Sugar Cookie Bars

BARS

1 cup butter (softened)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg.  Add vanilla and mix well.  In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, and soda and stir with a whisk to combine.  Add to wet mixture and mix until combined.  Spread on a greased baking sheet (13 x 18 pan)  Bake at 375 for 10 to 15 min, until golden brown or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely and frost.

FROSTING

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
4 cups of powdered sugar
5 tbsp milk
food coloring if desired

For frosting combine butter and shortening until and smooth and creamy.  Add vanilla and salt.  Add powdered sugar in 1 to 2 increments until combined, then add mild and mix until smooth and spreading consistency.  Spread over cooled cookies.

Oatmeal Squares

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sal
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins (or sub another ingredient. for the white chocolate/toffee ones I added one cup of each)

Preparation:
Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Bar Cookies: Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered.

S'mores Cookie Bar

*Note: Don’t be tempted to substitute mini-marshmallows for the fluff/creme. I tried it that way and the marshmallows completely dissolved in the oven. The marshmallow fluff/creme stays gooey and soft in the oven.

*Makes 9X13-inch pan of bars

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups marshmallow topping, like Marshmallow Fluff or Creme
2 cups milk or semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the 2 short sides. Grease the foil with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Divide the dough in half. Press half into the bottom of the prepared pan until the dough is evenly flattened. Dollop the marshmallow topping on top of the cookie base and gently spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Scatter the remaining dough over the top in clumps. Don’t worry about completely covering the top, the marshmallow and chocolate chips should peek through. Bake the bars until golden brown, about 30-32 minutes. Cool completely. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil overhangs. Cut into bars and serve.

Peanut Butter Crunch S'mores Bars

7 graham crackers
2 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 package (12 ounces or 2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 cups Rice Krispies cereal


Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange graham crackers in a single layer in dish, breaking crackers as needed to fit.

Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over crackers. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until marshmallows are puffy. Cool completely.


In a 2-quart microwave-safe bowl (or in a medium saucepan over medium low heat), combine chocolate chips, corn syrup, and butter. Microwave on high about 1 1/2 minutes or until chocolate is melted, stirring every 30 seconds. If melting in a saucepan, stir constantly until melted, then remove from heat.

Stir in peanut butter, then stir in Rice Krispies until combined. Spread evenly over marshmallows.

Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm. Cut and store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

Chewy No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Treats

One 16-ounce package of chocolate chip cookies
5 cups (1 bag) of large marshmallows
4 tablespoons of butter


Place chocolate chip cookies in food processor (or smash in a large Ziplock bag with a rolling pin) and pulse until crumbly, but not ground.

Melt marshmallows and butter in a microwave-safe bowl until puffy, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Remove and pour in ground cookies.

Quickly stir to combine, then transfer to a 8x8-inch baking dish lined with foil.

Allow to set for 10-15 minutes. Remove bars out of pan by the foil edges. Cut, serve, and enjoy!

S'mores Cracker Candy

12 sheets of graham crackers
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups mini marshmallows
4 Hershey bars, broken into pieces
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang over the ends, and spray foil with cooking spray. Line graham crackers up on the foil so that the sides are touching.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and mixture comes just to a boil (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and pour evenly over crackers. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until bubbly.
Remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle mini marshmallows, chocolate bar pieces, and chocolate chips over the crackers.

Return pan to oven for another 2-3 minutes, or until marshmallows begin to soften and puff up.

Cool completely. Lift from pan using foil edges; cut into bars and enjoy!

Smores Stuffed Brownies

Batch Prepared in 8×8 inch baking pan

1 box of your favorite brownie mix

4 1/2 full Graham Crackers

3 1/2 Full size Hershey’s Bars

16 large marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Line foil into an 8×8 inch baking pan and spray generously with cooking spray. Pour half the brownie batter into lined pan. Layer graham crackers over brownies following Hershey Bars and marshmallows. Pour remaining brownie batter over marshmallows. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes mostly clean from center. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Carefully remove foil and brownies from pan. Peel any foil from away from edges and cut into squares.

Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Chocolate chip cookie layer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup butter flavored vegetable shortening
1 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp salt
1 T cider vinegar
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cheesecake layer:
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla


Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla, salt and vinegar. Beat in the egg, then the baking soda and flour. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide the dough into two equal portions and set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl cream the cream cheese with the sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

3. In a 9x13 pan, spread 1/2 of the cookie dough mixture evenly across the bottom. (This is somewhat tricky to do. I find it easier to add dollops of cookie dough throughout the pan and then spread all the dollops together. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the top of the cookie dough. With the remaining cookie dough, flatten chunks of dough between your hands into discs, and then place on top of the cream cheese mixture. (The dough discs don't have to touch, just place them near each other so they cover the surface as well as possible.)

4. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is brown and cooked through. Cool completely and store in the refrigerator.

(To make this in a sheet pan like pictured in this post, double the recipe and press into a 12x17" sheet pan. The cooking time is slightly shorter.)

Blizzard Bars

*Makes an 8X8- or 9X9-inch pan of bars

12 ounces chocolate chips, semisweet, bittersweet or milk chocolate
1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
3 cups crisp rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup chocolate chips or M&M’s

Garnish: mini marshmallows and additional M&M’s

Lightly grease an 8X8- or 9X9-inch baking pan and set aside.

In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips for one minute. Stir. Then continue to microwave in 30 second increments until the chips are completely melted. Stir in the peanut butter until combined. Let the mixture cool slightly, about five minutes. Add the rice cereal, marshmallows and chocolate chips and/or M&M’s. Fold together with a rubber spatula until well combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Press additional marshmallows and M&M’s into the top of the bars, if desired. Let the bars cool and set for 5-6 hours until they are firm and no longer gooey and melty. These bars take a lot longer to set up than the Avalanche Bars, in fact, when I made them, I kept pressing on the top wondering if they would ever set up. Sure enough, after a long enough rest, I finally cut into them (even though they still felt soft on top) and they were gloriously decadent and messy. Once the bars are firm and set, cut into squares and serve.

Avalanche Bars

12 oz bag of White Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups Rice Krispies, or "Puffed Rice" if you're buying generic
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp for garnish.

Lightly grease a 9x9 pan (or 8x8 if you prefer thicker bars)

1. In microwave-safe bowl dump in white chips and heat on med power for 1 minute. Stir and continue in 30 second increments until chips are melted.

2. Combine the peanut butter with the melted chips

3. Add the krispies.

4. Let cool approx 15 - 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so to help cool.

5. Add the marshmallows and the mini chocolate chips and stir to combine.

6. Dump mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing lightly with the back of your spoon, but do not compact too much, otherwise they will get hard.

7. Press the remaining chocolate chips into the top for garnish.

When the bars are completely cooled cut into squares and enjoy!
These will be the only avalanche that I will ever love :)

Frosty Orange Creme Layered Dessert

2 cups orange sherbet
1 package cream cheese
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tub (8 oz) cool whip

First, line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with foil. Spread the sherbet onto bottom of prepared pan to form even layer.Freeze 10 min.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually add condensed milk and juice, beating until blended. Gently stir in cool whip. Pour over sherbet in pan.

Freeze 3 hours. To unmold, invert pan onto plate; remove foil.

**I increased the sherbet to about 3 cups and would next time only use half of the creamy topping. While it is incredibly good, the topping is pretty rich. It turns out to be twice as much as the sherbet and I think it would taste much better and more balanced, if the two flavors were equal in quantity to each other.
But don't let this fool you. It is the perfect cool, sweet treat.

MINT Brownies

2 c. butter – melted
3/4 c. cocoa
2 1/4 c. sugar
6 eggs – beaten

Combine above ingredients and mix well. Add the following to the mixture:

2 c. flour
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla

Bake this brownie layer in a Texas sheet cake pan or two 9″ x 13″ pans for this amount. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes (add 8-10 minutes if you use two 9″ x 13″ pans. Cool completely.

Mint frosting

4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter – melted
5 Tbsp. milk
6 drops food coloring
2 tsp. mint or peppermint extract

Spread frosting on chilled cake and then chill again. Melt a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and spread for top layer. Chill.

Fresh Apple Cake

The Sisters Cafe

4 cups peeled, diced apples
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
¾ cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, stir together apples and sugar. Add dry ingredients and stir well. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, oil and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into apple mixture, blending until thoroughly moistened. Stir in pecans. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. Serve with warm Cream Sauce.

Cream Sauce
1 cup sugar
½ cup evaporated milk
½ cup butter
1 tsp vanilla


Place all ingredients in saucepan; stir. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 3 minutes. Serve warm, and drizzle over piece of apple cake.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

from Two Peas and Their Pod
Makes 12-16 bars

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon course sea salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 325.

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined.

Fold in peanut butter chips. Spread dough in a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Other sizes will work as well – they will just determine the thickness and cooking length of the bars.

Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. If bars are not done (due to using a different sized dish), bake for 5-6 minute increments. Let cool completely before slicing.

Banana Bars

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (about 2) mashed ripe banana
1 egg
1 pkg. (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, sugars and vanilla in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in bananas and egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into greased 9x13 baking pan or 15x10 jelly roll pan.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Blonde Brownies

3/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups brown sugar (I used dark brown)
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 package chocolate chips

*Mix melted butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add dry ingredients, mixing just to combine. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Chocolate Graham Cracker Toffee

6 whole graham crackers(depending on the size of your crackers you may need more)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Arrange graham crackers in a single layer in a 8X10 inch pan. Add the butter and brown sugar to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour the mixture evenly over the crackers. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips. The chocolate will immediately start to melt, and using a spoon or knife, spread the chocolate to cover the sugar mixture evenly. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top. Let the pan cool to room temperature and then chill until chocolate is firm. Break into pieces.

Yum! Enjoy!

No Bake Reece's Peanut Butter Bars

From Our Best Bites

1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 lb (3 1/2 C) powdered sugar
1 1/2 C creamy peanut butter
1 C (2 sticks) real butter, melted
1 12oz bag chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, or dark, you pick!)
2 tsp shortening

In a large mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter and butter and beat until combined. Press into a parchment (or waxed paper or foil) lined 9x13 pan.

Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate over peanut butter mixture and spread out evenly. Place pan in the fridge just until chocolate is set and then cut into bars. Tip: If the bars chill until the chocolate is too hard to easily cut, use a sharp knife and score the cuts first, then gently cut through. Can be stored in the fridge or at room temp. They will stay firmer if stored in the fridge.

CAN'T LEAVE ALONE BARS

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white or yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter, cubed

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs and oil. Press two-thirds of the mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Set remaining cake mixture aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the milk, chocolate chips and butter. Microwave, uncovered, until chips and butter are melted; stir until smooth. Pour over crust.
Drop teaspoonfuls of remaining cake mixture over top. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting.

Peanut Butter White Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

3 cups Rice Krispies
4 tablespoons butter
30 large marshmallows
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted

In a large bowl, combine the butter, marshmallows and peanut butter. Microwave for about 3 minutes, stirring every minute or so until smooth and creamy. Add the rice krispies and start mixing, than add the white chocolate chips. The best part is that some of the white chocolate will melt into the krispies, and some will stay in form. When mixed well, press into a 9X9 inch pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. I like to spray my fingers with a bit of the nonstick spray and that helps the krispies from sticking to your hands. Drizzle the melted milk chocolate