Cookies, Tarts & Brownies

Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Candy Bars

candy bars

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup organic pure clover honey
1/2 cup coconut oil (no substitutes, this is what gives its creamy texture and flavor)
2 cups regular rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/4 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

In a medium sized saucepan, melt together peanut butter, honey and coconut oil.
Remove from heat and add oats, chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Stir until combined and chocolate chips are melted.
Spread into a 9×13 pan. Refrigerate until hardened, about an hour.
Store in refrigerator…

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

pbtr brwns

Ingredients:

Brownie Base

1 box (1 lb. 2.4 oz.) Betty Crocker™ Original Supreme Premium brownie mix with Hersheys

Water

vegetable oil

1 egg

Filling:

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1-1/3 cups powdered confectioners sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons milk

Topping:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or shortening. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.) Make brownies as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

2 In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base.

3 In small microwavable bowl, microwave topping ingredients uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds; stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes; spread over filling. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set. For brownies, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Plum Tart with Tarragon Streusel

streusel

Ingredients:

Pie dough-

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon white sugar

2 tablespoons fine yellow gluten-free Kosher cornmeal

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) butter, cubed and chilled

2–4 tablespoons ice water

Tarragon Streusel Topping

½ cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon dried tarragon flakes

2 ounces butter, cubed and chilled

Filling

1-½ pounds canned purple plums, drained, and sliced into ½-inch pieces

⅓ cup sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

Make pie dough

Place flour, sugar, cornmeal, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add chilled butter and pulse a few more times, until mixture has pea-sized chunks of butter. Drizzle in 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water and pulse until dough holds together when squeezed. Add another tablespoon water if needed. Form dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make streusel topping

In the same food processor, add the flour, sugar, and tarragon. Pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until crumbly. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine plums and sugar in a large bowl. Set aside. Remove pie dough from refrigerator and roll out on a floured surface to fit an 11-by-7-inch rectangular tart pan or a 9-inch round tart pan. Place the dough gently into the tart pan and ease it into the corners, pressing with your fingers. Roll a rolling pin over the top edge of the pan to remove excess. Drain the plum/sugar mixture using a sieve and return mixture to bowl, discarding drained liquids. Add flour and salt and gently toss until plums are evenly coated.

Shingle plum slices into prepared pan. Scatter streusel topping on top. Place tart on rimmed baking sheet and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 30 minutes before serving.

Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

rasp cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies

Glaze

 

Directions:

Make the cookies: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Switch mixer to medium speed and add the the sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer off and pour the flour into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed.  Press the dough down to compact it and tightly cover with plastic wrap to chill until firm, at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (silicone mats preferred to reduce spreading). Shape the cookie dough into balls. Mine were about 1 Tablespoon of dough per ball. Make sure they’re nice and smooth. If you find that the balls of dough are sticky and/or have gotten a little soft after rolling- place the balls of dough back into the refrigerator to firm up. You absolutely DO NOT want soft dough. Make an indentation with your thumb into each ball. The dough may crack slightly when you press your thumb into it. Simply smooth it out with your fingers if you can. Otherwise, it’s perfectly fine to have a few cracks. Fill each with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of preserves. (Or however much it can hold.)

Bake the shortbread thumbprint cookies for 14-15 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges. The cookies will puff up and spread slightly. Do not overbake.  In fact, I only baked mine for 13-14 minutes. I prefer them a little soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before glazing.

Make the glaze: stir together glaze ingredients until smooth. Add more liquid to thin out or add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken to your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies (you can get artsy and create a pattern if you wish). Glaze will set within a couple hours.

Store cookies covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days. Shortbread cookie dough may be frozen up to 2 months; baked cookies (without glaze) may be frozen up to 2-3 months.

Strawberry Crumble

strwbrycrmbl

Ingredients:

Cookies-

8 cups fresh Florida strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
1/2 cup granulated cane sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

Topping-

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup salted butter
1 cup finely ground almonds

Garnish-

Fresh Strawberries, and top with whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, gently toss the strawberries with the granulated sugar, and flour.

Pour strawberry mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, ground almonds and butter until crumbs form.

Distribute crumb topping evenly over strawberries.

Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve warm, with some fresh strawberries as a garnish. Tastes great with a dollop of whipped cream, too.