A Gift of Brownies in a Jar

My dear friend, Linda Greenawald gave me this recipe back in 2002.  I've made it now and then during the Christmas Season and given it as a Gift to friends and relatives at Grandma's Open House on Christmas Eve or Betsy Kubacki's after Christmas Party!

In a quart jar layer the following ingredients.

1/ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips.

I tightly place a jar ring and lid on top.  Wrap with a pretty ribbon and then
Print out the recipe below on a pretty recipe card and add the following directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine contents of the  jar with
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Mix well.  Pour batter into a greased 9x9 inch baking pan.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool on a rack.  Cut and Serve
I really like this recipe for enjoying and gift giving.  I however, don't see my son's making this on a regular basis............  But, if you need to give a nice, top knotch, homemade inexpensive gift, this is the way to go!  Actually, I make several at a time!

Tree Bark - A Saltine Cookie!!!

The recipe for Tree Bark was given to me by my friend Angie at Conway Chiropractic.  I've used it more times than I can remember.  Tastiness rating is 4 out of 4 Stars. Ease in preparation is 4 out of 4........  However,  please never have young children around.  The preparation is "Molten Hot Lava". 

1 Sleeve of Saltine Crackers
1 cup of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
12 ounce bag of Chocolate Chips
1 cup of Chopped Nuts
1.  Line a Cookie Sheet 15x10x 1 with Foil and then spray the foil with non stick cooking spray. 
2.  Line 1 sleeve of Saltine Crackers over the foil.  You may have to break a few of the crackers to fit on 1 side.
3.  In a heavy stainless steel cooking pot on the range, bring to a rolling boil 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar. (Never ever use margarine or Oleo).   Pour the butter and brown sugar mixture over the crackers.
4.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 6 to 9 minutes. (Watch carefully that the mixture doesn't burn. 
5.  Remove from oven very carefully and sprinkle with 12 oz bag of Milk Chocolate Chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips. As the chips begin to melt, spread them over the saltines with the back of a spoon.
6.  Sprinkle about a cup of coarsely chopped nuts, over the top of the melted chocolate  (any kind works wonderfully).  Sometimes, I chop the nuts coarsely, sometimes, I don't! 
7.  Cool for about a half hour and then refrigerate until hard.  Peel off the foil.  Break into large pieces and store in an airtight container in the frig or freezer.  Right before serving, you can break the "tree Bark" into smaller pieces.

Tree Bark looks great on a mixed cookie tray and is also great to give as a gift in a pretty pastry box with a nice ribbon.   I would think that you could use variations such as white chocolate or butterscotch chips, instead of chocolate.  Even dried fruit would work, instead of nuts.  Enjoy!