Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats

Yesterday was such a nice day and it finally felt like Spring!  Did you know it was already officially Spring?  Here are some fun and delicious Spring-y rice krispies for you! Not much to say, you have all had these marshmallow treats before.  The only difference in these is that I used Strawberry Flavored Marshmallows and a little strawberry extract to give them a stronger strawberry flavor!  I love the addition of the extract and I highly recommend it, but if you don't think you would ever use it again, I probably would not buy it just for these. 

Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats

from: Jenn@eatcakefordinner

4 Tbl. unsalted butter

1 (10 oz.) bag Strawberry Marshmallows

1 tsp. strawberry extract, opt. 

6 c. Rice Krispies cereal

In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until melted and smooth (sometimes I add an extra 1 cup of plain marshmallows if I feel like having them extra chewy).  Stir in the extract.  Remove from heat and add the cereal and stir until completely coated with marshmallows.  Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.  Using the back of a spoon that has been greased with butter, smooth out the top of the rice krispies.  Cut into squares and serve.  

Andes Mint Brownies

If you like Andes Mints then you will LOVE these brownies.  They are a chewy brownie with a layer of mints in the middle!  I have made them so many times and they come out perfect every time.  This time I tried them with the Andes Mint Baking Chips that come in a bag, because that is what I had, but usually I make them will full-size Andes Mints!  I think I prefer them with the full-size mints, because I love biting into the brownie and getting a snap from the mint and you don't get that with these chopped up ones, but the flavor is still rich and minty and very refreshing!  This was the first time I tried them with chocolate frosting and they were delicious, but if you are not a frosting person, you might think it is a little much.   So, it's totally up to you which way you make them.

Andes Mint Brownies

adapted from: Paula Deen

(Printable Recipe)

1 1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. cocoa powder
3 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 boxes Andes Mints


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9x13 pan.  In a medium bowl, combine melted butter and cocoa, stirring well; set aside.  In a large bowl, beat sugar and eggs at medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Slowly beat in butter mixture. Add flour, salt and vanilla beating just until combined.  Spread half of the batter in pan.  Unwrap each mint and place, side by side, covering batter completely.  Carefully spread remaining batter over mints, sealing to edges.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Let cool in pan completely.  

RED VELVET BARS

I saw these red velvet bars on a recent episode of Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee.  I gave them a try and I thought they ended up tasting really good.  The cake part has the same texture as a brownie and they tasted exactly like a  cheesecake brownie.  They were so easy to make.  I cut the recipe in half and baked them for 42 minutes.

Red Velvet Bars

adapted from: Sandra Lee

Bars:

1 stick (8 Tbl.) butter, softened
1 german chocolate cake mix
1 egg
1 oz. bottle red food coloring


Cream Cheese Layer:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  For the bars: combine butter, cake mix, egg and red food coloring.  Batter will be stiff.  Spread into a greased 9X13 inch cake pan.  For the cream cheese layer:  Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until creamy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Spread over batter.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bars barely start to pull away from sides of pan.  Cool completely before cutting.  

CANDY BAR COOKIES

I had been wanting to try this recipe for a few years now.  It is adapted from a 2007 Better Homes & Gardens magazine.  

It all started, because I wanted to bring a treat to work on Friday, so I flipped through about 4 different cookbooks/magazines until I came across this recipe, so I decided that I should finally make these.  When they were all done, I was worried because they didn't look very pretty (they looked nothing like the picture in the magazine), that they might not taste very good either.  So, I decided not to bring them to work.  Well, when I got home from work on Friday, I decided to taste one, they were actually pretty darn good.  Why didn't I taste them sooner?  They reminded me of a chewy granola bar with chocolate coating. So, I wished I would have taken them to work, because now I might just eat the whole pan myself!  My house must be pretty warm, because the chocolate never hardened.  

Candy Bar Cookies:

adapted from:  2007 Better Homes & Gardens Magazine

(Printable Recipe)

1 c. packed light brown sugar
2/3 c. butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/4 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 c. quick-cooking oats (I only added 3 cups)
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
1 c. butterscotch chips
2/3 c. peanut butter (I didn't add)
1 c. chopped peanuts (I didn't add)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  For oat layer, in a large saucepan, stir together brown sugar, butter and corn syrup over medium-low heat until butter is melted and mixture is combined.  Remove saucepan from heat and stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter and vanilla until smooth.  Stir in the oats until combined.  Press oat mixture evenly into an ungreased 9x13 pan.  Bake in preheated oven 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Let oat layer cool slightly.  Melt together the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.  Stir in the 2/3 cup peanut butter until smooth.  Sprinkle half the peanuts over oat layer, if adding.  Slowly pour chocolate mixture over oat layer, spreading evenly.  Sprinkle the remaining peanuts on top of chocolate mixture.  Cool in pan for several hours or until chocolate layer is firm.      

KEY LIME PIE BARS - 2

`The other day, I posted some Key Lime Pie Bars and they were delicious, but I kept thinking that maybe I could improve on the crust?  Remember when Sugar Cookie Bars were showing up on just about every blog?  Well, I was sure that the recipe for those would make the most amazing crust.  My friend, Shelley, gave me a recipe for Key Lime Pie she found in a book she has.  So, I decided I would try both recipes.  I started with the sugar cookie crust.  Most recipes make enough for a whole cookie sheet, so I cut the recipe in 1/4 and had the perfect amount for an 8x8 dish.  I baked it for 10 minutes and then put the filling on top and baked for probably about 40 minutes more.  The Key Lime Pie recipe only said to bake 20-30 minutes, but mine was still jiggly, so I had to go longer.  By the time it was done, my crust was slightly overdone, but it was still delicious.  I think the perfect Key Lime Pie Bar would be this Sugar Cookie Crust recipe, but the Key Lime Filling recipe from my first post.  So, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Sugar Cookie Crust:

1/4 c. butter, soft

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and add to wet; mix well.  Spread evenly into a greased 8x8 dish.  Bake about 10 minutes (it will look slightly underdone).

Key Lime Filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 Tbl. lime zest, grated (I didn't add this)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 egg yolk

1/3 c. key lime juice (I added a little more)

Lower oven temp. to 325 degrees.  Using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, zest and salt until creamy.  Add sweetened condensed milk and mix until incorporated.  Add egg yolk and mix until combined.  Add lime juice and stir until well blended.  Pour filling over sugar cookie crust.  Bake until set, about 20-30 minutes (mine took around 40 min. which caused my crust to be slightly overdone).  Cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate two hours before serving.  

           

KEY LIME PIE BARS

Hi friends!  I am so excited to start this food blog and to share my love of cooking with all of you.  Join me on my journey to becoming a better cook and baker.    

You probably expected a cake recipe for my first blog post, however, I am going to be posting all types of recipes, not just cake ones.  Cake just happens to be one of my very favorite things, so, that is why I included it in my blog's name!!


A few weeks ago, my father-in-law made a key lime pie for a family barbeque.  It was so good that I have been craving it ever since.  If you have never tried key lime pie, you need to ASAP!  I decided to try and make my own, but instead of the traditional graham cracker crust, I wanted to try a sugar cookie crust.  I got the idea from a friend that I work with.  She brought us some Lemon Pie Bars awhile ago, it was basically lemon pie filling over a sugar cookie crust, so, I decided why couldn't I use key lime filling instead of lemon?  I tried it and guess what?  It was delicious.  I do have another variation of key lime pie bars, I will post next week.  

Sugar Cookie Tart Crust:

adapted from: April W.

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter, room temp.

1 1/4 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbl. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease an 8x8 baking dish; set aside.  In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in the flour, salt, milk and vanilla.  Beat until combined.  Press dough evenly into bottom and slightly up the sides of prepared baking dish.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is set and firm at the edges. 

Key Lime Pie Filling:

adapted from: www.oprah.com

4 egg yolks

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

2/3 c. key lime juice (I found in a bottle at Fresh Market)

1 lime, zested 

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.  Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until fluffy, about 5-6 minutes.  Gradually add the sweetened condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, about 3-4 minutes.  Lower the speed and slowly add the key lime juice until incorporated.  Pour mixture over warm crust and bake for 15 minutes or until filling has just set.  Cool on wire rack.  Refrigerate at least 20 minutes before serving.