Snickerdoodle cookie bars

I really really wanted to bake these about two weeks ago, but I was at B's and I didn't have any cinnamon there.  Shocking, right?  But next time I was in Whole Foods wandering around waiting to meet up with him, I remembered that I needed cinnamon and grabbed some (along with a bunch of random other stuff, but that's another story). 

These were actually called Snickerdoodle Blondie Bars, but mine baked up more like cookie bars.  Buttery, uber decadent, cinnamony delicious cookie bars.  I halved the original recipe, beat the butter and sugar by hand (my stand mixer will make it down there eventually....), and then used an 8x8 inch (disposable....because, again, my pans haven't made it there yet....) pan.  And of course I decided to bake these on my first day of my diet.  But I was good.  My willpower (long absent) kicked in and I had one teeny tiny 1 x 1.5 inch piece and then walked away (and packed them up and told B that he MUST bring them to work with him the next day).

Seriously, guys, make these.  STAT.  Because they are that good!

Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars
From Baked by

Ingredients (this is for the 9 x 13 pan; I halved mine but then used a little extra cinnamon (see italics below for anything that was not halved)):

For the cookie bars:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I used 1 tsp, because I love cinnamon....so I might use 2 tsp if you are doing the full recipe)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Topping:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper (or grease it well with butter or baking spray).
Lightly crease the exposed pan and parchment paper.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and both sugars.
Mix in eggs and vanilla.
Add in dry ingredients.
Mix until smooth and no streaks remain.
Lightly grease hands (I skipped that part).
Press the mixture into an even layer in the prepared pan.
Sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes (I baked my 8 x 8 pan for 20 minutes).

Allow blondies to cool before slicing.
Store in an airtight container for up to several days.

Browned butter blondies

The other day B and I had a relatively low key day.  We got up and picked up some coffee (and a donut)....walked up a little and then all the way across town to get, yup, another donut.  Walking back across town, we stopped at my most favorite cheese shop in Little Italy and bought provisions for dinner that night, then ended up at Whole Foods to buy the rest of the dinner stuff and some stuff for me to make blondies...because clearly after two donuts (I guess it was technically one each, but still), baking anything is clearly the logical thing to do...

See, I had been copying down A LOT of recipes that I had been coming across lately, and one of them was for blondies.  They were touted as being some of -- if not -- the best out there, so I figured I'd take a stab at them.  Except I don't like nuts in my baked goods, so I left those out.  And ever since I made those browned butter brown sugar cookies, I've been more than a wee bit obsessed with browned butter...and since these blondies called for melted butter anyway, I figured why not brown the butter, too?  Which was, frankly, a delicious idea!

I wanted my blondies a little thicker than the recipe called for, so I made mine in an 9 x 9 inch pan, and then left out some of the batter (to attempt something, which didn't work out exactly as I had hoped).  This yielded a chewy, thick, delicious blondie!  So delicious and rich, in fact, that I had to send the rest of the pan to work with B to get them out of the apartment!

Browned Butter Blondies
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated, Found at Food52.com

Ingredients:

1.5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted, browned, and cooled
1.5 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tsp (yup, you read that right!) vanilla extract
6-8 oz white chocolate chips (1 cup) or chopped bar, or 3-4 oz each white chocolate chips and semisweet chocolate chips (use smaller amounts if using nuts; if leaving out the nuts, use the higher amounts)

1 cup pecans or walnuts (4 oz), optional

Directions:

If using nuts, put the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
Preheat to 350F,
Spread nuts on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown, 10-15 minutes.
Transfer to cutting board to cool.
Chop coarsely and set aside.

While the nuts toast, line a 9x13 inch baking pan with foil, leaving enough overhand to help you lift the blondies out of the pan when they're done.
Grease the foil-lined pain with butter or oil.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Set aside.

Whisk browned butter and brown sugar together in a medium bowl until combined.
Add eggs and vanilla.
Mix well.
Using a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients until just combined -- do not overmix.
Fold in chocolate (and nuts, if using....I did not).
Turn batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with a rubber spatula.

Bake until top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 22-25 minutes.
Do not overbake.
Cool on a wire rack until room temperature.
Remove bars from pan by lifting by foil overhang.
Transfer to cutting board.
Cut into 2 inch squares and serve.

Cherry cranberry bliss bars

I am a firm believer in the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Even it's broken English makes me want to change it from ain't broke to isn't broken, but the saying works so well that even I know not to mess with it.  Which brings me to these Cherry-Cranberry Bliss Bars.  I made the cranberry version a few years ago and they were fantastic.  I mean awesomely, perfectly, utterly fantastic.  So why change them?  They ain't broke.  So why try to fix them?

Truth be told, I didn't have to.  They're soooo good in their original form.  But I thought that maybe if I added some dried cherries, I might change up the flavor a little and get another sweet, slightly tart flavor mixed in.  They didn't disappoint!

Now, I'm going to be totally honest with you.  These are good, too.  Really good.  But they are as good as -- not better than -- than the original.  That doesn't mean that they aren't delicious, but is just saying that the original ones are absolutely delicious, and you don't have to change them if you don't want to.  Either version is delicious!  I personally loved the juicy cherry flavor from the dried cherries.

Cherry-Cranberry "Bliss" Bars
Adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:

For the Blondie Layer:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, cubed
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4-1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4-1/3 cup dried cherries
6 ounces white baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

For the Frosting:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 ounces white baking chocolate, melted, divided
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

Prepare the blondie layer:

Melt the butter in the microwave in a medium bowl .
Stir in the brown sugar
Pour into a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture.

Stir in the cranberries, cherries, and chopped chocolate (I used white chocolate chips since I didn't feel like chopping the chocolate for the blondies).
Spread the blondie batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not overbake).
Cool completely on a wire rack.

Prepare the frosting:

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until well-blended.
Gradually add half of the melted white chocolate.
Beat until blended.

Frost the blondies.
Sprinkle with chopped cranberries and cherries.
Drizzle with the remaining melted white chocolate.
Cut into bars (squares, rectangles, or triangles....I also think circles would be cute, but probably too messy).

Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

2013 - The year in review (in baked goods)

2013 was a busy year both for me personally, and for JulieBakes. 

I went to Thailand. 
JulieBakes turned two!! 
I graduated with my doctorate. 
JulieBakes reached 175 fans on Facebook.
This year, JulieBakes had a week of birthday treat posts leading up to my (33rd) birthday.
B and I celebrated a year together. 
JulieBakes had a record 23 posts in December (24 if you include this one!).
Oh, and on December 23rd was JulieBakes' 200th post!


I decided that to cap off this great year, I'd do a "Year in Review" of JulieBakes posts for 2013.  My version of a "Best of" JulieBakes, so to speak.  So I've gathered my favorite shots from the blog from 2013, categorized them my type of treat, and posted them all here for you to see in one place!

Hope you had a great 2013 -- and that you have a sweet and happy 2014! 

Love,
Julie

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