Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookie Bars

I love chocolate chip cookies, but some days I just don't feel like rolling out balls of cookie dough and waiting for pans and pans of cookies to bake. I would love to find an awesome cookie bar recipe, but unfortunately I am still on the hunt for the perfect bars: thick, chewy, and slightly crispy. These bars had so much promise, but really fell flat on flavor and texture. They were very cake-like, and the brown butter and toffee chips did not add much flavor. They were good but not what I had envisioned.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookie Bars
Source: Slightly adapted from So Tasty So Yummy

1 stick butter
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup toffee chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat until it foams up and deepens in color.
Remove butter from heat and set aside to cool. 

Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in a large bowl. 
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.
Add vanilla and eggs and mix well to combine.
Stir in the flour mixture.
Fold in the chocolate chips and toffee chips.
Press the batter into the prepared baking dish.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.
Cool and slice into bars.

Bourbon Butterscotch Blondies

My husband has a new fascination with whiskey and bourbon. So when he saw this recipe in a recent issue of the Food Network magazine, of course he wanted to make these blondies. They came out as promised: sweet, chewy, boozey, and delicious.

Bourbon Butterscotch Blondies
Source: Duff Bakes: Think and Bake Like a Pro at Home by Duff Goldman via Food Network

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick of butter, softened
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar 

1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup bourbon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray or butter it generously. (You can also line the pan with parchment paper and spray it.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a small pan, melt the butter and 1/4 cup of the butterscotch chips over medium heat until the mixture is smooth. Transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Beat the brown sugar into the butter mixture and then the egg. Add the vanilla and bourbon and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup butterscotch chips.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

Healthy Cherry-Almond Oatmeal Bars

We have been eating healthier for some time now. I don't bake much, except for special occasions. I've been trying some healthy recipes. This recipe for oatmeal bars looked good, but it was just okay. It lacked flavor. I think it would be much better with the addition of honey or some spices.


Healthy Cherry-Almond Oatmeal Bars
Source: adapted from Kath Eats Real Food

1.5 cups rolled oats 
(I used quick cooking oats.)
1/2 cup almonds 
(or cashews, walnuts, peanuts, etc.)
1/2 cup dried cherries 
(or raisins, cranberries, dates, figs, etc.)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds 
(or chia, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, etc.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup milk (I used almond milk.)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 X 9 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Pour into pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.
Let cool before cutting.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

I love to bake, but I don't love being stuck with a whole cake, a plate of cookies, or a dozen cupcakes because—like everyone else this time of year—I'm trying to eat healthier. I was looking for a healthy oatmeal bar recipe when I came across these bars. Let it be known, these are far from healthy. But they caught my eye, and I had to make them. The ingredient list wasn't too bad, and they didn't require me dragging out my mixer. These were quick and easy to whip up on a Sunday evening for snacks all week. While they were a little greasy from all the butter in the recipe, they were delicious and tasted like thick and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. I'm already dreaming up variations such as adding craisins and almonds.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

Source: Martha Stewart 

1 and 1/2 sticks butter (melted)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I used quick-cooking, and they came out fine.)

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease an 8-inch square baking pan. (You can also line the bottom with parchment paper.)

Whisk together butter, brown and white sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add flour, oats, and raisins, and fold in until combined.

Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in pan.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookie Bars

I adore chocolate chip cookies. They are my favorite. When I saw the recipe for these chocolate chip toffee bars, I had to make them right away. And they did not disappoint. They had a chewy interior and a crispy exterior. The toffee chips melted into the center, resulting in a buttery almost caramel-like flavor. They were heavenly! The only thing I would do differently next time is bake them in a 9×13-inch pan  I baked them in an 8×8-inch pan and they were huge! Plus they took almost an hour to bake.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookie Bars
Source: adapted from Smells Like Home

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 sticks butter (melted and cooled)
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg 
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips (any flavor)
3/4 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil so that the edges of the foil overhang two sides of the pan. Spray the foil with baking spray and set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until thoroughly combined. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until just combined. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the mixture is just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and toffee bits.

Spread the dough in the bottom of the baking pan and bake on the center rack of the oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the bars when tested. (I had to bake mine for 50 minutes because of how thick the bars were in the 8×8-inch pan; next time I will use a 9×13-inch pan.)

Cool the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then remove the bars using the foil overhang to the wire rack to cool complete. Slice into bars.

S'mores Brownies

One of our good friends just celebrated his birthday. I always try to make all my friends cupcakes on their birthdays. This particular friend loves brownies, so I broke down and made some even through brownies aren't one of my favorites. (I know, who doesn't like brownies?) This friend loves brownies with nuts in them, but since he just discovered he has a nut allergy, I had to come up with something different. I wanted to make something that appeals to everyone and came up with s'mores brownies. Who doesn't love s'mores? These brownies got rave reviews, even from someone who's not fond of brownies. (I know; hangs head in shame.) This was an easy recipe that came together quickly.

S'mores Brownies
Source: adapted from Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Ingredients:
1 batch homemade brownies or 1 (21.5 oz) package brownie mix
4 full graham crackers
1 and 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
2 regular-sized milk chocolate bars (I used Hershey's.)

Directions:
Preheat oven according to brownies recipe or package directions.

Prepare brownie mix according to recipe or package directions. Spread batter into a 9x13 pan and bake brownies for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, break graham crackers into 1-inch pieces, chop chocolate bars, and toss with miniature marshmallows. Remove brownies from oven and sprinkle the s'mores mixture on top.

Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 - 20 minutes.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Happy Blogiversary to me!

So I'm a little late. I'm always late so it's fitting for me. My little blog turned one year old last week. So much has changed for me in the past year. After I started my blog, my love of food and baking continued strong. I started to debate if I could turn a hobby into something more. So I took a leap and I start pastry arts classes next month. A year ago I was just an editor with a hobby. Now I'm an editor with a dream of opening her own cupcakery. I guess only time will tell.

Since it's been so hot, I've been neglecting my blog lately. Who wants to turn on the oven in 90-degree weather? I was searching for something to take on a bus trip to a wine festival that wasn't too messy and would fill up our stomachs before hours of drinking. Randy suggested brownies. OK, I'm going to say it: I'm not a huge fan of brownies. It's the texture—too thick. Then I saw a recipe for snickerdoodle blondies and decided to give it a try. I've made blondies before and it wasn't love, but I decided to try them again. These were right up my alley. I love cinnamon and I love snickerdoodles. I figured these would be perfect for our trip. While they were tasty, it's the thick texture I can't get over. If you love cinnamon and blondies, then these are for you. I did love the crunch the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top added.

Snickerdoodle Blondies    

Source: adapted from My Baking Addiction as seen on Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:
2 and 2/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (I only used 1/2 teaspoon.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 sticks butter, room temperature (I used salted.)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
 
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl and set aside.

Beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. (Batter will be thick like dough.)

Spread the batter evenly into the pan. Combine granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Sprinkle mixture over the top of batter.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.