Pumpkin Shortbread Bars

Ok, I'm going to do this.
I'm going to climb out of my rut and make this happen.

If you haven't noticed (*sniff), I've sorta lost my blog posting groove since last summer. I can't think of any particular reason except that life happens. And when life happens in a big way, you make take out your friend.
Take out and sweets.
Sugary, buttery, fattening sweets.

Oh, and coffee (but that's another subject for another day!)

Anyways, I'm going to try to at least do weekly postings again. 

My energetic 2 year old might be an obstacle to this goal, however I will prevail!

I think.

I hope.

Don't hate me if I don't.

These pumpkin bars are going to fuel me. They're sort of like a cross between pumpkin pie and a butter tart. Um... does that sound a-ma-zing or what?

If you're like me and you stock piled pumpkin puree at the end of the fall, make these.

Your cupboards and mouth will thank you.

Pumpkin Shortbread Bars

Makes: about 16

Source: Slightly adapted from Lauren's Latest

For the Crust:

1¼ cups all purpose flour

4 tbsps white sugar

½ softened butter

dash of salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

1¾ cups pumpkin puree

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ cup all purpose flour

For the topping:

¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup toasted pecans

¼ prepared caramel sauce (I used Smucker's ice cream topping)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8 x 8 square dish with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl combine all the crust ingredients until moist. Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. 

2. In a different bowl, stir together filling ingredients until smooth. Pour over shortbread crust and smooth the top. 

3. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and nuts over the top. Press gently into the filling. Drizzle caramel sauce over top of the entire pan.

4. Bake 45 - 60 minutes or until pumpkin filling is firm. Cool completely. Cut into 16 equal squares. (Can be served warm or cold.)

Vegan Banana Breakfast Bar

As my daughter gets a little bit older, she's becoming super eager to help me out in the kitchen.

Her 'help' seems to involve dumping flour on the floor, eating chocolate chips by the handful, making cakes that are 1 part wood blocks to 2 parts fridge magnets and of course sampling anything I'm making by the fistful. 

Don't be fooled by those little fists.

A one year old can get a lot of cookie batter in there.

This breakfast bar (anything with oatmeal can be eaten for breakfast, right?) was a good little baking project for her and I.

The batter has no eggs (hello, it's vegan!) so I really didn't mind if she sampled. 

And then sampled again. And again.

And then just took a spoon and shoveled it in, all the while screaming ''MINE!!! MINE!!! MINE!!!!!".

I'd like to say I'm kidding but that is pretty much how it played out.

This is super easy to make and a tasty grab and go.

You can switch up the cranberries for different dried fruits and the chocolate chips for nuts. 

If you're feeling brave and like you want to spend some extra time cleaning the kitchen.... let little hands get involved by squishing the banana, adding in the dry ingredients and mixing.

(But don't say I didn't warn you.)

Vegan Banana Breakfast Bars

Makes: about 9 bars

Adapted from: Eat, Live, Run

1 very ripe banana

1/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup dark (pure) chocolate chips

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups quick cooking oats (or old fashioned oats pulsed in a food processor for a few moments)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork and then add the canola oil and brown sugar. Mix well until there are no sugar lumps left.

In another (smaller) bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and oats. Mix into wet ingredients and add cranberries and chocolate chips.

Pat batter down into a greased square 8-inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let cool before cutting into squares.

German Chocolate Cake Cookies

Do I really need to discuss the merit of joining german chocolate cake and cookies into one glorious baked treat?

Does not the name say it all?

German. Chocolate. Cake. Cookies.

Is this something you think you can handle?

I barely could.

Pecans, brown sugar and coconut on top of a chocolate cookie.

I'm not sure that it gets better than this.

Bake a batch of these and share them with a friend.... just don't skimp on the frosting or you might lose that friend.

German Chocolate Cake Cookies

Source: Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke

Cookie Dough:

1 cup butter

1 cup milk chocolate chips

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

Frosting:

½ cup packed brown sugar

¾ cup packed shredded coconut

½ cup chopped pecans

¼ cup chilled butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 egg yolks

Directions:

1. Use a doubler boiler or your microwave to melt together the chocolate chips and butter.

2. In a seperate bowl, beat together the white sugar and eggs until well mixed and smooth. Slowly add the cooled chocolate mixture and continue to beat. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla and flour. Mix well. Cover the dough and set aside.

3. In a food processor, chop up the brown sugar and coconut until the coconut is very fine. Add the pecans a butter. Process until the butter is in small bits. Add the egg yolks and continue to process until completely incorporated. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate the frosting.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Once the oven is heated, pat the cookie dough into 1'' balls. Place the balls on a greased cookie sheet (leave lots of room for spreading). Press down in the center of each ball to make a deep indentation.

5. Pat the chilled frosting into ½" balls and place in the indentations. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to completely cool before enjoying.

Sour Cream Twists

Where did summer go?

I feel like I went inside my house to escape the heat and when I left the next morning the leaves were changing colors and the temperature had dropped 10 degrees.

All of sudden I'm digging for down filled jackets and wholly boots.

I'm not complaining though.

Definitely not!

I love the fall. 

I love being able to cook roasts and bake breads and pies. 

To me, there's not much better than coming out of the cold and being hit with the smell of fresh baked bread laced with roasted meat and cinnamon sugar.

YUM and YUM.

That's why I made these sour cream twists.

Pretty much just for the smell.

If I could bake these and bottle the scent, I'd be a billionaire.

No joke. Probably even a gillionaire.

Not only do they smell a-mazing, they also taste dee-licious.

The dough is really tangy and soft while the cinnamon sugar filling is the perfect blend of crunch and sweetness.

I won't be waiting too long to make these again.

Bake these! Your house will smell fantastic.

Sour Cream Twists

Makes: 24 twists

Source: Della's Favorites

1 cup sour cream

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

2 tbsp butter, softened

3 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp butter, melted

⅓ cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp cinnamon 

Directions:

1. Heat sour cream to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sour cream, butter, sugar, salt, egg and one cup flour. Beat until smooth.

2. Mix in remaining flour until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Knead on a floured board until smooth. Let rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size.

3. Roll into a rectangle, 24'' x 6''. Brush with the remaining 2 tbsp of butter. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over a lengthwise half of the rectangle. Fold the other half over the sugar half. Cut into one inch strips, holding the strips at each end. Twist in opposite directions.

4. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet, pressing the ends on the sheet. Cover and let rise until double in size.

5. Heat oven to 375°F. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden. If you want, drizzle with a glaze.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

These cookies have a little bit of everything in them.

Dried cranberries, toasted pecans, oats and chocolate chips.

Normally, I'm just a straight-up, no frills chocolate chip cookie kind of girl but occasionally, very occasionally, I get a hankering for something a little bit more interesting.

Given that yesterday the skies decided to open up and release an ocean of rain on Revelstoke, it seemed like a good day to turn on the oven to restock my cookie supply. 

Yes, I am amply supplied with cookies at all times. 

I had seen a recipe for John's Kitchen Sink Cookies from Martha Stewart that piqued my interest but when I checked it out it had corn syrup in it. I don't know why but it doesn't seem right to put corn syrup in cookies so instead, I settled on this recipe from the Food Network magazine and made a few changes (as always).

Make these with whatever's in your cupboard, raisins, toffee chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, you name it! Sandwich them between vanilla ice cream for a quick and delicious summer dessert.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Makes about 20

Adapted from the Food Network

¾ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar

½ tsp baking soda

pinch of salt 

½ cup butter

1 egg

1 ½ cup rolled oats

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup toasted, chopped pecans

½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and light brown, dark brown and granulated sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix on low speed until incorporated. Slowly add the flour mixture, oats, dried cranberries, pecans and chocolate chips and mix until combined.

3. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. With wet hands, make 20 balls from the dough and put on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Press down on the dough balls with the palm of your hand to make flat circles.

4. Bake the cookies until golden and still a bit tender in the center, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Did you see my post on roasting peppers?

Hmm.... it was there for about a day or so.

And then something happened. It mysteriously disappeared.

I think the internet ate it. 

Is there like an internet sewer somewhere? You know I place where postings that have been eaten and then um.... excreted are found?

I'm a little afraid that this awesome cupcake recipe is going to end up in the internet sewer.

It really deserves much better than that. 

It deserves to be on Cupcake Wars.

(It's a good thing I don't have cable or I'd never turn the food network off.)

Please make these cupcakes.

Please give them a chance.

Or if you're in the neighborhood, come over to my house and eat mine so that I don't.

I want to eat them. 

I do. 

In fact, I can't stop eating them.

But I must! 

I have a new bathing suit and at this rate, it'll never see the light of day.

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes with classic chocolate icing

Makes: 24 

Source: Paula Deen's My First Cookbook

For the cupcake:

¾ cup butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 ½ cups cake flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

⅛ tsp salt

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract 

For the icing:

¼ cup butter, softened 

3 tbsps milk

3 tbsps cocoa powder

2 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl cream together the sugar and the butter for about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with after each addition.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, along with half the milk. Beat well, then add the rest of the flour mixture and milk. Add the vanilla and beat again.

3. Put 24 liners into the cupcake pan. Pour the batter into the liners, filling a little more than half full.

4. Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the cupcakes and place on a wire rack for about 15 minutes to cool. Meanwhile, make the icing.

5. To make the icing, put the butter, milk, cocoa powder, icing sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and beat until the mixture is very smooth. Ice cooled cupcakes.

Caramel Root Beer Float

I made some really lovely things last week.

Lemon frozen yogurt and toffee bars to name a few. 

Unfortunately, a week of bad luck and some computer mishaps left me with no pictures of said lovelies :(

While drowning my sorrows in an A&W root beer float, I had a moment of inspiration.
They're rare and far between but occasionally I have them, moments of inspiration that is.

I thought to myself, "Self, this would taste pretty amazing with a healthy drizzle of caramel..... No, wait! a healthy drizzle of salted caramel sauce on top.''

Because I generally always do what the voices in my head tell me to do, I bought some ice cream and some root beer and made a batch of caramel sauce and let the voices take over.

Listen to your inner voice and try this.

If you like root beer floats, you'll love this!

Caramel Root Beer Float

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how to make a float. Make sure you buy really good vanilla ice cream and extra bubbly root beer. Top it with homemade caramel sauce (with a pinch of fleur de sel if you're feeling sassy).

Spiced Pecans

Darn you, discounted Easter candy and your allure!

You are evil. 

The 2 (almost empty) family sized bags of mini eggs on my dining room table are proof.

Proof that discounted candy tastes much better than full price candy.

Also proof that I lack complete self control when it comes to a) sales, b) candy, and c) eating candy that was on sale.

And by the way, 'family sized' really means 'Jesse sized'.

This morning my husband asked me to make him mini egg pancakes and I was like, 'That's gross. Mini eggs are gross'. 

I had to lie.

I didn't want to share my precious egg stash. 

I actually think mini egg pancakes are a pretty fantastic idea and I'm jealous I didn't think of it first.

Another great idea (I also didn't think up) is these pecans. 

Salty, sweet and spicy.

They're a big blast of flavor in your mouth.

They're definitely not gonna rock your world like a bag of mini eggs stuffed into some pancakes but they do jazz up a salad and make a pretty tasty snack.

I know. I know.

I was just talking about mini eggs and now you're craving some and all I'm leaving you with is a recipe for pecans. 

That's tough. I'm mean. I'm sorry. Try the pecans.

Spiced Pecan

Makes 1 cup

Adapted from : Urban Pantry 

2 tbsp + 4 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon 

½ tsp cayenne

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

¼ cup peanut oil

1 cup whole pecans

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl combine 2 tbsp brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, turmeric, paprika, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

2. Cover the bottom of a large sauté pan with the peanut oil and heat on medium high. When oil begins to ripple add pecans - stir frequently so they don't burn. 

3. When pecans start to smoke add 4 tbsp of brown sugar and toss, toss, toss so the sugar doesn't burn. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove the pecans with a slotted spoon and add them to the measured out spices. Working quickly, stir to combine. When mixture has cooled enough to taste, adjust spices to your liking. Pour on a pan to cool completely. Store sealed at room temperature.

Cookies and Cream Square

We're gonna make some magic with 3 simple ingredients.

Oreos, butter, marshmallows.

Oh yeah, you know what we're gonna do.

Marshmallow meet Oreo.
Oreo meet Marshmallow.
You two are going to make some beautiful babies.

If this marriage doesn't sound like heaven to you, you need to walk away, walk away right now and don't come back until you've thought long and hard about what's really important in this life.

I made up a batch of these babies for my lil' bro and my hubby.

Then all this chewy goodness went straight in my belly.

When you make something for someone you don't have to actually give it to them.

It's the thought that counts, right? 

That's a good rule. 

Feel free to use it. 

You can thank me while you're eating chunks of this scrumdillyumcious no-bake bar and thinking about who would love them.

Cookies and Cream Square

Makes about 15 bars

Source: Picky Palate

1 box (350g) Oreo Cookies

¼ cup Butter

5 cups Large Marshmallows

Directions:

1. Place Oreos in a food processor and pulse until ground. 

2.Melt together marshmallows and butter in the microwave until puffed and melty, about 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Add ground Oreos to the marshmallows and stir until combined. Pour into a greased 8'' x 8'' square baking dish and smooth out the top. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until firm. Cut into bars. 

Linked to: Sweets for a Saturday

Sunflower Cookies

I thought you might need a little sunshine to start your day off.

Since the skies don't seem to agree with me, I baked a cookie full of sunshine for you.

Just please don't walk on them.

(I'm walkin' on sunshine, yeah, yeah)

These make me smile : chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

These cookies should really brighten your day. 

They have a good helping of sun butter and a sprinkle of these cheery little chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

What? I have big 'sprinkles'

They remind me a bit of a peanut butter cookie that's been bathed in sunlight and spring time happiness :)

If that's your thing, peanut butter and happiness, go on and eat up these little rays of sunshine.

Happy Spring!

Sunflower Cookies

Makes: 18 large cookies

Source: Eat Live Run

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups sunflower seed butter (available in most health food stores)

1 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp kosher salt

½ cup chocolate covered sunflower seeds (or chocolate chips)

Note: Our local grocery store carries these chocolate covered sunflower seeds made by Spitz

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the sunflower seed butter and mix well. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the wet ingredients beat until it just comes together. Mix in the chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

3. Form cookies into small balls and press down gently on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 15minutes or until golden and puffy.

Easy Caramel Sauce

A few nights ago I made dinner for my mother-in-law and my mother.

(John and the baby were there too but they don't count.)

For some reason it didn't occur to me to make a dessert until the last minute.

I'm not sure why since dessert is my favorite part of dinner, duh!?

After taking a quick look in my fridge and seeing 3(!) different varieties of apples I was inspired to make a caramel dip. 

This caramel was easy and quick to make, I think it took less than 10 minutes from start to finish. The sauce was delicious although I over cooked the sugar a touch so it tasted slightly like burnt sugar.

It was still good though and a winner with my mom and MIL.

I definitely recommend it for dipping apples, pouring on ice cream, adding to coffee or drinking straight from the jar.

Oh, and on a completely different note:

Look up cute in the dictionary and you'll find this face right here.

Easy Caramel Sauce

Source: Simply Recipes

Makes: about 1 cup

1 cup sugar

6 tbsp butter

½ cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. First, make sure you have everything ready to go - the butter and cream right next to the pan, ready to put in. Caramel is a fast process that can't wait for hunting around for ingredients.

2. Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.

3. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

5. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Oreo Cheesecake Cookie

I've been able to think of nothing else since I saw this recipe.

Seriously, who wouldn't be obsessed with making a recipe that has Oreo and cheesecake in the title? (Hannah - you know what I'm talking about!)

These weren't quite as cream cheesy as I'd hoped but they were still pretty darn delicious. Given that the dough is eggless, I had a really hard time not eating it by the spoonful. 

Actually, I sort of gave in and did eat it by the spoonful.

If you love Oreo's and cheesecake you might just want to drop everything and make these right now.

Oreo Cheesecake Cookies
Makes:
Slightly Adapted from Multiply Delicious

½ cup butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup oreo cookie crumbs (about 8 cookies crushed up)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese using a hand mixer until well combined.
3. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue mixing until well combined. Add the flour and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
4. Scoop the dough into 1'' balls and roll in cookie crumbs until completely covered. Place the covered cookie dough balls on the baking sheets and bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until cookies are golden and slightly puffed.
5. Cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Linked to: Sweets for a Saturday

Cinnamon Sugar Flatbread Crackers

Do you remember having cinnamon toast for breakfast?

(I'm talking to you, sister and brothers.)

Hot buttered toast with just the right amount of crunchy brown sugar and cinnamon.

Soooo good.

Oops, hold on a sec while I wipe the drool from my keyboard.

There. 

That's better.

The only thing better than cinnamon toast are these lovely crackers.

They have the same crunchy sweet sugar topping on a crispy whole wheat base. 

Delicious!

I cheated and used a pasta maker to get my crackers thin.

I think they'd be super duper fab on a fruit tray alongside some cream cheesy fruit dip. (Think: cinnamon bun with cream cheese icing.)

Or maybe dipped straight into a jar of peanut butter.
Or dipped in some nutella.

Once you've tried these crackers it won't matter how you serve them as long as they're making it to your mouth. 

Cinnamon Sugar Flatbread Crackers

Makes: about 2 dozen

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

1 cup all purpose flour

¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup plus 2 tbsp warm water

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp granulated sugar

¾ tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. In large bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add water and olive oil and mix until a dough forms. Form into a ball.

2. Dust a rimless baking sheet with flour. Roll the dough out as thin as you can right on the baking sheet. Brush the dough with the melted butter. Mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle all over the dough. Use a pizza cutter to cut into small or large crackers. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden and crisp.