Pumpkin Nutella Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm loving that it's pumpkin everything season! And it's feeling a little more like fall outside too. Perfection. This tasty pumpkin treat is a Pinterest find. Actually, I saw that the brother had pinned it, so I made these for him because I'm a great sister. Most of the time. The bars are nice and moist. Have great flavor. And while they're not super healthy, my version did cut out 1 cup of oil, 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 1/2 stick of butter. And I don't feel like they are lacking on sweetness at all. Next time around, I would probably take out more of the pumpkin batter before mixing in the Nutella (I've adjusted the directions below). Then, they might actually come out "swirled." 

Pumpkin Nutella Bars

Inspiration from The Gunny Sack

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 cups AP flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup sugar

1 cup Nutella

• Preheat the oven to 350*F and prepare a jelly roll pan (16x12x1) with nonstick spray. 
• In a large mixing bowl/stand mixer, beat together the eggs, pumpkin and applesauce. 
• Add all the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
• Pour half the pumpkin batter into your prepared pan.
• Mix the Nutella in with the remaining batter.
• Drop spoonfuls of the Nutella mixture over the pumpkin batter. 
• Gently swirl with a knife.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

• In a large mixing bowl/stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
• Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating until smooth.
• Mix in cinnamon and vanilla.

I went ahead and put my frosting on with the bars were still warm. I feel like it makes them a little more moist. Also, I had just worked for 13 hours and didn't feel like staying awake for them to cool down… Enjoy!

{Flourless} Chocolate Chunk Blondies with Sea Salt

I got in a little baking amongst everything else going on today! I had found this "healthy" sweet treat recipe on Pinterest a while back. I'm so glad I finally tried it! Plus, it was a good excuse to break in my recent Target find:

Pretty great, right? These blondies are flour-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free...but not taste-free. The big secret ingredient? Chick peas. Mixed up with honey and natural peanut butter. ANYTHING is better with peanut butter. (Fine, I realize that may not be completely true...but mostly.) I broke apart some Velata discs for my chocolate chunks. Great choice. I promise there is a difference in the taste between regular chocolate chips/chunks and Velata. It's kind of epic. 

Being me, I under-baked these babies. So mine turned out very soft and gooey. Yum. I couldn't tell you what they might be like if you actually bake them for an appropriate amount of time...but I'd imagine they still taste good! Enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Chunk Blondies with Sea Salt

Inspired by: Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 can (15 oz) chick peas, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup broken Velata premium chocolate pieces 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350*F. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Combine everything except the chocolate into a food processor (really, a Ninja or Vitamix is best). Process until the batter is smooth. Fold in the chocolate chunks. 
• Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle a little sea salt on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean out of the center and the edges are slightly browned. 

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars

I had the privilege of eating dinner last night with a family that is very special to me. I always make a dessert to take with me. The 7-year-old requested "key lime pie or something like that," which I found pretty amusing. I can't say I know of too many kiddos who would request anything like that. I was expecting like brownies or some kind of cake. But I enjoy a good piece of real key lime pie (not that fake lime-flavored stuff)...so I was excited to see what I could come up with. 

I hit up Pinterest and found several different recipes that I liked parts of. So, I kind of went off of those and tweaked a thing here and there. The result? Delicious key lime cheesecake bars. They were creamy and perfectly tart. A great summer dessert. I was really glad that they turned out so well, and everyone liked them. About halfway through baking them, I realized that I'd never really done this before. The cheesecake thing. I've done my grandmother's mini cheesecakes, but that's different because she had written very specific instructions that I trusted. And this was a jumble of things off the internet that I put together. But definitely tasty. Very tasty.

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars

For the Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup finely ground coconut

3 TBSP sugar

4 TBSP butter, melted

For the Cheesecake:

16 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup + 2 TBSP sugar

1 cup lime juice

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 TBSP all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

For the Glaze:

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 TBSP cornstarch 

1/4 cup water

2 TBSP key lime juice (takes about 4 key limes)

• Preheat the oven to 350*F and prepare an 8x8 baking dish. 
• Mix all of the ingredients for the crust together and pour into baking dish. Pat down until even. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. Let Cool.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325*F.
• With an electric or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. (I just let my KitchenAid run for about 5 minutes while I did other things.) Add the sugar and mix until combined. Add the lime juice, sour cream, and vanilla; mix until smooth and creamy. Turn down the speed of your mixer to low, and add the flour and salt, scraping the sides and bottom of your bowl to make sure everything is combined. Add all 3 eggs at once and mix until just combined. Pour over the cooled crust. Create a water bath by placing your 8x8 baking dish in a slightly larger baking dish, and fill it about 1/3 way with water. Bake for about 1 hour, until set. The center will still be a little jiggly, but it will set as it cools. 
• In a small sauce pan, combine all the ingredients for the glaze. Whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook for a couple minutes (still whisking). Remove from heat and let cool some (but not until it's completely set). Pour over the cooled cheesecake.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top it off with some whipped cream and key lime slices.

Enjoy!

Pretzel Cookie Bars with Caramel and Chocolate Drizzle

Some friends of mine got together for a cookout yesterday evening out at Arcadia. It was a rare, beautiful summer evening. The weather was just perfect. I ended up throwing these bars together because I had everything I needed, and it was quick. Yesterday was pretty crazy, so time was kind of an issue. Like I got these in the oven and left the brother in charge...and he now knows that you have to actually take things out of the oven to stop the baking process...not just turn the oven off. Needless to say, the edges got rather dry (still pretty good dunked in milk). Thankfully, the center was still super tasty and great. All the bars disappeared, so I'm guessing people liked them!


Pretzel Cookie Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup butter flavored shortening (cringe! I know. Use butter instead. I didn't have time for it to soften.)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup broken pretzel pieces (more if you want some on top too!)
15 Velata milk chocolate pieces 
Caramel sauce (see recipe below)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish.
• In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugars. Add the eggs, beating between each one. Add the vanilla; beat. 
• In a medium bowl, combine the soda, salt and flour; whisk together. Add the dry mixture in with the wet mixture. Mix it all up. Add the pretzel bits. Mix.
• Place the batter into the prepared dish, using your hands to even it out. Bake until the top is golden brown. Let cool.
• Melt your Velata in a microwave-safe dish for 30 seconds. Use a spoon to drizzle it over the bars.
• Using a different spoon, drizzle the caramel over the bars.
• You may break apart more pretzels and sprinkle the pieces on top, if you wish.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/8 cup half and half

1 TBSP butter

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine brown sugar, half and half, butter, and salt. Cook while gently whisking for about 4 minutes, until it gets thicker. Add vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further.
• Remove from heat. Cool slightly and pour into a glass jar.
• Let the sauce cool more before drizzling it on the bars!

Apple Peanut Butter Snack Bars

It's no secret that I love peanut butter. And I like baking things with peanut butter. I was pretty excited when I came across these yummy Apple Peanut Butter Snack Bars on Pinterest. Not only do they have peanut butter, they do not have flour or refined sugar...and they taste great! If you get the right oats, they can even be gluten free. Score, right? I think so. I adapted the recipe from Happy Healthy Mama. Basically, I just added a little extra cinnamon because I like it. The bars are very soft and a little gooey. Super easy to make. They are extra good with extra peanut butter on top. (I'm serious about my peanut butter fetish. At one point, I was going through 2 pounds a month. Easy. Sometimes more...) These bars make a great afternoon snack, or you could cut them larger for breakfast. Enjoy!


Apple Peanut Butter Snack Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup shredded apple (1 medium apple)
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup local honey
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp natural vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 (depending of if you want them thicker or thinner...I went with thicker) baking dish and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and press it down evenly.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are slightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Banana Bread Bars

I totally meant to post this yesterday, but yesterday didn't really go as planned because Friday night didn't really go as planned. We spent the early evening hours in "tornado mode," and watched as another one tore through the OKC metro. I was about to go to bed when there was banging on the door. Generally, banging on the door late at night doesn't mean anything good. Especially in a storm. Turns out, the creek by the house was just about full (we were seriously flooded out in June 2010). So then, we had to switch to "flood mode" (basically get everything that's important and below waist level up higher). Got that done, went out to check the creek, and it was still rising, the rain still falling. Decided it would be better for me to take the dogs and go, just in case. Most terrifying drive across town ever. Anyway, nobody got sleep and the water got up into the yard and driveway before it finally stopped raining. SO thankful the house stayed dry! I really would rather not spend another summer on flood clean-up. I finally went to bed around 0730 on Saturday, so I missed the 0900 wedding I was planning to go to. Then, I had to spend the afternoon putting things back. I had a great evening though! I got to go to dinner and catch up with a friend. And also do Yoga-X. Love. 

Now...Banana Bread Bars...

At one point, my Pinterest feed was flooded with a recipe for Banana Bread Brownies from omg! I Love to Cook. I resisted repinning them for a long time, but it eventually happened. As luck would have it, there was a potluck last week and we had several bananas and sour cream that needed used up. Perfect. I decided to call them "Banana Bread Bars" because they remind me of the Applesauce Bars I've made, except, of course for being more banana-y. Also, as delicious as they are, they don't remind me of a brownie at all...but that could be because I only make gooey, fudge-y brownies. In reality, it's probably more of a "banana bread sheet cake," but that's not as catchy.  

Bottom line-- Delicious. Like the mentioned Applesauce Bars, I think they get better (more moist) with a little time...so you can definitely bake them 2-3 days in advance. Also, it's unfortunate that you could not smell these baking. So good. It's too bad the little brother wasn't around to try one. He would've been so excited that I did not make them "healthy." 


Banana Bread Bars

Ingredients:
Bars
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3-4 TBSP milk

Directions:

• Heat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a 15x10 jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray. 
• In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar. Add sour cream, eggs, bananas and vanilla; beat. Add flour, soda, and salt; beat gently until combined. 
• Spread batter evenly into baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown...or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• While that's baking, heat the other stick of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let it turn a delicate brown and then remove from heat.
• Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Whisk together until smooth. The texture should be thicker than a glaze, but thinner than your average frosting. 
• Using a spatula, spread the warm frosting over the warm bars. If one or both are cool, you are going to have a really difficult time...good luck. 

Enjoy!

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

I made these sweet things for breakfast on Saturday. They can be relatively healthy, though lacking considerably in protein. They are pretty tasty, and the recipe is really versatile. Lots of options. The original is from Shopgirl. I did change some things up, making it a lower calorie version. Swapping oil for applesauce, "real" brown sugar for Ideal brown sugar, and "real" fruit syrup for Torani sugar-free raspberry syrup. Terribly processed, I know... You could just as easily make the recipe more natural by using coconut oil, pure cane sugar, and agave, respectively. Adding a little flax would probably be nice as well. If you don't have homemade fruit preserves handy (which I don't), I recommend Bonne Maman or something similar. 

Bottom line: these are really easy to make and very tasty. Everyone liked them. They would also be great as a sweet little snack. Take the basic recipe and run with it wherever you want!


Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar (or substitute of choice)
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
5 TBSP oil (or substitute of choice)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup fruit preserves
1 TBSP fruit syrup (or substitute of choice)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
• In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, honey and oil. Add to the dry mixture and mix well.
• In a small bowl, mix the fruit preserves and syrup.
• Place about 2/3 of the granola mixture in the prepared baking pan, making sure to press it into the corners and patting it down so it bakes evenly. Spread the preserves over it evenly. Top it with the remaining granola mixture.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until you can see the preserves bubbling and the topping is golden.

Enjoy!

S'mores Cookie Bars

The 4th of July was a fun-filled day with the Liberty Fest parade, going to the movies, worship, and going to some friends' for food & fireworks...Oh, and baking these puppies!  I needed a treat to take to the festivities Wednesday night, and I came across this.  While there are many cute, and probably tasty, red, white, and blue treats on Pinterest.  I went with this one!  I figure s'mores are pretty American, right?  I also had graham crackers and marshmallows left over from a Velata party.  These turned out to be scrumptious.  Not that I was surprised.  I was, however, a little surprised by how rich these were.  You really only need one, if that.  So good:

Get the recipe at Leenee's Sweetest Delights! (FYI I used actual marshmallows instead of the cream and it turned out perfectly yummy...although there's not that lovely layer that you see in her picture) 

Fudgey Frosted Brookie Bars

Ever since my roommate made her own fudgey frosted brookies last spring, my brother has been begging me to make them again.  Not that I blame him!  These things are amazingly delicious.  However, I could not make them and have them sitting around in a pan for the three of us to eat.  Because, in all honesty, it would probably take less than 48 hours, maybe even 24, to devour these sweet treats.  To solve this problem, my brother invited like 6 of his friends over to the house one night.  This, I've decided is probably the only benefit of having a bunch of teenage boys over:  I get to bake and try a piece, and they eat the rest.  Brilliant.  Now, I don't have my roommates recipe for the things, so I had to do a little hunting on Pinterest to find one.  Not too difficult.  Except I found about a dozen more terribly unhealthy delicious sweets that I want to make.  I settled on a recipe from Leenee's Sweetest Delights.  Oh my.  Were these a hit!