Seven Layer Magic Bars

Being the klutz I am, I somehow managed to knock down everything off the side of the fridge the other night - magnets, stamps, newspaper clippings, etc. I really don't know how I manage things like that, but somehow it happened. Thankfully I was able to pick everything up before the cat attacked as I'm sure he would have had a hay day with all those things to play with so easily assecible. While I was picking everything up, I came across the magnetic clip full of recipes that I cut out from the food section of the newspaper every week or so, but which had been hidden behind ten take out menus to our Thai resturant of choice (they always get our order wrong even though we get food from them at least once a week). I looked through them and seriously found some recipes that are at least 5 years old but I have never made. What I did find was a recipe for seven layer bars. I've wanted to make these for soooo long! I swear, I buy graham crackers all the time with the intention of making them, but somehow I've never gotten around to it. Well now was my chance!

These are by far some of the easiest bars to make. All you do is layer the ingredients, pop it in the over, and poof, you have yummy gooey delicious bars of joy. Of course, given such a simple recipe, I had to mess up. I was talking on the phone as I made them, so instead of using one stick of butter, I used two, giving me an excess of butter in comparison to how many graham cracker crumbs I had. I simply added extra crumbs to soak up the butter and it was fine. They could have used 2 less minutes in the over because the coconut was starting to burn by the time I took them out, but they were still so good looking. I cut them into huge sqaures - and a few small ones for me to sample. I took some to hebrew school, along with the thousand other prizes I had picked out for my students, but still almost half of them picked the bars over bubbles, putty, yo-yo's and a paint your own gnome (They're a dollar at Target - very cool). This will from now on be my go to recipe if I ever need to whip up a dessert pretty quickly - 5 minutes prep give or take and just 22-25 minutes in the oven. So easy! Grade - A Make Again - Absolutely!

ADAPTED FROM THE NEWS AND OBSERVER

• INGREDIENTS:
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 cups butterscotch chips
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 2 cups toasted pecans - I just threw them in the oven a few minutes before adding them to toast lightly
• 2 cups sweetened coconut
• 2 cups sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Pour the melted butter into the bottom of the dish. Spread the crumbs over the butter and press down firmly.
3. Sprinkle butterscotch chips, followed by chocolate chips, followed by pecans, followed by the coconut.
4. Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top.
5. Bake for 22-28 minutes. Cool to room temperature before cutting. - I cut mine huge!

Macaroons

My dearest step-sister, Sarah, recently broke her arm, so to help her in her healing process I decided to make her some cookies. Baking for Sarah is slightly complicated because she does not it wheat, so I had to make something that didn't require flour, since honestly, I think the gluten-free flour just tastes nasty. So the perfect cookie of course was macaroons because they have no flour in them. I make these often because they are so incredibly easy to make and because they always turn out so delicious. I decided to put the chocolate on the bottom this time because the bottoms were a little sticky because I was worried that they were going to stick to the box I sent them in. All in all they turned out great and I just put them in the mail - so hopefully they will get to Sarah soon for her to enjoy. Ingredients:

• 7 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 3 tbsp sweetened condensed coconut
• 2/3 cup egg white ( about 4-5)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon coconut or almost extract (I used vanilla because that was all we had on hand)

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 1/2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 325 degrees. Grease several baking sheets
2. Spread the coconut out on a baking sheet and toast for 7-9 minutes until just browned
3. In a large bowl, stir coconut and condensed milk until well blended
4. In a seperate bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
5. Add sugar to eggs, mixing thoroughly, followed by the vanilla extract. Keep beating until stiff peaks form - about 2 minutes
6. Fold coconut mixture into the egg
7. Drop coconut mixture onto prepared cookie sheet using 1/4 cup measuring cup - or really any size you want them to be.
8. Bake on the middle oven rack for 13-18 minutes or until lightly tinged brown
9. Transfer to wire rack and let cool

Dipping:

1. In a double boiler, melt together chocolate and butter
2. Dip macaroons in chocolate, mixes every few to keep the chocolate smooth
3. Place dipped macaroons on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and refrigerate until chocolate is set
4. Serve at room temperature

Island Treasure Cookies

So in my usual state of never wanting to do homework, I decided that I wanted to make some cookies. Since my step-mom is going down to Florida tomorrow for my great-aunt's 100th birthday, I figured I could make a little care package to send along with her to bring to all the family. Well, as I was looking up cookies, I had all sorts of elaborate concoctions in my head, but after looking through my baking drawer, I saw that I had some opened bags of coconut, walnuts, and chocolate chips that were in dire need of a use. So after much reflection (not really - 5 minutes tops) I settled with these yummy island treasure ones. I know realize that for a Florida vacation, these fit the description splendidly. Instead of pecans I used chopped walnut and I'm pretty sure I used way more than just 1 cup of coconut because I just dumped everything that was still in the package - I'd say about a cup and a half. As usual, my father said they were too sweet, but as he just said "Everything is too sweet for me." My step-mom quite enjoyed them though and I'm hoping that they will be a hit down in Florida with the whole posse. Treasure Island Cookies As adapted from allrecipes.com Ingredients: • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 7/8 cup butter, softened • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar • 1/3 cup white sugar • 1 egg • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract • 1 cup milk chocolate chips • 1 cup flaked coconut • 1 cup chopped walnuts Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. 3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the egg then stir in the vanilla. 4. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. 5. Mix in the chocolate chips, coconut and pecans. 6. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place the cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. 7. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.