By Popular Demand: Peanutty Candy Bars Recipe

Ingredients

* 4 cups quick-cooking oats
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 2/3 cup butter, melted
* 1/2 cup plus 2/3 cup peanut butter, divided
* 1/2 cup light corn syrup
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 package (11 ounces) butterscotch chips
* 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup chopped salted peanuts


Directions

* In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, butter, 1/2 cup peanut butter, corn syrup and vanilla. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes or until mixture is bubbly around the edges.

* In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butterscotch and chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in peanuts and remaining peanut butter; spread over the oat mixture. Cool for 10 minutes; chill until set. Yield: 2 dozen.


Nutrition Facts: 1 bar equals 362 calories, 21 g fat (10 g saturated fat), 13 mg cholesterol, 136 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 8 g protein.

Source: Peanutty Candy Bars published in Taste of Home June/July 2009, p74. (Thanks, Mom!)

Bye, Bye, Betty (Betty Goodbye)

A little travelin' music, Maestro. (Open link in new window.)

Hit the road, woman!

Hello, my real McCoy!

Escalloped Potatoes
(Farm Recipes and Food Secrets from the Norske Nook)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter plus butter for dotting
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
1 teaspoon minced onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 pint milk and 1 pint cream mixed together
6 to 8 potatoes, peeled and sliced thin (I used Yukon Gold)
Grated cheese (or not)
Diced or chunked ham (or not)

(Say "yes" to cheese.)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Place butter and flour in heavy saucepan and stir together with wire whisk until creamy. Add salt, pepper, onion, celery, milk and cream, and cook over medium heat until smooth, stirring constantly.
2. Slice the potatoes thin into 2-quart buttered casserole.
3. Pour the cream sauce over potatoes, dot with butter, and bake 30 to 45 minutes, until a fork goes in easily. (Ours needed the full 45.)

(If using cheese or ham, add it to the cream sauce before pouring it over the potatoes.)

Retirement has its rewards.

Better Than Mom's

From the February 9th page of the Cookie Calendar. I'll confess that the crumbly dough created some doubt as to the outcome. Not to worry. I've never seen a batch of cookies eaten up so quickly.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 (1 stick) sweet butter
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup unrefined light brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup (8 oz.) crunchy peanut butter
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional; but not in this house)

Directions
Sift the flour and baking soda together. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugars until soft and creamy. Combine the egg, flour mixture, peanut butter, and salt. Add the butter and sugar mixture and mix until smooth.

Wrap the dough in foil or parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. (Sorry, no instant gratification here. I took the overnight advice.)

Shape the dough into 1 1/4 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Flatten slightly (very gently) with a fork. Bake 15 minutes, or until golden. (Our oven required 22 minutes to reach a golden state.)

Remove from oven (yeah, this is what the recipe advises) and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. (They won't last that long, believe me! Not unless you make a quadruple batch.)

From the January 28 page of our cookie calendar

TURTLE BARS

Ingredients:

For the crust:
¾ cup (1½ sticks) sweet butter
⅓ cup superfine sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2 cups (7 oz.) pecan halves

For the topping:
½ cup (1 stick) sweet butter
¾ cup light brown sugar
5 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (I erred on the side of no such thing as too much chocolate.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 x 13 in. pan with foil. Cut the butter into chunks and melt in a saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla. Stir in the sifted flour and salt. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then scatter the pecans over the crust and bake for 10 minutes more until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven.

For the topping, melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour the hot butter mixture over the pecans/crust. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips. Cool in the pan. Lift the foil and transfer to a chopping board. Cut into bars. Makes 2 dozen.

Unbelievably good! In fact, JoAnna enjoyed one with her morning coffee today.

A keeper!

Retro Dining

Mel and Levina Karlson, two of the nicest people ever and among the most faithful and active members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church (Warren Pennsylvania) during a long stretch of the mid-20th century, used to invite Pastor Nelson and his family to dinner at least once a year. I suspect that it was shortly after this recipe appeared in a 1963 magazine -- Good Housekeeping or Woman's Day, I'd guess -- when Levina prepared this casserole for us. I liked it, but my three younger siblings were put off by the taste of the green olives.

I prepared this casserole for Wednesday's supper. Last year, when I first revived it, Andy must have been away at college. His reaction?

"I don't think I can finish this," he informed me, pointing to the few mouthfuls left on his plate. "I'm not a green olive person."

Fresh from the oven

A great meal for a subzero day

Here's the original recipe:

GROUND BEEF GRAND STYLE

1 can Ballard OvenReady Biscuits (any brand will do, of course)

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I used ground round)

1 cup chopped onion

1 package (8 oz.) Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese

1 can (10 1/2 oz.) cream of mushroom or chicken soup (gotta go with mushroom)

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup catsup

1/3 cup sliced stuffed olives, if desired

Brown ground beef and onions, drain.

Combine softened cream cheese, soup, milk. Add salt, catsup, olives, ground beef. Pour into 2-quart casserole. Bake at 375°, 10 minutes.

Place biscuits around edge of casserole; if desired, top with olive slices. Bake at 375°, 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

From the Cookie Daily Calendar

From the January 5 page

Scottish Shortbread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. rice flour
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup superfine sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp granulated sugar + more for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300F. Line a 7 x 11 pan with foil. Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the rice flour.

Beat the butter and superfine sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and stir in the granulated sugar. Work the dough until it starts to clump together, then press it into the pan.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. The shortbread will look cooked before it actually is, so ensure that it bakes for the full 45 minutes. (I followed directions, sir, and left it in the oven for 45 minutes. Next time I'll cut the baking time to 40 minutes. I thought the texture was a wee bit too crunchy.)

Remove from the oven, sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar, and cut into fingers. Cool for 20 minutes and remove from the pan.

Andy and Eddie, not big fans of shortbread, gave the recipe a thumbs up.

Holiday Breakfast Suggestion

As served by JoAnna on Christmas morning.

From the "complimentary" cookbook, In the Kitchen the Costco Way.

Ingredients (per serving)
1 large croissant
4 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
1/2 banana, sliced into rounds
3 tablespoons granulated brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter
Confectioners' sugar
Fresh fruit

Directions
Slice croissant lengthwise almost all the way through. Spread cream cheese on both sides. Spread Nutella on top of cream cheese.

Toss banana slices with brown sugar and place in an ovenproof pan. Put under a hot broiler for about 30 seconds, or until the sugar melts. Place banana slices on top of Nutella and close the croissant.

In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, rum and vanilla; mix until well blended. Dunk the croissant into the batter, soaking well.

Heat a saute pan over medium heat and coat with a little butter. Add the croissant and cook like French toast, turning once. Top with confectioners' sugar and fresh fruit.

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

Ingredients
1 jar (16 oz.) salted dry roasted peanuts
1 jar (16 oz.) unsalted dry roasted peanuts
1 package (11.5 oz.) milk chocolate chips
1 package (10 oz.) peanut butter chips
3 packages (10-12 oz.) vanilla or white chips
2 packages (11.5 oz) cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips

Directions
Combine the peanuts in a 5-quart slow cooker.
Layer the chips in the order given. Do not stir.
Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until melted. (I ended up with a 4-hour cook time.)
Stir to combine. (I stirred for about 5 minutes, at which point the melted chips had a smooth consistency. Not a recipe for those lacking upper body strength.)
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper.
Let stand until set. (Smack hands of family members or friends who can't wait to eat 'em.)
Store in airtight container at room temperature.

According to the recipe I was given, the "yield" is 4 pounds of candy. It's a lotta peanut clusters. Believe me!

My son Eddie, of smacked hands fame, gives the clusters a perfect 10 rating.

Recipe card gives acknowledgement to Taste of Home Holiday Cookbook '08.

Classic Baked Acorn Squash

A new Nelson/Richard family favorite from Simply Recipes

(A great accompaniment with stuffed pork chops!)

Ingredients

1 Acorn squash
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
Dash of Salt

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Using a strong chef's knife, and perhaps a rubber mallet to help, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don't burn and the squash doesn't get dried out.

3 Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 a Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. Dribble on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half.

4 Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on how much squash you like to eat.