There are certain foods from your childhood that stand out and never get old . . dishes which evoke the sweetest memories and most tender thoughts. These squares do that for me. Aunt Orabelle's Date Squares. Aunt Orabelle was one of my mother's Aunts, sister to my Grandmother. She lived up on the South Mountain back home in an old farm house, with a lino floor . . . and she had a blind horse in the field next to her house that we loved to feed carrots and apples to. She made the best donuts . . . and yes, date squares!
The lad next door turned 15 earlier this week. I have great neighbours. Good neighbours are worth their weight in gold. I wanted to make him a treat and knew that his mom would probably have gotten him a cake and so I baked these delicious Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars instead. They went down a real treat, but then these always do! No surprise there.
Boy, its hard to believe but Christmas is in just a little under three weeks. If you are like me, I am sure you are in the middle of all of your Christmas preparations . . . baking, planning, cooking, etc. I try to be so organized each year, but every year it always catches up with me and I end up not being as organized as I thought!
That is when recipes such as these Easy Lemon Brownies come in really handy. Delicious and quick to make, they are as simple as stirring a couple of things together and banging them into the oven!
Don't get all judgmental on me now . . . I am as good a baker as the next person, but let me tell you . . . cake mixes and prepared icing will always come in handy, and I . . . for one (and I know I am not alone in this) . . . happen to enjoy the convenience of these products and I am really happy that we are getting a lot more varieties of them here in the UK now!!
When I first moved over here, there was very little of these types of things available! I happen to think that they produce some very tasty cakes all on their own, but I also love to use them to bake other things.
These Easy Lemon Brownies use a Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon Cake Mix and a can of Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon Icing. I was so excited to discover these newest flavours.
And they also have a Spice Cake Mix now and I saw Strawberry Frosting the other day in the shops as well! (The wheels are turning!)
You simply mix the Zesty Lemon Cake Mix together with some melted butter and some beaten eggs and spread the batter in a pan. It's as simple as that!
Nothing could be easier. They only take 15 minutes in the oven . . . and before you know it they are cooling on the side board.
Waiting for them to cool enough so that you can spread them with that delicious Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon Icing.
I sprinkled the top with some white chocolate chips and chopped toasted walnuts to dress them up a bit. Of course you could always stir them into the batter . . . but I liked the look of them scattered over the top.
I always toast my nuts. I just think that a light toasting really helps to enhance the flavour of nuts. Do let them cool before you use them though . . .
Just look at how dense and fudgy they are . . . and they have a full on lemon flavour too. I just ADORE Lemon anything, don't you?
Uh huh . . . I thought so!
Once
cold, spread the top with the zesty lemon buttercream frosting. You
will not need it all. Scatter the chocolate chips and toasted walnuts
over top. Cut into 16 squares. Store any leftovers in an airtight
container. You can also freeze them.
These were really, really, REALLY good. So good that I (who shouldn't be really eating anything like this) ate two the day I baked them, then Todd ate two also, and then I divided up the rest into containers and gave them away, because I really don't NEED to have anything that deliciously irresitable in my house! Hot dang!
Don't say I didn't warn you! Seriously the lemon flavours of both the mix and the icing were spot on. I am going to have to go to the shops and buy another of each so I can then just bake them as a cake, because I am thinking the cake will be exceptionally tasty also. I'll make sure to bake it when the missionaries will be about. Just to make sure I don't eat it all.
You know a couple of weeks ago I was just saying how much I wished that the Betty Crocker people would get a lemon flavoured cake mix here and there it was! My wish came true! Many thanks to the people at Betty Crocker for sending me this new cake mix and the icing to try! I am so thankful to have yet another delicious flavour to add to my larder!
Dare I wish for another flavour? Hmmm . . . they have strawberry icing . . . strawberry cake mix would be good! Take Note! And a nice vanilla cake mix would also be very nice.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
This is one of my absolute favourite slices to bake. I adore coconut and I adore pecans. I also love chocolate, but then again . . . it's only the very rare woman who doesn't love chocolate! These may look complicated, but I think you will be surprised when you find out just how easy and uncomplicated they are . . .
I make a lemon cake that we are awfully fond of here in my house . . . a Lemon and Chocolate Chip Cake. It's really good, with a nice lemon flavoured cake and just a hit of chocolate chunks throughout. Lemon and chocolate are actually a very nice flavour combination. It's true.
One thing that the British do really well are biscuits, or cookies as they are known in North America. There are whole aisles in the grocery shops devoted to the British Biscuit containing every indulgence under the sun! I was quite amazed when I first moved over here and saw the variety available! It's quite mind boggling, really . . . but after 15 years I have come to have favourites amongst the lot!
We had guests for lunch the other day and I baked these delicious Rhubarb and Strawberry Slices to have for dessert. We had them along with some sliced strawberries and cream. They went down a real treat! And I am not surprised for they are truly delicious! These are S P R I N G personified!
Do you love coconut as much as I do? Buttery coconut cakes? Macaroons? Do you love Caramel? As much as I do? If you do then this is YOUR bake. You really must bake these delicious squares.
They have a rich and buttery cake/shortbread type of base . . . and everyone's favourite . . . coconut macaroon topping . . . with sweet strawberry jam baked into the centre.
They're super easy to make and store well. You can also freeze them if you don't think you can have them all eaten up within a few days.
They are not the easiest things to photograph, but don't hold that against them.
Makes 16 servings
Whisk together the egg whites, coconut and sugar for the macaroon topping. Dollop evenly over top to cover the jam. I like to just dollop it in small bits and then spread it gently with a fork.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the macaroon topping is golden. Allow to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares to serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.
I can remember when I discovered Miss Debbie's Oatmeal Cream Pies. Oh boy were they some good. It was in an American Grocery store and it was love at first bite. Two delicious flattish oatmeal cookies with a layer of marshmallow cream sandwiched in the centre. *slurp* I also liked their Star Crunch Cakes. I think most of them are available in Canada now, but when I first discovered them they were exotic to me!
I saw a recipe very similar to this on the Pillsbury site the other day. I was intrigued. Who doesn't love pie? Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies? Who would ADORE the two together? Not me, that's who! Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Pies? They sounded splendiferous!!
The two young Missionary Sisters who are serving in the Chester Ward at the moment came over today to do some service in our garden. We just love our Missionaries, we really do.
I did them some grilled cheese sandwiches for their lunch which I served them along with some potato chips and some of my cherished sweet pickles from home that I hoard.
They were really happy with that, but when I cracked open my Chocolate and Peanut Butter Squares, they were just thrilled!
I don't know anyone that wouldn't be thrilled to be faced with a plate of these. Picture it . . . you have a brown sugar, oatmeal buttery nutty fudgy cake type of base . . . partially baked . . .
Slathered with a rich sweet peanut buttery custard filling . . . and then topped with more of that brown sugar, oatmeal buttery nutty fudgy cake base, crumbled this time and mixed with oodles of milk chocolate bits and then baked again until the whole mass melds together . . .
Into something so scrumdiddlyumptious that it will be quite, quite impossible to eat just one. Seriously. Impossible.
I took a bite out of one just so I could show you how very tempting they are . . . ahem . . . tough job but somebody's got to do it!
Makes 20
350g of plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
While the base is baking, stir the chocolate chips/bits into the reserved crumb mixture and set aside.
Remove
the partially baked base from the oven. Pour the peanut butter
mixture over the base, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle the chocolate
bit crumb mixture evenly over top and press down lightly. Return the
pan to the oven and bake a further 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Allow to cool completely in the tin. Lift out and cut into squares to
serve. Store in an airtight container. Delicious!
She kissed a frog, but it didn't turn into a prince . . . so cute. That Sister Wagner is such a cutie pie.
I don't know who was braver, Sister Jones or the baby frog!
I kinda think it was the baby frog, surrounded by all of us giants. Isn't nature amazing?
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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