Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This simple recipe makes a better-than-average fudge brownie that's perfect for school lunches or toting to fall meetings. The recipe is straight forward and, happily, is suitable for young cooks to make on their own. The brownies stay soft and chewy for days if they are wrapped and stored in an airtight container. They won't be the prettiest specimens to come from your kitchen, but they are delicious and will add 'creds' to your reputation as a cook. I have one small caution to share with you. The peanut butter swirl that tops the brownies is molten hot, so unless you have a band-aid fetish, don't test for doneness using the tips of your fingers. I speak from bitter experience. The brownies need to cool for an hour before they can be neatly cut. I love peanut butter, so I, of course, am awfully fond of this recipe. I do hope you will give it a try. Here is how the brownies are made.

Hungarian Nut Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've made a lot of bar cookies this holiday season. I have, of course, wanted to capture as many recipes as I can for my collection, but my fondness for bar cookies has more to do with how easy they are to store and transport than the arbitrary accumulation of recipes that may or may not be used again. This is a lovely cookie and it is sure to please. While it is expensive to make, it keeps well and it is very easy to make. If you are looking for a new, or another, nut bar recipe for your holiday collection, I urge you to give this one a try. Here is how the bars are made.

Butter Pecan Turtle Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Here is another scrumptious bar cookie that I recommend you try. If you enjoy "turtle" candy, I know you will enjoy these bars with their layers of chocolate, caramel and nuts. The bars are simple to prepare and the recipe is easy to follow. The cookies will quickly disappear from your Christmas cookie tray. Here is how they are made.

Butter Pecan Turtle Cookies...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of William Maple and the Columbus Dispatch

Ingredients:
Crust
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup pecans (halved)
Caramel Layer
2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Topping
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) To make crust: In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and butter and mix at medium speed until combined. Press into an ungreased 9-by-13-inch pan. Sprinkle pecans evenly over unbaked crust.
3) To make caramel layer: In a saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour over crust layer.
4) Bake 18 to 22 minutes, or until caramel layer is bubbly and crust is light golden brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let chips melt slightly for 2 to 3 minutes. Use a knife to swirl chips as they melt to cover bars. Cool and cut into bars for serving. Yield: 24 cookies.

                    

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Apricot Oatmeal Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Here is another bar cookie to add to your cookie collection. While I usually include this on my Christmas cookie tray, it is a great cookie to make and serve at any time of year. This is not an overly sweet confection and it will appeal to those of you who enjoy less sweet, more European-style, cookies. The apricot filling has a jewel-like quality and makes the cookie attractive to look at. Because I am fond of apricots, this cookie makes it to my personal favorites list for its taste, as well as its appearance. The cookies are simple to make and will stay fresh for several days after baking if they are stored in air-tight contains or well-wrap in foil or plastic wrap. This is another of my favorite bar cookies. While I've had good luck using dried cherries and cherry jam for the filling, I am partial to apricot and recommend the apricot version to you. Here is how the bars are made.

Oatmeal Pecan Skillet Blondies

Photo courtesy of Southern Cast Iron

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These cake-like blondies, combine the taste of oatmeal and toasted nuts in cookie wedges that bake in a cast iron skillet. I rely heavily on cookies such as these because they are so easy to transport to gatherings at this time of year. They are perennial favorites, so transportation is usually a one-way affair. It is hard to resist a treat that is nearly effortless to make, and tastes so good with milk or coffee. This recipe is best made in an iron skillet, and if you change the type of pan you use to make the blondies, you will have to alter cooking time as well. If like downhome flavor in your cookies, you will love these. They are great keepers and should you have leftovers, you'll find they do not easily stale. Here is how the blondies are made.

Two Simple Recipes for Picnic Cookie Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have two recipes to share with you tonight. Both are for totable fruit bars and that makes them perfect candidates for informal summer get-togethers. One recipe is for a strawberry layered shortbread and the other is for a streusel topped blueberry-oatmeal square. They both make fabulous cookies, and I think the final determinant as to which is best, depends entirely on personal taste. If you are in a hurry, the strawberry shortbread is nearly effortless to make, but the streusel bars are simple enough that children can make them. When stored in an airtight container, both cookies will keep for several days, but leftovers are rarely a problem with either of these cookies. I do hope you'll try at least one of these bars. Actually, I hope you'll try both. They speak to old-fashioned summer days and I know you will enjoy them. Here is how they are made.

Cottage Cooking - Snickerdoodle Blondies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you like Snickerdoodles, I think you are going to enjoy these blondies. They are simple to make and are a perfect project for young cooks or old pros who are working in inadequate summer kitchens. The recipe comes from the blog Baked by Rachel, which you an find here, and it's my understanding that she is the creator of this recipe. These bars are a nice change from brownies and cinnamon loves will be delighted. The bars are moist and nicely and they are a perfect snack that can be enjoyed throughout the day. The bars are simple to make and if you have your butter at room temperature they take all of 10 minutes to make. If you are looking for a new but simple treat for your family, these just might fill the bill. Here is how the bars are made.

Mixed Berry Crumble Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is another simple summer recipe. These fruit bars are different than most because no oatmeal is added to the batter that's used to form their base and topping.. The recipe is easy to follow, but I do have two cautions to share with you. First, exert some pressure when you form the base layer. Cutting will be easier if you have something  firm to cut into. Second, let the cookies cool completely before you cutting them into bars or squares. This pastry is buttery and packed with amazing fruit flavor when fresh berries are used to make them. While I used a combination of raspberries and blackberries to make the bars I photographed for this post, any berry, singly or in compatible combinations can be used. I found the recipe here on, a new to me, site called iSaveA2Z. I spent some serious time browsing their recipes and over time will be featuring some unique dishes and desserts I found there. I know those of you who try this recipe will be pleased. They are a bit messy to eat, but the bars are absolutely delicious. Here is how they are made.

Saints Preserve Us - Cherry and Almond Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite..."Summer time and the livin' is easy"...We were house sitting this past weekend and before we left for the cottage, I made cookies and some pastry to take with us. I also put together a couple of casseroles that could simply be reheated once we took up residence. The kitchen in this house is nearly impossible to work in, so I like to bring food of the heat and eat variety when we head that way. Meals this weekend were decidedly simple and the desserts that we brought with us were extremely easy to prepare. These cookie bars are a study in old-fashioned goodness. They are definitely not meant for company, but your family and friends will love them. You will too. They are effortless to make, and they invite creative substitution of ingredients. You can swap the type of nuts and preserves you use, and chances are you'll end up with a bar that keeps your crew coming back for more. While I suspect they will disappear before they stale, these cookies are great keepers. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how the cookies are made.

Ina's Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I made these for myself this weekend, because, as you know, butter cookies enriched with jelly and peanuts are just what you need after being sedentary for a month. I'm sure they moved directly to my hips, but not before I enjoyed every buttery morsel. These cookies are the adult version of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and while I can't promise for sure, I think they will make you feel like a kid again. The recipe for the cookies was developed by Ina Garten and while most folks who have made them like the cookies, others have found them to be dry and crumbly. I can't speak to what their problems might have been, but I can tell you we enjoyed the cookies and I would make them again. Because the bars are expensive to make, I want to share some tips with you. The measurement of flour can be tricky because of the way we scoop it. In a perfect world, we'd all weigh our flour and results would be consistent from one kitchen to another. That's not going to happen any time soon, so, I wanted to let those of you who decide to make these know how I measured mine. I have for years been a fluff, spoon and level gal and I suspect the quantity of flour that I use is a smidge less then that used by those who fluff and scoop. That distinction can sometimes be important and probably explains why some folks ended up with dry and crumbly cookie bars. It is equally important to let these sit for at least an hour before you cut them. This is the type of cookie that improves with age, so I made mine the day before I cut and served them. Our bars were very moist and we really enjoyed them. These are not an everyday cookie but if you are looking for an occasional treat, do give this recipe a try. Here is how the cookies are made.

Raspberry Bar Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I must be brutally honest here. I love Swedish raspberry bars and the recipe I'm sharing with you tonight is my second favorite. I have not yet come across anything that beats the buttery flavor and appearance of my first choice, which you can find here. That being said, the cookie I'm featuring tonight is much easier to make and it is quite flavorful, especially if you use a quality raspberry preserve, such as Smuckers, to prepare it. I know those of you who make this version of Swedish raspberry bars will not be disappointed. While it takes an hour to bake them, they come together quickly and keep well. Here is how this simple cookie is made.

Apricot and Chocolate Chip Nut Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've been saving a series of bar cookie recipes that I wanted to share with you when time and an appropriate occasion converged. It's finally happened. All of the recipes I've been working on have a couple of things in common. They are easy to prepare, but the ingredients used to make them are expensive. Working on the theory that you get what you pay for, I overlooked price and picked a couple that had the greatest visual appeal to me. The recipes came from a special interest publication, The Best of Fine Cooking Cookies, and because of the caliber of these recipes I knew the cookies would be worth the time and cost required to make them. That proved to be the case. These fruit and nut bars will appeal to those who enjoy European-style fruit-based desserts. They are very rich, a bit sweeter than I like, but they are festive and quite appropriate for a holiday table. The recipe is straight forward and you will have no problems if you follow it as written. I do hope you will give it a try. Here is how the fruit bars are made.

Chipotle Brownies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A gal can never have too many recipes for brownies. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I found this recipe in Family Circle magazine a while back and clipped it with the intention of trying it as soon as things settled down around here. It's became apparent that wouldn't happen any time soon, so this morning I pulled out my whisk and made the brownies while the bacon was frying. It took all of ten minutes to get these into the oven and they were finished before our breakfast had ended. Is dessert for breakfast acceptable? Yea or nay, I tried one just as soon as the brownies were cool enough to cut. This moist, fudge-like brownie has intense flavor that is enhanced by the addition of the chipotle powder. I think the brownies would be perfect with a bit more salt and vanilla, so you might want to double the amounts of each suggested in the recipe below. If you are looking for a slightly different brownie to add to your repertoire, you might want to give this recipe a try. Here is how these brownies are made.

Peanut Butter Bars + Mazola Summer Grill Giveaway Winners

The winners of the drawing for the Mazola Summer Grilling Giveaway are Taste the Rainbow, and Carol Z. Please email your address information to me, so I can pass it on to the Mazola representative for mailing to you. Congratulations, gals!

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I know that bacon is the poison of choice for most of my readers. While I, too, love the stuff, I'm partial to nuts and I must admit my allegiance is more firmly entrenched in the peanut butter camp. As a little girl, I'd sneak a jar of peanut butter and some saltines to my hideaway, a closet tucked under the front hall staircase, where I'd go to make my favorite "cookies" - peanut butter, finger smeared, on salty crackers. Lacking the foresight to bring utensils, I managed to get peanut butter on myself, the chain that dangled from the bare bulb and the door knob, and because I was still so young,  I could never figure out how my mother knew I had been in there. Unfortunately, I was usually intemperate in my use of peanut butter. Back in the day, nothing was super-sized, and my mother's weekly shopping placed only a small jar of peanut butter in the pantry. At least once a week, you could hear the far from dulcet accusation, "Hell's bells, Mary, that was meant for lunch," coming from her kitchen. And because that was then and not now, once she calmed down she would apologize for swearing. Such a wicked woman, it's no wonder I'm a mess and still inordinately fond of peanut butter and desserts that are made with it. The recipe I'm featuring tonight comes from Ellen Dorsey, who most of you know as Moomie, of famous bun fame. I found the recipe for Ellen's peanut butter bars on her website which you can find, here. The recipe makes a really nice bar cookie that is packed with peanut flavor, thanks to the use of peanut butter in both the dough and frosting. The simplicity of the recipe makes it a perfect cookie for children and novice cooks to make and  I think those of you who try Ellen's recipe will be really pleased with the results. Here is how these peanut butter bars are made.