DIY Death By Chocolate

This is an amazing chocolate dessert that has been around a while, and goes by many different names. Whatever you call it though, it is amazing and really versatile. You can use all mixes and cool whip for a quick easy dessert or make everything from scratch to have the most control over taste and ingredients. You can vary the additions and change the flavor quite a bit. If you really don't even like chocolate (I don't know how that could be possible, but I hear some people don't), you could even just use the trifle idea and layer a different flavor of cake and pudding to create a whole new dessert. This dessert makes a lot, so it is great for company, and leftovers keep well in the fridge too, if you are only serving a couple. This would make a good Valentine's dessert for a chocolate lover.

Homemade Death By Chocolate Dessert Recipe

• 9x13 pan of chocolate cake or brownies
• 4 cups of chocolate pudding
• 1–2 small packages cool whip or 1–2 cups heavy whipping cream (whipped)
• 1–2 cups chocolate chips (or crushed candy bars)
• extra additions like chopped nuts or fruit (optional)

1. Prepare the cake and pudding according to package or recipe instructions and allow to cool. Whip the whipping cream or thaw the cool whip.
2. Select a very large serving bowl. If you have a trifle bowl, this dessert looks quite elegant in one. But any other glass or ceramic bowl works fine also. Alternately, you can layer these desserts individually in small bowls, glasses, or jars. Using stemmed glassware for individual portions is another elegant look.
3. Cut cake into chunks.
4. Starting with the cake layer ingredients in order, creating three layers, ending with a smooth layer of whipped cream with chocolate chips or other additions sprinkled on top.
5. Refrigerate until you wish to serve it and any leftovers.

DIY Oreo Truffles Pops

Kids seem to think everything is better when it comes on a stick, and sometimes this keeps both them and their food slightly cleaner. So for some pretty easy stocking stuffers, I took a few of the Oreo Truffles that I had made and made them into Oreo Truffle Pops. I simply made up a batch of Oreo Truffles and then poked a stick into the bottom. Actually, I used some of the tiny straws that sometimes come with our bags of milk here because I am cheap and have no idea where to buy lollipop sticks here. But if you happen to have a Michaels or Hobby Lobby nearby, you should be able to buy actual lollipop sticks if you want to.

You could also try inserting the stick before freezing the chocolate filling and then dipping them in chocolate. Then you can poke the stick into a piece of styrofoam to hold it upright while it drys, similar to cake pops. This would make them more round but a little more tricky to work with. My little kids don't care if their chocolate lollipop has a flat bottom or not, so I just went the easy route of inserting the stick after they had already been coated in chocolate and hardened.

Wrap in cellophane or plastic wrap, and tie with a pretty twist tie or ribbon, and you will have a beautiful stocking stuffer, Valentines treat, party favor, or small sweet gift for any other occasion.

DIY Oreo Truffles

Oreo truffles are being seen all over blogland, so you may have already seen these before. But the reason they are such a hit is because they both incredibly easy and incredibly delicious. If you haven't tried to make these yet, you really should. They are amazing. I made these and some other chocolate candies for Christmas gifts, but they would also be perfect for Valentine's Day or any other day. Every day is sweeter with chocolate.

Homemade Oreo Truffle Recipe

• 1 package Oreos
• 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
• 1 bag of chocolate chips (to melt for dipping)

1. Blend the Oreos in blender, or crush into very fine crumbs in a plastic bag with a rolling pin.
2. In a mixing bowl, blend together softened cream cheese and the Oreo crumbs.
3. Roll into quarter sized balls.
4. Place in freezer to chill for at least 15 minutes or more; this helps them stay together better when dipping in melted chocolate.
5. Melt chocolate in medium saucepan or a double boiler over low heat stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth.
6. Dip each Oreo ball in melted chocolate and place on waxed paper, tin foil, or silicone mat to harden.
7. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

This recipe makes about 3 dozen truffles. If you want to save any for the future or to give away, you should probably hide them in the back of the freezer, or you will eat them all right away. Or maybe that is just what I had to do.

DIY Amazingly Delicious, No Corn Syrup, Salted Caramels

So, I've told you just how crazy I am about good caramel. Well I was eating a spoonful of this amazing sauce and noticing that the jar was soon going to be gone. I began to think to myself that this year I would try to make chewy salted caramel candy at Christmastime. Some for me to enjoy and (so I don't eat it all in one sitting) some to give away as gifts. These caramels make great gifts and stocking stuffers. So I began searching through tons of recipes for caramel online, but I only found two recipes that didn't use corn syrup. I too think that caramel is best when the sugar is caramelized separately before any other ingredients are added. But the honey isn't great here though, and I have almost as much trouble caramelizing anything but pure white sugar by itself as I do baking caramel corn. I almost always end up with burnt sugar instead of caramelize sugar, which is not nearly as tasty or desirable. So mixing it with brown sugar seems like a recipe for failure for me personally. So I took some of this process and came up with my own recipe, with just 4 ingredients. I guess it could be 3 if you don't like salt in your caramel, but just a little sea salt makes the flavors so much better that you really should consider adding it. There are more pictures of melting sugar and adding ingredients to it in these two posts.

Homemade No Corn Syrup Salted Caramel

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Sea salt to taste

Use caution when working with boiling sugar and caramel so you don't burn yourself.

1. Begin by placing sugar in a medium to large saucepan over low heat. You need a bigger saucepan than the amount of ingredients because the caramelized sugar will bubble and foam up a lot when you add the butter and cream, and you don't want to get burned.
2. Melt all of the sugar, completely stirring and swirling the pot as necessary to keep it from burning. Be aware than too much stirring can make the final product a little lumpy.
3. Once all of the sugar is melted, add the butter carefully, and stir to combine. Some of the caramel may harden and seize, but just keep stirring it over low heat until it melts into liquid again.
4. Then add the cream a little at a time because this is when the mixture will really bubble up. The caramel will harden again, but just keep stirring over low heat until it melts. Add sea salt to taste, but don't taste the syrup without cooling a tiny bit in cold water first; you'll get a really bad burn.
5. Now, you just need to cook this mixture until it reaches hard ball stage on a candy thermometer (250-266 F at sea level with an accurate thermometer) or by using the cold water method where you drop a small amount of the syrup into cold water to see if it forms a ball that depresses slightly when taken out and squeezed.
6. Now, you can pour this mixture into an 8x8 silicone baking pan or one lined with a silpat (or possibly even parchment paper), and allow it to cool.
7. Cut into squares or desired pieces, and wrap individually with parchment paper or plastic wrap.

Makes 64 one inch square caramels.

DIY Amazingly Delicious, No Corn Syrup, Caramel Sauce

I absolutely love really good, homemade caramel. Next to chocolate, it is probably my favorite flavor sweet; although really good coffee is definitely up there too. But there is something about homemade caramel that is so different than store bought. I think it is the pure caramelized sugar, butter, and cream without anything else added that makes it so good. Anyway, this caramel sauce is incredibly amazing. It is great on apple pie, on or in ice cream, on in brownies, in coffee, or just eaten with a spoon. This sauce would make a great gift in an ice cream sundae kit, paired with another dessert or coffee, or a great stocking stuffer or hostess gift all by itself.

Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe

• 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) butter
• 1 cup heavy cream

1. Begin by placing sugar in a medium to large saucepan over low heat. Even though this recipe only makes about 1 pint of sauce altogether, you need a much bigger saucepan because the caramelized sugar will bubble and foam up a lot when you add the butter and cream, and you don't want to get burned.
2. Melt all of the sugar completely, stirring and swirling the pot as necessary to keep it from burning. Be aware that too much stirring can make the final product a little lumpy.
3. Once all of the sugar is melted, add the butter carefully and stir to combine. Some of the caramel may harden and seize, but if you just keep stirring it over low heat, it will melt into liquid again.
4. Then add the cream a little at a time because this is when the mixture will really bubble up. The caramel will harden again, but just keep stirring over low heat until it melts. Cook and stir until the mixture is well combined, and then turn off heat, and allow to cool. Cooking down the mixture a long time will result in wonderful chewy caramel candy, but if you are looking for sauce, you may not find that quite as wonderful.
5. Pour over your favorite dessert or into a glass jar, and refrigerate for later.

DIY No-Bake, No Corn Syrup Crunchy Caramel Corn

I really like caramel corn, but I am really horrible at baking it. Somehow I always managed to burn at least part of the batch. I am not really sure how, but some always burns. So after learning how to make simple hard caramel candy, I got to thinking...what if I could make caramel corn using this caramel? I tried it yesterday, and it worked great. No baking and minimal ingredients required. It is the easiest way I have ever tried or seen to make caramel corn. The only trick is to make sure to spread the popcorn out well, drizzle the sauce over it, and then stir and spread it really fast so it doesn't all clump together when it hardens.

Homemade No-Bake, No Corn Syrup Caramel Corn Recipe

• 6-8 cups popped popcorn
• 1 cup sugar
• Salt if desired

1. Pop the popcorn using your preferred method. I pop mine in sunflower oil on the stove top and then sprinkle on a small amount of salt.
2. Spread popcorn out in non-stick baking dish (like silicone) or in a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or buttered (or oiled) parchment paper.
3. Melt the sugar in a small saucepan using the method described here.
4. Once all of the sugar is entirely melted and caramelized, pour over the popcorn and stir quickly to coat. You can add even more salt now if you like. Let cool and you're done!
5. Eat once cool, store in sealed containers, or package it up for gift giving.

DIY Sugar Cookies

We made this sugar cookies when the grandparents were here. It was a lot of fun, and this is a great sugar cookie recipe. I am pretty sure it was the real butter that made them the best sugar cookies ever, but the original recipe said to use margarine, so you can use that if you prefer. I also added Grandma Shirley's secret sugar cookie ingredient (nutmeg) which rounds out the flavors nicely.

Homemade Roll Out Sugar Cookie Recipe

• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp nutmeg

1. Cream together butter and sugar.
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Add dry ingredients, incorporating flour about 1 cup at a time.
4. Chill in the refrigerator a couple of hours or overnight. I did find that with all real butter though I had to let the dough soften up a bit after chilling it overnight.
5. Roll small sections of dough at a time to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
6. Bake at 400F for 6-8 minutes, until edges just begin to brown.
7. Remove from cookie sheets immediately, and cool on wire racks or clean counter top.

DIY Slab Pumpkin Pie

I wanted to bake a pumpkin pie that would last us a little while, so I made a large rectangular pie. This makes a delicious 9x13 pumpkin pie, so you have plenty to share or enjoy for several days. Although it didn't last as long as I had planned, because it was really good. If you don't want a rectangular pie you could use two regular pie pans.

Oil Pie Crust Recipe

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup oil (vegetable, canola, sunflower, etc.)
• 6 Tbsp or more ice water
  (makes enough for a standard double crust pie, two single crust pies, or a 9x13 slab pie)

1. Mix together oil and flour with a pastry cutter.
2. Add ice water, and continue mixing until firm dough forms.
3. Let rest at least 15 minutes before rolling. 
4. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes to avoid a soggy crust.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Filling Recipe

• 3 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups (12oz) of cream, half-n-half, evaporated milk, or even plain whole milk for a light pie
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 whole eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stirring until well combined.
2. Pour into prepared pie crust shells.
3. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until center is firm.

DIY Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

I changed the scone recipe just a little to make these pumpkin cookies. They are really quick to mix up and just drop by the spoonful onto the cookiesheet.

Homemade Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp (or a pinch) cloves

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes until just lightly brown
4. Remove from oven, and let cool.
5. Make spiced powdered sugar glaze.

Spiced Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine spices and sugar, and add milk a Tbsp at a time until a nice consistency. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies. If you want to serve these for company, wait an hour or so for the glaze to harden, but I really have a hard time waiting more than a couple minutes to eat some myself. These are a great with tea, coffee, or milk.

(Makes about 2 dozen good sized cookies)

DIY Pumpkin Scones

This is my new favorite pumpkin recipe of the year. Last year, I discovered pumpkin soup and love it, but this may just be the best unusual use of pumpkin puree ever! I adapted a recipe I found here, making it a little simpler in my opinion. I'm lazy enough to not like the extra step of cutting in the butter, so I substitute oil or melted butter and they still turn out amazing.

Homemade Pumpkin Scone Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp (or a pinch) cloves

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
2. Divide dough in two, and press or roll out into circles on greased pans until about 1/2 inch thick. 
3. Score into about 16 total triangle-shaped scones.
4. Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes until just lightly brown
5. Remove from oven, and let cool.
6. Make spiced powdered sugar glaze.

Spiced Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2–3 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine spices and sugar, and add milk a Tbsp at a time until a nice consistency. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled scones. If you want to serve these for company, wait an hour or so for the glaze to harden, but I really have a hard time waiting more than a couple minutes to eat some myself. These are a great with both tea or coffee.

DIY Pumpkin Bars

These are great fall treats. You can make this recipe either regular or light, both are quite tasty. This is one of my husband's favorite desserts.

Homemade Pumpkin Bars

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil (or half oil and half milk for a light version)
• 15-ounce can pumpkin or 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8-ounce (1 cup) cream cheese (homemade works great) softened
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar (homemade works great)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients for pumpkin bars in a large mixing bowl, and stir until thoroughly combined.
2. Spread into a greased jelly roll pan or a 9x13 cake pan for thicker cake-like bars.
3. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (may vary based on thickness of bars). Allow bars to cool. Top with cream cheese frosting for a rich dessert or lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar for a lighter version.
4. For the frosting, beat powdered sugar into cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. If you desire a stiffer or sweeter frosting, continue to add powdered sugar until it reaches desired consistency. Spread on top cooled bars.

DIY Caramel Chips

I love really good caramel, preferably homemade with great ingredients.  It is probably only second to chocolate as my favorite flavors for desserts. This recipe is for hard caramel candy chips that are great in ice cream or brownies. I love how they get soft and gooey, but keep just a bit of crunch in both hot and cold recipes. I also like to just eat them as hard candy. With only one ingredient, this recipe couldn't get much simpler.

Homemade Caramel Candy Chips

• 1 cup sugar (or more or less depending on the amount of chips you want)

1. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, or just get out a silicone baking pan to have ready nearby.
2. In a very clean and dry saucepan, begin heating the sugar, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning.
3. Continue heating the sugar, stirring occasionally, until it is all melted and has turned amber in color. Stirring too frequently can result in lumpy caramel. However, stirring too little or heating too long can cause the caramel to scorch and burn. This is really not difficult, but you do have to keep a close eye on this recipe.
4. Once all of the sugar is melted and turned a beautiful amber, very carefully pour into prepared baking pan. Melted sugar is extremely hot so be careful not to burn yourself. Wearing oven mitts and a long sleeved shirt is a good precaution.
5. Spread out the melted sugar with a spatula to cover the entire bottom of the pan.
6. After the caramel has cooled and hardened, break it into pieces. You can use a mortar and pestle, rolling pin, meat tenderizer, or even your hands (if you are really determined) for this step.
7. Use in your favorite ice cream or baking recipe, or enjoy real caramel hard candy made in your own kitchen.

These would be great for additions to unique Christmas time treats!

DIY Pudding Recipes

Caramel and Chocolate Pudding

Here is the list of homemade pudding recipes I have made. All of these are great, so much better than boxed versions. If you have never made pudding from scratch before, this recipe has pictures for each step that may be helpful.

• Butterscotch Pudding
• Cappuccino Pudding
• Caramel Pudding
• Chocolate Pudding
• Peanut Butter Pudding
• Vanilla Pudding

All of these recipes are great made into pudding pops too!

DIY Peanut Butter Pudding

This homemade peanut butter pudding is creamy and delicious. I bet it would be fantastic combined with chocolate pudding.

Homemade Creamy Peanut Butter Pudding Recipe

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 2 cups whole milk (divided)
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch

1. In a small mixing bowl, begin by stirring together ½ cup milk, egg, and cornstarch until well combined.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine 1½ cups milk, sugar, and peanut butter. 
3. Stir over medium heat to warm the milk.
4. Take a couple of big spoonfuls (¼ to ½ cup) of the warm milk mixture, and add it into the cornstarch and egg mixture. Don't skip this step. This tempers the egg and prevents it from becoming a scrambled egg when adding it into the hot milk.
5. Pour the cornstarch and egg mixture into the warm milk, and stir quickly to combine well.
6. Continue to stir over medium heat until the pudding thickens and begins to bubble.
7. You can serve this pudding warm (sounds good in the winter) or chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days and serve it cold.

DIY Cappuccino Pudding

This one isn't for the kiddos, but is a great treat for moms. I bet it would be fantastic combined with chocolate pudding.

Homemade Coffee Pudding Recipe

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup strong coffee
• 2 cups whole milk (divided)
• 1 egg
• 4 Tbsp cornstarch

1. In a small mixing bowl, begin by stirring together ½ cup milk, egg, and cornstarch until well combined.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine 1½ cups milk, sugar, and coffee. 
3. Stir over medium heat to warm the milk.
4. Take a couple of big spoonfuls (¼ to ½ cup) of the warm milk mixture, and add it into the cornstarch and egg mixture. Don't skip this step. This tempers the egg and prevents it from becoming a scrambled egg when adding it into the hot milk.
5. Pour the cornstarch and egg mixture into the warm milk, and stir quickly to combine well.
6. Continue to stir over medium heat until the pudding thickens and begins to bubble.
7. You can serve this pudding warm (sounds good in the winter) or chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days and serve it cold.

DIY Kiwi Frozen Yogurt

I have never had kiwi frozen yogurt before, but I was looking for another flavor of frozen yogurt to try, and my husband loves kiwi. Actually, he likes to eat them peel and all, but this is one fruit that I really do prefer to peel. I am not to big on eating fuzzy skin, so I did peel them for this recipe. Anyway when the price of kiwis dropped from $1.50 each to $0.60 a kilo, I thought we'd give it a try, and the result was really good. This is a refreshing and almost tropical tasting dessert.

Homemade Kiwi Frozen Yogurt Recipe

• 4 kiwi (peeled)
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 cups plain yogurt (homemade works great)

1. Peel the kiwis. (Unless you and everyone in your family are like my husband and enjoy eating the fuzzy skin.)
2. Put kiwis, sugar, and 1 cup yogurt in the blender, and blend until smooth. This gets all ingredients super-smooth really fast
3. Stir in remaining yogurt to prevent thinning the mixture too much.
4. Freeze in an ice cream freezer, or follow these directions to freeze in your regular freezer.

Recipe makes about 1 quart or liter of frozen yogurt.

DIY Grape Frozen Yogurt

I like grapes, but grape flavored things are not usually my favorite probably because they usually taste quite fake. This frozen yogurt is not at all like the grape popsicles or candy that too often reminds me of cough syrup.  You just taste the natural flavor of the real grapes.

Homemade Grape Frozen Yogurt Recipe

• 1 cup grapes
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 cups plain yogurt (homemade works great)

1. Wash the grapes. (I didn't bother to peel them because I am lazy and don't like to peel fruit when it isn't necessary, and I really don't like the thought of peeling grapes.)
2. Put grapes, sugar, and 1 cup yogurt in the blender, and blend until smooth. This gets all ingredients super-smooth really fast. You can't even taste the peel. You can only see small specks in the yogurt. The grape peels gives this frozen yogurt its pretty purple color, and this natural purple color (from the phytochemical resveratrol) is thought to be good for your heart.
3. Stir in remaining yogurt to prevent thinning the mixture to much.
4. Freeze in an ice cream freezer, or follow these directions to freeze in your regular freezer.

This recipe makes about 1 quart or liter of frozen yogurt.

DIY Chocolate Chips

I have mentioned before that regular Chinese chocolate isn't much tastier than a good candle and that good chocolate is really expensive here. So when I found a post about making your own chocolate chips on the heavenly homemakers' site, I definitely had to try it out. Honestly, I had never thought of making my own chocolate chips before but am very glad I tried. I can make them for less than 1/3 of the normal price here. I adjusted the recipe slightly, because the original recipe was intended to make chocolate chips healthier, but I mostly just wanted a cheaper option.

Homemade Chocolate Chip Recipe

• 2/3 cup butter (or coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup sugar (or sucranet)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

1. Put all ingredients in a glass double boiler, or make your own doubler boiler out of a glass jar and a sauce pan filled halfway with water.
2. Heat slowly over simmering water until butter melts and sugar and cocoa powder dissolve. I couldn't get quite all of my chunky sugar to dissolve, but this didn't change the taste at all.
3. Pour into a silicone or parchment lined pan and cool in the refrigerator.
4. Once hardened, score with a knife or pizza cutter, break into chunks, and enjoy.
5. Or store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

(This recipe makes about 2 cups of chocolate chips/chunks, about the same as a standard bag of chocolate chips.)

These chocolate chips taste amazing. I have to stop myself from eating the whole pan. Seriously, this is like very high quality dark chocolate that you would normally have to pay much more for, even in the States. They are really good in ice cream and frozen desserts because they are softer than regular chocolate chips. However, as Laura notes, and was my experience as well, they tend to melt into baked goods because they are so pure. I have also just poured the melted chocolate mixture over desserts, like this cheesecake, after it was cooled, instead of putting the chocolate chips inside like usual. This was just like pouring any other melted chocolate and was great.

Can you see the baby chocolate chip monster ready to attack?