Lemon Poppyseed Cookie Bars

I had picked up several lemons recently at the store as it’s a great ingredient to have on hand. Several recipes that I was considering called for lemon juice/zest, and I just needed to select the right one. I was comparing a couple of recipes, but also being mindful of how many lemons I had. One other recipe I considered required more juice and zest, but I probably would have been ok. That recipe was from a British cook, and I have noticed that lemons in the UK are considerably smaller than the ones I buy locally.

The only atypical ingredient was the sanding sugar to top the bars. It’s a large-grained sugar, but there are lots of other options if you don’t have it on hand. (I had orange sanding sugar, but that wouldn’t really work.) You could use regular sugar or raw sugar, but I crushed up some pearl sugar that I had on hand. Use whatever is convenient for you.

These bars came together quickly, and I was happy that the pearl sugar that I used on top of the bars didn’t completely melt while baking. The poppy seeds weren’t original to the recipe but it had been suggested in the comments. I have made lemon poppy Bundt cake that I adored, so I thought that would be lovely. These bars have a soft texture, not quite as soft as cake and just a little chewy. This recipe was a tasty surprise and super easy to make, and I look forward to making these again.

Lemon Poppyseed Cookie Bars
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla 
¼ teaspoon lemon extract
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Sparkling sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a large mixer bowl, mix the sugar and lemon zest. Mix on medium to mix the flavors and then allow the mixture to set for a few minutes. Add the butter on mix on medium for several minutes, until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon extract. Mix until well combined.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until the flour just disappears into the dough. Add the poppy seeds and stir on low to distribute throughout the dough. Press the dough into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the dough with sparkling sugar. 

Bake for 22-26 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool the bars completely before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Five Heart Home

Blackberry Lemon Meltaway Cookies

I have had this recipe saved for a long time- the cookies looked so perfect for when the weather starts getting nice. It’s a fairly simple butter cookie topped with an icing made from homemade strawberry syrup and lemon juice. The original recipe has you cook down fresh strawberries to make a syrup, which isn’t that hard, but I wasn’t looking forward to standing in front of the stove.

I remembered that I had some Blackberry Syrup in the refrigerator that we have used as a dessert sauce on a few occasions. I had purchased the syrup from Bateman Acres at a local farmer’s market. I figured that the blackberry syrup would work perfectly in place of the strawberry syrup. I did add some lemon juice to the icing, because it adds brightness that is always welcome. 

I made these cookies fairly small, but that seemed to work well. I shaped the cookies and then chilled them for about 10 minutes before baking. I’m not sure that was necessary, as the cookies don’t have any leavening and don’t change much while baking. The icing, with the blackberry syrup is fantastic. You do have to make the icing thick, but I still had a  couple of dribbles that I tidied up, but otherwise the icing stayed put. These are so tasty, the cookie just melts in your mouth and the icing adds the perfect touch of sweetness.

Blackberry Lemon Meltaway Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla 
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups flour
Additional sugar

2 ½ tablespoons blackberry syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 ⅓ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat the oven to 325. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats. 

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter until light. Add the powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add the cornstarch, vanilla, and salt. Stir until smooth. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour. Mix until the dough comes together; the dough may be crumbly. 

Roll the dough into 1 tablespoon balls, then roll the balls in additional sugar. Flatten the cookies to about ½” with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until barely golden. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a cooking rack to cool completely.

Make the icing: in a medium bowl whisk together the blackberry syrup and lemon juice. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until the icing is smooth but thick. Spread the icing on the cooled cookies. Allow the icing to set before serving.

Recipe from The Café Sucre Farine

Baklava Cookies

I really like all of the flavors in baklava, but it’s never quite right. I get a piece and I’m so excited, but then I can’t finish it because it’s usually dry. I’m not quite sure what I can do to overcome that, but this cookie with the flavors of baklava might be just the thing. 

This cookie starts with a cake mix base, which is a nice time saver. That in itself should help from the dryness I associate with baklava. You can use any nuts that you have on hand. Walnuts and pistachios are traditional, but I don’t usually have walnuts on hand. I used pistachios, almonds, and pecans. Not traditional, but more to my tastes! 

You partially bake these cookies, then make an indentation and fill it, then finish baking. That’s a slightly different technique that I am used to, but it makes sense as the indentation usually disappears while baking, and the filling doesn’t need much extra time in the oven. These were all that I dreamed of, without being dry! A nice soft cookie topped with a flavorful filling!

Baklava Cookies
1 box vanilla cake mix
2 eggs
⅓ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup melted butter
1 cup assorted nuts, chopped
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons honey
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
½-1 tablespoon warm water

Heat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with silicon baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cake mix, eggs, and oil on medium until combined. The dough will be thick. In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter, chopped nuts, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon honey, and cinnamon. 

Scoop the dough into the prepared baking sheets, using about 1 tablespoon per cookie. 

Bake for 9 minutes and then remove from the oven. Make an indentation in the cookies with a tart tamper or similar tool. Fill the indentation with the baklava nut filling. 

Bake for an additional 2-3 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze. In a small bowl whisk together the 2 tablespoons honey, powdered sugar, lemon juice and half of the water.  Add additional water if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle over the cookies and allow the glaze to set.

Recipe from Practically Homemade

Crème Brulée Cookie Bars

I have had this cookie saved for quite a while, likely because I look at the recipe and think that I must have already made these bars! Well, I hadn’t made these bars so now is the time. I have quite a supply of white chocolate chips, so this is the perfect recipe. White chocolate can be fussy and burns easily, so when you are melting the butter and white chocolate, watch it carefully. You aren’t going to get a smooth mixture, but it will smooth out when you add other ingredients.

Finding the right toffee bits can be a challenge. You can get plain toffee bits (bits o’ brittle) and toffee bits with chocolate (usually called English toffee bits). I wanted the plain bits for this recipe, but I only had the ones with chocolate. Stores almost universally have one type or the other, but I can never remember which store carries which variety. After visiting a few stores, I was able to get the ones I needed. 

I melted the butter and white chips, and it wasn’t smooth, which is scary! I let it cool then mixed all the other ingredients and added the melted white chocolate mixture and you get a thick, sticky dough. It isn’t all that cooperative when trying to smooth it in the pan; do your best. The bars cut nicely, although the toffee chips want to fall everywhere. These have a beautiful smooth cake base, topped with the sweet toffee crunch. Very tasty indeed!

Crème Brulée Cookie Bars
½ cup butter, room temperature
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 ¼ cups flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup toffee bits

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray. 

In a medium bowl over low heat, or in the microwave, melt the butter and white chocolate chips, stirring frequently to ensure that the mixture doesn’t burn. The mixture won’t be completely smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. 

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, vanilla, salt, and eggs. Mix on medium until smooth. Add the melted white chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the partially baked bars from the oven and top with the toffee bits. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes until browned along the edges. The center may still be slightly soft, but you do not want to over bake the bars. Allow the bars to cool in the refrigerator; the bars will set as they cool. Cut into bars once cool.

Recipe from Crazy for Crust

Nutella Snickerdoodle Bars

My friend occasionally sends me video recipes of items that she thinks I will like. Snickerdoodles are my favorite, and I love hazelnuts, so I can see why she thought I would like these. I thought that for certain I had already made these, but I checked, and I had not! I sometimes can’t follow a video that well, so I wrote down the recipe and instructions and knew that I wanted to make these right away.

I was intrigued by this recipe, as the first thing you do is create a layer of Nutella by spreading it in a pan and freezing it. This is brilliant, as it helps the Nutella keep its shape while baking. Some folks commented that the Nutella needs to be thoroughly frozen; I froze mine for about 2 hours, but I honestly didn’t track it specifically. Don’t skip on this step.

The frozen Nutella is one part and classic snickerdoodle dough is the other. The dough is exactly as expected. You place half of the dough in the pan and then top with the Nutella. The top layer is a little more tricky, as you want an even layer. I took pieces of dough, flattened them and put together the top layer. That way, you didn’t have to attempt to spread the dough, which likely wouldn’t work. These cookies are so good! They have the lovely snickerdoodle flavor with the added decadence of Nutella. 

Nutella Snickerdoodle Bars
1 cup Nutella
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon sugar

Line a 9” square pan with foil. Spread the Nutella in the pan in an even layer. Freeze the Nutella for at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an additional 9” square pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until well combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix again on medium to incorporate. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, cream of tartar, and baking powder. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Mix until the dough just comes together. 

Divide the dough into two halves. Press one half evenly into the prepared pan. Place the frozen layer of Nutella on top of the dough. Top with an even layer of the remaining dough. I found it best to flatten the dough slightly and then piece together the top layer. Press down to seal the dough. Sprinkle the top of the cookies with about 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 23-25 minutes, until browned along the edges. Allow the bars to cool completely. Once cool, remove from the pan, peel away the foil, and cut into bars. 

Recipe from A Little Calm

Peanut Butter and Jelly and Nutella Cookies

At work, my friend recently moved from a temporary position to a permanent one, which is reason to celebrate! We all have the favorites that we love to eat, and one day I noticed that she was having peanut butter and jelly. She corrected me and said it was peanut butter and jelly and Nutella. I knew immediately that I wanted to recreate those three items together in a cookie. 

I found a couple of PB&J recipes that I felt I could alter to include Nutella as well. I chose the recipe you see below, but I made a ganache with Nutella, instead of using peanut butter ganache. I also used the Nutella ganache as a drizzle to finish the cookies. I had thought about adding chopped hazelnuts to garnish as well, but perhaps that would have been too much.

These cookies are quite large, and they are a little fussy. The dough is sticky, but I could work with that. The cookies came out of the oven really flat, so I had to shape them a bit (using this method). Make sure the ganache cools a bit before using it, or it will be too runny. I used seedless raspberry jam, but you have lots of options, and heating the jam slightly helps a lot. These cookies, while huge and a bit delicate, are fantastic. They were so enjoyed and I had several people come to me and say they were just the best!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly and Nutella Cookies
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 

1 cup Nutella
¾ cup heavy cream
Raspberry Jam

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, then add the eggs and vanilla. Mix again on medium to combine. Mix in the peanut butter. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, until the soft dough comes together. 

Separate the dough into 24 portions. Shape each portion into a flattened bowl, and then make an indentation in each cookies. The dough is quite sticky, so it may help to wet your hands or use nonstick spray . Place on a parchment covered plate or baking sheet and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
Place 6 cookies on each baking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until set.

Once the cookies come out of the oven, reshape the cookies as needed, and press the center of the cookies to make a deeper indentation. Allow the cookies to set and cool. 

Make the ganache: place the Nutella in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream until almost boiling. Pour the hot cream over the Nutella and allow it to sit for two minutes. Slowly whisk the mixture until the ganache is smooth and shiny. Allow to cool slightly before assembling the cookies. 

Assemble the cookies: fill the indentation in the cookie with the cooled Nutella ganache, and then top with a dallop of raspberry jam (heated to make it more viscous). Abstractly drizzle some additional Nutella ganache to finish the cookies. 

Recipe inspired by In Bloom Bakery
Ganache recipe from Sugar & Sparrow

Nut Toffee Bars

It feels like the seasons are changing and I try to find recipes that reflect the sunnier days that we are having. Of course, next week may be rainy and gloomy, so it’s hard to know what direction you should go! Most of the recipes that catch my interest and more appropriate for fall, but I did recently try to sort recipes that I have saved to remind myself of these spring-friendly recipes.

This week I am still sticking with my tried and true- so this is an oat bar topped with toffee, chocolate, and nuts. I had all of these ingredients on hand (generally speaking) so they were quick to make. This recipe originally called for sliced almonds, which is a logical ingredient to pair with toffee chips, but I didn’t actually have any almonds. I had almond flour, but no almonds, which I found shocking. I did have pistachios, so I used those instead.

The base of these cookies can be mixed by hand, and it is really rare for me to find a recipe that doesn’t require my stand mixer. You then just top with the toffee bits, chips, and nuts and cover everything with sweetened condensed milk. That tends to make things super sweet, so I try to use it sparingly. These baked up well and were easy to cut (always a plus). They have a nice sturdy base, and the chocolate and toffee flavors shine through and the nuts add a nice crunch.

Nut Toffee Bars
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cup rolled oats 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter 
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup pistachios/sliced almonds
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, oats and salt. Stir in melted butter and mix well. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the base with toffee bits, then chocolate chips, then the nuts. Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the bars.

Bake for 30 minutes, until lightly browned along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing from the pan, peeling away the foil and cutting into bars.

Recipe from Lil’ Luna