How-To Cook for Co-Workers

Three easy recipes to make and bring into work.

Alright you young professionals:

Do you want to know the way into a new co-worker, boss, or teacher's heart?

 

Food. The answer is always food.

 

So contradictory to what I told you about eating healthy on the job to keep your mind sharp and fresh, it's ok to splurge every once in a while. It's especially ok if you're bringing a little somethin' somethin' for all your co-workers too.

 

Plus who doesn't like the person who brings snacks to work?

 

 You will be everyone's favorite if you bring these little goodies to work for holidays, Wednesday mid-week pick me up, or just because you feel like boosting everyone's mood.

 

Chocolate Covered Fruit Bites:

(Makes about 24)

 

This succulent recipe is extremely easy to make and actually a healthy alternative to other sweets.

 

Ingredients:

-2 medium/large peeled bananas sliced into 24 pieces

-24 plump blueberries

-12 large strawberries sliced in half

-1 bar of Bakers bittersweet cooking chocolate or any other dark chocolate bar (must be over 50% dark)

- 1 box of toothpicks

 

Directions:

 

Cut the bananas and strawberries. Separate a slice of banana, strawberry and a blueberry until all the fruit is grouped. Press a toothpick through the center of the three pieces and set it on cookie sheet. Put it in the freezer until they are frozen solid. 

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Melt the chocolate following the directions on the back of the bar or just use a double boiler on low heat, cutting the bar in to small pieces. (I do not recommend a microwave because it is easy to burn the chocolate that way).

After the chocolate is a smooth consistency and melted, remove the frozen fruit from the freezer.  Hold the toothpick parallel to the bowl of chocolate and dip the fruit in the chocolate half way. Place the fruit on the sheet to harden (Placing the sheet in the freezer may expedite the hardening process).

When the chocolate is hardened, remove bites from the cookie sheet and place on a nice plate or tray in the refrigerator until it is time to serve the healthy treat.

When ready to serve, remove them from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for five minutes before serving

 

If this dessert sounds appetizing to you, don't be lazy. Do your work place a favor. Make a couple batches so people can have more than one. Nobody likes a cheapskate.  

 

This next recipe is a melt-in-your-mouth brownie that’s easy to pick up from the break room and take to your desks.  But beware, any co-worker that sneaks this treat away will be caught once they put this rich chocolate and peanut bar in their mouth because they will be cooing  "Mmmm" and "Oh wow!" behind their cubical.

 

Dream Bar:

 

Ingredients: 

 

-2 ½ cups crushed pretzels

-1 cup of melted butter

-5 tbsp sugar

-Any peanut butter cookie mix

-Any brownie-mix

-1 large bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

 

Directions:

 

Crush the pretzels in a food processor. Make sure they are crushed into small pieces and not into sand because it will change the consistency of the bar. Melt the butter in the microwave. Then, mix the melted butter, sugar and pretzel crumbs. Press this mixture into a lightly greased 8�-8 pan. Set aside pretzel crust and make the cookie dough according to package.

 

Next, lightly press the cookie dough evenly on top of the pretzel crust. Once the cookie dough completely covers the bottom pretzel layer, unwrap 24 snack-size Reese’s Peanut Butter cups and layer the candy on top of the cookie dough. Then, whip up your brownie mix, also according to the package, and pour evenly over the Peanut Butter Cups.

 

Finally, bake the contents at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

 

Cool for about 10-15 minutes and slice into bar sized pieces. I recommend that you warm a very sharp knife under hot water to get the cleanest cut.

 

Don't forget to put a disclaimer on the peanut butter in the bar. Some people may be allergic and despise you for an unbearable reaction.

 

 

Cookie Dough Balls:

 

This may be the easiest treat you can make that can feed a whole building if you have a few hours the night before.

 

Ingredients:

 

-Chocolate chip cookie

-Double chocolate chip cookie mix

-Sugar cookie mix

-Snicker doodle cookie mix

-1 bar of Bakers dark chocolate for melting

-Sprinkles

-Brown sugar

(Make sure none of these mixes include eggs)

 

Make the different mixes separate or pick which ones you like the best. Then roll them into a tablespoon-sized ball and put them on a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper on top. Put the tray in the freezer. After about 30 minutes in the freezer take them out for decorating.

 

You can pick how you decorate each type of cookie ball but I suggest drizzling the chocolate chop and double chocolate chip cookie mix with dark chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or according to the back of the package and pour a spoonful on top of the desert. For the Sugar cookie balls I would pour sprinkles in a bowl and dip it or roll it on top. Last, I would sprinkle brown sugar over the snickerdoodle balls.

 

Keep refrigerated on tray or container until they are ready to serve.

 

I would advise you to never bring a cake to work. It might be pretty to look at in the beginning, but then it gets pretty hard to cut and serve. By the end of the day it will look like a mound of crumbs and you will not want to claim it as your donation to the company.

 

There you have it, YPT people. Those are three very different yet delicious ideas that will make anyone at your work place happy. To spice it up even more, put the dessert on a seasonal tray. If you really want to show off or lay it on thick, place a little note by it such as: "Happy Holidays!" Or "Just a little pick me up for my favorite co-workers!"

 

I hope you enjoy these recipes, and if you want to learn how to be the best young professional you can be, come back to the site next week for more tips!