Saturday, December 22, 2018

Magic Pecan Cookie Bars
























I know..... it's one of those photos that stops you in your tracks and makes you stare at it for a few minutes until you feel that tiny bit of drool escape from your mouth.  It's one of those photos that you can almost taste before you make it.  It's one of those photos that make you run to the store to get the ingredients when you weren't planning on it. It's one of those recipes that you make for your friends and family but end up hiding it in a secret place for yourself.  And it's one of those recipes that when you taste it, you can only come up with "D" words.....delightful, delicious, decadent, and divine!

Magic Pecan Cookie Bars

Crust

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Layers

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ¾ cup shredded sweetened coconut
3/4 cup sliced pecans
12 oz. sweetened condensed milk 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang for easy removal and spray with cooking spray; set aside. 
























In a large bowl, mix together the butter and brown sugar until creamy, using a hand mixer.  Add the vanilla and egg and mix until combined. Next, add the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt and mix until fully combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Press dough evenly into the bottom of your prepared baking pan.  Bake for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with almost all the mini chocolate chips. Reserve about ¼ cup. Next sprinkle coconut and pecans.  Then drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top and sprinkle with reserved ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips. 

























Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan to prevent the coconut from burning.  Rotate the pan and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until set. 
























Allow to cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes and then refrigerate for another two hours. Bars must be cold when you cut them or they will run and not hold their shape. Once cold, cut into squares.  























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Saturday, December 15, 2018

White Chocolate Bark with Nuts and Cranberries
























I love this stuff!  I love passing by it and breaking off just little pieces so I don't feel like I am eating too much of it.  Then I notice the tray is empty and I have to make more so I don't feel so guilty. Sometimes I make it with a few drops of peppermint extract for a real holiday taste!


White Chocolate Bark with Nuts and Cranberries
​​
16 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries or Craisins
1 cup  pistachio nuts, shelled and chopped fine
1 cup of cashews
























In bowl over saucepan of hot water, melt chocolate, stirring occasionally. Stir in cranberries and pistachios.  Pour onto foil-lined or parchment lined baking sheet; using a knife or rubber spatula spread  into 12- x 9- inch rectangle. Drop in cashews randomly.
























Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until hardened. Break into pieces.






















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Sunday, December 09, 2018

♥ STRAWBERRY MINI CAKES


























This little cakes are just the right size for that pop in your mouth deliciousness.   Perfect Christmas treat!

Strawberry Mini Bundt Cakes
 1 cup of flour
3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1 stick of butter
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 tablespoon of lemon zest
1/3 cup of sliced strawberries (or much as you wish)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bundt pans with baking spray and set aside.

In a bowl mix your sugar, eggs and soft butter. Add the flour slowly to the mix followed by the milk and lemon zest. Lastly, fold the strawberries into your batter.


Pour batter into your mini molds, bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Decorate them with powdered sugar and extra strawberries on top! 

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Pecan Meltaways























I loved these cookies growing up. I can’t remember a Christmas without them. My Mom would make them every year and they were always our traditional cookie that we would leave out for Santa. Every year she would hide a single Hershey’s kiss inside one of these cookies and we would get to pick which one we wanted. Whoever got the kiss when they took a bite would get to open one present early. I love these things. They literally melt in your mouth.



Pecan Meltaways



1 cup finely ground pecans
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse pecans with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar until nuts are very finely ground. Add butter and vanilla, and process until smooth. Scrape down the bowl frequently.
























Add in the flour and continue to blend until dough forms. With floured hands, shape dough by rounded teaspoon full into small balls.  

  
Place cookie dough balls one inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 16 - 18 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are light golden.

































Transfer cookies to wire rack. Cool for 3 minutes, then roll cookies in remaining confectioners' sugar and place back on wire rack to cool. When cookies are completely cool, roll in sugar once again. Repeat with remaining dough and sugar.

 

























Cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.







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