Sticky Oat and Pine Nut Bars

Yummy!!! Husband keeps asking for more of these... he declared they were the best thing he's ever eaten. (so far today anyway, he likes to claim this every time I bake something that turns out delicious)

Sticky Oat & Pine Nut Bars
Food & Wine Magazine
1 stick butter
3/4 c. honey
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 c. old fashioned oats
1 1/2 c. pine nuts (I only had about 2/3 c. pine nuts so I can't imagine what these would be like with the full amount. It might be a bit too much!)
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon (my addition)
Dash of salt

4 oz white chocolate
1/2 tsp canola oil

Preheat the oven to 325. Butter an 8x8 baking dish and line with parchment.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter with the honey and brown sugar. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until an amber caramel forms. (About 5 minutes) Stir in the oats, nuts, pepper and salt. Cook for about 2 minutes. I cooked a bit more at this stage. The nuts are supposed to start to brown and mine didn't...

Pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Make sure to get the mixture nice and smooth and flat on top before you put them in the oven.

Allow to cool thoroughly. This was the hard part since it takes forever and you can't wait to try one! Cut in half, then each half in 6 bars. Warm the chocolate and oil, dip the bars in and cool them on a baking sheet (or some wax paper for super easy clean up)

Refrigerate if you are keeping them 3 - 7 days. They are safe in a plastic bag on the counter for up to three... if yours last that long. I'm sure mine won't!

Apple Chip Madness!!

My father-in-law loves to bring fresh fruits or veggies when he visits. Lately, he's been bringing tomatoes. There's nothing like fresh tomatoes... *drool* but then he surprised me with a bag of apples from a nearby orchard. Crisp, sweet apples that are snack size, perfect right? Until he gave me another bag about a week later. And then 40 pounds a week after that. Um... all these apples and yet I'm not in the mood for apple pie...

We are on a semi-health kick right now and the kitchen is partially demolished since my husband decided to stain all the cabinets so I broke out the dehydrator and made apple chips!

Apple Chips
5 apples
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
lemon water

Ok... it's really this easy:
1. Slice the apples thin with a mandolin.
2. Toss them in the lemon water while you finish the rest.
3. Layer them on the dehydrator trays, not touching.
4. If you want the cinnamon option, mix the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the slices. I did half plain, half cinnamon.
5. Dehydrate at 155 degrees for about four hours. If your slices are thicker, you will need to leave them on for a bit longer.

Do not share... everyone will want them! So after devouring the first batch of these, I used the rest of the apples and made batch two. Then I went to the store and bought more apples to make more chips... I think I'm a bit obsessed right now. On top of all these apples, my father in law is going to bring me a 30 lb box of "not so pretty" apples. Apparently you can buy less than perfect looking apples at a discount. Yummy!!!

Chocolate Crinkles

Betty Crocker is my hero. Seriously... she is so much better than Martha Stewart! I received the Betty Crocker Bridal Edition cookbook for Christmas one year (no, I was not getting married at the time!!) and have since used this cookbook a million times. Every time I make something from it, delicious results ensue. Today, I was craving these little brownie imitation cookies. At only 70 calories a piece, who wouldn't?!?

Chocolate Crinkles (all credit to Betty because there's absolutely nothing to modify here)
2 cups sugar
1/2 c. canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
4 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. powdered sugar (have more just in case)

Mix the sugar, oil, vanilla and chocolate. Add the eggs one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate minimum 3 hours. (this is the terribly torturous part since you're already craving them and now you have to wait 3 hours... seriously??)

Ok, back business - Preheat your oven to 350.
Grease cookie sheets.
I use an ice cream scoop to drop balls into the powdered sugar and roll them around. Place them on the cookie sheet with room for some expansion. Betty says 2 inches... I think I got away with less.

Bake the little balls of deliciousness for about 10 minutes. My recipe made almost 5 dozen, Betty says she gets 6 so I'm assuming a little smaller cookie would take 8-9 minutes. Let them cool!!!! Sort of important since they really are mini brownies and will fall apart on you if you're impatient. Use a spoon if you can't resist. :)

Eat!!! Have a glass of milk ready... Betty says 70 calories, 3 g fat per cookie.