Category: HOTR Eats
Momontherun’s Homemade Skor Bars
| January 9, 2011 | Posted by Lauren under Desserts, HOTR Eats |
Remember Skor Bars? The Hershey toffee bar covered in milk chocolate?? Ok, so I don’t either. But word on the street is that they’re buttery, delicious…and hard as a rock.
(Source)
Now you may be wondering why I’m even bothering to give you a recipe to make a type of candy I don’t ever remember eating. Well the truth is, when my Mom first made this for us, we all just thought of it as homemade bark. An amazingly delicious, simple recipe she would make whenever we were home for the holidays. I didn’t even know they resembled a famous candy until EC tried them for the first time — and that was the first thing out of his mouth. He told us they tasted just like Skor bars, only better. And they’re definitely a lot softer.
But whether you call it bark or a Skor bar, one fact remains: these treats are insanely delicious. A heavenly combination of butter, sugar, and chocolate. And they are extremely easy to make. You can whip up a batch in less than 10 minutes, which is about twice the amount of time it will take you to devour them.
Momontherun’s Homemade {Better Than} Skor Bars
Ingredients
- Box of club crackers (such as Keebler) (Note: you could also use saltines, but the buttery flavor of club crackers makes it so much better!)
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 12 oz (1 bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- (optional) 1 cup topping, such as:
- chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds
- crumbled Trader Joe’s Cinnamon School House Cookies (this is what I used)
- Butterscotch chips, coconut, etc
Directions
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Grease a jelly roll pan (which is basically a cookie sheet with sides). You can use one that’s either 10 1/2-inches x 15 1/2-inches or 12 1/2-inches x 17 1/2-inches. You’ll just have to adjust the number of crackers that you use.
3.) Combine butter and brown sugar in small pot and melt over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
4.) Meanwhile, line the crackers in one layer along the bottom of the pan. It’s okay if your crackers break in the process – the toffee will hold them all together.
4.) Pour sugar/butter mixture over crackers and gently spread until all crackers are evenly coated.
5.) Bake for 15 minutes.
6.) Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let the chocolate sit for about 2 minutes or so to melt. Once melted, use a wide spatula to spread evenly over cracker/toffee base.
7.) Sprinkle with toppings! I didn’t have nuts, so I made one section plain, one large section coated with crumbled Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Schoolhouse Cookies (if you haven’t tried these yet, you’re seriously missing out!), and one with butterscotch chips.
8.) Refrigerate for 1 hour (sorry, this is the toughest part. But believe me, it’s worth the wait). When hardened, break into small pieces.
Now I realize that it’s not very logical to be posting a buttery, unhealthy recipe during a time when people are trying to cut back on sweets. But I made these the other day and they are way too good not to share. Next time you need to whip up an easy treat for an event, or are just craving something sweet for yourself, make a batch of these. I can pretty much guarantee you won’t regret it!
Weekend on the Run: Part 1
| December 5, 2010 | Posted by Lauren under Desserts, HOTR Eats, LifeontheRun |
(The Part In Which We Eat Our Weight in Baked Goods)
Today I ran my first 5K since college, and my first road race 5K since high school (in case you were wondering, that was a long time ago 
). You might think that a little 5K would seem like nothing after running marathons. But the truth is, I was extremely nervous to sign up for this race. More nervous than I was for the marathon I signed up for the same day (more details on that to come). After all, 5Ks are fast! And my running since the Cape Cod Marathon has been pretty minimal. But when my fellow ontherun sister told me she had signed up for the Providence Downtown Jingle Bell 5K, I had to jump on board.
So what’s the best thing to do the day before a race to make sure you’re nice and ready? Rest, hydrate, and eat plenty of healthy carbs. Naturally, I did the opposite.
A little while ago, Becky had also invited me on an impromptu, one day trip to NYC. Since I had never been at Christmas-time to see all the decorations, I jumped at the chance. Armed with nothing more than Google Maps on my iPhone and a few recommendations from Susan, we set out in the early hours of the morning with one simple plan: to eat.
And we didn’t want to eat just anything. We both knew nothing could fuel our 5K dreams better than cupcakes. More specifically, cupcakes from 3 well-known NYC bakeries: Magnolia, Crumbs, and Buttercup Bake Shop. Now I was no stranger to these amazing cupcakeries, having tried them all on previous trips to the city. But it had been awhile, and we felt that an official taste-test was in order.
Fueled by a late morning Peppermint Mocha, we trekked through the city by foot, following a less-than carefully planned route to these sugar havens. 3 cupcakes, 2 kinds of pizza, and several cute Christmas markets later, we dubbed the day a huge success. Our route, along with a quick review of all the restaurants we tried is all below.
In order of destination
Crumbs Bake Shop
I’ll admit I was already partial to Crumbs before this trip. I knew their huge, rich cupcakes were to die for. I’m happy to say this trip did not disappoint. There was a sea of cupcakes to choose from – each one looking more decadent than the next. We finally settled on a mammoth-sized peanut-butter cup cupcake to sample. This chocolate cupcake had a light, fluffy peanut butter frosting with mini peanut butter and chocolate chips on top.
Photographed atop the now infamous pizza box
And on the inside, peanut butter filling. Heaven.
While this cupcake was more expensive than the other two (by about a dollar), it was definitely much larger in size. And totally worth it.
Did you know restaurants don’t like it when you bring in outside food? This photo was quickly snapped before we got scolded by the waitress
Bella Vita Pizzeria
Seeing as our big plans for the day included consuming mass quantities of sugar, we figured it would be a good idea to get some solid food in our bodies. When it came to choosing what to eat for lunch, we went with the obvious choice: pizza!
We happened to be near Bella Vita, so decided to give it a try. We figured we couldn’t go wrong with Neapolitan Old World style brick oven pizza. The long wait outside told us it must be good.
Our wait ended up being completely worth it. We ordered a pesto & mushroom pizza that was so good, it had non-mushroom eating Becky convinced. So good, that we decided that we had no choice but to cart a box of leftover pizza around the city for 6 hours.
The pizza had flat crust that was still soft, sauce that was slightly sweet, and fresh-tasting pesto that had just the right amount of basil. I loved how the pesto was actually on top of everything else. And while I do love cheesy pizza, I appreciated the balance of cheese and sauce on this one.
Max Brenner’s
Our next stop on the dessert tour of the city was a chocolate lover’s dream: Max Brenner Chocolate. Becky had seen their chocolate pizza featured on The Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate. With a proclamation like that, we knew we had to give it a try. Would it stand up to the cupcakes in a taste test?
Clearly ecstatic at the thought of chocolate overload
The chocolate pizza had a buttery bread crust, with melted milk chocolate “sauce,” white chocolate “cheese,” and was topped with toasted marshmallows. It was quickly determined that we would probably need a cup of coffee to wash all this sugar down.
The verdict: messy, sweet, and delicious! I loved the combination of melted chocolate with roasted marshmallows on top of a delicious crust. But to say this slice was sweet is probably an understatement. Even with our coffee to chase it down, the two of us could not get through one slice.
I think she likes it
See the glassy eyes? Sugar coma is setting in.
Despite the fact that we couldn’t actually finish the pizza, I’m glad we tried it. And I’d definitely go back. Max Brenner’s had so much more to offer: brownies, cookies, spiced hot chocolate, and the most amazing fondue spread I’ve ever seen. Thank goodness there is one opening in Boston soon!
Magnolia Bakery
Of all the cupcakes that we tried yesterday, I think those from Magnolia are probably the most famous. There are 4 different locations throughout the city. We chose to go to the smallest location because it fit in best with our plan – the one in Grand Central station.
Despite the small size of the shop, there was still a decent selection to choose from. This time, we decided to go with something a little more classic: a yellow cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting.
These cupcakes are quite a bit smaller than the ones from Crumbs. The buttercream frosting was delicious. Fluffy, buttery, and chocolatey, without overloading on the sugar. The cake was not overly sweet either, which provided a nice balance to the buttercream. However, it lacked the filling and overall moistness that made the Crumbs cupcake so wonderful.
Buttercup Bake Shop
The last stop on our Cupcake Tour of NYC was cute little Buttercup Bake Shop.
Inside we were greeted with row upon row of cupcakes and delicious looking cakes. I found myself wishing I could sample one of everything.
For our last cupcake, we decided to go with the German chocolate cake. The piles of coconut in the frosting alone sold us.
This cupcake was very similar in taste and texture to the one from Magnolia, which didn’t come as a surprise once we found out that they’re actually founded by the same person.
Although I could probably have eaten an entire tub of the amazing frosting, I found the actual cupcake to be a bit dry and disappointing. The dryness of the cupcake mixed with the rich frosting did balance each other out, but I like my cake dense and rich…and this just wasn’t.
The Verdict
After a long day of walking, eating, and an awkward photo shoot with our frosting-stained pizza box, the results were in.
The winning cupcake?! Crumbs, by a landslide! Not only did this win for best cupcake, but we declared it to be the best thing we ate all day. Rich, moist, and not overly sweet, this humungous cupcake was a clear winner. Our only regret was that we didn’t bring home extra (yet managed to take back a few slices of smashed pizza and a dirty box. Go figure…)
After being on our feet for hours, walking over 6 miles, and eating 3 different types of cupcakes (plus drinking 3 cups of coffee and little water throughout the whole day – oops), we both were ready to crash. After all, we had a race to run!
If you’re ever in New York City, I highly recommend trying out Crumbs bakery. Or, if cupcakes aren’t your thing, check out Max Brenner’s. The cool atmosphere and wealth of options means there’s got to be something there for everyone!
*Race recap to follow soon!
Don’t Cry Over Stale Bread
| November 29, 2010 | Posted by Lauren under Breakfast, Desserts, HOTR Eats |
Sometimes the most delicious dishes come from the dumbest mistakes. Mistakes like breaking the cardinal rule of bread storage – forgetting to take it out of the useless, porous plastic bag it comes in…unless you want to end up with bread that’s as hard as a rock.
Stale bread isn’t something you often see in my house. I’m a girl who loves her bread, especially when it’s freshly baked with a crispy crust and a soft, fluffy middle. Whenever there’s fresh bread around, I go through it lightening fast.
That is, until Thursday night. I came home from a long delicious Thanksgiving meal with extra rolls in hand. These were the one bit of leftovers I got my hands on, and I was excited to enjoy them over the course of the week. But I was so tired that I went straight to bed, forgetting all about the dangers I was about to subject my bread to.
I woke up the next morning to bread that was as hard as a rock. The fluffy white clouds of perfection had turned into concrete. After a brief moment of despair, I started scheming. Stale or not, I was determined not to let that bread go to waste.
Pumpkin French Toast
I remembered reading somewhere that stale bread makes really good French toast, so I decided to test it out. I’ll admit I had my doubts as I sawed cut through my rock of a roll, but the result was better than I ever expected. The bread soaked up the egg while cooking, leaving me with soft pumpkin-y slices without getting soggy. I will definitely be making this one again.
The recipe is so easy that it’s really more of a method. It comes together in only a few minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 small rolls, stale (I used 1 French roll and 1 sourdough)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 heaping spoonful of canned pumpkin puree
- Dash of cinnamon
- Dash of pumpkin pie spice
Directions
- Slice bread into thirds, set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla, pumpkin, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
- Dunk slices in batter, making sure to soak both sides in egg mixture.
- Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the bottom has browned.
- Flip and repeat.
- Serve with warm syrup and another sprinkle of cinnamon.
This may be my new favorite method for making French toast. The texture was perfect, and the pumpkin flavor the perfect compliment to the taste of the bread.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
After my French toast success, I was left with almost an entire can of pumpkin and extra stale rolls. I decided to try something slightly more challenging; something stale bread is known for — bread pudding.
Bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts in the world, but up until now I had never actually made it myself. I spent the evening researching recipes, trying to figure out the basic ingredients. I was surprised by how easy it seemed! All you really needed was stale bread, creamer (or milk), sugar, eggs, and spices. I didn’t have creamer, but had everything else, so I rolled up my sleeves and gave it a try – all the while crossing my fingers that almond milk would be a suitable replacement.
Ingredients
- 4 stale rolls, cut into small pieces (around 4 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups milk (I used almond)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pure cane sugar
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (this is almost the entire can; you could probably just add it all)
- 3 TBS melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/3 cup raisins (optional)
Directions
- Cut the bread into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine bread and milk. Mix well and let soak for about 30 minutes. At the same time, put your raisins (if using) in a half cup of warm water to plump.
- After 20 minutes or so, preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease a 13×9 in pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients (eggs, sugars, pumpkin, butter, vanilla, and spices).
- Add the raisins and the milk and bread mixture. Stir until evenly coated.
- Spread into prepared pan and bake for 40 – 50 minutes, until set (mine was done after about 45).
- Enjoy with iced cream, whipped cream, or straight out of the pan.
Pre-bake; letting the bread soak. I put it in a pie plate and stirred once to make sure all pieces were covered
Post-bake
I was super happy with how my first bread pudding came out. Soft, sweet, and perfectly pumpkin-y. Good enough to make me want to let my bread get stale all the time! …if I can manage to keep myself from eating it all first, that is.
Easy Everyday Eggless Muffins
| November 8, 2010 | Posted by Lauren under Breakfast, Desserts, HOTR Eats |
Good baking is all about precision. A good baker carefully measures out the right ingredients and mixes them in just so, causing an almost magical chemical reaction that results in something wonderfully delicious. Sometimes my Type A perfectionist self delights in this fact. I find joy in carefully following a recipe; meticulously scooping ingredients and mixing them together in just the right way to create a masterpiece.
But most of the time, I am not a good baker. I often get hit with a sudden urge to bake, yet a quick glance around my kitchen reveals that I don’t actually have all the ingredients. Not to be swayed, I find myself using my kitchen as my grounds for experimentation — throwing together whatever I can find, making substitutions where I shouldn’t and leaving out ingredients when I don’t have them, all in the hopes of creating something somewhat edible. As you can imagine for someone whose only “formal” training is a one-semester cooking class in high school, many times these experiments don’t turn out so well. But every once in awhile, I find something so delightfully simple that it just reinforces my crazy notion that someday I’ll be destined for baking greatness.
These muffins are one of those examples. A simple list of ingredients that doesn’t include one egg, ounce of butter, or drop of oil. They’re moist and dense, which is just the sort of thing that I love. Now don’t get me wrong — I enjoy a good old buttery dessert from time to time. But these are my everyday muffins — muffins you can eat without guilt for breakfast, after lunch, or as a bedtime snack.
I’ve made two different versions that were inspired by this recipe (although I used that recipe as a starting point, I made a bunch of substitutions, so have listed out my own ingredients below). Both use the same basic ingredients and are ready in 30 – 35 minutes. Even though there aren’t any eggs, dairy, or butter in the muffins, they aren’t technically vegan because I used brown sugar. However, I’m pretty sure you could substitute in sucanat for the brown sugar and it would work just fine.
Banana {Chocolate Chip} Oatbran Muffins
Makes 6 muffins
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup oatbran
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 flax “egg” (1 TBS ground flax + 3 TBS water)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 very ripe, mushy banana
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees & grease/line your muffin tin.
2.) Mix together the ground flax and water, set aside to thicken.
3.) In a separate small bowl, peel banana and mash up until it’s somewhat creamy.
4.) In a medium bowl, mix together flour, oatbran, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well-combined.
5.) If you’re a good baker, you could then get out a separate bowl to mix all your wet ingredients in the proper manner…or you could just add the banana, vanilla, and almond milk to the dry mix.
6.) By now, the flax + water mixture should have thickened to an egg-like consistency. Add to bowl and stir until well combined.
7.) Let the mixture sit for a few minutes. This will make the muffins rise more when you cook them.
8.) Give the batter one final stir, then scoop into muffin tins, filling them most of the way to the top.
9.) Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until golden brown
10.) Let cool and enjoy!
Apple Cinnamon Oatbran Muffins with Crunchy Granola Topping
(i.e. Apple Strudel Muffins – because that just sounds cooler)
Makes 6 muffins
For these muffins, I substituted oat flour for the whole wheat. Because, well, I like oats in just about everything. And I figured oat flour would be no exception.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup oat flour (I tried this as an experiment and loved it, but you could also use whole wheat)
- 1/2 cup oatbran
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, unpacked
- 1 flax “egg” (1 TBS ground flax + 3 TBS water)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 apple, grated
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Coconut (optional)
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees, grease muffin tin.
2.) Grate your apple, skin and all. This is super easy to do with a normal cheese grater, and when all is said and done, it’s actually faster than peeling, coring, and chopping. But if you really don’t feel like doing the work, I suppose you could use a food processor instead.
3.) Combine apple with cinnamon, set aside.
4.) Follow same directions as above, adding the apple cinnamon mixture and flax “egg” last.
5.) Bake for about 10 minutes.
6.) Meanwhile, make the granola topping. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
7.) After 10 minutes, when muffins have started to rise but are still soft, remove from oven and press oat mixture on top.
8.) Return to oven and cook for another 15 – 20 minutes.
9.) Let cool and enjoy!
Who says you need eggs and oil to make a good muffin? These guys are oaty, delicious, and relatively healthy.
Delicious Delicata
| October 22, 2010 | Posted by Lauren under HOTR Eats |
Even though it means that winter is coming, I truly love the fall. The changing of seasons means the breaking of humidity, and I love the start of cool, crisp days that are perfect for running. I love watching the leaves change and the world bursting into a sea of fiery colors.
I love throwing on comfy jeans and a sweatshirt, and being able to walk the dog without sweating profusely.
And of course, I love the food. Apples and pumpkins and squash and the smell of warm desserts baking in the oven (or at least in the house of my dreams).
One meal that I love to make in the cooler months is stuffed squash. There are a lot of easy varieties you can try, and it can make an extremely hearty, healthy meal. There are many different types of winter squash that taste delicious stuffed, but my newest obsession is with a little squash I didn’t even know existed until a few weeks ago: Delicata.
I came across this interesting looking squash at the grocery store a few weeks ago, and knew I had to give it a try.
Delicata squash is different from other winter squash because it has a really thin skin. So thin, in fact, that after cooking you can eat it! (It tastes good, I promise!) It cooks up in about 30 minutes, and is delicious with just a little bit of olive oil and some salt and pepper.
White Bean & Kale Stuffed Delicata
The very first time I cooked delicata, I went in search of recipe inspiration. I came across a recipe for a simple White Bean and Kale Stuffed Delicata from CookLocal.com. The recipe called for ingredients that I already had on hand, so I excitedly got to work roasting squash and sautéing veggies.
I followed the recipe pretty exactly, except that I used extra breadcrumbs, canned white beans (I reluctantly gave up a can of cannellini beans usually reserved for these burgers for the cause) and boring old grated parm from the container.
All you need for this recipe is:
- Delicata squash, cut in half length-wise with the seeds scooped out
- Kale
- White beans (I used cannellini)
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Spices: sage, salt, and pepper
And for the topping:
- Breadcrumbs
- Parmesan cheese (I’m sure freshly grated is much better, but I didn’t have any)
To view the actual recipe, click here. But basically, all you do is roast the squash, sauté your veggies and beans, then stuff and cook for an extra 10 minutes.
This recipe was really good and super easy to make. I loved how the kale and beans crisped up in the oven. And the delicata — so soft, buttery, and amazing. I really think it’s becoming my favorite type of squash.
However, I’ve realized that I’m not the biggest fan of sage…and that my excitement in adding extra breadcrumbs actually made the recipe kind of dry. Next time I’ll use less sage and possibly nix the breadcrumbs altogether. I also think this would be delicious topped with some crumbled feta instead of the parm.
On the side, I made some Cinnamon Roasted Chikpeas. Another super easy recipe that is quickly becoming my favorite side (and snack!).
Cinnamon Roasted Chikpeas
Ingredients:
- 1 can chikpeas
- 2 TBS maple syrup
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Making the chikpeas couldn’t be simpler. Just preheat the oven to 350 degrees, dump all your ingredients into a bowl and mix well until evenly coated. Grease a cookie sheet and spread the cinnamon chikpea mixture evenly on the pan. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring regularly (I stirred every 10 minutes or so).
The result: a delicious, hearty meal without much work!
I’ve also made stuffed delicata with a quick and easy mixture of quinoa (seasoned with salt, pepper, roesmary, and thyme) + spinach + freshly grated cheddar. And I’ve eaten roasted delicata straight up, seasoned with just a little butter, salt and cinnamon. It’s that easy, and that delicious!
Have you ever tried delicata squash? If not, you should probably run out to the grocery store and pick one up right now. You’ll be glad you did!
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