Bready or Not: Maple Raisin Bars
If you like chewy maple goodness, then these Maple Raisin Bars are for you!
So you ever look at a recipe and think, “Hey, that looks good, but I want to change half the ingredients around?” That’s how this recipe came about. I look at another recipe and decided to give it an overhaul. Golden raisins instead of apricots. Honey instead of molasses. And so on.
The result? Chewy, cakey bars with delightful gems of golden raisins sprinkled throughout. The turbinado sugar on top adds a special sparkle.
They taste kind of like gingerbread just, well, without any ginger. That’s the closest comparison I can make.
Even better, these keep well for days at room temperature, and they can also be frozen for later enjoyment.
Yep, these will be greatly enjoyed. Now or later.
Bready or Not: Maple Raisin Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup bread flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 3/4 cup maple sugar
- 1/2 cup avocado oil or canola oil
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/2 cup milk or almond milk
- 3 teaspoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Stir in the raisins. Set bowl aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together maple sugar, oil, honey, and milk. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry until fully combined. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan, making sure the raisins are well distributed. Sprinkle turbinado sugar all over the top.
- Bake for 24 to 28 minutes, until the dough has puffed and it passes the toothpick test in the middle.
- Let it cool completely. Lift out of pan with the foil and cut into squares. Store in a sealed container with waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers. Will keep well at room temperature for days, or can be frozen for weeks.
- OM NOM NOM!
A Bready or Not Original: Apple Snickerdoodle Bars
I have shared many takes on snickerdoodles and many versions of apple cake and pie. This time, I combine apple cake and snickerdoodles to make something especially awesome.
These Apple Snickerdoodle Bars are incredibly straightforward to make. The most time-consuming thing is peeling and dicing the apples. The batter comes together fast, the apples mix right in, and you top the whole thing with a cinnamon-sugar layer.
In under thirty minutes of baking, BOOM. You have created a masterpiece.
Seriously, if you love apples and snickerdoodles, a piece of this will be like heaven. It is dense and tender, not crumbly at all. The topping crisps up in an amazing way.
I store these cut-up between wax paper layers in the fridge. They also freeze well.
If you’re bonkers for these bars, freezing them might help with the matter of restraint.
A Bready or Not Original: Apple Snickerdoodle Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 2 cups baking apples 2 medium apples, peeled & diced
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup butter 1 stick, melted
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Apply nonstick spray or butter. Preheat oven at 350-degrees.
- Peel and dice the apples; stir in some flour to lightly coat to prevent browning as you prepare the batter.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and cream of tartar. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Once that is just combined (it will be very thick), add the diced apples.
- Dollop the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. In another small bowl, combine the white sugar and cinnamon. Use a spoon to cover the top of the batter with the cinnamon-sugar.
- Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, until the top is set and the middle passes the toothpick test. Let cool at room temperature and then chill in the fridge. Use the parchment or foil to lift the bars out for easy cutting on a board. Store bars in a sealed container in the fridge.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Citrus Cornmeal Shortbread
Almost exactly a year ago, I shared my recipe for Lemon Cornmeal Shortbread. Now I’m sharing a slight twist: Citrus Cornmeal Shortbread!
If you have oranges growing or catch a good deal at the store, use them for this shortbread! You could also use Clementines or other citrus; I’m not sure how many you’d need, but you want almost 1/2 cup of juice.
One of the wonderful things about this shortbread–like its predecessor–is that it’s fantastic to pack and ship or bring on trips. These cookies are firm and durable while still soft to eat, and they keep for at least a week.
These cookies have the signature buttery-soft texture of shortbread complemented by the slight grit of cornmeal. The orange in these cookies makes them milder than the all-lemon version. If you have orange extract, use that as well!
Not only are these cookies delicious, but they look pretty, too.
Bready or Not: Citrus Cornmeal Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 3 sticks, room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 oranges zested and juiced
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract or orange extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- turbinado sugar or sparkling sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and apply butter or nonstick spray.
- In a mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, orange zest, and extract. Beat until it's light and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add orange juice and stir.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, and salt. Slowly mix into the wet ingredients until it is just mixed. Dump the dough into the ready pan and use an uneven spatula to even it out.
- Use a knife to score the bars, gently cutting through to establish where it will be sliced again after baking. The dough is very sticky; wipe the blade between passes, and dab the excess back into the top. It doesn't need to look neat. Completely sprinkle the top with turbinado sugar or sparkling sugar.
- Bake until the shortbread looks dry and golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. Immediately use a knife to follow the previous lines and slice the shortbread into bars (when cool, the shortbread will likely crumble when cut). Set the whole pan on a rack to cool, eventually lifting them out by the aluminum foil to finish cooling.
- Store in sealed containers at room temperature. This citrus cornmeal shortbread is excellent for travel and shipping as it keeps well for at least six days.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
These Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars are thick, lush, and oh-so-good.
I had to make this recipe twice to get it right. The first time I made it, I chilled it for only a few hours and then started to cut up the bars. It became a huge, awful mess. I was embarrassed by how they looked–crumbles more than bars–but my husband took them to work and people went crazy over them.
It turned out, the recipe produced something seriously delicious… but it sure needed a lot more time to set.
Therefore, I made them again. I also tweaked it from the original by taking out extra pecans and adding the essential ingredient of cream of tartar. I mean, what the heck? Something can’t be named Snickerdoodle and lack cream of tartar!
This time, I let the bars set in the fridge for almost a full day before I sliced them. The top crackled but the bars stayed cohesive–and my husband’s co-workers went bonkers over them, yet again.
This recipe makes a lot, too. The bars fill a 13×9 pan all the way to the top! Have a lot of containers handy, or keep them in the original pan with plastic wrap or foil over the top.
These Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars would wow a crowd at a holiday potluck! The leftovers keep well for days, too.
Modified from Shugary Sweets.
Bready or Not: Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 8 ounces graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
Cheesecake Filling
- 16 ounces cream cheese 2 boxes, softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Snickerdoodle layer
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Topping
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Line a 13x9 baking dish with aluminum foil so that it is covered on the bottom and all four sides; apply nonstick spray or butter. Set dish aside. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
- In a food processor, pulse graham crackers with pecans and sugar until everything is reduced to fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until it clumps.
- Press the crumbs into the bottom of prepared baking dish. A handy way to do this is to lay a piece of wax paper over the crumbs, then use a glass to compress the bottom crust. Form an even layer.
- Next, start the cheesecake filling. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Beat until fluffy and smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour over the filling over the graham crust.
- Time for the cookie dough top crust! Clean up the bowl and use it to beat the butter with sugar for 2 minutes, until it's fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Add the baking powder, salt, flour, cinnamon, and cream of tartar. Use your hands to form flat pieces of dough to lay atop the cream cheese. Fill in the holes until you form a cookie dough lid.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon topping, and sprinkle that over the top layer.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. The cookie dough layer should be completely cooked and golden, even if the middle still jiggles a bit. The cheesecake bars will completely fill the pan.
- Remove from oven and cool completely. Once it's cooled, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or full a full day. THIS IS IMPORTANT. It will be delicious if you cut into it early, but it will also be a complete mess when cut!
- After the bars have had a long chill, cut them into bars and keep stored in fridge.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Soft Gingerbread Bars
We’re kicking off the Christmas season with a recipe that’s been a favorite of mine since 2003: Soft Gingerbread Bars!
My original recipe was clipped from the inside of a Land O Lakes butter box. Before trying that recipe, I had associated gingerbread with dry, hard cut-out cookies.
Land O Lakes enlightened me. They taught me gingerbread could be rendered into soft, chewy bars that were a sugary equivalent to crack cocaine.
These bars have been a household favorite ever since. You can cut the gingerbread into fancier shapes, but I prefer basic bars. These bars are soft and luscious, embodied with the divine scent of Christmas itself.
Plus, this is the perfect recipe when you’re low on time–it mixes together quickly and bakes in under 20 minutes. No standing around the oven for an hour, waiting for batch after batch of cookies to be done.
As soft as these bars are, they are surprisingly durable. When my husband was deployed in the Navy, I mailed several batches to him overseas. I packed them in Gladware with napkins for padding, and they survived the journey, intact and tasty.
Modified from the original recipe at Land O Lakes Butter. Originally posted at Bready or Not back in 2012 on Live Journal.
Bready or Not: Soft Gingerbread Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 egg
- 3 Tablespoons molasses
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
Topping
- 2 - 3 tablespoons white sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a jelly roll or large bar pan with aluminum foil.
- Combine the 1 1/4 cups sugar, butter, egg, and molasses in a large mixer bowl. Mix until creamy. Add the flour, baking soda, and spices and mix until just combined.
- Press the dough evenly into the pan. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of sugar across the top. Dust the sugar with your fingers to fill the nooks and crannies.
- Bake the pan for 16 to 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely. Cut into bars or other shapes. Try to resist eating them all.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Maple Walnut White Chocolate Cookies
These Maple Walnut White Chocolate Cookies are light, crisp, and full of maple goodness.
Story prompts inspire stories. Cookbooks inspire new spins on already-great recipes. In this case, I found my inspiration in the cookbook MAPLE, which also provided the basis for my Maple Pear Galette and part of my Maple Apple Pie (aka Voltron Pie).
I loved the look of the original recipe, but right off the top, I knew I needed to make some adaptations. I don’t keep whole wheat pastry flour around. I decided to substitute with cake flour since it was also lower in gluten.
As a result, the cookies are surprisingly light and crisp. However, this also means they can overcook–and fast! Keep an eye on them as they near the end of baking time. Better to have them slightly underdone when you pull them from the oven, as they’ll finish cooking on the cookie sheet.
I also went with white chocolate rather than milk or dark chocolate. I find the mellowness of white chocolate better works with maple flavor.
Now, maple sugar can be pricy stuff at supermarkets, if you can find it at all. I buy it in bulk at Amazon. If you glance through my maple recipes, you’ll find plenty of ways to use it up!
Walnuts–and other nuts–are easy to roast in your oven. Line a rimmed pan with foil. Add the nuts in an even layer. Bake at 350-degrees for like 7 to 10 minutes, shifting them once sometime in there, until the nuts are fragrant. Let’em cool, then use them or eat them.
The combination of flavors here–maple, white chocolate, walnuts–makes these the perfect cookies for autumn.
… Except, well, if you know me, I believe in summoning up the goodness of maple all year round. Awesome things shouldn’t be confined to one season.
Bready or Not: Maple Walnut White Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup maple sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup walnuts roasted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 375-degrees. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and maple sugar until creamy. Beat in the egg followed by the oil and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk together the two flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mix until they are just combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Use a tablespoon scoop to dole out dough onto the prepared sheet pan, leaving space for each cookie to spread. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until cookies puff and are just turning golden--watch them carefully at the end, as they can overcook quickly! Let them cool on the sheet about ten minutes and then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
- OM NOM NOM!
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