NuM NuM

Cheesecake, apples, salted caramel, streusel topping - num num! All the classic flavors of fall wrapped into one lovely dessert. These bars are the perfect marriage of cheesecake and apple pie. Two American classics elevated with a modern twist. I love discovering new and innovative desserts.

Since Thanksgiving is next week these would make a great addition to your meal. I am always the person who wants to have new and innovative desserts for Thansgiving - like pumpkin whoopie pies instead of pumpkin pie, apple tarte tatin instead of apple pie. Who wouldn't want that?! Do I ever get to make these fun and exciting creations? Nope! Nada...zilch...nothing! I always get shafted and forced to make the traditional classics - BORING!

Well not this year! Hopefully I'll be able to convince Lobster to add these to our holiday table. They're rich, buttery, sweet and salty. Who could ask for more? Apple pie OUT - cheesecake bar IN! I served these to friends for dessert and after one bite one of them said, "oooh this is GOOD!" 'Nuff said!

Salted Butter Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Makes 9 large bars

Base:
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 sticks) butter, softened

Cream Cheese Layer:
1 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Apples:
1 1/2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

*I used the caramel sauce from this recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 8x8-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.

Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.

Cool the bars to room temperature then refrigerate until ready to eat. Drizzle with the caramel topping just before serving (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one). These taste best straight from the fridge

Ohhhh how I love me some sweet and salty desserts! If you've ever been to the famous Fatwich Bakery in New York you know they make sinfully delicious treats. I've had the brownies before but I've never eaten or seen these bars until I found them on another blogger's site.

My oh my are these suckers rich and dense! I ran into a bit of technical difficulty while baking them - just a little boo boo, nothing major. I accidentally under baked the bars by using an 8x8 pan instead of a 9x9 and apparently it makes a world of a difference if you're off by one little inch.

Since I followed the cooking time for the recipe my bars never quite "set up" and the crust was a bit runny. They were so fragile you pretty much had to eat them with a fork. At first bite my initial thought was holy richness!! I mean seriously - a large glass of milk was definitely needed! I gave one to Lobster and his reaction was, "Wow, so good - rich - but so good!" Talk about sticky, gooey, creamy and chewy! They were even a bit too rich IMO - which I never thought was humanly possible.

I took these to a potluck and my friends had the same reactions and everyone could only take a few bites. When I got home I put them in the fridge and pretty much forgot about them since I knew they were too sweet to eat. A couple days later Lobster asked to have one and again said they were "so good!" Of course curiosity got the best of me and I had to try them again. Since the crust "set up" in the fridge they could be eaten by hand and when I took a bite, OMG they tasted so much better! They were still rich but not overly sweet to the point where you had to stop at one bite. The salt in the crust helped balance out the overall sweetness of the bar and it was out of this world - a sweet and salty world! I don't know what miracle took place in the fridge but the taste of the bar changed and something turned into toffee mixed with an Almond Joy candy bar - LOVE IT! Damn Lobster for eating them again - must punish him! I think I'll serve him his favorite for dinner - brussel sprouts ^_^


Congo Bars by Fat Witch Bakery

Found on Savory Sweet Life blog but Reprinted by Permission by Rodale

Headnote from Patricia Helding: ” I think the name comes from the lineup of graham crackers, condensed milk, chocolate chips, and shredded coconut. This version doesn’t skimp on any of them and adds pecans to boot. These are a delicious after-soccer hit with kids, but if there’s a platter put in front of football-watching adults… they’ll be gone before halftime. You can make graham cracker crumbs in the food processor, or do it the old-fashioned way by putting whole crackers in a reasonable plastic bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.”

Ingredients:

Crust:

1/4 cup unbleached flour

1/3 teaspoon baking powder*

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 11 whole crackers, crushed)

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Topping:

1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup semi-semi sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk**

1/3 cup chopped pecans or other nut (optional)

Instructions:

Grease a 9-inch x 9-inch baking pan with butter. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. Preheat the oven to 350 F. degrees.

To make the crust, measure the flour, baking powder, and salt and then sift together into a medium bowl. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs and light brown sugar. Mix well. Cut the butter into a few pieces and mix into the dough with a fork until the dough is crumbly. Continue mixing with your hands until smooth. Spread the dough evenly in a thin layer in the prepared baking pan, pressing down with your hands. Bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is slightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside. While the crust is cooling, prepare the topping.

Mix together the coconut, both chocolate chips, and the condensed milk with a spoon. Add the pecans, if desired. Spread the mixture evenly over the baked crust.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is well-set and light brown. Watch carefully at the end of baking time and do not let the top become too bubbly or dark. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 2 hours or until chocolate chips are no longer soft. Cut just before serving. Makes 12-16 bars

*1/3 teaspoon is a little more then 1/4 tsp but less then 1/2 tsp

**Substituted 1 cup of 2% evaporated milk and 1 1/4 cup of sugar heated it in a pan over low heat until all the sugar dissolved.

What kid or grown up doesn't love s'mores?! They must be America's all-time favorite dessert! These are especially wonderful since they don't require being outdoors to eat 'em. I've never been a fan of sleeping outside, pitching a tent, and being away from civilization. Now, you can have the pleasure of this campfire treat in the comfort of your own home. With these babies you can sit on the couch, relax, and curl up in your snuggy with a big 'ol glass of milk. Hell, if you really feel the need to be outdoors, light your fireplace :) While these are fantastically delicious, I must warn you though, they can get reeeeaaally messy! Especially when the marshmallows and chocolate are nice and melted and everything gets ooey and gooey and nummy and yummy. Inevitably you'll wind up with melted marshmallow and chocolate goo all over your fingers and you'll grab a napkin for assistance - then your fingers get stuck to the napkin so you might as well lick off all that yummyness and save a couple trees while you're at it by forgoing the napkins all together - it's so much more fun that way anyway! The following recipe is more of a method then an actual recipe. Add as much chocolate or marshmallows as your heart desires. The most important thing is that you have fun and get messy! Eat, be fat an merry, and enjoy every bite of it :D


S'MORES COOKIE RECIPE
Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

Ingredients:
1 box of Honey-Maid Graham Crackers
1 Hershey's Symphony Almonds and Toffee Chocolate Bar*
1 bag of large marshmallows

Directions:
Pre-heat oven on Broil (High heat) with baking rack 2 notches down from the top. Line a cookie sheet with as many graham crackers as you'd like. (These will be the bottom of your s'mores) Place graham crackers side by side in rows without any gaps. Next, spread 2 pieces of chocolate on top of graham crackers and top with a marshmallow.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven with the door slightly cracked. Broil for approximately 5-10 minutes carefully watching them so they don’t burn. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven when the marshmallows are golden brown and the chocolate has melted. Remove from oven and top with graham crackers and line them exactly with the bottom crackers and press each one down gently. Eat and enjoy.

*You can also use chocolate chips instead of the chocolate bars if you wish

These peanut butter and jelly bars will take you back to your childhood when PB&J was an everyday staple. Not in my house though, our staple was kim-chi and rice sandwiches...haha...I kid - only kim chi and rice - no bread involved. Since PB&J reminds me so much of little kids, I wanted to give these to my niece and nephew - until genius here realized her nephew's allergic to peanuts. Poor little guy - oh well, more for auntie :) I always feel badly for people who have food allergies or restrictions to their diet. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't eat what I wanted all day, every day. The world would be such a gloomier place. Anyway, these bars were delicious! They had the perfect amount of peanut butter to jelly and were soft, crunchy and ooey and gooey and nummy and yummy! These are quite addicting and would make a great snack for children and adults of all ages. Just make sure there's a tall glass of milk nearby. Also as an added bonus, since peanut butter is classified as a "good fat" this means they must be good for you, right? ^_^

BTW - these are delicious straight out of the fridge. They get a bit fudgey and taste heavenly.

Other bars, cookies and brownie bites you may enjoy:
Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, and Oatmeal
Lemon Bars
Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Cheesecake Swirl Brownies


Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Adapted by Barefoot Contessa at Home, by Ina Garten
Makes 9 large bars or 16 small bars

Ingredients:
2 tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature + 1/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt*
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup (9 ounces) creamy peanut butter (recommended: Skippy)
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 cups (9 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam**
1/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped***

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 8x8-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, yogurt and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined. (Dough will become one cohesive ball of dough. Leave any remaining flour that has not been mixed in with the dough ball in the bowl (you won't miss it) - This will not be a wet dough but will be spreadable and yummy)

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely for about 2 hours and cut into squares. I would also refrigerate any leftovers since there is yogurt in them.

*Original recipe calls for one stick of butter. To make mine healthier I subbed in butter and yogurt. I've also substituted unsweetened apple sauce for the yogurt.
**I would add more jelly next time since I like a higher jam to PB ratio - probably a total of one cup.
***I also used roasted salted almonds instead of peanuts for the topping

To celebrate Easter I made lemon bars. I gave up desserts for lent so it was an extremely looooong forty days. Therefore, I must make up for lost time. These lemon bars were the perfect blend of sweet and tangy. No need to search for another recipe, this one's definetely a keeper. NUM!

Lemon Bars
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
pinch salt
12 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the filling:
6 large eggs
3 cups sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. lemon juice (about 5 lemons)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Using two knives or your fingertips (recommended) cut in the butter until the mixture is the size of small peas. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9" by 13" baking pan, and about 3/4" up the sides of the pan to keep the filling from leaking during baking.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

To make the filling (you can do this as you are baking the crust), whisk eggs and sugar together until well combined. Add the zest and juice; whisk well. Sift the flour over the top and stir until well blended. Pour filling over the cooled crust. Bake until set, about 30 to 35 minutes. (They should be slightly jiggly.) Let the pan cool completely before cutting into bars. Dust with confectioner's sugar, if desired.