Cereal Cookie Bars: Rice Crispy Treat Upgraded

Cereal Cookie Bars: Rice Crispy Treat Upgraded

Hi everybody :)
I was looking for something in my cookbook collection, that I can make to satisfy my sweet tooth in a hurry. These bars 'jumped up' at me from the pages of my cookbook. They're quick, don't require much cooking time, and loaded with goodies of the sweetest kind; so bars, it is. Let's get it started...

Cereal Cookie Bars
9 cups crisp rice cereal
6-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup cornflakes (I used crushed graham crackers)
1 cup flaked coconut
2 packages (one 16 ounces, one 10-1/2 ounces) miniature marshmallows
1 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used butterscotch chips)
1/2 cup raisins (I used white chocolate chips)
1/2 cup M&M's minis (I used regular)

In a large bowl, combine the cereal, oats, cornflakes and coconut; set aside.

In a large saucepan, cook and stir the marshmallows and butter over low heat until melted and smooth. Stir in honey. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until coated. Cool for 5 minutes.

Stir in chocolate chips, raisins and baking bits. Press into two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. pans. 

 Cool for 30 minutes before cutting. Yield: 6 dozen.
 Source:  Taste of Home 2008 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes or here.

 What I did and/or Think:
I divided the recipe in half and used a 13-in.x9-in. pan for thicker bars, otherwise the bars will be very thin. The other changes I made are in Bold, Italic, and Purple.
The Taste: I love the combinations of flavors. Great REPEAT. It's like a rice crispy treat upgraded to the next level. I think next time I will do a fruits and nuts combination.

ENJOY! Come again... 
Linked to:
Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sister's Stuff
Show and Tell Saturday: Be Different...Act Normal    
Sweet Saturday Link Party: The Gingerbread Blog 
Finding the Delicious & Pretty Linky Party
Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party  @ Addicted Recipes

Sweet 2 Eat Baking: Sugar & Slice

Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks 
Melt In Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday! 
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop 
Watch Out Martha   
Tried and  True Recipe Party 3  
 The Country Cook:: Weekend Potluck

Cookie Dough Crispy Treats

Cookie Dough Crispy Treats

Hi everybody :)

Sorry about the lateness, but I'm working on some sourdough projects I'll be posting later.

Now to the recipe at hand, Cookie Dough Crispy Treats, who doesn't LOOVVVVE cookie dough??? This recipe is guarantee to make you a cookie dough fan, if you're not one already.  And YES, it's SAFE to eat, because it doesn't contain eggs. I'm sharing the love today, people, let's get it started... 

Cookie Dough Crispy Treats adapted The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook

Makes 24 Treats

FOR COOKIE DOUGH:
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

FOR THE CRISPY TREATS:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces marshmallows (about 44 regular or 7 cup mini marshmallows)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 cups crisp rice cereal

Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with butter or cooking spray, set aside.

FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH:
In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars with on electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add vanilla and milk. Mix in flour and salt and beat on low speed (or by hand) until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

FOR THE CRISPY TREATS MIX:
Melt butter and marshmallows together in a large saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted. Remove from heat, add vanilla. 

Fold in cereal,  stirring until completely coated.
Press half of the cereal mixture into prepared pan.  

 Spread with cookie dough and then top with remaining cereal,

carefully pressing into an even layer with generously buttered hands

Cut into squares. Treats can be stored in refrigerator, use within 3 days

What I Did and/or Think:
The only change I did was drizzled white chocolate over the bars. 

Here's a TIP: I rolled the cookie dough layer out as in the picture below on a lightly floured and powdered sugar surface (another tip for rolled cookie; mix powdered sugar and flour or cocoa for chocolate cookies to roll them out with) then topped and pressed.

The Taste: DELICIOUS of course! as if otherwise :) Definitely a REPEAT!

ENJOY! Come again...




Linked to:

Miss information: I Freakin' Did It Friday 
The Mandatory Mooch Tasty Thursday
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
It's a Hodgepodge Friday 
Feature Friday Link Party: Blissful and Domestic
Simply Link Party: Simply Designing
The Better Baker Weekend Potluck
Foodie Fridays @ Designs By Gollum
Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sister's Stuff 
Something Swanky: Sweet Treats and Swanky Stuff Saturday
Sweet Saturday Link Party: The Gingerbread Blog 
Sweet 2 Eat Baking: Sugar & Slice Sunday 
 Melt In Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

Strawberry Hearts Whoppie Pies: Pink Ribbon Intro.

Strawberry Hearts Whoppie Pies: Pink Ribbon Intro.

Strawberry Hearts Whoppie Pies

Hi everybody :)

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I went to my local library to check out a book, Betty Crocker Living with Cancer Cookbook This book is full of recipes and helpful tips for anyone you may know dealing with breast cancer. It beautifully written with guidelines on what to eat for nausea, mouth sores, diarrhea and constipation, the most common side effects of cancer treatments.

Each recipe in the book come with health information and/or a doctor note explaining why the recipe is a good choice. 

 I will be sharing a few recipes from the book with you, each recipe will be part of my Pink Ribbon Series.
 
Although the recipe I'm sharing today is not apart of the series, I thought it would make a lovely introduction. Let's get it started...

For the Strawberry Hearts adapted here
1 package Strawberry Cake Mix (without the pudding)
2 eggs
3/4 cup shortening (not margarine)

Mix ingredients together, the dough will be stiffed. 

 To form the hearts roll the dough into equal-sized 24 balls, divide each ball in halves. Pinch the two halves together to form a heart shape, continue with remaining dough to form 24
hearts.

Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet, transfer to cooling rack.  Allow cookies to cool completely before sandwiching them.  To assemble; sandwich the two bottom sides together with the filling making 12 whoopie pies. 

For The Whoopie Filling adapted Wilton
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 jar marshmallow creme (about 7 oz)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pink food coloring  (I use AmeriColor )
1-2 teaspoons strawberry jello, dry mix (optional)  for flavor
 
In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar and salt to the butter; mix well. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla; blend well. Add food coloring and jello.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups, of filling, enough to fill 12 whoopie pies.

What I Did and or Think:
I followed the direction in making the cookies, be very careful not to make these too big they are very fragile. I bake the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I only made halve the filling recipe and added a little strawberry jello to it for flavor. I made a Pink Icing; recipe below. Some of the cookies I didn't sandwiched, just drizzled with the icing.

Pink Icing
2 tablespoons milk
1 drop pink food color (I use AmeriColor)
1/4 tsp strawberry jello, dry mix (for flavor) optional
1/3 cup powdered sugar or enough to make it drizzle
Blend together well and drizzle over cookies.

 

The taste: These are Deliciously Sweet; so when you make them, share them! :)

ENJOY! Come again....

Linked to
Sweet Treat Thursday Pink Link @ Something Swanky

Red Velvet Peppermint Whoopie Pies: Making Whoopies

Red Velvet Peppermint Whoopie Pies 

Hi everybody :)

I'm so excited...I'm making whoopies today! YA! I brought my whoopie pie pans months ago. I don't know why it took me this long to decide to make some. Go figure... So this is my first whoopie...whoopie pie, that is :)

While browsing the web, I came across this red velvet cake made from a box and flavored with peppermint. Yum! I thought to myself this would definitely make great whoopie pies. The filling recipe came with the pans. So here's what I did...

Red Velvet Peppermint Whoopie Pies inspired by this and adapted

Red Velvet Cake Mix
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil or 6 tbsp. melted butter; cooled
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil until completely dissolved into dough. Add  peppermint extract.

Drop balls of dough (2 Tablespoons) onto lightly greased baking sheet or whoopie pie pan.

Bake 9-12 min. or until  done. Remove and cool.(If using whoopie pie pan allow to cool in pan for 8 minutes before removing.)

Whoopie Pie Filling adapted Wilton

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 jar marshmallow creme (about 7 oz)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used peppermint)
 Pink food coloring (optional)
For Garnishing:
Crushed peppermint candy (optional)

In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar and salt to the butter; mix well.

Add marshmallow creme and vanilla; blend well.

If desired, add food coloring. Roll edges in crushed peppermint candy. Makes about 2 1/2 cups, of filling, enough to fill 12 whoopie pies.

What I Did and/or Think:

I divided the mix in half, put 1/4 cup crushed peppermint in one of the halves. Bake up the pans one at a time. CAUTION: Do not over-bake! I baked the first pan for 10 minutes and let  them sit for the 8 minutes in pan as instructed in the pan baking directions. Don't do that! They will over-bake that way. *Lesson Learned* If you want nice chewy moist whoopie pies bake for about 9 minutes and carefully remove from pan in about 1 - 2 minutes. This was tested with a Duncan Hines Cake Mix, I do know if this is true for a cake from scratch. I will be testing it out soon, so stay tune in :)

I only made half of the filling recipe, so I drizzled some of the cookies with a peppermint glaze (recipe below) and dusted the rest with powdered sugar. So have fun and get creative with this...

For the Peppermint Glaze:
1/3 cup Powdered Sugar; sifted
1 teaspoon Peppermint Extract
about 2 Tablespoons Milk
Mix together sugar and extract, add enough milk to make it drizzle.

The Taste: The first pan was great, but a little over-cooked, but the second batch was Deliciously Chewy and Moist. I LOVE the mint flavor in these!! TIP: The filling is sticky, so let it chill a little to help make it more easier to work with. Run your scoop under warm water to make dipping easier. This is a REPEAT, people! I got to try this with a carrot cake mix next, using a lemon, orange, or pineapple flavoring in the place of the mint!  :)

ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to:
Sweets for Saturday # 90 @ Sweet As Sugar Cookies
Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain

Whatcha’ Whipped Up #19

 Made By Me Wednesdays # 52 Link Party

Show & Share Wednesday #7
 Thursdays Treasures
 Sweet Treats and Swanky Stuff

Chocolate, Caramel Peanut-Butter Toffee Rice Krispies: Layers of Goodness

Chocolate, Caramel Peanut-Butter Toffee Rice Krispies Treats

Hi everybody :)

When I saw this recipe, one day while browsing the net, my first thought was, " oh my, layer of goodness in one bar!" And the best part about it is, no heating up the oven to make these. It has been pretty HOT here lately. I know the calendar says it's Fall, but I'll be really glad when that Fall weather kicks in over here. Alas..until then I bring you these no-bake treats. Lets get it started...

Chocolate, Caramel Peanut-Butter Rice Krispies Treats adapted here

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
10-ounce bag marshmallows or mini-marshmallows (6 cups)
1 tablespoon vanilla
7 cups Rice Krispies cereal
14-ounce bag unwrapped caramels
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups peanut butter, divided
12-ounce bag semisweet or dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips)
1/2 cup toffee bits or peanut butter cup minis

Directions:

Butter a 9- by 13-inch pan and the pot and utensils you will be using to melt the marshmallows.

Place 3 tablespoons of butter and the marshmallows in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until melted.

When completely melted and smooth, stir in vanilla. 

Turn off heat and stir in cereal until completely coated; the mixture will be sticky.

Pour into buttered pan. Coat hands with butter and press in mixture firmly.

Place in the refrigerator to chill. In another saucepan, place caramels and water over low heat, stirring frequently as caramels melt until smooth.

Add 1 cup of the peanut butter to the caramel and stir until completely blended.

Pour onto the chilled Rice Krispies mixture and spread to the edges.

Place pan back in the refrigerator.

Over low heat, melt the chocolate in a saucepan, stirring frequently and being careful not to scorch the chocolate. When melted, add in the remaining 1/2 cup of peanut butter, stirring until smooth.

 Pour chocolate mixture over caramel layer, spreading to the edges in an even layer.

Sprinkle on toffee bits.

Place dessert in the refrigerator and allow to set up for about 1 hour or until chocolate is firm to the touch. Cut into squares or rectangles when firm.

Bars are easiest to cut when cold but are best eaten at room temperature or only slightly chilled. Yields: 14 servings

What I Did and/or Think: I'm a sucker for sweet, I know. I couldn't resist adding yet another layer of goodness to these bars, (like they needed another one..) I added a toffee layer, that was the only changes I made to the recipe.

The Taste: With all that goodness going on, these bars were deliciously sweet. Caramel, chocolate, peanut butter and toffee on top of rice krispies, what's not to love? That being said, these are meant to be shared. So go make some today and share the love :)

Oh by the way, I almost forgot... this is another great what... REPEAT!

ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to:
Sweets for Saturday # 89 @ Sweet As Sugar Cookies
Whatever Goes Wednesday #137

Whatcha' Whipped Up Wednesday # 18 @DJsSugarShack

{wow me} wednesday #71

Cast Party Wednesday # 61 @ Lady Behind the Curtain