Fluffernutter and Nutella Yule Log

.I am awesome. It's ok for me to say that today because this is probably the coolest and most fantastic thing I have ever made in my entire life. Phew, I had to get that off my chest.For the last week I have been thinking a lot about what holiday treats I want to make. I have been planning on making a full fledge yule log with the rolled sponge cake, the filling and the candy mushrooms and taking a whole day to do it. Well that is just not happening this season.. The next week is nutters and I have so much other baking to do that I just don't have time to do a log…bummer

Oh, but how my mind never stops.. See, it's not the cake that I wanted to make, it was more making a cake look like a piece of wood that was appealing to me.  So I must try, or better yet, create my own version of a yule log…………...

Problem solved. Peanut butter, fluff, nutella and a wrap.  And oh what a piece of wood I made.(insert dirty joke here) A yule log,(or yule branch), but whatever. Its food that looks like a piece of wood. I am happy. 

Simple ingredients…I pictured 2 flour wraps because I was going to make 2, but ended up only making one, so one wrap per log works…… A glob of fluff, a glob of peanut butter… A smaller glob of nutella and a sprinkle of a crunchy cereal (I used crispy rice cereal) The cereal is not essential, but it add a little bulk and crunch to the log and when eating wood, there should be a little snap crackle and pop.  If you want to make this into a vegan log, use vegan marshmallow cream. You can even omit the mallow and use a banana, or jam, or anything you want. Heck, you can make a smorgasbord of logs…That would be fantastic. A bundle of logs of all different flavors….I am doing it!!

 Trim off two opposite  side of the wrap and put them aside, you are going to use one of the trimmings in a second. Smear the peanut butter, fluff, and a bit of the nutella all over, even to the very edge of the wrap.

        Sprinkle the crunches on top  and then starting rolling from one of the non trimmed edges,  Try to get it as tight as you can. 

  Take one of the scraps and smear some more peanut butter and nutella all over it(leave our the crunches) and roll. You will end up with a branch nub. Attach the nub. I smeared more fluff to the bottom and it stuck on pretty well, but (not shown here) I took a little piece of a spaghetti and stuck it in the nub to keep it in place. If you don't use the fluff in your log, I would use the spaghetti(It is edible and will soften from the peanut butter so you don't have to worry about taking the noodle out)

Looks good right…You can go ahead and stop here if you want to…Its pretty great, but one more minute and…

A bona-fid Yule log…well its kind of more like a branch, but whatever.

 I used the other end of the spaghetti noodle dipped in the nutella to make the lines. I just free formed it and it really transformed the log into a LOG!!! Just to jazz it up  I added a handful of crunchy rice with the extra glob of pb and fluff, mixed it up and made little piles of  yule log landscape.   Added a few dried  cranberries and pistachios for color…. It like taking walk through the woods. After the mister ate the crispy mounds, I sprinkled some flaked coconut around it and that looked pretty fantastic too.

Needless to say that if you make this, your day will be excellent.Make it for a friend, you will bring them joy. Its hard not to smile when looking at food that looks like wood. Happy.

These little logs would make fantastic party snacks. Fast and tasty … can't get better than that.  Think about walking into an office party, or better yet, a school party….All the other parents will think you are awesome and then probably start to hate you..Hey, it's not your fault that you are cool enough to read my blog.(it's ok, you can share the website) SO make them for friends, for family, for anyone.. Just don't try to start a fire with the logs….It might not turn out so well.

Have fun splitting wood!!!

-C

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Yule Log

One wrap makes one log

• 1 big glob of Peanut Butter
• 1 big glob of marshmallow cream (vegan or what not)
• 1 small glob of nutella (again, vegan if needed)
• 1 medium flour wrap
• 1 handful of crunchy rice cereal
• a spaghetti noodle

Note..Use these flavors or make up you own…...PB and Jam…PB and Banana.. PB and Apples ….Cream cheese and Jam.. the possibilities are endless.

With a sharp knife, trip two opposite sides of a wrap and set trimming aside for later. Spread the peanut butter, fluff, and nutella(or whatever ingredients you want) all over wrap, up to the  very edges. Sprinkle crispy rice all over.

Starting from one end, roll wrap leaving the seam on the bottom. With one of the wrap trimmings, spread more peanut butter fluff and nutella all over and wrap as well. Place a dollop of fluff on the bottom of the small nub and place on the roll where ever you see fit. For a better hold, snap small piece of spaghetti noodle and stick through nub into log.

For the tree markings, dip a toothpick or spaghetti noodle into nutella and lightly draw little lines on the log…..And you are done. If you want to jazz it up, sprinkle rice cereal or coconut or whatever you want to make the log look more nature like, do it. .

And now its time to eat your log…..

CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH!!

Banana Brown Butter Blondie's

I don't know what got into my head today, but I was hell bent on making blondes. I was already committed to make cupcakes with the help of a little little, but, not going to lie, the cake was coming from a box. It wasn't going to satisfy my baking itch. You see, it's the misters birthday this week and tonight was the family B-day dinner. My family consists of a whole lot of people, and half of them are 13 and under. So instead of busting my butt baking an amazing 4 tiered strawberry chocolate cream cheese cake for kids who won't even try it(that was last week, the cake came out fantastic and everyone but the birthday girl ate it. But maybe a 2 year old doesn't need to like strawberry cake) I decided that I was going boxed and low and behold,  they loved  Hey, sometimes you gots to make the people happy. But I really wanted to do something else, something a little more special, something for the more mature pallet……..banana brown butter blondes…..Oh yea, I did and I did.

Not a heck of a lot of ingredients. Flour, sugar, banana, butter, egg and vanilla. I always forget something in my ingredient line up pics. Today it was the cinnamon, but thats ok, its optional anyway.

         Start with browning the butter… lots of lovely little bits. Smells super nutty.. You want to do it first so it can cool a little before using.Cooled butter mixed with the brown sugar.(I might have jumped the gun a bit and hit was still slightly warm)  Make sure when you add the butter you add all the little flavor bits. Mix or beat it up. then add the vanilla and egg.Now mash up and mix in the nanaers. Swirl it in, just like that. Now is a good time to add a little cinnamon… but don't add it if your don't want too. I don't know how I ended up using like five different mixing instruments for this little batch of brownies, but I did, and I definitely trashed the kitchen. First off, I was at my sisters and I don't know where she puts all of stuff.(She doesn't either) Secondly, I was also making cupcakes and garlic bread, pasta, and salad at the same time…so maybe that all made me a little more messy than usual…..Whatever. its ok, I cleaned it up. Anyway, above you see me using an electrical beater to mix in flour. I used the beater for the cupcakes and then started used it in the brownies..It was fine,  I used low speed for just a sec but I would recommend to just stir in the flour..Try not to overwork the batter.

Ready for the pan…..Its a bit thick, which is good.  Your going to have to scoop it more than pout it. Make sure to spread it evenly in pan and not just plop it in and stick it into the oven. Aaaahhh, so darn pretty.And cut into little squares..I love the casserole dish in this picture.… my sister might not ever get it back. To add a little something something, I went and added a small smear of Nutella on half the batch……I think it was a good idea.

Banana Brown Butter  Blondies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick)unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon(optional)
• 1 medium mashed banana

Preheat oven to 350

Place butter in a small pot or pan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the butter is completely melted and starting to foam. It will start to smell nutty and turn brown within a few minutes…when its a medium brown, take of heat and let cool.( I stick my in the freezer in a shallow pan to help cool faster.)

Once butter has cooled a bit, cream together with the brown sugar. In a small bowl, mash banana. Add egg, vanilla and banana. mix together, then mix in flour until just incorporated. Scoop batter into a grease 8x8 pan and spread evenly. Place in oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown..It should be cooked all the way through but still a little gooey, moist and brownie like

Let cool and remove from pan….cut and do what you need to do! For a little more decadence..add a drizzle of chocolate or a bit of peanut butter. or do what I did, a smear of Nutella…and serve with the recommendation of a cold glass of milk.

I know your all curious about the cupcake so I'll show you…I actually made cupcake and a two layered 4 inch cake for the birthday boy. I know, I know…. and the bright pink frosting. It's actually pretty amazing. That kind of color doesn't excises in nature.

HAPPY ALMOST BIRTHDAY LOVE!!!!!!!!!!