Big News!

I am really excited that my blog has moved!  Come over to the new site: KeepItSweetBlog.com and check it out!

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Special thanks to Julie at Savvy Eats for doing all the work.  She transferred the entire blog and did the site design, too.  Check out Savvy Blog Services if you are looking for help moving or doing design work for your blog.

Twix Gone Wrong

For Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be fun for Matt and I to make a homemade version of one of his favorite candies, Twix Bars.  I’d seen a ton of great-looking recipes around the blog world and thought it would be a good idea to take ideas from them but make my own version.  You can see different examples of homemade Twix Bars on Mangio Da Sola, Hoosier Homemade, Chocolate and Carrots, and Not Without Salt.

I started with the Mangio Da Sola shortbread crust, easy enough

I thought that using packaged caramels would be a really easy shortcut for the middle layer; I guess I forgot how hard they get so quickly

Topped the caramel with salt, because I am kind of obsessed with that combination

And then melted milk chocolate; here you really can’t go wrong

 

The first problem was getting the bars out of the pan; the shortbread was too crumbly and cutting through the caramel was tough

I think a foil-lined pan would have been better

These would have been so much better with a layer of caramel sauce or filling, instead of melted caramel candies (unless breaking a tooth is your goal)

We tried to eat them but it just wasn’t worth it, I may have eaten the entire layer of milk chocolate off the top… wasting chocolate is just wrong!

Have you had any desserts gone wrong recently?

Easiest Cookie Ever, and Delicious Too!

When I saw Lauren’s suggestions for Valentine’s Day treats included this cookie, I knew I had to try it!  Lauren has a wonderful blog that makes incredibly delicious and healthy versions of food that everyone loves.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have any chocolate peanut butter on hand, but I did have some of this chocolate almond butter on hand.

Since I wanted to make the cookies immediately, I decided to adapt her recipe for what I had on hand and make Flourless Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies.

Reasons to make these cookies:

1. They are deliciously light and fudgey at the same time.

2.  This is the easiest cookie recipe I have ever made.  3 steps, that is it!

3.  Portion control!  This recipe makes 8 cookies.  If you are nervous about eating the entire batch, you can’t get yourself into too much trouble*.  The cookies are pretty big, too.

*Each cookie comes out to 5 weightwatchers points+, as a result, the entire batch is 40 points+ which is less than the extra weekly points you get. 

Step 1:  Mix together almond butter, brown sugar, whisked egg white, baking soda, vanilla extract and salt

Step 2:  Stir in chocolate chips

Step 3:  Bake cookies

Did I say they were easy?

Flourless Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies

Adapted from Healthy Food for Living

Makes 8 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chocolate almond butter

2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed

1 egg white, whisked

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together almond butter, brown sugar, whisked egg white, baking soda, vanilla extract and salt

Stir in chocolate chips

Use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to shape 8 cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake for ~12 min or until tops of cookies are no longer loose

What is the easiest dessert you have made?