Chocolate Rum Balls

Oh my gosh, we cannot believe that it’s October already, September seemed to pass in an instant!  Guess that getting back into the groove of school and of course coming down with the crud from all those new germs, and being sick for over half the month had something to do with it.  Here we are though, on the mend and Autumn is in the air so back on our game and hopefully back to some delicious cooking…because honestly all that was made last month were pots and pots of Cheaters Chicken Soup!  We did add some variety when we then morphed the Cheaters Chicken Soup into Jalapeno Popper Soup and Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup.  Honestly, soup and scrambled eggs were our diet for the month.  Getting us back into the swing of cooking was two part, a friend asked us to bake some special treats for a party she’s having and it’s Secret Recipe Club time!  Thankfully this month we could accomplish both tasks at the same time as our assigned blog, Danielle’s Mostly Food and Crafts had some wonderful sweet treat recipes to choose from.  Seriously, key lime pie bars, truffle fudge, zeppolle, and brownie biscotti all sounded and looked amazing but in the end we decided on Danielle’s rum balls, because honestly, who can resist a good rum ball?

We stayed pretty true to Danielle’s recipe, really only changing the sugar we rolled the balls in to finish as she used sanding sugar and we used confectioner’s.  How did they turn out?  Well just amazing, we wouldn’t change the recipe a bit!  Check out Danielle’s blog for all her wonderful recipes and crafty fun. 

Chocolate Rum Balls (adapted from here)

• butter for greasing pan
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt 
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of dark rum
• Confectioners sugar, for rolling

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12x17-inch rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease with butter and set aside.  Place the butter & chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat at 50%, stopping and stirring each minute, until the butter and chocolate are melted.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together the 3 eggs then whisk in the brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stir in your chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour.  Pour batter into prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until top is shiny and a cake tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Break up the brownie into small pieces and transfer to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or the bowl of a food processor. With machine on low speed, pour in the dark rum, and mix until crumbs start to come together to form a ball.  Shape into 1-inch balls, and roll in confectioners sugar to coat. This recipe makes 4 dozen rum balls.  Refrigerate the rum balls uncovered, until cold, about 2 hours. Can be served chilled or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Egg-in-the-Hole 
Baked Teriyaki Chicken Wings 
Baked Jalapeno Popper Dip 
Chipotle Stuffed Mushrooms 
Sriracha Deviled Eggs
Grilled Pizza Sandwich
Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Mascarpone Soup 
Hearty Bacon, Turkey & Vegetable Frittata
Chicken Satay with Sunbutter “Peanut” Sauce
Asian Pork Chops
Mango Salsa 
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing
Beef Keema  
Roasted Grape Tomato, Garlic & Poblano Ragu
Mexican Feast: Cream of Ancho Chile Soup, Roasted Poblano Burger with Chile de Arbol Guacamole & Pork Crusted Baked Poblano Fries
Zesty Zucchini Skillet
Garlic Seafood in Coconut Milk
Lamb & Eggplant with Chiles
Fijian Ceviche
Carrot & Sweet Potato Pancakes   
Chicken Burgers with Spinach & Mushrooms 
Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp 
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake 
Loaded Potato Soup
Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Check out the new SRC blog for more exciting recipes from past reveals

An InLinkz Link-up

Carrot Cake Cheese Cake Fudge

At one of the local farmer’s markets, there is a vendor who sells fudge, and one of the flavors she sometimes carries is Carrot Cake Cheesecake.  Well, Eammon just adored her fudge so we worked to replicate the recipe at home as a treat over the holidays.  Yes, another holiday recipe which only took us 4 months to finally post!  We dissected the farmer’s market fudge layer-by-layer and noted that the fudge was the cheesecake flavor and the bottom crust, even without any carrots, tasted like carrot cake.  So, we researched all sorts of recipes to finally come up with this one which is indistinguishable from the farmer’s market one he loved.  Though there are a few steps to the recipe, it is simple to execute and the results are worth the time.

Carrot Cake Cheese Cake Fudge

For the carrot cake base:

• 1 sleeve  Ritz Original crackers
• 1/2 cup butter 
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar , packed
• 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk 
• 1 tsp. vanilla  
• 1 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp.  ground nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

For the Cheesecake Fudge:

• 3 cups white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter  
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 7 oz. Marshmallow Fluff (1-1/2 cups)
• 1 - 3.4 ounce instant cheesecake pudding mix, DRY

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with aluminum foil and grease with butter or coconut oil.  Arrange the Ritz Crackers in a even layer on the bottom of the baking dish, breaking some to fill in all the gaps and overlapping as needed.  In a medium saucepan, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil over medium-high heat.  Once the mixture is at a FULL boil, cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, cocoa,  nutmeg & walnuts.  Pour the mixture over the crackers and bake for 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool while making the fudge.

In a medium saucepan combine the white chocolate chips, butter, salt and condensed milk and heat until melted and smooth. Add the dry pudding mix and stir until the mix dissolves and is smooth.  Add the Marshmallow Fluff and stir until melted and smooth. Pour the melted fudge over the crust and use an offset spatula to smooth. 

Refrigerate until set.  Carefully remove the fudge from the pan and peel back the foil.  Using a sharp knife which has been heated in a bowl of hot water and then wiped dry, cut the fudge into small squares.  Clean the knife between each cut with a dish towel and reheat it as necessary.   Store the fudge at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Bun Cookie Bars

This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the specified ingredients of cinnamon and sugar!  I wanted to bake something sweet to share with some friends, so what better ingredients than cinnamon and sugar?  I thought about all my favorite cookie and bar recipes but realized that I tend to make the same cookies over and over again and I wanted to try something different.  So what did I do?  I checked out Pinterest of course and happened upon these cinnamon roll cookie bars from Blissful Whimsy.  

The bars sounded really good but I almost passed on making them because they use a box cake mix.  I don’t know what it is about me but I generally have this thing about using boxed mixes of any kind, thinking everything needs to be made from scratch…but something about these bars just allowed me to look past the whole cake mix thing and I’m so happy about that as these cookie bars are just wonderful.  There’s no trace of that cake mix flavor, in fact these cookie bars taste just like cinnamon buns.  Everyone really loved the crunchy edges and top and the chewy center and the glaze on top was the perfect amount of frosting.  Boxed cake mix and all, I hope that you’ll make these the next time you’re craving a sweet cinnamon treat.

Cinnamon Bun Cookie Bars (recipe from here)  

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 TBS. cinnamon
• 2-3 TBS. milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix the cake mix, butter, eggs, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and then spread into a greased 9"x13" baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Bake until the top is crispy and a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before piping on the icing.  To make the icing whisk the milk and powdered sugar together until smooth. 

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

April 2013  Bacon & Eggs:  Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups 
March 2013  Carrots & Peas:  Mom’s Beef Vegetable Soup 
February 2013  Hearts & Flours:  Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites
January 2013  Bananas & Nutmeg:  Baked Bananas 
December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Pumpkin Pie Bars ~ Gluten, Egg & Dairy Free

Yummy Pumpkin Pie Bars.  Cake-like on the top and bottom and chewy creamy in the middle.

 

April is National Soyfoods Month and I was contacted by Soyafoods* and asked to try and use their products in one of my recipes.  We use a number of soy products here in the Cook Lisa Cook house as we all adore edamame and go through a package in nothing flat.  Snacks like Sunrich Honey Nutz are always a favorite, especially for Maisie at school or at the gym where it gives her that extra protein and calories she needs to make it through her long gymnastics practices . I use tofu in a number of recipes and because Maisie’s allergic to milk, I often substitute soy milk for dairy milk when baking.  I was totally onboard with featuring a recipe which includes soy, in this case, Westsoy soy milk.  Today’s recipe is for some absolutely delicious Pumpkin Pie Bars, which are Maisie “safe” as they don’t contain any wheat, egg or dairy…but you’d never know that from the flavor.  These bars are sort of a cross between cake and pie because the top and bottom of the bars have the texture of cake and the middle has a nice moist and somewhat chewy creamy texture, not quite as custardy as pumpkin pie, but close.  The bars are simple to make and of course, totally delicious!!

Maisie’s been cooped up at home for a the past few days, recovering from sinus surgery and avoiding our outrageous pollen counts so she was excited to help Mama cook, especially as the final product was for her!

Licking the spatula is always a delicious treat.

I love using my Slice Solutions Pan as it makes perfect portions.  One note though, when using this pan with the insert, it cooks faster than an undivided pan so you’ll have to adjust your cooking time depending on your oven and which pan you use. 

Pumpkin Pie Bars fresh from the oven, with the insert removed.

 Maisie approved, Pumpkin Pie Bar success!!

Pumpkin Pie Bars ~ Gluten, Egg & Dairy Free

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour 
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum  
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 6 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 4 TBS. ground golden flax seed
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup Westsoy soy milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 – 15 oz. can 100% pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix) 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a 9 x 13-inch Slice Solutions Pan or baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the rice flour, tapioca flour, corn starch, xanthan gum, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, flax seed, brown sugar and granulated sugar.  With the mixer on low, slowly add the soy milk, oil and lemon juice.  Once the wet ingredients are fully incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pumpkin puree.  Mix on low until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Add the Slice Solutions Pan insert and then bake for 50-60 minutes until the tops of the bars are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bars comes out clean.  (Note, when I cook with the Slice Solutions Pan my baked goods cook faster so if just using a regular undivided pan, your baking time could be as much as 30 minutes longer so keep checking to make sure that your bars aren’t over or under baked.)

Enjoy!

April is National Soyfoods Month so it’s the perfect time to learn about the place for soy in a healthy diet and easy ways to incorporate it into everyday meals.  Packed with protein and fiber, soyfoods are a tasty way to reduce calories, saturated fat and maintain your weight.  Many soy products like veggie burgers cook and thaw faster than traditional meat sources so that means more time and convenience—who couldn’t use more of both?

The Soyfoods Association of North America (SANA) provides information about the health benefits and nutritional advantages of soy. SANA offers fun recipes and convenient ways to incorporate soy into meals for everyone – from athletes to families. SANA is dedicated to spreading the word about soy, especially during National Soyfoods Month in April!  Here are just a few ways that soy can help make your life easier and healthier: Take this mixed berry smoothie up a notch with creamy and delicious WESTSOY Soymilk made from whole organic soybeans: Berry Smoothie WESTSOY Soymilk.  Need a snack on-the-go? Grab some gluten free SOYJOY bars to fuel up with nutrients in seconds, SOYJOY bars. On those busy weeknights, add some Wildwood tofu to the standard stir-fry for more protein or this spinach fettuccini to your favorite pasta sauce, Wildwood Tofu.  Packing lunches with the same snacks can get a little boring, but honey roasted soy nuts are a sweet and crunchy snack packaged in individual sizes, perfect for the lunch box, Honey Roasted Soy Nuts.  Packed with protein and fiber, soyfoods are a great way to reduce calories, cholesterol and saturated fat. They also serve as a great source of iron, calcium, vitamin B-12, magnesium and zinc.  Including soyfoods into your diet is easy and convenient. See the recipes below: Soymilk adds a healthy twist to any smoothie and these scalloped potatoes: Soy Milk Scalloped Potatoes.  Edamame makes a great energy-boosting snack and puts in an interesting twist on this hummus: Edamame Hummus,  Easy recipes to get cooking with soy ingredients: Easy recipes to get cooking with soy

Follow the SoyFoods Association on Twitter at @SocialSANA

Follow SoyFoods Association on Facebook

 

Disclosures:

* This sponsorship is brought to you by Soyfoods Association who we have partnered with for this promotion. I was provided with a box of products to sample.  This is a compensated post but all the views and opinions expressed are my own and based upon my experiences with Soyfoods Association products.

Baked Bananas

It is now month 16 of the Improv Cooking Challenge and this month our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker has challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the two given ingredients of bananas & nutmeg.  Unlike last month where I just was uninspired, but still managed to make a wonderful White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark, this month there were so many delicious things I wanted to make.  I’m talking about cakes, cookies, pancakes, muffins, fritters, ice cream and smoothies, so many wonderful things to be made with bananas and nutmeg.  But here it is, a new year, and after all our indulging over Thanksgiving, during our trip to Savannah, during our two weeks in Aruba, over Christmas, New Years Eve and then visiting with friends and our week at Disney…well I needed something delicious but very healthy.  With that in mind, may I present, Baked Bananas.  I saw this recipe on Epicurious and knew that I had found a winner. 

And a winner it is, just minutes to make, all the ingredients are staples in my home and delicious…well just insanely!!  I have made these Baked Bananas a few times already, once as a dessert with a little bit of whipped cream sprinkled with nutmeg and a few times I’ve put them over plain oatmeal, a delicious breakfast.  One night I served these Baked Bananas as a sweet little side dish along side some roasted pork (amazing combination) and I even just baked up a half recipe one night when I was craving something sweet.  I’d bet that these bananas would be fabu over some vanilla ice cream…one day I will give that a try.  I suggest that you give this recipe a try as you’ll be amazed at how just a few ingredients and a tiny bit of time totally transforms simple bananas into an insanely delicious treat.      

Baked Bananas (adapted from here)

2 bananas

Juice of 1 lemon

1 TBS, dark rum  

1/4 tsp. ground roasted cinnamon 

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg 

1 TBS. Whey Low Gold or brown sugar 

1 TBS butter 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel the bananas and slice in half lengthwise. Lay the pieces into a buttered 9x9x2-inch ovenproof dish. Pour the lime juice and rum evenly over the bananas. Sprinkle on the cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Dot on the butter and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with a bit of whipped cream sprinkled with a pinch of nutmeg.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Sweet Potato Cranberry Nut Cookies

Here it is, January 1, 2013 and I hope that everyone had a wonderful New Year’s eve and we wish everyone a wonderful and delicious year.  I’m hoping that in this new year I can be a bit more organized and caught up with things as here I am, still posting recipes from Thanksgiving. 

After Thanksgiving I had some leftover sweet potatoes and I couldn’t decide what to do when them until I saw a recipe for Sweet Potato Cookies on Stephanie’s blog, Eat Your Heart Out and I thought, what a perfect way to use them, and as it worked out,  I had all the other ingredients needed for the recipe already in my pantry.

These cookies were wonderful, almost a cross between a cookie and muffin.  I loved these cookies plain, but even better when they were heated a little in the microwave, split open and topped with a nice pat of butter  My parents too really loved the cookies and my Mom has been asking for weeks now, that I post the recipe, so for her this is my first recipe of the new year. . 

Sweet Potato Cranberry Nut Cookies (adapted from here) 

• 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
• 2 eggs 
• 1 cup packed Whey Low Gold or brown sugar   
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, solid at room temperature 
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 2 cups all-purpose flour   
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• 1 tsp. cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander 
• 2 tsp. minced crystallized ginger    
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries 
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare two baking sheets lined with Silpats or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and Whey Low Gold (or brown sugar) until thick and pale.  Whisk in the coconut oil until well combined.  Stir in the sweet potato & vanilla extract.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda & spices. Fold together with a spatula until no flour remains. Fold in the crystallized ginger, cranberries and chopped pecans.

Using a large cookie scoop portion out the batter onto the prepared pans.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until puffed and lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cookies comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cookies will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 4 days. If storing in layers, separate with parchment or wax paper so they don’t stick together.

Enjoy!

Steak with Bourbon & Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce

Maisie adores nice, rare, perfectly grilled steak, especially if it has been marinated in a delicious, slightly sweet sauce just like this Bourbon & Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce.  I marinated the steak for a few hours in some of the sauce and then grilled the steak, brushing a little bit more on as it cooked.  This sauce was absolutely delicious and would also be fabu on some ribs so that will be my next go with it.  I served the steak with a little salad, drizzled with the Fig Balsamic Dressing from this recipe, and my Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream.  A totally delicious, rich and filling meal. 

Steak with Bourbon & Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce (adapted from here)

• 1 cup ketchup 
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 3 tablespoons Whey Low Gold or brown sugar 
• 3 tablespoons mild (light) molasses 
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce 
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 
• 11/2 teaspoons liquid smoke 
• 1 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes   
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Bring all the ingredients to boil in saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce is reduced to 2 cups, stirring often, about 10 minutes.  Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Cover & chill. Use at room temperature.

I marinated the meat for a few hours in some of the sauce and then brought the meat to room temperature before grilling.  As the meat grilled I brushed on additional sauce.  Allow the cooked meat to sit for about 15 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

S’mores Granola Bars

This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker asked the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choice using the two given ingredients of oatmeal and raisins.  Sure, oatmeal and raisins sounds easy enough but I just kept going round and round trying to decide what I want to make.  I finally decided to make something special for my Maisie as it’s her birthday month, and I totally can’t believe that she’s seven, so I figured that I’d spoil her even more than usual.  I of course had to keep her food allergies in mind so other than giving her a bowl of oatmeal with raisins, which I do many mornings, I put on my thinking cap to come up with something that she’d enjoy.  In the end it was Maisie, who without even knowing about my dilemma, came right out and told me what she wished I would make and it fit in perfectly with the challenge.  Maisie mentioned that I hadn’t made granola bars for her in a while and that she’d really enjoy some.  In the past I’ve made a couple of different bars for her including Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars and Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars and though she’s enjoyed both of those recipes and I’ve made them a number of times, she wanted something different.  I told Maisie that I needed to use oats and raisins but I asked her what else she wanted in her bars and she chose the ingredients.  Maisie asked for cashews, chocolate bits and mini marshmallows.  I also gave her a choice of what other cereal to add to the bars and she picked Rice Krispies.  When Maisie mentioned chocolate and marshmallows, my mind immediately thought of s’mores so that’s the flavor I was going after in making these bars.

 I used what I had in the house, made things up as I went along and in the end I’d say Maisie did a great job with her flavor choices and the bars came together easily as I made them no-bake so super simple to make.  Maisie and Eammon both loved the bars but Maisie did put in a request for next time, more marshmallows and chocolate bits.  We’ll have to see about that one as I tried to keep the “high sugar” items to a minimum but I’ll probably sprinkle the top of the bars with some extra of both next time because if she can see them, she’ll think that there’s a lot more there than there actually is.  In the end, this recipe is a keeper and a great, on the go breakfast or snack for my Maisie.

S’mores Granola Bars

• 5 pkgs. maple & brown sugar instant oatmeal
• 2 cups Rice Krispies
• 1/4 cup golden raisins 
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate bits
• 1/2 cup mini marshmallows 
• 1/4 cup cashews
•   1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Prepare a 9 x 13 inch baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil and lightly greasing it with either cooking spray or coconut oil.

In a large bowl mix together the oatmeal, Rice Krispies, raisins, chocolate bits, marshmallows and cashews and set aside.  In a microwave safe bowl combine the coconut oil, honey and brown sugar and microwave on high for 1 minutes.  Remove from the microwave and stir to combine then return to the microwave and cook on high for 2 more minutes.  Remove from the microwave a carefully mix.  Pour the hot mixture over the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon, mix until everything is well combined and the chocolate bits melt.  Add the contents of the bowl to the prepared pan and press the ingredients tightly into the pan.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until the bars are set.  Using the foil liner of the pan, lift the entire sheet of bars from the pan and onto a cutting board.  Remove the foil and cut into bars.  Wrap the bars individually in plastic wrap, parchment paper or wax paper and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Enjoy!

 

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake 
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies