Snickers Pie

Well, I did it. I posted every single day for an entire month, and I'm pretty proud of myself for it. I can't think of a better way to end the month -- or to end dinner every single night of the week -- than with this Snickers pie.

This is one of those recipes that I knew I had to make immediately the moment it popped up in my reader. Let me paint a picture for you: This pie is composed of a cinnamon-spiced peanut crust, a layer of fudge, a layer of chopped Snickers bars, and a layer of sweetened cream cheese -- and then the whole thing is topped with decadent chocolate ganache. What is there not to love?

This pie was every bit as good as I thought it was going to be. Next time I'll be sure to chop the Snickers bars more finely; I sliced them and layered them that way, and they firmed up again when the pie was refrigerated, which made them a little difficult to bite into. This pie is the perfect balance of nutty, rich, creamy and smooth. It was a huge hit with everyone who tried it, and I'll definitely be making it again.

Once again, don't forget about the give-away! The contest ends Wednesday at noon, so be sure to add your comment to that post before then.

Snickers Pie
source: Dinner & Dessert

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups dry-roasted, salted peanuts
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Pulse peanuts, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small food processor until it is the texture of coarse sand. Pulse in the melted butter. Press nut mixture evenly in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool while making the filling.

For the filling:

Fudge layer:
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces of Snickers candy bars, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Cream cheese layer:
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Keep the oven temperature at 350 degrees.

1. For the fudge layer, combine butter and semisweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler; set over simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove top insert and cool slightly.

2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside dry ingredients.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat together sugar, egg and egg yolk in a large bowl for 1 minute, until slightly thickened. Add vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture and mix until well blended. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into crust.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out with moist batter still attached.

5. Transfer pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Evenly arrange chopped Snickers bars over the top.

6. For the cream cheese layer, beat together cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add egg, egg white and vanilla and beat until smooth. Carefully spread mixture over the Snickers bars. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cream cheese is set. Transfer to a rack to cool.

For the chocolate ganache topping:

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces, at room temperature

1. Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

2. Bring the cream to a boil, then pour half the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Working with a whisk or rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out in increasingly larger concentric circles.

3. Pour in the remainder of the cream and blend it into the chocolate, using the same circular motions. When the ganache is smooth and shiny, stir in the butter piece by piece.

4. Pour ganache over cooled pie and refrigerate until set.

Weekly Meal Planning

For the past month and a half I have been very busy in the kitchen, cooking extra most nights and freezing meals for when the little one makes his arrival in a little over a month (!!). I've done an awesome job and have quite a few things frozen, but this week's menu is all about finishing my stockpile. Every meal I'm making this week is being doubled to freeze for later. Although it's been sort of exhausting getting all of this done, I know I'll be glad I did it when I'm adjusting to life with a toddler and a newborn. (I'm already glad I didn't save this task for closer to Christmas. It'll be hectic enough as it is.) As you can see, there is lots of pasta happening this week; it freezes so well it's hard to resist, although it's certainly not going to help me lose the baby weight.

Once again: Don't forget about the give-away!

Monday: Lasagna soup, parmesan knots

Tuesday: Spinach artichoke pasta

Wednesday: Taco bake

Thursday: Shrimp lasagna rolls with creamy marinara, salad

Friday: Mexican chicken stuffed shells

Saturday: We're going to a wedding, so I get the night off.

Sunday: Meatloaf, individual potatoes au gratin, green beans. This meal is on the menu constantly, and yet I never get the chance to make it.

Weekend Breakfast: Eggs-in-a-hole, bacon

Baking: Sticks and stones candy bark, which I discovered by accident and now can't wait to try, and tiramisu cheesecake bars, which I wanted to make last year around this time and never did. I also didn't get to make and freeze the chocolate chip cream cheese muffins I'd planned to bake last weekend, because I got home from the store and realized I was out of vanilla. Figures. I'll probably try to make them, too.

Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower

Last night I was on a message board in the online mom's group I'm a member of, and one mother asked how she could sneak vegetables into her picky toddler's dinner. And my friends, this macaroni and cheese is the answer to that question. It's loaded with cauliflower, but the cauliflower totally blends into the pasta and cheese, rendering it invisible to vegetable-haters. Andrew loved this and ate the leftovers for two days. And I felt really good about that, because cauliflower is one vegetable we've had trouble getting him to eat.

Joe and I liked it too. Joe loved the tangy, creamy sauce, and I loved the multigrain breadcrumb topping. Next time I'll definitely add more cheese, because this just wasn't cheesy enough for me. I've reflected that change below. Other than that, though, this was a comforting, quick weeknight dinner, and it temporarily satisfied my near-constant cauliflower craving.

And hey! Don't forget about my give-away! Head on over to that post and leave a comment for a chance to win!

Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower
source: adapted from Real Simple

1 pound elbow macaroni
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
4 slices multigrain bread, torn
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup milk

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding the cauliflower during the last 3 minutes of cooking time; drain.

2. Meanwhile, pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add the parsley, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and pulse to combine; set aside.

3. Return the pasta pot to medium heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, just until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Mix in the pasta, cauliflower, cheese, sour cream, and milk.

4. Transfer to a shallow 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Kicking Off the Christmas Season with a Give-Away!

Good morning everyone! I hope you're having a great day, whether you're out shopping like a crazy person or just relaxing at home. As for me, I'm enjoying the first snowfall of the season. It seems appropriate that the first snowfall would occur today, because for me, the day after Thanksgiving is the official kick-off of the Christmas season. So to kick the season off right, and also to celebrate my 300th post yesterday, I thought it would be fun to host my first ever give-away here at Cassie Craves.

First, a little bit of back story. As you all probably know by now, I'm pretty obsessed with cookbooks. I am also obsessed with Better Homes and Gardens, which is where I find so many recipes that become instant family favorites. A while ago, I signed up for one of their annual recipe cookbooks to be sent to me through the mail, but as I so often do, I neglected to read the fine print -- which also signed me up for automatic shipments of all of their cookbooks. A little while later, I started receiving volumes of their Christmas from the Heart and Christmas Cooking from the Heart series, and somewhere down the line something got screwed up and I received two separate shipments of the same set of cookbooks. Because I am lazy about returning automatic shipments, I put the duplicate volumes aside and promptly forgot about them. Until now.

Just in time for Christmas, here's what I'm offering to one lucky winner today:

Christmas Cooking from the Heart, Volume 6: This cookbook is full of delicious-sounding holiday recipes. You'll find everything from appetizers to main courses to breads to breakfast and brunch, as well as the Christmas cookies Better Homes and Gardens is so well-known for. Among others, you'll get the recipes for pumpkin-pear bisque, gouda and red onion pizza, sweet potato fritatta with cranberry salsa, mocha-hazelnut biscotti, and caramel apple crepes. My mouth is watering already!

Christmas from the Heart, Volume 17: This book contains one of the most awesome and creative holiday craft/homemade gift ideas I've ever seen: using last year's holiday cards to make coasters. I am so doing that next year. It also includes step-by-step instructions for how to make ornaments, creative centerpieces for your holiday table, and beautiful wreaths. It even contains some recipes, like icy cranberry margaritas (yum), white chocolate-apricot mini scones, and chocolate-malted sheet cake.

The books have been sitting in a box in my closet for a while now, and are both like new. So here's all you have to do to win them: Leave a comment on this post letting me know what your favorite Christmas cookie is. That's all. The contest begins now and will end Wednesday, December 2, at 12:00 PM Eastern time. Unfortunately, due to shipping costs, I can only open the give-away to residents of the continental United States. The winner will be chosen at random using random.org's number generator.

So let me know what your favorite Christmas cookie is! And if you can, link to it too -- I'm always on the look-out for delicious new cookie recipes!

Sweet Potatoes Two Ways: A Thanksgiving Two-For-One!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope all of you had wonderful days with your families and friends. We sure did, but I am absolutely exhausted tonight. It's a good exhausted, though.

I have two delicious sweet potato recipes to share with you today, and while it's obviously too late to include them in your Thanksgiving spreads, they'd both be great for Christmas too. First up is a recipe that's new for me this year: sweet potato pie.

This was my first time making a sweet potato pie, and I was surprised by how much the end result tasted like pumpkin pie. It's spiced the same way and hits the same sweet, earthy notes as pumpkin pie. It was so easy to make because everything gets mixed up in the food processor. Don't skip the streusel, either; it makes this pie really special and extra-delicious. I can't wait to have the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow morning! (Yes. Pie for breakfast. I think the day after Thanksgiving is the only day one can get away with this, so I take full advantage.)

Sweet Potato Pie with Streusel Topping
source: Cooking Club of America

For the pie:
Dough for 1 (9-inch) pie crust
1 17.2-ounce can sweet potatoes
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the streusel:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line 9-inch pie pan with dough; flute edges. Pulse sweet potatoes in food processor or blender until smooth. Add all remaining pie ingredients; process until blended. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine brown sugar and flour in small bowl. Stir in butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in pecans.

3. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; sprinkle pie with streusel. Cover crust with foil to prevent over-browning. Bake 40 minutes or until puffed and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack. Store in refrigerator.

***

Next up is a recipe of my mom's that she used to make every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas: sweet potato casserole.

Everyone has their own version of this, I think, many of which use marshmallows in the topping. Since I'm not a huge fan of marshmallows, I love my mom's version, which is topped with streusel instead. It's so incredibly good, and whenever I take it to any type of family dinner I never come home with leftovers. This is easily prepared the night before. If you're a sweet potato fan, this casserole is a must-try!

Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups cold mashed sweet potatoes, prepared without milk or butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cold butter or margarine

1. In a mixing bowl or food processor, beat sweet potatoes, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, salt and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a greased 2-quart baking dish.

2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans and flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over potato mixture.

3. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

***

Believe it or not, today's post is my 300th here on this little blog. I hope you've enjoyed reading about the food I've made as much as I've enjoyed preparing it and sharing it with you. To celebrate, I'll be doing my first ever give-away here tomorrow, so be sure to check back. I think it's something most of you will really like -- and it's just in time for Christmas, too!