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Written on July 26, 2011 by Kate

I am 100% recovered from my 20th high school reunion this past weekend. I admit, I wasn’t completely sold on going to the event in the beginning. One hundred dollars to see how people have changed in 20 years? Facebook has really taken the element of surprise out of reunions, hasn’t it? My BFF, Keri, really wanted to go and she told me she wasn’t going to go if I didn’t go too (We have pretty much been joined at the hip since 5th grade). Considering the fact that the girl has gotten me through my divorce, and all of the bonus drama that has later followed, I really couldn’t tell her no. And you know what… I had fun, probably too much fun (if you saw me the next morning, you’d agree). To say it exceeded my expectations is an understatement. A lot of people were missing from the class, but the people that showed are people I was really excited to see… old girlfriends that I had lost touch with over the years, friendships that started all the way back in first grade, and that football player who I had a serious crush on… yes, he showed up too. Keri and I have spent so many proms and homecomings getting ready together ~ the hair, the make-up, the pictures… it was a blast to do it again after twenty years.

You know what else exceeded my expectations this weekend… these strawberry bars. Friday night we had a going away party for our neighbors who were moving back to Seattle. These are two of the boy’s best buddies. They hang out in our house pretty much daily, and I will definitely miss their laughter and quirkiness. I had ripe strawberries in the fridge and wanted to put them to good use. I came across this recipe for strawberry streusel bars and had to try them ~ strawberries, white chocolate, and streusel, I knew they’d be good. These were fabulous! These rank way up there with the Starbucks Copycat Blueberry Oat Bars that I’m crazy about. This is definitely one that will be repeated.

Strawberry Streusel Bars with White Chocolate Drizzle: Recipe Slightly adapted from Simply Scratch who adapted the recipe from Angela of Recipes From My Mom

2 cups Old Fashioned Oats

1 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour

3/4 cups White Sugar

3/4 cups Light Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

1 cup {two sticks} Cold Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces

1/2 cup Strawberry Jam

1 teaspoon Lemon Zest

2 cups Strawberries, Chopped or Sliced

1/3 cup White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the chopped up cold butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like small crumbles. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture.

Dump the remaining crumb mixture into an un-greased 13.5” x 9.5” pan (jellyroll pan) and press it into an even crust. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-13 minutes or until it is firm to touch.

Remove pan from oven. Heat the jam in a microwave-safe bowl for 45 seconds and then stir in the lemon zest. Pour and the warm jam over the warm crust and spread with a pastry brush. Spread the chopped strawberries over the crust. Sprinkle on the reserved cup of crumb mixture.

Return pan to 350 degree F oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the crumbs on top are a light golden brown. Then remove it from the oven and let the pan cool for 1 hour. Once cooled, cut into bars.

Melt the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl at 30 second intervals until just melted. With a fork dip in white chocolate and drizzle it in thin lines over the streusel top.

Brownies & Bars, Desserts Galore, Recipes

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Written on July 2, 2011 by Kate

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This treat is even easier to make than the chocolate-covered pretzels that I posted earlier this week. Like the pretzels, the boy and I have adapted our chocolate bark recipe to color-coordinate with every holiday. This is another good recipe to get the kids involved in making. Just a warning though, the cookies and cream combo is very addicting!

Here’s what you need:

two bags of white chocolate chips

Oreos (about 15)

red and blue m&m’s (about 1/2 cup)

pretzels crushed

patriotic sprinkles

Here’s a quick how-to:

Line a cookie sheet or Pyrex pan with waxed paper, letting some of the waxed paper hang over the sides. Melt two bags of white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every thirty seconds so it does not burn. Using a spatula, spread the melted chocolate evenly over the waxed paper. You don’t need to make it reach the sides and corners of the pan. Crush the Oreos and pretzels in a Ziploc using a rolling pan or mallet. In my experience kids enjoy the mallet! Sprinkle on top of melted chocolate. Add M&M’ s and patriotic sprinkles. Let it set in the refrigerator for an hour. Lift the waxed paper out of the pan. Break into small pieces. Store in an air-tight container.

Wishing you a fabulous 4th of July weekend!!

Brownies & Bars, chocolate, Desserts Galore, Recipes

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Written on June 10, 2011 by Kate

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Silly me, I thought baseball had ended. Here is what I’ve come to realize… Baseball NEVER ends. After the spring season, comes all-stars, followed by a slew of summer baseball clinics, and the possibility of joining a travel- ball team. And just when you think you might get a little hiatus, the cycle begins again with fall ball.

For my boy, all of the above is just not enough to satisfy his baseball obsession. My TiVo has been forced to surrender to the onslaught of pro-baseball games over the past few months. First, we watch the games live, but then thanks to TiVo, we get the joy of watching games over and over again (with a running commentary, mind you). I am often expected to drop whatever I’m doing to watch a re-play and hear an in-depth explanation of the play. I know, my sarcasm might make it sound like I’m not a baseball fan, but that’s not entirely true. I do study the players intently. My participation in televised baseball games usually goes something like this… “He’s cute… What’s his name? How old is he? Is he single?”. So in addition to memorizing every player’s stats, the boy is also required to know each player’s age and marital status.

Just when I anticipated a lull with baseball treats, I received another order. Debbie, a Little League team mom was hosting an end-of-season party at her house (brave woman!), and wanted to incorporate the team colors into the party. She ordered baseball cake pops and brownie pops, decorated with sprinkles in the team colors. She also wanted cookies for the boys’ favors, so we made team jerseys with the players’ numbers. This was a fun order to do!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Brownies & Bars, Cakes, cookies, Cupcakes, Recipes

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Written on May 11, 2011 by Kate

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Here’s a quick wrap-up of the boy’s birthday party. In addition to the cake and cupcakes, the boy and I wanted to have some other dessert options for the kids to choose from. We decided to make Angry Bird brownie pops to tie in with the video-game theme. If you haven’t heard of Angry Birds, it’s a game app that has a huge cult following of kids and adults. When it comes to cake pops vs. brownie pops, brownie pops seem to be the winner at our functions. There are people who absolutely love cake pops, but an equal number of people who don’t like the texture of them. There are also kids who don’t eat cupcakes (which I don’t understand at all), so brownie pops makes a good alternative.

For the angry birds, I fortunately had every color of candy melt on-hand. If you don’t want to buy all of the colors pre-made, you can buy the white candy melts and a package of Wilton candy coloring. Do not use Wilton or Americolor’s regular decorating gels. I’ve gotten away with a drop or two, but too much and the chocolate will seize. We used candy-coated sunflower seeds for the beaks and feathers. The top of the black and red birds were made by dipping a snippet of licorice into the melted candy coating mixture. I didn’t realize until mid-party that the angry birds looked quite happy. These were made the hour before the party (which I don’t recommend). The eyebrows, which they lacked, are needed for that angry expression, but who wants anger at a birthday party anyway, right?

The Pac Man cookies were made for me. I was willing to share them, but the boy didn’t appreciate them as much as the girl who grew up in the 80’s, so I claimed them as my own. One thing you don’t know about me is that I am the Ms. Pac Man, Frogger, and Centipede champion of the 80’s (among my friends, of course ~ no national rankings or titles). I’ve always been a little obsessed with Ms. PacMan. I think it’s the love story between Pac Man and Ms. Pac Man that drew me in. The cookie ghosts were made using a mini tulip cookie cutter. Pac Man and his girlfriend were made by using a small circle cookie cutter and the pointy part of a mini heart cookie cutter to take out a piece for the mouth. The eyes on the ghosts are royal icing eyes that I buy pre-made. They come in a whole variety of sizes, and they’re great to use on pops and sugar cookies.

As if there wasn’t enough junk served at the party, we sent each kid home with a wii-mote sugar cookie favor. I’ve done these before and previously piped all of the details (which takes forever!). This time around I used the edible markers and drew in the details. This was a huge time-saver. I do like the look of the intricate piping better, so I’ll continue to do that for cookie orders.

The boy is a bit obsessed with an app. on his itouch called Cut the Rope. It features a little green candy-lovin’ creature who goes through a series of levels to earn lollipops and other treats. We made the monster out of green fondant and added Twizzlers and lollipops to a clear vase. The kids loved these mini-lollipops, and snacked on the licorice throughout the party.

Finally, there was a pizza-lovin’ creature at the party who hit the jackpot. I have no idea if there was pizza in the box when she discovered it or not. Really, I don’t want to know. I am told that the Naughty One, like the cupcake-hoarding boy from the party (described a few posts back), enjoyed quite a bit of party food that night. Thankfully, like the cupcake hoarder, she never got sick! The Naughty One, not the boy, is my party-animal!

Brownies & Bars, Candy, chocolate, Desserts Galore, Favors, Parties, Recipes

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Written on May 2, 2011 by Kate

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My boy turned ten yesterday. I can’t believe we’ve arrived at the double digits.

This year the boy wanted a party. Mind you, this is the boy who hasn’t had a birthday party since kindergarten. He isn’t a huge fan of large celebrations. It remains a genetic mystery how he didn’t inherit the dominant party gene from my side of the family. My niece, who also just celebrated a birthday, clearly inherited the party gene.

Maybe because I was caught off guard that he was asking to have a party, he was somehow able to convince me to let him invite his entire class, all of the boys on the baseball team, and the rest of his best buddies that he hangs out. It was awesome seeing how excited he was for the big event. He checked my Evite account several times a day to see who RSVP’d. Maybe our party-lovin’ ways are wearing off on him!

The boy decided on a video game themed party, so we went big and rented a video game truck. (When I say big, what I mean is that I had to spend my life savings plus his college savings to support this endeavor). And let me tell you… It was completely worth it! Have you seen these game trucks? Sixteen kids sit in front of four flat screen tv’s and get to play their favorite games for two hours. In addition to the games, lights are flashing, and music is blaring. This particular game truck had an open-air stage at the back of the truck for the kids to play Rock Band. This is what heaven looks like in a boy’s world. If you are over eighteen, be warned, it’s like being on the tea cups at Disneyland, you walk out of there with motion sickness wondering how the heck the kids aren’t phased by the sensory overload.

The boy had presents galore to open afterward, but I’d have to say by the look on his face, the best gift was having his parents planning it with him every step of the way. We’ve worked hard to do this and still continue to defy the divorced family stereotypes. It’s not without its challenges. We’re certainly not perfect. Matt’s girlfriend and I had a falling out about a year ago, but in spite of the challenges that come our way, we remain committed to having the best relationship we can for our son.

Here’s a sneak peek at the yummy video-game inspired treats we served. It was a bit of video game & sugar overload… personally, I loved it! This week, I’ll put up a few posts, highlighting a few of the things we made, with a few tips. There were of course, cookie favors to take home (pics. still to come). It was a whirlwind of a birthday weekend, but you only turn ten once in your life, so you gotta go big!

Brownies & Bars, Candy, chocolate, cookies, Cupcakes, Desserts Galore, Favors, Parties, Tips

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Written on April 27, 2011 by Kate

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I’ve heard there are people who throw out their kids’ Halloween candy the day after Halloween… Please tell me you don’t do this. That seems like a form of torture if you ask me. I suppose the same people who throw out Halloween candy are the ones who dump all of the left-over Easter candy too.

I have no problem throwing food out, and I don’t keep left-overs. It’s really only candy that I can’t bear to part with. Well, wine too. This is my rule, if you ask for a glass of wine, finish it. Don’t waste a drop. The only exception is if it is cheap wine. Life is too short to drink bad wine (or to have friends who pour you cheap wine).

I did come up with the perfect solution to my candy dilemma. See, it’s not that I feel the need to eat all of the candy. I just don’t like the idea of a child’s uneaten Easter candy in a landfill. In October, I made the candy bar bark recipe that was featured in Gourmet magazine, and decided to do the same with the left-over Easter candy this week (except for the Peeps and jelly beans… still not sure what to do with those yet.). M&M’s, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup eggs, Reese’s Pieces, Robin’s eggs, and a few pretzels (gotta have a little salt) is heavenly! Make it, eat a piece (or two), and then give the rest to friends… just make sure they aren’t those parents known to confiscate Easter baskets (but your friends wouldn’t do this, right?).

Gourmet’s Candy Bark Recipe

Here are a few pics. from our night-time egg hunt last weekend. It was a great night with a great bunch of people!! The older these kiddos get, the more fun we have.

Brownies & Bars, Candy, chocolate, cookies, Desserts Galore, Holidays, Parties, Recipes

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Written on April 5, 2011 by Kate

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The boy and I are on Spring Break this week… or at least that’s what it says on my calendar. I know I can be a bit of a dreamer, but really I don’t think my expectations were set too high. I certainly wasn’t envisioning a UC Santa Barbara Spring Break from my college years. I guess I was dreaming of not setting my alarm clock, throwing my hair up in a pony tail, and possibly a few trips to the pool. That hasn’t been the case. Midweek last week, when a few major things at work were delayed, I came to terms with the fact that I’d be working throughout the break. That, I accepted.

I think it was at the point when I paid for eight prescriptions, plus a bottle of Children’s Nyquil on Monday that I decided we wouldn’t be referring to this week as Spring Break. The really annoying cough that the boy has had for weeks, (which I assumed was allergy related) ended up being a pretty bad sinus infection (yes, I have severe mommy guilt!). In addition, the boy got pink eye in both eyes, and very generously gave it to me. I’m now on round two of antibiotics and praying it will clear up my bronchitis and newly developed ear infection (I didn’t even realize adults still got ear infections). Want to know the silver lining? Children’s Nyquil… I am eternally grateful to the scientist who formulated it. I can face almost anything with a good night’s sleep.

What’s a girl to do when faced with a Spring Break that just wasn’t meant to be… bake chocolate chip cookies, of course.There are few things in this world that chocolate chip cookies can’t make (at least a little) better. That’s just one of my theories. These chocolate chip cookies are in bar form. I found this recipe on Baker’s Banter, King Arthur’s blog and bookmarked it for a situation just like this. King Arthur’s is another one of my favorite baking blogs. The bloggers are fabulous, and all of the photo tutorials for their recipes make them super easy to follow. I’ve learned a lot from these baking bloggers!

You know what made these bars extra yummy? The Baker’s Edge pan. It’s still one of my favorite items in my kitchen. Every piece you cut is an edge piece, and I’m all about the edges. Next time around, I won’t fill the pan as much. As you can see, it was a pretty thick bar. If you’re using the 9″ x 13″ pan, I’m guessing yours will come out much thinner than these.

I’m still obsessing over the snickerdoodle bars I posted a few weeks ago. A batch of either of these bars could certainly cure the Spring Break blues.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Bars (Recipe at Baker’s Banter)

2/3 cup (10 2/3 tablespoons) butter

2 cups + 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon butterscotch flavor or vanilla-butternut flavor, optional

3 large eggs

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional

2 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

3 cups chocolate chips; or a combination of different flavored chips, or chips and nuts

*Use 1 teaspoon salt if you use unsalted butter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or spray pan (they used a 9”X13”). Melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar. Add salt, vanilla, and flavoring (optional) and stir until well combined. Make sure the mixture is not hot, and then add eggs, one at a time, beating in between each. Add the baking powder, espresso powder (optional), and flour and stir to combine. Spread evenly into pan with a spatula. Bake for approximately 30 – 32 minutes. The top will be golden. Don’t judge by the toothpick test. The middle will still be slightly gooey. It will set as it cools.

*These are best when cooled completely. King Arthur’s suggests waiting to cut them until overnight. (I don’t have that kind of willpower).

*These can be wrapped and stored in an airtight container for a few days.

Brownies & Bars, cookies, Desserts Galore, Recipes

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Written on March 14, 2011 by Kate

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I’ve got some disappointing news today… I am no longer in the running for the perfect attendance award this year. I was always that student in class who never missed a day (you know, the one with the mom that said, “Oh, you’ll be fine once you get to school,” as I was hacking away). It basically instilled in me that you get up and go to school or work unless you are dying (okay, slight exaggeration, but I always feel guilty calling in sick). The streak is over with the two days I missed last week. I had what I thought was a bad cold. I have one of those anti-antibiotic doctors. I go in there wanting drugs, and listen to his usual mantra…” Let it run its course.”. The course of this cold had gotten out of control, so I finally broke down and went in. I ended up seeing another doctor who informed me that I had bronchitis and a sinus infection. She then proceded to scribble a prescription on a little piece of paper.

So what is a girl to do sick at home? I’m not good at lying there and watching television. I’m usually running around doing stuff with the t.v. on in the background (exceptions being, Glee, American Idol, and a few really bad reality shows that I’m addicted to) . I did attempt to recline and watch t.v., only to find myself in the midst of soap opera prime-time. Years ago, I found soap operas entertaining ~ you know, the Luke and Laura era. The story lines are all a bit too dramatic for me - man and woman become romantically involved, only to break up during the next episode, woman becomes pregnant, but keeps it from man. Lord knows, I’ve lived through enough drama, why would I want to sit and watch more of it? Needless to say, my rest on the couch was very short-lived.

I eventually gravitated back to my kitchen and ended up baking something amazing. It was a comfort food moment. Pretty much anything with the cinnamon-sugar combo says “comfort” to me. I could seriously eat an entire box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal if you put it in front of me. After searching the Internet, I found a recipe for Snickerdoodle bars… exactly the cinnamon-sugar combo I was craving.

The recipe comes from Jasey’s blog Crazy Daisy (a super cute blog to check out!). She found it in an old cookbook of her mom’s. These bars are absolutely amazing ~ so incredibly moist. There’s a thin layer of cinnamon-sugar sprinkled in the middle of the bar, which makes this the ultimate in comfort food.

Quick Tips:

* The batter is a bit sticky so it is a little hard to spread into the pan. Either lightly spray your hands with non-stick spray and spread, or use a small spatula.

*These are also great without the glaze. The glaze may put some of you in a sugar coma (Personally, I loved it!).

*As soon as these are cool, wrap them up and give at least half of them away. These are way too good to keep in your house this close to bathing suit season!

Seriously Amazing Snickerdoodle Bars

2 1/3 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon-sugar filling:

1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350. Spray or grease the bottom only of a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine sugar and cinnamon for cinnamon-sugar filling in a small bowl and set aside.

Using your mixing bowl, beat butter on high speed until creamy. Beat in sugars. Gradually beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar filling evenly over batter. Dollop teaspoons of remaining batter evenly over cinnamon-sugar filling. Gaps are okay. The filling can peek through.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

In a small bowl, stir glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over bars.

Brownies & Bars, cookies, Desserts Galore, Recipes

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Category Archives: Brownies & Bars