Well, hello there...

by Terese

I always hated the days when I would wake up late for something. You'd have to leave dirty, unshowered and tired. People would be waiting for you. There would be no parking and no matter what you did for the first little bit you would be behind. And then there's the excused. "I swear my alarm didn't go off. My car wasn't starting. I got lost." Most mean I couldn't get it together in time.

That is how I feel. Like I woke up late for the blog and, while I swear I showered, I have some catching up to do. "But I was moving all of July. And then brother Christopher and fiance Anne moved back. And then job happened. Did I mention my camera battery died and because of said move the charger was packed in a unknown box?" So sorry.

A simple bar may not be an extremely exciting way to make my entrance, but I will have you know that after the wedding in a couple weeks I will have wonderful pictures to share. And its not to say that there hasn't been baking going on. I have bananas everywhere. All the time. Not kidding, they take over my freezer. There have been plenty of banana breads and cupcakes, trials for the wedding cupcake recipes! And muffins being made to try and use up 2 foot long zucchinis.

There are so many things going on right now. Schools are starting, fall foods are here, Christopher and Anne are getting married (!) and I happened to have just started a different job. Its like my own personal back to school... without homework. The one thing that I miss the most about mornings at home is breakfast. I'm lucky if I remember to put some dry cereal in a bag before I leave. Even easier are the 2 dollar Lara bars I am consuming on an almost daily basis lately. 2 dollars everyday?! That's like 14 dollars a week! And I'm broke! (Reason I took this different job that makes me miss breakfast...) So, to counteract my 2 dollar a day habit I decided to make my own breakfast bars to take with me. Not very pretty or extravagant. Practical. Cheap and mucho grande delicious.

I give you Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Raisins Bars. Whole wheat and with a little apple in there. They were super easy and took literally 15 minutes. The inspiration was from the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars that blogger Baking Bites made a while back. But I wanted something to count as a healthy breakfast even with a whole cup of sugar in it. That's where the whole wheat flour came in and some applesauce in place of part of the butter. Now I can bring my favorite breakfast with me to enjoy with coffee while I take my break.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Raisin Bars

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon both nutmeg and ginger
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 in pan or line with parchment paper. Mix together the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt and spices. Make a well in the center and add the egg, applesauce, vanilla and melted butter. Stir until its all moistened together. Add the oats and raisins and stir until combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread out evenly with spatula or hands. Bake for 22-24 min. You want them to look like oatmeal raisin cookies, light golden brown.

Blonde Brownies

by Anne


I rarely revisit a recipe without making a couple changes- either adding something new or switching up proportions. So when I went looking for a good "standby" blonde brownie recipe, I was expecting to experiment with a few different versions before I finally stumbled upon a keeper. Well, little did I know that this recipe is (almost) perfect as is.

Everything about the recipe is easy - the ingredient list is short, assembly simple, and final product delicious. I have no idea how many times I've made these guys - and as long as I cook them long enough (I've been tempted to pull them out early because they smell so darn good) they're great. They really just taste like chocolate chip cookie bars, but then again, isn't that true of all blondies?

So...just preheat your oven to 350, grab a mixing bowl, and cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in two cups of self-rising flour. I suppose you could use all purpose flour, AND add baking soda, AND add salt, but the magic (it is magic, right?) of self-rising flour is part of what makes this recipe so much fun- and so easy. Stir chocolate chips- nuts too, if you want- into the batter.

Grease and flour a 9 x 13 baking dish. Use butter and flour, please. Pretty please. The only time I've ever screwed this recipe up was when I was too lazy to butter and flour the pan. I used a generic cooking spray and wow, I've never regretted anything so much (no, not really). But it was bad, really bad. And while my fiance ate his fair share of them to make me feel better, his "Oh, these aren't THAT bad" comments reaffirmed once and for all that cooking spray is not an appropriate substitute for butter.

Pour the batter into the pan (it will be a bit thick, so be sure to spread it around) and sprinkle with sea salt. Well, the sea salt is technically optional, but I highly encourage it.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (at least). It's easy to under-bake these guys, so poke 'em with a toothpick in a few places to make sure they're done. Let them cool for about 10 minutes (if you can wait that long), chop them up and enjoy! I'm sure they'd be great all crumbled up and served over ice cream- but I've never had 'em around long enough to try.


Blonde Brownies (adapted from about.com):

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (6 oz) butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups self-rising flour
  
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together brown sugar and margarine; beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in flour, chocolate morsels. Spread in greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.