Sweet Treat Thursday: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

Sweet Treat Thursday: a regular feature here at 3BATL. As the weekend approaches, I begin to think about a sweet treat that I can provide for dessert for my family. I've found that they enjoy a little extra sweetness in their weekend and usually, leftovers are eaten as snacks early in the week.


First, let me apologize for the similarity between this week's sweet and last week.  I couldn't help myself. Once I found the recipe for these in my vintage box of memories I couldn't wait to make them. They are amazingly simple, makes a large batch, they're pretty darn yummy and the list of ingredients are all items that I have on hand in my pantry. My mom's recipe card doesn't include a date so I don't have any idea how old this recipe is but I think it must be from quite some time ago given the fact that my mom hasn't really baked much for the last 10 years. When did it become popular to use cake mixes for cookie recipes?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (mix)
2 eggs
1/3 c. water
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. peanut butter
1 pkg yellow, devils food or white cake mix (I used yellow)
1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used about 2/3 of the bag)

Heat oven to 375. Beat eggs, water, butter, peanut butter and half of the cake mix until smooth. Stir in remaining mix and chocolate chips. Spread in 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 pan. Bake 20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars. Makes 30. (My mom's notes also indicate that it makes 6 dozen cookies, bake them for 10 minutes.)

Serve warm with a cold glass of milk.

Sweet Treat Thursday: Peanut Butter Cookies

Sweet Treat Thursday: a regular feature here at 3BATL. As the weekend approaches, I begin to think about a sweet treat that I can provide for dessert for my family. I've found that they enjoy a little extra sweetness in their weekend and usually, leftovers are eaten as snacks early in the week.

There are many things that make my family happy. One of those things happens to be a cookie jar filled with fresh, homemade cookies. They're not picky about what kind, but I know what their favorites are. One happens to be peanut butter cookies.

These go together quite easy but you do have to chill the dough for 3 hours. I chilled it overnight and it worked just fine.

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies (from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook)
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Sugar

Beat butter and peanut butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars beating well. Add eggs, beating well.

Combine flour, soda and salt in a medium bowl; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in vanilla. Cover and chill 3 hours.

Shape into 1 1/4" balls, place 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Dip a fork in additional sugar; flatten cookies in a criss-cross design. Bake at 375 for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 6 dozen.

Don't overbake. These cookies have a wonderful consistency -- just a bit of a crunch on the outside and a creamy, moist inside. So good with a glass of milk. Your cookie jar will be empty again before you know it!

Sweet Treat Thursday: Oatmeal Marble Squares

Sweet Treat Thursday: a regular feature here at 3BATL. As the weekend approaches, I begin to think about a sweet treat that I can provide for dessert for my family. I've found that they enjoy a little extra sweetness in their weekend and usually, leftovers are eaten as snacks early in the week.

Some of the best recipes come from community and church cookbooks. The recipe I'm going to share with you today came from a Mennonite community cookbook. Mennonite ladies sure know how to cook and bake. Trust me on that. My mother was raised in a Mennonite home. Her grandfather was a Mennonite minister. That's another story....

Anyway, last week was the first time I made this recipe. The oatmeal in it definitely adds to the texture which I loved. It went together very easy - always a good thing. Plus it's a bar recipe which requires less work and time, making it a little easier for you. Bar cookies are also a great way to introduce our kids to baking. As usual, it didn't take long for the pan to be devoured. They're good warm with a glass of milk. Trust me.

Oatmeal Marble Squares (submitted by Miss Marilyn Smith)

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp water

2 eggs

2 c. oatmeal

1 c. nuts (optional)

1/2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together soda and flour. In separate bowl blend sugars, butter and vanilla and water. Add eggs, beating well. Add flour and mix well. Stir in oatmeal and nuts. Spread in greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Sprinkle 1/2 c. chocolate chips over dough. Place in oven for 2 minutes. Run knife through dough to marbelize. Return to oven and bake for 20 or 25 minutes.

Sweet Treat Thursday: Apple Cake

I'm just just gonna go ahead and say this...I'm not sharing this recipe. It tasted good but looked like doggie doo in a pan...eeeewww!

I had such high hopes for this recipe. It is one from my college days. My roommate, Judy, used to make this. It was her favorite. I liked it then but my thought process for selecting it now was different than it was then. Now I knew it could serve double-duty; satisfy the sweet tooth and also be served as a coffee cake for the next day's breakfast.

Unfortunately when I took it out of the oven it looked bad. Bad with a capital B. I'm sure the disappointment was written all over my face.

When Alison came home she asked me what I had made because it smelled good. I proceeded to tell her the story of my failed cake. She didn't mind. She reached into the pan and tore off a piece. "Mmmmm. Tastes just like cinnamon bread." What's that you say? How could something so ugly taste so good? I decided to step up to the plate too and taste. Not bad.

That pan was empty in about 36 hours. Guess you can't judge taste by looks alone.

p.s. I'm still not sharing the recipe.

Sweet Treat Thursday: Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Sweet Treat Thursday : a regular feature here at 3BATL. As the weekend approaches, I begin to think about a sweet treat that I can provide for dessert for my family. I've found that they enjoy a little extra sweetness in their weekend and usually, leftovers are eaten as snacks early in the week.

Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and this tastes just like a hot fudge sundae from the ice cream shop. Be sure to drizzle a bit of the sauce/pudding over the ice cream for that little extra touch. As crazy (and long) as the process for this cake sounds, trust me when I say to follow the instructions. If you're not a coffee drinker, don't let the coffee in this recipe scare you away; it gives the chocolate a rich depth that will be welcomed by your tastebuds. You will not be disappointed.

Hot Fudge Pudding (from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)

6 T unsalted butter

2/3 c. cocoa powder

2 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/3 c. packed light brown sugar

1 c. sugar

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 c. milk

1 T vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 lg egg yolk, at room temperature

1 1/2 c. coffee, at room temperature

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325. Lightly coat an 8" square glass or ceramic baking dish thoroughly with vegetable oil spray.

Melt the butter, 1/3 c. of the cocoa, and the chocolate together in a medium bowl in the microwave, whisking often, until smooth, 1 to 3 mnutes. In a separate bowl, stir the brown sugar, 1/3 c. of sugar, and remaining 1/3 c. cocoa together until there are no clumps. Whisk the flour and baking powder together in a third bowl.

Whisk the remaining 2/3 c. sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk in the yolk, then the chocolate mixture until combined. Whisk in the flour mixture until combined.

Spread the batter in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the batter. Pour the coffee gently over the brown sugar mixture. Bake until the cake is puffed and bubbling and just beginning to pull away from the side sof the baking dish, about 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. (Do not overbake.)

Let the cake cool in the dish on a wire rack for about 25 minutes before spooning into bowls.

Sweet Treat Thursday : Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars

Sweet Treat Thursday : I plan to make this a regular feature here at 3BATL. As the weekend approaches, I begin to think about a sweet treat that I can provide for dessert for my family. I've found that they enjoy a little extra sweetness in their weekend and usually, leftovers are eaten as snacks early in the week.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars (The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook)

1 (18.25 oz.) pkg yellow cake mix

2 large eggs

1 c. chunky peanut butter

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. (mixture will be thick - see photo below)

Press half of cake mixture into an ungreased 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with chocolate chips, and drizzle with condensed milk. Sprinkle with remaining cake mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool and cut into bars. Yield: 4 dozen.

And if you're a blogger and take pictures of your food, take it quick because they will soon disappear! They're also very good served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.