Springtime Magic Bars

The weather at my house this weekend was such a wonderful taste of Spring. It was beautiful and it got me in the mood for some type of pretty springtime dessert.

These ARE truly magic. I know I often say,  "These are SO unbelievably good," but honestly, THESE are the best things I think I have ever made. OK, best BARS I have ever made. I had to specify "bars" because I just remembered a cupcake recipe I am going to share with you guys soon and it's pretty unbelievable, too. But seriously, bar-wise, these rock the house.

I adapted this recipe from one I came across at Lauren's Latest last week. Love her site. I didn't have the toppings her recipe required (chopped Oreos, mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows--YUM!) so I used what I had. These bars are so easy. It's a graham cracker crust topped with sweetened condensed milk and then pretty much whatever you want to throw on top. I used chopped peanut butter sandwich cookies and pastel Sixlets. The magic happens when they are baked. The milk turns all caramely (that's a word, right?) and binds the ingredients together.

Right when they came out of the oven, I topped them with chopped Reese's Minis. Look at those guys. Simply gorgeous. Kate Upton has some serious competition in that shot above. I have SUCH a thing for peanut butter and chocolate. I was never a fan of peanut butter sandwiches or even PB & J for that matter. (I was an odd child. I also didn't like pancakes, waffles or donuts for breakfast. I wanted oatmeal. Don't worry. I have more than made up for that in my adult years.) But give me something sweet that has peanut butter as an ingredient and you could probably get me to do most anything you needed me to. Except push ups. I loathe push ups. And ironing.

To make them prettier, not to mention more delicious (if that is even possible), I drizzled on some melted white chocolate.

I love a recipe that can be adapted so easily. This is definitely one of those. As I mentioned, you can top these bars with basically whatever you want. With all the fun Easter candy out right now, lots of experimentation could be had with this recipe. I do recommend, however, if you want to use Reese's cups or something similar in texture, throw them on AFTER they come out of the oven. That way, they hold their shape but melt just enough to stay put on the bar.

Springtime Magic Bars

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
1-14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups chopped peanut butter sandwich cookies
1/2 cup pastel Sixlets or M & M's
1 cup Reese's Minis cut in half
1/4 cup melted white chocolate (optional)

-Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter until blended well. Press into the bottom of a sprayed 9 x 13 pan. Pour on the condensed milk. Spread evenly. Sprinkle on the cookies and Sixlets. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until edges are browned and bars are set. 

-Once out of the oven, sprinkle on the Reese's cups. Let bars cool completely.

-Carefully invert out of pan onto chopping block. (I invert them onto one board, then lay another board on top and flip them again so that they are right side up.)

-Drizzle with the white chocolate. Once that is set, cut into 16 bars.

For Lauren's original version with Oreos and marshmallows (that woman is a genius) check out the recipe here.

"I'm Not Gonna Call Them That" Bars

If you've been on Pinterest, you are familiar with recipe names that contain the words "crack" or "white trash." "Crack" referring to the fact that it's delicious and could be considered addictive and "white trash" because it uses simple everyday ingredients that are just kind of thrown together. (If you haven't been on Pinterest, then you must be a baby or a teenage boy. Seriously, check it out. Fair warning, you may be glued to the computer for days.) I have to be honest, I really can't stand those names. It's a pet peeve of mine. Like the word "britches" or "moist." Oh, and "scrumptious." Who says that? I don't think I have ever been at a dinner table and overheard someone say, "Margaret, these mashed potatoes are just scrumptious!" I think "scrumptious" is only used in the movies. And books. And maybe at Windsor Palace.

These are called White Trash Bars. Shelly at Cookies and Cups shared this recipe last week and as soon as I read the ingredients and realized I had them all on hand, I HAD to make them. They are super easy and SO tasty. As Shelly says, "These bars are pretty crazy." I am pretty sure they are a million calories a piece, but they're absolutely worth it.

And you won't believe what is in them. Now, because I got the recipe from Shelly and am posting about them so quickly after she did I am sending you to her site to get the ingredient low down. I will tell you that because I was short on the toffee pieces by about a half a cup, I threw in that much coconut to make up the difference. If you are not a toffee fan I bet you could replace the toffee pieces with just about anything you wanted. Chocolate chips, nuts, M & M's...Oh my. The wheels are turning and I think I just might have to experiment soon.

I used some leftover vanilla bean buttercream I had on hand, hence the black flecks. And also, because I LOVE sprinkles I embellished them with some rainbow nonpareils. Sprinkles just make everything better. Mini Mac would agree. She adores sprinkles SO much that she would pick them out of dirt to eat them if she had to.

Caramel Peanut Butter Chip Brownies

Do you say "Kar-mul" or "Care-a-mel?" I say the latter. And I say it often. I just love caramel anything. It's my favorite flavor, if you will. So when Leslie, The Hungry Housewife, made some super-simple and oh-so-tasty caramel stuffed brownies, I had to get on that bandwagon.

These are incredibly easy to make. Just prepare a box mix (I used a family size Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge mix), pour half of it into the pan then arrange a layer of some sort of chocolate covered caramels. I used these:

Feel free to use any kind you want. These come wrapped individually. They make me feel a bit spoiled.

I prepared a  the brownie mix, poured half of the batter into a 9 x 9 pan and strategically placed the unwrapped candy.

I topped it with the remaining batter. Next, because I had some on hand, because they are fantastic with chocolate and most of all because I CAN, I topped the batter with some Reese's Peanut Butter Chips. I baked them according to package directions until they were set in the middle. 

Today one of my other favorite food bloggers, Kristan (Confessions of a Cookbook Queen) posted some Caramel Brownies that have a bit of a different approach but same end result.  Feel free to check our her recipe or Leslie's and decide which one appeals to you most. If you don't want a ton of caramel going on, use mine. If you like more, go with one of theirs. (The candies they used had a bit more caramel punch.)

Enjoy!

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White Chocolate Peanut Butter Grahams

I love things dipped in chocolate. And just about ANYTHING can be dipped in chocolate. Chocolate covered bacon, anyone?  It's all the rage these days. It's next on my list of items to dip. Right after my daughter's chubby little legs and bite sized toes. They're just begging to be nibbled.

This past weekend we threw a baby shower for my sister. There was a candy table that included a cake and all sorts of fun treats such as some S'mores Pops that I made. They are the perfect go-to celebration treat. For anyone who might have missed the post on how to make them click here.

I was so happy with the results! I used paper straws (from Amazon) for the sticks and pink candy pearls (from Michael's) for the embellishments. 

My mom is not big marshmallow fan so for her I just spread peanut butter between the crackers. They were fabulous! Of course, peanut butter and chocolate go way back. Throwing the graham cracker in the mix makes them certifiably addictive.

Once a month, we have a birthday celebration at work. Everyone brings some sort of treat in honor of all of the birthdays for that month and we just graze all day long. There's sandwiches, sweets, dips, fruit and more. I don't even bring lunch on these days because with all that food, there's pretty much no point.

For this month's celebration, it hit me that I had all the ingredients to make the stick-less version of the peanut butter graham pops I made for my mom. Instead of using the large square graham crackers, I broke them in half and made smaller rectangle sandwiches, dipped them in chocolate and topped them with bright sprinkles.

They are so delicious for something so simple. If you want your peanut butter sweeter or not as sweet, just adjust the amount of sugar you add. This recipe has a lot of wiggle room. You can't mess it up.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Grahams

1/2 box graham crackers

1 tray of white melting chocolate/bark

1/2 C peanut butter

1/4 C confectioner's sugar

sprinkles

1. Break the graham crackers in half (or quarters, depending on how they are packaged) so that they are the smaller rectangle size.

2. Using a hand mixer, beat the peanut butter and sugar for a couple of minutes until it's smooth and a bit fluffy.

3. Spread the peanut butter mixture onto half of the crackers and top each one off with another cracker to form a sandwich.

4. Melt the chocolate according to the package. Dip the sandwiches and as you lay each one on wax paper top it with sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet. Allow about a half hour to set. 

Enjoy! But be careful. It's very hard to eat just one.

Thin Mint Stuffed Brownies

I have mentioned the Oreo Stuffed Brownies several times. In fact, you are probably tired of me talking about them. I finally made them this weekend and I am here to tell you, they made time stand still. For a moment, I forgot my name. I finally knew what love was. I was complete. My mouth is watering as I type this.

Since my coworkers get to reap the benefits of the majority of my baking, I let Mr. Mac take that batch of treats to his work this time around. But only after we got our claws into them a good bit. They were a hit!

I still wanted to make something for my work buddies in honor of the upcoming St. Patrick's Holiday and it hit me that Thin Mints and green sprinkles could transform this brownie recipe into the ideal holiday delight.

I used the same recipe from Bridget at Bake at 350, but substituted the Thin Mints in place of the Oreos. Her brownie recipe ROCKS. Alone, without any cookies, it still packs a fudgy, chocolate punch that makes this girl melt. It will definitely be my go-to brownie recipe from now on. Bridget, you're my hero.

See the little Thin Mint treasures hiding in there? Ah, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Thin Mint Stuffed Brownies

1 cup dutch-process cocoa*
 1 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1 TBSP vanilla
3 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
20-25 Thin Mints
1 tsp. corn syrup
1 tsp. water
sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 13 pan. I use the homemade non-stick spread for this.  

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa, salt and baking soda.

3. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the sugar and cook until the mixture is hot, about 1-2 minutes. 

4. Remove from heat and stir in coca mixture until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until combined. Add the flour and stir until smooth. 

5. Pour half of the batter into your dish. Layer in the Thin Mints and drop the remaining batter by spoonfuls over the cookies. Spread gently with an offset spatula.

6. Bake about 25 minutes until done.

7. Mix corn syrup and water in a small bowl. After the brownies have cooled for about 10 minutes, apply the corn syrup mixture with a pastry brush, then apply sprinkles.

8. Make sure the brownies have completely cooled before cutting. To make the process even smoother, place them in the freezer for about a half an hour beforehand.

*Bridget suggested using dark cocoa. Hershey's makes a Special Dark cocoa, but my grocery store doesn't carry it. I am sure this recipe would be even more exceptional with it. If any of my local buddies find it, let me know!

Happy, early St. Patrick's day!

Oreo Stuffed Brownies

I didn't take this picture! Bake at 350 gets all the credit.

I have a teething toddler on my hands. She currently has 3 honkin' molars coming in at the same time so, needless to say, she is pitiful in every sense of the word. I have not had time to make anything this week.  We are throwing a family baby shower for my sister this weekend so I will have a wonderful post for you on Monday full of sweet treats and great pictures courtesy of my new camera lens! (Fingers crossed it gets delivered tomorrow.)

Until then, check out one of my new favorite places, Bake at 350. She is so unbelievably creative. She makes the most gorgeous cut out cookies and tons of other fun treats. Her site makes me feel like a kid again!

I was thrilled to see her post today. Remember the Birthday Cake Oreos? Look above at the tempting concoction she made with them. Oreo Stuffed Brownies. Holy crap. My mouth is literally watering.