LEMONIES

Some people call these lemon brownies, but it's hard to call something so light and buttery looking brown.  Another recipe for the abundance of lemon juice I have frozen.  These are really, really good.

LEMONIES

2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

GLAZE:

3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Blend until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Prepare a 9 x 13 pan with Baker's Joy or Pam. Mix together all ingredients. Spread in pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Edges will be light brown.  Pour glaze over cooled cake.  Let glaze set before cutting.

Fudge Iced Brownies

I was going to bake a chocolate cake for a birthday at work last week and was missing an ingredient so I thought I would make brownies instead.  There are probably a thousand different brownie recipes but I went in search of one similar to the ones I used to get when I was a girl growing up in West Texas.  I think I have mentioned before that we had a bakery near our house called Snow White Bakery.  Oh, the smells in that bakery come back to me even after all these years later.  They used to have these iced brownies that were so perfect.  I went to Google Images to see if I could see any pictures of brownies that reminded me of those.  I came across Gotta Make This blog and there was recipe that looked good enough to try.  I got quite a few compliments so I think it's a keeper recipe.

Fudge-Iced Brownies
Brownies:
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Icing:
1/2 cup butter
5 tablespoons cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
Hot water

To make Brownies: Combine brown sugar, butter, flour, cocoa, eggs and vanilla in a bowl. With electric mixer, beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly into a buttered 9 x 13  baking pan. Bake at 350F until just set, about 25 minutes. (It will take a bit longer if you are using a glass pan.)  Remove from oven and let cool.

To make Icing: Melt butter in a saucepan; stir in cocoa, salt and vanilla. Heat mixture, stirring frequently, until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar. (Mixture will be thick.) Add small amounts (1 to 2 teaspoons) of hot water at a time and stir until mixture is just thin enough to spread over brownies. Let cool and cut into squares.

SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE BARS

We recently moved our office to a new location. We decided to do a meet and greet with our new 'neighbors' in the other side of the office. We had hamburgers and hot dogs and all the trimmings. I have had this recipe saved for a long time. It's been around a while but I just now managed to try it out. I had two people ask for the recipe so I think it is a good one for a pot luck.

SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE BARS

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent rolls
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush melted butter inside a 9 x 13 pan. Remove 1 can of dough and press seams together and line the pan. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Pour over bottom dough. Unroll second can of dough and press seams together and lay on top of cream cheese layer. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool and put in refrigerator to chill. Cut into squares.

Banana Bars

I needed a dessert recently and had some ripe bananas to put to use. I found this recipe on a 'Best Ever Cookie Collection' site. I love a quick recipe that doesn't even require a mixer.

BANANA BARS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas (2 to 3 very ripe medium-sized bananas)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with Pam. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the bananas , vanilla and pecans. Stir until well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading it out evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled you can sprinkle with powdered sugar. I just made a quick cream cheese frosting for them.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Time to start making goodies for the office. I have been looking for things to make this year and haven't been really inspired yet. Making snickerdoodles into bars has been an idea floating around for a while so I thought I'd give it a try. These are not too bad, but I think the real deal snickerdoodle cookie is much better.

SNICKERDOODLE BLONDIES

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray and/or line a 9×13 inch pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and set aside. In another bowl beat together the butter, brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time. Add vanilla. Mix until smooth batter. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evening in prepared pan. Combine the granulated sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Press into the batter a little bit. Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 350 until light brown. Cool and cut into squares.

Coconut Pecan Bars

We had a small retirement party brunch at work yesterday. I made my Snickerdoodles and these pecan bars to take. It's almost pecan time here in Texas -- I can't wait!

COCONUT/PECAN BARS

Crust:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Filling:
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl combine flour, butter, and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Beat at low speed for 2 minutes until crumbly. Pat into a 9 x 13 pan lined with parchment. Bake for 12-17 minutes until lightly browned. In another bowl combine all filling ingredients and mix well for 1-2 minutes. Pour over hot crust. Bake for an additional 17-22 minutes until golden brown and filling is set. Cool completely and cut into bars.

A Simple Classic

I am almost embarassed to post such a simple recipe, but these have just a little twist that I think makes them special. When traveling to Austin, our State Capitol, there is a little town called LaGrange. It is home of the famous 'Chicken Ranch' made famous in the play/movie The Best Little Whore House in Texas (how proud we are?). Anyway, there is a little bakery called the Bon Ton. It is about half way from my house to Austin, so a nice place to stop for a little break. They make theses HUGE, Texas-Sized Rice Krispie treats but they add pecans to them and it makes them really good. The grandboys came for a swim a few weeks ago and I decided to have an after swim treat for them. Something so simple, yet yummy.

RICE KRISPIE TREATS

1/4 cup butter
1 bag marshmallows
6 cups crisp rice cereal
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Melt butter and marshmallows together. Add cereal. Add pecans. Stir well. Pour into a well-greased 9 x 13 pan. Cool and cut into squares.

Banana Cookie Bars

Time to begin taking treats to work for the holiday season. I went in search of something new to make and keeping in mind ingredients I had on hand. I used the handy Blog Search and found a couple of entries for this recipe. One at Genesis of a Cook and also at Anna's blog at Cookie Madness. These are a little twist to the normal Magic Cookie Bars.

BANANA COOKIE BARS

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. salt1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioner sugar
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
2 bananas, mashed
2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup pecans
2/3 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Spray the paper with Pam. In a large bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, beat butter and confectioner sugar until creamy. Add dry mixture. This will be a very stiff dough. Press mixture into prepared baking pan and bake for 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together condensed milk and bananas together until smooth. Once the crust has baked for 15 minutes, take out and pour the banana mixture over it. Combine the chocolate chips, pecans and coconut together in a bowl and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely, roughly around 10-15 minutes. Then, chill in the fridge for about an hour. To chill quicker, place in the freezer for 25 minutes.

Sauce Pan Brownies

When I was a girl I lived in West Texas. Within walking distance (wasn't everything back then?) was our grocery store, drug store, 5&10 store, and a bakery called the Snow White Bakery. I remember going in there and the smells were just amazing. They made the most awesome brownies. I've never really found a brownie that compared but these are fairly similar, except the ones from my past were frosted. These are so easy to make and turn out a really great brownie.

SAUCE PAN BROWNIES

2 sticks butter
4 1 ounce squares Baker's (unsweetened) chocolate
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans (toasted)

Melt butter and chocolate together in a sauce pan. In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder. Add melted ingredients and stir well. Add eggs one at a time. Beat thoroughly. Spread in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool. Cut into squares.

Congo Squares

There is a tea room in Fredericksburg, Texas that is named the Peach Tree Tea Room. It is a lovely place with the most delicious food. They have a gift shop and sell their family cookbooks. I was lucky enough pick up a 'like new' copy of one recently. There are some great recipes in there. I happened to have all the ingredients for this one and decided try this recipe. It's another keeper for sure.

CHRIS' CONGO BARS
1 cup melted butter
2-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
1 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and pour over the brown sugar. Let this set while you measure the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add the eggs gradually to the butter mixture and beat well. Add vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

Cranberry Cheesecake Bars

I haven't taken a treat in to work in a long time. I brought home an empty plate, so I think these went over pretty well.

CRANBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

1-1/2 cups oatmeal (quick cooking or old-fashioned)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar, divided
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 baking pan (I lined it with foil to make it easier to remove after baking).

To make crust:
In a bowl, combine flour, uncooked oats, 3/4 cup brown sugar and butter. Mix until crumbly. Reserve 1-1/2 cup crumbs for topping. Press remaining crumbs into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool completely.

To make filling:
In a bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth. Pour over crust.

To make topping:
In a bowl, combine remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and cranberry sauce. Spoon over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool at room temperature. Refrigerate before cutting into squares.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Probably because I love hearts. I am taking treats to the office (wellness will have to be held for one day).

The mini-cheesecakes are a nice little treat and you can jazz them up any way you like. The brownies are from a recipe I tried a few years ago when we had a brownie bake-off at our company picnic. I didn't win, but I think they are a great brownie.

MINI-CHEESECAKES

2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Vanilla wafers
Cherry pie filling (or topping of your choice)

In a bowl mix cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix with mixer until smooth. Place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of a cupcake liner. Spoon filling into liners, filling 3/4 full. Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. Chill. Garnish with pie filling. Recipe said it made 12, but I got 16 out of this recipe.

ULTIMATE BROWNIES

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
5 eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups toasted chopped pecans

In a saucepan on low heat, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool. In a bowl mix eggs, sugar, and vanilla on high for 10 minutes. Mixture will be light and creamy. Slowly add chocolate and butter to egg mixture. Blend in flour. Do not over mix. Add pecans. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Cool and cut into squares. I baked these in individual heart pans that had been sprayed with Pam at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Cappuccino Cheesecake Bars

Boring Sunday. Looking through old recipe files and came across this recipe. I'm going to have to find a homeless shelter or someone to bake for!

CAPPUCCINO CHEESECAKE SQUARES

Crust:
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups flour

Filling:
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 tablespoon Kahlua or brewed coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350. Line 13x9 pan with foil. Crust: Beat butter and powdered sugar until blended with mixer on low speed. Gradually add flour. Press into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 until light golden brown (don't overcook!)

Filling: Combine instant coffee & Kahlua or brewed coffee in a bowl, stir and let sit 5 minutes to dissolve. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating until smooth. Take 1 1/2 cups of batter and stir into coffee mixture. Spoon plain filling onto crust. Top with coffee batter. Run a knife through to marbleize. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until puffed around the edges firm in the middle. Cool on wire rack (in the pan) and then cover & chill for at least 4 hours (overnight is better). Remove from pan by lifting foil ends. Cut into squares.

Nanaimo Bars

I'm going to be visiting friends in New Westminster British Columbia at the end of this month. In looking around at recipes I came across a recipe for Nanaimo Bars, named after a city on Vancouver Island. Evidently about 35 years ago a Nanaimo housewife entered a cooking contest with this recipe and instead of naming the bars after herself or some other catchy name, she named them Nanaimo Bars.

I've never been to Nanaimo, but I can attest to the fact that I think British Columbia is a beautiful place. Coming from a small town in South Texas I was in awe of the surroundings and have been fortunate to visit there several times. My friends have been very patient with me over the years when I ask them dumb questions such as 'Do you have American television?' What can I say -- at the time it was ANOTHER COUNTRY to me, so I thought it a valid question -- LOL. Anyway, these bars are really easy to put together. They are very rich. I don't know what makes them 'Canadian' other than a Canadian woman created the recipe and they are named after a place in Canada, but no matter what -- they are good.

NANAIMO BARS

For the crust:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used almonds)
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix ingredients together and pat in a greased 7 x 11 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Cool completely before adding filling.

For the filling:

1 stick butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

Cream the butter by hand in a medium bowl and add in 1 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla. In a separate small bowl, stir the milk and pudding mix together, then add to the butter mixture. Add in the remaining powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust and refrigerate until cold.

For the icing:

6 ounces chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter

Melt the chocolate and butter in microwave until smooth. Spread over cold filling. Refrigerate until set. Cut into squares.

Blondes Have More Fun........

Well, I really wouldn't know that as I have never been blonde. Most blonde brownies are made with chocolate chips. I don't care for chocolate (I know -- freaky huh?). These are not for me, but I had no chocolate chips in the pantry so just added extra pecans.

BLONDE BROWNIES

1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients together. Add oil, add eggs, add vanilla. Stir until blended well. Add chocolate chips and pecans. Bake in a 7 x 11 pan at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

Joyfully Almond Brownies

It's been a while since I baked something to take to the office. I took a basic one-bowl brownie recipe and added some coconut and almonds to come up with this. These were so easy.

JOYFULLY ALMOND BROWNIES

1 cup butter
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup toasted almonds
1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 pan. In a microwave or in a saucepan melt the butter and chocolate. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla and stir well. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until well mixed. Add almonds and coconut. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes. When cooled cut into squares.