Lulu's Recipe Box

Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

These cookie bars are, in two words, amazingly delicious! Even though I was practically drooling after pinning them from Two Peas and Their Pod, I wanted to wait to make them for a get together with friends. I knew it would be dangerous to have a whole pan of these bars in the house for only TC and I. We have zero self-control when it comes to sweets. Last night, we got together with some of TC's classmates and their significant others for a pizza making party, so I immediately told the hosts that I would be in charge of dessert! I knew these bars would be a crowd pleaser and boy oh boy, were they ever. : ) I caught one of our friends holding his cookie bar and saying to it "You are sooo good!". Haha. We almost ate the entire pan last night. I only saved a few to photograph today for this blog post, and then TC and I finished those off!

These bars combine the best of both worlds, sweet and salty. A layer of chocolate chip cookie dough is topped with melted caramel and sea salt and then more chocolate chip cookie dough. The addition of caramel and sea salt really brings these bars up a few notches. You can't go wrong with sweet, gooey and salty cookie bars. They will certainly brighten up your day and your taste buds!

Ingredients:

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
10 ounces caramel candy squares, unwrapped
3 T. heavy cream
Sea salt, for sprinkling over caramel and bars

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 2-quart (11x7) baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.(I only had a 3 quart glass Pyrex dish or 12x8, which worked fine.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the melted butter and sugars together until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the caramels and heavy cream. Microwave caramels on high until caramels are melted, stirring every 20 seconds. This will take about 2 minutes.

Divide the cookie dough in half. Press half of the cookie dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Pour hot caramel over the cookie dough. Sprinkle caramel with sea salt. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough over the caramel and spread dough with a spatula until the caramel is covered. Sprinkle the bars with additional sea salt.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan. Cool bars on a wire rack to room temperature. Cut bars into squares and serve.

***Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Butter Frosting

Happy Valentine's Day! I know it's probably too late to whip up a batch of these sugar cookies for your loved ones today, but I thought I would still share the recipe for upcoming holidays like Easter and St. Patrick's Day. I had been eager to use my heart cookie cutters, so I set out to find the perfect sugar cookie recipe on the Internet. Turns out, I just needed to call my sister. She recommended this Cook's Illustrated recipe to me and I knew it had to be good. I used a vanilla butter frosting and gel paste food color (from Michael's) to tint the frosting pink for Valentine's day. Even though sugar cookies can be a little time consuming to make and decorate, they will be well worth it when my husband and I are eating them for dessert tonight! Have a wonderful day with your loved ones!

Rolled Butter Cookies (Sugar Cookies)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup superfine sugar (or granulated sugar processed in food processor for 30 seconds)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg, plus 1 yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface

Directions:

1. With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes wth mixer set at medium speed. Add yolk and beat well. Then add whole egg and vanilla. Continue beating until well incorporated. Add flour and beat at low speed until flour is just mixed in. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (Can be refrigerated up to 2 days or double-wrapped and frozen for 1 month.)

2. Adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove on disk of dough from refrigerator and cut in half. Return unused portion of dough to refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Lightly flour work surface; roll dough to 1/8 inch thick, using thin metal spatula to loosen dough. (You could roll thicker than 1/8 inch if you prefer). Sprinkle surface lightly with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking.

4. Cut or form dough into desired shapes. Place dough shape 1/2 inch apart on parchment-lined cookie sheet (I use my silpat). Bake, reversing cookie sheets (from top to bottom and back to front) halfway through the baking time, until evenly golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.

5. Use thin bladed spatula to immediately transfer cookies to cooking rack. Cool to room temperature. Decorate cookies, if desired, and transfar to airtight container (can be stored up to 3 weeks).

***Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

 

Vanilla Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1 tsp. vanilla

4 T. milk

Assorted food coloring or gel paste food color (if desired)

Directions:

Using an electric mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth.  With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the confectioners sugar. Add the vanilla and milk and beat to combine. Then, on high speed, beat frosting until it is light and fluffy. You can always add more milk if you want the frosting to be thinner or add more confectioners sugar if you want the frosting to be thicker. The recipe is very forgiving. Tint with food color if using. If not using right away, cover with plastic wrap to prevent the frosting from drying out.

***Recipe from Joy of Baking

 

 

Toffee Apple Dip

Wow, can you believe it's October already?! Where has the time gone and apparently where has my blogging disappeared to? My sister even reminded me yesterday that I hadn't blogged since July and needed to post a new recipe stat! : ) I promise I have been cooking and baking the past three months, just not new recipes. Fortunately, I have found a new source of inspiration for recipes, and a new obsession called Pinterest.

Today, I whipped up some Toffee Apple Dip to go with delicious Honeycrisp apples. When I found this recipe on Pinterest and also on Tasty Kitchen, I was surprised to find that it was made with only cream cheese, brown sugar and toffee bits. I had no idea those three ingredients would create such a creamy and caramel like dip. The dip is sweet but not overly sweet, and the toffee bits add a nice crunch. This dip is perfect for Fall, and I will definitely be making it again for a Hawkeye football game!

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat), softened to room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup toffee bits (found these with the chocolate chips at store)

Your favorite apples for dipping

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the toffee bits.  Store the dip covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve with sliced apples.

Note:  You can cut this recipe in half which makes about 1 cup of dip.

*** Recipe from Melanie on Tasty Kitchen

 

Holiday Party 2010

It's difficult to top our Holiday party of 2008, the day TC proposed to me, but last night was great fun celebrating the upcoming holidays and the last week of classes EVER for TC and his classmates.  They deserved a night of fun after their stressful semester. I love any excuse to entertain and try new recipes, so it was fun for me too! The last hour or so is always chaotic putting all of the appetizers in the oven and setting up all of the food, but the stress is worth it when I see everyone enjoying the food. My goal was to have no leftovers and we barely had anything left! I made way too much for our first party so I cut back on the amount of appetizers. It's always hard to know how hungry people will be and what they will enjoy. Here is the menu of appetizers, desserts and beverages below. I have links to a few recipes and I will post some others this week! Hopefully you will get some great ideas for appetizers and desserts to try for your holiday parties with friends or family!

Beverages:

Wine

Soda 

Beer

Assorted liquors for mixed drinks

Appetizers:

Crudites with dip

Shrimp with cocktail sauce

Brie and Manchego cheeses with red grapes, assorted olives, crackers and salami

Jalapeño Popper Dip with tortilla chips (I'll post this recipe)

Pigs in a blanket (Click on the link for the recipe)

Stuffed Mushrooms (I'll post this recipe)

Pigs in a blanket are the easiest appetizer to make and definitely the most popular. I think I made close to 50 of these because I knew they would be gobbled up and they definitely were! I like to serve them with a nice mustard or fruit preserves to make them seem a little more classy. : )

A cheese tray is simple to put together and most of your guests will enjoy one of the cheeses you display. I used my slate cheeseboard for the first time to display the cheeses, salami, grapes and assorted olives. It comes with chalk so you can write the names of the cheeses right on the board. Love that!You can find it at Williams Sonoma or Crate and Barrel if you are interested in buying one.

Desserts:

Peanut Butter Blossoms (click on the link for the recipe)

Oreo Truffles

Red Velvet Bon Bons

This was the only dessert that I made. I had a few other girls help me out with desserts because I knew I wouldn't have time to get everything done. Peanut butter blossoms are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. I posted the recipe last year so if you would like it, just click the link above under the dessert menu. 

Our friend Becca brought these decadent red velvet cake bon bons covered with milk or white chocolate. They were sinfully delicious. I have the link to the recipe above.

Our friend Devon brought oreo truffles which were also rich and yummy. I'm a chocaholic so these were right up my alley. The recipe is above as well, just click on the link!

 

I'll be back this week with recipes for the dip and stuffed mushrooms! I felt they were worthy of their own posts! Happy Monday!

 

 

 

Lemon Bars

 

My mom recently made these lemon bars for a ladies luncheon she hosted the day before our wedding. They were refreshing and melted in your mouth. They are the perfect bar for a summer day. I used juice from real lemons but you can certainly do a mixture of juice from lemons and real lemon juice from the bottle. My mom has tried making the bars both ways and likes using all juice from lemons. I would have to agree after tasting mine! They are the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness! 

Ingredients for the crust:

1 cup margarine or butter softened (I used butter)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar 

Directions: 

Cream these 3 ingredients well and press into a 9 by 13 cake pan.  I sprayed the sides of the cake pan as sometimes the lemon filling sticks to the sides.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 350 until slightly browned.  Remove from oven and immediately pour the lemon mixture over it.

 

Ingredients for the lemon mixture:
 
4 eggs - beaten well
2 cups of sugar
8 Tablespoons of lemon juice (use either all fresh lemon juice, about 4 large lemons or 1/2 fresh and 1/2 Real Lemon juice from a bottle)
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons flour

Directions:

Mix these ingredients together well and pour over hot baked crust.  Continue to bake 20 to 25 minutes longer at 350 - browning on edges.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with additional powdered sugar.  Cut into squares when the bars are completely cooled.

 

 
 

Apple Crisp

Apple crisp is one of my favorite fall desserts. Not that I don't like making pies but it is much more simple to make. I made this apple crisp with golden delicious apples that I bought at Linvilla Orchards. It is a great orchard about 30 minutes from us. I also picked up some Amish noodles to make my chicken and noodles dish, some apple butter and a few pumpkins. I am fully prepared for Fall now! Now that the temperatures are getting cooler, warm up with this apple crisp and of course a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream on the side! Enjoy!

**Sorry for the bad picture. I don't get the greatest results once it is dark outside.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar (divided)

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

6 apples, Golden Delicious or your favorite kind of apple

3/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

6 T margarine

Directions:

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, water and cinnamon in 8x8 dish. Peel and slice apples fairly thin into this mixture and toss to coat. To make the topping, use a pastry blender to combine 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt and margarine. Sprinkle crumbly mixture over the apples. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until light brown and bubbly. 

Red, White and Blueberry Trifle

I was searching Martha Stewart for a festive Fourth of July dessert and came across this easy berry trifle. I was also searching my cupboards for a large glass container to put it in and I don't have anything. I'll have to add that to my registry! I decided to use strawberries for the trifle, but you could certainly use raspberries. The trifle was yummy! How can it not be with pound cake!? 

Kind of messy when you dish it up, but so sweet and tasty!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 store bought pound cake (12 ounces), cut into 3/4 inch thick slices (I bought the frozen Sara Lee pound cake)

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried (three 1/2-pint containers)

3 cups fresh raspberries/strawberries (two 6-ounce containers)

Directions:

1. Make lemon syrup: In small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice and 1/4 cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool completely, then brush over both sides of pound cake slices. Then quarter each slice.

2. With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese with remaining 1/3 cup sugar on high speed until lightened. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add heavy cream in a steady stream; continue beating until mixture is light and airy. (mixture will be like a very soft whipped cream)

3. Arrange half the cake pieces in the bottom of a 2 quart serving dish. Spoon half the cream-cheese over cake in dollops, spread to sides of dish. Scatter half the blueberries and raspberries/strawberries on top. Repeat layering with remaining cake, cream-cheese mixture, and berries, piling berries in the center. 

4. Cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to overnight. 

Brownie Sundaes with Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

 

Today is TC's 26th birthday! I can't believe he is 26! I asked TC what he wanted to do for his birthday, and he wanted me to make my chicken and noodles dish and stay home to watch our favorite Thursday night shows. We are going to celebrate again Saturday night with some friends and I'll be making a birthday cake for that celebration. Tonight though, I made delicious homemade brownies and homemade hot fudge sauce for his birthday sundae. I LOVE this brownie recipe. I can't remember where the recipe is from originally. I made them with my sister last year, wrote the recipe down and forgot to write the source. The hot fudge sauce recipe is my sister's and it is heavenly with vanilla ice cream and brownies. Looking forward to eating them tonight and watching The Office, Survivor and Grey's with the birthday boy! :)

Best Brownies Ever

Yields 24 2-inch brownies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate chopped fine
12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into six 1 inch pieces
2 1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 T. vanilla

Directions:
1. Put rack in middle position; heat oven to 325. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk to combine flour, salt and baking powder in medium bowl.
3. Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over medium saucepan of almost-simmering water. When chocolate mixture is completely smooth; remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth.
4. Smooth batter in pan. Bake until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 30-35 minutes. Cool on wire rack about 2 hours, then remove by lifting foil overhang.
5. Sprinkle top of brownies with powdered sugar (optional) 

 

Hot Fudge Sauce

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 c. margarine

2/3 c. sugar

1- 5 oz. can low-fat evaporated milk (2/3 cup)

In heavy small saucepan, melt chocolate and margarine. Add sugar. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Boil gently on low heat for 8 minutes. Stir often.

Strawberry Shortcake with Homemade Biscuits

With upper 80 degree temps hitting Philly the past few days, I am in the mood for summer. I have my shorts and flip flops on, and I'm making some of my favorite summer foods, pasta salad and strawberry shortcake. Dinner will be good tonight! This recipe for biscuits is perfect for making strawberry shortcake. The biscuits are just a little sweet so that when you add the sugar coated strawberries and cool whip, it's a good balance. First I slice a quart of strawberries and coat with enough sugar to make a sauce. I usually add about a cup of sugar. Let the strawberries sit for an hour to make that yummy sugary sauce. Next, make the biscuits.

Ingredients: 

2 c. flour

2 T. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup. margarine, melted

Directions:

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; whisk. Stir in milk and melted margarine until blended. If the dough seems too sticky, you could add a little more flour. Sprinkle the counter with flour. Knead the dough about 20-25 times. The dough will become less sticky once you knead it in the flour as well. Roll or pat dough out to about 1/2-3/4 inch thick and make circle cut-outs with a biscuit cutter. Put the biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake at 450 for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. I like to sprinkle sugar on the biscuits right when they come out of the oven. To make the strawberry shortcake, cut the biscuits in half, put some strawberries and the sauce in the middle of the two biscuits and put cool whip on the very top!

Edible Easter Egg Nests

I wanted to share my favorite Easter tradition with you just in time for you to make them for your Easter celebration! My mom and I have made these every year since I was little. I remember always wanting to eat the yummy mixture before baking! We would always be short a few baskets because of this. They make a great dessert and a cute decoration to put on your place settings. You can fill these nests with jelly beans, chocolate eggs or custard with fresh fruit. And don't forget, you can eat the nests! They are delicious!

Before going into the oven

You need large shredded wheat biscuits. One biscuit is shown in the picture.

Cute and tasty little nests!

Ingredients:

Yields 10-12

5 large shredded wheat biscuits
3/4 c. cocunut
1/4 c. sugar
1 stick butter, melted

Directions:
Crumble shredded wheat. Add cocunut, sugar and butter and mix together. Eat a little bit, but not too much. :) Press into large muffin cups, about 10-12. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool in pan. Loosen edges with knife and carefully take out. They break easily. Fill as desired.