My Sweet Tooth

Tuesday, Sept 23- Blog #2

I am a sucker for home-made baked goods. I love everything about them: shopping for hard to find ingredients; careful measuring and mixing; waiting anxiously for them to cool enough to taste; and sharing the deliciousness with others. I am an avid reader and buyer of cookbooks—every recipe is a new challenge and opportunity to add to my culinary repertoire. I don't doubt that I often get invited to parties because people know I will bring a freshly made cake or warm pan of brownies. I can't help myself.

But it makes me sad to hear people say that baking is too hard or takes too long, so they’ll just stick to pre-packaged Twinkies and Chips-Ahoy cookies. They are missing out on so much! So I will use this blog entry to share one of my secrets…“baking” does not have to be hard, time consuming or even involve an oven. For example, it’s amazing the desserts you can create with the breakfast cereal of your choice—it’s like taking rice krispie treats to a whole new level. I have included a few of my quick and easy favorites below. So next time you need to supply a bake sale, bring a treat to a pot-luck dinner or just have a craving for a sweet concoction, try one of these no-bake cereal bars. Bon Appetite!

O' Henry Bars
· 1 cup sugar
· 1 cup light corn syrup
· One 18-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
· 5 cups of Special K cereal
· One 11-ounce package butterscotch chips
· One 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

Have ready a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar and syrup. Bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat. Add the peanut butter, stirring to combine. Add the cereal and stir until well combined. Pat the mixture to form an even layer in the baking dish and set aside to cool to room temperature. Melt the butterscotch and chocolate chips together, cool slightly and spread evenly over the cereal mixture. When the topping has completely set, cut into squares (or any size you'd like).
Makes about 3 dozen 1-inch squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or wrap for the freezer and freeze for up to 10 days.
Source: washingtonpost.com

Golden Grahams S'mores Bars
· 3/4 c. light corn syrup
· 1 (11.5 oz.) pkg. milk chocolate chips
· 1 tsp. vanilla
· 3 tbsp. butter
· 9 c. Golden Grahams cereal (12 oz. box)
· 3 c. miniature marshmallows

Grease rectangular pan, 9x13x2 inches. Heat corn syrup, butter, and chocolate chips to boiling in 3-quart saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal in a large bowl; toss until completely coated with chocolate. Fold in marshmallows, 1 cup at a time. Press mixture evenly in pan with buttered back of spoon. Let stand until firm, at least 1 hour. Cut into squares. Store loosely covered at room temperature, no longer than 2 days.
Source: cooks.com