Ingredients
1 cup butter or margarine
1 . (2 sticks or 1/2 lb)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tsp orange zest, grated
1 package semisweet chocolate chips
1 . 12oz
1 cup cranberries, dried (4oz)
1 package cream cheese, (8oz)
1 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 . (1 can at 14oz)
Directions
Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until creamy; beat in
flour, oats and orange peel until crumbly. Stir in chocolate chips
and cranberries; reserve 2 cups mixture. Press remaining mixture onto
bottom of greased 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees 15
minutes.
Beat cream cheese in small bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in
sweetened condensed milk. Pour over hot crust; sprinkle with reserved
oat mixture. Return to oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until center
is set. Cool in pan on wire rack.
Makes about 3 dozen. ** Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -- Food section --
29 November 1995 **
Scanned and formatted for you by The WEE Scot -- paul macGregor
Servings: 3 dozen
Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cheese Bars Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cheese; Chocolate; Cookie; Cranberry; Dessert
The History of Recipes
Food historians have traced the existance of recipes far back into the distant past, in fact as far back into recorded history as early Egypt, and possibly even further than that. However, in the main part, these ancient cookbooks were just basic hieroglyphic instructions for preparing meals.
Interestingly, the most ancient recipe found, according to experts in ancient history is a series of stone tablets in Sumerian describing the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who tried it feel `wonderful`. During Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius created a collection of scripts showing how to cook the recipes enjoyed by wealthy Romans. He describes how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into starters, main course and dessert, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Additionally, he tells us how the early Romans were skilled in the use of a wide range of herbs, including many that are still in use today such as bay, mint and dill. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years there were a couple of books which appeared in the 14th Century : a book called `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these books are not about the indian food that we all know today, but instead accounts of the types of meals on the menues of the rich and powerful of that period. Later on, in the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought back many foods and spices from the East, including spices such as parsley, basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs created an increase in recipe manuscripts, the majority of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the upper-class families of the West competed with each other to offer the most extravagent banquests, and as a result chefs and their collection of recipes increased in prestige. Even so, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that fine cookery and cookery books reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collecting, verifying, and recording recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. When we get to the twentieth century, cookery publications were in great demand, as a result of increased literacy, leisure time and a general increase in wealth. The TV revolution brings us TV cookery programs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing everyone to access thousands of recipes such as those found on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cheese Bars recipe.
