Mud Hens

Well, well, look who decided to post something after 2 years! 
So, shall we get started? Mud Hens. What are Mud Hens? Beats me. But, the better question would be, are they delicious? The answer is yes! Sweet, buttery, brown sugar goodness with a bit of saltiness. Think Kettle Corn or a Werther’s Original candy. Yum. Simple to make and no mixer involved. No mixer! Yay! Let us all take a moment for one less thing to wash…….. Okay, you can continue reading now.
Where did the name come from? After careful research I discovered that no one really knows. What I do know is that the name is also used for a minor league baseball team located inToledo, Ohio and a bird found in a marsh. If you know, please leave a comment.
Now, before someone out that goes crazy about my version of the recipe, I would like to point out that I know there is a different one involving marshmallows and chocolate chips. I also know that it is terribly southern and I live in the greatest state in the South, but I also live in an almost marshmallow free house where they are looked down upon and spoken badly of for their less than food like qualities. Don’t get me wrong, I would never say this but others have unless it is Thanksgiving and Fluff Salad is involved but I digress.

Moving on….
I would now like to share a few things that I have learned during my 2 year hiatus.

1. The statistic is somewhat true that Americans only bake 4.5 times a year. I bake more than that but it is not far off.

2. When you have a 6 year and a 3 year old you are only asked to bring/bake two things to school. Shaped sugar cookies with sprinkles and cupcakes with a ring stuck on top. Being slightly quirky *cough, cough*, I had a hard time buying store bought cupcakes. A really hard time. (Disclaimer: No one said they had to be store bought. Those came with said rings that 6 year old wanted.) I must confess that I bought them, took the rings out, baked my own, and stuck the rings in mine. Yes, I’m nuts. But, if I’m going to be a nut I would really like to be a walnut. At least they are loaded with Omega-3’s.

3. Baking powder really does settle in the bottom of the can from lack of use.

4. Baking 151 dessert recipes in a year was really kinda mean to my family. I’m sorry that you all became pre-diabetics. Hope you are enjoying my new hobby of reading until my eyeballs fall out. This one should really not affect your health as much as it is affecting mine. J

5. I have learned other things that I either do not feel like sharing or I don’t remember. A 6 year old and a 3 year old will do that to you. 

So now the big question that you all are dying to ask is if this post is the beginning of many more to look forward to in the weeks to come? Shoot no, I have 37 books on“my shelf” to read. But hey, if nothing else you never know when I might pop up.

 

Mud Hens
Courtesy of CookieClubRecipes.com

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs, well beaten
2 c. self-rising flour
1 c. pecans (I used walnuts)
2 tsp. pure vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Melt butter and add sugars. Blend well by hand (no mixer). Add beaten eggs, stir well. Add self-rising flour and stir until all lumps are gone, just until blended. Add pecans and vanilla. Turn out into a greased and floured 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread with fingers or a spatula dipped in water to cover dish. Bake approximately 40 to 50 minutes being cautious not to over cook. When cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

 

Tahiti Blondies

If you are a regular FoodNetwork watcher of the show Throwdown you might have heard of this Blondie by another name. In this particular Blondie episode, the challenger made Tahiti Blonde Sweeties. Ring a bell? I had wanted to make this dessert for a long time but never took time to find the recipe. I found this copycat recipe on cookiemadness.net a few weeks ago and just had to make it for Mr. Man’s family birthday party. Can you believe he is one? I know, me either. Anyhoo, these were really wonderful right out of the oven. Made me feel like I was sitting on a beach in a sunny destination. If you put one up to your ear you can hear the ocean.:)
Things to note. The description in the recipe for the toothpick test was brilliant. Very accurate. Next time I will not press so much juice out of the pineapple. I got a little over zealous and I guess I thought I was dealing with frozen spinach instead of canned pineapple and it was a little too dehydrated and got lost in the flavors. Finally, now you might want to brace yourself for this one, it had too much coconut. I know, such a shocker coming from the coconut queen but it was leaning too much towards macaroon for me. So I suggest loosely packing it in the measuring cup. Other than that I give it two thumbs up!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tahiti Blondies
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup macadamia nuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup Hershey’s white chips
8 oz can of unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained, and pressed dry
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment or non-stick foil.
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture, then the coconut, nuts, pineapple, and chips. Do not over mix or the blondies will be more like chocolate chip bars.
Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick test gives a moist crumb. Do not over bake. Let cool, lift from pan, cut into bars.

Banana Bread Sandwiches with Pineapple-Coconut Filling

My sophomore year of high school I took Geometry like most 10th graders in the state of Texas. However, I went to a very small school with a class of only 13 people. During this particular year my school had a hard time keeping a geometry teacher. I think we went through 3 of them. The first one quit either before school or as soon as it started, the second one found out she was pregnant on her first day, and the third one finished the year but did get married. Needless to say, I’m not the person to call when you a question about “proofs”. I thought of my crazy year of geometry as I was making this dessert. Why you might ask? Well, I will tell you.
The third teacher I had that year was the most memorable to me because she incorporated desserts into her geometry lessons. It was brilliant. I will never forget the shape of a parallelogram because of her. Every time we had a new shape to learn she would bake something and cut us each a piece in the new shape. For our final exam that year, we each got our own shape cut out of a pan of Marbled Cream Cheese Brownies. Mine, a parallelogram. Very exciting. So when I was cutting my 36 bars that were 3x1 out of a 9x13 pan. I thought of her.
So second question. Why was I making 36 bars? Well, my parents had a “Block Party” in their neighborhood and ask if I would make a few things. I thought I would give these treats a try. It was enough motivation for me to get in the kitchen since I have not had much lately. I picked this recipe out of Paula Deen’s magazine because I always have too many bananas and loved their luncheon style shape.
To me, this was a standard banana bread with a cream cheese filling full of textures from the coconut and tang of the pineapple. Very tasty and excellent for a shower or party. I have never heard of pineapple preserves before and was curious if it would be in my variety lacking grocery store. Well, no need to fear, Smucker’s makes it! I just knew my husband was going to have to scout out some for me in the Big City.
Using Baker’s Joy to spray the pan was very helpful. The cake came out with no problem. Also, 2 ½ cups of bananas was equal to 6 standard size ones. Finally, if you are good at filling celery sticks with cheese spread or making “Ants On a Log,” you will not find this treat hard to assemble.
BabyBoy will be arriving tomorrow! So, this is not good-bye, but see you later....much later.

Banana Bread Sandwiches with Pineapple-Coconut Filling
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg
¾ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 6)
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray with flour (Baker’s Joy).
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.
In a medium bowl, combine oil, eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture, beating at a low speed until combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 23-27 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely. Cut cake into 3x1-inch slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise. Spread filling evenly over bottom halves of bread. Cover with top halves of bread and refrigerate.

Pineapple-Coconut Filling
1 -8oz. pkg of cream cheese softened
½ cup pineapple preserves
¼ cup coconut
¼ cup finely chopped pecans

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and preserves at medium speed until combined. Stir in coconut and pecans. Cover and chill until ready to spread.

Can’t Leave Alone Bars

Another recipe name that lacks creativity. A few months ago I decided to join an online club called the Cookie Club. Very simple, they send you a dozen recipes a month by email and if you use one you must give them credit. No problem. Today’s recipe is one that I received but the name did not draw me to it, the ingredients did. Very moist bar cookie with a thick fudgy layer of chocolate topped off with a cookie crust. Chocolaty.
I do have some suggestions for this easy dessert. If I were going to make this bar again I would leave out one egg. You see, the crust would become the recipe for a cake mix cookie minus one egg. This would give the dessert more of a cookie crunch to compliment the fudgy filling. Also, dropping the mix on top is always such a problem. My mother, of all people, suggested that I roll the remaining dough and make a lattice-like design or just stripes. I liked this suggestion. I think that would look much better than the strange polka dots that I had on mine. Finally, nuts. I think that would be a personal choice. If you a nutty fudge person than I would say go for at least a ½ cup of finely chopped pecans in your filling.
I feel like with all my suggestions I have a totally new recipe. Hmmm, if I changed the name and used all my suggestions would I have to still give Cookie Club the credit? I don’t think so.

Can’t Leave Alone Bars
From: cookieclubrecipes.com

1 package (18 1/4 ounce) white cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk

1 c. (6 ounce) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 c. butter, cubed

In a bowl, combine the dry cake mix, eggs and oil. With floured hands or spatula, press 2/3 of the mixture into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set remaining cake mixture aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the milk, chocolate chips and butter. Microwave for 45 seconds, stir. Microwave 45 to 60 seconds longer or until chips and butter are melted; stir until smooth. Pour over crust. Drop remaining cake mixture by teaspoonfuls over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting.

German Chocolate Bars

As I am gearing up for Turkey Day, I thought I would make something not related to a pumpkin. I know, shocking. I will have plenty of those to come. I have not made Magic Cookie Bars in a long time, but I think that the two recipes are about the same. However, I enjoyed this one better because it was more like a brownie than a bar.
My Dad liked these cold and my Mom liked them hot. Me, well, somewhere in the middle I would say. Very gooey and rich, wonderful textures of coconut and nuts. The sweetened condensed milk and egg took on a cream cheese like taste and appearance to me. Give these a try; you’ll thank me for it.

German Chocolate Bars

1 18-ounce box chocolate cake mix

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan well with butter. In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, butter and egg, and press into the bottom of the prepared pan. The crust should not come up the sides. Bake for 7 minutes and remove from the oven. The crust will not look done.

While the crust is baking, in a medium bowl mix together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, egg, nuts and coconut. Pour evenly over the warm crust, sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips, and bake for 24 to 30 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting into squares.

Frosted Banana Bars

Is it me or do I make a lot of banana desserts? My family loves bananas and we usually have some in the house at various stages of being ripe. Therefore, I always have several on hand for Banana treats. This particular recipe had a wonderful smelling batter that was just like banana pudding. Yum. It was excellent slightly warm from the oven with gooey cream cheese frosting on top. BabyGirl asked for more which was a little like, “more, please, thank you, you’re welcome.” She likes to say everyone’s lines not just her own. The recipe was very straight forward with no surprises that might require a warning.
This weekend is shaping up to be a baking marathon with 3 events and 7 dishes so far. Should be interesting and a lot of fun!
Oh, I forgot to add that I made mine in a 13x9 pan instead of the one stated in the recipe. It took 33 minutes in the oven.


Frosted Banana Bars
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
FROSTING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-3/4 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in bananas. Spread into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool. For frosting, in a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Gradually beat in enough confectioners' sugar to achieve desired consistency. Frost bars. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 3-4 dozen.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

Here is a recipe that I made recently from Taste of Home. I have noticed that I make more Blondies than I do Brownies for some reason. I also noticed that Redheads have been discriminated against in the Brownie baking world. What is the deal with that? I looked for a Redhead recipe and could not find much on the subject. I did come across a cookie called Redheads made in England that uses cinnamon and ginger. They said it gives it a fiery taste just like a Redhead’s temper. Oh yes, the redhead stereotype, we all have bad tempers which is simply not true. Now what was I talking about, oh yes, today’s recipe.
I baked a half of a batch of Blondies at the same temp and time as a full batch. To me this bar was not very different from a big chocolate chip cookie. I did add about ¼ cup of chopped pecans which would be ½ cup for a full batch. The 18-20 minutes bake time is the gooey end of the spectrum so you must keep that in mind. The absolute greatest thing was that I did not have to get out a mixer and I counted that only 5 things had to go into the dishwasher. Some people clip coupons for fun; I see what few dishes I can use for one dessert. Good times.

Chocolate Chip Blondies
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla just until blended. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to brown sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

Lemon Crème Bars

Today’s recipe is one that I forgot to post from Sunday that I made for church. I found this off of the Betty Crocker website, and it again uses those packaged cookie mixes. I have used so many of them lately that one would think I had stock in the company. I don’t. I did read that Campbell Soup is one of the only stocks that has gone up in recent days. I have always heard that people eat a lot of soup when things are down. Soup makes me sad, so I do not eat it very often.
As I’m gearing up to watch the debate tonight, I think I will need a nice treat. First, I should tell you about this one. Very simple to make. The most difficult part of this dessert was squeezing the lemons, which took 3 small ones by the way. People in Sunday School have started trying to guess the ingredients in my baked goods. This week they were not so good at their game. One thought it had coconut in it, and another was sure the filling was made with cream cheese. Both were wrong. I will say this, given the types of desserts I make they would normally be correct. I will give them that. That’s all I will give them. Funny how this recipe took on so many different flavors.
I thought it tasted like a Key Lime Pie with a lot of crust. Generally, a Key Lime Pie will have a 90/10 filling to crust ratio. In this dessert, I would say the ratio would be 60/40 crust to filling. The crust had great texture with a caramel brown sugar flavor, and the filling was very lemony and thick. A little tricky to cut right out of the refrigerator, so be careful. I usually tell people that I’m stouter than I look, but I think I pulled a muscle doing this. Oh, well, there goes my image.

Lemon Crème Bars
1/2 cup cold butter
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix
1 egg
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, cut butter into cookie mix, using fork or pastry blender. Stir in egg until mixture is crumbly. Press half of cookie mixture into bottom of pan; bake 15 minutes.
3. In small bowl, stir condensed milk, lemon peel and lemon juice until thick. Spread over baked crust. Crumble remaining cookie mixture over top. Bake about 25 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set. For bars, cut into 5 rows by 5 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Bars

We were inside a lot this weekend because my husband was well, we will say he was under the weather and I needed to bake. We did venture out to a friend’s house for dinner and I brought this. See picture. I found this over at Picky Palate awhile ago when I discovered her blog.
When I was at the store collecting the ingredients for this dish I started thinking about the last time I had a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. I am not a big candy person unless it is Dove chocolate. Love it. I have a cookie jar on my counter full of Dove chocolate, not cookies. But, that is where my candy knowledge ends. Don’t get me wrong, if given a test of random candies, outside of their wrappers; I think I would pass it. So, I was standing in the candy aisle looking at the Reese’s and thinking to myself that they did not look large enough. However, probably the last time I held one was when I was a child and my hand was smaller. But, not too much smaller because I’m an adult with hands the size of a fourth grader’s. Really annoying.
This dessert was good, but I baked mine too long. The recipe says 30-40 minutes and she said it took 30 minutes for hers. At 30 minutes I did a check and it seemed too gooey so I kept it in for 5 more minutes. Too long. I think 30 minutes would have been better. Mine was a little dry on the bottom for my taste. The cream cheese layer was excellent but a little hard to spread with the Reese’s in it. They liked to clump together. Some people got a lot and some got a little. Chocolate cake, cream cheese, salty peanut butter, with melted chocolate on top, you really need to give this one a try.

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Bars
from Picky Palate
1 box devils food cake mix
1 egg
1 stick softened butter

8 oz softened cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 Cup sugar
10 regular size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, cut into little pieces

1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
4 Tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with tin foil. Spray with non stick cooking spray. Mix cake mix, egg and butter together then press into baking dish.
2. Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in egg until well combined then stir in peanut butter cups. Pour over cake layer and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cheesecake is cooked through (it only took 30 minutes in my oven). Remove and let cool completely.
3. Carefully lift bars out of dish using ends of foil. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals until melted through. Stir in heavy cream and stir until glossy smooth. Spread chocolate over cheesecake layer, cut into squares and serve.

Chocolate No Bake Candy

When I was growing up my Mimi made two kinds of Chocolate No Bake treats. The first one was called Cathedral Windows. I’m sure you have heard of them. They are made of chocolate, pecans, and colored mini marshmallows rolled into logs, chilled, and cut just before serving. Sometimes they are referred to as Stained Glass Windows but not to be confused with Stained Glass Cookies which are shortbread with melted hard candies in the center.
Back to my story. Mimi would only make the Cathedral Windows at Christmas because she said that it was the only time of year you could buy colored marshmallows. What?!?! Hard to believe, but it works as an excuse for a seven year old.
The second treat is everyone’s favorite and a staple in church cookbooks, the No Bake Cookie. Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, Butter, etc. Very tasty too. When I was around eight years old it was somehow over looked that I did not eat dinner one night, but instead only ate a rather large amount of this particular cookie and great misfortune soon followed. Needless to say, I did not partake of this treat for a long, long, time.
This all brings me to today’s recipe. The Chocolate No Bake Candy. It is much like the Chocolate No Bake cookie but a little different. Easy in that you heat it on the stovetop and simply spread it in a baking dish. The taste is very different to me. If you are a lover of dark chocolate and nuts, my, my, this is the recipe for you. I myself was thinking with every bite that it needed peanut butter. Maybe something as small as 3 to 4 tablespoons would have made a difference.
Hmmm. Cathedral Windows sound good. Guess I will just have to wait until Christmas.


Chocolate No Bake Candy
Ingredients:
3 cups miniature marshmallows (about half of 10 1/2 ounce package)
1 cup (6 ounce package) semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup butter
2 cups quick or old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla or rum extract
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Preparation:
In saucepan over low heat, melt marshmallows, chocolate chips, and butter, stirring frequently, until smooth. Stir in oats and flavoring. Spread mixture into a buttered 8-inch square pan; sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Chill thoroughly until set.Store candy in a cool dry place in covered container.

Strawberry Streusel Bars

During the storm last night I decided that I would go ahead and make something for church. However, I did not think that there would be anyone there to eat it due to the weather. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to see the sun shining. BabyGirl was excited about this also. She kept asking me yesterday where was the sun. Which in her words was more like, see sun? * she points to the sky* No, no, sun. Then we go through the whole thing again with the moon. Riveting stuff here at our house. Aren’t you glad you stopped by to read this?
I pulled several recipes out from a Betty Crocker book that involved those packaged cookie mixes. I have not really ever used those before, but I think I might like them. I did have to change a few things to fit my taste. The original recipe called for raspberry jam, but I’m not a fan. I’m also not a fan of almond extract which was in the recipe. It tastes too medicinal in my opinion. Otherwise, I baked it as stated. Very fast, very easy. The most challenging thing about this dessert was crumbling up the dough for the top layer, and of course, waiting for it to cool before tasting.
The taste was like a sweet biscuit with a bit of a crunch and jelly in the center. Great breakfast treat.


Strawberry Streusel Bars
adapted from Betty Crocker
1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
½ cup seedless jam of your choice (i.e. strawberry, raspberry, apricot, or blackberry)

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.
In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, flour, almond extract and egg until soft dough forms. Press half of dough into bottom of pan; bake 15 minutes. Spread jam over base. Crumble remaining dough over jam.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 2 hours. For bars, cut into 5 rows by 5 rows.

Congo Bars

The other night, I’m watching TV and the phone rings. I saw on the screen that it was one of the Funeral Food ladies from church. As I’m walking to the phone, I’m already coming up with a tasty dessert that I could make for an upcoming funeral. I answered the phone to hear her ask if I would make a dish, and of course I said yes. I asked her what I needed to make just hoping it would be a cake. In my mind I’m still thinking of cake recipes as she was talking. Well, low and behold, she said, “vegetable”. Vegetable! That’s not a cake. Hmmm. Well, I was going to make a Carrot Cake so there would be a vegetable in the cake. Does that count? Guess not. Perhaps one day I will draw the cake card again. Oh well. Boring Potato Casserole it will be.
Today’s sweet recipe is Congo Bars. I received another cookbook for my birthday. This one is the Joy of Cooking: All About Cookies. Great book. Love all the traditional recipes and lovely photographs. They do have a unique way of writing recipes. The ingredients are all throughout the recipe instead of listing them in the beginning. This cuts way down on redundancy, but if you are use to the standard you do have to retrain your brain. But, for continuity sake, I rewrote it in the standard form.
Here’s the thing, Congo Bars to me are a combination of a Brown Sugar Brownie mixed with a gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie. These were very tasty. For years, I thought Congo Bars had bananas in them for some reason. The name just sounds very tropical, or jungle like which makes me think of monkeys; which makes me think of bananas. See my pattern of thinking? No bananas, but they did have a great caramel/brown sugar flavor, loads of chocolate and nuts, with the thickness of a brownie. Excellent.
Three Things. Number 1, no mixer required. Just use a whisk or a spatula. Yea! Number 2, oh how it needed salt. Just a ½ of teaspoon. I read over the recipe 3 times thinking that I missed the salt somehow. No, they chose not to include it. I have a few other Congo Bar recipes and every one of them had a ½ teaspoon in their recipes. So keep that in mind. Number 3, too gooey. They needed to cook about 3-5 minutes longer. I took them out and tested them just like the recipe stated. I know that gooeyness is important, however these needed to be eaten with a spoon and plating was terribly difficult. Keep this in mind also. So, if you like Brown Sugar Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies you will love these little tasty treats.


Congo Bars
2 sticks of butter, melted (unsalted)
2 1/3 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
(1/2 teaspoon salt; I would)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
1/2 cup coconut, optional
Preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13 x 9 inch pan or line with parchment.
In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla, breaking up any lumps in the sugar. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, (salt) and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then stir in the chocolate and nuts.Spread the batter as evenly as possible into the prepared pan.
Bake until firm when lightly tapped and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out slightly wet, about 25 minutes. (I would go 3-5 minutes longer) Cool completely before cutting.

Cheesecake Bars

Update: The bars were a success! One thing that I forgot to say in the original post was that I did not use real lemon juice. I did not feel it was worth the effort for 2 teaspoons. Obviously they were looking for taste not liquid. I simply used an 1/8 of a teaspoon of lemon extract. Worked great.
They asked me why? You are doing what? That will cost a lot of money. Aren’t you going to gain weight? But, 6 months and 89 recipes later I’m still here.
It has been a big week of Ebaying, fancy things, some baking, and a little detective work on the side. I have an excellent story for you later that has absolutely nothing to do with baking, but one you will think is simply amazing. Well, I thought it was amazing, but I tend to be overdramatic about little things. I’m not going to tell you now because I would like to share it with a few other people in person.
So what is the recipe for Sunday School? Glad you asked, Cheesecake Bars. I asked for a few requests today and cream cheese was one of them. I don’t really like going to other dessert blogs to get my recipes because I feel like a copy cat. However, I ran out of time and jumped over to Cookie Madness for some help. One of the ways I try to challenge myself when baking a new recipe is to see the least amount of bowls and utensils I can use for one dessert. This one today was a one bowler and I used a sheet of wax paper to set aside my topping. Very easy. The recipe was simple and it did not take that long to bake so my oven did not heat up the house very long. Another thing I liked about this dessert is the bake time is very exact. No guesswork. yea.
Taste? Good question. Okay. You know what a moist cheesecake tastes like? Now, instead of a crumb crust, substitute a crumbled up Mexican Wedding cookie minus the powdered sugar. Wow. Excellent and I tried it before it chilled. I can't imagine how good it would be after sitting in the frig for two hours!

Cheesecake Bars
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped, toasted nuts (pecans or almonds)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square metal pan or line with non-stick foil. Beat butter, brown sugar and salt together until creamy. Add flour and stir until it is fully blended – batter will be thick and crumbly. Stir in the nuts. Measure out about 1 cup and set aside. Press remainder into bottom of pan. Bake crust for 15 minutes .Beat cream cheese and granulated sugar until creamy. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla, then add egg and milk and beat just until smooth. Pour cheese mixture over baked crust. Sprinkle reserved crumb topping over top. Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, then transfer to refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. Makes 12 bars.

Where did those come from?

Light Rocky Roads

In my short time of food blogging I have learned that dessert bloggers love two bakers, Dorie Greenspan and Maida Heatter. They talk about them all the time. I have not made anything by Greenspan, but I know that there is somewhat of a following of her recipes on a certain day of the week. They call it “Tuesdays with Dorie.” (Get it? Like “Tuesdays With Morrie,” the book.) Funny thing is she didn’t start it. She learned about it by reading someone else’s blog and saw her name. How flattering. People learn what to make of hers on Tuesdays by checking a website. Then there is Maida Heatter. She is not blogged about as much as Dorie but there is some chatter. I kept seeing her name and then thinking to myself, “why do I know that name?” Well, low and behold, I have one of her most famous cookbooks in my collection. It is called, “Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Cookies.” This is a companion to the “Book of Great Desserts.” Her claim to fame was being the creator of prize- winning New York Times recipes. Cooks love her work because she gives incredible detail in her instructions. They say it like having her right beside you as you are making one of her recipes. To me, it looks like she was getting paid by the word. Her recipes are so lengthy in directions that I tend to get lost now and then. What she says in two paragraphs about cutting a pan of brownies could be said in two sentences in my opinion. That’s just me. Below you will find one of her recipes. I tried my best not to paraphrase anything except for a couple of paragraphs at the end about how to cut the Rocky Roads into 18 pieces. Just do your best.
A few things to note: The word “light” is only used to describe the brown sugar cake and not the lack of calories. Double-acting baking powder-if you use Clabber Girl, you’re covered. I chose to use dark brown sugar myself only because I had an opened bag. Finally, after I did the spreading of the melted chocolate, I thought it looked a bit messy so I sprinkled a few finely chopped nuts on top.
What about the taste? Oh, wow. When the bars were slightly above room temperature I decided to cut a piece to try them. Ooey, gooey bites of marshmallow and nutty bliss would be the words I’d use to describe them. The cake is very thin and full of nuts. The topping is warm, sticky and messy like chocolate and marshmallow should be when mixed together.
More things to note: Serve them while they are still a bit warm. Make sure that the nuts that are in the cake are finely chopped. The chocolate can be a bit over powering. Don’t use a heaping cup of chocolate chips; make sure it is just a cup.

Light Rocky Roads
By Maida Heatter
¼ cup sifted all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon double-acting baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1/3 cup dark or light brown sugar, firmly packed
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter, melted
½ cup walnuts or pecans, finely cut

Adjust a rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350. Butter an 8 inch square cake pan.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a small bowl beat the egg lightly until it is foamy. Add the brown sugar and vanilla and beat just to mix. Mix in the butter and then the sifted dry ingredients. Stir in the nuts.
Turn the dough into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. It will be a very thin layer.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed.
Meanwhile line up the ingredients for the topping
Topping:
1 cup miniature marshmallows
2 ounces or ½ cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
6 ounces or 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately cover it with a layer of the marshmallows, then with the nuts, and then place the chocolate chips on top.
Raise the oven rack to the top position and bake the cake for only 2-3 minutes, no longer, just until the chocolate is softened but no long enough to melt the marshmallows. Immediately, with the back of a spoon spread the chocolate light and unevenly over the marshmallows and nuts, letting some the marshmallows show through in a few places.
Cool the cake to room temperature and then chill it briefly to barely set the chocolate. Cut into 18 pieces.
If chocolate because spotty, dust light with powdered sugar.

Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Hold on a second, just stuck a big gooey bite of a Banana Bar in my mouth. Sorry, you will have to make your own.
So I have wanted to make these Banana bars for a long time. We always have bananas in the house but BabyGirl eats them so quickly that they never have time to really ripen. So I deprived my child of a banana yesterday so I could make the bars today. I know, what a bad Mom. I wanted to make them last week but we received a plague of fruit flies on our house. Apparently, newly constructed houses tend to have a problem with fruit flies. Who knew? They love new drains. They also love homemade traps of vinegar and sugar which I made and left around the house. Just a tip in case they come to visit you in the future.
The bars are wonderful. Very mild banana taste. If you have ever had an Italian Cream Cake these bars will have a familiar flavor. Let me tell you, I have had my share and your share of that kind of cake. It was my Mimi’s favorite to make.
I got the recipe off of Cookie Madness a few months ago but I changed a few things for convenience. I baked mine in an 8 inch Pyrex pan and it took about 30 minutes. The cake came right out of the pan with no problem. She used Mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese and walnuts instead of pecans. Mascarpone can be pricey so I would just rather use good old Philadelphia cream cheese. Oh and by the way, 2 ounces of butter equals 4 tablespoons, and one large banana equaled a ½ cup mashed.

Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from cookie madness
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 ounces butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup toasted nuts
Frosting
3 ounces cream cheese at room temp
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 inch square metal pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
Stir together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Using medium speed, beat in the egg, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Add the bananas and stir until well mixed.
Fold in the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Fold in the nuts. Pour batter in the pan, spread to the edges and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The bars might not appear very brown, so make sure to use a toothpick test. Cool on a rack. When cool, prepare frosting.

Fudgy Brownie Bars

Here is a dessert that I made last night for Sunday School this morning. Sorry that I did not get it posted yesterday. Just wasn’t in the mood last night to post after baking because our weekend was so busy. Are you ready for this? *Drum roll* Two more weeks until our house is finished!!! I will believe it when I see it, but I’m keeping an open mind.
Moving on, the recipe called for 8 oz of milk chocolate candy. Ok, fine. So in my mind I’m thinking a Hershey candy bar. Right? I’m really not a candy person so I’m not familiar with weights and quantities of candy products. I found the Hershey bars in the store and to my surprise the average size bar is not 8 oz, no, it is only 3 oz. I’m sure my eyes got big when I read the package. So I moved over to the next size up, you know the one as big as your face. Five ounces . Just five. So I grabbed it and a three and left thinking to myself that these better be good. Mixing up the recipe was pretty standard for a bar cookie with no big surprises. I do enjoy chopping up chocolate bars I must admit. Makes me feel like a chocolatier or that I live in France.
The taste was fine. Not my absolute favorite. I thought the crust was a little flat tasting, but my husband thought it was good. He liked the crunch it gave to the bar. The crust is just a vehicle for the very fudgy chocolate and nuts. There are a lot of nuts in this and I might cut back on them next time. Make sure you do not over cook it or it will be dry. I made mine in a slightly smaller pan and baked it a little too long. You are not going to be able to do the toothpick test because of the chocolate pieces so don’t even try. Just follow the recipe.

Fudgy Brownie Bars
1 ¼ cups unsifted flour
¼ cup sugar
½ cup cold butter
1 (14 oz) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp baking powder
1 (8oz) bar milk chocolate candy, broken into small pieces
¾ cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour and the sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Press on bottom of 13x9 baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.
In a bowl, beat sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, egg, remaining ¼ cup flour, vanilla, and baking powder. Stir in chocolate and nuts.
Spread over prepared crust. Bake for 20 minutes or until set. Cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Cut into bars. Store at room temperature.

Peanut-Choco Bars

We have electricity!! *the crowd goes wild* Just a little house update for the ones who care and the ones that may not. We are now on day 80 in this crazy shaped Playhut of a rent house. It is also 24 days until BabyGirl’s birthday which is my unofficial deadline of completion. The race is on. However, I think BabyGirl will be blowing out her two candles before we haul any boxes. But, electricity is a big step in the right direction.
Now on to the food. What a week. I have been in such a quandary over what to make for Easter. There are so many events around the day that I must prioritize my time and food. Just too many things I want to make and not enough time to make them or oven space in my Easy-Bake oven in the rent house. (Note: It is a real oven; it just has a mind of its own. I often think a light bulb is the heating element.) Have I mentioned that we are on day 80. Right, right, I guess I have.
All to say, I have neglected my normal baking schedule for the week. Today’s first recipe was awful. I will not give the name of it to protect the innocent. It was one of those that was so strange I had to try it. Anyhoo, in order to get the smell out of the house I had to bake something else. I'm always leery when I bake something terrible to turn around and do something else. I would hate to have two strikes in a row. This one looked harmless. The crust seems like a lot when you pour it in the pan. I used my pastry roller to make sure it was firm in the bottom of the pan. The taste was good, very peanut buttery. You do have to wait until they have cooled to cut them or you will have a hot peanut butter mess. I did not have any peanuts or I would have put them in the recipe. That would have given them an extra added crunch.

Peanut-Choco Bars
1 pkg. white cake mix
1/2 c. plus 1/3 c. peanut butter
1 egg
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 (6 oz.) pkg. semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 c. Spanish peanuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for glass dish). In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 1/2 c. peanut butter and egg; beat on low speed until crumbly. Press firmly on bottom of greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
In medium bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and remaining 1/3 cup peanut butter; mix well. Spread evenly over prepared crust.
Top with chocolate chips and peanuts (optional).
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Makes 24 to 36 bars.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars

Today’s recipe comes from Taste of Home. It looked easy and yummy and I love cream cheese. I thought at first I might go the quick route and just use a tube of dough. You know with the time change and all. Got to find that hour somewhere. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. You see, most ready made cookie dough whether in a tub or a tube are made with powdered eggs. Powdered Eggs. Frankly, they give me the hebe gebes. It was noted in the recipe that it was fine to use your favorite cookie dough recipe as long as it made two cups. I figured out the quantities by scaling back on my cookie recipe which you will see below. One thing that is very important is that your dough is cold and your pan is well greased.
I took this to church this morning right out of the refrigerator. Shortgirl made a suggestion that it should be heated slightly before serving. When I got home, and near a microwave, I tried it heated. Wonderful. If you try it cold, it taste like a chocolate chip cheesecake with a brown sugar cookie crust. If you try it warm it takes on a different flavor like a Sopapilla Cheesecake with melted chocolate and brown sugar. Thanks shortgirl for the suggestion! It greatly improved this recipe. So keep in mind, chilled dough, greased pan, heat slightly before serving, and you will have success.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars
Ingredients
1 tube (18 ounces) refrigerated (ready made) chocolate chip cookie dough
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

or

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
¼ c + 2 tabs granulated sugar
¼ c + 2 tabs packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Directions:
If you are using refrigerated (ready made) dough; cut cookie dough in half.
If you are making your own dough, combine flour, baking soda, salt, butter, sugars, vanilla, and an egg in a medium sized bowl. Beat until well mixed. Chill dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
For crust, press half (1 cup) of the dough (ready made or your own) onto the bottom of a well greased 8-in. square baking pan. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Spread over crust. Crumble remaining dough (1 cup) over top. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Quick Granola Bars

Another recipe I wanted to try this week was an easy Granola Bar. If you had asked me on the street if I liked oats or granola I would have told you no. However, when I found this recipe from Recipezaar, I looked in our pantry and found that we have 3 different kinds of oats, two kinds of instant oatmeal, 2 kinds of granola bars, and oatmeal cookies. So I guess I do like oats. I have had a cold all week so I thought in some strange way granola sounded healthier than Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars, which is on the list to make soon. Can’t wait to try.
Things to note: Make sure you grease your pan well. I think that is another reason why I don’t make more granola. It is so sticky and I don’t like scraping pans. I used some of the leftover butter to really grease the pan, but make sure you also run a knife along the edge. Also, 3/8 cup is just another way of noting 6 tablespoons. I don’t know why they didn’t just state that in the recipe. I didn’t because I wanted to make sure you read my ramblings. Do not try these while they are hot. They taste awful. However, once they are cool they become much more flavorful and sweet.


Quick Granola Bars
2 ½ cups quick oats or rolled oats
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/8 cup butter, melted
¼ cup corn syrup or honey
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup chocolate chips or butterscotch chips (either is optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine ingredients and mix well.
Press firmly into well-greased 9"X9" pan.
Bake 22-25 minutes until golden & bubbly. Cool completely and cut into bars.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Happy Peanut Butter Lover's Day!
Many recipes include peanut butter so today was not as challenging as other food holidays like Mint Chocolate Chip day as an example. The only problem was that my time was limited. There were many things to do so I picked an easy one.
I found this in our church’s 1994 cookbook. It is a very simple recipe that needed a lot more explanation. Which I know sounds odd if it was so easy. Therefore, I rewrote the directions the way I would make this bar. It tasted a lot like a peanut butter graham cracker crust with chocolate on top. I did enjoy the taste, but my mind got to wondering on how I could improve it by topping the crust with other things besides just chocolate. A few ideas included a chocolate cheesecake layer or maybe a layer of gooey peanut butter filling like the kind in peanut butter pies. Then you would have a Peanut Butter Pie Bar, very interesting.
Things to think about for another time.
One final note, this recipe divided in half very nicely. I cut the ingredients in half and made it in an 8x8 pan.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
2 sticks of butter, melted
1 lb powdered sugar
1 c peanut butter
2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 (12 oz) package milk chocolate chips

Melt butter in a medium size pan on the stove. Once it is melted, add powdered sugar, peanut butter, and the graham cracker crumbs to the pan and stir until heated through. (1-2 minutes) Pour mixture into a large bowl and beat on medium speed until well mixed. Press mixture onto the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Melt chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave in 30 second intervals stirring in between. Spread melted chocolate over crust. Cool and cut into bars.