smookies?

Smore Cookie Bars. Seriously one of the best inventions in the world. A graham cracker flavored cookie, a layer of yummy melted milk chocolate, a fluffy layer of marshmallow goo, and another layer of cookie. Delicious. I've made them multiple times, and never have they failed to impress. Probably not wise to serve at a very fancy gathering, as they tend to get a little messy. But anywhere else, throw these easy cookie bars together and serve them warm. :) I found these here.


What You'll Need:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)(though one day, I am going to try this with whole marshmallows and see what happens)


Preheat your oven to 350, prepare your 8x8 pan... 


So in a bowl, cream together the butter and both the kinds of sugar until it gets light. This whole "creaming" thing is another one of those "not if you live in a dorm" kind of luxuries, so I usually just melt the butter and mix it in and pretend I followed the directions. Then add the egg and vanilla, stir til combined, set aside.
In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, crumbs, baking powder, salt). Once this is all together, throw it into the butter mixture. However, if, once again, either you're lazy or have limited supplies or what not the only real benefit of this step is combining the crumbs and the flour, so I usually just skip it and throw it all straight into the butter mixture because its less bowls to wash. But shhh, dont tell. 
Next, you're gonna divide the cookie dough in half, and put one half of it into the bottom of your 8x8 pan and make an even layer. Then place the chocolate bars over them, they should probably fit perfectly but if not break and make it fit! Then spread the marshmallow fluff. Fun! Sticky! Yay! I've learned this works a lot more effectively when the marshmallow fluff is not cold. Next, the really fun and sticky part, putting the second layer of cookie on top of the marshmallow fluff... Good luck! According to the recipe, the easiest way is by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together. I usually just kind of go at it and hope it works. 
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned and it smells wonderful. The recipe says cool completely, but I definitely prefer them warm. And with leftovers I usually just microwave them for a few seconds at a time to warm them up, and they stay delicious. 
Enjoy!

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Broccoli.

So the headline on this article caught my eye. I was like, really, who's to say THIS will be the best? But honestly, it was. It was absolutely delicious. I saw boys who I've never seen eat vegetables before eat it. It was soooo good. That hint of lemon with the amazing flavor of the cheese. SO GOOD. I could seriously eat this as my side dish every night. The recipe I got it off of didnt really have a straight up ingredient list, so I didn't really use exact amounts of anything, so I'll tell you my guestamites.


So what you'll need:
2-3 Bunches of Broccoli Crowns (or some bags of broccoli wokly)
4-5 Tbs Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
4 Cloves Garlic
1 Lemon
Grated Parmesan Cheese


Preheat oven to 425.
So you'll start by cutting your broccoli into florets if you didnt buy already cut up ones. Make sure that if you washed your broccoli that its totally dry, otherwise it will get all gross and burned. Put it in a bowl, toss with the olive oil and some salt and pepper (whatever you normally put on food should be fine, I didnt measure at all.) Spread them out on a cookie sheet. You can line it if you wish, but I didnt.
Pop this in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until its golden brown ish, but not burned.
Now, zest the lemon over the broccoli (I skipped this step, lemon zest annoys me), and then squeeze the lemon juice over all the broccoli. Make sure all the broccoli gets some love, as thats the best part. Then top with the cheese. Serve warm. ENJOY! Definitely definitely enjoy.


I want to try putting it back in the oven for a bit after I add the cheese, to melt it. If you want to try that, let me know how it turns out.
Hope you love them too!

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Raspberry Lemon Bars

So lemon bars are sort of my claim to fame back home baking wise. They were the first thing I ever really baked on my own... And I used to bake them like almost every day. So I was really excited when I found this new twist on them. However, I was not as thrilled as I thought I'd be with the result, but everyone else seemed to like them. I guess that's because I was expecting lemon bars, and thats not really what they were. They were like tart raspberry bars. But they are still a nice summer tasting treat, just don't be expecting lemon bars with a hint of raspberry. 
So you'll need:
(crust)
9 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

(filling)
1 1/2 cups  sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup  fresh lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
2/3 cup (65 g) unbleached, all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup (150 g) frozen raspberries, defrosted
1 tablespoon powdered sugar [I used a few more]


Now keep in mind that I live in a dorm. I do not have measuring cups. In fact, I haven't used a measuring cup in so long it is actually kind of sad. But those are the measurements off of the recipe I used, so I mean it is what it is. 


So start with your oven preheating to 350, as usual. You'll need an 8x8 pan, either greased, lined with parchment paper, or just chillen. 
Then you'll cream your butter and sugar with your electric mixer (another thing missing in my dorm)(I ended up just using my hands, it was actually quite an adventure.), then mix in your flour til its incorporated. Put your crust into your pan, put your pan into your oven, and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, this would be a prime oppurtunity to start juicing those lemons if you have not already done so. If you have, hang out til the crust is done, then prepare your filling while it cools. This was a weird part of this recipe for me, as I'm used to recipes that call for pouring it over a hot crust, but I did what it told me to do. So to prepare mix sugar, eggs, lemon juice and zest,  and flour in a large bowl. Pour raspberries into a sieve* and press through to extract all the pulp and juices. Whisk into lemon mixture and pour into crust. 

*Sieves, yet another thing I do not have hear in my dorm room. I attempted to use a very mini strainer I found for $2 at Albertsons, but it was just messy and frustrating, so I ended up just crushing my frozen raspberries and throwing them in. Maybe thats why these came out so weird...
Anyway, cook for about 30-35 minutes according to the recipe, though for me it took almost an hour and the filling in the middle still didn't pass the tooth pick test. Oh well... Cook until its done I suppose. Cool, top with your powdered sugar, cut, enjoy. 
I hope this works better for you than for me!
And yes, I know I should stop using my Iphone and start using my real camera. So sue me.

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French Fries! No deep fryer needed.

Hmm, still not Passover friendly. Let's just pretend it's not passover. But again, I didn't make these today either. And I don't have a picture yet for these either! Gah, I'm falling behind. But these are delicious and simple. A nice change from just plain homemade french fries. I've had this recipe sitting around for a while and don't remember where I got it from. Woopsie. But they are seriously easy!


So you'll need:
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup water, or as needed
1 cup vegetable oil for frying


So first slice your potatoes into french fry shape. Or go to Ross and invest in one of those really cool potato cutters that I have. They make life easy. (When they aren't chopping your finger off...)(Okay, not off..) Keep the fries in cold water while you're waiting to cook them so they don't brown.
Heat your oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. While thats chillin (or heatin I suppose), sift together your flour, garlic salt, onion salt (I feel like I skipped this ingredient now that I'm looking at it...), normal salt, and paprika into a bowl. Slowly add in enough water so that the mixture can be drizzled from a spoon.
Dip fries into the batter one at a time, then place them into the oil.  The fries must be placed into the skillet one at a time, or they will clump together. Fry until golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels.


Yummy! I love french fries! Enjoy!

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