Oatmeal Chocolate Bars

So many main course posts lately, it's time for a few sweet things!

If you want a real treat that's easy to prepare and delicious with a cup of coffee or tea, this one's for you. You can tell yourself they're healthy with the old-fashioned oats in them, but I'm sure the Weight Watchers points wouldn't lie. These are probably off the charts on the points (but they are off-the-charts good)! The picture is a little deceptive because they look like they have nuts on top, but that's the buttery oatmeal topping.

So brew yourself a pot and sit down with a couple of these. Don't forget to pack a few in your kid's lunch too. They'll be pretty popular sharing the likes of these sweet treats!

Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats

Fudge filling:

   1 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
   1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together the softened butter, sugar and salt. Add flour and oatmeal and blend until consistency of a dough. Press the mixture into the bottom of a well-greased 9x13 baking dish, reserving some for the crumbled topping.

Heat sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan or over double boiler and add chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth, then pour over crust in baking dish.

Crumble the remaining flour and oatmeal mixture over the top and bake 25-30 minutes.

Peanut Blossom Cookies

The ubiquitous Peanut Blossom Cookie, with its telltale Hershey's Kiss on top, boasts about as many recipe variations as the Chocolate Chip Cookie. Somewhere along the line, the recipe was modified to contain (egads!) shortening and there was just something about shortening in cookies that Grandma didn't care for. Sometimes it couldn't be avoided (as in Snickerdoodles--although I think she kept the butter version for these too!), but Grandma was of the mind that shortening was useful only in pie crusts and that's about it. The flavor of it just didn't cut it in cookies--especially these cookies. All that to say that I am so thankful Grandma held onto her original recipe for these delights, which called for a stick of butter. God bless her.

Also, I wanted to share this recipe for my dear peanut-butter-loving friend, Maggie. This one's for you kid!

Peanut Blossom Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup chunky peanut butter (or creamy, if you prefer)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1 unbeaten egg (at room temp)

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Hershey's Chocolate Kiss candies

Cream butter and peanut butter. Add sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift all dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Mix to blend. Shape dough into one-inch balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for 8 minutes. 

Remove from oven; top cookies with Chocolate Kisses. Press down firmly until cookies crack around edge. Replace in oven for 2-5 minutes until golden brown. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Grandma's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Several days of posting main course recipes and I'm ready for something sweet!

Grandma was famous far and wide for her chocolate chip cookies and many folks received plates of them...just because. There was cheer and care in each bite and they were perfect for someone who needed a "pick-me-up." Grandma was so good that way--but you already know that.

The "secret" ingredient in these makes them filling and hearty without being too heavy. They are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon and you will be called blessed if you pack four or five in your kid's school lunch.

Grandma had a thing for oats in her cookies. Several weeks ago we posted Chocolate Oatmeal Wafers, but they are crispier than these. I believe that of all the hundreds of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, these are the real deal in the traditional sense. Plus this recipe has yielded the most consistent result.

And while we're on the subject of consistent results, Grandma always reminded me to make sure the dry ingredients I use (especially the baking powder and soda) are fresh, fresh, fresh. It really does make a difference in the quality and outcome of everything you bake!

Grandma's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

2 eggs (at room temp)

1 tsp vanilla

2½ cups old-fashioned oatmeal (not quick cook), finely processed

2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla.

Measure oats and blend in blender or food processor to a fine powder.  With a fork or whisk, mix together flour, oats, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add slowly to creamed mixture until combined then add in chocolate chips.

Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.

Holiday Spritz Cookies

During the Christmas season there's no cookie more famous than the Spritz. 

At about 4 or 5 years old, I remember sharing the Spritz "adventure" with Grandma. She would make up a batch, grab a handful out of the mixing bowl, put it in the cookie press, and hand it to me! She even taught me how to change out the little plates so we could make all kinds of beautiful (or so I thought) holiday shapes--trees, candy canes, little flowers and snowflakes, long wavy stripe-like things, and a ton of others. I probably ate more of the dough than what I was supposed to--and Grandma knew it too--but she never said a word. This was a celebration of butter, sugar, and loving companionship!

But the fun didn't end there. After the cookies came out of the oven and were still a little warm, we would shake sprinkles over them and add on some of the little silver balls--dragées, I think they're called (never would have known that without Martha!). This was one of my most vivid Christmas memories and it wasn't limited to my preschool years. We continued making these every Christmas until I had children of my own and then we inducted them into the family "Spritz-pressing club."

Isn't is amazing that food can provide such meaningful memories? I think there's a lesson to be learned here about what's really important not only at Christmas but all year long. It's not about money or the stuff money can buy, but connecting and taking the time to just BE with one another doing something simple--no pressure and no expectations! In this case, it's just a 1/2 pound of butter, some sugar, flour, a cookie press, your loved one and your time!

Spritz Cookies

 1½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg (room temperature)

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp almond extract

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Thoroughly cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla, and almond extract; beat well.  Stir together flour and baking powder. Gradually add to cream mixture, mixing to make a smooth dough.  Do not chill. Place dough into cookie press and press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400F 6-8 minutes. Remove cookies from sheet and cool on rack. Makes about 6 dozen.

Grandma's Toffee Bars

It was easy to tell when Grandma's Toffee Bars were in the works. The tell-tale inventory of huge Hershey's Chocolate Bars, the baking dish on the counter, the chopped pecans...we just knew.

These are actually more like cookies, because the crust is softer and a little less dense than other toffee bar recipes. In my humble opinion, these are the best toffee bars out there. They don't take long to prepare and waiting for them to cool is what takes the most time. It's hard to cut them into squares when they first come out of the oven because the knife "pulls" through and you can't get a clean cut. So waiting is best.

Great Grandma Kate c. 1968

There's a picture of my Great Grandma Kate (Grandma's mother) sitting at the kitchen table. In the middle of the table was a little snowman and a plate of these cookies. That was probably Christmas about 40 years ago, so these cookies go back a long way and of all the cookie recipes in Grandma's collection, these are our family's absolute favorite. (How many times do we say that?!) They are a little pricey to make because of the candy bars, but when they go on sale it's the perfect time to stock up!

Gram’s Toffee Bars

 Crust:

½ cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg (at room temp)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Topping:

½ lb Hershey’s chocolate bar (2 large bars)

½ c chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Combine butter and sugar and beat until creamy.  Add egg and vanilla and blend thoroughly.  Stir in dry ingredients and mix until dough is stiff.  Press into  9x13 greased baking dish and bake in 350F oven 30 minutes.  Evenly distribute pieces of chocolate bar on top of crust and melt. Spread out chocolate and top with chopped nuts. Wait until almost cooled before cutting. 

Lemon Bars

Grandma got this recipe from a friend in her Garden Club. Every month they would have a meeting at someone's house to talk about gardening trends, plant care, and community service. All the ladies in that group were amazing cooks so when Grandma got a recipe for something delicious from one of them, she was as excited as a school girl to go home and try it out for herself! 

This was one of those winners--so easy to prepare and SO good any time of year. Who says Lemon Bars can't be made during the holidays? There's always someone who prefers something a little tart instead of rich and sweet! It keeps life interesting, doesn't it?

Lemon Bars

Crust
2 cups flour
1 cup butter or margarine
½ cup powdered sugar

Cream together ingredients for crust. And press into ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 350F.

Filling
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
½ tsp salt
5 Tbsp lemon juice
4 Tbsp flour

Mix together and pour over crust. Bake 20 minutes at 350F.