Wheaties Nougat Bars

A friend was telling me about a dessert he remembered from childhood. It was a type of no-bake cookie with flaked cereal. I don't think this was it but it was as close as I could get. 

Betty Crocker provided me with this snack recommended for after a midnight supper and promises it is "also delightful with ice cream."

I should have placed the bowl of wheat bran flakes towards the front to make it look healthier.

I used a make shift double boiler. It was not fun. I would recommend just using a regular pot and not bothering with trying to use a double boiler.

So thick! And so difficult to mix! I definitely got a nice arm workout.

There is so much stuff in this mix that I was concerned it would not stay together. I have my doubts about this one. I don't think there is enough marshmallows to make bars, a delicious crumble but not a bar.

Add a nice chocolate layer to hide the bran flakes.

It is really difficult to let it sit and cool. With cookies you can sneak a warm one and no one knows! Kinda hard to do that with a bar.

This little bars are dense! You will need a very sharp knife to cut them. I like the rough edges of the sides better than the cut centers.

This was suppose to make 32 bars. I did not make quite that many but it was close. These are so full of stuff that you will want to make them bite-sized.

All in all not bad. They are not my favorite but I was surprised on how good they were. I do not like whole wheat bran stuff (I am a fan of mushy white bread) but the cereal gave the bars a nice heartiness to them. The chocolate was amazing! Without the top layer these bars would be in the trash. Don't add too thick of a layer or it will overwhelm all the other parts but you must add a nice layer of good quality chocolate. I used dark. So good.

My Rating: Not bad but I probably won't make again.

Friends and Family Rating: "These are pretty good." "Do the Wheaties make them healthy?"

Chewy Cocoa Brownies

If you need a last minute homemade Valentines gift, these brownies are easy and delicious!

For Christmas I received this wonderful old recipe tin and one of the recipes inside was a handwritten recipe complete with drawings. It was so cute, I had to make it.

This recipe calls for a ton of cocoa powder and sugar and not so much flour. Is this normal? I have not made brownies from scratch in a long time. It's one of the few things that I just grab a box mix for.

Premixed ingredients never look very appetizing...I probably should not take pictures of it but I feel like I am suppose to.

 Man! This batter is thick! And smells so good and chocolatey...(I may or may not have licked the beaters.)

There was no way to smooth out the brownies. The batter is way too thick. I am hoping that the heat will help settle the batter and make it look a little better.

Nope. The oven did not help me. These were so dense that I had to cut them into extra small bites.

It is no wonder this recipe was saved. These were wonderful! They are very rich and dense so I am glad I cut them into smaller pieces. This is not a recipe that lends itself to being modified. I would not try adding stuff like chocolate bits or candies. The fudgey-ness is all you need.

My Rating: Keeper! I will be making these again.

Friends and Family Rating: "Amazing" "Smells like fudge." "There is a chewy, grittiness to it. I like it." "It intrigues the palette." (I love my co-workers. They are crazy.)

Wild Honey Cakes

One of the gifts I received this holiday season is a delightful cookbook all about cookies! It was a 'hint' gift. (Don't think I didn't notice, Paul!) It is The Cookie Jar by Josephine Perry. Originally published as Around the World Making Cookies, it has a nice variety. Part I is American cookies from Virginia, New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Orleans, and 'modern' cookies. That covers the entire nation, right? Part II gives use cookies from around the world including a few from Turkey, Japan, India, and Russia. Many of those look very different from the typical American cookie...should be fun!

 For my first cookie I decided to stay in my state of Virginia and go with the Wild Honey Cakes. Everyone is still recovering from the excesses of the holidays and this one didn't seem too sweet.

 Easy ingredients. Lots of honey!

 I didn't have time to head out to my favorite honey place but I was able to grab dark honey nearby. I have no idea if the ginger is Jamaican. It was what I had in my pantry.

 It was really fun to watch the foaming action after adding the soda.

 So easy to mix! I didn't even have to pull out the standing mixer.

This dough is weird! It feels like play dough. I may or may not have played with it a bit...

 I was not feeling too confident about these. The dough is so different and there is a ton of it! My hopes were not high.

The recipe did not give me a baking time so...8 minutes was a bit much. I found that 5-6 worked best. The 8-minute cookies were still great just firmer and crispier. And they spread! I tried to make them small and diet friendly but they decided not to stay that way.

These turned out good, a bit boring looking.

Wow! These were surprisingly good. Light with a delicate flavor, these are easy to snack on. The crispier 8-minute cookies would be great to keep in cookie jars! I didn't actually count how many I made but they filled 2 gallon-sized freezer bags. I would love to try them with a stronger flavored honey. 

My Rating: Pretty good. I would make them again for guests.

Friends and Family Rating: "Wow!" "I need this recipe!" "Personally, I think they were very good but I need milk with them."