Cookies & (Irish)Cream Pie

Featuring Oreo® Baileys® Butter & Oreo® Toffee...

I truly cannot take credit for this idea. You know how when kids start carrying-on at the table & stuff just begins to snowball? Such was the case here -- I simply asked my fellas what comes to mind for cookies & cream. One said "Irish Cream?" and then it was all downhill after that.

We started by making the butter. Since we needed a full cup we tossed 2 Oreo® sleeves into the blender and used a little help from Baileys® to create this magical spread.

Next we needed to make the toffee.

(I got this idea while perusing candy recipes, but actually used a 1946 "Joy of Cooking" for the toffee recipe.)

Here we used another 35 cookies for the base, plus maybe a half-dozen more broken up to fill in the holes... (I did melt a cup and a half of semi-sweet chocolate chips to spread over the cooling candy, but next time I'll just leave it with cookies & toffee.)

So, here's the complete dessert recipe:

Didn't hear one complaint from the fellas...

(of course, their mouths were too full of cookies & cream to speak...)

I, however, was saying "Oh, oh, ohhhhhhhhhhh!"

For more information on our monthly Improv Challenge hosted by Nichole, you can visit her blog or our group's facebook page. 

And now, here are some cookies & cream recipes by fellow participants:

An InLinkz Link-up

the ice cream gods

The Improv Cooking Challenge ingredients for this month were chocolate & chili. I decided to make Chipotlé Chocolate Fried Ice Cream. As I was beginning the task, I prayed to the chocolate gods that the process would be smooth.
The chocolate gods were smiling on me and I had a beautiful chocolate ice cream mix in the can!

I put the dasher in the can and the can in the bucket of the churn. (Sometimes I have a problem with remembering the dasher... :O )
It was when I went to start the motor that the ice cream gods began to frown upon me. There was noise in the electrical parts, but I've found that noise can't churn ice cream!

My ancestors were a resourceful lot, and I'll bet they made ice cream in a jar rolled in snow. If home-school mamas can make ice cream in a zip-lock bag kneaded with ice cubes; I could adapt & overcome!

So I did!

Thank the ice cream gods that I still own an orange Tupperware bowl. (it's great for dough-rising!)

It got quite cold

but never achieved true churned ice cream consistency, but after sitting in the freezer overnight, was usable for my recipe.

...and that was how I thwarted a curse from the ice cream gods!

Chipotlé Chocolate Fried Ice Cream

Those of you who follow my recipes get a chocolate "two-fer" this week (this month...) Monday I posted a Brown Butter Cheesecake Truffles recipe for #FoodBloggerLove and this post is a Chocolate & Chili recipe for the #ImprovCookingChallenge today.

I was kind of glad Nichole (the wonderful blogger who organizes the Improv Cooking Challenge) chose this particular combination. For a year now I've been ordered tasked with asked to replicate this:

I've made two versions so far, but neither was satisfactory. But I think I'm getting closer...

I scream, you scream, we all scream when we have chipotlé ice cream!

I had been reading about making ice cream thickened with cornstarch instead of eggs. I'd heard that it was so silky & smooth -- so that's the direction we went today:
In a sauce pan whisk together 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup baking cocoa, 2 Tablespoons espresso powder, 1-1/2 teaspoons chipotlé chile powder, and 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon. Whisk in 2 cups whole milk and heat on stove.

While that's going, mix another 1/2 cup milk with 3 Tablespoons cornstarch until there are no more lumps. Just as the concoction in the pan comes to a boil, stir in the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir and boil until the texture is like pudding. Remove from heat. Boil 1/2 cup heavy cream (I utilized the microwave) and pour over 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. After a minute, stir until the chips are melted.

Add this to the spicy cocoa in the pan and stir well. Chill complete mixture until ready to prepare according your ice cream maker manufacturer's directions. (You can read how I churned mine here.)

Ice cream recipe adapted from Joy the Baker.

While your ice cream maker is doing the hard work; go ahead and prepare the coating for your ice cream balls.

(please, if you are gluten-intolerant, ensure you are using a certified gluten-free corn flake product!)

I crushed until I had 2 cups corn flake crumbs. Then I stirred in 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut. (you can also use crushed nuts, if desired...) Set aside.

Form ice cream into balls (I made 6; you could make more or less depending on the size of your dessert appetite!) Freeze for an hour. Roll in crumbs and return to freezer for two hours.

(first coating -- you could fry it this way, but I wouldn't recommend it!) 

Beat two eggs in a small bowl. Dip coated balls in the egg, then again dredge in crumb mixture. Freeze for two hours.

(after 2nd coat)

I actually prepared another two eggs and repeated the process to make sure I had a good coating. Stuck them in the freezer for another 2 hours.

(last dip in crumbs -- now fit to be fried!)

Just before frying the ice cream balls, make your bed of whipped cream. (I whipped 8 oz. heavy whipping cream with 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar. You can make more, because the whip does help lower the heat from the chipotlé...)

Heat oil to 400°. Gently lower one ball at a time and fry for almost a minute.

Remove from oil (let it drip excess oil a few seconds) and serve immediately!

Did you enjoy my Chocolate & Chili choice? Check out my friends' recipes at these links:

An InLinkz Link-up

Browned Butter Cheesecake Truffles for #foodbloggerlove

The imaginative minds behind The Pintertest Kitchen have created an occasion called #foodbloggerlove as a virtual coffee klatche to meet & greet bloggers and exchange recipes. The blogger drawn out of the hat for me is Colleen from

(the "whiskered accomplice" being none other than her beautiful Bengal cat!) If you want to check out more of Colleen's creative genius, you can follow her facebook, pinterest, instagram or twitter accounts.

Well, as luck (or otherwise...) would have it, while we were snooping stalking browsing Colleen's social media, Duncan became intrigued with the esteemed Lady Brenna of Fairfax's picture.

He's taking quite a personal interest in this blog post. (Usually he's content to sleep by the keyboard & occasionally rest his head on the "esc" key...) Dunc joined me for recipe testing today.

We thought we'd make chocolate truffles to celebrate Valentine's Day with Colleen.

I was experimenting with browned butter and cream cheese the other day and was struck by the thought that their flavors would make a mighty fine cheesecake! But it's (supposedly) naughty to eat an entire cheesecake by yourself -- however, if crafted into mini "cakes" like truffles (with added benefit of being slathered in chocolate!) one can get by with selfishly eating them all... And then we decided our little cheesecake ball needed a red heart inside, so we tucked in a dried tart cherry.

So here's how you make them:

Brown 1/4 cup of butter. Let it cool until it's almost solid again, then blend it with 8 oz. softened cream cheese. When that is all smooth, add 1 T. pure maple syrup. Chill mixture.

For the crust you'll need to use 1 cup roasted almonds (they should be unsalted, so if you need to, you can toast your own in a 350° oven for about 10 minutes.) Process the cooled nuts with 1/4 t. sea salt and 2 T. butter until it makes a nice almond butter. Continue processing with 1 c, almond flour, 2 T. pure maple syrup, and 1 T. water. Don't over blend it, just let it come nicely together. Do not chill.

Using about a teaspoon of the cheesecake mixture, form a ball around a dried cherry. (You'll need to work fast, it softens quickly. I had to re-chill it a couple times before I was through.) Freeze balls for at least two hours.

Flatten about a tablespoon of the crust mixture in your hand, then cover the cheesecake ball, rounding as best as possible. Return the crusted balls to the freezer for a couple hours.

Melt your favorite chocolate (I used dark chips today) using your favorite method (I prefer double-boiler.) Since the 53% was sweeter than I wanted, I added a couple ounces of Trader Joe's 72% cacao dark chocolate...

I slathered ensconced dipped those baby cheesecakes and let them harden. Duncan suggested a little decoration, so we melted vanilla chips and thus adorned the truffles.

So, happy Valentine's Day, Colleen & Lady Brenna. We hope we added a little sweetness to your celebration!

We had fun making & tasting (well, Duncan didn't get a taste...) your truffles.

(Dunc wanted to leave you with his photo test: >"< )

*maple syrup from here*

An InLinkz Link-up

GF Red Velvet Cheesecake

Well, today is my final post for #Choctoberfest2016 … BTW – Did you enter the Rafflecopter drawing for the prize pack worth $350? (The drawing was extended to October 22nd because of weather/transportation/shipping issues related to Hurricane Matthew…)

I’m pretty sure I saved the best for last!

This cheesecake…

OH!MY!

Let’s start with the crust:

stir together

• 2 c. almond meal
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 3 T. melted butter
• 2 T. honey

Prepare the bottom (parchment or butter) of 9” springform. Combine ingredients until crumbly. Press firmly into pan.For the cheesecake:

in the mixer

• 24 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1¹/₂ c. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 c. Greek yogurt
• ¹/₂ c. buttermilk
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 T. baking cocoa mixed with 2 oz. red food coloring
• 1 t. white vinegar with ¹/₄ t. baking soda

Cream the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in the remaining ingredients just until everything is well-combined. Scrape batter onto prepared crust. Bake in pre-heated 350° oven for ten minutes, then reduce temperature to 300°. Bake for 75 minutes, or until firm in the center. Turn oven off, but let the cheesecake stand in there for 30 minutes. Remove to rack & let cool completely. Cover & chill in refrigerator while making the Ermine Icing.

You absolutely can not top a cheesecake with cream cheese frosting! And you should never, really, top a red velvet anything with something other than the traditional boiled milk icing. (The gentle cocoa flavor just gets too overwhelmed…) Trust me on this. {end rant }

for the icing:

• 3 T. gf flour (I used this)
• 2 T. arrowroot starch
• 1 c. whole milk
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 c. butter, room temperature
• 1 c. granulated sugar

In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk the flour & starch into the milk. Heat until it simmers, stirring constantly until it becomes thick like pudding. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. Pour into a bowl & cover surface with plastic wrap and cool completely.

In the mixer, cream the butter and sugar until it’s light & fluffy. Beat for five minutes.

While the mixer is running (medium speed) add the cooled milk mixture about a quarter cup at a time. Beat until mixture is light & fluffy and resembles whipped cream. Top cheesecake and refrigerate.

The next time I attempt this cheesecake (and, there will be a next time!) I will probably add more cocoa. The chocolate flavor disappeared behind the cream cheese… But I had no complaints from the taste-testers.

Check out the #Choctoberfest links below:

An InLinkz Link-up