Maple Date Bars

There are certain recipes that I look at and immediately know that I have to make them. This recipe for maple date bars was one of those. I first saw this recipe about a month ago in an e-newsletter I receive from My Recipes. I saved it on one of my Pinterest boards so I could easily locate it whenever I decided to make it. This past weekend was that time...and it was a happy time. :) Boy are these bars tasty! I love dates (I talked about my love of dates back when I made these layered oatmeal date bars. That was this past January and I hadn't baked with dates since then! Not good. It was about time they were incorporated into a delicious creation again...welcome, maple date bars! These are a Cooking Light recipe too (so less guilt!!).

Ingredients:

-1 and 3/4 cup finely chopped pitted dates

-3/4 cup water

-1/3 cup pure maple syrup

-1 tsp. grated lemon rind (I actually omitted this because I didn't realize I didn't have lemon on hand)

-2/3 cup sugar

-1/2 cup butter, softened

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-1 cup regular oats

-1/4 tsp. baking soda

-1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine dates, water, and maple syrup in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; cook for 12 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring frequently. Stir in rind; cool completely.

Beat butter and sugar together in mixing bowl on medium speed. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture (mixture will be crumbly). Firmly press two cups of the flour mixture into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 baking pan. Spread the cooled date mixture evenly over the bottom layer, and then sprinkle the remaining flour mixture on top. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown. Cool completely in pan before cutting. Store bars wrapped individually in an airtight container or place between layers of wax or parchment paper in an airtight container.

Overall these bars were suuuper simple to make. The most time consuming part was cooking the dates on the stove, but that definitely wasn't difficult. Truly, these were very easy to make, and they got rave reviews! I made them for a beer tasting event Mike was hosting. Friends who come to his beer tastings have quite the refined palates, so if they liked them, they've got to be good, right?! ;)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Icing and Crushed Candy Cane "Sprinkles"

Remember those chocolate whoopie pies with peppermint buttercream filling last week? Right. My obsession with the combination of peppermint and chocolate. Well, here it is again but this time it's in cupcake form. :)

I made these cupcakes for a coworker's birthday last week. They were eaten quickly and folks used positive words to describe them. I am going to go out on a limb and say they were a success. ;) The chocolate cupcake recipe is the same one I used when I made my oreo stuffed chocolate cupcakes a few weeks back, and the icing recipe is from a great little book Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans.

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

-1 cup hot water

-1 and 2/3 cups flour

-1 and 1/2 cups sugar

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 cup butter, softened

-2 eggs

-1 tsp. vanilla

Ingredients for the icing:

-2 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

-1/4 cup unsalted butter

-6 Tbsp. water

-1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

Also:

-crushed candy canes to sprinkle on top :)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper cupcake liners in muffin pan. Mix the cocoa with the hot water in a bowl until the mixture is smooth. Set aside and let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes. When it's cool, place it in a mixing bowl and add the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for two minutes. Increase speed and beat for two additional minutes. Fill the cups about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack before topping with the icing. Makes approximately 18 cupcakes.

For the icing, sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl. Heat the butter and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peppermint extract. Pour the warm mixture over the powdered sugar, then whisk vigorously until it is smooth. The icing will be soft but thick enough to cling to the tops of the cupcakes. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes, if desired. These cupcakes can be stored at room temperature, covered tightly, for up to 3 days.

I crushed candy canes in my food processor - worked like a charm! So easy.

One thing I might do differently next time is make the icing thicker than it was. The icing was definitely tasty with a strong peppermint flavor; however, in my opinion, it was a bit too runny. I would have just added more powdered sugar this time around, but I had actually run out! At the time I made these, I had just the two and a half cups called for in the recipe. Oops! Probably 98% of the time, I have extra on hand of just about every baking staple you can think of. Not this time though! Oh well. The icing was still very yummy but I would have preferred it to be a bit thicker, that's all! No big deal. :)

Friday Favorites for the Holidays (2nd Edition)

Hello hello! Is it really Friday already? Yessss. I think it is. This week actually flew by for me, and I hope it did for you too!!

For this week's Friday Favorites, I have a few more excellent ideas and/or goodies... Enjoy! :)

Reindeer Cookies

(photos from Home Seasons)

Are these not the cutest little cookies ever? Love them. And they're so simple too! They'd be a great little baking project for the kids.

And the holiday/winter season really isn't complete without edible snowmen, now is it? Check these out.

Nutter Butter Snowmen

(photo from Brown Eyed Baker)

Adorable, and yet again, easy!! :)

Homemade Snow Globes

(photo from Our Best Bites)

Talk about easy, fun, and creative. These are all that and more! The items needed are minimal - glass jars, figurines or fun little doo-dads to put inside, glitter, glue, and well, that's about it!

Using Cranberries for Decoration

(photo from Wedding Bells)

I think this is just so pretty! Simple decorations like this are often the best. There are some other great ideas for decorating with cranberries here too.

Finally, if you live in the Boston area, there's a great holiday market going on tomorrow, December 10th, in the South End. It's the SOWA Holiday Market.

(photo source)

There will be tons of vendors with crafts, jewelry, pottery, clothing, stationery, homemade goodies, etc. etc. etc.! I plan to go and hopefully get some creative Christmas gifts for people on my list. I'm quite behind on my shopping so I'm hoping to get a lot done here. :)

Have a great weekend!

The Barbershop's Two Year Blogiversary...er, Anniversary! :)

Hi blog friends! Guess what? I just had my two year blogiversary a couple days and I didn't even realize it! On December 5th, 2009, I published my first recipe on the blog - zucchini muffins, as well as a little "welcome to my blog" message. I'm such a dork. :)

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started my blog, but I can now say that keeping up with the blog has become a hobby for me that has enhanced my love of baking more than I ever could have imagined! I've published close to 200 posts (not quite all of them are recipes when you include my Friday Favorites, but most of them are!). The blog has become an excellent method for me to chronicle my baking adventures, keep track of my impressions of different recipes (as well as the impressions of the people who help me eat all these creations!! :)), and come to understand and appreciate the craft of baking in a very different way than I probably ever would have if I didn't have this blog. I'm not what I'd call a fancy baker; I don't make pastries, I don't decorate beautiful cakes, and I don't make challenging recipes with unique, rare ingredients. However, a lot of love goes into my baking, and I'm proud of the many recipes I've made over the past two years. Baking is one of my favorite ways to show the special people in my life how much I love and care about them, and although my recipes might not be the fanciest ones out there, I think it's evident that they're made with love as well as my wish that the recipients of my baked goods enjoy eating them as much as I enjoy creating them. :)

In honor of my 2nd blogiversary, I thought I'd share with you ten of my favorite posts to create and/or eat! This is very difficult to do, you know... ;)

In no particular order:

1) Chocolate Peanut Butter Monkey Bars

This was a super fun recipe since it was one that I submitted to the Pillsbury Bake-Off! I wasn't a finalist, but everyone to whom I gave these bars looooved them. Too bad Pillsbury didn't. :(  Oh well. You can bet I'll submit a recipe again next year!

2) Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Blondies

This is my most viewed post of all time on the blog, thanks to Pinterest. Somebody out there pinned this picture and it went crazy over Pinterest! This has given me more pageviews that I ever could have imagined. I know that the number of pageviews I get is nothing compared to many other blogs out there, but it makes me excited. :)

3) Savory Pumpkin Pizza Dough

I loved this recipe. It was fun to create and especially fun to eat since it was so yummy! If you're a pizza fan and you're not intimidated by making your own dough (it's really not that hard if you are!!), then definitely give this recipe a shot.

4) Baked Blueberry Cake Donuts

This was a favorite recipe because it was so unique! It was my first donut recipe with my awesome donut pan and it turned out wonderfully! I was also proud of my pictures on this post. I don't have a fancy camera or equipment, so I just do the best I can with my little ol' digital camera and natural lighting (if and when it's available).

5) Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Scones

This was a favorite simply because these scones are sooooo yummy! Pumpkin and cinnamon = a match made in heaven.

6) Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Filling and Lemon Buttercream Frosting

I've made these cupcakes several times, and each time, they're a huge success! I've made them for birthdays and different special occasions such as the bridal shower for my good friend, Jenn. :)

7) Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

I've been making this recipe for years, and I'm still not sick of it! It's definitely my favorite variation on traditional banana bread.

8) Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The flavor/ingredient combination in this one is awesome. Bananas. Oatmeal. Chocolate chips. Can't go wrong! And these cookies are on the healthy side too as far as cookies go, so what's not to love about that?

9) Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Kahlua Cream Cheese Frosting

The chocolate stout cupcake recipe from this one is wonderful (if you're looking for a chocolate cake recipe!), and the kahlua cream cheese frosting is out-of-this-world delicious. Enough said!

10) Spent Grain Bread

Spent grain bread is one of my favorite recipes because it combines Mike's main hobby (homebrewing!) and mine (baking, obviously) to create a tasty, hearty homemade bread. 

There you have it! Ten of my favorite recipes from the past two years.

Thanks to everyone for reading my blog and supporting me in my baking adventures! It means a lot to me and keeps me going. :)

♥,

Colleen (aka Barbershop ;))

Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Peppermint Buttercream Filling

Chocolate and peppermint might be one of my favorite flavor combinations during the holiday season. Well, actually, it might just be one of my favorite flavor combinations year round, let's be serious. :)

I made these deeelicious whoopie pies for a holiday party this past weekend. And they were a huge hit!! The cakes were light and airy, yet moist, and the peppermint buttercream filling had just the right amount of mint flavor and, in my opinion, the filling is what really made these whoopie pies the hit that they were. If you love chocolate and peppermint like I do, you are doing to love these. I promise!!

The recipe is from a handy dandy, awesome little whoopie pie cookbook a friend gave me:

This cookbook has made an appearance on the blog before too, back when I made zucchini whoopie pies with a maple filling. What I like about this book is that it has many different cake recipes ("cake" meaning cookie) and many different filling recipes, and then you can mix n' match flavors as much as your little heart desires! In case I haven't mentioned it, this chocolate and peppermint combo was a real winner (oh wait, have I already said that??).

Ingredients for chocolate whoopie pie cakes:

-1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

-2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

-1 and 1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

-4 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

-1 cup packed dark brown sugar

-1 large egg

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 cup milk (I used 1%)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening, and brown sugar on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes.

Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk to the batter, and beat on low until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture and 1/2 cup milk and beat until completely combined.

Using a spoon, drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes each, or until the pies spring back when pressed gently. Remove from oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 48 two-inch cakes (says the book!). I made about 36 cakes (so 18 sandwiches), but mine were more like 2 and 1/2 inches wide.

Ingredients for the peppermint buttercream filling:

-2 cups confectioners' sugar

-4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

-3 tablespoons heavy cream (whipping cream)

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/2 tsp. mint extract

-1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the confectioners' sugar and butter, starting on low and increasing to medium speed, until the mixture is crumbly, about 1 minute. Add the heavy cream, vanilla, mint extract, and salt and beat on high until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Spread a generous tablespoon of the buttercream filling on one cake, and top with another cake of roughly the same size. If desired, sprinkle with colored sprinkles or crushed candy canes.

After writing this post, I really want to just go make another batch of these!!

Friday Favorites for the Holidays (1st Edition)

Hi friends!

It's been quite some time since I posted my Friday Favorites on the blog. In fact, it's been just over two months since I presented you with Friday Favorites. Whoops! I just felt like I needed a break from it for a bit. But, with the holiday season upon us, I thought it might be fun to bring you some ideas for holiday treats over the next few weeks!

What prompted me to bring you holiday editions of Friday Favorites was a blog post by the Cookin' Canuck that I saw today. This recipe for chocolate covered marshmallow pops needed to be shared with others! It just looks like such a fun, easy homemade goodie for the holidays - one that both kids and adults can enjoy eating and creating!

(photo from Cookin' Canuck)

And I love the three different ideas for flavors - candy cane, heath bar, and coconut. They'd all be great for the holiday season but the candy cane idea is especially festive! You could easily do others too - maybe colored sprinkles or chopped nuts?

Another great holiday recipe is this one for peppermint snickerdoodles that I saw a couple weeks ago on Taste and Tell. I saved it to one of my boards on Pinterest so that I wouldn't forget it!

(photo from Taste and Tell)

Don't those look sooo good? I've made variations on snickerdoodles before (maple, pumpkin) but I don't know if I would have thought to make peppermint ones!!! Brilliant! Be sure to head on over to Taste and Tell to check out the ingredient list too. There are only 5 items required to make these delicious little gems!

Finally, brought to you by the always creative Real Simple, here are two fun ideas for dispensing ribbon (if you are one of those people who loves ribbon for gift wrapping or crafts!!).

Use a paper towel holder:

Use a wire hanger:

I just love simple yet useful ideas like this, don't you?!?

Happy holiday season, all. :) I hope to have more fun, easy, festive ideas and recipes for you over the course of the next few weeks!