Turtle Cake Roll & Apple Pie Pops

Simple and festive, this delish cake will trick guests into thinking you spent hours slaving over a stove.

 

Ingredients:

For the caramel:
30 store-bought caramels
1/2 cup heavy cream

For the cake:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups devil’s food cake mix
1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

For the frosting:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 1/4 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:
1. Prepare the caramel: Melt the caramels with the heavy cream in a microwave or double boiler, stirring until smooth. Refrigerate until completely cooled, 2 to 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 10 × 15-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper and grease the paper.

2. Make the cake: Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Add the cake mix, oil, and 1/3 cup water, and beat on low speed for 30 seconds and then medium speed for 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.

3. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake springs back when lightly touched, but still looks moist, 11 to 14 minutes. Do not overbake, or the cake will be dry and crack when rolled. Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges of the pan to make sure the cake does not stick. Lay a clean tea towel on a flat surface and sprinkle with the confectioner’s sugar. Turn the cake upside down on the towel and peel off the parchment paper. While hot, carefully roll up the cake in the towel, starting at the short end. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.

4. Meanwhile, make the frosting: Heat the heavy cream in the microwave or on the stovetop, until it just starts to boil. Stir in the chocolate chips and corn syrup. Let stand for 3 minutes and then whisk until smooth. Mix in the vanilla. Refrigerate, stirring every 15 minutes, until it has a spreadable consistency, about 1 hour.

5. Once the cake has cooled, remove the caramel from the refrigerator. Using an electric mixer, whip the caramel until it is spreadable and has a frosting-like consistency, about 3 minutes.

6. Unroll the cake carefully. Spread the caramel evenly over the cake. Reroll the cake, this time without the towel. It should roll easily. Put the cake on a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath to catch any drips. Frost with the chocolate frosting and top with the pecans.

Tip:
Rolling the cake when it’s warm makes it easier to roll the second time; it’ll mold to the shape you want and won’t crack when you roll it again. Garnish this with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce if you like.

Makes 1 10-inch roll

Apple Pie Pops

 

 

Ingredients:
1 recipe store-bought double crust pie dough
8 ice-pop sticks
8 teaspoons apple butter
Four 3/4-inch-square chewy caramels, halved
32 raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Roll the pie dough out to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out sixteen 2 1/2 inch circles of pie dough. Lay 8 of the circles on the lined baking sheet. Brush water around the edges of those circles and position the ice-pop sticks on the circles so about 1 inch of the stick extends into the center of the circle.

3. Place 1 teaspoon of apple butter in the center of each circle. Place 1 piece of caramel and 4 raisins on top of the apple butter. Place a second circle of pie dough on top and carefully seal the pies with your fingers, being careful to keep the filling inside, then crimp with a fork.

4. Combine the cinnamon with the sugar. Brush the surface of each pie with water and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let the pies cool completely on the baking sheet. To keep the pops intact, pick them up off the pan by the pie crust, not the stick. The pie pops keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes 6 pops

 

 

S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookies

The campfire classic meets everyone's favorite cookie in this ingenious mashup

 

Active time: 35 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
 
Ingredients:
 
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups coarsely-smashed graham cracker pieces (from about 1 sleeve), plus 36 small graham cracker squares
Marshmallow creme, for topping cookies
One 8-ounce milk chocolate bar, broken into pieces
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars in a large bowl until smooth and fluffy, then beat in the eggs. Add the baking soda, vanilla and salt to the butter mixture, mixing just until combined. Add the flour and smashed graham crackers and slowly mix together until combined.
3. Drop tablespoon-sized dollops of batter 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Dollop some marshmallow creme onto each of the cookies, and press a piece of chocolate and graham cracker into the marshmallow.
4. Bake until just set in the center, 7 to 8 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then transfer to a wire  rack to cool completely.
Makes 36 cookies