This is the week of dessert bars!
Chocolate chip bars
1 16.5-oz. refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 C confectioners’ sugar
1 12-oz. carton frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
3 C cold 2% milk
1 3.9-oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
1 3.4-oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
optional: chopped nuts, chocolate curls and miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Let cookie dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. Press into an ungreased 13×9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, 14-16 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Fold in 1-3/4 cups whipped topping. Spread over crust. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate curls if desired. Cover and refrigerate until firm, 8 hours or overnight.
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Peanut butter bars
Bars:
16 TBS unsalted butter
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C golden brown sugar, packed
1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs at room temperature
2 C flour, sifted
Icing:
1 C confectioner’s sugar
¼ C peanut butter, melted
milk (amount depends on desired thickness of icing – start with a couple of tablespoons and go from there)
Preheat oven at 350 degrees and butter and line with parchment a 9×13-baking pan. Melt together butter and peanut butter. Set aside to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, sift together sugars and salt. Whisk in one egg at a time until combined. Add vanilla. Whisk in peanut butter mixture until combined. Sift in flour and mix until flour just disappears. Pour into prepared pan and bake until tester comes out with moist crumbs (about 35 minutes).
For icing, once bars have cooled, flip out onto a cooling rack fitted into a cookie sheet (to catch the icing). Mix icing ingredients together until desired consistency. Drizzle over bars. Let icing set up and serve.
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Cheesecake cinnamon bars
12 graham cracker sheets
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C butter, melted
1 TBS cinnamon
Cinnamon roll filling:
1/4 C butter
1/2 TBS cinnamon
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 TBS flour
Cheesecake:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 egg, at room temperature
1/3 C sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8-inch pan with foil and grease with cooking spray. Pulse graham crackers in food processor until fine crumbs form. Add sugar and cinnamon and pulse. Add melted butter and continue to pulse another 30 seconds. Press mixture into prepared pan. Bake 5 minutes.
Prepare cinnamon roll filling. In a small saucepan, combine butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat and stir until butter is melted and ingredients are combined. Stir in vanilla and flour.
Cheesecake: In a large bowl, whisk together egg and sugar until foamy. Add cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Pour mixture on top of baked crust. Drizzle cinnamon roll filling over cheesecake layer in any pattern you desire and use a toothpick to swirl into cheesecake layer.
Bake 20 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Allow to cool 30 minutes. Continue cooling in the fridge. When completely cooled, cut and serve. Store in airtight container in fridge.
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She said, “Every time an old person dies, it’s like a library burning down.”
If you would like to share a recipe with me, just send it to the J-T or email it to me.
(Melanie Behrens – melb@marysvillejt.com)