Pumpkin Nut Bars

 

I cannot wait until Fall! You're either one who loves pumpkin everything or doesn't. I LOVE it! How about you? Let me know in the comments your thoughts on pumpkin everything :)

This recipe is called Pumpkin Nut Bars. Personally, I think it's more like a cake. It cooked quick so the oven wasn't on long (thanks TX heat). For me, I love cream cheese icing when it comes to pumpkin treats. This icing was different. Good, and sweet, but different. As I spread it on the cooled cake, I didn't think it was going to be enough. Trust me, a thin layer of this icing is all you need!

My interpretation of the recipe:

Pumpkin Nut Bars

½ cup shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon (baking) soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup pumpkin

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup chopped nuts

Combine all ingredients except nuts in large mixing bowl. Beat for 2 minutes with electric mixer at medium speed. Fold in nuts. Spread evenly in a 13x9x2" pan. Bake at 350º 20-25 minutes. Spread with run frosting when cool.

Frosting

¼ cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon rum

2 Tablespoons hot water

¼ cup nuts

* I used light brown sugar

* Pecans were used in the batter as well as the frosting

* I used dark rum 

* It baked in my oven for 21 minutes

* I did spray my 9x13 pan before adding the batter

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Crispy Oat Cookie

 

If you're looking for a good crispy and crunchy cookie, this is a good one. I made the rookie mistake of not making sure I had all the ingredients before I started mixing everything together. I went to get the oatmeal and didn't have any! We use steel cut oats, but I thought I had some old fashioned ones. Luckily my mom was coming over so she brought some. The dough was a little soft, not sure if that was because it was sitting on the counter until she got to my house. With all the extra goodies in these cookies, I definitely couldn't roll them into balls. It was more of a squish them into balls. I think they still turned out good. Apparently I don't know how to measure 1" so I only ended up with just over 6 dozen, not the 10 listed. And 15 minutes, in my oven, was the perfect time for these to bake.

My interpretation of the recipe:

Crispy Oat Cookies

1 cup butter softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup regular oats uncooked

1 cup crushed corn flakes

½ cup coconut

½ cup chopped nuts

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet - flatten with fork. Bake 325º for 15 minutes.          10 dozen

* I used unsalted butter

* I used light brown sugar

* For the nuts, I used pecans

* Made just over 6 dozen

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Dream Bars

We are smack dab in the middle of summer here in Texas! Today's high is supposed to be 107°! Needless to say we are trying to limit our oven use so I was looking for something I could make that wouldn't take too long to bake. 30 minutes baking time isn't too bad and I had everything on hand for this recipe so here it is.

These bars are sweet, gooey and easy to make. I could have gone the easy route and used my pastry cutter to cut the butter for the crust, but the recipe says to mix by hand so that's what I did. My butter was room temp, so it was easy to mix together. 

My interpretation of the recipe:

Dream Bars

½ cup butter or oleo

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

Mix together with hands and pat in a think layer on cookie sheet or pan (about 9"x12"). Bake 10 minutes at 350º

Then Mix Together

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1 package coconut

1 cup nuts

2 Tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

Spread this mixture over the first and bake 20 minutes at 350º. Cut in squares while hot.

* I used unsalted butter

* I used light brown sugar

* Instead of a package of coconut I measured out 2 cups. I didn't know how big the package used was.

* I used pecans for the nuts

* My pan was a 9x13

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.