chocolate

The Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest Recipes From Your Home State

Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe winners in your home state  is such a fun section to wander in. I’m rarely disappointed when I use a recipe by Pillsbury.

I used to buy the little recipe books at the grocery store checkout counter displays all the time. I have quite a collection and used to use them quite a bit. Now, with the internet so easy to search by keyword and/or ingredient, I find it much simpler to find ideas online. But I’ll never part with my little books since I still like to sit with a cup of coffee and look them over.

These Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies are going to be in my kitchen before the weekend is over!

And this Ham and Cheese Omelet Bake is tomorrows’ breakfast since I have leftover ham from yesterday!  YUM!

Chocolate Raspberry Jelly Sticks Recipe

Chocolate Raspberry Jelly Sticks Recipe

First layer:

  • 6 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or pieces
  • 2 Tablespoons shortening
  • 2 ounces paraffin, optional

Second layer:

  • 1 cup raspberry puree, canned or homemade
  • 2 cups water
  • 5 – 3 oz. packages raspberry flavored jello mix

Third layer:

  • 12 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or pieces
  • 3 Tablespoons shortening
  • 4 ounces paraffin, optional

**The paraffin helps the chocolate set better and gives your chocolate raspberry jelly sticks a firmer finish.
Step 1.  Line a 9×13 pan with aluminum foil or waxed paper.
Melt the ingredients for the first layer in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth.
Remove melted chocolate from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Pour chocolate in prepared pan and spread it evenly.  Place in refrigerator to cool completely.
Step 2.  In a saucepan combine raspberry puree and water.  Bring to a boil then remove from heat. Stir in jello until completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Pour jello mixture over bottom layer and refrigerate, uncovered, until set.  This will probably take about 4 hours.
Step 3.  This third layer can be finished two different ways, depending on what you want for your finished candy.
The quick and easy way is to simply melt the ingredients like you did for the first layer, cool slightly, and pour it over the top of the jelly layer.  Chill until set, and slice into squares or sticks.
The second method is a bit more fiddly, but looks nicer.  Instead of pouring the melted chocolate on top of the whole pan, you need to remove the candy from the pan to a flat surface.  Cut candy in pieces and then individually dip each piece and place on a waxed paper lined tray to set.  This way your chocolate raspberry jelly sticks will be completely covered in chocolate.  You could also just set the pieces slightly apart on the waxed paper and spoon a bit of melted chocolate over each piece to cover.  Chill until set.
Try it both ways and see which you are more comfortable with.
Tasty Tip:  You can make different flavors by simply changing the puree and jelly flavors to suit your taste and mood.

Crock Pot Granola

Quoted from http://www.stacymakescents.com/crock-pot-granola:

Granola in your Slow Cooker

  • 5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not the quick oat kind)
  • 1/2 cup ground flaxseed(optional- see note below)
  • 3/4 cup coconut oil or butter
  • 3/4 cup honey
  • 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
  • 1 cup chopped nuts of your choice
  • 1 to 2 cups dried fruit, chocolate chips, or other mix-in of your choice

In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil or butter. Once it has turned into a liquid, mix in the honey.

Mix the oats, flaxseed, coconut, and nuts together in your slow cooker. Add the honey mixture as well as the vanilla and cinnamon. Stir thoroughly.

Allow the granola to cook onlowfor 2-4 hours.Give it a quick stir every half hour or soto keep it from burning around the edges. Leave the lid slightly cracked to allow moisture to escape (this prevents soggy granola).

Cooking times will greatly vary depending on your slow cooker. Mine cooks very hot, so 2 hours was almost too long. As the granola gets closer to being finished, it will have a tendency to burn faster, so keep an eye on it.

Allow to cool, then mix in the dried fruit and/or chocolate chips. Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for several weeks.