Fruit-Filled Oatmeal Bars

It's October!!!  And that gives me lots of fall inspiration and ideas for the beginning of the cool weather baking season! (P.S. - Stay tuned for my post about fall cookie ideas!) I realize that P.S.'s should usually be at the end, but oh well, tomorrow is Columbus Day and I have the day off school so let's take a break from proper grammar rules too! Anyway, back to baking...this recipe is sort of similar to Apple Crisp. The biggest similarity is that it also contains apples. =)

The Ingredients

I've been writing to some companies and trying to negotiate a giveaway in exchange for free advertising on my blog!  I can't wait to see if any of them respond and YOU, my faithful readers, will be the first to hear about it and benefit from it if that does happen!

Something must be happening in this kitchen, it's sooo messy!

Sometimes I make this apple filling and pour it on to waffles or pancakes.  It tastes really good!

Ingredients

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter
Raisin or apple filling (below) or 10 oz. jar preserves

In a mixing bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2 cup of the flour mixture. Press remaining flour mixture into bottom of ungreased 9x9x2 inch baking pan. Spread with desired filling. Sprinkle with reserved flour mixture.Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden. Cool in the pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 25.

RAISIN FILLING:

In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Add 1 cup raisins. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.

APPLE FILLING: (This is the one I used!)

Peel, core, and chop 2 medium apples. In a medium saucepan, combine apples, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons of water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of ground cloves. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes or until tender.

An apple a day keeps the doctor/dentist a way...
BTW, there's hardly ever a time when we don't have apples in the fridge.  You see, my dad's a dentist and he likes to have his daily apple.

Pros: 

-I always have apples in the fridge.

-I have never had a cavity even with all this baking.

-If I ever have a toothache, there's always a dentist around to fix it.

-Dentists are known for having a sweet-tooth and that's how some of the dessert I make gets eaten. =)

Cons:
-I really can't think of anything...

Blackberry Bars

Yum!

Some things are learned the hard way. Sometimes I feel like the only way I learn is the hard way, like the time I accidentally burned down the house. It was bad. The smoke filled the house, and I was coughing as if I had an asthma attack. Also, my ears were ringing from the smoke alarm.

 Fortunately, this recipe is a whole lot easier and calmer. This time, most of the noise around here was from laughter. =)

The Ingredients + Amy, this ingredient is very hard to find.

We had three options for this part: food processor, blender, or manpower.
We decided on woman power. =)

Tea, a drink with ^jam^ and...crust. That will bring us back to...

    
The recipe! This girl also came up with the "Fourth of July Flag Cake."

     
 BTW, If you go to acronym finder.com, they actually have my definition of GB2 on there...it's on the very bottom, but at least it's there! 

(Amy, sorry this took soooo long to post.) =(

Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

It looks like this recipe needs some taste testing. =)

You know sometimes too much of a good thing...isn't a good thing.  Like when you're at a potluck in front of an array of desserts like People Chow, brownies, cake, and these wonderful Raspberry Cheesecake Bars and you just can't decide which one to eat. You want to try them all but you don't want to stuff yourself!  So that's when it's great to be the "baking apprentice" because then instead of pigging out you can just say you're "taste-testing" for your blog. We bakers have to make sure there are no loose eggshells or any other unidentified objects in there.  Then after "taste-testing" you can pass on the leftovers to your Dad because he'll usually eat anything.

Sorry, no ingredient picture this time, just some flour.

BTW, there is a biiiig difference between jam and jelly. (At least I think there is, I might have to do some research on that one or have a talk with my Grandma.)
(Jelly is the most fun though, because jam is always, well...in a jam.)
jk

Before...

and after. 
(Someone in my family got a hold of these before I could get a picture of the whole pan.)

Tweaks, Twists, and Tips...
I didn't have any raspberry jam, so I decided to use strawberry jam and fresh raspberries mashed up and it tasted fine. I would suggest blending the filling, otherwise you get little chunks of cream cheese in the bars.

And you can find this delicious recipe right here!

GB2- God Bless, Go Bake!!!

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Do you remember those 5 Ingredient Reese's Bars I posted about, oh, around a week ago?  Well they were so good, I was craving chocolate and peanut butter all week...no joke. But then I found this recipe and really wanted to try it. 

   So you're probably wondering about the picture because it looks like I poisoned them or something. So did I really poison them? Was it a disaster? Did I mess up the recipe again? Well you'll just have to keep reading to find out. =)

The Ingredients

What's better than butter in a recipe?
3 chunks of butter!

Do not let your granola "stick" together.

Real chocolate is melted in the microwave.

Pour out the chocolate then lick that pan clean... that's one way to get dishes done.

They turned out great!
We were just having too much fun in the first picture. =)

Here is the link to the recipe. Although no one was poisoned in this recipe, I have poisioned and accidentally killed something. =(  This post is long enough already, so my story of how I killed an innocent creature and almost hurt one of my best friends will have to wait.  For now, keep reading and I will keep blogging!

GB2- God Bless, Go Bake!!!

                                      (No one was hurt/poisoned in the making of this recipe.)

5 Ingredient Reese's Bars

    Everyone likes Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, right? Well what if you could make your own...and they'd still taste the same, maybe even better? There are LOTS of Reese's bar recipes and I was very determined to make the best and easiest one. I was searching frantically over the Internet for the perfect Reese's bars. After looking at many recipes, this one is definitely my favorite.

The Ingredients

I made my bars crunchy and didn't smash the graham crackers all the way.

It's time to melt some chocolate!

My first successful attempt at melting chocolate.  The secret?
Melt it in the microwave and don't worry about the double broiler!

All things are possible with God...including not stuffing yourself with these bars.

If only I had white chocolate in the house, then they could be white chocolate Reese's bars. =0

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup butter, melted

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or white chocolate)

2 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and butter. Press firmly into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.

2. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring occasionally. Spread melted chocolate over the crumb crust.

3. Chill for about 5 minutes, then cut into bars before the chocolate is completely set, then chill until ready to serve.

My friend trying them for the very first time!
I think she liked them. =)

This recipe is so convenient you can make it almost anywhere, even in a dorm room or a hotel. All you have to do is buy the ingredients, chill it, and eat it. And remember, it ONLY takes 5 ingredients!!! Wow.

GB2 - God Bless, Go BAKE!!!

Cinnamon Cheesecake Bars

The first time I laid eyes on these beautiful cheesecake bars was on a Wednesday night at the chapel. Although they tasted really good, they seemed rather  complex to make. A friend of ours, Mrs Joanne Johnson, she's a really good cook, posted it on my Mom's Facebook wall and I just had to try it! The real name of this recipe is Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars. I have no idea how to pronounce that...so I'll just give them the nickname Cinnamon Cheesecake Bars.

The Ingredients (Anyone notice anything in the cream cheese?)

I took my own advice and stirred this by hand... I think I'll go back to a mixer.

The first layer.



My hand whipped cream cheese mix. It's not as smooth as when you use the mixer, oh well.

Make sure to pinch the edges of the crescent dough! Don't worry, I'm pretty sure the dough won't mind if you pinch an inch. ; )

I like to pretend I'm an artist. =)

I think I played with my butter to much, because the cinnamon sugar is supposed to dissolve. =/

It's done!

Ingredients:

2 cans crescent rolls

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese (room temp)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Unroll 1 can of crescent rolls and lay flat in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Stretch the rolls to cover the bottom of the pan. Pinch any seams closed.
3. In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla until combined and smooth.
4. Spread this over top of the crescent roll.
5. Unroll your remaining can of crescent rolls and lay this on top of the cream cheese mixture, again, pinching closed any open seams.
6. Pour your melted butter on top of the crescent roll.
7. In a bowl, mix the remaining sugar and tablespoon of cinnamon together and sprinkle that evenly on top of butter.
8. Bake for 30 minutes until top is golden brown.
9. Let cool for approximately 20 minutes and then put in refrigerator to completely chill before cutting into squares.

I hope you guys liked this recipe!  As I said before if you have any tips, recipes, or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment! Whoa, 1,000 views, thanks faithful viewers! =)

GB2- God Bless, Go BAKE!

I wonder what's going to happen to GB2 if Tim Tebow doesn't play for the Broncos next year? (for those of you who don't follow football like my brother does, GB2 is Tim Tebow's motto and stands for "God bless, Go Broncos.") 
Any thoughts on that???