Apple Pie Bars

If you like Apple Pie but don't feel like going to all the work to make one, try these bar cookies. They're amazing! I like to eat them fresh out of the oven, they'd be great with vanilla ice cream. The recipe says to make them in a springform pan and cut into wedges. My picture shows them cut into squares because I made a double batch and baked them in a rectangle pan. Either way works just fine. Enjoy!

Apple Pie Bars (adapted from Cuisine at Home)

Base and Streusel:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Apple Pie Filling:
3 1/2 cups tart apples (like granny smith) peeled, cored and diced
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream (use milk if you don't have it)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350°; coat a 10-inch springform pan with removable bottom with nonstick spray.

Combine 2 cups flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the base and streusel mixture in a bowl. Transfer 3/4 cup of the mixture to a second bowl; set aside for the streusel. Cut 6 tablespoons cold butter and milk into the remaining dry ingredients using a pastry blender or your fingers. Mix until clumps form.

Pat mixture evenly into prepared pan, using the bottom of a measuring cup to tamp down the dough. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until set and golden at the edges. Stir melted butter into the reserved streusel mixture until sandy; set aside.

Toss all ingredients for the apple filling together. Arrange over the hot base, pushing apple pieces to the edges of the pan to completely cover the crust.

Sprinkle apples with the streusel topping and bake until apples are soft and topping is golden, 30-40 minutes. Cool bars for at least 30 minutes before removing the side of the pan and cutting into wedges. Store bars at room temperature or chill.

SoNo Brownies

I love brownies! There are so many great ones, that's it's hard to decide which is my favorite. This one is my favorite if I need to whip up something yummy in very little time. It's so fast to throw together...I can't imagine ever using a mix again!

SoNo Brownies
adapted from the SoNo Baking Company Cookbook

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch of baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk flour with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, set aside.

Melt butter. Add sugar and corn syrup and whisk to combine. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, whisking until well blended after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and fold until the flour has been incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (It can be tough to tell when these are done because the chocolate chips melt and may make your toothpick look like the brownies aren't done.)

Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, then cut into 2 inch squares.

Halloween Brownies

I found a similar idea to these online and thought that it would be fun to make with the kids. You can make these brownies from a mix or from scratch. To make the gravestones, pipe RIP onto Milano cookies and then press them into the brownie. Here's the brownie recipe that I used. It makes a large pan so you may want to half the recipe and bake in an 8x12" pan.

FROSTED BROWNIES

1 1/2 cups butter
6 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour

Melt butter and chocolate together in a saucepan. Remove from heat and add sguar, eggs, vanilla, and flour and mix well. Pour into greased large (11x17") cookie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost with chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 to 6 tablespoons milk
2/3 cup cocoa

Beat all ingredients together until creamy.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Since it's pumpkin season, I decided to make some pumpkin pancakes. The kids gobbled these up, I don't think I've ever seen Josh eat so many pancakes! I used whole wheat flour to make them a little more nutritious and they were awesome. If you prefer, use pumpkin pie spice (1 1/4 teaspoon) instead of the spices. I didn't have any on hand so I mixed my own.

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups milk
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
4 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Whisk milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl to blend well. Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients, whisk until just smooth. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into the batter in 2 additions.

Spray or butter a large nonstick skillet, heat to medium heat. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls into skillet. Cook until bubbles form on the surface and the bottoms are brown (about 1 1/2 minutes per side).

Serve with maple syrup.