Mud Hen Bars

I should seriously change the name of this blog to Muriel Bakes! Gosh, I sure do bake a lot don't I!  I hope that once we get moved into our new place that I will get the motivation to start cooking again.  

Anyways, I was browsing through Pinterest the other day, when I came across this delicious looking bar recipe that I knew at once I HAD to make!  These were AMAZING!  I know I say that about everything, but I'm really not messing around this time.  These bars are good!!!  I had all the ingredients on hand too which worked out perfectly for my crazy craving :)  So here my friends, is one delicious recipe that you can all whip up for those get togethers you may have planned for the weekend!  Enjoy!

Recipe:

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, divided (1 egg, 2 yolks, and 2 egg whites)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I added this)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped nuts (I left these out)
1 cup light brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and granulated sugar until creamy. Beat in 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks (put aside the whites for later.) Beat in the vanilla extract.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Blend until just combined. Spread mixture into 9x13" pan. Sprinkle with marshmallows, chocolate chips, and nuts-if using.

4. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the brown sugar. Spread mixture evenly over marshmallows and chocolate chips. Bake for about 30 minutes or until bars are a deep golden brown. Let bars cool completely. Cut into squares and serve

(Recipe Source: Two Peas & Their Pod)

Cake Batter Rice Krispies

K, so I have majorly been trying to avoid the whole "pinterest" thing, because I knew once I started I would never want to stop! And lets just say; I AM ADDICTED! There are so many talented people out there that are so creative and have the greatest ideas! 

While I was browsing through all of the amazing boards, I came across so many different recipes that I immediately bookmarked.  These rice krispies just happen to be one of the many things that I had on my 

"Must-Make" list.  I just happen to have a yellow cake mix on hand and some rice krispies, so I gave them a whirl and I must say that they were quite good! Every one ate them up real quick. They would be a great treat to serve at any party or get together.

Recipe:

4 Tbsp. Butter 

1 (10oz) bag of mini marshmallows

1/4 cup yellow cake mix

6 cups of rice krispies

1 (1.75oz) jar of sprinkles

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and marshmallows together stirring consistently.  While the marshmallows are melting, slowly add in the cake mix till everything is well incorporated.  

Once everything is melted, stir in the rice krispies and most of the bottle of sprinkles (reserve just a few sprinkles to sprinkle over the tops for some rice krispie "jewelry". 

Store in an airtight container.  That's if there are any left to store :)

(Recipe Source: How Sweet Eats)

Smookies+ Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok so I am super excited to share this recipe with you because, well, these little babies are soooooo good (and I just love their name :) ) 

When I first came across this recipe on Tasty Kitchen I knew at once I had to make them.  I know, I know, I say that about almost every recipe that I try but really, I KNEW I had to make these. I love smore's so much and when I saw these cookies turned into smore's (hence the name Smookies; smore's+cookies=smookies)  well, i was a goner. 

I got to work immediately making some of my favorite chocolate chip cookies. (Recipe included in this post)  I don't know if I have ever admitted, but I have just recently discovered Nutella. Don't get me wrong I have always heard about the stuff but never had given it a chance till about a week ago, and all I can say is WOW i sure have been missing out! I am officially a Nutella fan now! The original smookie recipe called for a chocolate ganache ,but I wanted to put my Nutella to use, and I have to say it was a major success!  If your not a Nutella fan that's ok, I have included the chocolate ganache that the recipe originally calls for.

Trust me when I say, your families will love you even more for making these treats! I know that The Hubs would love me a whole lot more if I would make these again. He was pretty upset that he only got one!

Recipe:

(This recipe will make 18 smookies)

For the Chocolate Chip Cookies:

3/4 cup shortening (all-vegetable shortening Crisco)

1 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp. Milk

1 Tbsp. Vanilla

1 whole egg

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the Smookie:

36 large marshmallows

1 large container of Nutella

Or for the Chocolate Ganache:

4 oz of bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup heavy cream

For the cookies, cream together the shortening and brown sugar till it is light and fluffy.  Beat in the milk, vanilla, and egg.  Next, stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Stir till well combined.  Next slowly mix in the chocolate chips. 

Using a cookie scoop, (or just a tablespoon) drop 12 rounded spoonfuls onto a lined baking sheet (using parchment paper or a silicone liner). Bake @ *375 for 8-10 minutes.  Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely.  (This recipe will make 3 dozen cookies, or 18 smookies)

To assemble the Smookie: Take 2 cooled cookies, and spread 2 Tbsp. of Nutella or ganache on the bottom cookie. Top with 2 large marshmallows and the other cookie. Wrap each smookie in foil and either bake in the oven @ *350 for 6-8 minutes or on the grill for the same time. Serve immediately!

(recipe source: For the Cookie, on the crisco container, and here for the Smookie)

Smore's Bars

I have been craving summer lately... Even though where I live, the weather would have you believing that it was summer right now,  I have been craving things like boating, hiking, and camping. You know, summer things!  So since I can't have the campfire and camping right now, I thought I would bring it to us! These smore's bars seriously might just be my new favorite treat! And that's saying something considering what a sweet eater that I am! These bars along with my tin-foil dinners (recipe to come tomorrow) had us all singing around the kitchen table (ok, not really. But that would have been fun!)

Recipe:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick softened)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5-6 regular sized Hershey bars (or for a more prominent chocolate flavor use 2 king size Hershey bars)
1 (7oz) jar Marshmallow Fluff (next time I am going to use 2 jars to make it more marshmallowy)

Preheat the oven to *350.  Lightly grease an 8x8 baking dish.

Cream together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Beat till well incorporated.  Next, mix together the flour, graham cracker crumbs (to get crumbs, I chopped mine in the food processor) salt, and baking powder. Slowly add to the creamed butter mixture.  Press half of the mixture into the prepared pan.

Next, lay out the chocolate bars (you may have to break them apart to fit in the pan) On top of that, evenly spread the marshmallow cream. Now this next part can be a little tricky. I just used my hands and flattened the remainder dough to fit over the top of the marshmallow.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Let cool completely.

(recipe source: The Girl Who Ate Everything) 

Cocoa Rice Krispie Treats a Classic

So we have a busy weekend ahead of us with "The Final Four" college basketball games pretty much right around the corner and then our church's General Conference also this weekend, we have got lots going on!

So what better to make while watching all of these lovely programs than the classic Rice Krispie treat, (well almost classic) we like ours with cocoa krispies and chocolate chips throughout. Seriously whip up a batch of these bad boys this weekend.  I promise you wont be let down!

Recipe:

3 Tbsp. Butter (melted)

1 (16 oz) bag marshmallows (we like ours extra gooey)

5-6 cups Cocoa Krispies Cereal

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large pot, melt the butter and marshmallows, stirring constantly to avoid any burning (about 5 minutes) When melted stir in the cereal and chocolate chips. Transfer to a lightly buttered 9x13 dish and press down to form the treats. Let the treats cool and set up about an hour (or if you are like us you eat them straight out of the pan as soon as they are cool enough to eat!)

Happy Friday and hope you all have an amazing weekend!