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I’m not a big fan of date squares. I find them sticky, thick, and just not…vibrant…enough. However, I know that there are some people out there who just love them (hence the reason I made them to begin with), and I think this recipe yields some of the best date squares I’ve had.

They’re not overly sweet thanks to the lemon (some recipes ask for orange zest and juice, which I think just makes them too sweet), and I like the cinnamon and pecans in the oatmeal base and topping.

If you do enjoy date squares, then I think you’ll love these. They’re even better if you serve warm (cut them into pieces, then warm each piece up…trying to cut them into squares while they’re warm will just be messy) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Oatmeal Date Squares
adapted from Robin Hood: Home Baking

FILLING
3 cups chopped pitted dates
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar

BASE & TOPPING
1 3/4 cups oats
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup butter

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

FILLING
1. Combine dates, lemon zest, lemon juice and water, and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat , stirring often, until thick and smooth, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

BASE & TOPPING
2. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, chopped pecans, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Using two knives, a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Press half of the mixture (2 1/2 cups) into prepared pan. Spread filling over base. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top. Pat down lightly.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden. Cool completely in pan on rack, then cut into squares.

I made these blueberry-lemon crumb bars a few weeks back for snack at work. As I’ve repeated over and over, I cannot get enough of citrusy desserts, so this recipe, originally found on Recipe Girl, went right to the top of must-bake desserts.

I’m not disappointed in the dessert – I love the sweet yet still tart lemon cream. It’s great on its own, and it stands well with all the blueberries. The crust is thick and buttery…this dessert has all the elements to be great.

However, I think the amounts of these elements have to be balanced a bit better. I found there was too much topping – combined with the crust, there was just too much flour and not enough lemon and blueberry. I had upped the amount of condensed milk and lemon juice, but next time, I’ll probably double the amount of lemon filling. Same thing with the blueberries! I found that the blueberry flavour was dominated by both the lemon and the sweet crumble topping.

People did like this dessert (myself included). It just needs some fine tuning for the next time, and these bars will earn themselves top dessert status.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 large egg, separated
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups room-temperature blueberries (about 13 oz.), washed and drained on paper towels

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9×13-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the ends. Spray foil with cooking spray- bottom and sides of the pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Using a pastry cutter (or your fingers), blend the butter completely into the flour mixture. Transfer 2 cups of the crumb mixture to another bowl and reserve for the topping.

3. Blend the egg white into the remaining crumbs and then press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a level crust. Use the bottom of a flat, wide glass to tap the mixture and even it out.

4. Bake the crust 10-12 minutes, or until it starts to form a dry top.

5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk condensed milk, lemon juice & zest, and egg yolk. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes (it will begin to thicken).

6. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over hot crust and then drop spoonfuls of the lemon mixture over the blueberries. Spread gently with a spatula to distribute as evenly as you can. Bake until lemon mixture begins to form a shiny skin- 7 to 8 minutes.

7. Sprinkle reserved crumble topping over the lemon-blueberry layer, pressing the streusel between your fingers into small lumps as you sprinkle. Bake until filling is bubbly at the edges and the topping is brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

8. Let bars cool in the pan on a rack until just warm, about an hour. Carefully lift them out of the pan using the foil overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove foil and cut into 24 bars when cool. (If you have time to chill the bars, they’re easier to cut cleanly when chilled).

*The bars may be stored at room temperature for a few hours, but otherwise should be stored in the refrigerator.

If you like this, you might also like:

Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze
Lemon Pie with Coconut Crust
Cinnamon Streusel Blueberry Muffins

This is my go-to recipe. Need some fantastically sweet, rich blondies? These will do the job. Need a fast dessert, whipped up at the last minute with just a few ingredients? These will do the job. Need a sweet baked good that Soli will devour in just a few hours? These will do the job.

Blondies (or at least, these blondies) are not a gourmet dessert, but they are a great one. They will satisfy the greatest sweet-tooth, and will please anyone who loves dessert, especially when topped with ice cream. And blondies are always a nice variation from brownies…and just as versatile.

This recipe always turns out. The edges are crunchy and crispy, the middle chewy and most – you’ll please the entire table! Any nuts you have on hand can get tossed in. And if you don’t like nuts, leave them out! Wanna add some semi-sweet chocolate chips? Go ahead? How about some dried cranberries, or coconut, or dried apricots? Go crazy! That’s what I love about this recipe…you can toss in anything you like, and they are insanely sweet, and crispy, and dense, and moist, and sweet….well, you get the point.

Oh, and how can you go wrong with white chocolate? Mmmmm.

Blondies with White Chocolate & Hazelnuts
adapted from Robin Hood: Home Baking

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts (I’ve used pecans and walnuts as well)

1. Cream butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Add egg and vanilla, beating until smooth.

2. Combine flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Stir in chips and nuts. Spread in a 8″ square, greased pan.

3. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until just set and golden. Cool completely in pan on rack, then cut into squares.

My mom brought me some mini M&Ms baking bits from the US after her last visit, so I decided to go straight to the source when it came time to bake with them. I’ve had fairly good experiences baking things that come on the back of product packages (like condensed milk recipes, for example) – I figure the makers of the product have to know how best to use the item they’re selling, right?

Well, it seems M&Ms took the easy way out, and used a fairly standard, and mostly unimpressive blondie recipe on the back of the baking bits package. Not to say it was a bad recipe – oh no! They were very sweet, heavy and rich, just like a blondie should be. However, there was nothing interesting about the recipe, and the flavour was just kind of…flat.

However, the M&Ms made for a very pretty blondie, all studded with rainbows and chocolate. The addition of a dark chocolate, while unorthodox in the world of blondies, was fun. I’m not opposed to using them again in such an application. However, next time, I believe I will use a different blondie recipe – perhaps one with some white chocolate and a bit more saltiness.

Anyhow, for everyone who might like to try their hand at the recipe M&Ms uses, here it is:

M&Ms Rainbow Blondies
adapted from M&Ms

1 cup (2 sticks or 240mL) butter or margarine
1-1/2 cups (360mL) firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (480mL) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 12-ounce package (1 3/4 cups or 340g) “M&M’s”® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits
1 cup (240mL) chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C or 325°F/165°C for glass pan).

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add egg and vanilla extract.

3. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture just until combined. DOUGH WILL BE STIFF.

4. Stir in M&M’s® Chocolate Mini Baking Bits and nuts. Spread dough into a greased 13 x 9-inch (330mm x 230mm) baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly moist with crumbs. Cool completely before cutting. Store in tightly covered container.

With autumn now officially here, I thought I would greet the season with some appropriate baked goods. When I found this recipe for pumpkin bars, I thought they would be perfect.

However, I was mostly disappointed with them. I was expecting more flavour – something more interesting. I mean, these were good and there was nothing wrong with them, but there was nothing spectacularly right about them either. They are amazingly moist and have a perfect texture, and the pumpkin flavour really does stand out and goes well with the light orange flavour. They definitely have potential!

I wasn’t fond of the browned butter frosting – all in all, it was pretty much just an icing sugar-and-butter frosting, with no real taste other than sweetness. A cream cheese frosting would’ve made these bars 10x better – perhaps with some cinnamon. A chocolate ganache (either on top of cream cheese frosting, or as the only frosting) would’ve been fantastic. And finally, I would increase the amounts of spices in the recipe. Simply doing that would have really improved the bars.

So all is not lost! Even as they were, they went great as a simple breakfast treat or evening snack, and paired excellently with a cup of coffee. This is the recipe I used, but keep in mind that you may want to up the spice amounts and perhaps change the frosting.

Orange-Spice Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Frosting

BARS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

FROSTING
1/3 cup butter (do not use margarine, as it won’t brown)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 4 tablespoons milk

BARS
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of a 15×10x1-inch pan (I used a 9×14x1 successfully) with shortening; lightly flour (or spray with a baking spray with flour).

2. In a large bowl, beat bar ingredients with electric mixer on low speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until moistened. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake 25 – 27 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely, about one hour.

FROSTING
1. in 2-quart saucepan, heat butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until light golden brown. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough milk until smooth and spreadable.

3. Immediately spread frosting over cooled bars. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until set. If desired, garnish each bar with orange strip peel.

After a VERY long hiatus from Tuesdays With Dorie, I decided to make a comeback with this Tuesday’s recipe, French Chocolate Brownies. And wow! Am I ever glad I did!

These brownies are something special. They are one type of dessert fresh out of the oven, and something completely different the next day. I definitely like both, but I prefer them the next day.

Right out of the oven, they are very cake-like and fluffy. The taste is rather simple – very chocolately and not much else going on. Still good, but nothing different from your average chocolate cake. However, the next day, these brownies morph into something even more delicious and much more brownie-like: denser, richer, with a light crust on the top and a moist, sweet centre. Absolutely fantastic!

The recipe asks for rum-soaked raisins that are then flambeed…I didn’t have any rum, but I have rum syrup left over from the rum-drenched banana cake, so I heated that up and soaked them in that. The raisins don’t make much difference to the brownies – I didn’t notice them unless I ate one my itself. The brownies would still be great without them.

Other changes? I didn’t have 6oz of bittersweet chocolate, so I used what I had, which was 2oz unsweetened chocolate, 3 oz semisweet, and 1 oz of Nutella. I couldn’t really taste the Nutella – the overall taste of the brownies was simply chocolate. The cinnamon was barely distinguishable, but there. It’s good to know that these brownies are so versatile; you can pretty much use any chocolate you have available to you.

We topped the brownies with some vanilla ice cream and some salted butter, French vanilla caramel from Chloe’s (this caramel is extraordinary – heaven in your mouth).

A great dessert – fast, easy, and a nice, more adult version of the typical brownie.

French Chocolate Brownies
adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

½ cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup raisins
1 ½ tbs water
1 ½ tbs dark rum
6 oz finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (I used a combo of unsweetened and semisweet chocolate, as well as some Nutella)
1 ½ sticks (12 tbs) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you’re using it.

3. Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

4. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It’s important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you’ve got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it’s better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

5. Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you’ll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won’t be completely incorporated and that’s fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

6. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

7. Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

I made this fast dessert for Mother’s Day, and I don’t think a dessert could be any easier or quicker to whip up. Add the facts that it’s absolutely decadent, super-sweet, ultra-chocolatey and extremely dense and moist – this is one great recipe to have in the files.

The brownie recipe comes from a Robin Hood Flour cookbook. It makes a really fantastic brownie – simple and rich, full of chocolate, somewhat cakey, but still chewy like a brownie should be. Beats the boxed version of brownies, any day!

Before popping the brownies into the oven, I decided to sprinkle them with Skor Toffee Bits that I had been dying to use in something, as well as mini marshmallows that I had lying around. I don’t know if I preferred this kind of topping to a frosting, but I know that I like it both ways, equally.

Chewy Toffee-Marshmallow Brownies
9″ square cake pan, greased
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

BROWNIE
1/2 cup butter
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (I used 3/4 cup granulated, 1/2 cup brown sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional (I opted not to use them)

TOPPING
1 cup mini marshmallows
2/3 cup toffee bits

1. Melt chocolate and butter over low heat in a medium saucepan, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.

2. Add sugar and vanilla and beat well.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating lightly after each addition.

4. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to chocolate mixture, stirring until well-blended. Stir in nuts, if using. Spread in prepared pan.

4. Top with marshmallows and toffee bits.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until set. Cool completely in pan.