Coconut Cherry White Chocolate Bars

This post is the one that I look at as being the pivotal post on Baking Delights, the one that turned the blog around and made it grow. I hope that, if  I linked to your blog in that post, it has also helped your blog to grow!  It is one of my favorite go to posts of my own when I need inspiration.

Anyway, things on the internet change rapidly and I thought maybe it was time to revisit The 50 Best Cookie Recipes with a part two. C’mon, it worked for Rocky, Nightmare on Elm Street, Star Wars…. surely it is time to look at more of the awesome cookie recipes you guys come up with.

Just a quick note. If you like this post, I am glad. Please don’t copy it to your own blog or chat-board. Just say Hey this is a cool post….and link to it. I would appreciate it..thanks. It takes hours to sort through all of the thousands of awesome recipes and come up with the very best, the most intriguing, and the most creative.

Check out the links and see if you agree with my choices.  And if you like it…do me a favor? Digg, Stumble, and Tweet! Here we go…

The 50 Best Cookie Recipes on the Internet:Scene 2

1. Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
2. Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies
3. Peanut Butter Toffee Brownies
4. Chocolate Mudcake Cookie Sandwiches
5. Blueberry White Chocolate Cookies
6. Oreo Brownies
7. Nibby Strawberry Chestnut Cookies
8. Pina Colada Macarons
9. Italian Fig Cookies
10. Cranberry Turtle Bars
11. Blackberry Pie Bars
12. Maple-Brown Sugar Snickerdoodles
13. Chocolate Topped Frito Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars
14. Caramel Sea Salt Brownies
15. Ultimate Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
16. Ginger Florentines
17. Mocha Chip Cookies
18. Banana Chocolate Chip Biscotti
19. Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies
20. Chocolate Chip Oreo
21. Carrot Cake Cookies
22. Chai Spice Snowballs
23. Chocolate Raspberry Layer Bars
24. Cannoli Sandwich Cookies
25. Lime and Basil Shortbread
26. Almond and Chocolate Filled Butter Cookies
27. Lavender and Orange Macaroons
28. Cowgirl Cookies
29. Butter Cookie Sandwiches with Chestnut Cream
30. Chai Snickerdoodles
31. Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
32. Marye’s Faux Berger Cookies
33. Chocolate Pizzelles
34. Copycat Pocky Sticks
35. Chocolate Coconut Cookies
36. Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Mocha Cream Filling
37. Playdough Cookies
38. Pumpkin Ginger Whoopie Pies
39. Milk Duds Cookies
40. Pumpkin White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
41. Nutty Pina Colada Biscotti
42. Coconut Cherry White Chocolate Bars
43. Irish Car Bomb Brownies
44. Bacon Brownies
45. Kahlua Truffle Triangles
46. Dutch Caramel Cashew Cookies
47. Chocolate Chip Cookies with Molasses
48. Chocolate M & M Cookies
49. Gooey Butter Bars
50. Lavender Milano Cookies

And there you have it. I hope you agree with me on these…if you think I missed something be sure to leave a comment and let me know! I will try to pick up any stray recipes on this weeks Blogsurfing Saturday.

Image:Marye Audet

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O.k..so it took me nearly all night but I did some baking. In fact this recipe is out of my cookbook….sort of. I found out something interesting tonight. I can’t even follow my OWN recipes verbatim.

Since I am doing pictures at night the color is a little off, sorry.  Someday I will have a nifty light box.

These are a very rich, sweet bar. You ARE going to want coffee or milk or tea… Be sure to let them cook before cutting (I didn’t) and eating (didn’t) because they WILL crumble. If you want thicker coconut cherry white chocolate bars just use a 9 x9 inch pan.

These would be great for a tea, not so great for a lunch box, and do not try to ship them! IF there are any leftover, which is doubtful, wrap them and put them in the fridge.

Coconut Cherry White Chocolate Bars

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/3 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix the 1 cup of flour and  confectioners sugar. Mix in the butter until the dough is crumbly.
3. Press firmly in a buttered 13x 9 inch pan. Layer will be thin.
4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until firm and golden.
5. Mix the 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
6. Beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture, coconut, cherries, and white chocolate chips.
7. Pour over the crust.
8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until firm.
9. COOL COMPLETELY before cutting.

images Marye Audet

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• She could throw her really cute red and white polka dot apron over her head and cry
• She could create magic

I think she decided to create magic and threw ingredients together to make Blondies. You know why? These are the most versatile of bar cookies. I mean you can toss almost anything in there… well, within reason..I mean I am not suggesting Blondies as a way to get your kids to eat liver, you know? But any kind of nut, any kind of chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, or white chocolate chip… dried fruit…the list goes on.

I wanted something a little different. so I chopped up Snickers Bars. Marc is somewhat addicted to Snickers so I figured it would be a no brainer dessert.

I liked how they came out. I was not expecting the Snickers to melt into the bars as much as they did but other than that it was a great addition. These are sweet, chewy, and have lots of flavor expoding in your mouth all at once. Imagine your tastebuds running around your tongue shouting “INCOMING!!”

You can’t imagine that? Well then, I guess you will have to make these and experience it for yourself.

Snicker Bar Blondies

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 regular sized Snickers, chopped in chunks
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup  butterscotch chips (or brickle)
• 1 cup honey roasted peanuts coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Allow butter to come to room temperature
3. Butter a 13x 9 inch pan
4. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda
5. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy
6. Beat in the sugars until no longer grainy
7. Add the eggs, one at a time
8. Add the vanilla
9. Stir in the dry ingredients
10. Fold in the chips, nuts, and Snicker Bars
11. Smooth into the prepared pan
12. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool, and cut into desired sized bars.

Makes 1 13×9 inch pan

image:MaryeAudet

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We generally have a huge 4th of July Picnic but this year Marc had to work and Erin and Jon had plans elsewhere. We will be going up to a picnic at our church later but for now? Very low key.

I made lemon butter bars to take to the picnic, and will be making a red, white, and blue heirloom potato salad using the Southwestern Potato Salad recipe I posted. The butter bars use a cake mix, and you can substitute any flavor mix to have a variety of butter bars…and lets face it, folks, the world NEEDS more butter bars…desperately.

Anyway, here is the July 4th version of Saturday Surfing.

• Have you ever had Italian Wedding Cake? I am not even sure where it gets it’s name but the one by Emily at Sugar Plum looks delicious.
• What would the 4th be without Macaroni Salad. This one from Life’s Ambrosia looks fabulous.
• Courtney has a yummy sounding chocolate, banana, and cinnamon infused jam on her blog. My oh my.
• Everything anyone could want to know about food and probably much that they don’t want to know. Food Reference.
• Cathy is just so cool. I scan her blog, Noble Pig, once in awhile because I love her wit, photography, and majorly awesome recipes…like these Firecracker Cupcakes with Poprocks.
• The Purple Foodie has a recipe for Banana Nutella Crepes and a cookbook give away going on now. It ends the 25th of July so you have some time.
• Passionate About Baking is one of my favorites. These chocolate, walnut, and dried cranberry bar cookies look amazing.
• foodiePrints has been fun to get to know on twitter, and I have more and more been furtively visiting his blog. Check out these peach and yogurt muffins…those will wake ya up in the morning.
• Donna is a fellow Texan (except she has an accent, y’all) and I have actually met her. What a sweetie. Just like this Raspberry Margarita Smoothie.
• Kahlua Carrot Cakes with Maple icing on Worth the Whisk. Sigh.

O.k..and that is it for this week. Hey, I will be announcing a cool giveaway next week, reviewing some eco-friendly disposable items, AND posting a recipe for Snicker Bar Blondies, a cool chopped salad and some other goodies.

Have a great holiday weekend!

image:maryeaudet

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This is one of the recipes from my cookie cookbook, Everything Cookies and Brownies. This is perfect for potlucks and bake sales and just when you want to do something easy.

Basically, you can add anything to the cream cheese layer that sounds good:

• Coconut
• Dried cranberries
• Grated chocolate
• Pineapple
• Grated lemon rind

Or leave it plain, it is just that good.  No real tricky techniques involved here just be sure not to overbake.

You can see the layers.  The top is rich, gooey, and…something of the texture of chess pie.  The bottom is cakey/crumbly.  If you refrigerate  overnight you will have a slightly firmer texture.  It is kind of like warm chocolate chip cookies; some people just prefer them gooey.

Gooey Butter Bars

Makes 13x 9 inch pan

• 1 box yellow butter cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla, almond, coconut, or other flavor
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 lb of confectioner’s sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs

1. Mix the egg, the cake mix, first flavoring, and the first stick of melted butter in a bowl.  Press mixture in the bottom of a buttered 13x 9 inch baking pan.
2. Beat cream cheese, vanilla, confectioners, and eggs in a separate bowl.
3. With mixer running add remaining melted butter. Mix until well blended.
4. Pour cream cheese mixture over the cake base
5. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
6. Cool slightly before cutting.

images:marye audet (c) 2009

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This is a moist, dense, chewy dark chocolate brownie with a smoky-spicy-sweet raspberry swirl.  I would say it is a great combination but it is more than that. It is just so good.

The chipotle makes these have a little “bite ya back” in the after taste and the smoke flavor adds an interesting layer of flavor.  It sort of deepens the chocolate and gives it an extra layer and depth of flavor.Fischer and Weiser Raspberry Chipotle Sauce is available at Tom Thumb/Safeway stores and I think my daughter says it is available at Wal-mart.  It is a little expensive (6.95) but the sauce is so good, and you use so little of it, that it is worth it.

Raspberry Chipotle Intense Chocolate Brownies

• 3/4 c unsalted butter-melted
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 c flour
• 1/2 c cocoa (the darkest you can find…do not substitute baking chocolate)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup Fischer and Wieser Raspberry Chipotle

1. Cream sugar, melted butter until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. beat well. add flavorings.
2. Quickly stir in dry ingredients.
3. Spread into a greased 9 inch pan.
4. Using the back of a small spoon, drag it through the top of the batter to make indentations.  Think of it as dry creekbeds.
5. Now fill the indentations with the raspberry chipotle and swirl lightly
6. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Leave slightly under done.

Image: Marye Audet

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I notice that the more kids I have had, the bigger house I have had, the more projects I have going, the more I am unorganized. My family, as you know, has a combined sweet tooth the size of Vermont. Maybe bigger. Therefore, if I want there to be peace , joy, and happiness then something sweet, besides yours truly, had better be available round the clock. Yesterday when I got home from church I was struck by two important facts. One, it was later than usual, and two, I had failed to create dessert for our planned meal. Ack!

With visions of predatory, prowling, wild things dancing through my head, and hoping that my family would be distracted by a football game or something, I began the mental quest for dessert. Bars. Quick, easy, great. But I have done brownies alot lately…hmmm.

Well this is what I came up with. They were really good, moist and chocolaty with the rich marshmallow and cherry topping, and cherry fondant type swirl through the brownie it’s self.. A casual dessert or a great snack.

Brownies:

3/4 c unsalted butter- melted

2 c sugar

4 eggs – beaten

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

3/4 c dark cocoa

pinch of salt

Mix sugar and melted butter. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat well. Beat in cocoa until smooth and then flour mixed with salt.

Spread in a greased 13″ x 9″ pan.

Fondant Swirl

Mix:

1/2 c sweetened condensed milk

1/4 c marachino cherry juice

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 egg

4 Tbs cream cheese

until smooth. Make channels in the brownie batter with a spoon and pour the mixture into the channels. Swirl through the batter.

Bake at 350 about 20-25 minutes. Do not over bake.

Remove Brownies from oven. Sprinkle 2 c mini marshmallows and 1/2 c chopped marachino cherries over top. Put back in over for 5 minutes, or until marshmallows are melted.

Let cool and cut. Makes 2 dozen.

Reminders!

I hope you are playing B5’s Fall Scavenger Hunt

Don’ t forget about the First Annual Boobie Bake-off here and on Apron Strings & Simmering Things. It is for a good cause and you can enter on either of the blogs, and be featured on both at the end. Check the link for instructions and more information! All proceeds will go to Breast cancer research in the name of the winner! There have been several entries all ready, and I am telling you, this is going ot be an fantastic event!!!!!

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O.k..it is week 5 of the Christmas Cookie (and baking) Countdown! I know alot of people have commented on their blogs about how weird I am to be doing Christmas now. Yeah, I DO check my links.

That’s o.k…I have alot of Christmas to do, and my life is busy. Really busy. I will even be as bold to say that it is busier than most. Preparing for Christmas early allows me to have a peaceful, stress free holiday with my family, and to be generous with my gifts. I enjoy not having to rush around, but to sit with the kids all afternoon and make decorations or watch a holiday movie. So, that’s why I start early.

Amazing Rum Bars 

Makes about 24

1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons rum
2/3 cup butterscotch chips
1/3 c toffee chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Melted chocolate chips for drizzling

Confectioners Sugar for dusting

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Sift together the flour, spices, sugar and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and eggs until creamy. Beat in milk and rum. Gradually stir flour mixture into egg mixture. Stir in chips and nuts. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool.   Drizzle with melted chocolate.  Just before serving dust with confectioners sugar.  Cut into 24 bars.

* If you wish you can sprinkle the bars with extra rum while they are hot..not too much!

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Well, it is almost October. Most people are just now starting to think about the giant candy holiday coming up and it won’t occur to them that Christmas and Thanksgiving are just around the corner until Nov 5th or 6th. By then they will have to scramble to get done and we will be finishing up!

I suggest that you start picking up flour and sugar as you see it on sale now. You know that you are going to be using more than usual over the next few months so keep it in stock in large quantities. These are delicious little bars with the exotic and buttery taste of pistachio. Beautiful presented on a tray of assorted cookies, or a few wrapped in transparent cellophane and tied with colorful ribbon as gifts.

Pistachio Ribbon Bars
Makes about 36

1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2-2/3 cup raspberry jam
1 cup pistachios, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Combine butter, sugar and egg; beat until thoroughly blended.
Stir in flour and salt.
Spread one-half of dough into 9 inch square pan.
Bake 10 minutes; remove from oven.
Spread jam to within 1/2 inch of edge.
Add pistachios to remaining dough.
Drop by spoonfuls over jam to cover.
Bake 35 minutes until top is golden brown;
cool.
Drizzle with melted bittersweet chocolate.
Cut into squares.
Makes 2 dozen small squares

You can freeze these two ways. A) after you have baked the first layer add the jam and remaining dough (with pistachios added), cover and freeze. Thaw and bake when needed.
or
B) freeze baked.

Don’t forget!!

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 t. baking soda
¾ t. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
1¼ cups sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
1 tsp maple flavor
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 pkg. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a glass or metal 13 x 9 pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on med. high speed
until smooth, beat in egg and vanilla until combined.
Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled).
Reduce speed to low and mix in dry ingredients until just combined.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan
and toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes.
Cool completely in pan.

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