Buckeye Bars

These are some delish bars that I made up to put on neighbor's Christmas goodie plates a couple years ago. Terrible that it's taken me this long to share the recipe with you! I found the recipe in a Kraft recipe book. One of the best things about this recipe is you can make it ahead of time and freeze it to keep for when you need it. 

I do apologize about my photo. I know it pretty much stinks. I promise they tasted good!

Buckeye Bars

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

¾ cup crunchy peanut butter

22 vanilla wafers, crushed (about ¾ cup)

2 cups powdered sugar

½ of 8oz tub of whipped topping (do not thaw)

3 squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate {I prefer milk chocolate}

Directions:

Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended. Add wafer crumbs; mix well. Gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition. Press onto bottom of prepared pan.

Microwave frozen whipped topping and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on high for 1 minute; stir. Microwave for 15-30 seconds more or until chocolate is melted; stir until blended. Pour over peanut butter layer; spread to cover peanut butter layer.

Refrigerate for 2 hours. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting.

Can be made ahead and stored in the freezer in an airtight container for up to one month. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.

Homemade Twix Bars

I am not a chocolate lover. Anyone who knows me knows this is true. But lately, I just can't seem to get enough Twix candy bars. Awful. Horrible. Weird. I know. So I decided to try my hand at these homemade Twix bars. Naturally they are different from what you'll buy in the store - I'd dare say they are better! Super yummy and really pretty easy to make.

Homemade Twix Bars

Crust:

1 ¼ c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter; room temp

Caramel:
½ c. butter
½ c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
½ c. sweetened condensed milk


Crumble crust ingredients together {if your butter is still slightly cold instead of at room temperature, you'll find it easier to get everything crumbled together}. Be sure it's mixed very well. You don't want any large pockets of  butter making things difficult. Pack into 9x9 inch pan that has been sprayed, lined with foil and sprayed again {I didn't spray my foil and didn't have any problems}. Bake on 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Note: I used an 8x8 inch pan and everything was a little bit thick. If you don't think you'll like thick crust or caramel, just reserve some of the crust or filling from the pan or try to cut down the ingredients.

Put the butter for the caramel filling in a heavy saucepan and melt. Combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly as it burns easily {I'm no culinary expert but my caramel was cooked too long. I would suggest timing the boiling as soon as you see little bubbles form - this way, it should still be slightly soft but cooked enough to remain firm. I timed it from when it was really boiling and my caramel was too hard}. Remove from heat. Stir with spoon slowly until it shows signs of thickening {about two minutes or so}. Pour over crust and let cool a little.

Top layer:

Melt approximately 1-2 c. chocolate chips with 1 tsp shortening over low heat or in the microwave {because my pan was 8x8 I used 1 cup of chocolate and thought it was plenty}. Pour over caramel layer and spread carefully. Chill. Cut into bars.

Valentine's Chex Mix

This is a recipe I found from BettyCrocker.com and it was really quite good. I made it for a ward party, hence the fluted pan (I didn't have anything else that was red!). For those are familiar with muddy buddies, it's a very similar recipe only this one uses white chocolate so I liked it a whole lot more!

Ingredients:

• 9 cups Rice Chex cereal (I actually used about 7-1/2 cups corn chex and 1-1/2 cups wheat chex)
• 1 cup white vanilla baking chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar (I used more than this so it would be more white)
• 1/2 cup red, white and pink candy-coated chocolate candies
• 1/4 cup red or pink jimmies sprinkles, optional

Directions:
In large bowl, place cereal. In small microwaveable bowl, microwave baking chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute/30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.
Place 1/2 of the cereal mixture in 1-gallon food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake well to coat. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool (about 15 minutes).
Meanwhile, stir candies and sprinkles into remaining cereal mixture. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool (about 15 minutes).
In serving bowl, mix cereal mixtures. Store in airtight container.

One of the things I like about this recipe is that is can be used for virtually any holiday - a little change of the colors of the candies, and it works for anything!

Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can't remember for sure, but I believe I got this recipe from Kraft. And they really live up to their name! They are truly extraordinary!

Need:

• 1 & 1/4 cup granualated sugar
• 1 & 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 & 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 bag chips (24 oz) I didn't even come close to using this many

Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat sugars, butter, shortening, vanilla & eggs with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda & salt. Stir in chocolate chips.
- On un-greased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.
-Bake 12-15 minutes, or until light brown. (it only took about 8 minutes in my oven) Cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet to a cooling rack.

Makes:
About 5 dozen cookies

As you can see, I made these cookies with mint and chocolate chips. That turned out really well.