Lovin' From the Oven

No Bake Energy Date Bars

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Have you ever tried to make bars at home? It’s a cinch! All you need is a good food processor and some delectable ingredients.
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It all starts with these wonderful Medjool Dates. I have such a soft spot in my heart for this big ol’ red box ever since my trip to Yuma last year. Honestly, those were some of the most giving and loving people I have ever met. I constantly reminisce about those days!

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To my surprise, I received a special delivery on my doorstep for our Yuma trip anniversary (I told you they were awesome)! The dates were freshly picked and wonderfully juicy. I’ve been eating a date a day ever since.

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Dates are key when it comes to making bars because of their nutritional benefits, taste, and texture. They’re sweet without adding any sugar and turn into a paste that can hold all of your ingredients together.
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Just make sure to take out all of the pits before you eat them!
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This is my food processor, by the way. It’s a little small, which is why I mix in the remaining ingredients by hand, but it’s perfect for now because of my apartment living.
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It make not look very pretty, but I promise it tastes delicious.
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This recipe is also easy to adjust to your tastes or whatever ingredients that you have on hand. You can replace pecans with walnuts or cashews, add in some peanut butter, or sub in different dried fruits. It’s up to you to create your dream bar!

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No Bake Energy Date Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups pitted medjool dates
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1/2 cup trail mix (any kind will do. make sure to use one that you like! mine had cranberries, pepitas, and sunflower seeds)
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Pulse the dates and pecans in a food processor until combined.
  2. Move the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients by hand.
  3. Spread the mixture in between two pieces of wax or parchment paper until they're 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rectangles and enjoy! Keep the remaining bars in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
https://lovintheoven.com/bake-energy-date-bars/

Coconut Walnut Blondies with Toffee

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I just switched hosting sites over the past week and finally have it all sorted out (I think). Apparently, my email was down for two to three days and I had no idea until I got a call from one of the people that I was working with. If you emailed me and it bounced back to you, I never got your email! So sorry! It works now and you can resend it if you’d like.

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There’s a lot that can go wrong when you’re dealing with your domain, host, and email. Not only that, but it’s extremely stressful when something doesn’t work! Thanks goodness for Google. I was able how to figure out how to fix the problem on my own after a couple of Google searches and a lot of yelling at my computer.

After all of that, there is one thing that I learned. Stay away from GoDaddy! They’re a terrible hosting site and constantly blame WordPress/the internet for your problems when it’s really on their end. Stay away.

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On another note, I’ve had crazy baby fever this past week. How can you not after watching videos like this?

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I don’t bake with coconut often, mostly because the DH doesn’t like it. Every now and then, though, I find a bag of coconut leftover from making Everything Cookies and go on the hunt to make something with them. Enter: Coconut walnut blondies with toffee.

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They were gooey with crispy edges and tasted the best warm. I can imagine a scoop of ice cream on top, melting into a puddle around the bottom of the bar. Yum! Recipe from Picture Perfect Meals.

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Coconut Walnut Blondie with Toffee

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1-1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup toffee bits
  • 1-1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-x-13-x-2 baking pan.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  3. In another bowl, combine the butter and sugars until creamy. Add in the vanilla and eggs.
  4. Switch to a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula and stir in the dry ingredients until well-blended.
  5. Fold in the nuts, toffee and coconut until nicely mixed. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Place the pan on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until the top is nicely golden brown, 40 minutes.
  6. Cool in pan before cutting into squares.
https://lovintheoven.com/coconut-walnut-blondies-with-toffee/

Pillsbury Caramel Apple Bars

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I’m pretty sure that every baker adores the holiday season. Why? Well, brands start introducing new flavors and products to bake with! I, for one, can’t resist going through the baking aisle every time I go grocery shopping just to make sure that I didn’t miss any of the new items that came out.

Pillsbury has plenty of fall inspired box mixes and frosting for me to play with. For these caramel apple bars, I used the Caramel Apple Premium Cake Mix and Caramel Apple frosting. I also took the sprinkles from the orange Funfetti frosting to make it a little more festive.

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I can’t get enough of those little star sprinkles. Aren’t they darling? The colors would be great for a boy’s baby shower! Everyone that I know is having a girl at the moment, so I’ll have to keep that in mind for the next time someone announces they’re having a boy.

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With Pillsbury’s products, it’s extremely easy to mix and match. I could have used their cream cheese frosting instead of their caramel apple frosting to tame down the sweet flavor. Actually, I think that flavor would have been better than caramel apple on caramel apple. I’d use the caramel apple frosting on Funfetti cake and call it a day. Oh, the possibilities!

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This is a very low maintenance recipe. There’s no piping or extra tools needed. You can mix everything in one bowl. Bars are much easier than cupcakes, but they still look just as pretty.

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I was surprised by how fast these baked. I baked mine for 17 minutes, but that was already too much. I’d check them at 12 minutes the next time I make it.

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You can find other great ideas from Pillsbury on their Facebook and Pinterest pages. On their Facebook page, you can even participate in their “We Bake It, You Name It” program!

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Pillsbury Caramel Apple Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 box Pillsbury Caramel Apple Cake Mix minus 1 cup of cake mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 box Pillsbury Caramel Apple Frosting
  • sprinkles

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.
  2. Mix together the cake mix, eggs, and oil until just combined. Evenly spread the batter in the prepared pan. It will be very thin!
  3. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean (I did 17 and that was too much).
  4. Remove and let it completely cool before spreading the frosting on top. Decorate with sprinkles.
https://lovintheoven.com/pillsbury-caramel-apple-bars/

This is a sponsored post, but the opinions expressed are my own.

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