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

Monster Cookie Cheesecake Bars

I still had Reese’s Pieces left after I made the cute bunny cookies. I wanted to try something different, and I came across these cheesecake bars. Monster Cookies and Monster Cookie Bars are not unusual, but I did a search and I haven’t made anything in this family of baking, which I thought was strange. I knew I could use the Reese’s Pieces in this recipe, as it was already peanut butter-forward.

Since I was making a peanut butter variation, I decided to use peanut butter chips in place of the traditional chocolate chips. I only had about half a cup (and not the 1 cup that the recipe requested) but that didn’t seem to make a difference. I also substituted Reese’s Pieces for the M&Ms. You can add additional Reese’s Pieces on top of the bars after they have baked, but I tried and all the extra Reese’s Pieces fell off when I cut them into bars.

There are a lot of ingredients in these bars, including 4 eggs! I planned to make these earlier in the week but I didn’t have eggs or aluminum foil. Then I was half-way through making the bars and I realized I had less-fat cream cheese and I don’t use that for baking. A quick trip to the store and I was sorted, and then the bars came together. They are very substantial, but even so they cut very easily. They have a perfect peanut butter flavor, and the cheesecake layer adds a lovely tang.

Monster Cookie Cheesecake Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup oats
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
3/4 cup Reese’s Pieces

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. On medium, mix in the peanut butter. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and oats. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/oat mixture and stir until a dough forms. Fold in the chips and Reese’s Pieces.   

Divide the dough into halves. Press half of the dough into the prepared pan. The remaining dough will become the topping.

Bake the bottom crust for 5 minutes. While the bottom crust is baking, prepared the cheesecake layer: in a mixer bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and eggs. Mix until the batter is smooth and any lumps of cream cheese have been incorporated.

Once the cookie base comes out of the oven, pour the cream cheese mixture over the base and smooth the top. Crumble the remaining cookie dough over the cheesecake layer.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cheesecake is set and the bars are browned along the edges. Chill for several hours before cutting into bars.

Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Iced Oatmeal Cookie Bars

As someone who bakes a lot, I have a lot of people who think that I only like homemade cookies, and that the ones from the store don’t interest me. That couldn’t be further from the truth! There are some store-bought cookies that are my favorites. I don’t always like it when the cafeteria-type kitchens make cookies; those often leave a lot to be desired.

I can think of a couple of store-bought cookies that I love. Oreos are one, because the crunch of an Oreo is hard to replicate at home. Another favorite of my childhood is the Mother’s Iced Oatmeal cookies. I could eat so many of those! Whenever I see a recipe that replicates those, I try to make it right away.

I have previously made a cookie version of iced oatmeal cookies, but not a bar version. You do want to cut the oats down some, but thankfully I have a small food processor that works for about a cup of ingredients. Otherwise, these bars come together easily and bake quickly. I added the icing after an hour, then went about my day and cut them later. These bars capture the flavors of the iced oatmeal cookies fantastically. I gave some to my friend and she mentioned to me that they are WONDERFUL. I agree completely.

Iced Oatmeal Cookie Bars
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon molasses

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

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

Melt the butter in the microwave and cool for 10 minutes. While the butter is cooling, place the oats in a food processor and pulse until the oats are cut into smaller bits, but not so long that the mixture becomes like flour. In a medium bowl whisk together the processed oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

Place the melted butter in a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and brown sugar. Mix on low for about a minute until the sugar and butter combine. Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses, mixing on medium to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/oat mixture. Mix just until the flour is incorporated- do not over mix. Spread the dough into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until the edges are golden. Allow the bars to cool for at least an hour before topping with the icing.

Make the icing: in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk, and the vanilla. If the glaze is too thick, add additional milk. Drizzle the glaze over the bars, allowing some of the cookie to remain visible. Allow the glaze to set before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Browned Butter Blondie

Charleston Chewies

While it is spring now and I feel like I should be making something with the flavors of spring, we sure have had a lot of rain lately. We get a day or two that is nice but then the rain returns! I have some clothes that are ready for warmer weather; I do hope that I eventually get a chance to wear them.

Instead of spring I stick with traditional flavors like brown sugar and nuts. I had two different recipes that I was looking at, and asked my husband which to make. His answer was to make the Charleston Chewies as he’s had them before and they are great. Well, ok then! I even had dark brown sugar on hand, which is unusual!

These cookies are different in that you make them in a saucepan. I didn’t use my mixer at all, which is so strange! Melting the brown sugar and butter took care of any hardness that my sugar had, just be careful and don’t splash it all over the counter. My hand got tired mixing everything together as it dough was heavy and thick. They baked up easily and they cut like a dream. They have a great pecan/brown sugar flavor. I wonder how these compare to the cookies my husband had before?

Charleston Chewies
1 cup butter
16 ounces dark brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until the butter and sugar melts together, 1-2 minutes. Remove the pan from the stove and allow the mixture to cool 5-10 minutes.

Once the mixture is slightly cooled, add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and stir to incorporate. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chopped pecans and stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be very thick. Pour the dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top evenly.  

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until the bars begin to brown along the edges. Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool.

Dust the cookies with powdered sugar before cutting until squares.

Recipe from Pizzazzerie

Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies

We had some pretzels in the kitchen and I thought that it would be a good idea to look for recipes that used pretzels. I don’t know if you are like out family, but we buy pretzels, eat some of them, and then the rest linger on the counter until they go stale. I try not to be wasteful, but I can only eat so many pretzels. I guess I should buy those small individual packages, but they sure cost a lot more than the regular-sized bags.

Pretzels can be used in a number of different ways; in this case, the form the base of the brownies. I made the base by crushing the pretzels in the food processor, and then added the remaining crust ingredients. I pressed them in the pan fairly well, but the base becomes more stable once you add the brownie batter and bake everything together.

The original recipe had you make your own caramel, but I used purchased caramel sauce. Sometimes I have success making caramel and sometimes it end up being a big mess! I topped the bars with caramel and Hawaiian sea salt and refrigerated them for 24 hours. The caramel seemed thick but as soon as I took the bars out of the refrigerator to cut them, the caramel was everywhere. These are so messy and sticky, but they are also so tasty! I guess I can handle some stickiness in exchange for such a tasty brownie.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies
1 cup crumbled pretzels
75 grams butter , melted
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

160 grams butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup caramel sauce
Coarse salt

Heat the oven to 390 degrees. Line an 8” square pan with aluminum foil.

Mix together the pretzels, melted butter and brown sugar in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and pack it down evenly.

Bake for 8 minutes; make the brownies while the base is baking.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the butter melts. Make sure that the mixture doesn’t come to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the eggs, one at a time, and then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour and baking powder and stir just until the flour disappears.

Spread the brownie mixture over the partially baked crust.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until a thin knife inserted into the brownies comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Allow the brownies to cool completely.

Once the brownies are completely cool, top with about 1 cup of caramel sauce, then sprinkle with salt. Refrigerate the brownies for at least two hours before cutting. When cutting the brownies, dip the knife in hot water after each cut, which will make for cleaner edges.

Recipe from The Brick Kitchen

Maple Pumpkin Butter Bars

It's been rainy and dreary recently in the Seattle area, so while I was at first hesitant to make a cookie with so many flavors of fall, it just seemed appropriate. I had planned to make these last fall and I simply ran out of time. I had already scouted out some pumpkin butter, as it isn’t the easiest thing to find, and I was ready. Maple and pumpkin flavors in February? I figured it wasn’t too much of a problem.

While I am not the biggest fan of the texture of pumpkin puree, I have used a few varieties of fruit butter and I prefer that texture. It isn’t quite so heavy, and I prefer that. Initially, I was worried that I might not be able to find pumpkin butter, but one of the local jam/preserves vendors had it and I was thrilled. If you are unable to find pumpkin butter, feel free to use another type of fruit butter. Pumpkin puree nay work, but the texture of the bars would be different.

I have found that when I get home from work, I either get lots and lots of things done, or I sit on the sofa and get little accomplished. I wanted to get things done so I made these bars as soon as I got home. They mix together quickly, as long as you have the ingredients on hand. The original recipe had you brown the butter, but I skipped that. I also simplified the glaze, making a powdered sugar/maple syrup glaze which worked beautifully. These are typically what I would make in the fall, but these are so good that they are enjoyable any time of year.

Maple Pumpkin Butter Bars
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup powdered sugar
 3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoons milk

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

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, pumpkin butter, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium until the ingredients come together. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. One the flour almost disappears from the dough, remove the bowl from the mixer. Fold in the white chocolate chips by hand and ensure that the dough is cohesive.

Spread the dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top as best you can.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bars are set and begin to brown along the edges. Remove the bars from the oven and allow the bars to cool before adding the glaze.

Once cool, take the bars from the pan and remove the foil. Make the glaze: in a small bowl combine the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk to start combining the ingredients. Continue whisking and add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, adding additional milk until the glaze is thick but smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the bars. Allow the glaze to set before cutting the bars into squares.

Recipe from Half-Baked Harvest

Paradise Slice

I have waited and waited to make these bars! Any recipe with “slice” in the title usually tells me that the recipe originated in Australia or Scotland, and these bars are from Scotland. My friend was asking me about Scottish cookies, and while shortbread immediately comes to mind and maybe a few tiffin recipes, it is hard to think of other recipes. This recipe is from a Scottish blog, and I am really interested in exploring more of the site.

Another reason that I had to wait to make these was due to the fact that they used glacé cherries. When I order products from the UK, I often buy candied or glacé cherries, since they are so difficult to find in the States. I didn’t order anything this year, so I was at the mercy of American grocery stores, and they finally carried some glacé cherries. They are crazy neon red, but I figured mixed in with other ingredients they wouldn’t be quite so glaring.

These are interesting bars, or perhaps they are more of a dessert? You make pastry for the base, top it with jam, and then top it with a cherry, current, and almond flour filling. I don’t make pastry often, but I used to, so I have that down to a science. I used cherry preserves since the filling also contains cherries. The filling goes together well, although glacé cherries are very sticky. I baked them for 25 minutes then topped them with a generous amount of sugar, which partially melted into a lovely topping. These bars are great; a fabulous mix of festive flavors!

Paradise Slice
200 grams flour
100 grams cold butter, cubed
30 grams sugar
4-5 tbsp cold water
100 grams berry/cherry preserves

200 grams butter, room temperature
200 grams sugar
2 eggs
100 grams ground almonds
100 grams flour
120 grams currants
100 grams glacé cherries, halved
Additional sugar

Make the pastry: add the flour and butter to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and pulse to combine. Add about three tablespoons of water, mixing and adding additional water until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 390 degrees. Line an 8” or 9” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured surface until it is about ¼” thick. The pastry should roughly be the size of your baking pan. Place the pastry into the prepared pan and trim away any excess. You do not want the pastry stretching up the sides of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork, then cover with parchment and pastry beans.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool partially before proceeding.

While the pastry is cooling, make the topping: in a large mixer bowl, mix the butter and sugar at medium speed to combine. Stir in the eggs. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the ground almonds and flour. Stir in the currants and glacé cherries.

Spread the raspberry jam over the partially cooled pastry base. Spoon the topping over the jam, smoothing with a spatula as needed.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with additional sugar. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe from Scottish Scran

German Nussecken Bars

When I was selecting cookies to make this season, I kept coming across European cookie recipes and they just sounded so good. Germany is known for their baking, and to this day I am sad that a local German bakery/café closed without them releasing a cookbook. Some of those recipes aren’t easy to replicate, but if I know what I am looking for it helps.

This recipe is for German Nut Corners (Nussecken) and it uses hazelnuts, a favorite of mine. You can use either almond or hazelnut flour, and while I used whole hazelnuts, I used almond flour as I had that on hand. The other ingredients are somewhat flexible. The original recipe called for apricot jam, and I ended up using apricot/pineapple preserves, and it was great. The jam just adds a little bit of flavor, and I think many different jams would work.

My biggest struggle with this recipe, if you can call it that, was what pan to use. The recipe called for a jelly roll pan, which the recipe said was 13” x 18”. That is a contradiction (unless sizes are different elsewhere) as a jelly roll pan is 10” x 15”. The other size is a half sheet pan. I knew it would be hard to spread the dough, so I used the jelly roll pan. That worked fine, and thankfully the cookies didn’t boil over while baking. It takes a little time to cut these and dip in chocolate, but it’s worth it. They aren’t as sweet as many American cookies, which is refreshing this time of year.

German Nussecken Bars
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups flour
⅓ cup apricot jam

1 cup butter
5 tablespoon rum
1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole hazelnuts, roasted and roughly chopped
2 cups almond/hazelnut flour

1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan (10” x 15”) with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar and mix until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. Stir in the baking powder and salt, and then gradually add the flour, until the dough comes together. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Dock the surface of the dough with the tines of a fork and then spread the base layer evenly with the apricot jam. If needed, you can heat up the jam slightly to ease in spreading.

Make the topping: in a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup butter, the rum, brown sugar, and vanilla. Heat over medium until the sugar is dissolved, but do not bring to a boil. Add the roasted and chopped hazelnuts and the almond/hazelnut flour to the melted butter mixture and stir to combine.

Spread the topping mixture evenly over the base crust.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bars are golden. Allow the bars to cool completely, ideally overnight.

Using a sharp knife, cut the bars into squares and then triangles.

If desired, melt the chocolate a vegetable shortening to make a glaze and dip the corners of the cookies in the glaze or drizzle over part of the cookies. Allow the glaze to set before serving.  

Recipe from Bake It With Love

Peppermint Nanaimo Bars

I have been waiting to make these bars for a very long time. I pinned the recipe and then the URL of the post changed so I had to look again and find a viable recipe. I found it and saved it again. I had planned to make these bars last year, I had even started the write-up, but then I ended up changing what I made. I kept the recipe, because I knew that I would eventually make these.

This was the year that I made these bars! I am so glad that I did as I love Nanaimo Bars, and a holiday variety is not to be missed. A few years ago, my husband and I traveled to Vancouver Island, and stayed a couple of days in Nanaimo. We went to the museum there and thought that we would find out the origin of the Nanaimo Bar. Unfortunately, no one really knows who created the Nanaimo Bar. That’s ok, I’m just glad that someone created these wonderful bar cookies and made a cookie that is so adaptable.

These no-bake cookies have a couple of layers, but they really don’t take long to make. I will admit that making a no-bake cookie in the winter, heating things up on the stove, is much better than making them in the summer. These are quite traditional, with the addition of peppermint extract and the topping. My only challenge was the topping, as the topping called for butter and that never works with chocolate! I substituted vegetable shortening and that was much better. These cookies have all the flavors of a Nanaimo Bar with the refreshing peppermint flavor!

Peppermint Nanaimo Bars
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons custard powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

4 ounces chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 ounces white chocolate
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
Crushed peppermint candies

Line an 8” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, and cocoa. Heat over medium-high heat, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Add the egg, and quickly stir over the heat to set the egg. Remove from the heat and add the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and pecans. Press into the base of the prepared pan.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, cream, custard powder, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. If needed add additional powdered sugar if too thin or extra cream if too thick. Spread over the graham cracker base and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate, stirring frequently. Pour the melted chocolate over the bars, smooth the top, and refrigerate until almost firm. Melt the white chocolate and then drizzle over the partially cooled chocolate. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the foil. Cut into squares.

Recipe from Parents Canada

Cranberry Crumble Bars

It’s the 12 Days of Holiday Recipes! Over the next few weeks I will be posting 12 cookie and fudge recipes that I have discovered this year.

As I mentioned recently, the area where I live was hit hard with heavy winds, knocking out the power at home for four days. Our cats were so confused as to why we were sitting in the dark and the cold, and I am sure they were thinking that we just needed to turn on the heat!. We are glad that the power has been restored, but we had to throw away nearly everything in the refrigerator and freezer. I had just stocked up for holiday baking, but thankfully only a few things are refrigerated. I do feel like it has put me horribly behind schedule, but what can you do?

I had planned to make these Cranberry Crumble Bars last week, but that didn’t happen! I thought that they are a nice transition between Thanksgiving and the holiday season. With the fresh cranberries, they are nice and tart, but have the balance of the cookie dough to keep them sweet. I did have to restock a few things before I could make these, but that was minimal.

This recipe called for an 8” pan, but it has a lot of ingredients so I used my 9” pan. I still had plenty of dough! Adjusting the pan size, I knew I needed to watch the baking time but I didn’t have any issue. I had reserved two cups of dough for the topping and didn’t need all of it, I used a little over a cup, so you could adjust the ratio of base and topping if you’d like. Your house will smell magical when you bake these, the cranberries are tart but pair so well with the other flavors.

Cranberry Crumble Bars
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

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

In a large mixer bowl, add the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until the ingredients are combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir on low until a dough forms.

Set aside about 2 cups of dough for the topping. Press the remaining dough evenly into the prepared pan. Use a measuring cup to help flatten the dough.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the center is set. Remove the pan from the oven but keep the oven on.

In a large bowl combine the cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, orange zest and juice, and vanilla. Stir with a spatula, then pour the mixture over the partially baked crust.

Break up the reserved 2 cups of dough with your hands and randomly place on top of the cranberry filling, making a crumble. This should not be a solid layer, you want to be able to see the cranberry filling in different places.

Bake for an additional 45 minutes. You may need to cover the bars after 30 minutes or the bars will brown too much. Cool the bars completely before adding the glaze.

Make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla. Add additional heavy cream if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle over the cooled bars.

Recipe from Browned Butter Blondie

Almond Shortbread Bars

I have been planning to make these bar cookies for quite a while, and I really don’t know why it took me so long to do so. Some time ago I went to the store to get almond paste, as that was the one ingredient in these cookies that was more uncommon. It was quite hard to find, as the stores carried marzipan rather than almond paste. They are similar but not the same. I was really upset when they put tubes of marzipan in an almond paste display! I finally found it at least. (Almond paste has more almonds and marzipan has more sugar, FYI.)

I have used almond paste in different ways, but in this case, it gets added to the dough. You want to make sure the almond paste is in small pieces when you add it or it won’t incorporate easily. Other than making sure that the almond paste is evenly incorporated, these bars are not difficult. They are sticky, and spreading in the pan isn’t easy, but my slightly damp hands worked best.

They cool just a few minutes and then make the glaze. It starts with melting butter and cream. I was out of cream so I used milk, which made my glaze a little thinner. After assembling the glaze, I let it sit about 5 minutes and that helped. It does thicken as it cools, so don’t be too concerned. While the glaze does remain somewhat soft, the bars have the best almond flavor you can imagine. I thought ½ a cup of butter was a lot for the glaze, but it isn’t; it just makes it extra tasty.

Almond Shortbread Bars
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (156 grams) almond paste
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup heavy cream (or milk)
About 3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup sliced/slivered almonds

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, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Cut the almond paste into small pieces and add to the mixer bowl along with the egg and almond extract. Mix on medium until the mixture is smooth and the almond paste is well distributed in the dough. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, stirring just until the dough comes together.

Spread the dough in an even layer in the prepared pan. A metal spatula and slightly damp hands can help in this process.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the bars begin to turn golden. Allow the bars to cool 10 minutes before making the glaze.

Make the glaze: in a medium saucepan, add the butter and heavy cream. Heat on medium low, stirring frequently, until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in about 2-1/2 cups of powdered sugar and the almond extract. If the mixture seems too thin, add additional powdered sugar. Stir in the sliced/slivered almonds.

Pour the glaze over the partially cooled bars, making sure that the glaze covers evenly. Allow the glaze to fully set (or refrigerate) before removing the bars from the pan and cutting into squares.

Recipe from The View from the Great Island

Maple Glazed Apple Blondies

It’s fall and I love baking with apples. We have a good quantity of maple syrup at home, too, so I try to find recipes that include both. I have had these bars pinned for a while, and finally I can make them! I don’t always have apples on hand, but I was able to get a couple of apples that I knew I could use for this exact recipe.

The original recipe calls for a 7” x 11” pan, and I don’t think I have a pan that size. I’m in the middle of moving some cupboards around in the kitchen, so I’ll be honest that I didn’t look very much. When I don’t have the specific pan, I find a different pan that has roughly the same area, so a 9” square pan was close. Despite using a slightly larger pan, I was surprised that these cookies were as thick as they were.

These blondies are very cake-like, but that’s ok. Somehow the soft, cakey texture makes these taste that much better! When you are shaping the blondies, it is quite challenging to spread the dough. I used my hands (somewhat damp hands), and even that was a challenge as the dough is so sticky. Perhaps the dough needed to be refrigerated a short time to make it less sticky, but I didn’t have time to do that. I think that these are just about the best cookies for fall that I have made in a long time!

Maple Glazed Apple Blondies
2 large apples, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
About 1 cup powdered sugar

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

Make the apple filling: in a medium saucepan, combine the apples, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Cook on medium-low for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.

Divide the dough into halves; press half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, using your hands to ensure even coverage. Top with the apple filling. Top the bars with the remaining dough, piecing the dough together to create a full top layer.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bars are golden and test clean with a cake tester. Allow the bars to cool before making the glaze.

Make the glaze: in a small microwaveable bowl, combine the butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon, microwaving and stirring until the butter is melted. Remove from the microwave and whisk in about ¾ cup powdered sugar. Allow the glaze to set and thicken for about 10 minutes. If the glaze is still too thin, whisk in additional powdered sugar. Top the bars with the maple glaze, spreading the glaze evenly. Allow the glaze to completely set before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.

Recipe from A Latte Food

No-Bake Honey Crunch Traybake

What is a traybake? If you visit this blog occasionally, you know that sometimes I make traybakes in the summer. Some traybakes are no-bake cookies, which is the case with these bars. Traybakes, when they are baked, often use up a smaller quantity of ingredients like sweetened condensed milk, so they can be great for using up odds and ends that you may have around.

Traybakes are typically a British/Irish/Australian bar cookie, and in this case the blogger is from Northern Ireland but now lives in the States. It can be hard to find no-bake cookies that are a little more interesting, so I have to search a lot more to find the right recipe. As this is an international recipe, it does call for a different biscuit/cookie. Rich’s Tea Biscuits are a plain cookie, and I ended up using Goya Marias. You could also use a plain digestive biscuit or a graham cracker in a pinch.

The bake for these cookies is simple, but I did change the topping. The original recipe called for a whipped cream topping, but that seemed too delicate for a warm day, so I just changed the topping to a powdered sugar icing. You can use any grated chocolate for the topping, or even leave it off if it looks good as is. These cookies are subtly sweet, and the icing adds that extra bit of sweetness that is appreciated!

No-Bake Honey Crunch Traybake
110 grams butter, room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
225 grams Rich Tea biscuits/Goya Maria cookies, crushed

½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1-2 tablespoons milk
Grated chocolate, for topping

Line an 8” square pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, powdered sugar, honey, and cocoa powder. Mix on medium until light and smooth. Stir in the crushed biscuits; if you’d like you can keep a few of the biscuits in larger chunks to add additional texture. Stir to combine and then press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan. Chill for at least two hours.

Once the base is chilled, make the topping. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, honey and a small amount of milk. Continue adding milk until the topping is a glazing consistency. Smooth the topping over the base and top with a small amount of grated chocolate. Refrigerate to allow the topping to set before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Traybakes & More

Nutter Butter Bars

I did a lot of baking recently for a retirement party, but I still wanted to make cookies to share with folks at work. It’s been really strange baking for work, as we have a big mix of people on campus and off, and all sorts of activities happening as well. I wanted to make something that was popular with lots of folks, and I know that peanut butter is typically a winner.

This bar cookie calls for chopped Nutter Butter bars, both in the dough and sprinkled on top of the bars. I had all of the ingredients except the Nutter Butter cookies, but I knew I’d be stopping next to a grocery store. The grocery store had chocolate covered Nutter Butter cookies and Nutter Butter cookies with twice the filling. No regular Nutter Butter cookies? I figured that the extra filled Nutter Butters would be fine.

This recipe originally called for the Nutter Butter cookies and the addition of milk chocolate chips. I had already decided that I was going to leave out the chocolate chips, as I figured that the Nutter Butter cookies were rich enough. I guess if I would have used the chocolate covered Nutter Butters and done it all in one step! I liked keeping the recipe just with peanut butter flavor. These bars baked up with no fuss and also cut easily. I love the ease of the bars and the peanut butter flavor!

Nutter Butter Bars
½ cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
12 Nutter Butter cookies, chopped
Additional chopped Nutter Butter cookies

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

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar and mix until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla, mixing on medium until combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until almost combined and then fold in the 12 chopped Nutter Butter cookies with a spatula.

Press the dough into the prepared pan. The dough is sticky, so you may need to use your hands to press the dough in evenly. Top the dough with additional chopped Nutter Butter cookies. (I used 5 chopped Nutter Butter cookies.)

Bake for 28-30 minutes, until the bars begin to brown around the edges. Allow them to cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.

Recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff

Butter Rum Blondies

At work recently, there was the dilemma of extra butter. There was a pound of butter there, and I think it may have been opened, but maybe only a tablespoon had been used. I kept meaning to ask about it, and it was not getting any newer sitting in the refrigerator, so I asked around. While we aren’t 100% sure about the origin of the butter, I said I would be happy to take it and transform it into cookies. I am sure you aren’t surprised that was an acceptable idea!

The butter was salted butter, which is different than I typically use, but it isn’t too hard to adjust for salt in a recipe or two. For this recipe, using salted butter, I simply left out the additional ½ teaspoon of salt. I am not normally someone who leaves out salt, as that adds a lot of flavor, but there was salt in the butter, the toffee chips, and so on. I figured I would be fine.

These bars are quick and easy to come together. I wanted to make sure that these contained no chocolate, and usually the store carries two types of toffee bits: with and without chocolate coating. I had ones with chocolate so I picked up some chocolate-free ones to have on hand. I was worried that these would look a little plain, but they were beautiful when they came out of the oven and cut so easily!

Butter Rum Blondies
¾ cup butter, melted
½ cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½-1 teaspoon rum extract
1 ¾ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup toffee bits
Additional toffee bits, if desired

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 melted butter, sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and rum extract. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the toffee bits.

Spread the dough into the prepared pan. If desired, top with additional toffee bits.

Bake for 23-26 minutes, until golden. Allow the cookies to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Recipe from The Country Cook