Master Baker March Challenge Roundup

I loved making all the Easter treats! I suppose that I have more than a little streak of competitiveness. While I am normally quite lazy, a competition moves me to action pretty quickly. Master Baker's March contest is a great example! Here are all the treats that I made with the theme ingredient: Easter Candy!

Reese's Egg Banana Bars

Reese's Egg Granola Banana Bars

Easter Rice Krispy Treats

(made with Peeps and Mini Reese's Eggs)

Mini Reese's Egg Cheesecake

S'more Peep Bars

Mini Cadbury Nest Eggs

...Just posting this makes me want to bake more!

Master Baker March Challenge - Part IV

This was the second banana bar attempt. I tried something that is more cakey and solid. I like the way it turned out.

Frosted Banana Reese's Bars

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. softened shortening

2 eggs

3 ripe mashed bananas

1/3 c. milk

1 tsp. lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Layer Reese's Eggs on top. They will sink to the botom on their own in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Frosting:

2 tbsp. butter

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ripe mashed banana

2 c. powdered sugar

Cream together first 4 ingredients then gradually add sugar until smooth. Frost bars when they are cool.

Master Baker March Challenge Part III

I did try the first recipe for banana bars with Reese's eggs. The flavor combination was delicious, and the oatmeal made it simultaneously lighter and heartier, which was yummy. However, it was more crumbly than I really wanted, and even doubling the bananas of the recipe that I based it on, I was looking for a stronger banana flavor. Although it wasn't what I imagined, it was definitely a yummy end result. (Sorry, but I didn't take more pictures. :( )

Reese's Egg and Banana Bars



2 large ripe bananas
2/3 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups quick oatmeal (uncooked)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark)
8 Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs



Finely chop bananas.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then stir in vanilla.
Add oatmeal and brown sugar. Heat and stir 5 minutes.
Press 1/2 of oatmeal mixture into the bottom of a greased 9" square pan.
Layer bananas over crust.
Layer Reese's Eggs over bananas.
Cover with remaining oatmeal mixture, and press down lightly.
Refrigerate a couple hours before cutting.


Then, I worked on another combination that I've wanted to try - coconut cookies with a mini Cadbury creme egg on top. I imagined this looking a bit like a bird's nest with an egg in it, but the cookies flattened out as they cooked. I suppose I could reduce the butter in the recipe to try to make it keep more of the shape, but I'm too afraid of losing the amazing taste that it currently has. I think I'm content with the recipe as it is, even if it's more flat than I expected. Within a few minutes of taking them out of the oven, I had already eaten five of them! I'm really pleased.

Nestegg Cookies


1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups unsifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 + 2 cups flaked coconut
4 dozen mini Cadbury Creme Eggs



Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cream butter until fluffy.
Add sugars gradually, beating well after each addition.
Add egg and mix.
Combine flour, soda and salt; then add to butter mixture, 1/4 at a time.
Add vanilla and 1 1/2 cups coconut.
Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls and then roll in reserved 2 cups coconut.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Master Baker March Challenge - Part II

I felt the need to use more of the reese's eggs. I find peanut butter and chocolate quite inspiring! This time, it was Easter Rice Krispy treats. I used the box recipe as a base, just adding in the eggs and substituting peeps for the marshmallows. I opted for yellow, since it is the closest color to plain white marshmallows, but I imagine that pink, purple or green would be more festive.

Easter Rice Krispy Treats

6 cups rice krispy cereal
3 tbs butter
3 packages of peeps (I used 2 of bunnies and 1 of chicks)
20 reese's eggs

Spray a large casserole pan with cooking spray.

Melt butter in saucepan over low-ish heat.

Add the peeps and stir over heat until all melted. (This part is fun, because you get to watch them dissolve, and they keep their eyes much longer than you'd expect!)

Stir in reese's eggs until melted (this should be much faster).

Remove from heat and stir in rice krispies.

Press into the greased pan using a sheet of parchment paper.

Let cool and serve.

I'm very pleased with the way this turned out! I think it's just the right amount of peanut butter and chocolate - not overpowering, but enough that you notice. I'm incredibly tempted to just eat them all myself. That can't be good.

Master Baker March Challenge Part I

Master Baker hosts a baking contest each month, and each month there is a different theme ingredient. This month's ingredient is Easter Candy. I am definitely inspired! I started with a list of about 15 different ideas and variations thereof. My favorite was a cupcake with a Cadbury mini creme egg in the middle, but a quick search turned up evidence that someone else has already tested and come up with a good recipe for it, which they are already entering, so I went back to the drawing board.

Another immediate thought was that peeps belong in some sort of s'mores-inspired dessert (which could be triggered by seeing s'mores cupcakes recently) I opted for more of a pie/bar sort of dessert. It has a gram cracker crust, a layer of peep bunnies, and then a layer of chocolate ganache. Heated, up for about 30 seconds in the microwave, the idea is that it's just like a

s'more, all melty and gooey. I just have to try this one out and make sure that it actually is good.

Then, I wandered the Easter candy aisle in the grocery store, and found true inspiration! I had no idea that there were Reese's easter eggs that are peanut butter filled chocolate. I had to make a cheesecake with them!

Reese's Egg Cheesecake

1 bag of reese's eggs
6 oz cream cheese
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 oreo crust (I use a deep dish or extra capacity pre-made. If you use a regular size pre-made, you'll have extra batter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Unwrap and layer reese's eggs on the bottom of the pie crust. (I didn't use all of them, but somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of a big bag).
Beat softened cream cheese until fluffy.
Add milk slowly, and beat until smooth.
Add vanilla and egg, and beat until combined.
Pour cream cheese mixture over eggs.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 min.

I think next I'll try this recipe with a layer of mini Cadbury creme eggs. I just have to decide what to submit for the contest. I have a few more ideas, but I think I'm most excited about the Reese's cheesecake.

EDIT: After taste-testing the reese's cheesecake, I think that I want to try again with an actual sprinform pan. While the ready-made crusts are easier, I just don't feel like the ratio is right that way. I think if I could pile the cheesecake higher, it might compensate better for the sugary richness of the layer of peanut butter chocolate on the bottom. I'll try take 2 when I recover from the sugar coma I'm in. Perhaps it'll do better as mini cheesecakes with just one egg each? This requires more thought and a lot of veggies to flush out my system. It also requires that someone eat all the food coming out of my kitchen!

EDIT again: Everyone else seems quite happy with the richness. It's possible that I was biased from eating too many sweets before getting to this taste-testing.