Chocolate Peanut Butter Revel Bars - SRC

Now that grilling and barbecue season is upon us, it's time for a great dessert for a picnic, potluck, or holiday party.  

Oh, who am I kidding?  

I'm always up for a great dessert, special event or not.  

This is a perfect cookie/treat for a crowd, because they're so rich, you can cut them into small bars and serve plenty of folks. I found this gem of a recipe on my blog assignment for the Secret Recipe Club this month, It Bakes Me Happy. (isn't that the cutest blog name??) 

Emily is an amazing baker and full-time mom who has a serious sweet tooth and loves chocolate. I know we'd be great friends. :)  She has so many recipes I'm anxious to make, like Turtle Muffins,  Pistachio Gelato (I totally almost made this, but after I bought the pistachios, I couldn't resist just eating them out of the bag. I hadn't had them in such a long time. And MAN, are they good. But next time I'm making the gelato), and Heavenly Hash Brownies. Plus many, many more great choices. 

But I couldn't resist the Chocolate Peanut Butter Revel Bars. 

So here's the breakdown: an incredible oatmeal peanut butter cookie dough crust, a rich, almost fudge-like chocolate center, and more cookie dough on top.  Bake it to a light golden brown, and you're done. Simple, and ohhhhhhh, so delicious.  It's a good thing I made them for a home-school mom's group, or I would have eaten even more of them.  As it is, I ate way more than my share.  Sigh. Another week of weight-loss failure.

Ahem.

So anyways, I love these bars and I love Emily's blog and I hope you'll go visit her and check out all her awesome treats.  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Revel Bars

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla, divided use

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups oats, old fashioned

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. 
3. Add the brown sugar and beat until well mixed.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time and then 1 tsp. vanilla
5. In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, and oats.
6. Gradually stir the dry mixture into the peanut butter mixture; set aside
7. In a medium saucepan, combine the 1/2 cup peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips.
8. Cook over low heat until the chocolate melts, stirring occasionally.
9. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 tsp. vanilla. 
10. Press two-thirds of the oat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 13 x 9" pan.
11. Spread the chocolate mixture on top of that.
12. Using your fingers, crumble the remaining oat mixture over the top.
13. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. 
14. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.  
15. Slice and serve.

Source:  It Bakes Me Happy, originally adapted from BHG 100 Best Cookies

P.S. These go GREAT with a big glass of milk.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Triangle Delights - SRC

Need another recipe for a cookie exchange, party, potluck, to give away to friends or neighbors, or just for dessert tonight?  Wow, Christmas season is just so busy, right???

Look no further.  This one will blow your socks off.
And it's ridiculously simple, which makes it even better.

For my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month, I had the pleasure of browsing through Adventures in All Things Food,, where Andrea has tons of great recipes, three adorable children, and a huge, beautiful farm. Oh, and she also has a craft section and does frequent give-aways.  Awesome!

While I was tempted by many recipes, including her Challah Bread and this amazing Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake, I just couldn't resist trying a cookie which Andrea said was one of her favorites from childhood.
What do you get when you combine graham crackers and a simple sauce of butter and brown sugar with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla with coconut, almonds, and chocolate chips????

A pan of pure deliciousness, that's what. 

I took a big plate of these luscious goodies to our homeschool co-op Christmas party, and they were devoured in minutes.  Frankly, I was disappointed.  Even though I had saved several at home, I was hoping to have a few left over.  I just could not get enough of them.

They're like a combination of Hello Dolly Bars and Toffee, both of which are huge favorites of mine.  I altered the recipe only slightly, adding a half cup more marshmallows because I thought it just didn't look like enough.

These are going into the *BEST* and *MUST MAKE* categories for me.  Thanks so much, Andrea!

Triangle Delights

2 sleeves of graham crackers (all may not be used)
3 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup sliced or chopped almonds
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line a rimmed cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan with parchment paper, then place graham crackers in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Cover with marshmallows.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon and stir until butter is melted and sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour the hot mixture over the marshmallows, then top with coconut, almonds, and chocolate chips.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Allow the pan to cool, then use the parchment paper as handles to remove the cookies from the pan to a cutting board.  Slice into 3 inch squares, then into triangles.  A pizza cutter works great for this!


Source: Adapted slightly from Adventures in All Things Food

(Healthy) Chocolate Oat Breakfast Cookies

As much as I love things like scones or cinnamon rolls for breakfast, I make them a special treat. We most often eat things like scrambled eggs, baked oatmeal, cereal, or banana muffins. The girls are fine with that.....especially the muffins part....but Corban (9.5) , who is in general my least picky eater, has started complaining about most of those offerings. He's not crazy about the non-sugary cereal I buy, doesn't care for homemade granola, and he hates bananas in baked goods.

So you can imagine his delight when one recent morning the kids came downstairs to see me baking cookies and then heard the announcement, "These are for breakfast!"

What???

Chocolate cookies for breakfast????

You're the Best mom Ever!  
An elation that wore off sooner than I would have preferred......when I still insisted in doing schoolwork for the day.

So yes, these fall into the "occasional treat" category....or they could even fall into dessert sometimes.....because although they are healthy, with coconut oil and oats  and whole wheat flour, they still have chocolate. And they taste surprisingly decadent.   They're a little chewy, a little crisp, have a wonderful salty/sweet contrast, and are definitely hard to stop at just one.

I even heard a couple of kiddos declare that these would be their Birthday Breakfast choice.

That means they're really good.

(Healthy) Chocolate Oat Breakfast Cookies
adapted  from Fit Mama Real Food  and The Tasty Cheapskate

1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. natural cane sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional, but highly recommended)
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional - I used unsweetened)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional - I didn't use)

1 .Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a different bowl, whisk melted coconut oil, egg, and sugars together.  Add in vanilla.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix.  Stir in oats, then add chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans if using.
4. Drop mounds onto an ungreased baking sheet.  The cookies don't spread much, so I found it best to flatten them with the bottom of a glass before baking.  Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until set.

Mallow Brownie Bars

Can you ever have too many brownie variations?

Some of our favorites are Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies,  Triple Layer Fudgy Mint Cookie Brownies, and Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies, to name a few.

I'm adding these to the list.

After I made these for a pot-luck sort of thing, we were so enamored with them that I ended up keeping about a third of them home.  We just couldn't bear to share the whole batch.

The top layer was my favorite - creamy chocolate and peanut butter with the crunch of crispy rice cereal.  Add in the gooey marshmallow layer and the fudgy brownie on the bottom....well, let's just say they're really rich and you don't need a lot of them, but chances are you'll want to just keep taking one more little square.

'Cause they are such little squares, after all.  

Mallow Brownie Bars (from The Mandatory Mooch)

1 brownie mix (for 13 x 9" pan, plus eggs, oil, and water called for on box)
1 (10.5 oz) package miniature marshmallows
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
1 T. butter
1-1/2 cups crispy rice cereal

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Pour into a greased 13 x 9" pan.  Bake at 350° for a couple minutes less than the recommended minimum time on the package (for my package, this was 22 minutes).
Top with marshmallows - bake 3 minutes longer.  Marshmallows will not be completely melted.
In a saucepan, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter.  Melt over medium-low heat until smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in crispy rice cereal.
Spread over marshmallow layer.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting into small bars.


Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday and  Crumbs and Chaos - Seasonal Inspiration

Black Bean Brownies - Gluten Free

I've read about the "Black Bean Brownie" phenomenon around the web several times in the past few months.

Honestly, the first couple of times I read the recipes, I thought the people must be just plain nuts.

Who in the world would substitute beans for flour in a dessert?

Better yet, how could it be possible for the brownies not to taste like beans?

Who could possibly be fooled by such a thing?

Curiosity finally got the best of me after reading reports of how good black bean brownies are from so many sources, so I broke down and made some.  I did it during nap time, so none of the kids or the husband had a clue. 

When I served them up, I informed Grant that the brownies had no flour in them.  He was surprised and very skeptical. 
He took a small piece, said they were pretty good but not his favorite, and left it at that.  When I eventually told them what the secret ingredient was, he was nothing short of incredulous.
 
Could. Not. Believe. It.

"Knowing that makes them taste SO much better!  I feel like I'm getting healthier just by eating them!" he exclaimed.  He went on to eat a couple of large pieces.

Personally, I think they're great! 

No, they're not my favorite brownie (like this one or this one), mainly because the texture is kind of - for lack of a better word - feathery.  They almost melt in your mouth.  Not in a bad way, but I prefer brownies to be chewy. 

Other than that, they're really chocolaty, have absolutely no bean flavor at all, and except for the sugar content, are pretty much guilt-free.

I love having this recipe in my repertoire, for occasions when I want to make a dessert for someone who is gluten-free, and also for when we want a simple and delicious chocolate treat that isn't tremendously unhealthy. 

I'm told that if you add 1/3 cup flour to the recipe, the texture becomes more like traditional brownies - I may try that sometime.  Just to see.  But I really like them the way they are.

Recipe: (adapted from Life in a Shoe and Finding Joy in my Kitchen)


1 (15 oz) can black beans
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Dark)
3 eggs
3 T. oil (I used coconut)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. instant coffee granules
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (can try peanut butter chips, Andes baking bits, etc)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Drain beans in a colander and rinse very well.  Put beans in a blender with all other ingredients except chocolate chips and puree until completely smooth.
Pour into a greased 8 or 9" square baking pan.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out nearly clean.

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday

"R" is for Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

We're finally back to our Alphabet Service Projects.  If you've been following along, you may notice that we skipped "Q".  Well, I taught the letter "Q", and we actually do know a little girl from church who's name begins with Q, but I struggled to come up with a recipe that started with "Q" (other than Quiche, but that sounds like a C or a K, which makes it just too confusing for a 3-year old).  Plus I was feeling lazy.  Shame on me.  Maybe we'll come back to it.


Back to the letter R.  We decided to have some friends over for dinner who's last name begins with R, and I made Baked Rotini, Romaine salad with Ranch, Buttered Corn, French Bread Rolls, and these fabulous Raspberry Cheesecake Bars.  Let me just say, the dinner was great, but this dessert was phenomenal.


The slightly tangy raspberries complement the creamy cheesecake and dense chocolaty brownies perfectly.  They're rich, but not so much that you don't want another one.  Like right away.  For my raspberry chocolate loving husband, these were bound to be a new favorite, and they met and exceeded all his expectations.

Update June 2013: Blackberries are equally good in this recipe - I made that version for Father's Day 2013 and Grant couldn't have been happier.  I bet even blueberries would be delicious!


Recipe: (adapted from Cooking for Seven)


1 stick +5 T. (7 oz)  butter, softened
2 cups sugar, divided (I used very scant cups)
5 eggs, room temperature, divided use
7 oz dark chocolate, chopped (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup flour, sifted (I used white whole wheat)

1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla extract, divided use
2 (8 oz pkgs) cream cheese, room temperature
5 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen


Directions:

For the brownie batter:

1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 13” x 9” glass baking dish.

2) Beat the softened butter with 1 cup of sugar until slightly fluffy. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3) Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Let cool slightly. Stir into the butter and sugar mixture. Add the sifted flour, salt, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract and carefully fold it in.

For the cheesecake batter:

4) Put the cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the 2 remaining eggs, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Beat until it’s a smooth, creamy mixture.

Putting it all together:

5) Spread 2/3 of the chocolate mix on the bottom of your baking tray. Pour the cream cheese on top and spread it out evenly. Now drop little pieces of chocolate mix on top of the cream cheese. Lightly work it in with a fork—like you’re marbling a cake. Push the raspberries into the cream cheese.

6) Bake at 350°F (175C) for 40 to 45 minutes or until the cake feels set when gently touched in the center. Let the brownies cool off completely, then refrigerate several hours,  preferably overnight, before cutting them in squares.

This post is linked to the Ultimate Recipe Swap: Chocolate. and Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies

These are a really nice variation from the usual brownies and blondies and incorporate the traditional Christmas flavor of ginger just beautifully.  I made them for Corban's Royal Ranger class for snack on Wednesday night and they went over very well.....and I wasn't the least disappointed to see there were some leftover when the family got home.  Even Grant is a fan.....and he usually doesn't go for ginger-flavored things much.

These will definitely go into the keeper category for Christmas-time baking.

Recipe (from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)


2 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 ¾ cups white chocolate chips
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside (I lined my pan with aluminum foil and then sprayed the aluminum foil with cooking spray).

Whisk together flour, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until creamy and pale, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolk one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla and molasses and mix on medium speed until combined.

Add flour mixture on low speed until combined. Stir in white chocolate.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake until golden around edges and toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan; cut into 24 squares. Blondies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.

Loaded Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

                               

Ridiculous.  That's what these are.....just ridiculous!

Chocolate peanut butter cookies filled with peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, and mini Reese's pieces, and half of a Mini Reese's Cup smack dab in the middle.  Seriously!  I mean, what's not to like?

My only complaint was that the cookie itself wasn't as chewy as I would prefer....more of a crumbly texture....but that could be entirely my fault.  I may or may not have neglected to verify the amount of peanut butter called for in the recipe before adding it in....and I may or may not have neglected to measure it anyways.  All to say, I think I added too much peanut butter.  Ooops.  Well, they still turned out delicious and
I'm sure they'll be a hit at the party I'm taking them to this weekend.  (They're hanging out in the freezer in the meantime.)

Recipe: (from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)  

1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. peanut butter
3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
2-1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. baking cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. peanut butter chips
1 c. Reese's Pieces
20-25 mini Reese's peanut butter cups, cut into halves and frozen

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and Reese’s Pieces (this is best done by hand so the shells of the Reese’s Pieces don’t get broken).

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or silpat liner. (I used parchment mostly, but found it wasn't really necessary.)  Push one peanut butter cup half into the center of each ball of dough. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Let cool for 1 or 2 minutes on sheet before removing, or they will fall apart.

"O" is for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

We're back to our Alphabet Service Projects and last week was "O". We made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for a friend of Corban's named Oliver.  We delivered them to him on Wednesday night in his Royal Rangers Class, and I wish I had a picture of the smile on his face. He was so pleased and proud to be the recipient of a plate of cookies from a little sister of his buddy.  Annika was quite delighted with it herself and has been talking about Oliver the rest of the week.  She wants to have him over to play.  :)  

I usually don't make Oatmeal Cookies, as Grant much prefers Chocolate Chip Cookies - and these were a delightful change from the ordinary.  Even Grant declared they were the best Oatmeal cookies he had ever eaten.  I have to agree.  They're chewy and have just the right amount of spices for flavor.

Recipe: (from Annie's Eats)

1 cup butter, softened
1-½ cups light brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-¾ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1-½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a large bowl beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla with a hand held mixer until well blended. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, stirring until just combined.

Fold in rolled oats, raisin and walnuts (if desired). Drop dough by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes and remove to wire rack to cool completely.

To see the rest of our Alphabet Service Projects, click here!  

"N" is for Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

For our Alphabet Service Project this week featuring the letter "N", the kids thought it was a no-brainer that we'd make something for one of Marissa's best friends, Natalee, and her dad Nathan. 

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies were just the thing. 

If you have never tried Nutella, get thee out to a grocery store and head straight to the peanut butter section, where you'll find these jars of chocolate hazelnut spread.  Buy one.  Or two.  Better yet, go to Sam's Club and get a 3-pack for the same price as you'd pay for 2 jars at Wal-Mart.  It's just irresistible.  

I like it on pretzels, bread, or just straight from the jar.  But as I've recently discovered, it's wonderful to bake with.....and there are plenty of recipes including it out there.  

Nutella takes regular chocolate chip cookies up a notch, with additional but not too strong chocolate flavor and a hint of nuttiness.  They're chewy perfection - not cakey, not dense, not crumbly, just pure deliciousness.  

Recipe: (from Cupcake Muffin)

1 stick butter, softened
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. Nutella
2 eggs
1-1/2 t. vanilla
2-1/3 c. flour (all purpose)
1 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
1-1/2 c. chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper if desired (I did).
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy.  Add Nutella and mix well.  Add eggs one at a time, stirring to combine each.  Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture and stir until well mixed.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by tablespoonfuls on prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes (8 was perfect for me), then cool on a wire rack.

To see the rest of our Alphabet Service Projects, click here. 

"M" is for Mississippi Mud Brownies

Our pastor and his wife are named Mark and Mary, which made them an easy choice as the recipients of our Letter M project, Mississippi Mud Brownies. 

Definitely not something to make for the calorie-counter, these are pretty easy to whip together and are a very special treat.  Other variations are called Mississippi Mud Cake, but the texture is definitely more brownie-like, so I'm sticking with the brownie label.  They're definitely rich and you only need a small piece, although my children said they could just keep eating them all day long. 

When I gave them a sample at lunch and they all gushed, "It's better than an A+, Mom!"

Generous on the grading scale, aren't they! 

Marissa even went to far as to say it's her favorite dessert ever.  Of course, I take that with a grain of salt, since she's been prone to say that about whatever dessert she's eating at the time, but I have a feeling this one really is up there on the charts.

I suspect the man of the house won't be a fan, with the marshmallows and all, which still doesn't make sense to me, because he freely admitted to eating nearly a whole package of marshmallows on his camping trip with Corban last weekend.  Anyways.

Update: He DID love them....surprise surprise!  I think he was even shocked himself at how much he liked them.  

I reduced the sugar called for in the original recipe both in the cake layer and the frosting and it is still plenty sweet.  My changed are reflected below.

Recipe (modified from Allrecipes) 

2 sticks (1 cup) butter

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

1-1/2 c. granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 t. vanilla

1-1/2 c. flour

1/4 t. salt

1 c. chopped pecans (optional - I think they would be fabulous, but my family would revolt)

2-3 cups miniature marshmallows (enough to cover the top)

Frosting:

1 stick (1/2 c.) butter

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

2-3/4 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350°.

Grease a 13 x 9" pan.

In a large saucepan, melt butter.  Remove from heat and sift in cocoa, stirring until smooth.  Add sugar and stir well.  Add eggs and vanilla, mix to combine, then add flour and salt, stirring just until incorporated.   

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Do NOT overbake!

Immediately upon removing from oven, top with marshmallows.  Return to oven for 2-3 minutes, or until marshmallows are soft.  Do NOT brown!!  That will make them chewy and tough and difficult to cut. Not good. 

When marshmallows are soft, remove from oven and make frosting.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter.  Add cocoa (sifted, of course) and then powdered sugar and milk.  Stir until smooth and creamy.  Add more milk a teaspoon at a time if necessary for consistency.

Drizzle frosting over marshmallows and smooth to cover completely. 

Allow to cool before cutting.

To see the rest of our Alphabet Service Projects, click here.

Linked to 4 Moms Share Favorite Desserts

"L" is for Lemon Snowballs

This is a very soft refeshing cookie bursting with Lemon flavor.  The kids and I Like them a lot, although Grant isn't a big Lemon fan and chose to abstain from even trying one.

I'm not afraid to whip out the jarred lemon juice for many recipes, but since I bought lemons to zest anyways, I went ahead and juiced them.  I did have to add a little of the jarred lemon juice to make enough.

The girls and I had a Lovely time delivering them to a friend, Lisa, and she was so gracious and sweet to us, showing the girls around her home, telling them about her family, and using L words whenever she could.  I think she was also grateful that we didn't choose to bring her Liver, Lettuce, or Lollypops, although Corban insisted the Liver would be hysterical.  Hahaha.  That's a boy for you. 

Recipe: (from Allrecipes)

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon (~ 1 T.)
1-3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. finely chopped almonds (optional)
powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg and blend well.  Stir in lemon juice and zest.  Mixture will appear lumpy and weird - don't panic!
In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.  Add to wet mixture and stir well.  Add almonds if desired.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 9-10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned (tops will not brown).  Remove from baking sheet immediately and put on wire racks.  After a couple of minutes, roll in powdered sugar.

To see the rest of our Alphabet Service Projects, click here. 

"K" is for Kiss Cookies (aka Peanut Butter Blossoms)

A classic recipe with a slight re-work of the name to make it work for K week!   We thought Hershey's Kiss cookies would be more appealing than Kale or Ketchup.  There is always Kiwi, but you never know if the ones you pick will be sweet and juicy or downright sour.   

I used the recipe off the back of the Kiss package, substituting butter for the shortening.  They're a little crumbly, but oh so delicious.  I love how the kisses look firm, but when you bite into them they're soft and creamy and a perfect complement to the peanut butter cookie.  

Recipe (adapted from the Hershey's Kiss bag)

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened

3/4 c. creamy peanut butter

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/3 c. white sugar

1 egg

2 T. milk

1 t. vanilla

1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Granulated sugar, for rolling

48 Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and peanut butter together. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy.  

Add in egg, milk and vanilla and combine well.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture and beat until thoroughly combined. 

Roll dough into 1-inch balls, roll in sugar, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. 

Immediately upon removing from oven, place an unwrapped Kiss in the center of each cookie and press gently.  

Remove from cookie sheet to a wire rack. Cool completely.  Or eat while warm.  I won't tell.  

To see the rest of our Alphabet Service Projects, click here.

S'mores Brownies

I made these brownies for a friend who had a baby recently and kept a few to sample at home. 

I am by no reach of the imagination a brownie snob.....I love a mix just as much as anyone. 

However.

Brownies from scratch are just......just.......oh, I don't know, wonderful!  And you can't have too many brownie recipes.

This one, I have to say, is divine.  I think the base recipe without the marshmallows and graham crackers may just be the tastiest brownies I've ever eaten. 

To be quite honest, I couldn't really taste the graham crackers in there. Maybe I crushed them up too fine, maybe I didn't add quite enough, I don't know....but they just kinda disappeared.  And the marshmallows, while I loved the added flavor and stickiness, they didn't flatten out quite as I expected, so I'm recommending cutting your marshmallows in half to spread them further over the brownies. 

And my husband, while he loves roasted marshmallows and s'mores, does not approve of marshmallows in other desserts and he was not fond of these. 

The children, for the record, thought they were from heaven. 

My friend's family thought very highly of them as well. 

Recipe: (from Sugar Cooking)

1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. salt

2 T. cocoa powder

11 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c. butter, cut into 1-inch cubes (2 sticks or 8 oz)

1 t. instant coffee granules

1-1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. light brown sugar

5 large eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

1 c. coarsely crushed graham crackers

15 large marshmallows (cut in half if preferred)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease a 13 x 9" pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.
In a large microwavable bowl, heat the butter, instant coffee, and chocolate at 30 sec. intervals until melted and stir until smooth. (Or you can mess with the whole double boiler thing....I didn't want to take the time).
Stir the sugar and brown sugar into the chocolate.  Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each. Add vanilla.
Don't over beat the batter or the brownies will become cakey.
Sprinkle the flour mixture in and fold in gently with a spatula.
Mix in graham crackers.
Spread into your prepared pan.  Dot with marshmallows.
Bake for 30- 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Marshmallows will be browned and puffy, but will deflate a little as cooling.
Cool for 20 minutes, then cut with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too sticky and messy.

This post is linked to Picnic Recipes: a 4-Moms Link-up