini version of these instead of using regular-sized cupcakes. And personally, I think the mini-size was just right – a perfect amount of goodness without making you feel (too) guilty.

Overall, the salty caramel + buttercream + chocolate cake made for a pretty tasty combination.

Until next time!

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

Adelia Makes no. 10 // creamy lemon squares

30 July 2013

Creamy Lemon Squares by Martha Stewart

These were certainly tart and lemon-y but OH SO YUMMY. Definitely a refreshing break for this chocolate-loving family. The Baker (aka Adelia) says these were simple to make so I think these are going on my list of “Recipes to try someday”, which indubitably seems like it’s getting longer each week. But that probably isn’t a bad thing.

Anyhow, if you aren’t big on too much lemon, just taste the filling while adding to the lemon so the sourness is just right and to your liking!

Hmm, just thinking about these makes me hungry for some lemon squares now. Happy Tuesday!

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

Adelia Makes no. 009 // handsewn pouches

23 July 2013

Since we took sewing lessons last year, Adelia has been wayyy better at using her skills at the machine than I have. One of the things she’s been making quite a bit are these cute zipped pouches. With the help of some simple online tutorials, she made these pouches that have served as great gifts for friends and family. These aren’t the only ones she’s made so far. But the combinations with these are pretty much endless and the cuteness level is just off-the-charts. Too much fun.

Unlike me, I think she’s pretty much a natural.

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

Adelia Makes no. 008 // crispy potato roast

16 July 2013

Crispy Potato Roast by Martha Stewart

I love this crispy potato roast dish so much I don’t even know where to begin. I haven’t tried my hand at this yet, but from what I hear from the chef, it’s not hard to make at all. So it’s definitely one for my books.

The mandoline was certainly helpful in getting the potatoes sliced evenly and quickly. And Adelia just used whatever herbs we had on hand, namely rosemary and basil. A couple of tips: to get everything nicely seasoned, rub salt all over the sliced potatoes before arranging them in the tray. Also, instead of putting the shallots right from the beginning, maybe put them in around the last ten minutes so they don’t get burnt to a crisp.

We’ve had this at least three times already and loved it every single time. This is definitely one of our go-to potato favorites now.

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

Adelia Makes no. 007 // sugar donut muffins

9 July 2013

Sugar donut muffins by Stylish Cuisine

I was planning to make these myself but I ended up being too busy the day I wanted to. So my awesome little sister tried them out instead. These muffins are pretty + simple + yummy all at the same time. I love how the sugar makes them glisten – too good.

I’d definitely love to try making these myself sometime!

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

Adelia Makes no. 006 // sticky date pudding

2 July 2013

Sticky Date Pudding v.1 by Bitten and Smitten

Sticky Date Pudding v.2 by My Diverse Kitchen

Inspired by the sticky date pudding we had at The Marmalade Pantry, Adelia decided she could tackle this one. I actually liked the steamed version (v.2) better than the baked version (v.1). We’ve had this several times for family and guests already and it’s always a hit! While we’re still working on presentation, I think we’re getting there just fine (:

Sticky date pudding + vanilla ice cream + toffee sauce always make the perfect combination.

Now, we just need to figure out how to make that caramel brittle.

—

Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.