What I'm Baking

Dark Chocolate Honey Truffles

by Kristine HinterkopfLeave a Comment on Dark Chocolate Honey Truffles
Dark Chocolate Honey Truffles

For those who don’t know, I am a full on holiday geek. I love this time of year. Christmas music? All about it. Twinkle lights on everything? Yes please. Two Christmas trees? Not yet…..but that’s the dream. If it wasn’t obvious, I fully embrace the holiday season. Especially the baking part. It’s the perfect excuse to go a little overboard and make a ridiculous amount of treats. And while I’m all for decadent cakes and cookies and breads, every once in a while it’s nice to make a treat that’s on the healthier side. That’s where these Dark Chocolate Honey Truffles come in.

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Figgy Toffee Cookies

by Kristine HinterkopfLeave a Comment on Figgy Toffee Cookies
Figgy Toffee Cookies

It’s full on cookie season and I, for one, am digging it. I mean who doesn’t love cookies?? And the holidays are the perfect excuse to bust out in the kitchen and bake allllllll of the cookies. Seriously, no one will judge you this time of year if you decide to bake like 100 or 200 cookies. In December, that’s a totally reasonable thing to do.

I’m on a bit of a cookie kick right now and have been working on a couple awesome recipes to share with you guys. First up are these Figgy Toffee Cookies. Made with dark muscovado sugar, dried figs, and crushed up bits of toffee (either store bought or homemade….totally your call) – they are the perfect holiday cookie. These ingredients play beautifully off each other with the  sweet, jammy figs complementing the subtle smokiness of the toffee and muscovado sugar. If you can’t find dark muscovado sugar, you can use dark brown sugar instead (if you do that – increase the molasses from 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon) but I highly recommend seeking out the muscovado sugar. It makes a big difference!

Hope you guys are getting your cookie on…..and, if you are, I hope you’ll add these to your rotation!

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What I'm Baking

Gluten-Free Almond Financiers

by Kristine Hinterkopf2 Comments on Gluten-Free Almond Financiers
Gluten-Free Almond Financiers

I usually try to keep things pretty light and not too crazy personal around here, but sometimes there are things going on in my life that end up seeping into my baking/blogging world. And this is definitely one of those things…….for the past couple of years I’ve been dealing with some stomach problems and this summer it finally got bad enough that I decided to go see a doctor and really figure out what was going on. At first, they thought I might have Celiac Disease…..which was definitely not what I was expecting or wanting to hear (all I kept thinking about was baking and how everything would have to change). Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case. But what they did discover was almost as surprising (mostly cause I had no idea this was even a thing)……turns out barley and me don’t get along so well. I guess the technical term is “allergic” or “intolerant” but the general gist is I can’t eat a lot of barley.

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Peanut Butter Meringue Brownies

by Kristine Hinterkopf2 Comments on Peanut Butter Meringue Brownies

Peanut Butter Meringue Brownie

Can we all agree that Costco has the best/most unnecessary stuff ever? I mean, yes, there are tons of necessary things like screaming deals on bulk butter, nuts, and even lobster. But they also have things that you don’t really need, but REALLY want once you see them. Take for example the 3 lb tub of Reese’s Pieces I recently bought. Did I technically need 3 lbs worth of peanut butter goodness?? Probably not. Did buying it totally make my day and maybe even life infinitely better?? That’s debatable, but I’m leaning towards yes.

So now you’re probably wondering, “What do you do with 3 lbs worth of Reese’s?” Well, I’m glad you asked. First, you eat it….like a lot of it. Then you hide it from your husband cause he’s eating it faster than you and you’ll be damned if he gets to eat more of it than you (I have candy sharing issues). Then you realize you still have an insane amount of Reese’s Pieces left and should probably figure out a way to use it up. That’s where this recipe comes in.

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What I'm Baking

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Bars

by Kristine Hinterkopf2 Comments on Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Bars

A quick update on one of the first recipes I ever posted. These Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Bars come together super fast (even faster than the original cookie recipe), but look way more impressive. I upped the chocolate in them and used oats that I lightly toasted in the oven. Toasting them is an optional step, but one that I highly recommend. It adds more flavor to the oats and gives the bars a really nice base for the chocolate and peanut butter to play off.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Bars

  • Author: Kristine Hinterkopf
  • Yield: 16 bars 1x
Scale

Ingredients

½ cup milk (any percentage will work)

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder

½ cup unsalted butter

2 teaspoons non-fat dry milk powder

¼ cup dark chocolate chips

1 teaspoon kosher salt (if using regular salt – cut back to ½ teaspoon)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup chunky peanut butter

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats, lightly toasted

Instructions

Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper or foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

In a large heavy saucepan, place the milk, sugar, cocoa powder, non-fat milk powder, and butter. Over medium heat, stir the mixture together until the butter is melted and sugar is completely dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Once it is at a boil, stop stirring and let boil for a full 90 seconds.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dark chocolate chips. When the chocolate is completely melted, stir in the kosher salt and vanilla. Then add in the peanut butter and mix until it is completely incorporated. Finally, fold in the oats.

Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and spread into a relatively even layer. Let the bars cool and set up for at least one hour. You can do this either on your counter top or in the fridge. Once the bars have set, cut into 16 pieces. If you want to add a little extra flair, drizzle the bars with some melted dark chocolate and top with coarsely chopped salted peanuts!

What I'm Baking

Blueberry Cheesecake Trifles

by Kristine Hinterkopf2 Comments on Blueberry Cheesecake Trifles

Blueberry Cheesecake Trifle

There’s a running joke on the husband’s side of the family that I can be a bit of a “purist” when it comes to food in the sense that I want to make EVERYTHING from scratch. And, I hate to admit, they’re not exactly wrong. But it’s not my fault!

Okay…..it’s kind of my fault, but it goes back to when I was a kid. My Dad is an insane chef and baker. He makes the most incredible pizzas, cinnamon rolls, pies, bread and pretty much everything. Growing up, he wasn’t stoked on me using boxed mixes to bake. His argument was it’s not that much harder to just make it yourself. Which is true! So that meant if I wanted something sweet (which was all the time) I had to make it myself…..from scratch.

These days, this make it from scratch philosophy has kind of taken on a life of itself. My Dad may have even created a bit of a monster……like I wouldn’t let him buy pre-shredded parmesan once because I said it’s better to shred your own. When he complained I told him, “This is your fault! You created this!” It might have been an over the top reaction to have in a grocery store, but I’m cool with it.

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S’mores Cookie Cups

by Kristine HinterkopfLeave a Comment on S’mores Cookie Cups

S'mores Cookie Cup

So I might be way too excited to share this post. How excited, you ask. Well, so excited that I’m legit typing this on my phone while camping. Thank goodness for 4Gs and awesome cell service….because you guys NEED these for your Labor Day weekend.

Every once in a while I come up with a seriously over the top idea. Something so decadent and indulgent that it makes even me pause….and that’s saying a lot. These S’mores Cookie Cups are one of those recipes. The general idea come about in a rather simple way. I love cookie cups (anyone else remember getting the frosted ones from Mrs. Field’s at the mall??) and wanted to create a summery twist on them. And, to me, nothing says summer more than s’mores.

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Salted Oatmeal Tahini Cookies with Boozy Cherries and White Chocolate

by Kristine Hinterkopf6 Comments on Salted Oatmeal Tahini Cookies with Boozy Cherries and White Chocolate

Tahini Oatmeal Cookies

Okay, since I promised to have this recipe up last week and then totally dropped the ball (I’m the worst…..I know) – I’m going to keep today’s post short and simple. These Salted Oatmeal Tahini Cookies are quite possibly my new favorite cookie. First of all, they help fuel my out of control tahini addiction (I seriously cannot get enough of it!) and second of all, the flavor combo is AMAZING. There’s just something magical about the combination of tahini and cherries. They play off each other beautifully with the tart, sweetness of the cherries being the perfect balance to the nuttiness and earthiness of the tahini. And the white chocolate just adds a little extra sweetness to bring everything together.

There are a couple keys to this recipe. One is the bourbon soaked cherries. It takes a little extra forethought to soak them ahead of time, but trust me – it is sooooo worth it. It plumps up the cherries and adds a nice depth to the cookie. And you’re left over with some cherry infused bourbon, which is never a bad thing! The second key is using the best tahini you can find. It’s the star and base ingredient in this recipe, so please do not skimp. I’m partial to Soom and highly recommend seeking a jar out. It’s by far the best tahini I’ve ever had and is like 99.99% responsible for my newfound tahini addiction…..most of the time you can find me eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon (don’t judge me til you’ve tried it).

Alright, I promised a short post – so let’s get on to the recipe. Make them, love them, and PLEASE tell me all about it so I can eat vicariously through you…..cause I can’t have sugar or barley for another week and that makes me sad.

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What I'm Baking

Mango Key Lime Pie Bars

by Kristine Hinterkopf5 Comments on Mango Key Lime Pie Bars

Mango Key Lime Pie Bar

Summer is finally in full swing here in Montana and these long, hot days have me craving tart, refreshing desserts. And these Mango Key Lime Pie Bars are my essential summer dessert. Like if I don’t make them at least three times a summer, something is seriously wrong.

There are a few things that make these my go-to option: 1. I grew up in Miami and am therefore required to love all things Key Lime 2. They take barely any time to make and 3. They freeze beautifully and are absolute perfection eaten straight out of the freezer on a hot, sunny day…..which is what I tend to do during the hottest parts of the year. Because let me tell you, there is NOTHING better than hanging out on the patio, eating a refreshingly cold Mango Key Lime Pie Bar and letting the heat from the sunshine beat down on you. Throw in a hazy IPA to drink and you’ve pretty much found my happy place.

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Salted Tahini Caramel Brownies

by Kristine Hinterkopf8 Comments on Salted Tahini Caramel Brownies
Salted Tahini Caramel Brownies

Sometimes when you’re developing a recipe, you have a very specific image in your head of how you want the finished product to look. This was the case five years ago when I came up with my original Salted Caramel Brownie recipe. I had the most insanely, frustratingly specific idea of how I wanted them to look. I wanted two fudgy, dark chocolate brownie layers with a layer of thick salted caramel in the middle. It couldn’t be pockets of caramel or a faint ribbon of caramel – it had to be a distinct, gorgeous, continuous copper layer of caramel.

No joke, I drove myself crazy trying to accomplish this. Every time I pulled the brownies out of the oven, I’d get my hopes up thinking maybe this adjustment fixed it. But, more often than not, the caramel layer would bake into the brownies and all I’d be left with is the faintest caramel remnant. I was just about to give up, when a seemingly crazy idea popped into my head. What if I created a frozen layer of salted caramel??? This would give the brownies enough time to bake and because the caramel was frozen it wouldn’t immediately dissolve into the brownie layers.

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