Take 5 Cookie Bars

I really love Take 5 candy bars, but I will admit that I almost never purchase them at the store. Sometimes, I will come across a little bar around Halloween, but that’s about it. My father would always make Take 5 bars in a fudge version, and honestly those were probably better than the actual candy bars. I don’t see that I have made and posted that recipe, so that will certainly need to be on my list for holiday baking.

Most of the ingredients used in these bars are things I have on hand. The different chips I usually have on hand, usually have pretzels, and sometimes have peanuts. My mom had a big container of peanuts, and she said I could take some, so that’s where my peanuts came from. Thanks Mom! Pretzels I had fancy seasoned ones (not good here) but also little packs of traditional twist pretzels. The small packs keep us from using/eating some of the pretzels and then letting the rest of the bag go stale.

These came together quickly, even though there are lots of ingredients. It makes sense as Take 5 bars combines all sorts of flavors! For the pretzels, I opened up a little bag at a time and stopped when it seemed like the cookie base was covered. (I think I used 2 little bags?) I used just 2 cups of chocolate chips for the topping, and I could have used a little more, but I didn’t want the chocolate to be too thick. These cut wonderfully, even in my kitchen which is on the warm side. Some others noted that the bar cookie separated from the chocolate/pretzel layer, but I didn’t have any issue. These are so good. Do I like the cookies bars or the fudge more? Hmm, I’m not sure…

Take 5 Cookie Bars
½ cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla 
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups flour
1 cup chopped peanuts
½ cup peanut butter chips
¾ cup caramel baking bits
2 cups broken pretzels
2-3 cups chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon shortening 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9”x13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter and beat again on medium. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms. Stir in the peanuts, peanut butter chips, and caramel bits by hand. Spread the dough in the prepared pan. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, until browned along the edges. Cool completely.

When the bars are cool, melt the chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds to prevent burning. Lay the broken pretzels on top of the cooled bars and spread the melted chocolate on top. Let it set at room temperature before cutting into bars with a hot knife.

Recipe from Inside BruCrew Life

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

I have had a streak lately of a few recipes that simply didn’t turn out the way that I had hoped. I was chatting with friends about this and one of them mentioned that it was encouraging that even someone with lots of experience even has days when things don’t work. That is absolutely true! I try my best to read through the recipe in advance and sometimes I pick up on potential issues, but it’s not a perfect process.

When the cookies I was making didn’t turn out, I had already planned these as a backup. (Yes, I did have some concerns about the first recipe.) They use mainly prepared ingredients, which isn’t my first choice, but comes in handy occasionally. This uses refrigerated crescent rolls, which are widely available in the states but not really anywhere else in the world. Perhaps pastry crust would work, but I haven’t tried that. 

I was able to get the crescent rolls to cover the pan with little problem, and while I could have sealed the seams better, it wasn’t an issue. I added the filling and then spread the remaining crescent rolls on a piece of parchment, otherwise getting the top on would be challenging. Topping with cinnamon sugar covers all potential issues! These were quick to make. My only issue was I only let the bars cool about an hour before cutting, which wasn’t nearly long enough. Make these, but make sure that you have plenty of time to cool the bars before serving. 

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
Two packages refrigerated crescent rolls
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla 
½ cup butter, melted
3/4 cup cinnamon sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9” x 13” pan and set aside.

Roll the dough from one can of crescent rolls in a single layer in the bottom of the pan. Pinch together any seams to seal them shut. 

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla on medium until combined. Spread the mixture over the bottom layer of dough.

Unroll the second roll of crescent dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and shape into a rectangle, pinching the seams to seal. Carefully transfer the top sheet of dough to the pan, covering the filling completely.

Pour/brush the melted butter over the top of the bars and then sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar. 

Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden. The filling will be somewhat jiggly, but that is expected. Allow to cool for several hours in the refrigerator before cutting into bars.

Recipe from The Domestic Rebel

KitKat Brownies

My husband and I have been visiting the local Trader Joe’s, and they always have a bounty of interesting items. Sometimes I see items and keep them in the back of my mind. I’m usually thinking “What recipe could use that item?” I don’t always have an answer, but when I was looking through recipes, I found the perfect thing! 

The recipe I found was for KitKat Brownies. Trader Joe’s had a candy bar that was a peanut butter wafer covered with chocolate. They are a little different from Kit-Kats, they are slightly thicker and aren’t scored into 4 parts. For this recipe, you need to cut the candies to fit the pan anyway. I used about three and a half bars of Trader Joe’s version, including the bit that I chopped up and sprinkled on top.

This was an unusual recipe for me that I didn’t use the mixer. You just have to make sure that you start with a large enough bowl to melt the butter and chocolate. The whisking takes a little effort, just to make sure that all of the ingredients are properly incorporated. You have barely enough batter to make the base and then top the bars. These are a little difficult to test for doneness, so I baked them for a full 30 minutes. These cut beautifully, just be careful with the wafer candies. These have a lovely crunch, but then a gooey brownie as well. They are just excellent!

KitKat Brownies
½ cup butter
6 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
6-8 KitKat Bars (enough to fit the pan)

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

Cut the butter into cubes and place in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add the chocolate chips to the bowl. Microwave the butter/chocolate mixture in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Remove from the microwave and whisk in the sugar, whisked eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt to the bowl and whisk to incorporate fully and no lumps remain. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan.

Top with a layer of candies, cut as needed to fit the pan. Top with the remaining batter. Chop some of the remaining candies and sprinkle on top of the brownies.
 
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the center of the brownies is baked. It is difficult to test the bars with the candies in the center but do your best. 

Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting them into bars.

Recipe from Bite-Sized Bash

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

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

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

Almond Paste Bars

I have been looking through the recipes that I have bookmarked, trying to find some gems that I had forgotten about. I came across these cookies, called Dutch Letter Bars, and I’m a big fan of anything that uses almond paste. During the holidays, I had stocked up on almond paste, so I had two packages on hand! The original recipe called for 8 ounces of almond paste, but you will often find 7 ounce packages and that’s absolutely fine.

I don’t know anything about Dutch Letter Bars. The blog talks about the tulip festival in Iowa that inspired these bars. I have also heard about the tulip festival in Michigan and also the tulip festival here locally in the Skagit Valley. These bars reminded her of Dutch Letter Bars with their crunchy, sugared top. Ok…I renamed these Almond Paste Bars.

These are super easy to make; my biggest challenge was getting the almond paste mixed in fully. Next time, I think I would mix the butter, almond paste, and sugar until smooth and then add the eggs and flour. I sprinkled the top with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, and it made a lovely crackly top. These bars are so good- almond paste makes everything so fantastic. These were easy and are such a treat!

Almond Paste Bars
1 cup butter
7-8 ounces almond paste
2 cups sugar 
2 eggs
2 cups flour
Additional 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, combine all the ingredients and mix until blended and smooth. I found it helpful to break the almond paste into pieces so it blends more easily. Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle with additional sugar. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the bars are set and light golden in color. Allow the cookies to cool completely before cutting into bars. 

Recipe from The House on Silverado

Biscoff Caramel Cinnamon Bars

I had been looking for recipes to use the cinnamon pear caramel that I had on hand. I found a recipe and then looked in my cupboard, and I thought that I had grabbed the cinnamon pear caramel, but I had not. Who knew that I had both cinnamon pear caramel and cinnamon pear preserves? While I found this to be shocking, it also meant that I needed to find a recipe for the caramel. 

I found this recipe and since the caramel contained cinnamon, I had planned on making my own version of cookie butter, using cinnamon graham crackers. Biscoff is already cinnamon based, so I ended up using the store-bought product. This saved a little time, which was good since the layers of these bars take a bit of effort.

You par-bake the bottom crust and then add the caramel and finish baking. My caramel needed to be heated a bit in order to make it spreadable, but 25 seconds in the microwave was all it needed. I refrigerated the bars before cutting, and I do think they taste better once they were at room temperature. I thought that the layers would be more distinct, but they weren’t obvious. I really love these cookies- they have a terrific cinnamon flavor from the caramel and Biscoff spread. They are gooey from the caramel, and the oats give them good substance. They are a great combination!

Biscoff Caramel Cinnamon Bars
2 cups flour
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup Biscoff cookie butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup caramel sauce

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 bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, cookie butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/oat mixture, stirring until the dough just comes together. 

Press half of the dough evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes. 
Remove the pan from the oven. Carefully pour the caramel over the partially-baked base.
 
Flatten pieces of the remaining dough and place on top of the caramel. Continue with additional pieces of dough until the dough covers the caramel. You can spread the dough slightly with damp hands, but the top layer won’t be perfect. Make sure that the dough is even and press the dough down gently.

Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until the bars are golden. Allow the bars to cool completely and the caramel sets before cutting into bars. 

Recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod

Cinnamon Pear Crumb Bars

I had a little bit more time to bake this week, so I was determined to make a recipe with one of the specialty caramel or jams that we had recently purchased. My plan was to use the Pear Cinnamon Caramel that we had picked up when we vacationed at the end of summer in Leavenworth, WA. It’s a cute down decorated as a Bavarian Village, with little shops and lots of outdoor activities. (There was too much smoke in the air at the time from forest fires, so we didn’t do much outdoors.)

This recipe was originally an apple/salted caramel recipe and I thought I could adapt that without too much trouble. I used pears instead of apples, and used cinnamon as the primary spice. You can use fresh or canned pears, depending on what is available near you. The pear mixture was easy to put together, and after sitting for a few minutes, a second stir helped incorporate all of the flour/sugar mixture. 

I went to get the cinnamon pear caramel and I found cinnamon pear jam, and I initially thought that was what I needed, but it wasn’t. I am not sure where the caramel was, but I am certain I will find it. The cinnamon pear jam worked great with this recipe, so I’m not too sad! These bars are quite substantial, but they cut easily and while they are a little soft, they are so good. I’m sure these would be great with caramel as well, but now I need to find a recipe to use with the pear cinnamon caramel (when I find it).

Cinnamon Pear Crumb Bars
5 cups diced pears
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup cinnamon pear jam

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1-2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Make the filling: in a medium bowl, combine the diced pears and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add to the bowl with the pears and stir gently; set aside.

Make the crust: in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the pieces of butter and pulse the food processor 10 times to cut in the butter. Whisk 1 egg and the vanilla together and then add to the food processor. Pulse until the dough comes together. While the dough will be crumbly, if the dough is too dry, whisk an additional egg and add the to the food processor, mixing it into the dough.

Pat half of the dough into the base of the prepared pan. Stir the pear mixture over the base and then top with pear cinnamon jam. Crumble the remaining dough over the bars and press down lightly. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

Cranberry Apple Butter Oat Cookies

I have a list of recipes that I plan to bake before my big holiday baking starts. I have a lot of Halloween candy in the house, but when it came time to bake, I just didn’t feel like chopping up candy for the cookies. Some days I am just tired! Hopefully I will get to those soon, as I certainly don’t need to eat all of that candy. I looked through the recipes that I have saved and came across this oat cookie.

I thought that I had some cranberry apple butter on hand, that my husband and I had recently picked up at a local festival. I did have that and I thought that would add an interesting twist to this recipe. You can use apple butter, but this is apple butter with a little extra flavor. Anything with apple butter is going to be a bit soft and sticky, and that was true for these cookies.

The original recipe said that it would make 3 dozen cookies, and I questioned that since it used 5 cups of flour/oats. I ended up making a little over 4 dozen cookies, and I don’t think that I would have wanted them to be any larger. They are sticky, so flattening them worked best with a slightly damp palm of my hand. They don’t look remarkably different once you bake them, but they are set. I baked mine closer to 13 minutes, and they remained soft. These have a great oat flavor, and I like the subtle addition of cranberry to these cookies.

Cranberry Apple Butter Oat Cookies
2 cups flour
3 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup cranberry apple butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until the mixture looks like damp sand. Add the eggs, cranberry apple butter, and vanilla and mix again on medium until smooth.

With the mixer running on low, add 1/3 of the flour/oat mixture, mixing until nearly combined. Add another 1/3 of the flour/oats and mix, then add the remaining flour/oat mixture and stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be soft.

Scoop the dough into the baking sheet using a 1 tablespoon scoop, making dough balls about 1-1/4” in diameter. Flatten the cookies slightly. 

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies are soft but set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Sweet, Savory & Sassy

Nutella Pumpkin Spice Bars

I find most of the recipes I use online, and that is always the first place that I look when I am finding a recipe to use up an ingredient. My husband and I often visit my Mom to help her with things around the house. Recently when we were there, I came across a Better Homes & Gardens magazine that had a fantastic muffin pictured on the cover. There were other great recipes in the magazine, and my mom said she had read it already, so I brought it home.

I can’t think of the last time I found a recipe in a magazine, but this recipe was one that I knew would be good. While pumpkin isn’t my favorite ingredient, I tried to make at least one pumpkin recipe per year. These, with Nutella, sounded fantastic. The recipe was pretty easy to assemble, although swirling chocolate/Nutella into batter can be a challenge. This time it went fairly well, as you heat up the Nutella in advance to make it more supple.

The batter for these bars is nice and smooth. Canned pumpkin is difficult to measure, so I measured it by weight. That’s a good tip for anything difficult to measure or is super sticky (peanut butter, etc.). Pour the batter in the pan, swirl with Nutella, then bake. I wasn’t sure how long to bake the bars; I opted for the longer time. Still, these bars are soft and cake-like, which is what I expect for most recipes with pumpkin. I do like the spice flavor of these, and combined with Nutella, make a very tasty bar cookie!

Nutella Pumpkin Spice Bars
1-1/3 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup Nutella

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat together the pumpkin, vegetable oil, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium until smooth. With the mixer running on low, gradually add flour mixture, until the mixture is not lumpy.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top. Place the Nutella in a bowl and microwave for 30-60 seconds to soften. Drizzle the Nutella over the batter and then using a thin knife, swirl the Nutella into the pumpkin batter. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a thin knife inserted into the batter comes out clean. Cool for at least an hour before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, October 2025

Cinnamon Chai Blondies

They are doing a lot of road construction around our area, and I have gotten to the point that I almost don’t want to go anywhere. First, they closed the road to the left of our place. That’s back open but now they have closed the road to the right. That is more inconvenient in some ways, as now I have to take a different route to work. And there are many more stoplights to contend with. I’m just hopeful that all of these closures will make the area better in the end.

I’m in the house and when I am home, I want to bake. For this recipe, I wanted something homey, but I also knew that I wouldn’t be taking them elsewhere. I looked for a small batch recipe, and this recipe was perfect. The blondies are a simple brown sugar blondie, then you top it with a mix of chai-inspired spices. The original recipe called for ¼ teaspoon of cardamom, which isn’t my favorite, so I simply added some additional ginger.

These baked up well but sank a little as they cooled. Sometimes that means that they needed to bake more, but I would be hesitant to do that with these blondies, which seemed perfectly baked. You want these to have a soft texture, so baking more would likely dry them out. Some bakers noted that they were unable to find cinnamon chips, which can be a challenge. I tend to order them online, where they are consistently available, as I love cinnamon chips and I’m happy to use them whenever I can!

Cinnamon Chai Blondies
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cinnamon chips

2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon cloves

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

In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium, until the mixture is light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again on medium to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until the dough just comes together. Fold in the cinnamon chips with a spatula. 

Spread the dough in the prepared pan. Make the chai topping: in a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Sprinkle the chai topping over the unbaked blondies.

Bake for 20 minutes, until the bars begin to brown along the edges. Allow the blondies to cool before removing them from the pan and cutting into bars.

Recipe from The Salted Sweets

Cinnamon Apple Bars

It’s fall and I am so excited to have many recipes to make and a cooler house to bake in! Work is starting back, and despite all the stress of work, a sweet treat is always appreciated. This week, I had a big meeting with colleagues, some who aren’t aware of all of the baking I do. I brought these cookies, and they were a big hit! 

I love baking with apples, and my husband had purchased some cinnamon dried apples to use in recipes. I had used these before, and used up all of them very quickly, so I was happy to have more. They can be used (in most recipes) in the place of fresh apples. Sometimes I have fresh apples, sometimes I don’t This recipe also gave options to use for the additional chips: cinnamon, caramel, toffee, etc. I used cinnamon chips since the apples I used also contained cinnamon.

I did bake these on what turned out to be a warm day, but they were quick to assemble and baked up in under 25 minutes. The dough is sticky, and it isn’t the easiest thing to spread in the pan but do your best. These were a dream to cut, and the flavors are fantastic! The dried cinnamon apples give the bars some chewiness, and the combination of brown sugar and cinnamon is fantastic. These are so easy, and it would be fun to try different fruit and chip varieties.

Cinnamon Apple Bars
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup diced cinnamon apples
1/2 cup cinnamon chips

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until light. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. With the mixer running on low, add the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Using a spatula, fold in the cinnamon apples and cinnamon chips.

Spread the dough as evenly as possible in the prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top of the bars look set. Allow to cool before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.

Recipe from Closet Cooking

Coffee Toffee Brownies

I have been planning to make these brownies for some time, I even planned ahead and purchased heavy cream. I don’t always have that on hand and I wanted to be prepared. I finally got around to making these, and I am so glad that I did. It was certainly warm in the house when I made them, but they are so tasty that they are worth it!

I followed the recipe as written, but in creating this blog post, I realize that I should have added ½ cup of powdered sugar with the cocoa powder and flour. I write the recipe in a notebook so I don’t have to bring my laptop into the kitchen. I just skipped it, apparently. In eating the brownies, they aren’t lacking sweetness so I am not worried. You can taste the coffee somewhat, but it isn’t overpowering. The main thing is that you don’t want to over bake these.

I was slightly worried that I had over baked the brownies, as the knife came out clean after baking 28 minutes. But they are the perfect level of fudginess, topped with chocolate ganache. They are wonderfully decadent. The toffee chips on top add a touch of crunch, which juxtaposes the richness of the brownie. I can imagine topping these brownies with lots of different ingredients!

Coffee Toffee Brownies
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla 
⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup flour
¾ cup chocolate chips
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons espresso powder

¾ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla 
About ⅓ cup toffee bits

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

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and sugar, stir momentarily with a whisk. Allow the mixture to set for 5 minutes, to help the sugar start to dissolve. After 5 minutes, whisk strongly for about 30 seconds. Add the eggs, water, and vanilla and whisk again for 30 seconds. At this point, you will want to switch to a spatula.

Add the cocoa powder, flour, chocolate chips, salt, and espresso powder to the bowl and stir with a spatula until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is shiny. Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing the top as much as possible.

Bake for 28-30 minutes, until a knife inserted in the brownies comes out almost clean. There may be some fudginess, but there shouldn’t be raw batter. Allow to begin cooling while making the ganache.

In a small microwaveable bowl, combine the chocolate chips, heavy cream, and vanilla. Microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, until the mixture is smooth. I find that you need to heat the mixture briefly, then the chips melt and the ganache comes together as you stir. Top the brownies with the ganache and then sprinkle with toffee chips.

Refrigerate for several hours before cutting.

Recipe from Celebrating Sweets

Nutella Crumb Bars

Summer is great and I have time, and I want to bake, but then the house is warm, and it really drains all the energy that I have. Sometimes I will go to work, as even my office with big sunny windows (but with air conditioning) is more comfortable that home. At least we have portable air conditioners at home, which helps somewhat. It makes me long for rainy weather, which makes my California friends shake their heads. What can I say?

When I do go to work, I can take treats for folks, which I love to do. Sometimes there is enough for everyone to share, and other times I just bring in a couple of treats for different individuals. I had these bars on my radar for a while. I regularly have all of the ingredients on hand, although I will say I get a bit nervous when my butter supply is low! I also checked my Nutella supply, and I was good.

While the house is warm, I hoped that having the oven on for a short while would be ok, and it was. I think I get warm when I am up and about, doing things. I baked these in the morning, and that helped a lot. These cookies have a shortbread base, you par-bake that and then top with Nutella and a crumb topping. There are several steps, but they are all very simple. I refrigerated the bars before cutting, and I would advise you not to skip that step. These bars are a bit crumbly, with the perfect flavor of Nutella shining through.

Nutella Crumb Bars
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Nutella
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8” square pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light. Stir in the vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix until the dough forms, which may be a bit crumbly. Press the dough into the prepared pan.

Bake the base for 20-25 minutes, until set. Remove the pan from the oven but keep the oven at temperature.

Spread the Nutella (carefully) over the partially based base. 

Make the crumb topping: in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Add the melted butter and mix until the topping looks like wet sand. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the Nutella. 

Bake for 15-18 additional minutes, until golden. 

Cool the bars completely before cutting them into bars. I placed the bars in the refrigerator in order to make sure that the bars were as cool as possible.

Recipe from Just So Tasty

Crunchy Nut Bars

I often go through recipes looking for items that contain a certain ingredient. I may have a stock of a certain type of chips or a type of cereal, and I want to find recipes that will use those items. While I am pretty good at checking to make sure that I haven’t made a recipe previously, it’s not a perfect science. Names of recipes change, as well as some of the ingredients, and I’m none the wiser that I have made the item before.

This recipe is one that I have basically made before, but enough things changed, so I didn’t recognize it right away. This is a classic Pillsbury Bake Off recipe, which is very tasty, but I did want to make this different. This recipe uses a cake mix base, which is good now that it’s summer and the house is warm. It’s a short-cut I use from time to time. I also changed the nuts; the original called for roasted peanuts, and I ended up using the butter toffee mixed nuts that I had on hand. Ok, it’s a bit of a sweet cookie adding more things that are sweet, but life goes on.

Using the cake mix did save a couple of minutes, so that is an option when you are pressed for time. I don’t struggle that much when making dough, but others have different experiences. Puffing the marshmallows really adds to these bars, giving them that soft but melty texture. I did worry that using butter toffee nuts would be over the top. They are sweet, but not overly so. It’s hard to think of peanut butter chips as a “savory” option, but they do help balance these bars.

Crunchy Nut Bars
1 yellow cake mix
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
3 cups mini marshmallows

10 ounces peanut butter chips
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups butter toffee nuts (or roasted peanuts)

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, combine the cake mix, 1/3 cup butter, and egg. Stir on low until the mixture becomes crumbly and the dough starts to come together. Press the dough into the prepared pan.

Bake for 12-18 minutes, until golden.

Immediately top the bars with 3 cups of mini marshmallows, distributing evenly. Return the pan to the oven to puff the marshmallows, for about 90 seconds. Remove the bars from the oven.

Make the topping: in a medium saucepan, combine the peanut butter chips, corn syrup, butter, and vanilla. Heat on low, stirring frequently, until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the Rice Krispies and the nuts.

Spoon the topping over the puffed marshmallows as evenly as possible. This can be a bit fussy, so don’t try to rush. Refrigerate for at least an hour before cutting into bars.

Recipe from It’s a Keeper

Roasted Cherry Brownies

Using fresh fruit in baking, as I have mentioned previously, can be really difficult. It’s cherry season, and I really wanted to get some cherries. I am never a big fan of pitting cherries, but it’s not that bad if the quantity isn’t too much. I bought cherries, but with some other baking I didn’t get the cherries pitted and the brownies made for a couple of days. 

I got the cherries roasted, which wasn’t difficult. I’m not sure how much that changes the nature of the cherries, but it felt like it was an important step. You don’t use all of the roasted cherries in the brownie, as you top the brownies with additional cherries. Of course I forgot to do that, but the brownies were fine. That’s what I get when I have ten minutes to cut and photograph the brownies!

You could make this recipe by hand, but it’s a lot easier to use the mixer. You do have to be careful not to deflate the whipped up batter when you add the roasted cherries and chocolate chips. There is a little bit of deflation of the brownie batter, but not a lot. These brownies, as you bake them until they are still a little undone in the middle, are very fudgy. They aren’t over-the-top sweet, but you do get bites of chocolate chips that add a nice sweetness. I like the addition of cherries, and I am curious how I can incorporate other fruit in my baking. 

Roasted Cherry Brownies
2 cups cherries: washed, pitted and cut in half
Sugar

1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs + 1 yolk
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the cut cherries over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with some sugar. Bake for 10 minutes and then allow the cherries to cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Line an 8” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the sugar, eggs and egg yolk on high for 5 minutes. Add the slightly cooled butter, then the vegetable oil and vanilla. Stir until the mixture comes together.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture. Fold in 1 cup of the roasted cherries. Spread the brownie batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until set but may be slightly soft in the center. Cool completely. Top the brownies with additional cherries then freeze for 15 minutes before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Stephanie’s Sweet Treats

Swirled Rhubarb Bars

My husband and I recently visited our local farmer’s market. We are typically there for just a short time, as we pretty much know what we are looking for. In this case, it was good that our trip was short, as just as we made it back to the car, it started pouring. We were certainly fortunate to miss the rain, and we had found the items we were looking for, so all was good.

The main thing I wanted to get was rhubarb; I had found a recipe last year, but it was too late to find rhubarb. I wasn’t going to miss it this year! We did purchase rhubarb, but we had also bought some different jams, including rhubarb jam. Since the first part of this recipe was to make rhubarb jam, I made a crumble with the rhubarb and used the jam for these bars.

With the premade jam, these bars came together quickly. They take a while to bake, but your time in the kitchen isn’t long. I will say that the bars had more swirls before I baked them, but it evens out some in the oven. These cut beautifully and have that wonderful tang that you get with rhubarb. I wasn’t sure about including the white chocolate, but they add a little bite of sweetness. 

Swirled Rhubarb Bars
1 1/3 cups (284g) packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups (180g) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup white chocolate, chips or chopped
About 3/4 cup rhubarb jam

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

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, and vanilla. Melt the butter in the microwave (or in a small pan over low heat) and pour over the brown sugar mixture. Whisk for about a minute; the mixture will lighten and become thicker. Add the eggs and whisk until combined. 

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Stir into the mixture, and when the flour almost disappears into the batter, add the white chocolate and stir to incorporate.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Drop teaspoonfuls of rhubarb jam on top of the batter. Use a small knife to swirl the jam into the bars.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until set and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out almost clean. Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Recipe from King Arthur Baking

Cinnamon Toast Bars

Cinnamon toast: the food of choice for when you aren’t feeling great! I have some fond memories of cinnamon toast, although I couldn’t really tell you how often I had it when I was growing up. I do recall that if your tummy wasn’t feeling great, it was the standard. I don’t think I have had cinnamon toast in ages, but it remains a good memory.

This bar cookie version was just too good to pass up! When I find a recipe, I always check my blog to make sure I haven’t made it previously (which is important since my blog has over 1400 posts). This was such a favorite from growing up that I was sure I had made something similar, but I had not!

Initially the recipe called for large quantities of the ingredients, but that was double this recipe, for a 13” x 18” pan. I halved everything and made it in my 9” x 13” and it was perfect- even the baking times. These have a cake-like base and then the lovely cinnamon sugar topping. The cooled quickly and cut beautifully! They look great with the cinnamon sugar topping, but it’s the flavor that makes these a winner. They are so good!

Cinnamon Toast Bars
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 cups flour
1 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

10 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cups sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.

Melt the butter; set aside to allow it to cool while you make the bars. In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; stir to mix evenly. With the mixer running on low, stir in the melted butter, milk, and vanilla. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 23 minutes.

During the last five minutes of the baking time, prepare the topping. Melt the butter in a large measuring cup. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the sugar and cinnamon, until the mixture is smooth. If the mixture sits for any length of time, give it another whisk, as you want the mixture to be smooth when you add it to the bars.

When the bars come out of the oven, immediately pour the butter/cinnamon sugar mixture over the bars, slowly starting at the edges and then gradually working towards the center of the pan. If you need to even out the topping at all, you can do so using the back of a spoon.

Bake for an additional 8 minutes. The topping will be bubbling when you take the bars out of the oven. Cool before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Barefeet in the Kitchen