The Nifty Foodie

As much as I love baking, sometimes it’s good to find a recipe that’s quick and convenient. I didn’t have time on my side this past weekend since we were hosting our housewarming party, so I wanted to bake something that was quick, but would also feed a crowd. This definitely fit the bill.

As you can see, I dyed them a nice LSU gold color and sprinkled purple Halloween sprinkles on top (gotta love Halloween clearance). Geaux Tigers! (Sorry, can’t help it!)

Back to the bars. I decided to add almond extract to the recipe, because I usually use a combination of almond and lemon for decorated sugar cookies. It’s just the perfect combination for sugar cookies, in my opinion. I have to say that the texture of these cookies is slightly cookie-cakey, which made for the perfect soft, chewy bar and the icing was pretty classic. I highly recommend trying these bars out if you love sugar cookies, but want something that is as quick as possible.

Sugar Cookie Bars
Source: mildly adapted from Annie’s Eats (originally from The Repressed Pastry Chef)

Ingredients:

For the bars:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda

For the frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 5 tbsp. milk
• Food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. To make the bars, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.   Grease and/or parchment paper line a 13 x 18″ rimmed baking sheet. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, making sure to scrape down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla, almond extract, and lemon zest.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda.  Whisk to blend the mixture.  Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl and beat on low speed just until incorporated.
2. Transfer the cookie dough to the prepared baking sheet and press into an even layer. Keep a bowl of water near you so you can dip your fingers in and prevent dough from sticking to your fingers  Bake 10-15 minutes, until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.
3. To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Blend in the vanilla, salt, and confectioners’ sugar until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Mix in the milk a tbsp. at a time.  Tint as desired with food coloring.  Spread over the cookie bars in the pan, cut into bars and serve.

It’s been a while, I know.

But I bring you a recipe with butter, sugar, eggs and PUMPKIN. I hope you forgive me.

I decided it was time to just start baking again. It’s feeling cold outside again, butter was on major sale, so, of course, things felt right.

Of course, I wanted to make something a little out of the ordinary, so I scrolled through my google reader starred items and stumbled upon this!

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars. Pumpkin pie layered on top of a snickerdoodle cookie layer, drizzled in spiced white chocolate. Delicious, right?

Sounds great right? Yes. They are excellent! So excellent, in fact, that they ended up being a hit at the hubs’ office.

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars
Source: adaptation found on Beantown Baker, originally on Dozen Flours

Snickerdoodle Layer Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Layer Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

Topping Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Drizzle Ingredients:

• 1 oz white chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch pan and lay a piece of parchment paper across the pan, so that it extends the pan slightly. The parchment paper is an optional step, but it will make it easier to get the bars out later
2. To make snickerdoodle layer:
   Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
   Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. (Tip: wet your hands with warm water to make the batter easy to spread, since it’s thick.)
3. To make pumpkin pie filling:
   In a mixer bowl (you can use the same one you used to make the snickerdoodle batter) with a paddle attachment, mix together butter and sugar. A dd the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined. This layer will be less thick and more pourable. Pour over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.
4. Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.
5. Bake for 33-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely. They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer. The bars that are closer to the edges of the pan will be more firm.
6. After the bars are completely cool, place the chopped white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on low power. When it’s completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix (or knead if using a zip lock bag). Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.
7. Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into bars. Store in a covered container.

If you read my Twitter, you might already know that I’m on a major diet. A 10 week weight loss challenge for my local YMCA to be exact. I slowly freaked out inside when they took my body fat % and weight…those numbers weren’t so pretty. However, I guess I should see this as more weight to lose and alas, a good chance to win this challenge. The prizes are pretty phenomenal, too. The hard thing? It’s 10 weeks….until December 16th.

I’m pretty hardcore when it comes to competition. Just ask my family…I get pretty extreme just to get that “#1″ feeling. So, I’m back to the gym 4-5x/week and back on Weight Watchers too to kick this challenge’s booty!

Before you panic about my recipes being ALL ”skinny” again, I still intend to do my cold weather baking, because my urges to bake and create things are far too strong lately. The difference this year is that a lot of my husband’s coworkers (and maybe mine) will be getting to enjoy these treats moreso than I.

These blondies, actually, were made for my family. I went to visit them this past weekend and had a blast! I thought it would be nice to bring these blondies, and with a family of 6 in the house, the pan of these were almost GONE Sunday. I’d say the recipe was pretty darn successful, no? I did try a couple (small) squares of these, and yes, yes, yes! Majorly yummy and potentially majorly addictive. It took a lot for me to hold back.

Pumpkin Blondies
Source: Martha Stewart (adaptation found on Smells Like Home)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.  Stir together and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.  Mix in the pumpkin puree.  With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.  Fold in the white chocolate and 1 cup butterscotch chips with a rubber spatula.
3. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips over the top of the batter.  Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.
4. To serve, lift the cake from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board.  Peel off the foil and using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.

Peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Brownies are simply amazing and easy. In fact, this is the one dessert where my KA stays in the cabinet. A simple bowl and wooden spoon are all you need, and wow, the results are nothing short of amazing.

With a potluck coming up at my work, I decided to make some delicious peanut butter cheesecake brownies. I’ve made this recipe before, but I wanted something sinfully rich. After seeing the words “triple chocolate brownies” on Annie’s Eats, I knew I had to use this for my brownie base. I still used the peanut butter cheesecake swirl in the original recipe, and the results were awesomely rich, as in be prepared to have a glass of milk handy…I’m not kidding.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies
Sources: Brownie Batter – Baking Illustrated (found on Annie’s Eats) PB Cheesecake Batter – Baking Blonde

Brownie Ingredients:

• 5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters
• 3 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs
• 1¼ cups (8¾ oz.) sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup (5 oz.) all-purpose flour

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Batter Ingredients:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cups creamy PB
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 5-6 regular sized Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped

Directions:

1. Place an oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.  Set aside to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until combined, about 15 seconds.  Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture until incorporated.  Then stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined.
4. In separate mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg and beat until just combined.
5. Pour 2/3 of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even layer.  Then add 1/2 of the peanut butter cheesecake mixture on top. Using a knife, gently swirl the mixtures together. Add the remaining brownie batter, then the cheesecake batter and swirl again.
6. Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, about 45-50 minutes. Then, take out the brownie pan and add the chopped Reese’s cups to the top. Place it in the oven for a couple of minutes, until just melted.
7. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.
8. Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut into squares as desired.  Store in an air-tight container.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a local nestie GTG to meet up with some gals that I “talk” to on the forums. There was so much food to be had there, and I made sure to try a little bit of everything. One of the nesties brought these little bars, and WOW are these bars just amazing! She insisted that they were super easy to make, and boy, were they! I made a batch of these to include in the family holiday tins, and of course, snuck a few bars for me as well.

Scotcharoos
Source: MrsSpell of the Baton Rouge Nestie Boards

Ingredients:

• 1 c. sugar
• 1c. light corn syrup
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 c. peanut butter
• 6 c. rice krispies cereal
• 1 – 12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 – 12 oz package butterscotch chips
• 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a large pot cook sugar, corn syrup, and butter over med heat. Stir until completely dissolved and mixture comes to a low boil.
2. Remove from heat and add peanut butter. Stir until melted together. Add cereal and stir until coated.
3. Spread mixture evenly into a greased 9 x 13 pan and pat down using slightly wet hands.
4. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips with the oil together in the microwave approx. 2 minutes stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Pour over the top of cereal treats and allow to cool for min. of one hour. Cut into squares and enjoy!