One of my favourite summer rituals is picking wild blueberries. This year with the spring being so wet and cold and even into June the berry crop has been patchy to say the least. But my one favourite picking spot has been loaded and I have picked it 3 times so far. Hope it has one more picking left in it as you can never have too many wild blueberries and I still haven’t frozen any!!
I have always loved Nanaimo Bars mainly because of the creamy frosting layer as chocolate isn’t high on my favourite’s list. I find as I get older though my thoughts on chocolate have been changing. Now I appreciate a good brownie or slice of decadent chocolate cake once in a while. Perusing through one of my favourite cookbooks on a hot afternoon at the lake I came across Nanaimo Bars and realized that I had never made this classic. So the day’s goal was set. That decision required a trip to town for ingredients as coconut and walnuts aren’t something I regularly use. So after a trip to our local bulk store I was ready. The first recipe I had found called for adding the egg to the melted butter and sugar and no baking- this just didn’t sit with me so then the digging began. I found most recipes didn’t require baking of the bottom base layer but some did. So I took a little from each and came up with this decadent bar.
I’ve been meaning to make Granola Bars for quite some time, but for some reason or other I’ve just not gotten around to it. This first attempt at Granola Crunch Bars was right on target. Just the right amount of crunch thanks to the nuts and the right amount of chew thanks to the raisins and baking chips.
You could definitely mix up the add-ins to what ever strikes your fancy. Any combination of nuts or dried fruit would work I am sure. This variation had pistachios, pecans, sesame seeds, raisins and salted caramel chips. Sea salt caramel baking chips are my new favourite item from the Bulk Barn. You really have to try these….I can’t wait to try them in another recipe. They could quite possible become addictive. The smell coming out of the oven was just divine.
Autumn is here…at least the apples are here! The colours are just starting to turn and all of the fall harvest is starting to appear at the farmers market. With all of the different varieties of apples out there you really have to try every apple recipe you can get your hands on. This recipe for Apple Brownie with Maple Frosting is just the one to bring out all of those fall flavours. For this brownie I used MacIntosh apples, but any tart apple would work just fine.
Blueberry Zucchini Crumb Bars are the magical meeting of two worlds – fruit and vegetable! When the zucchini is cooked with lemon juice in this recipe it magically transforms into bits of apple. I’m not kidding you – everyone will swear that it is apple in with the blueberries, but you will know it really is zucchini. So it is the perfect backdrop for all of those zucchinis that are soon to show up dropped on your doorstep by the neighbourhood garden fairies.
Lemony Lemon bars – the perfect combination of shortbread crust and lemon topping- my two favourite things. Bars are an easy and quick dessert to make and the more variations you have in your repertoire the better! The more lemon desserts there are the better as well, especially if you are a lemon lover. When we visited Positano, Italy a while back it was there that I saw the largest lemons ever. They were the size of grapefruits and smelled divine. They were growing on trees everywhere, it was so incredible. Definitely a reason to go back and visit again, and will definitely have to be somewhere where I have access to a kitchen to bake with those amazing lemons.
Date Squares – the name might make you think of your Grandmother or potluck dinners but for me Date Squares are one of my favourite bar recipes. Dates have been cultivated since ancient times and date palms are one of the oldest fruits. Dates are also a very nutritious food as they contain iron, magnesium and calcium and are also very high in dietary fibre. Then add in oats and Date Squares have to be one of the most healthy desserts ever!
There have been many posts and recipes about mixing chocolate chip cookie dough and brownie batter but up until today I had never tried the combination. All of this time missing out on this fabulous combination!!!! What was I thinking. Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies are a magical thing- a soft chocolatey bottom with a slightly crunchy cookie topping and very decadent.
Pumpkin season!! And yet another pumpkin recipe and yes this Pumpkin Crumb Bars is another bar recipe! But…this bar recipe is like a Date Square gone Pumpkin. The difference is in the filling – this bar filling is a fluffy custardy pumpkin filling that is just delicious layered between the oatmeal base and crumb topping. Speaking of that crumb topping, it is a little over the top with the addition of pecans and toffee bits added in. You can’t go wrong with making this bar for dessert.
With fall almost upon us, it is the perfect time for another recipe with rich pumpkin flavour and an added bonus- brown sugar fudge topping. Bars and squares are so easy to whip together, they transport well and what’s even more important you can make the serving size whatever you desire. Be careful with these Pumpkin Bars with Brown Sugar Fudge Frosting though as you will be tempted to cut the entire pan into 4!
