Awesome Granola Bars

Dave and I used to buy granola bars all the time, but sadly they were never 100% satisfying.  I have always wanted to try to make my own, but I thought it wouldn't be worth the effort.   I was wrong!! :)

Ingredients

8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats (approx. 2 cups) 

1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds (approx. 1/2 cup)

3 ounces sliced almonds  (approx. 1 cup)

1 1/2 ounces wheat germ  (approx. 1/2 cup) 

6 ounces honey  (approx. 1/2 cup) 

1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar  (approx. 1/4 cup packed)

1 ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan 

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

toppings, such as chocolate or shaved coconut

Directions:

• Cut parchment paper to fit a 9"x13" baking dish, and rub on a thin layer of butter. (We used a smaller dish, and thought the bars came out too thick. Next time we will use the 9"x13")
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Mix the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ together, and spread out on a sheet pan. Toast for 15 minutes, making sure to stir the mixture occasionally. 

• Combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla bean paste, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar has dissolved. 

• Reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. 
• Combine the oat mixture with the liquid mixture, and spread out in prepared baking dish (press firmly).  Sprinkle any other additional ingredients on top  

• Bake for 25 minutes.

• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares while it is still a bit warm.

We stored the granola bars in a plastic container, and enjoyed them all week.  Since they were so thick, it was a little hard to bite through them, so we warmed them up in the microwave for about 15 seconds.  I think if we use the bigger pan next time, we won't have that issue!

Ingredients

8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats (approx. 2 cups) 

1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds (approx. 1/2 cup)

3 ounces sliced almonds  (approx. 1 cup)

1 1/2 ounces wheat germ  (approx. 1/2 cup) 

6 ounces honey  (approx. 1/2 cup) 

1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar  (approx. 1/4 cup packed)

1 ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan 

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

toppings, such as chocolate or shaved coconut

Directions:

1. Cut parchment paper to fit a 9"x13" baking dish, and rub on a thin layer of butter. (We used a smaller dish, and thought the bars came out too thick. Next time we will use the 9"x13")
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
3. Mix the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ together, and spread out on a sheet pan. Toast for 15 minutes, making sure to stir the mixture occasionally. 
4. Combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla bean paste, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar has dissolved. 
5. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. 
6. Combine the oat mixture with the liquid mixture, and spread out in prepared baking dish (press firmly).  Sprinkle any other additional ingredients on top  
7. Bake for 25 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares while it is still a bit warm.

Adapted from Alton Brown

Coconut Spice Cheesecake Bars

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dave and I are so happy that his parents are visiting for the holiday! We wanted to try out a new dessert, so I made these tasty bars.  I've tweaked some of the amounts from the original recipe, which I updated below.

Ingredients
1 box spice cake mix (we used Duncan Hines)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water, optional if necessary
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 can (14-ounces) sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup cream cheese, softened (I used whipped cream cheese. Add more if it tastes too sweet)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 9-by-13 inch pan by lining it with aluminum foil and then placing a piece of parchment cut to the size of the bottom of the pan. Spray with cooking spray.  
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix. The batter will be extremely thick and will be difficult to combine, but keep stirring or use your fingers and knead it together, adding the water if necessary. 
3. Press the dough it into the prepared pan. It will be tacky, sticky, and a bit tricky to work with, but keep pressing, spreading, and finessing it. 
4. Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the dough, then sprinkle the chocolate chips and white chocolate chips evenly over the dough.
5. In a mixing bowl (the same one from the cake mix is fine), combine the sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla and stir until well combined, and pour mixture evenly over dough, using a spatula to even it if necessary. 
6. Bake for 28 to 31 minutes, or until edges of bars begin to brown and pull away slightly from the sides of the pan, taking care not to overbake. Note that the middle will not seem very well set and will be jiggly upon removing from oven and that is okay, you want to keep these gooey. They will continue to set up more after they have cooled. 
7. Allow bars to cool well before slicing and serving. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for up to three months.

Here's what they looked like before I poured on the cheesecake mixture, and another shot of them on our new buffet table :)

Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks

Salted Fudge Brownies

After a long junkfood-free month ("no sweets November"), I was excited to have some chocolate! Dave and I didn't feel like going to the supermarket, so I checked to see what ingredients we had on hand. We didn't technically have everything we needed for this recipe, but I made some substitutions that actually worked out quite well!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 ounces, weight Unsweetened Chocolate- finely chopped
(I subbed 6 tbs cocoa powder mixed with 2 tbs veggie oil)
1/4 c plus 2 tbs Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 c sugar
3 whole eggs
(we only had 2 eggs, so in place of the 3rd, I mixed in 1/4c applesauce. It was cinnamon applesauce because that was all we had! haha)1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Place 2 large pieces of foil in a 9 inch square metal cake pan with foil, draping over the edges. Butter the foil on the bottom and sides. (we only had an 8 in pan)
3. Melt the butter with the unsweetened chocolate over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, and whisk to combine.
4. Add the cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with the sea salt.
6. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the edge is set but the center is still a bit soft. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out coated with a bit of the batter.
7. Cool at room temperature for 5 minutes, then refrigerate for about an hour. (we put ours in the freezer for about 10 minutes, then began to eat!)


They were awesome! The only thing I might do next time is add the sea salt after about 10 minutes of baking, so that the granules don't sink into the brownies as much.

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen