no-bake granola bars

I printed this recipe from Enlightened Cooking a year maybe even two years ago.  It's kept making it's way into my pile of recipes to make someday and finally, finally I got around to making it yesterday morning for breakfast since we were out of eggs.  Once I tasted them I thought "how could I have gone this long WITHOUT these?"  Seriously I made them in about 5 minutes and they tasted SO good!  And they are good for you too!  The pan barely survived a whole day in our house.  Brandon and I thoroughly enjoyed them but quite honestly Jordan was probably the one who at the most.  I'm thinking she ate about half the pan by herself.  Next time I am doubling (possibly quadrupling) the recipe since this one only makes a square pan.  (No picture because these were eaten so quickly.  Sorry!)

Homemade Cliff Bars

1 1/4 cup Rice Krispies

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oatmeal

3 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1/4 cup dried fruit (we used Craisins)

1/4 cup chopped nuts (we used peanuts and sunflower seeds)

1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup, light molasses or brown rice syrup)

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/3 cup nut butter (we used peanut butter)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Optional:  1/2 tsp cinnamon (we did not use)

Combine cereal, oatmeal, flaxseed, fruit & nuts in a large bowl.

Bring the honey and brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat.  Stir in nut butter & vanilla until blended.  

Pour nut butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until coated.  Press firmly into a greased 8x8 square pan.  Cool in pan (or eat warm!) on wire rack.  Cut into 12 bars, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in fridge (if they last that long!)

*Quite honestly I got the honey & brown sugar mixture on the stove heating while I quickly mixed the dry ingredients.  This really decreased the time it took to make the bars from start to finish.

(For nutrition information per serving and other variations visit Enlightened Cooking's original post)

Fudge for One

I can't remember where I got this recipe but it is a great snack when you are craving something chocolate. It's wonderful! In fact, I'm ready to make some now...

Fudge for One

1/3 cup sugar
1 heaping Tbsp. cocoa
1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. milk
1 scant Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, cocoa and milk in 1 quart measuring cup. Microwave on high 1 minute. Stir down sides of the cup and then microwave 40 seconds more. Add butter and vanilla. Beat until thick. Let set up and cut into squares or eat warm right out of bowl! Mmmmm!!!!

Snickers Cake

This is one of my family's favorite cakes. It's called Snickers Cake. I just made it for my wonderful honey's birthday today. I got it out of a recipe book years ago.


Snickers Cake

1 pkg. German chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. caramels
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 c. walnuts
4 oz. Cool Whip

Mix cake mix as directed. Put 1/2 of the batter into a prepared 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees. Melt caramel, 1/2 c. milk, and butter in a double boiler; pour over cake. Sprinkle with 3/4 c. chocolate chips and 1 c. chopped nuts. Spread remaining batter over the top. Bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes and then for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool.

Frosting

Beat 1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding with 1 c. milk. Fold in 4 oz. Cool Whip. Spread over cake when cool and sprinkle with more nuts, if desired.


My camera's not the best for macro shots but here's a picture with the caramel middle. Mmmm!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, so anything that starts with chocolate mentioned not once, but twice in it's name you know has to be good. My grandsons were over this weekend so like any good Grandma knows you have to have cookies, right?! I mean, don't you want them to remember that Grandma's house always smelled so good and she always made the best cookies and oh, how there's just no place like Grandma's house...I know I do. I do think I have a good start on this as I know my grandsons love to come to my house. Ethan told me that he thinks these are the best cookies ever...Don't you just love grandkids? Mine are just the best! Well, on to the recipe...

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
(if I remember right this recipe is from Hershey's)

2 1/4 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) butter/margarine, softened
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. packed lt. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 c. (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
In large bowl, beat butter, both sugars, and vanilla on medium speed until creamy.
Add eggs; beat well.
Gradually add flour mixture, beating well.
Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 minutes or until set. Cool slightly, remove to wire rack.

Peppermint Dessert

I made this recipe for Christmas this year and it was a hit! I found the recipe on Katherine's blog (I find so many recipes on her blog that are amazing!) about a year ago and finally got around to making it and boy am I (and my husband & his family) glad I did! If you like peppermint, you'll love this dessert. My dad doesn't like peppermint and suggested making this with any other flavor ice cream and I think that would taste great too.

Peppermint Dessert

crust:

2 cups crushed chocolate wafers or Oreos

5 Tbsp butter, softened

first layer:

1 half-gallon peppermint ice cream, softened slightly (I just let it sit out while I made the crust)

second layer:

2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup butter

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

3 egg whites

1. Combine wafer crumbs and butter (I used my food processor to grind up the Oreos then I just added the butter and everything mixed up reallly well); reserve 1/4 cup for topping (I skipped this step just like Katherine does and used all the crumbs for the crust). Press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

2. Spread ice cream over and freeze while making the second layer. (Careful when spreading the ice cream on the top because when I did this I shifted my bottom layer around; I think my ice cream hadn't quite softened up enough).

3. In a double boiler melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and gradually add beaten egg yolks, stirring continuously. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and nuts. Mix together and cool thoroughly. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cooled chocolate mixture.

4. Spread over ice cream layer, sprinkle with reserved crumbs and freeze. Allow to soften slightly before cutting into squares and serving.

Chocolate-Caramel Candy

The most amazing candy you'll ever eat! At least that's what I think! It's very similar to a Snickers except that I always omit the peanuts. Not because I don't like them but because I just don't usually have them on hand and I'm too cheap to buy some when I know full well that this candy is perfectly delicious without them. I got the recipe from a Taste of Home Annual cookbook from 1999. There are a lot of steps involved but don't let that intimidate you because they are all very easy steps. I always use the same pan too so I'm not dirtying a ton of dishes. I rinse my pan out between the first and second layer but after that I use the same pan without rinsing and it turns out fine every time.

Chocolate-Caramel Candy

1 cup (6 oz) milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup butterscotch chips

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

filling:

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups marshmallow cream

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups chopped salted peanuts

caramel layer:

1 pkg (14 oz) caramels

1/4 cup whipping cream

icing:

1 cup (6 oz) milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1. Line 9x13 pan with foil; butter and set aside.

2. Combine the first three ingredients in a small saucpan (I always use a double boiler because I am terrible at melting chocolate any other way); stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Spread into prepared pan. Chill until set. (There is chilling time between each layer. I find that the time it takes to prepare each layer is plenty of chilling time.)

3. For filling, melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and milk; bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; boil and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in marshmallow cream, peanut butter and vanilla. Add peanuts. Spread over first layer. Chill while making next layer.

4. Combine caramels and cream in saucepan; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Cook and stir 4 minutes longer. Spread over filling. Chill while making next layer.

5. In another saucepan, combine chips and peanut butter; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Pour over caramel layer. Chill for at least 4 hours.

6. Remove from the fridge/freezer 20 minutes before cutting. Remove from pan; cut into 1-inch squares.

Yield: about 8 dozen.

Hot Fudge Sauce

This recipe is actually a frosting for cake but to me it seems more like hot fudge so thats what we use it for. It's very smooth, more like a fudge that you'd get at an ice cream place rather than a "fudgey" fudge that is almost a gritty texture.

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch

3 1/2 tbsp baking cocoa

dash salt

1 cup boiling water

3 tbsp butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, cocoa & salt until no lump of cornstarch or cocoa remain (very important - if you don't mix well enough the frosting will be lumpy).

Heat water in microwave until boiling. Place saucepan with dry mixture on an already medium hot burner. Pour boiling water over mixture and stir until thick. Take off burner and add butter and vanilla. Stir until butter is melted. Serve.