Salted Caramel Crumb Bars

Being the baking addict that I am, I had to take more than one thing with me to our family game night. So I stumbled across this recipe for Caramel Crumb Bars and knew I had to make them! These turned out so delicious so of course, I'm going to share the recipe with you all! Hope you enjoy!

Salted Caramel Crumb Bars

Recipe from: Baked Perfection

Ingredients:

Crust/Topping:

2 sticks (1/2 lb) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Caramel Filling:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray, then line the pan with aluminum foil or parchment and spray again with cooking spray.

To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and salt on medium speed until soft and light, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

With the mixer on low, add 2 1/4 cups of the flour, beating just until the dough is smooth and the flour has been absorbed, and stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl and the paddle as necessary.

Transfer 3/4 of the dough into the prepared baking pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan to form the bottom layer. Transfer the pan to the refrigerator while you make the filling and top layer.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour to the remaining dough in the mixer bowl and work it in with your fingertips until 1/8 - 1/4-inch crumbs form. Set aside.

To make the filling: In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, condensed milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally. When the mixture begins to boil, whisk frequently until it begins to thicken and darkens in color slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator and pour the filling over the bottom crust. Use an offset spatula to spread it evenly then distribute the crumb topping over the filling.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is gently bubbling and a dark caramel color. Cool the bars in the pan on a wire rack until lukewarm, about 15-20 minutes. Use the foil (or parchment) to lift the bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Once completely cool, cut into 2-inch squares.

Lemon Puppy Chow

This recipe is a spin-off from the popular puppy chow recipe made with peanut butter and chocolate. Instead, it's made with white chocolate and lemon! I absolutely love anything lemon, especially in the summer, so when my family decided to have a game night I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to try this recipe out! It turned out great and was a huge hit. Hope you enjoy!

Lemon Puppy Chow

Recipe Adapted from: Smash Peas and Carrots 

 

Ingredients:

9 cups Rice Chex cereal

1 1/4 cup white vanilla baking chips

1/4 cup butter or margarine

4 tsp. grated lemon peel

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon extract

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Place 9 cups of cereal into a bowl and set aside.

Place baking chips, butter, lemon peel, lemon juice, and extract in a microwavable bowl. 

Microwave ingredients for 1 min. and stir. Then microwave in intervals of 30 seconds, stirring after each to make sure the ingredients don't burn. Continue until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Pour over cereal and stir to evenly coat.

Pour cereal mixture into a large Ziplock bag, add powdered sugar, seal, and shake until everything is coated in the powdered sugar. (I placed my cereal in a giant container with a lid, and instead of placing it into a Ziplock bag, I simply put the lid on the container and carefully shook until everything was coated. Either way works just fine.)

Easy Cinnamon Swirl Bread!

My first post! How exciting! I was searching online and discovered this super easy recipe for Cinnamon Swirl Bread. I was intrigued by the simplicity of it so as soon as my son went down for a nap, I got busy in the kitchen! Within 15 minutes this bread was in the oven. Having a one-year-old, I love recipes that are quick yet delicious. Enjoy!

Easy Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 in. loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1 cup sugar. Combine egg, milk and oil; add to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened.

Pour half of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle with half the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Pour remaining batter into pan, and top with remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture. 

Draw a knife through batter to swirl everything together.

Bake in at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 min. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in foil and let sit overnight before slicing.

Now let me be honest, I sort of skipped the last step of wrapping the bread in foil and letting it sit overnight. I mean, who can resist such delicious, warm, fresh bread from the oven? Not me that's for sure! So after it cooled I sliced into that bad boy, and it was definitely worth it! It was so yummy! I can see why letting it sit overnight might make the slicing a little less crumbly, but I didn't mind :)