Poppy Bars

I apologize for my absence the past few days. My grandfather passed away and I haven't been able to concentrate on my blog. This post is dedicated to him.

These are named in honor of my grandfather. We were at my other grandparent's house and needed an easy, preferably no-bake recipe to send to him in a care package. I consulted my email folder full of Martha Stewart's Cookie of the Day newsletters. When I found these, I knew they would be perfect. They only have a few ingredients, and really, you can't go wrong with caramel and peanuts.


Caramel Peanut Bars (from marthastewart.com):
Makes about 16; possibly more or less depending on what size you cut them


Ingredients:


2-1/4 cup salted roasted peanuts
1 14oz bag chewy caramels (about 50 caramels)

1 cup mini marshmallows
1 tablespoon water
Butter or cooking spray for pan


Instructions:


Butter or spray an 8x8 inch pan and lay parchment paper inside, leaving overhang on two sides. Spray paper and place second sheet on top crosswise, creating overhang on all four sides. Combine caramels, marshmallows, and water in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow to melt, stirring to ensure it doesn't burn.

While caramels are melting, coarsely chop 1-1/4 cups of peanuts. Spread evenly over bottom of pan. Chop remaining 1 cup of peanuts; set aside.

When caramels and marshmallows are completely melted, pour mixture over peanuts in pan.

Sprinkle remaining 1 cup peanuts over top and pat down.

Allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours or in a refrigerator for 45 minutes. Cut into bars. Or squares. Or trapezoids.

Of course, I had to try these to make sure they were deserving of being sent to my grandfather. And they were. Chewy, delicious, and peanuty, these no-bake treats are addicting. Seriously. After we sent off the majority in the care package, my mom and I kept cutting of bits of the leftover bars "just for a taste". I dread to think what would have happened had my brothers gotten their hands on these... Would they have found their way into their cereal?

Chocolate Caramel Mug Cake

Here's a revelation I had a couple of days ago: It's possible to have chocolate cake in less than 5 minutes.
You probably are thinking, "No way! That's not possible!"
Well, it is. You use the microwave.
Now you're thinking, "Blasphemy! No cake can be made in the microwave and still taste good!"
Well, it can be. You mix batter for an individual cake and pour it in a mug and and bake it in the microwave. And it's good.
"..."
Exactly.

Here's how, using NomNomBlingBling's recipe found through the Huffington Post:

Chocolate Caramel Mug Cake

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

The bananas lurking in the background are not part of the recipe.

1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons skim milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 salted caramels (If you don't have salted caramels, press a few grains of sea salt into the tops of normal caramels. BOOM! Instant fancy salted caramels.)
1/8 cup chocolate chips (The original recipe doesn't call for this. Look below to see why I added it.)


Preparation:

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and oil in a bowl.

Me being a rebel and mixing it in the mug

Pour into a coffee mug and drop caramels in center one at a time.

"Noo!!" *glub glub glub*

Microwave on high for one minute and 15 seconds. It will rise above the mug edge and appear to be boiling over, but don't panic–it's not. By the time the batter gets to the top of the mug, it will have turned into cake.

It took a lot of willpower to leave it in when it rose.

If it's not cooked through, microwave for 7-15 seconds more.

Despite being made in a microwave, this cake was great! It was moist and tasty, although I feel that there could have been a more intense chocolate flavor. That's why I added the 1/8 cup of chocolate chips to the recipe. The texture is a little different than a conventional chocolate cake–it's slightly rubbery. Also, the caramels sank to the very bottom and melted, so most of it was just chocolate cake. It may have been because I took a bunch of pictures before putting it in the microwave, giving them time to sink all the way to the bottom. Along with the caramel at the bottom, there was a big flour pocket because I was too lazy to mix it in a bowl like the recipe said and just mixed it in the mug. Bad idea.

The bottom quarter of the cake had streaks of flour and the side of the mug had batter on it from the whisk.
Anyway, this cake is perfect if you get struck by a sudden chocolate craving and don't want to turn the oven on–or just can't wait long enough for a cake to bake. (It was above 90 degrees outside the day I made this. It's not fun to have a 350 degree oven spewing heat inside an already hot house. Thus, the mug cake.)