Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

I live in a beautiful city. Yes, I wish I was already over in Missouri working my dream job, but if I can't be then I may as well make the most of where I live.  Yesterday I went hiking with a friend and some of the youth from church. It was just a short walk around Sydney Harbour National Park. It rained and was freezing cold but with views like this you get over it pretty quickly. 

When hiking you must have snacks and when I saw these Peanut Butter Crisp Bars on my Adopt-a-blogger's website I knew it was the recipe I had to try.  I did play with the recipe a little though, making the rice krispy layer more like my mars bar slice then the original.  But the peanut butter and dark chocolate layer on top was the perfect addition. They were eaten by all hikers very quickly, then finished off at church this morning by everyone else who was complaining about missing out!

Here are some more photos from my day. Enjoy!

Check out these recipes from the week.

• Cafe Nilson shares a friends recipe for Almond Butter Horn Cookies
• This Strawberry Cake with Egg White Base is a show piece. Recipe in english further down
• Lets go savoury (and healthy!) with Whole Wheat Pizza Muffins from Latest Addictions
• I have seen this Crepe Cake before and am waiting for the right occassion. Check out The Ceramic Canvas recipe
• Now this recipe intrigues me. Don't know if I'd ever eat it but maybe someone is brave enough to try Raspberry Chipotle Swirl Cupcakes from Evil Shenanigans

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

Recipe from HoneyB

Ingredients

Rice Krispy Layer

1 3/4 cups rice krispies (rice bubbles)

60g butter

2 mars bars (milky way bars - the ones with caramel)

Peanut Butter Layer

1 cup peanut butter

140g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

Chocolate Layer

80g dark chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

Method

1. Line or grease a 8 inch square cake pan.

2. Melt butter and mars bars in small saucepan to make rice krispy layer. When smooth move to a large bowl and stir in rice krispies.  Press the mixture into the base of pan and allow to cool while making the next layer.

3. In a heatproof bowl place the peanut butter and milk chocolate. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and melt, stirring with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan in the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the cooled crispy layer. Put the pan into the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the layer hardens.

4. Make the Chocolate layer by melting dark chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Spread evenly over cooled peanut butter layer. Place in refrigerator until set.

White Chocolate, Raspberry and Yoghurt Muffins

These are the other result of my baking frenzy on the weekend. I have made them before so knew they would be a winner. Again I missed out on my own baking and these ended up in the possession of friends (who are still arguing over them!).  Expect more raspberry recipes in the future too, because I now have a box of frozen berries to get through.

White Chocolate, Raspberry and Yoghurt Muffins

Unfortunately I don't know where I got this recipe, sorry 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 cup low-fat yoghurt

1 cup frozen raspberries

100g white chocolate, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

icing sugar, to dust

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin pan, or line with paper cases.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Mix batter until just combined. Divide the batter until just combined. Divide the batter among pan holes. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

3. Allow to cool in pan 5 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Thumbprint Cookies

I had my last day of work on Friday. I actually finished a few hours earlier then expected. So I baked cookies.  I hadn't been shopping in a while so chose these cookies completely based on the ingredients. In fact I had to substitute the freckles for plain old chocolate melts and threw on some sprinkles.  While they satisfied my baking needs, they did cause some fighting when people missed out! I had to promise to bake more cookies over the weekend to satisfy everyone. Just as well I was in the mood (even baked some muffins too!)

Check out these great recipes from the week

• I'm not really sure what a Whoopie Pie is but they have intrigued me for a while. Check out these Boston Cream Whoopie Pies at Bitter Sweet
• Cinnamon is one of my favourite flavours. A nice Cinnamon Sugar Scone is at Baked Perfection
• What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen? has some Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
• I love this idea. So simple but looks great. Check out the Quick and Easy Birthday Cake at Chef Paige
• I love pop-tarts. Australia doesn't have pop-tarts. Problem. Solution: Homemade Pop-tarts from The Curious Blogquat.

Thumbprint Cookies

Recipe from Taste.com.au 

Ingredients

180g unsalted butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup self-raising flour

1 1/2 cups plain flour

Chocolate melts

sprinkles

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and mix until pale and creamy. Add the egg and beat well.

3. Stir in the flours and mix to from a dough. Roll 1 tablespoon of the dough into a ball and flatten onto the baking tray. Press your thumb into the centre of the dough to make a hole. Repeat with the remaining dough.

4. Press the chocolate freckle into each hole and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

5. Set aside on wire rack to cool. 

It's not about you, Its about the Dew... Cake (Mountain Dew Cake and Rainbow Cake)

Today has been a day. And I'm sharing two recipes to help document it.  Its been a big week actually.  Due to some not so great news I have had to postpone, maybe indefinitely, my move to the US.  But today was a much better day. After Church this morning we had a really nice lunch, and I made two cakes (with the help of some friends).  These are two recipes I have seen and been wanting to try for a while. Now they use a box cake mix. I know, I know not traditional, and I don't usually like cake mixes, but the modifications make them spectacular. Two great cakes, given to some good friends.  

The Mountain Dew Cake is the well known, cake mix plus a can of soda recipe. I'd been intrigued by it for a while and when I told a friend about it they thought about mountain dew straight away.  You see we have some friends who are obsessed with Mountain Dew and live by the motto 'its not about you... its about the Dew' So really there was no other alternative when it came to this cake. The taste wasn't as Dew-y as desired but I'm so pleased it turned out at all. The glaze was supposed to have dew in it too, but it was all gone by the time I went to make it (addicts!)

The Rainbow Cake was for another friend's birthday. When I first saw this recipe I had wanted to make it with a from scratch recipe but I thought I'd try it with a box mix first to see how it went.  It was great! I cannot wait to try it again with other colours, and cupcakes! Can you imagine!!  

So thank you to my amazing friends. I hope you enjoyed the cakes. 

And now... 

• The Cooking Photographer - WWII Caramel Refrigerator Cookies
• Ezra Pound Cake - Edna Lewis' Busy-Day Cake
• Good Things Catered - Chocolate Oreo Cake
• Sugar Plus - Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
• Dunkin Cooking the Semi-homemade Way - Baklava

(Sorry for the lack of descriptions, its way past my bed time!)

Mountain Dew Cake - Buy a cake mix and instead of adding the wet ingredients just add a can of Mountain Dew (375mL).  Bake following packet directions.

Rainbow Cake - http://justaddeggs.blogspot.com/2009/03/taste-and-create-rainbow-cake.html 

Baked Lemon Cheesecake

I tried to be a daring baker, I wanted to be a daring baker but I'm just not organised enough. This is my cheesecake from last months challenge. I wasn't able to post it in time because I have been away for the last week and half for work.  And I can't tell you how it tasted.  I left it for my mum to pick up and enjoy but, well she didn't make it to my place for a week, where she was greeted by stinky cheesecake that couldn't be eaten. As for more daring bakers challenges seeing as I'm moving in two weeks (crazy!!) I think I might have to take a break from daring bakers.  But please check out all the other daring bakers cheesecakes

 Keeping with the blog event theme its a special Sunday Baking feature. Here are some of the best and most popular blog events out there.  

• Daring Bakers has got to be one of the biggest, with previous recipes including Cheesecake, Lasagne, Chocolate valentino and Tuilles.
• Tuesdays With Dorie is another big one.  Bake one recipe a week from Dorie Greenspan Baking from my Home to Yours.
• The Cake Slice Bakers are another group baking their way through a cookbook.  The current book is Sky High by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne.
• You want pies with that? bakes a pie every month based on a theme, then vote for the best pies
• Bake your own bread is a new event this year where you do just that, bake your own bread! 

Of course another great event is the Adopt-a-blogger started at Dine and Dish. I mentioned last week that my adopted blogger is HoneyB.  If you haven't already check out the blog. I look forward to being part of this event in the next few (very busy!) months. 

I'm sure there are plenty more events out there, if you have any favourites let me know by leaving a comment.