Is there a way to overdose on peanuts?

I guess if you have a severe peanut allergy, the answer would definitely be yes. But even if you do not have such an allergy, I still think that this dessert might cause at least a peanut-induced shock. Not that it is a bad thing, mind you, just something to keep in mind when you decide to make this dessert. Aside from the yummy peanuts, I also love that this is a no-bake recipe. It takes about 15 minutes to prepare, and 10 seconds to down these No-Bake Peanut Bars. So, without further ado, here is the recipe so you can enjoy them yourselves!

What's Inside:
-1 cup butter/margarine/butter substitute
-2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
-2 cups powdered sugar
-1 cup & 4 tbsp peanut butter
-1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
-About 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped peanuts

How to make them:
-Mix butter or whatever you use as a butter replacement, graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and 1 cup peanut butter in a medium-large sized bowl
-Press combined ingredients into bottom of ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan
-In a microwaveable bowl, melt chocolate chips and remaining 4 tbsp peanut butter in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring at 30 second intervals
-Spread mixture over peanut butter crust. Top with chopped peanuts and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting into bars and serving.
-Enjoy, and try not to fall into a peanut-induced coma!

When life gives you about 5 green apples that you will never possibly eat before they go bad...

You turn them into apple strudel, obviously! Apple strudel is not even all that bad for you- it has fruit, walnuts if you care to add them, and not a terrible amount of sugar. This recipe does make a lot of strudel- you can cut in in half if you have less apples and just put it in an 8 or 9  inch square pan instead of a 9 by 13 like I used. Also, make sure you properly defrost the phyllo dough- I did not wait long enough so the sheets split because they were frozen. Therefore, I had to awkwardly use strips of phyllo sheets whereas it would have been much easier to use the whole sheet after it thawed properly.

What's Inside:
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 cup raisins
-1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
-About 5 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
-2 tsp cinnamon
-6 sheets phyllo dough,THAWED
-4 tsp melted butter
-Powdered sugar to sprinkle over top after baked

How to make it:
1) Mix all filling ingredients together (apples, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon) and bake in a pan in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for about 15 minutes
2)  In the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch pan, lay one sheet of phyllo dough. Brush with butter and top with 2nd sheet. Repeat with one more sheet
3) Pour apple mixture on top of three sheets and layer with another layer of phyllo dough. Brush with butter and repeat with two more sheets of phyllo
4) Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Top with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Let them eat coffee flavored angel food cake!

When you have a dad that is like mine and very calorie-concious, you need to take that into consideration when throwing him a party and making him a cake. I searched low-calorie cakes online, but nothing seemed like the right combination of simple and tasty until I found the following one. It was easy to make and extremely delicious! I served homemade warm raspberry sauce alongside for even more scrumptiousness and it was a big hit for everyone!

What's Inside:
-12 egg whites (yes, you have to use a whole carton!)
-1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
-1 1/2 cup sugar
-2 to 3 tsp hot water
-1 tablespoon instant coffee
-1 1/8 cup sifted cake flour
-1 tsp vanilla extract

How to make it:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2) Using a handmixer, beat egg whites until foamy
3) Add cream of tartar and beat until it forms peaks
4) With the mixer running, gradually add 1 cup of the sugar and continue whipping until stiff and the sugar has dissolved, about 30 seconds
5) In a small bowl, stir together the hot water and instant coffee to make coffee extract
6) Using a seive over a large bowl, sift the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the pre-sifted cake flour 3 times7) Fold the flour mixture into the egg whites in batches, then fold in the vanilla and dissolved coffee.

8) Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9 or 10-inch tube pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until light golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.

9) Cool by turning the cake (in the pan) upside down, propped on top of a bottle until it cools to room temperature. Run a long, sharp knife blade around the cake to loosen, then knock the cake out onto a plate or work it out with your fingers. The outside crumb of the cake will remain in the pan; exposing the white cake underneath
10) To make the raspberry topping, simply heat 2 little cartons of raspberries and 1/4-1/2 cup sugar over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally

When you eat 10 low-calorie chocolate-chip cookies in one sitting...

...I think it hardly makes a difference anymore that they are low-calorie. I guess it is better than eating 10 chocolate-chip cookies with average caloric amounts. Anyways, one day my inner health freak came out and I decided to try something better for me. Now, I want to clarify that just because I like desserts does not mean that I endorse eating them to extremes or not making them a part of a healthy diet. That is why it is important to make healthy changes to your cooking, like swapping out a recipe for normal chocolate chip cookies for one like these. Now, mine did not turn out fantastic and I blame the fact that I made them way too big and accidentally added a bit of egg yolk where it only calls for the whites. But they still tasted really good! Hence why I had a bit of a problem with the portion control...though, they are only about 60 calories a cookie!

What's Inside:
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
-1 egg white
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 cup flour
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 cup chocolate chips

How to make them:

1) In a large bowl, combine the flour, and baking soda and stir to blend.
2) In a separate bowl, whisk the sugars, butter, egg white, and vanilla together until light and fluffy.
3) Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions until the batter is very well blended.
4) Drop by level spoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto baking sheets coated lightly with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 -10 minutes.
5) Remove from the oven, and let stand 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the pans to cool on wire racks.

Lessons Learned:
-Make sure that ONLY the egg white gets into these

-Ensure that you make them small- it should make about 24 whereas mine were way too big and I only got about 15

When you offer a man who lived through WWII some old bananas which will otherwise be thrown away...

...my grandfather will take them (so they do not go to waste), bring them home, and have no idea what to do with them. So, with this philosophy in mind (waste not, that is!) his visiting granddaughter will make some delicious and simple banana bread and share it with the rest of her family in Chicago. If you didn't catch on by now, I am talking about myself and when I was out in Chicago and staying with my grandparents for Christmas. My grandfather's neighbor called him up and said she had a bunch of brown bananas which she was going to throw away, and asked if he wanted them. They looked almost unable to salvage, but I decided to give it a shot.
Here is the easy recipe for banana bread which does not fail to please!

What's Inside:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups mashed banana 
• 1 egg
• 1 cut nuts (optional- but make sure you use walnuts, pecans, etc... not the "nuts" in your family! Ha, lame joke...)

How to make it:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Combine all ingredients

3) Bake 65-70 minutes or until knife or other metal or wooden cooking device inserted into center comes out clean as a whistle

Lessons Learned:

The baking powder that my grandmother had in her pantry was probably not used since the last time they baked, which was probably... well, she can't even remember when it was so that must say something. Anyways, it was pretty clumpy and did not mix well, so on a rare bite of this bread you would get a lovely taste of baking soda... not pleasant. So make sure it is new and WELL MIXED!

When life doesn't let you find a gingerbread man cookie cutter...

You make gingerbread bones. At least, that was the case for me. After a fruitless search which endured far too long, I finally gave up my attempt to find a cookie cutter for making gingerbread men. Now, as you have all learned by now I'm sure, I have run into various glitches during my cooking experiences. So, I just thought of this as another little hurdle in the path, and decided to see what else I could find in the drawer of cooking utensils. The only cookie cutters I could find were not one, but TWO shaped like bones of different sizes. So, I used those. Despite my cookies turning out shaped like dog treats which may have been a deterrant for some, they were incredible! I personally skipped putting any icing on these because I did not think it was necessary and I was feeling a bit lazy. If you have more motivation and time, look up a recipe for royal icing to decorate your cookies.

What's Inside:3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter at room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2/3 cup molasses

1 large egg

How to make them:

1) Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

2) Sift the flour, baking soda,, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves through a wire sienve into a medium bowl. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer at high speed, beat the butter and shortening until well-combined, about 1 minute.
4) Add the brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses and egg. Using a wooden spoon, gradually mix in the flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Divide the dough into two thick disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours.

5) To roll out the cookies, work with one disk at a time, keeping the other disk refrigerated. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature until just warm enough to roll out without cracking, about 10 minutes.
6) Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick, being sure that the dough isn't sticking to the work surface
7) For softer cookies, roll out slightly thicker. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and transfer to nonstick cookie sheets, placing the cookies 1 inch apart.

8) Bake, switching the positions of the cookies from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking, until the edges of the cookies are set and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Brandy: the liquor which seemingly works for any recipe

Well, maybe not, but at least for me for the past two recipes I used which called for any kind of liquor. One called for bourbon and the other called for rum, but my innner-rebel came out and decided to just use brandy. And guess what? They both turned out not just "fine", but splendidly scrumptious. These cookies are called "Coconut Sarah Bernhardts" and I have no idea why, but I made so many alterations that I do not think you could even call them that anymore. The original recipe is from http://www.christmas-cookies.com/, which I was surprised existed, but I guess it makes sense.

What's inside:

1-1/4 cups flaked coconut
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon rum (or... you guessed it, brandy!)
2 teaspoons solid vegetable shortening

How to make them:

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2) In a large mixing bowl, sitr together coconut, sugar, egg white and vanilla until combined
3) Drop by teaspoonfulls onto prepared pans.
4) Bake around 8 minutes or until bottoms are lightly golden. Allow to cool on baking sheets.
5) Place 8 ounces of the chocolate in a mixing bowl and chop so that the mixture forms small chunks. In a small saucepan, heat cream with the butter just until the butter melts and bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Stir in rum or brandy.
6) Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm. Place 1 teaspoon of chocolate mixture on top of each cookie. Smooth to form a dome shape. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm. Line cooled baking sheets with waxed paper. In the top of a double boiler over hot water, melt the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate with the shortening. Allow to cool for 3 minutes. Set cookie on a fork and spoon the melted chocolate over the cookie until completely coated. Place on waxed paper. Refrigerate until chocolate sets, about 2 hours.

Brandy instead of Bourbon? Close enough...

Once again, I make the classic mistake of misreading a recipe. I always think I read things so carefully, but apparently not. Good thing is that my mistakes in the kitchen have yet to drastically affect the outcome of the recipe. This last time I made a mistake was when I used unsweetened chocolate instead of bitterweet, this time I used brandy instead of bourbon. These chocolate chip sandwhich cookies with bourbon ganache, despite my little mistake, were amazing. The ones I made (sadly I do not have a photo) ended up GIGANTIC, however, as the recipe did not specify the size to make the dough drops on the cookie sheet. So, you basically had to cut them in half to avoid a sugar overdose, or be REALLY in the mood for dessert. If you would like to give them a shot yourself, I recommend making the cookies smaller, but it is up to you.

What's inside of the cookies:

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 (12-oz.) package semisweet chocolate morsels

What's inside of the ganache:

1 (12-oz.) package semisweet chocolate morsels

1/2 cup whipping cream

3 tablespoons bourbon (or brandy, like I used. In all honesty, I bet you could use any type of liquor)

3 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to make the cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add vanilla, beating until blended.
2. Combine flour and next 2 ingredients in a small bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in morsels just until combined. Drop dough by level spoonfuls (I think mine were about the size of a rounded tbsp, I recommend doing a rounded teaspoon) onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
3. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheets to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).
4. Spread Bourbon Ganache on flat side of half of cookies (about 1 Tbsp. per cookie); top with remaining cookies. Cover and chill cookies 2 hours or until ganache is firm.

   
   

   How to make the ganache:

   1. Microwave semisweet chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a 2-qt. microwave-safe bowl at 2 1/2 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt, stirring at 30-second intervals. Whisk in bourbon, softened butter, and vanilla. Cover and chill, stirring occasionally, 1 hour and 30 minutes or until thickened to a spreadable consistency.