Fudge Blondie Bars

These are a new favorite dessert to take places. They are so simple to whip up. All of the ingredients can generally be found in the cupboard.

Thanks Summer!

Fudge Filling
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Blondies
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups quick cook oats


In a small microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk & 1 tsp vanilla on 50% power for 90 seconds. Stir & cook another 20 seconds if not completely melted. Set aside.


In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and 1 tsp vanilla and beat well. Sift in flour, salt and baking soda. Mix until combined. Stir in oatmeal.


Press 1/2 of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over crust. Spoon over remaining oatmeal mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden. Let cool several hours before cutting (if you can wait). Enjoy!

Sugar Cookie Bars, or "The one where the bake-aholic could not get any lazier"

Sugar cookies are one of my favorite cookies (I have several favorites). However, while I love the baking and the eating, I am generally (all the time) too lazy for the rolling and the cutting. When I make sugar cookies, I generally just scoop and bake. I have a great cookie cutter collection...my girls use it for peanut butter play-dough.

And really, who is going to turn down a homemade sugar cookie because it is round instead of heart shaped?

Recently I was surfing through various baking blogs and I was stopped in my tracks. A Sugar Cookie Bar! Now all I have to do is dump all my dough on one cookie sheet, flatten it out a little, bake and frost.

And to top it off, when the cyclist saw that pan of frosted goodness, he cut them into bars for me while I lazed about on the couch reading my gossip magazines.

Sugar Cookie Bars
adapted slightly from annemarie-tastebuds.blogspot.com

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla and almond and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and soda. Stir with a whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (half sheet/jelly-roll pan) and bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes (until they're just barely starting to brown). Let cool. Frost and cut into bars.

White Wonder Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup softened butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring (optional)

Blend until smooth.