salt river bars

Do any of you remember these christmas "crack"er candy?  My butt and thighs still remember them.  I may have mentioned that they are so simple and so sinful and so stinking addictive.  Well guess what?  If those are crack then these babies are crack on steroids.  I don't know what that means but, these have all the ingredients in the crack but, then you add peanut butter chips and layers.  I don't know any instance that peanut butter and layers have made a treat worse.  

I brought these to a progressive dinner party this weekend.  They were at the last stop.  I think there was only one piece left at the end of the night.  My friends are funny.  I think I have funny friends.  Mind you this was the last stop of the night (aka very inebriated) but, these elicited comments such as ...

"How did you get the air in those?"

"Can I drop off a gift card to Ralph's off on your doorstop tomorrow in exchange for these?"

"Don't tell my wife I am having another one."

I find it funny how sometimes the easiest recipes generate the biggest reaction.  If you have a potluck, party or any other get together if you bring these you will be a hero.  Possibly even hoisted up in a chair and carried around the room.  I am just say-in!

salt river bars

adapted: bakergirl

45 club crackers
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup peanut butter chips
3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1 tsp oil
coarse sea salt

Line an 8x8-inch pan with foil, allowing the edges to hang over the side, and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Place 15 crackers in the bottom of the pan (3x5) To make three layers, divide the peanut butter chips into thirds and sprinkle 1/3 over the crackers.

Melt butter and brown sugar in a pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly and smooth and a creamy caramel color, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/3 of the caramel over the peanut butter chips and crackers, then add another layer of crackers, peanut butter chips, and caramel, then repeat again for a third layer.

Melt the chips and oil.  Stir every 30 seconds until smooth.  Pour over the crackers, spreading evenly with a small offset spatula.

flourless peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies

 

My nutritionist told me I should reduce the amount of gluten I eat.  There are a few claims I want to make ....

1.  These cookies are gluten free.  I think they are but, I am not entirely sure.  I am not stamping the package with that claim but, I think they may be. 

2.  I made these cookies because I thought they were gluten free and my nutritionist may be more pleased with my choice of dessert if it was gluten free.  

I wish those claims were true but, the truth is I made these because I had never made a flourless cookie and I was curious.  I love peanut butter cookies.  I love really big, really soft criss crossed impressed peanut butter cookies.  These cookies are not those.  They are not a sturdy cookie.  They have a very crumbly texture but, it is good because you can taste the intense peanut flavor.  These could not be easier to make.  Measure, dump, mix, bake, cool and eat.  Grab your kids and let them make these today.  Have fun in the kitchen with the kids making an easy yummy cookie that may be gluten free.  Just don't throw them in your diaper bag and go to the park because they will end up in tiny pieces and there will be a kid at the park that is allergic to peanuts or a mom who gives you a stink eye when you pull a cookie out of your diaper bag.

flourless peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies

source: southern living

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together peanut butter and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. Stir in mini chips.

Scoop dough and place 2 inches apart onto silpat lined baking sheets.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets on a wire rack 5 minutes. Transfer to wire rack, and let cool 15 minutes.

strawberries and cream bars

I must be a glutton for punishment.  After I explained the fig ice cream revolt which took place in my home and left me with over a pint of fig ice cream to consume on my own I go ahead and take fresh strawberries and turn them into these babies.  After a weekend of really bad food choices I thought a fresh light dessert would be perfect for this week.  All eyes gleamed with excitement when I set these bars down on the table after dinner.  Kids quickly blew through the cream topping.  Once they hit the strawberry portion sweet faces turned evil and then disgust spread across them.  No fluffy sweet cream topping was going to fool them into a bite of strawberry puree.  No way.  Luckily I had a few red vines stashed away that I could calm them down with.  The only fruit lover in this house thought they were refreshing and light on a hot summer night.  I am not sure if my thighs, butt and kids are going to forgive me.  Message is loud and clear ... no fruity desserts.  This is going to have to be my mantra.  If they don't like pumpkin then we may come to blows because I am not missing out on my absolute favorite fall flavor.

strawberries and cream bars

source: everyday food

2 pounds of strawberries, hulled and halved. (6 cups)
1 1/2 cups sugar
coarse salt
7 large egg whites
2/3 cup cold heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a blender, combine strawberries, 3/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt. Puree until smooth. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Transfer to freezer and scrape with a fork every 30 minutes until mixture is thick and slushy, 2 hours. Smooth top with rubber spatula.

In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat egg whites on high until foamy. With mixer on medium, gradually add 3/4 cup sugar. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, 3 minutes. In another bowl, beat cream and vanilla on high until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold whipped cream into the egg white mixture.
Pour over strawberry mixture and smooth with rubber spatula. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours. Makes 12 bars. Everyday Food.

fresh fig ice cream

There is a fact in my house that I continue to fight.  I simply can't accept this truth.  I can't get my head around it.  There are four people living in this house and one of them loves fresh fruit and the other three won't touch it.  They won't touch it raw, cooked, baked, blended, juiced  or pureed.  I have tried it all.  I have tried to be sneaky and they continue to revolt.  I feel as if the mom police are going to arrest me because I am not getting enough fruits into my children.  We went to celebrate Great Grandma's birthday and she has the most amazing fig tree on her property.  This tree is filled with huge ripe gorgeous black mission figs.  The kids had fun picking a tray for me to bring home.  The ice cream maker has been churning almost every other day here so, I thought fig ice cream would be the perfect way to get the family to enjoy figs.  I made the ice cream at night so, no one would see the beautiful figs be cooked down to jam.  I even strained the jam to get the little crunchy fig bits out.  I pulled out all the stops.  In the morning I put the ice cream into the maker and it produced this divine dark purple ice cream.  I gave Carter the spatula as I was scraping out the bowl.  His eyes were wide with excitement.  He took a bite of "purple ice cream" and he said yum as the spatula was in his mouth and before a smile could spread on my face he exclaimed "yuck, yuck yuck!" while spiting and convulsing.  After this display obviously little sister wasn't trying it and hubby responded I hate figs.  There I was left with one and a half pints of decadent fig ice cream all for me.  If you like figs this is excellent and I think it would make a very nice addition to a fancy cheese course dessert drizzled with honey.  Since I can't get my family to eat fruit I know a cheese plate for dessert will not fly either ... a mom can dream.

fresh fig ice cream

source: the perfect scoop

2 lbs fresh black mission figs (~20)
1/2 cup of water
1 lemon
3/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of freshly squeezed, lemon juice, or more to taste

Remove the hard stem ends from the figs, then cut each fig into 8 pieces. Put the figs in a medium, non-reactive saucepan with the water, and zest the lemon directly into the saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8-10 minutes until the figs are tender. Remove the lid, add the sugar and continue to cook until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Blend together with cream and lemon juice, chill in the fridge overnight and then put in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions.

soft pretzel bites

The first blog assigned to me for the secret recipe club was Katie's blog betcha can't eat just one .  Katie is a mom that lives in Canada and not only takes care of her children but, also runs a daycare.  How she finds time to make the amazing food on her blog is beyond me.  I can barely get a meal on the table with my two kids!  I was immediately sucked in once I discovered Katie's blog and loved how so many of her recipes were geared toward family fare and allowing the kids to get involved.  I have always wanted to make pretzels and once I saw Katie's plump soft pretzels I knew I had to give them a try.  After I had the dough made I set it up at the kitchen table for the kids to help.  I was thinking fun this will be just like play-dough but, we will produce amazing looking and tasting pretzels.  Boy was I wrong.  The dough was getting squeezed and pulled by the kids but, noting was resembling a pretzel.  I gave up and just let them play will a ball of dough and at that point I opted for bites rather then a pretzel shape.  I was in survival mode and needed to save as much dough as possible from the grips of my kids.  I did half of the bites with salt and half with cinnamon and sugar.  The kids hands down liked the cinnamon and sugar version better.  I however, loved the salted version dipped in spicy mustard.  The outside was golden and the inside was soft and chewy.  They were delicious and I know this is a recipe and a blog I will come back to over and over.

soft pretzel bites

adapted: betcha can't eat just one

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (or 1 pkg)
• 3 1/2 -4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp water
• Coarse salt and/or cinnamon and sugar for topping pretzels. 

Mix the warm water, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.  Mix for 102 minutes to incorporate.

Add 3 1/2 cups of the flour, salt and melted butter.  Begin to knead the mixture, adding flour until the dough is soft and smooth.  Continue to knead with dough hook for 4-5 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise, covered in a draft free area until doubled in bulk.  Usually about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line baking pans with parchment paper or silpat. 

Bring water and baking soda to a boil in a large pot on the stove.  Be sure to use the full amount of baking soda, it really helps achieve the chewy texture!

Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 8 portions.

Roll each portion of dough into a rope roughly 18″ long.  Cut into 1" pieces.

Once pretzels bites are formed, place 5-10 at a time in the pot of boiling water and baking soda for about 30 seconds.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pretzels to your prepared baking sheet.

Brush each pretzel with the water/egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with salt or cinnamon and sugar.

Bake pretzels for 15-20 minutes, rotating pans half way through the baking time.  Remove from the oven when the pretzels turn a deep golden brown.

chocolate pudding pie

Are you feeling dangerous?  This pie is dangerous.  Dangerous in the summer when you are suppose to be prancing on the beach in a swimsuit after your children.  It is a rich chocolaty cookie crust with chocolate mixed into the crust.  Who ever thought of that is a genius.  Then the crust is filled with thick chocolate pudding and a dollop of whipped topping.  The first bite has so much chocolate flavor and such great textures with the cool silky pudding to the crunchy crust that you will have to take another bite and another because you can't believe this is from cooking light. A small slice is all it takes to satisfy but, it is hard to stop there.  All I know I am thankful for this pie and a good spray tan.  Happy summer!

chocolate pudding pie
adapted: cooking light

30 chocolate wafers (such as Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers)
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon canola oil
   
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
2 large egg yolks
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
frozen whipped topping, thawed

To prepare crust, place wafers in a food processor; process until finely ground. Add 3 ounces melted chocolate and oil; process until blended. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Freeze 15 minutes or until set.

To prepare the filling, combine sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt in a large saucepan; stir with a whisk. Add half of milk and 2 yolks; stir with a whisk until smooth. Stir in the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 4 ounces chocolate, and stir until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap; chill 4 hours or until set. Serve with raspberries and whipped topping.

soft chocolate chocolate chip and toffee pudding cookies

The blog community is this crazy group of people who come from all different parts of the globe but, come together over a common interest.  Friendships are made, secrets revealed, lessons taught, and laughter shared all via a keyboard, camera, and screen.   I have been a lurker for over a year now.  I have sat on the play ground and watched the cool kids play together.  I never asked to play but, I did admire them with such envy.  Last month I saw a post about the secret recipe club.  I loved the concept.  You get assigned a blog and then you get to make anything you want from their blog.  This was such a fit for me.  I got to read a new blog and make something that I was interested in and fit my family.  Many of the groups don't fit my needs and I can't waste food.  I reached out to the hostess and with in a few minutes I had a friendly greeting and a play date with the cool kids.  I like being cool.  I was assigned group B which will post next week but, one of the hostesses reached out to the group to help support an orphaned blog in group A.  This was my chance to be a part of the community.  A community that reaches out and helps when needed.  The help is given no questions asked to people you have never met face to face.  I think that is rad.  I think kindness is rad.  Almost as rad as these soft chocolate milk chocolate chip and toffee cookies adapted from connor's cooking.  The call went out to the group Tuesday afternoon.  I quickly got sucked into connor's cooking blog who is written by a mom who enjoys baking and cooking for friends and family.  These are my kind of recipes.  They are ones my family would love.  From oreo turtle brownies, to cinnamon bear popcorn, to chocolate dipped pretzels and hot chocolate cupcakes.  When I saw these soft chocolate chip cookies I was fixated.  I am not sure if it was the picture of the golden soft puffy cookies or her adorable 2 week old babe but, I was sold.  I came down to the kitchen to find out I was out of vanilla pudding and only had chocolate.  We love pudding cookies so, I followed the recipes with the exception of subbing chocolate pudding for the vanilla and instead of 2 cups of semi sweet chips I subbed 1 cup milk chocolate and 1 cup heath toffee bits.  They came out so soft and packed with bits of sweet toffee and chips.  This is a great recipe which can be customized so many ways.  It is adaptable just like this group of food bloggers that I am very excited to join.

soft chocolate chocolate chip and toffee pudding cookies

adapted: connor's cooking

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
1 small package instant chocolate pudding

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 ¼ cups flour
1 cups heath toffee bits

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat over to 350.  

Cream butter and sugars. Scrape down sides if needed.  Mix in package of chocolate pudding. Add in eggs and vanilla. Add baking soda and flour and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and toffee bits until combined. Scoop onto cookie sheet. Bake for ~10 minutes.