Only Because I said I would

NOT because I wanted to!  These photos flat out stink but I said I would so, here it is nutella marshmallow mousse. 

There are a few things I want to say about this mousse.  First, it didn’t change my thoughts on chocolate.  It was good but it was chocolate.  What I did love was the mousse part of this!  I’m kicking myself for all the times I passed up chocolate mousse because it was chocolate.  I’ve never tasted a traditional mousse but this one was creamy and silky smooth.  I just loved the texture.    Now I have to find some mousse recipes that aren’t chocolate.  Anyone have a vanilla mousse recipe?

 

Nutella Marshmallow Mousse by the Art of Dessert          (Please check out the Art of Dessert my photos don’t do this recipe justice!)

Makes 4 servings
Allergy Note: contains nut and dairy ingredients

4 ounces marshmallows (about 2 cups of mini marshmallows or 16 large marshmallows)*
1/4 cup whole milk**
6 tablespoons Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Using a strainer, rinse the mini marshmallows over cold running water. (Why rinse the marshmallows? It removes the cornstarch and powdered sugar on the outside. Skip this step and you won't have a smooth and silky mousse. Trust me.) In a microwave-safe bowl, combine marshmallows, milk and Nutella. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. Mix until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In another mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream to soft peaks. Take 1/4 of the whipped cream and mix it into the Nutella mixture. Gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Transfer into margarita glasses, goblets or ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream, shaved chocolate or fruit.

To make the chocolate filigree heart:
Draw the heart design on a piece of parchment paper. Turn the parchment paper over and place it on a flat surface. Melt some dark chocolate (I used white chocolate) and pour it into a pastry bag with a small round tip or a cornet (parchment paper cone). Pipe the chocolate onto the heart design and let it set.

*Note:  I used homemade marshmallows.                                   **Note:  I used 2% milk.

(Click here for a printable recipe)

Who Has the Luck of the Irish?

The person with the luck of the Irish and the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! giveaway winner is Sherry G from Sherry Starts Cooking.  Sherry was randomly chosen using the handy dandy Random Integer Generator.  Congrats Sherry!   Thanks to everyone that entered and to Lauren from I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

18

Timestamp: 2010-03-18 02:57:59 UT

Oatmeal Toffee Bars

The first time I saw these bars was on Megan’s Cookin’ and they were loaded with chocolate chips.  A week or so later they popped up on my radar again when April lightened them up.  After seeing them a second time I couldn’t resist making some, especially knowing that my oatmeal cookie lovin’ son, Jalen would be thrilled.  Cookies aren’t happen here so this is a win-win recipe. 

This is a super easy recipe that doesn’t require any advanced planning as there’s no butter to soften.   Besides my obvious change of leaving out the chocolate chips and subbing in toffee pieces I used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat.  These baked up perfectly in 17 minutes which was actually faster than it took me to clean up.

While very good on their own these bars were fantastic heated up with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. So good in fact, I might have eaten one just like that for breakfast.  Hey, it’s like oatmeal made with milk only not. :)

Oatmeal Toffee Bars (printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons skim milk (I used 2%)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used coarse sea salt)*
• 3 cups of old-fashioned oats (I ran out and used a packet of instant)
• 1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour (I used all purpose)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I added one bag of Heath’s toffee pieces.)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (I omitted)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt. Beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the sugars have dissolved.

In a separate bowl, combine old-fashioned oats, flour, baking soda, coconut, and chocolate chips. Stir until just combined. Add to liquid mixture and stir until combined.  The batter will be cookie dough thick.  Transfer it into a lightly greased 13×9 inch baking pan.  Once transferred I found it easiest to spread the batter into the corners with my dampened fingers.

Bake 15-20 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool until firm. Cut into squares and store tightly covered.

*Note:  If you’re a fan of salty sweet (Michelle!) I’d up the salt to maybe 3/4 tsp.  On my last square I sprinkled some coarse sea salt on top and it was delish!

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Don’t forget to enter my giveaway…..click here.

We Interrupt Your Normally Scheduled Post to Bring you….

a review and giveaway!  Your nutella marshmallow mousse post will be back next week in it’s normally scheduled spot.  :)  In it’s place we have margarine.  Not any ol’ margarine but I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! margarine.

Last month I received an email from Lauren asking if I’d be interested in trying a couple of recipes that called for the margarine, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!.  This was an easy yes.  While I always have butter on hand, there’s also, always a small tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! along side it.  In the package I received from Lauren, was a folder with three recipes, a $25 gift card to use toward the purchase of the recipe ingredients, and a lovely serving platter. 

I made two out of three of the recipes. After my recipe reviews you’ll see how you can win the same package allowing you to sample a “Reach Right” recipe.

The first recipe I made was Amaretto Cheesecakes in Pastry Shells.  This recipe was very easy.  The toughest part was not eating the filling while you waited for the shells to cool.  My three kiddos really loved these and with only six puff pastry shells and five of us there was some frantic negotiating  for that last one.  So to keep things fair I ate it.  :)  Kidding! 

The second recipe I made was Honey-Nut Glazed Brie.  This was my favorite.  Love, love, love those nuts!    I actually took this to party that my neighbor was having so my children didn’t get to try it.  I’m pretty certain they would have loved it too.  The brie was gone well before the party was over so I took that as a sign it was good.  The host and hostess thanks me several times for bring it and mentioned how much they enjoyed it.

Both of these recipes will be making a return appearance in my kitchen.   ( I’ve got big plans for those nuts!)Not only were they “Reach Right ” choices but they were both very easy and quick to put together.  Does this mean I’m done with butter?  Uh, no but it is nice to know that I can use my I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!  for more than buttering my bread.  :)

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! asks you to  “Reach Right” for nutritious tasty food. If you click here you can see  see the fat comparison between I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Smart Choice, and butter.  While you’re reaching right they also want you to Turn the Tub Around!  You can click here for more info on the Big Fat Truth about spreads and if you’re really feeling the margarine click here to follow I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! on twitter! : )

Now for the giveaway info….answer this question.  Which has more trans fat, butter or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!? I will randomly select and announce the winner on Wed. March 17th. 

Please note: This giveaway is being run by me and I am not receiving any monetary compensation for it!  Thanks and good luck!

Marshmallow-mania

with Monica and Michelle.  This month’s installment of our kitchen challenge was chosen by Monica.   She chose Alton Brown’s marshmallow recipe.  If you haven’t tried your hand at making homemade marshmallows and have a bag of store bought ones in your pantry then you need to give this recipe a try.  

Unlike Monica and Michelle this wasn’t my first foray into marshmallow making.  Having already conquered marshmallows I thought of all these great flavors I could make but then thoughts of other recipes seeped into my head and I went the plain route.  I can’t say if these were better than my last batch of marshmallows but my nephew, Babygirl, her friend from across the street, and myself thought they were great, way better than the kind you eat out of a bag! 

With my homemade marshmallows I made several other recipes.  First up and the most obvious was toaster oven s’mores.  These were requested by Babygirl’s friend. 

The toasted marshmallows didn’t get hot enough to really melt the chocolate or I might have let them cool down too much while I was taking photos.  :)

Next up, toasted marshmallow milkshakes.  These are even better than you’d think.  The best part was the bits of charred marshmallows, YUM!  For those of you who are thinking rats, I don’t have homemade marshmallows. You don’t have to wait you can use the store bought jumbo ones.  :)

Everyone loved these and requested I make a second batch but the rest of my marshmallows were designated for other recipes!  You know what?  Add some chocolate syrup, maybe to the sides of the glass and generously sprinkle in some crushed graham crackers and you’ll have a s’mores shake!  If you make it let me know! 

During our email exchanges Monica, Michelle, and I all agreed turning our marshmallows into cinnamon ones would have been a great adaption to the recipe.  While it was too late to flavor the inside of my marshmallows I thought what if I added cinnamon to the outside? I added some to the cornstarch and powdered sugar and then tossed several of my freshly cut marshmallows.  Pretty good!  Not as good I’m sure as adding the cinnamon to the cooked sugar but definitely nice.  (Hey, Michelle?  Monica?  You guys coming over for some milkshake and cinnamon marshmallows?)

There was one more thing I made with my marshmallows, nutella marshmallow mousse.  Unfortunately you’re gonna have to come back for it. This post is already running  kinda long and you still need to go visit Michelle and Monica’s to check out their marshmallows! 

• Click here for a printable marshmallow recipe.
• Click here for the printable toasted marshmallow milkshake recipe.

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To the 10 Lucky Leaf winners I emailed your addresses to Krista.  I asked that she please let me know when the packages are in route to you.  If she does I’ll let you know.   To those of you that didn’t win I have another giveaway coming up.  I meant to have the post up this weekend but marshmallows kinda got in the way.  :)