Mixed Nut Bars.

Today I am happy to be sharing a family favorite.  I remember these being on the dessert table at family functions as long ago as I can remember.  And they are delicious.  So delicious that, in most cases, I will pass on anything with nuts nine times out of ten.  But these.  They are the one.

A big thanks to reader and facebook fan Angie who requested the recipe after sampling a pan that my mom made!  I am surprised that I haven't shared these yet!!

Mixed Nut Bars
(Adapted from Mom!)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 ounces butterscotch chips
1/2 cup karol syrup
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups mixed nuts

Mix flours, butter, and brown sugar until crumbly then press into a 9x13 baking dish.  Bake in a 325 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle nuts evenly across the top.  Melt butterscotch chips, syrup, and butter over low/medium heat until bubbly.  Pour evenly over crust.  Bake for an addition 10 minutes.  Cool.  Serve.

Christmas Toffee Bars

First, thanks Holly for inviting me back this year!

Now on to the yummy treat....As a child this was my FAVORITE Christmas "cookie." While I loved helping my mom decorate the cut outs and enjoyed the sugar cookies with the chocolate star in the middle I couldn't shove enough of these in my mouth :) Even better they are easy and quick to make and do not require a lot of ingredients. So, I present to you......

Christmas Toffee Bars

Saltine Crackers
1 cup of butter and additional butter to grease the pan
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
Chopped nuts to sprinkle on top

-Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter a 9x13 cooking pan and layer with saltine crackers.
-Take 1 cup butter and 1 cup brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 min and then pour over the saltines. Bake for 5 min.
-Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips and pour on top. I usually pour this on top after the brown sugar/butter mixture as cooled a bit on the saltines (it spreads easier).
-Add chopped nuts and let cool.

These are easier to cut when they are not too hot or too cool! Happy baking and eating!

Sugarplum's Mayan Mudslide Brownies.

The wait for a recipe is so worth it today. These amazing little things are so good - even better paired with vanilla ice cream. Mmmm.

Mayan Mudslide Brownies

(adapted from Emily @ Sugar Plum)

1/4 cup butter

4 ounces Baker's semi-sweet chocolate (chopped)

1 teaspoon instant coffee mix

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt + 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1 avocado (peeled & pitted) - trust me - it's OK!

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup salted cashews

3/4 cup canned dulce de leche (I really hope you can find this ingredient. I could not, so I made my own "dulce de leche" with sweetened condensed milk. I tried baking it - it worked OK. I tried microwaving it - it worked GOOD but was a mess!! I think you could also use a caramel sauce....

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.

Melt butter in saucepan over medium; turn heat off, add chopped chocolate and instant coffee. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients (including only 1/4 salt and excluding the sugars) until well combined. Use a mixer on medium speed to beat the avocado until creamy. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat until well combined. Beat in vanilla and egg then beat in the melted chocolate mixture until well combined. Slowly beat in dry flour mixture.

Spread batter in baking dish. Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips and half of the cashews over the the batter. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle with warmed dulce de leche. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips and cashews. Sprinkle with remaining salt. Return to the over for an additional 10-15 minutes. Cool and enjoy.

I really hope you try these!!! I know the avocado might be intimidating, but it is so worth it!!! So, so, so worth it! The sweetness, the saltiness, the chewiness. Yum.

Chocolaty Caramel Thumbprints.

Hello Holly! Thanks again for inviting me to post to your blog! I am finally done with my christmas baking and I have found a delicious and very easy new cookie recipe. It is call Chocolaty Caramel Thumbprints. Here is the recipe!

1 egg

1/2 cup butter softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

16 caramels

3 Tbsp whipping cream

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces

1 tsp shortening

Separate the egg. Refrigerate yoke until ready to use. In a large bowl, beat butter for 3o seconds. Then add sugar and mix. Next add egg yolk, milk and vanilla.

In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, and salk. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until well combined. Wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheets. In a small saucepan, heat caramels and whipping cream over low heat until smooth. Set aside.

Slightly beat the reserved egg white. Shape the cookie dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the egg white, then into the pecans to coat. Place balls about 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet. Using your thumb (or the bottom of a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon), creat an indentation in the center of each cookie. Bake 10 minutes. After you remove the cookies, you may have to put an indentation back in each cookie if it puffs up from baking.

Spoon in the melted caramel. Then, in a small bowl, microwave the semisweet chocolate and shortning until soft. Drizzle over each cookie! Super easy and looks like a lot of work.

Dried Cherry & Chocolate Walnut Brittle

Wow, I don't know if I can top those White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies below. Nothing beats a good Christmas cookie!

I can't wait to get started with my usual holiday baking and cooking. Growing up, my sisters and I would always help with the treat making. Cut-out sugar cookies were always my favorite, but I also liked helping out with white chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate dipped peanut butter crackers, chex mix, and butter spritz cookies. It was tradition, and I always insisted on making those items. I feel the urge to get crackin'! This month is already flying by!

Our family would munch on goodies all month long, and we'd usually make up a new batch of items to take to my grandparents' farm on Christmas day to share with aunts, uncles and cousins.

We weren't much into candy-making; no brittles, no toffee, no marshmallows, and gasp - no fudge. I don't ever remember making candy when I was growing up... I suppose because these items are much more difficult to make. Also, molten hot sugar and small children do not mix.

Therefore, I feel deprived of candy making, and need to make up for it as an adult. So this holiday season I'm making it a point to create more candy recipes for my blog. Buttery chocolate-covered toffee, anyone? Peppermint Marshmallows? Wheee!

Making candy can be tricky business, but I'm up to the challenge. I even went out and bought a brand new candy thermometer! The one I had from 1970 wasn't doing the job. :) I used the new candy thermometer when I created today's recipe: Dried Cherry & Chocolate Walnut Brittle.

Traditional peanut or walnut brittle is delicious, but let's admit it - it's pretty boring, right? I thought I would spice up walnut brittle for the holidays and add dried cherries, dark chocolate, and crystallized ginger. Chocolate, walnuts, cherries and ginger are a match made in heaven!

Happy holidays!


Dried Cherry & Chocolate Walnut Brittle (Recipe from Sugar Plum)
Printable Recipe

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup dried cherries
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
3 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

Butter a cookie sheet well.

Stir together sugar, corn syup and salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; stir in walnuts and cherries, and continue to cook until mixture reaches 300 degrees F, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat and stir in butter and baking soda, quickly; pour onto cookie sheet, and spread out thinly using two forks.

Sprinkle ginger over brittle and gently press into surface. Sprinkle chocolate chips over brittle and gently press into surface. Cool completely before breaking into pieces.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Occasionally, when I go to Subway, I ruin the concept of "eating healthy" with their white chocolate macadamia nut cookies - they are SO good. I had one recently and decided I need to try to recreate them. The recipe I came up with isn't really close, but they are still tasty cookies. Hope you like them!


White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

2 sticks butter
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 small box instant white chocolate pudding, not prepared
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cup flour
1 package white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped or halved

Combine all ingredients and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Caramel Cashew Chocolate Peanutbutter Bars

I know the name is a mouthful but, trust me... these are delicious! :)

I was in the mood for all of these things, so I decided to come up with a fun recipe that incorporated them all. Here is the result!

Recipe:

Peanut Butter Cookie Bottom:

1 stick butter
2/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda

Combine all ingredients and bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Topping:

11 oz. bag of caramels
1/2 cup milk
chocolate chunks
lightly salted cashews

While cookie crust is baking, heat milk and caramel until melted.

Once cookie crust is done, pour caramel mixture over crust and add chocolate chunks and cashews in the amount of your liking. Bake for 10 - 12 additional minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!! :)