M&M Cheesecake Cookie Bars

How good does that look?!?!?! Such a yummy, cute Valentine's Day treat! And they will totally work for other holidays.... or random days of the week because they are THAT good! :)

M&M Cheesecake Cookie Bars
Recipe from What's Gaby Cooking


For the Cookie Layer

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 bag of milk chocolate m&m's

 

For the Cheesecake Layer

 

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Instructions

 

For the Cookie Layer

1. Cream together the butter and sugars in a large stand mixer for 3 minutes.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
3. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Toss in a handful of the m&m's and mix for a quick second. Chill the dough while you make the cheesecake layer

For the Cheesecake Layer

1. Whip together the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla for 3 minutes until everything is evenly combined and smooth.
To assemble
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Line a 9x9 baking square pan with tin foil and spray it with non-stick baking spray.
4. Press 1/2 of the cookie dough mixture into the bottom of the pan to make 1 even layer.
5. Spread the cheesecake mixture on top of the cookie dough.
6. Crumble and sprinkle the remaining cookie dough on top of the cheesecake mixture and then sprinkle with the remaining m&m.s
7. Place it into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the cookie dough is golden brown. The inner part of the dish might look a bit jiggly, but not to fear. Once the Cheesecake Cookie Bars have baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool on the counter for 30 minutes. Then transfer them to the fridge and cool completely for at least 2 hours. Cut and serve as needed.

TWD - BWJ: Hungarian Shortbread

The two recipes for TWD this month are Hungarian Shortbread and Pecan Sticky Buns. I went to the store on Saturday and bought everything for Pecan Sticky Buns because I thought they were first. Right before I started making the recipe I thought I would check the TWD site. It's a good thing I did because I found out that Hungarian Shortbread was first!

This recipe calls for a layer of jam in the middle - specifically a homemade rhubarb jam. I would've LOVED to make that jam but I didn't want to make a run back to the store since I had just gotten home. I did what I had to do... I used a layer of Nutella in place of the jam. :)

These bars were amazing but then again anything with Nutella is amazing in my book!

Thanks to Lynette of 1 Small Kitchen and Cher of The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at their blogs.

Nutella Pretzel Bars

My favorite way to eat Nutella is to grab a jar, a bag of pretzels, and just dip away! :) That's why when I saw this recipe from Nutella Pretzel Bars I knew it was a no-brainer... I would definitely be making these! They were so yummy!!!!


Nutella Pretzel Bars
Recipe from Dula Notes

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. Nutella (or other hazelnut spread)
1 large egg
1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. flour (spooned and leveled)
1 t. kosher salt
1 C. crushed pretzels (break into smallish pieces, but not too small)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8×8 baking pan with butter, line with a sheet of parchment leaving a 2″ overhang on both edges. Butter parchment.


2. In a large bowl, whisk butter, sugars and Nutella until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). Fold in 1/2 C. of crushed pretzels. Transfer batter to prepared pan and spread in an even layer with a spatula. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 C. of crushed pretzels.


3. Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-30 min. Set pan on a wire rack and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift bars from pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Pink Lemonade Bars

Here's a fun twist on the classic lemon bar. PERFECT for a summer treat!

Pink Lemonade Bars
Recipe from Family Circle

Crust:
2 cups plus 2 TBSP flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
5 eggs
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

Heat oven to 350. Line a 13x9 pan with foil.

Combine 2 cups of flour, the sugar, almonds, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to finely grind almonds and blend ingredients. While processor is running, add butter and vanilla. Reserve 2/3 cup of the mixture and press the rest into the bottom of pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, blend remaining 2 TBSP flour into reserved crust mixture.

In a medium bowl, whisk sugar and flour. Whisk in eggs, then raspberry jam. Whisk in lemon juice and zest.

Pour into baked crust. Return to oven and bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle crumbs on top and bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Chill before cutting into bars.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Can you really go wrong with a shortbread crust topped with a creamy lemon cheesecake layer? No, you can't! These bars are delicious and will be made again and again!

Enjoy!

Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Recipe from Baking and Boys!

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, cut into pieces
8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
2/3 cup fat free evaporated milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, salt and powdered sugar in bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse just until crumbly. Press onto bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch baking pan (ungreased).

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Place cream cheese, evaporated milk, granulated sugar, flour, lemon juice, zest and food coloring in a food processor an blend until smooth. Scrape sides of bowl, add eggs and blend again until combined and smooth. Pour into partially baked crust.

Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes (mine took 23) or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack to room temperature, then refrigerate. Cut into bars.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Bars

I don't often dabble in creating my own recipes. I tweak recipes a lot, but get nervous about doing my own thing. My husband is always encouraging me to give it a go and create something. He definately has more faith in me than I have in myself and I am so thankful to be married to a man who believes that I can do anything!

I was in the mood for pumpkin (big surprise!) and decided to whip up a batch of pumpkin bars. I thought it would be a good time to just let the creative juices flow and see what I could come up with. What could go wrong with pumpkin, cinnamon chips, and white chocolate?

These bars were fantastic! They were a cross between cake and blondie. If left at room temperature, they are more cake-like and once refrigerated turn a little more blondie-like. I enjoyed them both ways and am looking forward to trying them again!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
White chocolate, melted (for top)

Cream butter and sugar together. Add pumpkin, vanilla, and egg; mix well. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix dry into wet until just combined. Stir in cinnamon chips.

Spread batter into greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once cooled, drizzle with melted white chocolate.

PB & Nutella Bars

Megan from My Baking Adventures is one of my favorite bloggers. Her blog posts are always entertaining and the food she makes is amazing. She posted about these PB & Nutella bars over a year ago and I bookmarked the recipe. Of course, shortly after she posted these, we had our international move and they were lost in my files. Lucky for me, she posted them again last week (she posted the original recipe, PB&J bars). She mentioned in that post that Nutella is a great substitute for the jelly and I knew that these weren't going to get lost in the files again!

Holy moly are they delicious! Rich, but so delicious! I thought I could steal another little bite after finishing my piece and ended up with a bit of a stomachache. The stomachache was definately worth the extra bite, but just be warned that they are rich. :)

Enjoy, although if you like PB & Nutella, I know you will!


Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
adapted from Ina Garten

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam (or NUTELLA)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.


Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don’t worry if all the jam isn’t covered; it will spread in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Mmmmm.... chocolate chip cookies in bar form. No scooping dough and baking multiple batches. Easy peasy and so delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Recipe from Bakerella

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 lb. light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add flour and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spray a 9x13 pan and spread dough in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

I know it is starting to seem like lately all I do is make desserts with the PB&Chocolate combo. While that may be true, this bar was actually made almost 2 months ago. *GASP* I know, I know. It happens. Recipes fall to the bottom of the draft folder and are forgotten.

I promise this was not forgotten because of taste. These were fantastic! A very grown-up rice krispie treat with a delicious peanut butter and chocolate filling and a chocolate topping. Yum, yum, and yum!


Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

For the crispy crust:

1 ¾ cups crisped rice cereal
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the milk chocolate peanut butter layer:

5 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter

For the chocolate icing:

3 ounces dark chocolate (60% to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Make the crispy crust:

Lightly spray a paper towel with nonstick spray and use it to rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan

Put the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.

Pour ¼ cup water into a small saucepan. Gently add the sugar and corn syrup (do not let any sugar or syrup get on the sides of the pan) and use a small wooden spoon to stir the mixture until just combined. Put a candy thermometer in the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 degrees F.

Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, and pour the mixture over the cereal. Working quickly, stir until the cereal is thoroughly coated, then pour it into the prepared pan. Using your hands, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan (do not press up the sides. Let the crust cool to room temperature while you make the next layer.

Make the milk chocolate peanut butter layer:

In a large nonreactive metal bowl, stir together the chocolate and the peanut butter.

Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Put the pan n the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the top layer hardens.

Make the chocolate icing:

In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter.

Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. and pour the mixture over the chilled milk chocolate peanut butter layer and spread into and even layer. Put the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until the topping hardens.

Cut into 9 squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, covered tightly, for up to 4 days.

SMS: Toasted Almond Lemon Bars

I made these lemon bars before with Cookie Carnival and was excited when they were chosen for this week's SMS. I love the sweet almond crust and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE anything lemon. These are definately a great lemon bar and I will continue making them!

Thanks to Rebecca of Indecisive Baker for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

Cookie Carnival & Cooking with Anya: S'Mores Sandwich Bars

It's Cookie Carnival time again! We have been given two recipes (second will be up tomorrow), one of which is for the kids. I am excited about this because it gives me the opportunity to post a LONG overdue "Cooking with Anya". :)

We LOVED these bars and they didn't last long in the house. Anya had a blast putting them together. Here is what she had to say:

I liked them and they were delicious and very fun to make. They have crust, chocolate chips, and marshmallows. They are very beautiful. Make sure to put them in the oven. You can make them for dessert any time. Like I said, use marshmallows, chocolate chips, and crust in the square pan and put in the oven so it is nice and hot. It will be done and it will be good. And this is what I like to say. And it was very good. I couldn't stop liking it and it was the best dessert ever. The end.

S'Mores Sandwich Bars

Ingredients:

•1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
•3/4 cup sugar
•1 egg
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
•3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1-1/3 cups (8-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Mini Milk Chocolate Bars OR 5 HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz. each) - I used chocolate chips
•3 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle mini chocolate bars over baked layer or arrange unwrapped chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit. Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. 16 bars.

White Chocolate Cranberry Bars

I know it is a little past the point where people have cranberries coming out of their ears, but I still had some in the freezer that were thrown in after Thanksgiving. I wanted to use them up and get them out of my freezer.

Enter these DELICIOUS bars. The original recipe called for nuts but I thought a better addition would be white chocolate chips. Seriously, white chocolate and cranberries are a perfect team.

These bars were quick and easy to throw together and were incredibly tasty. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Cranberry Bars
Adapted from Recipezaar


2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)

Beat together eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla. Add flour and baking powder and mix well.

Fold in white chocolate chips and cranberries. Pour into prepared 9 x 13 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees 40-45 minutes.

Cookie Carnival: Black Bottom Coconut Bars

This is going to be super quick but I needed to get this posted. We are headed to El Paso this morning (need to leave in the next 15 minutes) and I am not sure when we will have internet access. I know you have all been getting used to no posts from me, but I promise that once we get a house and all of our stuff gets delivered, Cooking with Cristine will be up and running again!

These bars were easy to make and oh so delicious! Thanks to Kate of The Clean Plate Club for hosting the Cookie Carnival! The recipe can be found here.

TWD: Applesauce Spice Bars

I mentioned earlier in the month that I had completed my TWD and SMS recipes for August in one week. Because of this, I had to cut a lot of the recipes in half, or in this case, I quartered the recipe.

These are supposed to be bars, but since I didn't have a bar pan small enough to fit a quarter of the recipe, I baked up two individual ramekins. They turned out cute and so yummy. I especially loved the diced apples throughout and I used craisins instead of raisins. I also omitted the glaze from the recipe since Anya and I would be eating it for our afternoon snack. I figured the less sugar, the better. We both enjoyed it without the glaze, although I'm sure the glaze wouldn't hurt. :)

Thanks to Karen of Something Sweet for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

White Chocolate Macadamia Bars

Nathan's favorite cookie is White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies. When I saw these bars on Lori's blog, I knew I had to try them. They were so easy to throw together considering you mix it up in one pan. The recipe says to use an electric mixer, but I did it all by hand and the bars turned out great. They tasted great, too! If you are ever in the mood for a white chocolate/macadamia nut combo and don't want to take the time to make cookies, give these a try. You'll be glad you did!

White Chocolate Macadamia Bars

Recipe from Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness

3/4 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts or slivered almonds

1 cup white baking chips

Heat oven to 375 F. Spray a 13x9x2 inch pan with cooking spray.

In a 4 quart sauce pan melt butter and brown sugar over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted; remove from heat.

Beat vanilla and eggs into sugar mixture with electric mixer on medium speed. Beat in flour and baking powder on low speed. Stir in half of the nuts and 1/2 cup of the baking chips.

Smooth out into pan. Sprinkle with remaining nuts and 1/2 cup of the baking chips.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is set. Cool about 30 minutes. Cut into bars.

SMS: Butterscotch Cashew Bars

Cashews are hands down my favorite nut. I LOVE cashews! Funny thing is that I almost never buy cashews. I will buy mixed nuts and sift through them for the cashews. You'd think that I would just buy a can/bag of cashews and not waste the other nuts but I like the hunt! HA HA HA!

I did buy a bag of cashews for this recipe and it is pretty exciting to have ALL the nuts be cashews! I was eating them by the handful while making this recipe. YUM!

This recipe starts with a shortbread like crust and is topped with melted butterscotch chips (with a little corn syrup added in) and salted cashews. Let me tell you, these were AWESOME! Definately my favorite SMS recipe to date and probably would've been the recipe I picked for my turn if it hadn't been picked yet!

I did cut the recipe in half because there was no way we would be able to eat an entire 9x13 pan with the volume of desserts that are made in my kitchen. :) My only problem was that I didn't lower the cooking time enough so my crust was slightly crunchier than I would've liked.

Thank you so much to Pamela of Cookies with Boys for choosing this winner! Check out her amazing blog for the recipe and for many other fantastic recipes! And don't forget to see what the other SMS bakers thought!

Now I'm off to enjoy Father's Day Thanksgiving with my wonderful hubby who is the best father EVER! Yes, you read that right. Thanksgiving in June. Nathan LOVES Thanksgiving and we have made it a tradition to do it twice a year; once on actual Thanksgiving and once on Father's Day. Enjoy your Sunday!!!!

TWD: Cinnamon Squares

Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures chose this week's TWD recipe, Cinnamon Squares, and I'm glad she did! To be honest, I don't know if I would've made this without this group. In the past, cinnamon and chocolate just didn't seem to be a good pair for me. But this cake, WOW!

It was very simple to put together; everything was mixed by hand. The batter was delicious on its own (yes, I licked the spatula!) and I was really excited to taste the finished product. Half of the batter was poured in the pan, topped with cinnamon/sugar and chopped chocolate, then the remaining batter went on top. After the cake was baked and cooled, it was spread with yummy chocolate.

My only problem with the cake is that my chocolate all sank to the bottom of the cake. Now, it didn't taste bad, but I didn't get that pretty swirl in the middle like Dorie did. I guess that's why she gets the big bucks, right? :)

Thanks to Tracey for picking this little gem of a cake. You can find the recipe at her blog.

Cookie Carnival: Toasted Almond Lemon Bars

I think this is the fastest I have ever completed a Cookie Carnival! The recipe was emailed to us 2 days ago and I was stoked! I have been staring at the lemons in my fruit bowl for the last week or so and kept thinking, "Hey... I should make lemon bars!"


Then came the Cookie Carnival e-mail. Our first ever guest host, Holly of Phe-MOM-enon, chose Toasted Almond Lemon Bars. I finally had the push to get up and make some lemon bars!

What makes these lemon bars stand out from others is the ground almonds in the crust. Also, there is almond extract in the filling. I love that almond flavor. YUM! These bars are fantastic and I am looking forward to sharing them with friends later today.

Thanks, Holly, for a great Carnival! :)

Toasted Almond Lemon Bars
From The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy
Makes 1 dozen bars

For the Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, lightly toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 Tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

For the Lemon Filling:
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 7 lemons)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

To Toast the Almonds:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden and you can smell them. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Before You Start:

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Make a parchment "sling" by cutting two pieces of parchment paper, measuring 16 1/2 inches long by 12 inches wide (you can also use aluminum foil). Place one piece across the length, and the other across the width of the pan, with the excess hanging over the edges. You will use this sling later to lift the finished bar from the pan. Spray the sling with the cooking spray.

To Make the Crust:

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, sugar, almonds, and salt to combine. Add the cold butter in pieces and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball.

2. Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom and 1 1/4 inches up the sides. (This crust, once it is baked, needs to act as a liner in which to pour the liquidy lemon filling. So be sure to do a good job of pressing the dough up the sides - no cracks!). Cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights ( you can use dried beans or uncooked rice as pie weights as well). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Carefully remove the pie weights and the liner and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the whole crust is golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

To Make the Filling:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the almond extract and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice, and whisk to combine.

To Complete the Bars:

1. Pour the lemon filling into the prepared crust. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm and lightly golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

2. When cool use the parchment sling to lift the entire bar from the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice into twelve 3 x 3 1/2 - inch bars. Remove from the pan and, using a small sifter, dust with the confectioners' sugar.

The bars keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Do not unwrap before defrosting. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

TWD: Caramel Crunch Bars

See? I promised I made this week's recipe! Whitney of What's Left on the Table chose Caramel Crunch Bars. These were phenomenal!!! I didn't think that I would like them because they have toffee on top and I am not much of a toffee fan, but I couldn't stop eating them. I think my mom actually scolded me for making these because she couldn't stop eating them either!

The bars start with a shortbread crust and are then topped with chocolate and toffee bits. Mmmmmmmm!!! Another no-fail recipe from Dorie. This woman may just be the baking queen!

(Don't judge my ability to write posts lately! Crazy life right now, but in a good way! The zoo was fun but now I am pooped!)

TWD: No pudding... Rewind instead!

This week's recipe was Real Butterscotch Pudding. At the beginning of the month I had already decided not to make it. I don't drink and really didn't feel like going out and buying scotch. Then I read on the TWD questions thread that you could omit the scotch from the recipe. I considered it and was going to go ahead and make the pudding, but a few hours later I decided not to. My to do list is ridiculous right now (I'm currently in the process of making croissants so they are ready when Nathan comes home!) and I am not really in the mood for pudding. So... I will be sitting this week out. :(

But... I do at least have a TWD recipe for you! I have had this sitting in my draft folder for over a month now and I am so happy that I have a chance to post it! I had leftover homemade dulce de leche and needed to use it. I remembered seeing the recipe for Snickery Squares in the book and it sounded delicious!


Guess what??? It WAS! Well, I mean, of course it was. It is Dorie and this woman just doesn't seem to have many misses! A yummy shortbread crust, dulce de leche, peanuts, and chocolate make up this delicious dessert. I really enjoyed it!

Snickery Squares was chosen by Erin of Dinner & Dessert back in March and the recipe can be found at her blog. The pudding recipe for this week was chosen by Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews, and Suitcases. Check out her blog for the recipe and don't forget to check out the blogroll to see all the pudding!!!