♣ Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! ♣ Today’s post is for The Secret Recipe Club monthly recipe review! If you’re new to my blog, once a month the members of the club all get assigned to another blogger in the club. The name exchange is all done in secret, and on reveal day, everyone posts who they had and what they made, and you get to see who had yours! It’s really a lot of fun and a wonderful way to to connect and share others’ blogs! And reveal day, today, is always so exciting! 

 

 

This month, I was assigned to an absolute sweetheart! Her name is Saundra (nice to meet you, Saundra! 😀 ), and I really had a blast reading her blog, Famished Fish, Finicky Shark, and perusing her recipes! Her blog is named after her 4 wonderful children, three famished, and one finicky little cutie who has some very special challenges due to autism. Saundra, her hubby, and children all live in sunny, southern California where they love to go camping and fishing! They’re just a mere 45 minutes from beaches, mountains, lakes and rivers! How fantastic would that be?! I don’t know where I would want to go first! 😀 We both share the same love of cookbooks! She, too, can sit for hours on end thumbing through recipes, and page after page of enticing photos! Which is what I did on her blog! I think I looked at every single one of them before finally deciding! 😀

With it being a March reveal, which is my birthday and of course, St. Paddy’s Day, I really wanted to find something festive, so I chose her Triple Layer Mint Chocolate Cookie Bars! But a ton of others caught my eye, too, such as her Hot Cheesy Spinach Dip with Bacon, Buffalo Hot Wing Popcorn, Chicken Mole Skewers with Cilantro Pesto, Korean BBQ Beef Sandwiches, Shrimp Spring Rolls with Plum Sauce , and her Cherry Amaretto Kuchen Bars, just to name a few!!  You’ll definitely want to check out her blog! She has her own “cookbookful” of wonderful recipes! 😉 😀

So, on to the the one that I chose! 😀 These babies caught my eye immediately, and after looking through everything, I ended up going right back to them! (Doesn’t that always figure?) I debated and debated on whether or not I was going to make a full pan as the recipes states (a 10 x 15 ), or if I was going to risk it and try getting everything into a 13 x 9. Ultimately, I decided to just go for it and try it in a 13 x 9 baking pan. We really enjoy softer cookies, especially my hubby with his dental work that can be painful at times, so I proceeded and crossed my fingers!

Just a few of the ingredients that I chose to use!

 

 

Crushing the cookies, adding the butter and liqueur, and patting them into the pan! (I secretly LOVED this part! It was like I was a kid again, making mud pies! 😀 ) 😉

 

 

The cookie batter layer!

 

 

Topped with Andes Candies Mint Chocolate baking chips!

 

 

Happy to say, that they turned out fabulous! I added a little bit more baking time, and they got done no problem! The only trouble we had was finding the chocolate and mint morsels. Our pathetic grocery stores, (all two of them), didn’t have a single bag! But, they did have Andes Mint Candies in tiny pieces called “baking chips”! So I just used those and it worked beautifully! Next time I’ll add some to the batter as well as sprinkle on top before baking, and sprinkle more after baking! 😉 (Yes, they were that good! 😉 )

 

 

The layers were easy to make and I had just enough of the first layer to cover the bottom thinly, so I’m glad I went smaller! The cookie layer also came together quickly and easily, and was a little thicker of a layer than Saundra’s of course, but the amount was perfect for us! The only “trouble” I had, which we didn’t mind one bit, was the icing. I think what Saundra meant, was to use either the Creme de Menthe with the powdered sugar, or, use mint extract, milk and green food coloring. Mine came out very thin because I read the recipe as calling for both the Creme de Menthe and the milk. But they were delicious and we didn’t mind the icing being thin one bit! 😀 But if you’re taking them somewhere, you’ll want it to set up and harden. I only used half of the large amount, and poured out the rest, but, in hindsight, I wish that I had saved it so that we could’ve drizzled it over the vanilla bean ice cream that we had them with! (*Forehead slap!*) I zapped our pieces in the microwave to warm them just a bit, and it was one heavenly dessert! 😀

 

 

This was the perfect choice to start the month of March! So pretty, lots of chocolate and mint flavor, and beautiful green colors that had my Irish eyes smilin’! (Well, Scotch-Irish, but close enough! 😉 😀 ) These would be super fun at a party or for kids to take to school for a class treat!

And that’s it friends for this month’s Secret Recipe Club recipe review! 😀 We VERY much enjoyed these and would definitely make them again! I can’t wait to share a few with the neighbors, as they will love them , too, I’m sure! 😀 Thanks, Saundra, for sharing your wonderful recipe! 😀

 

~ ♣♣♣ ~

*Please do take the time to check out Saundra’s blog, Famished Fish, Finicky Shark, subscribe, or follow her on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites so that you don’t miss anything! 😉

Take care all, stay warm, and THINK SPRING!
It’s time for Old Man Winter to start packing and head on down the road!

 Until next time, ~Kelly

 

 

 

*Recipe adapted from Famished Fish, Finicky Shark.

Yield: 24 -36 squares

Triple-Layer Mint Chocolate Cookie Bars | The Secret Recipe Club

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Ingredients

Mint Oreo Layer:

• 2 cups finely crushed Mint Oreo cookie crumbs
• 6 Tbl. butter, melted
• 1 Tbl. Creme de Menthe Liqueur (or 1 tsp. mint extract)

Cookie Layer:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup shortening (I used butter-flavored Crisco)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (I used dark brown)
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbl. Creme de Cacao (I used Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Mint Chocolate Layer:

• 1 (10 oz.) bag Nestles Chocolate and Mint Morsels (I used half of a 10 oz. bag Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips)

Crème de Menthe Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbl. Creme de Menthe liqueur (or 1 tsp. mint extract)
• 2 Tbl. milk (*omit if using the liqueur)
• *only add 2-4 drops green food coloring if not using liqueur, the liqueur turns it very green on it's own
• (*I garnished with more Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Begin by processing the Oreo cookies in a food processor until they are fine crumbs. Stream in the melted butter and liqueur (or mint extract). Press mixture into a foil-lined 13" x 9" baking pan. *The foil will make these easier to cut later.

In a stand mixer, combine the butter, shortening, and sugars, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, crème de cacao liquor and vanilla, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat this into the butter and sugar mixture.

Carefully spoon the mixture onto the Oreo crust being careful not to disturb the Oreo crust. Using a rubber spatula or greased fingers press the cookie batter onto the crust.

Sprinkle the chocolate and mint chips on top of the cookie batter layer evenly.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until golden brown on top and cookie bar is puffed.

Cool slightly before drizzling with icing.

For the Icing: Whisk together 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and *2 1/2 tablespoons crème de menthe liqueur. (*Or 1 teaspoon mint extract, plus 2 tablespoons milk and optional green food coloring.) Mix until smooth. Drizzle over top of cookie bars. Garnish with more Andes baking chips if desired. (If icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If too thick, add more liqueur or milk in small amounts at a time.)

Cool completely at room temperature or chill in refrigerator 2 hours or overnight before cutting into bars.

To easily cut the cookies into bars, lift out by foil and transfer to cutting a board. Peel back the foil, and using a sharp knife, cut straight down to make 24 - 36 squares, or into as many bars as desired.

Store airtight for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

*These are wonderful warmed in the microwave and served with vanilla bean or mint chocolate chip ice cream!