Reese's Peanut Butter Bars

  Reese's Peanut Butter Bars 36 bars

Cookie Base 1 cup butter, softened 3 TBL milk 1 1/2  cups brown sugar, firmly packed 1 cup sugar 1 cup  creamy peanut butter 1 egg  1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups quick oats 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a bar or jelly roll pan with cooking spray.   In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugars together.  Mix on high for 1 minute.  Add peanut butter, egg, milk,  and vanilla, mix well.   Add baking soda and salt, mix well.  Slowly add quick oats and flour, mix well, making sure to scrape sides and bottom of bowl.   Press the cookie mixture to bottom of pan.  Bake for 13-15 minutes.  

While baking make the peanut butter frosting.  Let bars cool 5 minutes before frosting with peanut butter frosting. The bars will still be warm so frosting will melt a little. Press softly when frosting.

Cool peanut butter frosted bars completely, before frosting with the chocolate frosting.  I even place in refrigerator for 1 hour.  Then gently spread chocolate frosting over the peanut butter frosting.  

Peanut Butter Frosting 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter 2 TBL butter, softened 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Cream peanut butter and butter together.  Add powdered suger mix well. 
Chocolate Frosting 6 TBL butter, softened 4 cups powdered sugar 1/2 cup cocoa 1 tsp vanilla 6-8 TBL milk
Cream butter and powdered sugar.  Mix on high for 1 minute.  Add cocoa and vanilla, mix well.  Add 6 TBL milk,  mix together.  If needed add more milk until spreadable consistency is reached.   * Great for gathering with large number of people.   **Also know as lunch lady bars.

Chocolate Swirl Bread

Chocolate Swirl Bread 1 large loaf 

Dough 2 1/2 cups bread flour 1 pack or 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 cup sugar  1/4 cup whole milk 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled 1 tsp vanilla 3 eggs Melt butter in a microwaveable dish.  Add milk plus one teaspoon sugar.  Mix together, should be warm but not hot, or it will kill yeast. Add yeast, set aside for 5 minutes to let yeast activate.  While yeast is activating mix the reamining ingredients in a bread maker.  Add the yeast mixture to bread maker.  Set bread maker to dough setting normal loaf size.   Prepare the loaf pan by placing a piece of parchment paper in the pan with a 3 inch overhang on long side.

While dough is being made make the chocolate filling, crumb topping and egg wash.  Recipes below. 

When dough is finished roll out to 14x18 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. 

 Spread chocolate filling evenly over dough, leave a 1/2 inch border along outer edge.  Sprinkle mini choclate chips over filling.  

Roll dough into a tight cylinder starting with longest side.  Pinch seam shut.  

Slice the dough cyclinder in half down the length to form two long pieces. 

With cut-sides facing up, pinch ends togetheron one side.  Braid the lengths together creating a large twist.  Pinch the ends together. 

Carefully tranfer to prepared bread loaf pan.  Tucking the ends underneath itself to fit. (the filling should be facing up and out.)

Brush the top with egg wash.  Sprinkle the crumb topping over the egg washed dough, lightly press the crumbs down.  Let dough sit for 20 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 350. Bake the loaf for 40 to 50 minutes.  Bread is done when golden brown and when skewer inserted in the middle of loaf comes out clean. 

 Let cool for 10 minutes in pan, then tranfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate filling 4 oz of bittersweet chocolate, chopped 4 Tablespoons  butter 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Microwave for 1 minute the chocolate and butter together in a micrwable bowl. Stir if there are still lumps microwave for 30 more seconds then stir.  Repeat if necessary. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  Mix well.  Do not add choclate chips to chocolate filling.

Egg wash 1 tsp water 1 egg, beaten

Beat together the egg and water.  Use patry brush to brush over loaf after it is in loaf pan and before crumb topping.  This will allow the crumbs to stick.  

Crumb topping 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 4 Tablespoons butter

Slice and enjoy!!

*We enjoy eating this bread with Nutella hazelnut spread.  

French Dip Sandwiches

French Dip Sandwiches 6-8 sandwiches

1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast (you can use a frozen roast if you want)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix
2 c  beef broth
6-8 large rolls
Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.

When oil is very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. About 3 minutes on each side. You’re not cooking the meat, you’re just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices. 

Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onions soup mix.

 Pour beef broth over roast.

Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high. But you know it’s done when you can shred with fork.  When meat is ready, shred with a fork. 

Drain meat over crockpot before serving or rolls will get soggy. Leave juice in crock pot for serving with sandwiches.

Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty.

 Place meat in crusty rolls.  

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!

Oh Henry Bars

Oh Henry Bars 12 - 3 inch bars

1 C peanut butter 1 C corn syrup 1 C sugar 6 C rice crispy cereal 12 oz bag milk chocolate chips Measure out 6 cups of rice crispy cereal in a large heat proof bowl. Set aside.  In a meduim saucpan combine sugar, and corn syrup.  Heat on meduim heat, stirring occasionally, until starts to boil.  Remove form heat add peanut butter.  Stir until well blended. 

Add peanut butter mixture to rice crispy cereal.  Stir until well blended and all cereal is covered with mixture.

Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Press peanut butter cereal mixture to bottom of 9x13 inch pan.  

Microwave chocolate chips in a microwave proof dish for 1 minute.  Stir, if mixture still has lumps microwave again for 20 seconds.  Stir again, if lumpy, repeat until chocolate is smooth.  

Spread chocolate evenly over top of peanut butter cereal mixture.  

Place in fridge for 10 minutes to harden chocolate top.  Slice and serve.  This is a real crowd pleaser! Yum!

*These are not scotcharoos because they do not have butterscotch chips. ** My recipe also differs from most because I use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet.  I think milk chocolate blends the flavors better. ***Quick, easy to make and a crowd favorite. ****These sell like crazy in concession stands for games at high school.  Individual wrap each square and watch them go!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls 12 rolls

Dough 3 3/4 c flour  5 Tbl  butter, softened 1/2 c milk  1/2 c water  1 egg 1/3 c sugar, plus 1 tsp 2 3/4 tsp yeast  2 tsp salt Filling 3 TBL butter, softened 1 cup brown sugar 1 TBL cinnamon pinch of salt Frosting 2 cups powdered sugar 4 TBL butter, softened 1-3 TBL milk 1 tsp vanilla pinch of salt Dough Place water and milk in glass measuring cup.  I usually add a little more milk or water to measure 1 1/8 cups of mixture.  Add 1 tsp of sugar.  Heat in microwave about 30-60 seconds.  Liquid should be warm to touch, not hot or it will kill yeast.  Add yeast.  Put aside.  Put flour, 1/3 c sugar, 5 Tbl butter, egg, and salt in a bread machine.  Add yeast liquid mixture, the yeast should be foamy on top.  Set Machine for large normal dough cycle setting. When dough is done roll out lightly floured surface.  Roll into rectangle of close to 12x18 inches, does not have to be exact. 

Filling Spread 3 TBL of softened butter on dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border from top edge.  Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Evenly spread brown sugar mixture over buttered dough, leaving a 3/4 inch border from top edge. 

Roll dough into a tight cylinder starting with the longest edge closet to you.  Pinch the seam shut. Cut the dough cylinder into 12 even slices.  

Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  Place rolls in pan.  

Let rise in a draft free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake rolls for 25-30 or until golden brown.

Frosting While oven is preheating make frosting.  Place powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in mixer.  Mix on low spead until well mixed. Then mix on high speed for 2 minutes.  Reduce speed and add milk 1 TBL at a time until reaching desired consistency.  Remember when putting on warm rolls the frosting will get thinner. Spread evenly over rolls.

Let rolls cool for 10 minutes, frost and serve warm.  YUM!! *To make cinnamon rolls the night before. Follow above process until after you have sliced rolls.  Then, Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven. Then follow the rest of the recipe from preheating oven on.