Magic Cookie Bars

Magic Cookie Bars

***Susan's note: I had some butterscotch chips I wanted to use up, hence this recipe. Yum! They're really good. Put foil in your pan, set the bars in the fridge to set up after cooling a little bit, and then take the foil out and cut them with a big butcher knife. Also - I hate coconut, so I used chopped dried cranberries instead. Yum!

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup butterscotch morsels
1 (7-ounce) package sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preparation
Stir together melted butter and graham cracker crumbs, and press into bottom of a 13- x 9-inch pan.

Pour sweetened condensed milk over crumbs; sprinkle evenly with chocolate and butterscotch morsels, coconut, and walnuts. Gently press mixture to a uniform thickness with a fork.

Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until coconut is lightly browned. Cool 45 minutes on a wire rack. Cut into 1 1/2- x 2 1/2-inch bars.

Southern Living Nov 2002

Garlic and Herb Oven Fried Halibut

Garlic and Herb Oven Fried Halibut
by Cooking Light

****Susan's Note: My husband and I really liked this recipe. I didn't have fresh basil (used dried) or onion powder (used a little minced fresh onion), and it turned out yummy. I made 2 large fillets (about 8 oz each). I served it with peas and stuffing. I used a toaster oven to make it super easy.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 fillet)
Ingredients
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish. Place egg whites and egg in a shallow dish. Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Dredge fish in flour. Dip in egg mixture; dredge in panko mixture.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 fish fillets; cook 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until browned. Place fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining fish. Bake at 450° for 6 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
293 (29% from fat)
Fat:
9.6g (sat 1.4g,mono 4.9g,poly 1.8g)
Protein:
39.4g
Carbohydrate:
9.2g
Fiber:
0.5g
Cholesterol:
90mg
Iron:
1.8mg
Sodium:
446mg
Calcium:
89mg

Doughnut (Donut) Muffins

Doughnut Muffins

***Susan's Note: I saw these on the Food Network's show "Best Thing I ever ate" last night, and I knew since today was a snow day I would be doing some baking! Yum, these are good. These are a lot of work, though. I don't know if I'd ever make them again, just because of that. Also, I happened to have some buttermilk because I made Cooking Light's Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing over the weekend. (Those were just so-so to me, but other people loved them.)

Kathleen's Doughnut Muffins
by Carrie Brown, John Werner, and Michael McLaughlin
from The Jimtown Store Cookbook (HarperCollins)
Makes 24 muffins


6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 2/3 cups milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
Muffin Coating
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and lightly flour the cups of two standard muffin tins (12 muffins each).

2. For the muffins, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Mix together the milk and buttermilk.

3. In the bowl of a standing mixer using the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer on medium speed, cream the butter. Gradually mix in the sugar and beat until the mixture lightens in color and increases in volume. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition no more than necessary to blend. By hand, alternately add the dry ingredients in four additions and the milk in three additions, starting and ending with dry ingredients and mixing no more than necessary to blend after each addition. The batter should be smooth but should not be overmixed.

4. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins, filling the cups level with about 1/2 cup batter per muffin (at the bakery Kathleen uses a number 16 ice-cream scoop, available in restaurant-supply houses).

5. Bake until the muffins have risen and are firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the tins on a rack for a few minutes.

6. To coat the muffins, in a bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tins. One at a time, brush them, all over with the butter, then roll them in the cinnamon-sugar, covering them thoroughly. Enjoy the muffins immediately or let them stand on a rack until cool.