I love granola bars; all kinds of granola bars! To me they are like a “healthy” cookie. If you think about it, granola bars are essentially cookies, but since they have oats, and perhaps dried fruit, you get to call them “granola” bars.
Here’s a super simple “granola bar” recipe that I like to call Oatmeal Jam Cookie bars. Yes, I used the word “cookie” because they have a whole stick of butter and taste too delicious and buttery to be called a granola bar.
My mom and her friend Janice would make these for my friend Andy and me when we were toddlers.
They are great because even though they contain butter and brown sugar, they also have a whole cup of rolled oats. We used cherry preserves for the jam, but feel free to use strawberry, grape, blueberry or whatever your favorite flavor is.
When Janice would make these, she would add a layer of peanut butter and call it “Andy Casserole”. Her method involved spreading 3/4 cup peanut butter onto the oatmeal mixture, then spreading the jam on top of the peanut butter. Then she would finish by sprinkling the remaining crumb mixture on top and baking them as usual per the recipe below.
Harper loved these, just like I did when I was a kid.
Happy baking and enjoy!
Harper in my almost 30 year old sweatshirt.So silly!
Oatmeal Jam Bar Cookies
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 24
Ingredients
1/2 cup room-temperature butter
1/2 cup light-brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup fruit-only jam or preserves
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8″ square pan, line it with aluminum foil and then butter the foil.
Mix all the ingredients together except the jam.
Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to within 1/4″ of the edge. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over the top and lightly press it into the jam.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes and allow to cool on a wire rack before cutting.
Serving size: 1 Calories: 103 Fat: 4 g Carbohydrates: 16 g Sodium: 60 mg Protein: 1 g
Notes
For “pb&j” bars: spread 3/4 cup peanut butter onto the oatmeal mixture, and then spread jam on top of the peanut butter. Finish by sprinkling the remaining crumb mixture and then bake as usual.
Until I met my husband, I could have cared less about football. Well, that’s not true, I went to almost every A&M football game during college, but I was never really “in to it” or knew what was going on.
Football really sparked my interest just a few years ago as the Aggies went on to the SEC, Johnny Manziel become “Johnny Football”, the Aggies starting winning, and I finally got used to nothing but football on TV every Saturday and Sunday in the fall.
The Super Bowl last night marked the end of football season, and I’m honestly a little sad. I’ve come to love having the game on television as background noise while I cook, and I have even come to just ENJOY watching it on the couch! Something I never would have considered doing a few years ago.
Last night my parents invited us over for hotdogs and hamburgers and to watch the Super Bowl. For dessert, my mom made these super easy blondies. What’s great about them is you will more than likely already have all the items you need in your pantry!
In addition to being super easy, these delicious bars are so buttery and moist. The chocolate just melts in your mouth, and the walnuts add a nice crunch. Its like eating a more buttery chocolate chip walnut cookie in a bar form!
This can’t be a good habit, but our three month old LOVES television; football for that matter. Maybe its because during her first few weeks of life, she lay on her daddy’s chest watching the Aggies play. 🙂
Super Bowl 49 (Seahawks vs. Patriots) was no different, as she thoroughly enjoyed the first quarter of the game laying on the floor on her cozy little pink blanket!
First Super Bowl and she was loving it!!!
Need a good excuse to eat these buttery blondies? It’s called working out, and we’ve already got a personal trainer at Dallas’ Equinox: Aunt Brittany!!! #equinoxmademedoit
Blondie anyone? We’ve got our own Aunt Brittany as a personal trainer to fight off all those calories from the blondies. haha! #equinoxmademedoit
Easy Blondies
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 16
Adapted from: “Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies” by Alice Medrich
Ingredients
1 cup (4.5 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (6.125 oz) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup (2.33 oz) broken or coarsely chopped walnut pieces
1/2 cup (3 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or fork.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the brown sugar. Use a wooden spoon to beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture followed by half of the walnuts. Spread the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts and the chocolate chips evenly over the top.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the nuts look toasted, the top is golden brown, and the edges have pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool in the pan on a rack. Lift the ends of the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Use a long sharp knife to cut into squares. May be kept in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
UPGRADES:[br]NUTMEG OR CINNAMON BLONDIES: Just before serving, grate a little nutmeg or cinnamon stick over the bars.[br]PEANUT BUTTER BLONDIES: Reduce the amount of brown sugar to 2/3 cup. Add 1/2 cup (3 oz) well-stirred natural peanut butter (chunky or smooth) with the brown sugar. Substitute 1/2 cup (2 oz) roasted salted peanuts for the walnuts.[br]PEANUT BUTTER HAZELNUT BLONDIES: Reduce the amount of brown sugar to 2/3 cup. Add 1/3 cup (3 oz) well-stirred peanut butter (chunky or smooth) with the brown sugar. Substitute toasted skinned hazelnuts for the walnuts. Before baking, sprinkle the top very lightly with tiny pinches of flaky sea salt.
Tis the season for a little something sweet, right? As mentioned, I write a monthly resident recipe article for our 70-page full color neighborhood magazine. For the month of December I’m featuring a wonderful *pecan coconut bar recipe submitted by this super sweet family who live just down the street from us.
*I actually changed the name of these bars from “Pecan Coconut Bars” to “German Chocolate Bars”. With a chocolatey crust and a sweet coconut filling, after just one bite, they will definitely remind you of a german chocolate cake, in dessert bar format.
Below you’ll find an excerpt from the article:
Spread the holiday cheer this year with sugar, savory pecans and lots of butter with these delicious pecan coconut bars submitted by Faozia and her three kids. Bringing a smile to her family and friends, these tasty bars are always a hit at parties. Faozia adds, “Baking in our house is a wonderful activity for my kids to have fun, learn how to cook and for me forming fond memories when we do it together. These pecan coconut bars are decadent and part of what makes life more enjoyable!” Happy Holidays and enjoy!
Getting ready to roast the pecans.
German Chocolate Bars
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 24
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups sifted flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped roasted pecans
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
FOR THE CRUST: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press mixture on bottom of ungreased 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly.
FOR THE FILING: In a medium bowl, combine eggs, condensed milk, coconut and roasted pecans. Pour over partially baked crust. Bake 18-20 minutes or until set in center. Cool and cut into bars and enjoy!
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