Coconut Mud Bars

I made this for our FHE caroling activity. I got the recipe from Mrs. Field's Best Ever Cookie Book. Since I had some whipping cream in the fridge from the pumpkin pie cake I made last week, I looked for a recipe where I could use up the rest of it. I wouldn't recommend substituting milk for the cream here. I didn't use coconut extract.

Bottom Layer
1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 c. (packed) dark brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into small pieces

Ganache
10 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 c. heavy cream

Topping
4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. coconut extract (optional)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. shredded coconut
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan.

Make the bottom layer: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. With a pastry blender (mine broke last week - it was the best $1 purchase at DI !), cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is set. Place the pan on a rack to cook, but leave oven on.

Meanwhile make the ganache: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Ins a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Pour the ganache over the crust and refrigerate for 15 minutes to set the ganache.

Prepare the topping: In a medium bowl, cream the butter. Add the granulated sugar, vanilla, and coconut extract, if desired, and beat until blended. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the coconut and pecans.

Drop the coconut-pecan mixture evenly over the ganache and spread gently. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Set the pan on a wire rack to cook. Cut into bars. The recipe says 24, but I cut it into 32.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

I made this for the ward Christmas Party. Someone asked for the recipe and I realized I haven't made it since I started this blog. I got the recipe from Connie H* when I worked at Beehive Clothing. I've seen many versions of this recipe, but this is the one I like. I did change a few things though.

1 white cake mix (set aside 1 cup for the topping)
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1 egg
1 large (29 oz) can pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
2 beaten eggs
1/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. milk
1 c. white sugar

For topping :
reserved 1 cup cake mix
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. cold butter or margarine
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix together cake mix and flour. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add egg and mix well. Press into bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

In a large bowl combine pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, eggs, brown sugar, milk and white sugar. Pour over crust in pan.

In a medium bowl mix one cup of reserved cake mix with sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes at 375 F. Cool for at least 2 hours. Top with whipping cream or vanilla ice cream.

Farfalle Special

I made this a while ago, but never posted it. I made a lot of substitutions because I needed to use ingredients I had on hand, but I think it would taste great as written. I just used milk instead of cream, I used Parmesan Cheese in stead of Roquefort and some egg noodles and rotini since I didn't have farfalle. I also only used about 16 ounces, but that was a lot of pasta.

Farfalle Special

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 2 slices bacon
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3/4 cup fresh mushrooms, quartered
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 2 ounces Roquefort cheese
• 1 (4 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 18 ounces farfalle (bow tie) pasta

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
   
2. In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon and onion in the butter for 7 to 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Stir in the heavy cream, salt, pepper, Roquefort cheese and tomato sauce; cook for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Pour over cooked farfalle pasta and serve.

Cream Pesto Sauce

This is another recipe I made a long time ago, but forgot to post. This was really good! I think I halved the recipe for our family. I used linguine, but any long pasta would work.

Cream Pesto Sauce

• 1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 1/2 cups grated Romano cheese
• 1 cup prepared basil pesto
• 3 roma (plum) tomato, diced

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in garlic and butter, and saute until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Dissolve flour in milk, then stir in. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheese, and stir until melted. Stir in pesto. Add tomatoes. Cook 4 minutes, or until heated through. Toss with pasta until evenly coated.

Buttermilk Cornbread

I've never really liked the cornbread recipe I've used in the past, so I decided to find a new one. And I'm so glad I did. It was so good! I never have buttermilk, so I usually use the sour milk trick. Where you put a tsp of lemon juice to the measuring cup and add milk until it's 1 cup. Let is sit for a good 5 minutes so it can sour. Do it first, then get everything else ready. this was just sweet enough, and just dense enough. Of course top it with honey butter. I served this with chili.

Buttermilk Cornbread

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Pasta, Broccoli and Chicken

I made this Saturday night with some fresh made pesto. It was really good. I used farfalle (bowtie) pasta instead of rigatoni. I had fresh tomatoes from a friend's garden. I didn't have a lot of Parmesan cheese so I used mozzarella instead, and it was delicious. It made a lot, so there were left overs.

Pasta, Broccoli and Chicken

• 12 ounces rigatoni pasta
• 1/2 pound fresh broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons pesto
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and chopped
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

1. In a large pot with boiling salted water cook rigatoni pasta until al dente. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, blanch broccoli florets in a medium size saucepan, remove with slotted spoon. In same pan saute the minced garlic and pesto sauce in the olive oil for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and set aside.
3. In a large bowl toss cooked pasta with blanched broccoli, cooked chicken, and garlic/tomato mixture. Add grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and ground black pepper and mix well. Serve warm.

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Bars

I made this for dessert with the missionaries last night. It was so good. I didn't use the right size pan. So my cookie bars were thicker, and thus took longer to bake, and didn't need as much frosting. It's another great recipe from The Cook Next Door!

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Bars

1 c. peanut butter

1 egg

1/2 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. Coach's Oats

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. white flour

1/2 tsp. soda

In a large bowl, cream together peanut butter, egg, butter and brown sugar until light an whippy. Add remaining ingredients, then press into a small cookies sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for exactly nine minutes. Don't overcook it! It might look a little soft and gooey, but it will set as it cools. Allow to cool before frosting & cutting into bars.

Whippy Cocoa Fudge Frosting

2 sticks butter, softened

4 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. milk

1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips just until barely melted. Using and electric beater/mixer, beat in the butter, then slowly add the powdered sugar and just enough milk to make the frosting a nice, spreadable consistency. Frost cooled bars. Allow frosting to set up for about 30 minutes before cutting. ENJOY!