Honey Roasted Peanuts

Lately, I have been snacking on pre-packaged honey roasted peanuts from Fisher's. They taste great, but I wanted to try making my own. Here's a recipe I created from several different recipes for honey roasted peanuts I searched for online*.

Honey Roasted Peanuts

This recipe will surely satisfy your craving for a spoonful of creamy peanut butter and a crunchy snack to munch on.

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 2 3/4 cups of honey roasted peanuts

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups of lightly salted peanuts (about 14 oz)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 c + 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying foil with cooking spray.
2. In a microwavable bowl, place butter, honey, vanilla, cinnamon,  1/4 c sugar, and 1 tsp of salt. Microwave until butter is melted and stir until liquid is smooth.
3. Add the peanuts to microwavable bowl and stir mixture until well coated.
4. Pour coated peanuts onto the baking sheet and spread them into an even layer.
5. Bake the peanuts for a total time of 20 min, removing from the oven every 5 min to stir and prevent burning.
6. Once the peanuts are golden brown, remove from the oven and stir them again. After a couple of minutes, sprinkle remaining salt and sugar on top and stir.
7. When the peanuts have completely cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

*Websites Cited

4Susan. "Honey Roasted Peanuts." Food.com. N.p., 09 Dec 2005. Web. 24 Aug 2012. <http://www.food.com/recipe/honey-roasted-peanuts-147856?scaleto=1&mode=null&st=true>. 

LaBau, Elizabeth. "Honey Roasted Peanuts." About.com. N.p., 2010. Web. 24 Aug 2012. <http://candy.about.com/od/nutcandyrecipes/r/honey_peanuts.htm>.

Grandma's Refrigerator Pickles

After spending time with my grandparents in the summer and enjoying my Grandma's homemade dishes, I decided to ask her how she makes them taste so delicious. I ate some of her homemade pickles and she shared the recipe with me.

Grandma's Refrigerator Pickles

Crunchy, with a sweet and sour pickle taste. Great condiment to add to any dish.  

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients

• 8 c unpeeled cucumbers (washed and sliced)
• 1 or 1 1/3 c chopped onions
• 1 or 1 1/3 c chopped green peppers
• 1 or 1 1/3 tbsp salt
• 2 or 2 2/3 c sugar
• 1 or 1 1/3 c vinegar
• 1 or 1 1/3 tsp celery seed

Baking Instructions

1. Combine the cucumbers, onions, peppers, and salt all together in a pan. Let it set for about 4 hours. Pour off the liquid.
2. Then mix the sugar, vinegar, and celery seed together in a medium bowl. Tip: Warm the vinegar to melt the sugar, but do not boil it.
3. Add the sugar-vinegar mixture to the cucumbers and place in canning jars and refrigerate.
4. Enjoy!

Note: Use 1 cup measurements for a small batch. For making more jars of pickles, add 1/3 cup more to each ingredient above.

Caramel Brownies

 

Where did I find this classic, rich and delicious recipe? From my mom's recipe collection at home. And I would like to share it with you. Only four ingredients are needed to create this caramel-chocolate extravaganza.

Caramel Brownies

Caramel + Chocolate + Brownie Mix =  Rich and chocolate dessert that leaves me saying: Oh My Gooey-ness!

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 24 caramel brownies

Ingredients

• 1 box of German Chocolate Cake Mix
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
• 2/3 cups evaporated milk (I used lowfat for a healthier version of this recipe
• 14 oz of unwrapped soft caramels (I used Brach's Milk Maid® Caramels)
• 6 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir brownie mix, 1/3 c evaporated milk, and butter until well blended.
3. Pour 1/2 of the batter into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F.
4. In the meantime, melt unwrapped caramels and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan over low heat.
5. Take the baked brownie base out of the oven. Sprinkle chocolate chips on the baked brownie base. Then pour the melted caramel mixture over the chocolate chips. Drop the remaining brownie batter by spoonfuls over the top and bake 15-20 minutes until toothpick inserted into brownies comes out clean.
6. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before serving. Store covered at room temperature.
7. Enjoy! 

Got any tips on making the perfect batch of brownie or variations on this recipe?  Send me a link or a tasty picture of your recipe!

Coffee Lovers' Breakfast Bites

The other day, I woke up and had breakfast with a cup of coffee. However, my brother made too much and we had a couple of cups leftover in the coffee maker. I put some in the refrigerator for iced coffee tomorrow, but I still had some left. I decided to bake something with the java and I did: Coffee Lovers' Breakfast Bites. Not only do these breakfast bites have coffee (caffeine) in them, but they are egg-free!

Coffee Lovers' Breakfast Bites

Tired of drinking the same coffee drink in the morning? Try these yummy, pull apart, breakfast snack bites that will satisfy your sweet tooth as well as your caffeine fix! 

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 16 breakfast bites

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons butter, refrigerated
• 2/3 cup coffee, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of an 9-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl,  combine flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Using the back of a mixing spoon or your hands, cut the butter into the dry mixture until the mixture has a crumb (coarse meal) texture.
4. Add the coffee into the dry mixture and stir to form a dough.
5. Scoop 1/16 of the dough into a ball and place in the prepared baking pan. Repeat until you form 16 balls.     Note: The balls of dough will touch in the pan.
6. Combine the 1T of melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle the balls with this cinnamon-sugar mixture.
7. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown and toothpick inserted into bread comes out clean.
8. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before serving.
9. Enjoy!