Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars

Crust & Topping:
2 cups Oats
½ cup nuts (optional)
1 ¾ cups flour
¾ tsp. Salt
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ tsp. Baking soda

Combine and beat on low speed until well blended. You can add up to 2 tsp. Water if mixture is too dry. Reserve 2 loose cups for topping and press the rest into the bottom of a greased 9x13 cake pan.

Filling:
1 (8 oz) pkg. Cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. Water
1 cup chocolate chips or M&M’s

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and water together until blended smooth. Spread over the bottom crust and sprinkle with the chocolate chips, M&M or chocolate candy of your choice.

Topping:
Sprinkle the reserved 2 cups over the pan while crumbling with your fingers as needed. There will be cream cheese and chocolate pieces “peeking through”.

Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before cutting and removing from the pan.

Pumpkin Spice Bars

Pumpkin Spice Bars

4 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 can (16 ounces) pumpkin
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup raisins (I don’t add these)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350°. Grease jelly roll pan, 15½ x 10½ x 1 inch. Beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cloves. Mix in raisins (if using). Pour batter into pan. Bake until light brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool; frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. Sprinkle with nuts*. Cut into bars. About 2 x 1½ inches. Refrigerate any remaining bars. The nuts can be toasted before sprinkled on the cake. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Blackberry Brownies

Such a yummy use for blackberries, and its like those annoying seeds just melted away! Fabulous dessert!

3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup butter, melted and divided in half (I just melted 1/3 cup twice)
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1-1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
approx. 2 pints blackberries (raspberries would probably be just as tasty)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 9X13-inch baking pan.

Stir together cocoa and baking soda in mixing bowl; add 1/3 cup butter, mixing well. Add all the boiling water and stir until mixture thickens. Stir in sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup butter. Add flour, vanilla, and salt. Blend completely. Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Gently place blackberries on top of batter. Cover berries with the remaining batter.

Bake 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out without goop about 2 in. from edge of pan. Good warm, even better cooled.