BiteSizeBaker.com

Warning: If you are on any kind of diet, you may want to look away.

I first made these bars over the Christmas holidays last year with the intention of blogging about them. Well, let’s just say, they didn’t make it that far. They seemed to disappear before I could get pictures. So obviously I had to bake them again. For the sake of pictures, of course.

The bars look so sinful and taste incredible! They have a blondie type texture with chocolate chunks, carmel pieces, mini marshmallows and butterscotch chips mixed in. And it doesn’t stop there, oh no, right before you bake them, the batter is topped off with even more chocolate, carmel, marshmallows and butterscotch. Oh yeah!

I’m not sure why they are called Rocky Ledge bars but quite frankly, I don’t really care what they are called when they taste as wonderful as they do!

Rocky Ledge Bars
adapted from Martha Stewart

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups packed dark-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
18 soft caramel-candy cubes, coarsely chopped
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used semi-sweet chocolate chunks)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Lightly butter a 9-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, allowing an overhang on the longer sides. Lightly butter parchment with butter (not overhang).

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt and baking powder; set aside.

Mix butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in flour mixture until just combined, being sure not to over-mix. Fold in half of each of the caramels, marshmallows, butterscotch chips and chocolate.

Pour batter in pan and spread evenly. Distribute the remaining caramels, marshmallows, butterscotch chips and chocolate on top. Bake until golden brown or a cake tester comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool. Lift out of pan and move to baking sheet. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set.

Remove the parchment and cut into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 1 week.

Note: the original recipe called for white chocolate but I omitted it. If you prefer, add 1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped, in with the rest of the goodies (1/2 cup in batter, 1/2 cup on top).

Don’t miss a bite! Subscribe via RSS, e-mail or follow me on Twitter!

This is my first Cookie Carnival recipe! Yummy Black-Bottom Coconut Bars.

I stumbled upon the Cookie Carnival recently and I had to join immediately because as we all know, I love a good cookie. Well, any cookie really. Plus, I figured it would give me a good chance to broaden my cookie horizons and try recipes from different cookbooks/sources.

Lately I’ve kinda been stuck in a Martha Stewart rut. I have both her cookie and cupcake books, which are both completely fabulous, but I find myself turning to them over and over again. So, when I learned the recipe for this months Cookie Carnival, wouldn’t it just figure it’s a Martha recipe. That’s okay though. I’m not complaining one little bit. I think Martha is just super. I’m just not sure how she feels about me though. Or if she knows I exist… which I’m 99% sure she doesn’t. Okay, okay, moving on.

Out of my entire family, only one other person (besides myself) likes coconut. Isn’t that sad? So for this recipe, they’re just out of luck! Which means I get half of the yummy bars to myself. Yay for me, not so much for my waistline.

The bars were great!. They were really great! They made me realize that I don’t bake with coconut enough. I will have to fix that. Soon.

The recipe is relatively simple. No mixers or fancy gadgets, just bowls and a whisk.

Get the recipe here.

If you haven’t already, check out the Cookie Carnival.

Don’t miss a bite! Subscribe via RSS, e-mail or follow me on Twitter!

I don’t have a reason for baking these. No birthdays, holidays or special occasions. But really, does one really need a reason to bake? I didn’t think so.

I came across the recipe while I was flipping through Martha Stewart’s Cookies. My mom’s favorite candy bar is the Heath Bar so I immediately thought of her when I saw the recipe. Plus, I found a bag of actual heath bar toffee bits (I think its called Bits ‘O Brickle) in the baking section of my local supermarket so I just had to make them.

The history of the Heath toffee bar is quite interesting. According to the Hershey site, the recipe for the bar was perfected by the Heath brothers in 1928. It was made by completely by hand until 1942. During World War II, the U.S. Government contracted with Heath to produce bars for military distribution. Okay, okay, back to the blondies…

To be honest, I didn’t really know what brown butter was. Isn’t that sad? I had heard of it before but never understood what actually was or how to make it. I guess I should have figured it out from the name; brown butter. Just cook until it browns slightly. Duh! Although it did take a lot longer than I expected to brown the butter, the results are totally worth it! The subtle nutty flavor is just superb!

These blondie cookie bars are ones I will be making again, for sure! And yes, mom loved them.

Brown-Butter Toffee Blondies
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies

Don’t miss a bite! Subscribe via RSS, e-mail or follow me on Twitter!

During the summer months here in Florida we have our (almost) daily afternoon thunderstorms. Some days the storms don’t stick to just the afternoon; Instead, it rains all day. So today I decided to brighten things up a bit with Key Lime Bars. The tart lime taste is incredible with a great flaky, buttery crust. Top ‘em with confectioners’ sugar and I don’t think it could get much better. They always take me back to the sunny beaches of the Florida Keys.

To make the crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine flour, confectioners’ sugar, and baking powder in medium bowl.

Cut in butter using a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. I used a fork but It would be much easier and faster with a pastry cutter. But again, the fork worked.

Press mixture into pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned.

To make the Key Lime filling:

While the crust is in the oven, combine eggs, sugar, key lime juice, flour and baking powder.

I couldn’t find fresh key limes at my grocery store so I opted for the next best thing, Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice. You could also use regular lime juice but then they would be just Lime Bars.

Pour the liquid mixture over hot crust. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Before cutting into bars, cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Thats really all there is to it. It’s a quick and easy recipe; perfect for taking to get-togethers!

They are really good cold or frozen too!

Key Lime Bars

Don’t miss a bite! Subscribe via RSS, e-mail or follow me on Twitter!