January 30: Toasted Oat Breakfast Bars

Toasted Oat Breakfast Bars

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
4 cups toasted oat cereal
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup lightly salted or unsalted roasted peanuts

1. Line a 8-inch square pan with nonstick foil, or line it with regular foil and spray the foil with flour-added baking spray.
2. In a large, nonstick saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the salt and marshmallows and stir until the marshmallows are melted. Stir in the peanut butter and milk powder. Remove from the heat and stir in the cereal, cranberries, and peanuts. Place the mixture in the prepared pan and press down. Let cool completely in the pan, then lift from the pan, set on a cutting board, and score into 16 bars, using a large knife.

Addition of salt and marshmallows

Addition of milk powder

Addition of peanut butter

Addition of toasted oats (Cheerios), dried cranberries and peanuts

Thoughts: Another very easy recipe. There were no problems making it, however, when the bars were cooled, it was extremely difficult to cut them into easy pieces. It was very crumbly and didn't stay together very well. I thought they were very bland with a hint of sweetness from the marshmallows. Since I'm writing about this a week after, I can say when I brought them to work, they weren't a big hit. I think only 2 pieces were eaten in a week. Fail I guess?!

October 6: Noodle Cookies

Noodle Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups chow mein noodles
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup unsalted or lightly salted peanuts
2/3 cup butterscotch chips
4 oz dark chocolate, or about 16 Dove or Hershey's Bliss squares

1. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment paper. Make sure it's one that's small enough to fit in the fridge.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the noodles, marshmallows, and peanuts. Set aside.
3. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine the butterscotch chips and chocolate; heat at 50% power, stirring every 60 seconds, until melted and smooth. With a rubber scraper, scrape the chocolate into the noodle mixture and stir to coat the mixture. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Chill until firm.

Dry ingredients

Chocolate and Butterscotch Chips

Before...

And after...

Thoughts: Anytime there is a no bake cookie, its easy. The most difficult part was properly melting the chocolate. I used roasted peanuts and 1.25 Dove chocolate bars. Patrick thought they were pretty awesome....I thought they were just ok.