Pumpkin Cinnamon Bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25-35 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur Flour

This recipe can be made with pumpkin butter or apple butter. I had to make pumpkin butter since I only had canned pumpkin on had. That is not included in the prep time, because next time I'll probably use apple or pumpkin butter already made to keep things simple.

These were absolutely delicious. They were very moist but dense, sort of like a brownie. The flavor was great. I made these 3 months ago so I don't remember why, but I know I didn't drizzle the frosting but instead spread it over the top. Maybe because there was a lot. It was a very thin layer though, so not too much.

I probably won't make these again until next Fall, but this is a great quick bar cookie recipe. On second thought if I saw some apple or pumpkin butter at the store I would probably make them soon because I am remember now how good they were.

Cream Cheese Brownies

Prep Time: 23 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Cool Time: 2 hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (July 2014)

I actually made these months ago, but as usual am behind on adding them here.

This is the second time Cook's Illustrated did a Cream Cheese brownie, but the last time was 1999. I remember liking the last recipe, but I don't have it anymore, so I'm not sure what is different about this one.

This one was good, so I would just use this one again in the future.

Triple Chocolate Brownies (Lighter)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (January 2012)

The annual "light" issue always includes lighter desserts. I'm not a big fan of those.  I think I'm better off eating less desserts but enjoying them in full. However, the idea of using black beans in brownies has been around for a while now and I've always wanted to try it.

These are really good. They are extremely moist and fudgy which is the way I like my brownies. The recipe only used 1/4 of black beans, so they are definitely hidden. It allows you to only use 1/2 stick of butter for the recipe.

I would definitely make these again. The only issue is using only 1/4 c. of black beans. I can use up the rest of the can, but that is still a tiny bit of a downside in my mind.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Cool Time: 1+ hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (September 2011)

I really liked these. I hadn't been in love with America's Test Kitchen version, but that may have been because of the low sugar jam I used. This recipe was slightly different. It doesn't have any peanut butter in the recipe, but it added peanut butter chips to the topping. It also had chopped peanuts, which I didn't mind at all. I used a strawberry preserve for the jelly and it was all very good.

I froze them after baking, and so far I've had one, and it was still good. 

Dream Bars

Crust Prep Time: 8 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Topping Prep Time: 8 minutes
Bake Time: 35-40 minutes
Cool Time: 2 hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Best of America's Test Kitchen 2010

I'm not sure where this recipe first appeared.  The author was from Cook's Country but I don't find this on that website. It may be from this Baking book.

I found a copy of the recipe here: Dream Bars

Anyway, these were absolutely delicious.  You must like coconut to enjoy these.  They are rich and delicious.  I have to admit to skipping the pecans in the topping.  I did add them to the crust.  I don't love pecans and I actually burned them during toasting, since I left the kitchen and forgot!  They were fine without, but the nuts probably added a little structure. 

The recipe is super simple.  It takes a bit of time to go through the steps, but only 16 minutes of work.  (Although probably actually more if want to toast the pecans and not burn them.)

I'm not sure how well these freeze yet, but if that works, this might go to an A+ recipe.

Chewy Brownies

Prep Time: 18 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: C

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (March 2010)

This is a first - I have never not liked a brownie recipe before. The problem for me is that I could actually taste the oil used in the brownie. I guess it is the combination of the oil and butter that makes them chewy - and they were chewy.

These aren't horrible, and they did taste better then 2nd day. However, the taste was not as good as I've had, and I found the recipe a bit fussy since you had to add both butter and oil. I can use any other brownie recipe from America's Test Kitchen, King Arthur Flour or Everyday food, so these will definitely not be made again.

Fudge Brownies

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40-45 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Baker's Banter (King Arthur Flour)

I've already reviewed many brownie recipes (that I love) but I'm always willing to try a new one! This one is very good. There is a little bit more work than some because you heat the butter and dissolve the sugar in it, but still fairly easy. I like a fudgy brownie, so this is a recipe I will definitely use again.

Melting Mint Brownies

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hour
Icing Time: 10 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur's Flour Baker's Banter Blog

These are pretty good, but I give them a "-" because the brownie itself is nothing great. The icing is what makes these good, I think. It is an all-cocoa brownie, and I usually like recipes that use melted chocolate, and those that are a little fudgier. But the icing/glaze has some butter in it, and is really rich and with the mint adds more flavor. They are pretty too, without much effort, so I liked that aspect of these.

7 Layer Bars

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Maybe w/ changes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2007)

These are a little bit different than the easy recipe from on the can of the sweetened condensed milk. The recipe adds toffee bits to the crust (good change), toasts the nuts and coconut (good), adds milk chocolate and rice krispies (fine, but couldn't tell the diff) and also used twice as much condensed milk (maybe not such a good change). I felt like these were just a little bit too gooey. And while I didn't mind the extra chocolate, I'm not sure it added much, so I might skip that step along with the cereal. Of course they tasted good, but just not sure all the updates are necessary.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes

Grade: B-

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Best of America's Test Kitchen 2009

I am guessing this recipe is in the Baking Book from ATK, but I don't know, because they don't tell you in the 2009 Best of edition. For this reason, and also because there are not as many pictures, I am slightly disappointed in the book. It is OK, I still think buying this book is smarter for me, then buying all of their new books, since they have so much overlap. However, it just is not as nice as the 2007 and 2008 editions.

I'm really surprised at how underwhelmed I was by this recipe. I was sure I would love it. To be fair, the jam I used is not that flavorful (an Organic strawberry jam from Trader Joe's.) It probably would have been better with a sweeter jam. I really found the unbaked dough (which, yes, I did try) to be very tasty, so I assumed the cookie would be too. I almost wonder if I should try again with a better jam, but then I think - I have so many recipes to try, I probably won't. There are other PB cookies I like, so I will probably pass on this one. I do think part of my problem was the chopped peanuts, since I don't love nuts in baked goods.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 17-19 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (December 2006)

These are pretty good, although maybe a bit rich. The reason they take 25 to prep is that you need to brown the butter, but otherwise this is a simple bar recipe cookie. But it is not simpler than the "light" oatmeal cookies from Best Light Recipe which I is an excellent cookie, so I'm not sure how much I would make these.

Strawberry Pretzel Bars

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Assemble: 1 hour (with chilling of gelatin)
Chill Time: 4 hours

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (June 2005)

Some of the times above can be overlapped. This is kind of similar to a jello recipe that uses crushed pretzels. I liked it, but my crust was too crumbly. Maybe I measured the butter wrong or didn't cook enough. I have never used plain gelatin before and like it. I like the idea of making my own with my own flavors. For the grape juice, I used extra juice from Trader Joe's peaches, which worked well. I used a little more water and less juice than called for because the juice seems a bit reduced to me. It worked out OK.

Cinnamon Apple Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 35-40 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

This recipe also includes a peanut-butter honey glaze, which I am sure is delicious, but I skipped, to save on calories. I liked these a lot. I could detect the whole wheat flour a little though, which is why I give this recipe a "-" instead of just an A. I am discovering that anything made with cinnamon chips is a winner for me. I'm so glad I was able to find them at my local Super Target.

Golden Cinnamon-Pumpkin Bars

Prep Time: 21 minutes
Cook Time: 30-45 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

I wasn't sure if I liked these right away, but I did end up really liking them, after they cooled completely. The pumpkin flavor was more subtle by then, and the cinnamon became more pronounced.

Classic Brownies

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (March 2004)

This recipe is somewhat similar to the One-Bowl recipes found on the Baker's square box, but uses more sugar, chocolate and eggs. CI doesn't like Baker's chocolate, but it is what I am used to for brownies, so I don't mind it.

Lemon-Oat Squares

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

These were good and fairly easy, but it does involve getting out the food processor to process some oatmeal. I really liked the crust on this. And the filling was easy using sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. A nice way to get lemon flavor but easier (and better, I think) than lemon squares.

Banana Chocolate Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Rest Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 35-40 minutes
Rest Time: overnight

Grade: B-

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

These were ok, and again, definitely are better after letting rest (like the brownies). But I think the cinnamon might be too much in this. Also, I think I might just mix the chocolate chips in to the batter, instead of sprinkling on top. The recipe called for pecans (I think) to sprinkle with the chocolate, but I skipped those. The texture was a little more cakey than I like, and this was in the "Bar Cookie" category, so I didn't like it as much as I expected. I should also add that I didn't use spelt flour as called for, so that may be why.

Update: I decided after a while to toss those remaining in my freezer. I just didn't love the cinnamon banana flavor combination I think. I prefer most of the other baked goods from this book more.

Double Chocolate Brownies (Whole Wheat)

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rest Time: 24 hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

Part of the prep time is waiting for the butter sugar mixture to cool, so these really don't take much time. Actually, it could have been quicker if I was willing to move the mixture to a bowl after cooking in my pan. But I was enamored with the idea of not dirtying a single bowl when making these, so I waited. It is so easy cleaning my non-stick saucepan, I just like the idea of only having to wash that!

I did try these out of the oven before waiting for the rest to soften the bran. I thought they tasted pretty good then, but a little crunchy. The overnight wait really did soften the bran and these were very good. Of course, brownies don't have a lot of flour in them, so using whole wheat doesn't have a huge impact.

Actually, the interesting thing to me is that a brownie made with only cocoa would taste this good. I've always used unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate with possibly some cocoa added, so I was wondering about the flavor, but it worked. Well, to be clear, these are made with chocolate chips mixed in, but the base of the brownie is just made with the Dutch cocoa. I do like these, but who knows if I will make them again. I have a million brownie recipes I like. (I truly don't understand why people make them from box mixes, because they are so easy to make from scratch and probably take about two minutes more effort. this way.)

Almond Fruit Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (September 2003)

This is really nice little bar cookie that is easy to make but somewhat impressive with it's layers. It calls for sliced almonds, but I used slivered, that I processed a bit in the food processor, so they were smaller.

There is a Cook's Illustrated recipe for Raspberry bars that is maybe better, but it is a more complicated recipe. This is very quick, and very tasty, so this is usually my choice when I want to make this type of cookie.

Caramel Brownies

Prep Time: 37 minutes
Cook Time: 35 - 40 minutes
Cool Time: 3-4 hours

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2006)

I wish I had a better picture of these, but since I didn't really cook my caramel enough, it was too runny. This picture is of a frozen brownie, actually, otherwise, the caramel would be dripping even more.

This recipe is for Turtle Brownies, but I don't like Pecans much, so I skipped the nuts. They were excellent! I have never made caramel before, and it wasn't too hard, but I did probably make one mistake. The temp never got above 340, and the color was getting pretty dark, so I decided to stop at that point instead of 360. I think my caramel is a little more gooey than it should be, but it is still okay for refrigerated brownies.

Making a caramel with water in it (from what I have read) takes longer, but I had time to prep my brownie ingredients, so it was all fine. Really, I would have guessed this recipe to take longer, so I was pleasently surprised.

These are so very delicious, and I will definitely make these again.