Salted Caramel Butter Bars

We needed to make some desserts for a work meeting so I scoured Pinterest for some kind of bars to make up and I ran across these. They sounded good and simple to make. They were definitely good & really really rich! Almost too rich! If I make these again, I think I'd add more coarse salt on the top to take out some of the richness of it.

Find the recipe here



Ready to be baked again...

Enjoy!..

Caramel Apple Nachos

My friend invited me to a Super Bowl party and I couldn't decide what I wanted to make. I kept going back and forth with different things and then I saw this recipe on Pinterest and knew I wanted to make it. I'm doing a weight loss challenge at the moment so I figured this was somewhat healthy with the apples. This is another recipe where you can add pretty much whatever you want. I didn't use all the apples it called for so I'll probably make this again soon. It was really good and had just the right amount of sweetness. I didn't follow the directions online at all so I'll just tell you what I did. As it was, I made 2 batches and took one home for myself after the party. Yum!

Caramel Apple Nachos (Pinterest):

3-4 Gala apples
3-4 Granny Smith apples
1/2 pkg Kraft Caramels (unwrapped) or Ice Cream Caramel Topping-this is what I used
1 tbsp water, if using the Kraft Caramels
White chocolate candy coating
Mini chocolate chips
Heath toffee bits

Wash the apples and then slice. Layer the green and red slices in a dish, alternating if you wish. Drizzle with the caramel topping. Melt the white chocolate according to pkg directions. It says to pipe out of a plastic bag but I just took a spoonful and kinda splattered it all over. Sprinkle with toffee bits and chocolate chips. It's best to keep the leftovers in the fridge. Enjoy!




Enjoy!...

Salted Caramel Bark

I had family in town for Thanksgiving and I wanted to make a dessert that could be eaten throughout the weekend. I love making desserts but I only like making them if I can share them because otherwise the majority of it would go to waste. This made way too much as it is but it was really really good. The recipe calls for a bag of dark chocolate chips and a bag of milk chocolate chips. I'm not a fan of dark chocolate so I used a bag of semisweet chocolate chips. Everyone seemed to like it but the only thing I wished I had was more of a coarser salt. All my aunt had was the fine sea salt, which worked, but I had to use a lot of it and it still wasn't enough. I also think I should have melted the caramel without the water because when I went to break up the bark, the caramel was still really soft. I found this recipe on Pinterest.

Salted Caramel Bark (20-30 pieces):

11.5 oz pkg of Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips (or semisweet chocolate chips)
11.5 oz pkg of Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips
11 oz pkg Kraft Caramel bits + 2 tbsp water
Coarse ground sea salt

Rip off a piece of wax or parchment paper and cover a cookie sheet. In microwave-safe bowl, microwave caramel bits with 2 tbsp water for 2 minutes. Then stir and microwave for additional 30 second intervals until fully melted.

Place both pkg of chocolate chips in a separate bowl and melt in the microwave or place on the stove with a double broiler and stir until melted and glossy. Spread the melted chocolate with a spatula on the wax paper, making sure the chocolate goes all the way to the edges.

With a spoon, drop dollops of the caramel. Take a spatula and swirl it into the chocolate in an up and down motion across the pan creating swirled ribbons. Sprinkle the salt across the top. Don't be stingy with the salt.

Place your cookie sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Take it out of the freezer and break the bark into pieces. Pull off the waxed paper and layer in a container with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!




Chocolates melted and spread into pan...






Caramel and chocolates swirled together...






Liberally sprinkled with salt...






Enjoy!...

4-Berry Pie with Lattice Topped Pie Crust

I can't remember where I found this recipe but I made it several years ago for Christmas at my aunt's house when she lived in Arizona. I had never made a pie before then and I love berries so I came up with this recipe from somewhere and it was really good!

My family came down for Thanksgiving this year and I decided to make this again, hoping it was as good as I remembered it and it definitely was! Lots of flavor from the berries and the cinnamon on the pie crust set it off. I think I added too many berries because the filling over-filled a little bit onto the oven floor-oops! I made it the day before to let the flavors really meld-yum! Originally this pie was only a 3-berry pie calling for blackberries but I'm not a huge fan of blackberries. I did add a small container of blackberries but then I also added a container of strawberries, which is probably why it over-filled but it worked out.

4-Berry Pie with Lattice Topped Pie Crust (6-8 servings):

1/2 c fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 c fresh or frozen blackberries
1/2 c fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 c fresh or frozen sliced strawberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 c sugar
4 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
2 unbaked pastry shells (9 inches)
Cinnamon, for sprinkling

In large bowl, sprinkle berries with lemon juice. Combine sugar and tapioca. Add to berries; toss gently to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Spoon into pastry shell.

For topping, cut strips into pastry shell. Inter-weave onto top of berries to create a lattice-look. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is browned. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!




Berries macerating...






Berries poured into pie bottom...






Sprinkled with cinnamon...






Fresh from the oven...






Enjoy!...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars

I think Nicole or Dana posted this on their timeline on Facebook and tagged everyone else for this recipe. These bars were soooo good! Really rich and full of flavor. Nicole was babysitting her niece Ariana and I guess Ariana was being very vocal and basically being feisty. When I got there with Dana, Nicole said she was ready for something sweet! She had just gotten Ariana to sleep when we got home and of course she woke up for us :). So she got to help us make this yummy dessert. This was my last dessert I made with these ladies before I moved :( so of course I had to add the extra pictures. I'd definitely make this recipe again.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars:

1 (16 oz) pkg peanut butter sandwich cookies, divided
4 tbsp butter, melted
4 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip, divided
1 (3.9 oz) pkg instant chocolate Jello Pudding Mix
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 c milk chocolate and peanut butter chips (we used more to completely cover the bars)

Preheat oven to 350. Finely crush 24 of the cookies. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter and finely crushed cookies until well moistened. Press into an ungreased 8x8-inch or 13x9-inch baking dish. Bake for 10 min. Allow crust to cool before continuing.

Meanwhile, mix the pkg of pudding with the 1 1/2 c milk in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and peanut butter together. Fold in 1 c of the Cool Whip and mix until well blended.

Spread the chocolate pudding over the cooled crust. Place dollops of the cream cheese mixture over the pudding layer and with a spatula or large spoon, gently spread to completely cover. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate 2 hours. (We ignored this part of the step since we wanted to eat it right away!)

In a plastic bag, break up the 8 remaining cookies. Sprinkle the cookies and the chocolate/peanut butter chips over the top just before serving. Slice into squares and enjoy!




Ariana holding dearly to our bag of chocolate/peanut butter chips!...






Spreading the chocolate mixture on top of the crust...






Spreading the peanut butter mixture over the chocolate...






Ariana tasting the Cool Whip...






Nicole tasting the Cool Whip...






The Cool Whip layer...






The cookies and chocolate/peanut butter chips layer...






Enjoy!...

S'mores Dip

This recipe was also originally on Facebook and once again I was tagged, along with my friend Dana and my friend Jeremiah's little sister Nicole. Those were the girls who I made the S'mores bars with too. This one was really easy to make and only involved 3 ingredients. It tasted really good and was super rich. This would be fun to make again for a holiday party. Not sure where the original recipe came from but you can find it all over Pinterest and on the web.

S'mores Dip (4-6 servings):

1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips (or any flavor you prefer)
1 bag of marshmallows, cut in half
Graham crackers, for dipping

Pour the bag of chocolate chips in the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Top with the halved marshmallows (you may not need all of them, just make sure that the chocolate is well covered). Place in a 350 degree oven until the marshmallows get brown and toasted, about 20-30 min. Carefully dip in your graham crackers and enjoy!

S'mores Bars

One of my friend's found this on Facebook and tagged some of us in it to make these. Not sure who was the original source but I did find the recipe on Pinterest so I'll post that recipe on here. These turned out ridiculously good! They had so much flavor and they were really rich! I was at my friend Jeremiah's and his little sister and I actually went out around midnight to pick up the ingredients so we could make it that night. Jeremiah's girlfriend also helped make them-I kinda did but mainly I entertained their baby :) I would definitely make this again and again!

S'mores Bars (20 servings):

1 box graham crackers
2 (7 oz) jars marshmallow creme
1 tub Cool Whip
2 tsp vanilla
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 tsp salt

Mix the marshmallow creme with the cool whip until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix again. Line a 13x9-inch baking dish with graham crackers (you may need to break them so they fit somewhat evenly on the bottom of the dish. Once the marshmallow creme is mixed, spread about 1/2 of the mixture over the graham crackers. Using a spatula, spread as evenly as possible. Layer some more graham crackers on top of the spread of marshmallow creme. Add the remaining marshmallow creme on top of the crackers, making sure to spread the cream out as much as possible.

Melt the chocolate chips and heavy cream in the microwave, stirring about every 30 seconds, until the chocolate has melted down. Add the salt and mix to incorporate. Carefully pour the chocolate over the bars, spreading evenly on top. Put the dish in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. (I don't think we waited that long!)

Cut into squares and enjoy!

Mini Cheesecakes

So normally when I make these cheesecakes, I make a double batch. I only made one batch this time since there would only be 3 of us eating off of them all weekend. However since both my friends love cheesecakes, I probably could have gotten away with the 2 batches and they could have just taken the leftovers home and would have been happy. Oh well. I found this recipe several years ago on www.kraft.com Since I only made the one batch, I mixed things up a bit. One batch each normally makes 12 vanilla cakes and 12 chocolate chip cakes. With the vanilla, you would use 12 vanilla wafers at the bottom as the crusts. Since I knew I was only making the one batch, I just used Oreos instead. I don't eat either cookie so I thought it would be less wasteful if I just picked one. I separated the batches and added chocolate chips to one batch and left the other plain. I didn't measure exactly half so I had a little more chocolate chip cakes than vanilla but it worked out and I didn't have any complaints! This is a perfect serving size if you are craving cheesecakes and I've made these desserts several times in the past couple of years. You can either chose to eat the vanilla cakes plain or add some fruit to them-either way they are really good!

Mini Cheesecakes (12 servings)

2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
12 vanilla wafers (or 12 Oreo cookie halves)
Assorted fruit
1/4 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with mixer on medium until well blended. At this point, I separated the batches and added chocolate chips to one batch. Place one cookie in the bottom of 12 med paper-lined muffin cups. Fill evenly with batter.

Bake 20 min or until centers are almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Right before serving, top with assorted fruit of your choice.




Oreos as a base...






Batter separated...






Ready to be baked...






Enjoy!...

Red Velvet Rice Krispy Bars

I found this recipe on Pinterest via www.passthesushi.com I also made this recipe for the girls' weekend at the cabin and it was a definite hit! This could easily be made up for Valentine's Day or Christmas, dyeing the white chocolate to any color you want. The recipe calls for Cocoa Rice Krispies but I was afraid the chocolate cereal would make the bars way too sweet so I just used the original Rice Krispies and it tasted just fine. I have to admit, when I was making this, my parents & my friend were looking at me like I was crazy to mix these ingredients together but it worked out and tasted really good. I'll definitely make these again!

Red Velvet Rice Krispy Bars:

3 tbsp butter
1 (10.5 oz) bag mini marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c red velvet cake mix
6 c Cocoa Rice Krispies or regular Rice Krispies cereal
4 oz white chocolate, melted

Grease a 9x13-inch pan well. Heat butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the marshmallows, cake mix and vanilla. Stir frequently as the marshmallows melt until the mixture is smooth. Quickly fold in the cereal to the mixture until well combined and everything is coated.

Transfer sticky cereal mixture to the prepared pan. It works well if you butter the back of a large spoon to press the mixture evenly into the pan. Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and pour it into a plastic sandwich bag. Snip off the corner and drizzle over the cereal. Let it set before slicing into squares. Enjoy!




Marshmallows & cake mix...






Mixture melted...






Rice Krispies spread out in pan...






The white chocolate exploded on me...






Enjoy!...

Puppy Chow

I fell in love with puppy chow way back when I was babysitting in middle school. I was at a charge's house for New Year's and their parents were having a party that night. We had the rein of the upstairs so before we headed up, they gave us some treats to snack on and puppy chow was one of them. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this dessert. I don't make it often because it's a lot easier to make with two people and it lasts quite a while since it's rich. I found the recipe on the box soon after that night and made it myself and have been making it through the years. But I've noticed that within the last couple of years, the recipe changed. Now it includes butter and vanilla. To me, that doesn't make sense. I would think the cereal would become mushy and it would become even richer than it is now, so I haven't tried it. I still continue to make it the way I've always made it and I'm happy. I also always make a double batch. Make sure you store the leftovers in the fridge either in a plastic bag or in a container with a lid.

Puppy Chow:

12 c Krispex, more as needed
12 oz bag semisweet chocolate chips
1 c peanut butter
Powdered sugar, as needed

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave at 1 minute intervals, until melted. Stir in the peanut butter. Pour the 12 cups of cereal into a large bowl. In batches, slowly pour the chocolate-peanut butter mixture into the cereal. Mix it all together with your hands (if you use a spoon, the cereal tends to get crushed). Keep adding the chocolate-peanut butter mixture until everything is mixed together. If it becomes too chocolaty, add some more cereal. Don't add a whole lot more-you want enough in there to coat the cereal otherwise you will be left with cereal covered with powdered sugar and no chocolate mixture.

Once everything has been mixed together, this is where you will be needing the extra set of hands. I've discovered over the years that it's easier with a non-scented garbage bag. Pour about 1-2 cups of powdered sugar into the bag. Working in batches again, place some of the coated cereal into the bag. Pour some more powdered sugar on top. Close the bag and shake gently to combine. Pour the contents of the bag into a strainer/colander placed in the sink. Shake the strainer/colander to shake of the excess powdered sugar and then place contents into another large bowl. Either keep the puppy chow in that same bowl with a lid or transfer to gallon-size zip loc bags.




All the ingredients minus the powdered sugar...






Ready to be mixed...






Mixing the cereal with the chocolate and peanut butter by hand...






Powdered sugar in the garbage bag...






Cereal ready to be coated with powdered sugar...






Powdered sugar on top...






Sifting out the excess powdered sugar...






Ready to eat!...

Grandma's Rhubarb Crunch

For the last couple of springs, my mom has made up this yummy dessert that came from my grandmother-her mom. I had copied down several of her recipes a couple years ago so when I found some rhubarb in Whole Foods, I decided to make it this year. I didn't get around to it and when I went to my parent's over Memorial Day weekend, I decided to make it there instead, with the help of my mom. Come to find out, that my grandma's recipe had originally come from a Farm's Journal Country Cookbook, as had most of her other recipes as well. My mom found the book after my grandma died and claimed it. Not all of her recipes were from the book, but I guess most were.

This dessert is so good..nice and light and fruity. You can mix strawberries or raspberries into the rhubarb mixture if you'd like, I only used rhubarb this time.

Grandma's Rhubarb Crunch:

*Crumb Topping

1 c sifted flour
3/4 c uncooked rolled oats
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon

*Fruit Mixture

4 c diced rhubarb
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 c water
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together the crumb topping ingredients until crumbly. Press 1/2 of the crumbs into a greased 9x13 inch pan. In a small saucepan, combine the fruit mixture. Cook, stirring, until thick and clear, about 5-8 minutes. Pour over the crust. Top with the remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve warm.




The book my Grandma used for pretty much everything...






The copyright of 1959!...






Filling mixed together...






Bottom crust...






Filling that's ready...






Filling poured on top...






Crumbs on top ready for the oven...






Enjoy!

Fruit Squares

I found this recipe in a Eating Well magazine and it seemed like a really good Spring dessert. With Easter coming up, I decided to try making these. The recipe had 3 different variations for these bars: Blueberry bars, Strawberry-Rhubarb bars & Raspberry bars. My plan was to make a double batch in the same pan, not realizing that the flavors would blend together to make a marble effect. It turned out okay in the end though. I had originally wanted to make raspberry and strawberry-rhubarb but it's not the season for rhubarb and Whole foods didn't have any fresh or frozen rhubarb so I went with blueberry instead.

I made this dessert the night before Easter at like 1 am because I had bowling leagues that night and I went out with some friends after. It was either make it when I got home and sleep in in the morning or wake up early to make it..I opted for the sleeping in part! I didn't realize what a process it was to make! But it was definitely worth it in the end! I had a lot of leftovers so I should have just made the one batch but it worked out okay. Some of my family said it was too tart while others seemed to like the tartness of it just fine.

I'm posting the single batch so if you decide to make a double batch like I did, just double the measurements!

Fruit Squares (9 squares) (Eating Well):

*Crust

1 c white whole-wheat flour
1/3 c powdered sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp butter

3 c blueberries or 2 c chopped strawberries with 2 c chopped rhubarb or 3 c raspberries
1/3 c water
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/3 c sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs

Garnishes: Sliced raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8-in square baking sheet with foil and coat it with cooking spray. Combine flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt in med bowl. Add oil and butter; using your fingertips, blend into flour mixture until evenly combined. The mixture will be a little crumbly. Firmly press dough into prepared pan. Bake until just barely beginning to brown, 15-20 min.

While crust is cooking, combine fruit of your choice and water in med saucepan. Cook over high, stirring, until fruit is mostly broken down, 4-6 min. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve and press on solids to extract all the juice; discard solids. You need 1 c strained juice; remove any extract or add a little water if you are short. Stir in lemon or lime juice into strained fruit juice.

Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt in med bowl until well combined. Whisk in eggs. Stir into the juice mixture. Pour filling over crust.

Bake until just set, 15-20 min. The center should still be a little jiggly-it will firm up as it cools. Let cool to room temp on a wire rack about 1 1/2 hours. Using foil, gently lift bars out of pan. Cut into 9 squares. Garnish with fresh fruit and dust with powdered sugar just before serving.




Blueberry & Raspberry filling...






The flavors blending...






Fresh from the oven...






All decorated...






Enjoy!...