PW Apricot Bars

I made this recipe on our annual family 3-day getaway with Brett's immediate family. Each couple is in charge of a meal, and Brett and I had Sunday breakfast. We decided on a breakfast burrito bar...simple and cheap! Though we were feeding a crowd, I wanted to make it as affordable as possible, and on top of that, I didn't want to have to wait up hours earlier to prepare the meal. So the burritos were a no brainer, but I wanted something sweet with the savory. I knew I wanted to make banana muffins, but I wanted one more thing...something different, and not a bread or doughy pastry. Then I found on the Pioneer Woman's website...and what woman doesn't either a) wish they were the Pioneer Woman, or b) worship all that she does? Maybe I speak for myself.

My conclusion...PERFECTION. Seriously-make these as soon as possible. And don't begin to think you have to have them for breakfast...they would make a wonderful dessert. Oh, and did I mention they are super simple, and you likely have most of the ingredients in your pantry (I had all but the preserves!).

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 3/4 sticks regular salted butter cut into pieces
1 (10-12 oz) jar apricot preserves

Mix together all ingredients except preserves. Press one half of the mixture into a buttered 8" square or small rectangular pan. spread apricot preserves over that layer. Sprinkle second half of mixture over the top and pat lightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until light brown. Let cool completely, then cut into squares.

**My notes-it is very important to let it cool COMPLETELY before you cut and remove from the pan-if not they are to warm and will just mush together.

Rolo Snacks

These are good...TOO good. I mean, I had to put them where I couldn't see them. The closest thing I can compare them to is a turtle candy. But even though this is a lot simpler, I think it is so much tastier!
I couldn't find a bag of the little square pretzels, but I found them in 100 calorie packs. I thought about a regular pretzel so I could get a bag, but I think the chocolate needs more of a foundation, if that makes sense. I didn't want it melting through. So, I went ahead with the 100 calorie packs...now that they are done, I wouldn't use any other pretzel-these are perfect.
So here it is...little square pretzels, Rolos, and pecan halves. That's it! I'll note that my "batch" was an entire bag of Rolos, 3 100 calories packs of pretzels, and one 2oz bag of pecan halves.

Place pretzels on a baking sheet, top each one with a Rolo and bake for 3 minutes at 250 degrees. Place a pecan half atop each Rolo (kind of press it a little...don't flatten it completely, but smoosh enough to where everything is for sure stuck together when they cool). I stuck mine in the freezer while they were still on the baking sheet so they could set. Place them in an airtight container and store in a cool place.

I kept mine in the fridge, but you have to leave them out a few minutes before you eat them or they are too hard...but if they aren't stored in the fridge they were to soft and stuck together. You can pick how you like them.

You can be creative with the topping...any type of nut would work (almonds, walnuts). I saw a variation using Hersey's Kissables as the toppers as well.

Simple Brownies

Who knew I had everything in the kitchen to make these?? I think there are a lot of little recipes that I can make, but I don't realize that I have all of the ingredients to do it. I have really been wanting chocolate cake or brownies for a couple of days now, and was even willing to make a trip to the store today. Before I did, I thought I'd browse a few blogs and see if any recipes caught my eye. I found this one (http://bakingblonde.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/best-brownies/), and didn't even have to go to the store! That made it even better. 25 minutes later....I had some delicious brownies! Note that I didn't use her revisions on the cocoa, and I mixed up my use of nuts because it was all I had...what I ended up doing is as follows:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used half walnuts and half pecans)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9-inch square baking pan. (I used an 8×8 square pan) Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of the pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

The name says enough, right?? I had to try these out for a potential Christmas dessert...





Cookie :
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 (1 ounce) bottle red food coloring

Filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
7 ounces marshmallow creme

Directions :
Preheat oven to 375°F Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
In medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition just until combined. Stir in food coloring.

Spoon batter in 1- or 2-inch diameter rounds, about 1/2-inch high, on the prepared baking sheets, allowing 1 inch between each round.
Bake at 350° for 7 to 9 minutes for 1-inch cookies or 9 to 11 minutes for 2-inch cookies, or until tops are set.

Cool completely on baking sheets on rack. Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets.
For the filling, beat together softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in one 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme.
To fill, spoon Filling on flat sides of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat sides down.

To store: Refrigerate in airtight container up to 4 days. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
Makes 60 one-inch or 42 two-inch cookies.

These are so yummmy. Very sweet and very appealing to the eye. I didn't have quite the amount of food coloring I needed, so next time mine will be more of a bright red.

Oreo Truffle Bombs

This recipe was marked as one to try out for our family Christmas dinner. I have to try it out in advance to make sure it isn't awful that day! Talk of Oreo Truffle Bombs comes up alot on the boards of TheNest, so I figure with so many women recommending it, it must be a hit. It's pretty simple, and hardly a recipe. I found these so delightful, but super rich. Definitely not and everyday dessert, but perfect for a holiday dinner, or party.

Ingredients:

1 package Oreo cookies
8 oz. cream cheese
white chocolate for dipping
semi-sweet chocolate for drizzling

Use a food processor or blender to break down and chop the cookies into tiny bits. I used a gallon zip lock bag, and a rolling pin and it worked just as well. Just get them crushed!

With your hands, mix the Oreo crumbs and cream cheese together. (tip: rub your hands together with a bit of cooking oil/evoo before digging in and it won't stick to your hands as much and it comes of much easier). Form Oreo mixture into balls. I'd say 1 1/2 inches each, about two bites worth! Place into the refrigerator to set for about 30 to an hour.

In the meantime, melt the white chocolate, and semi-sweet chocolate. You can use a saucepan, but keep it low so it doesn't burn. After the Oreo balls are chilled and set, use a toothpick to dip each one in the white chocolate. Place these in a pan lined with wax paper, and pop them in the fridge so the chocolate can harden. Once the outside is hard, use a fork to drizzle the semi-sweet chocolate on the tops of them. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving.

You can see from the photos how I used my chocolate. I actually ran out of white chocolate and used the semi-sweet to dip the rest of my truffle bombs.

Other variations...Place a mini Oreo on top of the truffle after it is dipped. You could choose not to dip them at all, chop your chocolate instead of melting it, and roll the truffles in the chopped chocolate for more of a crumb coating.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

So it's late and earlier I was craving something sweet. One problem, there is nothing, and I mean nothing in the pantry. I was playing with this website that allows you to enter what ingredients you have, and inturn it tells you what recipes you can make. Up popped Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies. Sounding a little too easy, I ran to my "Busy Woman's 3 and 4 Ingredient Recipe Cookbook". If this was for real, then it would be there right? Yes, and there it was! So off I went to gather the four things I needed, and in no time I had myself some delicious cookies. I even used the natural "Smart Balance" peanut butter, and it seemed fine. Oh, and it was crunchy, too. So feel free to try whatever peanut butter you wish, and enjoy!


Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla




In a bowl, mix the sugar and peanut butter with a hand mixer. After blended, stir inthe egg and vanilla. In one inch balls, place dough on a greased cookie sheet about an inch apart. Use a fork to slightly flatten each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Let cool, remove and store in an air tight container.