Magic Bars

I made these for a friend's birthday last weekend. She has a real sweet tooth. I say that because these are uber sweet. You can call them magic bars, 7 layer bars, monster magic bars or hello dolly bars.

Love my smart stick blender. Easy clean up.

I added butterscotch chips, semi sweet chocolate chips, 
white chocolate chips, pecans, and coconuts.

drizzle condensed milk on top

Magic Bars
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into large pieces
1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (or walnuts)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (just under half a small can)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a heatproof bowl melt the butter in the microwave (make sure it doesn't get hot).  Add the graham cracker crumbs. Mix well and then press evenly into the bottom of 8×8 baking pan. Then evenly distribute the chocolate chips, pecans, and butterscotch chips into the pan. I usually layer the shredded coconut last, but you can do it anyway you want.  Pour the sweetened condensed milk over whole mixture.
Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is light brown.
Cut into small squares once it is cool.


While I was baking I heard a man's voice in the living room. So I went to check on A and she was playing legos and listening to this...a history lecture from Stanford University.  This girl cracks me up!

Weekend Sharing

For school, A has to do weekend sharing every Monday. Every weekend whether we are having a lazy Saturday or running errands or on an outing we take pictures and email them in on Monday morning to A's teacher. 

So here is my weekend sharing.

These days, I've been drinking green juice every morning for breakfast. It has spinach, kiwi, parsley, lemons, banana...everyday is a little different.

After my green juice, I started baking for my friend's bday. She requested no gifts, but I thought I would bake some cookies for her.

I did try two new recipes. I wish I would have stuck to my old peanut butter recipe cuz these ones didn't turn out chewy :(

peanut butter

Making brown butter for the brown butter chocolate chip nutella cookies. I saw the recipe on someone's blog and I had to make it! I loved the way it made my house smell.

a little sea salt on top

can you see the nutella? next time i will add more!

A was invited to slumber party so I dropped her off and went off to the birthday dinner. I forgot to take pictures at the birthday dinner. But the night ended with yummy Sprinkles cupcakes...I had the red velvet! Yum!

It happened to be A's first slumber party and they happen to be really good friends of ours, so I ended up sleeping over too. Yup, I slept over so my kid could experience a slumber party which is a pretty big deal for a special needs kid. She did really well and I benefited from my friend's L's cooking!

She made a monkey bread cake. Easy and so good!

you start with ready made buttermilk biscuits

throw it in a bag of cinnamon sugar & toss it around

butter a bundt pan and throw each piece of dough into it then pour melted butter on top

yummmm

Then L showed me her Whirley- Pop. A and I LOVE popcorn. I regularly make popcorn with a little olive oil and salt for A and me. This is going to change our popcorn lives.

a little oil and toss in the popcorn. then you just turn this handle while the popcorn pops.

perfect popcorn!

the last days of summer

Summer is now officially over now that A went back to school.

we saw a double rainbow! can you see it?

We had lovely dinners...

steak and fish tacos made by auntie bc

i made a french marmalade loaf

dinner at a friends...she made a yummy pasta dish

caprese salad

all home grown!

a day in la...

We spent a day in LA with some friends and decided to try some new places. Funny how none of them were that great.

First, we headed out to Larchmont.

we must have been hungry because the scones weren't that great but we devoured them.

then off to ktown for lunch

We spent some time at the Grove and then met some friends for dinner. I forgot to take pictures of dinner. It got great reviews on Yelp, but it was alright. Afterwards, we went across the street for coffee.

We had a fun day with friends. Of course we ended the night getting stuck in tons of traffic because of a USC football game. That's LA for you!

Summer

We recently got back from our annual trip to Palm Springs. A had a blast as usual. Who wouldn't love sleeping in, swimming after lunch, going to the movies, jumping on the bed, night swimming & staying up with friends. Thanks to our friends D & L for a fun time!

our building was right next to the golf course

kids playing ultimate frisbee

had to get off the golf course for a golfer :)

We were craving something sweet one night so we whipped up a batch of cookies with what we had. They turned out really good! They had the texture of pecan sandies without the nuts and the pretzel added a nice saltiness to the sweet candy bars.

Recipe

 
1 cup all-purpose flour 
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 
3/4 cup sugar 
1 large egg, room temperature 
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 Bar of Baby Ruth chopped
1 Bar of Milky Way chopped
1 handful of pretzels chopped


preheat the oven to 400.
1. In a bowl sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Chop the candy bars and pretzels and set aside.
2. Mix butter and sugar until creamy.
3. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix well.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix. 
4. Throw in the chopped candy bars and pretzel. Mix with a spatula. Bake for about 6 minutes long or until the edges are golden brown.

Soboro Bread

There are certain memories I have of my childhood in Korea. My mom making strawberry jam, playing with my neighbor friend, trying to ditch kindergarten (I know I was such a little rebel), and eating fresh baked sorobo bread from the bakery. It's a soft bread with a crumbly peanut butter topping. I am lucky enough to have several Korean bakeries nearby where I live. But each of them make Soboro bread differently and not like the ones I remember as a child. I went on a search for a recipe and found one! This recipe is a definite keeper. The dough was nice and soft and the topping had a nice peanut butter/ buttery flavor with a nice crumbly texture. 

dough resting and ready for the first rise

the peanut butter topping

second rise

ready for the final rise

fresh out of the oven!

Soboro Bread
recipe from mistyyoon.com

The Dough Recipe

1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast
2 /3 cup warm water
2 eggs,beaten
2/3 cup lukewarm milk
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

The Topping Recipe

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2tablespoons powder milk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey

egg wash: one egg and one Tablespoon of water

(I cut both recipes in half. For the peanut butter topping, even though I cut the recipe in half I added one whole egg)

In a small bowl, add the yeast to the 2/3 cup of warm water and leave to dissolve. Set aside.

In the kitchen aid bowl, sift together both AP and bread flour, sugar, and salt together. Attach the dough hook and slowly add the yeast mixture and knead until smooth and elastic. If dough is too sticky add flour or dough is too stiff, sprinkle a few drops of water. My dough ended up being too stiff and I added about 1 Tablespoon of water.

Add the room temperature butter and knead until the dough is soft, smooth and stretchy. Put into a clean bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until the bread size is doubled. It was hot the day I made this so it took about 45 minutes.

Once the dough has doubled knead the dough by hand just a couple of times.Then divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll into a ball. Place them on a sheet pan and cover. This will be the second rise. Let the dough double once again.

While the dough is on its second rise make the peanut butter topping.
 In a bowl, sift the flour, powdered milk, baking powder, and salt. In the kitchen aid, add the butter and peanut butter. Mix until smooth. Add the sugar and mix well. Then add the egg & the honey and mix. Finally add the dry ingredients and mix. Cover and throw it in the fridge.

When the dough is done rising, make the egg wash. Dip each piece of dough into the egg wash and then grab a handful of topping and press gently into the dough. Cover once again and let it rise for one last time about 25 minutes. Preheat the oven halfway into the rise to 375. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the topping is nice and golden brown.

Peach Pie round 2

Thank you for sending good vibes for A. She is finally better! She is playing legos right now and pretending the pieces are sick and throwing up. The girl cracks me up! 

This round was tastier than the first batch I made. I still need to make some adjustments to the crust. I love that peaches are in season. 

one free form before i egg washed and sprinkled sugar on the crust

this hand held pie was a little too big to hold

Summer

While other bloggers are writing about their lovely summer vacations. A has been battling the stomach flu. What a way to start summer break...poor girl. So far A's summer consists of 2 trips to the doctor and lots of time on the couch. We have had to cancel a couple of play dates, trips to the pool and therapy sessions :( Crossing my fingers and praying that this bug will go away soon.

Roses from daddy and balloons from Auntie J to help her feel better.