Cranberry-Macadamia Bars and Citrus-Kissed Fig Thumbprints

Today we are moving on to the second station I went to at Baking with Betty.  Number two was cookies.  All of the recipes used the Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix.  At this station, I was able to make two recipe: the Citrus-Kissed Fig Thumbprints and the Cranberry-Macadamia Bars.  Then I was able to taste Red Velvet Rich and Creamy Cookies along with Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars.  I was careful to just try a small sample of each.  I still had the brownie and cake stations to go to at this point at Baking with Betty and I had such a wonderful breakfast.  I needed to pace myself.

My favorite of the four was the Cranberry-Macadamia Bars.  They were so delicious and buttery.  I will be making these for sure when the holiday season rolls around, but they are so good, they would be great any time of year.  My second favorite was the Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars.  No torch needed for this brulee folks.  Toffee bits create the crunchy sugary top on these bars.  I must admit I wasn’t thrilled with the Citrus-Kissed Fig Thumbprints.  The fig preserves didn’t cut it for me.  If I make these at home, I will try a little more citrus peel in the cookies and use some orange marmalade or other preserves in place of the fig preserves.  I would also use regular sugar in place of the coarse sugar.  I am not a fan of coarse sugar.  We also pressed the top half of the ball of dough in the sugar before baking the cookie.  I would also recommend doing that.
Stay tuned…..tomorrow is cake station.

Cranberry-Macadamia Bars

• 1 pouch Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup white vanilla baking chips
• 1 teaspoon oil

1. Blend cookie mix, 1/3 cup butter and egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350°F 15 minutes.
2. Heat 1/3 cup butter, brown sugar and cranberries over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Spoon and spread cranberry mixture evenly over partially baked cookie base. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely.
3. In resealable freezer plastic bag, mix baking chips and oil; seal bag. Microwave on High 30 to 45 seconds, squeezing mixture in bag every 15 seconds until smooth. Cut 1/4-inch top from corner of bag; drizzle over bars.

Citrus-Kissed Fig Thumbprints

• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
• 3 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup fig preserves (I am going to try orange marmalade instead)
• 1 teaspoon coarse sugar, if desired

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, melted butter, lemon peel, orange peel, vanilla and egg until soft dough forms.
2. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Using thumb or handle of wooden spoon, make indentation in center of each cookie. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon preserves into each indentation.
3. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. If desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar. Cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars

Red Velvet Rich and Creamy Cookies