Two plus Two's

Growing up my mom would often make this recipe for us, and it's safe to say that they disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared.  The name comes from the fact that all of the ingredients are done in 2's.  They are a yummy soft oatmeal bar with delicious chocolate frosting.  They are a tried and true family favorite for me, hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

2 sticks of butter (1 cup total)
2 cups of brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
2 cups of oatmeal

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs and beat well, then add the flour until well mixed, then add the oatmeal and mix until well incorporated.  Press mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.  Place pan in pre-heated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  

Frosting:
2 sticks Butter, Softened
4 cups Powdered Sugar
3/4 cups Cocoa Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Heavy Cream (more To Taste)

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter until totally soft and smooth. Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt, then add gradually to the mixer, scraping the sides as you go. (When combined, mixture will be very thick/crumbly.) Drizzle in cream and whip on high until smooth, scraping the sides as you go. 

Once bars are completely cooled, frost with chocolate frosting.  Then cut and enjoy their yummy goodness!

Mint Brownies

1 cups (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 (10-ounce) package Creme de Menthe baking chips (recommended: Andes)
Shaved Creme de Menthe thins (recommended: Andes)
Chocolate frosting

Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/3 cup cocoa
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.
Using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, mixing well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Gradually stir into butter mixture. Fold in mint chips. Spoon into greased pan. Bake for 35 minutes.
While brownies are baking, prepare frosting. Combine butter, cocoa, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until dry ingredients are moistened. Beat at high speed until spreading consistency.
Remove pan from the oven and allow brownies to cool in pan on wire rack. Spread with chocolate frosting. Top with shaved mint thins.

Carmelitas

This is by far my favorite dessert recipe I've tried over on Pinterest. They were super Yummo! This devine find came from lulu the baker over at  http://luluthebaker.blogspot.com/2010/10/carmelitas.html

32 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.
*A stint in the fridge will help them cool off if you're pinched for time. They shouldn't be served cold, but all of that molten caramel takes a long time to cool down. They should be stored and served at room temperature.
**If you want to use homemade or store-bought caramel sauce in place of the caramel/cream mixture, use 1 1/4 cups of sauce.
***To make a 9x13" version, simply double the amounts. 

Coconut Chews

This is a recipe that my mom had when we were growing up.  It's a yummy shortbread crust topped with a chewy coconut filling.  If you are a fan of coconut like I am you are sure to love this one!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup pecans chopped


Cut butter into flour, sugar, and salt with pastry blender. Press into 8x12-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes. While crust is baking, prepare topping: Beat brown sugar and eggs together till smooth. Add vanilla, coconut, and nuts. Carefully spread over baked crust, then return to oven and continue baking for 25 minutes longer. Cut into squares while warm. Cool, then cover pan to store. Makes 24 bars.

Peggys Peanut Butter Bars

This recipe comes from some dear family friends growing up.  It's a hearty bar that tastes like a healty reeses peanut butter cup.  It is delicious!

3 C. Flour
3 C. Oatmeal
1 1/2 tsp. Soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C. Sugar
1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Cubes Margarine
1 C. peanut Butter
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
3 eggs
1 package milk chocolate chips

Cream butter and Sugar until smooth, add vanilla eggs and then peanut butter.  Add dry ingredients and mix them well.  Press into a jelly roll pan, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Melt chocolate chips either in a double boiler or in the microwave in a bowl.  Once they are melted and smooth, spread over the top of the cooked bars.  Once cooled cut into bars and serve.

Lemon Crumb Squares

I bought a large bag of Lemons the other day while shopping and have been looking for great uses for all of my fresh lemons before they go bad.  I ran across this yummy recipe over at The Girl Who Ate Everything.  I can always count on her for great recipes, so I decided to give this one a tray.  There were a few things I would do differently, but I'll post those as we go along.   These were fresh, tangy and a wonderful treat to share with my girlfriends for our "Emergency Night Out".  They were very quick to make and definitely worth the effort.  I think that next time I will try adding some fresh blueberries or raspberries on top of the lemon mixture to change things up.  You could do just about anything with them and they would still me fabulous I am sure!!

1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1½ sticks of butter, slightly softened

1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)

1 cup oats

1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk

½ cups lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.

Press half of oat crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan. You can use a 9 x 13 pan; it will just be thinner.

Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. The other half of the crumb mixture mix and knead together with clean hands so that the butter that you added earlier gets incorporated .  If this mixture seems too dry add a little more butter.  You want the top to be a thick crumbly texture, nof fine in texture once you have mixed it together then crumble on top of lemon layer but don’t press.  It should resemble the top of an "apple crisp".

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.

Serve cool. Makes around one dozen.