Sugar Cookie Bars

So what exactly does 21 pans of brownies and bar desserts look like?

Yup.  It's a lot.  But Madaline and Ernie report that the nearly 250 people at their event enjoyed them all, thrilled that they could choose two, which helped narrow the options from the six different treats I made, which included Cakey Brownies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, Swirled Blondies, Oatmeal Cranberry Bars, traditional Rice Krispies Treats and these Sugar Cookie Bars, which were a huge hit with the kids thanks to the colorful sprinkles.  And these bars are very tasty.  Soft and sweet like a firm sugar cookie, these bars have a nice texture and really taste amazing.  While typically I would have gone for the vanilla frosting smeared on top, knowing that these bars would be served on a hot August night in a camp setting, the frosting just didn't seem fitting.  Instead, sanding sugar in a rainbow of colors worked to impart a little crunchy sweetness and a little fun.  Super tasty and so easy, I look forward to making these bars again.

Oatmeal Cranberry Bars

Besides the blondies and brownies for Madaline & Ernie's Airstream rally, I wanted to include a bar that was more like a cookie.  Plus, I didn't want everything to have chocolate (while this would be fine with me, I knew I was baking for a much larger audience and that some people don't like chocolate (and those are people I can't be friends with.)  Oatmeal cookies immediately came to mind and I knew that with the dried cranberries, they'd be both sweet and nutty, and would definitely be perfect with a cup of coffee after dinner (or again, at breakfast. I don't judge, people!)  These bars are definite winners and a the slightest of spice from cinnamon and nutmeg gives these bars the perfect oatmeal cookie flavor.  The texture is a perfect cookie crumb, just on the soft side without completely falling to pieces when you bite it.

I scoured the web for oatmeal bar recipes and was surprised that I struggled.  Most recipes were for actual granola bars or were designed for 8 x 8 inch pans. Knowing I needed to make 9 x 13 inch pans to get enough yield for the number of people, I settled on a recipe that could be adapted.  Sandyg61 posted this recipe on food.com and I adjusted the quantities to fit my pan, as well as subbing dried cranberries for the chocolate chips.  The result was perfect and if Dave's devouring of the test batch is any indication, I'm certain I'll be asked to make these again and again.

Swirled Blondies

These were not the original blondies I planned to make for Madaline and Ernie's rally.  But the test batch of the first version, while good, were very sweet and because the edges caramelized, they were a far more crunchy blondie which I wasn't too thrilled about.  So when Madaline commented that she too thought they were overly sweet, I went back to the plans and swapped in this recipe which is truly a perfect blondie.  It's chewy and has the sweet caramel tones, but plays nicely with a bit of chocolate syrup swirl.  And let's talk about that swirl!  So pretty, even though I had a bit of a dump on one end, the batter was fluid enough to really let me cut in and get the syrup distributed throughout the pan.  Dave even called it professional.  He always knows just the right things to say.

Like the Cakey Brownies and Pretzel Brownies, these bars came from Food Network Magazine's 50 Brownies booklet from the March 2012 issue.  Even though it was only a slight variation to go from the crunchy, super sweet blondies to this chewy version, the end result couldn't be more different.  Plus the recipe has so much going for it: one bowl, a whisk, a spatula, and, of course my very favorite part: booze!  Yup, just a touch of bourbon kicks up the flavor intensity without tasting like a drunken dessert.  The bourbon is optional, so no worries if you want to leave it out.  Although, I do encourage you to live it up a bit and leave it it. 

Cakey Browies

Madaline and Ernie are headed out on a trip this weekend.  This is a shorter trip just to New Hampshire but will be a little different than some of their other excursions.  This time they are going to a campground with the specific purpose of being there with other Airstream owners from New England.  They belong to a group--a club of sorts just for Airstream people--and it just so happens that for this particular event, Ernie (and by extension, Madaline) is responsible for feeding almost 200 people who will be there, over five different meals.  After hearing them consult about what to serve, I offered my baking services to provide bar desserts--blondies, brownies and cookie bars--for one of the dinners they'll host.  So they took me up on my offer and I'm just about done making eighteen 9 x 13 inch pans of bars.  I've been freezing the whole (disposable) pans as I finish.  It's an impressive sight, I must say.

So for the next few Wednesdays I'll be bringing you the recipe for the various treats I made, starting with these Cakey Brownies.  And boy are these suckers cakey.  Thick and chocolatey, slightly denser than cake but not quite a fudgy bar, you probably want to pair these brownies with a big glass of milk or better, top them with ice cream.  They would certainly be amazing topped with a creamy milk chocolate frosting, but given the circumstance where these would be served (as well as the August heat under the tents on the campground, I kept these brownies naked and they shine all by their lonesome.  Loads of chocolate flavor without being too sweet, these brownies are a perfect snack or dessert (or possibly breakfast...who am I to judge?).

Bloggers Bake for Hope--Bidding Open!

Don't forget!  The Bloggers Bake for Hope bake sale opens today!  Be sure to bid on some of these tasty treats to raise money for breast cancer research!

Happy Bidding,
The Cookie Princess

Candy Bar Cookie Pops

My nephew turned 8 this week.  Where does the time go?  Keeping with the birthday baking theme with my nieces this year (Stained-Glass Flower Lollipops and Colorful Cookie Pops), I wanted to create a similar treat for him too.  And, being that Halloween candy (in tiny fun sized portions) is plenty available this time of year, these were the perfect treat.  Plus they were easy to pull together from a prepackaged mix and five other ingredients, including the sprinkles.  This is a perfect recipe to make with kids if you want to get them involved in the kitchen. I made these with Milky Ways and the nougat and caramel really cut the super chocolately cookie. 

Researching kid-friendly recipes, I found this recipe at Betty Crocker and am totally pleased with it. You could use any candy bar that would yield to a popsicle stick.  The recipe calls for "milk chocolate covered candy bars with chewy caramel and crispy crunchies" but standing in the candy aisle at Target, I could not for the life of me figure out what those were.  Any guesses?  So, to the Milky Ways it was.  I must have made my cookies a little big because I only got 20 pops, not the 28 it calls for, but I was very concerned about the caramel leaking out.  Fun and cute, these are perfect birthday treats, for a bake sale, or just to use up leftover Halloween candy.

Apple Spice Bars

A few weeks ago Dave and I went to the King Arthur Flour store in Norwich, Vermont and yes it was everything I imagined and more.  They are undergoing a huge expansion/renovation which instilled an even more compelling urge to visit again for a class.  I had a short list of specialty ingredients I wanted to buy (and a long list of "things I want but shouldn't buy because that would be frivolous").  One of those things was cinnamon oil.  I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with it--maybe a cinnamon frosting, perhaps in cookies or blondies--but I knew it was apple season and I needed it.  So the next day, after several failed attempts at baking (as in I wanted to make something only to find I was missing a key ingredient, like zucchini for zucchini bars or oats for oatmeal bars), I scampered to the internet and found this delicious treat for a soft, gently sweet bar that combines the right amount of spice to highlight these perfect fresh from the orchard apples (seriously, we picked them off the tree that morning!).

This recipe comes from Beantown Baker (I know I use her a lot, but she really is this awesome).  I made a few minor adjustments related to the spices by adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking spice, and dropping down the vanilla to a teaspoon and the cinnamon to 1 1/2 teaspoons since I used 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon oil.  This cinnamon oil is delicious and tastes exactly like red hot candies.  Use it sparingly--as wonderful as these turned out, the cinnamon flavor increased over time and completely took over the bars by the time we polished them off (not that it was a bad thing, but if that's not what you want, you might be disappointed).  Next time, I would bump up to two teaspoons vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon oil (noted in the recipe below).  I also should have baked them a little longer--the middle of my pan was a little undercooked, so I'd bring the total bake time to 40 minutes, checking frequently in the last 10 minutes.

Blondies

Last spring I had a weekly meeting with a particular group.  Nearly every week I would bring in a different treat to share with the group.  In fact, the one week I didn't have time to bake anything, I was shocked at the level of disappointment in the room.  I will meet with that same group on a weekly basis again this spring, but since a few members of the group have changed and there will be changes to what we accomplish in the spring, we had a planning meeting this fall.  I arrived to the meeting room early a couple weeks ago, placed a container of these blondies by the coffee and sodas and started setting up for the meeting.  A few moments later, one of the group members came in and the first thing he said was, "Where are your baked goods?"  I'm so glad I decided to keep the tradition going!

These are a very easy, very fast and very tasty treat.  It's a simple recipe but delivers a sweet, soft, cookie-like bar.  And the recipe is super-versatile. You can throw in whatever mix-ins you have on hand.  I used mini-chocolate chips, but M&Ms, nuts, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, dried fruit, just about anything will work with this recipe as a base.  As I struggled with what to make for the meeting, Beantown Baker rescued me with this recipe, since I already had all the ingredients.  Plus they were so easy--only one bowl, no mixer needed!  Whip these up the next time you need a last minute dessert--you'll have everything you need and no one needs to know this deliciousness was created at a moment's notice.

Funfetti Blondies

From scratch! Not from a mix!  Dave was surprised when I said that--he assumed I'd doctored up a Funfetti cake mix.  I took these to work last week because one of my coworkers said he was starting a Biggest Loser challenge.  Before you judge me for being cruel, hear me out.  I was helping.  One morning, I was chatting with him when a coworker came past and criticized him for eating a chocolate croissant because she knows he's trying to lose weight.  Then he explained that in two days he was starting a Biggest Loser challenge.  So I asked if he was bulking up and he sheepishly said yes.  So I immediately chimed in that I was going to bake and bring something in the next day.  It was a Friday so that lends itself to a fun treat day anyway.   See, I'm not evil.  But these are so delicious you might have a hard time resisting.

Beantown Baker made these first and I found them while looking for something else altogether.  But I'm glad I stumbled upon her recipe.  Simple to make and cute as can be, wouldn't they be perfect for birthday baking?  While I didn't alter the recipe, I didn't have any almond extract, so I only used vanilla.  The white chocolate chips and sprinkles really give these blondies great texture.  They are rich and sweet, just as any good blondie should be.  The only way they'd be better is with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies

You may remember that I'm not a big fan of coconut.  Dave is, so I succumb and will make different cookies and such with coconut for him (and others) to enjoy, but generally speaking I'll pass on those treats and reach for the straight up chocolate yummies every time.

But then I found this recipe and coconut and I became buddies.  These are seriously good.  Brown Eyed Baker said they tasted a lot like a Girl Scout Samoa cookie (minus the caramel), so I was sold and had to test them out (yes, Samoas are one of my favorite Girl Scout cookies--right behind Thin Mints.  So much for me not liking coconut).  These did turn out awesome.  There is a sweetness to the bar which is at the same time crunchy and moist with a lot of flavor.  I used some leftover ganache to spread across the top, but the original topping is listed below too.

Colorful Cookie Pops

Welcome to another installment of birthday baking!  Aren't these adorable?  My lovely niece turned 9 last month so I wanted to treat her to something special.  These were the perfect fit.  A simple, yet tasty, soft sugar cookie dressed up to party.  What says birthday more than colorful cookie lollipops?

For those of you intimidated by the Stained Glass Flower Lollipops but still want a fun cookie on a stick, these are for you.  Poking around the Betty Crocker website for kid's cookies, these called out to me, despite being more designed for Christmas.  I put my own spin on these treats, using blue, red and purple food coloring as well as jumbo nonpareils and tied them up with a cute ribbon.  Not realizing I didn't have any treat bags left, I wrapped these in plastic wrap before securing with regular curling ribbon.  Experiment with favorite colors and sprinkles--I had a hard time choosing the jumbo nonpareils since there were so many other cute shapes--stars, butterflies, dinosaurs, etc.  These come together quickly (just a bowl and a spoonula), although if you want intense colors, you need to work the dough.  Dave thought it looked like Play-doh, but they taste a lot better!

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who helped make the Bloggers Bake for Hope Bake Sale a success.  The sale raised $2981 for the Komen Foundation.  A special thanks to Dina and Chris who bid and won my cookies.  Looks like I'll be baking some Banana Split and Kid's Candy Cookies soon!

I'm looking forward to participating in more fun events like this and will keep you posted as they come up.

In return for your support, I've got a few fun recipes to share this week.  And for the bake sale goodies that I didn't win, I pulled the recipes, so I can test and share what I thought were some of the highlights from the wonderful bloggers who participated.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

Let the Bidding Begin!

Today's the day!  The Bloggers Bake for Hope Bake Sale has opened with dozens of delicious and tempting treats up for bid.  Please support this group of volunteer bloggers raising money for Race for the Cure by bidding on an item (or more).  Bidding will  close at midnight on Friday, so be sure to get your bids in by then.  And please pass this information along to anyone you know who might be interested!

From my kitchen, I've got Banana Split Cookies and Kid's Candy Cookies up for grabs.

Thanks for the support!

Bake Sale!

Bloggers Bake for Hope

I hope you'll join me in supporting this cause.

During the first week of May, a nation-wide, all volunteer virtual bake sale will take place to raise money for breast cancer research.  I am donating a batch of Banana Split Cookies.  Already there are a lot of yummy treats to bid on so I'm sure you'll find something that catches your eye and teases your taste buds. 

Beginning May 4th you'll be able to bid on the treat (or treats) of your choosing.  If you win, your treats will be shipped directly to you.  For more information, visit Bloggers Bake for Hope.

Happy Bidding,
The Cookie Princess