Scotcharoos are crispy rice treats fully loaded with peanut butter, butterscotch and chocolate flavors! They are SO addictive and delicious, and not your ordinary rice krispy treat!

So prior to this, I have to admit – I had never had a Scotcharoo.

Growing up, my parents did not bake. My grandparents did not bake. We did not have the family baking experience. Once in a blue moon, my mom would make my grandma’s coffee cake, but that was about it and we certainly didn’t have fun little treats like these.

Prepared snack cakes and packaged cookies were more our speed, and hey, there’s nothing wrong with that! But a lot of these classic childhood treats everyone requests from me are above my head because I just never grew up with them. But now I’m here as a professional to fix that and experience them as a thirty-something year old. You’re never too old!

The Low-Down on Scotcharoos

What are scotcharoos, exactly? Good question! They’re basically glorified rice krispy treats that get a fancier treatment. Instead of marshmallows and butter like a regular RKT, these have a boiled candy mixture of granulated sugar, peanut butter and corn syrup as the “sauce” mixed with the crispy rice cereal, and a butterscotch and milk chocolate layer as the topping.

In another word, they’re scrumptious. 

How to Make Scotcharoos

You’ll simply melt the granulated sugar, peanut butter and corn syrup together in a medium saucepan until the sugar has dissolved and everything has become melted and smooth. You won’t bring it to a boil, but you want it to be hot and no longer grainy from the sugar. Once it has reached this stage, you’ll pour it in a bowl with your crispy rice cereal and toss it to coat.

Press the coated cereal mixture into a greased pan and then make your topping. The topping is just melted butterscotch chips and melted milk chocolate chips stirred together. Pour it over the top and let the topping set before cutting into squares to serve.

These bars are sweet, salty, chewy and so decadent. They really taste like a gourmet rice krispy treat from a fancy bakery or candy shop, but are surprisingly simple to make!

Tips & Tricks

How do I make sure my scotcharoos stay soft and chewy? The key to ensuring your scotcharoos stay soft and chewy is to not boil the peanut butter mixture. You just want to make sure the sugar has dissolved but take it off the heat before the mixture boils.

How can I store completed scotcharoos? Finished scotcharoos can be kept at room temperature covered airtight up to a week.

These Scotcharoos are so delicious – you and your kids will love ’em!

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Scotcharoos

These Scotcharoos are seriously DIVINE! Combining peanut butter, butterscotch and chocolate, they elevate basic rice krispy treats into a gourmet childhood favorite!

Course Bars, Candy

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 24 bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 6 cups rice krispy cereal
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

• Liberally grease a 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray, or line the pan with parchment paper or foil and then grease. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, add the sugar, peanut butter, and corn syrup and stir together over medium-high heat. Continue cooking and stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is melted and smooth, about 10 minutes. Do NOT allow the mixture to boil. If the mixture begins to bubble, pull it off of the heat. It shouldn't be super grainy from the sugar. While this cooks, add your cereal to a large bowl and set aside.
• Pour the peanut butter mixture into the bowl with the cereal and toss to coat completely. Pour the coated cereal into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Be careful, as the mixture may be hot.
• In a medium microwaveable bowl, combine the butterscotch and milk chocolate chips. Microwave on HIGH power for 30 seconds, stir, and microwave again in 30 second intervals, stopping to stir every 30 seconds until melted and smooth. Pour the mixture evenly over the bars and spread in an even layer.
• Allow the chocolate to set, about 1 hour, before cutting into squares.

If you love sweet and salty flavors, you’re going to fall in LOVE with these irresistible scotcharoos!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Scotcharoos first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

These Monster Cookie Carmelitas are oatmeal cookie bars fully loaded with a peanut butter caramel, chocolate chips and miniature M&M’s for a fun twist on two classics: carmelitas and monster cookies!

I cannot believe September is this week! Although it will mean nothing in the grand scheme of, well, anything. Least of all weather-wise.

At least we’re one step closer to Christmas. Yeah, I dropped the holly jolly C-word. And I won’t apologize for it.

In the meantime, I’m cooking up all sorts of cozy recipes for fall or the prequel to fall, and those include these bad boys. Let’s just say they are one of my better harebrained ideas.

Monster Cookie Carmelitas

First, let’s break down what the heck a monster cookie carmelita is, anyway. Actually, it’s two different desserts mashed into one concept: carmelitas, which are caramel and chocolate-filled oatmeal cookie bars, and monster cookies, which are oatmeal-based cookies loaded with chocolate, peanut butter and M&M’s. Since they have similarities between them (chocolate, oats), and caramel and peanut butter go well together, I figured this would be a culinary match made in heaven.

And I was right!

The base is essentially an oatmeal cookie that we’ll bake in a square pan. You’ll throw down your first layer using half of the dough, and bake it for a little bit to set. Then you’ll add your caramel layer, which consists of caramel squares melted with a little heavy cream and with some creamy peanut butter stirred in.

Once your caramel layer is on, you’ll sprinkle on your chocolate chips and miniature M&M’s, followed by the remaining bits of cookie dough.

Bake it up, and you have these gloriously gooey bars!

Success Tips for Monster Cookie Carmelitas

• When working with caramel, things are bound to get sticky. I recommend lining your baking pan with foil or parchment and greasing the foil or parchment paper with nonstick spray to be extra cautious.
• These bars cut best when they have properly cooled and had time to sit at room temperature. I would not attempt to cut them when they are still warm, as the caramel layer is heavy and they are still kind of fragile and gooey when room temperature. You can always briefly refrigerate before cutting, but I recommend serving anything with caramel at room temperature so as not to crack a tooth.
• Bars can be kept for up to 5 days at room temperature, if stored airtight.

These bars are hearty, chocolaty, absolutely bursting with gooey goodness from the buttery caramel and peanut butter filling and are such a fun twist between two classic desserts. Now, who wants some of these Monster Cookie Carmelitas?

These are so unbelievably gooey and delicious.. I know you’re going to go nuts for them!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Monster Cookie Carmelitas first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

Caramel Puff Corn is a buttery, light and airy popcorn hybrid made with puffed corn instead of popcorn for an addictive snack!

So I started Weight Watchers just because I feel like 2023 is going to be *my year* and I feel like it is time to say goodbye to some of this extra baggage, so to speak. But before you clutch your pearls in mock-horror, foreshadowing me handing you a single grape and claiming it as “dessert” in the future – there is no need to fret. The desserts are here to stay.

Hey, I need to indulge too!

One of my new fave ways to spend my rollover points just so happens to be this seriously addictive Caramel Puff Corn. Wanna know the deets? Right this way!

Caramel Puff Corn

Caramel Puff Corn is like popcorn but made with puffed corn instead of traditional popcorn. Think of Pirate’s Booty or the Cheeto’s puffs – that texture, where it’s light, crisp, puffy and airy. Thankfully you can find the puff corn by “Chester’s” brand at Walmart stores on the chip aisle. It’s the butter flavor and you’ll want to grab 2 bags… or maybe 3, if you need something to nosh on while you wait for these to cook.

Making Caramel Puff Corn

To make Caramel Puff Corn, you’ll want to make your caramel sauce/coating which consists of light brown sugar, light corn syrup, unsalted butter, salt, vanilla extract, and baking soda. Baking soda adds a nice texture to the caramel so it coats evenly and has a great “bite.”

You’ll combine some of the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil it for 5 or so minutes, then pour it over the puff corn in a large roasting pan or among two rimmed cookie sheets. Working quickly, you’ll toss the puff corn in the caramel sauce, then bake for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes to coat the puff corn thoroughly.

Let it cool completely and allow the caramel coating to set and voila! The most deliciously addictive, buttery Caramel Puff Corn in all the land.

But don’t say I didn’t warn you – this stuff is DANGEROUS!

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Caramel Puff Corn

This Caramel Puff Corn is addictive, crispy, light and puffy and SO simple to make! Such a fun twist on caramel popcorn!

Course Dessert, Snacks

Cuisine Dessert

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 20 cups

Ingredients

• 20 cups butter or unflavored puff corn, such as Chester's brand (if using Chester's, I used 2 bags)
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed
• 1½ cups light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200℉. Lightly grease a roasting pan or two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray or line with foil and grease. Likewise, you can use disposable ones. Add the puff corn to the pan(s) evenly.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
• Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla extract quickly. Working quickly and carefully, pour the caramel sauce evenly over the puff corn (do not just pour it in one spot, but try and pour it as evenly as possible over the puff corn to coat as much as you can). Toss the puff corn with the caramel sauce with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
• Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes to coat the puff corn with the caramel sauce. Remove from the oven once finished and allow the puff corn to cool and the caramel coating to set, about 1 hour. You can expedite this by carefully spreading the puff corn onto wax paper-lined counters and breaking them into pieces once cooled.
• Store any leftovers airtight, at room temperature, up to 1 week.

Notes

I recommend using Chester's brand butter puff corn for this recipe! I found it at Walmart in the chip aisle.

Buttery, light, crispy and soooo irresistible! You’re going to love this one

Craving more caramel? Check out this recipe!

Caramel Snickerdoodle Bars

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Caramel Puff Corn first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

This Easy Almond Roca Toffee is SO incredible, is surprisingly simple to make and is the perfect combination of sweet and salty!

I cannot believe Christmas is just three weeks away!

If you need me, I’ll be cranking out as many Christmas recipes as I can in the little time I have left. But first, I had to kick off this week with this Easy Almond Roca! If you’ve never made homemade candy before, it can seem intimidating. Believe me – I avoided candy thermometers like the plague for the longest time. But I promise, this toffee is very simple!

Easy Almond Roca

This Easy Almond Roca has a few simple ingredients that you probably have on hand, including:

• Butter: I use unsalted since I’m adding salt to the toffee mixture
• Granulated sugar: for sweetness and the structure of the toffee
• Water: to help with the cooking process
• Salt: to counter some of the sweetness
• Pure vanilla extract: for flavor and sweetness

You’ll simply boil your toffee ingredients, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until your toffee reaches 305 degrees F on a candy thermometer. While I don’t recommend making toffee without a thermometer, it can be done if you’re more experienced. 305 degrees F on a candy thermometer is known as “hard crack stage” and your toffee will be richly golden brown, almost like the color of a raw almond.

Then, to make it Almond Roca, we’ll add semi-sweet chocolate on top when the toffee is still hot and allow it to melt. While it is still wet, we’ll sprinkle on some toasted chopped almonds. Using roasted almonds is preferred because it really adds a little something extra.

This Almond Roca is buttery, crunchy, sweet, salty and SO irresistible and will make excellent gifts for the holidays!

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Easy Almond Roca

This Easy Almond Roca can be made from a few simple pantry ingredients and yields snappy, sweet and salty gourmet candy!

Course Candy, Dessert

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 3 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup chopped roasted, unsalted almonds

Instructions

• Line an 8x8 square pan with parchment paper and allow the parchment sides to hang over the edges of the pan for easier removal later. Set aside. Meanwhile, measure out your vanilla and set it out next to your stove so it is ready when you are.
• In a medium heavy bottomed pot, add the cubed butter, granulated sugar, water, and salt and turn the stove to medium heat. Cook, stirring gently occasionally with a wooden spoon, until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Once the mixture begins to come to a boil, attach a candy thermometer to the pot.
• Allow the mixture to boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until mixture reaches 305° degrees F on the candy thermometer, also known as hard crack stage. The toffee should be the color of a raw almond. Depending on your stove, this could take anywhere from 10-20 minutes. Once it reaches 305° degrees, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract; note that the vanilla will cause the mixture to bubble and foam violently, so be careful.
• Pour the toffee into the prepared parchment-lined pan in an even layer. Let set for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, sprinkle the top of the toffee with the semi-sweet chocolate chips in an even layer. Cover the pan with foil and let set for another 5 minutes. Remove the foil and spread the now melty chocolate chips in an even layer using an offset spatula. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds.
• Allow the toffee and chocolate to set completely at room temperature, or you can expedite this process by refrigerating the pan.

Notes

I recommend using roasted, unsalted almonds for a great toasted almond flavor. If you can't find these, you can lightly toast your own almonds by purchasing raw almonds and toasting them over medium-low heat in a dry skillet for a few minutes or until nutty and fragrant. 

This sweet and salty toffee is sure to be a huge hit in your Christmas gift baskets!

Love candy recipes? Check out this recipe…

CHURRO TOFFEE

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Easy Almond Roca first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

If you need an extra something for your holiday cookie tray, look no further than these Easy Peanut Butter Balls! Only a few pantry ingredients and SO tasty!

Before you know it, December will be here and I need to be planning my annual Christmas cookie trays for my neighbors and friends.

I usually have a couple different cookies, a candy or truffle, and maybe bar of some kind. This year I may scale it down some since I was diagnosed with my autoimmune illness, but overall I still want them to be spectacular, and one way to do that is to include these Peanut Butter Balls!

If you LOVE peanut butter, you’re going to want to bookmark this recipe!

Peanut Butter Balls

Peanut Butter Balls have only a few simple pantry ingredients and they come together quickly, so this is officially one of the easiest recipes you’ll have on hand for holiday gatherings, parties or cookie trays. Plus, you can easily double it which makes it great for big events.

The ingredients you’ll need are:

• Peanut Butter! I recommend using a traditional no-stir kind, like the classic JIF or Skippy. Oily ones you have to stir to combine are too liquid-y and prone to separation which may cause the truffles to lose their shape and weep.
• Butter: I use unsalted, softened butter – it adds flavor and structure to the truffles.
• Vanilla extract: for flavor, of course!
• Powdered sugar: this is basically the binding ingredient that will hold everything together and turn it from a gloopy mess into a coherent truffle consistency!
• Chocolate candy coating: also known as almond bark, chocolate candy coating or chocolate melting wafers – this has a higher melting point and is less prone to seizing, so it is ideal for dipping things like truffles. You can find it at any grocer nowadays by brands like CandiQuik, Loghouse Foods, or Ghirardelli.

You’ll simply combine the peanut butter, softened butter, and vanilla together in the bowl of a stand mixer until nice and combined. Then add in your powdered sugar until the mixture gets some more structure. Using a cookie dough scoop, you’ll drop heaping Tablespoonfuls out into your palm and roll them into neat little balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze them for a hot sec to firm up, then dip them in the melted chocolate coating.

Et voila! The easiest Peanut Butter Balls like ever.

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Peanut Butter Balls

These Peanut Butter Balls taste SO amazing, but no one will know how seriously EASY they are to make! With only a few pantry ingredients, you can make these at home in under 1 hour.

Course Candy, Dessert, No-Bake Treats

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 30 balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup creamy no-stir peanut butter (such as Skippy or JIF; see Note)
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered (confectioners') sugar
• 1 pkg (16oz) chocolate candy coating (such as Candiquik or chocolate almond bark)

Instructions

• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract with the paddle attachment until just combined and smooth, about 1 minute. Add in the confectioners' sugar and mix on low speed until combined and a soft dough has come together.
• Using a Tablespoon-size cookie dough scoop, portion out Tablespoon-size balls of dough. Roll them one at a time in your hands to smooth out and place on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about 10-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the candy coating according to package directions or until smooth and melted. Dip a truffle into the chocolate candy coating one at a time and use a fork to lift it out of the chocolate mixture and allow excess chocolate to drip off. Return the truffle to the parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining truffles. If you have any leftover chocolate, spoon it into a small ziploc baggy, snip off a corner of the baggy and drizzle it over the truffles. Allow the chocolate coating to set before serving.

Notes

I recommend using a classic, no-stir peanut butter such as JIF or Skippy for this recipe. These are not as oily and are perfect for this recipe. A natural peanut butter that requires stirring is far too oily and will likely cause the truffles to weep or not hold their shape well.

Peanut buttery, chocolaty, and so delicious – you’re going to absolutely LOVE these!!

Craving more chocolate and peanut butter?! Check out this recipe…

The Best Muddy Buddies

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Easy Peanut Butter Balls first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

These Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies will soon become the first one gone on the Christmas cookie tray! Soft and chewy brownie cookies loaded with peppermint chips, coated in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes. SO delish!

I am fully EMBRACING the holiday season. My trees (yes, plural) and decorations have been up since November 1st, and I have nearly all my Christmas shopping done. What can I say? I just adore this time of year. But lest you think my holiday spirit is nauseating (okay, it kind of is a little bit), I can assure you I am a total nightmare goblin person in summertime.

One of my FAVORITE things about Christmastime (among many) are all the peppermint-flavored things that come out of the woodwork. My latest faves are the peppermint Frosty at Wendy’s and peppermint ice cream sandwiches from Safeway grocery store. But my fave is good old-fashioned peppermint bark by Ghirardelli, though I am not picky – anything creamy and pepperminty is A+ in my book.

Peppermint bark was the inspo for these outrageously delicious cookies and boy did I knock this one out of the park, people. If you love brownies, peppermint bark and soft and chewy cookies, you’re going to LOVE these.

Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies

These cookies begin with a brownie cookie base. The cookies taste JUST like a fudge brownie but in a cookie format. They consist of butter and chocolate chips melted together until smooth. Then we’ll whisk in some cocoa powder to add more rich chocolaty goodness. The batter is your standard cookie dough: eggs, sugars, vanilla extract, leavening, salt and flour. However, don’t be alarmed when you see that this cookie dough is more like a batter. It is on the looser side. If it makes you feel better, you can let it firm up for about 15 minutes before scooping. Then we’ll mix in some peppermint baking chips – I like Andes brand – or chopped peppermint bark.

Once they’re baked and cooled, we’ll dip half of them in some melted white chocolate. I like almond bark for this because it melts beautifully, tastes great and is readily available. Before it sets completely, sprinkle it with a little crushed candy canes. I mean… talk about HEAVEN.

Fudgy, soft and chewy brownie cookies loaded with peppermint bark goodness… y’all are gonna love these Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies!

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Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies

These Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies are UNREAL. Fudgy, soft and chewy brownie cookies dunked in smooth white chocolate and fully loaded with peppermint candy pieces. So delicious!

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 32 minutes minutes

Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened or Dutch process)
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup peppermint baking chips (such as Andes - if you cannot find, you can use finely chopped peppermint bark)
• 1/2 pkg (8 oz) white chocolate candy coating (such as Candiquik)
• 3/4 cup crushed candy canes

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, combine the butter and chocolate chips and stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Let stand for 5 minutes to slightly cool off.
• Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine both sugars, the eggs, corn syrup and vanilla extract and mix until just combined and smooth, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the chocolate mixture until fully combined. Lastly, add in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in the peppermint baking chips.
• Drop heaping 2 Tablespoon-size scoops of dough 3" apart on the baking sheets. The dough is very loose and more batter-like than a cookie dough. If you need to let it set for about 15 minutes, you can. Make sure you give them plenty of room since they do spread some due to the dough being on the thinner side.
• Bake for 12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time to ensure even cooking. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pans for at least 15 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
• Melt the white chocolate Candiquik according to package directions, or until melted and smooth. Dip half of the cookie into the melted white chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and immediately sprinkle with the crushed candy cane pieces. Let the candy coating set before serving or storing.

Notes

If you can't find Andes peppermint baking chips (which can sometimes be very hard to find for some reason), you can use finely chopped peppermint bark. Do not bake with candy canes as the pure sugar will melt and caramelize, creating a huge sticky, burnt mess.

These are so scrumptious! I know you’re going to love them as much as I did!

Have a super sweet day!

Craving more peppermint? Check out this recipe!

Bakery-Style Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

xo, Hayley

The post Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

Caramel apples are my favorite fall dessert and these Easy Caramel Apples are no exception! You won’t believe how simple they are to make with a seriously delicious shortcut.

Caramel apples – one of my absolute favorites!

I am a classic caramel apple kinda gal. I require mine have an amazing tasting caramel and be covered in chopped peanuts. That’s all I ask! Nothing more, nothing less.

Those caramel apples you see at Disney or Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory that are fully loaded with Oreos, candies and stuff are so not my cup of tea, but I can see the appeal! The apple is the perfect vessel for layering on your favorite toppings. The apple is your oyster! Er, you know what I meant!

Anyway, these Easy Caramel Apples are the bomb diggity and are super simple to make. No need to prepare a fussy homemade caramel sauce because I tested the store-brand caramels and found one that tasted just as good as homemade without all the hassle and can be whipped up in minutes.

Making Caramel Apples

For caramel apples, you’ll need apples (of course!) – Granny Smith are my favorite here since they offer a nice tart balance to the sweetness of the caramel; caramel (today we’re using Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels); heavy cream (to help melt the caramels); and your toppings, if you’re using them! Super easy, I promise! You’ll also want some kind of lollipop stick, skewer, chopstick, or popsicle stick to pierce through the apple to help you dip them. I used chopsticks because I forgot lollipop sticks at the store and they totally worked!

So for the caramel apples, you’ll first wash your apples really well to remove any waxy build-up from the grocery store. This helps the caramel adhere better. Dry them and pierce the skewer or lollipop stick through where the stem was. Set aside.

Next, you’ll prepare the caramel sauce. Unwrap a couple packages of the Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels and add them to a microwave-safe bowl. Add in a couple Tablespoons of heavy whipping cream and microwave in increments until smooth, melted and thick.

You’ll dip the apples into the caramel and twirl the apple around in it, then allow any excess to drip off of the apple. I like to then hold the apple upside down to allow the caramel to kind of set around the apple. By holding it upside down for about 30 seconds after dipping, the caramel sets and hardens around the apple and is less likely to pool around the base of the apple. Therefore you’ll get a thicker caramel topping.

Lastly, sprinkle or dredge on your toppings and allow everything to set in the fridge until you’re ready to serve or package them up!

Toppings

As I said before, I love mine with chopped peanuts, but other topping choices could be:

• Crushed Oreos, Nutter Butters, or vanilla wafers
• Graham crackers and pumpkin pie or apple pie spice
• Chopped peanut butter cups, mini M&M’s, chopped Snickers bars, chopped Twix
• Mini chocolate chips
• Rainbow or chocolate sprinkles
• Drizzles of melted chocolate or white chocolate candy coating
• Other types of nuts like pecans, pistachios, or walnuts

Whatever you do, MAKE these delicious apples and enjoy!

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Easiest Caramel Apples

These Caramel Apples are absolutely divine and SO simple to make! Only a few pantry ingredients and you'll have buttery, gooey and delicious gourmet-style caramel apples in no time.

Course Candy, Dessert

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6 apples

Ingredients

• 6-8 medium-size Granny Smith apples, washed thoroughly and dried to remove wax, stems removed
• Two (10.8 oz each) packages Werther's CHEWY Caramels, unwrapped I recommend their chewy caramels and NOT the soft caramels as the soft ones didn't dip as well
• 4 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
• Assorted toppings of your choice, such as chopped nuts, crushed cookies, rainbow sprinkles, chopped candies, etc. Measurements depend on how many apples get that topping in particular.

Instructions

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray the parchment paper with cooking spray or rub with butter. Set aside.
• Pierce a lollipop stick or chopstick through washed and dried Granny Smith apples, careful not to pierce all the way through. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, unwrap the caramels and place them in a large microwaveable bowl. Add the heavy cream and microwave on HIGH power for 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds, stopping to stir after each 30 second increment for a total of 2-3 minutes or until the caramel is melted, smooth, and thickened.
• Dip each apple, one at a time, into the caramel and twirl it around to coat it completely. Allow excess caramel to drip off of the apple, then hold the apple almost upside down for about 20-30 seconds to allow any extra caramel to settle onto the apple itself, set and thicken the caramel layer, and prevent pooling. Then, dredge or sprinkle the caramel apple with your choice of toppings. You may have to press the toppings into the caramel to get them to stick better.
• Place the caramel apples on the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until set. Allow to come closer to room temperature before serving to take the chill off of the caramel some, but keep them stored in the fridge.

Notes

I found that Werther's Chewy Caramels worked best for this and tasted the best in my testing. Werther's Soft Caramels slid off of the apples and didn't perform as well as I had thought. Thankfully you can find Werther's Chewy Caramels just about anywhere! 

Gourmet-style caramel apples in the comfort of your own kitchen? Sign me up!

Want more caramel apple goodness? Try this recipe…

Caramel Apple Cookies

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post The Easiest Caramel Apples first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

These Peanut Butter Cup-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies are for serious PB and chocolate lovers only!! Soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are stuffed with a full-size peanut butter cup for a tasty hidden surprise.

Sorry I’ve been MIA for the last two weeks! Things around here have been crazy.

Without going into too much detail, I’m having some medical mysteries happening at this time that I’ve been dealing with. The symptoms aren’t great and I’ve been trying to stay on top of tracking them, attending appointments, doing ALL the lab work, etc. Then this past weekend I went to Los Angeles for a wedding and a huge music festival. It was super hot but super fun, and I am super tired, ha. Let’s just say I don’t have the same energy for concerts as I did as a teenager!

Anyway, now I am back and it’s approximately 2348623875 degrees and I am dreaming up all the no-bake things because I am already miserable. However, before my disappearance I happened to make these cookies and I’m sharing them with you today because I couldn’t put them off any longer!

The Cookies

The cookies are a classic chocolate chip pudding cookie. What’s a pudding cookie, you ask? It’s just like a regular chocolate chip cookie but with a box of instant pudding mix added to the cookie dough.

Instant dry pudding mix gives the cookies an insanely delicious light, tender and SUPER soft and chewy texture. It’s really magic! All you have to do is add the dry pudding mix powder to your cookie dough with the rest of your dry ingredients. Promise it really is that easy!

But otherwise, the cookie has your usual suspects: butter, brown sugar and white sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and of course, chocolate chips! I recommend splurging for a higher quality chocolate chip since chocolate is a main component. My fave brands to use are Ghirardelli or Guittard.

The Filling

The filling is a classic Reese’s peanut butter cup – the normal size one! Luckily you can get party packs of the standard sizes at the grocery store on the candy aisle. Just unwrap them and fill each cookie with them. The surprise of a sweet and salty peanut butter cup inside each soft and chewy cookie is PERFECTION.

These Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Cookies are a MUST! I hope you love them!

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Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Cookies

These Peanut Butter Cup-Stuffed Cookies are magical! Soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies stuffed with a tasty hidden Reese's peanut butter cup inside each bite!

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 22 minutes minutes

Servings 16 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks OR 16 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 3.4 oz (1 small box) INSTANT dry vanilla pudding mix powder just the dry powdered mix; do not prepare the pudding
• 1¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 16-18 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners; set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars with the paddle attachment until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, followed by the vanilla extract. Add in the baking soda, salt, all-purpose flour and dry instant vanilla pudding mix and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Using a Tablespoon-size cookie dough scoop, portion out 2 separate rounded Tablespoons of cookie dough balls. Place a Reese's peanut butter cup in between the two dough balls and use your fingers to manipulate the cookie dough so it completely envelops the peanut butter cup and creates one giant cookie, covering the peanut butter cup completely. Place on the prepared baking sheets at least 3" apart. Repeat with remaining dough and peanut butter cups. You should have around 16-18 cookies.
• Bake for approximately 10-14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time to ensure even cooking. Remove from the heat and allow the cookies to finish cooling on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I just know you’re going to love these sweet and salty cookies!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Peanut Butter Cup-Stuffed Cookies first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

Hold onto your hats, people! Churro Toffee is officially in the building and it is PHENOMENAL. Buttery, crunchy toffee with a white chocolate and cinnamon sugar churro topping JUST like the one they serve at Disney parks! A must make for the holidays!

Have I got a recipe for you today that’s going to shock, amaze, and blow your minds. I know, that’s kind of intensely high praise but I promise, it’s worth it.

Whether or not you’ve been to a Disney park in the last few years, you may or may not have heard of churro toffee. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a toffee that has a churro-y flavor and it’s good. While I haven’t had Disney’s version, I can only imagine it’s very delicious – after all, any time I see a food blogger friend go there, they always rave about it.

So since I haven’t been to the parks in a million years (hi, fixing that stat!), I figured I would whip up my own churro toffee to try this out for, ya know, research purposes. I gotta know what I’m in for before I try the real stuff, right? Right.

Anyhoo, this stuff is addicting, surprisingly easy even for novice candy makers and probably tastes better than Disney’s because it’s homemade and homemade stuff really is the best.

Making Toffee

Toffee is pretty simple to make and requires pantry ingredients you probably have on hand, including:

• Butter: I use unsalted since I’m adding salt to the toffee mixture
• Granulated sugar: for sweetness and the structure of the toffee
• Water: to help with the cooking process
• Salt: to counter some of the sweetness
• Pure vanilla extract: for flavor and sweetness

You’ll simply boil your toffee ingredients, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until your toffee reaches 305 degrees F on a candy thermometer. While I don’t recommend making toffee without a thermometer, it can be done if you’re more experienced. 305 degrees F on a candy thermometer is known as “hard crack stage” and your toffee will be richly golden brown, almost like the color of a raw almond.

When making candy, I always recommend cooking in a pot with a heavy bottom as opposed to a flimsy pot. This is because the heavier bottomed pots are less likely to scorch your candy, and because we’re not stirring the toffee constantly, this is crucial.

To finish our toffee, we’ll sprinkle the top with white chocolate chips, let them melt and spread it into an even layer, and then top with sparkling cinnamon sugar. Perfection!

Churro Toffee will soon become your family’s fave!

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Churro Toffee

This Churro Toffee is seriously AMAZING and surprisingly simple, even for novice candy makers. Buttery, crunchy, crisp toffee with a white chocolate and cinnamon sugar "churro" layer that tastes even better than the ones from Disney parks!

Course Candy, Dessert

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 3 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Churro Topping:

• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Line an 8x8 square pan with parchment paper and allow the parchment sides to hang over the edges of the pan for easier removal later. Set aside. Meanwhile, measure out your vanilla and set it out next to your stove so it is ready when you are.
• In a medium heavy bottomed pot, add the cubed butter, granulated sugar, water, and salt and turn the stove to medium heat. Cook, stirring gently occasionally with a wooden spoon, until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Once the mixture begins to come to a boil, attach a candy thermometer to the pot.
• Allow the mixture to boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until mixture reaches 305° degrees F on the candy thermometer, also known as hard crack stage. The toffee should be the color of a raw almond. Depending on your stove, this could take anywhere from 10-20 minutes. Once it reaches 305° degrees, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract; note that the vanilla will cause the mixture to bubble and foam violently, so be careful.
• Pour the toffee into the prepared parchment-lined pan in an even layer. Let set for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, sprinkle the top of the toffee with the white chocolate chips in an even layer. Cover the pan with foil and let set for another 5 minutes. Remove the foil and spread the now melty chocolate chips in an even layer using an offset spatula.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon until combined. Sprinkle liberally over the wet white chocolate layer. Allow the toffee to set completely at room temperature, about 3 hours. You can also expedite this process by refrigerating it.

This buttery, sugary, spicy deliciousness is a MUST for your holiday baking trays!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Churro Toffee first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend! I did, but I am beyond ready for Christmastime now!

Christmas is more my jam anyway. I kinda just put up with Thanksgiving because my family likes it, but truly, I am all about Christmas. I consider myself an expert gift-giver – knowing exactly what people want or getting them something they didn’t realize they needed until the moment they open their gift. That gets me high!

So I guess you could make the case that I am getting you this Christmas-y pie because I know it’s exactly what you need to kick start the “official” start to the Christmas holiday season. You’re welcome!

Chess Pie

If you’ve never had chess pie, it’s basically just a pie with a pudding/custard-esque filling inside. The real magic is when you make a chocolate version and you mix it well enough that you get a crackly meringue-like topping, similar to the addictive crackly topping you get on a fudge brownie. It’s HEAVEN. This recipe gives you that topping, which is arguably the best part.

The filling consists of melted butter, melted chocolate bar, eggs, sugars, milk, flour, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract for flavor. Of course, if you want a traditional chocolate chess pie, you can omit the peppermint extract, but it’s a fun twist for the holidays.

The pie filling is kind of like a fudge brownie and a molten lava cake had a baby. It’s slightly gooey and underbaked with that crackly meringue-like topping. It’s SO irresistible. They’re traditionally baked in a pastry pie crust, but you could always take the easy route and do it in a graham cracker crust as well.

Non-negotiables for this pie include a MOUNTAIN of fresh, sweetened whipped cream and tons of crushed candy cane pieces to really drive home the chocolate peppermint action. I mean, how can you not fall in love with this beauty!?

Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie – the unofficial new kick-off to Christmas!

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Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie

This Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie is AMAZING. A cross between a fudge brownie and a molten lava cake, it's gooey, slightly underbaked chocolaty filling is amazing, but the crackly meringue-like crust is to-die for! With a fun peppermint twist, this pie is the perfect holiday creation!

Course Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 4 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• One 9" prepared frozen pie crust (or your favorite homemade pie crust recipe)
• 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp milk (2% or whole preferred)
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 2 oz unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate bar, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed

For Topping & Garnish:

• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• Crushed candy cane pieces

Instructions

• Preheat your oven according to your pie crust's directions for blind-baking an empty pie shell. Most are probably 400° degrees F. Place your frozen pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet and let thaw while the oven preheats, then poke holes thoroughly all over the pie crust bottom and sides using the tines of a fork. For extra insurance, you can add a piece of parchment with pie weights, but usually the hole poking works. Blind-bake according to package directions, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 325° degrees F.
• Meanwhile, for the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the sugars, eggs, milk, flour, and extracts and whisk until combined. In a smaller bowl, combine the cubed butter and chopped chocolate and microwave on HIGH power for 30 seconds. Stir, then continue microwaving in 20 second bursts until smooth and both the butter and chocolate are melted and incorporated.
• Whisk the chocolate butter mixture into the sugar mixture and continue whisking for about 20-30 seconds to temper the egg so they don't seize from the warmed chocolate. Pour the filling mixture into the prepared pie crust. I recommend at this point using a pie crust shield or foil strips to tent the edges of the foil to prevent them from browning too quickly.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the pie appears set and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean - a little chocolate residue is okay, but it should not be super wet. Remove the pie shield or foil strips. Cool on a wire rack completely, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours to set and firm up before serving.
• Just before serving, make your whipped cream: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the heavy whipping cream and confectioners' sugar with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Garnish the pie slices with fresh whipped cream and crushed candy cane pieces.

Notes

Whisking the filling mixture for the full 20-30 seconds creates that crackly meringue-like crust, so don't skimp on the whisking! 

You’re going to LOVE this fantastic chocolaty, pepperminty delight of a pie!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.