Virtual Cookie Swap!

My dear friend Michelle always has great ideas; this time it's a Holiday Cookie Swap. Here are the details:

Ever since my buddy Tom gave us a gift of salted peanuts from Whitley's, I've been a fan of their peanuts, so I like to find recipes that call for peanuts. And this one, Chewy Chocolate Peanut Bars, is from my alma mater, the University of British Columbia, which makes it doubly special for me.

Ooey-gooey, crunchy, and chocolatey...what more do you want?

Chewy Chocolate Peanut Bars

"Reminiscent of Almond Roca, this bar is more like candy than other bars. Thin, crisp and delicious, it's great with fresh fruit." I've never had it with fresh fruit, but there's no wrong way to eat this.

Bars:
2 C oatmeal (500 mL)
1 C graham wafer crumbs (250 mL)
3/4 C brown sugar (175 mL)
1/4 t baking soda (1 mL)
1/2 C salted peanuts (125 mL)
1/2 C corn syrup* (125 mL)
1/2 C melted butter (125 mL)
1 t vanilla (5 mL)

Topping:
1 6oz pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips** (170 g)
1/2 C smooth peanut butter (125 mL)

Bars:
Preheat Oven to 375F (190C).
Grease 10x15" (38x25 cm) pan with sides.
Combine oatmeal, graham crumbs, sugar, baking soda and peanuts; mix well.
Combine corn syrup with melted butter and vanilla. Stir into oat mixture and mix well.
Press firmly into pan and bake for 15 minutes.

Topping:
Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a double boiler.
Spread over warm, baked bars and let cool 10 minutes.
Cut into 2x1" (5x2.5 cm) bars and refrigerate to set.

*I had a jar of organic corn syrup to use up, but if you don't or don't want any part of corn syrup, you can try a substitution: recipes at  Food.com, Taste of Home, or alternatives at FitDay.

**We prefer less sweet desserts so I used bittersweet chocolate chips.

Hope you like them as much as we do!

Now go visit the other participants' blogs to see what scrumptious goodies they're handing out: [PLEASE NOTE: AS THIS POST WENT LIVE, SOME OF THE FOLLOWING HAVE NOT YET POSTED THEIRS YET, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO KEEP CHECKING ON THEIR SITES TO GET THEIR RECIPES!]
Alina,
Monica,
Kathy,
Carrie,
Michelle

Heads up: next week, my regular Monday post will be postponed (no pun here; move along) to Wednesday, December 19th for a special holiday edition dedicated to my very special sci-fi critique group, the "SFF Minnows."

Until then, have a terrific week...and bake lots!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Butter Tart Squares

My apologies for not getting this out earlier, as I'd promised Allison. My satellite internet connection is acting up (again...gee, hard to believe).

Butter Tart Squares
from Treats to Remember - UBC cookbook – compiled by Christine Samson and Allen Leong

Base:
½ C butter (125 mL)
1 C all-purpose flour (250 mL)
2 T brown sugar (30 mL)

Filling:
2 large eggs, beaten
1 ½ C brown sugar (375 mL)
½ C quick-cooking oats (125 mL)
½ t baking powder (2 mL)
1/4 t salt (1 mL)
1 t vanilla (5 mL)
½ C chopped walnuts (125 mL)

Base:
1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C)
2. Mix together flour and brown sugar. Cut butter into the flour and brown sugar until crumbly.
3. Press mixture into a buttered 9 inch (22cm) square pan and bake for 15 minutes.

Filling:
1. Combine all ingredients well and pour this mixture over the baked base.
2. Return to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

The Trip, part 1: The Views

Egads, where does my time go? Hm, weeding, taking the kids to swim lessons, library activities, trip to the IN State Museum, harvesting 10 pounds of beans, etc, etc. So I'm finally getting part of the trip photos up. My sister beat me to posting a bit about the trip. But then again, she doesn't have kids or a garden. ;>

I debated putting photos in chronological order, but then decided to post our trip by themes instead because, really, you don't want to hear about every boring detail, and the chronological order has no meaning even to us.

There's a rose garden at the west end of the University of British Columbia, our (mine, dh's, and my sister's) alma mater. I used to eat lunch here a lot with a friend of mine. It's really gorgeous and peaceful. The weather in Vancouver mimics that of England so the roses grow very well there. If my parents can grow beautiful roses, anyone can. Here's the Rose Garden:And the mountains and English Bay beyond the Rose Garden:The trees and forests in British Columbia, and around Vancouver, are simply amazing. (Trivia: Did you know that there are rainforests in British Columbia?)


The above photo and this next one was taken at Lynn Headwaters in North Vancouver:On a separate day, the guys took a hike at Lynn Headwaters again, but this time, scaling Lynn Peak, a rocky and steep climb (this was the hike my sister said she was happy not to take part in). Supposed to take 4.5 hrs but the guys did it in a little over 3 hrs.At the top of Lynn Peak - enough to give an acrophobe a heart attack:Heading back towards East Vancouver from Surrey after visiting my sister and her hubby, the clouds were low and looked cool. Here's my blurry capture from the car: A view of downtown Vancouver from the Point Grey area near the University of British Columbia:
The guys took a bike ride along the dikes at Steveston, south of Vancouver, while I had my hair done: On one of our many long hikes, we trekked all around Buntzen Lake (east of Vancouver). At the top of Mount Cypress, north of Vancouver (sort of in West Vancouver, actually)...You have to take a walk around the famous Stanley Park (we like to go to Third Beach). While at Granville Island one day, the guys took a walk around False Creek while my sister and I window shopped. Here the boys are in front of Science World: Next post, the food!

"To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act." ~ Anatole France (1844 - 1924)