Fudgie Bars

My mom makes these amazing Fudgie Bars.  She got the recipe from her mom years ago and recently rediscovered it.  She has since made them a few times for family gatherings.  They have quickly become a favorite of mine.  I like helping her to pat the oatmeal cookie crust into the bottom of the pan.  It takes a bit of patience but they are so worth it!  We always make two batches (one with nuts, one without) when we take them places and both versions are very popular.  We like to store them in the fridge, but you don't have to.  Betcha' you can't eat just one!

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups quick oats (or pulse old-fashioned oats in a blender)

1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 Tbs. butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) (pecans delish!) 

Mix 1 cup butter with half the flour, all the brown sugar, both eggs, 2 tsp. vanilla, and all of the baking soda.  Mix thoroughly, then add rest of the flour and all the oats.  Set aside.

Heat can of sweetened condensed milk, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and 2 Tbs. butter until melted, then add the other 2 tsp. vanilla and all the nuts.

Crust:  Pat 2/3 of oat mixture in ungreased 15x10x1 pan.  Pour and spread chocolate mixture over the crust and drop/crumble remaining oat mixture the over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until light golden brown.  (Chocolate mixture will still look moist.)  Cool in pan on wire rack and then cut into bars when cool.

Makes about 48-60 bars depending on how you divide the pan.

 

 

Turkey Spinach Wrap

This is a quick, easy and healthy snack. All you need is deli turkey slices and fresh spinach.  Place fresh spinach leaves on the edge of a thick deli slice of turkey.  (We get ours from Costco...Kirkland brand.)  Roll the spinach up into the turkey, like a taquito.  Wrap a few while you are at it.  Two to four rolls make a nice snack/meal depending on how hungry you are.  YUM!  (You spread a little hummus on the turkey slices before filling/rolling with spinach.)

Blueberry Muffins

Yield:  12 muffins

Muffins are delicious for breakfast or dessert.  The blueberries make the muffins extra moist and yummy.  They pop while they cook and create great bursts of color.

Ingredients:
4 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 lemon, finely grated zest (optional)
1 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
9 oz. blueberries

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.  Melt the butter in a pan, then set aside to cool.  Sift the flour into a bowl, and mix the baking powder, sugar, and lemon zest.

Make a well in the center of the flour.  Mix the yogurt, eggs, and cooled melted butter together in a large pitcher, then pour into the dry ingredients.

Add the blueberries.  Mix until just combined, but don't overmix or the muffins will be heavy.

Spoon evenly into the paper liners and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and springy.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

Tips:  Juice the lemon you are using for zest and add juice to muffin mix.  Add more zest, too. I like them with more lemon flavor.  You can freeze prepared muffins for up to two months to have at a later date.

Cleaning up is an important part of cooking.

 

Fresh out of the oven!

The blueberries really do pop out during baking.  They don't look like regular smooth-top muffins.  These babies are deliciously chunky.  Be cautious if using baking cups.  The blueberries can make them stick pretty good to the muffin itself, so peeling them off is not always easy.

I could eat these all day!

Peach & Blueberry Galettes

Yield: 1 galette 

“Galette” is a term used in French cuisine that represents a crusty cake, which is mostly flat
and round in shape. It is a type of thin large pancake which mostly hails from the French
regions of Normandy and Brittany. The cake is believed to have replaced bread as the basic
food and is eaten countrywide. The most well known story behind the origin of the cake is
the story of the Twelfth Night, when the Three Kings arrived in Bethlehem with gifts for baby
Jesus and galette commemorates this day.

 

Ingredients:
1 pound fruit (apples, peaches, pears, berries, etc.)
3 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional, mix with sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla
1-2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 round pie dough (recipe below)

Optional egg wash

1 egg white

1 tsp. milk optional egg wash
1 Tbs. sugar

Preparation:
Move rack to center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Lay the circle of pie dough over the parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon. In another mixing bowl, toss the fruit with the vanilla and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Toss until coated.

Spoon or place fruit onto the center of the crust, making sure to leave 2” of dough around the edges not covered. Cut the butter into 5-7 chunks and dot the top of the fruit.

Pull the dough up partway over the fruit to form pleats. Optional: Whisk together egg white and milk. Brush crust with egg/milk mixture and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 50-60 minutes – until the crust is golden brown. Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes and then using the parchment paper, slide the galette to a rack to completely cool.

Serve at room temperature or slightly warm with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream. 

Butter Pastry Dough

Yield: 2 rounds

  

Ingredients:

3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 c. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
2 large eggs yolks

5 Tbs. ice water (+ additional ice water)
 

Preparation:

Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with chopping blade. Cut the butter into 1/8-inch-thick slices and add to the flour mixture. Pulse 10 to 12 times, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Beat the yolks with 5 tablespoons ice water and add to the mixture; pulse 4 to 5 times, until a crumbly mixture forms. Press the mixture together to form a ball, adding more water, if necessary, to make it manageable.

You can immediately roll out the dough between lightly floured sheets of plastic wrap or, if you have the time, chill the dough for 1 hour before rolling it out. That allows the gluten in the flour to relax, ensuring a tender crust.

Use the pastry as directed in a recipe or divide it in half, shape it into balls and flatten slightly. Wrap the flattened rounds tightly in freezer wrap and freeze until firm for later use. Use within 3 months.

 

Jus de Pomme Pétillant

Prep time: 3 min.


This is just a fancy way of saying Sparkling Apple Juice in French. It is delicious and super easy to make. It is a great non-alcoholic substitute for wine and champagne, which are usually served with a French meal.






















Ingredients:
2 cans apple juice concentrate (thawed)
1 (2 liter) bottle club soda

Preparation:
Mix and serve.

Optional: You can add ice and apple slices to your beverage dispenser.