Scarecrow Treats

recipe from landolakes.com

These Halloween cookie bars, topped with candy corn, are chewy and delicious. Oh, and contain peanut butter! Need I say more?

Ingredients for crust:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (18.25 oz) pudding in the mix yellow cake mix (box will say moist)

1 egg

3 cups miniature marshmallows

Ingredients for topping:

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups crisp rice cereal

2 cups salted peanuts

1 cup candy corn

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and cake mix in a large bowl. Beat on low speed until well combined. Add egg and mix well.

Press onto bottom of 15x10x1" pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle marshmallows over hot crust. Return to the oven and bake an additional 1 -2 minutes or until marshmallows puff.

Combine corn syrup, sugar and brown sugar in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until it comes to a boil, about 2 - 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Stir in cereal, peanuts and candy corn. Immediately spoon over marshmallow layer; spread to cover. 

Cool completely and cut into bars.

American Flag Cheesecake Bars

recipe from myrecipes.com

Happy Independence Day to my American friends! Hope you all have a wonderful and safe day and remember to thank those who have helped keep us safe while putting their lives on the line. Past and present.

To celebrate the occasion, I made these delicious (and cute) cheesecake bars. Definitely patriotic!

As usual, my decorating skills are lacking.  I used seedless raspberry jelly but still have squiggly, bulging flag lines. Hey, it's not really bothering me much...they still look good, right? Next time I will use an even finer decorating tip and hope for the best.

Ingredients for Crust:

1/2 cup whole almonds

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

8 TBLS. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients for Filling:

3 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 TBLS. lemon juice

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

80 fresh ripe blueberries (about 1 cup)

1 cup seedless raspberry jelly

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with foil, leaving a 2 inch overhang on the 2 long sides. Spray with non stick cooking spray.

Crust: Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Add flour, brown sugar and salt. Process until well combined. Add butter and pulse just until mixture comes together. Should be somewhat crumbly yet and not able to be formed into a ball. Press mixture evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes or until set. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Filling: With an electric mixer on high speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Scrape sides of the bowl. Add eggs one at a time on medium- low, mixing until just combined. Beat in lemon juice, vanilla and salt.

Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the cooled crust. Tap the pan on the counter 3-4 times to remove any air bubbles. Place pan in a large roasting pan and transfer to oven. Pour hot tap water in the roasting pan until the baking pan bottom is covered up to about an inch. 

Bake for 40 minutes or until filling is set. Cool completely on a wire rack and then cover with foil and chill a minimum of 6 hours. Overnight is even better.

Using the overhanging foil on the 2 sides, remove the cheesecake from the baking pan. Heat a large sharp knife under hot water, then dry the knife. Trim off the edges of the cheesecake. Cut into 16 bars, heating and drying the knife after each cut. (This keeps your bars cut with an even edge)

Decorate each bar with 5 blueberries for the star in the upper left hand corner to resemble stars. Place jelly in a ziploc bag and snip off about 1/6 of a bottom corner. Pipe jelly in thin lines to resemble a stripes on a flag. 

Homemade Twix Bars

I don't eat a lot of candy or candy bars. If I do, caramel Twix are at the top of my list. There is just something about the milk chocolate, caramel and cookie combo that makes it quite irresistible. These are really close to the real deal. A little more time consuming and a bit messier but getting a whole pan of them is worth the effort. I used Ghirardelli baking chocolate. I think the quality of chocolate used makes all the difference. Not all chocolate is created equal.

I didn't even bother to smooth out my fingerprints either. Making my claim on them, you see...

Shortbread layer:

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Caramel layer:

2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks

3 TBLS. heavy cream

Chocolate layer:

3 cups chopped milk chocolate, melted

1 TBLS. vegetable shortening

For the shortbread, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Spray a  9 x 13 inch pan lightly with cooking spray and set aside. 

In a medium sized bowl, beat together the confectioner's sugar, butter and vanilla. Add the flour. Beat at medium speed until it's well combined.

Take the dough and spread it evenly in the prepared pan. If it's sticky, lightly flour your fingertips. Prick the crust all over with a fork.

Bake until shortbread is lightly browned on top with the edges a deeper brown. About 40 - 45 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen from the pan. Set aside to cool completely.

For the caramel layer, melt the caramel and cream over low heat in a small saucepan. Pour over the cooled crust and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the chocolate layer, melt the chocolate over very low heat. Add shortening towards the end to thin.

For bars: pour melted chocolate evenly over the chilled caramel layer. Return to fridge to set chocolate and cut into 2 x 2 inch bars.

To more resemble Twix bars: cut cooled caramel layers down the length of the pan (around the size of Twix bars). Dip the chilled bars into the melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to set. May take a few hours to fully set.

In the meantime though, make sure and taste test some!

Magic Layer Brownies

When I make brownies, I like them to be very dense and gooey. The kind that you roll around with your tongue to catch all that flavor. Frosting is also high on my list. To me, a brownie without frosting, is like Thelma without Louise; it's just not right. Now add to that perfect combo, browned butter frosting. Haven't had browned butter frosting before? Well, why ever not? You need to try it, like right now! You're missing out.

Gooey, chocolaty, gritty morsels of goodness...

Brownies:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Browned Butter Frosting:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze:

3 TBLS. butter

4 oz. semi sweet chocolate (chopped)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 13 inch and cut parchment paper to fit bottom. Also lightly grease or spray the paper. Set aside.

For the brownies: Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate in a small saucepan, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs and salt. Mix with a mixer for 3 - 4 minutes, until the mixture is lighter and very thick. Fold in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in flour and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan and even out smoothly.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the sides pull away from the pan just a little. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the browned butter frosting: put butter in a small saucepan over  low heat. Let it melt and turn a caramel color (about 15 minutes). Don't let it burn! Once it has turned a nice medium brown, remove from heat. Pour it into a medium sized bowl and immediately add powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla. Mix well with a mixer until frosting is smooth and thick.

Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies.

For the glaze: Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave or on the stove top until smooth. Pour over the frosted brownies. Tip the pan from side to side to evenly spread the glaze. Chill the brownies until the glaze is set and brownies are chilled through, about 2 hours. 

These taste best cold. They also are great to make for a get together as they go far and are sure to be liked by everyone!

Red Velvet Krispies

 recipe from passthesushi.com

Like red velvet, chocolate and rice krispies? Yeah, me too! Usually when a dessert looks this great, a lot of work is involved. Not so with this recipe. So pretty and super easy to make a batch. The bright red coloration makes them perfect for Valentine's Day but really, these krispies are sure to be a hit with any occasion. Kid friendly too! 

You could also use cookie cutters to make shapes (after they have cooled). Another way to get the kids involved in the kitchen.

Make sure to grab one of these for yourself as they won't last long!

Ingredients:

3 Tbls. butter

1 (10.5 oz) bag mini marshmallows

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup red velvet cake mix

6 cups cocoa Rice Krispies cereal

4 oz. white chocolate chips, melted

Line a 9 x 13" pan with wax or parchment paper; coat well with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add marshmallows, cake mix and vanilla, stirring frequently until melted and smooth. Fold in the cereal until well combined and coated.

Transfer the sticky cereal mixture to the prepared pan, pressing down until the top is level. Drizzle white chocolate over the top.

I wanted to make the photos for this with a Valentine's theme but was called in to work for a few hours. I brought a plateful along. Even short-staffed they only lasted minutes. Yeah!

Make Your Own Girl Scout Cookies ~ Samoas Bars

 recipe from bakingbites.com

When I first saw this recipe floating around Pinterest, I ignored it. First off, I believe in supporting the Girl Scouts and second, I hadn't had much luck with copycat recipes up until this point. They usually require a lot of prep time and rarely taste close to the original. However, after seeing so many say they were amazing on top of the fact that for the last few years, Girl Scout cookies starting taking on that whole processed flavor so many foods have these days, I thought "Why not?". 

Conclusion, I am so glad I did! These are, in my humble opinion, much better than the original. Same texture, better flavor and I can make them whenever I want. Plus, these are bars. So you get the same concept without having to decorate each individual cookie. You decorate (top) the pan of bars and cut them to cookie size. If you can get over the fact that they are squares instead of circles, which I definitely can...

Cookie Base:

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

First, make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9 x 13 inch pan. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer. 

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack before topping. 

Topping:

2 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

12 oz. good quality chewy caramels

1/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbls. milk

10 oz. dark or semi sweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut evenly on parchment lined baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden brown. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in large microwavable safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with spatula. Put dollops of topping all over the shortbread base. Using a spatula, spread the topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or pizza cutter. Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave at 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle the tops with chocolate 

Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Blonde Brownies ~ Perfectly Adapted

I am not a huge fan of brownies, of any type. You would think with all that chocolate, I would be all over them, but they have never really appealed to me. A friend made me a batch of brownies for my birthday in October. Now how thoughtful is that? They were blonde brownies and I must say they were really good. I decided they could use a little tweaking, so the following recipe is an adaption from both my friend's recipe and Paula Deen's Lady & Sons version. My idea of blond brownies...


Blonde Brownies:
7 Tbls. butter
16 oz. packed brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cups self rising flour
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and brown sugar together, until blended. Add eggs and mix well. Gradually add flour, mixing well. Stir in vanilla. Fold in pecans and chocolate chips.


Bake in a lightly greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.


These make a great snack for company or a quick and easy option for a get together. The nuts are optional but really add to the flavor and texture. 

Oreo Krispies ~ Gooey Goodness!

recipe from buddingbaketress.com

If you like Oreo cookies, then this recipe is for you. These taste just like a big Oreo only gooey with a little crunch. They have an almost "melt in your mouth" texture while satisfying any chocolate craving you might have. 

Only three ingredients too!

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) package of Oreo cookies

5 cups (1 bag) of large marshmallows

4 Tbls. butter

Line 8x8 inch baking dish with aluminum foil to hang over the edges. Set aside.

Place Oreos in food processor (or crush in a large Ziploc bag with a rolling pin) and pulse until crumbly but not ground.

Melt marshmallows and butter in a large microwave safe bowl until puffy, about 11/2 to 2 minutes. Remove and pour in ground cookies. Quickly stir to combine, then transfer to prepared baking dish. Allow to set 10 to 15 minutes. Remove bars from pan by foil edges.. Cut, serve and enjoy!

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Most of my recipes are based off of getting the right texture. I have an aversion it seems to certain textures. For instance, sushi, oysters, and soups are out for me. Also dishes that require gravy toppings and cream pies for the most part. Just can't handle their textures. At all. May be the same reason I like all meats well done. If I order a burger or steak in a restaurant, I don't want to see any red whatsover. I also don't want charcoal on a plate and many restaurants can't distinguish between the two, so I rarely order beef when out. 


The only steak have touched for the last several years has been the ones John grills for me. You want to have the best steak of your life, come over here and I'll have him grill you a New York Strip with his secret grilling marinade and you probably won't leave. 


These bars appeal to these texture issues I have. The drier oatmeal base with the soft fudge center is really a great combo.


Ingredients:
1 cup butter softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups quick cooking oats
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

2 Tbls. vanilla extract, divided
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
3 Tbls. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or spray 9 x 13 inch baking dish.


In large bowl, beat together 1 cup butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla. In another bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda and 1 tsp. salt; stir into butter mixture. Set aside.


In a medium saucepan, heat sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, 3 Tbls. butter and 1/2 tsp. salt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in almonds and 1 tsp. vanilla.


Pat 2/3 of the oat mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over the top and dot with remaining oat mixture. (leaving some of the chocolate mixture exposed in places)


Bake for 30 - 35 minutes in preheated oven. Do not overbake! Let cool on wire rack, then cut into bars.

Chocolate Pudding Torte

This is my mom's recipe. She made this torte for many occasions and get togethers when I was growing up. I think it was her most requested dish to bring over the years and has always been one of my favorites. She made 3 different versions of this. The following recipe is for the chocolate version but I'll include the other 2 at the end of the recipe in case you want to try those too!


Ingredients:


Crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
2 Tbls. sugar


Mix like pie crust and spread into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Pat down. Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Cool completely.


First filling layer:


8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip, divided


Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Fold in 2 cups Cool Whip. Spread on cooled crust.


Second filling layer:


2 small packages of instant chocolate pudding


Mix with 2 1/2 cups of milk. (do not follow package instructions) Pour over cream cheese mixture. Let set in refrigerator and cover with remaining Cool Whip. Top with chocolate chips.


Alternate version 1: Replace chocolate pudding mix with Butterscotch pudding. Top with chopped walnuts.


Alternate version 2: Replace chocolate pudding with Pistachio pudding. Top with crushed Heath bars.

I also have to mention that my sweet, thoughtful friend, Judy over at Judy H-J's Thoughts - A Twinless Twin, awarded me with the Kreativ Blogger's award!!! I will make a special post for that soon. Thank you so much, Judy!

Neiman Marcus Cookie Bars

I don't usually jump on the trendy food bandwagon. These bars are an exception. A worthy one. Rich enough to satisfy any sweet tooth. 

Crust:

1 package yellow cake mix
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping:

8 ounces chocolate chips
3/4 cup nuts of your choice, chopped (I used pecans)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 cup coconut (optional)

Mix crust ingredients together well. Press into bottom of 9" x 13" pan. Press in the chocolate chips and nuts. 

Sprinkle coconut over chocolate chips/nuts.

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, eggs and vanilla. Pour over pan mixture. 

Preheat oven to 300. Bake 1 hour or until top has slightly browned.

Cool and  keep refrigerated. These are great right out of the oven but even better after being refrigerated.

Special K Bars

My sister, Tanya, over at The Sunday Baker blog is the most amazing cook and baker. This recipe, as do most of my recipes, came from her. I have yet to meet a person who can stop at just one. They really are THAT good.

Ingredients:

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
4 T. butter
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
6 cups Special K cereal

Topping:

1 (6 oz.) butterscotch chips
1 (6 oz.) chocolate chips
1 square semi-sweet chocolate

Boil corn syrup, sugar and butter. Remove from heat and immediately add peanut butter. Pour mixture over cereal. Mix well. Press into 9 x 13 inch pan.

Slowly melt chips and chocolate square for topping on stove top, stirring often. Once blended, spread over cereal mixture while still warm.

Cool slightly and cut.

Double Decker Confetti Brownies

I know it's the beginning of summer and we are all working on our bikini bodies but these are worth a few extra calories. I originally made them for Spencer's last snack day in the 2nd grade. I am sure his teachers appreciated my sugar donation to the classroom.

Double - Decker Confetti Brownies

INGREDIENTS: 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbl butter or margarine, melted
1 cup M&Ms semi-sweet chocolate mini baking bits, divided

Preheat oven to 350 Lightly grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.

In large bowl, cream 3/4 cup of the butter and sugars until light and fluffy; beat in eggs and vanilla.

In medium bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder and salt; blend into creamed mixture. Divide batter in half.

Blend together cocoa powder and 1 Tbl melted butter; stir into one half of the dough. Spread cocoa dough evenly into prepared baking pan.

Stir remaining 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup M&Ms into remaining dough; spread evenly over cocoa dough in pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of M&Ms.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until edges pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely. Cut into bars.

*I used a 50/50 mixture of white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of the M&Ms.

*For neat slices, turn cooled brownies upside down onto a cutting board - the top doesn't crumble when the bars are cut from the bottom.

Delicious!

Cream Cheese Crescent Roll Bars

I am in the mood to bake. While I love to bake, I rarely make time for it. Last week I made my sister Tanya's recipe for Pudding Cookies. These cookies really are delicious. I have had many requests for the recipe. Stop over at Tanya's site, The Sunday Baker. You will not be disappointed!

The Sunday Baker <----- Click here

CREAM CHEESE CRESCENT ROLL BARS

2 (8oz.) pkg. crescent rolls

2 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg white

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. crushed nuts

1 tsp. cinnamon

1. In a 9 x 13 inch buttered pan, mold on package of 8 oz. crescent rolls to the bottom.






2. Cream 2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Spread mixture over the molded crescent rolls.




3. Mold other crescent rolls over the top of cream cheese mixture in pan. (I molded them on my cutting board as the cream cheese mixture can be messy to work with.)
4. Beat 1 egg white and spread on top layer of crescent rolls.
5. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup crushed nuts and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of egg whites.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. (I check mine starting at 20 and remove at 25 minutes.)

Enjoy!