Club Cracker Bars aka Homemade Twix-Saturday Sweet

This no-bake bar cookie has probably made its way around the net several times, but if you don’t know about it, you should.  It has been called Homemade Twix bars because it resembles that candy.  Whatever you call it, it is really good.

When I make these, I line the 9x13-inch pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.  After the pan has cooled, I remove the uncut  bars and flip them over onto a piece of waxed paper or a jelly roll pan.  I then can see the Club crackers on the bottom and use them as guides to cut the cookies.  Because these are very, very rich cookies, I usually cut the crackers in half.

Smooth or chunky peanut butter may be used for this recipe.  I prefer super chunky peanut butter so that I get some peanut pieces in the frosting.  One package of crackers will make two recipes of bars.

Club Cracker Bars
54 Club Crackers (about half a box)
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
1 c. chocolate chips (may be semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with non-stick spray.  Lay 3 club crackers end to end across the width of the pan.  Repeat down the length of the pan.  You should have about 9 rows.  Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, sugar, milk and butter in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, watching carefully and stirring often.  Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Pour mixture over crackers in pan.  Cover with another layer of crackers.  In a microwave or double  boiler, melt peanut butter and chocolate chips, stirring often until smooth.  Pour peanut butter/chocolate mixture over the top layer of crackers, spreading until smooth and even.  Refrigerate about a hour or until cool.  Remove pan from oven, flip over onto a piece of waxed paper or a jelly roll pan.  Remove the foil.  Using the bottom layer of crackers as a guide, cut into bars then cut bars in half, making 54 squares.

Linking to these great parties:

Weekend Potluck
Saturday Sharefest
Saturday Spotlight
Strut Your Stuff
Weekend Bloggy Reading
Link Party Palooza
Party Junk
I'm Lovin' It
Share Your Creativity

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

No-Bake MandM Brownie Bites-Saturday Sweet

With no water for a day due to having our pump go out, a flooded kitchen floor, and Blogger acting up for me so I could not post my Friday Finds, I was really ready to post a sweet today.  All is well now, and all those things were but a blimp on the radar of life, but I really want sweets when I am stressed (and even when I am not).

No Bake MandM Brownie Bites is a bit different recipe for no-bake cookies as it uses a brownie mix instead of sugar and cocoa.  You can use Homemade Brownie Mix or a commercial mix.  These go together quickly and are great to make on a hot day when you are craving chocolate.  The bites remain soft and do not harden up like some no-bake chocolate cookies do.

With the specialty MandM’s that are available for holidays, these are nice for parties.  I still had some Christmas MandM’s left in my fridge, (I know unbelievable with my sweet tooth) so I used them.

Some helpful hints for making these are:  pre-measure all your ingredients ahead so they are ready to add to the mixture, cut the cube of butter into 4 or 5 slices so it melts quicker, and use a wooden flat bottom spatula to stir the mixture as it scrapes the bottom of the pan as you stir helping to prevent burning.  The well-used one I have is from Pampered Chef.
 

This recipe has been in my recipe files on my computer a long time.  I do not know the original source.

No-Bake MandM Brownie Bites
1 box (18 or 19 oz.) brownie mix or Homemade Brownie Mix
2/3 c. milk
1/2 (1 cube) butter, cut into 4 or 5 slices
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 t vanilla
3 c. quick cooking oats
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. MandM's

Cover your work surface with waxed paper.  You will need two good-size lengths.  In a very large saucepan or Dutch oven combine brownie mix, milk and butter.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a full boil, stirring constantly.  Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla.  Quickly stir to blend well.  Stir in oats and walnuts.  Carefully stir in M&M’s.  Quickly drop by teaspoonsful onto the waxed paper.  Let cool completely.  Store in a zip-top plastic bag.  Makes about 7 dozen.

 

Linking to these great parties:

Weekend Potluck

Share Your Creativity

Link Party Plooza

I'm Lovin' It

Strut Your Stuff

Party Junk

Saturday Spotlight

Friday Flair

Weekend Bloggy Reading

What'd You Do This Weekend

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chinese 5-Spice Glazed Waffle Cookies-Saturday Sweet

 

What do you do when the temperature is near triple digits, and you want cookies?  Well, I guess there are three choices.  You can go buy some, stand over the stove and make no-bake cookies or you can make waffle cookies.  I choose to do the latter.

Although I am posting a recipe, almost any cookie dough that can be rolled into balls (think peanut butter cookie dough) can be baked in a waffle iron.  You just have to be willing to do a little experimentation.

Since there is not a lot of flavor in this cookie itself, the glaze is the spotlight, and the flavor of the glaze can be changed at will.  Although I used Chinese 5-Spice, other spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie or apple pie spice are good choices.  The spices can be omitted and extracts such as almond, mint, maple and others can be used.

Although I can never wait that long, I think that these cookies are better the day after they are made.

 
Chinese 5-Spice Waffle Cookies
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. cream or evaporated milk
4 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 c. sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 t. vanilla or other extract
1 t. Chinese 5-spice or other spice
1 to 2 T. water

Cream butter and sugar together until well blended.  Stir in egg and vanilla and mix well.  Beat in cream or evaporated milk.  Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir into creamed mixture until well blended.  Mixture will be stiff.  Heat waffle iron.  Spoon heaping teaspoonsful of dough into opposite corners of the waffle grids.  This will make 4 at a time.  Bake in waffle iron, 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from waffle iron and place on a cookie sheet or a sheet of waxed paper.  Repeat with remaining dough.  In a small mixing bowl, beat together melted butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and spice.  Add water to make glaze consistency.  Brush glaze over the cookies, letting it seep into the grids of the cookies.  Makes about 40 cookies.

Linking to these great parties:
Weekend Potluck
Party Junk
Creative Linky Party
Saturday Spotlight
Weekend Bloggy Reading
Strut Your Stuff
I'm Lovin' It 
Sunday Funday 
Sugar and Slice Sunday 
Whad't You Do This Weekend

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies-No-Bake Peanut Butter or Chocolate Drops

I am so excited to be part of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.  I followed along last year but was not blogging then.

At Christmas time back in the 80’s I had a cookie baking business that I ran for the people I worked with.  Every year I would scour my cookbooks and choose 12 to 15 different recipes to make.  I would write up a page with the recipe names and a description of each, hand them out to my coworkers, and  they would preorder what they wanted.  

I have never shared all those recipes, but this year I am sharing them.  A number of the recipes are ones that I have not seen anywhere on the web; and I do not want them to become “lost”.  Hopefully sharing the recipes here will help preserve them for the future.

Before I post today’s recipes here are a few tips I learned from making many cookies at Christmastime. 

1.  Make bar cookies.  There are so many different recipes out there, and you can just mix up the batter and stick them in the oven.
2.  Use cookie recipes that make big batches or double your regular recipes.  It takes the same amount of time to mix up dough that makes 3 dozen cookies as it does to mix up dough that makes 6 dozen.  Being the Cookie Monster’s grandmother, I never make recipes that will yield only 16 or 24 cookies.
3.  Make cookie recipes that can be formed into large “logs” and then sliced after baking.  Several of the recipes that I will post are this type.
4.  Make recipes that you can keep in the refrigerator or freezer and then just slice and bake. 
5.  Make “no-bake” cookies.  Saves time and you are not paying for having the oven on.

The first recipes I am sharing are "no-bake”.   A very popular “no-bake” cookie is made with cocoa, peanut butter and oatmeal.  These cookies are either Peanut Butter OR Chocolate.  I have been making these for over 35 years and no longer remember where the Peanut Butter recipe came from.  The Chocolate recipe came from Land O Lakes.

Any kind of nut can be used in the chocolate cookies.  They should be toasted for the best flavor.  A nice change is to used toasted almonds and sub 1/2 to 1 t. almond extract for the vanilla.

The method for making both cookies is the same so I will list the ingredients for each and then the method.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Drops
1/2 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt
1/2 cup peanut butter  (I like crunchy)
1 t. vanilla
3 c. quick-cooking rolled oats

Chocolate Oatmeal Drops
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1/4 to 1/2 c. cocoa
pinch salt
1/2 t. vanilla
3 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 c. toasted nuts
1/2 to 1 c. coconut (optional)

Cut a piece of waxed paper at least 3 ft. long and place on counter or table.  In a large, heavy saucepan combine butter, milk, white or brown sugar, salt and cocoa if using.  Bring mixture to a full-rolling boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Without stirring, let mixture boil for 3 minutes.  Immediately remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter (if using) and vanilla.  Stir until peanut butter is melted.  Add oats and mix well.  Stir in nuts and coconut if using.  Using two teaspoons drop mixture onto waxed paper.  Use one spoon to scoop up mixture and the other to slide it onto the waxed paper.  Let set until firm, about 30 minutes.  Makes about 4 dozen.

If you have an eagle eye, you may have noticed that there are no nuts in the chocolate cookies in the photo.  I forgot to put them in.

Linking to:  Fall Blog Crawl
I'm Lovin' It
Ingredient Spotlight

reade more... Résuméabuiyad