Caramel Delight Brownies

I've been such a bad blogger these days. I don't know what it is, some kind of funk of sorts, I guess. The weather here certainly isn't helping. It's officially summer today, and what do I see when I look out the window? Grey. Rain. Wind. I wonder if we've even hit 75 yet this year. This is definitely making me miss CA. But, hey, at least this time the recipe's being posted within 36 hours of it being made. That's something of an accomplishment, yes?

Earlier in the year, probably March or so, Leslie at work brought in a cookbook that the local vocational school made, creating recipes that used Girl Scout cookies. I came across a brownie recipe that used nuts, marshmallows, and the Caramel Delights. Of course I copied that one down (the cheesecake one, too!) :)

Fastforward to yesterday morning, where I again noticed the unopened box of cookies languishing in the cabinet. Which put me in mind of a brownie recipe I discovered over at Cookie Baker Lynn - simply called Seduction Brownies. Hmm... what girl isn't going to be interested in that, right? Go look at the pictures; they're gorgeous. A fabulous sounding brownie plus my favorite of the GS cookies? Oh, yes, a match made in sugar heaven. :)

I had one when it was still a bit warm from the oven. Ohhh.... mouthgasm. That's the best word I could come up with. At least once I had the power of speech again. The cookie isn't overwhelmingly strong, but every now and then, you'll get a bite with a bit of coconut or caramel. Mmmm... *blissful smile*



Ingredients:
½ cup butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped Caramel Delights

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and beat into sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour. Fold in cookie pieces. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack before cutting into bars. Makes between 16 and 24.

Chai Snickerdoodles

I have been so horrendously lazy this week when it comes to posting. I made these on Saturday. And here we are, Thursday evening. It's just every time that I tried posting, something came up. Of course, sometimes that something was Jeopardy or talking to a friend, but you get what I mean.

So! These have been on the "to make" list for nearly two years. Yep, posted on Baking Bites just over two years ago. Oops. The fact that they're cookies is probably part of the reason why they've been on there so long, I'm sure. But they sounded really good on Saturday, a counterpart to the muffins that, well, failed miserably. (Honestly, it was like a chemistry experiment gone horribly wrong. I don't know what happened - hey, kinda like in chemistry!)

I didn't like these on the first day, but my dad loved 'em. I found them to be much better, softer and more flavorful, on day two. And they've been munched on at work this week, too. So, I'd say a success overall. :)



Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cardamom
¼ tsp. ground allspice
½ cup butter, soft
1 large egg
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp. baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine sugar and spices; remove half a cup of this mixture and place in a medium-sized, shallow dish or bowl.

Add butter to bowl and cream with sugar mixture until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Gradually add to sugar mixture and stir until fully incorporated.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in reserved sugar-spice mixture. Place on baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between balls to allow for spreading.

Bake at 350F for about 12 minutes, until edges are firm to the touch, but not quite browned. Cool for 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about two dozen cookies.

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

I think sometimes it's very obvious what fruits are on sale at the grocery store. :) This week it was both blueberries and strawberries. We'll see what gets made next.

For some reason, I'm having a hard time coming up with what to write on here tonight. I was lazy last night and didn't post. And now it's Monday night, Jeopardy's on, and I'm just kinda eh on everything. Post-vacation downtime? I don't know. And I still owe somewhat of a post on that. Yikes.

Since I'm not coming up with anything remotely entertaining, I'll just talk about the recipe. Originally found at Culinary in the Desert, I altered it a bit for those unfortunate folk who do not like coconut. (Those weirdos lol) The addition of the flour in the crust was different, but I don't feel that it made too much difference compared to a regular graham cracker crust.

Reviews are mixed on this one. I really liked it, and even Dave and my dad ate it. Gina did not, Leslie has never had blueberries before and didn't want to try. Marcos took home the three that didn't get eaten. *shrug* I liked 'em quite well, so that counts the most, since I am the girl with the blog. ;)



Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup flour
1/3 cup sugar

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
1 cup blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, and sugar; cut in butter using pastry blender. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Pour batter over hot crust. Scatter blueberries on top.

Bake at 350F for 18-22 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Let cool on wire rack before refrigerating. Makes about 16 bars.