June 27: Orange Blossom Bars

Orange Blossom Bars

Ingredients:
Base:
1 (18.25 oz) box orange cake mix
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg

Filling:
1 (15-16 oz) can vanilla frosting
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 large egg

Topping:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons (2 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed orange juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9x13-inch metal pan with nonstick foil.
2. Make the base: In a mixing bowl, stir together the cake mix, melted butter, and egg. Press firmly into the prepared pan.
3. Make the filling: In a mixing bowl, stir together the frosting and softened cream cheese. Add the egg and stir, but do not beat, until smooth. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the cake mixture and spread to the edges.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned and set. The middle should still be jiggly. Don't overbake. The filling will set as it cools and after it chills. Let the pan cool to room temperature.
5. Make the topping: Beat together the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and orange juice in a bowl. Carefully spread the topping over the cream cheese layer. Chill for about 2 hours. Grasp the edges of the foil and lift from the pan. Set on a cutting board and cut into 32 squares.

Base ingredients

Base

Filling ingredients

Addition of the egg

Before the oven...

And after

Topping ingredients

Thoughts: This was easy until I stopped following the directions. I should've let the pan cool after baking it. Because I was running out of time, I just let it cool for like 15 minutes (the pan was still hot) and tried to spread the topping on it. First, there was not enough topping to cover the pan (so I would double it in the future). Second, it was extremely difficult to spread because the filling hadn't cooled so it was still jiggly. I'm not crazy about orange flavored things so this was not my favorite.

April 13: Creme Brulee Bars

Creme Brulee Bars

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 (17.5 oz) pouch sugar cookie mix, such as Betty Crocker
1 (4-serving size) box French vanilla instant pudding mix
2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup toffee bits

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9x13 inch metal pan with nonstick foil or spray it with flour-added baking spray.
2. Make the crust: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the cookie mix, pudding mix, sugar, and butter to form a soft dough. Press the dough in the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread the mixture over the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the toffee bits. Let cool for 30 minutes to an hour in the pan, then chill for about 3 hours, or until very cold.

Crust ingredients

Filling ingredients

Addition of eggs

Addition of yolks and extract

Raw cheesecake layer

Thoughts: I think I say this every time I make bars, but I love them. The recipes are so straightforward and easy. For the most part, you don't have to worry about burning each batch and making each cookie equal. They tasted more like cheesecake than creme brulee.

March 17: Irish Cream Cheesecake Brownies

Irish Cream Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:
Filling:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate mini chips

Brownies:
1 box brownie mix for a 9x13 inch pan, plus necessary ingredients as directed on the package

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9x13 inch metal pan with nonstick foil, or line it with regular foil and spray the foil with flour-added baking spray.
2. Make the filling: In a medium-size bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and sugar. Beat in the Irish cream. Reduce the mixer speed and add the egg whites, beating only until they are mixed in and being careful not to beat in a lot of extra air. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
3. Make the brownies: Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the package and pour all but 1/2 cup of brownie batter into the 9x13 inch pan. Pour the filling over the top. Drop spoonfuls of the reserved brownie batter over the filling. Bake the brownies for the length of time designated on the package. Let cool completely in the pan, then chill for 2 hours before slicing.

Addition of Irish cream

Addition of egg whites

Addition of chocolate chips

Reserved brownie batter

Bottom layer

Filling layer

Spoonfuls of batter

Undercooked...

Thoughts: I thought these had came out fine. I cooked everything according to the directions. I stuck a knife in it and it had come out clean so I packed them up and took them to work. When we started cutting into them, we realized that the center (spoonfuls of batter) were like mush. However, people still ate them and they were pretty pretty good.

July 7: Triple Chocolate Bites

Triple Chocolate Bites

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (3.4 oz) all-purpose flour
4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1.2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, room temperature
Lightly sweetened whipped cream or topping (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line an 8 inch square metal pan with nonstick foil.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until creamy. Beat in the cocoa powder and salt, then add the flour and stir until mixed. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes.
3. Combine the milk, bittersweet, and unsweetened chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 50% power, stirring at 1 minute intervals, until the chocolate is fully melted; set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until well mixed and smooth. Stir in the slightly cooled melted chocolate, then beat in the egg. Spread over the chocolate crust and bake for 20-22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 1 hour, then chill for 3 hours, or until very cold. When ready to serve, lift from the pan, set on a cutting board, and cut into 64 squares. Serve in mini cupcake liners with a dot of whipped cream if desired.

Addition of cocoa powder and salt

Addition of flour

Before the oven...

After the oven...

Before the oven...

After the oven...

Thoughts: I didn't screw up the melting of the chocolate so I'm considering this a success! We thought these would have more of a brownie taste, but they were ehh....ok. The bottom layer was very bland and the chocolate layer mostly tasted like the cream cheese and Hershey's chocolate (not a particularly bad thing).

February 10: Favorite Cream Cheese Brownies

Favorite Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients:

Filling
12 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg white, lightly beaten with a fork

Brownie Base
1 1/2 cups extra dark or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (4.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9 inch square metal pan with nonstick foil or line it with regular foil and spray the foil with nonstick baking spray.
2. Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed of the mixer and beat in the vanilla and egg white, beating just until mixed. Set aside.
3. Make the brownie base: Put the chocolate in a medium sized, microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave, using 50% power and stirring every 40 to 60 seconds. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Reduce the mixer speed and add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla and melted chocolate. By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, stir in the flour and salt.
5. Scrape all but about 1 cup of the chocolate batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out. Spread the cream cheese filling over the chocolate mixture. Spoon the remaining chocolate batter over the cream cheese mixture. Pull a table knife through the layers of batter with a light lifting motion to create a marbled look.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan, then chill for a few hours, or if you have the time, overnight. Lift the foil from the pan, set on a cutting board, peel back the foil, and cut with a chef's knife into 16 squares.

I never usually use foil, just baking cooking spray

Last step in the making the filling

Exploding!

Thoughts: The biggest thing that I did differently from the recipe was using a 8x8 pan instead of a 9x9.  I don't have one and thought it was stupid to buy a pan just for this cookie (even though I did buy an angel food cake pan for the 2 co-workers that request that cake every year).  This recipe would be better suited for a 9x9 or even a 11x7.  I made the cooking time longer (60 minutes to account for the difference and was worried that the brownie part was undercooked). I also didn't create the marble look just because I forgot about it.  I put it in the fridge overnight and the center imploded in the morning.  These are definitely the best "cookie" so far. We LOVED them!