Pecan Mint Bars
* 1/2 cup (1 stick)plus 2 tablespoons margarine, divided
* 1-1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 45 wafers, crushed)
* 1 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans because my family doesn't care for walnuts)
* 1/3 cup powdered sugar
* 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
* 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
* 1 egg
* 1-1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract OR 1 tablespoon green creme de menthe
* Green food color(optional)
* CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE(recipe follows)
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Melt 1/2 cup margarine in medium saucepan; stir in crumbs, walnuts, sugar and cocoa. Press firmly on bottom of ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Beat cream cheese, remaining 2 tablespoons margarine and cornstarch in small bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk then egg, peppermint extract and food color, if desired. Pour evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake 25 minutes or until center is set. Cool. Drizzle CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE over top. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator. 24 to 36 bars. bars.
CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE: Melt 1 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips or HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips with 1-1/2 teaspoons shortening (do not use butter, margarine or oil).
** MY NOTES**
They were easy enough to whip up and they look pretty...but...I'm not sure how crazy I am about the peppermint extract in these bars. I liked them but I think that I would've liked them much more if the chocolate was mint flavored instead of the cream cheese filling being flavored with the extract. Something is just off to me .... My daughter and I globbed extra chocolate on the top of the bars because it was sooo good. :)
I like the bars, though, so I might try them again with another flavor of extract -- maybe almond extract with bits of maraschino cherries chopped up and sprinkled on the top of the filling before baking it. Then afterward, I'd drizzle dark chocolate on top --doesn't that sound good?
You can see the original recipe for Hershey's Walnut Mint Bars here.
I hope that everyone will check back for the round-up for this cookie at the end of the month!! I can't wait to read what everyone else thought of these cookie bars.
3 comments:
They look great Tami! It's funny, my initial reaction to my almond bars were the same as yours, but once they sat in the fridge overnight it was a different story. They were fab after that. :)
I made my Wed night. I thought they were really good, but I'm a big fan of chocolate and mint. They weren't my favorite. My mom LOVES them!
My reaction to the mint was much the same as yours. I think the mint flavor just wasn't very prominent.
The basic idea of the bars is great though. Bring on the other flavors! Thanks for hosting Tami!
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