Always Bring Dessert

Whenever I'm asked to bring something to an event,
I'm always the first one to chime in that I'm bring dessert. 
Not only do I LOVE making dessert,
but I'm going to tell you a not-so-big secret. 
Ready?!?

I hate cooking.
No really...I hate it.
Plus, I really don't know what to bring to an event.
I love to eat fabulous cooking
and can really appreciate the light or bold flavors,
but as for me...cooking stinks!
Yes...I can cook, but I do not find joy in it.
Yes...I can make specific dishes that are delicious, but I don't like to do it.
It's a necessity, because no one can just eat baked goods.

I'd rather be mixing beautiful berries,
or luscious chocolate over low heat until it's creamy
and thick enough to pour into a cream pie.
Yummm....
To me, all of that work is worth the beauty that is.....
DESSERT!

Plus, when I think of making dessert, the possibilities are endless!
This time, I'm going to bring a little summer into the cold winter nights.

Marionberry Lemonade Bars

Adapted from IMPROV Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

• 9 T. (1 stick + 1 T.) butter
• ¼ c. sugar
• 1 c. flour
• 1 t. vanilla extract

For the Filling:

• 2 cups Marionberries frozen from the summer- thawed
• ¾ c. sugar
• ⅔ c. lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 c. flour
• pinch of salt

powdered sugar for dusting on top

Preheat oven to 350º F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper so you can easily lift the bars out once they've cooled. I generally grease and flour the pan liberally and have an easy time popping the bars out.

To Make the Crust:

This is super simple. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer, then add in vanilla. Add flour until just incorporated. Make a ball with the dough and place it in the baking pan.  Press the dough with your hands until it evenly covers the bottom of the dish. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until slightly golden brown.

To make the filling:

Thaw the marionberries, I just place them in the microwave for about 2 minutes.  Using your mixer again, place your berries, sugar, egg whites, egg, lemon juice, flour, and salt into the bowl and combine. Pour the mixture into the crust.   It will be a bit runny, but will thicken up...but these are not as firm as other types of bars. Bake for 30-40 minutes depending on the sized baking dish and the thickness of the berry portion.  

Let the bars cool to room temperature and then place in the refrigerator for 4 hours. You can place them in the freezer if you need them sooner but refrigerator is best. Cut into bars or as I did, into bite-sized pieces.  Dig in!

 For many fun variations of this recipe and other great ideas,

head over the IMPROV Kitchen

Cookie-Brownie Bars

Getting ready for a Bake Sale is tough work.
Okay...yes, there is the difficult work of making everything...
but the real work was trying to figure out what to make! 
Some things were easy to decide on, but then I got stuck. 
I wanted to make cookies, because...well...
if the world was coming to an end then I would want cookies. 
A lot of cookies...Heck, the world is ending people!  Who cares how many cookies I eat?!?


But, not everyone loves cookies to the great extent that I do, so I needed something else too.
Fact...people love chocolate and brownies have a lot of chocolate.
So what is a girl to do?!  I know! 
Just mash the two things together and...boom! 
Chocolate Chip Cookie- Brownie Bar!

Cookie-Brownie Bars
Recipe Adapted from
Mandy's Recipe Box- Double Cookies and Cream Bars

Ingredients: 2 sticks of butter, softened 1 c. sugar 1 c. packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla extract 3 c. flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. kosher salt 1 brownie mix (Yes, it feels like cheating to me...but I'm tired.) - 3 eggs - vegetable oil - water   Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Line a 9x13 baking dish with tin foil or just spray with cooking spray. Use the tin foil...it will save you time! 3. Place butter and sugars into a large bowl, stir to combine. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Press 1/2 of the dough into the bottom of prepared baking pan.   4. Prepare the Brownie Mix according to the package.  Man, this really feels like cheating... 5. Pour Brownie Mix over the top of the cookie layer. 6. Drop chunks of cookie dough into the Brownie Layer. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for 30 minutes, cut into squares and serve. If using tin foil in the pan, let the bars cool, then lift the whole thing out and cut into squares.  Wrap them up and get them ready to sell.  But don't worry that you shouldn't eat a whole bar. There will be little pieces of cookie-brownie to nibble on. :0)

Bake Sale Time!

I'm really excited about this!

This week I'm hosting a bake sale to benefit Smokey's Fund at Fences for Fidos.

Actually...it's tomorrow! Yikes! Who wouldn't want to take an item home for Thanksgiving? It is one less thing to make for the big day...Plus, it's for a fantastic cause and all goods are made with tons of love from ME! Every cent that is spent on a dessert will be given to Smokey's Fund, which is dedicated to caring for elderly dogs found chained. Please see my other post for detailed information about Smokey's Fund or just donate money. I'm sure that you could use another tax donation here as the end of the year is ending quickly!

So, what will be at the bake sale?

Apple Betty Bar                 $1.00

Molasses-Ginger Cookie   $1.00

Berry Bar                         $2.00

Brownie-Cookie Bar           $2.00

Cookie Bag                      $2.00 

Cupcake                         $2.00

Jar of Jam                      $4.00 

Apple Pie Filling               $6.00 

 Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

 Apple Betty Bars

Pumpkin Spice Cupcake,

Banana Cupcake with spiced Cream Cheese Frosting,

and Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Other things that I will have for people to order are the following:

Classic Pumpkin Pie                        

 

Classic Apple Pie                              

Chocolate Cream Pie                     

Brown Sugar Pumpkin Pie                           

Surprise Pie (My Mom’s Fav.)   

6 Pie cupcakes  

Are you hungry yet? :0) 

Creating all of these beautiful treats has filled my sparkle jar very full.  Hopefully, with a successful bake sale day tomorrow, it will be overflowing with sparkle thinking about all of the happy puppy faces that we can help.

Oh Baby! Lemon Bar Love

Lemon Bars. There are so many recipes out there for these tasty little treats, but from what I've found, many of them come up short.  Either the bars are too thin or not lemony enough whenever I've made them.  So my goal today was to make a bar that was thick enough and just enough lemon to satisfy the picky critics.  I think that this recipe is pretty perfect and simple for anyone to make in a jiffy.

So here is my version of lemon bars...

Don't ya love my bulk containers?!

Yep, I'm a bulk buyer...and I love Bob's Red Mill...but more on that later.

Lemon Bar Love

adapted from Bakerella  http://www.bakerella.com/lemon-bars-and-a-little-helper/

Shortbread Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
zest from one lemon
Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (This makes a huge difference in taste-make it fresh!)
confectioner's sugar for dusting on the top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan (This is a VERY important step! Unlike Martha Stewart, I won't forget to tell you this!)

To make shortbread crust: 1. In a mixer on low speed, mix together flour, confectioner’s sugar, and lemon zest.

2. Cut in butter using small amounts until combined and crumbly.
3. Press mixture into bottom of the well-greased pan.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden. It always smelled lovely...I LOVE SHORTBREAD!

To make topping:   1. While crust is baking, prepare topping.  2. Squeeze 3 large lemons.  I like to do this with my hands and then drain to remove seeds.  I love how my kitchen smells so fresh!

3. In your mixer on a low speed, add sugar, flour, and baking powder and mix it up.

4. Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
5. Mix it up well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.
7. When cool, dust with confectioner’s sugar and refrigerate.
8. Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!

  See that little dangling piece?  Yeah, that one.  That's going straight into my mouth!

"Hmmm....Yummmmmm!" said while powdered sugar flies out of my mouth.

Hehehe  :0)