Bar Recipes and Stories

These two bar recipes are two of my favorites. Both are fairly easy to make. If your kids like peanut butter, the Peanut Butter Bars recipe almost certainly be a hit with them.

Peanut Butter Bars

A favorite from when I was a child. These are similar ®, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The promise of these for dessert always helped persuade me to eat more of my food! Could the work with your children!

2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 cup melted butter
1 cupPeanut Butter
2 cups powdered sugar
6 ounces chocolate chips

Mix all the above ingredients except the chocolate chips. Press the mixture into a 9 x 13 inch greased pan. Let's let it cool in the refrigerator. Melt the chocolate chips and on the top for frosting. Cut into bars. Kept in the fridge so they last longer.

Caramel Bars

This has always been a favorite around our house. Gooey Chocolate Carameland the crunch of the nuts on top. And justified as something healthy, finally, there is oatmeal in it. Something with oatmeal, is not all bad for you. It was always a big hit with sales of baked goods, and potluck picnic. Of course, was that they are out of the house provided. With five children in the house, one of us set aside the rule, at least on them before they ever get to it is guided target.

32 caramels
3 tablespoons cream (whipped cream works best)
3 tablespoons butter

CombineCaramel, cream and butter over very low heat. You can also melt them in the microwave. Heat only until melted. (This is important because it tends to burn otherwise.)

1 / 2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats (quick cooking kind)
3 / 4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 / 2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces chocolate chips
1 / 2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the 1 / 2 cup butter in the microwave. In a large bowl the melted butter,Flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Put 3 / 4 of mixture into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Pat down until it gets a solid crust. Bake crust for 10 minutes in the oven. Remove from oven and pour the caramel sauce over the crust. Sprinkle the chocolate chips, pecans, and the remaining crumbs over the top. Bake 15 minutes longer. Let it cool and cut them into bars.

Cooking With Chocolate

Besides eating and drinking for pleasure, chocolate is also used for cooking and baking, although not all are suitable for use by him in the kitchen. Some of the delicious desserts in the world are made of this, but cooking with it is also one of the biggest challenges. Before you try to cook with this, know some of the basics of chocolate cooking success!

The Process Of Baking Chocolate
All types of chocolate come fromThe seed of the cacao tree, their differences lie in how they are processed. It is used for baking has more cocoa butter, about 50 to 58 percent concentration, when the candy bars sold in stores. Even baking, bitter or unsweetened chocolate known, this kind of made of hardened chocolate liquor. The cocoa beans are ground and liquefied until the drink. The liquid is then poured into molds and allowed to solidify bars and then packaged and sold asUnsweetened dark. Unsweetened baking or type is, what will be used to make cakes, brownies and frosting, and is the chocolate of choice for most professional chefs. But for those in search of sweet versions, there are deviations from the unsweetened variety.

Bittersweet and semisweet, What's the difference?
If the sugar, vanilla and lecithin are added to the unsweetened chocolate, it is bitter, semi-sweet or sweet type, depending on howmuch sugar was added. Depending on which country you come from, there are different standards for the amount of cocoa mass in sweetened types required. According to the association of producers in the U.S., has semi-sweet types contain 15 to 35 percent cocoa mass, while bittersweet kind must contain at least 35 percent alcohol, chocolate. Unless the recipe states clearly that you have "sweetened," "Bittersweet" or "semisweet", the standard chocolate, most recipesdemand is unsweetened baking chocolate. Otherwise, you could have the recipe for ruin because the sugar contained in the rule and the lower percentage of cocoa mass in the sweetened versions could be a different mix and have less flavor.

Melting chocolate
It only takes a few minutes does not melt, as you probably know when you leave a bar in the car on a hot day. However, changes from solid to liquid a velvety, which also sees all the while, without ugly lumps that can be more challenging feat. Melting point perfectly and uniformly requires your full attention. In general, chocolate melts at about the same level as the average body temperature. Heating is too high to separate the cocoa butter chunks and mixed up, or simply, you can burn. Professional bakers use to melt a candy thermometer, melt dark chocolate heating to about 100 ° C to 120 ° F and white chocolate does not exceed 115 ° C.

Guilt-free> Chocolate Dessert
It does not mean that you purchase the type sweetened sweetened that your dessert healthier. Note that to sweeten the desserts, can still add sugar in the recipe over-all! There are alternatives, the diabetic chocolate, for those who want to watch their sugar, but still crave the sweet taste.

Make Your Own Cupcakes the Easy Way

Cupcakes are sometimes a better option, as opposed to full-fledged cake. If you expect to have a birthday party host and you are concerned that the desire, expensive cake you bought will not actually make the guests happy, so that some cupcakes to try out on its own. These cakes are very easy to do and it gives you plenty of room for experimentation. In addition, you can open up even in the inner artist and decorate the cupcakes in your own style.

The two basic cupcakes are vanilla cupcakethe chocolate cupcake. In both you will be 5 ounces (or 150 grams) butter, 5 ounces (or 150 grams) to super-fine sugar (powdered sugar too), 6 ounces (or 175 grams) of self-flour, 3 eggs and vanilla extract. In chocolate muffins, just add 2 tablespoons of cocoa.

In both recipes, follow the same procedure: pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or 180 degrees Celsius). Line your cupcake pan with cupcake papers (this caneasily in any supermarket or bakery products) are purchased. In a large bowl the eggs and beat lightly with a fork. Combine the eggs with all other ingredients and mix with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes or until they reach a creamy consistency. Carefully pour the mixture into each of the cases, cupcake, not leaving to spread, and thus roughly the same amount of dough allot in every case. The baking time is about 20 minutes, or until cupcakes are firm. Take itfrom the oven and let it cool before frosting each.

Some households have no working oven, but they have a working microwave. Guess what you can 'bake' chocolate muffins with the help of microwaves as well! You only need about ¾ cup flour, ½ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 and ½ teaspoon of vinegar, ½ teaspoon vanilla ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ cup vegetable oil and ½ cup water. Thiscertainly seems like a lot, but trust me, the end product is all worth it.

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Carefully add the remaining ingredients (oil, water, vinegar, vanilla) and stir continuously until the consistency is smooth. Make sure that your cupcake pan is microwaveable. Line the cupcake cases with cupcake paper and pour the batter into each until the cases are all half-full. Set your microwave on 'High' and set the timer for 2-3 Minutes. To prevent charring, or from places uncooked, half turn of the microwave plate per minute.

Old Fashion Recipe For Cream Filled Cupcakes and Karen's Buttercream Frosting

The low little cupcake has taken his own life. But you do not have to buy at the bakery. Make your own home crowned with that old fashion cream-filled chocolate cupcake recipe with Karen's Buttercream frosting. The kids will love them, they make a great snack after school. They are perfect for pitch-ins, meetings, etc. This is an old Iowa cupcake recipe.

CREAM FILLED Cupcakes

2 1 / 2 cups unsifted flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp bakingPowder
1 / 3 cup cocoa
1 / 4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 packet of vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa and salt together in a large bowl. The eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla and baking powder, which dissolved in the cup with hot water. Mix thoroughly. Line 36 muffin baking tins with cupcake liners. Fill out the individual lines to 2 / 3 full. Bake in the 350Degree oven for 20 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Fill with the filling down with a piping bag fitted with large rosette tip. Force the cream into the center of the cake. Frost with butter cream icing or sprinkle these tops with powdered sugar if desired.

Cream filling:

1 / 2 cup sugar
1 / 3 cup milk
2 / 3 cup shortening
1 / 4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water
1 / 2 tsp vanilla extract
1 / 2 cup powdered sugar

Combine sugar, milk,Shortening, salt, water and vanilla in a mixing bowl and hit enter on high speed of electric hand mixer for 7 minutes. Powdered sugar and continue beating for another 5 minutes.

KAREN'S Buttercream frosting

1 cup shortening
1 1 / 2 cups powdered sugar
1 / 4 cup evaporated milk
Pinch of salt
1 / 4 cup almond-flavored

In a medium bowl, mix the shortening, powdered sugar, milk and salt. If the mixture is well mixed, add the almonds (or vanillaif you prefer) flavor. Beat at high speed for 5 minutes. This will frost a layer cake, sheet cake or 24 to 36 muffins. Add food coloring if desired.

Enjoy!