Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Pistachio Mint Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies

Desserts

Pistachio Mint Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies

Pistachio Mint Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies

Does anyone else hoard baking chips? My drawer is currently overflowing with regular chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, mini chocolate chips, mini M&Ms, regular M&Ms, Heath toffee chips, and Andes Crème de Menthe chips. And I recently used all my peanut butter chips! I don’t know what it is about the baking aisle. I feel the need to constantly replenish my chip stocks with different kinds even if I have no plans to use them in the near future. I guess I like keeping my options open!

This was actually my first time using Andes Crème de Menthe chips, and I really liked them. They taste just like Andes mints, which have been a favorite of mine since childhood. I would be happy just eating the remaining half of the bag straight on their own! I decided to pair the chips with pistachios that I ground up in the food processor. I like adding ground nuts instead of a bit of flour in cookies because it adds so much flavor. And, of course I made bar cookies because I’m too lazy to make individual cookies! I’m sure I’ll end up buying more chips the next time I’m at the store, too bad I still can’t find cinnamon chips!

Pistachio Mint Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pistachios
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup Andes Crème de Menthe baking chips

Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease an 8×8-inch square pan. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar; mix in egg and vanilla.

Pulse pistachios in a food processor until ground. Stir in ground pistachios, flour, salt, and baking powder until soft dough forms. Stir in mint chocolate chips. Spread dough in bottom of the greased pan. Bake at 350˚F for 20 to 23 minutes or until set. Cool for 30 minutes and cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Makes 16 servings.

Nutrition: 226 calories, 14.1g fat, 1.1g fiber, 3.3g protein per serving
Cost: $4.73 total

Late Night Snack Bars

New products from Trader Joe’s continually make my day. My Halloween Pumpkin Quesadillas, Yuzu Miso Mahi Mahi, and Vanilla Joe-Joe Strawberry Cheesecake just wouldn’t have been the same without their orange quesadillas, Yuzu Citrus Tisane Beverage, and Vanilla...

Banana Mascarpone Mousse Trifles

I’ve been on quite the popsicle kick lately. This unbearable heat wave means our oven hasn’t been turned on in weeks, so I haven't baked any desserts. My sweet tooth still needs to be satisfied though, and popsicles are just the perfect low calorie refreshing treat! I...

Peppermint Mocha Brownie Bites

Whenever I need a little afternoon pick me up at work, I head over to the Starbucks across the street from my lab. I was never really into coffee until a few years ago when I tried lattes – mmm, just thinking about them makes me smile, and since a latte is mostly...

Mini Brownie Cheesecakes with Caramel Peanuts

A few weekends ago, I completed the Buzzard’s Bay Sprint Triathlon! This tri consisted of a 1/3 mile swim, 14.7 mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run. My official time was 1:34:08, so my splits were almost exactly the same as the ones from the tri I did last year, but...

Coconut & Lime Cheesecake Dessert Sushi

I’ve been wanting to develop another dessert sushi recipe for awhile now since I know it’s something people are very interested in (my Fruit-Filled Coconut & Chocolate Dessert Sushi recipe gets more google hits than any other recipe by far on my blog). I finally...

Pumpkin Hazelnut Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Is everyone ready for the holidays? We finished our Christmas shopping today and our cards are all ready to be sent out tomorrow. Christmas has definitely snuck up on us this year though and I haven’t had the chance to do any holiday baking yet. I hope I can squeeze...

Caramel Mocha Crunch Cookies

I ran my very first 5K last weekend! After being inspired by the book Born to Run and many runners including my half-marathon champion Dad and bloggers like Shannon and Elina, I decided to try jogging on the treadmill in January on a whim. Even though I’ve always been...

Caramelized Plantain Dessert Quesadillas with Nutella

I recently read about Sugar High Fridays on Heather’s blog Diary of a Fanatic Foodie. It’s a fun monthly event dreamed up by Jennifer at The Domestic Goddess, where bloggers post an original dessert recipe. When I read Heather’s theme this month was desserts inspired...