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Chai Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars

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You can’t not love a dessert that’s as easy as it is delicious! These one bowl Chai Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars are made with pantry staples and come together in minutes! With chewy oats, warm chai spices and plump raisins these will be your new favorite “I want something sweet” treat to bake up!

Big squares of cookie bars cut into squares on a baking sheet.

ABOUT THESE CHAI SPICED OATMEAL COOKIE BARS

These Chai Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars are chewy, buttery and full of oats. They’re just like oatmeal cookies only easier, thicker, and slightly more spiced.

CLASSIC FLAVOR

Oatmeal raisin has to be one of the most classic cookie flavors! Right up there with chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies! I don’t have an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe on my blog yet, but I love these Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction!

WARM CHAI SPICES

Cinnamon and raisins are the stars of oatmeal raisin cookies. With a teaspoon of cinnamon in these bars, cinnamon is still the star, but these bars become even more DELICIOUS with the addition of cardamom, allspice, ginger and nutmeg.

A batch of oatmeal raisin cookie bars with bowls of oats and raisins nearby and a spoonful of cinnamon.

EASY TO MAKE

What makes these oatmeal cookie bars so easy? They are:

  • MADE WITH ONE BOWL: This means they are easy to make AND easy to clean up.
  • MADE WITHOUT A MIXER: Just whisk everything together.
  • NO CHILL: They go straight from the bowl to the oven.
  • NOT ROLLED: Unlike cookies that have to be scooped or rolled, these are just pressed into a pan and baked!
A bowl of oats, flour, melted butter and a measuring cup filled with raisins.

HOW TO MAKE CHAI SPICED OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIE BARS

This is definitely one of the easiest recipes on my blog. One bowl, a whisk, about ten minutes is all you need.

Here are the easy directions:

  1. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool slightly. Whisk to combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Whisk in the butter, egg and vanilla then gently fold in the raisins and oats.
  3. Spread and press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 23-25 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Cool completely in the pan before cutting.
A cup of raisins and a white bowl with rolled oats in it.
A batch of oatmeal raisin cookie bars sliced into squares on a sheet pan.

HOW TO CUT THESE COOKIE BARS

These bars are easiest to cut when they have cooled completely. That said, they are delicious served warm, so when you cut them is ultimately up to you! For big, dessert sized bars, cut them into nine squares. For smaller bars, I like to cut them into 12 squares.

Oatmeal raisin cookie bars stacked on top of each other with brown parchment paper in between them.
A stack of oatmeal raisin cookie bar squares.

These Chai Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars are packed with oats, plump raisins, and warming spices. They’re thick, chewy and delicious! They’re perfect with coffee and for breakfast or dessert.

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Chai Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 24 minutes
  • Total Time: 39 minutes
  • Yield: 9–12 bars 1x
  • Category: Desserts, Bars, Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These Chai Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars are packed with oats, plump raisins, and warming spices. They’re thick, chewy and delicious!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 3/4 cup rolled oats (not quick cooking oats)
  • 1 cup raisins

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray an 8 x 8 inch pan with nonstick spray and line the pan with parchment paper, leaving some excess paper on two sides to make the bars easier to remove from the pan once baked.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, spices, baking soda, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt. Whisk in the butter, egg and vanilla. Gently fold in the raisins and oats.
  3. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 23-25 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Cool completely in the pan before cutting.

Keywords: bars, cookies, oatmeal, raisins, cookie bars, chewy, dessert

Lime Slice

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Delicious lime slice stacked with lime slices in the background.

Lime Slice: super tender and creamy and loaded with summery citrus flavor. One of my favorite citrus recipes to come out of my kitchen this summer. These bars are rich, smooth, lightly hinted with vanilla, perfectly tangy and at the same time perfectly sweet. Featuring a buttery lime shortbread crust and topped with a generous dusting of powdered sugar. The perfect, easy to make dessert for when you’re craving a taste of spring or summer!

BAKING WITH LEMONS AND LIMES

I use lemon in so much of my cooking and baking. Sometimes it’s the starring ingredient like in my super soft Sour Cream Lemon Cookies or these melt in your mouth Lemon Crinkle Cookies. Other times, especially when baking with fruit, it’s more of a supporting flavor like with these Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts and Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars.

Limes have been on my list of things to bake with forever. I’ve had ideas for cookies and popsicles but for some reason I haven’t gotten to them. Now that we’re flying through August, I told myself I gotta get on a lime dessert so here it is: lime slice!

A batch of lime bars covered with powdered sugar with lime slices nearby.

ABOUT THIS LIME SLICE RECIPE

This recipe is simple yet very decadent. It basically has two parts: lime shortbread and a tart-sweet lime filling. Each part is simple to make and they taste so good together!

LIME SHORTBREAD CRUST

The texture and flavor of this lime shortbread makes it the perfect base for this lime slice! Texture-wise it’s rich, tender and buttery. Flavor-wise it’s flavored with lime zest and a hint of vanilla.

PRE-BAKING THE SHORTBREAD CRUST

You’ll want to prepare and pre-bake the crust before making the filling. Pre-baking the crust helps ensure it gets fully cooked and prevents it from becoming soggy when the filling gets added.

HOW TO MAKE LIME SHORTBREAD

  1. Add sugar (mostly granulated and a little powdered sugar), flour, salt, vanilla and lime to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.
  2. Add the butter and pulse until the dough just comes together. Press the mixture evenly into pan.
  3. Bake until the crust just begins to turn golden.

A FEW TIPS FOR MAKING THIS SHORTBREAD CRUST:

  • Use cold butter: One tip for ensuring your butter is cold is to cut the butter into cubes and then stick it back in the fridge while measuring out the dry ingredients.
  • Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan: Make sure to spread the mixture into the corners of the pan as well.
Flour, lime zest and cubed butter in the bowl of a food processor.

ABOUT THE CREAMY LIME FILLING

The combination of tart and sweet gives this filling the best flavor. The tanginess from the lime is just the right amount to give a nice, prominent lime flavor without being too tart or sour. They are also perfectly sweet, but not too sweet.

Texture wise, this ultra creamy filling will have you going back for more bites. It’s silky smooth and goes so well with the buttery shortbread.

HOW TO MAKE THE LIME FILLING

Once the crust has been made and pre baked, it’s time to make the filling. It takes just minutes to whip up and can be made with just one bowl and a whisk.

Start by whisking the eggs together. A good tip is to use room temperature eggs. Room temperature eggs typically disperse and mix in more evenly than cold eggs straight from the fridge. If you forget to give your eggs time to get to room temperature, you can always simply place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes as described in this article from Sophisticated Gourmet.

Add the sugar, cornstarch, heavy cream, lime juice and lime zest to the eggs and whisk together until combined and smooth. Pour the filling over the base and bake for 20-30 minutes or until just set.

I opted for the zest and juice of one large lime. I find that, in combination with the zest in the shortbread crust, is the perfect amount of lime. Definitely lime flavored but not too overpowering. That said, if you LOVE lime and want more of a tart flavor, add a bit more zest and juice.

SERVING AND STORING LIME SLICE

Once baked, allow the bars to cool slightly at room temperature then transfer them to the fridge to cool completely. They are best enjoyed and stored cold.

Before serving, remove your lime slice from the fridge and dust them with lots of powdered sugar. The powdered sugar makes them look pretty and rounds out that tart-sweetness!

Tangy sweet lime bars topped with powdered sugar with a knife nearby.
A stack of yellow lime bars featuring specks of lime zest and a buttery shortbread crust.
A close up of creamy, tart lime slice with a bite taken out of it!

It’s still August so there’s plenty of time left to enjoy this creamy, tropical lime slice this summer! Even though it tastes like summer, the buttery shortbread crust and creamy, delicious filling will definitely make you want to eat it year round!

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Lime Slice

  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 9–12 squares 1x
  • Category: Desserts, Bars
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Easy and super flavorful Lime Slice! Made with a rich, buttery lime shortbread, the creamiest tangy-sweet lime filling, and topped off with powdered sugar. 

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE LIIME SHORTBREAD CRUST

  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • zest of one lime
  • 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, very cold

FOR THE FILLING

  • zest of one large lime
  • juice of one large lime
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 3 eggs

FOR THE DECORATION

  • powdered sugar

Instructions

FOR THE LIME SHORTBREAD CRUST

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8 inch square pan with parchment paper. Place two overlapping strips going in either direction with some parchment hanging over both sides of the pan will make the bars easier to remove from the pan once cooked.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the sugars, flour, salt, vanilla and lime zest. Add the butter and pulse until dough just comes together and resembles wet, coarse breadcrumbs. Use your fingers or the back of a spoon to press the mixture into the base of the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

FOR THE FILLING

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the sugar, cornstarch, heavy cream, lime juice and lime zest. Whisk together until combined and smooth. Pour the filling over the base and bake for 20-30 minutes or until just set.
  2. Allow to cool at room temperature then place it in the fridge for  2 hours or until firm. Dust with plenty of powdered sugar and cut into squares or slices. Store in the fridge. 

Keywords: lime, limes, citrus, shortbread, bars, squares, slice

Blueberry Blondies

by

A batch of lemon blueberry blondies cut into squares and topped with sweet lemon icing.

Blueberry Blondies….because moist, golden blondies are always a good idea, especially with fresh lemon juice, zest, and a hint of cardamom. Studded with a generous cup of fresh, in season blueberries, these bars are finished with the easiest sweet-tart lemon icing. They’re gooey, buttery, so pretty and the perfect sweet treat for summer days!

BLONDIES

When I think of gooey, buttery desserts, brownies such as my rich tahini brownies or s’mores brownies automatically come to mind. That said, I do love a good blondie! I don’t know if I’d go as far as this bold article from delish.com which argues why blondies are better than brownies (!) but I do agree that blondies are pretty great!

My favorite point the author makes is that blondies are almost always homemade which is something I never thought about. It’s so true though, you almost never see boxed blondie mixes!

I recently made my flavorful coconut butterscotch blondies and realized they were the only blondie recipe on my site. I decided it was time for a new blondie recipe and was excited to try them with blueberries!

Delicious blueberry lemon blondies with lots of blueberries and lemon icing and glaze on top.

BAKING WITH BLUEBERRIES

There’s something so warm and comforting about baking with blueberries. They’re juicy, delicious and just lovely to bite into! Whenever I bake with blueberries, I almost always include lemon. Both their flavors and colors are so bright, cheery, and summery that I always want to pair them together. My Lemon Blueberry Baked Donuts are so tender and flavorful and these Lemon Blueberry Muffins are as close to bakery style as I’ve come with any muffin so far!

Blondies are typically on the rich side and desserts with blueberries are usually lighter and fresher which lands these blueberry blondies somewhere in between. They’re super moist and buttery yet full of juicy, fresh flavor! The blueberries almost give these blondies a bit of a a coffee cake taste to them. Does that mean it’s okay to have blondies for breakfast?!

In addition to vanilla, these blondies are flavored with one of my favorite spices: cardamom. You can’t quite pinpoint cardamom’s flavor, but it adds to the warmth and can’t put it down flavor of these bars!

Brown sugar in a blue bowl next to some melted butter in a white bowl.

HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY LEMON BLONDIES?

The fact that these bars are super easy to throw together makes them perfect for summertime! They’re an easy, sweet treat that lets you keep things simple and leaves you tons of time to be outdoors.

To make them, start by combining melted butter and brown sugar. Whisk in an egg and some vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and blueberries and mix just til combined then pour it into your pan.

That’s it! Two bowls, well you could even skip the bowl for the dry ingredients and add everything directly to the wet mixture. Also, no mixer. It’s that easy. The batter seriously comes together in minutes, does not take much effort and leaves you with a minimal mess to clean up.

Blondies cut into squares next to a small bowl of blueberries and lemon halves.
White lemon icing with lots of lemon zest in a white bowl with a spoon in it.

EASY LEMON ICING

I can attest to the fact that these blondies are delicious plain! That said, I loved the added sweetness of this easy lemon icing. It also brings out all the lemon flavor inside the bars!

To make the icing, you just stir together some powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest until smooth. No need to sift the powdered sugar since it’ll pretty much dissolve/melt with the lemon juice.

Delicious lemon blueberry blondies topped with a lemon glaze and some icing and blueberries nearby.

Use a spoon to just drizzle the icing over the cooled bars. If you prefer your icing on the thicker side and find that the spoon doesn’t drizzle the icing the way you’d like, try a sandwich bag. Just scoop or pour the icing into a little bag and snip a little corner. Use the bag to pipe/drizzle the icing over the bars.

This tart, sweet icing is the same icing I used for both my Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars and Sour Cream Lemon Cookies! They’re so delicious and so are these donuts!

Blondies with baked blueberries and lemon with a spoon and lemon halves nearby.
A close up of golden, blondies baked with fresh blueberries and lemon lemon.
Lemon icing drizzled on top of a batch of blondies baked with blueberries.

Warm, tender, sweet and moist, these blueberry blondies are proof that fruit goes well with blondies. Make them when you’re craving something fruity, gooey and delicious!

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Blueberry Blondies

★★★★★ 4.5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 33 minutes
  • Total Time: 53 minutes
  • Yield: 12 to 16 blondies 1x
  • Category: Desserts, Bars
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These moist, gooey Blueberry Blondies are full of lemon flavor and bursting with fresh blueberries. Flavored with vanilla and cardamom and finished with a sweet-tart lemon icing! 

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1 cup blueberries

FOR THE LEMON ICING

  • 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted, plus more if needed to thicken
  • 1 1/4 tablespoons lemon juice
  • zest of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8 x 8 inch square pan with enough parchment paper to create an overhang of at least two inches on two sides.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter with the brown sugar until combined. Add the vanilla, lemon zest and the egg and whisk to combine. With a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.
  4. Pour the batter into the baking pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
  5. Bake for 30-33 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs when inserted in the center of the blondies. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow blondies to cool completely in the pan.

FOR THE LEMON ICING

  1. In a medium sized bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Add the lemon zest and juice and use a whisk or spoon to combine. Add additional powdered sugar as needed to thicken the icing. 

Keywords: blueberries, blondies, fruit, bars, cardamom

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Pretzel Bars

by

No special equipment or advanced baking skills needed to make these Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Pretzel Bars! These bars are so delicious and surprisingly EASY to make even with homemade chocolate caramel involved! You’ll love every bite of the tender shortbread and salty pretzels all covered in gooey chocolate caramel. SO Good. Top with sea salt if desired!

ONE OF A KIND DESSERT

So…you know how millionaire bars are layers of shortbread, caramel and chocolate. These Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bars start with a shortbread base with crushed pretzel baked in it and are topped with chocolate caramel and more pretzels!

Slightly different than Twix bars, but they taste a lot like them! In my opion they’re better than a Twix, because they’re so fresh!

ABOUT THE LAYERS

SHORTBREAD WITH BAKED-IN PRETZELS

First up: tender, buttery shortbread baked with pretzels pressed on top! I love a shortbread base and opted for the same recipe as the base in my Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars with the addition of pretzels! The pretzels add both saltiness and crunch!

The shortbread only takes a few minutes to whip up in a mixer then you just press it into a pan. Press about a cup of chopped, crushed, or whole pretzels into the dough before popping it into the oven.

It’s best to make this shortbread layer since you’ll want to let it cool completely before adding the chocolate caramel.

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SAUCE

Nothing not to love about homemade caramel sauce but it only gets better when you add more flavor! I was lucky to have some extra maple syrup on my hands this past winter and made some amazing maple caramel sauce with it! That sauce went on everything from carrot cake to ice cream!

Naturally chocolate caramel had to be next and it IS as dreamy as you’d expect it to be! To make it, you just proceed with a caramel recipe as you normally would and stir chocolate it at the end.

TIPS FOR MAKING HOMEMADE CARAMEL SAUCE

I know caramel sauce can sound intimidating, but it’s super quick and easy especially after you’ve made it a couple of times. If you’ve never made it before, here are a few tips:

  • PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. It takes less than ten minutes to make caramel sauce, BUT you do need to WATCH for the sauce to change color so that you know when to add the remaining ingredients.
  • BE ORGANIZED. Make sure you have all your ingredients and tools nearby BEFORE you start. You’ll start with the sugar, water and corn syrup, but definitely have the remaining ingredients measured out and next to the stove. I even position my ingredients in the order that I’ll need them so that I don’t have to refer to my recipe to know what to add. Just a little visual clue.
  • KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR. For this chocolate caramel recipe, we want to heat the sugar, water and corn syrup until it’s medium amber. Since people’s ideas of color is different, it’s definitely helpful to have a clear idea of what color you’re going for. Bon Appetit has this cool post on The Caramel Spectrum complete with pictures. It’s especially helpful since we’re not using a thermometer to tell us what stage our caramel is in.
  • USE A POT WITH TALL SIDES AND DON’T BE SURPRISED WHEN YOUR CARAMEL HISSES! The hot caramel will definitely bubble up and sputter when you add the cream and butter, so it’s good to expect that. It’s also good to use a pot with tall sides so that you don’t get burned and it doesn’t bubble over.

Once the shortbread has cooled completely, pour the still-warm chocolate caramel over top. You don’t have to spread it too much since it will spread on its own. Top with pretzels and/or flaky sea salt! You can load the top with pretzels or keep it simple and not add a ton.

Keep in mind the pretzels have salt so it’s best not to go overboard with the sea salt!

CUTTING THE BARS

I find it easier to cut the bars when they’re out of the pan. To remove them from the pan, just lift the parchment paper and transfer the bars to a cutting board. Use a long, sharp knife and cut the bars as big or small as you’d like.

Sweet, gooey, salty, crunchy, chocolatey and delicious! These chocolate caramel shortbread pretzel bars are completely homemade and are definitely the perfect treat for any time of the year!

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Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Pretzel Bars

  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 8–16 bars 1x
  • Category: Desserts, Baking
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These gooey, salty, sweet chocolate caramel shortbread pretzel bars are completely homemade and are definitely the perfect treat for any time of the year! 

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE SHORTBREAD BASE

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 7 tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup chopped pretzels

FOR THE SALTED CHOCOLATE CARAMEL

  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped 
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 ounces chocolate, dark or bittersweet, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8 or 9 inch square pan with parchment paper with paper hanging over the sides.
  2. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed for about a minute until creamy. Add the flour, sugar, egg and vanilla and beat on high for 2 minutes.
  3. Press dough into prepared pan. Press the pretzels pieces gently into/on top of the dough and bake for 20-25  minutes. Rotate pan halfway after about ten minutes. Place the pan on a rack and cool completely before adding the caramel. You can place the pan in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. Just be sure to place a kitchen towel down so you don’t damage the fridge with the hot pan!
  4. Prepare caramel. 

FOR THE SALTED CHOCOLATE CARAMEL

  1. In a saucepan with tall sides, stir to combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat and allow to cook/bubble without stirring. Gently lift and swirl the pan a few times to help the ingredients cook evenly. Cook until caramel turns light to medium amber (about 8 to 10 minutes) then remove from heat.
  2. Immediately but carefully add the heavy cream followed by the butter, salt and vanilla and finally the chocolate. The mixture will bubble and hiss with the addition of these ingredients. Stir with a whisk, spatula or wooden spoon until smooth.
  3. Pour mixture over the cooled shortbread. Top with sea salt and or crushed pretzels. Allow caramel to cool and set before cutting. Pull up on parchment paper to remove from pan. Set bars on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut them. 

 

Notes

Allow extra time for shortbread to cool and for caramel to set. 

Keywords: Caramel, chocolate caramel, pretzels, bars, shortbread, dark chocolate, sea salt

Peanut Butter Butterscotch Bars

by

Peanut butter butterscotch bars are THE perfect dessert for those of us who wish peanut butter balls were around year round. All the sweet, creamy taste of peanut butter and melted chocolate and butterscotch on top of a peanut butter and graham cracker crust! These bars are gooey, rich and decadent. They also happen to be super easy, no bake and very pantry friendly.

ABOUT PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERSCOTCH BARS

My grandmother’s amazing peanut butter ball recipe was a big hit with my fellow peanut butter ball lovers when I shared it last December! It’s amazing because the balls are coated in both melted chocolate AND melted butterscotch. It makes the coating extra thick and delicious!

These peanut butter butterscotch bars are my grandmother’s peanut butter balls in bar form. Similar recipe and steps but even easier because you don’t need to form or coat any balls. It’s just two delicious layers in a pan. Yum!

HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER BARS

To make these bars, you’ll just make the base. Unlike a lot of other bar recipes, there’s no need to bake the crust. Just top it with the melted chocolate mixture, pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours and they’re ready to slice and enjoy!

NO BAKE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

For the base, you’ll first mix together:

  • powdered sugar
  • graham cracker crumbs
  • melted butter

Next, stir in 1 cup of peanut butter. By the way, if you love peanut butter, check out my favorite classic peanut butter cookies or if you’re a stuffed cookie fan, try these peanut butter stuffed salted brownie cookies!

Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of your parchment paper lined pan. You can use your fingers to do this. An offset spatula also works really well for this too.

MAKING THE TOPPING FOR PEANUT BUTTER BARS

Melt together the following ingredients:

  • semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • butterscotch chips
  • 2 tablespoons of peanut butter

Spread this delicious mixture on top of the base.

CHILLING THE PEANUT BUTTER BARS

Again, no bake means they go into the fridge instead of in the oven. Cover the bars with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge to firm up.

SERVING THE PEANUT BUTTER BARS

Once chilled, use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Slice and serve! The bars are best eaten straight from the fridge, if possible.

These peanut butter butterscotch bars come together in just a few simple steps. Filled with chocolate, butterscotch and lots of peanut butter, they will satisfy any sweet tooth, any time of the year!

For more delicious peanut butter recipes, check out my:

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Peanut Butter Butterscotch Bars

  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
  • Yield: 16–24 squares 1x
  • Category: Dessert, Baking
  • Method: No Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Easy Peanut Butter Butterscotch Bars are the best no bake treat! They feature decadent layers of peanut butter and graham crackers, chocolate and butterscotch! They’re sweet, rich and totally delicious! 

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, salted or unsalted, melted
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs, from about 8 full sheets
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup peanut butter plus 2 tablespoons, divided
  • 1/2  cup butterscotch chips
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar. Add 1 cup of peanut butter. Stir mixture together and press evenly into the bottom of a pan using your fingers or an offset spatula. 
  3. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut butter with the chocolate and butterscotch chips in the microwave using 30 second bursts. Stir well after each interval. Continue until mixture is smooth and melted. 
  4. Pour the chocolate mixture over peanut butter layer and spread evenly. 
  5. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours, or until firm. Best if enjoyed straight from the fridge and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Keywords: Peanut Butter Bars, No bake, butterscotch, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, chocolate, peanut butter, dessert

Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars

by

sliced fresh strawberry crumble bars drizzled with lemon icing.

These roasted strawberry crumb bars have a soft, buttery crust and crumbly topping and are filled with a layer of sweet roasted strawberries. Topped with strawberry slices and a drizzle of a simple, two ingredient tangy-sweet lemon glaze, they make the prettiest strawberry bars for anytime of the day or year!

It’s not strawberry season yet, but I definitely find myself craving something fresh and bright looking and tasting. With the zest and juice of a lemon along with sweet roasted strawberries, these bars are exactly what my eyes and taste buds needed!

I know they look a little like strawberry pizza! I made these bars in a round form to give them a pie look since the roasted strawberries make it taste a little like a pie.

They are soft, sweet bars that can be eaten with a for or with your hands. You can easily bake them in a square form if you want to be able to cut them into squares.

Sliced and quartered fresh strawberry slices on parchment paper.

HOW TO ROAST STRAWBERRIES

Since it isn’t strawberry season and I can’t get fresh, local berries, I roast the strawberries to bring out more of their flavor and sweetness. I first roasted strawberries when I came up with my roasted strawberry ice cream recipe!

Roasting them is easy and worth the 15-17 minutes! Just slice them, toss them with a little sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice then lay them on a tray and put them in the oven. Stir halfway through roasting then let them cool. It’s important not to discard whatever juice they’ve given off when roasting.

Once the strawberries are cool, mash or lightly chop them. They’ll be soft after roasting and will break apart on their own when you stir them. I like to mash them but leave some little chunks. You’ll then stir in some lemon zest and corn starch for flavor and to thicken them when they bake.

Freshly roasted dark red strawberries topped with grated lemon zest and corn starch in a bowl. .

STRAWBERRY HEART TOPPING

I hadn’t planned on making strawberry hearts, but I couldn’t resist. The heart shapes are optional but they give the bars an extra sweet, feel! I made them with both small and larger strawberries before and, while I love both, I am partial to using larger berries since they stand out a bit more.

Strawberries already have somewhat of a natural heart shape, so it’s easy to turn them into heart shapes. Start by chopping the tops off, coring them and slicing them into 1/4″ slices. With a sharp paring knife, cut a small v shape in the top of your slice. Gently round the inner and outer corners of the tops. If you like, you can trim the lower sides to make them more heart shaped.

HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY CRUMBLE BARS

  1. Roast the strawberries: With your oven at 350 F, roast the strawberries. Assemble the rest of your ingredients while the strawberries are in the oven. Once roasted and cooled slightly, mash or chop the berries and add the lemon zest and corn starch.
  2. Line an 8” round pan: Line the pan with parchment paper. This will make it very easy to pop the bars out once cooled.
  3. Prepare the wet and dry ingredients: Whisk the flour and baking powder together. No need to add salt since we are using salted butter. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.
  4. Cut the flour into the flour: Use a pastry cutter or food processor for this. Make sure you use very cold butter which means don’t take it out of the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Chop the butter into small cubes and add it to a food processor. Pulse for about 20 seconds until you have little clumps of butter/flour that are about the size of peas.
  5. Put it all together: Pour the flour/butter mixture into your wet ingredients. Pour 2/3 of this into the bottom of your baking pan. Use your hands to firmly press it into the pan. Spread the roasted strawberries on top of the crust. Top with the remaining 1/3 dough. Drop it in small balls scattered throughout the top. Top with strawberry slices and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden brown.
  6. Cool: Place the pan on a cooling rack to cool. Once cool, remove by first running a knife along the edges of the pan. Stick the knife inside and gently lift the bars up. They should slide right out. Top with the easy powdered sugar lemon juice icing.
Flour and cubed butter in the bowl of a food processor.
Butter and flour mixed together in pea sized balls in a bowl.
A pan of freshly baked strawberry Crumb bars on a cooling rack next to a bowl of strawberries.

TOP WITH LEMON POWDERED SUGAR ICING

The two ingredient powdered sugar-lemon icing is the perfect way to top these dreamy bars. It brings out the lemon flavors from the filling and adds an amazing tart-sweet flavor to the top. It will definitely have you licking your fingers if you eat the bars with your hands!

I first saw the recipe for this simple icing in one of my old cookbooks. When I also noticed that both Sally’s Baking Addiction and Katiebird Bakes both used it in their strawberry bars recipes, I knew this was the perfect glaze for these bars!

Freshly sliced strawberry bars with topped with strawberries with a knife next to them.
a close up picture of a strawberry crumb bar with white lemon glaze on top.
Strawberry crumb dessert with a bite taken out of it and topped with icing.

These bars are such a treat! Whether you make them for breakfast or dessert, during strawberry season or not, I’m sure you’ll love them!

FOR MORE DELICIOUS STRAWBERRY RECIPES, TRY MY:

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Fresh strawberry crumble bars drizzled with a lemon powdered sugar icing

Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 8–16 slices or bars 1x
  • Category: Baking, Bars, Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This recipe for soft, easy Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars makes sweet, flavorful bars topped with a tart-sweet lemon icing! 

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE ROASTED STRAWBERRIES

  • 2 cups (about 1/2 lb) strawberries, hulled and halved if small or quartered if large
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon (add after roasting)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch (add after roasting)

FOR THE BASE AND TOPPING 

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 7 tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

FOR OPTIONAL STRAWBERRY DECORATIONS 

  • About 1/2 to 1 cup of washed, halved strawberries (left as halves or cut into heart shapes or some regular halves and some heart shaped halves)

FOR THE LEMON GLAZE

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions

FOR THE ROASTED STRAWBERRIES

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Toss the strawberries with the sugar, vanilla and lemon juice to coat. Place the strawberries and liquid on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 15-17 minutes, stirring halfway. Pour roasted strawberries carefully into a bowl along with their liquid and stir in the vanilla and cornstarch. Lightly mash or chop the berries then set them aside to cool. 

FOR THE BASE AND TOPPING

  1. Line the bottom of an 8″ round pan with parchment paper. Set aside. 
  2. Combine the brown sugar, egg and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. 
  3. Whisk together the flour and baking powder. Cut the cold butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or place the flour mixture and chopped butter into a food processor. Pulse for about 20 seconds until pea sized crumbs form.
  4. Pour the sugar mixture into the flour/butter mixture. Spoon about 2/3 of this mixture into the bottom of the baking pan. Use your hands to firmly press the mixture down so that it is good and compact. Spread the roasted strawberries evenly over the base. Top with the reserved 1/3 of the crumb mixture. It might clump together. Break the dough into little balls and scatter them throughout the top. 
  5. Add sliced strawberries or heart shaped strawberry slices to the top. Add as many or as little as you like. 
  6. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden. 
  7. Remove from oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. Cool it at room temperature or place it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. 
  8. Once cooled, stir the lemon juice and sifted powdered sugar together and drizzle over the entire crumble or over individual slices. 

 

 

Keywords: Strawberries, dessert, icing, lemon, zest, powdered sugar, roasted strawberries, crumb, crumble, bars

White Chocolate Blackberry Coffee Cake

by

A close up of white chocolate blackberry cake squares filled with freshly baked purple blackberries.

This easy white chocolate blackberry coffee cake recipe has been my go to this holiday season! Delicious and gorgeous, you won’t believe how easy it is to make! Eggs and brown sugar make this blackberry white chocolate coffee cake moist while maple syrup and melted white chocolate add the perfect amount of sweetness. Go ahead and enjoy this treat for both dessert and breakfast!

Blackberry chocolate cake squares stacked on top of each other with blackberries peaking out.

My favorite part has to be the blackberries. I had some leftover from a cheese board I had made and decided to bake something with them! They bake into a gorgeous, festive crimson color. They are lovely, wintry looking and so pretty to see popping out of each piece.

If you have extra berries, feel free to add them to the batter! I stopped at 1 1/4 cups, but it’d be yummy with even more berries! Baked, fresh, or frozen, I love using berries in the kitchen! Actually, I like using any kind of fruit! My pear and peach upside down cake is a definite must-bake if you like baking with fruit.

You can’t see the chocolate, but you’ll love knowing there’s a whole cup of white chocolate baked inside. It gives the cake a rich, sweet taste and, along with the brown sugar, makes it super moist.

A measuring cup overflowing with fresh blackberries.

HOW TO MAKE WHITE CHOCOLATE BLACKBERRY CAKE

1. Butter and line the pan with parchment paper. Lining the pan is optional but recommended. I like to leave parchment hanging from two sides to make it easier to lift them out of the pan once cooled. If you want to cut and serve them directly from the pan, there’s no need to line the pan.

2. Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder and salt so that the dry ingredients are combined and free of lumps.

3. Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave. It’s a good idea to set the power at 50% so that you don’t burn the chocolate. After 30 seconds, give them a stir and put them back in the microwave. Give them another stir and heat again (if necessary) until the chips are just melted and the chocolate is shiny and smooth. Set it aside to cool slightly.

4. Mix the eggs and sugar until they’re creamy. This takes about a minute. Next, add in the maple syrup. Just a teaspoon and a half adds a lovely, subtle flavor. Finally, mix in the white chocolate.

5. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix in the rest of the ingredients. Alternatively add the dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed. Finally, gently fold in the blackberries. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake! Rotate it halfway through so that it cooks evenly.

Melted white chocolate being poured into blackberry cake batter.
A spatula stirring a gorgeous white chocolate cake batter in a mixing bowl.
White Chocolate blackberry Cake batter in a pan with lots of blackberries peaking out.

COOLING AND CUTTING

Once baked, let the cake cool completely in the pan. I was running late the first time I made them, so I cut them before they cooled. This caused the tops to crinkle a little, so if you have time, definitely let them cool before cutting. They can be cut into 9 squares or up to 16 squares, depending on the size. For 16 even squares, start by cutting the cake in half and then cutting the two sides in half. Turn the pan sideways and repeat.

HOW TO SERVE IT

If you want handholdable, smaller pieces, cut the cake into smaller squares. This is great if you are serving multiple desserts or a dessert buffet. I also love my coconut butterscotch bars for this type of easy-to-eat dessert.

This cake is also super delicious served with ice cream on top. In this case, it’s nice to serve them in larger squares. If you have blackberries leftover, they make a tasty, beautiful garnish!

A freshly baked piece of white chocolate cake with a baked blackberry oozing out.

Hope you love eating and sharing this insanely good white chocolate blackberry coffee cake as much as I do! Make one for dessert and have leftovers with coffee the next morning!

For more berry-filled dessert that’ll go great with your coffee, make my upside down blackberry cupcakes and my roasted strawberry crumb bars!

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White Chocolate Blackberry Coffee Cake

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 8–12 (depending on the size) 1x
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This easy recipe for white chocolate blackberry coffee cake makes the most delicious dessert! Enjoy them for breakfast, a snack or dessert, everyone loves these treats!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1  1/4 cup blackberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter then line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper.
  2. Place the white chocolate chips in a bowl and microwave on 50% power at 30 second intervals. Stir well in between intervals and heat until chips are melted and smooth. Set aside to let cool slightly.
  3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  4. In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on medium for about 1 minute, until the mixture is creamy. Add the maple syrup followed by the melted chocolate. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, alternatively add the dry ingredients and the milk. Gently stir in the blackberries.
  5. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Bake until a toothpick, when inserted in the center of the bars, comes out dry (a few crumbs are ok). Allow to cool completely in the pan. 

Keywords: white chocolate, blackberries, bars, squares, dessert, maple syrup

Coconut Butterscotch Bars

by

A knife cutting into a batch of soft, chewy, crackly topped butterscotch bars.

This recipe for Coconut Butterscotch Bars makes the BEST butterscotch bars! You know blondies are good when you can actually SEE how chewy they are from the picture. You’ll love the unique flavor that the coconut adds and these crazy good bars happen to be one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever make.

ABOUT THE RECIPE

I was flipping one of my grandmother’s recipe books the other day and found a sheet of paper with a recipe for butterscotch bars written on it. I don’t know where she got the recipe but I used it as a starting point for these bars. I changed the amount of flour and salt and added one additional ingredient: coconut.

COCONUT + VANILLA= FLAVOR!!

This recipe has 3/4 cup of coconut which is enough to give a subtle, unique flavor to this classic bar. You’ll also love the flavor the two teaspoons of vanilla gives these bars!

Brown sugar in a mixing bowl and in a measuring cup.

DELICIOUS AND CHEWY BROWN SUGAR

This recipe for coconut butterscotch bars has TWO cups of brown sugar! You can bet these bars are chewy and yummy thanks to all that brown sugar! The brown sugar also adds a sweet, delicious flavor since it has molasses in it.

I used light brown sugar. If you want more of a molasses flavor, use dark brown sugar. Curious about the difference between light and dark brown sugar? The Kitchn has a good article with EVERYTHING you may have wondered about brown sugar.

A pan filled with Coconut butterscotch bar batter.

GETTING THE BARS IN AND OUT OF THE PAN

The batter is pretty sticky and somewhat thick. It’s best to use a wooden spoon to spread it and to make sure it’s spread evenly.

The best way to get the bars out of the pan is use parchment paper that hangs over the edges of your pan. The parchment makes it possible for you to easily lift the bars out of the pan! Parchment paper also makes cleanup easier!

A close up picture of a knife cutting into freshly made coconut butterscotch bars.
Freshly baked and cut coconut butterscotch blondie bars ready to be eaten

It’s easiest to slice the bars once they’re out of the pan and while they’re still slightly warm. They can be eaten warm or at room temperature.

They are amazing served with a scoop of ice cream on top! I tried it with vanilla and it’s so, so good. Next time, I’ll add a scoop of butterscotch swirl!

a stack of moist, chewy coconut butterscotch blondie bar squares sprinkled with coconut

ADDING COCONUT

People love the unexpected taste of coconut when they bite into these bars!

To give people a hint as to what’s inside them, reserve 1/4 of the coconut and sprinkle it on top of the batter right before you put it in the oven. The coconut takes on a butterscothy color and looks so cool.

an overhead view of a stack of coconut butterscotch blondie bar squares sprinkled with coconut
a freshly baked coconut butterscotch blondie bar square with a bite taken out of it.

Depending on how you slice them, this recipe 12 large bars or up to 24 smaller pieces. You won’t believe how easy these Coconut Butterscotch Bars are to make. You almost don’t want to know how easy they are because you’ll be tempted to make them on a regular basis!

FOR MORE BUTTERSCOTCH RECIPES, TRY MY:

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sliced butterscotch bars on brown parchment paper on a cutting board

Coconut Butterscotch Blondie Bars

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 12 large or 24 small bars 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Try this recipe for quick and easy Coconut Butterscotch Blondie Bars! They’re soft and chewy and coconut and butterscotch are crazy delicious together!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 cup grated coconut
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups brown sugar, packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 x 13″ baking pan and line it with parchment paper.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 2 minutes.

4. Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the coconut.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Keywords: butterscotch, bars, brownies, blondies, dessert