magic cookie bars

These bars are incredibly easy to put together, and they are always a huge hit.  All you need is to invest about ten minutes in buying the ingredients, and about another fifteen minutes to put it together.  Then you just need a little bit of baking time. 

What's also great about these bars is that they are very, very flexible.  You can throw in almost anything and they taste great.  They are, however, very rich, so I never make them unless I have a lot of people to share them with!

Makes about 24 bars.

Ingredients:

- 2-3 cups cornflake or graham cracker crumbs (I really love using cinnamon-flavored graham crackers, but any similar wafer or biscuit would also work beautifully, I'm sure).  You'll want enough to create a dense layer that's about 1 inch thick across the bottom of your baking dish.

The easiest thing is to pulse whatever you're using in a food processor to get an even, fine crumb, but if you don't have a food processor, you can put them in a large Ziploc bag and pound at them with a rolling pin or a hammer or a can of tomatoes.

- 1/2 cup melted butter (have more on hand if needed)
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli chips, but any brand will do)
- 1/2 cup butterscotch, Heath bar, or peanut butter chips
- 1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup pecans (walnuts will also do fine)
- 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

Directions:

1.  Lightly toast about half of the coconut flakes.  You can do this by spreading them out in a frying pan without any oil, and heating them on low heat until they just start to turn light brown. 

2.  Lightly toast the nuts.  Again, you can do this in the frying pan -- no oil -- by heating them for about 5 minutes on low heat until you can smell the toasty, nutty flavor but before they start to burn.

3.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

4.  Coarsely chop the nuts, either by hand or by pulsing them lightly in a food processor.

5.  Pour the cornflake or graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter into the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan and pack the mixture down with the back of a spoon or spatula until it forms a dense layer about 1 inch thick.  If the mixture is too dry, melt a little more butter and add it to the mixture. 

6.  Add all the other ingredients, other than the evaporated milk, layer by layer.

7.  Pour the evaporated milk over the pan in a grid pattern, making sure it gets into the corners and edges.

8.  Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges turn light brown. 

9.  Cool and cut into bars.

sloppy joes

I pieced this recipe together using a few websites, but have made it my own thanks to experimentation over time.  Therefore, I don't think I need to cite any sources.  This recipe takes some time to finish cooking (and you do want to give it that simmer time for the best flavor), so plan on starting it about two hours before you want to eat.

Keep in mind that covering the skillet means you'll have a more watery sauce.  This really just depends on how "sloppy" you like your sandwich!  I like mine at the consistency created by the instructions below; however, feel free to adjust as you please. 

A note about the flavor -- this particular combination of sauces and spices creates a really delicious sauce that is a little bit sweet, with a slight kick.  If you don't like the sweetness, cut down on the sugar or molasses; similarly, if you don't like that slight bit of heat, reduce the amount of cayenne pepper. 

Makes about 8 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

- 1 1/4 pounds ground meat (I use lean ground turkey)
- 1 white or Spanish onion
- 1 red or green bell pepper
- 1 large carrot, peeled
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 3 Tbsp. molasses
- 3 Tbsp. (3/4 of a 1/4 cup measure) (packed) light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Worcester sauce
- 2 tsp. mustard
- 3 tsp. grill seasoning (if you don't have this, substitute 1 tsp. ground coriander powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder, and a pinch of red chili flakes)
- 2-3 tsp. ground cumin powder
- 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. sweet paprika powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Good quality, thickly sliced cheese (I use sharp cheddar -- you need something with a strong flavor to stand up to the spices)
- Hamburger buns (I use potato rolls)
- Pickles (optional)
- Potato chips (optional, but there's something about ruffled potato chips that goes incredibly well with this ... I don't even normally like potato chips!)

Directions:

1.  Dice the onion, bell pepper, and carrot into medium-sized cubes.  Finely mince the garlic cloves.

2.  Put the ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, Worcester sauce, mustard and spices in a bowl.  Whisk and set aside.

3.  Heat a large skillet on high heat, adding 1-2 Tbsp. of oil (about 2 turns of the pan).

4.  Add the onion and garlic to the hot oil.  Add some salt to draw out the moisture and cook for 2-3 minutes, until onion is slightly translucent.

5.  Add the meat, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper.  Let the meat brown well and cook it all the way through.  Cover it with a lid to keep in moisture.

6.  Once the meat has cooked, turn heat to medium.  Add the carrot and pepper, with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook for 2 minutes with the lid on.

7.  Add the sauce and spice mixture.  Mix ingredients well and cook for 3 minutes, stirring to combine all ingredients thoroughly. 

8.  Turn the heat to very low, and let simmer for at least 30 minutes with the lid on, stirring once or twice.

9.  Remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes to let some water evaporate.

10.  Lightly toast the hamburger buns so they are just warmed through. 

11.  Make the sandwiches using the meat mixture, a slice of cheese, and pickles in the lightly toasted buns.  The potato chips make a great compliment to this, as I mentioned earlier.

whole wheat chocolate chip cookie

I happened to stumble across this blog a few days ago and I found a post on whole wheat chocolate chip cookies.  As a child, I was steadfastly loyal to white bread, but I began to try weaning myself off it as I grew older and learned the benefits of whole grain and whole wheat.  Now, I actually often enjoy whole wheat options more (unless we're talking about the rosemary olive oil loaf from CostCo, which is just beyond words). 

At any rate, when I read this particular post, I decided that I had to try these out as soon as possible because the author likens these cookies to Digestive biscuits, which I absolutely love. 

I've made some changes to Molly's recipe, which she got from Kim Boyce.  My version of these cookies is below.

Enjoy!

Makes about 32 cookies

Ingredients:

- 3 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur brand white whole wheat flour for a nutty taste that wasn't too dense)

- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 1 tsp. kosher salt

- ½ tsp. cinnamon or nutmeg
-  pinch of espresso powder

- 2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar

- 1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

- 1 ½ Tbsp. molasses (if you don't have molasses, you can use dark brown sugar instead of light brown)

- 2 large eggs at room temperature

- 1 tsp. vanilla extract

- 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped, or bittersweet chips (I tried this with Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips because the grocery store was out of their bittersweet ones, and I was surprised by the amazing contrast of sweeter chocolate with the nuttier dough.  If you use milk chocolate chips, I recommend reducing the white granulated sugar content to about 1/3 cup). 

Directions:

1. Position rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. (If you have no parchment, you can butter the sheet.)

[My note: I don't own a stand mixer.  This works fine with a hand-held.  In fact, I made a batch once using just a wooden spoon and then my hands to massage the dough, and I just threw in everything but the flour & chocolate, mixed well, then added the flour & chocolate ... and it turned out to be delicious.  So if you don't have patience for the separate-bowl, adding each ingredient separately thing, there's no need].

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon/nutmeg, espresso powder, and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to blend.

3. Put the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, mix just until the butter and sugars are blended, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla.

4. Add the flour mixture to the bowl, and blend on low speed (if using a hand-held mixer, from this point on, use a wooden spoon to mix) until the flour is just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the chocolate, and mix on low speed until evenly combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then use your hands to turn and gently massage the dough, making sure all the flour is absorbed.

5. Refrigerate the dough for at least half an hour, but it's even better if you can refrigerate it overnight or for a full day or two -- it gives the flavors a bit more depth.

6. Scoop mounds of dough about 2 tablespoons in size onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. (I was able to fit about 16 cookies on each sheet, staggering them in four rows).

7. Bake the cookies for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the cookies are evenly browned.

8. Transfer the cookies, still on parchment, to a rack to cool.

9. Repeat with remaining dough, or wrap it in a few layers of plastic wrap and put it in the freezer to bake another day.

These cookies are very good while still warm from the oven, but I find that you can taste the wheat more – in a good way – once they’ve cooled.