Cherry Pie Bars (My style LÄRABAR)

I have set out on a mission to make some homemade style bars that are like a LÄRABAR.  If you have ever had a LÄRABAR, you know that they are absolutely delicious, but extremely expensive.  If you have never experienced them, you are certainly missing out.  One of the advantages of making them myself, in addition to them being less expensive, is that the flavor combinations are limitless.  Plus, you can make one bar or several bars at a time and make them whatever size you want to make them.  LÄRABARS are normally 200 calories.  That's a lot when you are looking for a quick snack!

I decided to attempt making them because a LÄRABAR is only made of a few ingredients.  I would have never guessed that they were so simple!!  In fact, I didn't even know that I liked dates!  LOL!  But, they taste like brown sugar to me.  According to LÄRABAR's website, a "LÄRABAR is a delicious blend of fruits, nuts and spices - energy in its purest form. Made from 100% whole food, each flavor contains two to nine ingredients. Pure and simple, just as nature intended."  They make them in many different flavors and you can find those on their website:

http://www.larabar.com/food/larabar/cherry-pie

My first trial of making these went really well.  My 4 year old is asking to eat them, so I took that as a sign that I should post the recipe on my blog.  I plan to experiment with additional flavors as well and will post those once I master them.

For my first trial of these bars.  I decided to go for a Cherry Pie flavored bar.  I had some dried cranberries already on hand so it was the perfect option.  I know that LÄRABAR uses unsweetened cherries, but this was much easier for me.

1 1/4 cup dates
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup almonds

I only have a tiny food processor.  I have never needed a big one, but if I start making large batches of these....I may need to invest in one.

1. Chop all of the nuts together until they are the consistency you want them in the bars.  I left small chunks of nuts in my mixture and didn't grind them down as far as you could.  But, that is a personal preference.  Place the nuts in a bowl and set aside.

2.  Put the dried cranberries in the food processor and chop them up till they are fine.  Place cranberries in the bowl with the nuts and set aside.

3.  Put the dates into the food processor and pulse the food processor until the dates are in a paste-like state.  I did it in 2 batches because they get really thick and clump up.  After smooth, place dates into the bowl with the other ingredients.

4.  Combine all of the ingredients.  You can use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, but I found it easier to get my hands in there and combine it all.  I'm sure that my kids would really enjoy this part since it's like playing with playdough.

5.  Roll the mixture out onto a silicone mat into a rectangle.  I decided to go for square shape and cut them into 12 smaller bars.  I thought this would be better for a quick snack or for the kids to eat them.  You can make them into larger bars if you desire.  Shaping them into the bars is probably the most difficult part.  I used a large chef's knife to press the edges into a square shape and then cut them into pieces.

6.  Wrap each bar in plastic wrap or place in snack sized sandwich bags...that is what I did.

Nutritional Facts based on 12 smaller bars:

Serving Size 36g

Amount Per Serving
Calories 115 Calories from Fat 52
Total Fat 5.8g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 1mg
Total Carbohydrates 16.1g
Dietary Fiber 2.7g
Sugars 12.3g
Protein 2.4g

Blueberry Muffins

This recipe is one that I took a while modifying to make the muffins exactly what I was looking for and after many many modifications this is the recipe that I use on a regular basis...

Muffin batter:

Cream together with a pastry cutter in a large bowl:

4 Tbps unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar

Add:

1 egg

Add and stir with a fork:

1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup wheat flour

Add:

1/2 cup milk

Once batter is completely combined stir in:

1 cup blueberries (I use frozen so that I can keep them on hand at all times)

Spoon muffin batter into a 12 cup muffin pan and then proceed with topping recipe.

Topping:

Cut together with a pastry blender until fine crumbs:

1/3 cup flour
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar

Spoon topping onto muffin batter.

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 17-18 minutes.  Dark pans cook much faster so you may need to reduce the time but you will bake these for anywhere from 15-20 minutes until the top of the muffins are set.  I prefer not to use dark pans because it makes the bottoms of the muffins too dark.

Wheat Cinnamon-Raisin Bread

When we lived in South Carolina, I use to buy this wheat cinnamon-raisin bread that I would toast and eat with eggs.  I haven't been able to find it here in Texas...big surprise.  That happens to me on a lot of things!  So, I went on a hunt to find a recipe to make it from scratch that would replace the bread that I use to buy.  After comparing recipes, I settled on one and made some modifications to it since it wasn't a wheat recipe at all.  The recipe was terrible that I started with, but with some changes this is what I ended up with.  It has just a hint of the wheat....most people probably wouldn't even know it was there.  I might have been able to take it a little further.  But, I'm really happy with the results of this.  I've already toasted myself up a slice and put some butter on it as my dessert!  Yummy!  I'm sure this one is better for us than the one I was buying as well.

Bread dough:

Combine:
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 tsp sugar
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)

Let the yeast dissolve until the mixture is bubbly.

Combine in Mixer:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Add:

yeast mixture
2/3 cup warm milk (105-115 degrees)
3 Tbsp softened unsalted butter

Beat on medium speed until combined well (approximately 2 minutes).

Add:

1 egg
1 egg yolk (**save egg white for later**)
1 tsp vanilla

Beat on medium speed until combined well (approximately 2 minutes).

Add:

1 1/2 cups wheat flour

Allow wheat flour to work into dough.  Then...

Add by HAND:

3/4 cup raisins (I tossed in a little more once it was combined)

Turn dough out onto floured surface (I used all purpose flour here) and shape into a ball.  Place ball of dough into a greased bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour and 15 minutes.

Roll dough out onto floured surface into into a rectangle.

Brush the dough with 1 Tbsp melted butter.

Mix up the following and sprinkle over the dough for the filling:

1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Roll dough up starting with the shorter side and place loaf into a greased loaf pan with the seam side down.  Cover with a towel and allow to rise for an additional hour and 15 minutes in a warm place.

Once bread is ready to go into the oven, combine the egg white you reserved with 1 Tbsp of water and brush the loaf with it.  Then, you can sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on the top of the loaf if you desire.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until the loaf sounds hollow when you tap it.  Immediately transfer the loaf from the pan to a cooling rack.  Cool completely before slicing.

Banana Bread

For some reason sometimes when I buy bananas the kids eat them like crazy, but other times they sit and just get brown.  I have no idea why that is.  They must get sick of them or go through spurts of cravings for them.  Today I had some bananas that I needed to so something with so I decided to make some banana bread.  I have a banana bread recipe that I usually use, but I had found this one here and thought I would give it a try. So, this recipe is a special thanks to Melissa from What's Melissa Making.

Ingredients for 1 loaf:
4 overripe bananas
1 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 cups pecans, walnuts, or chocolate chips
**  I would have used pecans, but I didn't have any so I used walnuts this time **

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a loaf pans.

Mash 2 bananas with a fork, leaving some chunks and set aside. With a hand mixer or stand mixer with a wire whip mix the remaining 2 bananas with the sugar for 2-3 minutes until it's very smooth.

Add butter, eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Mix salt, baking soda and flour and add to wet mixture, stirring just until incorporated.

Fold in the fork-mashed bananas and nuts and/or chocolate chips. Pour into greased pans and bake 1hr 15 min until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Thin Mints

I started making these when we were staying in the hotel waiting to close on our house here in Texas and I haven't stopped since.  I love them.  I always use to get the thin mint cookies from the girl scouts and freeze them.  I think these taste a lot like them and are super simple to make!  Here is the finished product...

To make these you only need the following ingredients:

Ritz Crackers...I use the reduced fat ones.
Your favorite Milk Chocolate Chips
Peppermint Extract

Here is how simple it is....place the chips in a microwave safe bowl/measuring cup and melt the chips at 50% power.  Be careful not to burn the chocolate since it still has form even when it is melted.  Stir until smooth.  Once it is smooth, add a small amount of peppermint extract to the chocolate chips and stir.

Using a fork, place a Ritz cracker in the melted chocolate mixture and turn.  Since you don't want cracker crumbs in the chocolate mixture, be careful not to break the cracker....if you do...you will end up fishing it out an eating it!  LOL!  I usually pull it out with the fork and tap it on the top of the cup to get off any excess chocolate.  Transfer it to a lined cookie sheet.  Once you have dipped all of the Ritz Crackers, place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator to cool.

Once they are completely set, transfer them to a plastic bag.  I usually store that plastic bag with the finished product in the refrigerator as well.  Watch them disappear!

Cinnamon Challah Twists

My kids have been asking me to make these again....they don't last long in our household.  Plus, a few people have asked me to post the recipe so I figured this was a good opportunity.  I had taken a recipe from a friend's blog, What Melissa's Making, and modified it to this recipe.  The original that Melissa posted you can find here which is absolutely delicious.  I used milk chocolate chips instead of the semi sweet.  For this version, I just changed the filling and added a glaze to the top.  Simply a different option.

Challah Dough:

Wisk together:

1 large egg
1 large egg yolk (*Save the egg white for later*)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cup lukewarm water

In mixer with dough hook attachment combine:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Add wet ingredients to dry and allow to knead for approximately 5 minutes until smooth.  Using my kitchen aid mixer, I knead the dough on speed 2 and the dough hook.

Let the dough rest for 20 minutes in the mixer.

Add an additional 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and knead for approximately an additional 5 minutes until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is smooth.

Turn the dough into a greased bowl and turn so that the top of the dough is greased.  Cover the bowl with a dry towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.  I use the bread proof setting on my oven.  You can also allow this to rise in the refrigerator overnight as well.

While dough is rising.  Continue to make the filling:

Filling:

Combine in mixer until all the butter is combined:

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

Forming the twists:

After 1 hour of rise time, the dough should look like the picture above.  Next, deflate the dough on a floured surface and roll to approximately an 8x11 rectangle.  Spread the filling over the entire rectangle from edge to edge and pat down.  Fold the top of the dough down to the center, fold the bottom up, and the sides over....like you are making an envelope.  Pat the dough to seal the edges.

Cut the dough into 15-16 slices.

Take each slice, twist 2-3 times, and place it in a greased pan (with sides).  FYI...For the Chocolate Challah version I used a cookie sheet, but the filling for this recipe tends to leak out more and you will end up with a mess if you place it on a cookie sheet without sides.

Once all of the twists are formed, brush them with the egg white (beaten slightly) that you have saved.  Then, cover them and allowing them to rise for an additional 45 minutes. 

Coat the twists with an additional coat of the egg white wash, and place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Then, drop the temperature to 350 degrees for approximately 12 minutes.

Remove the twists to a cooling rack immediately.

Glaze:

Combine in a bowl with a wisk until smooth:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 Tbsp milk

Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the top of the twists.  These are terrific warm.  But, they also warm up nicely in the microwave.  Either way, they disappear quickly in my house!!

Banana Nut Muffins

I just love these muffins and had some bananas that were turning a little brown this morning so it was the perfect opportunity to make them.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine in a bowl:

3 ripe bananas (approximately 1 cup)
1/4 cup canola oil + 2 Tbsp
1/2 cup granulated sugar or brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt


Add the following and beat well:

1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Then Add:

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups wheat flour

Stir just until combined and then add:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Be careful not to overmix.  Once the batter is combined, spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.  I use an Olive oil cooking spray.  You an also use muffin liners.  Use a spoon or scoop to evenly distribute batter into the sprayed muffin tin.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes.
(I use a light colored metal muffin pan and usually cook these 19 minutes.  If you use a darker pan...you will want to reduce the time.)

Old Fashioned Pound Cake

I have a baking cookbook that is called "Le Cordon Bleu Professional Baking" by Wayne Gisslen that I have had for several years, but never made a single thing out of until today.  The reason is that all the amounts of ingredients are listed by weight....so, I never took the time to get the scale out and weigh all of the ingredients.  For some reason it was extremely intimidating!  Today I was adventurous and decided to make an Old Fashioned Pound Cake from this recipe book. My son saw a raspberry pound cake in Starbucks a while back and has been asking me to make it.  I thought this might be a recipe I could make some modifications to accomplish that.  But, have thought I'd start out with what the recipe was written for the first time around.

There was a marble pound cake option on this recipe that I originally set out to make, but once I got the batter completed it looked so yummy that I didn't want to modify it!  Maybe next time.

The recipe is very simple actually and I did measure everything once I weighed it so if you want to follow my measurements...that might be easier:

Cream together:
1 lb of unsalted butter sticks (one box)
1 lb of sugar (approximately 2 1/4 cups)

Add:
1 lb of large eggs (9 was too little and 10 was a bit too much so I went with 10)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Once light and fluffy add:

1 lb of cake flour (this was approximately 3 1/4 cups)

Once completely combined, spread the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees in the middle of the oven until completely done through.  I had to keep putting it back in the oven because the center wasn't done.  I think my loaf pan made the loaf thicker because most pound cakes take approximately an hour to bake.  Mine was more like an hour and a half.  That was with opening the oven as well....but, the end product is delicious!!

White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I have been lazy today and I still haven't gone to the store...lol!  But, decided to use up the 3 Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bars that I had on hand.  So, opted for a chocolate cookie and cut the bars into chunks.  These are like a cross between a brownie and a chocolate cake.

Beat together in mixer:

2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar

Add:
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs

1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Once combined slow down speed and add:

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa

Then add by hand:
Chopped White Chocolate Chunks from 3 Ghiradelli white chocolate bars

Drop cookie dough onto cookie sheet.  I like to use cookie scoops so that my cookies are perfectly round. (This is the one I used!)


Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes for large cookies (largest cookie scoop).

Cool for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Normally I like cookies warm, but I prefer to wait until these cookies are completely cooled.  Then, enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Nestle Toll House best-loved cookies

Nut Crunch Muffins

After getting to sleep in this morning, I woke up wanting to make something with some crunch to it.  I sat with my cup of coffee looking through recipes.  I had no bananas, no maple syrup, no sour cream, no oranges, no chocolate chips....as you can tell.... I really need to go to the grocery store.   So, I had to be very selective on what I could make.  It was between these muffins and a brown sugar muffin.  But, these ended up winning in the end.

These are really easy for those of you who thought the pepperoni rolls were a bit challenging.  I know you can handle these.  It's pretty simple...just put the ingredients in the bowl and mix.   You have to love that!

Muffin Batter:

Fill a Large Bowl with the following ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

Get ready:

1 cup buttermilk
 ** If you don't have buttermilk on hand....of course I did not....you can add 1 Tbsp. white vinegar to your milk and let it sit for about 5 minutes **

2/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg

Add milk, oil, vanilla, and egg to dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Do not overmix.

Place batter into a greased muffin pan that contains 12 cups and proceed to make topping.  I prefer lighter colored muffin pans as dark ones cook the muffins more rapidly.  You may have to adjust the cooking time if you use a dark muffin pan.

Muffin Topping:

Place in a bowl:

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp chilled butter (unsalted)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Use a pastry blender/cutter to combine the ingredients until all of the butter is evenly combined into a powdery like topping and then spoon onto the muffins.

Bake the muffins at 400 degrees for 10 minutes on a low rack in the oven.

Drop temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 12 minutes.

Allow muffins to cool for at least 5 minutes before removing them from the pan.

Recipe adapted from Great American Home Baking.

Fabulous Pepperoni Rolls

My mother-in-law made pepperoni rolls for her birthday recently and tortured us during our Skype conversation by having to leave the computer for a minute and go take them out of the oven.  I tried to get it out of my mind, but ever since I have wanted them!  My mother-in-law always has used a boxed hot roll mix to make them, but I was up for something a bit more challenging.  I love to modify recipes and do creative things with them.  So, I decided to give this a go.  If you would like to give them a shot.  This is the recipe:

FABULOUS PEPPERONI ROLLS

Wisk together:

2 Large Eggs
2 Large Egg Yolks (save the whites for later)
6 T Sugar

Add:  2 1/2 Cups lukewarm water.  Make sure it isn't over 110 degrees or it may kill the yeast.


I use my Kitchen aid mixer to knead dough.  I never do it by hand.


Add to your mixer or bowl (separate from the wet ingredients):

7 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 T. salt
3 tsp active dry yeast

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.

Knead for about 5 minutes

Let rest for 20 minutes

Add:   1 Cup All Purpose Flour

Knead until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball (approximately 5 minutes).

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rised in warm place for 1 hour.  I always rise my bread on the Bread proof setting for my oven.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to deflate it.  Flour a space on the counter and take dough by the handful and flatten it out on the counter.  Once you have a disk, add a small amount of pepperoni and any shredded cheese you would like to add to the center of the dough.  I used turkey pepperoni and then 1/2 mozzarella and 1/2 Colby Monterrey Jack.  Take the edges and gather them up so that the pepperoni and cheese are inside of the roll.  Place the seem side down into a large greased baking pan.  This will make approximately 16 large rolls.

Wisk the egg white that you saved and brush on the top of the rolls.

Cover the rolls and allow them to rise once again in a warm place for approximately 45 minutes.

Once the rolls have risen completely, brush the tops with another coat of egg white before placing them in the oven.

Bake the rolls at 375 Degrees for 10 minutes
then drop the temperature to 350 Degrees and bake them for an additional 12 minutes

Enjoy warm!
They were fabulous!