Apple Cheesecake Cookie Bars

I am a big fan of making classics with a twist. I can't define what classic this recipe resembles because I feel it is a culmination of multiple desserts: oatmeal cookie, apple pie, and cheesecake. Regardless, the dessert is delicious so if you're looking to try something new or with a twist, look no further! This dessert as classified as a bar but requires more than your typical bar dessert. This recipe is essentially an oatmeal cookie with a sweetened cream cheese layer, an apple filling, topped with more oatmeal cookie. Irresistible sounding, I know!

You can choose to make your own oatmeal cookie batter and apple pie filling or to buy packaged or canned version. While I like a shortcut every once in awhile, I like to make as much as I can from scratch. I compromised in this recipe and only used canned apple pie filling, which I was skeptical to use - not as bad as I thought but would prefer to make my own. However, to make a dessert on a zip, I know I can count on this recipe!

Marshmallow Brownies

I've been on a chocolate rampage lately, meaning I been eating more than my fair share of chocolate. I am particularly obsessed with chocolate cake and love my Microwave Chocolate Cake recipe. It's been my go-to dessert for weeks! This recipe is so easy and quick to make in addition to being quite conducive to my semi-crazy schedule.

Fortunately, I had time to make something chocolately this weekend, the conventional way. I know I've made brownies from scratch before; however, boxed brownies are so good that I often don't think making brownies from scratch is worth my time. While brownies are fairly a simple dessert, making great brownies can be time consuming. I went on a pursuit to find a simply yet delicious brownie and  found an excellent one on Joy of Baking.

While the recipe itself is great, I believe there are a few keys into making gourmet tasting brownies. First key, use quality chocolate. You wouldn't believe what a different it makes but the higher quality chocolate you use, the higher quality and depth of flavor your brownies will taste. This goes for cocoa as well. Try to use high quality, non-alkaline cocoa. It makes a significant difference. I've researched the art of brownie making and chocolate quality is something I've consistently heard. I always disregarded this tip but when I wasn't getting the taste I was searching for, I had to change something in my practice. Secondly, the addition of coffee adds a depth of flavor to the brownie and accentuates the chocolate flavor. While coffee is an optional ingredient in many recipes, I believe coffee makes a good brownie into a great/gourmet tasting brownie. Lastly, add  chocolate chips! I know brownies are already chocolately but the chips gives texture and reiterates the chocolate goodness that brownies are known for. There's something divine about biting into melted chocolate that can really give brownies a heavenly status.

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

In the summertime, I try to reduce the amount of baking because of the summer heat. The last thing is to have the temperature of my house to match the temperature outside. So, I've been on a pursuit this summer to find some non-oven recipes greatness. Thanks to Pinterest, I found this recipe: no bake peanut butter bars. Not only does this recipe requires no baking, it is super simple to make. I didn't realize that these bars taste like the inside of a peanut butter cup until I shared the end product with some friends. In my opinion, the bars tasted better cold because it has more texture. If the bars are left at room temperature, it gets mushy. There is nothing wrong with a messy, gooey peanut butter bar but just make sure you have lots of napkins or a fork! I learned the hard way!

Red Velvet Brownies

I’ve been dying to make this recipe for a while. It is hard to resist when I see recipe pop up on Pinterest a bazillion times and each time I see it, it looks better than the last. Also, how could I pass up the opportunity to make and consume a baked red velvet treat with cream cheese? You see what I mean?

Anyways, I learned a very important lesson while making these brownies. It’s a lesson I already know but like I said earlier, this recipe is simply irresistible! It is important to let the brownies cool before eating. Not only do you prevent burning of the fingers and tongue, you get the brownie taste and texture when it has cooled. While I didn’t burn myself as I cut a piece, I was disappointed with the end product. The brownies tasted like cake and it didn’t have the dense and slightly chewy texture that brownies are notorious for. However, the next day when the brownies were cooled, they had the perfect brownie texture and taste. This made me one happy gal. Okay, okay, I know. I need to learn to be patient.

My original intention was to make these brownies for a work function but I thought it was better suited for my own consumption…oops!

Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

With summer here, that can only mean one thing...strawberry season! Okay, strawberry season starts in the spring but summer is the time where we can eat strawberries all day, everyday. That's how things are in my house at least. I bought a four pound container of strawberries yesterday and intend to make ridiculous amounts of strawberry goodness. I started with strawberry cheesecake bars. I felt like doing something nice for my sister since she's done a lot for me lately. She is a huge fan of strawberries so this was the perfect dessert to make. If you thought I loved strawberries, you definitely haven't met my sister. She is a vicious strawberry devourer, no joke.

Back to the strawberry cheesecake bars, it starts with a standard graham cracker crust layered with a strawberry banana cream cheese filling and topped with a cinnamon streusel. The crunchy goodness from the streusel and graham cracker crust gives great texture to the bars and it makes these bars addictive. See the picture to the right? Need I say more?



I made a chocolate chip cookie cheesecake bar a few months back and this recipe was a play off of that. You're probably wondering where the post for that recipe is? Well, it was eaten so quickly, I didn't even have a chance to take a picture. No picture, no post. I know, sad day but it will be made again one day in the near future!

To give the bars an added layer of flavor, I chopped some additional strawberry pieces throughout the cheesecake batter so you know for sure it was a strawberry filling!

Caramel Crunch Bar

Having one of the those sweet tooth and don't know what to do about it? Give these caramel crunch bars a try, for they are sure to satisfy the "sweet" tooth in you. This baking concoction is a essentially a shortbread like cookie crust with espresso, brown sugar, and cinnamon to create a caramel flavored base. It is topped with chocolate and toffee bits. The yummy toffee bits enhance the caramel flavor of the cookie and makes this cookie unique and delicious. Do not be deceived by its name for there is no actual caramel in the recipe, just a caramel flavor.

As you can tell, I have been having a cookie bar fad as of late but they are simple and easy, especially if you're making them for an event. Recently, I have been making things for work colleagues and friends and because I have a busy schedule, cookie bars are great go-to recipes. Also, there are so many variations of the cookie bar that no one recipe will seem repetitive.

One thing I loved about the recipe was adding the chocolate layer because the recipe calls for doing so after the cookie has baked in the oven. I simply topped the cookie with the chocolate chips, put the cookie back in the oven for 2 minutes, and took it out again to spread the melted chocolate with an offset spatula. It was super easy and no fuss whatsoever! However, if I had to make one adjustment, I would use dark chocolate chips as opposed to semisweet because the cookie is already sweet so the semisweet chocolate added another layer of sweetness. It was too much sweetness for me but if you do not mind an extra sweetness, feel free to use semisweet or milk chocolate. 

I really love this recipe! These caramel crunch bars are tasty, delicious, and found a home in my recipe book!

S'mores Cookie Bar

I think it is safe to say that a childhood and adulthood favorite for most people are s'mores. Even though I didn't have my first s'more until I was nine (yes, I kept track), this snack always sounded delicious. While I love eating s'mores, I like it better when someone makes it for me because I just do not have the patience to wait for the marshmallows to roast. Needless to say, I am no marshmallow roasting connoisseur so s'mores bars is a great option for me when I have a craving for s'mores. How did I stumble upon this idea? 

Lately, I've been slightly obsessed with Pinterest. The great thing about Pinterest is that I discover things  I would have never discovered on my own. I can conveniently keep track and reflect on the things I find. It is because of Pinterest that I found this awesome recipe. I have consistently come across recipes for s'mores cupcakes and cookie bars which was only a sign for me to do one thing...

Since I always make cupcakes (I'm sure you've noticed), I opted for the cookie bar this time. What a great choice for my Sunday fun day project! I was surprised by how much this recipe tasted like s'mores. I might never make s'mores again, unless it's these s'mores bars. I made the bars about six hours ago and not much remains...oops. At least I know the recipe was a success! Thanks Pinterest!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Blondies

 
While I enjoy making cookies, sometimes I am too lazy to shape the cookies. That's why bar cookies are a great option on a lazy baking day. There are various types of bar cookies and one of my favorites are blondies, which is essentially a brownie without the cocoa. Blondies tend to a have a higher content of brown sugar to create a rich toffee flavor. Although a standard blondie recipe taste great on it's own, it is even better with mix-ins. This version incorporates coconut and chocolate chips. The final product was reminiscent of a seven layer bar. I found this recipe on Brown Eye Baker, which described these cookies to be similar to a Girl Scout Samoas cookie. As I sunk my teeth into these blondies, I could taste the flavors of a Samoas cookie. The blondies were chewy like the samoas cookie and the brown sugar helped to give the cookies an almost caramel flavor like the famous Girl Scout cookies. The coconut gives the blondies a greater than average chewiness which makes the blondies that more delicious. I have a weakness for anything with a chewy texture and this definitely satisfies my chewy obsession!

Seven Layer Bars

 

2011 is not over just yet which means I still have time to cross things off my 2011 To-Bake List. I recently accomplished one of those feats by making seven layer bars, which happens to be number one on my list. I have been wanting to make these bars forever but because I know it is so simple, I always push it aside to bake something else. During this time of the year, I have many engagements to attend so I end up baking up the wazoo. Unfortunately, I only have so much  time to dedicate for baking so I began thinking about simple, quick, yet satisfying baked goods. This is when I decided to give the seven layer bars a try because I knew it was simple, quick, and satisfying for the taste buds.

Seven layer bars is very descriptive to what this baked good is - layers of ingredients, seven to be exact. While this recipe does not looking amazing and enticing on paper, it is probably be one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. Additionally, seven layer bars is a popular dessert around the holidays. The condensed milk gets browned in the oven and it adds another layer of flavor which makes these bars addicting, seriously addicting. Sometimes the best things are the simple things. Remember that this holiday season! Peace.

Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake Bars

What did I do this St. Patty's Day? I spent it in Prescott, AZ. For those of you who are not from Arizona, Prescott is a small town approximately two hours away from Phoenix. It is funny how people construe desert with Arizona and while that is true, many neglect the fact that two hours north of Phoenix is nice and "normal" weather. Yes, there are trees, real grass, and anything but 100 degree weather. Granted, there is not much to do in this town but it is cute and has its own little unique wonders. I spent the day with my friend exploring the local businesses and seeing what it had to offer. We went to a delicious brewery for lunch and a homemade ice cream shop with over 20 flavors. Aside from the food, everyone was very welcoming and friendly. Look at what you see all around the town (see image to right). Talk about feeling welcomed!

Anyways, what does Prescott have to do with chocolate fudge cheesecake bars? Well, we stumbled upon a bookstore in downtown Prescott (on Gurley Street or somewhere very close). It was this adorable and little local bookstore where one can trade, sell, or buy books. Since it was so small, they try their best to organize the books but books were coming out the shelves, literally. I don't know how the store can squeeze anymore books into that confined space but I knew there had to be treasures in this chest! Upon finding the cookbooks, I intently searched for some sort of cake book but instead found a book titled 201 Chocolate Treats. Of course I couldn't resist picking it up! As I flipped through the pages, I wondered if there were some unique chocolate creations that I don't typically see in the cookbook. I thought there were enough recipes that intrigued my curiosity to sit down and really check out the recipes. So, I ended up supporting one of the local businesses (my new fad) and purchased the book. Let's see how my $4 investment faired...from the aroma of my kitchen as I bake, it's smellin' like a good investment!