Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies

Turns out much/most of my life involves trying to fulfill the whims of my offspring. It is made even more urgent when Michael joins in. James said he wanted apple pies. Someone suggested salted caramel (me? Michael? Who is to say.) Hand pies/pastries were suggested. Then James proceeded to bring it up forever until I finally made it happen. And that is the tale of how I was peer pressured into spending one of my evenings after the kids went to sleep making salted caramel apple hand pies.

(Note: in the course of my writing this Michael saw the pictures and said, "Oh man those were so good! We need them again. Look at Rose's sweet face. She's never had these. Don't you think that face deserve them?" So you see what I'm working with.) 

Anyway-this recipe is actually super simple (more so if you buy pre-made puff pastry and salted caramel sauce but where's the fun in that?) and reallllly tasty. Buttery, flaky pastry with a sweet and salty (and gooey) caramel apple filling. You can use whatever apples you like for the filling and can even make the pastries ahead of time (just make sure to refrigerate them until you're ready to bake--the colder the pastry dough the better the end result!) Yummy yum yum! 

Salted Caramel Pots de Crème

PSA-if, while making these and filling up the pan with the hot water bath, you accidentally get some water in one of your pots de creme, it will still come out pretty tasty, if just a bit thinner in texture. Glad I could do that bit of research for you. Totally intentionally, not at all accidentally.

Smooth, creamy, rich, decadent, PERFECTION. These pots de creme (which are essentially little custards/puddings) are so insanely full of salted caramel flavor (...even the one that had some water get into it before being baked...) and they're sort of kind of MIND BLOWING. And they actually aren't even hard to make. So there's no reason not to have them in your life.

I feel like this is a dessert to impress, it's the kind of thing you serve guests and sound fancy when you offer them their pot de crème and they ooh and ahh over the little single servings of custardy goodness with the pretty flecks of sea salt on top. It's going to make you the coolest person around, really. That's why I'm not cool, I just haven't thrown the right dinner party yet...ha.

But seriously...I loved digging into these while sitting on my couch in my pajamas, so they're appropriate for all occasions, really.

Sweet & Salty Kitchen Sink Cookies {Panera Copycat}

These are the best cookies I've made in awhile. Like...can't get enough of them. Which makes sense because they're modeled after another cookie I couldn't get out of my head: the kitchen sink cookies at Panera.

At one of our meetings with a bride, my boss and I had a couple kitchen sink cookies at Panera. And I knew I needed to recreate them. They were HUGE (like...bigger than these ones. For the first time in my life I struggled with making cookies big enough!) And had pretzels and little bits of caramel and chocolate chips and...of course...there was sea salt on top. So-pretty simple to recreate actually. I amped up the flavor an extra notch by using one of my favorite browned butter cookie bases, because--why wouldn't I?

I think my version might be even better. They're sturdy but chewy and full of so many fantastic textures-crunchy pretzels, gooey caramel, melty chocolate. They're so so good. Addictive to the max. They also freeze really well if you-like me-can't be trusted with an entire batch. I froze some and then just pulled out when I needed a special treat ;). 

They're also great for sharing with new friends to endear yourself to them-hence why I brought along some for my "girl-date" with my boss/friend, Val and our new friend, Evie. They both loved them. Of course!

Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes you eat a delicious (browned butter) chocolate chip cookie (with sea salt on top) and think...you know what could make this better? If there was a salted caramel inside.

And sometimes you get a bag of soft salted caramels for your housewarming. And you know what you have to do.

Now....in a perfect world....there would just be an even layer of caramel in the middle of the entire cookie. In my opinion. But there is something fun about the surprise of a gooey salted caramel right in the middle of your seemingly standard(ish) chocolate chip cookie.

And you impress people when you give them as gifts. I love bringing little treats to my boss and my brides when I'm doing the wedding planning thing-these cookies had the honor of being a shared treat. And everyone who was gifted with them was VERYYY happy :D

They're a fairly sturdy, yet chewy, browned butter chocolate chip cookie with yummy bites of chocolate and sea salt on top (NECESSARY!) and then you get a bit of that chewy, gooey, sweet and salty caramel. When they're warm? TOTAL MAGIC. Messy. But magical!

Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Crack Pie

I CAN'T EVEN WITH THIS PIE.

IT IS LIT. IT IS ON FLEEK. IT IS FIRE. IT IS COOL BEANS AND GROOVY AND FAR OUT, DUDE! All the things kids have said in recent and not so recent times to describe something that is just next level fantastic.

Ok, now that I've fully expressed the extent of my excitement, let me just give you a little info about crack pies. Crack Pie is a dessert that originated at Momofuku Milk Bar and it's essentially a gooey sugar custard filling in an oatmeal cookie crust. And it's addicting sooo I'm guessing that's where the name came from. And it's tasty, forreals, no doubt about it. BUT...well...it pales in comparison to this version.

I'm so happy that I decided a salted caramel crack pie should exist. And that it would probably be too sweet and one note so I should add some dark chocolate to balance it, and add whole new levels of decadence. Sometimes...sometimes I have pretty good ideas. Gotta say.

So there's a crunchy ridiculously amazing brown sugar oatmeal cookie crust (which I baked with a little caramel sauce on it because why not), and then a layer of dark chocolate, and then gooey salted caramel crack pie filling. And salt on top. It's rich and sweet and salty and I love it so much and am so stoked that there's a whole other pie of this sitting in the freezer, waiting to be adored.

And look....I'm not saying you have to make it for Thanksgiving. But...I'm not not saying it, either.

Chocolate & Salted Caramel Swirled Meringues

Remember how we made that creme brulee last week that used 4 egg yolks? Remember how I said I had the perfect way for you to use those leftover egg whites? HERE IT IS!

Gaze upon the most glorious meringues of all time:

Crisp and light and airy and chewy--these are facts about meringues. And they're even better when you swirl dark chocolate and salted caramel in them and top them with a bit of sea salt. It's like magic. 

They were so magical (and the recipe made so many) that I felt I needed to share them. I gave some to a bride I met with (whose wedding was on Saturday, actually) as well as my boss, Val (and her husband, Darrin-who was pretty stoked to be getting gifted with treats). Val & Darrin loved them, as did Michael, as did I.

Really-there's no reason to make any other kind of meringue cookie, in my opinion. Because once you go caramel and chocolate...you don't go back, ya know? Sometimes we spoil ourselves.

Salted Caramel Crème Brûlée

This is the most delicious creme brulee of all time. SERIOUSLY. Like...puts any other creme brulee I've ever had to shame. Because it's made extra rich with salted caramel sauce IN THE CUSTARD. And there are tons of gorgeous vanilla bean flecks (yes, that's what those little black dots are) AND the sugar on top is VANILLA SUGAR that is caramelized into that sugar crust that makes a creme brulee...a creme brulee. Next level stuff right here.

When you think about it--salted caramel creme brulee just MAKES SENSE. Since the sugar crust is just caramelized sugar-it's a natural progression to up the ante by cooking salted caramel in the custard. And then you have the richest, creamiest, most delicious and flavorful creme brulee of all time!

Let me walk you through Michael's experience of first trying this recipe:
"So the cream"--("custard" I interrupted him, "it's sort of like pudding,") "is caramel?"
"It's vanilla custard but with salted caramel sauce in it."
"And the brulyy"--("you mean the sugar crust?") "is made with vanilla sugar?"
"Yes..."
"What are the black dots?"
"Vanilla bean flecks."
"Oh."

And then he ate a bite and made a "Mmmmm" sound, and then, as if it took effort to speak, "This is very rich. But veryyy gooood."

True.

The day that I made these, Michael and I went to dinner with his dad, stepmom, and aunt and uncle. I-in a rare turn of events-was the only one who didn't order dessert, and I told them it was because I had salted caramel creme brulee waiting for me at home. Then Michael asked if I had tried any and I snorted, informing him I'd had 2. Everyone laughed and he said that it's always great when I make delicious things and then they're all eaten before he's even home to try them. To which I indignantly replied that there were 5 more at home! And he looked at me and said, "And tomorrow 2 more will be gone." And I was like, "Well...yeah...they're not super filling!" Michael then informed me that creme brulee is not supposed to be a meal.

I firmly disagree :P

Brown Butter Toffee Blondies

It's graduation season! People are getting their caps and gowns and getting ready to bit high school adieu. I have 4 family members graduating this year-3 of my cousins and my precious little sister-in-law. Tomorrow is Shannan's graduation and I couldn't be more excited for her! It also makes me realize how ridiculously far removed from that I am. Like...I think that I'm not that much older than an 18 year old buuut I AM. I can barely even remember my graduation-I remember being mad because my hair wouldn't curl the way I wanted it to (typical) and I remember feeling sort of...underwhelmed during the whole thing. Everyone around me was crying and I was just sitting there willing myself to feel...something. But, that's fairly typical for me when it comes to big events-I sort of have a hard time wrapping my head around the situation. Also high school wasn't exactly the most fun time for me, so I wasn't too sad to be ending it. It's funny to look back and think how I had absolutely no idea where my life was headed. Especially considering I have an adorable photo at graduation with my mother-in-law, long before I had any inkling that is what she would eventually be for me :D

Anyway. With graduations, come graduation parties. Which are such a fun celebration of the graduate-I'm so excited for Shannan's and my cousins' and I know that, if asked, I would 1000% make these blondies to bring to a grad party. Because they're totally impressive and delicious and if you've graduated high school you deserve something epic to mark the occasion. And...I mean...on the practical side--bars/blondies are awesome for parties because you just grab one and go. Not messy and super addictive. Everyone will rave about them!

Technically I already gave some of these to Shannan after her last choir concery buuut I mean...I'd make them again for her party! Or just for me to horde and eat by myself while I watch Orphan Black. Because they're gooey and chewy and brown-sugary brown-buttery delish. And the toffee adds a bit of delightful crunch. And chocolate gives us life. And salted caramel on top is probably just a necessity, yeah? Yeah I think so too.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

I'm so mad because these pictures DO NOT DO THIS PIE JUSTICE. This is legitimately one of the most delicious things I've made for this blog and I blame stupid crappy rainy-day lighting for the fact that you so have no idea how good these are. Just...trust me. Listen to me. Let me convince you.

Ok...I mean...that photo above gives you some idea--right? LOOK AT THE EPIC LEVELS OF GOOEY RICHNESS! 

So...technically...I've shared this recipe before. In fact, it was the first recipe I ever posted on this blog: my beloved chocolate chip cookie pie. It has been way way too long since I've made that pie because....well because I have a blog and I have a ton of desserts I want to try so it's hard to re-make things. But I somehow improved upon that originally favorite recipe. Let me tell you how.

The original pie recipe calls for melted butter. Which now...if a dessert recipe calls for melted butter....I mean...there's a 99% chance I'm gonna brown that butter. So that's what I did (totally the right call). I also put in a bunch of oh so delicious salted caramel sauce--I poured some on top of the graham cracker crust, drizzled some on top prior to baking AND drizzled some on top after baking. And also sprinkled some sea salt on there. Because when THAT IS HOW WE ROLL.

The result is an ultra rich, super gooey, cookie pie (with melty chocolate chips that make you want to do a happy dance) in a buttery graham cracker crust with lots of rich and gooey caramel and the most gorgeous crackled brown-sugary top. And more caramel. And that salt. And...oh my goodness it is seriously the most wonderful sort of heaven. I prefer to enjoy the deliciousness of this pie warm, but Michael loves it cold. You can also just serve it room temperature. This pie is versatile like that.

I just...I cannot emphasize enough that THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER AND YOU NEED IT IN YOUR LIFE.

{Easy} Salted Praline Pecan Clusters

Look...I'm as Yankee as it gets. No one in my family is from the South or ever has been. I've lived in Ohio and NYC. I'm Italian and Irish. I think the Civil War did in fact end 150+ years ago. I don't like sweet tea.

Buuut sometimes I say y'all. And I love comfort food. And I love pralines.

So...Southerners...can you just like let me sometimes be one of you? In the land of pralines, at least?

That said...I'm 99% sure these are not traditional pralines. I've actually had a few pralines and these have very little in common with them. But...like I said...what do I know? And regardless, this recipe is insanely easy and yields DELICIOUS little pecan caramel-y clusters!

And you know what the best part of these "pralines" is? Ok....well...the best part is the taste.

But do you know the SECOND best part?? You make this recipe by just putting some stuff together and throwing it in the microwave! And...that's mostly it. Then you spoon some of the mixture onto a silpat or wax paper or something and sprinkle it with salt and YOU'RE DONE! This is actually a pretty dangerous situation we're all in now. Because we can have these YUMMALICIOUS lovelies so quickly and so easily. It's bonkers.

And seriously....they're so rich. And salty-sweet. And crunchy. It's like...pecans covered in a hardened salted caramel or butterscotch sauce...sorta. They're good, my friends. SO GOOD. That's all you need to know.

So Delicious Dairy Free® Frozen Chocolate Salted Caramel Pie {Vegan, No-Bake}

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DairyFree4All #CollectiveBias

I'm not dairy-free but that hasn't stopped me from lusting after So Delicious Dairy Free® frozen treats. I've long seen them and made a note to myself, "Hey...those look yummalicious. You should get them sometime." So when I had the opportunity to create a dairy-free recipe using So Delicious, I RAN to the frozen section of my closest Walmart! I was faced with a dizzying array of amazing options...but my heart was stolen when I laid eyes on their Cashew Salted Caramel Cluster and Cashew Dark Chocolate Truffle. Sweet and salty cashew milk based frozen dessert with chocolate covered cashews and ribbons of salted caramel? HEAVEN. Fair trade cocoa (also cashew milk based) frozen goodness folded with fudge and shaved chocolate? OMIGOSH YES.

Now...before I could create a recipe...I had to at least give each of the frozen desserts a try. And I can 100% confidently attest that they were RICH, DECADENT, CREAMY, and seriously insanely delicious. I think I'm a complete convert--I've gone So Delicious Dairy Free® and I don't think I can go back! It's seriously so unbelievable that they are:

• Certified Vegan
• Dairy-Free and Egg-Free
• Non-GMO Project Verified
• Cholesterol-free
• No artificial colors, flavors, trans-fats, hydrogenated oils, or preservatives
• No high-fructose corn syrup
• Always 100% plant-based
• Certified Kosher

Like....WHAAAT? Not to mention the fact that many of their products are also made with organic ingredients. Be still my good-food-lovin' heart: no wonder So Delicious Dairy Free® has been a dairy-free staple for more than 25 years! Seriously...their products are outstandingly delicious and something you can feel good about eating (or drinking...or licking..)

I decided the perfect way to highlight the 2 delectable pints of So Delicious Dairy Free® goodness that I picked up was in the form of a vegan (and, obviously, dairy-free) frozen pie! The base is a perfect, no-bake, chocolate cookie crust. Then there's a layer of the Cashew Salted Caramel Cluster, topped with a layer of Cashew Dark Chocolate Truffle. And the finishing touch? You cover the entire pie with vegan salted caramel sauce (which you are more than welcome to buy, but I have included a recipe below!) This pie is the perfect melding of flavors, everything balances so nicely and it all tastes deliiiicious together! The alternating layers of chocolate and caramel. The crunchy crust, creamy frozen filling, and gooey caramel. The perfect marriage of salty and sweet. A dessert that can be enjoyed by practically everyone-vegan or not!  Guys...this is a good one, you're going to LUHVE it. The name does not lie....it really is: SO DELICIOUS!

Salted Caramel Pecan Pie

I love pie. It makes it acceptable to eat things that-on their own-people would maybe judge you a bit for eating--you just throw it in a pie crust, call it pie, and everyone's cool with it! Like with this pie...it's pretty much just caramel (and a ton of tasty pecans) in a pie crust. If I had told people "I made salted caramel and am eating a huge chunk of it!" they'd be like "KAYLE NEEDS AN INTERVENTION!" but in pie form...everyone's cool. Everyone wants a piece. The magic of pie.

Um...so yeah. There's really nothing else to say to describe this pie--it's delicious salted caramel and pecans in a pie crust. With beautiful flecks of sea salt on top. It's pretty epic. Oooh! AND I actually think the pie got even more delicious the more days it had been in my refrigerator-it got exponentially harder to cut (I think the caramel was soaking into the crust?) but also the caramel flavor got more and more developed and it's gooey and wonderful and you all need some. Kay?

Chocolate Covered Potato Chips with Salted Caramel Drizzle

STOP IT!

Stop right now! You stop your thoughts of "Ew...chocolate covered potato chips??!" I am here to tell you that no...they are NOT gross. They are absolutely delicious (when done right). Let me tell you a little tale.

There have been a couple occasions are chocolate covered potato chips were presented to me. They were chips that were very thickly covered in a hunk of milk chocolate. And they were...meh. But I knew they had a greater potential. I knew they just weren't being executed correctly. I LOVE sweet + salty...and that's all this potato chip business is. So I knew that I would make my own chocolate covered potato chips...but I would use a thin layer of DARK chocolate (it gives a much nicer contrast and just tastes better) and add a salted caramel drizzle and sea salt...because...I mean...that just sounded great.

And so I waited.

I waited for the wedding to be over so I could make something sinful and decadent. I waited to make salted caramel sauce. And that day finally came last week. And so I made them. And they were GOOD.

Honestly...you barely taste the potato chip. It's just a little crunchy salty something underneath the rich dark chocolate and heavenly salted caramel. It may sound weird but...try them. You won't regret it. You'll just thank me as you shovel chip after chip into your face. Or fight with your husband over whether or not you or they should eat anymore because WHAT IF YOU EAT THEM ALL AND THEN THEY'RE GONE??!

Oh...maybe that's just at my house...

Raw Sugar Salted Caramel Sauce-Guest Post at Golden Barrel

By now we should all be aware of how enamored I am with salted caramel. So when it came time for me to have some more fun with Golden Barrel products for another blog post, I decided to use their raw sugar for an unprocessed, delicious twist on my fave caramel sauce recipe.

You might be wondering--oh, is caramel sauce hard to make? The answer is: NO! It's actually pretty quick and easy, so long as you use a deep enough pot to cook it so it doesn't spatter and burn you. And you may also be wondering--does raw sugar make the caramel sauce difficult, because of the larger sugar crystals? Answer: NOPE again! Still easy!

Really I mean...just look at that amber caramel perfection. It is so delicious. And makes your house smell fantastic. And makes you want to eat it with a spoon or maybe develop some recipes with it...? Hmmm...I suppose we'll have to wait and see :P

Now, enough jibber jabber, do you want to make this caramel sauce??

Head to the Golden Barrel blog to get the caramelicious recipe!

Browned Butter Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups with Graham Cracker Crusts

After my last attempt at caramel sauce in a chocolate chip cookie...I decided to try again. I was hopeful the caramel would be more noticeable. Good news: it was! Slightly. But it helped that I drizzled the cups with caramel too. And that I used browned butter...actually....browning butter is just helpful, period. Mmmmm...

Anyway, when I decided to make this recipe I realized that I was lacking in pretzels (which were what originally crusted these cups)--so instead I made little graham cracker crusts. Which meant these cookie cups taste a little s'moresy...ya know...minus the marshmallows...stay with me on this.

Cookie cups are great-you never have to worry about if they're going to rise correctly or spread too much or anything. They just bake up in their little muffin cups and you are guaranteed a thick, chewy, gooey cookie. Plus, now there's a whole world of putting a crust on your cookie. So it's like cookie + pie. Amazingness.

These cookies are perfectly portable yet soft and gooey on the insides. The browned butter adds that bit of depth, and the caramel drizzled on top with the salt adds that mmm mmm salty goodness to the sweet. The graham cracker crust is buttery and delightful and...chocolate chips...always our friends. They're crazy addictive and simply irresistible. Find out for yourselves, my friends!

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cups

Remember how I told you that caramel and I are having a minute? Still true.

But...it might be more than a minute. Perhaps an hour?

Who am I kidding--I will love caramel FOREVAHHHH!

And one day I was just going about my life, probably working or something, and I was overcome by the craving for a good dark chocolate salted caramel candy. And I was like "I should totally make some." So, at my first opportunity, I made my best friend: salted caramel sauce (nnnngggg it is SO GOOD). Then I made these (after first spooning some into my mouth).

And do you know what my first thought upon eating one of these candies was?

"Hm...it's good but....they'd be better without the chocolate." So...essentially...I just wanted caramel. It's like I don't even know me anymore. HOWEVER--after I ate approximately 3 more I completely changed my mind and decided these were 100% perfect as is. Silly me, sometimes I just take some time to figure out how I feel about things (note that Michael is not an example of this, since he and I said "I love you" to each other 2 days in. I feel comfortable telling you this because you're my pals and also we've been together 5 years and are getting married, so obviously it all worked out :P)

Anyway, once I decided that these were the bestest, I couldn't gobble them up fast enough!

You have delicious dark chocolate (the higher quality the better!) and once you bite into it you're rewarded with gooey, sweet and salty and delightfully rich caramel. Irresistible. For serious. And really...pretty easy to make. Everyone is pleased about this, methinks.