Knock-off Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

BARS

1 cup butter, soften at room temp
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg
2 teaspoons orange extract (or vanilla)
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

FROSTING

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons orange extract (or vanilla)


TOPPING

1/3 cup craisins, chopped
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
1/3 cup white chocolate chips, chopped course
1/2 teaspoon canola oil


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 for a glass or dark pan). Prepare a 9x13 pan (or 10x15 pan) by lining it with parchment paper or use a non-stick spray.


Bars:

With an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugars until fluffy; add eggs and orange extract and beat until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, and ginger and beat briefly. Add the cranberries and chips, stirring just to blend and being careful not to over mix.

Spread thick batter in prepared pan and bake 350 (23-25 minutes for 10x15, 27-30 minutes for 9x13), until the edges are light brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool completely.

Frosting:

Blend cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add orange extract and confectioner’s sugar and beat until frosting is fluffy and spreadable (adding 1 tsp of milk if needed). Spread evenly over cooled bars.

Garnish:

Combine orange zest and craisins and sprinkle over frosted bars. Mix white chocolate and oil in a glass measuring cup. Microwave 60% power for 1 minute; stir. Repeat 1 more minute at 60% power; stir. Use a fork to drizzle the white chocolate in thin diagonal strips across the bars.

Allow one hour for the white chocolate to set before cutting.

Cut into Starbuck triangles by cutting jelly roll pan into 20 large squares (5 cuts by 4 cuts with the knife). Then cut each square in half diagonally.

Frozen Hot Chocolate

[adapted from Serendipity 3's in NYC]

6 half-ounce pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates (as top quality as you are able]
2 teaspoons of store-bought hot chocolate mix
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
3 cups of cups of ice
Whipped cream
Chocolate shavings

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup of milk until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room-temperature chocolate mixture and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Pecan Sand Tart Cookies

[adapted from Serendipity 3's in NYC]

1 cup pecans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed and free of lumps
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature

white sugar in a bowl

powdered sugar and sifter

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Finely chop the pecans (I put mine in a ziplock and crush with the bottom of a glass). Set aside. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In a mixer, combine the butter and both sugars, beat until light and fluffy for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bowl once or twice with rubber spatula.

Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat 30 seconds longer.

Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir in the chopped pecans and mix well. Stir in the flour and mix only until blended.

Gather the dough into a ball in the center of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a baking sheet.

Using level tablespoons of batter for each cookie, shape the dough into bars about 3/4 to 1 inch wide and 2 1/2 inches long, patting into shape with your fingers. Dip each dough bar into the white sugar to coat. Place the bars on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Press the back of a table knife into the length of each bar three times to give it a few ridges (this will later help hold the powdered sugar).

Set the pan of cookies in the center of the preheated oven on the middle shelf and bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes. Cookies should be light brown on the bottom and cooked in the center of the cookie. Oven times vary.

*I have found that the key to making them crispy like the originals, you will need to cook them the full baking time -adjusting for your own oven- until they are fully cooked in the center of the cookies and then let them set overnight.

Remove the cookies from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 2 or 3 minutes, and then remove from the pan with a metal spatula, let cool a 1 minute and sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar then cool completely on the rack.

Bake the remaining cookies, one pan at a time, in the same way.

These are both good while warm and the next day when they are left to harden slightly.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

If you make the dough in the morning, it is a great afternoon activity for the kids. We get some pretty funky looking pretzels around here.

4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. white sugar
1 1/4 C. warm water (110 degrees)
4 C. all purpose flour
1/2 C. white sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/2 C. baking soda
4 C. hot water
1/4 C. kosher salt for topping


In a small bowl dissolve yeast and 1 tsp. white sugar in warm water until creamy, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl mix together flour, 1/2 C. sugar and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. Knead until smooth, about 7-8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled. I find that the oven with the light turned on is a great place for dough to rise. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In another large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water. When the dough has risen, turn out onto lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda water and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Bake in a preheated oven for 8 minutes, or until browned.

For a special treat, after they come out of the oven, brush them with butter and put them in a bag full of cinnamon sugar and shake. Just as good as the mall pretzels!

Tomato Vodka Sauce

Everything tastes great with heavy cream!

1 Tbs. Butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can peeled and diced tomatoes
1 C. heavy whipping cream
1/4 C. vodka (I add a bit more)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter with the oil. Add the onion and saute for 8 minutes or until transparent. Add tomatoes and cook for 25 minutes or until there is almost no liquid left in the skillet; stir frequently. Increase the heat and add cream, vodka, and pepper flakes; boil for 2 minutes or until thickened to a sauce consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roasted Cauliflower

My kids, well two of them anyway, will actually eat cauliflower when it's prepared this way. (The third doesn't eat vegetables of any kind.) When I tell them we're having roasted cauliflower, one says "I don't want any roast on my cauliflower." I say, "OK".

1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cauliflower into small flowerettes, eliminating as much of the stem as possible, and put the pieces into a 9x13" baking pan. Drizzle olive oil over the cauliflower pieces and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Mix well. Grind pepper on top and place into oven. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until some pieces are starting to turn crispy brown.

[Note: If you're serving this to adults, it would be nice to sprinkle fresh, finely chopped parsley on top, but if you're serving to kids, don't put anything green on or near it!]

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

This is a very old recipe, but it's foolproof. I like it because it uses oil instead of butter, so you can be spontaneous and whip them up quickly, rather than waiting for your butter to soften (or accidentally melting it in the microwave as I usually do). Plus you can mix with a spoon, rather than a mixer, making it perfect for baking with little helpers.

(Note: I've also made this with cocoa powder when I haven't had chocolate - you can't even tell the difference!)

1/2 cup oil

4 squares (4 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, melted

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup powdered sugar

Mix oil, melted chocolate, and sugar. Blend in eggs, one at a time, until well mixed. Add vanilla. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt into the chocolate mixture. Chill several hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into the powdered sugar. Roll into balls, making sure they're pretty heavily coated with the powdered sugar - this makes them prettier after they've baked. Place about 2" apart on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Don't overbake!

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.