Brown Sugar Pound Cake

I've had this Brown Sugar Pound Cake recipe pinned on Pinterest from Lady Behind the Curtain for quite some time. And I finally had a chance to make it. What really caught my eye was the caramel drizzle and using toffee chips in the batter. This came out to be a rich, dense cake. Perfect with a cup 'o Joe or hot chocolate.

Cake
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1 (8 oz) bag toffee bits
1 cup pecans, chopped

Caramel Drizzle
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg f. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy. Slowly add sugars and continue beating until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4) Gradually add flour mixture into butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Stir in toffee bits and pecans.

5) Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 75-85 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean.

6) Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

7) For the caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.
Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract.

8) Drizzle hot caramel over cooled cake. (note: be sure that the caramel is hot, or else it will harden once cooled). Allow the caramel to harden on cake and serve.

S'mores Cookie Bars

My older daughter has been asking me to make something that uses marshmallows in the recipe. And what's a better use of marshmallows than s'mores? I love roasting marshmallows and sandwiching it between chocolate and graham crackers, then eating its ooey-gooey goodness. Something about it is just so comforting. 

I found this recipe for S'mores Cookie Bars on Pinterest from Lovin' in the Oven. It uses a graham cracker cookie crust and marshmallow fluff that accomplishes the gooey part of a traditional s'mores. This definitely satisfies my S'mores craving.

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff (not melted marshmallows)

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light in color. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and continue beating on low speed until combined.

4) Press half of the dough in an even layer on the bottom of prepared pan. Place chocolate bars on top of dough. Spread marshmallow fluff over the chocolate bars. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the marshmallow fluff (the easiest way to do this is by flattening the dough into small shingles and then laying them together).

5) Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into squares.