Granola Bars

Looking for a healthy homemade snack? Look no further than these Granola Bars. With oats, rice krispies, and whole wheat flour, you can add in whatever nuts and fruit you like. Here are some of my suggestions: (1) chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and chopped walnuts; (2) butterscotch chips, chopped dried apricots, and chopped dried pecans; or (3) chocolate and peanut butter chips, peanuts, and raisins.

Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

- 2 cups oats
- 1 1/2 cups rice krispies
- 1/3 cup chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, or peanut butter chips
- 1/4 cup chopped dried fruit (e.g. cranberries, raisins, apricots)
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Separately, combine the next 4 ingredients, then add them to the first mixture.

Stir in the remaining 5 ingredients.

Press into the prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack then cut and store in an airtight container.

Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake

This cake is utterly fantastic. In this recipe, you'll find a fairly simple way to dress up a box cake mix with a few easy modifications and additions, resulting in a marbled white and chocolate bundt cake complete with mini chocolate chips and an easy-to-make chocolate glaze. I'm warning you: this cake will disappear before you know it!

Ingredients:

- 1 package white cake mix (18.25 oz)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
- 2/3 cup canola oil

- 2 tablespoons baking cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

- 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate frosting
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and canola oil. Beat for 2-3 minutes or until well blended.

Transfer about half of the cake batter to a separate bowl. Stir the cocoa powder into half of the cake batter, and stir the chocolate chips into the other half of the cake batter (the white batter).

Spoon the batters into the prepared pan, alternating spoonfuls of the white batter and chocolate batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick poked near the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove cake from pan and leave on wire rack until completely cooled.

Once the cake is cooled, prepare the frosting. Start by mixing 1/2 cup frosting with 1 tablespoon milk. Spoon/drizzle the frosting mixture over the cake.* If more frosting is needed, mix an additional 1/4 cup frosting with 1 1/2 teaspoons milk, and repeat if necessary.

*The frosting will be somewhat runny, more like a glaze. This means it may be messy if you put too much on! I would recommend frosting the cake while it is still on the wire rack, over an easy-to-clean surface. Spoon the frosting over the cake, let the excess frosting drip off the cake and through the wire rack, and then transfer the frosted cake to a plate or serving dish. Otherwise you will end up with excess frosting pooled around the cake on your serving dish.

Gingersnaps

Here is yet another favorite traditional cookie, but even better - another recipe that consistently turns out well at 5000 feet altitude! These cookies have a crunchy outside with a nice chewy center. They're sure to be a hit!

Ingredients:

- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 large egg

- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- additional sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a non-insulated cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg with an electric mixer (or mix by hand). Stir in the remaining ingredients except the sugar.

Shape the dough into small rounded balls. Roll each ball in sugar, then place on the cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes, or just until set. Immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Lemon Bars

This recipe, officially entitled "Mom's Lemon Bars," comes from an old Minnesotan Lutheran cookbook, coincidentally owned by Paul's family but published in the town where Becky grew up. Everyone says these bars are delicious - and they look beautiful if you sprinkle the powdered sugar carefully.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup butter or margarine, softened

- 4 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

- additional powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

Mix the first three ingredients (flour, powdered sugar, and butter) in a medium bowl. Press into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Beat the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice together. Add the salt, flour, and baking powder. Mix well.

Pour the filling on top of the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes longer.

After removing the bars from the oven, sprinkle them with additional powdered sugar as desired. A small sieve works well for sprinkling the sugar evenly.

Potato Pancakes

Paul really likes this recipe for homemade potato pancakes, and Becky doesn't think it's half bad either! Using the frozen hash browns makes it really easy. You can thaw the hash browns pretty quickly by putting them in a strainer or sieve and running water over them. 

Ingredients

- 3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed (rinse grated potatoes with cold water, then drain thoroughly, if using freshly grated potatoes instead of frozen) 

- 2 tablespoons flour 

- 2 eggs 

- 3 tablespoons butter, melted 

- 1/2 teaspoon salt 

- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

- onion and garlic powder, to taste

Directions 

Place the hash browns in a large bowl; add the flour, eggs, butter, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix well. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop the batter by 1/3-cupfuls into the oil. Fry each pancake until golden brown on both sides. 

Poppy Seed Bread

This recipe came from Paul's mom, and it is really good! Turns out poppy seed bread can be really good even if it doesn't have lemon in it. Still haven't found a substitute ingredient to use for some of the oil, but we'll keep working on that... enjoy!

Ingredients:

- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 cups oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt

- 2 oz poppy seeds (note: try less than this, maybe 1 oz?)
- 1 large can of evaporated milk

Directions:

Soak the poppy seeds in half of the evaporated milk for several hours. (Put the poppy seeds in a bowl, then add half the evaporated milk, and leave in the refrigerator.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two large loaf pans.

Beat the eggs in a medium mixing bowl, then add the oil, sugar, and vanilla, and mix well.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the poppy seeds to the egg mixture.

Add the rest of the evaporated milk. Beat well.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes: failed attempts at altering this recipe include adding chocolate chips (they all just sank to the bottom of the loaves and made them crumbly) and adding a splash of lemon juice (just changed the texture without adding much lemon flavor, though lemon extract could be tried).

Walnut Brownie Bars

These are really fantastic! Take a butter-brown sugar crust, add a fudgy brownie layer, and top it off with melted milk chocolate and chopped walnuts... you'll have a hit! (And possibly a new addiction.) I used a walnut brownie mix, which was fantastic. The recipe makes at least a couple dozen decent-sized bars.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar (dark or light)
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 box of fudge brownie mix
1 egg
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil

1 package (11.5 oz) milk chocolate chips, melted
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (toasted, if desired)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15x10 inch glass pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Press onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the brownie mix, egg, water, and canola oil. Once the crust has finished baking, spread the brownie mixture over it while still hot. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then spread the melted chocolate over the brownie layer and sprinkle with the chopped walnuts. Use a spatula to lightly press the walnuts into the chocolate.
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Cool completely before cutting into bars using a sharp knife.