S'Mores Bars

Yum, yum, and more yum!

I needed to make a batch of cookies for a 

lunch I was going to, and I wanted to try 

something different.  I have no idea why, 

but I did a search for S'Mores Bars on Pinterest, 

and up came a recipe from House of Nash Eats 

that looked really yummy.

As I read the recipe, she said she had tasted it at 

a get-together and it was brought by Hungry Runner Girl.

Ha!  I know Hungry Runner Girl personally.  My 

son dated her for a while, so this was a fun recipe 

for me to try out, and the verdict was - fantastic!

These fabulous bars consist of a graham cracker crust, 

topped with a chocolate cookie dough layer, and 

then gloriously garnished with marshmallows, 

chocolate chips and Hershey bars.  How could they 

be anything but wonderful?

The recipe called for a very large amount of 

butter to be mixed into the graham cracker crust - 

let me tell you a secret - butter makes things 

extra delicious!  Nope, I won't be altering that.  

I didn't end up having mini marshmallows on hand, 

so I laboriously cut the full sized ones into smaller 

pieces - it worked, but I grabbed a bag at the store 

for my next batch - which I am making this week.  

S'Mores Bars Recipes

Graham Cracker Crust

2 1/4 C. ground graham crackers ( 1 1/2 pkg)

2/3 C. melted butter

1/3 C. sugar

Mix the above and spread into a 9x13 inch pan and bake 

for 5 minutes at 350.  Remove and let cool a little.

Meanwhile make the cookie dough.

1 C. softened butter

3/4 C. brown sugar

3/4 C. white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 C. flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 C. mini marshmallows

Cream the butter and sugars together.  Then add the eggs and 

vanilla.  Mix the flour, salt and soda together and blend into 

the butter mixture.  Stir in the chocolate chips and marshmallows.

Spread on the slightly cooled crust carefully, so as to not break 

up the crust.  Bake at 350 for 18 minutes.  Remove from oven 

and top with 

1 C. marshmallows,

1/2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips 

2-3 Hershey bars, broken into squares

Return to oven and bake for 9-11 minutes.  You want 

these to be a little underbaked.  I baked mine for 9.

Let cool completely before cutting.  I put mine in 

the fridge to harden the chocolate before cutting 

into 24 pieces.

You can see how the cookie dough layer is 

underbaked - that's what you want.  

These will be on your list of favorites from now on!

Five Layer Cookie Bars

I was plotting something rich and gooey and 

delicious and decided to put everything together 

that I love...Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brownies, 

Oreos, and more chocolate.

This is a simple cookie that makes enough for a 

crowd as you bake it in a bun pan.

Start with two packages of prepared chocolate 

chip cookie dough (or make your own batch).  

I add about 2 T. flour for each package to make 

the chocolate chip cookies a little firmer.

Spread them in bun pan that has been sprayed 

with Pam.  Then break up half a package of 

Oreos and sprinkle on top.  

Mix a package of brownies ( the 9x13 size package) 

with 1 egg and 1/2 C. butter.  Pinch off pieces and 

place on top.  It won't cover all of the cookie dough.

Pour on a can of sweetened condensed milk.

Sprinkle on 1 1/2 C. chocolate chunks or chocolate chips.  

I love Trader Joe's chocolate chunks.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Let cool completely 

before cutting.  

Yum!  Layer after layer of cookie goodness.  Give these 

a try for one of your summer picnics.

Caramel Oreo Brownies

Caramel and Oreos and Chocolate,

OH MY!

Let's just stuff every yummy ingredient

we can think of into the middle of

double chocolatey brownies and let

the yumminess begin.

My sister in law Michele had made

these and though I didn't get one of

hers, I took it on my sister Jean's word

that I had to try these.  

Yup!  They were right.  

These are amazing and not

as rich as I thought (meaning, I

could eat more than one - no problem!)

The batter made from a cake mix is

stuffed with chocolate chips and after

a little baking is topped with Oreos and

caramel and then more batter.  

What more needs to be said???

Caramel Oreo Brownies

(Very slight variation from Easy Baked)

1 pkg. Chocolate Cake Mix

(I like Betty Crocker's Triple Chocolate)

1/3 C. oil

2 eggs

1 12 oz. pkg. milk chocolate chips

1 12 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

24 Double Stuffed Oreos

32 unwrapped Kraft Caramels

1/2 C. butter

1 14 oz. can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil (if

you don't do this, you will have a hard 

time with the caramel sticking to the sides).

Spray the bottom with oil.

Heat oven to 350.

In a large mixer bowl mix the cake mix,

oil and 2 eggs until blended.  Stir in the

chocolate chips.

Place half of the batter into the bottom

of the prepared pan.  It won't completely cover

the bottom of the pan but it will fill in as it

bakes.  Bake this for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile place the caramels, butter

and the sweetened condensed milk (minus

1 T.) in a saucepan and melt the caramels.

Stir constantly until melted and smooth.

Remove the pan from the oven and place

24 Oreos on the top of the baked cookies.

Now pour the caramel over the cookies.

Finish by topping the pan with the remaining

batter.  You need to take small amounts

and flatten them out in your hands to try

and cover as much of the top as you can.  

Spray your hands with oil as needed.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Let cool in the pan.  When cool, lift the foil out

of the pan and peel it away from the edges,

then cut into squares.  I cut mine into 24

pieces.  These really cut best if you let them

cool overnight, but sometimes you just can't

wait that long.

Cut into 24 squares.

Click here for a printable recipe.

We have already made these twice

and I have people asking for more!  

They were fabulous!!

I will be posting with 

Foodie Friday

Peanut Butter Cup Magic Bars

Now if your mouth isn't watering just

by looking at these pictures, you

and I are cut from a different mold!!

These yummy, gooey, chocolatey, peanut

butter cup filled cookies are 

AMAZING!

Our neighborhood has decided to do a 

Sunday Night Walk and Talk

and guess who got

called to be in charge -

yup, hubby and I.

We had our first one last night and I

was looking on the internet for 

something new to try that I

could make in a super large

batch.

Truth was, we had no idea how many we

might be feeding but we would prefer to

have too much to too little.

I saw these fabulous looking bars

on Averie Cooks

but she called them

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars.

When people asked the name, that was more than

I could spit out and since they remind me of

a Magic Bar with sweetened condensed milk

poured in and oozing out, I had to shorten the

name.

I quadrupled her batch that she made in an 8x8 inch

pan and made it in my huge 13x18 inch pan.  I was afraid

it would run out so I used half the amount of sweetened

condensed milk she did and it was perfect for the pan.

I made two sheet pans of cookies and cut them up into

generous sized cookies so each pan made 48 cookies.

Talk about a way to feed a crowd.  People were

already asking for the recipe and I can tell Averie is

an avid cookie fan and she has lots more gooey,

chocolatey cookies we are going to have to try.

I think we will become very good friends!

Unless you don't like sugar, or chocolate or yum, you will

love these tender, moist gems.  

We had three stations to stop at.  We spread them 

around the neighborhood and asked people to just

set up a table in the front yard.  We also had ice water

at each station.  

This one had

these and homemade brownies.  We served over

200 cookies at this station.  

The second one had 140 cinnamon rolls from

Shirley's bakery.  We have two darling twin teenagers,

Grace and Esther,

who are working there and we got them from them.

All of the rolls were eaten!  Grace also made

the brownies (what a big help).

The third station had chips and homemade salsa.  That

one was so popular that they ran out of the salsa and

ran in the house and opened some of the salsa they

had canned.  

I think the Walk and Talk was a huge hit.

Try it in your neighborhood - it is so great

to have a close knit neighborhood that you

feel like you could turn to if you needed

help.

Peanut Butter Cup Magic Bars

(Adaptaion of Averie Cooks Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars)

2 C. butter

4 large eggs

3 C. brown sugar

1 C. white sugar

2 T. vanilla extract

6 C. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3-4 C. Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups

(I found large bags of these at Wal Mart)

Line a 13x18 inch bun pan with foil and spray

with Pam.  Preheat your oven to 350.

Melt butter in the microwave and place in a large

mixing bowl.  Add the sugars, eggs and vanilla and

blend.  

In another large bowl stir together the flour, baking

powder and salt.  Add to the wet mixture and mix

together.  

Remove two cups of the dough and set aside.

Press the remaining dough in the pan.  Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top, keeping away from the edges

of the pan.    Sprinkle

the Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups evenly

on top of the dough. 

Crumble the reserved cookie dough over the

top.

Bake in the center of the oven for 25-28

minutes.  

Remove and let cool for at least three hours

until the center is set.  You might want to cool

for one hour on the counter and then in the fridge.

Or as Averie suggested, if you don't want to wait

just dig in with a spoon!

(To make an 8x8 inch pan cut the recipe in 

fourths.)

Click here for a printable recipe.

We were worried about the weather for the Walk and Talk

 as the night before we had a huge storm

 that caused a lot of flooding. 

We were in the food tent at the BYU vs Univ. of Texas

game and were terrified that this giant tent was going

to collapse on our heads so we went and stood by the

doors to wait out the storm.  A lot of neighbors had

flooding in basements.  We had a little come through windows

but that was all.

I had never seen anything like it.  My son was on his way to 

the game and he said the clouds were rolling so fast with fingers

shooting out ahead of them just like something you might

see in a Harry Potter Movie.  Glad we were all safe.

And super glad that BYU won!! Go Cougars.

Fortunately the weather cleared up by 

Sunday evening and we had our 

Walk and Talk

from 6:00 to 8:00

A Pan-full of Sugar Cookies - Like Sweet Tooth Fairy

I am a sucker for a good sugar cookie

and there is one in town that we are 

in love with at

Sweet Tooth Fairy.

They are just barely baked

so they just melt in your mouth and

have a hint of coconut and almond flavoring.

When my sister from Texas came to visit

a couple of years ago we discovered these

and went back every day!  

Addicting.

So when her daughter, my niece, brought over

some bar sugar cookies she made off

Pinterest, I decided to play around and 

see if I could make one that reminded

me of

Sweet Tooth Fairy's fabulous cookie.

What's great about this idea is that 

you mix, pat in pan, bake and frost

all in a few steps and you have

a pan-full of melt-in-you-mouth

sugar cookies

without flouring and rolling and 

frosting each cookie.

They are perfect for feeding a crowd.

She got the recipe from

Six Sisters Stuff

who got it from

The Repressed Pastry Chef

and

Lady with the Red Rocker

and the Repressed Pastry Chef

said she got it from

Anissa's Kitchen

so who knows where the original sugar

cookie recipe comes from, but we loved it.

This is a variation on the above to make

mine more like Sweet Tooth Fairy's.

A Pan-full of Sugar Cookies Recipe

1 C. butter, room temperature

2 C. granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp. coconut flavoring

5 C. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. soda

Cream the butter and sugar and then add the eggs

one at a time, scraping sides between additions.

combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl

and whisk together to incorporate the salt and the

soda.

When the sugar and egg mixture is light and fluffy,

mix in the flour mixture and combine well.

Spray a large sheet pan

13x18x1

(You used to be able to buy these in Costco

and also at most kitchen stores.)

Press the dough into the pan and smooth out.

Place in a preheated 375 degree oven

for 12-13 minutes.  You can easily

overbake these and I would rather have

my sugar cookies a little underbaked.

I baked until it looked dry on the top,

it will sink a little when it cools.

Cool completely and frost with

Almond Coconut Frosting

3/4 C. softened butter

6 C. powdered sugar

1 tsp. clear vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

1/2 tsp. coconut flavoring

5-6 T. cold water 

pink or red food coloring

sprinkles

Place all ingredients in a mixer bowl using the

whip attachment.  Whip until creamy.  Add 

additional water if needed 1 T. at a time to

make a creamy soft frosting. Add the food coloring

a little at a time to make a pink frosting.  Beat for 5-7

minutes to make it really creamy.

When the pan is completely cool, frost the

cookies and add the sprinkles before the

frosting sets up.  Let the frosting set up

before cutting.  

Click here for a printable recipe.

Even though the pan makes a ton of cookies,

they will go quickly because you hardly

have to chew!!

I think the coconut softens and rounds out the

almond flavoring.  If you aren't a fan of

almond flavoring, just use 2 tsp. vanilla

for the frosting, but we love our frosting

with almond and this twist on it

makes a fabulous frosting.

I made these to take to a pool party -

trying to get in the last few before

summer ends.

Sure enough, you serve sugar and 

mermaids come swimming up for

a bite!

I will be posting this with

Foodie Friday

On The Menu Monday

Fudgy Chocolate Chip Toffee Bar

Let's be honest, every girl wants to look 

great in their wedding dress

and every Mother of the Bride wants to look 

pretty good in her dress too

so we haven't been having a lot of 

luscious goodies around the house lately,

but I saw this on the Internet

 and fell in love with

Shannon's story on Bake. Frost. Repeat.

about

how her mother loves that she has a blog

 and searches the internet for

things she wants her to make. 

 I have a niece who does that - she pins things

and tells me to bake them for her!  Besides her pictures look so so yummy

that I was hooked in immediately.  

Shannon said her mom found it on the Pillsbury website.

Well, let me tell you that Shannon's picture

 wants you to make them, more

than Pillsbury's and certainly more than mine.

  (I am thinking she used milk

chocolate chips, because mine

 were a lot darker chocolate than hers).

But even though mine aren't as pretty

 as hers, they will make your mouth water

as you raise one to your lips!  

These are incredible and disappeared so quickly.

Fudgy Chocolate Chip Toffee Bar

(from Pillsbury.com)

1/2 C. butter, melted

2 C. graham cracker crumbs

8 oz. bag Heath Bits o' Brickle toffee bits (1 1/2 C.)

2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 T. butter

16 oz pkg. refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

(I used the Nestles - the flat one that cuts into squares)

1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350.  Spray 9x13 inch pan with Pam.

Place the refrigerated cookie dough on the

counter to warm up about 10 minutes.

In a bowl mix the melted butter, 1 1/2 C. graham 

cracker crumbs and 3/4 C. toffee bits.  Press

firmly into the bottom of the pan.  I used the

bottom of a measuring cup to do that.  Place

in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a microwave safe bowl, place

the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed

milk and butter.  Microwave for 30 seconds,

then stir and microwave in 30 second 

intervals, stirring each time, until the

fudge mix is smooth.  Stir in the vanilla.

Remove the pan from the fridge and spoon

on the fudge center.

In another bowl, place the softened cookie

dough and the remaining 1/2 C. graham 

cracker and blend that together with your

fingers.  Crumble it evenly over the fudge

center and then top with remaining 3/4 C.

toffee bits.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Let cool

on counter completely before cutting.

(Even when you have cooled it 

completely, the fudge center is pretty soft.)

Click here for a printable recipe.

Let me just say that hanging around with

Shannon's mom could be dangerous-ly fun! 

Looks like I need to spend some more

time on Pillsbury's site too!  

Super duper Yum!