Posts filed under 'Desserts'
After buying Nature Valley Granola bars with a coupon, I decided to try making my own homemade version of those delicious treats. With a family of seven, a dozen granola bars does not last long at all. For us, it’s really not worth spending the $4 to get 2 boxes of granola bars that will last less than a day.
Somewhere between a Payday candy bar and a whole grain granola bar, Nature Valley’s Sweet and Salty bars are the latest bar on the market and they are GOOD. I could not resist buying a few ingredients and heading to the kitchen… After you read the recipe, keep scrolling for a cost comparison…
Sweet and Salty Bars
makes 40 bars (a darn sight more than the 6 that come in a box)
4 c. crisped rice cereal
3 c. oats
1 c. crushed graham crackers
2 c. cashews or peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 c. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 c. peanut butter OR butterscotch baking chips, or a combination of both
First, heat the oven to 275 degrees and put the oats on a jelly roll pan to toast. It should take about ten minutes, just let them begin to turn golden brown. Leave the oven on, since you will be using it again soon.
Next, combine the oats, crisp rice cereal, graham crackers, and nuts in a large bowl. Set this aside. In a saucepan, heat the sweetened condensed milk and butter and let it begin to bubble. Add the brown sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Then add the vanilla and stir well. Pour this gooey mixture over the cereal combination and stir well, tossing with a rubber spatula.
Press tightly into a greased jelly roll pan. Using a sheet of aluminum foil can be helpful for this, just lay it on top and press down with all your might. Remove the foil. Then, sprinkle the baking chips over the top and return to the oven for 10 minutes to let the chips melt. Remove from the oven and spread the melted chips over the granola as if you were frosting a cake. Cool in the freezer or refrigerator.
Cut into bars and wrap in foil or plastic wrap.
(To simplify this recipe, toss the baking chips into the mixture along with the cereals and nuts. Then you can eliminate the final step of returning it all to the oven and spreading the melted chips.)
Cost comparison; the amounts below reflect my estimate for the cost of each ingredient, the amount used in this recipe:
Crisped rice — $.50
oats — .$50
graham crackers — $.25
cashews — $2.00
sweetened condensed milk — $1.00
butter — $.50
brown sugar — $.50
vanilla — $.05
baking chips — $2.00
Total cost of 40 homemade bars — $7.30 equals $.18 per bar
total cost of 40 boxed bars (with coupon) — $13.33 equals .$33 per bar
April 21st, 2009
On a whim, I decided it would be fun to make applesauce with my eight-year-old son. He loves machines and seeing how things work and I have a hand-cranked food strainer for making things like applesauce, tomato sauce, and pumpkin puree.
As I said, applesauce-making seemed like a fun afternoon project for us. I bought several pounds of Gala apples while at the grocery and yesterday afternoon we got out the strainer, cooked up the apples, and cranked away. I did not endeavor to make 5 gallons and can it all, I just wanted to make a good portion for us to eat this week.
First of all, I have to say that Jake did LOVE making the applesauce. He was thrilled that I let him get all of the pieces out of the box and try to put it together himself. In the end, I had to do most of this, but he watched eagerly and learned how the machine went together and how it worked.
The process is extremely simple:
First, buy a bunch of apples. I bought 6 pounds of apples - oops, I think we ate a couple before making the applesauce, so let’s say I started with 5 pounds. I bought Gala apples, after making sure that they are good for baking. Some apples don’t cook up very well — Red Delicious, for instance, do NOT make good applesauce or pies at all. Gala, Jonathan, Yellow Delicious, and Fuji all work nicely.
Next, I quartered the apples and threw them in a large stock pot, stems, seeds, peels and all. The strainer removes all of that stuff. If you don’t have a strainer and still want to make applesauce, go ahead and remove the peels, cores, and stems. I added about 1/2 c. of water to the pot and brought it to a simmer, then lowered the heat and put a lid on it.
It took about 45 minutes of bubbling to get the apples nice and soft. By that time, my kitchen sure smelled great. Mmm… Mmm… Jake and his sister were positively jumping around the room, anxious to begin cranking the strainer.
I turned off the apples and let them cool a bit, then fed them through my strainer. If you don’t have a strainer, at this point you could put them in a blender or food processor. After tasting, we decided that a little sugar and cinnamon would make it just perfect, so we added 1/2 c. sugar and about 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Our 5 pounds of apples were now about 2 quarts of applesauce.
We served it for a snack, then with supper, and we still have some in the fridge, although I’m not expecting it to last much longer.
October 28th, 2008
I just love making these cookies and an added bonus — there is very little guilt involved with eating them!
Not much more than an over-baked glob of pie meringue, containing no fat or cholesterol, and only a bit of sugar, Meringues can satisfy that urge for a treat without ruining your diet.
Last weekend, we made some of these - a few for us and a few to share, and I was experimenting a bit so we added some mint extract and broken up chocolate bits. Delicious!
Mint Chocolate Chip Meringues
makes 2 dozen
3 large egg whites, room temperature is best
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1/2 t. peppermint extract
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. broken or chopped semi-sweet chocolate
To start with, set the oven to 225 degrees (that’s correct, not a typo - really low heat for this) and line two cookie sheets with foil.
Next, separate the eggs and discard the yolks or set them aside for something else, like noodles. I’m not a great noodle maker, so mine generally get tossed. Drop the whites into a medium-sized bowl. (No yolks allowed - if you get a bit of yolk mixed in with the whites, you have to start over, this recipe will NOT work with yolks, even a tiny bit.) Add the salt and cream of tartar. You will have to get out your mixer and go to town beating those egg whites up. Beat and beat and beat them - on high. They will turn white and fluffy, but keep on beating until they form peaks when you pull the beaters out.
Now it’s time for the sugar and mint — add the mint, but just a little sugar at a time, and lower the speed on your mixer to medium. Once all of the sugar is added, your meringue will be smooth, fluffy, and glossy. Gorgeous. Slow the mixer way down and fold in the chocolate bits.
Great - now plop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake these at 225 for 1 1/2 hours. (Again, not a typo - an hour and a half.) No peeking! They might fall if you do. The final result should be a slightly browned, crispy, airy meringue cookie.
ENJOY!
October 16th, 2007
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