Magic Cookie Bars (aka Hello-Dolly Bars)

My sister, Julie, introduced me to these delicious cookie bars while I was visiting her in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago. I believe this is a common recipe that gets circulated throughout the Mormon community, as I've come across it many times at church functions, potlucks, and the BYU-Idaho cafeteria.

This is probably the most requested dessert from Alex. There are many variations to this recipe, but here is what I find works best.

Magic Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (this equals about one of the packets in a box of graham crackers)
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups coconut
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• (Nuts and butter scotch chips can also be added, if desired)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 x 11 glass pan.
2. Combine melted butter and graham crackers crumbs. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan.
3. Pour sweetened condensed milk over graham cracker crust.
4. Sprinkle coconut evenly over sweetened condensed milk.
5. Sprinkle chocolate chips over coconut (and nuts, if desired).
6. Bake at 350, for 20 minutes, or until the edges become brown. Let cool completely before cutting into squares. Makes about 12-15 servings.

Brownies

This is our favorite brownie recipe.  So much better than making brownies from the mix, and only a few extra steps.  We use the suggested recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa powder container, but use Cadbury's Bournville cocoa powder instead.  They are divine!

Brownies

Recipe from Hershey's

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add cocoa; beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Stir in nuts, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars. Makes about 24 brownies.

Mom's Banana Bread

This is a recipe I never truly appreciated growing up.  Maybe its because my mom always added nuts, and I'd prefer my banana nut bread nut-free.  In my adult life, I've had the opportunity to sample many other people's banana bread.  In doing so, I couldn't believe how spoiled I was growing up with this recipe - it is so much better than anything else out there!  My mom is a banana bread genius!

 

 Sometimes I purposely buy bananas I know we won't eat, so when they get super ripe - I have no choice but to make banana bread.  I wouldn't want to be wasteful and throw them out, right?  :-)

 

 Mom's Banana Bread

From the kitchen of Carol Hutchins

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar*
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 3 mini loaf pans.
2. In a measuring cup, squeeze lemon juice into milk and let sit for 5 minutes to curdle. 
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.  
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, eggs, and mashed bananas.  Slowly alternate adding lemon/milk mixture and flour mixture to the bowl.  Mix until combined. 
5. Bake at 350, for 30-35 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool. 

*Tip:  If your bananas are really ripe, you can reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup.  

Maddox Rolls

Growing up, we used to frequent a steakhouse in Perry, Utah called Maddox.  I have so many childhood memories there. We used to go there with our grandparents, or go as a treat for getting good grades, and we even held my grandma's memorial service there.  Maddox and my family go way back, I think my Grandma was even friends with the origional owner. 

My favorite part of Maddox is their rolls.  Anyone who has been there will first comment on how amazing they are.  I had a dream about them on Sunday (yes, I dream about food), so when I woke up, I diligently began looking for a copy-cat recipe online.  I came across this one, and it did not disappoint.  I would say these are about a 90% match.  Mine aren't quite as pretty, but they taste nearly the same. 

 

Maddox Rolls

Recipe adapted from Clawson Live

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons of yeast (not rapid rise)
• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup (or 4 ounces) of  butter
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 5 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. In the microwave, melt the butter, milk, and salt for two minutes.  Remove from the heat and add two cups of flour.
2. While cooling, mix the yeast and warm water in a measuring cup.  Add a pinch of sugar from the 1/2 cup measure and stir.  Let the yeast sit and proof for a few minutes.
3. In a large bowl, mix the yeast mixture, eggs, sugar, milk/butter mixture and remaining 3 1/2 cups of flour just until blended and no lumps of flour remain.  Do not over mix.  The dough will be sticky and very loose.
4. Let the batter/dough raise until double in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Spoon it into greased muffin tins and let it raise again until doubled in size. 
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.
7. Cool on a wire rack.  Serve with honey or raspberry butter.
8. This recipe makes about 24 dinner sized rolls.

Raspberry Honey Butter:

• 1 cube butter (1/2 c.)
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1/4 c. raspberry jam
• 1 t. vanilla

Whip the living daylights out of this until it is super fluffy.  Don't start with melted butter.  Room temp is great.

Jerk Chicken Salad

I had this salad at a Pampered Chef party with Amy several years ago, and it's a great combination of flavors.  We have about 2-3 dinner salads we rotate through, but I'm always looking to add more.  We get tired of salad so easily, so this one helps to keep the interest in eating our greens.  Plus, there isn't much better in life than grilled pineapple! 

Jerk Chicken Salad

Recipe adapted from Pampered Chef

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Jamaican Jerk Rub
• 1 pound chicken tenders
• 1 medium pineapple
• 1 red bell pepper
• 3 green onions (white and light green parts only)       
• 2 heads romaine lettuce
• 1/2 can black beans, drained
• 6 slices bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled

For the dressing -

• 2 limes
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons preserves (I like raspberry or strawberry)

Directions:

1. Whisk together oil and jerk rub with Stainless Whisk. Add chicken tenders; mix well to coat and set aside. Slice pineapple into 1/4 inch slices. 
2. Heat Grill Pan over medium heat 5 minutes. Add chicken; cook 3-5 minutes on each side, turning once. Remove from pan. Add pineapple to pan. Cook 1 minute on each side, turning once; remove from pan. 
3. Thinly slice bell pepper and green onions. Chop remaining lettuce; set vegetables aside. Drain and rinse beans.
4. For dressing, zest one lime and juice both limes into small bowl. Add mayonnaise and fruit preserves to bowl; mix well.
5. Layer chopped lettuce, beans, bell pepper, chicken, pineapple, bacon and green onions. Drizzle dressing over salad.

Bourbon Cremes

Last month, we were invited to a British-themed party with some friends from church.  Everyone there had either lived in England, or visited.  We were all asked to bring a British dish, so I decided to make Bourbon Cremes (along with my Yorkshire Pudding of course!).  Although I had never had them during my visits to England, I had pinned the recipe from the Tesco website a while ago, and thought this was a perfect opportunity to try them out (Tesco is a major grocery chain in the UK, much like Safeway is here in the US).

This recipe was a bit of a challenge at first.  For one thing, I had to track down Golden Syrup, which is a common household baking staple in England.  Luckily, our local grocery store has a great international foods section (thanks Meijer!), so I was able to find it without too much difficulty.

Secondly, England uses the metric system for their recipes, so I had to adapt the ingredient proportions with my trusty food scale.  Unfortunately, the dough didn't look right even though I measured everything out precisely.  It was far too sticky.  So I added a little more of the ingredients here and there, until I got the dough to look and taste just right.

These were a hit!   Everyone raved about them, and the golden syrup added such a unique taste.  I loved these because they weren't too sweet or rich.  They were gobbled down at the party in no time.

I was craving them a few days later, so I made them again and kept track of the proportions so I could post the recipe here.  Unfortunately, I was out of my favorite Cadbury Bournville Baking Cocoa, so I used the Hershey's cocoa I had on hand.  They still turned out pretty good, but weren't quite as tasty.  Needless to say, I promptly ordered some more Cadbury Cocoa to restock my pantry.  

Bourbon Cremes
Recipe adapted from Tesco

Ingredients:

For the biscuits -

• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the icing -

• 5 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

For the biscuits - 

1. Heat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Using a hand mixer beat butter and sugar together until combined, then beat in the golden syrup.
3. In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking soda and cocoa powder. Fold through the butter mixture then bring together to form a dough.
4. Using a small cookie scoop, form dough into balls and place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Dip the end of a cup into flour, and gently press down on dough balls to flatten. 
5. Bake for 10 minutes. 
6. Leave to cool on the trays while you make the filling. 

For the icing -

1. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together. Add the butter and vanilla and beat together with an electric hand mixer until soft and creamy. Stir through the milk.
2. When the biscuits are completely cooled use a knife or piping bag to cover one side with the icing, then sandwich with another biscuit.

Sweet-and-Sour Chicken

One of my roommates at BYU, Brittany (Renshaw) Bitner, is one of the best cooks I have ever known. She can make anything, and make it well. She gives credit to her mom, but I think cooking/baking is one of her many, many talents.

Beautiful Brittany on her wedding day 

Not only is she an exceptional cook, she was also a terrific roommate. She put up with a lot in the two years she lived with me! Anyway, one night she said she wanted to make me dinner and asked what I would like. Wanting to give her a challenge, I asked for sweet-and-sour chicken. She replied with, "No problem, I have a great recipe for that!"

And it was a great recipe! I honestly like her sweet-and-sour chicken better than what is offered at any Chinese food restaurant around. Thanks Brittany!

Sweet-and-Sour Chicken
From the kitchen of Brittany Bitner

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 egg
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 lb. skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ C. vegetable oil
• 1 15-oz can of pineapple chunks w/ juice
• 2 T cornstarch
• ½ C sugar
• ¼ C ketchup
• ¼ C vinegar
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 green pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 medium onion cut into 1 inch pieces
• Hot cooked brown rice

Directions:

1. Heat oil in skillet to about 375 degrees.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Add chicken, stirring to coat.
3. Place each piece of chicken in heated oil, and fry until cooked all the way through.
4. In a measuring cup, drain pineapple to reserve liquid. Add enough water to juice to make 1 cup. Then add cornstarch, stirring well.
5. Combine pineapple, juice mixture, sugar, ketchup, vinegar, and soy sauce in a medium saucepan; bring mixture to a boil.
6. Add green pepper, onion, and chicken to sauce. Cook until thoroughly heated.
7. Serve over rice. Serves 4-6.

Roasted Glazed Carrots

Here is another recipe inspired by a dish I love at Redstone.  These are so sweet and buttery, I could eat them for dessert. A great way to make carrots less healthy.  :-)

 

Glazed Carrots

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart 

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons spicy mustard
• 3 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2-3 pounds medium carrots, cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces
• Coarse salt and ground pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in middle. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil, and spray generously with non-stick spray.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, mustard, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and vinegar. 
3. Toss carrots with mustard mixture. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Arrange vegetables in a single layer and roast until they are beginning to brown and are tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. 
5. Stir in butter and serve warm.

Jalapeno Cornbread

Honestly, if you only ever make one thing on my blog - this should be it.  It is one of my all time favorite recipes.  

I'm a bit of a cornbread snob.  My family was big on cornbread growing up, and I'm sure I've tried just about every variety out there at some point - Jiffy, Marie Calander's, bisquick, etc.  The mixes are okay if you're in a pinch, but none of those even come close to comparing to this recipe.  This is truly a gourmet sensation.

 

I originally had this cornbread at my favorite restaurant, RedStone.  I would crave it often, but being as its a bit pricey ($4/slice), I decided to look for a copy cat recipe online.  I found it here, and this truly is a 100% match in terms of taste, texture, and presentation.   Please oh please oh please do not skip the maple butter - it takes this cornbread from downright delicious, to an out-of-body experience.  Have I talked it up enough?  Try it, you won't regret it. I promise.  

Jalapeno Cornbread

Recipe from Food.com

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 7 ounces creamed corn (1/2 can)
• 2 ounces diced green chilies, drained well (1/2 can)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack and cheddar cheese blend

For the Maple Butter

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Mix together all ingredients in the order given.
3. Pour into greased 8" or 9" iron skillet, 9x9 pan, or 10" round cake pan.
4. Bake 35 minutes. Insert toothpick- if it comes out clean the corn bread is done. If not, continue baking & check every 5 minutes with a toothpick.
5. Serve warm with Maple Butter.

 For the Maple Butter:

1. Allow butter to soften to room temperature.
2. In mixer, (use a paddle attachment if available) whip butter until fluffy.
3. Slowly drizzle syrup into mixture until well blended.

Tip: To give the cornbread a nice crusty top, mixed about 1 tablespoon of softened butter with 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar, and sprinkle on top before baking.