Caramel Apple Bars

I first made these Caramel Apple Bars from My Baking Addiction for school a few weeks ago & they went like hot-cakes (or hot apple pie, if you will). I didn’t take photos that time AND I slightly under-baked them, so they didn’t turn out as pretty and I wasn’t happy with their looks. It was requested that I make them again (and immediately – in a “you should leave school immediately and make them again” kinda way, which I obviously didn’t do but instead waited a few weeks). In an effort to keep my friends at school and avoid a roit, I finally decided to whip these up again…

They are really easy to make, so I don’t know what took me to long to make them again! SO – since October is both National Apple AND National Caramel Month, I decided I should make them again (in our school we celebrate something called “Apple Crunch Day” so I brought in chewy apple bars to celebrate with my co-workers).

These can easily be made without the caramel if you want to skip that step and then they are more like “apple pie bars” but with the caramel – it really kicks it up to the next level. These are nice and sweet and just the right amount of chewy-ness and you can have more than one since they have fruit in them (so that makes them ‘healthy’).

WARNING… Once you make these you will be making them again because people won’t stop asking you until you do!! So, Happy Caramel/Apple Month & good luck…

borrowed, loved & saved from My Baking Addiction!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped apple (about 2 apples)
• [1 cup finely chopped walnuts]
• Topping:  1/4 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 inch pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together: melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar, until smooth. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture until just combined, then stir in the apples and walnuts (if using).

Spread the mixture evenly into prepared pan. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining “topping” cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over the top of the bars. Bake for 30-35 minutes in preheated oven; bars should spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan, and cut into squares.

When cool: drizzle them with melted Caramel Bits or Caramel Ice Cream Topping or Melted Chewy Caramels & carefully remove from pan then enjoy!

I also want to try these tasty looking bars from Joanne but knew that I needed to make these bars again first!

And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… Is there a dish that you make that everyone always wants the recipe for or that you are always asked to bring places?

S’mores Bar Cookies

OK – and I’m back!

I’m sorry for the break, part of me was just being lazy (it was well into the 90’s all last week) but I was also running lots of errands, getting kidnapped by family, volunteering, and doing things to get ready for a wonderful wedding this past weekend.

Rich’s sister tied the knot to a wonderful guy who is a perfect match for her; they are both amazing people who truly deserve each other and bring happiness wherever they go. We could not be happier for them! Remember those Snickerdoodle Muffins I made for the bachelorette/bachelor weekend? Well it turns out that Snickerdoodles just happen to be the Groom’s favorite Cookie, so I made them some Snickerdoodle Chex Mix for their Honeymoon Goodie Bag as well as repeating the Muffins for the people we were staying with.

 I also tried to make Blueberry Blue Velvet Cupcakes  as another one of my ‘food for the house’ contribution (per request of one of the bridesmaids we were staying with) – but I didn’t follow the recipe exactly and was not crazy about how they turned out (although everyone else seemed to enjoy them).

BUT – I’m now off track (again, sorry). This post is not about any of the wedding goodies, that was just me saying I was sorry for not putting much up recently.

This post is about another awesome S’mores recipe. Last week we were getting together with some friends and I wanted to bring a snack for our picnic lunch & whipped up these S’mores Bar Cookies. And I do mean that I just whipped them up – they literally take less than 2 hours start to finish including refrigeration time & bake time!

These S’mores Bar Cookies are a mix between a Blondie & a Chocolate Chip Bar Cookie. The flavors are right on, the cinnamon in the batter is perfect & they are nice and chewy (even a week later – I stored them in the fridge and then just let them come to room temperature). Even Dad (you know, that guy who I said hates S’mores & Marshmallows) really enjoyed these!! I personally loved them slightly heated up and then with a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything – my version makes 1 thick pan

• 11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
• 2 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces
• 1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line large baking pan(s) with parchment paper.

Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching). I used about 18 graham cracker squares. You may have to add or remove graham crackers according to how much dough you have. I wanted thicker bar cookies, but feel free to stretch it to 2 pans if you want thinner cookies!

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.

Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for about 1 hour (I chilled just for the amount of time it took for my oven to preheat)

Place tablespoons of dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. I averaged about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per graham cracker square as seen in the picture above. [I also sprinkled some extra mini-marshmallows before I pressed in the dough for some extra good-ness]. Press down slightly with fingertips.

Bake for about 8 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.

Bake for about another  5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.

And I leave you with this question…. what treat(s) would you like to see repurposed into bar-cookie form? I love bar cookies: they are easy to transport & eat – I think the only reason cupcakes are more ‘popular’ is because they look fancier. We should all work together to get Bar Cookies more notoriety!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars

Think “Blondie Brownie” with all sorts of goodies added in!

I guess these are called “Congo Bars” – but I had never heard them called that (I do not think I have ever had them before either). These bar cookies are a perfect way to use up some of those 1/2 bags of sweets you have left over from other sweets. I did not have plain chocolate chips, so used a mix of plain/peanut butter. My mom hates coconut, so for her I would replace that with something else. You could make this with dried fruits to pretend to be healthier.

We recently brought these to a pot-luck (that we showed up late to) and even though most people had already eaten & had dessert – these still ended up disappearing!

Congo Bars

(as adapted from The Curvy Carrot, check out the “Congo Bars“)

• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted/cooled
• 1 and 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• CHIPS: 1 cup total, mix it up with chocolate, white chocolate, caramel, & peanut butter
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus an additional 1/2 cup for topping the bars
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, plus an additional 1/2 cup for topping the bars
• 1 and 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted, plus more for garnish
• [1 cup almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely] – skip for the “no-nut” crowd

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.  Fold and fit two large pieces of foil perpendicular to one another in the baking pan, making sure to leave about 3 inches of overhang on each side.  ***This will help you remove the bars from the baking pan. Spray the foil with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the melted butter and brown sugar until combined. On medium-low speed, add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Stop the mixer and manually fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, mixing until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut to the batter. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan.

Bake for at least 22-25 minutes (until the top is slightly cracked and the bars feel firm to the touch).  *I ended up baking mine for at least 30 minutes – but be sure to check frequently to avoid over-baking. Remove the bars from the oven, garnish with the additional chocolate chips and coconut (if desired) and cool on a wire rack. Remove the bars from the pan by holding on to the overhanging foil edges and cut into bars.

And I leave you with this… these bar cookies are made with your “sweets leftovers” – so the next time you meet someone who tells you they don’t like leftovers (even though I’m not sure how that is possible) you should direct them to these bar cookies & then ask them how they feel about leftovers!