Chocolate Caramel Layer Bars

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Chocolate Caramel Layer Bars

2 sticks of butter, softened

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 cups flour

Stir together and place in a non-stick aluminum foil lined 9 x 9 pan.  Pat down 

leaving a little rim around the edges to hold the caramel and chocolate.  Bake 

30 minutes at 350°.  While it's baking, unwrap 1 - 11 oz bag of caramels and

cut in half.  Put in a microwave safe container with2 tbsp. of milk   Heat until

soft and mix together.  Spread caramel mixture over the shortbread.  Top 

with 4 Hershey's bars and allow to soften before spreading out.  Place in 

refrigerator to harden the chocolate.

Who doesn't love chocolate and caramel together and this bar has all that and a buttery bottom layer of shortbread.

Peach Kuchen Bars

This was my first attempt to make a kuchen and it turned out very good.  Next time, I will be making the original kuchens that are popular here in North Dakota.  They make them sooo good out in the middle regions of the state.  If ever traveling through, stop in a small town and head to their grocery stores for kuchen and sausage.  I chose peach because it’s my favorite but you can use any of your favorite fruits. 

 

Peach Kuchen Bars

Crust –

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups flour

Mix together and spread out over a greased 13 x 9 x 2 pan.  It’s easiest to lightly wet your fingers for spreading the dough.  Make sure to make an rim along the edges of the pan to hold the custard filling.

Thaw 1 package (16 oz) of frozen peach slices.  Cut each slice in half (lengthwise) and place evenly over the crust.

Custard –

4 large eggs

½ cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

2 cups whipping cream

Stir together and pour over the peaches.  Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the custard.  Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until custard is set. 

German Chocolate Brownies

I originally thought about making cupcake but then decided to make some brownies and top them with coconut & pecan icing instead of a chocolate fudge icing.  It was my first time making this icing and it's really simple to do...much better than the premade stuff.

German Chocolate Brownies

Brownies -

In a medium saucepan -

Melt 1 stick of butter
Stir in -
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup cocoa powder (I used dark cocoa)
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder.

Pour batter into an 8 x 8 pan lined with nonstick aluminum foil.  Bake at 375° for 35 minutes.

Icing -

1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut

Combine the evaporated milk, egg yolks, butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring frequently.  Remove from the heat and add in the vanilla.  Stir and then add in the pecans and coconut.  Allow to cool to room temperature before icing the brownies. 

Banana Bars

I had good intentions of eating bananas and in a way I did, as did others.  I prefer them slightly green and these ripened faster than anticipated and it had been a long time since I made this recipe and decided it was going to be an Easter dessert.  Naturally you need a cream cheese icing to top off these bars.

Banana Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour

Cream together butter and sugar.  Mix in eggs, sour cream and vanilla.  Stir in the dry ingredients.  Spread out in a greased 10 x 15 pan.  Bake for 22 minutes at 350°.  Allow to cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix together until all ingredients are evenly combined.  Spread carefully over the banana bars.

Caramel Apple Bars

It’s that time of the year that all the fruits and vegetables are ripe and ready to be used, canned or frozen.  I decided to make a pan of bars using fresh apples and caramel and share them.

 

Caramel Apple Bars

1 cup butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ cups quick oats

Cream together butter and brown sugar.  Gradually add in the salt, cinnamon and flour.  Stir in the quick oats.  Pat 2/3 of mixure in the bottom of a 9 x 13 greased pan.  Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Top bottom crust with 3 apples that are peeled and diced that have 1 tbsp of lemon juice mixed in. 

Unwrap 1 10 oz bag of caramels and place in a microwave safe bowl.  Add 2 tbsp milk and microwave until melted.  Stir so milk and caramels are completely mixed.  Pour over the apples.  Sprinkle the remaining  crust evenly over the top.  Return to the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Three Chip Bars

One of my friends made a pan of chocolate chip bars a few weeks ago and posted it on Facebook.  I hadn’t made them in years and they looked so delicious.  Too bad she lives so far away or else I would have gone over to visit.  I decided to play around with my recipe and shake things up using a variety of different chips.

 

Three Chip Bars

½ cup butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 1 /4 cups flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

1/3 cup ea semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips and butterscotch chips

Grease a 8 x  8 pan.  Cream together the butter and brown sugar.  Add in the egg, milk and vanilla.  Stir in the dry ingredients.  Fold in the chips.  Spread out dough evenly in your greased pan (moistening your fingers with water works great).  Bake for 26 minutes at 350°.

Take 5 Bars

I like taking really good candy bars and transforming them into dessert form.  Maybe it started years ago when I had a Mounds bar frozen drink at Grandma's Restaurant in Duluth.  I still enjoy that occasionally.  I'm still grieving the loss of our Grandma's here in Fargo.  Good food.  Good times.  Back to the present...I had bought a bag of Take 5 candy bars to share for the office blues or stress relief. That got me thinking of ways to recreate it.  Although the candy bar doesn't really have a caramel layer,  mine do and it likes to ooze out.  I recommend storing them in the refrigerator.  I used a family hand me down pan that is 8 x 10.  If you use a 9 x 13, your bars will be thinner and I recommend an additional 2 Hershey's bars for the topping.

Take 5 Bars

Bottom layer ~

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour

Cream together butter, peanut butter and brown sugar.  Add in eggs and vanilla.  Fold in the dry ingredients and spread out in an greased baking pan.  Bake for 25 minutes for the 9 x 13 or 30 minutes for an 8 x 10 pan at 350°.  Allow to cool completely.  Break up 1 1/2 cups of pretzels and place on top of the bottom layer.  I broke them up in a plastic bag to contain the smallest pieces. 

Caramel layer ~

20 oz caramels
1/4 cup whipping cream

Mix in a small saucepan and stir over a low heat until the caramels are completely melted and mixed together with the cream.  Spread out over the pretzels.  Allow to cool completely.  Heat the oven again and spread out 4-6 Hershey's bars on top of the caramel mixture.  Return to the oven until it's just melted enough to spread out evenly.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then place in the refrigerator before cutting.

Blackberry Lemon Bars

It's Spring or supposed to be.  It's kind of hard to tell when the wind is blowing at around 30 mph.  A good day for baking and crafting.  I took an old recipe and tweaked it.  I hadn't made jam bars in years but I have lots on jam on hand so I updated my old recipe into something new.  I used the lemon juice and zest to cut some of the sweetness of the jam.

Blackberry Lemon Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup flour
1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup blackberry jam
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest

Cream together butter and dark brown sugar in a medium sized bowl.   Add in cinnamon, baking soda and flour.  Mix until the flour is all incorporated.  Using a pastry blender mix in the oats.  Pat 2/3 of the mixture in a greased 8 x 8 baking pan.  Spread out jam mixture on  top, leave a space of 1/4" next to the edges so it doesn't bubble over and cause you problems when you try to remove the bars from the pan. Sprinkle the remaining dough on top of the jam evenly.  Bake for 35 minutes at 350°.

Peach Bars

I was torn on how to label this peach dessert.  The texture is almost like a cake but you can cut and serve it like a bar.  I recommend serving it warm with a dollop of whipped cream.  I used frozen peach slices.  I allowed them to thaw and then opened the package and added the corn starch right in the bag so I did not have to dirty another dish.

Peach Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups flour


Combine together ~
1 10 oz package frozen peach slices, thawed
1 tbsp. corn starch

Cream together butter and sugars.  Add in eggs and vanilla.  Add in baking powder, salt.  Alternate adding the flour and milk in 1/2 cup portions.  Fold in the oats.  Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.  Place 3/4 of the batter in the bottom of the pan and spread out evenly.  Top with peach slices.  Dot the remaining batter on top of the peaches.  Bake for 50 minutes at 350°. 

Banana Toffee Bars

Ever crave a taste from your childhood?  I've been having a craving for either banana cake or bars with cream cheese icing.  I've also had an open bag of toffee chips on my counter ever since I used some of them to make a cake for someone.  I thought about dredging the chips in flour to see if they wouldn't sink in the batter but decided to sprinkle them on top and they melted enough to adhere to the top of the cake so they did not wiggle around too much when icing.  Win-win right?  Banana bars with a little crunch.

Banana Toffee Bars

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
2 bananas, mashed
1 tsp lemon juice

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add in eggs, salt and baking soda.  Alternate mixing in milk and flour.  Fold in mashed bananas and lemon juice.  Spread out in a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350°.  Remove from oven and sprinkle 1/3 cup of toffee bits on top and allow to cool completely.  When cool, top with this cream cheese recipe ~

Cream Cheese Icing 

1 stick butter softened
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Mix all together and frost the banana toffee bars.  

Tootsie Roll Bars

This is a family recipe that has been around a long, long time.  They are referred to as Jessie's bars on my father's side of the family and have been a favorite at many Minnesota family reunions.  I remember when I asked my mom to make sure she got the recipe and I put it in my first recipe card book.  At that time, I wasn't aware that they had another name until I saw them at a downtown grocery store/bakery/deli called Leeby's.  I miss that place.  It was a part of Fargo's history.

Tootsie Roll Bars

Crust and topping ~

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups quick oatmeal
2 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter and brown sugar.  Mix in eggs and vanilla.  Stir in oatmeal and rest of dry ingredients.  Pat out 2/3's of mixture in a greased jelly roll pan (10 x 15").  Add a lip along the edges to hold the filling.

Chocolate filling ~

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla

Melt together sweet condensed milk, chocolate chips and butter in a medium sauce pan.  Stir until smooth and add in vanilla.  Pour filling over the crust.  Dot the remaining 1/3 of crust on the top of the filling.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350°.