These are wonderful summer dessert recipes!
Peanut bars (no bake)
8 TBS unsalted butter, melted
2 C graham cracker crumbs
1-1/4 C powdered sugar
3/4 C + 2 TBS creamy peanut butter, divided
1 C white chocolate chips
Line a 9×13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and 3/4 cup peanut butter in a large bowl. Mix until combined. Press firmly into prepared pan. Place white chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Pour over bars and spread with a spatula. Chill for at least 1 hour to set, slice into bars.
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Zucchini coffee cake
2 C zucchini, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/4 C lemon juice
1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C olive oil or vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 C milk
1-1/2 C flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C brown sugar
1 TBS flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 TBS olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray. Add zucchini, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon to a frying pan over medium heat. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until zucchini just starts to turn opaque, but is still white. Remove from heat to cool. Whisk flower, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Stir sugar, oil, and egg in a large bowl. Stir in milk. Stir dry ingredients into wet. Pour into prepared pan.
Sprinkle cooled zucchini over top of cake batter. Make crumb topping – stir together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and oil. Sprinkle over zucchini. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
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Chocolate chip bars
1 C unsalted butter
3/4 C granulated sugar
1 C light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 TBS pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
3-1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 C mini chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz.) fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 (4.4 oz.) large Hershey bar
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, about 6 minutes, until it becomes brown in color. It will foam, reduce, then foam again. Once it starts to brown, keep stirring so it doesn’t burn. Let sit for about 5 minutes to cool. Pour into an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. While still hot, add both sugars and mix on low until combined. Let sit to cool for a few minutes. While butter mixture is cooling, combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir and set aside. Turn mixer with butter mixture bowl attached on low. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing completely. Mix in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Line a 9×13 baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray for easy removal. Press half of cookie dough in prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk over top of bottom layer (be careful to leave about 1/4” edge around pan), then break up chocolate bar and drop pieces over top. Cover with remaining cookie dough. Press with your hands to flatten. Refrigerate pan for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until tops of bars start to get golden brown.
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Thought: Intaxicaton – Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
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)