Tangy Goats Milk Banana Creme Pie

So I'm a cheater... I prefer to get the pre-made crusts for this kind of thing. Alternatively, you can make your own if you want with graham crackers and butter in a food processor. This is a no fail delicious way to make a tangy, out of the ordinary dessert with many pre-made ingredients to save time. The goats milk and peanut butter bring out the nutty and creamyness that I find delicious in bananas.

Prep time: 10-20 min
Total Time 1.5-2 hours

What you'll need

• Pre-made Graham Cracker crust
• 5-6 Medium bananas ( 2 very ripe, 3-4 just ripe ) 
• 1 package banana creme pudding 
• 1 package vanilla pudding 
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract 
• Here's the tang - substitute cow's milk for goat's milk! YUM! 
• 1 tsp creamy peanut butter 
• 10 cocoa puffs ( or just 1 tsp of dark cocoa powder ) 
• Juice from 1 lemon 

•  Layer the bottom with sliced bananas

•  Mix the banana and vanilla puddings to pie specifications on the package - for Jello puddings, this is 2 3/4 cup goats milk for both packages ( not each! ).

• In a separate bowl, mash the 2 very ripe bananas with the peanut butter and vanilla extract. 

• Fold in the mashed banana mixture into the pudding mixture 

• Cover the bottom layer of bananas with the crushed cocoa puffs or dark chocolate powder 
• WARNING: Don't put whole cocoa puffs instead of crushed because they will turn into gummy balls of doom. NOT TASTY! 

• Cover the cocoa puff layer with the prepared mixture of mashed bananas, peanut butter, vanilla, and pudding until it reaches slightly below the top part of the crust. Keep enough pudding for a second layer.
• Cover the pudding layer with chopped up bananas -(save enough to create another layer on top)

• Layer the remaining banana slices on top of the pudding and brush with diluted lemon juice - this will stop the bananas from turning brown. 

• Cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours

• Cut and enjoy!

This can be made a day before, or can be frozen for an extra cool treat. If frozen, take out of the freezer for 1-2 hours prior to serving and put in the refrigerator. This is a nice way to get a creamy cool treat that isn't completely frozen. Not to mention: Pretty! 

Super Easy Salted Goat Milk Caramels

I decided to make these beauties because my boyfriend was trying to get through his law school finals and needed a boost of sugar to get him through the long nights of studying. Making some cute, wrapped, homemade goodies really brightened his day! You can also make them and put them into cute boxes as gifts for friends and family, or even wedding favors!

Candy isn't the easiest thing to make, so I wanted to make a recipe that anyone could follow. Here are my "Super Easy Salted Goat Milk Caramels". For those than can't find goats milk, or would prefer to cows milk, the recipe will turn out just fine. I haven't tried almond or soy milk, but I think that would be an interesting chemistry experiment to see if they behave in the same way.

My inspiration to use goat milk happened when I noticed that Trader Joe's carries goats milk - once I had that tangy, clover infused, milky gold - I HAD to put it into a caramel. I prefer a bit of crunch so I roll course grain salt into the inner section of the caramel to get that oh-so-divine salty/sweet combination.

What you'll need

• 2 cups Brown sugar
• 1 cup White sugar 
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1.5 cup goats milk ( or milk of your choice ) 
• 1.5 cups heavy cream 
• 1.5 tbs vanilla
• 1/2 tbs salt ( fine grain) 
• Coarse grain salt to finish ( I ended up using Himalayan pink rock salt from Trader Joes )
• 1 cup butter
• 1 Vanilla bean ( optional - cut lengthwise and scrape out the insides!) 

1) Prep a pot on the stove, and a baking dish for for pouring the caramel. I like to line my  baking dish with parchment ( much easier than trying to butter the dish, faster cleanup! )

2) Combine the sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, goat's milk, heavy cream, and butter in the pot on the stove. Mixing this mixture and heating it evenly is important to make the candy work.You'll notice that the mixture goes from looking like a frothy delicious caramel sponge to a slightly darker, with less bubbles mixture ( I use this as a guide to know that the temp is starting to get close )

3) Watch the temperature of the mixture with a candy thermometer while stirring. When the thermometer reaches 247 degrees remove the pot from the heat. Add the vanilla and stir.
 
WARNING! Do not let the temperature exceed 250 degrees F. ( 120 C) This is ceiling for the "firm ball" stage when cooking sugar. If the candy goes over this temp you could have problems with forming your caramels.  Please be careful when working with hot sugar. It might not look hot, but it is!


3) Pour the mixture from your pot into the lined or buttered baking pan ( 12X15 works best ) 


4) I let the mixture cool for about 5-7 min and then cut the caramel into 1in X 1in pieces. The caramel will still be warm to the touch and slightly gooey. I sprinkle pieces of coarse grain salt on the pieces and then roll them into balls and wrap in parchment to keep them from sticking together. 


5) Unwrap and enjoy!!