OH! NUTS Review and Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars Recipe

One of my favorite things to do during the month of December is my family’s traditional holiday baking.  We buy tons of supplies including many bags of chocolate chips, Flour, Sugar, and nuts. Good nuts can be hard to find. They are also really expensive to buy. I love all kinds of nuts. My two favorite are Pecans and Walnuts.  I had the opportunity to work with OH! NUTS. OH! NUTS sells all kinds of nuts from walnuts to pistachios, even Hazelnuts. They also sell chocolate and candy. They have great prices too.  Everything is so fresh, you don’t have to wonder how long it has been sitting on the shelf at the grocery store.  I was asked to share a recipe with you guys using an OH! NUTS product. Even though I received both Walnuts and Pecans, I decided to be different and not use Pecans.  I used things I had in my home and created a delicious masterpiece.  It was odd making a dish without buying any ingredients because usually there are some special items. I had chocolate chips and caramels in my cabinet. This is my recipe.

Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars

14 ounces of Caramels unwrapped

2 cups of flour

1 and ½ cups of Brown Sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of Butter (softened)

1 cup OH! NUTS Chopped Walnuts

1/3 cup milk

2 cups oatmeal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

12 ounce bag of Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan. Heat caramels and milk in a 2 quart pan over low heat until smooth.  It does take a while for them to melt.

Mix the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, baking soda, salt and egg in a large mixing bowl. Stir in butter with a fork or hands.  Press half of the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle on chocolate chips and walnuts. Drizzle the caramel. I just used a big spoon.  Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top and bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

Cool completely and enjoy!

OH! NUTS provided me with nuts to help me create my recipe. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tasty chocolate recipes for fall

Fall is one of my favorite times of year to whip up some delicious goodies in the kitchen and I love nothing more than the smells of spices and baking in my home!

One of my favorite ingredients - and I know I’m not alone in saying this – is chocolate. I mean, who doesn’t love something deliciously moreish like chocolate brownies or a divine chocolate fudge cake to indulge in?

I’ve been doing some online searches to find some fabulous fall recipes that use chocolate. Here’s what I came up with:

Chocolate, Pumpkin and Stout Brownies

In the weeks after Halloween, you can pick up pumpkins from the supermarket for pennies! I’m always tempted to buy a few and experiment with them in the kitchen, and I couldn’t be happier to find a recipe – courtesy of Organic Garden -  that makes use of this abundant, cheap ingredient.

The only thing I have reservations about is using the stout in this recipe. I imagine that it will give the brownies a wonderfully deep flavor, although I’m not sure kids will enjoy it. Depending on how many discount pumpkins I pick up, I might have a go at making several variations!

Chocolate and Ginger Cake with Bourbon Sauce

What could be a better combination than chocolate and ginger for fall?! This is one of Martha Stewart’s recipes, although again it uses alcohol as an ingredient, which I’m not sure kids will like. In place of the bourbon sauce, I was thinking of making a traditional ganache - which is made using melted chocolate and heavy cream. For decoration, I think some whipped cream and strawberries would really bring this cake to life.

I’m always been keen to use as many Fair Trade ingredients as possible when I’m baking, so I was delighted when my research brought me across a company where I could buy loads of supplies in one place. You can find a full selection of FairTrade ingredients perfect for making cakes, including essential items like sugar, online at Traidcraft. They stock a wide selection of organic and Fair Trade products, and they even offer free delivery.

However, in my excitement at finding a supplier that has lots of Fair Trade goodies, I didn’t realise that this was a UK company. Unfortunately, their free delivery doesn’t include transatlantic travel, so I’ll have to find another source. Those lucky British bakers!

Chocolate Pots

 I don’t know what’s going on, but I seem to be intrigued by all things British when it comes to chocolate recipes! Gregg Wallace is famous in the UK for hosting the popular cookery show Masterchef and he is responsible for this gorgeous chocolatepot recipe. This takes little preparation, but makes a fantastic sweet treat for the end of dinner parties. The recipe has been created specifically for a brand’s website, although you could make this with any kind of chocolate – including Fair Trade brands!

Recipes Across America Review

As someone who loves to cook and bake, I love to read cookbooks and use them for meals.   My favorite type of cookbooks are the ones that have all sorts of items to make.  I had the opportunity to receive the Taste of Home, Recipes Across America Cookbook.  It is recipes submitted by readers all over the United States. I love this idea because I love learning about other areas and seeing what foods are popular there. There are so many great recipes. It also has tidbits about different areas, which is extremely interesting. My family’s favorite recipe so far is the Mississippi Mud Pie. We have made it twice in a two week time frame. I also had my mom look at it, because she loves to cook and bake almost as much as I do.  When we were making the Mississippi Mud Cake the first time, we were talking about Marshmallow crème.  When my mom was younger she liked eating peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches.  Since we had some, I thought it would be a good time for Noah to try it, since he loves peanut butter and marshmallows.  I mentioned how my best friend’s children like it. My mom said I read in the cookbook that is a common food for New England.  Noah didn’t like the sandwich as much as I thought he would.  The Mississippi Mud Pie was so easy. We were able to make it from ingredients that we had at home, besides marshmallow crème.   It never lasted long and even Noah liked it.  There are so many great recipes to try out. I am really excited to work my way through Recipes Across America.  It’s like taking a cross country road trip in your own kitchen. You know the most important thing about traveling is trying the local cuisine.

You can find Recipes Across America in a bookstore near you or on Amazon.

For more information please visit the Taste of Home website.

I received Recipes Across America to review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.