Halloween Ghost Brownies with Marshmallows and White Chocolate

Perfect recipe for your kids' Halloween party

These cute and spooky ghosts are made with deliciously rich and fudgy brownies, topped with a big marshmallow covered in white chocolate ganache

I'm feeling that Halloween is creeping up on me without warning this year. It's only two weeks away, and I'm not ready.
I just finished with my little boy's birthday party this week, and I need to start worrying about  some fun Halloween recipes for you, costumes for the boys, decorations ...yes, I have not filled my front yard with any scary things yet. Shame on me!
So, here it is - at least one recipe: Easy-to-bake, little ghosts made with a big marshmallow, covered in delicious white chocolate ganache, sitting on top of a dark, rich, and sinfully fudgy brownie.
I know. Spooky, right?!? ... definitely spooky for the waistline! Haha!

I saw this idea the other day on BettyCrocker.com. That recipe uses Betty Crocker's brownie mix and ready-to-use white frosting. You could do that, if  you are feeling lazy ... Ahem. I mean, if you want to save a couple of minutes of your time :)
Homemade brownies and white chocolate fondue sound and taste so much better. And it's really not that much more work. So check out my video, and you will see:

This recipe is so easy, that you can do it with your kids too. You could even be the amazing mom (or dad, of course!) to throw the coolest decorate-your-Halloween-brownie-ghost party!!!!! Sounds fun, right?!? The kids will love it for sure :)
Here is what you'll need to do.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:  to make 6 ghost brownies.            
For the brownies:

• 4 oz (110 gr) of unsalted butter 
• 1/2 cup (100 gr) of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
• 2 eggs 
• 3/4 cup (150 gr) of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (75 gr) of all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (35 gr) of unsweetened cocoa powder (Ghirardelli, or another good quality)
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• pinch of salt

For the top:

• 6 large marshmallows
• 1/2 cup (100 gr) of white chocolate chips (Ghirardelli or other good quality)
• 2 tablespoons of heavy cream
• mini chocolate chips for decoration (to make the eyes and mouth of the ghosts) or brown/black frosting

Preparation time: about one hour and and fifteen minutes.
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). Place the half cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and the butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 30 seconds (set on high). Check, mix and add about 15 more seconds if needed.
If you prefer, you could also melt the chocolate with the butter in a double boiler - Place the bowl over a steamy pan partly filled with simmering water. Mix until fully melted.

2. In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, the sugar and the vanilla extract.

3. Mix in the flour, the cocoa powder, the baking soda,  and the melted butter/chocolate mixture (which should be cool down a bit by now). Stir all the ingredients are combined, do NOT over-mix.

4. Spoon the batter into about 6 muffin cups, about 3/4 of the way. You can use silicone cup as is. If you have tin cups, please spray or grease with butter and flour. Or line with paper cups.

5. Bake for about 25 minutes at 350° F (175° C). Do not over-bake, or the brownies will dry up.
Let the brownies cool down, before removing from the mold. When cooler, remove the brownies and set aside while you prepare the topping.

6. Melt the white chocolate chips with the heavy cream. You can microwave for about 20 seconds, mix and add a few more seconds (maybe 15 more seconds) until melted. Or you can melt the chocolate with the cream in a double boiler, same as before.

7. Place one marshmallow on top of an upside down brownie. Note, the bottom of the brownie is much flatter than the top.
Hold the marshmallow with the tip of a toothpick, and pour some of the melted white chocolate on top. The white chocolate will harden quickly when it cools off, and will hold everything together.

Decorate with the mini chocolate chip and make the eyes and mouth of the ghost.

Happy Halloween!

Easy to Make Apple Cake Recipe

Soft, moist, and easy to make

You are going to love this simply delicious apple cake!

Let's start the weekend with something sweet! And what's better than a deliciously soft and moist, made-from-scratch apple cake?!?
Now that apples are in season, you will not be able to resist and bake this right away. Especially when you see the list of ingredients. Nothing weird there. Just plain flour, eggs, sugar, and apples of course. Well ... a couple of other things too! But I'm sure you have everything in the list in your kitchen right now. So you can whip this up in no time.

This recipe is very simple, fast and easy to follow. Trust me: you can't go wrong with this cake. Stick it in the oven, and wait to enjoy the comforting aroma of baked apples that will fill your whole house.
And when ready, you will enjoy a super soft slice of heaven! Every bite is filled with the sweet and tart flavor of apple. So easy, yet so delicious!

This cake looks really pretty and elegant. And you don't need to be an expert baker to pull this off. Just line up the apple slices on top, starting from the outer edge moving in. So easy that even your kids can do it too!
And don't forget... a touch of powdered sugar at the end, when the cake cools off, will make this dessert look even more impressive!
Check out my quick video recipe here:

Ingredients: to make a 9 inches cake.                                    PRINTABLE RECIPE

• 4 oz (1 stick, 110 gr) of unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (200 gr) of sugar
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 8 oz (235 ml) of milk
• a pinch of salt
• 1.5 cups (225 gr) of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 4 medium (or 3 large) apples (golden delicious), mine were about 1.4 lb (640 gr) 
• powder sugar for decorating

Preparation time: 20 minutes to prepare, 60 minutes to cook

Directions:
1: Melt the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds or on the stove,  by placing it in a heat resistant cup (I use a Playtex glass cup) and placing it in a pot of simmering hot water. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C).
2: In a large bowl, mix together the two eggs with the cup of sugar.

3: Stir in the lemon zest, vanilla extract, salt, milk and the melted butter (cooled down).

 4: Add the flour and the baking powder. Mix well.

 5: Peel, and thinly slice the apples. Sprinkle with  some lemon juice.

6.  Add about half of the apple slices  to the cake batter, saving the nicer slices in a separate bowl for later (to put on top of the cake for decoration).

7. Grease a the pan with butter and flour. You can cover the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, and only grease the sides.  Pour in the mixture and flatten it out.

8. Decorate with the remaining apple slices, starting from the outer edge Note, it doesn't have to be perfect! When the cake cooks, the apple will only partly show.

9. Bake for about 60 minutes until golden on top. Check with a toothpick to see if the cake is fully cooked: insert the toothpick in the middle of the cake, and check: the cake is ready if the toothpick comes out clean, with no streaks of batter.

  

BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES

Oh my goodness, these baked sweet potato fries are tasty AND low calorie!! Even my picky picky husband said they were good THREE TIMES during dinner. Now that is a record!!

 

 

 



Keep in mind that you are not going to get a crisp fry (because they are baked) but they ARE addictingly tasty and give you that "a little sweet a little salty" flavor that hits all the right
comfort notes. Crisp or not, I could easily eat a big bowl of these and not feel guilty at all....now THAT is saying something.

2 medium sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon regular chili powder (see note)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (see note)
1 tablespoon brown sugar

OK, a word about yams/sweet potatoes. Don't ask me which is which. I always buy the one with the deep orange flesh, so I'm calling them sweet potatoes in this post.

PRE-HEAT YOUR OVEN (with two DRY baking sheets in it) TO 425°F.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into French fries. Soak in water for one hour, then drain and pat them dry.

Toss the dried off potatoes with cornstarch. Keep gently tossing until the cornstarch is evenly distributed (I put them in a plastic bag to accomplish this...it's easier to toss).

Next sprinkle the potatoes with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and gently toss until well coated.

Mix all of the seasonings together and sprinkle over the oiled potatoes, mixing gently until they are all coated evenly.



When you are ready to bake the fries, remove the hot cookie sheets from the oven and generously spray them with vegetable spray. Divide the seasoned potatoes between the two sheets and spread them out so the fries do not touch each other.

Bake in PRE-HEATED 425°F oven for 12-15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs. Just watch them towards the end of the cooking time because the sugar in the seasonings will scorch/burn if left in too long.

After 12-15 minutes, reduce your oven heat to 375°F and flip the potatoes over and bake another 12-15 minutes.

You will know they are done when they are tender and the edges are darker. Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt.

They aren't the prettiest fries ever, but they are delicious.

 

 

ENJOY !!!

Note: If you like a little more spice, you can use chipotle chili powder INSTEAD OF the regular chili powder + smoked paprika.

Coconut-Macadamia-Chocolate Chips HUGE Cookies

This will be your new favorite cookie recipe!

These giant cookies are filled with chunky pieces of macadamia nuts, melty chocolate chips, and nutty-sweet coconut flakes

Everybody needs a favorite easy-to-make, quick and delicious cookie recipe. You never know when you will need to whip up a batch: for your kids' playdates, last minute office party, or snacks at the next soccer game... Yes, it was my turn last weekend and I was prepared :)
Rather than making the usual chocolate chip cookies, next time try this. Add some macadamia nuts and shredded coconut to turn your plain chocolate chips cookies into something spectacular. Chewy on the inside, slightly crunchy around the edges. Filled with the tropical flavors of coconut and the salty and buttery macadamia nuts. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips so that the cookies would not end up too sweet. But you're welcome to change it up and use white or dark chocolate chips.

And do you see the size of these cookies?!? HUGE!
I used my ice-cream scoop to pick up the dough and make perfectly round cookies in no time at all. My scoop is about 1/4 cup in size, and with the ingredients listed below, I ended up with 10 enormous cookies. You can also use a smaller size, and make more. But remember: adjust the baking time to about 10-11 minutes for regular size,

Here are some more tips.
Remove the butter and the eggs from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before starting with the recipe. Room temperature ingredients are easier to combine, make a smoother dough, and chewier cookies.
Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes (... or overnight if needed) to make thicker, chunkier cookies.
After baking, wait until they are completely cooled down, and then store in an air tight container. They will be fresh for several days.
And listen to this. I read somewhere that cookies will stay soft and chewy for longer if you place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. There is something about the bread giving out moisture, so the bread will dry out and the cookies will stay fresh for longer. Interesting, right?!? I will have to try it now too...But, for some strange reason, cookies do not last long enough in my house to worry about keeping them fresh. Haha!

Make sure to check out my video recipe too:

Ingredients: to make about 10 huge cookies                                PRINTABLE RECIPE

• 5 oz (140 gr) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100 gr) of white sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 gr) of brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 and 1/4 cups (185 gr) of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (80 gr) of shredded coconut 
• 1/2 cup (100 gr) of semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• 1/2 cup (75 gr) of macadamia nuts, roughly chopped 

Preparation time: 40 minutes, plus 30 minutes inactive
Directions:
1: In a large bowl, cream the butter with the white and brown sugar, with a blender or mixer if you have it, until soft and fluffy.

2: Add the egg, the vanilla extract and the salt. Blend well, until smooth.

3: Gradually blend in the flour and the baking soda. Do not overmix. Mix until just incorporated.

4: Mix in the shredded coconut.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips and the macadamia nuts until distributed through out the dough.

6. To make thicker cookies, place the dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or longer.
Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C).
Scoop the dough onto parchment paper, over a baking sheet, leaving enough space between the cookies. You will need two large baking sheets. I used my ice-cream scoop (1/4 cup) and ended up with 10 huge cookies.

7: Bake at 350° F (175° C) for about 14-15 minutes (depending on the size of the cookies), until the edges are slightly brown.

Enjoy :-)