Chocolate Blizzard Bars

I must give credit where credit is due for this recipe. I don't know how to make this a link, so I am just going to tell you where I found it. www.melskitchencafe.com I usually double this recipe because I am feeding hungry teenagers and they gooble it up. The recipe calls for regular m&ms and I always put in the mini kind. I have also subsituted different candy bars in it as well, when I don't have m&ms to put in it.

Thanks for the great recipe, mels kitchen cafe.

1 bag milk chocolate chips
1/2 cups peanut butter
3 cups rice krispies (I have used the chocolate rice krispies before and it makes it super chocolaty)
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup mini m&ms

Place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and stir. If the mixture is not smooth, place in microwave for 30 seconds more. Once the mixture is smooth, add crispy rice cereal and stir. Next add the marshmallows and m&ms. Stir in well. Place in a sqaure baking dish and let cool. I am often in a hurry, so I place them in the fridge or freezer to set.

Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Muddy Buddies

This recipe came about from my sister wanting to make them, so I got on the Internet and searched and found some recipes, and the one we liked the most was on www.cooking classy.blogspot.com. I give all credit to her, but I changed it a little bit. These are like the Chex Muddy Buddies, but instead of chocolate and peanut butter, they are white chocolate and Oreos. You really can't go wrong with how good these taste, and are great for my nephew who is allergic to peanut butter.

Cookies and Cream Muddy Buddies

8 cups Chex cereal
14 oz. white chocolate, melted
12 Oreo cookies ground up into really fine powder
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Put your Chex in a large bowl. Melt your chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after time. Be careful to not do it for too long, it burns easily. Place your finely crushed Oreos in a large plastic bag with your powdered sugar and mix until well combined. Pour the melted chocolate over the Chex and and stir till all the Chex are covered. Spoon the chocolate covered Chex into the bag with the oreo and powdered sugar mix. Shake it well to combine. Pour the mix onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet to harden. Once the chocolate is hard, place it in a ziplock bag and store for up to a week.

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

I am not sure if anyone looks here anymore. It has been so long since I have posted. I am sorry. Life has just gotten crazy and this is the last thing on my long list to do. Here is a recipe I have not used in a while. I thought it would be a great one to take to a little Christmas party. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
4 cups of oatmeal (you don't want to fill it up to the top)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Cream the butter and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix till combined.

Fudge Middle

1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp butter

Place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir until combined. If the chips are not melted, put in microwave for another 30 seconds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 in. pan. Place half of the oatmeal mixture in the bottom of the pan. Spread out. Pour the fudge mixture over the top. Take the rest of the oatmeal mixture and spread in clumps over the top. Bake for 15 minutes. It should be slightly underdone.

Let cool completly and enjoy.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

Here is a recipe some students found on this web site www.handletheheat.com and made it. I was fantastic. If I knew how post it as a link I would, but I have tried and it doesn't work. She gets all the credit for this recipe. It is great. She got it from Martha Stewarts Cupcakes.

42 Oreo's, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bootom of each lined cup. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla. Drizzle in the eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in the chopped cookies by hand. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

Here is one of my very favorite recipes EVER!!! It is actually two recipes that I got at different times, put them together and FANTASTIC! I can't believe I haven't put them on yet. So, here you go. some wonderful brownies with an amazing topping.

Brownies

2 1/2 cubes of butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 scant tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 bag chocolate chips (can use any kind, white, chocolate, peanut butter, mint)

Cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add the dry ingredients, combine. Add chocolate chips. Place in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.


White Chocolate Cream Cheese Topping

2 oz. White Chocolate
2 tbsp milk
Melt together for 1 minute in the microwave.

(I like to have a little more white chocolate flavor, so I do 4 squares and 3 1/2 tbsp milk)

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
Mix well.

Add the chocolate mixture to the cream cheese mixture and stir till well combined. Fold in 1 cup of whipped topping. Top brownies with the mixture. Try not to eat too much, it is SO good!!

Lemon Bars

My mom came to visit this last weekend and she made treats. She is a wonderful person and I am so grateful to have her in my life. We decided to make lemon bars, and this is the recipe we used. It comes from school, so who knows were it really came from, but it works and works well. It is also nice because you do it in a cookie sheet and that is good when you need to feed a crowd, or eat them by yourself.

Lemon Bars

2 cups softened margarine
dash of salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 cups flour

Combine and mix well. Press into a large cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

8 eggs, beaten
4 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup lemon juice

Combine flour and suagr. Mix in beaten eggs and lemon juice. Pour onto slighly cooled crust. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until set.

Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

They are just amazing and so good to eat. The crust tasted like a shortbread cookie and was FANTASTIC!!

Smores Bars

It is time for another recipe. This is one that is found in numerous spots, and who was the creator, I am not sure. It is however one of my favorites that I only make once and awhile, because I could eat the entire pan by myself. I hope you enjoy this one.

3/4 cup corn syrup
3 tbsp butter
1 pkg milk chocolate chips
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg (12 ounce box) Golden Graham cereal (9 cups)

Grease a 9x12 cake pan.

Place cereal and marshmallows in a large bowl.

Place the corn syrup, butter and chocolate chips in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat once it comes to a boil. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour chocolate mixture over cereal, stir until all the cereal is coated.

Press into a pan with buttered fingers. Let cool. Cut into squares and serve.

Blondies

I am not going to take credit for this one. It comes from one of my all time favorite sources for recipes. Cook's Illustrated is a long time time magazine that you have to see to understand. They go through and test the heck out of each recipe until it is perfect. I have tried many of their recipes and have yet to not like them. They also have a show on PBS, and it is my all time favorite cooking show, and it is on public tv, it is called America's Test Kitchen. Here they show how to make the recipes found in Cook's Illustrated. It is from one of the Test Kitchen cookbooks I give you this recipe. It is called The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book. It is a great book full of 700 baking recipes. They all look so good. I want to do like the movie Julie and Julia and try all of them in a year, but I don't have the money, or the calories to waste. Maybe someday.

Enough of all my chatting. Here is the recipe.

Blondies
From The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 TBSP unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups paked light brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, toasted

Adjust an oven rack to the middle postition and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with a foil sling and greast the foil. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Shir in the chips and nuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the blondies until a toothpick insterted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Let the blondies cool completely in the pan, set on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove the blondies from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.

I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does. They are AMAZING. Happy baking!

Sugar Cookies

I am not so found of sugar cookies, but these are fantastic. This recipe comes from my mother so where she got it, but it is great. They are soft and moist and amazing.

1 cup of butter, softened
2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
5 1/3 cup flour

Cream the butter and sugar. Add sour cream, eggs and vanilla, mix well until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Dough may be a little sticky, and you will be fine.

Lightly flour the counter. Place dough on floured surface, lightly flour the top of the dough. Roll out to desired thickness. I fill the the best is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out into circles or desired shapes. Place on cookie sheet covered with a parchament paper.

Bake at 350 for 8 - 10 minutes, until edges are a light golden brown.

Let cool, and frost.

Muddy Buddies

Here is a classic snack. I love this recipe. It is another one with peanut butter, but again, you can make it without. I am a firm beliver in peanut butter and chocolate, I think it is the perfect combination. This recipe comes from the back of a Chex box, but adjusted for a smaller batch. Feel free to use your math skills and double it if you want the full recipe. Who says you don't use math in the kitchen?

4.5 cups Chex (you can use rice, corn or wheat)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup powdered sugar

In a large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
In a microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter, uncovered on high for 1 minute; stir. If mixture is not smooth, microwave for about 30 seconds longer, stir. Repeat until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into a Ziplog bag. Add the powdered sugar, seal the bag; shake until well coated. Let cool on a piece of wax paper (although I never get to this point. I eat it right out of the messy bag).

It is a great recipe. Enjoy, a great summer snack!

No Bake Cookies

Here is a classic recipe that is a go to recipe when I have extra time in class and need something quick to make. My sister also called me this week for this recipe, so I am putting it on here. It does have peanut butter in it, and I have kids with allergies. Don't worry, you can leave it out if you want. One thing I have learned in class is that the boiling of the sugar is REALLY important. If you don't boil it enough, or for too long, you change the consistency of the cookies. Trust me, we have had very runny cookies to very dry cookies. Good luck.

This is half of a recipe that I would normaly make at home. (I always do a small batch in school for the fact I don't want food thrown away).

1/2 cube of margarine
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1/4 cup milk

Place these 4 ingredients and place them in a sauce pan. Stir well and bring to a boil on medium heat. Once they reach the boiling point, let it boil for 1 minute. Remove it from the heat.

Add
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir until peanut butter is well dissolved.

Add
1 1/2 cups of oatmeal (you can use either old fashioned or quick)

Drop onto a piece of wax paper and let cool until set

No Bake Cheesecake

Here is a recipe I like a lot. We don't make it in class very often but when we do, it is a hit!

1 pkg. graham crackers, finely crushed
6 tbsp butter, melted
6 tbsp packed brown sugar

2 pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups whipping cream
2/3 cups sugar

In a small bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Add melted butter and mix well. Press into the bottom of a pie dish. Set aside in the fridge to cool.

In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until soft and creamy. In a chilled metal bowl, add the whipping cream. Beat with chilled wire whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold into the cream cheese mixture. Pour over chilled crust and place in fridge to chill. It tastes best if chilled for at least 4 hours.

Can place a fruit topping on it or eat it plain.

Peanut Butter Bars

I decided to put this easy and impressive recipe up. People are always wanting the recipe and think you spent hours on them.

1 pkg graham crackers, crushed finely
1 cube butter, melted
2 cups peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar

1 bag chocolate chips

Mix the melted butter and peanut butter together until well blended. Add graham cracker crumbs. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Melt the chocolate chips for 1 minute in the microwave. Stir, then melt for 30 seconds more. Place the peanut butter mixture in a 9x13 pan. Spread chocolate evenly over the peanut butter. Place in fridge for about 30 minutes until chocolate is almost set. Cut. Put back in fridge to fully set.

Enjoy. It is a great treat to take to parties.

Caramel Brownies

This is the one for the ladies at work. I let them know about this little blog and well, this is their favorite, so I am posting this one right away.

1/3 cup evaporated milk
50 light caramels

1 box of german chocolate cake mix
1/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup softened butter

1 package chocolate chips

Unwrap the caramels and add 1/3 cup evaporated milk in a small saucepan. Melt the caramels over med-low heat stirring often until melted. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix chocolate cake mix, 1/3 cup evaporated milk and butter just until mixed together, do not over stir. You will have chunks of cake mix still and that is fine. Grease a 9x13 pan. Place half of the cake mix on t he pan. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the brownies. Pour the caramel sauce over the brownies. Crumble the rest of the mix on top of the caramel mixture. Bake for another 15 minutes or until mostly set. Let cool. Place in the fridge until firm. Cut and enjoy.

Low Fat Chocolate Cookies

Here is a low fat recipe we made today. I shouldn't put it on here, cause I haven't made it for myself, but it turned out pretty okay for the kids, even with all the errors they made. They need some help reading directions sometimes.

Combine:
¾ cup flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
Set aside

In another bowl combine:
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp sugar
And slowly beat in:
1 tbsp + 1 tsp oil

Beat in:
2 tbsp applesauce
1 egg white
½ tsp vanilla

Blend until smooth.
Add the flour mixture and blend until dough is just combined.
Add ¼ cup chocolate chips. Spoon the dough into small 1 inch balls, place on
A lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 17 minutes. Don’t over bake.