7-Layer Bars

It's time for cookies!  Actually, I can't believe I haven't made any before now.  I've been busy, but I finally decided that I wanted cookies TODAY.  Even though Spritz are my favorite Christmas cookie, they take a little more time to make.  So, I decide to start with a cookie that's a little quicker.  7-Layer Bars are in my Top 5 favorite cookies so I was happy to start with them.  I don't know why they are called 7-Layer Bars because they only have 4-5 layers as far as I can tell (they only have 7 ingredients after all).  But, they are tasty so I don't care what they're called!  They aren't really cookies since they are bars and they are ooey and gooey, but if you like chocolate and coconut, you will love them!

The ingredients.

Mix melted butter and graham cracker crumbs.

Spread in the bottom of the pan and press into a crust.

Layer the coconut on the crust.

Layer the chocolate chips and nuts on top of the coconut.

Pour on the sweetened condensed milk.

This is what it looks like before it goes in the oven

(I forgot to take a picture of it after!) 

The tasty finished product...so good!

7-Layer Bars

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips (optional) (I never use these because I prefer just chocolate!)
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans, but walnuts are also good)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:
-Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter.  Spread over the bottom of 9x9-inch pan.  Press into pan to create a crust.
-Layer coconut, chips, and nuts, one at a time, on top of crust.
-Pour sweetened condensed milk over layers.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Let cool and cut into bars.  Refrigerate leftovers.

 Dirty Dishes.

7-Layer Bars

Taste: 5 out of 5

Dirty Dishes: 4 out of 5

Time/Effort: 5 out of 5

TOTAL: 14 out of 15

Cake Mix Cookies

It's been a busy week...well, I guess it hasn't been busy but I've been sick - so I haven't gotten much done. I was planning to make cute heart-shaped cookies for Valentine's day and share the recipe, but that didn't happen. Instead, I got to the end of the week and needed to make some cookies and share a recipe quickly. So, I turned to my easiest cookie recipe. Cake Mix cookies are fun because you use a cake mix (obviously) and very little else. I prefer the chocolate cookie with peanut butter chips, but you can also make a yellow cake mix with chocolate chips (it's supposed to taste like chocolate chip cookies, but it tastes too much like a yellow cake for my liking). Anyway, these cookies are so easy. Just mix everything together and bake them up. Then, they become soft, chewy and delicious cookies! Enjoy!

Only 4 ingredients - that's awesome!

Mix the cake mix, oil, and eggs together.

It doesn't take long before it looks like thick cookie batter.

Add in peanut butter chips (delicious!!).

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets (I used my fancy cookie scooper).

Try not to eat too much batter!

Bake them until they turn into delicious cookies!

EAT with a big glass of milk!

Cake Mix Cookies (I got the recipe from my friends little cake mix cookbook, but I can't remember the name of it)

1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate or yellow cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup peanut butter chips or semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:
-Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until batter is smooth.
-Stir in peanut butter or chocolate chips and pecans (I didn't use pecans because I don't like nuts in my cookies!).
-Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Makes 3 dozen.

The dirty dishes for these cookies.

Cake Mix Cookies
Taste: 5 out of 5
Dirty Dishes: 4 out of 5
Time/Effort: 4 out of 5
TOTAL: 13 out of 15

Week 51

December 18
I hosted a Christmas Cookie party. It was a wonderful afternoon and we had tons of cookies. Everyone brought their favorite treat and we were all able to sample each others delicious cookies. After the party, everyone took a plate home to continue enjoying the cookies. It was a lot of fun!

December 19
Bill wrapped a bunch of presents for me. He got too many gifts for me this year, but I enjoyed all of them! He carefully wrote on each gift...it was super cute!

December 20
Just wanted to show you that even my braces are Christmasy! I got red and green ligatures to show my Christmas spirit!

December 21
My turn to wrap presents. I love presents and wrapping...and opening! These are all for Bill.

December 22
HAM!! We're having HAM for Christmas dinner. We love ham! I splurged and bought an expensive imported ham because we love ham that much. We look forward to our ham Christmas dinner all year long!

December 23
We had a lovely afternoon going to lunch, going to a movie, running errands, etc. One exciting event was driving on the new overpass by our house. They have been doing construction on the overpass and roundabout for a year now and we've been eagerly awaiting it's end. Although the construction isn't completely done...the overpass is open and it alleviates some of the traffic headache near our house. We were able to drive on it to the mall and it was splendid!

December 24
Christmas Eve is not complete without a Candlelight Service. We enjoyed a lovely Candlelight Service at church before our traditional Chinese food dinner. I love Christmas and the candlelight service is one of my favorite parts! Happy Christmas Eve!!

Week 50

December 11
Today we went to the wonderful Christmas Cantata put on by our church. It was a lot of fun to go with a huge group of friends. The cantata was amazing and I sort of wished I had participated in it this year (but I guess there's always next year, somewhere else). It was a great evening and we ended it with dinner at the food court - I'm so thankful for wonderful friends!

December 12
I never showed you a picture of our finished Christmas tree. It would be prettier if you could see the lights better, but this is it. I think our tree is absolutely lovely!!

December 13
Our guest room has become the staging area for presents. We have a lot of gifts in boxes and a lot of wrapping paper...now we just have to put the two together!

December 14
One of my coworkers is leaving this month so we had a going away party for him. He will be missed.

December 15
At our embassy Christmas party this year, there were "guests" in the backyard. They are coatimundis, or "gato solos" as they are called here. I've never been so close to so many of them. They were kind of cute...until someone fed one and then they turned nasty!

December 16
Another going away dinner for the same coworker. A new experience at a boutique restaurant...interesting!

December 17
I started my Christmas baking!! Spritz are one of my favorite cookies - and a Christmas must-have! I made them in preparation for my Christmas Cookie party tomorrow. Now it really feels like Christmas!

Week 38

September 18
We ran out of water on Saturday and it still wasn't back on Sunday. That made for a miserable morning. We went without water for over 24 hours. When you're supposed to have water and it goes out...it can be very frustrating. Thankfully, the spigot in our carport worked (who knows why). So at least we could slowly fill up buckets to flush the toilets.

September 19
I made spaghetti and meatballs...it was so yummy. Of course, we ate too much but we really enjoyed it!

September 20
September is a VERY popular month for birthdays...and since I make a dessert for each person's birthday from my office, I've been super busy. I made raspberry muffins for the first birthday of the week.

September 21
I'm not sure what this sign means. Why wouldn't you just go straight...why bother going down around the loop? Who knows?!? Just another in my collection of funny/weird/interesting/confusing signs from Panama.

September 22
Another birthday. This time, chocolate chip cookies. I made extras so we could enjoy them at home too.

September 23
My car battery died! I guess it had lived a good life. We were happy that La Casa De Las Baterias made it so easy to buy a new one. Not exactly cheap, but easy!

September 24
DONUTS! So much fun and so delicious. Abby and Amber came over to spend a day making donuts. Abby was an expert and every step of the process and we ended up with 5 dozen delicious treats. Too many to eat...although I gave it a valiant effort and felt sick all night!

Week 11

I get a rare chance today to update my blog during the week. You see, today was declared a National Day of Mourning here in Panama because of the death of an ex-vice president. So, we get the day off. I'm trying to be productive with my time.

March 13
I made cookies. They were so easy and so good. Maggie let me borrow a cookbook with all kinds of creative ways to use cake mixes (besides just cakes). So, I used a chocolate cake mix to make these tasty chocolate peanut butter cookies. They were a hit!

March 14
We have a house guest for the next two weeks. Welcome to our home, Frank.
March 15
I forgot to take a picture of myself on the 10th, like I was supposed to...too distracted by the cat's bad behavior. So, I remembered today. Here I am...not looking too good (it's all those cookies I've been eating). Beware the Ides of March!

March 16
Bill is back in school again, after his week off, so he's hitting the books. He's trying to be more disciplined this term and get his homework done promptly...we'll see how long that lasts.

March 17
Just relaxing after a long day. All the animals...and Bill.

March 18
We had an event at work today. It was a day of teams and games and laughter and team-building (I think) and costumes. Our team was ducks.

March 19
One of my favorite candies. I'm sure it's in my top five, although I don't know what the other four are. I should think about that and make an actual list. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my pieces!

Cookies

One of my colleagues celebrated his birthday last weekend. I asked him what he would like for his birthday and he said Chocolate Chip Cookies. I glanced thru the cookbook and noticed there was a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies, so it worked out perfectly. He received a plate of delicious cookies and I crossed off another recipe - everyone wins!

the recipe

perfect sized cookies
don't they look good?!?

Flavor of the Month - Cookies

Christmas means lots of good cookies! So it's fortunate that the Flavor of the Month for December is cookies. I look forward to Christmas time each year because it means baking and eating all my favorite Christmas cookies. My favorite cookie changes from year to year but this year it was Spritz. They look so festive with their fun shapes and colorful sprinkles. I didn't make as many varieties of cookies this year (I'm still learning how to bake in this humidity) but I made enough to keep us full! Here are a few of the delicious treats we enjoyed this Christmas.

lots of Spritz!

Spritz in a tin
gooey bars in a tin
fudge in a tin (I know it's not a cookie, but it's good)

this is all that's left of the cookies!

To read more about all kinds of Christmas cookies, check out the other Flavor of the Month entries.