Sugar Cookie Bars, or "The one where the bake-aholic could not get any lazier"

Sugar cookies are one of my favorite cookies (I have several favorites). However, while I love the baking and the eating, I am generally (all the time) too lazy for the rolling and the cutting. When I make sugar cookies, I generally just scoop and bake. I have a great cookie cutter collection...my girls use it for peanut butter play-dough.

And really, who is going to turn down a homemade sugar cookie because it is round instead of heart shaped?

Recently I was surfing through various baking blogs and I was stopped in my tracks. A Sugar Cookie Bar! Now all I have to do is dump all my dough on one cookie sheet, flatten it out a little, bake and frost.

And to top it off, when the cyclist saw that pan of frosted goodness, he cut them into bars for me while I lazed about on the couch reading my gossip magazines.

Sugar Cookie Bars
adapted slightly from annemarie-tastebuds.blogspot.com

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla and almond and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and soda. Stir with a whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (half sheet/jelly-roll pan) and bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes (until they're just barely starting to brown). Let cool. Frost and cut into bars.

White Wonder Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup softened butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring (optional)

Blend until smooth.

Crunchy French Toast

This is one of our favorite ways to use up the second loaf of French bread.

4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 loaf French bread, sliced into 9-10 (1 inch thick) slices (mine is usually day-old)
3 cups cornflakes, slightly crushed
3 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450.
Combine eggs, milk, salt and vanilla in a shallow bowl (I like to use a pie pan). Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, coating both sides. Press the bread slices into the cornflake crumbs, getting a good coating on all sides (again, a pie pan works great). Place coated bread slices on greased baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cornflakes start to brown.
Serve with Lindsey's famous cinnamon syrup.


1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c butter
1/2 c water
1/3 c corn syrup


In small saucepan, combine sugar & cinnamon. Add butter, water and corn syrup and stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves & mixture thickens. Serve hot.


I posted this syrup recipe a long time ago, but I don't think it got the attention that it deserved so I will post it again. We love it on pancakes, waffles, aebelskivers, ice cream, French toast, on its own by the spoonful...

Roasted Salmon with Zucchini and Nutty Couscous

Most evenings at my house go something like this: Starting at 5:00, I become a broken record. "Finish your homework and get the table set before your father gets home. Finish your homework and get the table set before your father gets home. Why isn't the table set? Whose socks are these in the pantry?"
We hear the garage door open and know we have approximately 15 seconds to get something more than a saggy diaper on the baby. The dinner that I hoped to serve by 6:00 starts to trickle to the table around 6:20. How is it that I have such a hard time getting four items to finish at the same time?

Well, tonight was the exception to the rule. Like the dinner of my dreams. I could hear the faint sound of Sam Beam as I worked quietly in the kitchen. Dinner was ready before the garage door opened. The table was set.

And surprise, surprise. All four of my daughters CLEANED THEIR PLATES. (I've mentioned that I have one daughter who is quite vocal in her hatred for any vegetable...only compliments from that girl!)

Roasted Salmon with Zucchini and Nutty Couscous
from Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine
(While I can't watch her, I like most of her recipes. This one was marketed as "dinner in twenty minutes" and it was surprisingly accurate!)

• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup couscous
• Four 3/4-inch-thick skin-on salmon fillets (about 6 ounces each)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
• 4 lemon wedges

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil. Stir in the couscous; cover, remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, drizzle olive oil into a rimmed baking sheet or dish; arrange the salmon skin side down in a single layer. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 8 minutes for medium-rare (I cooked it a few more minutes.)

3. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini in an even layer across the pan; season with pepper. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and sprinkle in half of the Parmesan, then flip the zucchini and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

4. Fluff the couscous with a fork, then stir in the almonds and the remaining 3 tablespoons parsley. Serve with the salmon, zucchini and lemon wedges.

Market Street Clam Chowder

Salt Lake is home to a little gem of a seafood restaurant (we're a landlocked state, I know). It is one of my favorite places to eat. Their clam chowder is perfect. If you're in the area, stop in for a bowl and a chunk of crusty sourdough bread (P.S. their desserts are FANTASTIC). If you're not in the area, or just want some incredible chowder, give this recipe a try.

Market Street Clam Chowder
serves 12

1 cup potatoes, diced 1/2 inch
1 cup celery, diced 1/2 inch
1 cup onion, diced 1/2 inch
1 cup green pepper, diced 1/2 inch
1 cup leeks, diced 1/2 inch
3/4 cup chopped clams (canned or fresh)
3/4 T coarse ground black pepper
1 1/2 T salt
3/4 T whole thyme
6 bay leaves
1 t Tabasco
3/4 cup sherry wine (optional)
3/4 cup clam juice (drained from canned clams or purchased separately in can, I got enough from the can)
2 cups water
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup flour
2 quarts half-and-half


Combine melted butter and flour in oven proof container (a small casserole dish will do) and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. In large saucepan, combine remaining ingredients except half-and-half. Simmer until potatoes are thoroughly cooked (check after 20-30 minutes). Stir butter-flour mixture into chowder and stir until thick. Mixture will be slightly less thick than cookie dough. Remove chowder from heat. Stir in half-and-half until blended. Heat to serving temperature, stirring occasionally. Enjoy. (It's delicious reheated the next day.)

Apple Streusel Bars

My two little brothers turned twenty-seven this week. I made this dessert in their honor. (Ryan can eat the better part of a pan of apple crisp for dinner...and finish off the rest the next morning for breakfast.)


The recipe comes from PEACOCKS ON MY PORCH
I've said it before, it my favorite cookbook and it has become a favorite of many friends and family members. I have a few more for sale. If you are interested, please email me.
bradleykitchen@comcast.net

Apple Streusel Bars

Bars
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter. Stir in egg to moisten. Mixture will be fairly dry. Divide mixture in half. Press half in bottom of a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

Apple Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups sliced, pared baking apples

For filling, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir in apples and arrange over bottom crust. Crumble remaining dough over apples. Bake for 40 minutes and cool.

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
light cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

To make glaze, combine powdered sugar, vanilla and enough cream to make a thin glaze. Drizzle across top and cut into 2 inch squares.


And can you believe this guy is still single? Not our fault, is it Lindsey?

Orangettes

My mother in law has always had a special fondness for orange sticks. As long as I have known her, she has had a stockpile somewhere within her reach.

When I found this recipe last year, I immediately thought of her. We have made them for her the last couple of Christmases. While they take some time to make (a few hours if you're not a chocolatier---I am NOT), these really are better than the store bought variety. Instead of an orange flavored jelly center, these are filled with the real thing.

If you're out of the holiday goody making mood, bookmark this recipe for next December. They will make a perfect addition to a holiday sweet exchange (if you can bear to part with a few).

Orangettes

adapted from the food network

4 large oranges
8 ounces (1 cup) water
8 ounces sugar (it may not be precise, but I used 1 cup)
16 ounces good chocolate (These would probably work out better with a good dipping chocolate, but as I am not Willy Wonka, I always just melt up some Guittard milk chocolate chips)

Directions:
Slice the ends off of the oranges, score the peel from one end to the other, and remove the peels off the oranges.

Slice the peels into thin strips and trim the edges.

Using a medium size pot, place the peels in boiling water and blanch them for about five minutes. Rinse the peels, and repeat this process a second time. This is done to remove the bitterness of the peels (and it makes your kitchen smell wonderful).

Prepare the simple syrup by combining the water and sugar in a sauce pot. Bring the syrup to a simmer, place the peels in the pot, and simmer for 1 hour. Check them often to make sure the syrup hasn't boiled off. Once the peels have cooked, remove them from the pot, and place on a rack to cool and drain.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the candied orange peels in the chocolate, remove them quickly. Allow them to dry completely on waxed paper. Store these tasty treats in an airtight container.

Mint-Chocolate Brownies (2)

Years ago, the cyclist was told (by a wise, wise man) that you should always have a little something sweet after dinner. Just to let your tummy know that the meal is over. For this reason, I always have Junior mints or York Peppermint Patties in my freezer. They are the perfect little after dinner treat. I love the chocolate mint combination.

I found this recipe in an Everyday Food magazine and just got around to making them (the second treat served at this year's progressive dinner.)

Delicious, moist, fudgy, minty, perfect.

Mint-Chocolate Brownies
from Everyday Food

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
25 small (1 1/2 inch) peppermint patties (use York's, not those sad imitations they sell at Costco)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides; butter foil. Set aside.
Place chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally just until melted, 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar and salt until smooth; whisk in eggs. Gently whisk in flour and cocoa powder just until smooth (do not overmix).
Spread 1/3 of batter in prepared pan. Arrange peppermint patties on batter in a single layer, leaving a narrow border on all sides. Top with remaining batter, and smooth surface. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes.
Cool completely in pan. Use foil to lift from pan; peel off foil and discard. Cut into 16 squares (4 rows by 4 rows).