bars

Name: Cake Batter Blondie Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 39 min
Yield: about 20 servings
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 cups flour; 1/2 cup sugar; 1 cup packed brown sugar; 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened; 2 large eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon butter extract; 1/2 cup sprinkles; 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened; 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon whole milk; sprinkles, for garnish

Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies

Apr 13, 2017

Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies are perfect for all of your sweet and salty cravings! Rich brownies with crunchy peanut butter and chopped pretzels on top!

Hi guys!

Can I complain about the weather?

I know, totally shocking that I’m not satisfied with the weather in Texas, right?

But y’all, all of Fort Hood has been flooded this week and it’s ruining my life. It took me an hour to find my way home the other night because all the roads to my neighborhood had rivers flowing over them or were already blocked by cops. And it was midnight and my poor babysitter was stuck at my house and all I wanted to do was eat nachos in bed while rewatching last week’s Survivor.

Ugh, Texas. Whyyyyy?!

…

Maple Bacon Rice Krispies Treats

Aug 29, 2016

Heeeeey guys! I can’t believe it’s Monday again. Why does this keep happening?!

Let’s go back to Friday, mmkay?

So how was the weekend?

I did that thing where I swore I was going to stay home all weekend and clean my house and then ended up doing the exact opposite.

The monthly food truck festival over in Temple snuck up on me this month and you know I can’t miss that! So the kids and I headed over there Saturday. My favorite truck wasn’t there this month but I did have a delicious plate of Hawaiian Pulled Pork Fries and something called a Redneck Taco.

The redneck taco? Honestly, I ordered it just for the name and now I can’t stop thinking about it.

It was cornbread with rice, brisket, sausage, beans, and nacho cheese on top.

It was ridiculous and amazing and I’ll be looking for that truck next month.

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Lemon Meringue Pie Bars

Jun 13, 2016

Lemon Meringue Pie Bars – buttery shortbread crust with tart lemon filling, topped with fluffy toasted meringue!

Happy Monday!

I hope your weekend was fabulous. I spent mine recovering from our roadtrip.

You guys, we drove through Houston when it was still raining. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. And OF COURSE I’d planned to stop at a doughnut place and was dumb enough to get off the interstate because it didn’t click in my pea-sized brain that Houston was flooded.

Survived that, got back on the interstate, and the freakin’ interstate was flooded.

I spent a solid 2 hours in Houston trying to figure out how I was going to save all 3 kids and the dog if the Jeep got swept away.

No, I don’t overreact. Why do you ask?

I don’t recommend coming to Texas until it’s done raining. Just stay away. Not a good situation.
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Candy Bar Brownies

Apr 22, 2016

Candy Bar Brownies – start with a boxed brownie mix and add your favorite candy bars! Perfect for Halloween candy!

Let’s talk brownies.

I’m obsessed with brownies.

I could eat brownies for every meal and not get tired of them.

I don’t. (Usually.) But I could.

Brownies are my go-to for gatherings. They’re easier to transport than cupcakes, they’re always popular, and there are so many ways to jazz up a regular brownie.

Like these Candy Bar Brownies that I made the other day!

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Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

Feb 11, 2016

This post sponsored by The J.M. Smucker Company.

Okay, we’re only days away from Valentine’s Day.

I’ve bought myself more stuffed animals holding hearts than I’d like to admit.

I’ve forced my kids to sit down and scribble their name on 20 cartoon-themed cards.

I’ve made my Valentine’s Day date with some takeout sushi and my DVR.

I am ready.

I even made brownies. Topped with cheesecake because cheesecake is perfect for a romantic dinner for two or if you’re all alone.

I mean, cheesecake solves every problem. Right?

But then I swirled some raspberry jam into the cheesecake to make it extra festive.

I used my fave Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Brownies so it came together really quick and easily. I stocked up on the Pillsbury brownie mixes at Walmart last week when I did those cute football brownies and they’ve come in really handy. Sometimes you just need fast brownies! Or fast brownies with cheesecake on top!

Once these brownies are baked, you just top them with a quick cheesecake mixture and swirl some raspberry jam into the cheesecake.

They turned out so delicious and how pretty would they be for Valentine’s Day?

If you plan on stocking up on Pillsbury items, download the Ibotta app to save $.75 on your purchase! And for more ideas on how to #MixUpAMoment, check out the Pinterest board!

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No Bake Granola Bars

Jun 02, 2015

The end of school is probably not the best time to be sharing a No Bake Granola Bars recipe, huh?

My kids have been loving these in their lunch boxes but they’ll be perfect for throwing in my pool bag or whatever, too.

Anyway, my kid totally pulled one over on me yesterday. He’d been sick over the weekend. Like, not super sick but he had a cough and he basically slept from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon. So yesterday morning when he woke up and said he didn’t feel better, I let him stay home.

An hour later: “Mom! I feel so much better! Can I play Playstation?!”

Uh huh.

And lucky for him I was waiting for the guy to come fix our fence and didn’t want to risk leaving and and missing the appointment so he got to stay home.

I feel like a sucker.

If your kids aren’t jerks like mine, you should definitely make these for them. Y’all know I can’t control myself around granola bars and these were no exception.

…

Avalanche Bars

Jan 20, 2015

Avalanche Bars – Rice Krispies cereal coated with white chocolate and peanut butter with marshmallows and chocolate chips mixed in. No bake and really simple!

Happy Tuesday! Back to the real world today, huh? That long weekend sure was nice.

This morning I have to take Penelope (#idiothusky) to the vet for her regular ol’ checkup. And the big plan is to drop her off and then call Clementine’s (the cockapoo) hair girl to see if she can squeeze her in before Penelope gets home.

Because, yeah, you guessed it. She still thinks Clem is a new dog whenever she gets a haircut. Like, she actually growls at her and won’t let her near the food bowls. This has happened every 8 weeks for 2 years now.

#IdiotHusky for real.

So I’m hoping that if it happens while she’s gone, she’ll come home and think “Hey, you look different. But you’re still Clem.”

These are the things you have to think about when you live with a husky.

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Paleo Chocolate Chip Blondies

Jan 13, 2015

I’m sorry, guys. I had no intention of posting another Paleo recipe this week but the cheesy, white floury bread I made yesterday totally failed. I think I must’ve burned the yeast or something because it just refused to rise. At all.

Gahhh.

So you get these Paleo Chocolate Chip Blondies! And I really don’t even feel that bad because they’re awesome. My husband had 7 of them last night. Yeah, that’s pretty much the entire pan.

And btw, how unfair is it that men can eat 7 blondies on top of meals and other snacks and not gain weight?

Anyyyway, we’re all sorts of iced/snowed in right now which is fun because I can stay in sweatpants all day and only go outside when the (idiot) husky opens the gate, lets herself out of the yard, and then makes me chase her around the neighborhood before finally making the circle and ending up back at our porch. But it’s not so fun because the kids and the husband are all driving me crazy.

If I have to hear, “HE WON’T GIVE ME A TURN!” one more time…

I don’t even know what I’ll do. But it won’t be pretty.

I’m going to have the blondie I hid from my husband for breakfast and then lock myself in my room and binge watch all the Madam Secretary episodes on the DVR.

You should make these even if you aren’t Paleo. They are really delicious and so full of coconut and chocolate chips – you will hardly even notice that the actual blondie part is made from almond flour instead of regular flour! I promise.

…

Salted Nut Roll Bars

Jan 07, 2015

Salted Nut Roll Bars – marshmallows, peanut butter, peanuts, and Rice Krispies! It starts with a box of cake mix so it’s a quick and easy dessert!

January is a hard month to be a food blogger. I mean, the last few months have all had a theme. September was football, October was pumpkin & Halloween, November was Thanksgiving, and December was Christmas.

But there’s nothing in January.

I’m posting healthy/paleo stuff because I hear it’s popular around this time of year but every time I do, someone unsubscribes and uses the “content not relevant” option.

Which then causes a conversation with my husband that goes something like this: “WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! Are they saying that my content is not relevant to THEIR life? Or are they saying I’m not relevant? Am I old? Am I too old for the internet?!”

And my husband just looks at me. Because how do you even respond to that?

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Oatmeal Carmelita Bars

Nov 13, 2014

It’s almost the weekend! Yay!

You guys, so much snow. So much cold.

Y’all know I’ve been doing my snow dance since August but I really, really didn’t mean to wish these negative temps on us.

It’s November, Colorado! Get your act together!

We had a high of 7 yesterday.

Seven.

Seven degrees.

That literally hurts. And, of course, Penelope (the husky) wants to go outside every 10 minutes when it’s snowing. This means that I have to stand there at the back door and watch her or else she’ll open the gate and leave. So I froze all day, standing in front of the back door, watching Penelope eat ALL THE SNOW.

I still love the snow though. I’d just love it a little more if it was, you know, 20 degrees out there.

I made these bars the other night in preparation of what I thought was a definite snow day. Who doesn’t cancel school when it’s 3 degrees out and snowing like crazy?! We’ve had school canceled for much less around here.

But anyway, I wanted to have some treats on hand since I’m still off wine and I need something to get me through a day stuck in the house with all 3 of my children and the hairy child that throws herself at the back door 6 times an hour.

So good. They’re oatmeal bars with chocolate, pecans, and caramel in the center. I don’t know what it is but I’m just crazy about anything with oats right now and these are definitely my new favorite. And they’re super simple since you use the same dough for both the base and the topping.

…

Cake Batter Blondie Bars

Oct 22, 2014

Cake Batter Blondie Bars – chewy blondies filled with rainbow sprinkles, topped with buttercream frosting, and sprinkled with more sprinkles!

Whenever I take the kids to self-serve froyo, I always get the same 3 yogurts.

Cake batter, cheesecake, and red velvet cake.

I like cake.

I like anything that tastes like cake.

If Lay’s decides that the next weird chip flavor is cake batter, you better beat me to the store because I’m buying every bag.

(But I’m now on my fave froyo place’s FB page and it says they have pumpkin pie and brownie batter this month so my usual cup may be changing. Besides the point.)

So when Dessert Mash-Ups, a brand new baking book by Dorothy from Crazy for Crust, showed up at my door, I immediately went searching for anything labeled “cake batter”. Because I know that Dorothy loves a cake-flavored dessert as much as I do.

And I found these super cute and delicious Cake Batter Blondie Bars!

You guys, I love a good blondie. Like, I’d choose a really good blondie over a brownie most days.

And this is a really, really good blondie. The chewiness was just perfect. Plus sprinkles and frosting? So good. I definitely ate all the slightly-crunchy-but-not-really edges off these. Yep, a whole 9 x 13-inch pan worth of edges. #noshame

The trick for getting these blondies to taste like cake batter is to use butter extract (you can find it in the baking aisle with the rest of the extracts) which is crazy because how does something as simple as butter extract totally take it from regular blondie to CAKE blondie?

If you haven’t checked out Dessert Mash-Ups yet, you definitely need to. The book is absolutely gorgeous and I can’t wait to make even more recipes from it. If these Cake Batter Blondie Bars didn’t tempt you, how about Sugar Cookie Dough Cups? Or Almond Joy Dip? Or Snickers Cake Roll? Add this book to your Christmas list if it isn’t already there!

More Cake Batter Recipes

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Yield: about 20 servings

Cake Batter Blondie Bars

from Dessert Mash-Ups

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 24 minutes

Total Time 39 minutes

Ingredients

For the bars:

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
1/2 cup sprinkles

For the frosting:

1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon whole milk
sprinkles, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray or line with foil and spray with cooking spray for easy cleanup.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the baking powder, salt, and flour. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar, brown sugar, and butter. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter extract, and beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in sprinkles.
Press the dough into the prepared pan. (The dough will be sticky; spray your hands with cooking spray to keep it from sticking it you.) Bake for 22 to 24 minutes. They will be slightly golden, but still have the slightest jiggle in the center. They'll set as they cool. Cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting:

Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix until crumbly. Add the vanilla and milk and mix until smooth. Frost the bars. Top with sprinkles and cut into bars. Store covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Best eaten at room temperature within 5 days.

Apple Butterscotch Blondies

Oct 08, 2014

You know how I’ve been putting jalapeños on literally everything for the past couple months? I think I’m over that finally.

But guess what I’ve moved onto.

Canned green beans. I had an entire can for dinner last night and the night before. A whole can. By myself. And I’m kind of freaking out because I’m officially out of canned green beans and I’m trying to hold off on going grocery shopping until Friday because our Trader Joe’s is finally opening!

Hallelujah!

(However, ours will sell no wine. Because this is Colorado. Boo.)

And my other current food obsession is butterscotch chips. I’ve always liked butterscotch chips but it wasn’t until recently that I started shoveling handfuls of them into my mouth after every meal. You guys, it’s bad.

I added these Apple Butterscotch Blondies to my “must make” list as soon as I saw them, mostly because of my butterscotch obsession but also because I just love blondies of all types. I think I actually prefer them over brownies.

I love everything about these. They weren’t as dense as your typical blondie but they had a really great texture. And the butterscotch and the apple chunks were absolutely delicious together.

…

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Jul 29, 2014

Blueberry Crumb Bars – fresh blueberry bars with a crumb topping. The perfect use for summer blueberries!

My kids start school next week, y’all!

It hit me yesterday and I rushed around trying to get shots for the 4 year old and then get school supplies for the 7 year old. I’m just amazed at how fast summer went.

But you know what that means!

SNOW IS COMING!

I’m super excited about snow. Super, super, super excited. I think if there was a competition to see who in the world loves snow the most, it’d be me. Followed closely by the idiot husky.

One thing I am going to miss about summer is the berries. This is the first year that I’ve actually liked raspberries – isn’t that weird? Like, I used to think they were seedy and gross (like blackberries – bleh!) but this year, I am all about them. And I’m sad because they’re already at that point where they’re mushy before you even buy them! My raspberries were so leaky this week that I walked around the entire grocery store with a big red streak down my nose before my 7 year old said, “Hey mom, is that makeup on your nose?”

Thanks kid.

Blueberry Crumb Bars!

I bought a big thing of blueberries this week too and thankfully got a lot of use out of them before they started to turn on me. I threw what we had left into these Blueberry Crumb Bars!

I love anything with a crumb topping, especially anything fruity! These are delicious and really simple to make.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Ingredients

For the crust/topping:

1 cup granulated sugar
zest of one lemon
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large egg lightly beaten

For the filling:

juice of one lemon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4 cups fresh blueberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang on opposite sides to lift the bars out after baking.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl and whisk to combine. Add the butter and egg to the bowl, and use a pastry cutter to cut them in until the pieces of butter are no larger than small peas – the mixture should look like coarse meal. Transfer half of the mixture to the prepared pan and pat into an even layer to form the crust.
In a medium bowl, stir together the lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch. Add the blueberries, and toss gently to coat them evenly. Pour the blueberry mixture over the crust and spread evenly. Crumble the remaining crust/topping mixture over the blueberries to cover.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and the filling bubbles around the edges. Remove the pan to a wire rack and allow the bars to cool completely in the pan. Once cool, use the parchment “handles” to lift the bars out and cut into squares (I actually like to refrigerate them for an hour or two before cutting – it makes for neater squares). Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Things you may need for this recipe:

: Rubber Spatula

: 8×8-inch pan

: Mixing Bowls

Want more blueberry recipes?

Glazed Blueberry Biscuits

Peach Blueberry Crisp

Blueberry Muffins

Creamy Lemon Crumb Bars

Jun 03, 2014

My all-time favorite fruity dessert is a lemon bar. That’s probably pretty evident by the fact that I have 4 or 5 different lemon bar recipes on the blog. I’m obsessed.

Last year I was so pumped to make this raspberry lemon bar that had been circulating the blog world that I actually cried when it turned out to be a huge fail.

I cried.

Over a lemon bar.

This is my life.

This one, fortunately, didn’t fail and it may be my new favorite. A lemon bar is typically lemon curd on a shortbread crust but these bars start with an oatmeal crust and then have a filling of just lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk. And then – the best part – it’s topped with crumbles of the oat crust.

You guys know I love anything with a crumb topping!

I was totally skeptical because, like I said, the filling is literally just lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk. I didn’t think it would set up and be slice-able. But it really did turn super thick and creamy.

I had more bars than I’d like to admit to.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Bars

from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick 1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar lightly packed
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 can 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.
Press half of oat crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8x8-inch pan.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture.
Take the remaining crumb mixture and knead it with your hands to make it crumbly and chunky. Sprinkle this over the lemon mixture.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool for about 30 minutes before cutting. Refrigerate for at least a couple hours before serving.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies

Maple Bacon Rice Krispies Treats

Lemon Meringue Pie Bars

Candy Bar Brownies

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

No Bake Granola Bars

Avalanche Bars

Paleo Chocolate Chip Blondies

Salted Nut Roll Bars

Oatmeal Carmelita Bars

Cake Batter Blondie Bars

More Cake Batter Recipes