Salted Caramel Whoopie Pies

Cake:

3/4 cup Hood® Sour Cream
1/3 cup Hood® 2% Reduced Fat Milk
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Flaked sea salt

 

Salted Caramel Sour Cream Frosting:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp corn syrup
1/4 cup Hood® Sour Cream, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp fleur de sel (or coarse sea salt)

Whoopie Pies:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In bowl or measuring cup, stir together sour cream and milk. Set aside.

In separate bowl, stir flour with cocoa powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until well combined. Beat in egg until fluffy. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry mixture in 3 parts with the sour mixture in 2 parts, starting and ending with the dry mixture. Scrape the bowl as needed between additions.

Drop or scoop generous 2 tbsp dollops onto prepared baking pans, leaving a 2-inch space between cakes. (Makes about 24 whoopie pie halves.) Top half of the cakes (12) with a very light sprinkle of sea salt.

Bake for about 12 to 13 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of cake. Cool completely.

Salted Caramel Sour Cream Frosting:

Mound the granulated sugar in the center of a medium, heavy saucepan set over medium heat. Add the water and corn syrup; bring to a boil (do not stir) cook for about 4 minutes, swirling pan often, until sugar turns a deep amber color.

Remove from heat. Wearing oven mitts, immediately and slowly whisk in sour cream, vanilla and salt. If mixture hardens, stir over low heat to melt. Cool to room temperature.  

Using electric beaters, beat cooled salted caramel electric beaters with butter until combined. On low speed, gradually add icing sugar; increase the speed and beat until frosting is smooth and fluffy. 

Spread or pipe 2 tbsp Salted Caramel Sour Cream Frosting on flat side of 12 unsalted cakes. Cap with remaining cakes, salt side up.

Cooking Tip: For a quick and easy alternative replace home made caramel with 1/3 cup store-bought caramel. Add 1/4 tsp salt to the icing.  

Monte Cristo Strata

1 loaf (20 oz) country white bread, crusts removed and thinly sliced                        
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
14 oz sliced Black Forest ham
3 1/2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese (14 oz)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
4 eggs
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons ground pepper                        


Heat oven to 375°F. Generously grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with shortening or cooking spray.

 

Place layer of bread slices in bottom of baking dish. Brush with 2 tablespoons of the mustard. Top with half of the ham slices, then sprinkle with 1 cup of the shredded cheese and 1 tablespoon of the sage. Repeat layers, reserving last 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese.

 

In large bowl, beat eggs with whisk, then add milk and ground pepper; beat to combine. Carefully and evenly pour egg mixture over layers in baking dish, making sure bread absorbs most of the liquid. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and 1 tablespoon fresh sage.                            

 

Cover dish with sheet of greased foil. Let stand 30 minutes before baking.                           

 

Bake about 35 minutes or until dish is baked through and bubbly. Remove foil, and bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese on top is lightly golden.

 

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Peanutty Pie Crust Clusters

 

Whip up a delicious treat with flaky pie crust squares, peanut butter and toffee.

                   

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prep time 30 min                    

total time 45 min

servings 30                    

 

Ingredients

1 Pillsbury™ refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box

1 bag (12 oz) white vanilla baking chips (2 cups)

1 tablespoon Crisco® Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening

1 tablespoon Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter

1 cup salted cocktail peanuts

2/3 cup toffee bits

Heat oven to 450°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with Reynolds® Cut-Rite® Wax Paper.


Unroll pie crust on work surface. With pizza cutter or knife, cut into 16 rows by 16 rows to make small squares. Arrange squares in single layer on large ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove squares from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 5 minutes.

In large microwavable bowl, microwave baking chips, shortening and peanut butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring once, until chips can be stirred smooth. Add pie crust squares, peanuts and toffee bits; stir gently until evenly coated. Immediately drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto lined cookie sheets. (If mixture gets too thick, microwave on High 15 seconds; stir.) Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until set. Store covered.

Slow Cooker Dulce de Leche

2 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk

3 half pint (8-ounce) canning jars

Open cans of sweetened condensed milk and pour into three half pint jars, dividing evenly. Put on lids and rings.

Place jars in crock pot and add water to just reach the bands of the jars.

Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours (for caramel sauce consistency) or 10 hours (for a consistency more like pudding; see notes).

Carefully, remove jars from the crock pot and enjoy!

 

Initially, I cooked this for 10 hours and savored the pudding-like dessert that was magically created. Then, the thought occurred to me that cooking for a slightly shorter amount of time might create a consistency that could be drizzled over ice cream or my favorite apple cake. I made another batch and checked at six and at eight hours. The dulce de leche was a syrupy consistency both times. (This led to my new favorite use for this sweet treat: a make-at-home dulce de leche latte! The recipes for this as well as the apple cake are available on my website.) Select a cooking time based on the consistency you desire, and don’t hesitate to open the lid and check it as slow cookers vary based on size, model, etc.

Ambrosia Pavlova

Pineapple Curd
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup fresh pineapple juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted


Meringue
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups sugar
8 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup very finely ground pistachios, toasted and cooled

Topping
1/4 cup sugar
Grated zest of 2 oranges
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 orange, peeled of its pith and cut into segments
1 grapefruit, peeled of its pith and cut into segments
1/2 cup candied cherries in syrup, such as Amarena Fabbri
Large dried coconut shavings, julienned lime zest and chopped pistachios, for serving

1. MAKE THE PINEAPPLE CURD In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, salt, lemon zest, and egg yolk until smooth. Add the pineapple juice and butter and stir until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once it begins to simmer, continue to cook and stir the curd until it is thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. MAKE THE MERINGUE Heat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch, vinegar, vanilla, and salt until a thick paste forms. Put the sugar and egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix on low speed until smooth. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form. Add the cornstarch paste to the beating egg whites and continue to beat until very stiff and glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add the pistachios and, using a rubber spatula, very gently fold until evenly incorporated.
3. Trace a 9-inch circle onto a sheet of parchment paper. Flip the sheet over and transfer it to a baking sheet; spray lightly with baking spray. Pile the meringue in the center of the circle and, using an offset spatula or small rubber spatula, form it into a 9-inch disk, smoothing the top and sides. Transfer to the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature to 215°. Bake until the meringue is dried on the outside and looks set, about 1 1/2 hours. Without opening the door, turn the oven off and let the meringue sit inside until completely cooled, at least 4 hours. (The cooling process allows the meringue to dry and cool slowly enough so that it doesn’t collapse on itself.) Once cooled, gently tip the meringue onto its side and peel away the parchment paper. Carefully place the meringue on a flat cake stand or serving platter.
4. WHEN READY TO SERVE, MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM In a food processor, combine the sugar, orange zest, salt, and coconut milk in a food processor and process until the sugar is dissolved and the zest heavily perfumes the coconut milk. Pour into a large bowl, add the cream, and whisk until stiff peaks form. Pile the whipped cream onto the center of the meringue and gently nudge it to the edge of the meringue, leaving about a 1 1/2-inch border.
5. Arrange the orange and grapefruit segments on the cream and then drizzle with some of the pineapple curd. Dot the top with cherries, coconut, lime zest, and more chopped pistachios and serve immediately.