Hello Dolly Bars

My sister TMP made these for our little graduation shindig at home last Saturday. My in-laws loved these and as my husband is, you know, an in-law he loved them too and insisted that we get the recipe. So here it is, dear Robber, for you.

From somewhere, didn't ask TMP where she got them.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. (1 stick) salted butter, melted

1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs (ca. 1 1/2 packages)

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 C. chocolate chips (replace 1 c. with butterscotch or other chips, if desired)

1 1/2 C. chopped pecans, lightly toasted

1 1/2 C. sweetened shredded coconut

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Mix the graham cracker crumbs and cinnamon with the butter and press into the bottom of the pan. 

2. Layer the chips, nuts, and coconut on top of the crust. Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the lot. 

3. Bake at 350 for approx. 30 minutes, until nicely browned and a bit bubbly. Cool completely before cutting.

Yield: This quantity will make an 8"x8" pan of thick bars or a 9"x13" pan of thinner bars.

Grasshopper Pie

For my birthday I really really wanted a grasshopper pie. This because the Robber bought Thin Mints and I started thinking about them in pie form and hence the craving for grasshopper pie was born. I emailed my Mom for a recipe and she sent me this, which she says is of her own design.

1 baked 9 inch graham cracker crust

Ingredients:

I put a few things together from different recipes, but for my crust I used approximately:

1/3 cup crushed chocolate cookie crumbs
1 2/3 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into fine crumbs
7 Tbsp. melted butter

Directions:

1. Mix the crumbs, sugar, and chocolate together. Melt the butter and pour the hot butter into the crumb mixture. The hot butter will melt the chocolate. Combine and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Note: You may have some extra crumbs. I just put these on the top of the pie, in between the top chocolate layer and the whipped cream.

Filling

Ingredients:

Green filling Chocolate filling
4 oz. cream cheese 4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. sugar 1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. sour cream 1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. whipping cream, whipped 1/2 c. whipping cream, whipped
1 t. mint flavoring 1 t. vanilla flavoring
green food coloring 2 1/2 oz. sweet chocolate, melted

Directions:

1. Mix the ingredients as above. You can mix the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and whipping cream for both flavors together and then divide into half and then add the remainder of the ingredients to the two halves separately. Or mix them separately to being with. Whatever is your fancy. Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature or it will not blend well.

2. Layer the fillings in the crust in three layers--chocolate, green, chocolate.

3. Top and decorate with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

4. Store in the refrigerator.

Caribbean Dream Pie

From The New Moosewood. Seriously better than I thought it was going to be, and ridiculously easy to make. It would be hard to mess this pie up.

SWEET CRUMB CRUST:

2 cups crushed graham crackers or ginger snaps (easily done in a food processor)
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (optional, If you prefer you can substitute another 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers of ginger snaps)
1/4 cup finely minced pecans
6 Tbsp. butter, melted

1) Preheat over to 350F.
2) Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan, building a handsome 1/2-inch ridge around the edge. You will have more than enough to fill the pie pan-- sprinkle the rest in another pan. Place both in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

FILLING:

1 14-15 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp. grated lime rind
1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
1/2 a ripe mango, peeled and sliced (or chopped)

1) Pour the milk into a medium-sized bowl.

2) Add the grated rind and juice, and whisk for a few minutes until the milk thickens.

3) Layer the banana and mango slices in the baked, cooled crust. Pout the thickened milk mixture over the fruit, spreading it into place. Sprinkle the top with extra crumb mixture, and chill until cold. Serve cold.

Skeptical of the filling, I added one more bananas (three large bananas total) and tripled the mango (1 1/2 mangoes total). I also increased the lime zest, but not the lime juice or the milk. I found this to be just fine. I also topped the pie generously with lightly sweetened whipped cream and then sprinkled the extra crust crumbs on the top of the whipped cream, not the pie itself. The overall was wonderfully creamy and fruity and perfect for the lovely early summer evening. This pie should be served in California often.