Sugar Cookie Bars

Beware: there is absolutely nothing healthy about these bars.  They're full of sugar, butter, and more sugar.  And they're way too delicious.
SO I make a batch and ship them off to my little brother's classroom before I eat the whole pan :)  But believe me, I definitely indulged.  I mean just look.

Recipe from Dinners Dishes and Desserts


Bars
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream (or just milk works.. but I mean, you're already using 2 cups butter!)
Food colouring and sprinkles (optional, but not really!)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 13 x 9 pan.

In an electric mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg.  Stir in vanilla. In another bowl mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda.  With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mixture, until just combined. Spread the dough into the prepared baking pan.  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, a tester should come out clean and the edges should be just beginning to tan a bit. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting cream the butter until fluffy.  Add vanilla, cream, and 1/2 of the powdered sugar.  Continue adding powdered sugar to get to the right consistency.  You might have to adjust the milk or powdered sugar to make it spreadable.  Spread over the cooled bars. (Or you can refrigerate the icing and spread over warm bars.. your call)

Store in the fridge as the icing will melt, but they are definitely best enjoyed at room temperature!

Strawberry Shortcake Oat Muffins

Yet again, I'm experimenting to make a yummy muffin I can eat with my breakfast.  This one is sweet, moist, and very fruity - the strawberries in the muffins kind of dissolve and create a jam like texture within the muffin. To make them more of a snack-type muffin, I'd imagine adding some cocoa to the batter would taste absolutely delicious.  But these are healthy breakfast muffins!!!!

Recipe adapted from Dashing Dish 
Makes 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup Oats
1/2 cup Walnuts
1/2 cup Pecans
1 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Splenda Granular
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 cup Strawberries diced (reserve 1/2 cup for placing on top of the muffins)
1 medium sized banana

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with parchment liners

Place all of the ingredients (except the strawberries and banana) in a blender or food processor, and blend until oats are smooth. I used my hand blender to do this and it worked muh better than our blender... that was a pain.  Pour mixture into a medium sized bowl, and stir in 1 cup strawberries. Chop banana into small pieces - roughly the same as the strawberries - and combine with the remaining 1/2 cup strawberries.  If desired, toss them with approx. 3 tbsp splenda (I did..yum!) Divide batter among cupcake liners, and then divide the additional fruit between the muffins, pressing gently into the tops of each muffin.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until slightly browned and toothpick comes out clean. They freeze well and reheat in about 45 seconds, store in a plastic bag once fully cooled.  Enjoy!

Oreo Chocolatey Rice Krispies

I made these scrumptious snacks for my boyfriend and I to take along on our hike on Mount Lady Macdonald in Canmore.  The hike was gorgeous and these were easy to take along and snack on - more like eat all at once - when we got to the top.











 Oreo Chocolatey Rice Krispies      Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
10 oz. marshmallows (i used a bag of jet puffed)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
6 cups Rice Krispies
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
4-6 oz. chocolate, a mix of white and milk
10 chopped Oreos, for topping

Directions:
Place chocolate chips in a small microwave safe bowl.  Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.  Set aside.  Grease a 9×13″ pan.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the marshmallows and stir until melted and well combined.  Turn off heat and stir in the melted chocolate and the vanilla extract.  Gently stir in the Rice Krispies and coarsely chopped Oreos, and mix to coat evenly.  Press the mixture into the prepared pan, leveling the top.   Allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, cut into squares.  Melt the 4-6 oz chocolate in the microwave and coat the rice krispies.  Scatter the oreo pieces over the melted chocolate, pressing firmly to ensure they're in place. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.   I recommend heating these in the microwave for 15 secs before eating, so yummy!