White Chocolate Chess Squares

I always make really girly desserts, but when this time of year rolls around (V-day), I make more than usual. My reasoning behind this, there are lots of single girls who want a boyfriend and are depressed so they eat lots of sugar in hopes that their sad feelings will go away. Anyways, I know girls like dessert more than ever around this day, so I make extra girly things. One thing among the many are white chocolate butter bars, AKA: White Chocolate Chess Cake Squares, Gooey Butter Cake, etc. I'm sure you've tried this wonderful dessert, or at least have heard of it. I first saw it a few years back when I was watching a Paula Deen episode. I made them as soon as the credits came on. They have been a go-to dessert since. The only difference in these and regular chess squares is that I added white chocolate chips. You can leave them out, but I love me some white chocolate. Here's what you need

 

Butter, cream cheese, vanilla, eggs, yellow cake mix, white chocolate chips, and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and softened butter

 

Add an egg and vanilla

 

Mix together until dough forms

 

Scoop into a greased 9x13 pan. Press down to cover the bottom of the pan evenly

Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips over the bottom layer

 

In a separate bowl, beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy

 Add vanilla, melted butter, and eggs; beat until completely mixed (I would show you this step, but the eggs just make it not very pretty). Anyways, pour the batter over the white chocolate chips

 

Bake. Cool. Cut. Serve

 Store left-overs in the fridge

White Chocolate Chess Cake Squares

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

In a large bowl, beat together the cake mix and butter until well combined. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Press dough into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle white chocolate chips over the dough; set aside. 

filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 stick butter, melted

Using a mixer, beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and melted butter; mix well. Pour evenly over the white chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-50 minutes. The center should be a little gooey. Cool, cut, and serve. Store left-overs in the fridge up to 3 days.

PB&J Blondies

I don't know if yall have figured it out yet, but my sister and I are kinda obsessed with peanut butter and jelly combo. So why not put it in all of your favorite desserts?! This is just a basic blondie recipe with peanut butter and jelly swirled into it. Little kids love these and they are super easy. Of course, I got the recipe from pinterest and tweeked it a little. Ps, if you don't have pinterest.. sign up for one asap. I mean it. So here's what you'll need for these babies:

 Butter, brown sugar, an egg, vanilla, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, reese's peanut butter chips, peanut butter, and your favorite flavor jelly (I used strawberry). In a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Add packed brown sugar

Stir together; add vanilla and egg

Beat those ingredients in until well combined. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pb chips

Scoop your finished batter in a greased foil lined baking dish

Spread out evenly. Scoop tablespoonful amounts of peanut butter over the blondies

   

Fill the open spots with a generous amount of jelly

 

Using a butter knife, swirl pb and jelly into the blondie batter

Bake in a preheated oven

Let cool on a wire rack. You can see the melty pb and gooey jelly.. and these are definitely gooey. Slice and serve!

PB&J Blondies

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup pb chips

creamy peanut butter

your favorite flavor jam

In a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Add brown sugar  and mix well. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Then add in the flour, baking soda, powder, salt, and pb chips. Once well combined, scoop into a foil lined and greased 9x13 pan. Scoop desired amounts of pb and jelly over unbaked brownies. Swirl in with a butter knife. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes. Cool completely. Slice, serve, enjoy.

White Chocolate Candy Corn Blondies

Sorry the sisters haven't posted in about 94753965 or so years. I guess busy would be the word. Anyways, Halloween is right around the corner and I figured you could use some candy corn love. I honestly don't like candy corn, I just like the look of it. BUT.. I loved these blondies. I didn't think the candy corn taste was very strong. With that being said, you should give these a shot, whether you are a candy corn lover or not! Here's what you'll need

Butter, brown sugar, an egg, vanilla, flour, baking soda, salt, candy corn, and white chocolate chips. In a large bowl, combine the egg and brown sugar

Add melted butter and vanilla

Mix well; Add the remaining ingredients

Fold in, being careful not to overbeat. Here's the finished dough

Now take a spoon and try it out.. just to make sure it's edible :)

Press into a greased 8x8 baking dish

Bake until barely golden. Cool, slice, serve!

The candy corn almost melts, soo good. Happy Halloween!

White Chocolate Candy Corn Blondies

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup candy corn

1 egg
2 Tbs. vanilla
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Take an 8-inch square pan and cover in foil and spray with baking spray.
3. Cream brown sugar and egg until it's light and fluffy. Add vanilla and melted butter, mix well with electric mixer.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to the wet mixture and incorporate with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to over mix your batter.
5. Add batter to the square pan.
6. Bake for about 23-26 minutes, or until the top is flakey and blondies do not jiggle in the middle.
7. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack. Hold using foil sides and remove from square pan. Makes 16-20 blondies.

Frosted Pumpkin Blondies

I am on a roll with the pumpkin stuff now. I had half of the can left from the bread so these were necessary to make so the pumpkin wouldn't go to waste. I love blondies and pumpkin, so I made these right when I saw the recipe. The outcome was positive. The pumpkin makes the texture some what bready, so they didn't have the chewy blondie texture I was expecting, but that wasn't a bad thing, just different. Then of course, I had to add frosting and I just happened to have some cream cheese icing already made up in the fridge. I highly recommend these, especially if you need some help getting in the fall spirit :) Here's what you'll need

Butter, brown sugar, vanilla, an egg, pumpkin, flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, salt, cinnamon chips, white chocolate chips, and pecans. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add brown sugar and vanilla

 Mix well. Even after the brown sugar is mixed in, it will separate from the butter, but that is normal. Once you add more ingredients they will incorporate. Add the egg

Mix well. Stir in pumpkin

 Next, add all the remaining ingredients: flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, salt, cinnamon chips, white chocolate chips, and pecans

Carefully fold into the batter until just combined. Scoop into a foil lined (I use the non-stick foil so I don't have to spray the foil, but regular foil will work fine as long as you grease it) 9x13 pan. Spread the batter out evenly

Once finished baking, remove from oven and let the bars cool completely

 Prepare the cream cheese frosting. I've made cream cheese frosting before so here is the link to the recipe: http://kysweettoothsisters.blogspot.com/2011/04/red-velvet-cupcakes.html. If you half the recipe, you should have the perfect amount of icing. Spread the finished frosting over the cooled pumpkin blondies. Cut and serve.. with a pumpkin spice latte :) 

Store in an air-tight container (in the fridge) up to about 3 days.

Pumpkin Blondies

(adapted from 'the girl who ate everything')

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 T. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1¼ cups brown sugar
1 large egg
1 T. vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup cinnamon chips
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until sugar dissolves. Beat in the egg until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree. Add the remaining ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake about 30-35 minutes, or until the blondies no longer jiggle in the middle. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool. While cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting.

Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese

1 stick unsalted butter

2 tsp. vanilla

3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until fluffy and smooth. (Usually, when I make frosting I make sure the butter and cream cheese are soft. This time when I made the frosting, I only let the cream cheese and butter sit about about 15-20 minutes. When I started making the frosting they were both still hard, but I just beat them together for a while with the mixer and believe it or not, cream cheese frosting has never turned out better for me.) Mix in the vanilla. Lastly, add the powdered sugar about a cup at a time, beating well after each addition and making sure there are no lumps. Spread over the cooled blondies. Peel foil away from blondies, cut into 24 squares and serve! Keep stored in fridge.

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

This recipe is from Julia Goff. For those of you who do not know her, she is another amazing baker that I look up to. She shared this recipe with me the other day and I made them right away. And oh boy, these are addictive so be careful. They are super sweet, but they have small chunks of sea salt on them, which cuts the sweet a little. So it kinda cancels out the calories too :) Here's what you need

Butter, sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla, flour, caramel candies, cream, and coarse sea salt. Combine butter, sugar, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla

Beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture 

beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms

Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray. Press 1/3 of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust

 (Sorry about my hands, not the prettiest things you'll ever see..) Preheat oven to 325F. Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown, 20- 25 minutes

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. While the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream

Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth. Stir in vanilla

Pour the caramel filling over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the caramel filling

Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel

Return to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm, about 30 minutes

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Use a sharp knife to cut the bars evenly into squares

Serve. Store in an air-tight container up to 3 days. 

Salted Caramel Butter Bars
For the Crust:
1 lb. salted butter, room temp.
1 cup sugar
1½ cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs vanilla
4 cups AP flour

For the Filling:
1 bag (14 oz.) caramel candies (about 50 individual caramels)
⅓ cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 T. coarse sea salt

Beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla. Beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms. 

Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray. Press 1/3 of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust. Refrigerate the remaining dough at least 30 minutes. 

Preheat to 325F. Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown, 20- 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. 

While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour the caramel filling over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the caramel filling. Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel. Return to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. 

Use a sharp knife to cut the bars evenly into squares. Serve. Store in an air-tight container up to 3 days.

Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Mrs. Melanie Hancock introduced me to these delicious bars. I'm so glad she did! They were such a big hit and really easy. They pretty much taste like a gooey chewy reese's cup :) Here's what you'll need for the bars

Yellow cake mix, butter, vanilla, eggs, peanut butter, chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, pecans (optional), and peanut butter chips. Melt 1 stick of butter in a mixing bowl

Add in the cake mix, vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter

mix well

Press into the bottom of a 9x13 dish (reserving 1 1/2 cups for the top)

Now prepare the chocolate filling. Combine chocolate chips, condensed milk, and 2 Tbs. butter in a small pot

 Cook on medium-low, stirring constantly until all the chocolate chips are melted. Stir in vanilla and chopped pecans

Pour over the uncooked peanut butter layer.

 Crumble the reserved 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter dough on top of the chocolate. Sprinkle a handful of peanut butter chips around the top

 Bake. Remove from oven and let the bars cool

 Let the bars set up at 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve and enjoy :)

Store in an air-tight container up to about 4 days.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Combine:

1 pkg. plain yellow cake mix

1 stick melted butter

1 c. creamy peanut butter

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Press this into a 9X13 pan reserving 1 1/2 c. of the mixture to crumble on top.

Melt in pot:

1 (11.5- 12 oz) pkg. milk chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 T. butter 

Remove from heat and add:

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. coconut, chopped pecans, peanuts, walnuts (optional) (I used pecans and I barely noticed them)

Spread chocolate mixture over the mixture pressed in the pan and then crumble the 1 1/2 of reserved cake mixture on top. Sprinkle a handful of peanut butter chips around the top of that. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees. Do not let these get brown and hard (I took mine out of the oven when they were just past the 'jiggly' stage in the middle.) They are way better a little under cooked than over cooked. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Store in an sir-tight container up to 4 days.