EASY BUTTERSCOTCH CANDY BARS

This delicious recipe (posted by Ellen b. over at MGCC) was originally a cookie bar; but you know me, I can't leave a recipe alone, so I doubled the topping ingredients and the end result was almost like a candy bar. I served them at a BBQ, recently, and they were inhaled by kids and adults alike. They are SO easy to make, but a warning here... they are totally addicting!!

COOKIE BASE (original version)
1½ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter (room temperature)
¾ cup brown sugar

Mix the flour, salt and brown sugar, then cut the room temperature butter into the mixture. To do this, I used my stand mixer with a wire whisk on medium high and it gave me fine crumbs like this, which is perfect. Put the crumbs into a 9 x 13 baking dish that has been sprayed with vegetable spray.

Level the crumbs out with your fingers and then pat them down evenly. I used the bottom of a smooth  measuring cup to tamp down the crumbs, which produced a nice flat layer like this:

Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 15 minutes.

While the cookie base is baking, mix the following ingredients in a microwave safe bowl:

BUTTERSCOTCH TOPPING (my version)
12 ounces of butterscotch baking chips
½ cup light corn syrup (I use  Karo syrup)
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon salt

Melt the above ingredients in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds (my microwave took about 75 seconds). When the mixture is completely smooth, add two cups of coarsely chopped (and toasted) pecans.

After the cookie base has baked for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and spread the butterscotch-pecan mixture over the top and put back in the oven for another 8 minutes.

Cool completely before slicing.

Store in lightly covered cookie jar.

Thank you for sharing the original recipe Ellen b.

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PEANUT BUTTER BARS

Today's post is a Peanut Butter Bar that I've been making since my kids were little. It has a sweet oatmeal base... a cream filling of sweetened condensed milk mixed with peanut butter and finally a topping of sweet oatmeal with chocolate chips. It is SO good, it travels well and it is perfect for bake sales or pot lucks, etc. It is a great recipe to have in your files.

2 cups raw quick oats
1¾ cups brown sugar
1½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter
2 cups chocolate chips (see note)
1 beaten egg
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and then cut in the butter (like you would for a pie crust). You can do this step by hand or with a stand mixer, but don't do it with a food processor because it will chop the oatmeal to finely.

Remove 1¾ cups of these crumbs and put them in a small bowl, add the chocolate chips and set aside.

Mix the beaten egg into the remaining crumb mixture (not the part with the chocolate chips) and mix well.  Press into a greased (or Pammed) 10" x 15" x 2" baking pan and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

While the base is in the oven, whisk the sweetened condensed milk together with the creamy peanut butter and set aside.

When the partially baked crust comes out of the oven, drizzle the milk-peanut butter mixture evenly over the crust. Top with the reserved crumb-chocolate chip  mixture.

Bake at 350 for another 15 minutes.  Cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.

NOTE: Use any type/flavor chocolate chips that you like. I usually use a mixture of semi-sweet and Reece's peanut butter chips. Today's post has semi-sweet chocolate chips and mini-Reece's pieces.

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PEANUT BUTTER KRISPIE TREATS

This recipe has been around forever; it is one of those classic sweet treats from our childhood.  Picky-picky husband is a big fan of the old fashioned Rice Krispie treats made with melted marshmallows, so he initially resisted this peanut butter version (he resists change).  However, this evening, I noticed that the pan of treats, on the kitchen counter, had been seriously noshed upon.

This recipe is SUPER easy and uses all pantry ingredients, which is a good thing.  It goes together in just minutes (the longest part of this recipe is the cool down time). They cut beautifully if you let them cool all the way down and they travel well.

1 cup light Karo syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispie cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips (see note)

Mix the syrup and granulated sugar in a heavy saucepan, over medium heat (stirring). Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat; stir in peanut butter until smooth and well mixed.

Pour over Rice Krispie cereal and stir to coat evenly.  Press into a lightly greased 11" x 7" pan (see note) and press down evenly with slightly damp hands.

Melt the chocolate chips and stir until smooth (I melted mine in my microwave at 60% power for about 1½ minutes).  Spread evenly over bars.  Cool about an hour before cutting.

NOTE: This recipe calls for half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips, but any combo would work well.  I found a similar recipe that used half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half butterscotch chips for the frosting (they called them Scotcheroo's).

NOTE: The size of the pan is not really important. Just remember that the smaller the pan is, the thicker the treats will be and the bigger the pan is the thinner they will be.

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PECAN PIE BARS

Picky-picky Hubby says these pecan pie bars are totally addictive. They have a buttery shortbread crust and a nutty (and slightly gooey) baked topping with a great pecan pie taste.

I have to admit that my budget doesn't allow pecans right now (they are almost $10 for a 2 cup bag!!), so I use walnuts, but they are ever so tasty just the same!! I am planning on adding these to my Christmas cookie trays (I'll splurge on pecans for Christmas though).

CRUST
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter (room temperature)

Mix the above crust ingredients and press into a 9" x 13" baking dish (see note below about greasing pan). This mixture will seem crumbly, but don't worry about that. Just pat it evenly into the pan.  Bake in preheated 350 oven for 20 minutes. While the crust is baking, mix up the topping:

TOPPING
3 eggs well beaten
1 cup light corn syrup (like Karo syrup)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 + 2/3 cup chopped pecans (toasted a little)

Mix well and pour over partially baked crust, making sure the nuts are evenly spread. Return to the 350 degree oven and bake for 25 more minutes.

Cool completely in pan before cutting.

NOTE:  The pecan pie bar crust does not stick to the pan, but around the edges of the topping, it does tend to stick. To combat that, I lined my 9" x 13" glass dish with foil. I didn't grease the bottom, but I greased the sides of the foil a little (the new Reynolds Easy Release foil would be good for this). 

Also, let the foil ends hand over the edges of the baking dish a little bit so you can grab the foil "tails" and lift the baked (and cooled) bars out of the pan for easier cutting.

When the bars are completely cool, just lift the whole thing out of the pan and onto a cutting board.They are rich, so cut the bars small.

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PECAN PIE MINI-MUFFINS

These little gems taste just like a Pecan Tassie. They are made out of 6 every day ingredients and are great with a morning cup of tea, or the lunch box or a long car ride (not at all messy). These are Hubby's "new" favorite snack. Store covered.

1 cup light brown sugar

½ cup flour
2 eggs
2/3 cup soft butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a mini muffin pan (or spray with a cooking spray that has flour in it, like Bakers Joy). Mix the wet ingredients in a medium size bowl and then stir in the dry ingredients, its just that simple!!

Mix long enough to just get the batter smooth. Make sure you use the MINI muffin pans (not cupcake size). Fill cups with one tablespoon batter each (makes 24). Bake for 17 minutes.

NOTE: Dusting pan with flour is important.

NOTE: My oven cooked these in 16 minutes.

NOTE: Taking these out of the pan is the only (mildly) tricky part of this recipe. Letting the muffins cool for 2 or 3 minutes before you try to remove them from the pan will help a lot, but don't leave them in the pan longer than than that, since they will get harder to remove from the pan as they cool.

NOTE: Slide a  thin knife gently around the sides of the muffins, then gently lift them out using the knife.

NOTE: If you keep these muffins covered well, they will stay soft for a long time (they tend to get a little crispy around the edges if left out in the air).

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SWEET & SPICY NUTS

These nuts would be and excellent snack for New Years, or a great gift for a neighbor or co-workers birthday. I can see many uses for this sweet & spicy treat.

The following spice mixture will do 2 cups of nuts, so if you want to season more than 2 cups, just multiply the spices accordingly.
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2 cups salted mixed nuts
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons white sugar
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Mix 2 cups of salted mixed nuts with 1 tablespoon of melted butter (toss gently but make sure it covers well). Mix the spices together (all except the sugar) and sprinkle over the nuts (toss gently to make sure it covers well). Spread the nuts out (in a single layer) on a 10 x 15 baking sheet.
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Bake in a preheated (300F) oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the white sugar (tossing well to coat). Cool completely (at least an hour). Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 weeks.
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NOTE: After I sprinkled the hot nuts with sugar, I mixed them well and then transferred them to some paper towels, which removed any excess butter before they cooled.


NOTE: The nuts have a little heat, but they are not overpowering. If you really like to bump up the heat, add a little more cayenne.

NOTE: I used planters mixed nuts. There are 2 cups of nuts in an 11 ounce can.

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FUDGE FILLED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

This impressive (but very simple) cookie will be great for the holidays. It consists of a sweet peanut butter cookie shell, filled with a rich fudge filling. When you first make the cookies, the filling is soft enough to pipe (or you can spoon it into the shell). However, after it completely cools, the filling is the consistency of a soft fudge. They are delicious, and look so pretty!!!

 ½ cup butter (room temperature)
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
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Cream the above ingredients together until smooth, then add:
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1¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
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Beat everything until very smooth. Shape dough into 1" balls (makes about 4 dozen) and place each ball into the bottom of a mini muffin tin (ungreased) like this:
Bake in a preheated 375 oven for about 10-11 minutes or until they look like this:

After they are baked, find something in your kitchen that has a round end that you can use to press down on the center of these HOT cookies (to make the shell shape). I used the large rounded end of my mortar and pestle, but anything will work. Just be careful not to press so hard that you break through to the bottom. They should look like this:

Let these cookies cool (in the pan) for 10 minutes, then use a thin (but pointed) paring knife to assist you in lifting the cookie shells out of the pan (they come out pretty easy). Cool shells on a baking rack.

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FILLING

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water (I just used the microwave). With an electric mixer, beat in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until smooth. Fill the cookies.

The fudge dries to the touch after it is completely cooled.

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PUMPKIN - CRANBERRY BREAD (the best)

If the rating system for this recipe was 1 to 5 stars; I would rate this a 10. It is absolutely delicious and will be perfect for your holiday table!! It is very easy to make (doesn't even take an electric mixer) and yet it is unique enough for gift giving. I hope you try it, it is SO GOOD... extremely moist, total comfort food!!! Preheat your oven to 350, and grease and flour two 9" x 5" loaf pans. Set out two large bowls. In the first one mix:

3 cups all purpose flour
3¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoon salt

In the 2nd bowl, mix:
3 cups granulated sugar
(1) 15 ounce can pure pumpkin (see note)4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup orange juice (see note)
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (see note)
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Whisk the first bowl (with the flour in it)until the dry ingredients are well mixed. Whisk the 2nd bowl (with the pumpkin in it) until WELL mixed and oil is completely incorporated. Pour the wet into the dry and mix with spoon just until moistened. Stir in cranberries gently.
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Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake 60 to 65 minutes (my oven took 70 minutes). Cool (in the pans) for about 10 minutes, then turn them out. Wrap the hot bread IMMEDIATELY in plastic wrap, covering tightly. Let the breads cool completely in the wrap.


NOTE: Make sure you use a 15 ounce can of plain packed pumpkin and NOT pumpkin pie filling (big difference).

NOTE: Recipe calls for ½ cup of orange juice, which I didn't have, so I used pineapple juice instead.

NOTE: Wash and sort your cranberries. Try to use the darkest berries. Make sure they are thawed out before mixing into batter.

NOTE: It is OK to put the plastic wrap on the hot bread as soon as it comes out of the pan. This forces the moisture back into the bread as it cools.

NOTE: My oven took 70 minutes to cook these loaves. Use the toothpick test to determine doneness.

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