No-bake Peanut Bars

The weekend is almost over and I'm glad I spent some much needed quality time with my family. Games, indoor activities, snuggling under a warm blanket, listening to the sweet sound of rain and enjoying some zucchini lasagna and these crunchy no-bake peanut bars. 

If you're like me and don't want to spend Valentine's day cooking all day long, these bars are just what you need - tasty, quick and easy to make, freeze well and can be made beforehand.

Ingredients:

300 gr sugar 

200 ml water

200 gr butter

300 gr unsalted peanuts 

250 - 300 gr ground cookies or biscuits

2 tablespoons cocoa or 50 gr dark chocolate

chocolate sprinkles

Instructions:

1. In a small pot put the water and sugar and cook for 4-5 minutes until sugar is completely dissolved.

2. Add the butter and wait for it to melt, stirring continuously. 

3. After butter is melted, add the peanuts. I ground 200 gr of peanuts and finely chopped the rest. If you'd like a smoother texture grind all 300 gr.

4. Gradually pour the ground cookies, constantly stirring and checking the consistency of the mixture. It should be well combined and not too dry and crumbly nor too wet, so the amount of ground cookies might vary.

5. Divide the batch into three equal parts.

6. In one of the bowls add 2 tablespoons of cocoa or 50 gr of melted dark chocolate into one and combine well. 

7.  Line a baking dish with some baking paper for easier removal. Pour in the first third and gently press it.

8. Pour the chocolate layer and press gently.

9. Pour the remaining third, again pressing gently.

10. Decorate with some chocolate sprinkles and peanuts.

If you don't like peanuts you can easily substitute them with walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds etc. 

Enjoy!

Are you looking for other easy treats for Valentine's day? Check out our recipes

Decorative Chocolate Coco-Hazelnut Bombs    

                        

  Quick & Easy Date Truffles

 Easy Phyllo Apple Walnut Rolls

Linking to:

Spotlight Saturday - The Classy Clutter

 

Fashion Friday - Jeggings and Lace Baby OOTD

It's another Fashion Friday baby edition and today's OOTD includes one of my favorite baby clothing items - jeggings. The are so comfortable to wear and so versatile that you can easily combine them with anything. Here I paired them with a grey and beige lacy top with a golden zipper and a black flower headband. 

Don't you just love the detail on the top? 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Quick & Easy Date Truffles

We're a month away from Valentine's Day and I am already busy planning a menu and a great gift for my dear husband. One of the items on my menu are these delicious date truffles which can be done easily and in no time. They also freeze well, so if you happen to have any left over, simply freeze them and enjoy later. 

Ingredients:

250 gr. pitted dates

150 gr. ground cookies or biscuits

100 gr. butter 

the zest of one orange

10 gr. ground cinnamon

150 gr. powdered sugar

chocolate sprinkles

Instructions:

1. Grind the dates in a meat grinder or process in a food processor. 

2. Melt the butter and gradually add the ingredients one by one. 

3. Stir until the ingredients are well combined.

4. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and form into a truffle.

5. Decorate with some chocolate sprinkles.

   Enjoy!

Linking to:

Classy Clutter - Spotlight Saturday Link Party

Time to Sparkle 

The Weekend re-Treat
  

 

Fashion Friday - Kids Casual / Sportswear Haul

Hello everyone and welcome to our first Fashion Friday in 2014. Normally, I would do an outfit of the day post, but since we recently purchased a couple of items on clearance and were given some as well, this post will be all about everyday casual kids clothes.

 Here's what we got:

I love comfy sportswear, don't you?

 Enjoy your weekend!

Sweet & Savory Sunday - Easy Baklava

Happy New Year everyone, hope you have an amazing 2014 filled with lots of love, laughter and joy! We took a longer break for the holidays to recharge our batteries and now feel eager to continue blogging. And what better way to do so than with a sweet treat? This easy Greek dessert often finds its way to our table but is super sweet and should be consumed in moderation.

Ingredients:

Pastry

500 gr. phyllo dough 

250 ml. sparkling mineral water

250 ml. vegetable oil 

250 ml. sugar

10 gr. baking powder

500 gr. finely chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Syrup

500 ml water

500 gr. sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter the baking dish.

2. Mix the sparkling water, sugar, oil and baking powder.

3. Place a sheet of phyllo dough in the baking dish and brush the sparkling water mixture over it.

4. Place a second sheet over it, brushing it with the same mixture. Repeat with a third sheet.

5. Mix the walnuts and the cinnamon and sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of this mixture over the phyllo layers.

6. Repeat the procedure from steps 3 - 5 until you use all the mixture and phyllo sheets.

7. The top layer should be 4-6 sheets deep. 

8. Cut the baklava into the desired shapes with a sharp knife. Make sure you cut all the way to the bottom.

9. Bake until golden brown.

10. While the baklava is baking, prepare the syrup. Pour water into a saucepan and add the sugar. 

11. Boil until the sugar melts and leave it to simmer for 10 minutes.

12. Before removing the syrup from the heat stir in the vanilla extract.

13. Let the syrup cool until it reaches room temperature.

14. When the baklava is ready, remove from the oven and pour syrup over it. 

15. Let it cool completely (3-4 hours) before serving.

 

Enjoy!

Linking to:

The Inspiration Gallery 

The Weekend Re-Treat

 

Bingo Squares

               After a long week of flu, we're back with another easy but tasty recipe. These squares are delicious - they are chocolatey but at the same time light and fluffy. The name Bingo Squares was inspired by the subtle combination of cinnamon, orange, chocolate and vanilla and I'm sure that bingo would be the first word that comes to mind when you taste them.

Ingredients:

Base

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup water

2 cups white flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons jam (here I used apricot jam but you could use any other jam)

Filling 1

300 gr. cookies or biscuits

2-3 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice

Filling 2 

250 gr butter or margarine

250 gr powdered sugar

4 packages of vanilla flavored instant pudding mix (I use Dr.Oetker pudding mixes)

15 tablespoons sugar

1 l water

100 gr chocolate + 50 gr for decoration

Directions:

1. Mix all of the base ingredients and bake the base in a greased baking dish for 20 minutes at 390°F (200 °C). 

2. Crush the cookies and put them in some orange juice. Stir until combined. If you like smooth fillings you could also ground the cookies or put some extra orange juice. I left mine crushed as they add a bit of texture to the squares. The amount of orange juice can also vary depending on your preferences.

3. In a larger pot cook 4 packages of instant pudding mix with 15 tablespoons of sugar and 1 l water, stirring continuously.  Once the pudding starts to gently simmer, reduce the heat and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely. 

4. Cream the butter with the powdered sugar and add it to the cooled pudding. 

5. Divide the second filling in two equal parts. In one of the parts add 100 gr melted chocolate.

Assembling

Put the first filling on the base and continue with the vanilla flavored part of the second filling. Finish with the chocolate layer and sprinkle some chocolate shavings.

Hope you'll enjoy our recipe! 

Have a wonderful time filled with happy memories together with your loved ones. 

Merry Christmas! 

Linking to:

The Inspiration Gallery