Chewy Lemon Coconut Squares.

 These bar cookies were one of my mother's favorites when I was a teenager. She would make them for bridge parties and other "ladies" occasions. Yes, it was that era. I LOVED these addictive little squares of wonder. I don't remember her making them just for us...so I would sneak into the fridge at night and shave little bits off each bar so she couldn't tell I had been in there, or so I thought.😂

 I am not sure why I didn't just make them myself. I began baking and cooking in my early teens.

The other day I had a hankering for these cookies and could not find them on this blog. 

Heaven forbid !!! I expect all of my favorites to be recorded here 😉 I had to search deep into some old files on the computer to find the recipe. 

Chewy Lemon Squares

 

Crust ingredients

1 ½ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup softened butter

½ teaspoon salt

 

1) Preheat oven to 350 F

2) Cream together in a large mixing bowl the butter and brown sugar.

3) Add the flour and salt, mix until crumbly.

4) Place and pat down evenly into a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.

5) Bake for 20 minutes.

 

Filling ingredients

3 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup  chopped walnuts

2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

 

1) While the crust is baking, mix together the eggs and brown sugar.

2) Add the flour, baking powder, and vanilla, mix.

3) Add the walnuts and coconut, mix.

4) When the crust is done baking, pour this mixture over it, gently spreading it to cover.

5) Bake for 20 minutes.

 

Glaze ingredients

1 cup powdered sugar

Juice and zest of one or two lemons

( depending on their size)

 

1) Whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth and free of lumps.

2) Pour over the baked bar while still warm.

3) Allow to cool (or refrigerate) for several hours before cutting into bars.

4) Try not to eat the whole pan in two days.

5) Freeze the remainder after binging half the pan in 2 hours.

Chocolate chip bars !!

I had completely forgotten about this little gems. They are soooo easy to make unlike the chocolate chip cookies I prefer...which are fabulous but a lot more work.

I wanted some sweet treat to share with my brother on his recent visit. In our family, desserts are very important and not just after dinner. We would eat dessert after breakfast if our breakfasts did not already include sweet things like cinnamon rolls, scones with jam, waffles with syrup & whipped cream etc...
So I looked up these bars from a post seven years ago. Not only are they easy to make, they make a lot, freeze or ship beautifully and taste great !!

Chocolate Chip Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.
2) Beat together the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla.
3) Add the dry ingredients until mixed.
4) Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.
5) Spread the batter which will be stiff, into a greased 9 by 13 inch pan.
6) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not over bake.
7) Cool, cut and serve.

YUM !!

Salted Pecan Pie Bars

I made a pecan pie this Thanksgiving that was pretty darn good, I have been too busy to post it and it still needed some tweaking.

Then I had a craving for pecan pie bars...off to search recipes online. I finally found one that was simple to make and to modify. Her photos are more beautiful but I only had to make my version once to be totally satisfied ;-)

My expert cookie maker brother agreed with me when he sampled the one I managed to save for him. These bars have the perfect balance of crust to filling, better even than a pecan pie in my estimation. And the coarse salt on top is a nice touch.

Make these and give them to your friends and family as holiday gifts, it will make them very happy !
Add a bag of pecans, some agave, the recipe and they will ecstatic ;-)

Salted Pecan Pie Bars

Alert : These cookies need to cool completely before you cut them. At least four or five hours in a cool house, longer if it is warm inside or refrigerate them overnight. 
They need time to set the filling.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 cups flour 

Filling

• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cup agave sweetener
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups pecans

1) Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2) In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.

3)Add the flour and beat until coarse crumbs form. If the mixture is too soft, add a little more flour. It should be crumbly but stick together when pressed.

4) Press the crust into a 9×13 baking dish.

5) Bake for 14-15 minutes or until top appears dry and slightly puffed.

6)For the filling, whisk the two eggs, agave, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. 

7) Stir in the pecans and pour the mixture over the crust. The filling should not be more than just a light layer of sauce over the crust. 

8) Arrange any stray pecans and return to the oven for 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven when the filling appears mostly set. 

9) Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

10) Now comes the hardest part, they must cool for four to five hours or longer before you can cut them and eat them, otherwise they will not be set enough. They are worth the wait !!

Decadent bars searching for a name...

Hard to believe these bar cookies don't have a name...partly because I just made them up. They are a combination of two different bar cookies and the marriage worked very well ;-)

Sooo, if you can come up with a very clever name and I use it, I may just make you a batch of them !!

They are very gooey and dense, chewy and rich, packed with coconut, walnuts and chocolate chips.

Ingredients
The Crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oat bran or rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2  tsp. salt

The Filling:
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1  cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.
2) Mix together all the crust ingredients thoroughly and press into 9 X 13 inch baking pan.

3) Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven.
4) In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, flour, baking powder, and vanilla, beat together.
5) Stir in the nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips and pour onto warm crust.

6) Bake for 25 minutes.
7) Here comes the hard part, you really should allow them to cool before you cut them into squares.

Didn't happen for this batch. They are sticky and very gooey if you try to cut them too soon Bob didn't care he wanted to sample them warm ;-)
They store well in the fridge or even in the freezer, if they last that long.