Homemade Twix Bars

This recipe comes from the Kraft website. They called them Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars, but basically they are homemade Twix bars. Pretty simple and definitely yummy.

Homemade Twix Bars

Ingredients:

1 box of Lorna Doone shortbread cookies

1 package of caramels (the kind you use for making caramel apples)

1 tablespoon milk

3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

3 oz. white chocolate

Line 9x13 pan with foil, leaving enough to hang over the sides for a handle later. Use the Reynolds non-stick foil if possible. If not, give the foil a light dusting of cooking spray.

Create a single layer of shortbread cookies on the foil. I had to break some cookies in half to make them fit.

Melt the caramel and the milk in the microwave for two minutes, stirring every thirty seconds. Pour over shortbread cookies and spread until even.

Microwave both types of chocolate in a small bowl for two minutes, again stirring every thirty seconds. When chocolate is smooth, pour it over the caramel layer.

Refrigerate for two hours. Before serving, take it out of the refrigerator and let it soften for fifteen minutes before cutting into bars.

Chocolate Butterscotch Chewies

You can substitute caramel topping for the butterscotch topping in these cookies.

Chocolate Butterscotch Chewies

 

Ingredients:
1-3/4 cup oats
1-3/4 cup flour, divided
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter, melted
1-1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
3/4 cup pecans, chopped (or pecan chips)
1 cup butterscotch topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.

In large bowl, combine oats, 1-1/2 cup flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Melt butter and stir into oat mixture.

Reserve one cup of oat mixture. Press remaining mixture in bottom of pan. Bake 12-15 minutes.

Sprinkle with chips and pecans. Mix butterscotch topping with remaining 1/2 cup flour. Drizzle over chips. Sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Bake 18-22 minutes.

Cool in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate until firm.

Apple Crumble Squares

This recipe was originally in a Family Circle magazine. I cut it out over a year ago. I meant to make it then, but I think I got caught up in making too many pumpkin recipes last fall. Now that apple season is here again, I finally found a chance to make them when we were asked to bring treats into work to celebrate Boss's Day last week.

Apple Crumble Squares

Ingredients for cake:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/4 cup apricot preserves

Ingredients for topping:
2 cups flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a jelly roll pan with cooking spray.

For the cake, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each. On low speed, beat in almond extract, flour, and salt. Spread into pan.

Spread apple slices over top of cake. Put apricot preserves in microwave-safe dish and melt on 50% power for 30-40 seconds or until it is easy to spread. Brush apple slices with melted preserves. Bake for 25 minutes.

In medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Stir in butter until mixture is thoroughly moistened and becomes crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over cake. Bake another 35 minutes.

Cool on wire racks completely before dusting with powdered sugar. Cut into squares.

Yields: about 24 squares

Holiday Rice Krispie Treats

Looking for a really fast, really easy Christmas treat? Here's an easy way to "holidayize" your rice krispie treats.

Holiday Rice Krispie Treats

I won't even bother putting the whole rice krispie treat recipe on here since you can find it on every box of Rice Krispies, not to mention most marshmallow packages.

Here's how to "dress them up." First, cut up some red and green maraschino cherries into quarters. I found the green ones at Target.

Then make the treats as usual. As soon as you've pressed them into a greased pan (I think I used a 9 x 13 pan), press one red cherry quarter and one green cherry quarter together into the treat before it cools. Do this every two inches or so, depending on how big you want your treats to be.

Once the treats have cooled completely, cut them up so that the cherries are at the center of each piece. Immediately store them in an airtight container if you don't want them to dry out. I've also found that using a little more butter and marshmallow than the recipe actually requires also helps keep them moist.

If you want to dress up your presentation of the treats, use muffin cup liners like I did in the photo above. Enjoy!

Red and Green Cherry Cheesecake Brownies

The red and green maraschino cherries in this cheesecake brownie make it a fun Christmas treat! I found them a little tricky to cut, so I think if I make them again, I might stick them in the freezer for ten minutes before cutting.

Whether or not they turn out a little messy, they are definitely delicious if you like cheesecake and brownies!

Red and Green Cherry Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients for crust:
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, broken into pieces
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar, divided
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

Ingredients for cheesecake topping:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup green and red maraschino cherries, chopped
½ teaspoons almond extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Place unsweetened baking chocolate and two sticks of butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 50% power for 2-3 minutes, stirring after each minute, until mixture is smooth.

Beat in 2 cups sugar, 3 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until blended. Stir in 2 cups of flour. Spread batter in greased pan.

Beat cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, and 1 egg. Stir in red and green cherries and almond extract. Spread over top of chocolate batter in pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or just until set. Remove from oven. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars and cover. Refrigerate leftover bars.

Yields: 36 bars

Caramel Brownies

The students at one of my previous schools liked to call these “Speech Contest Brownies,” as I always brought them to the final round of the spring speech contest so that the finalists would have something to look forward to after they performed.

The recipe came from a guy who was in a class I was taking years ago. He brought these several times, and people begged him for the recipe. Here it is with a few of my personal hints for optimal enjoyment.

Caramel Brownies

Ingredients:
1 ½ sticks margarine, melted
1 German chocolate cake mix with pudding
1 small can of evaporated milk
1 package of caramels (like the Kraft kind pictured below)
1 12-oz. package of chocolate chips

Unwrap all the caramels and put them in a small microwave-safe bowl. Then preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the margarine in a microwave-safe bowl. Then add the cake mix and 1/3 cup evaporated milk (that’s about half of the small can). Spread ½ mixture in bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 pan. You will have a very thin layer of batter, and you may want to use a buttered spatula to help spread it out.

Bake at 350 degrees for six minutes. Meanwhile, melt caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk (the other half of the small can).

After the six minutes are up, take the pan out of the oven and spread the chocolate chips over the cake. Then drizzle the melted caramel mixture on tops of this. Finally, drop the rest of the cake mixture by teaspoonfuls on top.

Bake another 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool completely before attempting to cut them. I find it helpful to refrigerate them or even throw them in the freezer for 15 minutes before cutting them. That way the caramel mixture has a chance to solidify and they won’t be quite as messy to cut.

Apple Coconut Bars

Let's hear it for apple season! This recipe won't use up all your apples, but it is a nice way to usher in the fall season.

Apple Coconut Bars

Ingredients:
½ cup melted butter (1 stick)
½ cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup peeled and chopped apple (1 large Gala was enough)
2 cups flaked coconut
½ cup rolled oats
1 ½ cups flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add the white and brown sugars. Mix in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla.

In a small bowl, beat the two eggs with a fork. Then add them to the rest of the cookie dough. Mix well. Then add the chopped apple and 1 ½ cups of the coconut. (Keep ½ cup for later.)

Add the oats and flour. Mix everything thoroughly.

Spoon the dough into the greased pan. Sprinkle the remaining coconut on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. The top should brown slightly.

Let cool and then cut into bars.

Lemon Bars

I made these while in Atlanta. My cousin and his family were on their way down to Florida, and they stopped to visit my brother and his family while I was down there. We all had dinner at a great pizza place and then walked back to the apartment for dessert.

Lemon Bars

Ingredients for crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter or margarine, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour

Ingredients for filling:
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup flour
4 eggs
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I squeezed two lemons.)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 pan with nonstick foil or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, blend butter, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth. Stir in flour until blended. Press mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

For the filling, beat granulated sugar, flour, eggs, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Pour over crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until no imprint remains in filling when touched lightly. Remove from oven to a wire rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.