Snickers Trifle for the Super Bowl Party

People like Super Bowl Sunday for many reasons:  It could be just for the love of the game itself; or, maybe it’s all about betting on quirky things like how many times Peyton Manning will yell “Omaha.”  Perhaps they like it for watching the half-time entertainment, or possibly just to see the new TV commercials.  But, then there are those of us who love the day for the FOOD!

I’m contributing this Snickers Trifle for the Super Bowl party since about everyone loves chocolate.  The chocolate pudding layer in this trifle is whipped with sweetened condensed milk, and that sends it right over the edge into decadence! 

Add to it layers of caramel, another one of chocolate hot fudge sauce, some whipped cream topping, layers of chewy brownies and bits of chopped Snickers bars to top it off.

If you’re searching for a dessert that takes a minimum of time and effort, tastes heavenly, is luscious and gooey ~ a showstopper of a dessert, this is for you!

Snickers Trifle

Ingredients:

1 box of brownies
1 (3.9 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup water
2 (8 ounce) tubs Cool Whip
Caramel topping
Hot fudge topping*
12 mini Snickers bars, or more

Method:

Bake brownies according to package directions and let cool completely.
Cut into squares.
Meanwhile, prepare the pudding layer by mixing the instant pudding with the milk and water.
Blend on low speed until mixed and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Fold in 1 container of Cool Whip and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make trifle layers, layer half the brownie squares on the bottom of a trifle bowl, or any clear deep bowl.
Drizzle with half the caramel sauce.
Drizzle with half the hot fudge sauce.
Spoon half of the chocolate pudding mixture over the brownies.
Top with half of the other container of Cool Whip.
Chop 6 mini Snickers and sprinkle over Cool Whip.

Repeat layers with the remaining brownies, chocolate pudding mixture and Cool Whip.

Drizzle the top with remaining caramel and hot fudge toppings.
Chop remaining Snickers and sprinkle on top.
Garnish with one mini Snickers in the center of the trifle as garnish.

Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

*Heat hot fudge sauce in micro just slightly, just until spreadable, then cool a bit before drizzling.

It’s sinfully delicious!

Chewy Chocolate Caramel Bars

Unwrapping all those caramels is the hardest part of this recipe ~ that’s when your assistant comes into play, like Bill did for me.  The rest is easy, peasy!

To tell the truth, I didn’t follow directions very well with this recipe.  The bottom is a sturdy oatmeal base, and then it should be topped with melted caramels, followed by chocolate chips spread over all.

I inadvertently melted the chocolate chips with the caramel, and I’m guessing it didn’t matter.  In fact the bars might be even better, as they turned out creamy smooth and delicious, bursting with that great caramel chocolaty flavor.

You’ll either need a chain saw or a strong man like my hubby to cut the cookies into bars ~ it’s a bit of a fight to get that first bar out of the pan!  I suggest lining the pan with parchment paper, enabling you to remove the whole slab from the pan, before slicing into bars. 

They’re a heavenly delightful mouthwatering sweet chewy bar, best cut small…

Chewy Chocolate Caramel Bars

Ingredients:

¾ cup melted butter

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

32 caramels, unwrapped

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons milk

1 (6-ounce) package chocolate chips (about 1-cup)

½ cup chopped nuts, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In small mixing bowl, combine butter, flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, baking soda and salt, mix well.

Put ¾ of oatmeal mixture in an ungreased 9” x 13” pan, pressing evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 10 minutes.

In a saucepan, combine the caramels, butter, and milk and heat, stirring until the caramels are melted.

Pour caramel mixture over the baked crust and sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.

Top with remaining butter-oatmeal mixture. 

Bake for 15 minutes more. 

Cool and cut into bars.

Delightfully divine chocolaty caramelized bars!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes!

Mom’s Pecan Dreams/My Favorite Christmas Cookie!!!

 I love this time of year as it gives me an excuse to bake a lot of cookies for family and friends.  What would Christmas be without cookies? 

These Pecan Dreams were my favorite Christmas cookie when I was growing up and to this day ~ they are still my favorite!   I could hardly wait for Mom to bake them when I was a kid and I could probably say the same for my brother Jim.   I always knew that Christmas was getting really close when Mom would pull out the bag of coconut and the package of pecans.  The wafting aroma in the air as they are baking is indescribable!  I love coconut and this cookie reeks of coconut!

Mom’s Pecan Dreams has two layers.  The light bottom layer made with butter, confectioner’s sugar and flour has an almost cake-like delicious texture.  The top layer is a combination of brown sugar, pecans and coconut; common ingredients, but just the perfect combination for a melt in your mouth cookie.  They are lip smacking good!!!

Mom’s Pecan Dreams

Printable recipe

Crust ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup powdered sugar

1 cup sifted cake flour (a must!)

Cream butter, add powdered sugar and cake flour.  Mix well.  Spread in bottom of 13" x 9" Pyrex baking dish.

Filling ingredients:

2 eggs

1 ½ cups brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped pecans

1 ½ cups flaked coconut

Beat eggs till light, add brown sugar, blend well.

Add flour and baking powder.  Mix well.

Blend in pecans and coconut.

Pour over first mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cut into squares when cool.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without Mom’s Pecan Dreams!

Be sure to check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking.  She is hosting a Tate’s Bake Shop giveaway!

Luscious Lemon Squares

I am not a big fan of chocolate so I hardly ever zero in on chocolate desserts.  When at a restaurant or a function, I go for the other desserts ~ pies, tarts, fresh fruit, ice cream, cheesecake and particularly lemon squares.  Oh, I love them!

These lemon squares have a great tender, rich crust that doesn’t crumble easily and a lemon filling that is really ‘super lemony.’   The recipe includes lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon extract.  It’s like sweet/tart lemon curd on a buttery shortbread crust.  The texture of the lemon filling is creamy and just a little gooey.  Wow!  Tangy and decadent!

Lemon squares are a great mix between sweet and tart and a perfect dessert or treat any time!

Baked!

Luscious Lemon Squares

Ingredients:

1½ sticks, plus 2 teaspoons butter, room temperature

1¾ cups plus 3 tablespoons flour

2/3 cup confectioners sugar, plus more for garnish

¼ cup cornstarch

¾ teaspoon salt, plus a pinch

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1-1/3 cups granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons lemon zest

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, strained

½ teaspoon lemon extract

¼ cup milk

Directions:

Lightly butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with 1 teaspoon of butter.

Line with 1 sheet of parchment or waxed paper.

Butter the top of this sheet of paper with 1 teaspoon of the remaining butter.

Lay a second sheet of parchment or waxed paper crosswise over the first sheet. 

The parchment should be cut large enough so that the sides are even with the top of the baking dish.  This extra paper will be used as handles to help lift the lemon squares from the pan later.  Set pan aside.

In a large bowl, combine 1¾ cups of the flour, 2/3 cup of confectioners sugar, cornstarch, and ¾ teaspoon salt and mix thoroughly.

Cut the remaining 1½ sticks of butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Transfer butter-flour mixture to the prepared baking dish and press into a 1/4-inch layer along the bottom and partly up the sides of the pan.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

While the crust is in the refrigerator, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the crust until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

While the crust is baking, assemble the filling by combining eggs, granulated sugar, flour and lemon zest in a medium bowl.  Whisk until smooth.

Stir in lemon juice, milk, lemon extract and remaining pinch of salt; mix well.

When crust is done, remove from oven.

Stir the lemon mixture again; pour onto the warm crust.

Bake until filling is set, about 20 minutes. 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lift the paper that lines the 2 longest sides of the baking dish and remove the bars from the pan by pulling up.

The entire dessert will come away from the pan easily.

Transfer to a cutting board and cut into squares, cleaning knife after each cut.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

A Perfect lemony dessert!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway.

Lemon Ripple Cheesecake Bars

Lemon?  Cheesecake?  This is lemon squares kicked up a notch!

These bars are the ultimate!  The recipe for this irresistible dessert belongs to Elinor Klivan and was in The Chicago Tribune last November.  And we owe it all to Christopher Columbia as he is the man who carried lemon seeds with him to the Americas in 1493.  Lemons were mainly used as medicine and ornaments back then and did not appear in cooking until the 1700’s when lemon trees were increasingly grown in Florida and California. 

These luscious bars are a bit out of the ordinary because of the way the filling is prepared.   Lemon zest is added to the rich dough and pressed into a baking pan after which, the creamy cheesecake layer is spread over the top of the dough.  Then the ripple affect takes hold when a lemon curd mixture is swirled through the batter.  

When serving, these incredibly yummy bars are not cut into traditional cheesecake slices but into squares instead. The end result is a delicious, decadent bar that looks pretty impressive also! 

Lemon Ripple Cheesecake Bars

Crust:

1 cup flour

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, chilled

Filling:

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch

½ cup cold water

2 large eggs

1 ¾ cups sugar

¼ pounds cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons flour

3 large eggs, at room temperature

¼ cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

Fresh berries, optional

Method:

For crust:

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Butter a 9” square nonstick baking pan.

Pulse the flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a food processor.

Add butter; pulse until a soft, crumbly dough forms.

Press dough evenly over bottom and ½” up the sides of the pan.

Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.

For filling:

Dissolve cornstarch in cold water in small bow.

Whisk yolks with ¾ cup of the sugar and the lemon juice in medium saucepan.

Whisk in the cornstarch mixture.

Cook over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot, about 4 minutes.

Raise heat to medium-high; heat to a boil, whisking constantly.

Cook until mixture is thick and glossy, 1 minute.

Strain into a heatproof bowl.

Stir in lemon zest.

Let cool.

Beat cream cheese with remaining 1 cup sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer until smooth. 

Beat in the flour until blended.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions.

Add sour cream and vanilla, beat until batter is smooth.

Pour cream cheese batter over the crust.

Smooth with a spatula.

Place lemon mixture in dollops on cheesecake batter.

Carefully swirl it into the batter using the tip of a knife or skewer.

Bake until golden around edges and just set, 40-45 minutes.

Run a knife around edges to loosen the cheesecake.

Cool on wire rack 1 hour.

Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Cut into bars and garnish with berries, if desired.

16 bars

Note:  When slicing bars, run a knife under hot water, slice bars, wiping blade after making each cut.

Give it a try, you’ll love them!

Fudgy Brownies

Here is how to please that chocolate lover in your house! 

This recipe is from Carolyn, a friend in Louisville who I worked with years ago.  The brownies are unbelievably good!  They are thick and decadent; worth every single calorie and after hearing about the recipe you will know why.    And to make them even more decadent, she was known to slather fudge frosting over the top!

The hardest part about baking brownies is waiting for them to cool before cutting.  The smell will be amazing and it will take all of your will power not to slice into them.  They will crumble to pieces if cut warm, so you must wait until they are fairly cool to get a nice brownie square.

These brownies are fast, easy and great for whoever needs a chocolate fix.  They’re just too good to not share with you...

Rich and chocolaty to the max!

Fudgy Brownies

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 eggs

4 – 1 ounce squares unsweetened dark chocolate, melted

1 cup sifted flour

1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Method:

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla.

Beat in eggs.

Blend in chocolate.

Stir in flour and nuts.

Spread in 8” x 8” baking pan.

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

Let cool, slice and serve.

An irresistibly chocolaty treat that will knock your socks off!