Mmmmminty

Last night as I was cuddling with my husband watching some tv. After a long day and even longer weekend of him begin gone. I was hit with the over whelming craving for something mint. Chocolaty mint to be exact. After consulting my dear husband as to him desire, I set off to make some brownies. 

This recipe I got from my mother, who got it from her mother and I have no idea where it came from before that. But it's amazing. You might notice in the picture that the brownie seems small. Well it is, but trust me if you did a normal size slice you will find yourself possibly outmatched in richness. Besides you can always go back for more- which I do.

These are called Mint Sticks, and they are fantastic. A slight resemblance to Andres mints, which indecently are also fantastic. 

Here is the much awaited recipe. 

2 sq unsweetened chocolate (or 6T cocoa+2T oil/shortening)

1/2 C margarine, melted

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1/2 C flour (optional 1/2C shredded almonds)

1/2t peppermint flavoring or 3 drops oil of peppermint

Combine eggs, margarine and sugar well. Add chocolate and peppermint, stir till blended. Add flour, Mix well. Pour into a greased 9" square pan. Bake at 350* 25-30 min.  

Frosting

2T margarine

1T milk or cream

Blend well

Add 1C powder sugar, shifted

and 1t peppermint flavoring  or drop of oil of peppermint 

After brownies are cooled. Frost when firm

Spread: 1 square of Chocolate, unsweetened (or 3T cocoa+1T oil)

with 1T margannine Melt and mix. 

Spread the mixture over the frosting on the brownies.

Refrigerate and cut into "sticks" of 48 pieces. size should be 3/4x 2 1/4 

These are so very addicting (granted if you are not fond of mint or chocolate you will be able to withstand their tempting powers) you will be sneaking pieces with out your children seeing you. Like a drug addict.  

Tasty Lemon Bars

We have all seen the latest craze on Pinterest, right? If you are still in the dark check out the picture below. 

Yes, know you remember! Its the pictures of the two ingredient recipes. And you look at them and think, "Can it really be that simple?" Well I have been slowly trying some of these that I come across. This one I was pretty excited about. I love Angel Food cake, use to request it for my birthday cake. The best part is the crust, mmm. And I like fruit things. How could these two items result in anything but delicious-ness?
This Recipe comes from "Living Practical" (see site link at the bottom of post.)

You mix the two things together. When I first started I didn't think they would mix well, or that there would be enough moist for all that mix. But some how it mixed. Kinda foamed out almost, very interesting to see. 

Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake it. 350* for about 20 min. 

This was my "helper" while I was trying to cook this desert (I was also trying to warm up the house with out turning on the heat.) No he wasn't sick, he's just a goof. And thought that I needed a speed bump in my tiny kitchen. 

You cook the dish till it's a light golden brown, once you take it out you can sprinkle powder sugar over it. I really enjoyed eating it, more pieces then I should eat at one time. And my bible study group enjoyed it to. I have to say that keeping two items around that you can throw together quickly, brilliance. But of course you should always test drive the recipe, after all, you wouldn't wanna take credit for a nasty dish. 

http://livingpractically.blogspot.com/2011/04/two-ingredient-lemon-bars.html#comment-form

Surprising No-Bakes...

Let me start off with, if I had known how cold it was going to be today, yesterday's no-bakes would have been a bake. And there is a good chance that I will be baking something ANYTHING to help warm the house up. Last night before I headed off to bed I opened my house up. Hoping that we could survive the unusually warm weather the following day. And true to Idaho weather, today's high is a forecast of 56 but the real feel is 53. I will say this for Idaho weather, if you don't like it, wait....it will change.
So back to the no-bakes. I am very fond of baking, not so much of cooking. I would not be able to tell you why I prefer the one to the other, I just do. And when it's hot the last thing I want to do is add to the heat by turning the oven on. So the no bake offers a wonderful option.
The sad thing is since I have moved here there has only been one successful batch of No-bakes, and it was not for lack of trying. Most of the no bakes are little drops of mushy mess. The only one that came out right was a batch that a good friend gave me. Including her recipe + all the ingredients. That batch was tasty, delicious and in cookie form. The rest I would have to scoop up with my fingers and eat quickly before it would drip all over. They tasted okay, but not as good as the actual cookies should be.
Glutton for punishment I decided to try again. I used a recipe off of pinterest.
Easy enough and I had all ingredients. So away I went.
Here is the recipe courtesy of "Lick the Bowl Good"

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 stick oleo, margarine or butter (I used butter)
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups oatmeal (old fashioned rolled oats, not instant)

Mix the sugar, butter, cocoa, and milk in a medium saucepan.* Boil for 1 minute.

Add the peanut butter and vanilla. Mix quickly until peanut butter melts, then add the oatmeal and mix til well blended.

Drop spoonfuls on tin foil, wax paper or parchment. Allow to set and cool completely.

She would place her oats in a bowl then pour the mixture over the oats. I followed suit thinking "It can't hurt!" 

I then dropped them on to wax paper (that I had placed on baking sheets.) And waited. Not patiently I'll admit it. I helped myself to a few mushy soupy cookies. They tasted good. I kept waiting...and waiting...and waiting...
The cookies remained "soupy." sadly disappointed I left the "mess" to be cleaned up later and went on to other things. Like bed. 

And then this morning, Surprise! In place of soupy little mounds, there were actual cookies! Like pick them up, set them down, pile them together, cookies! So when the author says "allow to cool and set completely' she means over night. When you have given up all hope of them ever being cookies, they will overnight become what you want. 

http://lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com/2010/09/summer-and-autumn.html

Minty Meringue

I had a friend come over and make a delicious dish. It calls for egg yokes, you end up with the three egg whites left over.  It feels like such a shame to just dump them down the drain. I had her saved them. Now I would have loved to make divinity- but being successful only once and that was with my mom, I opted for Meringue. Which calls for three three egg whites instead of only two. I found Peppermint Meringue on Simply Recipe I also found it super tasty.
The recipe calls for peppermint candy's "pulverized" say's to use two ziploc baggies with the candy inside then you bash it with a hammer. The last time I did this recipe It was late, like crazy-neighbor-shut-up-late. I sat out on the balcony and bashed away on these poor candies with my hammer. Totally spacing the food processor I had stashed in the closet. This time I remembered it. It works much better for alot less work and  a heck of a lot less noise. Thank you Grandma for the gift, it's finally getting some use 7 years later.

The recipe is quite simple and as long as you remember a few things and have a few things handy life will be good in meringue land.
First off, you need a stand alone mixer, not a hand mixer and for the love of all things sane, do not try to do this recipe by hand. You will not be able to beat fast enough. And your patience runs out very very quickly when your arm is tired, sore and d.o.n.e.
Second, let your egg whites warm to room temp. I neglected to do this, hence the reason you have a picture of the finish product on a cookie sheet and not on a pretty plate. The plate might be pretty- the meringue's noooot so much. 
The link for the website is below along with the recipe. They are Mint-tastic! 

Peppermint Meringue Cookies

It's easiest to separate the eggs when they are cold. Since you'll want the egg whites to be at room temperature before whipping them (they will get more lift that way), for best results, separate your eggs at least a half hour before starting this recipe, and leave egg whites out to come to room temp.

Make sure that all bowls, hands, and utensils that might touch the eggs are clean and free from oils.

For best results, avoid making on a humid or rainy day.

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 Tbsp thoroughly crushed peppermint candies*
• 3 egg whites
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar (use superfine if you have it)
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

* Pulverize candies by placing them in sealed, doubled-up freezer bags. Use a meat mallet (smooth side) or hammer to gently pound them into a fine powder.

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 300°F.

2 Put egg whites into a standup mixer, add a pinch of salt. Start the mixer on low, gradually increasing the speed to medium until quite foamy and soft peaks can just begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Egg white bubbles should be small and uniform.

3 Increase the speed to medium high and slowly add the sugar, a little (1-2 teaspoons) at a time. Continue to whip egg whites and sugar for a few minutes, then add the vinegar. Increase the speed to the highest setting and whip the egg whites until they are glossy and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, about 4 to 5 minutes.

4 Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the crushed peppermints (and the mini chocolate chips, if you are using).

5 Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. If you are using parchment paper, you can put a dollop of the meringue mixture in the corners of the pans before placing the parchment paper on them, to help secure the parchment paper in place (pastry chef's trick, thank you, Shuna). Either use a spoon to drop teaspoonfuls of the meringue mixture onto the cookie sheets (spaced an inch apart) or use a pastry piping bag (can make one with a plastic freezer bag with the corner cut off) to pipe mounds (1 1/2 inches wide) onto the lined cookie sheet.

6 Put the cookie sheets in the 300°F oven, close the door. Wait for one minute only, then turn the oven OFF. Do not open the door for another 3 hours. You can leave them in the oven overnight. The meringues will gently cook in the residual heat of the oven. When done, the meringues will be lightly crisp on the outside and light and airy on the inside. If they are still a little chewy after 3 hours, just let them dry out for a few more hours.

Makes 24 meringue cookies. Store in an airtight container.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/peppermint_meringue_cookies/