Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Commotion Bars

From Denny: This bar cookie holds the ultimate for the sugarholic, peanut butter, marshamallow, chocolate and - or all of the above - lover! This comes from the Jif site too, though without a delicious photo.


Chocolate Caramel Commotion Bars

Prep Time: 45 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Yield: 2 to 3 dozen bars

Ingredients:

• Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

BOTTOM LAYER

• 2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1 (14 oz.) canEagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour

FILLING

• 1/4 cup (4 tbsps.) butter

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow cream

• 1/4 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter

• 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts, finely chopped

CARAMEL LAYER

• 1 (14 oz.) package caramels, unwrapped

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

• 1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 1/4 cup butterscotch chips

• 3/4 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter


Directions:

BOTTOM LAYER

1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan lightly with no-stick cooking spray.

2. MELT chocolate chips and butter in saucepan over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Stir in flour. Spread in prepared pan.

3. BAKE 12 to 15 minutes or until set. Cool.

FILLING

1. MELT butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in sugar and cream. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. STIR in marshmallow cream, peanut butter and peanuts. Spread evenly over bottom layer. Cool.

CARAMEL LAYER

1. MELT caramels and cream in small saucepan over low heat until caramels are melted. Spread over filling layer. Cool until set.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

1. COOK and stir all glaze ingredients in small saucepan over low heat until melted. Spread over caramel layer. Chill 30 minutes or until set. Cut into bars.

Recipe: Chewy Peanut Brownie Bars

From Denny: Lately, I've noticed how many of you out there in blog land are looking for recipes that combine peanut butter and chocolate and today I found a yummy easy recipe at Jif. There is something magical about the marriage of peanut butter and chocolate! This would be an awesome make and take for your kids at school or for entertaining during the sports season.

Chewy Peanut Brownie Bars

Prep Time: 45 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Yield: 50 bars

CRUST

• 1 (19.5 oz.) package Pillsbury® Classic Traditional Fudge Brownie

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 large egg


FILLING

• 1 cup corn syrup
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


GLAZE

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 (1 oz.) square unsweetened chocolate
• 7 1/2 teaspoons water
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:

1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Combine all crust ingredients in large bowl; mix well. Press mixture evenly over bottom of ungreased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan.

2. BEAT corn syrup and peanut butter in small bowl at low speed until well blended. Stir in remaining filling ingredients. Spread filling evenly over crust to within 1/2 inch of edges.

3. BAKE 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are firm and center is just firm to the touch. Cool completely.

4. MELT 1 tablespoon butter with chocolate and water in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Using wire whisk, stir in powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; blend until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cooled brownies. Allow glaze to set. Cut into bars.

Note for High Altitude baking(above 3500 ft.):

1. ADD 1/4 cup flour to dry brownie mix. Bake as directed above.

Recipe: Epicurious Best Cocoa Brownies

Another version of brownies called Bangor Brownies from the UK - Image via Wikipedia

From Denny: Epicurious is such a great resource online! I've been following them off and on for years now. This is a recipe from 2003 with over 250 reviews.

Second in this week's series on brownie recipes... I'm always looking for easy method recipes that involve chocolate for the beginner cook. Sometimes, I just want fast and easy minus the preservatives when I don't have much time to bake but am craving something wonderfully chocolate; brownies are usually a fast fix. I'm after that intense perfect chocolate taste! :)


Yield: Makes 16 large or 25 smaller brownies

Note from Epicurious: Cocoa brownies have the softest center and chewiest candylike top "crust" of all because all of the fat in the recipe (except for a small amount of cocoa butter in the cocoa) is butter, and all of the sugar is granulated sugar rather than the finely milled sugar used in chocolate. Use the best cocoa you know for these fabulous brownies.

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cold large eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Special equipment: An 8-inch square baking pan

Directions:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

Chocolate note:

Any unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder works well here. Natural cocoa produces brownies with more flavor complexity and lots of tart, fruity notes. I think it's more exciting. Dutch-process cocoa results in a darker brownie with a mellower, old-fashioned chocolate pudding flavor, pleasantly reminiscent of childhood.

From Denny: Here's an interesting twist on baking this reviewer tried: I use epicurious a lot but had to become a member just now for the sole purpose of reviewing this recipe. Three words that may change your life: coarse sea salt. I sprinkled large coarse crystals of sea salt on top of the batter prior to baking. This could also probably be done right when they come out of the oven. Words cannot describe how delicious they are. My boyfriend and I are both currently intoxicated with these brownies.

by gardengnome from Boston, MA on 07/26/09

From a reader in the UK who gives a substitute take on this as well as the equivalent temperature to bake: Will definitely make these again. I agree with another reviewer - the 'crackly' crust really only appeared when the brownies were cut but it did appear a bit, and the brownies were fantastically chewy and chocolatey. Baked for 20 minutes at 160 degrees Centrigrade (the equivalent of the Farenheit temperature listed in the reipce) in a fan oven. Spot on. I had run out of real unsalted butter so I used half 'slightly salted 'spreadable'' butter* (and reduced the salt) and I only had supermarket 'own brand' cocoa, but the brownies were still excellent. I look forward to making them with all real butter and better quality chocolate, but I'm thrilled to find a good chocolatey recipe I can make from a couple of eggs and not much else: Actual chocolate doesn't stay in my storecupboard for long ;-) * in the UK we have 'spreadable' butter which comes in containers like margarine and is butter with a little bit of added oil to make it easy to spread straight from the fridge. The brand I buy is slightly salted.

by justinepow from Edinburgh, Scotland on 07/07/09

Recipe: Easy 7 Layer Cookie Bars

From Denny: The kids can help you make these easy cookie bars! Great for the weekend; make ahead, freeze, then pull out when you need them. Nothing could be easier!

Some folks call these “hello dollies.” For a change, substitute peanut butter chips and peanuts for the butterscotch chips and pecans. - Meridith Ford Goldman


Hands on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Serves: Makes 40 bars


Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

1 (12-ounce) package milk chocolate chips

1 (12-ounce) package butterscotch chips

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Spray sides of 9-by-13-inch pan with cooking spray. Pour butter into pan. Sprinkle crumbs evenly on butter, then pat them down to even out. Sprinkle semisweet, milk chocolate and butterscotch chips evenly over crumbs. Sprinkle with coconut, then nuts. Pour milk over layers. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until mixture bubbles and browns on top. Let cool on a rack; cut into squares.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 263 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 3 grams protein, 34 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 14 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 19 milligrams cholesterol, 70 milligrams sodium.