Butterscotch Walnut Bars - Butter Baked Goods Giveaway

Christmas is quickly approaching.  Just less than a month, seems a bit crazy doesn't it?   As usual I am getting pretty excited and I have started to pull out the decorations and I have 1 of 2 trees up. Decorating the house with two little ones has extended the decorating process for me and it now seems to take a week off and on.    I don't really mind, more days of Christmas glee for me.

I am also starting to make my Christmas baking list.   Figuring out how many dinners and parties I have, places I will be going, who I can give treats too.  It becomes a very lengthy list.   Have you made yours yet? Do you make one?  If you haven't started myself and several other bloggers are here to help.   Have you ever heard about "Butter Baked Goods"?   It is a cafe in Vancouver and the owner, Rosie, has also put some of her best recipes into this AWESOME cookbook.    It is page after page of drool worthy recipes that will impress any guest at your table.

My bloggers friends and I have gathered together to show you some of these delicious recipes.
I am a bar and cookie girl so I signed myself up to try the Butterscotch Walnut Bars.  What a great combo.   They have a shortbread base and then a gooey top, loaded with butterscotch chips and walnuts.   Delicious.  If you are a butterscotch chip fan these are the bar for you. Check out this recipe on page 116.  Check out more recipes below from my foodie friends.

We are also giving the chance to win.....

A personally signed Butter Baked Goods cookbook from Rosie as well as a delicious box of goodies from the bakery. Prize is valued at $125.

See below for entry.

• Jenny from The Brunette Baker made Butter's Classic White Cake and Coffee Buttercream Frosting
• Meg from Sweet Twist of Blogging made the Butterscotch Walnut Bar
• Heather, The Tasty Gardener, made a Raspberry Custard Pie
• Libby of Libby Roach made Vunderbars
• Robyn from Planet Byn made The Dream Slice
• Brittany from My Daily Randomness made Marshmallows + Smores
• Anna from Hidden Ponies made The Dunbar
• Liliana from My Cookbook Addiction made Chocolate Espresso Pound Cake
• Rhonda from Olive & Ruby made Twice a Week Morning Glory Muffins
• Mardi from eat. live. travel. write. made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies
• Kristy from She Eats made Apple Bacon Cheddar Scones
• Sarah from (Cooking for) Kiwi & Bean made Jackson Pollock Popcorn
• Isabelle from Crumb: A Food Blog made Chocolate Pistachio Pound Loaf
• Jo-Anna from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs made Kitchen Sink Bark
• Gwen from Devour & Conquer made  Chocolate Honeycomb Brittle
• Jan from Family Bites made Orange Pecan Biscotti

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

* Contest open to Canadian & American mailing addresses only and who have reached the age of majority in the province, state or territory in which they reside.

MANDATORY: Simply leave a comment below and tell me your favourite baked treat!

BE SURE to click the widget options below for both mandatory and optional entries because you can’t be entered to win if the widget doesn’t know you’ve done it!

Giveaway closes Wednesday, December 3, 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Butterscotch Pudding Cashew Cookies

Today was a big day in the Sweet Twist of Blogging household.  The little one moved out of the bucket baby sit and into a big girl car seat.   Yep, that is a big day in my life.   The cliche of time flies is sad and true.  We did run into a bit of a stumble though.  Since the seat needs to be rear facing, it is on a special angle and pretty much makes it impossible for anyone to sit in front of it.  Who makes these chairs?  So after spending a couple hundred on a car seat, we had to spend more money to get this special angle adjuster to give us 4 extra inches of chair room so someone could sit in the front seat.   Seriously?  You add a wedge to tilt it back and then another one to tilt it forward?  Other then that, the chair is great.

With moving to the big girl seat I also get to test out my skills on the "sleeping transfer"  I can no longer just let her sleep in the car seat when I get home.  Pretty sure leaving her in the car would be frowned upon.  (Please sense my sarcasm!!)   So, of course on Day 1 in the new seat she falls asleep 10 minutes from the house.   So I slowly unbuckled the legs, then gently unbuckled the chest strap, softly pulling out the right arm, softly pulling out the left.   I leaned in, slowly moved her head on to my chest and then gently scooped her little body.  One eye peaked open, sshh sshh.  Closed. Phew.  Slowly walking from the car to the house, one eye peaked open, sshh, sshh, closed, phew.  I seriously though about just sitting on the couch with her cuddled in my arms and do nothing for an hour.  Before I know it those days will be long gone but I decided to be good and let her have a proper crib nap.  I went upstairs and did a successful crib transfer.  Sweet!

Muddy Buddy Smores Bars

I have been a little MIA lately on the blog front thanks to a couple cake orders.  One for last week and one for this week.   Last weeks cake is below.  My first zebra cake, it was pretty fun.   This weeks cake is a Barbie cake.  I love doing Barbie cakes.  They are always so cute and pretty.  I just wish I could see the little girls faces when they see it for the first time.   Although the one scary thing about barbie cakes is that the barbie is not a complete barbie. It is only a head and torso on a stick that fits into a cake.  If that little girl prematurely pulls out barbie from the cake before Mom can get to it she may be in for a mildly traumatic experience.   So if you are a mom, have a back up Barbie ready.  I am pretty sure I will be making on for my little one in a 4 or 5 years. 

Irish Cream Magic Bars

I am going to keep this post short and sweet.   I leave for Florida tonight.  Well we leave to go to Buffalo to then fly out tomorrow morning so there is much to do to get ready.   Our first trip with the little one,  so I am making sure I have enough but not too much.  Shocking how much I can bring for 3.5 month old.  Her stuff is over flowing into my suitcase. I am exhausted already. Alas,  I am really looking forward to getting out of this slush and into some warm sunny weather.  The LO will get some  quality time with Grandma and Grandpa and I will get a tan.

Since St. Patricks day is coming and I will miss 6 days of baking I am getting you a dessert early.   When its St. Paddy's day you bake with Irish cream and make it green and that is exactly what I did.

Enjoy.

10 Days of Cookies - Day 7 - Butterscotch Rolo Chex Bars

I guess offering up myself to do 12 days of cookies with a new born was a little keen of me.  At present I don't think I will get through to day 12 before the year is over.   How about 8, 9 or 10 days of cookies.

The last couple days have been a whirlwind, as I am sure it has been for many of you.   Two turkey dinners and a breakfast with our families. I am stuffed.   It was exciting though,  as it was our first Christmas with Samantha.  Although she has no understanding of anything that is going on,  it was still fun to dress her up in cute Christmas outfits and put gifts in front of her she can't open. She has been my favorite gift thus far.  As she gets older I know Christmas will only get better and she gets excited about Santa, get togethers with the family and of course, baking with her mom.

I hope everyone has enjoyed all their festivities so far.   Enjoy these bars before the new year diet starts.  You could even have these bars for breakfast, they have cereal in them.

Butterscotch Rolo Chex Bars

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups rice checks
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup Skor bits
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips 
• 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup mini Rolos
• 3/4 cup chocolate (semi sweet or dark ) for on top drizzle

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Combine rice checks, skor bits and Rolo in a very large bowl. 

2) In a medium sauce pan combine corn syrup and sugar.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, boil for 1 minute.   Remove from heat and add chips.   Stir until melted and smooth. 

3) Cover chex mixture with the warm mixture.  Stir to combine and cover the chex well.   Press into a 9x3 pan.  Let cool completely. 

4) Melt chocolate in a double boiler, drizzle over the bars and let set.   Cut into squares. 

Move over rice krispies, Chex bars are very very delicious.  Maybe it was all the chocolate and caramel, either way I will be making more Chex bars in the future. 

12 Days of Cookies - Day 12 - Cookie Pie and A Giveaway

On the twelfth day of cookies my true love gave to me - a cookie in a pie. I finally made it!  Geez..could that taken me long enough.   There never seems to be enough time in the day for me to get things done.   Either that or I am in super slow vacation mode and my productivity bar is on low.    When on vacation my priorities sort of get jumbled around and there are all these little things I don't really get to do, like shopping in the middle of the day,  lunch with a girl friend or just curling up the couch doing nothing and watching day time tv or reading a book, you can't always do these small things when you are working 9-5.  In short this vacation has been so nice and relaxing.   Time to start thinking about a new year and new things.

Enjoy Day 12 - Finally!     (P.S - GIVEAWAY DOWN BELOW!)

Cookie Pie

(Adapted from BAKED - New Frontiers)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Pie Dough in shell - homemade or store bought - uncooked, frozen
• 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (6 oz) unsalted butter, softened, cubed
• 1 tbsp whiskey
• 2/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/4 cup toffee bits

INSTRUCTIONS:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Remove pie shell from freezer while preparing filling.

2) Combine flour and sugars in a medium bowl and whisk together.

 3) In your mixer bowl/large bowl whisk together the eggs until foamy, a few minutes.  Switch to the paddle attachment or beaters.  Gradually add the flour/sugar mixture to the eggs with the mixer on low. 

Once all flour/sugar has been added, beat on high for 2 minutes.

4) Add the butter, scrape down the bowl and beat to combine butter.  Add whiskey and mix to combine

5) Fold in toasted walnuts. both chips and toffee bits, reserve about 1/3 cup chips (combination of both chips)

6) Place pie shell  on a baking sheet and pour filling into shell.   Top with remaining chips.

7) Bake in center rack for 45-50 minutes.   Check after 30 minutes and cover the crust edges with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from browning to quickly.   ( My crust didn't brown to quickly but the originally recipe makes a not to check this. ) Pie is down when a knife comes out clean.   Let cool completely before slicing.  Store pie in the refrigerator, tightly covered for up to 2 days. 

Why not end on a high note I say.  A cookie turned into the main dessert by secretly putting it into a pie shell.  Is it a pie, is it a cookie?  It's both!  Served warm, it is heaven.

MEG's RATING: D-EEEEE-LICIOUS!

The rest of the 12 Days of Cookies
1.   Lighter Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies
2.   Guinness Chocolate Cookies
3.   Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookies
4.   M&M Rice Krispie Cookies
5.   Florentines
6.   Red Velvet Blossoms
7.   Oatmeal Turtle Jumbles
8.   Rugelach Bars
9.   Chocolate Cherry Macaroons
10.  Maple Walnut Shortbread
11.  Chocolate Ferrero Rocher Cookies

I can't end my 12 days of Cookies with out a GIVEAWAY!   I did a little bit of searching and found these cute mini pans.   I also love pans that have the lift out the bottom and I will not lie I have bought a few for myself.   They are great for cupcakes, cheesecakes, brownies and for 2012 - portion controlling.

The winner will get 6 Baking Pans

• 2 - Square pans

 

• 2 - Mini round pans

• 2 - mini bundt/doughnut pans

How to enter : comment below telling me your favorite cookie from the 12 Days of Cookies.

For an additional entry join one of the following (you don't have to do all of them)

1) Become a blogger follower 

2) Follow me on Twitter - @Sweettwist_Meg and Tweet - " I want to bake something mini, so I entered the giveaway from @Sweettist_Meg"

3) Join my facebook group - Sweet Twist of Fate and Blogging
4) Send one of these pictures to pinterest.

Come back and let me know you did one of them. 

Entries will be accepted until noon on Monday Jan.2   Winner will be drawn using Random.org

Good Luck and thanks for following the 12 Days of Cookies.

Cake eggs in a chocolate haystack basket

I can't even tell you how excited I was to make this dessert.  Once I got it in my head that I was going to do this, I was pumped and then very anxious to see how it would turn out.   For some reason,  I love baking with easter chocolate.  Maybe it's the colours or simply how the chocolate and candy eggs can be incorporated in so many different ways. Easter baking is too much fun!  You can probably expect to see quite of lot of great chocolate egg desserts in the next three weeks.  I was originally thinking I would just make the little cookie haystack nests with mini eggs sitting on top but then realized I could bring this dessert to a whole new level.   This is centerpiece worthy, colourful, pretty and completely edible.  My co-workers didn't even want to crack in to it because it looked to beautiful too eat.   Don't worry eventually we all dived into it.









Cake egg pops in a Haystack basket

INGREDIENTS:

Cake Pop:

• Your favorite prepared cake - I had left over chocolate cake in my freezer.   I used about 850 gr. 
• Your favorite icing - 250 gr
• Coloured chocolate
• Candy sticks or wooden skewers

Haystack Cookies

• 3 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate  (your preference)
• 2 cups butterscotch chips
• 4-5 cups (500 grams)  of chow mien noodles, slightly crushed
• 1 1/2 cup praline peanuts

Basket peices

• Edible grass
• Easter jelly beans

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Make the cake pops.  Crumble up the cake and mix it together with the icing until all incorporated.

2) Form the cake into eggs either free hand or using an egg mold.  Put them in the fridge or freeze to set the shape before dipping. 

3) Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips over a double boiler.  Stir to mix together and incorporate,  until completely melted.

4) Once completely melted add the chow mien noodles and peanuts and stir together with a wooden spoon or spatula to ensuring you are covering all the noodles and peanuts with the chocolate.

5) Layer a large bowl with parchment (I used a wooden salad bowl so it was a bit flatter),  placing some of the chocolate noodles on top of the parchment pressing down to form a bowl.  Continue to add some more noodles on the edges to create the sides of the bowl.  Let the chocolate set in the fridge for an hour or on the counter for a few hours until dry.

6) Coat the cake eggs :  Melt the coloured chocolate in a double boiler.  Ensure you have a enough so that you can dip or roll the cake egg.   Remove a few cake eggs at a time from the freezer and insert a candy stick or wooden skewer through the large end of the egg.  Going in approximately half way up the way.   Dip the egg into the chocolate, allowing extra chocolate to drain off, tap off any excess.   Place the egg pop to dry in some Styrofoam or dried flower foam.

7) Once both the bowl and eggs are set place some edible grass (which I found at the bulk barn) in the bottom.  Place the cake eggs and some jelly beans inside of the bowl in the arrangement of your choice.

This was fantastic in so many ways.  How can you not like cake, covered in chocolate in a cookie bowl also covered in chocolate.   It is fun to pick out your favorite coloured egg and then even more fun to break apart the nest and eat the pieces.   Decorate your easter table with this beautiful colourful dessert your family will love it.

MEG's RATING : D-EEEEE-LICIOUS!