Hey Zesty Cook readers, it’s Jenny over at Picky Palate.  I am thrilled to be guest posting here at Zesty’s!  At Picky Palate, I create simple family friendly meals and desserts for even those picky little eaters, come on over for a visit sometime

I am sharing one of my all time favorite sinful desserts today that I think you will love!  Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Cookie Bars.  I was even lucky enough to be featured on Bettycrocker.com with these bad boys!

The best part of this recipe is that it’s a breeze to whip up, the kids can help and you can find all of the ingredients at any grocery store.  Hope you all enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons melted butter
• 3 Cups Golden Graham Cereal, ground in food processor
• 1 Roll Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
• 8 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 21 oz can apple pie filling
• 1 -  5 oz package Nature Valley Oats N’ Honey Crunchy Granola Bars (2 count), crushed (I use a rolling pin to crush them right in the bag before opening)
• 9 -  5 oz Kraft Caramels
• 1/2 Cup half and half

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine melted butter and ground cereal into a large bowl; press into an 8×8 inch baking dish lined with foil that’s been sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven.  Crumble half of the cookie dough over partially baked crust.
4. Place cream cheese, sugar and vanilla into a mixer; beat until smooth.  Pour over crumbled cookie dough layer.
5. Bake for 25 minutes then remove from over.  Top with 3/4 of the apple pie filling (I chose to just add part, but you can add the whole can if desired).
6. Next top with remaining cookie dough, breaking off into little pieces evenly over top.
7. Sprinkle with crushed granola bars and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes clean from center.
8. Let cool completely then cut into squares.
9. Melt caramels and half and half according to package directions.
10. Drizzle over each bar.
11. ENJOY!

A special thanks to Jenny at the Picky Palate for a fun and amazing looking recipe.  Be sure to check out her site – you will find some amazing recipes!  I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will talk to you all on Monday.

Take care

zesty

Happy Monday to you!

I am aboard a plane to sunny (or maybe not) California this morning.  There are lots of things going on right now but I did manage to have a nice family weekend.  We had a fun Friday evening visiting our Grandmother, a visit to the house build on Saturday along with a visit to the Vet College Open House. Yesterday, we had a birthday party to attend. I hope to get a lot accomplished throughout the week regarding zesty and all the blog makeovers that are on my list.  I also have another pretty big announcement to make in the very near future.

I was out at the house talking to a few contractors on Saturday and trying to get everything organized for the week I am gone.  I added some updated pictures at the bottom of the post to keep you up to date on the progress.

Back to the food… or juice!  We bought a  juicer back when I was on a big juice kick .  It faded away the last little while but I wanted to share with you a fun juice to have when you are craving something a little different.

Carrots are a great way to get into juicing…. they are a great staple for any juice recipe. They provide a good base to mix in and experiment with other vegetables. They are not too sweet and not too bitter.

Ingredients

• 1/4 inch piece of ginger
• 1 apple
• 4 carrots

Method

1. Cut the ginger leave the skin on.
2. Core the apples.
3. Slice off the tips of the carrots.



4. Put through juice extractor.

Zesty Tip: A lot of people tell me that the juice that comes out of the juicer is too warm – I totally agree.  I like to add the juice to an ice bath after I make it for about 15 -20 minutes to reduce the temperature of the juice.  Try it!

House Update

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you have a great day. I will be on the road all week but I have a couple of guest posts lined up for the next couple of days.

Take care

zesty