Nutella Blondies w/Nutella Caramel

IF YOU ARE WATCHING YOUR SUGAR INTAKE, STOP... These bars are not for you. Holy Diabetic Coma. O my goodness. But if you want a blondie that does not became a brick after one day, with a delightful homemade caramel sauce on it.... These are it. Heaven help you. These were made on Friday afternoon for a party, they still were moist and delicious on Monday. How often can you say that about Blondies. Pretty close to never. This is why I almost never make them. As good as they taste, one or two days later, in the garbage can.

I am having some alignment problem with my website.. I started to frost these bars, cut them and added the remaining frosting. Almost all the sides were covered. Ooey Gooey mess of finger licking goodness. These bars could be included in some decadent FUN... (Just saying)

OK, Nutella in the blondie and and the caramel sauce.. Totally elevated something regular to a whole new level. Think about this when you are baking and cooking. Bump it up a notch. Food does not have to be boring. Enjoy your food and your life.

There are a lot of ingredients here. Do not let this dissuade you, Just the blondie bake, add the caramel sauce when done. Just a different type of frosting. Actually, this bar calls for a glaze on top, absolutely unnecessary. There is no need.

Nutella Blondies w/Nutella Caramel

loosely adapted from cookingandbeer.com

Ingredients

Blondies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup Nutella

2 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Nutella Caramel 

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup Nutella

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with tin foil. Spray with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium skillet, add the 2 sticks of butter. Cook over medium low heat. Stirring occasionally. The butter will foam and then start to cook. You will smell a wonderful nutty aroma. Please keep an eye, so that the butter does not burn. Once the butter turns, remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the brown butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each one. Add in vanilla and mix. Gently mix in flour, salt and baking soda. DO NOT OVER MIX. Gently fold in white chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth out the top

In a small bowl, mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over the top of the blondies in an even layer. Bake for 20-22 minutes. They will puff slightly. When done baking, remove from oven and let cool.

While the blondies are cooling, prepare the Nutella caramel. In a heavy bottom saucepan, add the granulated sugar and heat over medium heat. Regularly stir the sugar. The sugar will turn this beautiful amber brown color. Once all the clumps have melted, add the butter and continue to stir until melted. VERY slowly, add the cream into the sugar butter mixture. It will bubble, this is OK. Boil for 1-2 minutes. Then remove from heat. Immediately stir in the Nutella, vanilla extract and sea salt. Set aside and let cool.

Once the caramel is cooled, pour a thin layer over the blondies. Cut the blondies and spread out slightly. Pour the remaining caramel over the blondies the coat most of the sides. It will make each piece special.

This batter comes together quickly. If you were out of white chocolate chips, it would not be a tragedy.

All ready for the oven.

Once out of the oven, the blondies are puffed.

Plain old white sugar... nothing special

Starting to melt and form clumps

Almost totally melted. A few clumps still left. Do you see that beautiful brown color

Added the butter and then the cream to the mixture

ONE WORD ~~ Nutella

Nutella Caramel Sauce.. This could be used for so many different things..
Ice cream, plain old brownies, out of the pan...

Pouring the thin layer before I cut them

Most of the sides are covered

I took these to a party. They look a bit intimidating. 

Once the first person tried one, they were devoured. 

Everyone raved about these.

I saved a few for my Husband, 

WHOA, I got his approval. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I had a customer request 3 dozen of my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I had not made them in ages. In fact, I asked if he wanted chocolate chips or nuts in them. That sounded kind of good to me. (He said NO).

These cookies were delicious... I know I say that about lots of sweet food products. Heck, I am happy eating Nutella out of the jar.. These cookies were SO good. It is finally getting to be Fall after such a weird weather Summer. Last week, we were back in the 90's. Crazy. Oatmeal Raisin is one of my all time favorites. And not the puck like cookies either. Soft, moist and still a bit chewy. With loads of flavor.

This recipe was originally from Smitten Kitchen. They always do such a wonderful job. These cookies were easy to whip up. Made 40 cookies. Nice size batch. Could have been less if they were bigger. Whatever floats your boat. I always stay with my normal size cookie scoop. They are all the same, uniformity... OCD....

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

adapted from thetastybiteblog.com

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 1/3 cup of brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 cups of raisins

Optional: 1 cup mini chocolate chips and/or 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with Silpats or parchment paper.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside

In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and brown sugar for 5 minutes. Add one egg at a time mixing after each one. Add in vanilla extract and mix. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and combine. Fold in Oatmeal and raisins until they are incorporated into the dough.

Using a cookie scoop, place dough on baking sheets about two inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges start to brown.

Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes in pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nice firm batter. Easy to scoop. 

Perfect formed balls... Morsels of Heaven

Sitting on a platter, ready to be eaten

There is the right amount of raisins for every bit.

Cold Oatmeal

I have this new passion. COLD Oatmeal. My Mother just shakes her head and tells me she will continue to eat her perfectly good warm oatmeal. Cold Oatmeal is like an action punch. It  fills you up and gets you through the morning. You really could eat this anytime if you wanted. I am so loving this, I wish I had not waited so long.

What flavor to like. OMG, I have not found one I did not like. I guess because I am making this. I have tried some new combinations, and loved them also. Protein bars have been my go to breakfast forever. They work, they even satisfy my chocolate craving. But they get expensive and they are loaded with preservatives. Oatmeal is CHEAP. A large container will go a long ways. I have been adding Almond milk to my Oatmeal. I am digging that also. On Saturday mornings, I have a bowl of cereal with Almond milk. I also add Greek Yogurt to my Oatmeal. Gives you your Calcium and Protein all in one scoop. My last little treasure that is added to my COLD Oatmeal..... Chia Seeds. Another: Love them!! They are loaded with Omega 3's and Fiber and have more punch that Flax Seeds. They also remind me of mini Tapioca. My Mother made Tapioca pudding for my sisters and me when we were youngsters all the time. Yummy. Just a brain thing.

I am going to give you the basic recipe. Then some additions you can make, and the rest is up to you.

Cold Oatmeal
adapted from theyummylife.com

Ingredients
serves ONE
1/2 cup uncooked Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoon Chai seeds

Directions
Place all ingredients into a small bowl, mix well, cover and put into the refrigerator overnight. DONE!

It really cannot be any easier than that to have Oatmeal in the morning. IF YOU WANT, you can heat your oatmeal in the microwave. My Husband likes it warm sometimes.

This particular Oatmeal has Dried Cranberries, Coconut and Slivered Almonds. The flavor combination was fabulous

This Cold Oatmeal had Mandarin Oranges diced up, 1 tablespoon Peach Preserves and Slivered Almonds. A very fresh taste. A Peach Pie for breakfast.

For two servings, I used 1 serving of Apple Sauce and Cinnamon. A thousand times better than a packet of Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal. I also added raisins to this combination. OMG Very Delicious

This is Heaven. 1 teaspoon of Cocoa Powder, 1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter and 1 teaspoon of Honey. This bowl was Protein packed and will keep you full for hours. You might even want to try it with Nutella.

There are tons of different variations you can do. The options are endless. What I really like about this recipe is, you are eating Oatmeal with good things added to it. It is "mostly" healthy and loaded with nutrients. You will look at a package of Oatmeal very differently. ENJOY.