Pink Lemonade Bars

A sister in my ward made these for our Enrichment night and they were the biggest hit! I got the recipe and made them as soon as I could because I was craving them like crazy! I couldn't find seed-less jam so I used the regular kind and they were still delicious. I also do not own a food processor so I chopped the almonds by hand and just mixed the crust with a pastry blender. These would be perfect for your next bbq or pot luck!

Pink Lemonade Bars

For crust and crumb:
2	cups + 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
½	cup sugar
½	cup blanched slivered almonds
⅛	teaspoon salt
1	cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1	tsp. vanilla extract
For Filling:
1-½	cups sugar
¼	cups ap flour
5	large eggs
½	cup seedless raspberry jam (or other favorite jam-I used cherry-berry perserves), stirred to loosen
½	cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
	Grated zest of 1 lemon

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 13 × 9 × 2 inch baking pan, or line w/ nonstick foil.
2. For crust and crumb: Combine 2 cups flour, sugar and almonds in a food porcessor and pulse to finely grind almons and blend the ingredients. As the processor is running slowly add the melted butter and vanilla extract to the flour-almond mixture.
3. Reserve ⅔ cup of crust for crumb topping, then press remaining crust mix into the bottom of the greased baking pan. Bake the crust at 350 F for 25 minutes.
4. Blend remaining 2 tbsp. of flour into the reserved crust mix and set this crumb topping aside.
5. For Filling:In large bowl whisk together sugar and flour, then add the eggs and jam and whisk to combine. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest.

Assembly:
6. Remove the baked crust from the oven and pour the filling oven the crust. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes to set the filling.
7. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the bar, then continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes.
8. Cool pan on rack for at least 30 minutes, then chill before cutting into bar cookies.

Bow Tie Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

The title says it all! This is a really light pasta that is perfect for summer time. The tomatoes and olives in it are so good together and I love the flavor of basil! This was the yummiest dinner I have has in a long time! Oh, I got this recipe from the Food Nanny. She's amazing!!

Bow-tie Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes & Fresh Basil

1 lb. uncooked bow-tie pasta

1 lb. cherry tomatoes

1/3 c. fresh basil, or 1 Tbls. dried

1/3 c. Olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

15 large pitted olives, sliced

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

crushed red pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to directions

2. Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes in half and place them in a large skillet. Add the basil, oil, garlic, and olives.

3. Drain the pasta. Place the tomatoes over medium-high heat and cook until heated through. Stir in the pasta. Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese. Add a few shakes of crushed red pepper and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with garlic bread!! Heaven!

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

Props to The Sisters Cafe for this awesome recipe. I whipped these together the other night after seeing these gals post the recipe on facebook. They got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and her site has amazing recipes too!

You can't go wrong with coconut in my house. Olivia even asks for coconut ice cream with coconut flakes in it when we go to Cold Stone! And Adam and I drank wayyyy too many virgin Pina Coladas on our cruise a while back. Anyhow, I had all the ingredients on hand and these were super easy to make. Everyone absolutely loved them. They aren't too coconutty, just enough to make the cookies sweet. And they kind of make you think of somewhere tropical, like Hawaii! And who can't use a little more oatmeal in their diet, even if you have to get it by eating cookies :)

These are my new fave cookie, by the way!

Photo courtesy thesisterscafe.com

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies
courtesy thesisterscafe.com

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to cool room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour (you can add an extra 1/2 cup flour for higher altitudes, like Utah)
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 cup quick oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl cream together the sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined (silpat or parchment) baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are set but not overly browned. Don't overcook these or they will be crisp, unless that is what you are going for!