Apricot, Caramel, Coconut DOUBLE Crumb Bars

My grandma's favorite Starbucks treat was always their "Signature Coffee Cake." If she was feeling especially indulgent on a Sunday afternoon after church, we would go to Starbucks and she would order a piece. I never quite understood her fascination with it, once you got through the crumbly topping, the cake was kind of a let down. But that crumble on top..... it is kind of amazing. I would nibble on that and let grandma have the cake. Well, in the spirit of a good crumbly topping, I give you Apricot, Caramel, Coconut DOUBLE Crumb Bars. I just love buttery crumbly streusel so when I made these crumble bars I decided to double the streusel and it was a gooood plan. The thick crumble is dotted with butterscotch chips and surrounds a sweet gooey center of caramel, coconut and apricot. The caramel gives a creamy honeyed flavor that perfectly complements the cakey crisp topping. Yum!

Apricot, Caramel, Coconut DOUBLE Crumb Bars

Adapted from Pillsbury.com

4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 package butterscotch chips

2 cups butter, cut up

1 cup apricot preserves

1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping

3/4 cup unsweetened or sweetened shredded coconut

Heat oven to 350°F.

In food processor bowl with metal blade, put flour, sugar and butter.

Cover; process with on-and-off pulses until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. (Or, in a bowl, mix flour and sugar; cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.) Mix in butterscotch chips.

In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan, evenly press half of crumb mixture.

In medium bowl, mix preserves, caramel topping and coconut.

Spread over crumb mixture to within 1/2 inch of edges.

Sprinkle remaining crumb mix evenly over apricot mixture to edges of pan.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool completely, about 2 hours before cutting into bars.

Have a sweet day!

Linking to Under the Table and Dreaming

Butterflake Rolls

Today I am sharing one of my absolute favorite recipes. Butterflake Rolls. I first made these for Christmas dinner this year, and although a bit labor intensive, they are some of the best rolls I have ever had, heck they are one of the best foods I have ever had. Flaky, yeasty bread, layers of butter and a melt in your mouth texture. This recipe makes a large batch but they are easy to freeze and defrost later. The amount of flour that goes into these will really depend on the climate you're in. If it is a humid day you will need to add more, if it is a dry day, less. The trick is to add enough so that the dough doesn't stick to everything. I do it little by little and when I can poke the dough and it doesn't stick to my fingers, I figure that it's enough (a little trick my older sis taught me). I also vary the number of layers depending on how buttery I want them, so feel free to play around with the recipe and find what works for you. That's part of the fun of cooking, right? Taking a recipe and making it your own. I hope you all love these as much as me and my family do, and have a beautiful day!

Butterflake Rolls

From Jean Groberg, the Family Cookbook Project

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons instant/fast acting yeast

3/4 cup lukewarm water

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups hot water (NOT boiling)

6 to 8 cups flour

1 can evaporated milk (1 1/2 cups)

1 stick soft butter (more or less depending on how much butter you like)

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water, set aside.

Beat eggs with a mixer until fluffy, add sugar, salt, milk and hot water.

Add yeast mixture. Slowly add up to 5 cups of the flour (if it is too goopy to form a dough, add more flour until it is wet, but workable).

Turn out on floured board (or oiled counter top) and knead in the remaining flour (be sure to flour your hands first!). Knead gently, keeping dough light, add more flour as needed to create a wet but not sticky dough.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Using your hands, spread dough with soft butter (like I said, however much you would like, for me more butter is always better so I use about two tablespoons). Cut dough in half and stack together. Roll again, adding more soft butter as needed on each layer.

Do this several times (I do this four times, cause I like butter).

On final time roll out until 3/4 inch thick.

Cut in circles, using a small glass about 2 inches across. The dough should be quite light.

Place each circle of cut layered dough on its side in a muffin tin cup. Cover dough with a damp towel and set aside to rise for two or three hours, until nicely puffed up. When ready to bake, brush tops of rolls with more butter, a pastry brush works well here. Bake at 375º for 8 to 10 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen rolls.

I would love to know some of your favorite recipes! If you have a link to one of em feel free to leave it in the comment section and I will check it out.

Snickers

Caramel. Peanuts. Nougat. Peanut Butter. Chocolate. It's the HOLIDAY season, guys! What's a holiday without a bit (or a bunch) of indulgence! We can all make a heartfelt New Years resolution in January to cut down on sugar, carbs, eat more veggies, blahblahblah. For now, I would suggest you indulge in a batch of homemade snickers. Ok, these will seriously test your self control, which is why I ended up giving most of them away... cause I apparently don't have such good self-control. Therefore, when I know something as DELISH as these bars is lurking in my freezer, I find every excuse possible to take a trip to the kitchen to partake in the candy goodness. I had them in the house for a total of two days and and probably ate a third of the batch myself. So I decided, in the interest of my health and impending sugar coma, I had better wrap these beauties up and bestow the goodness on some well deserving friends (I became quite popular by the way). I recommend making them in stages. They really aren't difficult, they just require freezing between each layer. You can dip each bar individually in chocolate, but in the interest of time and laziness, I skipped this step. The end result? Chewy, peanutty, carmelly, chocolaty.... fabulous.

My kitchen helper.... Too bad dogs can't eat chocolate...

Ok, now the recipe!

Homemade Snickers

From Instructables contributer Canida

Ingredients:

2 cups chocolate chips or coarsely chopped bar (I used a mix of milk chocolate Hershey's bar and chocolate chips), divided in half

1/2 cup butterscotch chips, divided in half

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, divided into 3 parts (1/4 cup)

5.5 tablespoons butter (divided: 4 Tbsp and 1.5 Tbsp)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk, divided in half

1.5 cups marshmallow fluff

1 teaspoon vanilla

1.5 cups salted peanuts, chopped (or substitute nuts of your choice)

1 pound chewy caramels

Optional: (if coating the sides of your bars)

1 cup chocolate chips or chopped bar

1/4 cup butterscotch chips

1/4 creamy peanut butter

Prep

Line your pan with waxed paper or plastic wrap making sure there's plenty of extra draped over the sides and ends of the pan.. I used plastic wrap but next time I'm using waxed paper as some of the caramel stuck to the plastic wrap.

Bottom chocolate layer

Combine 1 cup chocolate, 1/4 cup butterscotch, and 1/4 cup peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 20-second increments, stirring each time, until all ingredients melt together smoothly. Pour into your pan, and spread in an even layer. Stick the pan in the fridge or freezer to set, at least one hour, I recommend overnight.

Nougat Layer

Combine 4 Tbsp butter, 1 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup evaporated milk in small heavy-bottomed pot. Heat on low until the mixture melts, mixes, and starts to bubble. Stir as necessary. Remove from heat, and add 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 cup peanut butter, and 1.5 cups marshmallow fluff. Stir until all ingredients are melted and smoothly combined, then let it cool slightly. Pour into your pan on top of the chocolate, and spread in an even layer. Stick the pan back into the freezer to set.

Caramel and Peanut Layer

Combine 1/4 cup evaporated milk, 1.5 Tablespoons butter, and pound of caramels in the (cleaned) small pot, or melt in increments in the microwave. Stir frequently until the caramels melt into the milk and butter. Allow to cool until it's not going to burn you. Coarsely chop the 1.5 cup peanuts, and stir into the caramel. Pour caramel/peanut mixture into your pan, and spread in an even layer. Stick the pan back in the freezer to set.

Top chocolate layer

- Melt 1 cup chocolate, 1/4 cup butterscotch chips, and 1/4 cup peanut butter, just like you did for the bottom layer. Pour into your pan, and spread in an even layer on top of the caramel.

Stick the pan back in the freezer to set.

Chop

When completely set, remove pan from the freezer, and lift up the waxed paper or plastic to remove the frozen snickers. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Use a sharp, heavy kitchen knife to cut the rough edges off your block, making the edges nice and square and tidy (You can eat the not so pretty ones). Cut into bars. This can be a bit tricky if the bars have not softened enough or have softened too much. Return the block to the freezer as needed to solidify, as it cuts much more tidily when firm.

Dip edges (optional)

Melt 1/2 cup chocolate, 1/4 cup butterscotch chips, and 1/4 cup peanut butter, as you did for the top and bottom layers. Take each individual bar and dip each edge in the melted chocolate mixture. Set on waxed paper and stick in freezer or fridge to dry and set.

Happy Holidays!!

Linking to This Week's Cravings.

Whisked Away Wednesday: Cooking Light Coconut Lime Banana Bread

I love a good banana bread! I have tried many different recipes but this one is my favorite by far! It is super moist, flavorful, and it is based on a cooking light recipe so it's pretty healthy to boot! I have made it countless times and every time it is a hit! I made this batch for work, so I actually made one batch and cooked it in a loaf pan, then made another batch, added in butterscotch chips, and made a mini loaf and mini muffins (I have a lot of coworkers!). The addition of butterscotch makes it a little extra decadent, it is good with walnuts mixed in as well. The rum, and lime glaze give it a refreshing tropical vibe and the coconut gives the bread a satisfying crunch! Make sure to use fresh squeezed lime juice for the glaze as it really does make a difference! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Coconut lime Banana Bread

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

To get 1 loaf, mini muffins, and a small loaf pan just double recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

3 tablespoons rum

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1 1/2 cup butterscotch chips (optional)

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Stir together granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl. Add eggs, beating well.

Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; mix until blended. Add flour mixture; stir together just until moist.

Stir in 1/2 cup coconut

Add in butterscotch chips if using

Spoon batter into a 9x5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. For mini muffins just cook for 30 minutes, small loaf pan 40-45 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan.

Glaze

Ingredients

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice

Combine powdered sugar and juice. Drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely on wire rack

For mini muffins just cook for 30 minutes, small loaf pan 40-45 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Calories:193, Fat: 4.6g, Protein: 2.9g, Carbohydrate: 35g, Fiber:1.1g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Iron: 1mg, Sodium: 179mg,

Calcium: 15mg

Jean Patterson, Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2007