bars/brownies Archives - Page 12 of 29

Ginger Bars

September 23, 2012 by kim 3 Comments

Is it pathetic that I get excited over paper goods? Polka dot envelopes and embossed kraft paper are the keys to my heart.

With my new blog makeover, I was determined to get some fitting business cards to match the new and simplified layout. My previous business cards were freebies from vistaprint. They were perfect for me at the time, but I eventually outgrew them.

I have zero skills in photoshop and template design, so I had someone else make a business card that I absolutely loved. With a couple of drafts back and forth changing the fonts, the final draft was finished and off to the printer it went.

I got them in the mail yesterday and couldn’t be happier. If you’re following the FB fan page or my Instagram @kimberlywyn, then you’ve already seen them. But if not, here’s the final draft!:

Although with the filter, the lines and fonts look yellow, but they’re really white! What do you think?

These ginger bars make enough to bring to a party. They hold their shape, aren’t crumbly, and don’t fall apart easy. The ginger flavor isn’t as strong as I would have imagined, but that wasn’t a problem for me. I left the bars in for 45 minutes since they weren’t done at 30, but I definitely over baked them. Don’t leave them in for that long! The bars weren’t very sweet, so I added a little dusting of powdered sugar once the bars cooled. Recipe slightly adapted from AllRecipes.

Ginger Bars

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
1/4 cup molasses
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
Cream together the brown sugar, butter, and molasses. Mix in the ginger, eggs, and vanilla.
Slowly stir in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.

https://lovintheoven.com/ginger-bars/

Chocolate Chip Brownies with In the Raw

September 10, 2012 by kim 70 Comments

I was lucky enough to receive some “In The Raw” products to use in my baking. I headed over to recipes section on their website and after searching through several different options, I decided on this one: Chocolate Chip Brownies.

I was actually surprised with the variety of food you can make using Stevia In The Raw. You can make breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert! I chose to stick with what I knew best … dessert.

I have used Sugar In The Raw before, but only for coffee. I’ve never tried Stevia In The Raw and was surprised at how soft and light the product was. It was like a cloud zipped up in a bag, weighing close to nothing. How is that even possible? Oh well .. all that matters is that it tasted great, and I couldn’t even taste the difference between that and normal sugar (and let me tell you, I LOVE my sugar)!

When I bake something, I share the results with the people around me. By using In The Raw products, I know I’m sharing a better creation because of the all-natural ingredients inside. The better your ingredients, the better the outcome. Living in Berkeley, I’m more aware of fresh produce and food. Why wouldn’t I want the same for all of my other ingredients? You are responsible for everything you put into your body, and by using all natural ingredients, you are taking a step toward a healthier lifestyle.

It didn’t take any additional time for me to sub my regular baking sugar for In The Raw sugars. Actually, it didn’t affect my normal prepping at all. The only difference was the outcome. These chocolate chip brownies were much more cake-like, and they weren’t as heavy as normal brownies. I would love to sub dark cocoa powder in for the normal unsweetened cocoa powder next time to give it a stronger and richer taste. Instead of the chocolate chips, I used dark chocolate discs, which I loved and would highly recommend doing.

If you make this recipe expecting a brownie, you’ll be disappointed. If you make this recipe expecting a cake, then you’ve got yourself a recipe. Throw some icing on top and you’ve really got a keeper. Again, the recipe is from In The Raw.

Chocolate Chip Brownies with In the Raw

Yield: 16 bars

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/3 cup Stevia In The Raw Bakers Bag
1/3 cup Sugar In The Raw
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup low fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate mini chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
Combine melted butter and cocoa powder. Set aside to cool. In large bowl beat eggs until frothy. Add Stevia In the Raw and Sugar In The Raw.
Combine flours, baking powder and salt ñ add to egg mixture and stir. Add in cocoa mixture, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir until blended. Stir in mini chips.
Pour batter into baking pan and bake at 350F about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool on rack.

https://lovintheoven.com/chocolate-chip-brownies-with-in-the-raw/

I have to admit the packaging of the two products is especially convenient for a baker. Since I don’t exactly use a lot of Stevia or Sugar In The Raw in one sitting, I’m able to zip up or close the pour spout on the side of the box. I don’t have to worry about finding a Tupperware to store the remainder of the sugar in or finding a clip to make sure the bag stays closed. It makes my life a lot easier when I can just take an item out of my pantry, use it, and put it back without worrying if it’ll stay fresh or not.

In The Raw has a new app out called the “Au Natural In The Raw” app, where it pixelates your food pictures like this:

It gives you maximum viewing pleasure and lets you cover all that baked (or cooked) goodness in your food photography. Apparently, the majority of photos posted on social media platforms are pictures of food. Can you believe it? I sure can. We consume it everyday and want to share our plates with everyone else. The “Au Natural In The Raw” app makes this a more fun way of sharing your food pictures online. It also makes people take a closer look and consider using all natural ingredients in their next kitchen endeavor.

Your dessert photos will become so hot, so au natural, they will be labeled “too hot” for the web. That’s right. They went and did it. They became deliciously obscene. The metaphorical thermometer on Facebook is about to go up. Your Facebook friends will be in a frenzy. Your photo might even become the most liked photo in Facebook history, who knows? And for extra measure, you can even gain privileged access to the most coveted In The Raw family of secret recipes just for posting your creation.

Now for the good stuff. You can win a $100 Cooking.com gift card! How do you do so? Well, visit the In The Raw website and leave a comment telling me which recipe you’d make!

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the

following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/10/12-9/30/12.

Be sure to visit the In The Raw brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Cookies N’ Cream Kiss Cookie Bars

September 6, 2012 by kim 6 Comments

I’m really excited to let you know that I’ve had a blog makeover! Check it out! I got rid of all the extra noise and went back to a simple, clean layout. I wanted the pictures to be the main focus, not all the clutter in the background. What do you think?

Now, I have room for bigger pictures. How’s that for you?

Unwrap those babies!

First layer goes into the lined pan.

Throw some kisses on top.

Drop some more dough on top.

And spread evenly.

Bake.

Cut.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time this week on my blog. Probably more than I should have, but it’s such a labor of love. Once I get into the groove of things, I’m non-stop. I stayed up until 2AM last night editing pictures, adding drafts, and tweaking the tiny details on my layout. If you know me, you’ll know that 2AM is WAY past my bedtime. I’m usually out at 10PM. That’s another one of grandma characteristics I can’t seem to get of. As long as I have a good soundtrack to listen to while working, I can be at it for hours.

Now, I can’t stop looking at my blog layout. I don’t know why I didn’t do it earlier. I guess as I grow, my blog really does grow with me. I’ve also edited the link bar at the top, particularly the “About Me” section. I realized I wasn’t 24 anymore and my DB and I have been dating for more than 3 years. Whoops.

Anyways, I just wanted to thank you guys for following along. Truly, I wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t for my blog readers. I’m amazed at how far this little ol’ blog has come along after… *gasp* 5 years! My blog will be FIVE years this fall. I. Cannot. Believe. It. THANK YOU!

Oh, I guess I probably should talk about these heavenly squares. I’ve always loved Hershey’s Cookies N’ Cream bars. I even ate so much of it when I was little that I threw up, but that doesn’t stop me from eating them now. Sorry, that probably wasn’t appropriate for a food blog… but I promise these won’t have that effect on you (unless you’re allergic, eat too much, you hate cookies n’ cream, or are drunk).

Recipe from Picky Palate.

Cookies N’ Cream Kiss Cookie Bars

Yield: 12-16 bars

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
12 Oreo Cookies, broken up
25 Cookies and Cream Hershey’s Kisses

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 pan.
Cream together the butter and both sugars. Add in the egg and vanilla until well mixed.
Stir in the dry ingredients, chocolate chips and oreo cookie pieces until just combined.
Press 1/3 of the dough into the bottom of prepared baking pan. Place the kisses on top. I did 4x5, but you can do 5x5 if you want more kisses.
Spoon the remaining dough on top of the kisses and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

https://lovintheoven.com/cookies-n-cream-kiss-cookie-bars/

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