I suspect that one of my New Year’s resolutions this year is not quite compatible with most everyone else’s, mostly because it involves some treat making.
Joey pointed out that our freezer was starting to get a little ridiculously full of random ingredients I planned on using at a later date, so I started digging items out and realized he was definitely correct.
My pantry isn’t much better.
So one of my resolutions will be to actually use up the extra ingredients I have laying around and free up some space in the kitchen.
With that being said, if your resolution is to lose weight or eat better, you might want to avoid my column for a little while.
The first thing I decided to use up was a glut of Andes mint baking chips, and I found a great no-bake recipe to use them in.
I found this recipe on the blog “Inside BruCrew Life.” You can find the original at https://insidebrucrewlife.com/andes-mint-cookie-dough-truffle-bars/. I added extra vanilla in my version.
Andes Mint Cookie Dough Truffle Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon milk
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2, 10- ounce bags Andes mint baking chips divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons shortening
Instructions
- Start by greasing an 8-by-8-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugars, vanilla and milk until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder and salt and beat until everything is well combined. It takes a little bit to get it completely mixed together. Mine started out looking really dry at first, and I was afraid I messed it up. Just keep mixing.
- Set aside one cup of the Andes mint chips and fold the rest into the mixture. Press the mixture into your prepared pan.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the cup of mint chips and the shortening and microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until it is melted and smooth.
- Spread it out over the top of the mixture in the pan and place the bars in the freezer to set up.
- Once the topping hardens, cut into bars and serve.
The recipe’s author said she used to make this recipe but roll it into balls and dip it in chocolate. Making it in bar form instead made the process go a lot more quickly. I’d recommend putting these in your “I need to make treats but have no time to make treats” section of your recipe box.
These were a huge hit with my family and would be a great recipe for beginning cooks to tackle. I’m a massive fan of Andes mints, so I was extremely fond of these and had to try to stay away from them long enough to share them.
And now my freezer is two bags of baking chips lighter. I figure getting a head start on my New Year’s resolution in December isn’t a bad way to go. I’ll just have to get used to the fitness fanatics in my life avoiding me for a few months.
This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 26, 2019.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
