I've been baking this week. More specifically, baking squares for a funeral. And while I am more than happy to help, I feel as though I'm always showing up with the same old stuff, in part because I tend to bake cookies and cakes more than squares and/or muffins, so my recipe collection is a little wanting. And, just to complicate things a little more, we're asked to bring a pan that measures 9" x 13"; most of mine suit an 8" x 8" pan. Woe is me. Time for a Pinterest search.
It's a little tricky trying a recipe that you haven't made before but I started early and knew that I could bake something else if they didn't work out.
First up were these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies. Oh my! The texture is so lovely, even to the very edge of the pan, and there's no frosting required. They easily received the seal of approval from the Official Cookie Tester because he is a pumpkin aficionado so they will definitely go into the rotation.
I've been baking a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe for years but these are so much faster.
The second batch were these
Coconut Butter Bars (photo: Cookies & Cups) and believe me, they aren't fibbing about the 'butter'. I added a few extra tablespoons of flour to the crust because it just looked too saturated and I'm happy that I did. That said, they are very tasty too and also received the OCT seal of approval. I didn't get a pic before they hit the freezer so I am sharing the one that she has on her site.
The third batch (I know, I was only supposed to bake two) was a bonus for me. While hunting through mom's recipe book I found this. Anyone who grew up in our household will recognize the type. It's a page from The Baptist Church Cookbook. This was a go-to recipe book in our house, with fantastic recipes from ladies in our community and growing up I loved these squares.
It was interesting to see how much less sugar they took when compared to the two recipes that I had just made, particularly the base. It's the crust that I always think of - might be the inclusion of the egg that makes it just a little different. And well, in my book you just can't go wrong with pineapple and coconut. in my book.
When they came out of the oven I was almost giddy.
There might have been a little taste testing at breakfast the next day.
It's only a 8" pan so they get to stay with me. Such a delicious walk down memory lane....M
6 comments:
Mmm, all of those look fabulous, Marie! I can't get into pumpkin mode yet; it's still in the nineties and ripe with humidity in Florida no matter what the calendar says, but I do love baking with pumpkin in the fall. I might have to blast the air conditioner and pretend I'm in Vermont on baking day. I wonder if there are guidelines somewhere to adjust those recipes for 8 x 8 pans to fit the larger pans you want to use?
I couldn't help myself -- I googled it for you! Found advice that the volume of the 9 x 13 pan is twice that of the 8 x 8 pan and the depth is the same, so all you have to do (theoretically) is double all of the ingredient quantities and leave the baking time about the same to adapt your 8 x 8 recipes for the 9 x 13 pan. Here's the link: https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-convert-9x13-to-8x8-pan/#:~:text=The%20area%20of%20a%208x8,pan%2C%20you%20double%20the%20recipe.
I have written down all three recipes; thank you very much! In a couple of weeks, I will host our little quilting group; I'm thinking about making all three for my refreshments table. Happy Quilting!
We decided at our church not to serve cakes at funeral luncheons any longer because cakes are just messy to serve! The counter tops in the kitchen always needed to be washed off constantly. By the time the children had attended the funeral and the burial, they were no longer content to sit through the luncheon. They wanted the dessert in their hands while moving about. Now we serve cookies or bars. They are much easier to serve and much easier to clean up in our gym where people eat when luncheons are bigger than 40 people. These recipes look so delicious so I am going to copy them! Thank you for sharing. I think the first batch of the pineapple and coconut one will not be shared though. It will just be eaten by the greedy baker. I must tell the truth! Dondi
Yes. These all look great. Thanks for sharing the recipes.
I tried the pumpkin chocolate chip recipe. It's a keeper!
Post a Comment