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"Brownies and Bars"
I mentioned in a post last week that I’m doing a bit of a diet regimen in order to lose the last bit of baby weight that’s clinging on for dear life. I’ve cut back on a lot of things and it’s been a little tough, but I’m finally seeing results. Which is both exciting and very motivating. Swimsuit season, here I come!
All that being said, while I’m avoiding sweets for the most part, I haven’t cut them out completely. In my opinion, life is just better with a little butter and sugar. And so I indulge every now and again in something homemade and worthwhile, and I feel really good about it. This last weekend I made a batch of these whole wheat chocolate chip cookie bars and loved every single bite.
When I first started blogging recipes 5 years ago it was largely because of what was happening over at Smitten Kitchen, my favorite food blog. Deb’s recipes and posts made me interested in food in a way I never had before. I wanted to be a better cook and I discovered a love for baking.
It sounds very odd to say that because of Deb I went to culinary school and started a food blog (or maybe it’s because of that first job I had out of college where I had nothing to do but surf the internet all day and drool over food), but it’s sort of true.
I was so excited for The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Granola bars have been on my to-bake list for what seems like ages. My husband eats one of the store-bought variety almost every morning for breakfast and often reminds me that he’d like a homemade version. Yesterday I sought out to make them a reality, but somehow I got sidetracked and made these Coconut Oatmeal Bars instead. Not quite cookie, and not quite granola bar, they’re deliciously somewhere in between.
I think that nature purposefully planned citrus season for the winter, when the days are cold and dark. And all I want to do is curl up and hibernate till spring. I don’t know about you, but a taste of citrus does a lot to brighten up my day.
With it being the height of citrus season, I’ve had lemon bars on the brain. But regular lemon bars weren’t going to cut it. First of all, I wanted to use meyer lemons, the smaller and sweeter cousin of the lemon. And I had seen in a cookbook (though now I can’t remember which one) the suggestion of brûléeing the top of lemon bars and couldn’t get that idea out of my mind.
Gooey caramel popcorn on top of fudgy brownies, need I say more? Probably not but I’m going to anyway.
To tell the story of how these brownies came to be we have to back up a bit. Two weeks ago I was at my family’s cabin in McCall, Idaho. McCall is a small lakeside vacation town a few hours north of Boise and I’ve been visiting there every summer since I was born. This year I joined my family for a week of soaking up the sun, boating, fishing, card-playing, and outings to our favorite local spots. I loved bringing John here for the first time and introducing him to a place that is near and dear to my heart. It was a fun week, and as always, we were sad to leave.
On one particular evening while playing games after dinner I made a batch of our favorite caramel popcorn and my Mom made a pan of brownies. While we were gobbling it all up, and trying very unsuccessfully to keep the cards from getting sticky, I had an idea. I took a fork and pierced a chunk of brownie. Then I scooped up a bit of the caramel corn and I took a bite.
(Cue the “Hallelujah Chorus”)
It was incredible. And I immediately started plotting to recreate this combination when I got home.
about me
Hi, I'm Annalise and I love to bake. Welcome to my blog! Follow along as I try new recipes, share baking tips and tricks, and overindulge my sweet tooth.Current Favorites
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