Sour Butter

Butter is too expensive to throw out but easy to mask its bad taste.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

From Pillsbury

36 servings 

Crust

2 cups flour

2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats

1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups margarine or butter, softened

Filling

1 (12.5-oz.) jar (1 cup) caramel ice cream topping

3 tablespoons flour

1 (6-oz.) pkg. (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts 

 

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9-inch pan. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix at low speed until crumbly. Reserve half of crumb mixture (about 3 cups) for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture in bottom of greased pan. Bake at 350°F. for 10 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine caramel topping and 3 tablespoons flour; blend well.

 

Remove partially baked crust from oven; sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

 

Return to oven; bake an additional 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set. Cut into 36 bars.

 

Calories in one bar: 200

Chocolatey Raspberry Crumb Bars

Chocolatey Raspberry Crumb Bars 

From Nestle

Serves 36

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam

 

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

BEAT butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in flour, sugar and salt until crumbly. With floured fingers, press 1 3/4 cups crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared baking pan; reserve remaining mixture.

BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

MICROWAVE 1 cup morsels and sweetened condensed milk in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Spread over hot crust.

STIR nuts into reserved crumb mixture; sprinkle over chocolate filling. Drop teaspoonfuls of raspberry jam over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with remaining morsels.

BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Calories per serving 170

Old Wheat Flour to Bitter Crackers to Yum

T made some whole wheat graham crackers only the wheat was old and bitter. And we wouldn't want to throw out those crackers now would we?

Magic Cookie Bars
AKA Grandma Fry Bars

Pre-heat oven to 350. Melt one stick of butter in a 9x13 pan in pre-heating oven. Watch carefully so as to not burn the butter.

Sprinkle on top in order:
1 section of crushed graham crackers (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup chocolate chips (can increase to 2 cups)
1 1/3 cups coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 can condensed milk

Bake 25 minutes. Cool then cut into bars.


Nut Cracker Sweets

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cut packed brown sugar
12 graham crackers, broken into fourths
2/3 cup chopped nuts (can omit if small children will choke on them)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a 10x15 pan with foil Melt butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and add sugar. Arrange crackers side by side on the foil. Spoon/pour brown sugar mixture over graham crackers. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake in oven for 7-9 minutes or until sugar mixture bubbles. Do not let crackers cool completely on foil. Remove while still warm.

Bottom of the Bag Becomes Bliss

I had a couple of handfuls of hard dried cranberries that I needed to something with so I could throw out the giganormous bag they were in. This worked out quite nicely.

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Cake
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon ginger OR 2 T. finely minced crystallized ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup diced dried sweetened cranberries
4 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks or white chocolate chips

Frosting
4-ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries

Drizzled Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make cake by beating butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in flour and baking powder until smooth. Mix 3/4 cup diced dried cranberries and white chocolate into the batter by hand. Pour batter into a well-greased 9x13" baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until cake is lightly browned on the top. Allow cake to cool.
 
Make frosting by combining softened cream cheese, 3 cups powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread frosting over the top of the cake.
 
Sprinkle 1/4 cup of diced cranberries over the frosting on the cake.
 
Whisk together 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and shortening. Drizzle icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion with a squirt bottle or fill a plastic food storage bag with the icing and cut off the tip of one corner.
 
Allow cake to sit for several hours or cover and chill in refrigerator for 2 hours then slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.

From: http://www.topsecretrecipes.com

Makes 16 bars.