A few weeks ago I mentioned that Smucker's sent me seven of their new ice cream toppings in the mail to try, and that I would be having a giveaway on my blog so that one of my readers could receive a "Top It Your Way" prize pack full of Smucker's goods for themselves. Well, today is the day!

I'm not one to even post recipes I don't like, so endorsing a product I don't personally like (regardless of whether I get it for free) is a big no in my book. That said, I love these Smucker's products, and I am SO excited that one of you gets this awesome prize pack. I've been using them in ice cream, on brownies, in blondies, etc.

The prize pack comes with all of the Smucker's products pictured here, AND you get the West Elm tray, Smucker's freezer bag, Smucker's ice cream scoop and chalkboard sign (you're on your own for the Anthropologie bowls and ice cream). The only thing missing is the Salted Caramel flavor. I looked high and low for where I put it with no luck. That's my favorite of all of the products, so I'm guessing I brought it with me somewhere and left it--let's just pretend that traveling with salted caramel in your purse is completely normal. The good news is that Smucker's will send you your own bag of products, and the Salted Caramel will be included. Here's the full list of what you will get in the "Top It Your Way" prize pack:

·     West Elm Outdoor Metal Serving Tray

·   Scallop Edge Hanging Chalkboard

·     Branded Ice Cream Topping Bowls + Scoops

·     All seven NEW Smucker’s toppings flavors including:

o   Smucker’s®  Simple Delight Salted Caramel Topping

o   Smucker’s® Simple Delight Chocolate Coconut Flavored Topping

o   Smucker’s® Simple Delight Dark Chocolate Topping

o   Smucker’s® Simple Delight Hot Fudge Topping

o   Smucker’s® Magic Shell® Chocolate Pretzel Flavored Topping

o   Smucker’s® Magic Shell® Rainbow Sherbet Flavored Topping

o   Smucker’s® Microwavable Hot Dark Chocolate Topping

You can do as little as comment on this post to enter, or you can earn extra entries by doing the other items in the Rafflecopter. A winner will be selected randomly from the entries on Sunday. Labor Day may be this weekend, but that doesn't mean the end of ice cream season!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
A few ways I've used the toppings:

What makes brownies better? Salted Caramel and Hot Fudge. 

...and the same thing goes for adding Salted Caramel and Hot Fudge into this Double Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream.

Oatmeal Cookie Chunk Ice Cream with Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell. There are no words. 

Now for the Golden Oreo Funfetti Ice Cream. I photographed it with the Smucker's items, but there was so much going on with it that I actually didn't even feel the need to add to it with toppings (though I'm sure the results couldn't be anything but good). So, my apologies the picture is slightly misleading!

This is for all those people who love homemade ice cream, but weren't convinced buying an ice cream maker was worth the investment (despite my case for it): homemade ice cream WITHOUT an ice cream machine.

Even better - homemade funfetti cake batter ice cream with Golden Oreos that you can make WITHOUT an ice cream machine. *Happy dance*

It's very sweet (as with all cake batter ice cream), but it is incredible. The consistency is also great. I gave it a few minutes to soften after pulling it from the freezer, but even when it's straight out it's not remotely icy. I had to give the rest of the batch to my bf because I was sneaking in huge spoonfuls every time I passed the freezer, and we haven't quite gotten to the point of the year where I justify eating more desserts than usual because it's "sweater-weather"...

But if you've been upset with me for posting so many ice cream recipes all summer when you don't have a machine, now is your chance to get in on it too! Also, a word to the wise, don't use the standard nonpareils because they will start bleeding into the ice cream almost immediately. I knew it would happen, and for some reason I did it anyways. Stick with the other kinds of jimmies so that you don't end up with some weird brown and green shade of ice cream.

Make this ice cream stat! And enter the giveaway above so that you can score yourself all sorts of delicious toppings to throw an ice cream party (or to keep to yourself).

No-Ice Cream Maker Funfetti Cake Batter Golden Oreo Ice Cream
Recipe from Averie Cooks

Ingredients:

24 Golden Oreos or vanilla-flavored sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream - for the No-Ice-Cream-Maker version (if using an ice cream maker, use 4 cups/1 quart)
3/4 cup+ sprinkles

Directions:

1. These directions (through number 7) reflect the No-Ice-Cream-Maker method.
2. Chop the Oreo cookies and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and almond extract to combine; set aside.
4. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or large mixing bowl and hand mixer), whip 2 cups heavy cream to very stiff peaks, the time this takes will vary based on your mixer.
5. Gently add about half the whipped cream to the sweetened condensed milk mixture, and fold the cream in gently. As Averie points out, fold means turn the mixture over with a spatula from the bottom of the bowl up, rotate the bowl, repeat until the mixture is homogenous. The goal is to keep all that fluffy cream you just made as fluffy as possible. Take your time and be gentle. When you get the first half of the cream folded in and combined, add the remaining cream, and fold it until until mixture is smooth. Be patient with this part!
6. Add the cookies, sprinkles, and gently fold them in to distribute evenly, being careful to stop if you start noticing that the sprinkle colors are bleeding into the base. If you see this happening it's ok, but you should take that as a sign to go ahead and transfer it to the container. If you are folding them in correctly, it won't take much to fully incorporate all of this into the base.
7. Transfer ice cream mixture to a freezer-safe 2-quart container with a lid or freezer-safe bowl that can be covered with plasticwrap. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours, or until solid. Ice cream takes about 5 minutes to come up to room temperature. Ice cream will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months.
8. If you are Using an Ice Cream Maker - Steps 1, 2, 3 are the same. Skip steps 4 and 5. Instead, add 4 cups heavy cream to the sweetened condensed milk mixture, and stir to combine. Step 6 is the same. For step 7, follow processing directions on your ice cream maker, noting to chill the mixture if necessary before churning.

It’s not hard to make an ice cream that tastes good. Honestly if you’re making a somewhat standard flavor it’s probably harder to make something that doesn’t taste good. After all, it’s cream, milk, vanilla and sugar. What sets ice creams apart, in my mind, is consistency. Recently a few of my favorite ice cream flavors haven't used eggs. They’ve stayed soft and easy to scoop without getting icy, and the flavor is creamy, smooth and delicious.

Another plus is that these recipes don’t require any heating of the milk and cream, incorporating the eggs, straining, ice baths, etc. Any time I can cut these things out I am all for it.

Since I was already throwing brownies into this base and I wanted the fudge taste as well (without having to buy fudge pieces), I just drizzled some hot fudge between layers of the ice cream. And while I was at it, I thought why not add in some salted caramel? Good decisions all around.

It helped that the good folks at Smuckers were nice enough to send me over some items from their Simple Delights line of ice cream toppings. I’ve been trying them out on everything I can, and I haven’t hit one I don’t like. I’ll be having a giveaway for readers in the next week to give you the chance to win some yourself! More details to come on that soon.

Back to this ice cream: perfect chocolate base + brownies + gooey fudge and salted caramel swirls. Be still my heart. I loved every bite, and so did everyone else who tried it. Once you find a good base you can change it up with mix-ins however you’d like. I've also crumbled up the chocolate pudding cookies and thrown them into this mixture instead of the brownies. You can't go wrong.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream with a Salted Caramel Swirl

Recipe adapted from Cravings of a Lunatic 

Ingredients

• 1 cup good quality cocoa powder
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• Pinch of vanilla salt (regular salt is fine to use)
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups brownie pieces
• 1/4 cup hot fudge (I used Smuckers Hot Fudge)
• 1/4 cup caramel (I use Smucker's Salted Caramel)

 

Directions:

Instructions

1. In a stand mixer combine cocoa powder, both sugars, salt and whole milk. Mix until the sugars dissolve.
2. Add heavy cream and vanilla and mix until fluffy, should be the consistency of pudding. Cover and stick in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour. You can even leave it overnight, it helps the flavour to let it age a bit.
3. Remove from fridge and transfer the liquid to a FROZEN ice cream maker bowl. Place bowl on your ice cream machine and turn on. Churn according to manufacturer's instructions.
4. Once ice cream base is complete (about 20 minutes for my ice cream maker), fold in three cups of crumbled brownie pieces. 
5. Spread a layer of the chocolate and brownie base into the bottom of a freezer safe container (about ¼ of total batch). Use a spoon to swirl in ½ of the warm caramel. 
6. Add another layer of the base on top and drizzle/swirl in ½ of the hot fudge. Repeat with another layer of the base and remaining caramel followed by the rest of the ice cream and hot fudge. 
7. Place in freezer for 6 hours, or until ice cream has firmed. It will be best after 12+ hours of freezer time. 

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a nice holiday season. I'm starting the year off with a bang by introducing you to these amazing Caramel Nougat Chocolate Bars. The name on its own sounds like any other standard dessert, but the amazing part is these taste exactly like Snickers. 

Actually, these taste better than Snickers. You can also cut them into any size you'd like.

Sorry, New Year's Resolutions.

I don't think I could have told you what actually makes the nougat layer of candy bars, so I never would have thought I'd be able to recreate it exactly. Something tells me I'm not alone. I have multiple memories of getting the nougat piece in a box of chocolates and wishing I had gotten caramel or milk chocolate instead of the one with the mystery filling. Now I know. I'm not saying I would pick the nougat piece, but when you combine chocolate, nougat, caramel and peanuts it's amazing. Obviously Mars already knows this since they have been making money on the combination for decades. 

I'm sure you've all seen the other copycat candy bar recipes. You take a bite and think, "Hmm, I guess it does somewhat taste like the real thing." Not this one. This is spot on. It also makes a giant serving. My main suggestion is to make sure you keep it cold. I also found that setting it out for 15 minutes or so and then cutting it with a warm knife helped. Enjoy!

Caramel Nougat Chocolate Bars (aka Snickers!)

Recipe from Deliciously Yum

First Chocolate Layer

1. 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
2. 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Nougat Layer

1. 1/4 cup unsalted butter
2. 1 cup granulated sugar
3. 1/4 cup evaporated milk
4. 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
5. 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla
7. 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts

Caramel Layer

1. 1 12-ounce bag of caramels
2. 1/4 cup heavy cream

Final Chocolate Layer

1. 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
2. 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3. 1 9x13-inch aluminum baking pan, optional

Instructions

1. Thoroughly grease your aluminum baking pan.
2. For the first layer, melt 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips and 1/4 cup peanut butter and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour into the bottom of the aluminum pan and spread in an even layer. Let cool completely in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
3. For the nougat layer, melt 1/4 cup unsalted butter and add 1 cup sugar plus 1/4 cup evaporated milk. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to cook (over medium-high heat) while stirring until sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Next, add 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff, 1/4 cup peanut butter, and vanilla. Stir until creamy and thoroughly combined. Mix in 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts and spread evenly over chocolate layer. Let cool completely on the counter or in the fridge until firm.
4. For the caramel layer, combine caramels and 1/4 cup heavy cream in a pot. Melt caramel mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly! Spread over nougat layer and let cool once again.
5. For the fourth and final chocolate layer, melt the remaining 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips and 1/4 cup peanut butter and mix until thoroughly combined and creamy. Spread evenly over the caramel layer and let cool completely. Refrigerate for two hours or until ready to serve. Bars will keep in refrigerator for one week.

Time for another English dessert! Banoffee pie. According to the internet, the inspiration for banoffee pie came from an American dessert, but the pie as we know it today was created in Sussex. Apparently when the US heard wind of this incredible pie, we began serving it in our restaurants and selling it in grocery stores, and we said it was an American pie. Hah! Silly, America. We lost that argument, but I can absolutely see why we'd want to take credit for this pie. It's delicious. If banana pudding was made into a pie and doused in caramel, I imagine it would taste something like banoffee pie. (banoffee=banana + toffee)

The recipe I used has a few ingredients that aren't so easy to find in American grocery stores. As I've mentioned, I'm still upset about our lack of "double cream" over here in the US, but heavy whipping cream will work instead. You can tell in the top picture how the double cream produces an almost meringue-like sheen. Amazing. If anyone knows where I can find this in the US please let me know.

Digestives are available at some US grocery stores, but if you can't find them, plain graham crackers will do. Digestives taste to me like a less flavorful mix between Biscoff cookies and graham crackers. I realize that doesn't sound appetizing, but I enjoy them. The use of store-bought dulce de leche instead of homemade will save you time and trouble. I have no idea why it is necessary to add more butter and brown sugar to the dulce de leche (aka caramel) in this recipe, but I don't ask questions when I know the results will be incredibly delicious. Is this pie good for you? No. Is it incredible and simple? Yes. Cheers to you and your delicious Banoffee Pie, Britain!

Banoffee Pie
Recipe from The Guardian (adapted slightly for substitutions)
 

Base
225g (8oz) digestive biscuits
100g (3.5oz) pecans
125g (1 stick/8 tbs) salted butter, melted

Filling
125g (1 stick/8 tbs) salted butter, diced
100g soft brown sugar
400g dulce de leche or caramel
½ tsp salt

Topping
60g (2 oz) pecans*
15g (3tbs) icing sugar or confectioners sugar
4-5 ripe bananas
Squeeze of lemon juice
275ml (1 1/4 cups)  double cream or heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp coffee granules

*Note: I skipped the addition of candied pecans on top for lack of time, but I recommend adding them if you have a few minutes to spare. I think they'd make this recipe even more delicious.

Pulse the biscuits to crumbs in a food processor until finely crumbled. Stir together biscuit crumbs, roughly chopped pecans and melted butter until completely blended. Press the mixture into a 23cm (10-inch) loose-bottomed tart tin/springform pan to line the base and sides. Chill while you make the filling.

Melt the butter and sugar together in a pan, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the dulce de leche and the salt and bring to the boil, stirring constantly until smooth. Pour over the base, and chill for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), line a baking tray and rinse and drain the pecans. Put into a bowl and sprinkle with the icing sugar, then spread out on to the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, shaking occasionally. Allow to cool. (The pie can be made up to this point up to 48 hours in advance.)
Thinly slice the bananas and toss with the lemon juice. Arrange on top of the cooled caramel in concentric circles.

Whip the cream and the coffee granules into soft peaks and spread on top of the bananas. Arrange the candied pecans on top and serve.

 

Sorry for the brief break between posting--I've been having some camera issues recently. It seems they may have fixed on their own, but we shall see! On the bright side, I've been baking up a storm. I'm all settled in my new place and I can finally fit all of my cooking supplies. It's a glorious thing. I may not have been able to take pictures of everything, but it was all so good I guess I'll just have to take one for the team and go for round two. More to come in the next few weeks with those. 

As I'm sure is pretty apparent, I love adding candy to recipes. The dough base for these cookies is fantastic, and I'm fairly certain it would be great with all sorts of candy add-ins. I stuck with the recipe this time and the results were amazing. The caramel melts out, the twix cookie provides the perfect crunch, the chocolate...well, you know how I feel about chocolate. Basically this is just a great cookie. It's nothing fancy or complicated, but I loved every part of it! 

Sidenote: after three years I finally was about to snag a chocolate therapy domain name before someone renewed the contract. You can now get to my page by going to www.mychocolatetherapy.com. The blogspot address will redirect there. Spread the word!

Twix Bar Cookies

Recipe from Sprinkled with Flour

2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups coarsely chopped Twix bars

Preheat oven 325°. Coarsely chop the Twix bars (about 1/4-inch chunks). I used mini Twix bars and cut them in half  I like to cut each bar in half lengthwise, and then make several cuts width ways to make even blocks. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly combined. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and beat at low-speed just until combined. Gently stir in the Twix chunks.

Roll a scant half cup of dough into a ball. Break into two pieces, placing each on the baking sheet with the rough sides facing up and keeping ample room between mounds of dough. Repeat until all dough has been used. If you run out of room in the oven, store the extra dough in the fridge until you have space to use it. Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy (approximately 15-18 minutes). Do not overbake. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Since the caramel from the Twix can make the cookies stick a little, I use an offset spatula to slide under the cookies without breaking them apart. Enjoy!