'Tis the Season for Cranberry!

'Tis the season for fresh cranberries. The tiny fruit packs a punch of tart and flavorful goodness and just tastes like Thanksgiving and the fall, doesn't it? During this time of year when cranberries are on sale and abundant, I always stash extra bags in my freezer. In fact, I bought four bags of them last night at my hometown grocery store!

Before the South Central Community Foundation awards night, I found a new way to use these colorful bursts of flavor - Frosted Cranberry Drop Cookies. I used frozen cranberries because I find it easier and less messy to chop the frozen variety using a food processor.

 

These are soft, moist cookies - more cake-like than crisp. The yummy Brown Butter Frosting enforces that cake-like reputation. And speaking of brown butter! Yes, it deserves an exclamation point. I've seen other recipes where brown butter was called for, and I thought, "Surely, it doesn't make that much of a difference." Simply put: I was wrong. It adds a whole other dimension to the frosting and is the perfect accompaniment to this flavorful cookie.

If you'd like to reinforce the orange flavor, you could add a bit of orange zest to the batter. 

For the cookie platter, I decorated the frosted cookies with dried cranberries on some and walnuts on others (see the photo at the top). This "dresses up" the finished cookie, making it fancy enough for holiday trays. Holiday sprinkles would also add a festive touch. I highly recommend them for your Thanksgiving or Christmas get-togethers. Or they'd make a perfect gift from your kitchen this holiday season.

Frosted Cranberry Drop Cookies

From Taste of Home

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 tbsp. orange juice
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
Brown Butter Frosting
1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 to 4 tbsp. hot water or milk

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add milk, egg and orange juice; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in cranberries and nuts.

Use cookie scoop and put 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool and then frost. (My cookie scoop size made 3.5 dozen cookies.)

Frosting:
Heat butter in a saucepan over low heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes; transfer to small bowl. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until frosting reaches desired consistency. Frost the cookies.

Cookie Butter Bars

Speculoos doesn't sound too appetizing, does it? But speculoos is actually a Dutch spiced shortbread cookie that's very thin, crispy and caramelized with an intricate design on the front. The cookies are traditionally baked on or just before St. Nicolas Day in the Netherlands and Belgium and around Christmastime in Germany.

Photo by By Zerohund

But some smart person didn't want to keep that goodness locked into a December time frame and  transformed the cookies into a peanut-butter-like spread.

It's a tasty alternative for those poor, misguided folks who don't like peanut butter. My husband is among those people. He will eat PB, but he much prefers other options. And thus, Cookie Butter Bars were born. I took a recipe that used peanut butter and peanut butter chips and substituted cookie butter and white chocolate chips.

They are among the treats that have found their way into suppers during wheat planting time. Bar cookies are a quick alternative to scooping individual cookies, an important factor when combining baking with parts runs and fertilizer deliveries.

They would also be a tasty addition to a Halloween party. Or, if you know your treat or treaters, they would be a tasty homemade treat to share!

  Cookie Butter Bars

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup speculoos cookie butter (like Biscoff, found in peanut butter aisle)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet - your preference)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups miniature marshmallows

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10- by 15-inch pan with baking spray. Line with parchment paper. (This keeps the marshmallows from sticking to the pan, making for easier removal.)

In a large mixing bowl, mix together butter, cookie butter and sugars. Cream well. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.

Add dry ingredients, just until blended. Fold in chocolate and white chocolate chips and marshmallows.

Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-22 minutes or until light golden brown. (Ovens vary. so know your oven.) They will seem a little gooey, but they set up when cooled.

Aloha Paradise Bars: A Vacation for Your Mouth

Summer is vacation time for many of the world's inhabitants.
Summer is not vacation time for most farmers - including us.

So, sometimes, you may need a little taste of the tropics without leaving home. That kind of taste vacation doesn't provide any stunning vacation photos. But, if you close your eyes, these Aloha Paradise Bars may work for taste. And with Kansas' humidity this summer, it could feel like the tropics - minus the ocean, the sand between your toes and the palm trees. OK, never mind!

I found the recipe in the Stafford County Hospital's Cookbook: Working Hands, Caring Hearts. The recipe was from my friend, Shari Chansler, who, with her husband, Jim, owns our awesome hometown grocery store. Don't you just love using tried-and-true recipes from friends via community cookbooks?

I first made these bars for Memorial Day weekend and shared them with my family. Then I made some and included them in my freezer stash for harvest. There were definitely days when we needed a vacation from harvest woes. To paraphrase an old bubble bath commercial: Oh, Aloha Paradise Bars, take me away! I'm not sure it worked for the guys, but it was worth a try.

The bars start with a sugar cookie mix. Yes, we can all make sugar cookie dough from scratch, but sometimes we need a vacation and shortcut in the kitchen, too. Then, macadamia nuts, flaked coconut and dried pineapple mingle on top with white chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk for a taste of the tropics - whether you're eating them in a beach chair or finishing up another meal to the field with the car trunk as the dining room table.

Aloha Paradise Bars

Recipe from Shari Chansler

from the Stafford County Hospital Cookbook: Working Hands, Caring Hearts

1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz.) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 12-oz. bag white vanilla baking chips
1 cup coarsely chopped dried pineapple
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13- by 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In bowl, combine cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Press dough into the bottom of the baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. Sprinkle with white chocolate chips, pineapple, coconut and nuts. Drizzle evenly with condensed milk. Bake 30-35 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack. Cut into bars.

***

Today, I'm linked to Weekend Potluck, hosted by these bloggers. Check out the tried-and-true recipes from them and other foodies!

• Served Up With Love ~ Melissa
• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Sweet Little Bluebird~ Mary
• Mommy’s Kitchen~ Tina

Chocolate Cherry Bars

Pretty please with a cherry on top!

I remember saying it when I was a little girl when I really, really, really wanted something. I'm fairly confident it didn't work to sway my parents.

I thought of the phrase again when I added dried cherries to a chocolate chip bar cookie recipe. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate-covered cherries, but the tart dried cherries, teamed with both white and semi-sweet chocolate, were a tasty combination.

I left most of the bars plain, since I was just transporting them to the field for evening suppers. But I always like to figure out ways to make a Plain Jane bar fancy enough to put on a cookie tray or use for a women's luncheon. So I dressed up a few of the bars with some melted almond bark and used a decorator's tube to drizzle it in a zigzag pattern over cut bars. Then, I did put a cherry on top, using a little of the melted bark to make it stick.

If you had pink candy coating, that would add another pop of color. You could also make an icing with powdered sugar, maraschino cherry juice and a little butter and drizzle it on top for color. 

When I'm in a hurry, bar cookies are the answer, since you fix them, throw all the dough in a pan to bake at one time and then cut when cool. I especially like those recipes prepared in a jelly-roll pan because I can stretch them for even more meals to the field trips.

They would work well for a tailgate party, too. I'm hoping that my Wildcats can come back this week with a victory over UTEP.  Pretty please with a cherry on top?!

They'll have to do it without us, though, since we'll be staying home to plant wheat.

Chocolate Cherry Bars

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 5-oz. pkg. dried cherries
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, walnuts or macadamia nuts (opt.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 15- by 11-inch jellyroll pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugars until well blended. Add vanilla and eggs, mixing well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, dried cherries and nuts (opt.).

Spread evenly in the prepared baking pan, using a flat spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Don't overbake.

If you'd like to dress them up, you can melt 2 ounces of white candy coating in the microwave. Put in a decorator's tube and zig-zag over cut bars. Top with a dried cherry, using a little bit of melted candy to secure. 

Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Bars

Admittedly, these Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Bars aren't on the same level as the frosted sugar cookies my sister, Lisa, rolls out and turns into Santas, ornaments, stars and stockings each year. There's just something about biting into one of those cookies - lightly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside with the sweetness of almond-flavored homemade icing on top.

Yeah, these aren't those. On the other hand, these sugar cookie bars take about a 10th of the investment of time. And they still:
1) Taste good.
2) Look pretty on a cookie tray.

Score and score!

Cream cheese gives good flavor and moistness to the bars. The original recipe called for vanilla. I am a sucker for almond flavoring. (See above!) So that's what I used. They do have a taste and texture similar to the Lofthouse brand cookies you buy at the store. But this homemade version is better, even if it's square rather than round.

Decorate them with cute holiday sugars and sprinkles and you have a tasty alternative to rolled sugar cookies.

I will, however, be looking forward to Lisa's cutout sugar cookies on Christmas Eve. I won't lie. (No pressure, Lisa.)

Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Bars

Adapted from Cookies and Cups blog

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
2 tsp. almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Buttercream Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. milk
Food coloring (opt.)
Holiday sprinkles (opt.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a jelly roll pan (15- by 10- by 1-inch) with cooking spray.

In mixer, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar together. Add in egg and almond extract until incorporated. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Press dough into prepared pan. (Dough is sticky. It may help to use an offset spatula to help spread the dough.) Bake for 20 minutes until edges begin to turn golden brown. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:  Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in powdered sugar until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add almond extract and milk and mix well. Add a little more milk, if needed. Tint frosting as desired. Spread frosting over cooled bars. Decorate with sprinkles as desired. Cut into bars.

***

I will also be making these Caramel Chip Bars this week. Though they use a cake mix as a base, they are more candy than cake or cookie since they are packed with mini chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and caramel bits. Even though I'm trying to simplify and not make as many things this year, this recipe makes the cut. Yes, it's that good!

***

I'm linked today to Wake Up Wednesday through Wichita blogger Ashley's Kitchen Meets Girl. Need some other holiday cooking ideas? Click on the Wake Up Wednesday link. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars: A Classic Combo

Love and marriage.
Fred and Ginger. (Brad and Angelina just doesn't have the same ring.)
Pumpkins and fall.
Chocolate and peanut butter.
Some things just go together.

Randy would probably disagree. Peanut butter isn't his favorite. He's never going to choose to eat a peanut butter sandwich or smear peanut butter on a banana. But he will tolerate it in a cookie or quick bread. That's why I usually save the recipes with peanut butter for those times when I'm making a recipe to take somewhere else.

Jill sent me this recipe from a potluck at her work quite awhile ago.  I stirred up the recipe and took a plateful (along with barbecue meatballs) to a family who had gathered to say goodbye to their wife, mom and grandma.

The recipe is definitely going in the save pile.  The creamy peanut butter/sweetened condensed layer provided a burst of extra flavor.

Surely the oatmeal gives it a few redeeming qualities. I can always hope, right? Even Randy thought they were pretty good ... for peanut butter.

If you want to dress them up for a party or make them prettier for a cookie tray assortment, you could substitute mini M & Ms for the chocolate chips. Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 3/4 cups light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and baking soda in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in peanuts. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; set aside.

To the remaining crumbs, add beaten egg, mixing well. Press into bottom of a 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.

Stir together sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in small bowl until well combined. Pour evenly over partially-baked crust.

Stir together reserved crumb mixture and chocolate chips. Sprinkle evenly over peanut butter layer. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars.

***

Today, I am linked to Wake Up Wednesday, a feature co-hosted by Wichita blogger and fellow K-Stater Ashley. Check out what's cooking by clicking on the link.

Monster Taste

These Monster Cookie Bars are a twist on a classic cookie. They have the ingredients of Monster Cookies, but the dough is spread in a sheet cake pan instead of plopped onto cookie sheets for the traditional drop version. Quick and easy are as good a combination as M&Ms and peanut butter, don't you think?

I found the recipe on a favorite food blog, A Farmgirl's Dabbles. Brenda updates recipes from her South Dakota mom and grandmas, focusing on farm cooking, baking and family traditions. I think these bars will become a family tradition for us, too. I had printed out the recipe, and Jill put them together for harvest suppers in June. My cutest taste tester approved, and Jill wanted the recipe to take home.

It seemed a sure bet to make them again for a 4th of July potluck gathering Randy and I attended at Elm Mills with my brother and his family.

My intuitions were right: The whole plate of the M & M-dotted bars were gone before the first fireworks colored the night sky.

Want an explosion of flavor at your house, too? If you try them, let me know, OK?

Monster Cookie Bars

From A Farmgirl's Dabbles

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups peanut butter (crunchy or smooth. I like crunchy)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3-1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 12.6-oz. bag milk chocolate M&M's, divided
Sprinkles (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12- by 17-inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Set aside.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until incorporated. Add flour, oatmeal, baking soda, and salt, and mix again until incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and about half the M&M's. Press into prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining M & Ms, and, if you're baking for a special holiday, you can also add appropriate sprinkles. (I added red, white and blue star sprinkles for the 4th of July potluck.) Bake for 14 to 15 minutes. These bars are meant to be chewy, so do not over bake! Cool completely on wire rack, then cut into 48  bars. 

Notes: The original recipe called for a whole bag of chocolate chips and a whole bag of M & Ms. I didn't use quite that many. I had a partial bag of chocolate chips. I had mini M & Ms on hand. I put about half in the dough, then sprinkled the rest on top, making the bars more festive.

At A Farmgirl's Dabbles, Brenda dressed up her bars for the 4th by decorating with frosting and sprinkles. She says: "I used a can of fudge frosting that I picked up in the baking aisle. Place frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip and swirl the frosting onto the top of each bar. Add some red, white, and blue sprinkles, and you're set!"

***

It's Wednesday, so I'm again linked to another of my favorite food blogs, Wichitan Ashley's What's In Your Kitchen Wednesday.  Click on the link to see what's cooking in other people's kitchens.

Another Treat: Oreo Bars

Maybe you're looking for a homemade goodie for trick or treaters. Maybe you need a sweet treat for tailgating or for a football weekend in the comfort of your living room. (Go 'Cats! Beat West Virginia!) Or maybe you are looking for a new cookie to add to your holiday cookie trays.

These Oreo Bars fill the bill on all accounts. I know I got the recipe from a blog. I printed off the recipe and stuck it in my to-try-sometime pile. The time came. But then I discovered that I didn't print off the source. I did a little exploring of my usual blog haunts, but I couldn't find them again. I'd be glad to give credit where credit is due if only I could.

The recipe said it came from a friend. I think I'll be your friend for sharing this recipe with you - wherever it came from! Enjoy for trick-or-treaters, for football, for a cookie tray or just because!

Oreo Bars

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
2 cups crumbled Oreo cookies

Icing Glaze:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 to 4 tbsp. milk

For the brownies: Melt chocolate and 1/2 cup butter in microwave-safe bowl, heating in 1 minute intervals at 70 percent power. Stir after each minute and continue heating until completely melted, taking care not to burn. Let cool to room temperature.

Beat eggs and salt until very fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla. Fold in chocolate mixture. Add flour and gently fold until blended.

Pour batter into a greased 13- by 9-inch pan. Scatter crushed Oreos evenly over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until set.

For Icing Glaze: While the brownies are baking, heat 1/3 cup butter until melted. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until glaze is of desired consistency.

Once brownies are out of the oven, drizzle the glaze on top. Cool before cutting and serving.

Note: I used store brand chocolate sandwich cookies, not Oreos.