BIrthday Cake Bars

Birthday Cake Bar

     Hard to believe that summer is on the down swing. Now I don't want to be a party pooper, but it's sad to see these beautiful days of summer go and I know it is inevitable. When I start seeing advertisements for school supplies and for the state fair I know the days are numbered.

     I also feel it coming as my daughter gets ready to move out as she starts another chapter in her life. She'll be attending chiropractic school and she'll be moving closer to school. We've got plenty of boxes all over the family room right now.  The school is still in Minnesota, but the other side of the Twin Cities. I would hate to see her have to drive in that traffic every day. Now she'll be close to school and have a very nice place to live with some roommates.

    The recipe I'm sharing is a recipe that you could use anytime of year. It's kind of a celebratory type of treat. This past month Food Network Magazine had a nice little insert with all these fabulous bars. There are so many bars that it makes it hard to choose. I did, however, decide on this one the Birthday Cake Bar.

     A lot of these bars just start with a base bar and then you add a little something special to create a whole new bar. This one was super easy and really not that difficult to make. You do need a lot of sprinkles that I was not sure I would be able to produce, but I did with a little bit of sprinkles from various containers. The frosting was simply a can of vanilla frosting that I had on hand.

   Everyone loved these bars and I think they were gone in about a day and a half. I know I'll be making these again real soon.

Birthday Cake Bars
2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 Cups sugar
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 Cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup rainbow sprinkles (I combined a variety of sprinkles to make 1/2 cup)
Vanilla frosting and some extra sprinkles

Melt 2 sticks of butter; let cool slightly. In your mixing bowl whisk sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add butter and mix well. Stir in flour and salt. Fold in sprinkles. Pour into a 9X13 cake pan that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the edges are set, but the center is soft. Let bars cool before frosting and topping with sprinkles.

adapted from Food Network Magazine September 2015

Gingerbread Bars

Gingerbread Bars

     I finally finished my Christmas shopping today. The dogs were the last ones that I had to do. I of course went to Petco and got them each an antler bone. Those things are the greatest. They don't leave a mess and it literally takes months for them to finish one of them.

     I even finished wrapping all the presents that I bought. They are now neatly tucked under the tree and I can now work on picking up those stocking stuffers. I always am picking stuff up for the stockings up until the last minute. I already know what I want to get so hopefully I can finish that on tomorrow.

   Now my next plan of attack is baking Christmas goodies. Last year at this time I had already baked several treats, but this year I'm not doing so well. I have made Reindeer Mix a couple of times though, but I'm not sure if that counts as a Christmas goodie, although my family may disagree.

     I did bake these awesome gingerbread bars this week. I decided about an hour before bedtime that I was going to whip these up. They do not take long to mix up and the baking time is very minimal. They turned out great. They actually taste like gingerbread and are chewy and taste delicious with a glass of milk. The only thing that I would do different is I would half the recipe for the frosting. I just don't like it so sweet. My husband who does have a sweet too agrees with me (which is odd) which is something I did not expect him to say.

    Nevertheless, these are still good bars and I know I will be making them again real soon.

Gingerbread Bars
1/2 Cup butter, melted
3/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 Cup molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 Cup flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting (this recipe is halved from the original)
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons of butter, softened
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 pan.
In a large bowl combine melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and molasses. Add the egg and mix well. In a medium bowl mix baking soda, flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well. Spread dough in 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Let bars cool.

Frosting
Blend cream cheese and butter together. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until creamy. Spread on cooled bars. I store my bars in the refrigerator.

Recipe from Chef in training
     

Carmel Nut Brownie Bars

Carmel Nut Brownie Bars

     If you know anything about me you know that I love brownies. Quoting the famous Dr. Seuss,
"I will eat them in a boat. I will eat them with a goat. I will eat them here or there. I will eat them anywhere."  I'm always up for the challenge of trying a new brownie recipe.

     Today I'm reviving an old tried, but true brownie recipe. This recipe is a very old recipe that I acquired from a dear friend many years ago. We lost contact with each other over the years, but I still love making these bars.

     The nice thing about these bars is that you start with a box cake mix. About the most difficult part of the recipe is not eating the carmels as you unwrap them. I used the microwave to melt the carmels. I just stirred the mixture about every 30 seconds until it was melted.

     Hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Carmel Nut Brownie Bars
1package German Chocolate cake mix
1 can evaporated milk (small can)
6 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

nuts ( I used pecans)
1 1/2 stick butter,  melted
1 package of carmels
1/3 C milk

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9X13 pan. Combine cake mix, evaporated milk and butter. Put 1/2 of the batter in the pan and bake 6 minutes. In the meantime, combine milk and caramels in a microwavable bowl and melt in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Remove pan from oven and put chocolate chips and melted carmel mixture on top. Put the rest of the batter on top and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let them cool before cutting. Store in an airtight container.

    

Peanutty S'Mores Brownies

Peanutty S'Mores Brownies

  If you like brownies and s'mores you're going to love these bars.

  

 Ok, so it's been a few days longer than I planned on for posting this recipe, but it seems like I'm always running. I don't think I know how to relax any more. It's just go, go, go!

     My mom got suddenly and seriously ill just before Easter and it seems like now I have become a part time nurse/caregiver. Not that I mind but it's a lot of driving around. The constant doctor visits, pharmacy trips, general shopping for essentials not to mention the care of her physically and cleaning of her apartment. Whoa! That's a lot.

     It's kind of looking like she's on the mend though and hopefully things will be getting a little less hectic for me and she'll be feeling a lot better.

     I made these brownies, but forgot to take a picture of them in the pan before I left the house. When I got back the family had already cut into them, so I had to settle for a picture of a bar. Don't think any of the pictures does it justice. They just look so much better in person and they taste divine.

      Even though I sprayed the pan with cooking spray I should have sprayed farther up the sides. The marshmallows kind of stuck on the sides so just remember to spray the pan well.

Peanutty S'Mores Brownies
8-10 whole graham crackers
1 box fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients per instructions on the box)
2 Cup miniature marshmallows
1 Cup milk chocolate stars
2/3 Cup chopped peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray a 9X13 cake pan with cooking spray. Arrange graham crackers in a single layer, breaking crackers as needed to fit in all the corners. Set aside.
3. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and spread batter over the graham crackers.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Sprinkle marshmallows over top, then chocolate stars and chopped peanuts.
6. Bake 5-8 minutes longer or until marshmallows are slightly puffed and golden brown.
7. Coll completely on wire rack before cutting.

   

Happy 4th of July!

  

Frosted Banana Bars for the 4th!

Today I'm not making the typical red, white and blue recipe that you'll find on most blogs as we get ready to celebrate the fourth. However, one could easily make this recipe red, white and blue by simply adding some sprinkles.

     As I get ready to go camping I couldn't help but notice that I've got some very ripe bananas that I needed to do something with. I thought that since my son and his girl are going to the cabin I would make a pan of banana bars for them to take with. Of course I'll jazz them up a bit and add some very colorful sprinkles so they look a little more festive for the fourth.

     I've posted this recipe before on my blog, but it is truly one of my families favorites and I thought why not put a slight twist on it to make it appropriate for the upcoming holiday. Now don't worry that no one will eat these treats, they are super moist and delicious and of course once you add the red, white and blue sprinkles who can resist.

   Enjoy and have a Happy 4th of July!

Frosted Banana Bars

1/2 C butter or margarine, softened
1-1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 C (8oz) sour cream
1 t vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)


Frosting:
1 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 C butter or margarine, softened
2 t vanilla extract
3-3/4 to 4 C confectioners sugar


In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in banana. Spread into a greased 15-in X 10-in X 1-in baking pan or 2 9-in X 13-in baking pans. 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 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

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

     It's pumpkin season! I bought my pumpkin for Halloween to carve up into an awesome jack-o-lantern. Everywhere I look there is pumpkin flavored this and pumpkin flavored that and I personally love pumpkin flavored anything. I really can't get enough of it. I'm a willing participant of these yummy treasures.

     Now when I got my Taste of Home magazine there were these delicious looking pumpkin bars I couldn't resist making. They had pumpkin and cream cheese and pecans. Yum! The picture alone in the magazine was enough to make my mouth water and so I just had to make them.

     Let me just say these bars were super simple to make. They also will not last long in your house. Mine lasted 3 days tops. They are so good.   I also want to say that I've never tasted anything like them before. I know I will be making these again real soon.

     I did change the recipe slightly. It originally called for allspice and cardamom and I did not have that on hand so I just used nutmeg instead. It still turned out great.

I hope you enjoy these as much as my family and I did.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
1 1/3 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C sugar, divided
1/2 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C cold butter, cubed
1 C old-fashioned oats
1/2 C chopped pecans
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened, cubed
2 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
1 can (15oz) solid-packed pumpkin
1 t vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350. In a small bowl, mix flour, 1/4 C sugar and brown sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in oats and pecans. Reserve 1 cup for topping.
Press remaining crumb mixture on to bottom of a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. bake 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining sugar until smooth. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until blended. Pour over warm crust; sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and filling is set. Cool on a wire rack. Serve or refrigerate, covered, within 2 hours of baking.

Taste of Home Sept/Oct 2013 issue

Carrot-Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot-Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

    I don't know about you but I love zucchini! I love grilling it and using it in breads and cakes. Now I have a recipe for bars. This is quickly going to become one of my families favorites. It's right up there with my Banana Bar recipe.

     These bars are very moist, almost cake like. In fact when my husband saw the bars he quickly got himself some and came to me saying, "How come you didn't tell me we had carrot cake?" I quickly told him it was Carrot-Zucchini bars. As he gobbled down his bar he told me he couldn't taste any zucchini in it. Ha, Ha! That's the whole idea. Something that tastes good and has some goodness in it.

     I do think, however, that the next time I make these bars I'm going to double the recipe and make it in my 10.5 x 15.5 pan. Because seriously, there is only half a pan left of bars and it's been less than 24 hours since I made them. Besides I used about half a zucchini to make these and if I doubled it the whole zucchini could be used.

Carrot-Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t baking soda
3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 C light corn syrup
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 C shredded carrots
1 C shredded zucchini

Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 C powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and soda; set aside.
In a large bowl mix together brown sugar, oil, corn syrup, eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and blend well. Add the carrots and zucchini and mix well.
Spread the batter into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Place pan on a wire rack to cool.
Using an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until creamy. Spread evenly over the cooled bars.
Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

(Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

Chewy Bars

   

Chewy Bars

 Today is my 3 year Anniversary for my blog! I cannot believe that I've been blogging for 3 years. I've learned some things along the way about blogging and I hope my postings have improved with my blog.

     I also hope that people have enjoyed the recipes and commentary that fill this blog. My hope was to bring easy and great tasting recipes for people to enjoy. I hope that I have accomplished this.

     I also want to say thank you to the people that have liked my Facebook page for Melanie's Minnesota Morsels. I encourage people to like my page if they haven't done this already. It will keep you in the loop on what my plans are for new recipes to be posted.

     I also want to say thanks to my followers of this blog! I appreciate you wanting to know when I've posted a new recipe and actually looking forward to what new dish I'm making. If your not a follower give it a try. You just might like it.

     Today the recipe I chose was a treat that my mom use to make and since my mom taught me how to cook I felt it was only appropriate to share a recipe that she handed down to me. These bars are called Chewy bars for good reason. The oatmeal base is very chewy and sweet. The frosting is a chocolate peanut butter combination that compliments the oatmeal bar wonderfully.

     Give them a try and let me know what you think.


Chewy Bars
4 cups dry oatmeal (I've used quick oats and old fashion oats)
3/4 cups butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1 teaspon salt

Melt butter in the microwave. While butter is melting combine in a mixing bowl the oatmeal, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Once the butter is melted add to this combination and mix well and press into a buttered and floured pan. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until light brown and bubbly.
Melt in a microwave
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
Mix well and spread over warm bars. When cool, cut in bars and store in a  cool place to keep good and chewy.

Fruity Rice Krispie Bars

Fruity Rice Krispie Bars

     It's turning out to be a beautifully hot summer. I am enjoying every single day of sun, heat and yes, even the humidity. That's what summer is all about after all. Every morning I get up and take my dogs for a walk and then I go out on my deck and drink my coffee with my dogs in tow. We enjoy the ducks and geese out on the pond and any other little critter we might get to see while taking in the beauty of summer.

     Now with the heat one does not want to turn the oven on and make the house any hotter. That's why usually I try to use the grill as much as possible or even use the microwave. 

     One treat that reminds me of summer is Rice Krispie bars. It can be made using the microwave and they are delicious. One can also use different flavored rice cereal to make this treat and I just happened to use fruit flavor rice cereal this time. You can use regular rice cereal or even chocolate flavored rice cereal. All of these choices are crowd pleasers.

     When you make these treats don't forget to use cooking spray on the spatula. That way when you are scraping the mixture out of the bowl it won't be so difficult and spreading it in the pan will be much easier too.

Fruity Rice Krispie Bars
3 T butter
1 package of large marshmallows
6 C fruit flavored rice cereal

Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Place butter and marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Take bowl out and stir. Place back in microwave and cook on high for 30 seconds. Take bowl out and add the cereal. Mix well. Spray a spatula with cooking spray and scoop mixture into the pan and spread evenly in pan. Let bars cool and set up before cutting. Store in an air tight container.

    

Cheerio Treats

    

Cheerio Treats

Today is graduation day from Skills training for my son. He just finished all his training in anticipation of becoming a police officer. Very exciting!

     I know that I talked about the college graduation in May, but this is different. This class was training that was to prepare him for being an officer. He always had stories to tell as everyday was different and sometimes challenging. 

     We are traveling down to Mankato for the ceremony.  Then after the ceremony we will be packing up what is left in his apartment and bringing it home. We shouldn't have too much left to bring home. Thank goodness it was a furnished apartment.

     He also just got his gun permit so he is ready to purchase his handgun. That is our graduation gift to him. I think he already knows what he wants he just needs to go and check out a few guns for fit. Yes, I said fit. It has to feel comfortable in ones hand, so he'll be seeing which one fits better.

     Oh and for those of you that are cringing with the idea of a gun in the house don't worry. He will have a gun safe to keep it out of the wrong hands.

     So the recipe I am posting today is an easy and quick treat to make. Also you don't have to use the oven and heat up the house. All you need is the microwave.

     These have become a favorite for my family. They don't last very long in my house, so be prepared to make a second batch.

     This recipe is from Taste of Home and the original recipe calls for mini marshmallows, but I have used both mini and large marshmallows. Hope you enjoy them as much as my family does.

Cheerio Treats
1 pkg mini marshmallows
3 T butter
1/2 C peanut butter
5 C Cheerios
1 C M&M's

Place butter and marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. 
Take out of microwave and stir in peanut butter. Add Cheerios and mix well. Add M&M's and mix lightly. Spread in a 9X13 pan that you have sprayed with cooking spray. It will help if you spray a spatula with cooking spray when you are spreading it in the pan. Let it cool down and once it is cool cut into squares.  

    

Peanut Butter Swirl Bars

     Last night was one heck of a storm here in the Twin Cities. I could not believe how violent the winds got. It was really scary. Streets and highways were flooded. Thousands of people are without power and are not expected to get power until at least Monday.

     I'll say it again it was really scary! The sky just got black out and the rain and the wind where intense. At one point my husband and I were looking out the living room wind and the trees came swooping towards the house and we both jumped back from the window. At that point I went downstairs and gathered the doggies to go into the crawl space.

     Well once the storm had subsided I decide I needed something sweet to eat. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted, so I started looking through my recipe box. Yes, this time I did not resort to the web for a recipe. This time I looked up an old favorite, something that I've never seen on Pinterest or on any recipe post for that matter.

     This recipe I have no idea where it came from but it is almost cookie like. If you like peanut butter and chocolate you will like these bars. I also like it because more than likely you will  have all the ingredients in cupboard. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Swirl Bars

Peanut Butter Swirl Bars
1/2 C peanut butter
1/3 C butter, softened
3/4 C brown sugar
3/4 C crystal sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
6 oz. chocolate chips

- Combine peanut butter, butter & sugars.
- Beat in eggs & vanilla.
- Blend in flour, baking powder & salt.
- Spread in greased 9x13 pan.
- Sprinkle with chips.
- Place in 350 degree oven for 3 minutes.
- Remove & run a knife through dough to marbalize.
- Return to oven and bake 25-30 minutes.
- Cool & cut.

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake

     I must confess that I am an addict. A chocolate addict. I will eat or drink just about anything that is chocolate. I really do not turn away anything that has chocolate in it .

     I buy coffee creamer that is chocolate. I keep a stash of small chocolate bars on hand at all times. I buy chewy granola bars either with chocolate chips in it or covered with chocolate. My cereal is chocolate for heavens sake!

     Just about everyone knows of my love of brownies, preferably with chocolate frosting on top. I use to always buy the Little Debbie brownies so I could easily get my fix. Now I keep a box of brownies on hand at all times so I can make a pan when ever I have the urge, or should I say need.

      Yeah, there's nothing like eating something chocolatey when you are bummed or stressed out. For some reason it just makes a girl feel good all over. I never feel guilty either about eating chocolate. It just defeats the purpose.

     I came across this cake on Pinterest called Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake. The picture looked amazing and it looked very quick and easy to make so I decided to give it a try.

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake

 
     So here I was baking at 9:30 at night this chocolate dump cake. No one but me and the dogs were home and so I thought why not! I was sure that others would appreciate my effort once they tasted it.

     All my ingredients amazingly came from Aldis so this is a really cheap chocolate fix for anyone. I'm going to have some of this tonight with a scoop of ice cream on top drizzled with either caramel sauce or chocolate sauce. All of these are from Aldis too.

     So give this one a try. You'll be glad that you did.

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake

1 chocolate boxed cake mix
1 small package of chocolate pudding
1 1/2 C milk
1 1/2 C (large handful) Chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the pudding with the milk using an electric mixer. Add the cake mix and mix with mixer well to combine. The batter will be thick.
Spread batter into a greased 9X13 inch pan. Sprinkle chips on top.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges pull away from sides.
Allow to cool slightly before cutting.

    

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

The past five days have been very busy for me and my family. My brother and is daughter were in town from Utah for his oldest daughters wedding. We have been anticipating the big event for some time now and we were all so excited to be together again for some fun family time.

The wedding ceremony and the celebration that followed was extraordinary! Everything went relatively smooth with maybe a few bumps, but nothing that was not fixable. Fun was had by everyone that participated and/or attended the festivities.

Yesterday the newly married couple went off on their mini-moon and my brother and his younger daughter flew back to Utah in the early afternoon. I guess it is back to reality for all of us now, but we sure had a good time these last five days.

So now I'm trying to get back to doing some more blogging now that things have settled down. Today I was so wanting something sweet and I started looking through some recipes that I've been wanting to try and I came across this brownie recipe. This is not your usual brownie though. This has cookie dough on top of the brownie. Just look at that picture it looks so darn good.

I found this recipe on The Brown Eyed Baker's blog. I made a little change to the recipe and they taste amazing. Give this one a try. They are easy and irresistible. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies
Brownie part
4 ozs. unsweetened chocolate 
1 C butter, softened to room temperature
2 C brown sugar
4 eggs
2 t vanilla extract
1 C all-purpose flour

Preparing the brownies
Preheat the oven to 325. Liine a 9x13 pan with foil, hanging the foil over all four sides. Spray the foil with cooking spray and set aside.   
Melt the chocolate in the microwave using 30 second increments, stirring after each time. Once it is melted set it aside.
In a large bowl mix the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix with mixer until well blended. Add the melted chocolate and combine well. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and mix until combined.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in teh center comes out clean. Let brownies cool completely.

Cookie Dough part
3/4 C butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 C brown sugar
3/4 C sugar
3 T milk
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparing the Cookie Dough
In a medium bowl combine the butter, brown sugar, and sugar and mix with and electric mixer on medium speed. Add the milk and vanilla and combine well. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour until combined. Using a rubber spatula stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread the cookie dough over the cooled brownies. Refrigerate for one hour or until the dough is firm. Remove the brownies from the pan by lifting the foil up. Cut the brownies into squares and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Makes approximately 32 brownies.  

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites

Ok I think I just might have died and went to heaven. I made one of the best little treats of chocolate and peanut butter combinations that I have ever tasted. They are the perfect balance of chocolate and peanut butter. They are just small enough to pop in your mouth and enjoy. I do want to warn you that it may be hard to stop eating these babies.

Those that know me know that I love chocolate. I especially love brownies. I get a lot of compliments on my brownies that I make, but I can't take all the credit. I basically use a box mix from Aldi's to make them. Put a little canned chocolate frosting on top and you have perfection. I'm thinking that I can't really take credit for making really awesome brownies.

So... these little brownies are a bit of a step up for me. Just a wee bit more work was involved, but not much. I can see serving these at a dessert table.What a wonderful little dessert option. Just enough of a sweet chocolate peanut butter combination.Yum! I'm thinking I might have to make these for a little family gathering.

The original recipe I found on Pinterest and I had to make some changes to make it work for me,but it is still super good and takes less ingredients to make than the original. This recipe is an adapted recipe from Baked Perfection.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bite
1 box of brownie mix
1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C creamy peanut butter 
mini cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 mini-muffin cups with liners.
Prepare brownie mix according to box directions. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into center comes out slightly wet. Remove from pan and cool. The centers of the brownie will fall upon cooling. If they don't you can use the back of a melon baller to indent the center of the brownie. Line the pans again and bake 24 more brownies.

Place peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30-40 seconds.While brownies are still warm put melted peanut butter into indentation and top with 3-4 chocolate chips. Cool completely. 

Lemon Bars

Lemon bar

Ohh, yesterday was so beautiful. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. We had so many ducks and geese out on the pond it was unbelievable. I even got a sneak peek at the fox that roams the neighborhood late in the afternoon. My dogs were loving laying in the sun on the deck, just soaking up rays.

Now me, I had other things on the agenda yesterday. I just had to do some heavy duty cleaning in my house. I did, however, take several breaks to go outside. I even made an excuse to be outside for awhile. After all, someone had to sweep up all those seeds and seed pods from the trees. Plus I had to survey the cushions for the outdoor furniture that I want to recover.

Well I finally got all my cleaning done and I got to thinking about food. I felt like making something that was sweet, but doesn't make you feel so guilty when you indulge. I knew just the ticket. Lemon bars. My daughter had mentioned it early this week and I thought this was the perfect treat to make.

I haven't made lemon bars in a very long time so I had to dust off my recipe. Thankfully I had everything that I need and I went to work making them. This recipe is kind of a two parter recipe, so be warned that they can't be made real quick. First you have to make the crust. Then you have to let it cool. After it is cooled you make the yummy lemon part and you bake it again. Even though it takes a little time they are worth it.

So give it a try. I'm sure you're going to love them.

FYI this is a recipe that I got from my mom a long, long time ago. I do not even know where she got the recipe from.

Lemon Bars
1 C flour
1/2 C butter
1/4 C powdered sugar
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 C sugar
1/4 t salt
3 T lemon juice
2 T flour
1/2 t baking powder

Cream flour, butter and powdered sugar. It should start to kind of ball up when it is ready. Press into an 8 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Take from oven and cool.
Mix eggs, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Add 2 T flour and baking powder. Mix well. Pour over cool crust and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Take from oven and cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still a little warm.
You can double this recipe to make a 9 X 13 pan of bars.

Homemade Samoas Bars

It's that time of year again where we all are ordering those delicious Girl Scout cookies. I tend to have a few favorites that I buy hoards of each year. I end up throwing them in my freezer and we try to slowly eat them. That doesn't happen very often, the slowly part. Girl Scout cookies never last very long in my house.

One of my family favorites is the Samoa cookies. You know those cookies with the chocolate bottom and the coconut caramel topping. Whenever we have those in the house we practically fight over them. Someone is always accusing someone else of eating the whole box.

Now I think I've found a recipe that is pretty close to the famous Girl Scout cookie. It is in the form of a bar instead of a cookie, but they are still yummy none the less. I found this particular recipe on Baking Bites and she does have other mock Girl Scout cookie recipes. This one just happen to also be a bar recipe.

The only issue I had with this bar was the cookie part was a little crumbly. I had a really hard time with the dipping of the chocolate bottom, so I kind of just spread chocolate on the bottom. I'm thinking that I shouldn't have baked the bottom quite so long. I think my oven is just a little bit hotter.

Now this recipe will no way deter one from purchasing a box of cookies from your local Girl Scout, but it sure might help the time pass quicker as you wait for your order. It also might help you make through those times that you are craving them, but have none left in the freezer. So still put your cookie order in and in the mean time bake up a batch of these and enjoy.

Homemade Samoas Bars
1/2 C sugar
3/4 C butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 t vanilla extract
2 C flour
1/4 t salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9 X 13 baking pan. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. 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 a wire rack before topping.
Topping
3 C shredded coconut
12 oz caramels
1/4 t salt
3 T milk
10 oz dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)
Preheat oven to 300 F. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.
When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter.
Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 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 or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate into a bag or ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.
 

Almond Bars

Well today is the day I try something new! 

I've been looking and looking at this recipe from a church cookbook and I just couldn't resist anymore. I just had to make these bars. I guess being home by myself didn't help the cause. I know I'm trying to watch the sweets intake here, but these just sounded too good to pass up any more.

After looking over the ingredients for about the billionth time.... butter, check... powdered sugar, check.... cream cheese, check..... slivered almonds, check! All the other stuff regular staples of my pantry.

So I'm started mixing the ingredients for the crust. Going good, but make sure the butter is really soft or it is a pain to mix it well. I pop it in the oven to bake. Smells great!

Then it's filling time. I soften the cream cheese in the microwave.Add the sugar, eggs and almond extract!! Holy crap my almond extract is gone! I resolve to use vanilla extract and it proves to be just as good. No fears here. So I blend this with the mixer and pour over the crust and bake again.

Finally it's on to the frosting. I find I have to wait for the bars to cool before frosting so I step away for awhile and come back later to whip it up and add to the bars.

These bars are quick and simple to make and they taste absolutely wonderful. Now the recipe did call for almond extract and if I wasn't out I would have used it, but it still tasted great with the vanilla. I'm starting to think that maybe another flavor of extract like lemon or something like that would also taste great.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Almond Bars
Crust
1C butter
2 C flour 
1/2 C powdered sugar

Mix butter, powdered sugar and flour. Pat evenly into a 9 X 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Filling
1-8 oz pkg. cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 t almond extract (I used vanilla)

Mix cream cheese, eggs, sugar and extract. Pour over crust while still hot. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Cool.

Frosting
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1 1/2 T milk
1/4 C butter
1 t almond extract (I used vanilla)
sliced almonds

Mix powdered sugar, milk, butter, and almond extract. Spread evenly over bars. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top.

Frosted Banana Bars

Well I'm off to visit my kids at college today. I of course needed to bring along some yummy treat baked with love. Now what to bring that they just don't get at school. 

Hmmmm! How about Banana Bars?

Why yes! They are yummy. They are something that not many people can make as good as me. At least that's what I'm told. And the best part....I've got some bananas that need to be used asap.

Now this recipe I found in a Taste of home collectors edition. It does make a lot of bars, but one can just use two cake pans to make these and freeze one until ready to use. I suppose one could also cut the recipe in half too. I've never done this because my family eats these up within a couple of days.

One needs to keep in mind that these bars must be kept refrigerated. So plan on making some space on a shelf in the fridge. Also yogurt can be substituted for the sour cream. I use vanilla yogurt when I have to make a substitution.

I will post a picture soon, but for now enjoy. 

And now what you've been waiting for..... the recipe of course.


Frosted Banana Bars

1/2 C butter or margarine, softened
1-1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 C (8oz) sour cream
1 t vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)


Frosting:
1 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 C butter or margarine, softened
2 t vanilla extract
3-3/4 to 4 C confectioners sugar


In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in banana. Spread into a greased 15-in X 10-in X 1-in baking pan or 2 9-in X 13-in baking pans. 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 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

Banana Nut Brownies

My day started out like most other days. I got up at 7:00, threw on shorts and a t-shirt and took the dogs for their morning walk. Upon arriving back home I went to the kitchen to get my coffee brewing and there it was. Those two over ripe bananas looking me in the face saying, "When are you going to bake me into something?" Now I know that everyone has faced this issue and I'm betting a lot of you just decide to make banana bread or even throw them out. Well gosh I just couldn't make banana bread again and I just wasn't in the mood for any type of banana muffins and the baker in me couldn't throw those bananas away. I decide I needed to search for a recipe that had bananas in it, but something different from the ordinary. I NEED TO SAVE THOSE BANANAS!

My first step was to browse the bookshelf in my kitchen that holds my most beloved cookbooks. After perusing the titles I decided I'd take a look at The Ultimate Cookie Collection by Taste of Home. This book is chock full of various cookies, brownies, and bars. It has a plethora of scrumptious snacks that never fail to make the grade.

Now if you know anything about me you know that I LOVE BROWNIES! It doesn't matter if they are frosted or plain, with or without nuts, Blond brownies or chocolate brownies, I love them any way, shape or form. So it probably comes as no surprise that when I saw the recipe for Banana Nut Brownies I knew instantly that I had to make them. I mean first it was a brownie recipe. Secondly it was chocolate. And lastly it was a great way for me to use those bananas.

Well I baked up this wonderful treat and they are wonderful. As they are baking you can smell a hint of banana and upon tasting one they are delicious. They are moist and oh so airy light. It was hard to eat just one, so I had two. Give this recipe a try and see if you like it as much as me and my daughter did.

Banana Nut Brownies

1/2 C butter, melted and cooled
1 C sugar
3 T baking cocoa
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 T milk
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 C mashed ripe bananas (2-1/2 to 3 medium)
1/2 C chopped walnuts
Confectioners' sugar, optional

1. In a bowl, combine butter, sugar and cocoa. Stir in eggs, milk and vanilla. Blend in flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in bananas and nuts.
2. Pour into a greased 9-inch (I used an 8inch) square baking pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until the top of brownie springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar if desired. Cut into bars.