Starbucks Knockoff: Cranberry Bliss Bars

I’m a sucker for almost anything labeled “Limited Edition.”  I’m looking at you, Limited Edition Mint M&Ms.  You, too, Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale.  And same goes for you, Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars.  Why must you only exist during the winter holidays?  You would be the perfect dessert on a summer afternoon.  If only I could dig into your cranberry goodness and cream cheese deliciousness all year ‘round.  Hooray, now I can!

Knockoff recipes for some of our favorite indulgences are nothing new.  I’ve always hesitated to make a knockoff because it usually doesn’t taste as nearly as good as the original.  Disappointment almost always abounds -- but not here, thankfully!  A quick Google search led me to this recipe for Cranberry Bliss Bars from Food.com.  The result?  Absolutely delicious, and truly every bit as tasty as the original from Starbucks.  So pshaw to the limited edition moniker for Cranberry Bliss Bars.  They’re here whenever you crave them!  Huzzah!

Cranberry Bliss Bars
For the bars:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons orange extract or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I recommend using both!)
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¾ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup white chocolate chips

For the cream cheese frosting:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract

For the drizzled chocolate finish:
1/3 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

Begin by making the bars: Beat the butter and sugars until light.  Gently blend in eggs and extract(s), taking care not to overbeat eggs.  Add the flour, baking powder, and ginger and beat briefly.  Add the cranberries and chips, stirring just until incorporated.  Spread the thick batter in the prepared pan.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until light brown at the edges and a toothpick in the center tests clean.  Be careful not to overbake or the bars will be dry.  Let cool completely.

While the bars are cooling, make the frosting: blend the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add  extract and confectioners’ sugar and beat until frosting is fluffy and spreadable (add 1 teaspoon of milk to thin slightly, if needed).  Spread evenly over cooled bars.

Drizzled chocolate finish: Sprinkle the orange zest and chopped cranberries over the frosted bars.  Next, mix the white chocolate and oil in a glass measuring cup.  Microwave 1 minute; stir until melted.  Use a fork or whisk to drizzle the white chocolate diagonally across the bars.

Now for the tough part, allow one hour for the white chocolate to set before cutting.  Starbucks cuts their bars into triangles; for the authentic touch you could do this, too.  I usually dive right in with a knife and fork -- so delectable.  Enjoy and laugh in the face of "limited edition!"

Mango Lentil Salad with Feta

On a recent trip to Costco, my first in a very long time, I was dazzled by a crate of one dozen mangos.  Yes, 12 greenish-pinkish fragrant mangos, just nearing their ripeness.  Nirvana in a cardboard box!  Of course, after I got home and the warehouse daze wore off, I realized that I have 12 mangos that need to be eaten very quickly.  Yikes!  Plato was right when he said that necessity is the mother of invention.  Challenged with 12 mangos all nearing their peak at the same time, I’ve sliced mangos into sauerkraut, served mangos with sausages… and was inspired today by my sister-in-law.

My sister-in-law is an ardent fan of lentils.  Lentil soup is one of her signature dishes (and I hope one day she’ll agree to guest-blog about it).  A few months ago I followed her lead and purchased a mountain of lentil beans, but I didn’t really feel inspired to use them until today.  Scanning the pantry closet, faced with the challenge of using yet another mango, my eyes fell upon the little brown beans.  Thrown together with a tasty but not too salty feta cheese, the sweetness of the mango balances nicely against the neutral background of the lentils.  This salad is easy and fast to make, and serves as a delicious side dish or main course.

Mango Lentil Salad with Feta
1 large mango, peeled and cut into large chunks
15.5 oz can lentils, rinsed and drained -or- 1¾ cups lentils cooked and cooled
½ small red onion, diced
½ tsp olive oil
½ tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs cilantro, chopped
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp ground cumin
sea salt, to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, cilantro, cayenne and cumin.  In a large bowl combine the chopped mango, lentils and red onion.  Toss the dressing into the lentil mixture.  Sprinkle with additional chopped cilantro and sea salt.  Serve room temperature or chilled -- and enjoy!

Chicken Florentine

Recently, the spring weather has turned colder than expected.  Today’s rainy, chilly weather put me in the mood for curling up on the couch with a dish of something hot and savory.  Chicken Florentine to the rescue!  This dish is so easy to make (you could even prepare it the night before and pop it into the oven when you come home from work).  I was inspired by a recipe from Paula Deen, but modified it a bit to save a few calories.  After all, a girl’s gotta watch her figure.

This dish is perfect with a loaf of crusty bread and a glass of wine.  End the meal with a hearty brownie and a glass of milk and you’ve turned even the dreariest of days into a great day.  What was I saying about calories…?

Chicken Florentine
1 (10 oz) package chopped spinach, thawed if frozen
1 lb cooked chicken breast, sliced
1 (10 ¾ oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
½  cup mayonnaise
½  cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
3 tbs fresh lemon juice
½  tsp curry powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine

In a large bowl, mix together the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, Cheddar, lemon juice, curry powder, salt, pepper and wine.  Add the chicken and spinach and combine thoroughly.  Pour into a baking dish (I used a 10-inch round ceramic dish) and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Super easy and tasty!

Herbed Feta Turkey Meatballs

My mom recently gave me a recipe for turkey burgers that she cut out of a newspaper in 2002.  As a huge fan of turkey burgers (whenever I try a new restaurant and see turkey burgers on the menu, I absolutely must order one), I was intrigued by the addition of mint and feta cheese.  How very Mediterranean!  I simply had to make this recipe right away.

For a bit of a twist, I shaped these into meatballs and substituted a few different herbs than the original recipe called for.  The result is a savory turkey meatball with a definite hint of the clean and crisp flavors of basil and mint.  These are so flavorful that they don’t need any sauces – just serve alongside pasta tossed with olive oil and you’ll have a marvelous meal.  The recipe would also make a pretty tasty burger, which I plan to do very soon.

Herbed Turkey Feta Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 leek, finely chopped
1 tbs fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tbs fresh mint, finely chopped
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp savory
salt and pepper to taste

Mix above ingredients together in a large bowl.  (I find it easy and fast to use my hands.)  Shape the mixture into meatballs or burgers, as you wish.  I find this makes about 19 golf ball-sized meatballs. 

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add the meatballs or burgers and cook, turning once, until browned and cooked throughout, about 8 minutes per side.  Serve and enjoy!

Quick Worknight Dinner: Corn and Goat Cheese Scrambled Eggs

Sometimes after a busy day at work I just feel like having a simple supper.  Eggs are usually my go-to ingredient.  Time and again I’ve tried to duplicate the perfect omelets I love to order in restaurants.  Time and again what starts out as an omelet winds up as a scrambled egg conglomerate.  But even if it doesn’t look as nice as a neatly flipped and folded omelet, the eggs never fail to taste delicious!

Always the optimist, I had hoped that this time would be Perfect Omelet Night.  Alas, my record of messy un-omelets still holds.  I didn’t mind, though, because the eggs were incredibly fluffy and the goat cheese melted just enough to give the dish a slightly cool and creamy burst of flavor.  Corn kernels add a subtle, almost imperceptible sweetness, too.  They also give the eggs an interesting contrast in textures, since they still retain a bit of crunch even after cooking.

Tell me, what is your secret to making an omelet that actually looks like an omelet?  Just how can one do it?

Corn and Goat Cheese Scrambled Eggs
3 eggs, separated
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup corn kernels
1 tbs butter
¼ cup goat cheese, crumbled (herbed goat cheese imparts a nice flavor)
3 tbs chopped fresh chives

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, salt, pepper and corn.  In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture until thoroughly combined.  The eggs will be thick.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the eggs, spreading with a spatula if necessary.  When the eggs are almost set, but still slightly wet, sprinkle ¾ of the cheese and ¾ of the chives on top.  Using a spatula, attempt to flip the omelet over, trying to form a half moon.  (It is at this point that I usually have trouble and wind up making scrambled eggs instead.) Either way, cook until eggs are set.  Top with remaining cheese and chives.  Enjoy!

Cheesy Potato Leek Chowder

It is unofficially soup week at The Delectable Kitchen.  After enjoying the last drop of Pumpkin Bean Soup, I was on a quest for more hearty fare.  Cheesy Potato Leek Chowder to the rescue!  I adapted this recipe from a similar one in Cooking Light, but you would never know that it is a lighter soup.  The little bit of Swiss cheese melts beautifully and gives this chowder a thick, creamy base.

I don’t often cook with leeks, but I’m always delighted by their subtle flavor.  I’ve read that the green stalks of a leek are often bitter and should be discarded.  Always the conservationist, I tend to use every bit.  I think that the slight sweetness of the carrots and half-and-half in this chowder help to offset any potential bitterness.  Then again, the bitterness theory could just be an old wives’ tale because this soup is delicious!  Only savory flavors here!


Cheesy Potato Leek Chowder
1 tbs olive oil
2 leeks, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup cubed carrots
1 cup cubed yellow squash
2 15.75-oz cans chicken or vegetable broth
3 bay leaves
1 cup cooked wild rice
1 cup half-and-half
½ cup Swiss cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste, and parsley for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the leek and garlic and sauté 3 minutes or until tender.  Add potatoes, carrots, squash, broth and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat.  Simmer at least 20 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender.  Puree half of the soup in a blender and return to the pot.  Or, you can use a stick/immersion blender if you have one, to puree half of the soup in the pot itself.  Add the wild rice, half-and-half, Swiss cheese, salt and pepper.  Heat until cheese melts, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle with parsley to garnish.

Mexican Bulgur Salad with Citrus Jalapeno Vinaigrette

Chilled salads, to me, are usually reserved for the heat of summer.  A spoonful of cold and crunchy goodness is the best lunch on a torrid August afternoon.  So I surprised even myself when I found Cooking Light’s recipe for a bulgur salad in my recipe folder and had the urge to make this right away – in the bitter cold of February.  And, yes, I’m so glad that I did!

This was my first experience with bulgur.  If you haven’t tried it yet, I would describe the taste and texture as quite similar to brown rice.  And you’ll love it in this dish!  I wanted to diminish the spiciness, so I opted for regular Monterey Jack instead of cheese with jalapeno peppers.  The slightly crunchy texture of the beans and zucchini contrast nicely with the softer cheese and bulgur wheat.  The vinaigrette could have used a little more of a citrus kick, so next time I might increase the amount of juices.  How about you – what is your favorite way to prepare bulgur?

Mexican Bulgur Salad with Citrus Jalapeno Vinaigrette
(adopted from Cooking Light)
1 cup uncooked bulgur or cracked wheat
1 cup boiling water
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup lime juice
2 tbs minced, seeded jalapeno pepper
1 tbs olive oil
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ cups diced zucchini
1 cup corn kernels
¾ cup (approx 3 oz) diced Monterey Jack cheese (or Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers)
3 tbs fresh cilantro, minced
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
lime wedges and additional cilantro, for garnish

Add the bulgur to the pot of boiling water.  Cover and let stand for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the orange and lime juices, jalapeno pepper, olive oil, salt and cumin.

In a large bowl mix the zucchini, corn, cheese, cilantro and black beans.  Add bulgur and toss gently to combine.  Pour the juice mixture over the bulgur salad and again toss gently to combine.  Serve warm or chilled, as desired.  Garnish each serving with a lime wedge and sprinkle with additional cilantro.