Rice Crispy Treats

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I know what you’re thinking. I don’t need a recipe for rice crispy treats. I’ve made them since I was 12 years old. The recipe is on the back of the cereal box for Pete’s sake! Just hear me out. Have you ever had a rice crispy treat that was too dry? Too skinny? Skimpy on the mallow? Yeah – I think we all have. Cause if you use the recipe on the box, that’s just what you get. So, here it is…my perfected gooey delicious rice crispy treat recipe. It yields big thick buttery marshmallow treats that are as delicious for grown-ups as they are for the munchkins. (click on the pic and look at it reeeeeaaaaaaally big if you don’t believe me) You need a BIG BIG bowl for this recipe though. I’m talking like the one you use for chex mix, or to put tortilla chips in at parties for chip n’ dip. Big.

Gooey Rice Crispy Treats

Rice Crispy Treats

11 1/2 C rice crispies
16 oz marshmallows (mini or big…just a 16 oz bag…not the little 10 oz one)
8 T butter (1 stick)

1. Place stick of butter in a big bowl. Take butter wrapper and use it to lightly grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish. Keep butter wrapper handy.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave in a big bowl. Watch it closely. Take it out when there’s just a little left unmelted, then stir hot butter until all of it melts.
3. Put marshmallows into the same bowl and stir to coat. Melt marshmallows in the microwave, stirring frequently. When mallows are just melted, remove from microwave and add rice crispies to the bowl.
4. Using a rubber spatula, stir until well coated.
5. Using the butter wrapper, press cereal mixture into the prepared 9×13 dish. Allow to cool then cut into squares.

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White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

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I generally do not like raisins in my baked goods. Oatmeal raisin cookies are pretty much my one exception. However, once I substituted white chocolate chips and dried cranberries for the raisins in this recipe – the plain old raisin variety pretty much bit the dust. These cookies are just how a good cookie should be. Slightly crisp around the edges, but still soft in the middle. These are packed with hearty oat flavor thanks to good old-fashioned oatmeal, and lots of it. You may be tempted to add cinnamon to this recipe (many oatmeal raisin cookies include it) – just try it without, you may be surprised to find you like being able to taste the oats…instead of just spices.

White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
16 T (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 C packed light brown sugar
1 C granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 C old-fashioned rolled oats (Quick cooking oats may be used, but you’ll lose some of the flavor. Instant oats should not be used.)
3/4 C sweetened-dried cranberries
3/4 C white chocolate chips

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 325°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars  on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until combined.
3. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture until just combined. Mix in the oats, cranberries and white chocolate chips until just incorporated.
4. Working with 3 tablespoons of dough at a time (or use a lever release ice cream scoop…it’s right about 3 T), roll the dough into balls and lay them on the baking sheets. Space about 2 inches apart. Flatten the cookies to a 3/4 inch thickness using your palm.
5. Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown, but the centers are still soft and puffy. 22-25 minutes, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. The cookies will look underdone – don’t overbake.
6. Let cookies cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Tonya’s Super Fantastic Scones

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I have pretty much become famous off these scones – at least in my small corner of the world. My sisters ask me to bring them to anything they can: camping trips, brunches, bridal or baby showers, Mother’s Day, treat-day at school. You name it, I’m asked to bring these. The sour cream and baking soda combo makes the texture perfectly airy and yet still moist. The possibilities are endless for mix ins – try whatever you fancy!

Fresh Blueberry Scone

Tonya’s Super Fantastic Scones

* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup butter
* 1 egg
* 1 cup raisins (optional)

Optional Egg Wash: For a golden color when baked, mix one egg yolk with a little water and brush on scones prior to baking.

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 355° F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
3. Cream the butter and sugar in large bowl. Beat the egg with vanilla and add to the sugar/butter mixture.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Add to the butter/sugar mixture – do not overmix.
5. Stir the sour cream mixture into the flour mixture until just moistened.
6. Mix in any toppings – for orange/cranberry scones 1 C dried cranberries and the zest from one orange. For chocolate chip scones, 1 C mini chocolate chips.
7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, form into a ball. Cut in half.  Roll or pat each half into two 3/4 inch thick rounds. Cut each into 6 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake 14 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.
9. Allow to cool completely on wire racks. Glaze or top as desired. For orange glaze – orange juice, zest and powdered sugar until desired consistency.

Chocolate Chip Scone

No Bakes “Mountain Bars”

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I’ve been making mountain bars since I was a kid. They were actually one of the first recipes I ever made on my own (Thanks Mom!). This is the same recipe I’ve been making forever, except I pumped up the chocolate…cause you can never have too much chocolate. The key to perfect mountain bars is to make sure the butter/chocolate comes to a boil on medium heat – a full rolling boil that doesn’t stop even when you are stirring. Then time it for a minute at that boil prior to adding the remaining ingredients.

Enjoy just like when you were a kid – with a nice cup of milk!

Classic Mountain Bars


Tonya’s Mountain Bars

* 2 cups white sugar
* 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 pinch salt
* 3 cups quick cooking oats — do not use old fashioned…or your cookies will be gummy and  too chewy
* 1/2 cup peanut butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large saucepan bring sugar, cocoa, margarine, milk, and salt to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute.
2. Add quick cooking oats, peanut butter, and vanilla; mix well. Allow to set, off heat in pan for 30 seconds.
3. Working quickly, drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper, and let cool.

Vote For Amy’s Class Treats!

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My sister Amy is going to be an awesome teacher. So are all the people in her cohort. I’m really proud of all of them (but especially Amy). Amy’s turn for treats is coming up – which means I’ll be baking for the class. Here’s a little poll so her peeps can decide what they’d like this time.

Devotional – Factory Settings

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Romans 8:28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Last night I had a total flip out. Completely lost it. I felt like I was going to vomit I was so incredibly upset. I locked myself in the bathroom and sobbed for about 10 minutes. I cannot remember ever doing that before.

Here’s the story:

I’m working on a wedding slide show for my baby sister, who’s getting married in about a month. I went to retrieve some photos from my back-up hard drive, which I purchased specifically to hold the thousands upon thousands of pictures that were clogging up my C drive on my main computer. I’ve been systematically moving my photo files over to the back-up drive and then (after checking to verify they are in fact copied on the back-up), deleting the files off my main computer to free up space. I’m sure you can all guess what’s coming – when I went to pull up the “Windsor 2010″ file, which held about 700 photos from our recent all family vacation in Windsor, it wasn’t there. As in, not where I filed it. I didn’t panic until I’d done my customary search thinking I just mis-filed it or hadn’t actually transferred it to the back-up drive yet. But it wasn’t on my C drive either. Wasn’t on any drive I searched. Wasn’t anywhere.

I started to flip out thinking of how on earth I was going to tell my parents and siblings that all those hundreds of photos – including the “formal” family shots we’d taken hours to shoot were gone. Then I hit the wall…the thing that put me over the edge. I realized that somehow the back-up drive had auto refreshed…and had copied exactly what was now showing on my C drive. Which meant that it wasn’t just the Windsor file that was missing…all the photo files I’d deleted from there were now erased from my back-up. Files which included every picture I’d taken of my daughter since she was born 4 years ago. Every. Single. One. Gone. The moments after her birth, Christmases, birthdays, her first smile, first bath, first everything. All of them erased in some horrible factory setting auto-refresh. Continue reading →

Simple Lemon Pound Cake

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Many pound cake recipes require lots of fuss. Here’s instructions I found regarding the proper making of a pound cake:

*Make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature, particularly the fat, eggs and any liquid you may be using. It’s essential that all these items be at room temperature:

  • If the butter is too cold, it won’t beat evenly; it won’t incorporate air and increase in volume.
  • When eggs and liquid are cold, the batter will curdle. Instead of a smooth, homogenous batter, it will separate into liquid and fat, and the cake’s texture may be denser than you like.
  • If any of the ingredients are warm, the fat will melt and you won’t be able to whip air into the mixture.

Blah, blah, blah. Too complicated. Too stressful! Also, most of the recipes I’ve found require separate beating of the egg whites and adding the yolks separately. Which, I know from experience creates a delicious fluffy pound cake – but still…there’s got to be an easier way. Finally, I found a simple pound cake recipe that turned out as good as any fussy recipe I’ve ever made – despite the fact that I poured hot (gasp!) butter into my eggs and sugar. The trick is as close as your food processor – and I’m always looking for another way to use mine.

Simple Lemon Pound Cake

Simple Lemon Pound Cake

1 1/2 C cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 C sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
16 T (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and hot
2 T fresh grated lemon zest
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
–If lemon doesn’t float your boat – just leave it out. :)

1. Preheat oven to 35o°. Grease and flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.

2. Process the sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla together in a food processor (or blender) until combined, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, pour the hot melted butter through the feed tube in a steady stream until combined, about 30 seconds. Pour the mixture into a large bowl.

3. Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and whisk gently to combine until just a few streaks of flour remain. Repeat twice more with the remaining flour mixture, then continue to whisk the batter gently until most lumps are gone (do not overmix).

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake the cake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 50-60 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

5. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the cake to loosen, then flip it out onto a wire rack. Turn the cake right side up and let it cool completely, about 2 hours, before serving.

Because I love love love lemon – I decided to make a glaze to drizzle over my cake. Mmmmmm.

Lemon Glaze

1/4 C fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 C powdered sugar

Whisk ingredients together and drizzle over cooled cake.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

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This is one of my all time favorite cookies to make. First of all, peanut butter cups are like the perfect treat. Bite sized, chocolate/peanut-y deliciousness. The only thing that could make them more perfect is to wrap them in a peanut butter cookie. I once had to remake these cookies three times between Thanksgiving and Christmas because the batches kept being devoured anytime I had guests over…finally, I put them in the freezer to keep them from being eaten. Which reminds me – these freeze beautifully for up to a month.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup peanut butter
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 48 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
3. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
4. Use a 1 inch melon baller to scoop dough and drop into an ungreased mini muffin pan. No need for rolling into balls – they’ll get all craggy and messed up when you press the peanut butter cups into them.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool completely and carefully remove from pan. I use a butter knife to remove these – slide it down one side of the muffin pan and then pop out gently. Be patient! If you try and get them out too soon – you’ll just end up with a big mess!

Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

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A few days before any family trip I turn into somewhat of a baking monster. Something inside my brain clicks over into crazy bakerlady mode and I make piles of food. Seriously – if the end of the world happens when I’m away somewhere camping, my family will survive for at least 3 months just with the food on hand. This weekend we’re hanging with some friends and today began the baking craziness. First on the docket, my peanut butter balls. Part rice crispy treat, part peanut butter cup, they are completely addictive! I mean really, does it get any better than peanut butter and chocolate?

Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

  • 1 cup peanut butter*
  • 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
  • 1 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal
  • 1 C milk chocolate chips + 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 T shortening

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter and marshmallow creme; add cereal and stir until well coated. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes or until chips are melted; stir until smooth.
  2. Roll cereal mixture into 1-in. balls; dip in chocolate. Place on a waxed paper-lined pan. Refrigerate until set. I like to melt some peanut butter for a few seconds in a plastic ziploc baggie and drizzle it on top. Mmmmmmm.

*Reduced-fat or generic brands of peanut butter are not recommended for this recipe.

Fusilli with Veggie Medley

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Happy September! It’s officially time to get out my leaf garlands, scarecrows and hay bales. This is my favorite time of year, and as the weather grows a bit chilly at night, I wanted to take advantage of some of the still fresh veggies of summer. So for dinner tonight it was a light pasta dish filled with fresh asparagus, woody mushrooms and sweet orange bell pepper. Throw in some chicken for protein and I had a perfectly balanced, delicious meal! This is a great dinner to stretch chicken as well – it makes a TON of food, but only uses two chicken breasts.

Fusilli with Veggie Medley

Fusilli with Veggie Medley
  • 1 (16 ounce) package dried fusilli pasta
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into cubes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • garlic powder to taste
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 chicken bullion cubes
  • 1 bunch slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 C baby Portobello mushrooms, cut in half
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain, and set aside.
  2. Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder – cook in pan until chicken is cooked through and browned, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken to paper towels.
  3. Dissolve chicken bullion cubes into water. Pour broth into the skillet. Then stir in asparagus, mushrooms, peppers, garlic, and a pinch more garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cover, and steam until the asparagus is just tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. (check tenderness after 5 minutes)
  4. Return chicken to the skillet, and warm through.
  5. Stir pasta into chicken mixture,  and mix well. Let sit about 5 minutes. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, stir again, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.