Caramel Apple Cake

Excuse all of the early fall recipes, I just get a little excited. Fall foods and flavors are my favorite and I want to be able to have enough time to make all the fall desserts I want. Bare with me because I have a LONG check list. This cake is definitely not the prettiest I've ever seen, but hey, never judge a book by its cover! Can I use that here?.. Anyway, just make this cake. Trust me. Here's what you need

Butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, apples, and pecans. Combine butter and both sugars in a large mixing bowl

Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla

Mix well. Add all the dry ingredients

Stir on low speed until just combined. Peel, core, and chop the apples. Fold the apples and pecans into the batter

If it looks like there are more apples then batter, you did exactly what you are supposed to. Spread the batter out evenly in a greased 9x13 dish. (Batter will be thick)

Bake until golden and set in the middle

While the cake is cooling, prepare the caramel glaze. Here's what you'll need

Butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and salt. Combine butter, both sugars, and salt in a pot

Whisk constantly so the mixture doesn't burn. Bring on the heavy cream

Bring that to a boil

Remove from heat. Now stab some holes in the cake with a fork or knife

Pour every last bit of the caramel over the cake

Let the glaze soak into the cake. Poke more holes if necessary

Let the cake cool completely and sit a couple of hours before serving. Cut and serve

Add a scoop of pumpkin ice cream= fall in your mouth. Enjoy :)

Caramel Apple Cake

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, & diced

2 Red apples (fugi, red delicious, gala, etc.), peeled, cored, & diced 

1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
1 Tbs. vanilla

Beat together butter and both sugars. Add in eggs and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the apples and pecans. Spread evenly in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and set aside. While cooling prepare the caramel glaze. 

Caramel Glaze:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the granulated and brown sugars and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Stir in the cream and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

This recipe is from Julia Goff. For those of you who do not know her, she is another amazing baker that I look up to. She shared this recipe with me the other day and I made them right away. And oh boy, these are addictive so be careful. They are super sweet, but they have small chunks of sea salt on them, which cuts the sweet a little. So it kinda cancels out the calories too :) Here's what you need

Butter, sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla, flour, caramel candies, cream, and coarse sea salt. Combine butter, sugar, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla

Beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture 

beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms

Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray. Press 1/3 of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust

 (Sorry about my hands, not the prettiest things you'll ever see..) Preheat oven to 325F. Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown, 20- 25 minutes

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. While the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream

Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth. Stir in vanilla

Pour the caramel filling over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the caramel filling

Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel

Return to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm, about 30 minutes

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Use a sharp knife to cut the bars evenly into squares

Serve. Store in an air-tight container up to 3 days. 

Salted Caramel Butter Bars
For the Crust:
1 lb. salted butter, room temp.
1 cup sugar
1½ cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs vanilla
4 cups AP flour

For the Filling:
1 bag (14 oz.) caramel candies (about 50 individual caramels)
⅓ cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 T. coarse sea salt

Beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla. Beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms. 

Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray. Press 1/3 of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust. Refrigerate the remaining dough at least 30 minutes. 

Preheat to 325F. Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown, 20- 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. 

While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour the caramel filling over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the caramel filling. Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel. Return to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. 

Use a sharp knife to cut the bars evenly into squares. Serve. Store in an air-tight container up to 3 days.

Turtle Brownies for Caramel Day!

If you like turtle stuff these are definitely for you. The turtle layer is about as thick as the brownie layer.  Just a warning, these are super messy and gooey, but thats what makes them good. I'm sad to say I used a boxed brownie mix, but I was in a hurry. Here's what you need for the turtle brownies

Brownie mix (or your favorite brownie recipe), caramel, pecans, chocolate chips, and an egg. Prepare the brownies as the box says

Pour into an 8x8 foil lined and greased pan

Bake for about 30 minutes. While the brownies are in the oven, prepare the topping. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, caramel, pecans, and chocolate chips

Mix all this together 

Pour on top of the cooked brownies and spread out carefully and evenly

Put back in the oven and bake for 5 more minutes. Pull those suckers out of the oven and let cool. Once they have cooled, pop them in the fridge for a couple of hours to harden up a little. If you don't, you'll get this..

Which wasn't such a bad thing, but I think it would've made them better. If only I had the patiences...

Turtle Brownies

1 box brownie mix (or your favorite brownie recipe)

1 egg

1/2 cup caramel

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 cup chocolate chips

Prepare the brownies as the box or recipe directs. Pour into a foil lined and greased 8x8 baking dish. Bake about 30 minutes. While the brownies are baking, prepare the turtle topping. In a mixing bowl, beat together the egg, caramel, pecans, and chocolate chips. Pour over the bake brownies. Put the brownies back in the oven and bake 5 more minutes. When they are done baking, let cool to room temp. Then chill in the fridge about 2 hours before cutting. Serve the ooey gooey brownies and enjoy :)

Caramel Swirled Golden Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Today is national cream cheese brownie day, but I just decided to make cream cheese bars. That's close enough, right? It's a cream cheese I (Casey) have a new obsession with Golden Oreo's. If you have never had them, you should go buy them asap.. and make these cheesecake bars :) I loved these! There is something about cheesecake in bar form that is just amazing. It has the delicious texture and taste of a cheesecake without all the hassle of a cheesecake, even though baking is never a hassle to me! AND, I don't feel as guilty eating it.. Here's what you need for the cheesecake bars

Golden oreo's, butter, cream cheese, sugar, milk, egg, vanilla, and caramel sauce. Place some oreo's in a food processor

pulse until all oreo's are crumbly and completely ground up, then melt the butter and pour over the crushed oreo's

stir together and pour into an 8x8 inch baking pan. Press down evenly in the pan

In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese about 2 minutes and add the sugar

beat until fluffy and combined. Add the vanilla, egg, and milk

beat together until well combined, then add in the chopped oreos

fold in and pour over the prepared oreo crust

spread out evenly and pour the caramel over the cheesecake

Using a toothpick, swirl the caramel into the cheesecake

bake

cool on a wire wrack and chill before cutting

here's the chunky pieces of oreo

and the gooey caramel

I could seriously eat the whole pan of these. SO good!

Caramel Swirled Golden Oreo Cheesecake Bars
crust:
18 golden Oreo's
4 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, soft
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 golden Oreo's, cubed
• caramel ice cream topping

Put the 18 oreo's in a food processor. Crush  until completely crumbly. Add the melted butter and stir until well combined. Pour into an 8X8 square baking dish, press down evenly with a spatuala; set aside. In a medium-size bowl beat the cream cheese for about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until well combined. Mix in milk, egg, and vanilla. Fold in the 8 cubed oreo's. Pour over the prepared crust evenly.  Next, drizzle the desired amount of caramel over the unbaked cheesecake bars. Using a toothpick, swirl the caramel into the cheesecake. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack until the cheesecake bars get to room temp. Cover and chill. Slice and eat!

•