Baking Junkie

Tag: Bars

Monday, December 20th, 2010

Peppermint Cheesecake Bars

Oreo crust recipe from Recipe Girl

Can you guys really believe that Christmas is this weekend? Are you all ready? Do you have all of your baking done? I am so glad to be able to say that I am.

A few years ago I put cheesecake bars on my holiday trays and they went over really well. Cheesecake can be such a rich dessert that sometimes it’s nice to have just a small bar instead of an entire piece. Since I have been on a big peppermint kick this year I decided to continue by making a peppermint cheesecake. I went back and forth on whether or not I should do a classic round cheesecake or the bars, but I am glad i settled on the bars. I think a graham cracker crust would work well with these bars, but the oreo cookie crust really makes them delicious. I used my basic cheesecake recipe, and if you have a favorite recipe you could certainly use that. I honestly found myself craving these bars the more and more I ate them, so hopefully they will end up as part of your Christmas celebration this weekend. Enjoy!

Peppermint Cheesecake Bars
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20 Oreo cookies, crushed
¼ cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp sugar
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
¼ tsp peppermint extract
½ cup peppermint baking chips
3-4 drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crushed cookies, melted butter and sugar. Press into bottom of a 9×13 baking pan. Place in oven and bake for 8 minutes to set crust. In a medium sized bowl beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl with a spoon or spatula to fully incorporate all of the ingredients. Add peppermint extract. Pour out ¾ cup of batter and add 3-4 drops of red food coloring. Add peppermint baking chips to the remaining (white) batter. Pour over crust and spread out to the edges. Drop pink batter onto white batter by spoonfuls, then run a knife through batter to get a marbled effect (be careful to not go too deep and disturb the crust). Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Tags: Bars, Cheesecake, chocolate, Christmas, Oreo, Peppermint

Posted in Bars, Cheesecake | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

Candy Cane Kiss Brownies

Recipe by Aimee

When I love things, I want to share them with people. Don’t you? For instance, I love Glee. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a Gleek. There are two Glee CD’s on my Christmas list and you can be darn sure that if I don’t get them I will be purchasing them first thing on December 27th.

( Mr. Schu…HI! I love you! I can’t believe Emma married Carl either!)

My heart is filled with love now after watching the Glee Christmas episode, so I wanted to share some love with you.

I have also found a new place in my heart for candy cane kisses. I kept seeing fellow food bloggers using pumpkin kisses earlier this fall and was utterly devastated when I couldn’t find any in the FIVE different stores I searched. Needless to say as soon as I saw these beauties I snatched them up! Peppermint and chocolate go together almost as easily peanut butter and chocolate, so I knew brownies were the way to go.

This recipe is seriously the easiest (and shortest) I have ever made. Brownie mix + ingredients on box + candy cane kisses. That’s it. You could certainly substitute for homemade brownies, which I considered four about…oh, 4 seconds. I am obviously not above using box mixes and this was no exception. My only complaint about these brownies was that the kisses melted down a bit more than I thought they would so I didn’t get the pretty pictures I envisioned, but the taste was still fabulous. Enjoy!

Candy Cane Kiss Brownies
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1 box of Brownie mix + ingredients on back
1 package Candy Cane Kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownies according to directions on box. Unwrap candy cane kisses and place upright in greased 9×9 inch baking pan. Pour batter over kisses. Bake according to directions. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

PS: Did you notice how all of the lines of the kisses are lined up in relatively the same direction? Yes, I arranged them that way. That’s my OCD hard at work.

PPS: My other love right now? Marry You by Bruno Mars. iTunes it. You won’t be disappointed.

Tags: Bars, Brownies, chocolate, Christmas, Peppermint

Posted in Brownies | 7 Comments »

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

Apple Butterscotch Bars

I hope you guys aren’t getting sick of apple recipes yet! And don’t worry, there are still more pumpkin recipes to come yet too. I have been trying to post only Fall related recipes, and when I started planning out my posts I knew these bars would make the list. A coworker of mine brought these to a potluck a few years ago, and I must have had five they were so delicious! I immediately asked for the recipe and made them right away. I am not exactly sure where she got the recipe, but there is a very similar one on AllRecipes. I apparently didn’t see the step that said grease the pan, because they ended up being scraped out and eaten in pieces (you all have done that before, right? anyone?) Let’s just say I make sure I don’t skip that step anymore. The apple and butterscotch combination in these bars is quite addicting, and I think I might look for more recipes with these ingredients. The recipe is a very basic and simple, with the most time consuming step being peeling, coring, and cutting the apples. At least it’s not so bad when I snack on the extra apple pieces though! Enjoy!

Apple Butterscotch Bars
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2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups flour
3 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups peeled, cored and diced apples
3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine sugar, eggs and oil. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to mixture to liquid ingredients and stir until combine (it will get thick). Add apples. Spread into a greased 9 x 13 in pan. Sprinkle with the butterscotch chips. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Cool completely.

~I’m sharing this recipe at Delicious Dishes~

Tags: Apple, Bars, Butterscotch, Fall recipes

Posted in Bars | 9 Comments »

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Caramel Apple Bars

Recipe by Aimee, inspired by Let’s Dish

Happy Columbus Day everyone! Hopefully some of you are enjoying a nice day off from work, but if not, hopefully thinking about these will help get you through the day! This is caramel recipe #2 in a row, and the first of several caramel apple recipes to come. Caramel, apple, and cinnamon are my favorite fall flavors so anything that combines all of them scores huge points in my book. Earlier this summer I made oatmeal carmelita bars, and Derek and I both loved them. As soon as I made them I knew I wanted to make a caramel apple version and have been looking forward to these ever since!

I used a 9 x 9 inch pan for these, but if you wanted to use a 9 x 13 inch pan just follow the portions listed on the original recipe and add more apple pie filling and caramel. While I truly love everything I put on this blog, again these have made their way to the top for both of us. My in-laws were visiting for a night and helped us eat them, and they only lasted for about 36 hours. They are delicious cold, but even better heated up and served with vanilla ice cream and a little whipped cream. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Bars
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1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups flour
2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 can (20 oz) apple pie filling
1 cup Hershey’s caramel syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized bowl combine together the first seven ingredients. This works best with a pastry cutter but a spoon or fork could be used as well. Mixture should be crumbly. Press half of this mixture into a greased 9 x 9 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven. Cover with apple pie filling, and pour caramel syrup over the top. Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture on top. Place back in the oven and bake another 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before serving.

Tags: Apple, Bars, Caramel, Cinnamon, Fall recipes, Oatmeal

Posted in Bars | 7 Comments »

Monday, September 13th, 2010

Special K Bars

Recipe from Derek’s aunt Lou

Good Monday morning everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Mine was wonderful, filled with a fantastic wedding and great friends! Unfortunately it’s back to the work week, and for me this is my first full week back after having two short ones (although Derek likes to say I never work a full week since I have Monday afternoons off)!

I can’t think of a better way to start off the week than with these. Most of the country seems to know them as scotcheroos, but I have grown up knowing them as Special K Bars. My sister and Derek’s aunt both make them frequently, so they are pretty much a staple at any family function, and we don’t mind! Chocolate, butterscotch, and peanut butter are a fantastic combination and you really can’t go wrong. These are very quick and easy, and also no bake! I have a lot of friends who say they can’t bake, so guys, this one is for you! It is pretty difficult to mess these up I promise! The most difficult part of the recipe is stirring in the cereal, as it gets very thick at the end. If that’s the hardest part of recipe, then you know it has to be pretty easy! My biggest piece of advice is if you melt the chips in the microwave, please please please do it in 20 second intervals. If you try to melt it in one long interval it tends to become quite a mess (ok so I obviously did mess these up the first time I made them ). Enjoy!

Special K Bars
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1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo white syrup
1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
5 cups Special K cereal (or Rice Krispies)
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Combine sugar and Karo syrup in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then remove from stove and add peanut butter. Mix until smooth. Add cereal one cup at a time. This mixture will get thick. Pat mixture into a 9×13 inch pan. Place chocolate and butterscotch chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in three 20 second intervals, stirring after each one. You may need one last 10 second interval to get the mixture smooth. You could also do this using a double boiler. Pour and spread chocolate over bars. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Tags: Bars, Butterscotch, chocolate, No Bake, peanut butter

Posted in Bars | 6 Comments »