Apple Pie Oatmeal Bars

     When I was ten, my best friend and I made these scrumptious apple pie oatmeal bars on our own. To our delight everyone who ate them loved them! This past week I made them for the first time in a few years. And again these apple pie oatmeal bars were received extremely well by my family and our friends! I plan to continue to make them throughout the fall and hope that you love these bars as much as I do!

                                          @ 4 Goodness Bake!

Recipe Notes

     This recipe is great for those who are just beginning to bake or just want a simple recipe. If you don't have or don't want to use butter you can substitute it for coconut oil. If you don't want the apples to get to soft and turn into a paste I recommend that you cut the apples into 1/2 in. by 1/4 in. pieces. I personally like the apples this size, but do whatever works for you.

                                    @ 4 Goodness Bake!

Ingredients:

Apple Pie Filling

3 cups apples, cored, peeled and chopped (next time, we'll put 4 cups)

2 tbsp butter

¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp water

¼ tsp salt

Oatmeal Bars

1½ cups flour

1½ cups oats

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup plus 6 tbsp butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Set aside.

Apple Pie Filling

Combine all ingredients in a medium size saucepan and cook on medium heat until apples are softened and sauce is thick and sticky. It should have the consistency of caramel. Remove from heat.

Oatmeal Bars

Put all ingredients in the bowl of your electric mixer and beat until well combined.

Press half of the mixture onto the bottom of the greased baking pan. On top of that, spread the apple pie filling in an even layer. Top with the remaining oat mixture, crumbling it up.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares or scoop while still warm and serve with some scrumptious homemade vanilla ice cream. I personally like them best when cooled, but I guarantee you will love them either way! :) Let me know if you make them!

Recipe adapted from: realhousemoms.com

Apple Crisp

 

This fall we made sure we went to our local pick-your-own apple orchard. The apples were by far the best I had had in a long, long time. But of course, we ended up picking way more than we could have eaten before they went bad. So, I had, I just had to find a recipe or two for apple desserts that use a LOT of apples. :) Naturally, apple crisp was first on the list. And boy, was it an outstanding recipe! As I always do, I tweaked it a little bit to add my own touches, so to speak, and it was gone so fast, I had to make it again the same week! My kids had fun helping me make it too. It is incredibly simple!
Served warm with a scoop of  some excellent vanilla ice cream it is truly one of the best fall desserts you could dream of!

 

Ingredients:

Apple Filling
10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup water

Crumb Topping
1 cup oats (old-fashioned or quick-cooking)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp flax seed
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted

 



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).

 

Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all. Mix to combine.

 

Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar,  flax seed, chopped nuts, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.

Bake for about 45-55 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of delicious homemade vanilla ice cream and I guarantee you will be in apple crisp heaven!!!

 

Recipe adapted from: allrecipes

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another great treat during pumpkin season: Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Super easy to make, ultra soft and moist, simply delicious! Plus, they have oats, flax seeds, nuts, and dried fruit in them, so that makes them qualify as almost healthy. :)

Ingredients

2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsps ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup dark molasses

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

 1/2 cup chocolate chips (white, dark, milk- whatever floats your boat!)

 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

 1/2 cup chopped pecans
(if you prefer to use different add-ins, that is perfectly fine; the possibilities are endless here- any dried fruits or nuts/seeds would work perfectly, just keep the total amount of add-ins to 1 and 1/2 cups)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats (I love my Silpat!)

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, pumpkin spice, salt, oats, and flax seed. Set aside.

In a medium size bowl, mix the melted butter, molasses, and sugars. Once combined, mix in the egg. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and whisk until thick and fully incorporated. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The resulting dough will be heavy and sticky.

Gently fold in the chocolate chips, dry apricots, and pecans (or other add-ins of your choice). Scoop cookie dough onto the cookie sheets- I use a medium size ice cream scoop that works great for this purpose. Flatten cookies just a little bit before putting in the oven.

Bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes, or until slightly brown around the edges (it took exactly 12 minutes for mine). Cookies will still be soft when you take them out. Allow to cool completely on the cookie sheets before transferring to an airtight container. The cookies keep soft and moist for more than a week and you can also freeze them for a couple of months. They are truly delicious!

 

Recipe courtesy: pumpkin oatmeal cookies

Black Bean Brownies



If you haven't hopped on the black bean brownie wagon already, you have been missing out big time! And if you are vegan or follow a gluten free diet, these could seriously be a life-saver for you (if you have a sweet tooth like mine, which I admit is pretty much giant) :)... They are extremely simple to make- all you need is a food processor- and once baked, I assure you nobody would be able to tell there are black beans inside! I never told my kids and after having a piece each, they declared, "We don't like these brownies. We LOVE them!". That, I think speaks for itself!

Go on, make a batch of these and see what I mean. They are delicious, rich in protein, high in fiber, and as healthy as a baked dessert could ever get!



Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup quick oats or rolled oats processed fine
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted coconut oil or canola oil
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips, divided
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts of your choice (optional)



Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease or line an 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper.
Put the beans in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the agave syrup, sugar, and coconut oil and continue to process until smooth and there are no lumps of beans left.
Add the processed oats, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, baking soda and salt and process until combined.
Stir in 2/3 cup of the chocolate chips by hand.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips and walnuts on top and press lightly into the brownie mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center is set. Allow to cool completely before cutting. You may want to leave them in the refrigerator for a while, as there is no binding agent and the cold will help them set better. Makes 16 brownies.



Recipe adapted from: Butter baking



Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

This is a recipe that my 9-year-old daughter, Anna, found in a cookbook she got for Christmas and decided she wanted to make. She pulled it off all on her own and even changed up the recipe a little bit with the addition of chocolate chips. It was a cold, snowy day outside, but we were warm and cozy inside, enjoying the wonderful smells of Anna's baking and its delicious results. Everybody at home gave these peanut butter chocolate chip bars  a hearty thumbs up!

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 egg, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter, then line it with parchment paper, letting it hang over two sides.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt until well blended. Set aside.

In the bowl of your standing electric mixer, beat together at medium speed the butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter until creamy, about 3 minutes.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.

Add the flour-oat mixture and mix on low speed just until blended.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the chocolate chips. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula just to incorporate.

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread it evenly. Bake at 350F for about 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden and looks firm.

Let cool on a wire rack. When cooled completely, lift from the pan and cut into bars. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: "Sweet Treats: 25 delicious recipes that kids can cook" published by Williams-Sonoma

Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter No-Bake Candy Bars :)

Long name for these bars, but they are so incredibly easy to put together, your kids can make them! In our case, my 9-year-old daughter was having a playdate with a friend and asked if they could bake something together. There wasn't enough time for them to bake, but I found this recipe through Pinterest and thought it may do the trick- it was super simple and as sweets go, quite healthy. The added bonus was: the bars turned out super yummy too! :) Everybody super happy!

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips (dark, milk, white chocolate- whatever you prefer)
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup roughly chopped peanuts (optional) 

Directions:
Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper.

In a medium size saucepan, over medium heat, melt together peanut butter, honey and coconut oil, while stirring occasionally.

Once you have a hot, homogenous mixture, remove from heat and add oats, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and peanuts. Stir until combined and chocolate chips are melted.

Spread evenly into the prepared 9x13 pan. Refrigerate until hardened, about an hour. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from:  newnostalgia

Urban Legend Cookies

The recipe for these yummy cookies came from my new favorite cook book: "All American Desserts, 400 Star-Spangled, Razzle-Dazzle Recipes for America's Best Loved Desserts" by Judith M. Fertig. The list of recipes I want to make from this gem of a book is pretty much long enough to last me at least a whole year! Great book!

The name of these cookies intrigued me and a glance at the ingredients sealed the deal: if it has oats, chocolate chips and nuts, I am in! And so is my family! So, in the oven they went, and in our tummies... :) Let me just say this- they didn't hang around for too long in our house. :)
It is a really excellent cross between oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies that I am sure I will be making again and again. So, here is the recipe:

Urban Legend Cookies

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
One 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
One 4-ounce milk chocolate candy bar, coarsely grated
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the rolled oats in the blender or food processor and process to a fine powder. Measure 2 1/2 cups and set aside, and discard the rest (or save for a later use). 

2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Beat in the flour, processed oats, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and continue beating until you have a thick, well-blended dough. Stir in the chocolate chips, grated chocolate, and chopped nuts. Pinch off about 1 tbsp of dough at a time and roll into a ball. Place the balls on an ungreased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. 

3. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe courtesy: "All American Desserts, 400 Star-Spangled, Razzle-Dazzle Recipes for America's Best Loved Desserts" by Judith M. Fertig

No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies

I recently stumbled upon a no-bake cookie recipe that sounded too enticing not to try... I made them once. My 7-year-old daughter helped me. Between home and work, the cookies were gone in literally one day! I was also asked for the recipe right away. A couple of days later, while I was at work, my daughter made these cookies again- this time all on her own- they are that easy to make! No kidding. The only thing I changed from the original recipe was to reduce the sugar from 2 cups to 1 1/2 cups. I just thought the 2 cups made the cookies too sweet for my taste (though my kids definitely didn't mind!).

Ingredients: 

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk, I use 2%
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter, I generally only have crunchy
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

Directions:

1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a medium-size saucepan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for exactly 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats.
5. Using an ice-cream scoop, drop onto wax paper-lined baking sheets.
6. Let cool until set.

Yields about 3 dozen cookies ( depending on your scoop size of course :)

Enjoy!!!

They are truly delicious! And nobody will believe that it took you only 10 minutes to prepare them! :)

Thanks for this recipe go to:  http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/06/30/no-bake-chocolate-peanut-butter-oatmeal-cookies/

Oatmeal Cookies Day!

Wow! Snow storm on the east coast in october! We didn't bargain for that! So, to warm up the house nicely, my daughter and I decided we should bake some cookies! Oatmeal raisin cookies was the obvious choice because they are Daddy's favorite. :))

Among the zillions of other gifts, my daughter actually got a cookie book for her birthday! She feels so grown-up now! She does love helping mommy in the kitchen. :) Anyway, the book is called "501 cookies, the ultimate a-z guide to bars, drops, crescents, snaps, squares and everything that crumbles" by Gregg R. Gillespie. So, she chose a recipe for oatmeal cookies from there. I have about 2-3 other recipes that I have been using over the years and which I like quite a lot, but I enjoy trying out new recipes- you never know when you will find a new keeper! :) So, here is the recipe we used tonight:

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flower
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (6 oz) rolled oats
1 cup raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, cream the vegetable shortening and sugar (I use my KitchenAid mixer for that- thank God for that thing- it's worth its weight in gold!). Beat in the eggs. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Fold in the oats and raisins.
4. Drop the dough by spoonfuls 1 1/2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet (I personally use a small ice-cream scoop for that job- works like a charm every time!).
5. Bake for 10-12, until lightly golden brown. (I ended up baking mine 1-2 minutes longer.) Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Baking notes: you can add vanilla extract or almond extract to the dough to enhance the flavor of these cookies. (I did put 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract in mine.)

Now, although they did turn out pretty good, I wouldn't call them my favorite oatmeal cookies. I guess there were a couple of issues I had with them: 1) I thought the cinnamon was overpowering; 2) I wasn't crazy about the idea of using vegetable shortening instead of butter; and 3) I didn't feel that the recipe had enough oats in it. The other recipes for oatmeal cookies I have use more rolled oats and less flour and produce a slightly chewier and nuttier tasting cookie than these which I would expect from oatmeal cookies. Other than that, these look good, and certainly taste fine, they just wouldn't be my first choice when it comes to oatmeal cookies. But they sure did warm up the house on this freezing, snowy, windy Pctober night! :))) And hopefully Daddy will like them- which in the end is all that matters, because we decided to make them for him in the first place! :)))

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My husband's favorite: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies :) These are delicious and very easy to make. If you like them chewy, make sure you do not over-bake them!

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened                                        

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (or try coconut oil for a healthier substitute)                                                                  

1 cup packed light brown sugar                                                                     

1/2 cup white sugar                                                                     

2 eggs                                                                     

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract                                                                     

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour                                                                     

1 teaspoon baking soda                                                                     

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon                                                                     

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves                                                                     

1/2 teaspoon salt                                                                     

3 cups rolled oats                                                                     

1 cup raisins

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not over-bake! Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Recipe courtesy: allrecipes.com