Malted Rice Crispie Treats

Today I took a drive through the back roads of South Carolina, going from Charleston to Columbia. It took me longer than driving on 26 would've, but truly I'd rather drive on open back roads than dodge cars on the interstate.

One of my favorite scenes that I come across at least of couple of time I drive on our highways is of a ramshackle building overgrown with wisteria. Seeing the soft purple flower, newly bloomed against crumbling walls stirs something in my heart. 

It's a similar feeling to biting into something reminiscent of childhood, made better by knowledge gained in (marginal) adulthood. 

I don't know how much instruction you need for crispie treats, but here it goes. You'll need: crisped rice cereal, marshmallows, vanilla extract, salted butter, and malted milk powder.

Begin browning the butter in a small pan. All good things begin with browned butter. I prefer just slightly less than medium heat in case I forget to pay as much attention as I should.

In a large pot, start melting the marshmallows over medium-low heat. Don't set it too high or your marshmallows will get a little too toasty. You could totally do this in a large microwave-safe bowl. I prefer not to microwave plastic, and I don't have glass mixing bowls--so stovetop it was.

Nutty and golden. Perfect.

Pour the butter over the semi-melted marshmallows and start stirring.

When the marshmallows are close to smooth, stir in the malted milk powder...

And the vanilla extract. Keep stirring until the marshmallow mixture is completely smooth.

The cereal is the last to join. Just keep mixing until you don't see any large patches of marshmallow. Although those parts are definitely my favorite. So maybe save just one.

I like to press the crispies in a pan using a sheet of wax paper sprayed with nonstick spray. Remember, the bigger the pan, the thinner the crispie treat. 

Made for both a girls' weekend and Easter, these are best transported on roads with lush greenery.

Malted Rice Crispie Treats (makes 16-25 squares, depending on pan size)

2 tbs salted butter

10 oz marshmallows (miniature or large are both fine)

1/3 c malted milk powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 c crisped rice cereal

• Spray a pan with nonstick spray. An 8x10 will yield a thicker treat, a 9x13 will yield a thinner square. The choice is yours.
• Begin by melting the butter in a small pan. Let it continue to cook until it becomes golden brown and smells nutty.
• While butter browns, begin melting marshmallows in a large pot. Pour in the browned butter and stir until marshmallows are almost smooth.
• Stir in malted milk powder and vanilla extract until completely incorporated and smooth. Stir in the cereal a cup or so at a time until all the cereal has been mixed in.
• Spread the mixture in the prepared pan. Spray a piece of wax paper with nonstick spray and press the mixture until it fills the pan evenly. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Hazelnut Banana Bread

It's good to be back in the swing of things. And with stellar banana bread at that. And Downton Abbey.  Oh mah gahhh, Lady Mary's wedding (and wedding dress)! Will Downton survive? Is Edith really going to marry Sir Anthony? And goodness, will Bates be set free?! So many questions.

A few things are certain. The Dowager Countess will have at least a few good one-liners each episode, Thomas will be an asshole (there's no polite word for it), the fashions will be incredible, and I will want to eat a whole loaf of banana bread. 

Banana bread is simple. Flour, ripe bananas, salted butter, an egg, vanilla extract, hazelnuts, baking soda, a bit of extra salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar.

Yeah, I'm still using pumpkin pie spice. Well you might as well, or it'll lose its potency by next year. Plus it's all the spices I love-- cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, etc. 

Mix the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt with the hazelnuts. I chose hazelnuts simply because I had them in the cabinet. Walnuts or pecans (or no nuts at all!) would be fine substitutions.

Ripe bananas are crazy easy to smush with a fork. 

Add the butter and brown sugar to the bananas. I used salted butter because it was in the fridge, but you can of course use unsalted and add a little more salt to the flour mixture.

Add the egg and stir it in.

Then follow it with the vanilla. 

Adding the flour is the final step. 

It's a thick batter with a gorgeous caramel color. I couldn't resist sneaking a taste.

I lined my loaf pan with parchment paper, but buttering and flouring the pan works just fine.

The crust is a deep golden brown when it's ready and has lovely cracks that let you know the baking soda worked.

The inside is somewhere in the middle between light and dense and so very tender.

It needs butter about as much as Pinterest needs another crock pot recipe. But! It's bread and bread is supposed to be buttered, right? Legit.

Hazelnut Banana Bread (makes one 8x4 loaf)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Pinch of salt (Note: If using unsalted butter, use 1 tsp)

1/2 c hazelnuts, skins removed and roughly chopped

3 ripe bananas

1/2 c salted butter, melted

3/4 c brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 350º. Prepare an 8x4 loaf pan by either buttering and flouring it or lining it with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, PP spice, and salt with a fork. Add the hazelnuts and gently mix in.
• In a larger bowl, smash the bananas with a fork until mostly smooth. Pour in butter and brown sugar and stir to combine. Add the egg and vanilla extract and stir until combined.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and gently stir until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Let the bread cool in the pan 5-10 minutes and run a knife around the edges to loosen it. Pop the bread out of the pan and let it cool on a wire rack. If you used parchment paper, you can just lift the bread out of the pan. Serve with salted butter if desired.

Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake

For the past week, I've been trying to find words where there are none. I can't help but feel a crushing heartbreak for families, children, and a community I'd never heard of before last Friday. The holidays are a season of reflection and gratitude, and I am so very grateful for the life I am able to live.

I'm thankful I could take this picture. That Santa belly is all him by the way. It's probably from the bits of cookies and whatnot I sneak him. 

This pudding cake started out as a pan of cookie bars. We're making lemonade out of lemons here. Or cake out of cookies. Same thing. You'll need: flour, baking soda, salt, espresso powder, marshmallows, brown sugar, cocoa powder, butter, vanilla extract, sugar, and eggs.

Dry ingredients (flour, soda, salt, espresso) make it into a medium bowl.

Butter and sugars start out in a large bowl. Cream them until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated.

Now, you could sift the cocoa powder into the bowl. Or you could sprinkle a little in, mix, sprinkle a little more in...you get the picture.

Serious chocolate action. It's time for the vanilla.

Add half the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Then add the rest and mix until barely incorporated.

Stir in the marshmallows. They're what make this hot chocolate-y.

You don't have to line the baking pan with parchment paper. I did that when I thought these would turn out more like bars. Just grease the pan like you would normally and spread the batter evenly.

Mostly the marshmallows will melt into the batter, making it super-gooey. But you'll see little bits that get toasted, kind of like it's been over a campfire. The edges get crispy and brownie-like, while the middle is fudgier. Much more my speed. Y'know ice cream probably wouldn't be a bad idea here.

I watched White Christmas two nights ago. One particular song struck a chord with me. When I'm worried and I can't sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep. It's a sentiment that means more now than ever.

Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake (makes one 9x9 cake)

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tbs instant espresso powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 heaping cups miniature marshmallows

• Preheat oven to 375º. Grease a 9x9 pan with nonstick spray.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, espresso, salt, and baking soda. 
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in vanilla extract. Slowly sprinkle in cocoa powder and mix until smooth. 
• Add half the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add the remaining half and stir until just incorporated. Stir in miniature marshmallows.
• Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until edges are crispy and middle has set but is still gooey. Let cool in the pan.

Sweet & Salty Fudge

Let's talk about how I've been trying to show you this fudge for like...5 days. Or something. The important part is that I get it to you, right? Because this is good stuff. It's the sort of Christmas decadence worth wearing stretchy pants for. 

It's the kind of thing babies like to get on their fingers and wipe on everything they see.

It's the kind of thing flaky sea salt was made for.

Five ingredients. No candy thermometer. No hassle. You'll need: miniature marshmallows, bittersweet chocolate, unsalted butter, sweetened condensed milk, and flaky sea salt.

Butter, marshmallows, and the condensed milk meet in a medium saucepan. Condensed milk is just luscious. Much more than its name would suggest.

Here we're getting melty and starting to smooth out. Keep stirring until it's completely smooth.

Time for the good stuff. Add your roughly chopped chocolate to the gooey marshmallow mixture. Bittersweet chocolate is really best here because the marshmallows and condensed milk have plenty of sugar.

You can take it off the stove now. The residual heat should be enough to melt the chocolate completely.

Pour that velvety mixture into a pan lined with parchment paper.

Smooth it out with your spatula.

And sprinkle with sea salt. It's kind of the prettiest ever.  Let it chill in the fridge for about an hour.

A note: If you let it sit longer than a day, the salt will kind of melt onto the surface of the fudge. So it won't have that pretty crystal look, but it'll still taste dynamite.

I really shouldn't have put two pieces of fudge on the plate. I feel like that's being deceitful. Because you really can only eat one piece at a time. 

But you can't fault somebody for trying. The depth of really good bittersweet chocolate with a healthy dose of sweet and salt just can't be beat.

Sweet & Salty Fudge (makes about 1 pound of fudge)

Via Coastal Living

3 c miniature marshmallows

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

4 tbs unsalted butter

12 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

• Line a 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan, combine marshmallows, condensed milk, and butter over medium heat. As marshmallows melt, stir mixture and continue until completely smooth.
• Stir in chocolate and remove from heat. Continue stirring until chocolate has completely melted into the marshmallow mixture.
• Pour mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle sea salt over the fudge. Refrigerate at least an hour before cutting. Store leftovers in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.