Lovin' From the Oven

Pumpkin Blondies

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Having a DB that works at Apple can be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I’m always up to date with the latest gadgets and I can get them at 25% off. A curse because I am now an Apple addict and want everything that Apple releases. Within the past two and a half years that I’ve been dating my DB, my DB has been through three laptops and I’ve been through two. All Apple, of course! (He’s the one who converted me to the “dark side” of Apple).

With that said, I just updated to the newest 11″ Macbook Air and have never been more in love. It’s perfect for me! Extremely light and portable– not to mention it runs faster than my old Mac. I can update my blogs from anywhere now! I never hesitate if I should bring my laptop or not… it even fits in my purse!
So here I am, doing my first food blog from my new laptop. The first of many to come!

These bars were mediocre. The taste was mediocre. It may or may not be because I over baked them a little. I don’t think I would make them again, but if I did, I would definitely cut down on the amount of pecans. Until then, I’ll stick to my favorite pumpkin bars. From The Girl Who Ate Everything, who adapted it from good ol’ Martha.

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 T. pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ¾ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1¼ cups brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.
  2. In another bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree.
  3. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate and pecans.
  4. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.

Sour Cream Apple Bars

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I just look at these pictures and think of how much I took my life for granted when I enjoyed these bars. Now, I’ve been quarantined from my room and am living out of two laundry baskets. I even had to deal with no running water for a night… pouring buckets of water into the toilet to help it flush. Here’s the door to my room:
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Why? Well, a water pipe burst in my house. It just so happens that my room is the only one downstairs, so it was the only one that got slightly flooded. I walked into my room and noticed my carpet was damp. Then, I saw a water stain on the wall in my bathroom. No bueno. I told my dad and then had to leave to go to a law fair at UCLA with the DB. When I came home, a chunk of my wall had been punched out. Straight up, punched out with a hammer.
My dad had shut off all the water for the night and wouldn’t turn it on until we got the pipe checked the next day. It turns out that the pipe was underneath the cement in my floor. They had to rip out my carpet, drill a hole in the cement, and temporarily fix the pipe until the insurance company could come and look at it. So, this is what my room looks like when you walk in:

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There are three huge fans constantly running– one in my closet, one in my room, and one in my bathroom. The other half of my bedroom was sealed off (as you can see) so that it wouldn’t be affected. You can’t even walk on the other side of that plastic sheet because everything is crammed over there. My bed, my desk, my nightstand, everything in my closet, entertainment stand…. everything.
If you were to go into my room now, your hair would be flying into your face and your shirt would be drenched with sweat from the heat. It’s like that to keep mold from growing. After the insurance sees it tomorrow, it’ll take an additional four weeks to do the drywall, fill the cement, fix the baseboard, and repaint. Until then, I’ll be dreaming of my bed and baking out my eagerness to get my room back.
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This recipe is best out of the oven. I’ve had it cold from the refrigerator, and although it’s not bad by any means, nothing beats an apple dessert straight from the oven. I haven’t baked anything with oatmeal in a while because my DB’s not a fan, but these babies just refreshed my memory. Oatmeal is delish! I forgot that I can bake for myself, sometimes.
The sour cream melts into the middle layer and you never would’ve guessed it was sour cream. The crust is crunchy and strongly resembles granola. Ummm.. LOVE! The recipe is slightly adapted from Your Home Based Mom.

Crust:

  • 1 C butter, softened
  • 1 C firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2 C uncooked quick cooking oats
  • 1 C flour
  • 1 C chopped pecans
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Filling:

  • 1 C sour cream
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 egg
  • 4 apples, unpeeled and diced
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the remaining crust ingredients and beat until well mixed.
  2. Press HALF of crust mixture onto bottom of ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown.
  3. While crust is baking, combine the filling ingredients; mix well. Gently pour the filling over the hot, partially baked crust. Crumble the remaining crust mixture over the top of the fill and press down lightly.
  4. Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the center is set. Cool & cut into bars. Store refrigerated.

Banana Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chip Streusel

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I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Halloween! I spent mine at home, handing out candy to all the little (and not so little) trick or treaters. I also ended up watching “Isolation” with my DB. Yes, another bad scary movie to feed my guilty pleasure. Actually, the movie was quite enjoyable… despite the fact that it’s about cows having killer mutant babies.

Did anyone watch the premiere of The Walking Dead? I can’t get enough of it! I am desperately counting the days until Sunday again, when I can finally see the next episode. Zombies are just so intriguing to me.
My DB’s biggest fear is actually the zombie apocalypse (not that it’s ever really going to happen). When he was little, he used to shower with goggles on so that no one could sneak up on him without him seeing first. He’s gonna kill me for writing that, but it’s just too cute not to share.

These banana bars were a huge hit at work. Banana’s always a safe bet when bringing something to a group event. They were moist, had a wonderful topping, and kept people coming back for seconds. This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit. Bon appetit!

  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • about 4 mashed bananas
  • 3 tablespoons buttermilk
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Butter and flour 8x8x2-inch baking pan. Stir chocolate chips, brown sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon in small bowl until well blended; set streusel aside.
  3. Mix the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Set aside.
  4. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, room temperature butter, and egg in a separate bowl until fluffy. Beat in mashed bananas and buttermilk.
  5. Add dry ingredients and blend well.
  6. Spread half of batter in prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with half of streusel. Repeat with remaining batter and streusel.
  7. Bake coffee cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool coffee cake in pan on rack.

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