Tag Archives: candy

Halloween treats: Grab bag brownies

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Welcome back to the world of Bakers Anonmous, everyone! I’ve missed you all, and I’ve missed baking. This following recipe isn’t the one that I was going to post a few weeks ago, but as it’s Halloween in a few days, I figured this treat from Hershey’s was a great opportunity to use up that leftover candy (is there ever any leftover?). 

Hershey’s Grab-Bag Brownies

Ingredients:

Any combination chopped HERSHEY’S and REESE’S candy bars to make 2 cups (I used Almond Joys, mini Hershey’s bars and Reese’s cups. I don’t recommend baking Kit-Kats into brownies)

1 C (2 sticks) butter or margarine

2 C sugar

2/3 C HERSHEY’S Cocoa

4 eggs, beaten

3/4 C all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan (I used 8×11 in) with aluminum foil. Make sure there’s overhang so you can pull the brownies from the pan later.

2. Remove the wrappers from the candies and chop them into one and a half inch pieces. Don’t be afraid to leave big chunks as a surprise!

3. Melt the butter. I heated it in the microwave for a minute. Add it to the sugar and cocoa. Slowly stir in the eggs. No need for scrambled bits here. (Ew.)

4. Stir together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the flour mixture in increments, stirring well after each addition. Add the vanilla and candy pieces. Spread into the pan.

5. Bake for 50 minutes or until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Be careful not to overbake!

Niki’s note: the original baking time is 30 to 35 minutes; however, because I lined my pan with foil and the pan was smaller than the originally designated size. I’d rather have a longer baking time than a messy pan to clean! Please note that if you do use a different size pan, times will change.

6. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Makes about 36 brownies. As you know from me, I always cut my brownies a little bit larger than average!

Niki’s Note: Thanks to my best friend, Rachel, who helped me out with these delicious treats. :)

Crunch and Butterfinger: dessert in a bar

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It’s around 90 degrees in South Jersey today, and I really don’t want to bake anything. When you live in a tiny loft apartment like I do (non-air conditioned, I might add), the thought of using a gas stove is frightening – very frightening.

Instead of baking anything today, it’s time to pull out a trust candy bar, something that’s simple, no-bake, and still chocolate. When my boyfriend and I went grocery shopping for eggs and cream cheese, we passed the candy aisle; my eyes fell on two over-sized candy bars that were part of a four for $5 deal. I never skip chocolate sales, especially when I have a supermarket card.

Butterfinger

Butterfinger

Ever the classic, Butterfingers were originally developed by the Curtiss Candy Company of Illinois in 1923. They’re trademarked by the bright orange candy filling similar to peanut brittle with a chocolate coating.

What we purchased was one of their Giant Bars which has the orange flakes scattered throughout the chocolate. It comes in in easy-to-break sections perfect for, like the package advertises, sharing with another. I prefer to eat Butterfingers this way, because the orange filling sticks to my molars too easily in the regular form.

Crunch Bar

Crunch Bar

I’d rank this candy higher than the Butterfinger bar, but not by much. Introduced into public market in 1938, Nestlé Crunch is made of milk chocolate and crisped rice. It originally used to be packaged in a foil sleeve with a second paper one, but Nestlé recently discontinued it in favor of more conventional ways.

I like this candy bar because of its light and airy taste, as well as its portability. It doesn’t seem to melt as quickly as some of the other candy bars, and it doesn’t get stuck in my teeth, either.

Niki’s Note: Completely unrelated to candy bars, I want to thank all the readers/viewers who helped this blog reach over 1,000 hits! I hope you keep coming back. :)

Food blog faves

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It has been a crazy two weeks, what with my birthday celebration, baking like crazy, and Easter Sunday with my Grammy. I’m excited to see what my fellow food bloggers have been up to!

I’m always afraid to tackle anything made with yeast, which basically means that I stay away from bread products. One of the latest recipes from At Home in Alaska, Apple Cinnamon Rolls, has me rethinking that decision.

Once again, Bakerella makes me feel bad about my decorating skills with her latest Easter cupcakes. While Easter was two days ago, I’m still waiting for Easter candy to be marked down so I can glory the chocolatey goodness.

There’s no yeast in this Lemon Coconut Bread from Baking Bites, so I feel less intimidated to make it. Besides, there’s lemon and coconut. What could possibly be bad?

Cookie Madness put the brand-new “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” baking sticks to the chocolate chip cookie test, and they came out great. I’m an Imperial kind of girl, so I’ll be interested in seeing how they turn out for me.

Marshmallows are not my most favorite thing in the world, but these Marshmallow Chicks and Bunnies from Dessert First are too adorable to pass up. Maybe I’ll forget my marshmallow stigma and dive into these.

Holy goodness Batman, these rainbow cupcakes from I <3 cuppycakes look absolutely amazing! Now I know what’s next on my to-bake list.

~Enjoy!