Smores Bars

I am excited to be linking up this tasty post to the latest Pinterest Challenge!

Check out all the other links at Young House Love, Bower Power, Red Bird Blue, and Sparkle Meets Pop!



Remember how I mentioned the next book club when I posted about the baked spinach dip in mini bread bowls? Well I was so busy and running around like a nut that week that I didn't have time to bake or cook. I shamefully ran to ShopRite and Target after work to pick up some cheese and crackers and a cute plate and this was just the best I could do:

Keepin it real: sometimes life just gets too busy to bring a homemade goodie to every event...

Pitiful, right? Anyway, I tried to redeem myself with book club last night. I wanted to test out this new Smores Bar pin:

from Sugar Cooking. It looks like Sarah's blog has become inactive, but thankfully this recipe is still up there. Its pretty easy, basically you just make a graham cracker crust dough:

Then layer it up with some Hershey's bars and a jar of Fluff (the original recipe made it clear to use Fluff and not actual marshmallows:

To put the dough on top, I just made a couple balls and flattened them. I laid them on top and then filled in any holes with a little smush of dough. Pop it in the oven at 350 for 30-35 minutes and you are left with this delicious creation:

And all cut up into delicious little cookie bars:

look at those yummy gooey layers!

The Verdict: Not only did they smell amazing while they were baking and cooling, they were absolutely delicious. I was nervous because it almost seemed like there wouldn't be enough graham cracker, but it was fine. I was also afraid they would be a little flat but the dough rose pretty high.

Things to Consider: While its a pretty simple recipe, it doesn't come together really fast. Between the dough mixing and the baking time, it was like an hour for me. Not that an hour is really that long, but its not a quick, throw together and out the door type thing. If you are looking for something a little faster, the smore cups might be a better fit. Also, its only a 8" x 8" square pan, so you might want to make two if its for a big crowd (although they are pretty thick and heavy - a little goes a long way). 


Smore Bars from Sugar Cooking
(originally from Lovin' in the Oven)
my edits in red
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s) - I used 3.5 regular 1.55oz bars
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows) - I used almost an entire small jar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Makes 16 cookie bars.

Easter Recap

This post might be a little shorter than I originally planned. Over the weekend Joe dismantled our office and therefore our computer in order to get started on finally making it look nice (see home-related goals.) As a result I am on the laptop now with limited access to pics and no photoshop. I am going to do the best that I can with the pics still on my memory card...

I got home from work a little early on Friday afternoon and had a little photoshoot with JJ. Here are some choice outtakes:



Yes, I bribe my son with water bottles.



"Ok, enough of this Mom"

I decided to use this one and add a cute message. I printed out a couple copies to give to family we would see, and emailed it out to those we would not:

Saturday I started baking. My intent was to create this adorable "Carrot Cake" as seen in this pin:


Source: The Partiologist

using some sugar free (and therefore diabetic friendly) cake mixes I searched for. My plan was to use this recipe for the carrots and this one for the chocolate cake. My first issue was that I couldn't find an extra long loaf pan anywhere. So I went for the deepest cake pan I could find at (where else?) Michaels and after some brainstorming with Joe we thought to make two rows of carrots and just cut the cake down the middle. I should have seen the disaster coming at this point. I made the orange cake Saturday, let it cool, then used a pennant cookie cutter I had some a sports pack to cut triangles:

It was very very messy and pretty frustrating. But I soldiered on and froze the little carrots and before I went to put froze them in the pan. In between, I whipped up some puffy sugar cookies knowing that I would have some sort of backup. They came out delish:

Sunday morning, after JJ explored his basket:

You like our "babyproofing" of the fireplace opening? "Use what you got" is the motto in this house!

I set out to make the chocolate cake. I mixed it up, boiling water, chocolate shavings and all...

and poured it over the carrots. I have no pictures of this because it was a mess. They didn't really "stick" to the pan so they floated up a bit when I poured. Also, the chocolate cake batter didn't cover the tops of them. Still, I cleaned it up best I could and threw it in the oven. It took almost an hour for it to cook completely. By then, the carrots that had floated up were hard and it was very misshapen. I took a break from the whole thing and let Joe try and save it. I then made this icing following the tips in the comments by warming up the milk to dissolve the pudding mix and I still ended up with lumpy icing. This, I am ashamed to say, is the final product:

I bought oreos to make a "dirt" topping and cute little fondant leaves, but after two days of baking and this was the best I could get, I gave up on making it pretty.

I will say, though, that when cut correctly, it did make a carrot (sort of):



Although my baking was a frustrating mess, overall our Easter was lovely. I took a vacation day on Monday and the family just recovered, relaxed and enjoyed some playground time. I will leave you with a pic of my little man rocking his sweater vest and bunny bib while playing with his new toothbrush (if only he actually liked getting his teeth brushed!):

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! 

Chocolate-Mint Thumbprints

Remember that bake sale I mentioned last week? Well in addition to the pinwheel cookies, I attempted to make chocolate-mint thumbprint cookies. They did not go well.

I got the recipe from Betty Crocker.

Doesn't Betty make them look delish?

I’m not sure where I went wrong. I started by whipping up the dough

And placed them on the cookie sheet as directed.

But they came out looking like this…

They looked NOTHING like Betty’s picture. Then to make matters worse, I overheated the chocolate so it came out lumpy and gross.

Not only did they look terrible, but they tasted terrible as well.

I have no idea how to improve these cookies because I’m not sure what went wrong (other then overheating the chocolate). I would never attempt these again! 

Chocolate Mint Pinwheel Cookies

Last week we had yet another bake sale at work. It seems like we have one every other day but at least it gives me an excuse to try out some new recipes!

The last bake sale I wrote about was around Valentine’s Day and I tried some themed treats. Since this bake sale was near St. Patrick’s Day, I figured I would try out something green. I saw this Chocolate Mint Pinwheel cookie on BettyCrocker.com and decided to give it a go.

Betty Crocker

First, combine sugar cookie mix, butter, and an egg. Once a dough forms, split it in half –placing in two different bowls. In one bowl- add flour, mint extract, & food color.

In the other bowl, add cocoa.

The doughs get balled up separately and placed between wax paper.

Then they get rolled into rectangles.

Once the dough is rolled out and approximately the same size, you place them on top of each other.

Then using the wax paper, roll the dough into a log and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Once the log of dough is frozen- slice it up and bake for 9-11 minutes. I experimented with the thickness of the slices. My first batch I made the slices really thick. The second and third batches, I made them a bit thinner.

Once you take them out of the oven, let the cookies set on the pan for 2 minutes.

Then enjoy!

The Verdict: They were okay. The peppermint is definitely the main flavor- but not too overwhelming. They are the type of cookie you can only have one or two of. I wouldn't be able to eat too many- I guess that’s a good thing!

Things to Note/Consider: If I were to make these cookies again, I would make three changes. 1) I would probably add a tad more cocoa -I could barely taste the chocolate. 2)I would be more careful when slicing the cookies. I ended up having a flat side from pressing down while slicing. 3) This is the biggest tip. Make sure to slice the cookies thickly. The cookies that I sliced thinly, turned out hard. 

Chocolate Mint Pinwheel Cookies

adapted from Betty Crocker

1 pouch Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix

½ cup butter, softened

1 egg

¼ cup unsweetened baking cocoa

2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon peppermint extract

5-6 drops green food color

• In a large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, and egg until dough forms.
• Divide in half. Stir cocoa into one half. Stir flour, peppermint extract, and food color into other half.
• Place chocolate dough on 17x12-inch sheet waxed paper. Top dough with second sheet of waxed paper. Roll dough to form 12x7 inch rectangle. Repeat with green colored dough.
• Remove top sheet of waxed paper from both doughs. Using waxed paper to lift green dough, place the green dough on top of the chocolate dough. Gently press layered dough to 14x8-inch rectangle.
• Remove top sheet waxed paper. Use bottom sheet waxed paper to help roll doughs up together tightly, beginning at long side.
• Wrap tightly in waxed paper; freeze for at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap dough; cut into ¼-inch slices. Place slices about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 9-11 minutes or until set.

Egg Free Dough Dips

Shannon's Funfetti Cake Batter Dip is one of our post popular posts ever (her coconut oil hair treatment is getting pretty popular now too) - its not surprising, who wouldn't want to eat cake batter as a treat? Since we live a couple states apart, I never got to try it. I came across this pin from Willow Bird Baking awhile back and figured I would get to try a cake batter dip and a couple others as well.

They are all egg free so they are intended to be consumed raw.*

The annual Wine and Cheese Christmas Party I have with my girlfriends every January seemed like the perfect time to try them out. You may remember last year I made these chocolate gooey butter cookies for the same party.

I started with the chocolate chip cookie dough dip.

 

After I creamed the butter and sugar together, I added the dry ingredients. It was super powdery and I was afraid I was off to a bad start.

 

 

But after what I think was 4 tablespoons of water (added one at a time), I got a nice consistency. I made it a littler runnier than what cookie dough should be in hopes that it would be easier to dip.

 

Here it is all pretty and on my serving dish:

The other two dips went pretty much the same. Here's a pic of the powdery stage of the sugar cookie dip:

 

That powdery mess turned into this delicious looking dip:

I definitely used a little more than the 2 tablespoons from Julie's recipe. Lastly was the cake batter dough:

It looks almost the same as the sugar cookie dough but you can see the sprinkles in there. This one used more water than called for as well. Here is the final cake batter product:

Here they are all together. I had the perfect three-slot dish I use for my Christmas dinner mashed potato and sweet potato bar fixings. Don't they look delicious??

When I was at the store grabbing the funfetti cake mix, I picked up some chocolate teddy grahams, pretzels, and vanilla wafers as dippers.

The Verdict: They were absolutely delicious and possibly addicting. I heard a lot of "they remind me of dunkaroos" which just brought me back to middle school. I am not the only one who would take the tiniest amount of frosting with each cracker and then on the last one take the entire scoop of the frosting that was left, am I?

Things to consider: They were a little more work than Shannon's first post, but still pretty easy. With the exception of the cake batter dip, I had everything else I needed in my pantry. They were a bit on the hard side for dipping (I had them in the fridge after I made them but thought they would thaw out a bit on my drive to Hoboken). I was afraid the sugar cookie and funfetti doughs would taste too similar, but they had two distinct tastes. Also, each batch made a little less than double what you see here. What I couldn't fit got sent to my cousin Claire's new house on her move in day (remember her Now-and-Later Cookies housewarming gift?) for her and her helpers. All in all, I will definitely be making these again, maybe for a future book club.

As always, the party was a fun time. Thanks for hosting Mary Claire! I thought I was slick by "stealing" a gift this year but joke was on me, it was stolen from me too. I had a brand new silpat mat (side note: anyone have any experience with those? should I invest in one?) and cupcake carrier in my hands before it was taken. I wound up with a great gift in the end: a bottle of prosecco, a gift certificate for a great restaurant, and an excuse to go back to Hoboken for brunch!

Egg Free* Dough Dips
from Julie at Willow Bird Baking

Chocolate Chip:
Yields: about 1 1/2-2 cups cookie dough
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (a few people have found this to be too much; if you want, just add a pinch and increase to taste. I add the full 1/2 teaspoon and enjoy it!)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (again, you might want to add this a teaspoon at a time to taste. I add the full tablespoon and enjoy it!)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
water
Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the flour, salt, vanilla and chocolate chips. Add water one tablespoon at a time (stirring between each) until the dough reaches cookie dough consistency.


Sugar Cookie:
Yields: about 1 1/2-2 cups cookie dough
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1-2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light, fluffy, and pale yellow. Mix in flour and vanilla. Add water one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each, until you reach cookie dough consistency.


Cake Batter:
Yields: about 1 1/2-2 cups cookie dough
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow cake mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sprinkles
4-8 tablespoons water
Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light, fluffy, and pale yellow. Mix in salt, flour, cake mix, sprinkles, and vanilla. Add water one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each, until you reach cookie dough consistency.

*Julie does use the following disclaimer which I guess I should repeat. Clearly, though, I was not concerned: "Note: Since posting this recipe, scientisty types have also found that raw flour — just like produce — can carry E.coli if it’s been contaminated with it. This article suggests that the risk is even smaller than the tiny risk of getting Salmonella from eating cookie dough with raw eggs, but it’s still there and I wanted you to know about it. "