Strawberry Lemonade Bars

 

 

 

 

 

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

adapted from Annie's Eats

yields about 24-32 bars

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2¼ sticks (18 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

For the strawberry lemon layer:

3 cups sugar

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tbsp. lemon zest

¼ tsp. salt

3 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen, thawed

6 large egg whites

2 large eggs

1 1/3 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

*This recipe can be halved and baked in an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with a reduced baking time of 25-30 minutes for the strawberry lemon layer.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour and salt just until incorporated. Add the dough to the prepared baking pan. Press into an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven, maintaining the temperature.

While the crust is baking, make the top layer. Combine the sugar, flour, lemon zest and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Puree strawberries and press through a fine mesh sieve, mashing with a spatula, to extract as much juice and pulp as possible, straining out the seeds. Add the egg whites and eggs to the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk well to blend. Whisk in the strawberry puree and lemon juice until smooth.

Pour the mixture over the crust and bake until the center is just set and not longer jiggles when gently shaken, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Cover and chill well in the refrigerator, at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, use the parchment paper to lift the bars from the pan. Place on a cutting board and slice into bars. Dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar if desired.

Sweet Potato Cookie Bars

Sweet Potato Cookie Bars
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
2 c. dark brown sugar, packed
3 c. all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 1/2 c. sweet potato puree (I used fresh sweet potatoes and began with 2 large ones. You can easily substitute canned sweet potato puree. If you do opt for fresh, please see below for instructions on preparing your sweet potatoes.)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ancho chile, ground
1 tsp. canela, ground (ground cinnamon may be substituted)
1- 10.5 oz. bag of mini marshmallows
cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350°.
Grease 2- 8″x8″ baking pans and set aside.
To prepare the sweet potato puree, peel the potatoes and cut each into 6-8 smaller pieces (chopping the potatoes reduces your cooking time significantly). Place potato pieces in a large pot of boiling water (you’ll need at least enough water to cover the pieces) and boil for approximately 20 minutes or until fork tender. Remove cooked potato pieces from heat, drain, and set aside to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and continue mixing as you add the cinnamon, salt, ancho, and finally the flour. Mix just until a uniform batter forms.
As soon as the sweet potato pieces are cool enough to handle, mash with a fork and fold the puree into the batter. Pour the batter into your prepared pans and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cookie bars comes out clean. Remove the baked bars and top with the marshmallows.
Turn on your oven’s broiler to its highest setting – creating the toasted marshmallow topping for this dessert is simple to do, it just requires some attention so that your bars don’t burn. Once your broiler is on, put your marshmallow-topped bars on a rack under the broiler but at the bottom of the oven so that there is at least a foot of space between the bars and the broiler flame. Keep the oven door cracked so that you can watch the marshmallows toast and, if your oven is anything like mine, you will likely need to carefully rotate the pans as the marshmallows toast so that they toast evenly. My oven has a few ‘hot spots’ and if I don’t dishes that I’m broiling, one small area will scorch. You want the marshmallows to be a dark golden brown on top – as soon as they’re the color you like, remove the pans to cool.
If you opt to cut circle bars like I did, you can carefully remove the bars to the freezer for 5 minutes so that they’ll cool quickly and harden slightly. I used a 2″ fluted metal cookie cutter that I ran under a little warm water before I started cutting. Once your bars have cooled slightly, simply press down firmly with your cutter until you reach the bottom of the pan. Rotate the cutter slightly and pull it straight out – it should come out holding the bar that you’ve just cut out. Push the bar out onto your serving piece and cut another. You’ll likely want to wash your cutter after every 3 bars or so, just so that you can keep cutting neat bars. Of course, the scraps between the circles are for the chef.
YIELD: approximately 12-14 circle cookie bars or 18 square cookie bars

Rolo Dream Bars

 

 

Rolo Dream Bars

Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Start by freezing a bag of Rolos for 2-24 hours
Shortbread Base
Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
Directions
Preheat oven to 300F.
Cream together the butter, sugar, and salt with a mixer on medium speed. Add flour and mix again until fully combined. Dough may be crumbly. This is okay.
Spray a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish with baking or cooking spray. Press dough into the dish, creating an evenly distributed crust.
Bake for 30 minutes, until cookie begins to look lightly brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least an hour.
When cookie is cool to the touch, prepare the topping.
Dream Bar Topping
Ingredients
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, well-beaten
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted (toasting is optional)
1 cup diced nuts: walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds or crisp rice cereal
26 Rolos, frozen and unwrapped
Directions
Preheat oven to 325F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix until evenly combined with a mixer on medium speed.
In a separate bowl, crack and then whisk eggs until yolks are broken and fully mixed into the whites. Add to brown sugar mixture and mix on medium speed again.
Add coconut and nuts, mixing until fully incorporated. Set aside.
Place 12-14 Rolos directly on top of Shorbread base in casserole dish. Spoon brown sugar-coconut mixture on top of shortbread/rolos, covering base completely.
Press the remaining Rolos into the topping. (By doing this separately, you’ll get some Rolos that melt inside the topping, and others that stay intact, which adds great texture.)
Bake for 30-35 minutes until topping is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool overnight. When you first remove from the oven, the topping will be unset. It will set completely as it cools, and create an almost “brownie” like crust. Cut into bars once completely cooled.
These bars are incredibly rich, so small bars (2″ x 2″) are appropriate.

Peach Crumb Bars

Peach Crumb Bars
Yield: 24 bars
For the Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
1 egg, lightly beaten
For the Filling:
5 cups diced or sliced peaches (about 7 peaches, peeled)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
2. For the Dough: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter, and then the egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
3. For the Filling: Place the diced (or sliced) peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.
4. Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
(Dough recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen; Filling recipe from Allrecipes)

Margarita Bars

 

Margarita Bars

Serves 9-12. You can also easily double the recipe for a 9×13″ baking dish.
For the crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
For the filling:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp tequila
1 Tbsp triple sec
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp lime zest
1 drop green food coloring (optional)
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8″ baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Stir in the melted butter. Press the dough into the baking dish and then bake 15-20 minutes or until the edges of the crust turn light brown.
Reduce the heat to 300 degrees. In another medium bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, flour, salt, tequila, triple sec, and lime juice and zest, and food coloring. Pour the filling mixture over the warm crust and bake another 20-25 minutes.
After removing the dish from the oven, lightly dust with powdered sugar. Let cool and then cut into squares. Store leftovers in the refrigerator

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH CHEESECAKE BARS

 

 

Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips
Cheesecake Filling:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil allowing a little overhang; spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove pan to a cooling rack. Do not turn your oven off.

While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. With an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour on low speed, until just incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla on low speed just until incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust. Sprinkle the cookie dough onto the top of the cheesecake batter in teaspoon-sized clumps. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top feels dry and firm. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Lift the bars out by the overhang; cool and then slice into desired size. Serve cold or at room temperature. Keep leftovers refrigerated.



Adapted from My Baking Addiction.

Congo Bars

Congo Bars
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version

*Makes about 18-24 bars, depending on what size you cut them
Congo Layer:
1 1/3 cups (6¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 ounces (¾ stick) butter, melted and cooled
1¼ cups firmly packed (8 ounces) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white (save the egg yolk for the brownie layer!)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (4 ounces/115 grams) chopped walnuts
Brownie Layer:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (¾ ounce) unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Ganache Drizzle:
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil and lightly grease and flour (I like to use Baker’s Joy to make the greasing/flouring part easier).
For the congo layer: in a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar, egg, egg white, and vanilla just until blended. Stir in the flour mixture just until the batter is smooth.
Scoop the thick, sticky batter onto 8 or 9 different areas on the bottom of the prepared pan. With an offset spatula or rubber spatula, spread the batter to cover the pan as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the walnuts evenly on top and gently press them into the batter.
Partially bake the layer until it is no longer shiny on top and is beginning to come away from the sides of the pan, about 12-15 minutes (it will continue baking with the brownie layer). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool while you prepare the brownie layer.
For the brownie layer: in a small or medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over very low heat, stirring with a silicone spatula until smooth. Or, combine in a medium microwave-safe bowl and melt in a microwave oven at 50 percent power (medium) for 30-second bursts, stirring after each burst, until melted, 1 to 1½ minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until incorporated. Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture just until the batter is smooth. Scoop the thick, sticky batter onto 8 or 9 different areas of the still-warm congo layer. With the offset spatula, spread the batter as evenly as possible.
Bake the brownie until the top is no longer shiny; appears set; feels firm, rather than soft; and a round wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist chocolate crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. The top layer will set up as it cools.
To make the ganache drizzle: place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream just to a boil over medium heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it stand for 30 seconds. Whisk together until smooth and creamy. Set the mixture aside at room temperature just until it cools a bit and begins to thicken slightly.
Pour the warm glaze into a small ziploc bag. Snip a small opening at one of the corners to allow a thin flow of glaze. Squeezing lightly, pipe thin lines of chocolate in a zigzag pattern over the cooled surface of the brownie. Set aside at room temperature until the glaze is set, 1 to 1½ hours.
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Flo Braker’s Baking for All Occasions

Peanut Butter Cup Caramel Shortbread Bars

Peanut Butter Cup Caramel Shortbread BarsRecipe adapted from King Arthur Flour by Our Best Bites
1 c. salted butter at room temperature
1 c. powdered sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. caramels (1 14-oz. package Kraft caramel or 2 c. homemade caramel)
1-3 tablespoons cream (1 if using Kraft caramels, 3 for firmer or homemade caramel)
3 cups mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (about 1 1/2 11-oz. bags)
Preheat oven to 300. Spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of your mixer, combine the butter, sugar, flour, and vanilla until the mixture comes together.  Lightly press the shortbread dough into the pan. Prick with a fork to prevent the crust from bubbling.  Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden.  Remove from oven and run a knife around the edges of the bars. Allow to cool completely.
Combine the caramels and cream in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring each minute, until the mixture is smooth. Spread evenly over the cookie crust, then place the pan in the refrigerator and chill for 30-60 minutes or until the caramel is solid.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the unwrapped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups until melted and smooth, stirring each 45 seconds.  Spread over the cooled caramel. Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours or until the chocolate layer is solid. They can also be placed in the freezer for less time if you’re in a hurry.  Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers in a cool area or the refrigerator to prevent messy disasters.

No-Bake Chewy Cookies and Cream Bars

 

 

 

No-Bake Chewy Cookies and Cream Bars

One 16 oz package of Oreo
5 cups Large Marshmallows
4 tablespoons butter
1.  Place Oreos in food processor and pulse until ground.  Melt marshmallows and butter in microwave until puffed, about 1 1/2- 2 minutes.  Remove and pour in ground Oreo Cookies.  Stir to combine then transfer to a foil lined 8×8 inch baking pan.  Let set up for 10 minutes.  Remove bars out of pan with edges of foil and cut into squares.
Makes 9 large bars

Picky Palate

Triple Layer Cookies and Cream Crunch Bars

Triple Layer Cookies and Cream Crunch Bars
makes 9-12 bars
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
20 Oreo cookies
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter and flour an 8 x 8 cake pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add remaining teaspoon of vanilla. Add in cocoa powder and mix until combined. Add flour and salt, mixing well until batter is smooth and comes together. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
Spread in the 8 x 8 pan. Sink 9 Oreo cookies into the batter and press gently. Bake for 25-30 minutes. While baking, crush the remaining Oreos in a ziplock bag. When brownies are finished baking, remove from the oven and sprinkle with 1/2 cup chocolate chips and crush Oreos. Place back in the oven for about 2-3 minutes. During this time, melt remaining chocolate chips and peanut butter together. Remove brownies from oven and pour melted chocolate mixture over top, spreading with a spatula. Make sure chocolate gets down into the Oreo crevices, as it is the “glue” that holds the top to the bottom. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Let brownies sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before cutting. Don’t worry if some of the cookies spill out from the middle or the top cracks – they are still delicious!

Oatmeal Chocolate Caramel Bars

Oatmeal Chocolate Caramel Bars
Printable Version
Printable Version with Picture
*Makes 9X13-inch pan of bars
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup melted butter
14 ounce bag of caramels
1/2 cup whipping cream or milk
1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degree. Mix the first six ingredients together and sprinkle half on the bottom of a 9X13-inch baking pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, melt the caramels and whipping cream or milk in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave at 50% power, stirring often, until the mixture is smooth. When the bars have been removed from the oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the crust and pour the melted caramel over the top. Sprinkle the rest of the crust over the top and bake in the oven for an additional 10-12 minutes, until the caramel is bubbling and edges are lightly browned. Cool the bars completely before serving so they can set up properly.

Annie's eats

Sticky-Fingers Bars

Sticky-Fingers Bars

Adapted from Rebecca Rather’s “The Pastry Queen”

Makes about 24

Crust:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 4 (2.07-ounce) Snickers® bars

Filling:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup or light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving several inches of overhang on the short ends of the dish. (You’ll use them to lift the bars out of the dish later.) Grease the foil with butter or a nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. For the Crust: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla. With the mixer on medium-low, add the flour and peanuts, and mix just until incorporated.

3. Press the dough into your prepared baking dish, and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let it cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

4. Decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

5. Cut the Snickers® bars horizontally into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cover the crust with the Snickers® slices, leaving about 1/4-inch between slices.

6. For the Filling: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, syrup, butter, vanilla and salt. Pour the mixture over the crust, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until set. (The filling shouldn’t wiggle when you take the pan out of the oven.) Cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

7. To Assemble: Spread the peanut butter on top of the filling. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts evenly over the peanut butter.

8. Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, and melt it in the microwave. Check every 30 seconds to make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn. Stir the chocolate until it’s smooth, and drizzle it over the chopped peanuts.

9. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

10. Grab the foil edges, and lift the bars out of the pan. Using a serrated knife, trim the edges away from all four sides. Then, using a smooth sharp knife (preferably a Santoku or even a cleaver) or a bench scraper, cut into bars. Store the bars in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat them. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

STORAGE: If you wrap the bars well, they will keep for about 5 days at room temperature or 3 weeks frozen.

Governor Bars

 

 

 

 

Governor Bars

Printable Recipe
6 cups Kellogg’s Rice Krispies (or generic brand)
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
1 cup sugar
12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 oz bag butterscotch chips
Place Rice Krispies and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl.  Do not mix together yet; set aside.
Heat the honey and sugar in a medium sauce pan until it is just boiling.  Immediately remove from heat and pour into the bowl with the Rice Krispies and peanut butter.  Mix with a wooden spoon until combined.  Lightly press the mixture into a greased 13- x 9- inch pan.
Melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a microwave safe bowl for about one minute, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir until melted and smooth.  Spread evenly on top of the Rice Krispies.  Let cool until hardened before slicing into bars.
Source:  Kara Conrad, friend of Pennies on a Platter

Raspberry Almond Cookie Bars

Raspberry Almond Cookie Bars1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup almonds (slivered, sliced or roughly chopped)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup fresh raspberries (if using frozen, thaw and let drain)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray, line with parchment paper. then spray again.

Combine flour, oats, baking powder, salt and almonds in a medium bowl. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; 2-3 minutes. Add egg and almond extract and mix to incorporate. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.

Spread about 2/3 of the dough into the prepared baking pan. The dough is pretty sticky, you could use a spatula to help you spread it out or even just drop it by the spoonful very close together. When it cooks, it will all come together anyway.

Gently lay raspberries evenly over the first cookie layer, then drop the rest of the dough by spoon fulls over the raspberry layer.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes in pan, then gently pull them out with the parchemnt paper and let them completely cool on a rack.

Sweet Luvin it the Kitchen

Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Bars

Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Bars
Makes: 2 dozen 2-inch squares
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 12-ounce bag bittersweet chocolate chips
1 and 1/2 cups mini pretzels, coarsely chopped
Sprinkles, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a 9 x 13 inch metal baking pan with parchment paper.
3. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt.
4. In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat the butter with both sugars at medium speed until light, one minute.
5. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
6. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients.
7. Stir in the chips and the pretzels.
8. Spread the batter in the pan and top with the sprinkles.
9.  Bake for 30 minutes, until golden; the center will still be a little gooey (just the way it should be, right?).
10. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool completely.
Source: Food and Wine Magazine, August 2009 issue

Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Bars

Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Bars
Printer-Friendly Version

Yield: about 30 bar cookies
Ingredients:
For the shortbread base:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the topping:
6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1½ cups toffee bits

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Line a 9 x 13″ baking dish with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.  To make the shortbread, combine the flour, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl; stir to blend and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugars and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Blend in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, beat in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Stir in the chopped chocolate until evenly distributed.

Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish and press into an even layer covering the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the shortbread is bubbling.  Remove the pan from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.

Sprinkle the 6 ounces of chopped chocolate evenly over the top of the cookie base.  Cover the pan with foil and let sit for 5 minutes.  Remove the foil and use an offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate evenly over the crust in a thin layer.  Immediately sprinkle the toffee bits over the melted chocolate and press down gently to adhere.  Let the bars cool to room temperature.  Once the pan has cooled, you may speed chilling by transferring to the refrigerator or freezer.  When the topping is set, remove from the pan, transfer to a cutting board and slice into bars.

Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Pumpkin Pie Bars
Printer-Friendly Version
For the crust and topping:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup old-fashioned oats
½ cup chopped pecans
Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Butterscotch chips, for topping
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan.  Lightly grease the foil.  Combine the flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a small mixing bowl and toss with a fork.  Add the pieces of butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in the oats and chopped pecans.
Reserve 1 cup of the crust mixture and set aside.  Add the remaining crust mixture to the prepared baking pan and press onto the bottom of the pan in an even layer.  Bake the crust alone in the oven for 15 minutes.  In the meantime, prepare the filling.
To make the filling, combine the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed until smooth and well combined.
Once the crust has been removed from the oven, pour the filling into the pan and smooth over the crust.  Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture and butterscotch chips, as desired.  Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Slice and serve.
Source: adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from Kraft