Perfect Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO CHECK OUT MY NEW WEBSITE!!

www.goddessofbaking.com

Fall is finally in the air in Southern California.  It was a pretty hot summer and I am glad to be back to wearing boots and sweaters, sipping hot cocoa on a cool night, and cuddling with my new husband under a blanket.  Well its not that cold yet, but a girl can dream (the high temp today is still 78 degrees). Anyway, I made these granola bars to get into the fall spirit, but I was too anxious and I did not read the recipe all the through.  I only baked mine for 20 minutes, instead of the full 40 minutes.  The flavor is delicious but my bars were falling apart.  I will definitely make these again soon and I will post an update.  I brought some of these to work with me and made everyone try them.  My husband brought them to his work too and shared them with his coworkers.  Everyone loved them even though they were pretty crumbly.  I am a cinnamon fanatic so I added more cinnamon to the recipe, and when I make these next time I am going to add nuts and white chocolate chips.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars - Adapted from Hip2save
Yield: 16-18
Ingredients:
4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup ground Flaxseed (optional but if you have it in your pantry it adds great nutritional value to the bar, then you don't feel so guilty when you cannot stop eating these...)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey (I like to buy local organic honey from the farmers market)
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Optional Additions/Substitutions:

White Chocolate Chips

Nuts - Almonds, walnuts, pecans

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats and flaxseed and set aside. 
3. In a separate bowl, mix honey, pumpkin, coconut oil, brown sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. 
4. Add wet ingredients to the oatmeal and stir. Add in chocolate chips. 
5.  Press the mixture into the pan and flatten it really well with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and press down with a spatula again. 
6. Bake for another 20-25 minutes until brown.  (I was too excited and forgot this second bake time... Whoooops!)
7. Let cool for at least 2 hours before cutting. Makes about 16-18 bars. I like to cut them and store in a Tupperware container with parchment paper to keep the bars separated.
8. Enjoy for breakfast or a snack!

Cookies & Cream Cookie Bars

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO CHECK OUT MY NEW WEBSITE!!

www.goddessofbaking.com

These Cookies & Cream Cookie Bars are always the first thing to go when I bring them to a party. Everyone loves them, and when you cut them into smaller servings, there is more to go around (and you don't feel as guilty)! If your stumped on what to bring to a party for New Year's Eve, these cookie bars are great as either an appetizer or a dessert or both! The pictures show the Halloween Edition of these cookie bars, but as the seasons change, so do the editions of Oreos, so these practically go with any holiday or occasion!

Oreo Cookie Bars - Adapted from Skinny Not Skinny

Yield: 16 - 24 bars depending on the size

Ingredients:
1½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup butter, softened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips
20 Halloween Oreos (chopped) - Or Red Holiday Oreos for Christmas - or regular oreos for an everyday treat!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, brown sugar and butter in large bowl; mix well. This mixture will be crumbly.
2. Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper with shortening. This is VERY important to do or your bars are going to stick to the bottom of the pan. Reserve 1 cup oat mixture and press remainder onto bottom of the baking pan.
3. Bake 10 minutes.
4. While the crust is cooking, chop the Halloween Oreos into pieces.
5. After removing from oven, immediately pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crust.
6. Sprinkle with chocolate and white chocolate chips and top with Oreo pieces.
7. Top with reserved oat mixture; press down firmly.
8. Bake an additional 25 minutes. Topping will be lightly browned.
9. Cool bars for at least 15 minutes and then cut into bars.
10. ENJOY!

Browned Butter Vanilla Bean Shortbread

Delicious!

Browned Butter Vanilla Bean Shortbread - Adapted from Cooking Light
Yield: 30 squares
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, browned (see below)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Browned Butter
Directions from Smitten Kitchen

1. Cut butter into four or five pieces and cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it has a nutty fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a light brown, anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes. 
2. It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Transfer butter to a bowl and chill until just firm, about 1 hour.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line bottom and sides of a 13 x 9–inch baking pan with foil; coat foil with cooking spray, and set aside.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.
4. Place butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy (since you've altered the butter by browning it, this butter won't act the same as it would if it were just softened). 
5. Add oil; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended. Add extract. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean, and add seeds to butter mixture; discard bean (better yet, put it in your extract!). 
6. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Spoon dough into prepared pan. Place a sheet of heavy-duty plastic wrap over dough; press to an even thickness (I used an offset spatula instead and it worked great). Discard plastic wrap. 
7. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 
8. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; cut into 32 pieces. Carefully lift foil from pan; cool squares completely on a wire rack.
9. Enjoy!!

Whole Lemon Bars

When life gives you lemons, make whole lemon bars.  Life didn't give me lemons, I bought them, and then had to use them.  A co-worker of mine had been nagging me about making lemon bars for the last few weeks.  I have never made lemon bars before so I was kinda nervous.  It was actually very easy and super fast!!  I didn't follow the recipe exactly because I was afraid they would be too bitter.  So I did just half of a lemon, then zested the other half, cut off the rind, and put the middle in the food processor.  I think that amount of lemon was perfect!  The other thing that made me nervous was the texture of the lemon mixture.  It is lumpy and just weird in the food processor, but after it bakes, its perfect!  I highly recommend this recipe!

Whole Lemon Bar - Adapted from David Lebovitz

Yield: 8x8 Pan - 16 squares

Crust Ingredients:
1 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla

Lemon Topping Ingredients:
1 Lemon, organic or washed, I used 1/2 and then the zest and inside of the other half
1 Cup Sugar
3 Tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
3 Large Eggs, room temperature
4 Teaspoons Corn Starch
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted

Optional: powdered sugar, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Overturn an 8-inch square pan on the counter and wrap the outside snugly with foil, shiny side up. Remove the foil, turn the pan over, and fit the foil into the pan, pressing to nudge the foil into the corners. The smooth it as best you can.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 8 tablespoons melted butter, and vanilla, stirring just until smooth.
4. Smooth the batter into the bottom of the pan, using your hands or a small offset spatula to get it as level as possible.
5. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, or until it’s golden brown.
6. While the crust is cooking, cut the lemon in half, remove the seeds, and cut the lemon into chunks. I only did half a lemon and then with the other half I zested it and put in the middle part, but not the rind.
7. Put the chunks of lemon in a food processor or blender along with the sugar and lemon juice, and let it run until the lemon is completely broken up. Add the eggs, corn starch, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 3 tablespoons melted butter, and blend until almost smooth. A few tiny bits of lemon pieces is normal...
8. When the crust comes out of the oven, reduce the heat of the oven to 300. Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust and bake for 18-20 minutes or just until the filling stops jiggling and is barely set.  When I took it out of the oven, it looked like cornbread, but i guess that's ok.  It still tastes amazing!
9. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once cool, carefully lift out the bars grasping the foil. Cut the bars into squares or rectangles. Sift powdered sugar over the top just before serving, if desired.
10. Enjoy!!

Storage: The bars will keep in an airtight container at room temperature up to three days. You can freeze the lemon bars as well for up to one month, letting them come to room temperature before serving.