No Bake Butterfinger Bars

As if you need more sugar at this time of year, these crunchy chocolate no-bake bars are sweetly delicious and easy to make. It’s a great use of extra Butterfinger candies, too. This recipe is very versatile. Use any extra Halloween candy you have around. You can even omit the peanut butter (add in butter to replace it) and put in candy canes for a holiday treat.

Ingredients
⅓ cup butter
¼ cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 ½ Tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
8 graham cracker squares
8 fun-sized Butterfingers
¼ cup mini marshmallows

Instructions
In a small saucepan, melt together butter, peanut butter, corn syrup, cocoa powder, and chocolate.
While this is melting, crumble the graham crackers and chop the Butterfingers.
After the butter mixture has melted, remove from the heat. Stir in graham crackers, Butterfingers, and marshmallows. Press mixture into a loaf pan and refrigerate for one hour. Slice and serve. Store extra in the refrigerator.
Yields 10 servings.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Be sure to save some peanut butter cups this Halloween for a great addition to the filling of these peanut butter whoopie pies. These are delicious! I brought them to work, and people could not stop eating. The peanut butter cups add more chocolate flavor and a great texture. 

Ingredients

Chocolate Whoopie Pies
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/2 cup of cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla 

Peanut Butter Filling
1/3 cup butter softened
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons milk
20 mini peanut butter cups, chopped

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla.
Gradually add in the flour mixture and buttermilk in stages, starting and ending with the flour.
Spoon dough onto baking sheets (size of the drops should be two tablespoons).
Bake 11-13 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the filling, cream together butter and peanut butter. Add in confectioner's sugar. Add milk until filling is at the desired consistency. Stir in peanut butter cup pieces. Spoon one tablespoon of filling onto a cookie and press another cookie on top to form the whoopie pie.

Yields 12 whoopie pies.

Supermarket Finds

Today I have two cookie options you can pick up at the grocery store. The first is Trader Joe's Journey to the Center of the Cookie. Amazing!!!! It's a chocolate chip cookie (big and thick like it was made in a jumbo muffin tin) with chocolate in the center. It comes frozen and just takes 8-10 minutes to bake. A package of two is $3.99. The checkout clerk recommended a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. With or without ice cream, it was still delicious. I need to make a copycat version since I will go broke buying these!

Next is Keebler's Cinnamon Roll Cookies. I wasn't too sure about these, but I gave them a try since they were half off (normally $2.99 for 18 cookies). The cookies were soft and chewy and tasted just like a cinnamon roll. They weren't too sweet, so I would rather have them as a morning snack instead of an indulgent afternoon treat.

Banana Chocolate Bars

I wanted something sweet to take to work for an afternoon snack this week, but I didn't want it to be too rich (I actually want to be able to work through the afternoon and not be stuck in a food coma!). These did the trick. The bars were chewy and fudgy, and I didn't need a nap after eating them. :) Next time I will add some finely chopped walnuts for some crunch.

Ingredients

6 Tablespoons tub margarine

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 medium bananas, mashed

1 egg white

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 pan with non-stick spray.

Cream together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the mashed bananas and egg white until well-blended. 

Gradually add in the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt.

Pour dough into the 9x9 pan. Bake for 18 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

Yields 16 bars.

Cinnamon Marshmallow Sandwiches

I had a really hard time stopping at just one of these cookie sandwiches. These were chewy and sweet, but fortunately they were not too sweet. They were easy to make, and the cinnamon cookies themselves are great on their own.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 Tablespoons for sprinkling on top before baking

1 egg

8 Tablespoons marshmallow fluff

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in the egg. Gradually stir in the flour mixture.

Form tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in sugar. Place the dough on cookie sheets, spacing two inches apart. 

Bake for 12 minutes until edges are slightly golden. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled spread one tablespoon of marshmallow fluff onto 8 of the cookies. Press remaining cookies on top to form sandwiches.

Yields 8 sandwiches

Sharky’s Mexican Grill and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Sharky's Mexican Grill is a place we visit frequently for a filling weeknight dinner or weekend lunch. They always have large, individually wrapped cookies at the cashier. I was committed to trying one this time! I'm glad I did. Cookies are $1.50 each, which is very reasonable for their large size. The cookie was chewy with lots of chunks of chocolate. I could tell that it was not freshly baked, though. Mr. Sleuth thought it was overly sweet. My verdict is that it is worth a try and a nice sweet ending to your Mexican meal. To find your closest Sharky's, visit www.sharkys.com.

The day after my Sharky's experience, I decided to try another cookie on my list- chocolate chip from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. The cookie was thin and chewy, but I wish it had more chocolate chips. The cookie was a little to sweet, too. I will be sticking with their caramel apples next time! The cookie was $2.50, which seemed very reasonable. To find your nearest Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, visit www.rockymountainchocolatefactory.com.

M&M Snack Mix Blondies

With the snack mix I had left from earlier this week, I whipped up some blondies and stirred in the snack mix just before baking. The snack mix provided a great sweet and salty crunch to the soft bars. Unfortunately the end result was not chocolatey enough for me. Next time I will add in a cup of chocolate chips. Chopped peanut butter cups would be great, too. Do you have a favorite blondie recipe?

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
M&M snack mix

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars together. Add egg and vanilla extract.
Gradually add in the flour mixture. Stir in M&M snack mix.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown.
Yields 9 bars