Read Cherry Cheesecake Murder Online
Authors: Joanne Fluke
Tags: #Mystery, #Romance, #Thriller, #Crime, #Contemporary, #Chick-Lit, #Adult, #Humour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ stick melted butter (¼ cup–1/8pound)
For the Filling:
2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli’s)
3 cups miniature marshmallows (pack them down in the cup)
1½ cups flaked coconut (pack it down when you measure it)
1 cup chopped nuts (I use either pecans, or walnuts)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
*
You can find unsweetened baking cocoa in the baking aisle of your grocery store. Make sure you get an American brand—some of the others are Dutch process and they won’t work in this recipe. Also be careful not to get cocoa mix, the kind you’d use to make hot chocolate or chocolate milk. (I used
Hershey’s)
Mix the sugar, flour, cocoa, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the bowl and mix it in with a fork. When the butter is incorporated, the mixture should resemble small beads. (You can also do this in the bowl of a food processor, using chilled butter and the steel blade.)
Spray a 9 inch by 13 inch cake pan with Pam (or other nonstick cooking spray) and dump the crust mixture in the bottom. Gently shake the pan to distribute evenly and then press it down a bit with a metal spatula.
Sprinkle the chips evenly over the crust layer. Sprinkle the marshmallows over that. Sprinkle the flaked coconut on next and then sprinkle on the chopped nuts. Press it down again with the metal spatula. Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top.
Bake the bars at 350 degrees. F. for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bars are nicely browned on top.
Let the bars cool on a rack. When they’re cool, cut them in brownie-sized pieces.
WARNING: DON’T REFRIGERATE THESE COOKIE BARS WITHOUT CUTTING THEM FIRST—THEY’RE VERY DENSE AND SOLID WHEN CHILLED.
A Note From Edna Ferguson, the Queen of “Cheat” Recipes: If you want a shortcut for the crust, just buy a chocolate cake mix and use half of it, dry, mixed with the melted stick of butter. (Keep the rest of the cake mix in an airtight bag and you can use it the next time you bake them.)
Kids really love these cookie bars, especially the name.
Index of Recipes
Cocalattas
Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies (PBJs)
Fruit Pocket French Toast
Sally’s Flourless Chocolate Cake
Cherry Cheesecake
Mock Turtle Cookies
Jane’s Mini Cherry Cheesecakes
All-Nighter Cookies
Chocolate Truffles
Cream Cheese Puffs
Double Flake Cookies
Lemon Cream Torte
Angel Kisses
Ooey Gooey Chewy Cookie Bars
Baking Conversion Chart
These conversions are approximate, but they’ll work just fine for Hannah Swensen’s recipes.
VOLUME:
U.S.
Metric
½ teaspoon
2 milliliters
1 teaspoon
5 milliliters
1 tablespoon
15 milliliters
¼ cup
50 milliliters
1/3 cup
75 milliliters
½ cup
125 milliliters
¾ cup
175 milliliters
1 cup
¼ liter
WEIGHT:
U.S.
Metric
1 ounce
28 grams
1 pound
454 grams
OVEN TEMPERATURE:
Degrees
Degrees
British (Regulo)
Fahrenheit
Centigrade
Gas Mark
325 degrees F.
165 degrees C.
3
350 degrees F.
175 degrees C.
4
375 degrees F.
190 degrees C.
5