Reese's Bars

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
(Photo credit: nettsu)

This is for my daughter Beth. If you like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, you'll like these. A lady I used to work with brought these to a potluck at work one time, and we all had to have the recipe!

Reese's Bars

• 1 package graham crackers (crushed)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 sticks melted butter
• 1-1/3 cups peanut butter

1. Mix ingredients well and press firmly into greased 13x9" pan.
2. Melt 12-oz bag of chocolate chips and spread on top.
3. Chill until chocolate is set, then cut and put back into refrigerator.  Be sure to cut around the edges, too.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to make a pan of these soon.

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Baking for the Troops

I shared this on my other blog, but I thought I'd mention it here, too.  Kenmore and The Food Network’s Sunny Anderson have launched Kenmore “Baking for the Troops” to send up to 250,000 cookies to deployed troops with messages of support from Americans.  To participate, all you have to do is visit Kenmore's Facebook page and ask them to bake and send a dozen cookies on your behalf.  You'll also be able to choose from several messages of encouragement to send along with your cookies.

To make the deal even sweeter, when the goal of 250,000 cookies has been met, Kenmore will donate $50,000 to Heroes at Home Wish Registry to assist military families in need stateside. So, please - go ask Kenmore to donate some cookies for you, and then enjoy these baking tips from Sunny Anderson.

Baking tips:

• A baker’s golden rule: read all recipes before you begin.
• Invest in an oven thermometer. Baking is a science and a proper oven temperature can be the difference between good and great cookies.
• Ice cream scoops and melon ballers are great for measuring cookies so they are identical in size.
• Softened butter keeps its shape but allows dents with your finger. It also softens faster when placed on metal or aluminum.
• To store cookies, allow to completely cool then contain. If done before they’re cooled the cookies will either be too soft or brittle depending on the recipe.
• To stack sticky or soft cookies, use parchment paper, a muffin tin or cupcake liners.
• Cookie dough can survive in the freezer up to three weeks if properly wrapped and sealed.

Apple Pie Liqueur

Last fall we bought a bottle of Apple Pie Liqueur, which we really enjoyed.  We shared some with a friend, and he said it tasted just like some he made at home - Grandma's Apple Pie.  There are several recipes for apple pie liqueur online, different variations, but they all look pretty much the same - apple cider, spices and alcohol.  Today I followed my friend Mike's recipe and finally got around to making some apple pie liqueur of my own:

Grandma's Apple Pie (Liqueur)

• 1 gallon apple cider
• 1 quart apple juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 7 cinnamon sticks

Boil all ingredients, cover and cool to room temp.  When cool, add 1 pint of Everclear.  Then you just need to bottle and enjoy.

Some of the recipes I found online say to bottle and age 1 month, so I'm not entirely sure if it's ready yet or if I need to let it sit.  But, it made a lot - I probably should have made a half recipe!  We have the original Apple Pie Liqueur bottle from last year re-filled, along with a Jack Daniels bottle, another whiskey bottle, a Mason jar - all full, and about half a pint jar.  So, even if I can't wait to get into some of it, there will be plenty that will age way more than a month.  If you've made this before, let me know how you do it.

We just drank the bottle we bought, either room temperature or slightly warmed. It was really good that way, but I hear there are some good cocktail recipes I might have to try, too.

Related Recipes

Peasant's Offering

Another recipe from my favorite cookbook, The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals.

Peasant's Offering

Ingredients:

• 2 T cooking oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 medium head cabbage, grated
• 2-1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 cup sour cream
• 5-6 large potatoes
• 1 cup milk or less
• 1 T butter
• Chopped parsley or chives

Directions:

1. Heat cooking oil in very large skillet. Add onion and saute lightly. Add ground beef and stir to keep meat loose and fine. cook just until pink disappears.
2. Gradually add grated cabbage, stirring until all cabbage is well cooked. Add seasonings adjusting to taste. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in sour cream. Spoon into rectangular baking dish (13X9) and spread evenly over bottom. Keep hot in oven.
4. Dice and cook potatoes. Mash with milk and butter until desired consistency. Layer mashed potatoes over cabbage mixture.
5. Garnish with chopped parsley or chives and serve.

This is always really popular at potlucks. I usually spoon the meat and cabbage mixture into my crockpot, layer the mashed potatoes on top, and turn it on low to keep it warm. If I'm fixing this at home, I usually just leave the meat and cabbage mixture in the skillet and put that in the oven to keep it warm. Then layer the mashed potatoes on top and serve. I usually completely forget about the parsley or chives, but I figure they're more for looks than anything - and no one seems to care.

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Apple-Pecan Muffins

I found this recipe in the food section of my Sunday paper, though I'm not sure when. I finally made them, and they were quite good.

Apple-Pecan Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 3 T melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1 medium tart apple (peeled and cored)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions:

1. In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
2. In medium bowl, beat egg with milk and melted butter.
3. Shred the apple directly into egg mixture; stir to blend. Combine egg mixture with flour mixture, stirring just until flour is moistened. Do not overmix.
4. Lightly grease a muffin pan with 12 (2-1/2 inch) cups or use paper muffin cups. Spoon batter into muffin pan. Sprinkle top of each muffin with 1 tsp. chopped pecans
5. Bake in preheated 400 ° oven until well browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

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