Simple Caramel Corn

We made this for Superbowl 49! Go Seattle Seahawks!

Watch the temperature!

Mix it well.

Add chocolate!

Ingredients

12-14 cups popcorn (popped)

1/2 c + 2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup corn syrup
1-1/4 cup golden brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp kosher or maldon flake salt

1 cup chocolate or candy coating

Instructions

• Put your popped popcorn in a very large bowl.
• Preheated oven to 250 degrees F.
• In a medium sauce pan, melt butter on low heat.
• Add salt, sugar and syrup. Stir well until sugar melts into mixture.
• Attach candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
• Turn heat to medium high and bring to boil. DO NOT STIR.
• Carefully, watch the thermometer. as soon as it reaches 248 degrees remove pot from heat.
• Quickly stir in baking soda and vanilla. Stir well. The caramel will lighten in color a smidge.
• Immediately, pour caramel on top of popcorn. Stir so popcorn is well coated. Be careful! It's hot and can burn!
• Transfer popcorn onto large cookie sheet (2 if needed).
• Place in oven for 45 minutes. Stir a couple of times.
• Take out of oven and immediately sprinkle 1 tsp of salt.
• Place on cooling rack and cool completely.
• If desired melt candy according to directions and drizzle over cooled caramel corn.
• If using dark chocolate, melt in double broiler and drizzle.

Caramel corn should last a week, if stored in an airtight container. Trust me - it won't last that long!

S'more Tarts - A Grown Up Treat

I love s'mores! Who doesn't, right? But sadly, we don't have access to a roaring campfire all that often. These individual tarts are a great way to bring back the s'more feeling when you can't make it outside (and bonus you can avoid all the smoke and ash of a real camp out).

This sour cream ganache has a tart/sharp flavour to it and is very rich! I think you could serve two people with one individual tart, if desired.

Makes 4, four inch tarts.

Crust

1-1/4 c graham crackers

1/4 c coconut

1/2 c unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. Combine all three ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
2. Remove two tablespoons of crumb mixture and set aside.
3. Press into 4 mini tart pans (10cm/4 inches each) - as compactly as possible.
4. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Ganache

1 cup full fat sour cream at room temperature

210 grams dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

Instructions

1. Melt chocolate in double broiler.
2. Take off heat and stir in sour cream until smooth.

Instructions - final steps

1. Spoon ganache into graham tarts and smooth.
2. Place mini marshmallows over ganache to cover tarts.
3. Set oven to broil with rack about 4 inches from burner.
4. Place all tarts on a rimmed baking pan and place under broiler. 
5. Carefully watch until marshmallows are golden brown. You may have to remove individual tarts if you find some browning faster than others.
6. If desired, drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkle with left over crumbs.
7. Can be left covered at room temperature for up to 6 hours.

Too many marshmallows? Never!

Decadence at its best!

Bunny Butt Brownie Bites

Brown Sugar- Spice Cookies Recipe

These cookies are simple, crispy yet chewy, buttery, and sweet - perfect in a lunch for the kids, or as a treat with your afternoon coffee. They also make great ice cream sandwich cookies.

Adapted from a recipe by Serious Eats. I like to add my favorite spices to this - cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. I also will often use 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup all purpose flour. It adds a bit of fiber and I like the texture of the cookie with the pastry flour. 

Leave some room around each cookie as they do spread. This recipe makes two pans of cookies (12 on each pan) so I refrigerate the second pan while the first bakes. It helps ensure the second batch doesn't spread too much.

Quantity: about 24 cookies

Ingredients

• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (7 ounces; 200 grams)
• 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar, divided (10.5 ounces; 300 grams)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (3g)
• 1 large egg (50g)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (10ml)
• 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour (285g) or 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour plus 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (4g)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (2g)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom

 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
2. Mix butter, brown sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add in egg and vanilla and stir.
4. Add to the bowl, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom and gently mix until combined.
5. Pour 1 cup raw or turbinado sugar into a separate bowl.
6. Scoop dough using a 1 inch cookie scoop, or about the size of a walnut sized and gently roll in sugar. 
7. Place on cookie sheet and press down slightly to ½ inch thickness. Place 12 on each pan.
8. Bake about 10 minutes - until golden edges appear and the tops have puffed and crinkled a bit.
9. Let cookies cool on pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Grandma's Easy Date Squares Recipe

Date squares? Have you ever had one? Is it a dessert you associate with your great aunt Agnes? Date squares seem to have become something of an "old-fashioned" dessert. Date squares or matrimonial squares (some say because they were made with so many "dates". Get it? You gotta go on a lotta dates to get married???) as they are known in some parts of Western Canada have been around since at least the 1930s.

They are made from a layer of sweet, gooey dates that is sandwiched between two layers of buttery golden oats.

My mom used to make them when I was a kid but I hadn't thought much about them since then. That is, until my 9 year old son saw a bag of dates at the grocery store. He wanted to try them. They were on sale so I bought two bags since my brain flickered with the idea of date squares. Turns out my son didn't like dates straight out of the bag (no surprise). That left me with two bags of dates and the brain flicker turned into a brighter light (luckily I didn't have the urge to walk into it).

I knew the kids would love the oat mixture - it's pretty much a crumble topping but I wasn't sure about the dates in the middle. Would the texture be appealing? In a word. YES. Yes, it would . Granted the dates are mixed with enough sugar to make them sweet and delicious and taste bud friendly to almost anyone.

I think date squares deserve a new minute in the sun, another 15 seconds of fame and it starts right here. Try this recipe. Let me know what you think of them. I know you'll love them (so will your great aunt Agnes so be sure to share)!

Ingredients

2 cups dates
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup brown sugar (can reduce or increase this amount to suit tastes)

1-1/2 cups large flake oats
1-1/4 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions

Fruit Mixture:

1. Place dates, water, juice, baking soda and sugar in sauce pan.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Using a fork or potato masher, squish the date mixture a bit to form a coarse paste.
6. Cool.

Oat Mixture:

1. In large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, oats, salt, baking powder and cinnamon.
2. Mix with hands,
3. Cut butter into 1 inch pieces and add to bowl.
4. Using your hands, rub and mix butter and other ingredients together until you have a  crumbly mixture that will hold together if squeezed.

Making the squares:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray an 8x8 baking dish with non stick spray.
3. If desired, line with parchment or nonstick foil, letting it hang over edges for easier removal later. 
4. Place half of oat mixture in bottom of dish and use your hands to firmly press mixture evenly over bottom.
5. Add all of the cooled date mixture on top of crumble and spread evenly (I use an offset spatula).
6. Add rest of oat mixture over dates.
7. Gently press down to cover fruit.
8. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, until top is golden brown.
9. Remove from oven and cool completely.
10. Either cut in pan or remove by pulling overhanging foil.
11. Cut into desired number of squares.

Double Chocolate Candy Cane Bark

Need an easy, delicious sweet treat for dessert or a hostess gift? Try this! Any bag of chocolate chips will do and in any flavour. A few crushed candy canes and maybe a few extra sprinkles and you're done!

Ingredients

• 3 bags of milk chocolate chips
• 3 bags of white chocolate chips
• 1 bag skor bits
• 5 candy canes, crushed
• various sprinkles or other candies (smarties) or crushed cookies

What to do

1. Melt chips in separate bowls or sauce pans (careful not to burn them).
2. Spread melted white chocolate on a cookie sheet that has been lined with a silpat.
3. Sprinkle 1/2 of skor bits over white choclate.
4. Spread melted milk chocolate over white and spread with a light hand.
5. Sprinkle with more skor bits, candy sprinkles and crushed candy canes.
6. Place in fridge until set.
7. Break or cut into pieces.
8. Enjoy!

REESE Peanut Butter Chocolate Eclairs

Chocolate and peanut butter - is there anything better? This combo makes my mouth water just thinking about it. And Reese does it perfectly. Whether it's their famous peanut butter cup or their candies, I can't say no when they're offered up (or when I pass them in the grocery store).

I picked up my first jar REESE peanut butter and chocolate spread while I was down in Washington State last year - as soon as I tasted it (yes, on a spoon...don't judge), I wish I had bought a few more jars. It quickly disappeared and I tried to forget about it until my next US trip.

Well, now I'm happy to say that you can buy this delectable thick, creamy spread, which is full of finely crushed pieces of peanuts to give it the texture of the famous REESE peanut butter cup, in your local Canadian grocery store!

And when asked by Hershey to create a recipe featuring this spread, of course, I said yes!

After much thought and input from the family and a few test recipes, we all decided this REESE peanut butter chocolate eclair was the unequivocal winner. The kids have already asked that it be part of  our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner menus!

Eclair pastry sometimes intimidates people - don't let it! It really isn't that difficult. Make sure you use a strong spoon when you are stirring the dough - one wooden spoon was harmed in the making of this dessert! The handle broke - make sure yours is sturdy!

Pastry Dough

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup flour
4 large eggs + 1 egg

Directions

1. Place milk, salt and sugar in a sauce pan over medium high heat.
2. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat.
3. Quickly add flour in one dump and stir until dough is formed. It should be glossy and come together in a ball that comes away from the sides of the pan easily.
4. Place back on medium heat and stir continuously until a milky white film forms on the bottom of the pan.
5. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes (you don't want to cook the eggs).
6. Break 4 eggs into liquid measuring cup.
7. Pour one egg at a time into dough and stir until incorporated.
8. Repeat with each egg, one at a time.
9. The dough will look like a thick and shiny paste. If it is too dry, beat the remaining egg and add half of it. Set aside the other half.
10. If you have one, place a half inch decorating tip inside a pastry bag and then add the dough. If you don't have one, simply place the dough into plastic resealable bag and cut half an inch off one of the bottom tips of the bag.
11. Place a silicone mat on baking sheet (you may need two sheets).
12. Starting about half inch above the baking sheet, pipe a 3-4 inch strip of pastry. Leave 2-1/2 inches between pipings.
13. Depending on size, 12-16 eclair should be piped.
14. If you haven't already, beat one egg. Brush each eclair lightly with egg. With the brush, gently push any dough tips back into the dough.
15. Bake for 30-35 minutes, switch pans half way through baking if using two pans. You want the pastry to be completely dry or it will collapse. (you can take one out and open it to check if dry).
16. Once golden brown, turn off oven but DO NOT remove pastry. Open oven door two inches and let the pastry sit for 30 minutes. This will help dry the pastry out so it's not soggy in the middle later.
17. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Filling

Ingredients

2/3 cup Reese  peanut butter spread
1/4 c heavy or whipping cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients at medium-high speed for one  minute until incorporated and slightly lighter in color.

Putting filling in eclairs

1. Cut each eclair length wise put do not cut through (like a hot dog bun).
2. Place filling in a pastry bag or strong resealable plastic bag with the end snipped off.
3. Pipe the filling into sliced pastries. 

Topping

Ingredients

1 cup Reese peanut butter chips
1 cup salted, roasted peanuts, chopped

Directions

1. I find it easiest to melt the chips in 1/4 cup batches in the microwave (about 45 second should do it).
2. Place each batch in a pastry bag with a very small 1/4 inch opening and drizzle on top of the eclairs.
3. Top each eclair with a sprinkle of crushed peanuts.
4. Let set until the melted chips have set again (about 15 minutes).

Note:
The pastries are best on the same day they are made but will last a few days in an airtight container.

Want more amazing recipes using Hershey's Reese peanut butter chocolate spread? Of course you do! Find them by following the #doyouspoon hashtag on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! 

Also, check the Hershey site for more info on this spread!

Disclosure: I received free product samples and was compensated for this post by Hershey's Canada. The opinions expressed are, as always, my own. 

Old Fashioned Banana Bread

There are lots of fancy modern banana breads out there. I'm sure they are all delicious but sometimes you just want something that reminds you of an afternoon spent in the kitchen with your Mom or Grandma or maybe those special care packages your family would send you when you went off to college. I'm guessing they weren't the fancy banana breads but just plain, basic stuff with the occasional chocolate chip thrown in. If you are yearning for a slice of THAT banana bread, try this. It's delicious, simple and will take you back to the excitement of opening those care packages or your Grandma's kitchen.

I can never wait for it to cool! So good with butter!

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour (preferably unbleached)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 cups mashed overripe bananas
2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

1. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. In a very large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
4. In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, sour cream, sugar, butter, vanilla and bananas.
5. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir until JUST combined.
6. Place half (4 cups) in each loaf pan.
7. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes until nicely brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Easy No Bake Cheesecake Cups

Shaved chocolate and a cool martini glass finishes off this easy dessert!

As much as I love creating desserts from scratch, there are times when I don't have time to make a complicated dessert...you know, when you are making a big dinner for family or perhaps making so many other dishes you don't have oven space for a dessert. And of course, sometimes you just want a sweet bite of something that doesn't take much time!

Layers!

This dessert is perfect anytime you don't have the desire to bake or the time! It may not be "gourmet" but it's delicious! Kids love helping create with this dessert so put them to work!

The chocolate version above has Cool Whip mixed into the cheesecake mixture but the berry version doesn't. It's up to you whether you want to use it...I find it gives a little bit lighter feel and taste. Also, in the chocolate version I just used chocolate condensed milk - that way I don't have to add the additional step of melting chocolate. And in the berry versions, I just split the mixture in half and added my favorite jams to flavour and colour.

Use a pastry bag and icing tip to pipe cheesecake mixture and cool whip for a neater dessert.

If desired you could make one big dessert in a pie plate or baking dish, but I like making individual desserts and layering the cheesecake mixture, cool whip and graham crumbs!

Blueberries top this blueberry jam version.

Makes about 8 (but depends how big your dishes are!)

Ingredients

1 can condensed milk (14 oz)- plain, chocolate or even caramel flavoured
1 bar cream cheese (8oz), room temperature
2 tbsp jam, your favorite flavour
juice of one lemon (for berry flavours) or 2 tbsp strong coffee (if making chocolate mocha flavor)

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2-3 tbsp melted butter

2 cups cool whip if adding to mixture
2 cups cool whip for layers and topping

Instructions

1. Add condensed milk and cream cheese to large mixing bowl and beat until smooth, about 5 minutes.
2. Add lemon juice (or coffee) and mix.
3. Add jam and mix. (if using more than one type jam, divide mixture first)
4. If using cool whip, add 2 cups and gently fold into mixture.
5. In another bowl, combine melted butter and graham crumbs.

Set 8 smaller sized ramekins or cute glasses on work station. Add layers of graham crumbs, cool whip and cheesecake. You could add in other fun stuff - caramel sauce marshmallows, chocolate chips... whatever you have on hand.

Caramel, graham cracker crumbs, chocolate cheesecake mix and marshmallows
make this a pumped up s'more version of dessert!

Orange Spiced Tea Poppy Seed Loaf with OJ Glaze

I drink coffee. A lot of coffee. For the most part, I only drink tea if I'm feeling sick or my mom is in town. But baking with tea is something different - I love it. I didn't really think about it until I attended the IFBC 2014 in Seattle last September. There, I attended a session led by Cindi Bigelow, President & CEO of Bigelow Tea. I learned an amazing amount of facts and information about tea. We also tasted amazing baked goods with tea as a main ingredient. This what inspired this loaf. Bonus: My kids loved it!

Brush with tea glaze - poke holes in top of loaf to ensure maximum tea flavour.

Brush or pour the glaze on the loaf once loaf has cooled.

Let sit for at least 30 minutes to dry slightly.

Ingredients

Tea:

3 bags orange and spice tea

1 -1/4 c  boiling water

Loaf:

1½ cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp poppyseeds

3/4 cup plain yogurt

¼ c steeped orange and spice tea

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp orange zest

½ tsp vanilla

½ cup vegetable oil

Orange Tea Syrup:

1 cup orange and spice tea

1 cup granulated sugar

Glaze:

1 cup icing sugar

1 Tbsp orange juice

1 tsp pure orange flavoring (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with baking spray.

Tea

1. Steep 3 tea bags in boiled water.
2. Let steep 10 minutes.
3. Discards tea bags and let tea cool.

Syrup

1. Make orange syrup by placing 1 cup tea and 1 cup sugar in blender. Blend for 1 minute.
2. Set aside. Can be made ahead of time.

Loaf

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt and tea.
3. Add eggs and whisk until combined.
4. Add sugar, zest, vanilla and vegetable oil and whisk until combined.
5. Add in dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan.
8. Poke holes over top of loaf.
9. Brush syrup over orange poppy seed loaf.
10. Wait 10 minutes and brush with more syrup. (you’ll have extra syrup – just refrigerate for future use)
11. Cool loaf completely.
12. Create glaze by whisking together icing sugar, orange juice and orange flavoring.
13. Gently pour glaze over loaf, let set till crust forms on glaze, about 30 minutes.

Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are soft, cakey, chocolately and with just a whisper of coconut flavor. They are possibly my favorite chocolate chip cookie. I used coconut oil because I didn't have any butter on hand. I wasn't sure I would like it since I don't use coconut oil often but taking this risk paid off! And when they are still warm and gooey, omg, they are nirvana on your tongue!

Makes approx 4 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp hot water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
2-2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix the espresso powder and hot water in a small bowl.
3. Beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, hot water and coffee until well combined.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
5. Add the flour mixture to the oil mixture and stir to combine.
6. Stir in the chips.
7. Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, place batter onto ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 8-9 minutes.
9. They will be slightly cracked and shiny.
10. Cool for two minutes and then move to a cooling rack. As they cool, the cookies lose the shiny look and will flatten a bit.
11. If you think they are too flat, place the batter in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites and Cook Book Review - Dessert Mashups

Do you have an intense sweet tooth? Or perhaps you're looking for a Christmas gift for someone who has one? Then you should buy a copy of Dessert Mash-ups by Dorothy Kern who blogs at Crazy for Crust. It puts together wonderful two in one combos or mashups of sweet treats!

When my daughter saw the book on our dining room table, her eyes almost jumped out of her head and she immediately picked it up and started earmarking the recipes she thought we should try (pretty much all of them!).

There are 52 recipes to try in the book. Recipes include mashups like lemon bar cheesecake, white chocolate coconut pie fudge and pecan pie cinnamon rolls! Many of these recipes would be great for the upcoming Holiday season, cookie swaps and school events.

Tonight we tried the peanut butter brownie bites. Mmmm - chocolate, peanut butter, brownie all in one mashup! It was a hit. Decadent, rich, worth every minute in the gym you'll need to work it off because you won't be able to stop at one! The peanut butter mixture was my favorite - sweet but not overly so and the brownies were fudgier than a Judy Blume book.

I was given permission by Ulysses Press to share this recipe with you. If you don't have the patience to dip the bites in the chocolate, just drizzle some on top. I had to use an 8 x 8 pan so the brownies were thicker and cooking time was 23 minutes. Note: My 10 year old did most of this by herself so it's a great recipe to make with the kids.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites

Yield 32 bites

Prep Time 1 hour

Bake Time 18 to 25 minutes

Chill Time 1 hour, plus cooling time

If I had to choose only one flavor combination to eat for the rest of my life, it would be peanut butter and chocolate. These bites are what happens when a peanut butter cup and a brownie get married and have babies: A layer of brownie is topped with a soft peanut butter mixture and then the whole thing takes a bath in chocolate. These are too easy to eat, so be sure to wrap some in a pretty box and give them to your neighbors . . . if you have the strength to share them!

Brownies

1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar

2⁄3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon brewed coffee (or water)

1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour

Peanut Butter Mixture

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1⁄3 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup powdered sugar


1 teaspoon vanilla extract

16 to 24 ounces melting chocolate or semisweet baking chocolate

Sprinkles (optional)

Make the Brownies


1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray or line with foil and spray with cooking spray for easy cleanup.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter, sugar, and cocoa. Stir in the eggs, vanilla, coffee (the coffee just adds a richness to the brownies, but you can use water if you prefer), and salt. Carefully stir in the flour. Spread in the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted about 2 inches from the edge of the pan comes out with only crumbs sticking to it. Let cool completely in pan before continuing. You can chill them to speed up this process.

Make the Peanut Butter Mixture


1. Combine the peanut butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Mix with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) until crumbly. Add the vanilla, then continue to mix until the mixture is smooth and almost comes together. Press it together with your hands to form a smooth ball.

2. Place the peanut butter ball on a sheet of waxed paper. Press or roll it into a square that’s about the size of your brownie pan. Place the peanut butter square on top of the brownies and press to adhere it. Press and adjust the edges so that it completely covers the brownies in the pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

3. When you’re ready to dip the brownies, melt half of the candy according to the package directions and line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Remove the brownies from the pan and carefully discard the foil. Set the brownies on a cutting board and cut the square in half. Place one half back in the refrigerator until finished with the first half.

4. Cut the half sheet of brownies into 32 squares (4 rows by 8 columns). Dip each square carefully into the chocolate (see Candy Dipping Tips, page 30), tap off any excess, and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining brownies, melting additional chocolate as needed.

5. Refrigerate until set. If desired, place any remaining chocolate in a plastic baggie or small squirt bottle and drizzle chocolate on top of the truffles. You can also cover them with sprinkles or leave them plain. These can be kept at room temperature or in the refrigerator in an airtight container, or can be frozen. The truffles will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Tip: Use white candy coating for a fun new twist!

PS this is how it looks in the book...even more yummy!

Photo from Dessert MashUps (used with permission from publisher).