Raspberry Coconut Bars

I have a confession to make. I am one of those gals that will always walk through the grass instead of on the sidewalk if it means that it is a shorter and better route. So, I think it is kind of funny when people assume I make everything from scratch. And they do occasionally. The truth is I a love a short cut. Especially when it comes to baking.

Which is why I love Jiffy Mixes. Especially the special flavors like Raspberry Muffin. On the side of the raspberry muffin box was a raspberry bar recipe. Sounds like a shortcut to a yummy dessert to me. I changed it a little by adding coconut because I am also one of those gals that thinks coconut makes everything better. OK, maybe not spaghetti and meatballs, but definitely everything else. You can substitute pecans or leave the coconut out if you are not a coconut gal (or guy).

Raspberry Coconut Bars
1 pkg of Raspberry Muffin mix (Jiffy)
5 TB margarine or butter, softened.
1/4 Cup quick oats
1/4 Cup shredded coconut
1/2 Cup Raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" square pan.
Combine first four ingredients.
Mix with fork until crumbly.
Set aside 1/4 cup of crumb mixture.
Press remaining crumb mixture into pan.
Spread raspberry jam on top of crumb layer to within 1/2 inch of edges.
Sprinkle or drop reserved crumb mixture over filling.
Bake 25-28 minutes until slightly brown. 

Banana Nutter Cookies

Recipe Trial and Pantry Recipe:
Yep, it is another recipe for ripe bananas. You can never have too many of those now can you? I found the recipe in a cookbook I have had for 17 years. Festive Fare: Lite Menus for Playful Days. 

I had never heard of these cookies so they became our Sunday baking project. Quite tasty if I do say so. I think you will like them too. 

 The Recipe
1 Small Banana, mashed
1/4 Cup margarine
1/2 Cup peanut butter
1/3 Cup White sugar
1/3 Cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cream together banana, margarine, and peanut butter. Add sugars and then remaining ingredients. Place dough by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. 
Yield 2 Dozen cookies

Jell-O Cookies, Orange Creamsicle & Coconut Lime

Pantry Recipe:

I admit I am not a lover of jiggly Jell-o dishes. I keep Jell-o in my pantry for other purposes, mainly flavoring for other dishes. When I saw these bright Jell-O cookies on Pinterest, I thought my girls will think those are so fun to make.  But I wanted to give these sugar cookies even a little more flavor. Plus it always fun to play mad scientist in the kitchen with your daughters. So, I pulled out some of my flavored extracts. Which I always have in my spice cupboard because I am a cupcake girl. 

These cookies were so simple and quick to make. We made one batch of the orange creamsicle and decided we needed to make another batch.  My kids liked the Coconut Lime but I liked the especially tangy Orange Creamsicle.

A note for Lactose intolerant kids. We exchanged butter for a dairy free margarine with flax seed oil. The cookies still turned out great. 

The Recipe

For Orange Creamsicle - use orange gelatin and 1/2 tsp orange extract (a little less for a less intense orange flavor)

For Coconut Lime -- Use lime gelatin and 1/2 tsp coconut (more for more coconut flavor)

The Recipe

1/2 cup shortening

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 – 3oz. pkg of Jell-O

Cream the above ingredients.  

Add:

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 tsp of flavored extract

Cream the eggs and vanilla into the sugar mixture.  

Add:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix well.  The dough will be fairly soft, but not sticky.  You don’t need to refrigerate the dough before rolling.  

 

 Roll dough into 1″ to 1 1/4″ balls and then roll in a bowl with about 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in it, completely covering the exterior of the dough ball.  Place on the pan about 2″ apart.  Using a flat-bottomed glass (or bowl) press the dough to about a 3/8″ thickness. Sprinkle with chunky decorative sugar (found in the cookie and cupcake decorating section of your grocery or craft store)

Bake the cookies for 6 – 8 minutes.  6 minutes is long enough unless you like your cookies crisp. We did ours for about 7 and I wished I had only done 6 minutes. They do crisp up as they cool. I just really like a soft cookie. Cool on a rack.

 

Forgotten Choco Chip Cookies

Pantry Recipe:

don't forget to always have nuts and chocolate chips on hand

The title of this recipe was screaming my name. Baking cookies is not exactly my forte. I always forget something, the eggs, the oil, the actual cookies baking in the oven.

Last time I made cookies I thought for sure I had it made. I took out prefrozen cookie from the freezer and put them in the oven. 30 minutes later my daughter said "Hey Mom, the house smells like cinnamon." Well that is weird I thought to myself. Until I realized that it smelled like burnt cinnamon. I had completely forgotten the cookies and due to the fact that my husband's band was belting out 80s music in the basement that was literally shaking the house, I had not heard the buzzer. 

Sooo, the whole concept of the Forgotten Cookie recipe completely appealed to me. I could do this. I could make cookies put them in the oven, turn off the oven immediately and completely forget about them for hours.

In the end these 5 ingredient meringue like cookies were delicious and easy to make. And I totally would have forgotten about them if my kids had not been nagging me. "When are they done, When are they done?"

Forgotten Cookie Recipe
 2 egg whites
2/3 Cup sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 Cup chopped pecans or macadamia nuts (I used macadamia)
3/4 Cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. 
Adding sugar gradually, beat until very stiff.
Add salt, nuts and choco chips.
Drop by teaspoons onto greased foil covered baking sheet. 
Put cookies in the oven and turn oven off immediately. 
Leave overnight or until oven is completely cooled.