Special, Special K Bars

Perfect Pairing:  Pantry clean-out

Way back when I was in college and living in the sorority we had a very exciting week once a semester called study treat week.  I am not sure study treat week helped us study for finals, but I am pretty sure it helped keep on that college “insulation” that tends to happen.  These were not healthy treats.  They usually included pizza rolls and other frozen novelties as well as our house mom’s famous scotcharoos.  It didn’t help the whole insulation issue when they were put out late at night.  Recipe for trouble, all around.

If you talk to any of my sisters about the food at the house I think ALL of them would mention the scotcharoos.  They would also probably also mention the super weird jalapeño chicken that inexplicably had insane amounts of cream sauce and Fritos.  College was healthy.  Anyway, the scotcharoos.  They were ridiculous.  These Special, Special K Bars remind me of those college treats.  You noticed the extra special in the name right?   These bars are extra special because I added coconut and toasted pecans.  Side note, when I was a little girl I named my cat Special.  Poor cat. 

I was on a mission to clean out the pantry when I made these, so when I ran out of Special K I added some rice cereal.  Feel free to do that as well!  Just another texture in the mix.  If you don't have pecans, use whatever nuts you have in your pantry.  Everything is topped with chocolate and peanut butter.  Theyyyyyy didn’t suck. 

This is a great recipe to use the “sticky ingredient trick” I mentioned on this Payday Bar recipe post.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Burger Sauce

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Chilaquiles

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Pecan Pie Bars

Perfect Pairing:  Room temperature

Growing up I was convinced I did not like pecan pie.  It was served at every Thanksgiving, but I only had eyes for the pumpkin.  I actually thought I didn’t like nuts in general.  I think I was just trying to be cool like my big brother.  All of the adults raved about pecan pie so I decided to give it a shot one year.  Whoa.  Revelation.  It is amazing!

I was intrigued when I came across this Pecan Pie Bar recipe.  I liked the idea of a shortbread crust and making them in a 9x13 so they would serve a crowd.  I followed this recipe with no changes, except I did not top them with whipped cream.  These were incredible.  I think they are better than traditional pecan pie.  My parents agreed, and that is saying something since pecan pie is their favorite dessert of all time.

I kept them fresh in the refrigerator, but they were definitely best served at room temperature.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Honey Beer Chicken

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Bacon, Leek and Cheddar Tart
 

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Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies

Perfect Pairing:  St. Patrick’s Day

Despite having ANOTHER snow storm in Chicago, the standard St. Patrick’s Day celebrations will go on as planned this weekend.  That includes dying the river green and filling every Irish pub to the brim starting around 8:00 AM.  Chicagoans are pretty crazy about this holiday.  Two years ago it was 80+ degrees on the big day, so it gives me hope that the foot of snow and ice in my front yard could be gone soon!

Last year I featured Brown Butter Rice Krispy Treats that were tinted green for the holiday.

Two years ago I provided a recipe for Edamame Hummus, which was a lovely shade of green as well.

This year’s recipe is one my favorite cookies, Oatmeal Shortbread.  This cookie has been a staple on our Christmas cookie plate for as long as I can remember.  At Christmas we keep the circle shape and use red and green sugar.

These cookies are deliciously crisp and light.  You will love them any time of the year.  The dough is easy to whip up, then you form into rolls.

Coat the rolls in colored sugar.

Slice (shape into shamrocks, if you so desire) and bake!

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Salted Peanut Bars

Perfect Pairing:  Foil

This is another family favorite that we have been making for years.  They are the perfect combination of salty and sweet and crunchy and chewy.  I believe the recipe came from a Pillsbury bake-off pamphlet 15+ years ago, but I was not able to find the original source online.

The crust is almost like a chewy shortbread made with brown sugar.  That is topped with either salted peanuts or mixed nuts, your preference. 

Then the whole thing is drizzled with a butterscotch sauce. 

They are fabulous.  They are also hard to get out of the pan.  UNLESS you use the perfect pairing of foil!

You can see that they lift easily out of the pan on the foil, leaving a clean pan!  I get excited about things like this.

They also come off the foil easily for slicing.  You’re going to love them!

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German Sugar Cut-Out Cookies

Perfect Pairing:  The most amazing decorating trick I have ever seen

When I was in high school I decided to have a Christmas party with all of my girlfriends.  I had visions of Harry Connick Jr. tunes, apple cider, and cookie decorating.  I told my mom that everyone was SUPER excited to decorate cookies so she should double whatever recipe we use.  Mom did not have a favorite cut-out cookie recipe so she called her good friend, Jan Sanger.  Jan is one of the most amazing cooks we know, so we knew she would have a great recipe, and she did.  She gave my mom this German Sugar Cut-Out Cookie recipe and we have used it every year since then.  The cookies are thin and slightly crisp, but still chewy, and have just the right amount of sweetness.  They are also really easy to roll out and the finished product keeps beautifully in the freezer.

The original recipe makes A LOT of cookies.  In fact, the recipe below is actually cut in half and it still makes a lot.   Since my high school Christmas party was the first time using the recipe, and I insisted on doubling, mom doubled it.  Oh. My. Cookies.  Predictably, my squirrely girlfriends and I lost interest after frosting a few each and moved on to giggling in the basement.  My poor mom and dad were left with the never-ending cookie production line.  I laugh every time I think of my poor dad being forced to frost a million cookies.  He really lost his Christmas spirit that night!  Towards the end he was just dunking them in the bowl of frosting. 

We have used a few different frosting recipes, and really you can use your favorite, but this year we used this recipe for meringue powder buttercream.  It worked beautifully.  We used the same frosting to frost the base of the cookie and for the colored decorations. 

I am sure most people would agree that one of the most frustrating parts of frosting cookies is cleaning out the decorator bags.  It is so obnoxious.  While searching for the frosting recipe I came across this video clip on Karen’s Cookies on how to use a decorator bag without getting it dirty, AT ALL.  Too good to be true??  No!  It works!  It blew my mind.  It is so simple!  How had I never heard about this?  Life changing. 

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Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread

Perfect Pairing:  Caramel Sauce

Most families have Thanksgiving dinner down to a science and the menu does not vary much from year to year.  I think this is especially true for desserts.  Obviously, pumpkin pie is always on the menu and in my family we always have pecan pie as well.  I went my entire childhood thinking I did not like pecan pie.  I took a bite a few years ago and realized I was really missing out. 

Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread is like the bar-cookie-child of pumpkin and pecan pie.  I absolutely love shortbread, so I was crazy about this dessert.  If you are not the pie-baking type bring this would be the perfect dessert to bring to Thanksgiving.  It is super simple to make and very tasty.

The Perfect Pairing for this dessert is store bought caramel sauce.  I am not a fan of super sweet desserts, so I prefer just a tiny drizzle but it definitely adds something to the bar cookie.  I recommend serving the caramel on the side so everyone gets just the right amount for their tastes.

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving! 

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World’s Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Perfect Pairing: Ready-to-go freezer cookies

Why yes, I did make up the name of this recipe! 

In my house, no other attempt is made at improving the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, because we have the best right here.

I have mentioned my love of the show, Friends, on this blog.  One of my all-time favorite episodes is the one with Phoebe’s cookies.  Monica was dying to know Phoebe’s grandma’s secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  Apparently it made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world.  Monica made many attempts to recreate the recipe, with no luck.  Of course hilarity ensued when she got to the bottom of the story.  I could try to retell the story, but you might as well just watch it.  Never gets old.

Funny enough, this recipe was actually passed down from my great grandma Lucy.  I’m not kidding when I say it is the best.  The cookies always turn out chewy on the inside and slightly crisp around the outside.  My mom has been making them for us our entire lives.  I am 99% certain that is what we are eating in the picture below.  I never thought I would go topless on this blog….

You can also vary the cookies by adding coconut, butterscotch chips, or walnuts.  Personally, I prefer the old standard, oatmeal and chocolate chip.

The Perfect Pairing for this fantastic recipe is to freeze the leftover dough in ready-to-go cookies.  The recipe makes a big batch of cookie dough so there is always some leftover for the freezer and it freezes really well.  If you are feeling super organized you can scoop out perfect portions with your spring-loaded scoop, layer them between waxed paper, and freeze.  If you want just one cookie (yeah, right) you can pull it out and bake one off in the oven, or even in the microwave. 

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Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

Perfect Pairing: Quality sea salt

I am going to keep this short and sweet. 

These cookie bars are as good and gooey as they look.  How can you go wrong? 

 Cookies + Caramel + Sea Salt = Winner

 Who was the genius that started adding sea salt to dessert? 

The Perfect Pairing for these delights is quality sea salt.  It seems weird, but good sea salt is not very salty, not like table salt.  Sea salt actually comes from evaporated seawater and is minimally processed, so the flavor is natural and subtle.  Table salt, or iodized salt, is more intense and can taste like chemicals.  You don’t want Chemical Caramel Cookie Bars, do you?

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Payday Bar Cookies

Perfect Pairing:  Sticky ingredient measuring method

My mom has been making these bar cookies for years.  The stained recipe card says that it came from Natalie, who is a friend of my mom, but I don’t know the original source.  I love stained recipe cards and cookbooks.  You usually know you have located a good recipe in a cookbook if the pages are stuck together and splattered with something.

This dessert is named after the candy bar, they are similar, but the bar cookie is better in my opinion.  It is a great recipe because the ingredients are simple and easy to remember. Most importantly, they taste pretty fantastic.  I think if a person set their mind to it they could have the whole thing done in 7 minutes. 

I would keep these in the refrigerator if you want them to last awhile, but they definitely need to be eaten at room temperature so that they are gooey.  Boy, are they gooey.

The Perfect Pairing for Payday Bar Cookies is the sticky ingredient measuring method.  When you need to measure something sticky like peanut butter, syrup, molasses, etc. just spray the measuring cup with cooking spray first and it will come right out without any effort.                          

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Fruit Pizza Cookies

Perfect Pairing:  4^th of July

July is my favorite month of the year.  The weather is beautiful and it is always jam-packed with fun events.  It is also my birthday month.  I happen to be turning a “special” age this year.  Eeek. 

In other news, I heard 30 is the new 25.

I love the 4^th of July and everything that goes with it.  We always have a big group at the lake and we play all day and then watch the fireworks over the water in the boat.  We usually go the tacky route and string up red, white, and blue twinkle lights and play John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever over the boat speakers.  It is always fun and memorable.

These cookies are a spin-off of the popular fruit pizza recipe, but in individual portions.  The base is store bought sugar cookie dough, so that can’t be any easier, and the spread has just 3 ingredients.  Top the cookies with some fresh fruit and you have an easy and crazy delicious dessert.

The Perfect Pairing for these lovelies is easy, 4^th of July!  Use a combination of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries and you have a perfectly patriotic dessert that everyone will love. 

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Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Perfect Pairing: Willpower  

       

 

Oatmeal cookies are tasty.  They are a good, solid choice.  What happens when you make them into sandwich cookies with a white chocolate, cream cheese frosting center?  Good things happen. 

I ran across the original recipe for oatmeal sandwich cookies on Serious Eats.  I thought they looked like they would be good, but I had no idea how good.  They are ridiculously good.  I made them for an open house gathering and they were a big hit.  While they may look like the famous Oatmeal Cream Pies, these are not a remake; they are a little crispy rather than soft.

A couple of notes…. I would err on the side of small when scooping the cookies since they are sandwiched together.  I wish I had made mine smaller.  Also, they turn brown in a hurry, so be sure to watch them closely in the oven.  I happen to know this from personal experience.

I am not a frosting person; I push it off the birthday cake and think the frosting flowers on the office cake are unappetizing.  The frosting for these cookies is probably the best frosting I have ever had.  It uses cream cheese and white chocolate.  The white chocolate flavor is not overpowering, just adds a nice background.  I plan on using the frosting recipe in other desserts.

The Perfect Pairing for this cookie recipe is willpower.  Make them and you will know what I am talking about.  I warned you!

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Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Perfect Pairing: Cookie Scoop

I really wonder how someone first came up with carrot cake.  What would possess that person to put carrots in a dessert?  Whatever the reason, I am glad they figured it out.  I think most people will agree that carrot cake is one of the best desserts out there.  I don’t think carrots are actually the reason it is so delicious, more likely it is the spices….. or perhaps the cream cheese frosting. 

These sandwich cookies taste just like a carrot cake, but they are handheld!  Forget actually baking and frosting cakes, these little guys have all of the flavor but none of the fuss.    

The Perfect Pairing for this fun dessert is a cookie scoop.  If you bake cookies, you need one of these scoops.  Using a cookie scoop is fast, easy, and all of your cookies will be uniform.   Uniformity is key in this recipe since you are sandwiching the cookies together.  Forget trying to manage two tablespoons to scoop out the dough, that’s for the birds.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Perfect Pairing:  Parchment Paper

It is hard to improve on the classic chocolate chip cookie, but this pumpkin version is perfect for fall.  The addition of pumpkin and autumn spices adds a subtle but tasty flavor. I chose to use the canned pumpkin pie mix rather than 100% pumpkin since it already had a lot of the spices included.  These cookies come out a little cake-like compared to a traditional cookie, but I like the texture.  They are definitely a fall favorite with my family.  Even my ADORABLE niece and nephews loved them!

Can you even stand the cuteness?  Those curls!

I saw lots of little hands reaching up to the counter to grab the cookies.

This little one is not ready for cookies yet but I had to share her picture because she is just so perfect.

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is parchment paper.  I found that these particular cookies come off the pan much easier when you line the pan with parchment paper rather than cooking spray.  It is also easy clean up.  Bonus!

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