Peanut Butter Fudge Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'm trying to work my way through opened pantry stores in anticipation of our upcoming move. I had a partially used jar of peanut butter and a half bag of chips that I wanted to finish up before the big day arrives, and these bar cookies, an adaption of a recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen, seemed the perfect way to utilize them. The recipe is straight forward and I think you'll find the bars quite easy to make. One bite of them will send those who love peanut butter to the Valhalla of the goober world. I do hope you'll give this homely treat a try. Here is how the bars are made.

Countdown to Christmas - Orange Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I suspect your children are much like mine. While surround by confections from around the world, their clear favorites were gingerbread men and frosted sugar cookies. Some of you may even have a spouse like mine. Now, my intent here is not to waken sleeping dogs, or open doors that should remain forever closed, but the Silver Fox and others like him, have a serious problem. Their mother's loved them more than we do. These women, to hear it told, dropped everything to bake their son's favorite cookie, no matter what else might be going on. In the midst of cooking dinner for 30, favorite cookies would miraculously appear to please,or as the case may be, appease, the Little Prince. The Little Prince was known to his sisters by a name that cannot be mentioned here, and only age has closed the breech caused by the special treatment he received. He, unfortunately, neglected to include the cookie clause in his marriage contract, so I can honestly say I have never dropped anything to make him cookies on a whim. This year, however, I had some extra time and included his favorite chocolate chips in my Christmas cookie mix. There are hundreds of recipes for CCCs floating through cyberspace, and the only thing that sets his apart from any of the others, is a bit of cinnamon and some orange zest. I must admit they add a great deal to the standard cookie. I found the recipe in Taste of Home magazine and I haven't strayed much from the original instructions, save for increasing the amount of cinnamon and changing the way the cookies are shaped. I found the rolling and cutting tedious, so using about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie, I created balls which I flattened to a half inch in thickness and made quick work of the chore. I think you will enjoy these cookies as much as the No-Longer-Little Price does. Here is how they are made.

Orange Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tablespoon orange zest, minced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips ( 2 cups)
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:
1) In a large bowl, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
2) Beat in eggs, orange zest and vanilla.
3) In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, then gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chips and walnuts, then cover and chill 2 hours or until dough is easy to handle.
4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease several cookie sheets.
5) When dough has chilled, on a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/2-inch thick. Cut with lightly floured 3-inch round cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire rack to cool. Yield: 3 dozen cookie.

                    

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Countdown to Christmas - Chocolate Macadamia Nut Balls

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I wanted to squeeze this recipe in while you still had your ovens going. It makes a really nice cookie and while it's not an heirloom recipe, it does harkens back to the days when candy was eaten rather than used as a baking ingredient. That, of course, never prevented adventuresome cooks from making creative equivalents to use in their cookies, especially once chocolate chips were available to them. This recipe probably dates back to the mid 1970's when macadamia were first marketed for cooks here in the states. This is an easy cookie to make, but I have a caution or two to share with you. The cookies can be bland if the butter or nuts you use are not salted. That can be remedied with the addition of 1/4 teaspoon table salt that will greatly improve the flavor of the finished cookies. It is also important to chill, but not over-chill, the cookie dough. It has to be cold enough to shape, but malleable enough to cover the chocolate-nut filling. I usually make the filling before the cookie dough, so I can better gauge readiness for assembly. Sometimes, I actually get it right. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how these cookies are made.

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Balls ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients:
Cookie Dough
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 jar (3-1/2 ounces) Macadamia nuts, finely chopped
Cookie Filling
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips.
1/2 cup Macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
C0nfectioners' sugar

Directions:
1) To prepare dough: Combine butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. On low speed, gradually add flour. Add nuts. Dough will be stiff. Cover and chill.
2) To prepare filling, melt chocolate chips. Stir in nuts and cool slightly. Drop by small teaspoons onto parchment lined baking sheets. Cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
3) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4) Shape chilled teaspoons of dough around each piece of chocolate-nut mixture until completely covered. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
5) Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Roll warm cookies in confectioners' sugar and cool on wire racks. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

                    

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Countdown to Christmas - Sweet Chocolate and Almond Rondels

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you've been cooking for a while, you know that food fads and fashions come and go, and you've probably seen new waves of each replace more of the old than was ever necessary. Much of what is tossed aside will not be missed, but each generation produces some stellar dishes that should be protected by any caring cook who has ever made them. While I try not to bore, and truly embrace much of what is new, I tend to think of myself as a keeper of the keys and really do embrace and try to save the best of the old recipes, especially at this time of year. I've been going through the holiday recipes I've collected over the decades and wanted to share some of the more unusual ones with you this Christmas season. This cookie, which I've never seen elsewhere, is one of them and it comes from the Swedish kitchen of a neighbor who introduced me to cooking when I was a child. When bread was not baking, the aromas in her kitchen were a strange mix of cinnamon, cardamom and Murphy's Oil Soap. The soap blended nicely with the smells of the bread and cookies made in that kitchen, and heaven knows, only the bravest of germs would dare to lurk on a floor so clean that surgery could be performed on it. I think most of you will find this cookie to be unique, and while it is not a beautiful confection, it is delicious and worthy of a place on your holiday cookie tray. I love its simplicity and the ease with which it comes together, and if you are looking for a new cookie to add to your holiday collection, this one might well be it. Here is how these Christmas rondels are made.

Sweet Chocolate and Almond Rondels...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Cookies
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Finely grated zest of 1 small orange
4 (1-ounce) squares of sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
Topping
1 egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup ground almonds
1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:
1) Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Blend in cardamom and orange zest.
2) Add chocolate to cream in a small saucepan. Melt chocolate over low heat, stirring well to blend with cream. Cool slightly. Add to butter mixture with vanilla and salt. Blend well. Slowly stir in flour. Chill for 30 to 60 minutes.
3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
4) While dough chills, make almond topping. Beat egg white until foamy. Beat in sugar, blending well. Stir in almonds and almond extract.
5) Remove dough from refrigerator. Using a 1 teaspoon measure, form dough into small balls and place on prepared cookie sheets. Make a depression in center of each ball. Fill depression with almond topping.
6) Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Do not brown. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 2-1/2 to 3 dozen cookies.

      

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Disappearing Chocolate-Peanut Bars for a Covert Affair

Several months ago, I was asked by a website developer to contribute to a blog feature where recipes would be associated with  television programs. Unfortunately, the venture never materialized and I was left with a post in limbo. Because it was time sensitive and will now do them no good, I decided to share it with you tonight. I had great fun doing this and I hope you will have fun reading it. The bars are delicious and just the thing for a spy who has a weakness for chocolate and is about to go "dark".

As a fan of the espionage genre, I've spent winter in the cold, warmed only by the high octane plots of "Homeland" and "The Americans". Come summer, I'm ready for the warmer, more escapist antics of CIA operative Annie Walker and her unlikely handler, Auggie Anderson, a blind military intelligence agent who guides her through the often muddy waters of their craft. The pair are the lynch pins around which the fast paced and charming plots of "Covert Affairs" revolve. Both have pasts of their own and this season we are teased with the prospect that the two will become romantically involved. We'll have to see. There is a lot going on this summer and many of the episodes will be filmed on location, so the backdrops against which they are shot promise to be spectacular. There will be some familiar themes. We know there is another high-placed mole in their ranks and the torturous relationship between Joan and Arthur, their respective bosses, has to be resolved. That guarantees there will be no lack of angst in the episodes this summer. I am ready for it. You'll find me in my easy chair on Tuesday nights enjoying the capers of the bright and empowered Annie Walker, who, it seems, can do everything but cook. I thought I'd help her along with my recipe for Disappearing Chocolate Peanut Bars. Now you see them, now you don't, I think you'll find they're a perfect treat to enjoy while watching "Covert Affairs".

Disappearing Chocolate Peanut Bars

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup baking cocoa
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1-1/4 cups chopped salted peanuts
Icing
1-1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips

Directions:

Step 1. Assemble ingredients. Line bottom of a 13 x 9-inch pan with parchment paper. Generously grease pan and paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 2. Combine sugar, butter, peanut butter, cocoa, eggs, egg white, vanilla extract and salt in large mixer bowl. Beat until light and fluffy. Alternately beat in flour and evaporated milk just until blended. Fold in nuts.

Step 3. Spread batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. While pan cools, combine milk chocolate and peanut butter chips in a microwave bowl. Cook on high for 1 minute and stir. Continue to cook in 30 second intervals until chips can be stirred smooth. Remove brownies from pan and spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cut into squares or bars.

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Apricot-Oatmeal Bars with Pistachios and Chocolate Chips

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love a parade and because I am relentless, my friends have learned to love them, too. Today, I shanghaied them for a trip to Portland to see the Rose Parade. Our crew gets larger every year and when we get together, we look like we're on a field trip, enjoying a day away from the home. I suspect we were quite a sight. In addition to chairs, we were also lugging picnic hampers for lunch in the park to round out the day. Food for the picnic was a communal affair and I was the designated dessert lady. I made several types of bar cookies because they travel well and could hold up to the jostling that would get them from here to there. I'll eventually be sharing all the recipes with you, but tonight I'd like to focus on the one that made the cookie that I liked least. Let me hasten to add, there is absolutely nothing wrong with these cookies, save for the fact they are too sweet for my taste. The sweet lovers in the group enjoyed the bars and they were gone by the end of the afternoon. The cookies, while expensive to make, are simple to prepare and all the information you need to successfully make them is in the recipe below. If you have a sweet tooth, I suspect you'll love these bars. Here is how they are made.

Apricot-Oatmeal Bars with Pistachios and Chocolate Chips...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Fine Cooking magazine

Ingredients:
9-ounces (2 cups) all purpose flour
1-1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon table salt
8 ounces (1 cup) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 ounces (about 1 cup) chopped, shelled natural pistachios
1/2 cup diced dried apricots
1/2 cup white chocolate or semisweet chocolate morsels
1 (15-1/4-oz.) jar apricot preserves

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Using an electric mixer, combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt; mix on low speed until well combined. Add butter and mix on medium until butter is mostly blended and mixture appears moist and begins to pull together, about 3 minutes. Stir in pistachios. Transfer 1-1/2 cups of crumb mixture to another bowl, then stir dried apricots and chocolate morsels into it, and refrigerate.
2) Firmly press remaining mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake in middle of oven for 25 minutes. Let cool for about 20 minutes (leave the oven on). Spread apricot preserves evenly on top, leaving a 1/8-inch border around the edge of the crust.
3) Crumble reserved crumb mixture over apricot preserves. Return to oven and bake until lightly browned and fruit filling is bubbling all over, including the center of the pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing into 18 bars (or into smaller pieces, if you like).

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Crunchy Chocolate-Peanut Stix

                                        My thought for today can be found  here.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...While they may not be pretty to look at, I think you'll enjoy this simple confection that tastes a bit like a Twix bar. I found the recipe in the February issue of Family Circle magazine and its simplicity intrigued me. I figured that any recipe that used a combination of milk chocolate, caramel and peanut butter couldn't be half bad, especially when the combination is used to cover a base of salted crackers. I clipped the recipe and finally, in what the Silver Fox calls a Paula Deen moment, got back to it this week. I had no expectations for the recipe, so I was delightfully surprised when my creation turned out well enough to share with you. These are kid cookies that will never make it to a tea tray, but they are perfect for a cookie jar and you'll find that small hands can finish a batch with great dispatch. So, if you tend to the young or young at heart, I hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how this confection is made.

This week's Weekly Menu is ready for browsing. The Seasonal Menu will be changed this morning. I hope you'll take a peek at both of them.

Crunchy Chocolate Peanut Stix...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Family Circle magazine

Ingredients:
75 rectangular buttery crackers (i.e. Keebler Club)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1-1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups finely crushed honey graham crackers
1-1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips

Directions:
1) Line 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, leaving extra on ends for handles. Line bottom of pan with 25-27 butter crackers and set aside.
2) In medium saucepan, melt butter and add in milk, brown sugar and white sugar. Bring to a simmer. Gradually stir in 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs. Simmer, stirring frequently for 5 minutes.
3) Pour 1 cup of butter/crumb mixture over cracker layer in pan. Top with another layer of crackers and spread remaining butter/crumb mixture over it. Cover with another layer of crackers.
4) In microwavable bowl, combine milk chocolate and peanut butter chips. Cook on high for 1 minute and stir. Continue to cook in 30 second intervals until chips can be stirred smooth. Pour over top of final cracker layer and spread evenly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Carefully lift out of pan and place on cutting board, removing foil. Cut into 1 x 4 inch bars with a serrated knife. Yield:6 dozen bars.









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Reese's-Like Peanut Butter Bars - A No-Bake Treat

My Thought for the Day can be found, here. If you like it, give us a thumbs up and share it with your friends.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I hope at least a few of you share my enjoyment of chocolate and peanut butter desserts. The pairing in this candy-like confection makes me positively giddy and whenever these bars are around my resolve, which can be impressive, simply crumbles. I suspect you already have this recipe in your files, but I stumbled on it only a year ago and it has become my favorite go-to treat whenever I have the urge for something ridiculously sweet and truly terrible for me. I am in transit today and have some ridiculous layovers, so, my urges will definitely be met. Carrot sticks will simply not do it for me. The version I'm sharing today is all over the blogosphere, so, I had a really hard time determining whom to credit for the original creation of the bars. I ended up using date of entry as my guide and am, therefore,  crediting them to Food.com because they published the earliest version I was able to find. Truth be told, I have no idea who first developed the recipe, but God should have a special spot in heaven for them, whoever they may be. Without further ado, here is the recipe for the world's finest no-bake peanut butter treat. Enjoy!

Reese's-Like Peanut Butter Bars...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Food.com

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 pound confectioners' sugar (3 to 3 1/2 cups)
1-1/2 cups + 2 teaspoons peanut butter, divided use
1 cup butter, melted
1 (12 ounce) bag chocolate chips (milk chocolate, semi-sweet,bittersweet or combination)

Directions:
1) Line a 9 x 13-inch pan with foil, leaving enough to hang over sides for lifting. Mist foil with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2) Combine graham crumbs, sugar and 1-1/2 cups peanut butter in a large bowl and mix well. Blend in melted butter until well combined. Press mixture evenly into prepared pan.
3) Combine 2 teaspoons peanut butter and chocolate chips in top of a double boiler or in a microwave bowl. Melt and stir together. Spread over peanut butter mixture.
4) Chill until just set. Use foil handles to lift from pan. Cut into bars (these are very hard to cut if the chocolate gets "rock hard". Yield: 36 bars









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