Peanut Butter Bars

Every Sunday afternoon we visit with some friends from our church. Our time together is a great encouragement and support to us. And each week I bake a dessert to share. Recently I brought these Peanut Butter Bars. They are similar to brownies in texture and can be eaten by hand like a cookie. Although I like to put a thin layer of icing on top, they don't really need it. 

Peanut Butter Bars
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
½ cup oats
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a bowl, stir together butter and sugars. Add peanut butter, egg and vanilla and stir until combined. Add flour, oats, baking soda, and salt and mix until thouroughly blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350º for 18-22 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Icing:
½ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
2 Tbsp. milk

Stir together all ingredients and drizzle or spread over warm bars. Cool completely and serve.

Snow Ice Cream

We are home from school again for the third day in a row. I think that I am starting to get a little stir crazy. But, my kids are thrilled to be home to play in the snow another day. Yesterday I mentioned to my neighbor that I planned to try out a recipe for Snow Ice Cream that I had seen floating around on Facebook. He said to me, “I was always told, don't eat the first snow.” I grew up in Maine and I had never heard this before. But, yesterday afternoon when I spoke to my Aunt Shirley, who lives in Deleware, she said the same thing. So I did an internet search on it. Some people say that the first snow contains lots of germs, etc. However, I wasn't able to find any real proof of this.

We made the Snow Ice Cream anyway and we all loved it. We just stirred together the ingredients with a spoon and ate it immediately. I have a feeling my kids will want to make it again today.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is by far my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and the one that I told you about a few days ago. I photo copied it out of a book several years ago, but I did not make note of the name of the book. The paragraph written about the cookies along side the recipe claims that this is the original “Neiman Marcus” recipe. But, I'm not sure that this is true since I have tried other recipes that have been quite different from this one over the years that have claimed the same thing. 

I think that the reason I adore this recipe so much is that it has a slight coffee flavor. I am a huge coffee lover and coffee flavored desserts, ice creams, and baked goods are my weakness.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ tsp. instant coffee powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

In a mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add egg, vanilla, and coffee powder. Mix until fully combined. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Once dry ingredients are incorporated, stir in chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheets. Bake at 375º for 8-10 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Then, move cookies to a cooling rack. Yield: 24 cookies.

A Very Big Christmas Cookie!

My little one loves to bake. She is always underfoot in the kitchen and she especially loves cookies. So, when I saw this gingerbread cookie shaped baking pan set including decorator frosting and candy, I knew that she would LOVE it! On Christmas morning, when all of the gifts had been opened, my little one was more than ready to get baking immediately.

So, we made our way into the kitchen, still in our PJ's, and with our aprons on to make a giant cookie. We used this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that I found at Fake It Frugal. It turned out perfectly and my little one decorated it all by herself. Well, mostly by herself. Big sister did the bow. I'm sure we will be making many more big cookies in the near future. 

By the way, when you check out the cookie recipe at Fake It Frugal, you may notice that several of the recipes there have been featured at You-Can-Make-That. In the past, I have told you about Fake It Frugal's Sugar Cookies, Oatmeal Cookies, and Brownies. 

Cracker Candy

The other day, a friend called to get a recipe from me. While paging through my book for the recipe I saw one for Cracker Candy. It looked so simple! So, I thought that I would give it a try. Although I strayed from the recipe a bit, using ingredients I already had on hand, I am very pleased with the outcome. This candy is going to make great gifts. And, you can make it up ahead of time and store it either in the refrigerator or freezer for later. 

I think that this may be the treat that we leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve. What do you like to leave out for Santa?

Cracker Candy

Club Crackers (about 1 sleeve)
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line an 11X15 cookie sheet with foil. Evenly cover the surface of foil with crackers. In a sauce pan, melt butter and sugar. Boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly. Pour over crackers, covering them evenly. Bake at 400º for 3-4 minutes, or until bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate chips over the crackers. Refrigerate until firm. Break into pieces. Store in the refrigerator or freezer. 

Today I Am...

… home with a very sick little girl. This is the second time in two weeks she has gotten this stomach flu.

 

 

… sipping on freshly ground coffee with Homemade Peppermint Mocha Creamer. I love this stuff!

 

… pleased to have a few more gifts ready to give. I made these yesterday using a half recipe for the Chocolate Cookies I told you about earlier this month.

… looking forward to sharing a new recipe with you for Cracker Candy. 

 

Chocolate Cookies

My oldest was supposed to march in our Christmas parade today. But, the weather did not cooperate and the parade was postponed. So, I used my time wisely and made some cookies! I rarely make cookies because I don't have the patience to stand over my oven batch after batch. But, it is always worth the effort. 

Today I made a batch and a half of these Chocolate Cookies to share with friends tomorrow. This is a great basic chocolate cookie recipe. It works well with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, and mint chips. I have tried all kinds of variations over the years and they are always tasty. Today I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and my kids have been trying to sneak them like crazy. I hope that there are still plenty left for my friends tomorrow!

Chocolate Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ¼ cups flour (white or white whole wheat)
2/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Slowly add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375º for 9-11 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and remove to cooking rack. Yield: 4 dozen cookies.

Chewy Coconut Bars

On Saturday morning I was pouring over recipes looking for some kind of coconut bar cookie recipe to share with friends. I came across one that looked good, but didn't seem to have enough coconut. So, I made a few adjustments to the recipe and came up with the one below. 

Well, these Chewy Coconut Bars were a hit! My friends gobbled up every last one. And even a coconut hater enjoyed them. When I got ready to go home, the coconut hater confessed that he had eaten 6 bars. It does my heart good to have someone enjoy my baking so much!

 

Chewy Coconut Bars

 

2/3 cup melted butter
1 ½ cup raw sugar (or brown sugar)
3 eggs
1 ½ cups coconut (I used unsweetened)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Stir together all ingredients. Spread into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool and serve. 

This recipe was adapted from the one found here.

Apple Crisp

Lately I have been pleased to find McIntosh Apples at my grocery store. I grew up eating this variety, and they have not been available many of the places that I have lived. I can remember as a kid many times taking field trips to local apple orchards to pick McIntosh Apples and to watch apple cider being made.

One of my favorite fall desserts is Apple Crisp and the McIntosh bake up beautifully. So I pulled out my favorite Crisp Topping recipe and made some over the weekend to share with friends. This is a tried and true recipe that I have shared with both my Cooking With Confidence class and my Investment Cooking class. The topping can even be made up in advance and frozen for later. Plus, it works with many fresh or frozen fruits. I have made this Crisp with apples, pears, peaches, and berries. All have been delicious.

Crisp Topping

2/3 cup raw or brown sugar
½ cup white whole wheat flour
½ cup oats
1/3 cup butter, softened
¾ tsp. cinnamon
¾ tsp. nutmeg
4-5 cups of fruit or berries (fresh or frozen)

Combine all ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Freeze for later or sprinkle on top of fruit and bake at 375º for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. 

This post has been linked to The Penny Pinching Party.

Fascinating Find - Zucchini Brownies

Zucchini abounds this time of year; but, sadly no one at my house cares too much for it. However, I thought that I might still be able to bake with it without too much objection. I tried muffins, bread, and cake. None of the recipes were received with enthusiasm. Then I found this recipe for Zucchini Brownies. They are moist, fudgy, and delicious! I have made them several times now and I have served them to friends twice. Everyone loves them and gobbles them up gladly without recognizing that zucchini is a main ingredient. 

I found this recipe on Christin's blog called Baltic Maid, a food blog about both international and healthy recipes. Christin, is from Germany and grew up on the Baltic Sea, thus the name Baltic Maid. Be sure to visit her blog for this fabulous Zuchinni Brownie recipe and many others.

Recipe Link: Zucchini Brownies
Web Link: Baltic Maid

 

Recipe Note: I have not used the Cardamom called for in this recipe simply because I do not keep it on hand.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

We love Peanut Butter Cookies. I have posted about our favorite three ingredient Peanut Butter Cookie recipe both here and here. It is a popular request for our Friday night movie night. A few weeks ago I decided to try adding cocoa powder to our cookies for something different. They were sooo yummy. I think I liked these chocolaty cookies even better than the plain peanut butter version! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 cup raw sugar (or white sugar)
1 egg

Stir together all ingredients. Shape into balls, place on cookie sheet, and flatten with a fork. Bake at 350˚ for 12 minutes or until golden. Let cool on pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: 12-15 cookies.

Crepes

A few weeks ago I visited a friend in South Carolina. Shelly and I have know each other for several years. Our kids love to play together and that makes our time together even better. We often talk about recipes and meal ideas. When Shelly texted me the day before our visit asking if the kids and I would enjoy having crepes for lunch, I was thrilled! I had been wanting to learn how to make crepes for a while and this was my chance. 

That day, Shelly served us crepes filled with fresh strawberries and topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Sounds more like dessert than lunch, doesn't it? They were so simple to make, that even with five kids running around in circles through the kitchen, Shelly was able to produce perfect crepes. I went home that day with her recipe. Two weeks later I made the crepes pictured above for breakfast filled with homemade blueberry jam and cream cheese. But, I still had batter leftover, so I put it in the fridge for later. (I love that this batter can be made up in advance and refrigerated overnight.) That evening, I made up the rest of the crepes and filled them with chocolate chips, folded them, and then sprinkled them with powdered sugar. My kids were in heaven. Thanks Shelly for teaching me!!

Crepes

2 eggs
2 Tbsp. melted butter
½ tsp. vanilla
2 cups milk
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
Additional butter to grease the skillet for each crepe

Whisk together eggs, butter, vanilla, milk, salt, and sugar. Slowly add flour, whisking at the same time. Heat a 8-10 inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Pour a scant ¼ cup of batter onto heated skillet. Immediately tilt skillet and rotate to ensure that the batter is evenly coating the bottom of the pan. Cook until the edges begin to brown. (Tip: Your crepes are ready to flip when they begin to slide around in the pan when you shake it lightly.) Flip and cook the second side until browned. Fill and serve. Yield: 15 crepes

Sweet Filling Options: fresh fruit, jam, applesauce, cream cheese, whipped cream, nutella, or chocolate chips.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

While living in Germany, we had a forrest behind our housing development with walking trails. Along the trails were wild blueberry bushes. Wild blueberries grow on low bushes about 18 inches off of the ground and the berries are tiny, not at all like the cultivated blueberries that you can find in the grocery store. The first time I took my kids out to pick blueberries, it took us an hour to gather enough to make this Blueberry Crumb Cake. They were not anxious to pick blueberries again any time soon! However, we did pick blueberries again and again while we lived there. And, we really enoyed them knowing how hard we had worked to pick them.

Last week a local farm had blueberries on sale. Although they were not local, I was glad to get some anyway and I came right home and made this cake with them. I am pleased to know though, that my local farm does have blueberry bushes growing and that they will be ready for the public to pick for the first time next summer. 

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Cake
¼ cup butter, melted
½ cup sugar (raw or white)
1 egg
½ cup milk
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 cups blueberries

Stir together butter, sugar, egg and milk. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until combined and add blueberries. Spread into a greased 9X9 pan. 

Crumb Topping
½ cup sugar (raw or brown)
3 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. melted butter

Stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter. Sprinkle evenly over cake batter. Bake at 375º for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm. 

This post has been linked to Grace at Home.

Strawberries and Cream Cake

 

One of the recipes that we enjoyed over the weekend with our freshly picked strawberries is this Strawberries and Cream Cake. It is yellow cake, layered with sweetened strawberries, and topped with whipped cream. I took it to a friends house for a Memorial Day luncheon and it was devoured. Although this is just like Strawberry Shortcake, I have found that this travels more easily and it can be made up completely in advance. The leftovers will even keep in the refrigerator overnight.

My little one especially loves this Strawberries and Cream Cake. She even asked for it to be served as her birthday cake last year.

Cake

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 scant cup milk

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add half of the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half of the milk. Add remaining flour and milk, mixing until thoroughly combined. Pour into a greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 350º for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

Strawberries

2 cups of crushed strawberries
½ cup sugar (white or raw)

Stir together berries and sugar. Poke 15+ holes in cooled cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour berries evenly over the cake. Let sit 15 minutes to soak into the cake.

Whipped Cream

2 cups of your favorite whipped cream recipe (my recipe can be found here)

Spread whipped cream evenly over the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

Confession: I made twice as much whipped cream as I needed and refrigerated it for later. The next day I used it to top a homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie.

 

This post has been linked to Blissful and Domestic's Feature Friday.

Fascinating Find - Two Ingredient Cookies

Last week I confessed to you that I have been trying to reduce my sugar intake. In my search for low sugar treats, I found this two ingredient cookie recipe. The cookies can be mixed up in seconds and you can add nuts, dried fruits, or chocolate chips for variety.

Pictured above is the pumpkin and oat version with chocolate chips, but I also tried the banana and oat version (also with chocolate chips). My kids preferred the pumpkin cookies, but I liked the banana cookies best. Although we ate these cookies as a dessert, they would also be good for breakfast. And, next time I make the pumpkin version, I plan to add some cinnamon.

You can find these recipes over at The Burlap Bag.

Banana and Oat Cookies
Pumpkin and Oat Cookies

Recipe Note: I have found that my cookies do not spread while baking, instead they remain the exact shape that I scoop out onto the pan. Next time, I will flatten them slightly after scooping them on to my baking pan.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Lately I have been watching my sugar intake. But, I still have a bit of a sweet tooth, so I began searching for some kind of satisfying treat. I have tried several recipes, and they have all been very tasty. However, this is my favorite one so far. 

These Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars have no sweetener of any kind. The dates add all of the sweetness. But, the dates are not the predominent flavor, the peanut butter is. My picky kids have no idea that this is a healthy dessert and I LOVE that! Eventually I would like to try this recipe with almond butter too. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup pitted dates
¾ cup natural peanut butter
½ cup unsweetened coconut
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
½ cup oats

Measure dates, peanut butter, coconut, and cocoa into the bowl of a food processor. Process until the dates are finely chopped. Add oats little by little until mixture forms a ball. Remove from processor and press into a samll baking dish (I use a 9x6 glass pan). Refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars.

This post has been linked to The Thrifty Home's Penny Pinching Party.

Chocolate and Oat Bars

Last weekend I went to a BBQ and I was asked to bring a dessert. However, I'd had a busy day and did not have lots of time to fuss over the dessert. Plus, I wanted to make something that could be eaten without a fork. So, I looked through my recipes and chose these Chocolate and Oat Bars. It had been a long time since I had made them and I was glad to see that I had all of the ingredients on hand.

At the BBQ, a lady sat down next to me with her plate of food, including one of my bars. And, she ate her dessert first, before her meal! It made me giggle and we became friends right away. Over the last year I have learned for sure, that life is too short not to eat dessert first every once in a while.

Chocolate and Oat Bars

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
¾ cup raw sugar (or brown sugar)
½ cup melted butter
14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, oats, sugar and butter. Reserve ½ cup for topping. Press oat mixture into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350º for 10 min.

Pour sweetened condensed milk over the crust. Sprinkle with pecans, chocolate chips, and reserved oat mixture. Press down the toppings into the crust. Return to oven for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and serve.

 

This post has been linked to the Penny Pinching Party.

Orange Chess Pie

This weekend, while thumbing through recipes in my new cookbooks, I saw this recipe for Orange Chess Pie and thought it would be a great way to use up my fading oranges. They had been lounging on the counter for far too long and juicing them for this pie seemed like a perfect way to keep them from being thrown out. 

I had never made a Chess Pie of any kind before, but I had eaten Chess Pie many times while living in the South. I wasn't exactly sure if my kids would like it though, so I made the pie and took it to a group of friends on Sunday. Well, I shouldn't have been worried. We all loved it, and I will certainly be making this again!

Orange Chess Pie

1 stick softened butter
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
3 Tbsp. corn meal
1 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Zest of one orange
Unbaked pie crust

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add cornmeal. Slowly add juices and zest. Pour into pie crust. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes or until set. 

This post has been linked to The Thrifty Home Penny Pinching Party.
 

Sweet Potato Cake

Photo Credit

Yesterday, I told you about the large batch of sweet potatoes that I cooked up in my slow cooker last week. Immediately after dinner I mashed the remaining sweet potatoes and made this sweet potato cake for our breakfast the next morning. It is super moist and ever so simple to make. And, I have two more containers full of pre-measured, mashed sweet potatoes in my freezer to make more cake in the future.

Sweet Potato Cake

¾ cup melted butter

1 ½ cups raw sugar (or white sugar)

3 eggs

½ cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

Stir together melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, and sweet potatoes. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir until combined. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan and bake at 350˚ for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

New Year's Peppermint Bark

Photo Credit: Nestle Toll House

Each year on New Year’s Eve, we gather up all of the leftover candy canes that we collected over the Christmas season to make Peppermint Bark. None of us really care to indulge on plain old candy canes, so this is a good way to ensure that they do not go to waste. This year I didn't even buy candy canes for our tree and I still had enough from the gifts that we received and the treat bags from school to make a batch of our traditional New Year’s treat. My oldest is especially pleased with Peppermint Bark so she never lets me forget to make it!

Peppermint Bark

12 oz. pkg. white chocolate chips

½ cup crushed leftover candy canes or peppermint candies, divided

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Set aside. Add white chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and stir. Repeat until chips are melted and the consistency is smooth. Stir in all but 2 Tbsp. crushed candy. Spread onto prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining candies. Refrigerate until hard. Break into shards and serve.

This recipe has been adapted from the one found here.