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Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies

October 27, 2014 · by Ari · 6 Comments

Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Rich, fudgy, brownie-like chocolate cookies stuffed with melty mini Snickers and topped with sea salt for the perfect extra bite. These gluten-free Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies are the perfect way to use up Halloween candy, a great Christmas cookie, or perfect for any occasion!

Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Oh, hello cookie. Cookie that tastes and feels like a brownie. Cookie that is stuffed with one of my very favorite candies. Cookie with melty chocolate, caramel and nougat in every bite. Cookie with big sea salt crystals adding the perfect balance to all that candy sweetness. Just wanted to say heyyyyy.

Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Let’s chat about candy for a second. I have really strong opinions. For example, 3 Musketeers–WHAT IS THE POINT? It’s just so fluffy, and soooo overly sweet, and there’s nothing to it. Ick. And then there’s Milky Way. That’s just like a lesser Snickers. It’s like it’s trying to be a Snickers for the poor people with nut allergies, but without the salty peanuts to add crunchy and bite, what is even the point?? Then we get to the good ones. Snickers, Butterfinger, Reese’s and Twix.  Those are the ones that, come Halloween time (okay…any time), I can’t resist grabbing a mini, or 7. In fact, the leftover Snickers from these cookies were totally bad news. I usually end up taking them into work and using them as bribery to toss at the kids that impress me in rehearsals. I know, I know…I should give them carrot sticks, probably, but I’m a terrible influence.

Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Anyway, these cookies are a bit indulgent, but they are whole grain, gluten-free, and shockingly don’t contain any butter or oil! They taste like a rich, buttery brownie, so you’ll never notice the little healthier adjustments. Of course, you are free to use real butter and white flour–they will still be great, but I honestly can’t taste the difference!

Print
Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Prep Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: 2 dozen

Serving Size: 1 cookie

Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Rich, fudgy, brownie-like chocolate cookies stuffed with melty mini Snickers and topped with sea salt for the perfect extra bite. These gluten-free Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Brownie Cookies are the perfect way to use up Halloween candy, a great Christmas cookie, or perfect for any occasion!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup gluten-free baking blend (or white whole wheat flour)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Hershey's special dark or Dutch process)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 8 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 5 tablespoons apple butter
  • 2/3 cups brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 24 mini Snickers candies (I bought a combination bag with regular, peanut butter and dark chocolate)
  • coarse sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together baking blend, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together melted chocolate, eggs, vanilla, apple butter, and sugars until well combined, then slowly beat in dry ingredients until just combined. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Spray hands with nonstick spray (this sounds weird, but it will prevent dough from sticking to your hands during rolling) and roll dough into about 1" balls. Press the center with your thumb to make a whole for the Snickers. Gently press 1 mini Snickers into the center and then re-roll dough around it. Make sure dough is completely covering the candy. Add more dough if necessary. Place onto prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Sprinkle each cookie with a small pinch of coarse sea salt (if desired) just before baking.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes until just set. Cool completely on pan. Store in an airtight container for one week (these cookies stay pretty darn soft and gooey for days!).
3.1
http://www.arismenu.com/snickers-brownie-cookies/

Filed Under: Christmas, Cookies, Dessert, Gluten-free, Halloween, Holiday & Seasonal · Tagged: candy, chocolate, christmas, christmas cookie, cookie, gluten free, gluten free chocolate cookie, halloween, halloween candy, snickers, snickers cookie

Drink & Dish: Spider Web Cupcakes

October 23, 2013 · by Ari · 34 Comments

Easy & fun spider web cupcakes are the perfect treat to bring to your Halloween party, and they are totally fool-proof!

Spider Web Cupcakes

When I was a little kid, I absolutely LOVED Halloween. Not surprising that this theatre kid loved getting dressed up, right? The best part was that every year my dad would take me trick-or-treating, and we would have themed costumes. I can’t remember everything we did, but I know it included The Lion King and 101 Dalmations. Sometimes he would rent the most elaborate costumes from local costume shops. He always went all-out, and it made the holiday really special to me.

Spider Web Cupcakes

In fact, I’m pretty sure I went trick-or-treating all the way through high school, and even one year in college (with my brother–not alone!!). Oh my brother…one year we went he was riding some scooter around! The epitome of lazy, right? I have never let him get over that one!

Spider Web Cupcakes

I actually haven’t really gotten into Halloween for a long time…until this year! You guys, Nicole and I had such a blast getting dressed into costumes, playing with dry ice and spider webs, and creating fun Halloween concoctions together. It really reminded me what this holiday is about (for me)–having fun.  I’m actually looking forward to it this year also because I work at an arts school, and I just know my students are going to come decked out in super creative costumes.

Spider Web Cupcakes

So let’s chat about these cupcakes. They are ridiculously simple. You can use any chocolate cupcake you’d like. Homemade, box mix, even one you buy from the store. I like chocolate because of the dark color, but anything will work. Red? Orange? Candy corn colors? You name it. Then you just need a white frosting. I used cream cheese because that’s what I like, but you could use butter cream, or even a store bought variety (although, I beg you, don’t buy the ones with the weird hydrogenated oils). You’ll also need some black royal icing. Confession:I bought one at the store. This stuff is totally out of my realm, and I was all about ease and simplicity.

Spider Web Cupcakes

A few tips that will help you:

  • Use a very small tip on your piping bag.  <—Small tip = more control
  • Chill the royal icing. <–chilled icing makes it thicker, less runny, and easier to work with
  • Start conservatively. <–You can always add later, but you can’t take away.
  • Practice on some wax paper or paper towel before trying it out on your cupcakes. <–I did, and I figured out what I liked.

In the latest episode of Drink & Dish, I demonstrate exactly how to make these, so you can see the step-by-step process. Nicole makes a devil’s food cake martini that is not only delicious, but she also shows how to use her awesome fake blood to make your martini look like blood is dripping down it–totally creepy and awesome. Oh, and we definitely wore costumes. It was my favorite episode we’ve ever filmed.

Print
Drink & Dish: Spider Web Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Drink & Dish: Spider Web Cupcakes

Easy & fun spider web cupcakes are the perfect treat to bring to your Halloween party, and they are totally fool-proof!

Ingredients

  • Chocolate cupcakes
  • Cream cheese frosting (or butter cream, or any white frosting)
  • Black royal icing

Instructions

  1. See instructional video
3.1
http://www.arismenu.com/drink-dish-spider-web-cupcakes/

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Dessert, DIY/How To, Gluten-free, Holiday & Seasonal, Miscellaneous · Tagged: cupcakes, decorating, design, drink and dish, halloween, spider web cupcakes, spiders

Candy Corn Oatmeal Cookies

October 3, 2012 · by Ari · 4 Comments

Happy October! I know we’re technically on day 3 here, but it’s still the beginning, so I figured what better way to celebrate than with Halloween candy?

Okay, I have a confession. I don’t think I actually like candy corn. I LOVE these cookies, but I bought this entire bag of candy corn to make them, and so once in a while when I was craving something sweet, I would grab a couple. I wanted to like them. Everyone loves candy corn at Halloween time! I tried way too many times, but the truth is, I think they taste weird on their own. I would much rather have a chocolate peanut butter pumpkin.

You know those round ones wrapped in pumpkin foil paper with the crunch in the middle that only come out for Halloween? I have a serious obsession. I used to buy at least 4-5 bags a season, and eat them all. It was kind of gross. Really gross. But those pumpkins are delicious. This year, I’m abstaining from delicious peanut butter pumpkins. I don’t trust myself. However, if you buy a bag and wanted to give me jusssstttt ooonnneee, we would maybe be best friends for ever and ever.

In return, I will give you the whole 2/3 full bag of candy corn sitting on my counter. I would say in my pantry, but yeah…. Still haven’t put that away. In fact, my house is a bit of a disaster, but that’s a whole other story, and it’s a little embarrassing. Let’s just pretend for one day that I am the neatest person ever, and my house always looks immaculate. That’s a fun dream.

Let me tell you, the first time I attempted candy corn cookies, disaster ensued. I tried to make pumpkin ones, and they were entirely too cake-like, plus I mixed the candy corns into the batter, and my poor cookie pan is still recovering. It was a sticky, cakey mess that no one would enjoy eating. Surprisingly, I didn’t freak out like I normally would. I laughed about it, threw away the disaster cookies, and went back to the drawing board. The result? Halloween cookie perfection.

It’s still important to bake the candy corns in the cookie, because that’s what makes them gooey, and stick to the cookie, but pressing them in on top saves you the mess! Also, a heartier oatmeal cookie stands up a lot better when adding strange little yellow, orange, and white candies to the mix 😉 The cookies are slightly crispy on the edges, while perfectly soft and gooey on the inside, with the perfect melty sweetness of baked candy corn.

Even this candy corn hater couldn’t get enough!! I’m telling you, if you too think you hate candy corn, you can reform to society’s candy corn obsession by putting them in these cookies! And if you love candy corn, you will really  love these cookies!

Candy Corn Oatmeal Cookies

yield 3 dozen

  • 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat four
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 6 tbs apple butter
  • 3 tbs coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup raw turbinado sugar
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • approx 1 cup candy corn

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together apple butter, coconut oil, sugar, egg substitute and vanilla until combined. Slowly beat in dry ingredients, then fold in oats.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and drop cookies onto the sheet using a small cookie scoop. Press 3-4 candy corns into the top of each cookie.
  4. Bake for 12 minutes until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

What’s your favorite Halloween candy??

 

Filed Under: Cookies, Dessert, Holiday & Seasonal · Tagged: baking, candy corn, cookies, dessert, fall, halloween, oatmeal, recipe, seasonal, whole grain

Our Halloween

November 1, 2011 · by Ari · 2 Comments

Hi friends! How was everyone’s Halloween? Ours was perfect. I had been so bummed thinking I was going to have to work on Halloween, but it all worked out and we were able to cancel rehearsal and I was able to spend a relaxing night with my fav guys which was exactly what I needed! Steve, Hermano, Winston and Clementine left around 5pm to head over to Jason’s. “Winston! Clementine! Wanna go for a ride to uncle Jason’s?!” Winston knows English better than Clementine and started whining and running around in circles. So cute. We have to spell things like ride, treat, and walk in front of him if we’re not actually planning to make it happen. Learned that lesson the hard way. As soon as we opened the car door, they both jumped right in, tails wagging.

Once we got there, we put Steve and Hermano on trick or treater duty and Jason and I headed to the store to buy some things we needed for dinner. We made “spaghetti” and spicy meat sauce

with a spinach salad

and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Everything was delicious and I will be posting recipes ASAP!

After dinner and once trick or treating died down (Jason gets sooo many! We ran out of candy. Whoops.) We played with the puppies and Winston got to spend some quality time with his girlfriend Nico.

You can’t see it too well in the picture above, but this year, Winston dressed up as a rooster!

And Clementine was a bee!

One of my students suggested we take them trick or treating and that people should pass out dog treats! Brilliance. Unfortunately, I don’t think the rest of the world has caught on, so we gave them our own treats.

Does it make me an old lady is my perfect Halloween is staying in watching movies, cooking dinner, and dressing up my puppies?

What’s your favorite part of Halloween?

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged: clementine, family, food, friends, halloween, winston

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