This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at First Pres, and I signed up to bake two desserts to be a part of a delicious smorgasbord of yumminess for our much deserving teachers.
I didn't have any recipes immediately come to mind, so I headed on over to Pinch of Yum, one of my favorite food blogs (go ahead, click on the link and prepare to start drooling...www.pinchofyum.com )
The index of desserts did not disappoint and soon I found myself on my way to the store to buy ingredients for two recipes: Triple Berry Pie Bars and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars....yum-o!!
Caroline and I put the babies down for their nap and got busy cooking up the tasty treats. The littles joined us when they got up - it was a full afternoon of baking!!
I have to give both recipes an overwhelming A+. Although very different, both bars are amazing and delicious, and I almost wanted to pretend like I forgot to bake so I could keep them all for myself :)
Here are the recipes and a few pictures of my handy helpers: Caroline, Julia, and Margaret.
Oh, and I almost forgot...make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom of this post for the picture that represents the second half of my post title :-)
2 (16-oz) packages frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries)
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the crust and topping, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
Put oats into the food processor and pulse until a coarse “flour” forms. Add the regular flour, sugar, and salt to the food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes, and add to the flour mixture. Process until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly, 30-60 seconds. (I had to do this in 3 batches because of the size of my food processor.)
Reserve 1½ cups of the mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake 12-15 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes.
To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, sour cream, flour, salt, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Gently fold in the berries and spoon the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the filling, and bake 45 to 55 minutes.
Cool at least 1 hour before cutting into bars. Serve bars warmed, chilled, or at room temperature! Either way, I’d recommend them with a scoop of ice cream.
½ teaspoon salt (less if you don’t like salty/sweet)
½ cup rolled oats
2 cups chocolate chips
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
⅓ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the cookie dough: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream the butter, sugars, and peanut butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture in with the butter and sugar, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.
Make the cheesecake filling: Cream the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Press half to two-thirds of the cookie dough in the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish. Pour the cheesecake filling over the dough. Crumble the remaining dough and sprinkle over the top, OR roll it into a flat layer and place it over the cheesecake layer.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes; remove foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until tops is lightly browned and cheesecake layer is set. Serve warm or cold and store leftover bars in refrigerator.
Julia just up from her nap. Not quite ready to bake yet.
Getting down to business
Margaret was a really good spoon licker.
I may or may not have eaten that entire corner.
And last, but not least, I had to share this picture from bath time. I left Margaret for a moment to tuck Caroline into bed and when I came back, I found this....
In case you can't make it out, there are FOUR boxes of macaroni and cheese and an entire bag of Goldfish IN THE TUB. I know that Margaret never left the tub, so I'll give you one guess as to which twin is responsible for submerging half the contents of my pantry in water. Her name starts with a J...
No comments:
Post a Comment