Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars - Best In the West!

My grand daughters made a special request to make cookies together, sooooo we looked around the house to see what was available. Hmmm, time to run to the store for supplies! I was making chicken enchiladas anyway so we needed supplies for that as well. Off Mommy and I go to Walmart, which is different in every community I've visited so far. It took us a bit longer than expected to gather what we needed, so when we got home I plopped two cubes of butter in a bowl and tackled the enchiladas. We didn't get to eat until after 6:30 and grandma was running out of steam here, thus a bit of a compromise. Instead of cookies we made bars. I doubled a peanut butter cookie recipe from one of my daughters cookbooks and threw in some chocolate chips,  so we could have enough to keep everyone happy. I warn you that right out of the pan, these are so good you might not be able to stop eating them!

Best In the West Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
 preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 c. each butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, white sugar 
1 t. each baking soda, salt
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 10 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl cream butter and sugars, add peanut butter and mix in well. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Sift dry ingredients together and with vanilla, mix in well. Stir in chocolate chips.  Spread in large cookie sheet and be sure and spread the dough evenly. Bake for 15 minutes or until just turning golden brown. Let cool slightly as they will fall apart a bit when still warm, but hey, they are soooo yummy you probably won't care. Yield 4 dozen.

Almond Fudge Bars on a Tasty Tuesday

Another holiday tradition around our home is to have Almond Fudge Bars, and their counterpart Butterscotch Bars. Originally a recipe created by and using Bisquick Baking Mix,  I adapted the recipe so I could use ingredients we always have on hand. These go fast, so be sure to have plenty baking supplies around.

Almond Fudge Bars
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 cup real butter
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
3 cups rolled oats
2 eggs
1 tsp each vanilla and almond extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Fudge filling
1 12oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 T butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted almond slices

For the dough, a large bowl cream butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, mix in to creamed mixture. Add oats and stir in well.  In a 15 x 10 inch cookie sheet press 2/3rds of the dough to cover the whole pan. Buttering your fingers helps with this.
Over a double boiler slowly melt chocolate chips in the sweetened condensed milk,  along with 2 T. butter and add salt.  Spread over the dough in cookie sheet. By teaspoonfuls drop the rest of the dough on the chocolate layer. Sprinkle almonds over that and press in to dough. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. After slightly cooled cut into 48 squares. When completely cool store in airtight container. Enjoy!

Homemade English Toffee a Christmas Tradition

Toasted almonds in a buttery sweet, melt in your mouth toffee, slathered in luscious chocolate with more toasted almond bits. Heavenly treats your family will love. My mother started making toffee when I was 13, and it became a tradition. I started the same tradition when I was raising my own children, so they would have a bit of the grandmother they never knew. Here's our version, easy and delicious. No water, no corn syrup, I like this recipe the best as it is.

English Toffee

1 cup real butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup toasted almond slivers
1/2 cup each semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips

In a heavy duty pot, melt butter and add sugar. Over medium heat, or a little lower depending on your stove, continue to cook, stirring constantly with a back and forth motion over all the pan bottom to keep from scorching. Using a candy thermometer bring toffee to 290 degrees. Before you get to that temperature you might find there is a separation stage, where it looks as if there's a layer of oil that separated from the carmelized sugar. Keep stirring and it will go back in to the toffee mixture. Do not pour it off, you will ruin your toffee.  ( I test by dropping a drizzle into a cup of cold water and tasting it. You want a smooth texture, not grainy. I have learned to eyeball this over the years as there's a point where you get just past the grainy texture, but before it gets too brown. You want a nice golden brown. )  Add nuts, stir in and pour onto cookie sheet. This will make the pan very hot so you want to put the cookie sheet on a cooling rack. You do not need to butter the sheet as some recipes suggest, as it makes the toffee too greasy. After about 5 minutes, sprinkle the chocolate chips on the hot toffee. Let it sit for a few minutes and then using a spatula spread the melted chocolate over the toffee. You can sprinkle it with more toasted almond bits if you like, we do. :-) If you have any questions drop me an email. I hope you get a chance to try this!