Elementary School PB Bars

Remember in Elementary when they had peanut butter bars with chocolate frosting for the dessert during lunch?  That was my favorite day of the week.

Well this recipe comes pretty darn close to it...

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups oats
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat to 375 degrees.  Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Sift together dry ingredients and mix into peanut butter and sugar mix.

Spread into a 9x13 pan for thicker bars or a rimmed baking sheet thinner ones (like the ones in Elementary school) and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Allow to cool and frost with Chocolate frosting (Some people frost with 1/2 cup peanut butter before bars cool and then frost with chocolate frosting after bars cool for an extra peanut kick).

Chocolate Frosting:

5 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 pinch salt
3 Tbsp boiling water
1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Cream butter, add in cocoa, salt, and boiling water.  Stir until smooth.  Add powdered sugar and beat until at desired consistency, adding more water or powdered sugar to make thinner or thicker.

Fresh Orange and Cranberry Muffins

I had a bag of fresh cranberries and am still on an orange eating kick and decided to make some muffins. 

I was nervous they would be too tart but they were surprisingly perfect.

Orange and Cranberry Muffins

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 egg

3/4-1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup veg. oil

1 tsp grated Orange rind

1.  Mix together dry ingredients.

2.  Juice 1 and 1/2 large oranges (this will come to between 3/4 and 1 cup of juice which was perfect.  3/4 cup --one orange--left the dough too thick so I ended up juicing 1/2 more orange). Set aside.

3.  Chop fresh cranberries into chunks to equal 1 cup.

4.  Stir cranberries into flour mixture.

5.  In a small bowl whisk together egg, orange juice, oil, and grated orange rind (which I grated from the oranges I juiced).

6.  Pour into flour mixture and stir until all dough is moistened.

7.  Spoon into greased muffin tin (works better than using cup liners) about 3/4 full.  Makes approx. 15 muffins.  Sprinkle with some sugar on top and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

25 Christmas challenges

Rockstar Diaries posted this wonderful list and I decided to take the challenge.  Hope you do to:

25 christmas challenges...


go out of your way-- befriend someone today that needs a friend and follow through to christmas

tell someone you love them

make a tree decoration that will remind you of Christ

in your prayers today, give thanks for every blessing without asking for anything

try to be as kind as possible to others today

try not to quarrel with family members today

do a good deed anonymously

make goals for yourself-- seal a copy in an envelope to be opened in a year

visit someone sick or lonely or sad

do volunteer work for some worthy cause

do something fun for a child or younger sibling

try to forgive someone who has wronged you, be reconciled

make a "give list" instead of a list of gifts you'd like

improve yourself in some way to please the Savior

quietly reflect and choose uplifting activities vs shopping

phone or send a card to an old friend or family member

listen to Handel's Messiah

make a christmas treat for someone else

be a calming influence today and control your temper

accept the gift of forgiveness-- pray for some weakness and ask for help in repenting of it

look at christmas lights... where does all light come from?

sing carols

do something nice for someone without their knowing it was you

be the first to say hello to people all day

ask someone to tell you about a past christmas