Whole Wheat Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate Chips
I first made these oatmeal peanut butter bars about six years ago, and they were an instant hit at home and at parties and picnics. The rich flavor belies their simplicity—an oatmeal peanut butter cookie crust with chocolate chips sprinkled on top then drizzled with peanut butter glaze—and they always garner “ohs” and “ahs” when served to peanut butter and chocolate lovers. Because I’m trying to switch over to whole grains in all our baking, I’ve swapped out the all-purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour, but you can use unbleached all-purpose flour if you cannot find whole wheat pastry flour in your area.
The dough is pretty sticky and will even cling to silicone spatulas, so I just wet my hands and press the dough into the pan with my fingers, and it doesn’t stick to me. Read more
Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream
“I would have never guessed,” Michael said after sampling the custard for the Guinness chocolate ice cream.
It wasn’t an ice cream flavor that immediately came to mind for me, either, but I wanted to make some easy and tasty treats for St. Patrick’s Day using Guinness, and the recipe jumped out at me from the pages of my favorite ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.
The flavor is rich with a slight hint of yeast. I noticed the yeast aroma was strong when I opened the container with the unfrozen custard, but it wasn’t as noticeable after churning. After churning and freezing, the ice cream had a soft serve consistency, probably due to the alcohol which doesn’t freeze as quickly as water or dairy products. It was melting as fast as I could shoot with my camera.
David mentions a variation with oatmeal praline that would add a delicious crunch to the soft ice cream, and we would enjoy a scoop on top of Guinness Gingerbread.
More Ice Cream Recipes
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Guinness Gingerbread
I realize this is not a traditional St. Patrick’s Day recipe by any means, but it is a tasty way to use Guinness Stout, the king of Irish stouts, in your baking. Guinness and chocolate are a perfect pair, and they work especially well with the spicy ginger, pepper, and smoky cinnamon. The gingerbread only takes a few minutes to mix up, so it’s a quick and easy dessert to serve at a St. Patrick’s Day celebration or any time of year.
The gingerbread was a hit at our house and Michael even said it was the best gingerbread he’d ever tasted as he went back for seconds. The flavor and moistness kept us coming back for more.
More Recipes For St. Patrick’s Day
Chocolate Mousse
There is something romantic about mousse. Perhaps it’s the chocolate or the combination of light airiness and rich flavor, but whatever it is I think chocolate mousse makes a perfect treat for Valentines or any other romantic occasion.
The first time I made this mousse was by special request of my friend Rose. It’s her favorite dessert and she loaned me her copy of Julia Child’s The Way to Cook so I could make this for her. It was the first Julia Child recipe I ever made and after tasting the rich, decadent chocolate I knew this would be my go to recipe for chocolate mousse. I decided I needed my own copy of this informative cookbook and it’s now one of my favorites.
I have made some minor modifications to suit my taste. Child’s recipe calls for sweet or semisweet baking chocolate, but I use a mix of semisweet and bittersweet. She also said to put the mixing bowl on ice when whipping the cream, but I cheat and chill the bowl in the refrigerator instead. Once it’s made, the mousse needs several hours to chill, so plan ahead, but it’s well worth the wait. The recipe makes enough for up to eight servings, so I’ve included instructions to make it for two.
RAW EGG WARNING: You should take care to use the freshest available eggs and make sure that they are stored properly.
More Ideas For Valentine’s Day
Mocha Toffee Bars – 12 Days of Cookies
Day 11 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I can’t believe it’s almost over. I had my eye on these mocha toffee bars because I adore chocolate and coffee together, and after making and enjoying them I’ve converted Michael as well. He even asked if we could add these to our annual Christmas cookie list along with the Cajun macaroons, so we have found a couple new favorites.
The cookies are straightforward and easy to make. The only trouble I ran into was baking time. My oven tends to run cool, plus my jelly roll pan doesn’t exactly heat evenly so the sides were done before the middle was even set. I ended up with crispy edges and chewy middle.
The coffee flavor is in the shortbread crust, and I simply use instant coffee and add a little extra coffee to the hot water. The original recipe calls for espresso powder, which isn’t always easy to find.. The chocolate topping is simply melted semi-sweet chocolate chips poured right onto the hot shortbread, though I mixed dark and semi-sweet chips. The chopped cashews are roasted and salted, a nice contrast to the slightly dark chocolate topping.
Curled Wafers – 12 Days of Cookie
Day 3 of the 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I’m still doing crispy cookies. It wasn’t intentional, just kind of happened that way. These particular cookies caught my eye because of the beautiful designs. Gourmet says these Scandinavian inspired krumkake were originally made with an iron held over a hot stove, but they used a pizzelle maker and got wonderful results, and immediately I knew I needed to break out our pizzelle maker.
This recipe is lighter than Italian pizzelles and has no leavening like many of the pizzelle recipes I’ve seen, and they turn out perfectly crisp and light. These would be tasty filled with a little citrus scented whipped cream, though I don’t think my hips could take it. All my boys, Michael included, were so excited when I made these and have enjoyed them immensely. If you have a cone roller, these would make fun ice cream cones or you could press them into a muffin tin and make ice cream bowls.
I will certainly be making these again, and I envision flavoring them with lemon or orange zest or even making a chocolate version.
Be sure to visit all the other members of our cookie clan to see what cookies they chose as well as the Gourmet website to see all their favorite cookies from 1941-2008.
The Rest of the Cookie Baking Clan
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Sandy of The Baker’s Bench
Jerry of Cooking By the Seat of My Pants
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
More Cookies From This Blog
CURLED WAFERS
Equipment
stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer and mixing bowl)
pizzelle maker
Ingredients
3 eggs
1/2 cup (175 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (60 mil) cold water
1/2 cup (1 stick/113 g) butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (120 g) sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
Preparation
1. Warm the pizzelle maker while you mix the ingredients.
2. In the bowl of the stand mixer (or bowl with hand mixer) beat the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is light.
3. Add the cold water, cooled butter, vanilla, and flour. Mix on low until the batter is smooth.
4. Pour 1 tablespoon of the batter onto the heated pizzelle maker and close the top. Cook according to the manufacturer’s directions, usually 30-60 seconds. Gently lift with a fork or silicone spatula and roll. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Store in a tin, not airtight, away from other cookies. They need exposure to air to stay crispy.
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Source: adapted from Gourmet
