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Rachel here.

Do you see that picture? Do you know what it's of?

IT'S HOMEMADE SNICKERS BARS.

And now that you've put that all together, you understand the need for all caps. I mean, come ON. Had you ever even imagined that such a wonder existed in the world? I say this as someone who has witnessed the miracle of birth relatively recently, too. And yes, I'm putting the bars and the baby on the same spectrum of holy-crap awesomeness.

This is how I came to have the amazing good fortune of snapping the above shot. I was on Pinterest (yes, yes, I may need a pintervention...) when suddenly, before my eyes, a vision appeared. I rubbed them to make sure it wasn't a mirage. Could it really be? Could Snickers bars be made at HOME? As regular readers know, I'm a pretty staunch believer that most things can be made better by our own two hands than whatever crazy factory processes are capable of behind closed doors. In other words, there was no way that a homemade Snickers wouldn't be better than it's store-bought counterpart.

And then I figured out a way to make them even better...have my MA make them instead of me! So I quickly emailed the link with a note saying something like, "It's so sweet of you to fly us all out for a visit, but I'll know you truly love me if you make these for me." And, because she really DOES love me, she did. On Friday. And I have eaten two a day since, because two homemade Snickers a day keeps...oh, who needs a reason.

The lovely lady who generated this recipe writes over here at How Sweet It Is. Her name is Jessica, and it's totally fair to say that her homemade Snickers bars are a gateway drug into the awesome realm of her beautiful blog. Seriously--after sending my ma the recipe I spent the rest of Maxine's nap perusing Jessica's recipe files, chuckling out loud and bookmarking future culinary endeavors.

Click here for the recipe. Our friendship will suffer if you don't.

Chocolate + Caramel = Amazing

Janet here:

Yes, the cookie obsession continues. Here's the inception of this particular combo. The setting: Casa de Roomie, where I live part-time as I travel between New York and Connecticut. Scene: I'm ripping out recipes from magazines (click here for my little, um, issue with this habit). Roomie is ripping out magazines for a vision board. Her daughter is finishing adding the finishing touches on a Modge Podge project.

Roomie: Oooh these cookies look good (coconut with gooey circles of caramel in the middle from a magazine).

Daughter of roomie: Oooh make those for my birthday please. I love coconut!

Me (not a fan of coconut): Oooh these would be good with chocolate instead of coconut, don't you think?

A few days later I'm in the kitchen, whipping up my variation of these little numbers and I'm just going to say that my hunch was correct. I have no idea how they'd be with coconut (and never will since I don't like it) but I can say with a degree of certainty, they are awesome with chocolate. Enjoy!

Chocolate Caramel Cookies
makes about two dozen

ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
about 20 Kraft caramel pieces
6 tablespoons heavy cream
fleur de sel (sea salt crystals)


method
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper (which really is one of the great inventions and I can't believe I didn't ever use it until last year!). Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl mix the butter using an electric mixer or by hand (my method). Beat until light and creamy, however, you choose. Add the sugars, beating until light. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat in the dry ingredients until just mixed.

Place spoonsful of the cookie dough on baking pans and bake for 15 minutes.

While the cookies are baking, melt the Kraft pieces in a pot with the heavy cream on low heat.

When the cookies come out of the oven, take a spoon and smoosh a little hole in the warm cookies. Pour about a teaspoonful of the melted caramel into the hole and then sprinkle a little fleur de sel over the cookies. How much salt you add is up to your own salt senses.

Caramel + Brownies = Delicious!

Janet here: When Rachel was in labor last week and I was 3,000 miles away and hadn't been able to get anyone to answer their damn phone to tell me what was going on, I did what I often do to relax or try to make life seem normal: I baked. Specifically I baked these unbelievably tasty caramel brownies. If you like chocolate turtles — you know, those gooey, chocolate-covered nuts and caramel concoctions — you're going to love these.

brownie ingredients
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

caramel ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon whipping cream

method
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8X8-inch baking pan.

Melt the chocolate and 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan, stirring regularly. Remove from heat but keep warm.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the sugar and beat. Add the vanilla and mix. Add the chocolate-butter mixture and stir. Add the flour and blend but don't overmix.

Pour half the brownie mix into the pan. Bake 15-20 minutes until the top is firm.

While that's cooking, make the caramel by heating the 1/4 cup butter, dark sugar and corn syrup. Stir until the sugar is melted. Then increase heat until the mixture boils. Let it boil for 2 minutes. REmove from heat and add the whipping cream. Stir.

Once the bottom half is baked, spread the caramel over the baked part. Then pour remaining batter over the caramel. Smooth the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (although it may have some caramel on it).

Cool, cut into squares and try to eat just one.