Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookie Pie

Welcome to another Improv Challenge brought to you courtesy of Kristen at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. This month our challenge is to use Oatmeal and Raisins. Frankly, I was a little lost this time. I suppose that a good challenge would have been to use the oatmeal and raisins in a savory dish, but all I could think to make were oatmeal-raisin cookies. How boring is that? Boring might be the wrong word--I love Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, but I just wanted something different. So, I decided to change it up a little, by adding some walnuts and butterscotch, throwing in some booze, and pouring it into a pie crust. Voila! Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookie Pie!

Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookie Pie
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butterscotch schnapps (or sub bourbon)
1/2 cup raisins
1 unbaked 9" pie crust
3 large eggs, beaten
1 jar (12.5 oz) butterscotch ice cream topping
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cups chopped walnuts
3/4 cup oatmeal

Directions:

Combine the schnapps and the raisins in a small bowl and set aside for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.; prepare pie crust or line a glass pie plate with a refrigerated crust per package instructions.

In medium bowl, combine beaten eggs, butterscotch topping, melted butter, sugar, salt, walnuts, oatmeal, and raisins. Mix until well-blended; pour into prepared crust.

It was hard not to want to eat a little of the butterscotch batter...restraint was in order. Don't have butterscotch schnapps? Go buy some! It's great in hot chocolate, too.

I confess to using a refrigerated pie crust this time, but if you choose to make your own, check out this vodka pie crust recipe: Cook's Illustrated's Foolproof Pie Dough

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge of pie comes out clean. Serve warm or cold, with cream if desired.

Every time I think I come up with some original, awesome idea, I Google it to see if it's been done. I'm a masochist like that. This time, I thought I would just throw caution to the wind and make it anyway. Then, in the course of putting this post together, I poked around Kristen's awesome blog, Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker (if you haven't checked it out yet--go!). Lo and behold, there it was...not just an oatmeal pie...an Oatmeal Scotchie Pie! Oy! How did I miss it? Oh well--there is room in the world for two versions.... and may I add that great minds think alike? :)

 Next time, I may sub the raisins for some chocolate chips. Gotta keep the schnapps, though!

Now, go check out some other Oatmeal and Raisin recipes!

;

Butterscotch Banana Bread

I've said it before--I've never been a huge fan of regular banana bread. I'm not sure why. Perhaps,I've tried it once too many times when it has been dry and tasteless. The recipe I've used for years has chocolate chips in it, and I like it, but it's not my first choice when I think of things to make with bananas. 

The other day I was faced, once again, with overripe bananas. My husband wanted banana bread. Sigh. I do aim to please, however, so the question was not "should I make banana bread?" , but rather "how can I make this batch of banana bread tastier?".  It turns out it that it really wasn't that hard.

Butterscotch Banana Bread
Printable Recipe

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

4 very ripe bananas, slightly mashed

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. F; butter and flour two 9 X 5 X 3 loaf pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

Fit a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat the bananas, sour cream, eggs, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until well blended, about 2 minutes. Spoon the flour mixture into the banana mixture and beat on low speed until just blended. Stir in the butterscotch chips and walnuts.

Divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

So why did this recipe turn out better than my other tries with banana bread? Well, first, I did use more bananas--there are four large ones in there. The sour cream certainly adds moisture, and the toasted walnuts give it some good flavor. I also switched out the granulated sugar for brown sugar and added the butterscotch chips. I'm thinking it's the whole package...I just liked it.

Unfortunately, my husband was diagnosed with diabetes before he could take the first bite of this banana bread, so I will be doing some tweaking for my next batch. I'll be reducing the sugar a tad and swapping the full fat sour cream for the light variety. I may even sneak some whole wheat flour in there. Don't worry. I'll let you know how that all turns out, but in the mean time, it is all about portion control at our house.

One loaf was sliced and brought to work....

....and the other was sliced, wrapped, and frozen.

One slice, with a bit of peanut butter, has about 25 carbs. Not a bad snack.

So, while we face some new dietary challenges at our house, it's wise to keep in mind that all good things can be enjoyed in moderation. In the mean time, the next batch of cupcakes will all be going to go to my daughter and her friends. :)

K Bars

Yum

Comfort food. It's different for everyone. From mac 'n cheese to meatloaf to Zwieback cookies, I've heard from many people about what kinds of food are considered comfort foods. This much is certain---whatever your comfort food is, it probably started out as a childhood favorite. So it is for one of my comfort foods, the K Bar.

Funny, I always thought the K Bar was unique to the Midwest. Indeed, it seems that the name K Bar (also known as the Special K Bar) is mostly used in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In other parts of the world, there is a similar bar that is called a Scotcheroo. From what I can gather, the recipe is the same but for the use of Rice Krispies rather than Special K. To me, that is a huge difference.  

Those of you who have never heard of a K Bar might be surprised to see that Special K cereal is used for something so decadent. Indeed, when I tried to research the history behind the K Bar (I came up with nothing), most references were to the Special K Diet Bars (which, in my opinion, pale in comparison). My sister insists that they were invented by the mother of one of her childhood friends. She says that the recipe won a contest with the cereal company. I've heard more far-fetched stories, so maybe there is some truth to the rumor. Kellogg, after all, is the name behind the Scotcheroos recipe. Perhaps they swapped out the cereals when Special K went the diet route. Of course, others who grew up with K Bars will insist that members of their own families created this, and who would I be to argue? Best to leave the history piece alone and serve up a slice of your own deliciousness.

Don't most good things start with peanut butter?

Even among K Bar enthusiasts, there exist variations of the recipe. I like mine pretty gooey, so I cut back on the cereal a bit. Does anyone really want them to be dry? And the frosting on mine is a combination of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. I imagine the Scotcheroos were named for said butterscotch chips.

K Bars

Printable Recipe

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

5 cups Special K cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Place cereal in large bowl and set aside.

Combine sugar and corn syrup in medium sized heavy saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture just comes to a boil.

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.

Pour mixture over cereal and carefully stir with a rubber spatula.

I like using the foil pans. After all, you'll probably be bringing these to a potluck or a gathering of some sort...too dangerous to keep at home. 

Spread mixture in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips evenly over the top. Place in a 300 degree oven for just a few minutes until chips are soft.* Use a knife or spatula to spread chips together and frost bars.

Allow frosting to set, and cut into 24 to 36 bars.

*Alternately, melt the chips together over low heat or in microwave and then spread over bars. I like the less messy route.

I chilled mine to set this time, because it was warm in the kitchen. This makes it pretty hard, so let it sit out for a few minutes if you decide to do this.

What's your comfort food?

Butterscotch Walnut Pie

I hadn't made a treat for my sister in awhile, so I asked her what she wanted. "Make that walnut pie!" she said. Hmm...not so Spring-like, but good nonetheless. Of course I followed through.....

A few years ago, I was tinkering with a pecan pie recipe when I came up with this one. Enough changes to call it my own, but not so different as to make it weird. I swapped out the nuts, used butterscotch ice cream topping instead of corn syrup, and added a little bourbon. It has been a keeper ever since.

Butterscotch Walnut Pie

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 unbaked 9" pie crust, recipe follows
3 large eggs, beaten
1 jar (12.5 oz) butterscotch ice cream topping
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon bourbon (or two if you dare)
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In medium bowl, combine beaten eggs, butterscotch topping, melted butter, sugar, salt and bourbon. Mix until well-blended.

I actually used about 2 cups of walnuts---and I used a Pillsbury pie crust this time

Sprinkle walnuts evenly over bottom of pie crust. Pour butterscotch filling over walnuts.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge of pie comes out clean. Serve warm or cold, with whipped topping if desired.

For pie crust, stir 1 1/4 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in 1/3 cup shortening or lard until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle with 3-4 tablespoons of cold water and form dough into a ball. Place dough in center of two large pieces of parchment paper. Roll dough with rolling pin from center to edge, forming a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Peel off one piece of parchment paper and center dough over a 9 inch pie plate. Carefully peel off the second piece of parchment paper. Fold under any extra dough and make a fluted edge. Or bag the whole thing and use some refrigerated pie crust, hee hee.

So, am I nuts to serve a walnut pie in the Spring? I think nut not!