Biscoff Bark

 

Biscoff spread and cookies are something we don't use a lot of around our house. Honestly, I just never think about them as an ingredient that often. They are delicious though and deserve more recognition as a great treat. We made this Biscoff Bark at work and now I am addicted to it. You can make a batch fairly quickly and easily - which can be a problem if you like it as much as I do. It does make the perfect gift for friends and family (and for bake sales) so if you can't stop eating it you can always share the love!

Biscoff Bark

Ingredients

28 - 31 Biscoff Cookies (link HERE)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup Biscoff spread (link HERE)

1 cup white chocolate chips

sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Lay the Biscoff cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Cook butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and drizzle evenly over the cookies. Spread with a spatula. 

Bake in 350 oven for 5 - 8 minutes, until bubbly. 

Remove from heat. Place Biscoff spread into a microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until Biscoff is pourable. Drizzle over the cookies and caramel. 

Immediately sprinkle with the white chocolate chips. Let sit for 2 - 3 minutes so the chips can soften. If need be, you can pop it back into the oven for 1 - 2 minutes. 

Spread with a spatula. You do not need to make it perfect. If there are swirls, then even better. 

*Optional - at this stage, before everything cools and hardens, you can sprinkle with a few Biscoff crumbles, if desired.

Let cool completely. 

Break bark into pieces with your hands. 

Layers of deliciousness !!

Place in a container with a lid OR into baggies.

Biscoff Bark will last a few days on the counter or can be frozen. 

There are so many options with this - chocolate chips instead of white chocolate, saltine crackers instead of Biscoff cookies, sprinkle with candy cane bits or even mini M&Ms. A great addition to your Holiday Cookie roster.

If you want more caramel then you can double the butter and brown sugar - BUT - it is very sweet as written above. I recommend trying it as written here before making any changes. 

Nordic Half Sheet Cookie Sheet - Link HERE

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Nutella Biscotti

 

If you know Sue and I, then you know we are not normally fans of crunchy cookies. Soft and chewy is the way to go! Unless, of course, we are talking about biscotti. Dipping crunchy cookies into hot chocolate or coffee or tea makes them a million times more delicious!

I had a jar of Nutella to use up and decided that Nutella biscotti would be a good idea. Turns out I was right. I usually find Nutella too sweet (hard to believe, I know) but there is just the right amount in these cookies so the sweet is balanced out. Dip them in your favorite hot beverage for a lovely afternoon treat!.

Nutella Biscotti

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

2 Tbsp baking cocoa powder

1 Tbsp baking powder

pinch salt

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup Nutella

Drizzle

1/4 cup Nutella

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Line a large cookie sheet (or 2 regular sized) with parchment paper, set aside.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat together eggs until frothy, about 2 minutes. Beat in sugar for another 2 minutes. Beat in butter and vanilla. Lastly, beat in the Nutella, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until just combined. 

Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Flatten into logs approximately 2 1/2 by 13 inches long. They should be about 3/4 inch thick. Place on prepared cookie sheet.

Bake at 325 for 30 minutes, rotating cookie sheet at the 15 minute mark. 

Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.

Reduce oven to 300. Carefully transfer one of the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log into 1/2 inch slices. Repeat with the other log. You should get 48 slices.

Place them back on the cookie sheet, cut side up. Place back in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove tray from oven and carefully flip all the cookies so the the side that was touching the cookie sheet is now facing up. return to oven for 15 more minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely. 

Place the Nutella for drizzling in a plastic bag and microwave for about 10 - 20 seconds, just until warm. Snip the corner of the bag and drizzle the Nutella over the cooled biscotti. 

Store at room temp for a day or two, in the fridge for a week, or freeze them. 

Biscotti, on their own, seem to be a little dry to me..... BUT dip them in hot chocolate and *wow*.... jazz hands for sure happening over here. 

Biscotti take a little longer to make because of the double baking but for the little extra effort you get 4 dozen delicious, crunchy cookies to share with friends and family (or keep for yourself). FYI - These are great at Christmas time for a cookie exchange too. 

Giant Butter Tart Cinnamon Buns

 

Sue and I love to make hybrids of things. We take 2 different dishes and smush them together and come up with a third, also delicious thing. 

These treats, for example, are a combination of cinnamon buns and butter tarts. Are they the best thing on the planet? Well..... we don't like to make assumptions but..... maaaaaybe. 

What hybrid should we attempt next? Let us know in the comments if you have any suggestions for us!

In the meantime, whip up a batch of these ridiculously tasty buns which, by the way, do have a crazy butter tart taste when you eat the topping! 

Please don't tell us they are sweet. We are aware. If you can survive the sweetness of a sticky bun then you can survive these! :) 

Oh yeah, we also made them giant soooooo if you make "regular" sized buns you will get 2 dozen from this recipe. 

Giant Butter Tart Cinnamon Buns 

Ingredients

Dough

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup sugar

4 1/2 tsp yeast

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 tsp salt

6 eggs

7 - 8 cups flour

Topping

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted

pinch salt

1 1/2 cup currants

Filling

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups brown sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions

Prepare dough - Heat buttermilk in the microwave until warm, about 2 minutes. (You don't want it too hot, about 105 - 110 degrees. You should be able to stick your finger into it without it being too uncomfortable). Whisk in sugar. Whisk in yeast and let sit for about 5 - 8 minutes to activate. 

Whisk together melted butter, salt, eggs and then whisk in the bubbly yeast mixture.

Stir in flour until a soft but not sticky dough forms. Knead dough on floured work surface for 2 minutes. Place into an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel, and place somewhere warm to rise for an hour. 

After an hour your dough should be double in size. 

While the dough is rising, prepare the topping:

Whisk together the brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, eggs, butter, and salt. Pour evenly into a 13 X 19 pan OR 2 - 9 X 13 pans. Sprinkle the currants evenly on top. Set aside. 

Prepare the filling by stirring together the softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Roll the dough into a 24 X 17 rectangle and spread the filling over the dough.

Roll up, jelly roll style, and slice into 12 equal rolls about 2 inches wide. Place into the pan on top of the currants. Cover with a tea towel and place somewhere warm to rise for an hour.

When rolls have doubled in size, preheat oven to 350. 

Bake at 350 until tops of rolls are golden brown, about 30 minutes or so. Time will differ if you make the rolls smaller or if you use 2 pans instead of 1. Keep an eye on them,. 

Let cool for only about 5 minutes, any longer and they will stick in the pan.

Place a cookie sheet on top of the buns and very carefully invert the buns onto the cookie sheet. Tap the bottom of the pan to help release the buns. 

Let cool.

These are the next level up from sticky buns. 

The butter tart topping is thicker and stickier than regular sticky buns. Way more butter tart-y.

You can always half the recipe if you want to make 6 giant buns or 12 regular buns but WHY?! Gift them to people you love and they will love you even more OR freeze them for yourself to enjoy later!

It even kind of looks like a butter tart when you get down to the delicious middle of the bun. The middle is the best part, by the way, don't even argue. I actually had someone tell me they never ate the middle of the cinnamon bun. EXCUSE ME?!?! Who does that? 

Crazy people.... that's who.

Anyway, these are ridiculous and giant cinnamon bun butter tart hybrids are a fabulous idea. Let us know what you think if you try them and don't forget to tell us what hybrid needs to happen next!

Sugar Cookie Hot Chocolate Cups

 

The cuteness factor of these cookies is off the charts, am I right? 

And, believe it or not, they aren't that complicated to make. The kids will have a blast helping you out with these ones! You can use your favorite sugar cookie recipe for this or even store bought sugar cookie dough. We used Sue's Sugar Cookie recipe AKA Dinosaur Footprint Cookies (HERE). 

I think I got 18 cookies from the recipe, but I'm not 100% on that. I had helpers in the kitchen that may have sampled as we went along....

Sugar Cookie Hot Chocolate Cups

Ingredients

1 recipe Sugar Cookie Dough (Our Recipe HERE)

1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted

small, hard pretzels

1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted

1/2 cup super mini marshmallows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray, set aside. 

Prepare sugar cookie dough as per instructions. Pinch off golf ball sized amounts of dough and roll into a ball. Place into prepared muffin tin. Use your thumb to gently press in the center of each ball. 

Bake at 350 until edges are light, golden brown, about 8 - 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat and gently press down center of cookie with the bottom of a shot glass or something similar. This indent will hold the chocolate. 

Remove cookies from tray to a wire rack and let cool completely. 

Prepare the handles of the cups by carefully cutting the round bits from the pretzels. Be sure to have extra pretzels as you will lose some to cracking!

Dip the ends of the round piece of the pretzel into the melted white chocolate and press to the side of the cookie cup. Hold it for a few seconds to make sure it adheres. Continue with the rest of the cups and pretzels bits. 

Take a small spoon and carefully fill each indent on the top of the cookies with about a tsp or so of melted chocolate. Don't fill the indent all the way to the top! Just enough to cover the bottom of the indent. 

Now all you have to do is sprinkle in a few of the super teeny marshmallows!

How cute are they?

Yes, they are a bit fussy to make but so worth it when you see them on display. Make a dozen and throw them in with your Christmas cookie tray. I bet they will be the most commented on by your guests. 

FYI - if you have trouble with the handles sticking; try propping the cookies on their side and then the pretzel can stand on top until it is dry. That way you don't have to hold it until it dries!

Poppycock

I know Poppycock usually has a holiday feel to it but I couldn't wait any longer to share our version.

Our Caramel Popcorn Recipe (Here)  is similar to this recipe but different enough that it warrants its' own post. Sticky sweet caramel popcorn with salty mixed nuts... do we really need to convince you to try this? 

While it is the ultimate holiday treat, it also is *perfection* to bring to BBQs, game nights, sleepovers, and those relaxing nights at home!

Poppycock

Ingredients

24 cups popped popcorn

4 cups mixed nuts

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup butter

1 cup corn syrup

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 225. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray, set aside. 

Place popped popcorn in a large bowl. Make sure to pick out any unpopped kernels. Sprinkle with the nuts. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. 

Remove from heat and add in vanilla and baking soda. BE CAREFUL! It will sputter and foam up as you stir it in. 

Carefully pour the hot caramel over the popcorn and stir gently to coat evenly. Spread onto the prepared cookie sheet. 

Bake at 225 for one hour, stirring every 10 minutes. (This is a bit of a pain but it's what makes the popcorn crispy and sticky instead of soggy!)

Remove from heat and let cool, stirring every once in a while to break it up. 

Serve immediately or store in airtight containers. It lasts for a couple of days on the counter before going stale. It is best the day of/day after making it though. 

If you are looking for a bake sale or gift idea - look no further. Poppycock is a family favorite around here and friends and family love getting it... for Christmas or anytime! 

Keto Bread (Keto Stuffing and Keto French Toast)

 

A few months ago I set out to make an entire Thanksgiving meal that was keto friendly (Be sure to check back for that post). 

One of my favorite dishes to come out of that was this keto stuffing. It is delicious and you'd never know it wasn't "regular" stuffing. You only use half the loaf of bread you make which means you can make a delicious, keto friendly French toast with the other half! You can't lose!

I'm going to post 3 recipes in this post: the first is for the bread, the second will be for the stuffing, and the third will be for the French toast. Be sure to pin or save this recipe for your next holiday dinner! It's a keeper. :) 

FYI - I find the bread eaten on it's own does taste a little eggy BUT in the stuffing and as French toast it is not eggy at all. 

Keto Bread

Ingredients

6 eggs, separated

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

5 Tbsp butter, melted

1 1/2 cup almond flour

3 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Line an 8 X 4 loaf pan with parchment paper. 

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Beat yolks, butter, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat in 1/3 of the egg whites. Dough will be lumpy and thick. Fold in remaining egg whites - do not overmix!

Spread into the prepared loaf pan. 

Bake at 375 for approximately 30 minutes. Toothpick inserted near center should come out clean. 

Let cool about 10 minutes and then remove to wire rack.

Let cool completely before slicing into 20 slices. If you look closely at the above photo you can see I marked off where to cut the slices to make them even. Not necessary but I find it makes cutting the bread easier. 

According to MyFitnessPal the nutritional counts per slice are: 98 calories, 8.5 fat, 1.9 carb, 0.9 fiber, and 3.7 protein. That means 1 net carb per slice. (Loaf should be cut into 20 slices.) 

Freezes well. 

Keto Stuffing

Ingredients

10 slices "Keto Bread Recipe" above

2 Tbsp parsley

1 Tbsp rosemary

1 Tbsp thyme

1/4 cup onion, diced

5 green onions, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

2 Tbsp garlic, minced

8 oz sausage, cooked and crumbled

1 cup broth

1 cup whipping cream

2 eggs

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 200. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

Cut the keto bread into cubes.

Place on cookie sheet and sprinkle with the parsley, rosemary, and thyme. 

 Bake at 200 for an hour. Give it a stir at the half way mark to ensure even cooking. Bread should be browned and toasty. 

Remove from oven and set aside. 

Turn heat in oven up to 350. 

In a large bowl place the onion, green onions, celery, garlic, and sausage. Stir in the toasted bread.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the broth, whipped cream, and eggs. 

Pour this over the bread mixture and stir very gently. (I use my hands)

Spread in a 10 inch oven safe dish sprayed with cooking spray. 

Bake at 350 for about an hour, stirring at the half way mark. 

Serve hot. 

According to MyFitnessPal the nutritional counts per serving are (recipe makes 9 servings): 200 calories, 18 fat, 2.8 carbs, 0.8 fiber, 4 protein. That's 2 net carbs per serving. 

Leftovers reheat well in the microwave. 

Keto French Toast

Ingredients

2 Tbsp whipping cream

1 egg

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp butter

3 slices "Keto Bread Recipe" above

For Serving

whipped cream

keto friendly syrup

dash cinnamon

Directions

In a small container whisk together the cream, egg, and cinnamon. 

Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat and melt the butter in the pan. 

Gently dip a slice of bread into the egg mixture and flip to coat well. 

Place in the pan and repeat with remaining bread. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes then gently flip over and cook another minute or two. Toast should be golden brown. 

Serve hot with a little keto syrup, whipped cream, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

So good and so filling!

According to MyFitnessPal the nutritional counts are (recipe makes 1 serving):

400 calories, 37 fat, 7 carbs, 3 fiber, 12 protein. That's 4 net carbs!

As I mentioned above - eating the bread on it's own I find it a little eggy tasting. But turn it into stuffing or French toast and it is just like "regular" bread. I'm going to be experimenting to see what else I can make with it! It's a pretty versatile recipe. :)