Snickerdoodle Bars
I’m always on the lookout for recipes for those crazy people who claim they don’t like chocolate. (If you’re one of them, I’m sorry, but we can’t be friends.) So I was more than excited when this recipe I was initially skeptical of turned out to be a favorite among chocolate (and non-chocolate) lovers alike.
Imagine a snickerdoodle cookie but cut in squares, chewier, and with a delicious cinnamon sugar crusty top. These bars are perfect for anytime–I originally made them to test out of my coworkers and they were gobbled up in no time, then I made them again for a baby shower and they were a party favorite. If you’re looking for something easy to bring to a BBQ today, make these.
Photos of the process.
Ingredients
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan; set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla. Beat, scraping the bowl, until thoroughly combined. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Give the dough a final stir with a spatula or wooden spoon to make sure the flour is incorporated.
- Spread the dough evenly into the pan (I used my hands then an offset spatula). Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker.
Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars
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Earlier this year I thought it would be a good idea to buy a bag of toffee bits larger than my head. I’m not quite sure why I thought I’d go through that many toffee bits, so now I’m on a hunt for toffee related recipes so I can start to use the bits up.
Fortunately, I came across this recipe. The bars are buttery, chewy, and delicious! I brought them into the office and they were gobbled up in no time. Be warned–they are rather rich, so cutting them in small-ish pieces is recommended.
Ingredients
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I omitted these)
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1-1/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) toffee bits, divided
Preparation
- Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
- Combine flour and brown sugar in large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I used my hands to cut in the butter.) Add egg; mix well. Stir in 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips and nuts; set aside 1-1/2 cups mixture.
- Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over hot crust; set aside 1/4 cup toffee bits. Sprinkle remaining toffee bits over sweetened condensed milk. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture and remaining 1/2 cup chips over top.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Top with reserved toffee bits. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 48 bars.
Recipe from Hershey’s.
Lemon Bars
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I’ve always loved the look of lemon bars, but the taste, eh, not so much. Whenever lemon bars are on a platter I admire their beauty but always pass on them. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even had a bite of a lemon bar since I was a kid. So when I found myself with a few extra lemons after making lemon cakes for my dentist (I know, the irony), I thought I’d give lemon bars another try. I remembered my friend Jami had mentioned her killer lemon bars before so I asked for her recipe.
When I brought these bars into work I put a note on the container that said “Ugly Lemon Bars” because I wasn’t happy with the look of the sliced bars. I was anxious to taste them and cut them before they were completely set, thus ruining the smooth pretty look of the glaze. Yes, these bars are glazed rather than sprinkled with powdered sugar, which is a plus in my book. I hate powdered sugar on things. Not only does it get all over the place, there is no way to neatly bite into anything with a powdered sugar top. Anyway, I put these bars in the kitchen at 8:00 a.m. and they were gone before noon. And all morning long people came up to me and said, “The Ugly Lemon Bars are soooo good!” There were even a couple of people who said they don’t usually like lemon bars, but they really liked these.
For the record, I still don’t like lemon bars. I’m a huge texture person when it comes to food, and the lemon bar filling I just find odd. Some people may say I am odd, but whatever.
Photos of the process.
Crust Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
Crust Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together the crust ingredients with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Press into the bottom of a 9″x13″ pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until crust is light golden brown.
While crust is baking, prepare filling.
Filling Ingredients
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup lemon juice
Filling Preparation
Mix together eggs, sugar, flour, and baking powder thoroughly. You can just stir it all together with a whisk. Add lemon juice and beat well. Pour over warm crust and return to oven. Bake 20-30 minutes. (Don’t let it get too brown.) Cool completely.
Glaze Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
Glaze Preparation
Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a relatively thin glaze. Drizzle (or spread) over the bars.
Allow glaze to dry, then cut into small squares.
Yields 40-48 small lemon bars.
Recipe from Night Baking.
