Cheesecake Bars

Hello, everyone! :) I was looking for a good recipe for someone in our church, and I found this delicious recipe for Cheesecake Bars! I changed a few things, such as pecans in the crust instead of walnuts, I used vinegar instead of lemon juice, and I drizzled caramel sauce on top for some extra flavor (and because I simply cannot eat anything without caramel). I loved these, and I hope you will try them and like them too! :)

                                      Cheesecake Bars
                           
                       Crust:
                                1/3 cup butter
                                1/3 cup brown sugar
                                1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
                                1 cup sifted flour
                             
                         Filling:
                                1/4 cup sugar
                                8 oz. cream cheese
                                1 Tablespoon vinegar
                                2 Tablespoons milk
                                1 egg
                                1/2 tsp. vanilla

                                Caramel Sauce


Preheat oven to 350*.
Cream butter and brown sugar. Add in the flour and pecans. Press gently into an 8x8 pan, and bake for 12-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
For the filling, combine the sugar and cream cheese. Mix until smooth. Add in the vinegar, milk, and egg, and mix well. spread over the baked crust and bake for 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the caramel.
Let it cool, then drizzle the caramel sauce over it. Store covered in the refrigerator. Yummy!!

The Five Cs Recipe

Hello out there!  Today's recipe is a favorite.  Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake.  See the five cs?  I thought it would be a fun title for this recipe.  My mom was out of town this week, and we had cranberries to use up.  This is best warm, with coffee.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

3/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups chopped fresh cranberries

1 T. grated orange zest

Cream Cheese Layer:

1 package softened cream cheese(8 oz.)

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

Topping:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cold butter

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Whisk the egg, orange juice, butter and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in the cranberries and orange peel. Pour into a greased 9-in. springform pan.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Spread over batter. Combine flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over top.

Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 70-75 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing sides of pan.  Enjoy!

My mom has had many people ask for this recipe!  I hope you all enjoy it as well!

Leftover Candy Cookie Bars

Hello Everyone!  Today's recipe is not good for you.  It mixes Halloween candy and cookies.  Not the healthiest.  When I made these, my mom was happy I got rid of so much candy until she had one.  Then she couldn't stay away(neither could I, but that isn't the point)!  She had commissioned me to get rid of the candy.  Isn't that kind of ironic?  I got rid of the candy, and it was even more irresistible! I thought I should share that story, because I thought you all might find it amusing!

Halloween Cookie Bars

1-1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup butter

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

12 snack size candy bars about 1-1/2 cups (I used whoppers, snickers, and three musketeers)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease a 9x13-inch glass baking dish.

Cream the sugar and butter until fluffy.

In another bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

Beat the eggs and vanilla into the sugar mixture.

Add the flour mixture a bit at a time and mix until a smooth thick batter forms.  Add chopped candy.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly .

Bake until the cookie bars are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.  Enjoy!

I enjoyed these bars.  They are a great way to get rid of leftover Halloween candy.

Homemade Granola

Hello, everyone! This is our 100th post!! Yeah! I hope you all have been enjoying our blog! :) 

One of my fondest childhood memories was my mom's homemade granola. I found the recipe recently, and decided to make it. While it was baking, it made the whole house smell wonderful. It was like smelling memories. (If that's possible...) :) 

Anyways, this granola was a hit! I will definitely be making more in the future! I hope you enjoy it!! :) 

                              Homemade Granola

                               1 cup honey
                               1 cup butter (you could use shortening, but it changes the flavor)
                               1 cup brown sugar
                               8 cups oats
                               1 Tablespoon flax seed
                               1 cup raisins or some kind of dried fruit, nuts, or anything else you prefer

Preheat the oven to 300*.
Melt the butter and combine it with the brown sugar and honey over medium low heat. Stir until the sugar is almost dissolved. Don't let it boil. In a large bowl, mix the oats, flax seeds, and nuts. Pour the liquid mixture over the oats and stir it well. 
Pour the granola into a sided, non-stick pan or cookie sheet. (I use a roasting pan, simply because this recipe makes a lot and the pan is non-stick.) Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Be really careful not to over-bake, because granola burns fast. Remove from the oven and add the raisins or dried fruit.  Mix it well and let it cool. Store in an airtight container to keep it fresh, and enjoy! I love granola, and this is a very yummy recipe! I hope you have a great week! :) 

Malt Turtle Bites

Hello Everyone!  Today's recipe is super easy.  I made these for my youth group and they were gone within 5 minutes!!!  This is a very quick recipe as well.  It is a good one to do with kids.

Malt Turtle Bites

1 twelve oz. bag of rolos

56 pretzels

56 whoppers

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil

 Place one pretzel for each malt turtle desired on prepared sheet. Top each pretzel with one unwrapped rolo.

 Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until caramel piece begins to soften, but not melt. Remove from oven; top with whoppers. Cool completely.  Enjoy!

As I said before, these were a hit!  I hope you all enjoy them.

Bacon Onion Deviled Eggs

Hi Everyone!  My family and I have 15 chickens.  14 of them are hens.  Thus, the egg recipe.  We have eggs coming out of our ears.  There are 3 dozen in our fridge and another 4 dozen on our counter top.  The reason it is ok to have fresh eggs out on our counter top is because of the protective coating that is on the egg when the hen lays it.  This protective layer is washed off of commercial eggs.  Our eggs can sit out for weeks and stay fresh.  I enjoy deviled eggs greatly.  When I make them, I always change the recipe.  Today, they are completely different from the traditional deviled eggs.

Bacon Onion Deviled Eggs

5 hard boiled eggs

2 T. mayonnaise

1 teaspoon mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons bacon bits

Directions

Halve the hard boiled eggs and remove the yolks.  Combine the yolks with the rest of the ingredients.  After all the ingredients are smooth, put back into the cooked whites.  Enjoy!

Yum!!!  My mouth is watering.  I hope you all enjoy these! 

Austrian Apple Twists

Hello everyone! I hope everyone has been staying warm this winter! This recipe is for these delicious apple twists that I made. I was flipping through my Taste of Home cookbook, trying to find a good recipe, and when I came across these, I had to make them. I brought them to youth group for a snack, and there were no leftovers! The dough does have to be refrigerated overnight, but other than that, the recipe is not extremely complicated. I hope you guys enjoy it! Happy Eating! :) 

                                   Austrian Apple Twists

                       Dough:
                                 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
                                 3 cups all-purpose flour
                                 1 cup butter, softened
                                 3 egg yolks
                                 3/4 cup buttermilk
                                 1/3 cup melted butter
                        Filling:
                                  3/4 cup sugar
                                  3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
                                  2 medium apples
                                  1 tsp. cinnamon    
                         Icing:
                                  1 cup powdered sugar
                                  5-6 tsp. milk
                                  1/4 tsp. vanilla
                                           
Preheat oven to 350*.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix the yeast and the flour. Add the butter and mix thoroughly. Add the egg yolks, buttermilk, and melted butter. Shape into four balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball into a circle. Cut each circle into about 14 wedges. Combine the sugar, pecans, apples, and cinnamon and sprinkle onto each slice. Roll up from the wide end and place point side down on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 17 minutes, or until browned lightly. Remove from the cookie sheet immediately and place on wire racks to cool. Meanwhile, make the icing.
In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Stir until well combined and smooth.
Drizzle the icing over the cooled twists and enjoy! :)