meyer lemon bars... a taste of spring on a rainy day + a birthday wish

hey everyone... its been awhile... and a lot has been going on over here... i recently returned from an amazing 2 week vacation in France... and i had a fantastic time... the people, the sights, the food and wine... i can't wait to go back :)

i'll post some some pictures soon... but heres just one quick picture of me and my sister

the weather in maine has been very dreary lately.... rain and grey grey skies...not the type of weather that puts a smile on my face, and basically drains me of any and all energy... but i figured something like sunny sweet lemon bars would certainly brighten my day...

and they did :)

is there nothing better then a sweet shortbread crust and subtly sweet and tangy lemon filling...

for the crust: 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
for the lemon filling:
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon grated meyer lemon zest (3 to 4 lemons)
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup flour
+ confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan
2. for the crust: cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
3. combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed
4. place the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball, then flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the greased baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides
5. bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned... cool on a wire rack
6. for the lemon layer: whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour
7. pour over the crust and bake for about 22-25 minutes, or about five minutes beyond the point where the filling is set... then let cool to room temperature
8. cut into rectangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar

and now to wish my amazing hubby a very happy birthday :)

 unfortunately he's underway right now... but he'll be home shortly and we can celebrate then... it's been a hectic few months as a family... not being together for more than a few days at a time really sucks, but soon enough we'll be together again...

and that is something i am really looking forward to :)

i love you hubby!!

happy baking everyone... and a very happy birthday to my hubs

cake batter rice krispie treats... and a guest blogpost

 happy Friday everyone... i am absolutely thrilled that it's the weekend already... the week countdown until my hubby comes home has begun... the little guys are so excited for his return... i think they are even more excited for the following week when i go to France for 12 days leaving the three of them to do lots of fun boy stuff... as my oldest Jack keeps saying "we are going to rock the house out mom!"... oh lord, i can only imagine... my hubs has never spent more than 1 day/night by himself with both of the boys... i've already made a very detailed (color coated) schedule so the hubs has a bit of a heads-up... sometimes it's like i have 3 kids (just kidding)...

so... i saw this recipe on pinterest the other day, and being that it only took about 5 minutes to make and consisted of about 5 ingredients, i figured i would give it a go... the only thing was that i had to buy a box of yellow cake mix.. i cannot remember the last time i bought cake mix... but since the reviews of these treats were raving... i got myself to the store and bought myself a box of duncan hines yellow butter cake mix...

and as for these treats... the reviews were spot on... they were sooooo good...what a fun way to amp up rice krispie treats!

cake batter rice krispie treats:
ingredients:

3 Tbsp. butter
1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
1/3 cup yellow cake mix (the dry cake mix, not prepared into a batter!)
6 cups crispy rice cereal
a few dashes of cinnamon
sprinkles

directions:
1. melt and brown butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows, and stir until they begin to melt, and dash in a bit of cinnamon
2. begin adding in the cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined
3. stir in the cereal, and mix it so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture
4. press into a baking dish and top with sprinkles... then let  them sit for about 30 minutes before cutting

and i have a great announcement... starting today, my sister and i will be collaborating on her amazing blog "Jeans and Tees and Travel and Cakes"... so check me out every Friday where i will be sharing more amazing, fun and delicious goodies

until next time... happy baking everyone :)

pumpkin spice latte bars

hello readers... i know i haven't been around lately and i apologize for my absence... and i must say it feels so good to be striking at my keys and uploading some yummy pictures... i've missed you blog world...

well... i guess i could just dive into things here and just get down to the goods... everybody ready for autumn... i love this time of year... it's in a word... wonderFALL :)

i love everything about fall... the fun and festive decorations, the food, the boots and sweaters, the football, the family gatherings...ahh, the warm and coziness of it all... and i know you're all feeling me...

i know alot of people also look forward to the seasonal arrival of a very popular little caffieine fueled spicey beverage... the coveted starbucks pumpkin spice latte... am i right? am i right?

it is pure warm heaven in a white and green cup...

now... what about those flavors in a moist and sweet little cake... bing! i'm on it!

how about we start with a moist, semi dense, spicy pumpkin cake... top it with a deep espresso flavored cream cheese frosting, and just drizzle it with a hint of buttery salt caramel... all that was missing was the whipped cream... we are watching our figures over here :)

pumpkin spice bars:

ingredients:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 350
2. in a bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until blended
3. combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves; add to pumpkin mixture just until combined
4. pour into a greased 15x10x11 baking pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, cool completely on a wire rack
5. slather with epsresso creamcheese frostingand drizzle with salt caramel... cute into bars and enjoy :)

look how warm and inviting this cake looks... nom nommm nommmm...

welcome fall and happy baking everyone :)

blueberry crumb bars

hey people! how is it going on your end? it's one gorgeous weekend over here in our neck of the woods, but it's also been a little stressful over here... my little man hasn't been feeling well for a while and we're really trying to figure out whats going on in his little system... we have lots of doctors appointments coming up, and we're just hoping to get some answers... and i don't know what you do when you get stressed, but i like to either online shop or bake... and since my closet is looking oretty goos for summer right now, and i had a big ol' batch of blueberries that needed to be used... so... this is what i got for you...

blueberry crumb bars (adapted from smitten kitchen)
*this is the full recipe, but i halfed it and added in the oats*

ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wuick rolled oats
2 sticks cold unsalted butter
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and grease a 9×13 inch pan
2. in a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder, and mix in salt and lemon zest... use a pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg... the dough will be crumbly
3. pat half of dough into the prepared pan
4. in another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice, then gently mix in the blueberries... spread the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust
5. crumble remaining dough over the berry layer
6. bake in the oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown... then cool completely before cutting into squares

and here it is all baked up... nice and golden brown and bursting with blueberry juice

happy baking everyone!

s'more bars and sticky fingers

here's a sweet treat to brighten your monday... a yummy take on the old time classic campfire treat... and it's got everything you'd expect in a s'more ... its sticky, ooey-gooey, melty, chocolaty... and messy... i mean, that's what you want in a s'more isn't it... if your fingers, chin and cheeks aren't covered in melted chocolate and strands of stringy marshmallow then your certainly doing something wrong... but i guess you could use a fork or spoon with these, but you'd be a wuss in my book :)

smore's bars, recipe adapted

ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, or you can use to king sized chocolate bars
2 cups mini marshmallows or 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8-inch square baking pan
2. in a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in egg and vanilla

3. in a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt... then add it to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined
4. divide dough in half... press one half of the dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan

5. generously sprinkle the dough with the chocolate chips, and pat down slightly

6. then top the chocolate with marshmallows or spread with fluff

7. with the remaining dough , sprinkle atop in a single layer, pressing down slightly
8. bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned, cool almost completely before digging in

9. grab a wet-wipe, roll up your sleeves and prepare to get sticky

so let out your inner child, and get sticky... and as always...

happy baking everyone :)

salted peanut butter rice krispie treat ice-cream sandwiches... i'm outta breath with this title

so... i whipped up a batch of yummy rice krispie treats last night, and to my dismay they came out a little on the dense side... still tasty, but a little thick... these were not the treats i was in the mood for... and i don't get it... i followed the directions, and i hardly patted these suckers down into the pan (i used gentle fingers.. hehe)... but they still came out pretty solid...

oh what to do with a huge batch of salty-gooey-peanut buttery-crispy goodness... and you all know about rice krispie treats, after one day they start to turn towards the dark side... so... i started to rack my little noodle... hmmm... i could throw them out... or i could eat the whole batch and slip away quietly into a sugar coma... or... i could be transform these suckers into something else... but what... hmmm...

then bingo! an idea slapped me across the face... i could just cut them in half and smush some vanilla bean ice cream between them... genius idea... nowhere near original, but genius all the same... and that was that... and let me just say... these were awesome...

peanut butter rice krispie treat recipe (adapted from smitten kitchen):
ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3/4 cup of creamy peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

1. butter 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides
2. in a large pot, melt butter until browned over medium-low heat, stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do...as soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows... the residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth
3. once all the marshmallows are smooth, stir in the peanut butter until fully incorporated
4. remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together
5. quickly spread into prepared pan, and gently press into the pan evenly


and here they are in their au' naturale state... pretty good looking i think... :)

happy baking everyone!

brown butter rice krispie treats :)

well here's a simple and yummy take on an old classic.... browned butter rice krispie treats... mmmm... mmmmmm... mmmmmmm... sweet, salty, krispie, somewhat chewy... and oh so good... and did i mention... these take like 10 minutes to make... and once they are set, you'll have to hold yourself back from sneaking another one...

i came across this recipe from the fabulous "smitten kitchen" when i was looking up some different takes on these homemade classics... and i must say, i haven't made these in like years... and they aren't something i would normally choose to make, but my biggest little guy wanted them, so... i was eager to please... and oh man... soooo yummy... so if you want to try a simple spin on the original recipe, go ahead and butter up a 8 inch square pan, melt some marshmallows and go to town...

browned butter rice krispie treats:
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

directions:

1. butter an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides
2. in a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat, it will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty, stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do
3. as soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows

4. the residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth
5. remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together, then quickly spread into prepared pan

be patient while waiting for them to set... then cut 'em up into tiny squares and enjoy...

happy baking everyone!