Friday Friend Recipe #239 - Peanut Butter Bars

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook? I once had about 50 of my closest friends and family (from all over the county) on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends . At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 20 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions, exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts, had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday. (plus so much more....)

AND, we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

I was looking at the cookbook the other night and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."
The Handyman--who thinks he knows me better than I know myself (this happened to be a question on the Friday Friend forum once---does your spouse/partner know you better than you know yourself?)--said,  "you'll never, EVER do that."
WELL---maybe I'll show him!  Maybe I will.

Which brings me to this... recipe #239

Tomi's Reese's Peanut Butter Bars

These are good!  So, Soooo good.

They taste exactly like a  Reese's Peanut butter cup.

Reese's Peanut Butter Bars (a copycat recipe)

Tomi Pingree

1 lb. powered sugar

2 cubes melted butter

1 wrapper graham crackers--crushed

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

Mix all together and press into a 9x13 pan.

Melt 12oz chocolate chips and spread over the top.

Refrigerate till firm and cut.

These are  yummy beyond yum!

My mom always made the Buckeyes at Christmas time, but the rolling and dipping proved to be too much for me--perhaps that is the epitome of laziness, but these bars are to die for and they have the same ingredients, peanut butter and chocolate, so why not do what is easy?

This is Tomi's 5th appearance in the Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown.
You can see all her recipes here.

I was looking thru some of my old Friday Friend Notebooks ( I secretly printed out sheets and sheets of emails ---I can be the WHISTLE BLOWER of the Friday Friend Forum--I know all their secrets!)  to see if something struck a memory to write a story about Tomi--I found a few of her answers to the everyday silly questions I would ask my 'Friday Friend Forum'.

In the fall of 2006, I asked these questions:
Do you like Applets and Cotlets?
Are you a hugger?
Do you wear rubber gloves when cleaning/doing dishes?
List 4 jobs you've had in your lifetime.

I know that For Christmas the year before, Tomi's mother-in-law received some Applets and Cotlets and that Tomi did not like them as they have a weird texture to them.
In her humble opinion.

Here is what she said about hugging...
To hug or not to hug.  You know that I am  not a hugger.  I do hug, but mostly my family and close friends.  I'm not a casual hugger. I like my personal space. I will admit that I'm getting better at hugging and being hugged--when you teach little kids, you're getting hugged all the time, so I've come to appreciate the spontaneous hug now and then.

Rubber Gloves when cleaning or doing dishes?
No I don't wear rubber gloves--they make me feel claustrophobic.  Weird, I know.

And four jobs in her lifetime:
Cashier at Skaggs Drug, ticket taker at the local movie theater, Credit Evaluator at a bank,  and teacher.
I would have to say that being a teacher has probably been the oddest and most rewarding job.  Odd in the sense that you never know what is going to happen-kids o and say strange things, and rewarding in the sense that teaching opens up possibilities to kids. 

Rewarding?  Perhaps, but the best story comes from her time as a cashier at Skaggs Drug.
A guy comes up with some condoms and Tomi, being young and naïve (high-school, 1974ish) called for a price check on Trojans.  
OVER THE INTERCOM!!

And that is my Tomi Story!
See... I do know everything!  About all my Friends!
And I never forget!! 

Below is a photo of Tomi (on the right) and our good friend Dink Gootman Schemenkminor on the left.  (it's a long story---her professional social worker peers just call her Dorothy Minor)
Dink/Dorothy never was on the Friday Friend Forum.  She said she didn't do computers once she was off work.
We've been friends for year, so once in a while I'll stick her photo in here too!

This was at one of my son's wedding receptions about 17 years ago.

Well I spent this past weekend trying to figure out exactly how many recipes I have left to do.

I have made 257 recipes.

This one will make 239 I've posted.

When I did a count of recipes not made yet, I came up with 99.

THEN I crossed referenced how many recipes of each Friday Friend I had left to make and I came up with 100.

I will recount sometime this week, as this will drive me crazy!

But for now--- this is where we stand.

My friends I bring to you recipe #239

Only 128 left to go!

(or 127 if my count is wrong )

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Friday Friend Recipe #210 - Chocolte Crackles and Recipe #211 - Holiday Crab Dip

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook? I had about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends (from all over the county). At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 18 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions, exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts, had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday. (plus so much more....)

AND, we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

I was looking at the cookbook the other night and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."
The Handyman--who knows me better than I know myself (this happened to be a question on the Friday Friend forum once---does your spouse/partner know you better than you know yourself?)--said,  "you'll never, EVER do that."
WELL---maybe I'll show him!  Maybe I will.

Which brings me to this... recipes 210 and 211

My Mom's Chocolate Crackles and Holiday Crab Dip

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Or Getting close to it anyway.

 I know that some of you don't agree with that statement, but I have always enjoyed the process of the holiday season.  I like the planning and cooking and doing and wrapping and sending.

I am a pretty organized holiday person. 

That and I have a handyman who doesn't mind wrapping gifts--and he's better at it than I am.  He's kind of a perfectionist wrapper.  That stems from his first job at JCPenney's when he was hired for 'gift wrap' back in the day when you took your gifts to a certain station and they had the perfect box, perfect wrap and perfect bow.

Ahhh--the joy of leaving your gifts at the gift-wrap station and coming back two hours later after perusing the rest of the mall, picking them up and placing them under the tree. 

These holiday cookies and appetizer have been a part of my family for as long as I can remember.  My mom made them and now I do too.

While there are no holiday decorations in this cookie photo below, I have a feeling that I took them out of the freezer last January to snap a photo (yes, that's how long I've had things in my drafts!).  I also thought that cookies and coffee go well with books.  And they do!

I think these brownie like cookies look snow dusted --- the Handyman says they look like something our dog leaves behind  in a snowy backyard. (sigh)  He does not have a romantic view of anything!

They are a great cookie--and he loves them.  They are seriously like a powdered sugar dusting brownie--in cookie form.

CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Mix together oil, melted chocolate, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix well. Chill 2 hours.
Form dough into small balls, the size of a walnut and roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet. Or use parchment paper or silpats.
Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
10 minutes for chewy cookies, 12 minutes for crispy cookies.
*****

The dough freezes well also. To make it really easy on you, make into balls and freeze on a cookie sheet (before rolling in powdered sugar of course) and then store in Ziploc freezer bag. To bake, remove as many balls as you need from the freezer and let thaw for 30 minutes, then roll in sugar and bake.

Very good and chocolaty and chewy.

 There are so many variations of Holiday Crab dips--this one is just a spread, that you use with crackers, but it's so good.  Anything with cream cheese is, isn't it?

The Handyman doesn't have anything derogatory to say about this dish--he's too busy scrapping it up and putting it in his mouth!

I took some license with my mom's Holiday Crab Dip, because I am positive she didn't mean to mix it all together.  I feel sure of this because I've had it before.  She mixes the cream cheese, mayo and garlic powder together and spreads the cocktail sauce on top and then sprinkles the crab.  (I also added a sprinkle of cheddar cheese--but just a tad)

This is my mom's 35th appearance in the Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown.

I've probably mentioned this 100 times, but my dad was in law enforcement. He was on the Police Department the whole time I was growing up,  He was head of Hanford Patrol at the Hanford Nuclear Site, when he had young grandchildren and in his last career he did private investigative work.

So it seems only fitting that they should have attended the International Law Enforcement Olympics in Australia in the early 1990's. 

My dad and a couple of his friends walked in the opening ceremonies and they all attended a few events to cheer on the Americans.

My mom said that she's never felt safer in her entire life-- with a stadium full of law-enforcement!

But the thing she loved the most during that holiday  (see, I can bring this right around to the theme of the cookbook countdown--I said holiday instead of vacation! ) was being able to hold a Koala Bear.  She even  had a special shirt for the occasion. Her Koala Bear shirt.

She also petted a kangaroo.  Or a wallaby.  I'm not sure what this is.

She is not smiling like she was with the Koala Bear--you never know when these things will kick the **** out of you!

My parents came back from their trip abroad raving about Australia and New Zealand.  They loved their time spent there.

It was safe and cuddly. 

That's my story!

This is recipe #'s 210 and 211 only 156 left to go!