Chocolate Toffee Coconut Squares

I'm not a huge fan of coconut. I'll have a small slice of coconut cream pie once or twice a year but other than I tend to avoid it. Until now. The past week I've been CRAVING coconut. I've actually toyed with the idea of buying a coconut and just going to town on that sucker while I watch TV after the kids go to bed.

Being too lazy to venture out to the store last night, I raided the pantry to satisfy my crazy pregnancy craving. I found 2 cups of shredded coconut and went hunting for a recipe. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that was a layered bar with a graham crust, creamy coconut filling and a chocolate coating. In getting the ingredients out of the cupboard I found an open, half-empty bag of toffee pieces and decided to use them up too.

Can I just say, even if you're not a coconut fan, these are a must try! The coconut/toffee/chocolate combination is just beyond yummy. I had a total foodgasm when I tried them! Just look at that filling... heaven!

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Chocolate Toffee Coconut Squares

2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. white sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 c. flaked coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. toffee pieces
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Instructions:

1. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter and press into a 9 x13 pan. I actually used a 9 x 9 cause I didn't check the recipe. They turned out great, just thicker!
2. Bake the crumb crust for 15 minutes in a preheated 350˚F oven.
3. Combine the condensed milk, coconut and vanilla and spread mixture over the cooked graham crust.
4. Bake for another 15 minutes.
5. In the last 2 minutes of cooking time sprinkle the top with the toffee pieces and the chocolate chips.
6. When you remove the squares from the oven use a spatula to spread out the melted chocolate chips.
7. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then put in the fridge for 20 minutes or until set.

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enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip

When I want cheesecake I want it noooooooow! Cheesecakes take time, I make them for special occasions or to take to parties, but on a Friday night when I'm curled up watching a chick-flick and I start craving something sweet, this is my snack of choice.

I went to a baby shower a couple of years ago and someone brought a similar dip to the party. When I tasted it I thought I'd died and gone to buffet heaven. I tracked down who brought this luscious (perfect word to describe it!) dip and asked for the recipe. She vaguely mentioned that there was cream cheese and cool whip in it and then turned her attention elsewhere. A little later I asked again and she changed the subject. Okay, so it was a secret recipe, whatev, but that wasn't going to stop me. A little research online and some experimentation and I re-created the dip, but added in some chocolate chips (cause I like to rock the chocolate wherever possible) and a touch of vanilla cause I put it in everything. I serve fresh fruit, teddy grahams (the kiddos love these), chocolate covered graham crackers, and chocolate squares for dipping into the dip, but anything works, even your finger!

If you're craving cheesecake and don't have the time to put into baking one, or you want a lighter (hello, light cream cheese and low-fat cool whip, this is practically diet food!) version, try this out!

My favourite dippers

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Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip

1/2 pkg. Light Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. Light Cool Whip
1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Beat softened cream cheese with the sugar and milk until smooth
2. Add the vanilla and mix.
3. Gently fold the mixture into the cool whip.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips and put in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to rest.
5. Serve with various fruits, crackers, and chocolates for dipping.

It tastes just like cheesecake, just a little fluffier!

Ohhhh yeaaaahhhh

enjoy,
Amanda

S'mores Cookie Bars

I have already professed my love for all things S'mores in my very first blog post so it should come as no surprise that I'm at it again. My mom, aunt and cousin were visiting last week and we had some chocolate fondue one night that turned into traditional S'mores (well, as traditional as they get out of the microwave). My nephew saw pictures and was quite peeved he missed out so I went on the hunt for a treat for him that would deliver all that s'mores deliciousness.

A quick google search led me to Baked Perfection and an amazing baked version of a S'more. Warm and chocolately and incredibly gooey, these are everything a S'more should be... minus the campfire songs and spooky stories.

Please excuse the poor presentation, I literally had to shoot these hot out of the oven as they were disappearing pretty fast, only 3 lasted the night and those were gone in the wee light of morning!

the pan about 10 minutes out of the oven!

S'more Cookie Bars taken from Baked Perfection

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 7 full graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 super-sized (5 oz.) dark chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups Kraft marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars (or 4 regular sized ones) should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up ad spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars

Makes 16 cookie bars.

Creamy Raspberry Squares

It was a hot spring-almost-summer day and I woke up with a craving for raspberries. I had raspberry jam on toast for breakfast, some frozen raspberries stirred into vanilla yogurt for a snack and I'd even popped a few fresh ones in my mouth throughout the day. Nothing says summer's here like berries! When my husband told me my in-laws were coming for dinner I went looking for a raspberry dessert and found this in a copy of "What's Cooking", the Kraft magazine.

Cool whip, graham crumbs, cream cheese, jell-o and frozen raspberries come together to make a not-too-sweet, cool, fruity dessert that's great for after a BBQ on a hot day. My in-laws liked it so much they took 2 tupperware containers of it home!


Creamy Raspberry Squares from Kraft What's Cooking

2 c. graham crumbs
1/2 c. margarine or butter, melted
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 pkg. Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. icing sugar
3 c. Light Cool Whip, thawed
1 c. boiling water
2 pkg. sugar free Raspberry Jell-O
3 c. frozen raspberries

Instructions:

1. Mix together crumbs, cinnamon and melted margarine/butter.
2. Reserve 2 tbsp. Press remainder into a 13" x 9" pan.
3. Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy and then fold in 1 c. Cool Whip.
4. Spread mixture onto crust and refrigerate.
5. Add boiling water to Jell-O powder and stir for 2 minutes.
6. Add berries to Jell-O and stir until slightly thickened.
7. Pour over cream cheese mixture layer. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
8. Cover with remaining Cool Whip and reserved crumb mixture. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.

Peanut Butter Bumble Bees

Nothing says springtime like bumble bees buzzing all around, bringing the flowers back to life. And nothing says tasty like these little peanut butter and graham crumb bees. I had these years ago when my cousin made them for a daycare she was working at and I always remembered them. A little digging and I found the recipe at Kraft's website.

My husband has brought a whole bunch of them in to work to share, I'm looking forward to the empty containers coming back!

Peanut Butter Bumble Bees

1 c. Kraft Smooth Peanut Butter
1/4 c. butter
1 c. icing sugar
1 1/2 c. Graham Cracker Crumbs (about 25 squares crushed)
1 square Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted
1/2 c. sliced almonds

Instructions:
1. Combine peanut butter, butter and sugar in a bowl.
2. Fold in graham crumbs and mix well.
3. Shape into 1 inch ovals.
4. put melted chocolate into a small ziploc bag and snip the corner off and drizzle chocolate over the tops of the bees.
5. Insert almond slices on side to form wings.

S'mores Indoors!

I was out walking with the girls today and I could smell someone burning leaves and brush and it made me think of bonfires and how much I love S'mores. So off I headed home to make some!

There could very well be a recipe for something like these somewhere out in cyber-space but I decided to create my own and the result was very yummy! It's a take on Rice Krispie treats:

S'mores Indoors

40 marshmallows (1 bag)
3 tbps butter
1 tsp vanilla
6 cups Golden Grahams Cereal
1/4 c. mini chocolate chips
250g bag of dark chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Melt 2 tbps butter in a saucepan on medium heat.
2. Add marshmallows and stir until melted.
3. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
4. Add cereal and mini chips and stir until combined.
5. Pour into greased 8"x14" pan and using your hands press into the dish. (If you wet your hands slightly this works better.)
6. Put dark chocolate chips and remaining tbsp of butter into a bowl and microwave until melted.
7. Spread melted chocolate over top of cereal mixture and smooth out covering the cereal.
8. Refrigerate until set.