White Chocolate Chip and Toasted Pecan Butterscotch Blondies.

The past couple of weeks have left me craving sweets like crazy but with little time to bake them in.  Luckily blondies are extremely fast to put together, which means they get to my mouth sooner!

You really should wait until they're completely cool before cutting them, I recommend using the fridge or freezer if you don't have the willpower to postpone devouring them.

I know a lot of recipes that call for white chocolate specify the high quality stuff, but I happen to absolutely love white chocolate chips.  Sometimes a handful after dinner is the only thing that can quell my sweet tooth!  These blondies are for my fellow people with a sweet tooth - incredibly addictive and moreish.

White Chocolate Chip and Toasted Pecan Butterscotch Blondies
Adapted from Southern Living Incredible Cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and spray an 8x8" glass baking dish with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  In a larger mixing bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla until lightened in color, then add in the egg and mix well.  Stir in the flour mixture, then add in the pecans and white chocolate chips.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until just set and golden brown on top, 15-20 minutes.

Let them cool completely, then cut into small squares or rectangles.  These keep airtight up to 3 days, but I guarantee they won't last that long!

Chewy Date and Nut Bars.

These happened because I realized I only had 3 sticks of butter left in the fridge and panicked, but I loved them so much that I'd make them even if I had 3lbs. left!  You'd never know there wasn't any butter in these cookies, I swear!  If you're a chewy fan, you must preheat the oven now.

Feel free to substitute any nut -  I used almonds, but typically walnuts are the partner for dates.  I'd also suggest using any dried fruit you'd like as long as it amounts to 5 ounces, but I'm rather partial to dates and their sticky sweetness :)

  
Chewy Date and Nut Bars
Adapted from Go Dairy Free
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup (4 ounces) sliced almonds
1 cup (5 ounces) dates, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and line an 8x8" glass baking pan with foil, then grease the foil with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.  In a larger bowl, whisk the eggs until they're lightened, then add the brown sugar and flour mixture, stirring until almost completely  mixed, then add in the nuts and dates.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top is just golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 12-18 minutes.

Let the bars cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares and store airtight up to 4 days.

Apricot-Raisin Oatmeal Bars.

 

Last night I had a craving for chocolate.  So I looked through some recipes and decided on a chocolate drop cookie that seemed like it would be delicious with white chocolate chips in the dough and coated in confectioner's sugar before baking.  The recipe was unfortunately a disaster.  The dough came out dry and sandy, I had to knead it in order to get any cookies out of it at all, then after baking they tasted more of flour than chocolate.  Needless to say I think something out there was telling me to bake something healthier, something more wholesome than chocolate cookies.

So this is what I baked instead this morning because I need at least one cookie in the house at all times.  They are decidedly not decadent or buttery at all, but they're very good if you're looking for something slightly sweeter than a granola bar to keep around for when the mood strikes, and they won't make you fat! Feel free to substitute any dried fruit you'd like in these if you don't have apricots or raisins on hand or are just feeling creative :)

Apricot-Raisin Oatmeal Bars
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1 large egg
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup coarsely chopped, dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins
Orange drizzle:
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a 9x13 glass baking dish with foil or parchment paper, then spray with cooking spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flours, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and oatmeal.  In a larger bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, yogurt, water, molasses and oil.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until almost completely combined, then stir in the dried apricots and raisins.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Let the bars cool on a rack, then whisk together the confectioner's sugar and orange juice until you have a thin, drizzleable glaze.  With a fork or spatula, drizzle the mixture over the bars.  Let cool completely, then cut into bars.  Store airtight for up to 5 days.

Bars bars bars.

Apricot bars, that is. I like making bars. They're easy and they make a lot (or a little) depending on how small YOU want to cut them. Plus you can basically incorporate any flavours, crusts, and toppings you want to.

To be honest when I get a recipe online or any recipe really, I hardly ever follow it to a T. I like to adapt to my tastes, to the things I already have, and improve the recipe so I absolutely know I'll like the outcome. For example, the original recipe for these bars included no salt. When you bake, you NEED SALT. Yes. It brings out the flavour of everything! Also, the original said to bake/prepare in a 9x13-inch pan, which is great, but the ingredients listed for the filling and crumb topping would never have covered the entire surface of the crust. So this recipe, although I found it online somewhere, I don't feel credit is really necessary because of how much I changed it. I literally changed every single part of it, and I will put THAT recipe here instead of the one I originally found, since that's what gave me the delicious results.



Apricot Crumb Bars

Shortbread Crust:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 cups AP flour
Pinch kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a 9x13-inch baking pan with foil. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla to combine. Add the flour and salt and mix just until a nice ball of dough forms. Press this into the bottom of the pan, and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and in spots in the middle. Cool completely.

Apricot Filling:
3 cups dried apricots
3 cups water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Amaretto
Pinch kosher salt

Place the apricots and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and cover. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes. At this point I used a stick blender to puree the apricots, but you could transfer to a blender or a food processor also. Stir in the sugar, Amaretto and salt. Let cool slightly.

Crumb Topping:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
Pinch kosher salt
3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
(You could really add anything you want to this, cinnamon, almonds, nuts of any kind, oatmeal. Have fun imo.)

Combine the flour, salt and sugar until well-mixed. Cut in the butter until large clumps form.

Finishing the bars:
After the crust has cooled completely, spread the apricot filling over it to cover. Then crumble the topping on evenly and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the crumbs are set. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Chunky Jam Bars.

My favourite time to bake is at night. Usually the night before I have a day off. (The downside being that obviously this is not ideal time for photographs, so I usually wait until the next morning to do that.) It helps relax me, get me into a different kind of mood.

Last night at dinner, my mom was going through old Kraft Family magazines looking for a macaroni salad recipe (hasn't been found yet) and she came across this recipe. "Hey Beth, this sounds like your kind of recipe!" I asked her to read me the name, and knew right away I'd make it, especially also because my dad adores anything with jam in it.

Kraft Family magazine has two different versions as far as I can tell. They have the version for people who I'm assuming take their kids to soccer practice (or whatever) every day in the van and don't have time to make stuff so they just buy a bunch of Kraft products, throw them together and call it dinner. Then there is the version my family gets, the one that actually requires ingredients such as flour, baking powder, chocolate, things that you actually have to measure out in order to get the resulting recipe.

This recipe was originally called Chunky Chocolate Jam Bars. However there is not enough chocolate involved in my opinion for them to properly be called that. So I have renamed them Chunky Jam Bars. Here's the lovely recipe:



Chunky Jam Bars adapted from Kraft Family Magazine

1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (I used dark, yum.)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (I used walnuts)
5 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)
12 ounces raspberry jam (I used half raspberry, half strawberry)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt together in a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles large crumbs. Add oats, coconut, and pecans (or whatever nuts).

Press half of this mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan and sprinkle with the chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) and then spoon the jam over, evenly. Then sprinkle the remaining crumbles on top.

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the jam around the edges is bubbling lightly and the crumbs take on a slightly more golden colour. Cool completely on a wire rack, and cut into squares.