Easy Chocolate Almond Bark

This Easy Chocolate Almond Bark was brought about one day when I was craving a treat, wanted it fast, and needed it to be made from things I had in my cupboard. I’ve made a lot of different kinds of “barks” on Plenty Sweet Life – Halloween Bark, Easter Bark, Leprechaun Bark, Autumn Bark, Minnesota Viking Bark – and they’re beautiful and delicious, too, but I just needed a treat that I could whip up in a hurry. I had chocolate chips, some roasted almonds, flaky sea salt, and sprinkles. That’s the beauty of making a bark. You can pretty much add anything you want to it: candies, marshmallows, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, coconut, nuts of any kind, sprinkles of all colors and shapes and sizes. The list goes on and on and on . . .

Here is the recipe as I made it:

Easy Chocolate Almond Bark

I started by melting 1 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave, then stirred in 1 cup of the roasted almonds.

Next I spread the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkled on some flaky sea salt. If you like things on top instead, spread out the chocolate and then sprinkle the nuts and all the goodies on top. Anything goes.

I just HAD to put on some sprinkles. I mean, what’s life without a few sprinkles? That makes it a party – am I right? Next I put the pan into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up.

Finally, I cut it into chunks and the bark was done (you can also break it apart). I had my treat. Whew. Thankfully this is a very quick and easy way to make yourself a treat – and it’s fairly healthy. Ahem – I said, FAIRLY healthy. Make it for anyone – this makes a wonderful hostess gift or present for someone you want to surprise or maybe you just want a treat or maybe just because it’s Friday. There is no end to the different kinds of bark you can make. I happened to make Easy Chocolate Almond Bark – I’d love to hear what kind of bark you make out of what you found in YOUR cupboard!

 

 

 

Almond Bars

This recipe for Almond Bars comes from Grandma’s church cookbook, and is one that I made years ago. My oldest daughter played volleyball and her club would hold an annual spaghetti dinner for a fundraiser. each family was supposed to bring a couple of pans of bars for the dessert table, and this was one of the recipes I tried and brought for that. I have said this before – about a hundred times – and I’ll say it again – those old church cookbooks are the BEST. Everyone would donate their absolute BEST recipes, so ALL the recipes in those books are the BEST. I have yet to find a bad one in any of the ones I’ve tried. Grandma spent a lot of time to try and figure out which recipes to add to the church cookbook. It was a BIG deal. I think I have at least 20 of Grandma’s old church cookbooks from all of the churches in town, and I love them all. Selling those boos were great fundraisers for the ladies groups, too.

Here is the recipe as I made it:

Almond Bars

For the Crust:

Mix together:

3/4 cup butter or margarine (I used butter)

1 1/2 cups flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

Press into 9″ x 12″ pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

For the Filling:

6 eggs, beaten

2 cups sugar

2 cups coconut

1 Tablespoon almond extract

Pour over baked crust.

Topped with 1/2 cup sliced almonds.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This is how I pressed the crust dough into the pan. This pan was an inch smaller in each direction than what the recipe called for.

The filling is nice and thick with all the coconut. I added the sliced almonds on top – just ‘cuz.

These bars smell amazing when they’re in the oven. Must be the almond extract.

Delicious. I mean – absolutely delicious. Grandma had a “thing” for anything almond, since she was Swedish. I know she would have loved these Almond Bars – you will, too!!

Swedish Almond Buns

This recipe for Swedish Almond Buns comes from Grandma’s church cookbook. I first tried this recipe just a few years ago, in 2009. We were having a Scandinavian baking day before Christmas with my mom and daughters, and when looking through the church cookbook (you all know how I feel about those old church cookbooks!!) for our usual recipes, I happened to find this one. Well – we HAD to try it – that very day! My mom’s a tea drinker, and these buns were perfect with her afternoon cup of tea. They’re delicious. This is one that would be great for a special breakfast, a snack, or for with your afternoon coffee – or tea.

Here is the recipe as I made it:

Swedish Almond Buns

In mixing bowl, dissolve:

1 package yeast in 3/4 cup very warm water

Add:

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup flour

Beat 2 minutes.

Add:

1 egg

1/4 cup shortening (I used butter, softened)

Gradually beat in until smooth:

1 cup flour

Add:

1/3 cup chopped, blanched almonds (I used sliced for this batch)

Spoon into greased muffin cups; fill 1/2 full.

Sprinkle with:

1/3 cup almonds

3 Tablespoons sugar

Cover and let rise in a warm place for 50-60 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Before and after rising – they really do double in size!

After baking – they come out golden brown and toasty!

These buns are best warm right out of the oven with a bit of butter and maybe some strawberry jam. If you can’t enjoy them right away, immediately pop them into the freezer to enjoy at a later time – they ARE homemade, after all, and they won’t stay fresh for more than a day. You will love these buns for a special breakfast treat or a delicious afternoon snack. Call your friends to come over for an afternoon cup of coffee and try these Swedish Almond Buns!

 

 

 

 

German Lebkuchen

This is a fairly new recipe for my family. Even though I am German on my other grandma’s side, I just started making this a few years ago. These German Lebkuchen have become one of my family’s favorites. They’re so amazingly spicy and delicious! The recipe comes from the old series of cookbooks that my mom has had for years called, Better Homes and Gardens Creative Cooking Library, and the book is “Birthdays and Family Celebrations”. As you can see by the notes I put on the recipe, we liked it!

This is one of those recipes you can do early in the season because the cookies are tastier the longer they sit!

Here is the recipe as I made it:

German Lebkuchen

Beat:

1 egg

Add:

3/4 cup brown sugar

Beat until fluffy.

Stir in:

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup molasses

Sift together:

3 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoons allspice

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Stir in:

1/2 cup mixed candied fruits and peels, diced (some of my family aren’t fond of the peels, so I just used red and green cherries this time)

1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds

Chill several hours or overnight.

Roll 1/4″ thick on floured surface.

Cut into 3 1/2″ x 2″ rectangles.

Bake on greased baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Cool slightly before removing from pan.

While warm, spread with lemon glaze.

Cool before storing.

Lemon Glaze:

Combine:

1 slightly beaten egg white

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Dash of salt

This isn’t a very difficult recipe, it’s just hard to mix up because it’s such a stiff dough.

Mix the sticky mixture into the dry mixture – it’s easier to mix and not so sticky. If you try to do it the other way around, the sticky part really sticks to the bowl and it’s VERY hard to mix. I figured out to put the sticky into the dry and it made all the difference – it’s so much easier to do it that way.

I mixed the fruit and nuts into it at the same time as you mix the sticky and dry ingredients together. The dough is so stiff, it really gets hard to stir.

I bring the dough together and then wrap it in plastic wrap to chill.

I found it easiest to roll out the dough, cut it into rectangles with a pizza cutter, and then lift the cookies off of my counter with a spatula to get them onto the baking sheet.

Put the glaze on when the cookies are still warm.

I put the cookies onto the cooling rack and then spooned on the lemon glaze.

There it is – the german part of our Christmas celebration!

These cookies are so spicy and delicious with the lemon glaze on them, that I feel they are almost the quintessential Christmas cookie. Start early so they have time for the flavors to meld. They make the house smell so good – you’ll know it’s time for Christmas. Make these German Lebkuchen and get ready for the holiday!

 

 

Patriotic Snack Mix

My husband likes to have snacks at work and I said I’d throw something together. Why not make it seasonal and use red, white, and blue in it to make it patriotic at the same time? He’s taking this batch to work, but this is also a great Patriotic Snack Mix for your 4th of July weekend. It’s chock full of sweet treats and nuts to give you enough energy to get your family through all the swimming and lake events, all of those lawn games of corn hole or Kubb, and you could even take some along for a snack when watching fireworks.

Here is the recipe as I made it:

Patriotic Snack Mix

1/2 box of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats

1 package of dried cherries

1 cup coconut (just for fun!)

1 bag of M & Ms

3 cups whole almonds

3 cups walnut halves

3 cups pecan halves

Mix gently.

The sweets – Frosted Mini Wheats, M & Ms, Dried Cherries, and Coconut. The roasted nuts – almonds, walnuts, and pecans. I roasted some raw nuts, but if you wanted to you could use salted nuts. Add what you like and make up your own mix!

So festive – you could use any color of M & Ms and make it appropriate for any holiday or occasion.

This little snack mix is absolutely delicious, and there are no added oil, spices, or baking needed.

Make up a batch of this snack mix to take along for the weekend. It will keep you energized for your 4th of July festivities. Stay safe this weekend and enjoy your family and friends!

 

Graham Crackers Cookies

Today’s recipe comes from my godmother, who is my mom’s cousin. I just had to share this cute photo of her when she was little. What a pretty little coat and scarf! She sure has a grip on that piglet!!

Oh my gosh! It’s so cute! I can’t stand it!! Haha!

This recipe for Graham Crackers Cookies is another of those really easy ones. I might add that I’m sure glad I didn’t know about this recipe before now – I think I would have had a problem with these. The comments about these cookies were unanimous, “oh, wow”.

Is this a cookie? Or is it a candy? Could be either one!

Here is the recipe as I made it:

Graham Crackers Cookies

2 cups mini marshmallows

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar (I had dark brown sugar so I used that)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup flaked coconut

2 packages graham crackers

Lay graham crackers in a pan (I used a jelly roll pan).

Sprinkle marshmallows on crackers.

Heat butter, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla until melted and dissolved.

Pour over crackers and marshmallows.

Sprinkle with almonds and coconut.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.

You know with graham crackers and marshmallows, it’s gonna be good. Then you drizzle the caramel over top.

Then when you add almonds and coconut – wow.

I hope this looks right coming out of the oven, because they don’t look like much right now.

I used a knife and cut them while they were still warm, or you could wait until they’re totally cool and break them apart. The caramel surrounds the crackers and makes a delicious caramel-ly cookie/candy thing.

These cookies are ridiculous. They’re totally addictive. Really addictive. Really.

 

 

Black Bottom Cupcakes

The recipe for today is one that we took camping when I was growing up, and we went camping A LOT. If you knew my dad at all, you knew him to be somewhat obsessed with the outdoors. Well, not just somewhat obsessed, he was just plain obsessed. He was MR. outdoors. I think he would have just stayed outside all the time if he could. I remember him telling about how when he was pretty young, he would go out hunting and just not come back home for a few days. He looks somewhat independent in this photo, you know, like he’d go out and stay outdoors for days at a time. I bet he wasn’t much older than in this photo when he did that.

You can already see his outdoorsy-ness by his wearing the little flannel shirt! So cute! He loved to go camping, therefore, he took us camping when we were growing up. We camped a lot and EVERYWHERE: we camped close to home at county parks, we camped at many Minnesota State Parks, we camped while canoeing up north, we camped along the North Shore, we camped the Black Hills of South Dakota on the way to camping in Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park, we camped during trips to Colorado, we camped anywhere he could get us to camp. Most of our family summer vacations were camping trips. Number one, that was a cheap way to go. Number two, it made me and my sister also obsessed with and love the outdoors. Number three, it was really a lot of fun! Boy oh boy, do we have stories of those family camping trips! Ha! Maybe I’ll share some of them someday. Black Bottom Cupcakes are easy to bring along for any occasion. I don’t have the original recipe card for this anymore, so I’ll just type it out.

Here is the recipe as I made it:

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Combine and set aside:

8 ounces cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chips for this batch)

Sift into mixing bowl:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

Add:

1 cup water

1/3 cup oil (I used canola oil)

1 Tablespoon vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat until thoroughly blended.

Fill paper muffin cups 1/3 full with chocolate batter.

Top each with a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture.

Sprinkle with a little sugar and chopped almonds, if desired.

Bake at 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

This makes a lot of filling. I ended up making two batches of the chocolate batter just to use it up, and believe me, you won’t end up with too many cupcakes because these vaporize pretty quickly.

The chocolate really will rise up and almost cover the cream cheese filling.

Its kind of hard to see, but I used sanding sugar to make the topping more crystalized and sugary.

I made some with chopped, slivered almonds and some without. I think my mom used to make these with sliced almonds.

These are the perfect camping cupcake.

The cream cheese filling makes these so tasty and delicious that they really don’t need frosting. Make a batch when you head out on your next family camping trip. Get out there and enjoy the outdoors, and make some memories while you’re at it!