Chocolate Crack

Again, I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe before!  I love making this, and tend to do it a lot during the fall.  Not that it's particularly fall-y, just chocolate and peanut butter.  I just found it around Thanksgiving so I start thinking of it around this time of the year.

Ingredients

• 1 box graham crackers (I used cinnamon ones on accident, but they were delish)
• 1 cup melted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray with Pam/nonstick cooking spray.
3. Line the pan completely with a layer of graham crackers.
4. Combine butter with brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat: STIR CONSTANTLY for 5 minutes.
5. Pour the mixture over the graham crackers as evenly as possible.
6. Put in oven & bake for 10 minutes.
7. Remove from pan & sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers. Give them a minute or two to melt and then spread them out with a spoon/spatula/etc.

My tips

• I didn’t boil the sugar/butter, just warmed it on medium & let it melt together.
• Also I didn’t use the entire bag of chocolate chips, just kind of sprinkled them on there & spread.
• I think you can use less butter & brown sugar (3/4 of a cup of each, maybe even just 1/2 cup).  I also made it with white sugar when I ran out of brown (not quite as good as using the brown sugar, but I still liked it).  Last night I had a stroke of pure brilliance and added a tablespoon or two of peanut butter to the butter/(white) sugar combo and it was AMAZING.
• The original recipe said to let it chill before eating…this is REALLY hard for me to do.  I did like the one with white sugar (& no PB) better cooled, but it’s really yummy warm too so I don’t think you can really go wrong either way.
• Several people have heard of a similar version using saltines (so you have a salty/sweet combo) and love it.

Kool Aid Pie

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this recipe here before.  It's one I was introduced to through a Southern Culture class, shockingly enough.  We had a whole chapter about food (y'all know Southerners like to eat) and someone brought this as a family recipe. 

Ingredients

• 1 graham cracker crust
• 1 can Eaglebrand milk
• 1 tub Cool Whip
• 1 packet Kool Aid 

Directions

1. Mix the condensed milk, Kool Aid, and Cool Whip together until thoroughly mixed.
2.  Spoon into graham cracker crust.
3. Refrigerate (I'd recommend at least 1.5 hours). 

My notes

• Easy peasy, right?  
• I personally like more tangy flavors of Kool Aid for this, so I use lemon/lime mixes to balance out the extreme sweetness of the other ingredients (Pink Lemonade is my favorite).  I know others who have used Fruit Punch, etc though so play around with it as you see fit.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Crescet Rolls

I found this idea on Pinterest (which is really to blame for my lack of updates here, I've started going to my many "Food" boards rather than blogs for recipes).  It's simple, nothing fancy, but a good recipe to have in your arsenal. 

Okay, apparently the pin/link has been taken down so no links or credit given.  If this was your original idea, please let me know & I will credit you.

Ingredients

• One can crescent rolls
• Peanut Butter (about a cup, I guess, I just always take directly from the jar)
• Chocolate Chips (1/2-3/4 of a cup, I just take from bag & sprinkle in)

Directions

1. Preheat oven according to directions on crescent roll package.
2. Spread out crescent rolls on buttered cookie sheet.
3. Using a butter knife or spoon, spread peanut butter onto crescent rolls.
4. Take the chocolate chips and sprinkle onto peanut butter.
5. Roll up crescent rolls and bake as directed on package.

 My notes

• As I stated, this recipe isn't particularly amazing but considering it gets a high rating from me based on the facts that  it's both cheap and really easy.  Also it's fairly easy to proportion (just make less & save the extra crescent rolls for another day/recipe).  It's been enjoyed by several people, especially those who see me prepare it and marveled at the ease of it.

No Bake Eclair Cake

Another great no-bake dessert!  Perfect for summer, especially with a glass of ice cold milk.

No Bake Eclair Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 package Graham Crackers
• 2 packages (3.4 oz) instant French Vanilla pudding
• 8 ounces Cool Whip (thawed)
• 3 cups milk
• 16 ounces chocolate frosting

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the pudding mix, Cool Whip, and milk. Beat well.
2. Arrange graham crackers in a single layer on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
3. Pour half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. 
4. Add another layer of graham crackers and pour remaining pudding on top.
5. Add the final layer of graham crackers and spread with chocolate frosting. You may need to soften the frosting up a bit in the microwave to help it spread easily.
6. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

My changes:

• This is seriously so ridiculously easy that a five year old could make it.  Simply ingredients, simple preparation, everything is amazing simple.  
• Did I mention it was delicious?  I'll admit, it was a bit obvious sometimes that the chocolate was just chocolate frosting.  But if you mix everything up instead of leaving it layered as you eat it, then the flavors all blend together and meld perfectly.  To be as cheap & simple as it is, it's divine.

Frozen Lemon Cake

Love, love, love.  Highly reccomend.

Frozen Lemon Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup crushed graham crackers, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 lemon (all juice and all zest)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 4 tablespoons sugar, divided

Directions:

1. Combine 3/4 cup of the crushed graham crackers with the melted butter, stirring until a crumbly loose mixture forms. Line the bottom of an 8×8-inch pan with the mixture.
2. In a bowl set over hot water (not boiling) mix egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar.  Stir constantly until the mixture thickens. At this point Nanny’s instructions say “Keep cool.” – this is because it will take about 10 minutes for the mixture to thicken. Cute. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool.
3. Beat egg whites until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to beat until glossy, stiff peaks form.
4. Next, beat whipped cream until fluffy, and gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar.
5. Then, gently fold all three mixtures together.
6. Spread the mixture in the pan over the prepared crust. 
7. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of crushed crackers. 
8. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours. 
9. When you’re ready to serve, remove from the freezer, and cut into squares and plate them. Then allow to melt ever so slightly – about 4-5 minutes. Serve immediately

My changes:

• I'm pretty sure I never waited for peaks to form.  I just mixed some stuff together in a bowl.  It was still delicious.
• I stupidly forgot to wrap it before putting it in the freezer, so it had a weird freezer taste to it.  But good.  Just wrap it to prevent that from happening okay?