Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups (230 grams) old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup (80 grams) whole nuts, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup (113 grams) honey

1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup (50 grams) packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (60 grams) dried fruit, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (67 grams) white chocolate chips

2 bananas 

Method

Prepare Oven and Pan

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom and sides of a 8-inch or 9- square pan with aluminum foil. Then lightly oil or spray with cooking spray.

Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. 

Press the mixture into pan make sure it is tightly packed and even in one layer. 

Bake 30 minutes until they it has lightly toasted. 

Remove from the oven and let cool before cutting into bars. Then refrigerate to set.  

Broccoli and Pork Salad

Seems like every one has a broccoli salad. Well here's mine. It is a Broccoli Pork Salad.

Seasoned Pork cooked and cut into strips

2 bunches of broccoli 

2 Roma tomatoes chopped 

1/2 cup celery

1/2 cup craisins or grapes

Bell pepper cut in small strips

3 tbl chopped onion

1/4 shredded mozzarella 

1/2 chopped nuts

Favorite dressing

Chop broccoli into small florets. Place in a large bowl with the strips of pork. 

 Add chopped tomato, onion, celery and peppers. Toss well. 

Sprinkle on the cheese and nuts. 

Top with a favorite dressing.

Coconut-Cashew Chocolate Truffles

mmm Truffles, and oh look they are sugar free. Woo Hoo.

Ingredients

3/4 Cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons granular sugar substitute (sucralose)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
7 Ounce-weights Hershey's® sugar-free chocolate
3 Ounce-weights unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Cup unsweetened dried coconut, divided
1/2 Cup unsalted cashews, very finely chopped

• 
  

     Directions



Combine cream, sugar substitute and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Place chopped
 chocolate in a medium bowl; pour hot cream mixture over chocolate. Let stand 5 minutes.

Stir chocolate mixture gently until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in extract and 1/2 cup of the
 coconut. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour 45 minutes, stirring occasionally (Truffles will be easier to
 form if the mixture is not too stiff).

Toast the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking often, until lightly
browned; transfer to a bowl and cool.Roll the chocolate mixture into 32 balls about the size of large marbles.

Roll half of the balls in cashews and half in toasted coconut. Place in an airtight container between layers of wax paper. Can refrigerate  up to one week.

Get more Delicious sugar free recipes at Atkins.com

Sent from my iPad

Iced Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients


1/4 cup light olive oil
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour1/4 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

2.In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.

3.Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.

4.Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

5.Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.

Icing
 
Ingredients


1 cup white sugar
1 egg white1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup warm milk

Directions

1.In a medium bowl, stir together the white sugar, egg white, vanilla, cream of tartar, and boiling water. Beat using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. If you have a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment.

2. Spoon over the top of the cooled cooked. and let rest til set.

It's Magic!

Ingredients
Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
Instructions
HEAT oven to 350°F. Coat 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with fork.
BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.
For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up with edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into bars.
VARIATIONS
SUBSTITUTE chocolate chips or nuts with candy coated pieces, dried cranberries, raisins, mini-marshmallows or butterscotch chips.

Sugared Pecans

Well, Fall is here. There is a wonderful little nip in the air, leaves are turning colors, and moms, cooks, and bakers all have that glazed look in their eye, because they know that if it's fall, the holiday party season is just around the corner.
You can hear a scream in the distance. That is the sound of list making, party planning, and the dread fear of having  all your food befall some disaster right in front of the in laws. Or it is the sound of the dieter tiring to loose those last few pounds so they can fit in the new party dress. or ... ( fill in the blank)...

Of course as kids we never thought of those things, fall meant Halloween, which meant "Candy!"

This one is easy. My Gram  included them in her care packages every Christmas. Oh, and I dare you to stop at one.

1 1/2 cups pecans halves
3 egg whites
Pinch salt
1/2  cup granulated sugar
1/2 packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tarter

Preheat oven to 300°F.




 Put egg whites into a stand up mixer bowl. Add salt. Start the mixer speed on low, gradually increasing the speed until soft peaks start to become visible and the egg white bubbles are very small and uniform, about 2 to 3 minutes.

 Increase the speed to medium-high, and slowly add the sugar to the egg whites. Continue to whip the eggs and sugar for a few minutes. Then add the cream of tarter to the bowl. Increase speed to high and whip the egg whites until they fluff up and become glossy, and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 4-5 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the pecan pieces. Drop by teaspoons onto a cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper.

 Put the cookies sheet in the 300°F oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Leave them in the oven overnight. In the morning they should be ready - crisp on the outside, light and airy on the inside. If they are a little marshmallowy or chewy on the inside in the morning, just let them dry out for a few more hours.

Makes 12-24 cookies, depending on the size.

Great Greek

Today is the first day the Greek food fest here in KC. I’ve been looking forward to going this weekend. There will be food, dancing, games for the kids, and a tour of the church.




If you can’t get to a festival, here is a baklava recipe that looks quite tasty from Emeril.



Ingredients

For the Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup honey

• 3/4 cup water

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 1 (1-inch) strip lemon zest

• Pinch ground cloves

• Pinch ground cardamom

For the filling and dough:

• 1 pound walnuts, or a combination of walnuts, pistachios and almonds

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 sticks unsalted butter

• 1 pound phyllo, thawed according to package instructions

Directions

To make the syrup: Combine the sugar, honey, water, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, lemon zest, cloves and cardamom in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the syrup is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon zest and set syrup aside to cool.

Using a Chef's knife, finely chop the nuts. (Alternatively, if you have a food processor, pulse the nuts until finely chopped.) In a medium mixing bowl, combine the nuts, cinnamon, and salt and stir well to combine.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan.

Using a pastry brush, lightly coat a 13 by 9-inch or 15 by 10-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter.

Open the package of thawed phyllo and lay the thin sheets on a clean work surface. Measure the phyllo sheets; if the type you have purchased measures approximately the same size as the baking dish you are using, then proceed from here. If they are larger than your baking dish, use a sharp knife to cut the phyllo sheets approximately the same size as your baking dish. Discard any scraps. Cover the sheets with a piece of plastic wrap and a lightly damp kitchen towel, as the sheets of phyllo dry out very quickly if left uncovered.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 of the sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the buttered baking dish and lightly brush with some of the melted butter. Repeat this procedure with 6 more sheets of phyllo, for a total of 7 layers. Measure about 3/4 cup of the nut mixture and spread the nut mixture evenly over the buttered phyllo sheets. Repeat with 7 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each layer as before, and top these sheets with another 3/4 cup of the nut mixture. Continue this layering process, buttering 7 sheets of phyllo and topping each 7 sheets with 3/4 cup of the nuts, until you have used all of the nut mixture. Layer any remaining sheets of phyllo on top, buttering between each layer, until all of the phyllo sheets have been used.

Use a sharp knife to make 4 cuts lengthwise through the layered phyllo at 1 1/2 inch intervals. (You should end up with 5 lengthwise strips 1 1/2 inches wide.) Now use your knife to cut diagonally across the strips at 1 1/2-inch intervals to form diamond shapes. You should end up with approximately 36 diamond-shaped pieces of baklava in the baking dish.

Bake the baklava until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Using oven mitts or pot holders, remove the baklava from the oven and set aside on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Using a ladle or small measuring cup, slowly drizzle the cooled syrup over the warm baklava. Allow to stand several hours before serving.

Famous Cookie History

Fascinating facts about the invention of Toll House Cookies by Ruth Wakefield in 1930. TOLL HOUSE® COOKIES

Back in 1930, Kenneth and Ruth Wakefield purchased a Cape Cod-style toll house located halfway between Boston and New Bedford, on the outskirts of Whitman, Massachusetts. Originally constructed in 1709, the house served as a haven for road-weary travelers..

Here, passengers paid tolls, changed horses, and ate much-welcomed home-cooked meals. It was also here, over 200 years later, that the Wakefield decided to open a lodge, calling it the Toll House Inn. In keeping with the tradition of creating delicious homemade meals, Ruth baked for guests who stayed at the Toll House Inn.

As she improved upon traditional Colonial recipes, Ruth's incredible desserts began attracting people from all over New England. One day, while preparing a batch of Butter Drop Do cookies, a favorite recipe dating back to Colonial days, Ruth cut a bar of our Nestlé Semi-Sweet Chocolate into tiny bits and added them to her dough, expecting them to melt. Instead, the chocolate held its shape and softened to a delicately creamy texture. The resulting creation became very popular at the Inn. Soon, Ruth's recipe was published in a Boston newspaper, as well as other papers in the New England area. Regional sales of Nestlé Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar skyrocketed.

2 1/4 Cups flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2  cup butter soft
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon soda
2 Cups chocolate chips
1 Cup chopped nuts (optional)

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars. and the eggs one at a time, add the vanilla beat until creamy and pale yellow in color. set aside

In another bowl mix flour, salt and soda.
add the flour mixture to the egg mixture a little at a time.
After dough is well mixed and chips and nuts.
Nestle Toll House Cookies
drop teaspoons of dough on to ungreased cookie sheet. don't put more than 12 per pan
bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy.