Cinnamon Blondies

Now that we’re deep into the holiday season, I find myself gravitating toward flavors like gingerbread and cinnamon. So when I found myself craving blondies (’cause, you know, it had been a whole day or so since I’d had one), I decided to put a cinnamon-infused spin on a classic recipe.

These blondies are among the best I’ve ever eaten. You heard me correctly. I just love the simplicity of the cinnamon flavor, and the while chocolate adds a touch of (but not too much) sweetness. And the best part? These blondies are super easy to throw together. You don’t need any fancy tools – just a couple of bowls, a whisk, a spoon, and some willpower, ’cause let me tell you, while these babies are baking, your kitchen will smell fantastic.

cinblondies

Cinnamon Blondies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup cinnamon baking chips (Hershey’s makes these)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and egg. Stir in the vanilla.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until well-combined. Stir in cinnamon and white chocolate chips, reserving a small amount of each to sprinkle on top if desired.
  5. Bake for 28-32 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the blondies cool in the pan (at least one hour) before slicing and serving.

Rolo-Stuffed Brownies

I love brownies for a number of reasons, one of which is the fact that they’re just so easy to whip up. I was having company yesterday and needed something quick to throw together. Enter these brownies. I used my go-to brownie recipe but decided to throw in some chopped Rolo candies for added flavor. I love the way the caramel melts into the brownies during the baking process. Of course, you really could substitute any other candy and these would still come out great. Next time around I may opt to chop up some Heath bars for a toffee-flavored spin.

Rolo-Stuffed Brownies

rolobrownies

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup Rolos, chopped (I cut each individual Rolo candy into 4 pieces)

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until well-combined; then stir in the chopped Rolos.
  5. Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 28-32 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the brownies cool in the pan for at least an hour before slicing and serving.

Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Looking for a fun and simple kid-friendly recipe? These gooey chocolate chip cookie bars easily fit the bill.

The great thing about this recipe is that it gives you a huge batch of cookie bars with minimal work. If you have a stand mixer, the dough is really a snap. And because these babies are really sweet, you can cut them into small pieces and serve a decent-sized crowd.

gooeyccbars

Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Recipe from RecipeGirl

Ingredients:

For the filling:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the cookie dough:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper, allowing enough overhang to lift the bars from the pan.
  2. Prepare the filling by placing the chocolate chips and condensed milk in a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture has thickened. Turn off the heat, add the vanilla, and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
  3. Prepare the cookie dough by combining the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla, and beat well.
  4. Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add to the butter mixture and beat until well-incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in chocolate chips.
  5. Pour half of the cookie dough into your prepared pan. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the dough and then add small dollops of the remaining cookie dough on top. Don’t worry if the dollops don’t completely cover the chocolate mixture; just spread it together as much as you can, and let some chocolate peek through.
  6. Bake for about 25 minutes, at which point the tops should be lightly browned. (The toothpick method won’t really work here because the gooey chocolate layer will still come out pretty runny even once the bars are done.)
  7. Let the bars cool for at least two hours before cutting and serving. I recommend sticking them in the fridge for 30 minutes or so – they’ll be much easier to slice that way.

 

Apple and Cranberry Crisp

This past Thursday was Thanksgiving, and I can’t even begin to describe the scene in our kitchen during the hours leading up to the big event. Let’s just say that my wonderful husband cooked up a storm while I baked my tail off to ensure that there’d be enough sweet stuff to go around. Naturally, I overdid it. We both did, to a certain extent – though on the plus side, having a ton of leftovers means I don’t have to cook for the rest of the week. Plus, as nice as it is to have our family over, there’s just something to be said about curling up on your couch in your pajamas and eating leftovers without having to worry about being the host. Yeah, that was us last night.

Anyway, needless to say I’ve got lots of catch-up to do on here, but I’ll start with one of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes: apple and cranberry crisp. I’m a big fan of fruit crisps in general, and the apple-cranberry combination is no exception. I love the contrast of the tart cranberries and sweet apples. And when you help yourself to a generous plate of warm, fresh-from-the-oven apple and cranberry crisp and top it with a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream, it just doesn’t get better than that.

cranapplecrisp

Apple and Cranberry Crisp

Ingredients:

For the fruit layer:

3 large apples, peeled, cored, and cut into small chunks
12 ounces cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons AP four
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp orange juice

For the topping:

6 tbsp cold butter, diced
2/3 cup AP flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light brownsugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking pan and set aside.
  2. To make the fruit layer, simply combine all of the ingredients listed above, mix well, and let sit while you make the topping.
  3. To make the topping, whisk together the flour, oats, sugars, salt, and spices. Use a fork to cut in the butter so that thick crumbs form.
  4. Transfer the fruit layer into the prepared and pan and use your fingers to sprinkle the crumb topping over it. (To make this easier, try spraying your fingers with cooking spray.)
  5. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the top is browned and the edges are bubbling.
  6. Let cool slightly before serving. Topping this dessert with vanilla ice cream is optional, but highly recommended.

Peanut Butter Blondies

Sometimes I just really find myself in the mood for peanut butter. Does that ever happen to you? And when I find myself craving peanut butter, it’s like there’s nothing else in the world that could possibly take its place.

I had one of these cravings sneak up on me the other day, and so I decided to whip up some easy peanut butter blondies. This recipe can be thrown together really quickly, and it’s one of those that you can seamlessly double to feed a larger crowd. I love the contrast of the crunchy peanuts and chocolate chips against the perfectly soft blondie base. And while milk chocolate chips worked great in the batch I made, next time I may go for dark chocolate for a slightly different taste. And yes, there will have to be a next time. These blondies are just that good.

pbblondies

Peanut Butter Blondies

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled to room temp
1/4 cup peanut butter (I used smooth but chunky will work as well)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanuts (I used roasted), chopped
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar until well-combined.
  3. Beat in the egg (you can use a whisk or a fork for this) and vanilla; mix until well-incorporated.
  4. Stir in the flour and salt, mixing well.
  5. Stir in the peanuts, milk chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips.
  6. Pour your batter into the prepared pan and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Try to be careful not to overbake these – you want them nice and soft.
  7. Let the blondies cool in the pan (at least one hour) before slicing and serving.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Blondies

Okay folks, we’re just about reaching that point where even I’m ready to give the pumpkin thing a rest. This year I think I made almost every pumpkin treat imaginable, not to mention the many savory pumpkin dishes I’ve whipped up but haven’t written about.

Now when I say I’ll be taking a break from pumpkin, in reality we may be talking a week or two, tops. But still, to avoid separation anxiety, I decided to make one more batch of pumpkin deliciousness, this time in the form of butterscotch blondies.

As is the case with most blondie recipes, this one is really easy to put together, and it’s also a great way to use up any leftover canned pumpkin you might have. Unlike the pumpkin pecan bars I made a little while back, these blondies are much sweeter and definitely less suitable for breakfast (though I of course wouldn’t judge you if you were to have them with your morning coffee). And if you’re not a fan of butterscotch, you could easily substitute chocolate chips or even cinnamon chips, which are a little harder to find but work really well with the pumpkin base.

pumpbscotch

Pumpkin Butterscotch Blondies

Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cups AP flour
1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temp
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugars until well-combined. Beat in the egg.
  4. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until well-incorporated.
  5. Stir in the flour mixture until well-combined. Then, stir in the butterscotch and white chocolate chips, reserving a few to sprinkle on top.
  6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Let the bars cool in the pan for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Mom’s Jam Cake

I love family recipes that are so simple but also so good. Case in point: my mom’s jam cake.

My mom has been making this cake for as long as I can remember. The great thing about it is that it’s super versatile – you can serve this cake as an afternoon cake or have it for breakfast, and it’ll fit right in. It’s sweet, but not very sweet – in fact, most of the sweetness comes from the filling more so than the actual dough – and it lends itself to a world of variation. It’s also a great cake to serve if you need a non-dairy option. While I tend to be a bit of a butter snob and only substitute margarine when absolutely necessary, in this cake the margarine totally works. And if you stick any leftovers you have of this cake in an airtight container, it’ll keep for a solid week, if not a touch longer.

Thanks, Mom, for making this cake so many times over the years – ’cause as easy as it is to make, there’s just something to be said about home-baked goods that are actually prepared by somebody else.

jamcakes

Jam Cake

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter or margarine
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 and 1/2 cups AP flour
2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup filling of your choice – two of my favorites are prune jam (the same kind I used to make my hamentashen earlier this year) and 1 cup strawberry jam mixed with 1 cup sweetened coconut – but really, feel free to get creative)
Confectioners sugar for dusting, optional

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9×13 baking pan, and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream the butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat or whisk in the egg and vanilla.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until well-combined.
  4. Pour half of the batter into your prepared pan.
  5. Using a spoon or offset spatula, spread your filling of choice evenly on top.
  6. Use either a grater or your fingers to crumble the remaining dough over the top of the cake. (I prefer to use my hands. To prevent the dough from sticking to my fingers, what I like to do is coat one hand with a little cooking spray and use that hand to do the actual crumbling while leaving the other hand free to keep applying the spray. I suppose there are less complicated ways to do it, but this one works for me.)
  7. Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes, or until the top starts to turn golden without getting too dark.
  8. Once the cake has cooled completely, you can dust it with confectioners sugar.

jamslice2

Check out the yummy prune version above.

jamslice

And the strawberry coconut counterpart…

Pecan Pumpkin Bars

At some point I do realize this pumpkin fixation is going to have to start. After all, the holidays are almost here, at which point I may have to shift my attention toward my beloved peppermint bark. But until then, I will continue to be all about the pumpkin.

These pumpkin bars are super moist and very dense. One of the things I like about them is that they’re not super sweet – you can eat them for breakfast and not feel like you’re starting your day off with junk food. At the same time, if you prefer a sweeter bar, it’s easy enough to kick up the sugar factor by adding more white chocolate chips, and well, more sugar. Best of all, these bars are super easy to prepare, so if you’re short on time, as I tend to be, they’re a good snack to quickly throw together.

pecpumpbars

Pecan Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cups AP flour
1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temp
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugars until well-combined. Beat in the egg.
  4. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until well-incorporated.
  5. Stir in the flour mixture until well-combined. Then, stir in the pecans and white chocolate chips, reserving a few to sprinkle on top if desired.
  6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Let the bars cool in the pan for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Seven Layer Bars

In my household, the colder the weather, the more frequently baked goods tend to come out of my kitchen. For a recent gathering, I whipped up these seven layer bars in addition to a host of pumpkin treats. In fact, I specifically made these so that the non-pumpkin fans in the group (blasphemy) would have something to snack on.

There are many different recipes out there for seven layer bars, and mine is probably a little different than most of the ones you’ll see.  I’ve actually done the more “classic” seven layer bar in the past and specifically wanted to try something different this time around. I think the chocolate and gingerbread crust gives these bars more of a holiday/wintertime feel. If you really want to make things interesting, you could substitute the butterscotch chips with cinnamon chips. Or, use both and call them eight layer bars.

Although these bars are quite tasty, they’re also really, really sweet. I can only eat a small piece at a time, which is saying a lot. But if you’re looking for a fun, easy recipe to try, go ahead and give this one a shot.

7layerbars

Seven Layer Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup gingerbread cookie crumbs
1 stick of butter, melted
1 can (14 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk, divided
1 cup chopped walnuts nuts
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened coconut, toasted

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter with the chocolate graham cracker and gingerbread cookie crumbs. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of your prepared pan.
  3. Pour 1/3 cup of condensed milk over the crumb mixture, using a spatula to spread it evenly.
  4. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top of the soaked crumb mixture. Then, add the butterscotch, semisweet, and white chocolate chips in layers one at a time.
  5. Spread the toasted coconut on top of the chocolate chips.
  6. Pour the remaining condensed milk over the entire mixture.
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned.
  8. Cool the bars in the pan completely (at least two hours) before slicing and serving.

Coconut-Filled Brownies

There’s just something about warm, fudgy brownies that helps me feel far less bitter when the pretty fall leaves begin to disappear and the weather suddenly turns markedly colder. Since I have a tendency to jazz up my brownies, I decided to take one of my basic recipes and add a chewy coconut layer.

These brownies are rich and super-sweet – so much so that even I, the self-proclaimed world’s biggest sweet tooth, could only eat one at a time. In fact, they kind of tasted like a Mounds candy bar in brownie form. If you’re a fan of coconut and love brownies, give this quick, easy recipe a try.

coconutbrownies

Coconut-Filled Brownies

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used dark; light will also work)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (feel free to substitute with semisweet chips or omit)
1 and 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until well-combined.
  5. Stir in chocolate chips.
  6. Pour half of the batter into your prepared pan.
  7. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut and condensed milk until thoroughly combined.
  8. Pour the coconut mixture over the brownie layer in the pan, using a spatula to spread it evenly. Then, pour the remaining half of the brownie batter on top of the coconut layer, once again using a spatula as needed to smooth.
  9. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the brownies cool in the pan for at least an hour before slicing and serving.