Magical M&M Cookie Bars

 

If you made my [made with limes] Brazilian lemonade, then you found yourself with leftover sweetened condensed milk that you’re probably wondering what to do with. Well, I’ll tell you, you can do the same thing with a partial can of sweetened condensed milk that you can with a full one, in this case, make layered cookie bars.

I have been in a bit of a mood. There are a LOT of reasons for this mood, none of which I will go into here. Suffice to say that EVERYTHING was annoying me, the least of which was my “pummeling pantry” that, every time I opened the door, would hit me with one thing or another.  After four or five times, this becomes annoying. I decided that I was going to take all of those weird things that kept falling out of the pantry, put them together and make cookies out of them.

Months ago I had an intense craving for peanut M&Ms and bought a package that lasted longer than the craving. Every time I opened that pantry door, they either fell on my head, landed by my feet, or mocked me. I decided to get back at them by smashing them to bits with a meat mallet, providing me with one of the layers in these cookies. The next layer was about a half a cup of cocktail peanuts leftover from when I made the Salted Peanut Crisps, lastly was about a cup of chocolate chips that I had wrapped up and rubber banded together in a bag. All of those went together quite well, and I’m very pleased with the results. What I particularly like here is the crunch that you get from the M&M shells. Make these cookies with the kids. They will love smashing the M&Ms, be delighted with the colorful outcome, and no doubt happy with the taste. If you don’t have these particular ingredients, come up with your own. Essentially, you need a graham cracker crust, 3 cups of various chips, nuts, or other bits, and a full can (or not so full can) of sweetened condensed milk. Make yourself some magic.  Magical M&M Cookie Bars

2 c. graham cracker crumbs, more or less
1 stick butter, more or less, melted
1 c. crushed peanut M&Ms*
1 c. cocktail peanuts
1 c. chocolate chips
1 14-oz., or thereabouts, can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. For easy removal of your cookie bars, line a 9” x 9” square baking dish with heavy duty foil making sure to have 2 inches sticking out of either side to facilitate lifting once the cookie bars have cooled. Spray foil and pan with PAM.

Stir together graham cracker crumbs and butter, and press into the bottom of a 9” x 9” pan. Scatter the M&Ms, peanuts, and chocolate chips over the top, then pour sweetened condensed milk overall to cover, or almost cover. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the edges are bubbly. Cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before running a knife around the edge and utilizing the foil to lift it out of the pan to a cutting board where you can then slice it into squares.

 *I put them in a plastic bag and used a meat mallet.

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Chocolate Caramel Turtle Bars

The day after Thanksgiving is my official day of collapse. The days following that day mark the beginning of holiday baking. As I have mentioned before, I am not much of a baker, but I do enjoy Christmas cookies. I also enjoy a wide variety of them, and hold the bar cookie in high esteem. Cookie trays need different tastes, textures, and shapes, and the bar cookie can provide all three. This easy-to-prepare square of chewy deliciousness will be a star in your display.

Chocolate Caramel Turtle Bars

Adapted from Hoffman Media

 Crust:
1½ c. flour

⅓c. sugar

¼ t. kosher salt

¾ c. cold unsalted butter, cubed

 Filling:

2/3 c. sugar

2 T. flour

½ t. kosher salt

⅔ c. light corn syrup

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

1 t. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 c. pecan halves

¾ c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, letting excess extend over sides of pan. Spray foil with Baker’s Joy.

 Crust:

In a food processor, pulse crust ingredients until mixture is crumbly. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until edges have lightly browned and center is dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

 Filling:

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in corn syrup, melted butter, vanilla, and eggs. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate onto prepared crust. Pour sugar mixture over pecans and chocolate.

 Bake until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. Cut into squares. Garnish with warm caramel topping, if desired.

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Santa's Favorite Christmas Cookies

Some of you may have been wondering where I’ve been. Others may not, but whether you have or you haven’t, I’m going to tell you anyway. I fell victim to a post-Thanksgiving funk. The weeks prior to Thanksgiving, I was like a woman possessed! I cleaned floors, windows, removed all of the slats in all of my blinds, washed them in the sink and replaced them. I cleaned my fan blades, registers, switch-plate covers, hardwood floors, and baseboards. The house looked and smelled so fresh. In addition to that of course, I made food, I set the table, I set up a [hugely successful] bar cart, the works! The day after Thanksgiving found me crumpled in a heap in the corner of the room. I’m not sure if it was all the work that I did ahead of time, or simply old age, but I didn’t feel like doing anything.

I ate leftovers for days on end. When the leftovers were gone, I started foraging in the freezer, microwaving icy casseroles, questionable pieces of meat, and anything else I could find in order to avoid cooking. I had no interest in doing anything.

But, today is December 1, and I have a new attitude. Number two son, Andrew, came over to visit me yesterday and helped me with things. What a difference it makes to have help. He got the Christmas tree upstairs and put together, he installed and activated dimmer switches, installed my ring doorbell (fitted with seasonal sensors and chimes), and made me feel a whole lot better about things.

Today as far as I’m concerned marks the beginning of cookie baking season, so in this post I’m going to share a baker's dozen of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes with you. Click on the name beneath each picture to get the recipe.

Raspberry Almond Thumbprints

Toffee Shortbread Cookies

Ginger Cookie Strips

Cinnamon Christmas Logs

Malted Milk Spritz

Chocolate Shortbread

Butter Pecan Turtle Cookies

Snowy Day Cookies

Twix Truffle Brownies

Toffee Almond Sandies

Finger Sandwich Butter Cookies

Browned Butter Crinkles

Stained Glass Cookies

Now, let’s get baking!

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Utterly Decadent Toffee Bars

If you saw yesterday's post, then you also saw a delicious looking bar cookie nestled among cocoa nibs. If you did not see the blog post, then you need to click here now. Today I'm going to give you the recipe for the cookie. It is easy to make and, as the name suggests, utterly decadent. My recipe is an adapted version of one from Better Homes and Gardens. Naturally, mine is much better. :-) The addition of the cocoa nibs makes sure of that. They add flavor, crunch, the richness of coffee, and sophistication, without making the cookies cloyingly sweet.

Utterly Decadent Toffee Bars

1 cup butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 extra-large egg yolk
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup almond brickle pieces
2 tablespoons Melissa’s cocoa nibs
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Line a 10" x 10" pan* with foil leaving a 2" tail on either end. Spray the foil and all sides of the pan with Pam. Using the foil will allow you to lift the cookies in one slab from the pan allowing for easy and attractive cutting. If you don't want to do this, just spraying the pan on bottom and sides with Pam will work just fine.

Cream together 1 cup butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg yolk; beat well. Stir in flour and salt, mixing just to combine. Spread dough into prepared pan and bake 22-25 minutes, or until light brown. Remove from oven to wire rack. Reduce oven heat to 350°F.

Combine condensed milk and 2 tablespoons butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave, in 1-minute intervals, until thick and bubbly, stirring after each minute for a total of 4 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Spread mixture evenly over baked cookie layer. Return pan to oven and bake about 12 minutes, or until top is golden.

Sprinkle warm baked layers with chocolate chips. Return to oven for 1-2 minutes, or until the chocolate is glossy and melted. Spread chocolate evenly over baked layers. Top with an even layer of brickle chips and cocoa nibs. Allow to cool for 30 minutes, then place in the fridge to set chocolate for 30 more minutes. Cut into squares and store, covered, in the fridge.

* You can also use a 9" x 9" pan and bake for a minute or two longer, or a 9" x 13" pan (that was called for in the original recipe), but I find this makes the crust layer way too thin.

PRINT RECIPE

This post is linked to:

Tuesdays At Our Home

Tweak it Tuesday

Tickle my Tastebuds
Two Cup Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Wake up Wednesday

Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars

As much as I like cookies – they are, after all, my favorite dessert – I don’t particularly like making cookies.  All of that rolling, cutting, shaping, forming, icing, sprinkling, well, by the time the work is done I’m out of the mood.  So when I spotted this recipe for bar cookies that were supposed to be a better version of a Twix candy bar (another of my favorites), I had to make them.  I sent packages home with both of my sons who, with their wives, are more than happy to test recipes for me, and we all enjoyed these…A LOT.  They are easy enough to make, but take a bit of time waiting for each layer to cool before building the next one.  Trust me when I tell you that the time is well spent!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars
Spotted at Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Shortbread
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar

Caramel 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Chocolate
8 oz chocolate, finely chopped (I used bittersweet) 
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
Fleur de sel for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

To make the shortbread layer: Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and press into an even layer over the bottom (it'll be a fairly thin layer). Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the caramel layer: Combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk in a medium saucepan. Set the pan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted. Increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and turns a light caramel color. This may take 10 minutes or more, so be patient. Pour the caramel mixture over the cooled shortbread and spread in an even layer. Allow to cool completely, then chill briefly (I stuck mine in the fridge overnight, but you just want to chill enough that it won't melt when you add the warm chocolate in the next step).

To make the chocolate layer: Add the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter to a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until everything is melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Pour the chocolate over the chilled caramel and spread into an even layer with an offset spatula. Let cool for a few minutes, then sprinkle the top with the fleur de sel (if using). Let the chocolate set completely before slicing and serving.

This post is linked to:

Sweets for a Saturday

Sugar and Spice