Oatmeal Toffee Bars

I'm not sure what pulled me to this recipe, maybe it was the oatmeal, the versatility of the recipe, I'm not sure, but I am so glad I tried it.  Can I just tell you how super simple this was?  SUPER SIMPLE!  Not only were they easy to whip together, took less than 20 minutes to bake, but they tasted great and were a huge hit.  That is my kind of recipe.  It was so easy, that I decided as soon as I pulled them out of the oven to make another batch and switch things up.  Both the original and altered recipes follow.

Oatmeal Toffee Bars
Recipe from 3B's.. Baseball, Baking & Books.

1/2 cup canola oil (I used vegetable)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 to 1 1/2 cup toffee pieces

Mix together the oil, sugars, eggs, milk, vanilla and salt.  Mix for 2-3 minutes or until sugars dissolve.  Add in baking soda and flour.  Mix in oats and then chocolate chips.  The mixture will be THICK, like cookie dough.  Transfer to a greased 9x13 cake pan.  It was easiest to spread this batter with my dampened fingers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Variation:
Make the above recipe, but omit the chocolate chips and toffee pieces.  Add 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips, 1 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup coconut.

Frosted Banana Bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)
cream cheese frosting

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs, once mixed add sour cream and vanilla.  Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and then add to butter mixture.  Finally, mix in the mashed bananas.  Spread evenly in a greased 10x15 jelly roll pan (I used a 9x13 and baked them longer, more of a cake than a bar).

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow bars to cool completely then top with cream cheese frosting or some fresh whip cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Key Lime Bars

These are a mix between lemon bars and a key lime pie.  Super yummy, but a little messy.

Key Lime Bars

*adapted from Bake at 350

Crust:

2/3 c. brown sugar

1 3/4 c. flour

3 c. sweetened coconut (toasted - next time I will substitute 1 cup of crushed graham crackers with one of the cups of coconut)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter (I added more butter)

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)

1 3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

3 Tbsp. flour

4 eggs

1/2 c. fresh squeezed key lime juice

green food coloring

How to toast coconut:  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle coconut on top.  Bake at 300 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Combine the sugar and butter. Mix in toasted coconut, flour and salt.  I thought this was a little dry so I added more butter and will add less flour next time.  Remove 1 cup of mixture and set aside.  Press remaining mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes.  Let cool.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth and well blended.  Mix in the flour and then incorporate the eggs, one at a time.  Mix in the lime juice and a couple drops of green food coloring.  Mix until smooth.  Poor onto cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the 1 cup of reserved crust on top.  Bake for 10 more minutes until sides are set and center is slightly wobbly.  Remove from oven and cool for 1 hour.  Chill in refrigerator.

Cut and serve.

Cranberry Crumble Bars

from: goodLife {eats}, SGCC, Smitten Kitchen and My Baking Addiction
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup almond meal/flour*
1 cup soft butter (2 sticks)
1 egg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
juice of 1/2 of an orange
4 cups fresh cranberries** (I threw about 1/3 of them in the food pro for a couple spins and left the rest whole)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs cornstarch

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9×13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup sugar, flour, almond meal, salt and baking powder. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. The dough will be crumbly. Alternatively, you can pulse the dry ingredients in a food processor with the butter until pebbly, and then mix in the egg until it all comes together. Pat half of the dough into the buttered pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and orange juice. Mix in the cranberries. Sprinkle the cranberry mixture evenly over the dough in the pan.
4. Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon to the remaining dough, then crumble dough over the berries. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until top is a light golden brown. Cool completely and chill in the refrigerator before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Here are a few helpful hints from Katy's post...
*If you don't have almond meal, just toss some almonds in a food processor until finely ground to make almond meal. (If you are going to do this add some cornstarch to avoid getting almond butter.)
**Stock up while cranberries are abundant in stores. Just toss them in the freezer and use as you need. They'll be good for about a year. If you're using frozen fresh cranberries for this recipe there is no need to thaw them first.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares. (I've never tried the foil trick until now - it worked great!)

Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart. The recipe does not call for frosting, but I added the below Cream Cheese Frosting to half the pan and I loved them with the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3-4 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

Cherry Bars

These are pretty and oh so yummy!
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 (21 ounce) cans cherry pie filling (I use 1 can)
GLAZE:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the extracts. Combine flour and salt; add to the creamed mixture. Mix just until combined. Spread 3 cups batter into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan (I use two 8x8 pans). Spread with pie filling. Drop the remaining batter by teaspoonfuls over filling. (Be careful, this is a sticky dough.)

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over bars.

P.S. My Mom doesn't like Cherry Pie or cherry pie filling and she really likes these, so give the cherry a try, but you can always swap out other canned pie filling if you so choose.