Bar Cookies

Brownie Goody Bars

Leah Short — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 20:14:11 +0000

Nothing gets my mouth salivating like dessert. If I had it my way, I’d eat it every meal for my meal. I have a killer sweet tooth and if it weren’t for practicing a bit of willpower, you’d see me on that My 600-lb. Life show. These Brownie Goody Bars put that willpower to the ultimate test. A brownie topped with vanilla frosting, sprinkled with roasted and salted peanuts, and topped with a peanut butter-chocolate-rice crispy mixture is a dessert lover’s dream. It’s got sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy. It’s over the top, rich, and something you need to make right now!

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Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Leah Short — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 16:43:43 +0000

This year with the work birthdays, I created a new way for coworkers to get a birthday treat. Instead of me guessing what they would like, I created “The List.” It’s a list of about 20 or so desserts, with descriptions, they can choose from. No one sees The List until their birthday comes up. You’re not allowed to share what’s on the list, but the birthday person can choose whether or not to share what they picked. Once a dessert is chosen, it’s off the list, no repeats. It makes it fun and special when it’s birthday time! My boss chose these Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars and I was so glad he did. My mom made these a few times and raved over them, so I couldn’t wait to try them myself.

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Lemon Cranberry Pie Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 17:13:33 +0000

You know you’ve got a hit on your hands when you take a dessert to work and almost everyone tells you it’s the best you’ve made so far. I made these Lemon Cranberry Pie Bars for a coworker’s birthday and they were such a huge hit! If you’re a dessert lemon lover, especially the tart kind, you’ll go bonkers over these. I love the addition of cranberry, which is perfect for Thanksgiving coming up. The crust tastes like pie crust, but there’s no rolling! It’s a press-in-the-pan crust, so it couldn’t be easier.

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Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 15:37:01 +0000

Don’t you love it when two desserts come together and you get the best of both worlds without choosing? Yes, me too! Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars do just that. It’s a chocolate chip cookie. It’s cheesecake. It’s cheesecake sandwiched between two layers of chocolate chip cookies! The recipe couldn’t be easier. I made these bars for a coworker’s birthday recently. I needed something delicious, but quick and easy. Sometimes it gets hard baking during the week and I had a bajillion other things to do as well. But instead of being stressed, I made it easy on myself! I created these bars in no time thanks to refrigerated cookie dough. Quickly whip up the cream cheese layer and that’s it!

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Lemon Linzer Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 12:26:22 +0000

I brought these Lemon Linzer Bars to a cookout a few weekends ago when it was blazin’ hot outside. When there’s going to be lots of food and lots of sunshine, I opt for desserts that aren’t too heavy or rich. I also choose desserts that I can prep the day before so I’m not rushing around last minute.

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Blackberry Crumb Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 15:37:16 +0000

This is such a great recipe when summer is bringing all the delicious fruits! Now I’m a diehard chocoholic, but there’s something about fruit desserts in the summer. Blackberries are high on my favorite fruit list and they’re fantastic in these Blackberry Crumb Bars. Feel free to sub blueberries, raspberries, or maybe a mix of all your favorites! The crust is delicate and has a hint of lemon and cinnamon. Those plump blackberries are in the middle, sweetened ever so slightly. The same crust as the bottom is crumbled on top. I highly suggest serving these bars warm with a big scoop of good vanilla ice cream. I love it when you get a bite that’s warm and cold, and the ice cream gets a little melty. Summer at its best!

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Butter Crunch Lemon Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:12:28 +0000

I’m giggling as I type this post because I just finished reading an article where The Pioneer Woman talks about how to take good food photos. Yeah, about that. I promise I’m going to give you a decent food photo someday, but that day isn’t today. I made these Butter Crunch Lemon Bars for a coworker’s birthday last week. So you know what that means, no time for good shots in the daylight. Perhaps I should make a rule at work that all birthdays are celebrated on Mondays so I can get some good pics, lol! Not only did I not use my nice camera, but I sort of forgot about pictures all together. That is until we were in a meeting in our conference room and decided to bring the rest of the bars in because no one could go 10 minutes without eating one. They were that good! So I grabbed my phone and snapped these horrible pics…ah, the life of a food blogger.

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Holiday Layer Bars

Leah Short — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 15:29:30 +0000

Merry Christmas! Today’s the big day! I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful holiday with family and friends. These Holiday Layer Bars are perfect for today. A gingersnap crust sprinkled with white chocolate, cranberries, candied orange peel, pistachios, and coconut. This is probably the easiest bar on the planet to make. You don’t even have to stir the butter and gingersnaps to make the crust!

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Granola Cookie Wedges

Leah Short — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:37:54 +0000

Don’t you love when flipping through recipes, you stop on one and happen to have all the ingredients already? I feel like I’ve won the lottery when that happens. I try to keep a well-stocked pantry, especially for baking, so it’s happening more and more these days. (If only the lottery win was happening, too!) I’ll settle for a batch of these Granola Cookie Wedges though!

So, how’s it taste?

ZOMG, heaven! You’d never believe these came out of Cooking Light magazine. At first, I flipped right on by them because they looked crispy in the picture and I’m not a crisp-cookie kind of person. I was itching to bake something last weekend, but didn’t want anything too involved. I also wanted something I could work into my calorie counting, so I gave these a second look. I’m glad I did!

They’re chewy and just the right amount of something sweet. Really just your basic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, but I like that they’re in wedges and they were much easier to make since you use a pie plate. Mix the ingredients in a bowl, dump into a pie plate, spread out, bake, and you’ve got cookies in no time. The recipe only makes eight, which is perfect so I won’t be tempted like when there’s two dozen cookies in the house.

I like the crunch of the pecans with the sweet bites of chocolate chips. I think some cinnamon would work in this recipe, too. I could also see changing up the combinations and doing a white chip/cranberry or butterscotch/walnut. This recipe is a keeper.

Granola Cookie Wedges

Cooking Light, April 2013
makes 8 servings
per serving: 168 calories, 8.6g fat, 2.5g protein, 20.9g carbs, 1.3g fiber

Ingredients:

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg white
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine first 7 ingredients (through egg white) in a large bowl; stir until well combined. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour, oats, nuts, and chocolate chips to sugar mixture; stir until just combined.

3. Scrape the dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate coated with cooking spray, and spread to edges using a spatula. Bake for 13 minutes or until set. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Cut into 8 wedges.

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Oatmeal Cranberry Sour Cream Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:00:35 +0000

This post today is part of the Secret Recipe Club. Each month bloggers are assigned a blog and make something from it. For February, my secret blog is Ilona’s Kitchen! I knew I wanted to make a dessert and stopped instantly when I saw these Oatmeal Cranberry Sour Cream Bars. They look delicious and sound so unique with the sour cream. Ilona wrote on her blog that the next time she made these, it would be a double batch and I agree!

So, how’s it taste?

I figured I would like these because I love oatmeal cookies, especially ones with dried cranberries, and anything that has pecans has my immediate attention. I must admit I was leery of the sour cream. I thought it would add too much of a sour flavor combined with the tart of the cranberries. Wrong! There’s sugar, vanilla, and orange zest in the sour cream and it turns into this ooey, gooey, citrusy center. I substituted orange peel for the lemon peel that was in the original recipe, and that was a great decision! Orange and cranberry play so well together and I think the lemon would have been way too tart. The sour cream middle is such a great texture change to the chunky oatmeal and crunchy, nutty topping. I had a hard time stopping after eating one bar. I think I could have devoured the entire pan in one sitting! Definitely a double batch every time I make these. Thanks Ilona for introducing me to these awesome dessert bars!

Oatmeal Cranberry Sour Cream Bars

adapted from Betty Crocker via Ilona's Kitchen
makes 16 bars

Ingredients:

1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz.) oatmeal cookie mix
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
3/4 cup sour cream
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. grated orange peel
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 egg yolk
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350Â°F. Line 9-inch square pan with foil, leaving 1 inch of foil extending up over sides of pan. Spray foil-lined pan with cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, cinnamon, butter, and egg until stiff dough forms. Reserve 1/4 of the dough. Press remaining dough in bottom of foil-lined pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. In small bowl, stir sour cream, sugar, orange peel, vanilla, and egg yolk until well blended. Stir in cranberries. Spread over crust. Stir pecans into reserved oatmeal dough; crumble over cranberry mixture.

4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until top is light brown. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate 2 hours. Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator.

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