Favorite Wit & Whistle Blog Recipes

Peanut Butter Balls

S'mores Bars

½ cup butter, room temperature
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 ½ cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows) 

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together). 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Candied Pecans

1 egg white
1 tablespoon of water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb. pecan halves
3/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of salt

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees (F).

Beat the water, vanilla and egg white in a large bowl until foamy. Stir in the pecans.

In a separate bowl combine the sugar, ground cinnamon and salt. Gradually add the sugar mixture to the pecans making sure every nut is coated. (You can also add ground cloves, ground ginger, nutmeg if desired.)

Pour the pecans into a 9″ x 13″ pan and roast for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Let the pecans cool and store them in an airtight container. (Not that you will be storing them very long because they’re addicting!)

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 ½ cups Gold Medal® whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup canola oil
2 egg whites
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 large)
¼ cup fat-free (skim) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of choc chips

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 8x4-inch or 9x5-inch loaf pan with shortening, or spray with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. 

In large bowl, beat sugar, oil, egg whites, bananas, milk and vanilla with spoon until well blended. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon into pan. 

Bake 8-inch loaf 55 to 62 minutes, 9-inch loaf 45 to 52 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour, before slicing

Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups + 2 tbsp flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips 

Set oven to 325 F. Set shelves in oven to upper middle and lower middle.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Beat together butter and sugars for 1 minute at medium speed. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium-low for 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients and mix on low for 30 seconds. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide dough into 1/4 cup size balls. Pull apart dough into equal halves with fingers then place back together so that jagged side faces top and smooth side is facing down. This creates the bakery look on top.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets. Rotate cookie sheets halfway in oven so that they all bake evenly. Take out when edges are hardening but centers still look puffy and soft, cool on pan.

Makes 18 cookies (or less if you’re a dough-eater like me).