peanut butter-oatmeal morning bars

Quite honestly I didn't know what to call these besides tasty lil fockers!
A little history: these bars come from those gluten free peanut butter cookies I made with that wonderful peanut butter powder.
I had some of that powder (see photo below) left over and wanted to do something different.
Having a craving for healthy morning bars--you know the ones that you can take with on busy mornings, but won't weight you down with heavy carbs later on?
So...these bars are kind of healthy, there is some sugar in there, and butter, but there is no flour.
Most days I don't like to have flour; I'll have grains, but not white flour--it just makes me so sleepy.
I wish I could call these gluten free, but there are oats in there, and how the oats get processed, I'm sure there is some sort of cross contamination.
If you want these gluten free, just take out the oats and take out the butter. I added in the butter just for the addition of the oats.
One bowl baking too! Gotta love that.
Do me a favor?
Invest in a jar of this peanut butter powder.
It's so good when used in baked goods; adds that little something special in the background.
Not to mention how much tastier it makes peanut butter cookies!

Where to find? Most health food stores and Whole Foods Market.

Did I tell you how tasty these are?
They aren't dry or boring. You know how some oatmeal cookies or bars are boring? Yeah, not these.
Just darn tasty!
Addictive too.
Perfect with morning coffee!
I am NEVER making oatmeal cookies without this recipe--this is so good.  OK, I know I said that a lot.

See those edge pieces?
Yeah, save those for yourself--you're welcome!

peanut butter-oatmeal morning bars

print recipe

1 ¼ cup all-natural chunky or all natural smooth peanut butter (not too oily)

¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 cup + 2 TB old fashioned oats

½ - ¾ cup of raisins (add or takeaway how much you like)

1 stick of butter (8 ounces), room temp

1 large egg, room temp

1 egg yolk

1 ts baking soda

3  OVERSIZED TB powdered peanut butter

1 ts sea salt

cook notes:

This recipe is almost gluten free since there is no flour. 

But there are oats in there, so….

In a small bowl add the peanut powder, baking soda, oats, and salt and mix, set aside.

In a small bowl beat egg and egg yolk, and beat.

In a mixer or by hand, combine peanut butter, butter, and sugar until well combined, add in the eggs, mix well..

Add in the dry mixture, and mix. Then add in the raisins.

Cover bowl and let it sit in fridge for about an hour.

It needs to set up a bit/harden before baking.

Do not let this sit overnight as the dough becomes dry!

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease up an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan. Place batter in baking pan, making sure to get it evenly spread all around and in the corners.

Bake for 16-21 minutes, until lightly browned on the edges. It cooks up very fast, so I really wouldn’t go past the 20-21 minute mark.

The middle might still be a bit soft, this is ok, it will harden up a bit.

You know they are done when there is no jiggle in the middle.

Cool for a while as this baked dough is still fairly delicate and hard to move. I waited 1 hour, then put them in fridge to set up faster.

I keep them stored in the fridge, at least a couple days, covered well.

friday links and my best ice cream recipes!

Happy Friday!

chocolate-avocado ice cream from mom, what's for dinner
vintage meltaway chocolate cream cake from food of our lives
exercise & nutrition guide to staying young from gabbyandlaird.com
great list of eco-friendly paints from remodelista.com
vegan wagon wheels from moonblush baker
baklava cheesecake from sprinkle bakes
sweet potato brownies from the healthy foodie
buttermilk ice cream w/ baked nectarines & biscoff cookies from 350 sweets
a video with gail dosik of one tough cookie (love her) from food curated
pineapple dole whip from what's cookin chicago
the most gorgeous & cutest wall stickers I've ever seen from hotel miramare collection (buying these)
DIY green juice in a blender! from just a taste
the best list of ingredient substitutions from joy of cooking
cronuts! from the boy who bakes
the worst types of people you encounter on social media from elite daily
how juicing changed my life from mind body green
what to do with leftover pate brisee? make pop tarts! from G Bakes
anyone ever done the Bar Method? I'm in physical therapy to mend my knees, and was told to take up any type of exercise that won't hurt the knee joints (swimming, stretching, etc...). 
Did some research and found that the Bar Method helps to strengthen the muscles that support the knees and gives you a better range of flexibility.
I might take this up after P/T.  Would love to hear your thoughts.....
weight loss secrets from "Extreme Makeover" Chris Powell from readers digest
the inevitabilities of aging: how inevitabile are they? from marks daily apple
chocolate-chili cookies from serious eats
no bake creme brulee from serious eats


I love their sense of humor!


We had a heat wave last week and all I could tolerate was cold food with balsamic dressing.

And this cold food too.  (coffee-oreo). I need to re-create this at home--soon.

Looking for some ice cream recipes?

pumpkin-vanilla oreo ice cream.


blackberry coulis with salty white chocolate-cream cheese swirls


chai ice cream with spicy pecans


mocha almond with brownie chunks


lemon & vanilla oreo ice cream


blueberry-cream cheese ice cream


chubby wifey ice cream.
why should chubby hubby have all the fun?


peanut butter-oreo ice cream (my all time favorite).

Have a great weekend!

potato chip filled chocolate chip cookie bars

The ultimate in sweet and salty: potato chips and chocolate.
Even Cheez It crackers and chocolate is a favorite combo of mine when I'm uber-stressed.
Potato chips with chocolate chip cookies, even better!
My problem?  I always wanted more potato chips in the cookies.
So I figured the best to do this is to stuff them into bar cookies.
Much like I did when I made the chocolate chip cookies stuffed with peanut butter.
This way you can fill the middle of the bars with as much potato chips as you like!

Warning: these are addictive!

Can you see the abundance of potato chips?
Just the way I like it.

Use a good, salty, kettle chip that can hold up to baking.
Thin chips might get soggy or meld into the cookie batter.

Put down about a little more than half of the dough batter in the bottom of pan.
Then fill with crushed salt & vinegar chips (or whatever flavor your digging).
Then in giant crumbles, spread the remaining dough on top.
No need to push down; it's better when it bakes up light and crisp.




You've got to try these!
Crazy easy to make too.

chocolate chip  bar cookies stuffed with potato chips

(cookie recipe from Jacques Torres)

print recipe

2 cups minus 2 TB (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 ts baking soda

1 1/2 ts baking powder

1 1/2 ts coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 TB (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 ts natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks/chips at least 60 percent cacao (don’t skip this part, use a high quality chocolate, it makes all the difference)

½ - ¾  cups of crushed salt & vinegar kettle chips (or whatever flavor you like)

Sea salt for sprinkling top of dough (just a little bit, optional)

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.

Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.

Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours.

(I left mine for 96 hours and it was perfectly fine).

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray.

Divide dough into 2 piles: less than 2/3 and  more than 1/3.

Take the 2/3 dough and line the bottom of the baking pan with it, making sure to get all the corners, making sure there aren’t any holes or gaps in the dough.

Spread a layer of the crushed potato chips; no need to push them down into dough.

Take the 1/3 remaining dough and crumble on the top. Also make sure to take any dough and close up any gaps you see in the corners.

Don’t push the crumble down into the dough, just leave it on the top—it’s ok to have spaces in the crumble—gaps are good on the top, it will let the potato chips show through.

Sprinkle the top lightly with sea salt (optional) and bake until golden brown but still soft, roughly 25 – 31 minutes.

Look for golden brown edges, non-jiggly middle.

The middle will be a bit soft, but once it completely cools it won’t be as gooey; it sets up really nice.

Slice with a sharp knife.

Makes about 20-24 bars depending on how you cut them.

toasted coconut-graham macaroons

This recipe is a 'baking bucket list' which I can now cross off the list.
I don't know why I've always wanted to try a macaroon this way.
I love them as is, but always wanted to try them with some sort of texture.
Granted I know they are odd looking, but certainly tasty and very easy to make.
Of course you don't have to use crushed grahams, you can use more coconut, lime zest, crushed candies of some sort, you get the idea....



Super easy to make too.
I took the coconut and toasted first.
I wanted an extra crunchy macaroon.

Please do a better job of rolling these into balls than I did.

Get the dipping station ready, makes things go smoothly.
Not a fan of crushed graham? Use crushed candy, more toasted coconut, citrus zest, etc...
If you do use graham, please a nice pinch of sea salt to it.



A tasty little cookie--almost smore'esque in texture and taste.

toasted coconut-graham macaroons

print recipe

14 ounces sweetened, flaked coconut, toasted! (I toasted mine—try this)

2/3 cup minus 1 TB granulated sugar

2 large egg whites, cold

¼ ts sea salt

½ ts almond extract

½ cup crushed graham crackers

a pinch of salt (for the crushed grahams)

about 8-10 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips, melted (for dipping macaroons)

1 ts of vegetable oil

cooks notes: I was not that great at making the macaroons high and puffy.  I could have done better by rolling them by hand instead of using two spoons.  So use your hands or even a cookie scoop. Of course dipping the macaroons in crushed grahams is optional.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

I did all this by hand (I don’t have a mixer) and it turned out fine.

In a large bowl, mix the egg whites with the sugar, salt and almond extract. Mix well, about 2 minutes.  Add in the toasted coconut and mix again till well combined.

With a medium cookie scoop (or by hand) scoop batter into 2-3 inch mounds (depending on size you like big or small).

The cookies won’t spread as much You can arrange the cookies fairly close together as they don’t spread all that much.

Bake cookies for 25 to 30 minutes, until they look toasted on top. And are set up.

Let them cool on the tray for at least 20 minutes.

When ready to dip macaroons, melt the chocolate (and 1 ts of vegetable oil) in the microwave OR however you feel most comfortable melting chocolate.

Have a small dish filled with the crushed grahams at the ready; as soon as we dip the macaroons in chocolate we will dip them in the crushed grahams.

Using a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper, take a cooled macaroon, dip in the melted chocolate, tap off excess, then dip in the crushed grahams and place on lined cookie sheet.  I placed the dipped macaroon with the dipped side up.

Repeat with all the cookies until done.

It should take about 2 hours (at room temp) for the chocolate to harden or you can place in the fridge to set up.

Makes about 20-23 macaroons, depending on size you make them.

banana-oat crumble bars

Blueberry crumble, strawberry crumble, rhubarb crumble.....why no banana crumble?
I've wondered that from time to time.
And had to fix that.
Even pineapple crumble sounds good too.
I made these fairly simple, fairly easy--easy to throw together if you have really ripe bananas lying around and aren't in the mood for a heavy banana bread.
I made these on the first try, but should I make them again I would definitely sauté the bananas with a bit of spiced rum, just to give it that extra something-something.
So, I highly suggest doing this if you want to give these a go.
And also with these, it's ok to bake them a little longer for that "crisp/crunch" factor.
They have oats in there so they can take a little extra browning.
It should be noted, that my 'banana hating' husband LOVED these, in case you have a 'banana-hating' person in your household.

Adding a layer of crushed nuts (pecans, walnuts) on top of banana filling might be a great idea too.
Just sayin....


Half the crumble dough for bottom of pan, then banana filling, then remaining dough on top, in clumps.
Easy peasy!


TIP: if you want traditional gooey crumble hot from the oven? Try serving this immediately after baking with vanilla ice cream.
Or if you want crumble bars, then let it cool down a bit before slicing.

banana-oat crumble bars

print recipe

crumble:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

½ ts baking powder

½ ts baking soda

couple dashes of cinnamon, optional

1 cup sugar

½ ts salt

1 cup butter, room temp

1 large egg

banana filling:

2 ripe bananas, mashed fairly well

juice of half a lemon

2 TB light brown sugar

1 TB sour cream

1 egg yolk

cook notes: The crumble bars are really tasty when they are crispy. So you might want to bake them to the full 40-45 minute mark.  Look for golden brown (not light golden brown) to know when they are done. As I stated in the blog post, it might be a good idea to sauté the bananas with a TB of butter and some spiced rum before using.  I know it would be a great boost in taste. If you do this, then omit the lemon juice step. If you want bars then let the crumble cool a bit before slicing, if you want warm gooey crumble then serve immediately with vanilla ice cream!  So good.  But remember the filling will be hot!

In a small bowl, mash the bananas, sprinkle with the lemon juice, stir, set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease or if you have nonstick pan then just spray with non-stick spray.

For the crumble: in a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients (and the oats). 

Add in the butter and egg, mix until crumbly and just combined.

Take the crumb mixture, divide in half and put one half in the bottom of the pan.  Making sure to get all the corners.

Take the mashed bananas, add in the brown sugar, the sour cream, and egg yolk. Mix well.

Next put a nice layer of the banana mixture on top of the crumb dough; try not to go to close to the edges.  There might be some banana mixture leftover.

Taking the remaining half of the crumb mixture, and add it to the top of the banana filling. 

Please do this by adding it in clumps/balls AND do not press down.

Just make sure to put the mixture on loosely, and evenly; getting the corners covered too.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden browned.

I wanted my crumble fairly crisp, so I went the whole 45 minutes. 

It’s really good when it’s nice and crispy.

You need to let bars cool completely in order for them to set up right. OR serve right away if you want traditional warm gooey crumble with vanilla ice cream!

Makes about 12 bars depending on how you slice them.