Strawberry season here in Northern Ontario doesn’t last long – only about 2 to 3 weeks so we pick as many as we can and of course eat as many as we can. Strawberry sauce, strawberry lemonade, strawberry milkshakes and Strawberry Oatmeal Squares. Strawberry Oatmeal Squares are a yummy way to use these beautiful berries. At first glance this looks like a delicious dessert, but I think this is a wonderful healthy breakfast (without the ice cream that is). Large flake oatmeal and berries- how much better could your breakfast be?
Yummy and decadent- 2 words that describe these Toffee Chocolate Bars. With a shortbread base layered with caramel then covered with melted chocolate then sprinkled with toffee bits – a match made in heaven. I prefer to use Belgian milk chocolate chips as those are my family’s preference, but you can use whatever type of chocolate makes you happy.
Autumn is coming whether we like it or not, so that calls for celebrating all of the flavours that come with the season. The season of apples is upon us !!!! There is so much that can be done with applespies,cakes,crisps and cakes. But this recipe is for a square that has apples in it.
Along with the apples there is cinnamon and molasses- 2 of my favourite flavours of autumn. The molasses gives such a tangy sweetness to the squares. The apple is a Ginger Gold, fresh Ontario fruit from our farmer’s market. This was the first time I had used this type of apple in baking and it worked beautifully. This apple will be making an appearance in future apple episodes, for sure.There is also raisins which give a little chewy texture to the squares. You could substitute dried cranberries for the raisins if you want, I am sure they will be just as delicious.
This square makes a fantastic afternoon snack and I actually had it for breakfast this morning. Well, it does have apples and raisins in it, so it is healthy, right? If you are serving them on a platter, they look pretty dusted with icing sugar. But if you want to add more flavour to your decoration, sprinkle with maple sugar, a little Cana
Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
Melt butter and brown sugar in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Stir in the molasses and raisins.
Cool until warm.
Mix in the eggs with the wooden spoon until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
Add to the saucepan and stir until about half mixed in, then add in grated apples. Continue stirring until well blended.
Spread into parchment lined pan and bake at 350℉ for 25 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Place on cooling rack. Sprinkle with maple sugar or icing sugar before serving.
This is by far one of my favourite square recipes. Blondies are all about caramel flavour with bites of white chocolate – could a simple square ask for anything more? Not to knock all of those chocolate confections, but if there is a choice between caramel and chocolate, I’m going for the caramel!
If you are craving chocolate and need it quick this is the recipe for you….Brownies the ultimate easy dessert! You can mix them up in one bowl, no mixer required and within the hour your house smells just divine! If you have the patience to let them cool then you can spread on this easy frosting that elevates the plain brownie to fancy in no time.
The smell of cinnamon makes my tummy hungry! It is one of my favourite spices and put that with apples and of course you have a winning combination for a pie. Apple pie is a lot of work as it would include the rolling of pie crust, which if you know me, is up there in the category of things I dread to do.
So when I was leafing through the Canadian Living Holiday Baking 2014 magazine and found a recipe for Dutch Apple Pie squares I said to myself – now that is a wonderful idea. Shortbread crust with apple pie filling topped with a crumble and every layer with cinnamon in it…can’t get much better than that.
A craving for something sweet…with brown sugar and vanilla and butter….sounds like butter tarts are on the horizon.
I do love butter tarts because I love all things made with brown sugar, but making pie crust isn’t one of my favourite things to do. It’s not that I won’t make pie crust but it is the one baking thing that intimidates me, so if I can avoid it, I definitely will do it!
Buttertart squares are a much easier version with all of the taste and way less work. The base is shortbread, which is my favourite cookie and all of the same ingredients in the filling – brown sugar, eggs, vanilla but no rolling of dough – my idea of a perfect quick sweet treat. Can it get any better?
