Chocolate Pie

My husband loves chocolate and especially chocolate pie. I'm not sure how many chocolate pies I made around Thanksgiving for him this year, but it was a LOT! I have several recipes for chocolate pie and I made all of them at least twice!

 

Chocolate Pie

8 oz. German's sweet chocolate

1/2 c. milk

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. sugar

8 oz. Cool Whip

1 chocolate crumb crust

Heat the chocolate with the milk in a microwave safe bowl for in 30 second intervals until melted, stirring after each time.  Beat in cream cheese and sugar and stir until smooth. Gently fold in Cool Whip.Spoon into the crust and smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Caramel Apple Cobbler

This cobbler was gone almost the moment it came out of the oven. I made it because I needed apple something and cobbler sounded good. Apparently my family agreed. It didn't last long but we will be making it again!

Caramel Apple Cobbler
batter:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
Melt the butter and put in a 9x3 pan. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and baking powder. Add the milk and vanilla, stir to combine. Pour the batter over the butter and stir lightly.

apple filling:
3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin (I use granny smith and gala)
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. sugar
In a saucepan, combine the apples with the cinnamon and sugar. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the apples are softened. Stir frequently so they don't burn.

caramel sauce:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. heavy cream

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, sugar, and cream. Stir and cook until the mixture begins to boil. Allow to boil about 1 minute, then remove from the heat.

Add 1 c. caramel sauce to the apples and stir. Save remaining sauce. Pour the apple mixture evenly over the batter. Bake at 400 degree for about 25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. You can drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the cobbler or serve it with ice cream and drizzle the sauce over that. Either way, it is delicious!

Jam Bars

These jam bars are amazing! Wow! My kids kept cutting off little pieces and eating them when they thought I wasn't looking... which I was but, for the first time, I ignored because I was doing the same thing! We used homemade peach jam and it was delicious! Make two pans of it because one goes too quickly!

 

Jam Bars

crust

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. oats

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Combine all the above ingredients, beating with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is crumbly. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides as needed. Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan and bake 20 minutes or until it is golden brown.

filling

1 1/2 c. jam

Use strawberry, apricot, peach, or raspberry jam. When you take the crust out of the oven spread the jam over it immediately going almost all the way to the edges.

topping

3/4 c. flaked coconut

1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine topping ingredients while the crust is baking. Sprinkle over the jam and return the bars to the oven, baking an additional 20 minutes or until the topping os golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting - but good luck waiting that long!

Boston Cream Cupcakes

My son wanted to learn some basic cake decorating so he made cupcakes to begin to learn on. Well, we can't make just ANY cupcake, so we made some Boston Cream Cupcakes! Yum! He decided that custard isn't his thing, so if he makes these again we'll have to switch it for some pudding or something, but I thought they tasted great! Especially since an 11 year old made them pretty much on his own.

 

Boston Cream Cupcakes

Cake:

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
6 Tbsp. sour cream, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
3 large egg whites, room temperature (don't throw away the yolks!)
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. milk, room temperature
2 Tbsp. water, room temperature

Cream the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy. This should take a couple of minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix. Add the egg white and mix well to combine. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl and the beaters to get everything mixed in well. Add half the four and baking powder, then half the milk and water, mixing well after each addition. Repeat to use all ingredients. Fill cupcake liners 1/2-2/3 full (we get 15 from this recipe). Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the are beginning to turn golden brown on the top and the top springs back when touched. Allow to cool.

 

Custard:

2 egg yolks saved from cake
6 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. salted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

In a small bowl, beat the yolks together. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and milk in a large saucepan and stir until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and just begins to boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook an additional two minutes. Remove from the heat. Add a small amount to the yolks and stir to combine. Once well combined, all the yolk mixture to the custard, return it to the heat, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil two minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. 

 

 

Frosting:

3 Tbsp. butter, room temperature

2 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. cocoa powder

2-3 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and 1 Tbsp milk. Stir to combine. Add additional milk slowly until the desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes as desired. 

 

 

To put the cupcakes together: core the cupcakes with a cupcake corer or a sharp knife.Pipe custard into each cupcake. Top with frosting. 

Sour Cream Cake

I teach all my boys to cook since they are going to want to eat for the rest of their lives. :-) #5 is one who has really taken to baking and likes to make cookies and other treats. I gave him his first cake making lesson with this cake and it turned out really well - although there was some drama over the frosting, but that's another story!

 

Sour Cream Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1 c. sour cream

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. water

1/3 c. oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Put all ingredients in a bowl. Use a hand mixer to mix, beating on low for 30 seconds or until everything is mixed, then turning to medium and mixing an additional 2 minutes. Pour the batter into either a greased 9"x13" pan or 2 greased 8" or 9" pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Watch carefully as the time gets closer as the different pans will require different baking times. Cake is done when the top springs back when touched or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Chocolate frosting:

6 Tbsp. butter, softened

3 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. evaporated milk*

Cream butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, and vanilla together. Slowly add the milk until you reach the desired consistency. Mix until it is smooth and creamy. Spread over cake.

*I have used regular milk when I didn't have leftover evaporated milk or a small can of it. It came out fine.

Fruit Pizza

Sometimes you want a pizza that is a little healthy. Or that you can at least pretend is a little healthy. Or you simply want a cookie with cream cheese and fruit. Whatever the reason is, this is delicious!

 

Fruit Pizza

1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough ***

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp. butter, softened

2 Tbsp. sugar

assorted fruit

Roll the cookie dough out on a cookie sheet until it is about 1/4" thick. Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center is nearly cooked. Allow to cool.

Once the cookie is cool, mix the cream cheese, butter, and sugar together until it is smooth. Spread over the cooled cookie. Alice fruits and add to the top. I used strawberries, kiwi, banana, blueberries, and raspberries, but you can use any fruits you like. If you use bananas either add them right before you serve the fruit pizza or keep them cover tightly with plastic wrap so they don't brown.

*** You can also use your homemade cookie dough, like these if you want to. This time, I was a little lazy and did it the easy way.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Treat

This dessert was not as well received as I might have liked. We had some company for dinner and it sounded really good so I made it and was so excited to serve it! Yum! Peanut butter and chocolate - how can you go wrong? Well, it's not so good if your company has peanut allergies. Oops! So we ate it after the company left and it was amazing! Just don't make it for people that are allergic!

 

 Chocolate Peanut Butter Treat

crust:

25 Oreos, divided

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

Crush 18-20 cookies and mix together with the butter. Press into an 8x8 square pan and set aside.

Cream cheese layer:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. peanut butter

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar, divided

16 oz. Cool Whip, thawed and divided

1 bag mini peanut butter cups, chopped coarsely

Beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and 1 c. powdered sugar together until smooth. Fold in half the Cool Whip, then spread over the crust. Sprinkle to peanut butter cups over the cream cheese layer.

1 c. milk

1 small box instant chocolate fudge pudding

Beat milk and pudding together with the remaining 1/2 c. powdered sugar. Fold in the remaining half of the Cool Whip. Spread over the cream cheese layer.

Roughly chop the remaining cookies and sprinkle them over the pudding layer. Refrigerate about 3 hours - or just eat it like we do. 

S'mores Brownies

Brownies are amazing things, I mean, they are chocolate. I don't understand calling blondies brownies. They aren't chocolate after all. And brownies are chocolate. Period. End of story. Brownies=chocolate. They get even better when you add more yumminess to them!

 

S'mores Brownies

crust:

3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

Mix together and press into the bottom of a greased 8x8 inch pan. You can also line the pan with aluminum foil (which I do) and grease the foil. It makes it so much easier to get the brownies out of the pan! Press the crust evenly into the bottom of the pan. 

brownie:

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a medium pan over low heat. Stir until blended. When it is completely melted, remove from heat, add sugar, then vanilla, and eggs. Stir in flour just until it is mixed in. Spread the batter evenly over the crumb mixture and bake 22-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a moist crumb. Sprinkle the milk chocolate chips over the brownie layer and let stand 5 minutes until the chocolate melts. Spread chocolate to cover the brownie.

topping:

1 1/2 c. mini marshmallows

Sprinkle the marshmallows over the warm brownies. Broil 20-30 seconds until the tops are golden brown and remove from the over. Cool.

Nutty Bars

I started making these years ago because they freeze really well. I would make them ahead of time and eat them slowly - sharing with the kids sometimes. Just kidding, I made them for the kids and ate some because they are delicious and I love them. So do the boys. they get so excited to get a treat with peanuts! They always offer to eat the extra peanuts for me, too. They are such good "helpers"!

 

Nutty Bars

1 box yellow cake mix

1 c. butter

 1 egg

4 c. mini marshmallows

1 10 oz. bag peanut butter baking chips

2 tsp. vanilla

2/3 c. Karo syrup

12 oz. salted peanuts

Mix dry cake mix with 2/3 c. softened butter and the egg. Mix it together well and press into a jelly roll pan, using your fingers to push it to the edges. Bake 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the cake layer and bake 5 minutes. Cool completely. Melt the peanut butter chips, vanilla, Karo syrup, and 1/3 c. butter together in a pot over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. When smooth, pour over the marshmallows and spread to cover the cake completely. Sprinkle the peanuts over the top and press lightly. If I am going to freeze these, I always cut them first. It can be difficult to cut when frozen. Plus, it's easier to eat a piece if they are already cut...

Buckeye Brownies

Oh my, these brownie are amazing! A co-worker's wife made them for his birthday and he brought the leftovers in. I tasted them and had to have the recipe! When I made them for my family my kids refused to let them leave the house and immediately wanted me to make them again. Winner recipe!

 

Buckeye Brownies

1 box fudge brownie mix to make a 9x13 pan

2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened plus 6 Tbsp.

1 c. creamy peanut butter

1 c. milk chocolate chips

 Make and bake the brownie mix according to the directions on the box. Cool. In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, 1/2 c. butter, and peanut butter until smooth. This mixture will be thick. Use your fingers to spread it over the cooled brownies carefully so you don't tear them, pat down. Melt the chocolate chips and remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread over the brownies and allow to cool. I usually put them in the fridge so it sets up faster. 

S'mores Bars

One of the doctors at my hospital (she has since left) liked to cook. She brought in some really amazingly good things and this is one of them. I LOVED it, so I had to get the recipe from her. Now, my whole family loves it - except my husband who has to pick out the marshmallows. Well, you can't win them all!

 

S'mores Bars

4 Tbsp. butter

10 oz. bag of mini marshmallows

12 oz. box of Golden Grahams cereal

12 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips

This works better if the chocolate chips are cold, so put them in the freezer until you need them. Put the butter is a large pot and melt it. Reserve 1 c. of the marshmallows, add the remaining marshmallows and stir until they are melted and smooth. Stir in the entire box of cereal and stir to coat. Add the reserved marshmallows and all the chocolate chips, stirring to coat. Pour into a greased 9x113 inch pan or into a 9x9 inch pan if you want thicker bars. Press firmly and allow to cool.

*** One way to alter this a little is to add half the chocolate chips in with the marshmallows and melt them. Then add the rest as above.

*** Another alteration is to put additional marshmallows on top of the treats and broil until golden brown.

Red, White, and Blueberry Pie

This is the pie I make every year for the 4th of July.  I love the colors and the fresh fruit!

 

Red, White, and Blueberry Pie

4 oz. white chocolate

8 large strawberries, cut in half length-wise

1 deep dish pie crust

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. powdered sugar

1 small package white chocolate instant pudding

3/4 c. milk

1 c. fresh blueberries

Bake the pie crust at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes until the crust is baked and beginning to turn golden brown. Allow to cool. Melt white chocolate. Dip the strawberries in the chocolate then place cut-side down on waxed paper and refrigerate until chocolate is set. Spread the remaining white chocolate on the bottom of the pie crust. Set aside. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add in the milk, beating constantly until smooth. Add pudding and beat until it begins to thicken. Spread the mixture in the pie crust and smooth to the edges. Place the strawberries around the edges, stems out. Pour blueberries in the center of the pie. Press fruit lightly into the filling. Refrigerate until serving.

Yogurt Pops

My kids love popsicles in the summer. Well, they love them anytime, but I make them in the summer. Most of the time I do the super easy frozen Kool-Aid popsicles, but sometimes I opt for a healthier kind. Yogurt and fruit. The kids don't care - it's a frozen treat and that is all they really want.

 

Yogurt Pops

1 c. vanilla yogurt

1 c. fruit

Put the yogurt and fruit in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into the small, bathroom-sized Dixie cups and freeze. For these, I used blueberries, but you can use any fruit you like. You can use regular yogurt or Greek yogurt, but you will need to think the Greek yogurt with some milk or it is too thick. I use regular yogurt since it has to be thinned with Greek. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cheesecake

Happy Father's Day to my husband! This was his Father's Day dessert this year because he loves chocolate and he loves cheesecake. So yummy!

 

Chocolate Cheesecake

crust

1 1/2 c. chocolate graham cracker crumbs

1/3 c. melted butter

Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter together in a small bowl. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes.

Filling

4 8 oz. packages cream cheese

1 1/3 c. powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. cocoa powder

4 eggs 

10 oz. semi sweet chocolate

Melt the chocolate in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa and mix until combined. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well with each addition. add in the melted chocolate and mix in. Scrape the sides and bottom, then mix. Pour the filling into the springform pan and smooth out. Bake at 350 degrees about one hour or until the center is set.

ganache

8 oz. semi sweet chocolate

3/4 c. cream

Melt the chocolate and cream together in a small pan over medium heat. Stir until smooth. Pour over cheesecake and cool. Refrigerate.

*** I used a vegetable peeler to make some chocolate curls for the top of the cheesecake from a milk chocolate bar. My boys don't care if things look pretty, but it's nice to do sometimes. Plus, well, it's more chocolate.

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

When I was growing up my mom would complain about me heating up the house when I would bake in the summer. Or I was just banned from baking. So I had to find some no-bake treats that I would still be allowed to make. Now, I am glad I have a bunch of them because, well, my mom was right! Baking in the summer really heats up the house and I am pretty heat intolerant! But the heat doesn't stop me from baking, so sometimes you need a few no-bake goodies to make instead. Plus, they are great to have when teaching your children to cook! I have some boys that really enjoy it and they love these easy recipes!

 

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

3 Tbsp. butter

10 oz. bag of marshmallows

2/3 c. dry yellow (or white) cake mix

6 c. Rice Krispies

Melt the butter and marshmallows together in a large pot over medium heat. When the mixture is melted and smooth, turn the heat off and add the cake mix. Stir in. Add the Rice Krispies and stir until all are evenly coated. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and press together. Id you want, you can add cake sprinkles to the top. Press gently so they stick. Allow to cool, cut, and enjoy!

Smore's Cheesecake

This was a request for a nursing school graduation from someone at work. I take a lot of food to work so I can share it- and not eat it all myself! People are used to me taking stuff in and eating it. This cheesecake turned into "cheesegate" as a result. Everyone "helped" the person it was made for - but without asking if they could have some. Oh dear! This was all that was left for her. Oops!

 

S'mores Cheesecake

crust:

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

5 Tbsp. melted butter

3/4 c. chocolate chips

1 c. mini marshmallows

In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, vanilla, and butter until well combined. Press into a greased 9 inch springform pan, going half way up the sides with the crumb mixture. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and marshmallows on the crust, evenly covering it. 

Cheesecake:

4 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sour cream

2 eggs

3/4 c. cream

3/4 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. corn starch

2 tsp. vanilla

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides. Add the corn starch and sugar and beat. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the sour cream, vanilla, and cream; mix well. Scrape bottom and side and beat until very well combined. Pour filling into the springform pan, covering the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Spread out evenly. Bake at 325 degrees for an hour. I put a pan of water in the oven under my cheesecakes as they bake. It helps to keep them moist and not crack. Check for doneness by shaking the pan to make sure the center is set or insert a toothpick about 2 inches from the center to see if it comes out clean. Cool for an hour.

topping:

10 oz. hot fudge ice cream topping

2 c. mini marshmallows

Warm hot fudge topping and spread over the top of the cheesecake. Sprinkle the marshmallows evenly over the fudge topping. Turn on the broiler of your oven. Place the cheesecake in the center of the oven. Leave in for about 30 seconds - watch this carefully! The marshmallows with burn very easily! Remove the cheesecake when the marshmallows are golden brown. Cool completely and refrigerate.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Every year we go to our local farmer's market on Saturday mornings. Oh, the fresh fruits and vegetables! One year, my dad came to visit and we took him along with us. He saw the strawberries and rhubarb just sitting there, waiting for someone to take them home, and asked me to make him a pie. So I did. Now, I make one every year. The strawberries are ripe now this year so it is the perfect time to indulge!

You can make this with one crust or with two. I have never had much success in making my crust, so I buy them. If you want to do the one crust pie with the crumble topping, I have the topping recipe below. If you prefer a two-crust pie, simply use the second crust to top the pie. Be sure to cut slits in the crust for venting!

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

pie crust

2 c. sliced rhubarb

2 c. sliced strawberries

1 c. sugar

1/3 c. flour

Line a deep dish pie plate with one pie crust. Mix remaining ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and allow to sit about 15 minutes. Pour into the crust. Top either with a second crust or the crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Crumb topping:

1/4 c. cold butter

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. flour

1/3 c. oats

In a small bowl, mix the flour and sugar. Thinly slice the cold butter in, then use a pastry blender to combine until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the oats and mix.

Orange Cheesecake

My husband doesn't ask for a lot of goodies. Which is a little disappointing when you like to bake. He thinks everything I make is delicious and claims to love it all. So when he asked for something - an orange cheesecake - it was going to happen. I didn't have any orange cheesecake recipes, which was a little shocking because I have recipes for just about everything I thought, so I got on-line and looked around. I found two. Apparently orange cheesecake is not a thing. I didn't like either one. One used Jello to flavor the cheesecake. Um, no. I wanted it to be orange, like with an actual orange. Clearly, I was going to have to come up with my own recipe. So I did. For all the orange in this cheesecake, I bought an orange and grated/ squeezed until I had what I needed.

 

Orange Cheesecake

crust:

1 10 oz. package shortbread cookies.

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated orange zest

5 Tbsp. butter, melted

Place the cookies into a gallon sized bag and crush into fine crumbs. Combine the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix together. Press into a springform pan, pressing the crust partway up the sides. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

filling:

4 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 c. sugar

3 Tbsp. flour

4 eggs

1 c. sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tsp. freshly grated orange peel

Using an electric mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese. Add in sugar and flour, beating well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla. Grate orange peel into the bowl and squeeze the orange to get 2 Tbsp. juice in the bowl. Mix well, scraping the bottom and sides. Pour filling over the crust and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, checking to see if it is done by gently shaking the pan to see if the center is set. remove and allow to cool.

topping:

1/3 c. freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tsp. freshly grated orange peel

1/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

4 Tbsp. butter

Whisk together the juice, peel, sugar, and eggs in a small sauce pan over low heat. Be careful not to boil this. Add the butter and continue stirring until the mixture is thickened and will hold the marks of the whisk. Remove from heat and cool in the fridge. When it has cooled, spread it over the top of the cheesecake. Cool the cheesecake thoroughly - at least overnight.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Squares

After making the Boston Cream Pie Bars, which I loved, I thought about how good they would be with more chocolate than just on the top. So I made some. And they are even better than the Boston Cream Pie Bars!

 

Chocolate Cream Cheese Squares

1 package brownie mix or your favorite brownie recipe

ingredients to make brownies

 Make brownie according to the instructions for an 8x8 or 9x9 pan and bake as directed. I used the Ghiradelli mix because they are amazingly good. Allow to cool completely. 

filling:

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

2 small boxes instant chocolate pudding

3 c. milk

Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer. Slowly add milk, mixing while adding. Adding the milk slowly should mix in the cream cheese without little lumps. Add the chocolate pudding and mix well. Pour over the brownies and place in the refrigerator.

ganache:

1/3 c. cream

1/2 c. chocolate chips

2-3 Tbsp. Karo syrup

Pour cream into a small saucepan. Over low heat, melt chocolate chips with the cream. When it is smooth, turn off heat and add Karo syrup. Pour over pudding and smooth to the edges. Refrigerate until serving.

Boston Cream Pie Bars

Boston Cream Pie... so good! These bars are a delicious variation on them that we all love! I also made them for a boy scout fundraiser. There was a dessert auction and this was my contribution to it. The boys wanted me to bid on them, but... um, no. We had more at home! I am not a huge cake fan - it's fine sometimes but it has to be done right or I won't eat it. But treats made from cake mix that aren't exactly cake... well, those are delicious!

 

 Boston Cream Pie Bars

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 c. butter, melted

2 eggs

Combine cake mix, butter, and eggs in a small bowl. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 inch cake pan and press batter into the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. 

Filling:

2 small boxes vanilla instant pudding

3 c. milk.

Mix milk and pudding together. The higher the fat content of the milk, the better the pudding will set. Since the chocolate ganache uses some cream and I buy 1% milk I will pour out what I need of the cream, then use the rest for the filling along with the 1% milk. Pour the pudding over the cake, smoothing to the edges, and put in the refrigerator while you make the ganache.

Chocolate ganache:

1/3 c. cream

1/2 c. chocolate chips

2-3 Tbsp. Karo syrup

Pour cream into a small saucepan. Over low heat, melt chocolate chips with the cream. When it is smooth, turn off heat and add Karo syrup. Pour over pudding and smooth to the edges. Refrigerate until serving.