Banana Boats

November 12, 2011 by

I don’t really need a recipe for Banana Boats. I’ve been making them at camp since I was a Junior Girl Scout. This recipe from the April 2011 issue of All You (original here), however, includes instructions for cooking the treat in the oven. An option for Banana Boats that doesn’t require me to build a fire? Yes please!

Ingredients

  • 4 small bananas
  • 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300ºF.
  2. Slit each banana lengthwise through 1 side of peel, taking care to avoid cutting all the way through banana.
  3. Stuff each slit with chocolate chips and marshmallows.
  4. Wrap each banana in aluminum foil, place upright on a baking sheet.
  5. Bake until chocolate and marshmallows have melted, 10 to 15 minutes.
  6. Unwrap and serve immediately.

Variations

  • For a bit of crunch, add chopped salted peanuts to the chocolate chips and marshmallows.
  • Or, add drizzled caramel so it resembles the popular British dessert Banoffee Pie.
  • You can use milk chocolate for a sweeter taste, or bittersweet for a stronger flavor.
  • Instead of buying chips, you can chop up a 4-oz candy bar.

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S’mores Cookies Bars

October 22, 2011 by

A recipe from the May 2011 issue of All You (original here). The note with the recipe explains, “Graham cracker crumbs, marshmallow topping, and milk chocolate chips baked into a bar is a fun twist on this iconic graham cracker dessert.”

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups marshmallow topping (such as Marshmallow Fluff)
  • 2 cups milk-chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides.
  3. Mist foil with cooking spray.
  4. In a bowl, combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; mix well.
  5. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes.
  6. Beat in eggs until well combined.
  7. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly beat flour mixture into butter mixture.
  8. Divide dough in half.
  9. Press half of dough into pan until dough is uniform and flat.
  10. Spread with marshmallow topping and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
  11. Scatter remaining dough over in clumps. Don’t worry about covering the top; marshmallow and chocolate chips should peek through.
  12. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
  13. Place pan on a wire rack to cool completely. Remove from pan, peel off foil and cut into bars. To make it easier to cut the bars, cover and refrigerate them for at least an hour or up to overnight. Use the foil overhang to remove them from the pan. Peel off foil, place on a cutting board and slice.

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Peanut Butter Oat Bites

October 19, 2011 by

A recipe from the April 2011 issue of All You (original here). The note with the recipe explains, “These delicious treats are best served with a tall glass of milk.” That’s true of most cookies though.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts

Directions

  1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Remove pan from heat and stir in peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, honey and vanilla.
  3. Stir in Rice Krispies and oats and allow mixture to cool.
  4. Stir in raisins and chocolate chips.
  5. Form mixture into 1-inch balls, then roll each ball in chopped peanuts, pressing to coat.
  6. Makes 24 cookies.
  7. Store in refrigerator.

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Chilled Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies

October 18, 2011 by

A recipe from the July 2011 issue of All You (original here). The note with the recipe explains, “Simple to make and costing less than 10 ¢ per serving, dessert does not get any cheaper than this! For variety, you can use a different type of cereal, or swap chopped nuts for the coconut.”

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 3 cups corn flakes, lightly crushed

Directions

  1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Place a small skillet over medium-high heat.
  3. Add coconut and toast, stirring constantly, until light golden, 3 to 4 minutes.
  4. Transfer to a bowl; let cool.
  5. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine honey, corn syrup and peanut butter.
  6. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring, then remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips and cocoa.
  7. Continue stirring until chocolate chips have melted, then stir in cereal and toasted coconut until well coated.
  8. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet and refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Makes 40 cookies.

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Monster Cookies

December 25, 2010 by

For Christmas day, there’s nothing like Monster Cookies, the best in over-indulgent cookies. I found the recipe five years ago in Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style. I made them for the cookie exchange at work that year, and have returned to the recipe whenever I want the perfect treat. Monster Cookies are the twenty-fifth of my 25 Cookies of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1¼ cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • ½ cup M&M’s
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup raisins
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 4½ cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  3. Mix eggs and sugars in large mixing bowl.
  4. Add salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix thoroughly.
  5. Add baking soda and oatmeal, combining well.
  6. Stir in M&M’s, chocolate chips, and raisins.
  7. Drop cookies onto prepared cookie sheets.
  8. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to overbake.
  9. Let cool 3 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool completely.
  10. Store in tightly covered container.

Time Required: 45 minutes

Servings: about 3 dozen

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Oatmeal Carmelitas

December 24, 2010 by

This recipe comes from someone I worked with at NCTE, Sharon. She brought them to a cookie exchange we had at the office, and I became thoroughly addicted. Oatmeal Carmelitas are the twenty-fourth of my 25 Cookies of Christmas.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
  • 2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
  • 1½ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1¼ cups margarine or butter, softened

Filling

  • 6 oz. pkg (about 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
  • ½ cup chopped nuts
  • 12 oz jar caramel ice cream topping
  • 3 tbsp flour

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Grease 13" x 9" pan.
  3. Measure flour by dip-level method into large mixing bowl.
  4. Blend in remaining crust ingredients with electric mixer at low speed until crumbly.
  5. Press half of crumb mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Set remainder aside for topping.
  6. Bake for 10 minutes
  7. Sprinkle warm crust with chocolate chips and nuts.
  8. In small bowl, combeing caramel topping and 3 tbsp flour.
  9. Drizzle caramel mixture evenly over chocolate chips and nuts.
  10. Sprinkle with remaining crust mixture.
  11. Bake an additional 18 to 22 minutes, or until golden brown.
  12. Cool completely. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set.
  13. Cut into bars.

Time Required: 45 minutes plus cooling time

Servings: about 3 dozen

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S’mores Snackin’ Cups

December 22, 2010 by

Want s’mores, but don’t have a campfire handy? This oven-warmed treat is an easy alternative (and a good bit less messy). S’mores Snackin’ Cups, another Girl Scourt recipe, are the twenty-second of my 25 Cookies of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 1 (14-ounce) package graham crackers
  • 6 Herskey’s chocolate bars
  • ½ (10.5-ounce) bag mini-marshmallows

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 250°F.
  2. Line two muffin pans with muffin cups, or spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. Break the graham crackers into pieces and place a layer in the bottom of each muffin cup.
  4. Break up the chocolate bars and put a layer on top of the crackers.
  5. Add another layer of crackers and chocolate.
  6. Evenly distribute the marshmallows over each muffin cup.
  7. Bake in preheated oven until the chocolate melts and marshmallows brown slightly.

Variations

  • Make one giant pan of S’mores by layering treats in a cast iron skillet or pie plate and then baking according to the instructions.
  • Substitute Teddy Grahams and chocolate chips for fun alternative.
  • For the original campfire version, use a cast iron skillet. Place the skillet in a corner of the campfire, rotating the pan ¼ turn every 3 minutes, until the chocolate is melted and the marshmallows are golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Time Required: 20 minutes

Servings: about 2 dozen

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Chocolate Chipped Brownies

December 20, 2010 by

On our last trip to Sam’s, I saw a box of cookie mix that inspired me to create this recipe. The cookie was basically part brownie and part chocolate chip cookie, assembled like a marble cake so that each cookie includes a little of each. I thought it would be easy enoug to create that on my own, using a few shortcuts of course. Here are Chocolate Chipped Brownies, the twentieth of my 25 Cookies of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 1 box Brownie Mix, and ingredients listed on the package
  • 1 roll of Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Refrigerator Dough

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to temperature indicated on brownie mix.
  2. Prepare 13″ x 9″ pan according to the instructions on the brownie mix.
  3. Prepare batter for brownie mix according to directions, and pour into prepared pan.
  4. Chop chocolate chip cookie dough into chunks. Don’t worry abourt uniformity.
  5. Spread chunks over the brownie batter, and press down into batter.
  6. Bake and cool according to instructions on brownie mix box.

Variations

  • Rather than chocolate chip cookies, substitute peanut butter cookies.

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German Chocolate Cookie Bars

December 18, 2010 by

German chocolate cake converted to a cookie. German Chocolate Cookie Bars are the eighteenth of my 25 Cookies of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg German chocolate cake mix (any brand)
  • 1 stick butter or margarine, melted
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • ½ cup chopped pecans
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 container coconut pecan icing

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Cream eggs and butter.
  3. Add cake mix, and combine thoroughly.
  4. Stir in coconut and pecans.
  5. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto cookie sheet.
  6. Press a thumb into each cookie to make an indentation.
  7. Fill indentation with about a ½ tsp of coconut pecan icing.
  8. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.
  9. Cool on wire rack, and store in a tightly covered container.

Variations

  • Our family loves coconut and pecans so we include them in both the cookie and the icing. Omit the stir-ins from the cookies if you prefer.
  • Chop a bar of German Chocolate into small pieces and stir into the cookie batter (as you could stir in chocolate chips).

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Triple Chocolate Brownies

December 16, 2010 by

I believe you can never have too much chocolate. Through a bit of experimentation, I created this incredibly rich brownie recipe. It works with any box brownie mix. Just choose your favorite and substitute as explained. If you like chocolate, you’ll be pleased with Triple Chocolate Brownies, the sixteenth of my 25 Cookies of Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg brownie mix (any brand)
  • Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
  • Eggs (per number on the box)
  • 1 12-oz. bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to temperature indicated on brownie mix box.
  2. Spray 13″ x 9″ pan with nonstick spray.
  3. Put brownie mix in large mixing bowl.
  4. Follow instructions on brownie mix box, but replace all liquids with chocolate syrup (typically, water and oil).
  5. Stir in chocolate chips.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  7. Bake according to instructions on the box.
  8. Cool completely before cutting.

Variations

  • Stir in other favorites—peanut butter chips, nuts, and so forth..

Time Required: 45 minutes

Servings: 3 to 4 dozen

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