Hello Dolly Bars

Posted by: Maggie



Here's what you'll need:

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
9 graham crackers (5 ounces), crushed
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup butterscotch chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang to act as handles for lifting the bars out of the pan. Spray with non-stick spray.

Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until the outer flakes just begin to brown, about 4 minutes. Pay close attention to it, as it can go from brown to burnt very quickly. Set aside.

Melt the butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Toss with your fingers until the butter is evenly distributed. Press the crumbs evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

In order, sprinkle the walnuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut over the graham crumbs. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the entire dish.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Remove from the pan using the parchment handles, and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into 18 bars.

Oreo Truffles

Posted by: Maggie


This recipe is seriously one of the easiest, most delicious things I've ever made. I got rave reviews from my coworkers and boyfriend, which I almost felt guilty about accepting since these "truffles" require only three ingredients, and zero minutes in the oven. The most difficult part is waiting for the chocolate to set so that you can eat them without making a total mess.

Here's what you'll need:

1 package of Oreo cookies, finely crushed, 9 reserved for garnish
1 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
2 8 oz packages semi-sweet chocolate, melted. (I used Baker's brand)

Thoroughly combined crushed Oreos and softened cream cheese. Form mixture into approximately 40 1-inch balls, and place on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze balls for 30-45 minutes. Dip into melted chocolate, and garnish with reserved crushed Oreos.

These taste better when they've been out of the fridge for about an hour, but I recommend keeping them cold the rest of the time, since the cream cheese is perishable.

Also, these aren't pictured but I decorated some of them with melted white almond bark, dyed with pink gel food coloring. I just funneled it into a squeeze bottle and drizzled!

Chicken Enchiladas with Chipotle Crema

Posted by: Maggie


Unless Mexicans have started stuffing their enchiladas with grocery store rotisserie chicken, ranch dressing, and jarred salsa, these are probably the most inauthentic enchiladas you could possibly make. That being said, their deliciousness more than compensates for their lack of authenticity.

I usually hate leftovers, but I'm traveling out of the country next weekend for work, and want to save as much disposable income as possible to use on my trip. Therefore, I decided to make something inexpensive, that would actually taste good reheated, and would prevent me from succumbing to the expensive allure of restaurant food near my office.

I adapted the enchilada recipe from one of my favorite blogs Annie's Eats, and the chipotle crema recipe from Emeril. (For the record, I've had the tortilla soup from the Emeril link that the chipotle crema is supposed to accompany - it is AWESOME). I like a lot of spice, so if you prefer a milder sauce cut back on the amount of chipotles you use in the crema recipe below.

What you'll need:

Enchiladas:

1 1/2 store bought rotisserie chickens, meat pulled off and shredded (I used 1 1/2, but this is really dependent on your tastes. I would suggest pulling the meat off one and seeing if it's enough once mixed with the sauce, or just using 4-6 cooked chicken breasts)
1 cup sour cream, divided
1 cup ranch dressing, divided
flour tortillas (I bought the burrito size Mission brand, that come 8 to a pack, and ended up having enough filling for 7 overstuffed burritos)
Salsa
4 cups shredded Mexican cheese

Chipotle Crema:

1/2 cup sour cream
2 chipotles from a can of chipotle in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon of the liquid
salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 375, and spray a 9x13 glass pan with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup ranch dressing. In a small bowl, combine the remainder of the sour cream and ranch dressing. Stir both bowls until well combined.

Mix shredded chicken into the large bowl containing the sour cream mixture.

Now, it's time to assemble your enchiladas. Spread about a tablespoon of the sour cream mixture from the small bowl onto a tortilla. Top with a scoop of the chicken mixture, salsa, and cheese (I used a good handful for each). Roll up and place seam side down into the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients, and bake uncovered in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

While they're cooking, combine chipotles, sour cream, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the chipotles are pureed.

After enchiladas are cooked, top with chipotle crema, sour cream, guacamole, more salsa - whatever you desire!