Creamy Carrot Cake Bars

Are you on Pinterest?  I just recently started using this fantastic connection site to all these wonderful blogs out there.  Though I must admit, I'm a little leery of the trademark and copyright infringements I try to only pin from sites that have the little button already on them.  I'm stumbling along someone else's board and I see these Creamy Lemon (or Lime) Bars.  I have a huge bag full of limes and decide to give these little guys a try.  Oh my!  They were amazing.  But they had me thinking...they were so easy, what else could I throw in there to make them taste great.  I checked my pantry and my fridge and was inspired when I saw pineapple and carrots.

So after dreaming of how delicious these bars would be, I couldn't wait any longer.  I brought the leftover lime bars to be shared at daycare and got started on my next adventure.  

The whole thing can be made in your food processor and I am definitely one for not making any unnecessary dirty dishes.  

These little gems must cool before you indulge because if you try to nibble on them while still scalding hot, you won't be able to enjoy any of the flavors and you'll burn your tongue.  Trust me.  I did this.  The smell was too much!

Creamy Carrot Cake Bars

Crust:
20 Nilla wafers
1/2 White whole wheat flour
1/4 c. salted butter
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger

Filling:
1 8 oz package Neufchatel Cream Cheese
1/2 c. unrefined sugar
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. pineapple juice
2 eggs
3 tbsp white whole wheat flour
1/4 c. pineapple tidbits
2 med carrots - finely grated
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves

Prep square baking dish with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350.  Process wafers in food processor till they're little crumbs of goodness.  Don't worry if there is a couple chunks of cookies left - they will get ground later on.  Add your flour, sugar, spices.  Pulse a couple times to incorporate.  Add in your cubes of butter.  Pulse till course crumbs form.  Pour into prepared pan and press into a crust.  Bake 12 minutes.

 While baking crust, prep you filling.  Cream together cream cheese and sugar till well combined.  Add in maple syrup, spices, eggs, extract, juice, flour.  Pulse till combined.  Add in carrots and pineapple tidbits. Pulse once just to combine.  Pour into crust.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until center is set.  NOTE!  A toothpick will not come out clean on these babies.  It's a creamy center.  : )

 Let cool on wire rack and place in fridge to continue cooling for at least 2 hours before serving but I would suggest 4-6 hours.  Slice and enjoy!  I topped mine with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

Baked French Toast with Strawberries

I must say I'm addicted to sales.  Garage sales, discounts at the grocery, coupons...you name it and if it's on sale, I'm sold!  So while strolling through the grocery store, because this is what I do with two kids (yeah right!), I tend to graze the day old bread section and always find something that I can use.  Most of the time you'll find not day olds but just the "we made too many of these items and now they're on sale!" stuff.  But you can get way more creative with these items than just the usual accompaniment to pasta and soups.  They make the most wonderful brunch items! 

Stratas or french toast bakes are the the number one thing I go to for a delicious weekend brunch item.  With my day old sale bread on hand it makes it super easy!  Not to mention, these items freeze well too so you can always hand some on hand.  This past weekend I had my bread that was staring at me on the counter and some sad looking strawberries.  So while the husband slept and the kiddo enjoyed some Sunday morning cartoons, this is what I came up with...

Baked French Toast with Strawberries
1 loaf of day old bread (I used a multi-grain) + a couple slices of regular bread
2 1/2 c. milk of choice (Coconut is great here - nice and thick)
6 eggs
3/4 c. sugar (unrefined, organic if possible)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
8-12 strawberries - roughly chopped
1/4 c. brown sugar for sprinkling

Spray 9x13 glass baking dish and preheat oven to 350.  Crack eggs and whisk till blended.  Add in milk, sugar, extract, spices and salt.  Whisk again till all incorporated.  Fold in cubed bread. Make sure every piece is equally soaked and pour into prepared baking dish.  Press down bread mixture with back of spatula and pop in the oven for 25 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and evenly spread strawberries on top.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and continue baking an additional 15 minutes or until sugar has caramelized and toothpick comes out clean from center.  Let stand 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. 

 

We enjoyed ours with a little shmear of butter and a drizzle of syrup.  The options here are endless.  You can sprinkle with blueberries, raspberries or pineapple.  You can also fold in some diced apples and top with walnuts.  If you choose to fold in the fruit, you might want to cut back on the liquid a bit.  

We had leftovers for a couple days and they kept beautifully in the fridge.  What's better than yummy french toast on a Monday morning?  : )

 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cranberry 'Cookies'

After my cooking marathon that you might have read about in Lemon Pesto Sauce Recipe, I was left with some canned pumpkin.  Normally I would throw them into some pancakes and freeze but as you might imagine...I was fresh out of freezer space.  Even the ice machine was being used to store all the goodies I made!  Yikes!  So I searched for some inspiration online via my business page, Round the Table, and folks shouted bread or pancakes.  I decided to take it a step further as we were missing our dessert fix.  Out of this one little can I was able to make a dozen Cocoa Pumpkin Muffins with Cherries (scented with Cinnamon and Cayenne) and also had about 10 little of these pumpkin delights. 

 

 Prior to baking

This is a rough recipe but I think you will find it suitable for the end product.  Which is far less like a cookie than I had hoped but much more like a breakfast bar which a delightful surprise.  With all this being said, do not attempt to hand these out as cookies to unsuspecting 3 year olds.  They will not be fooled.  When they think cookie, they're wanting that sugar high which you will not find here.  

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cranberry 'Cookies'

1/2 c. canned pumpkin

1 1/2 c. oats

2 tbsp flax seed - ground

1/2 - 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 - 1 c. coconut milk

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. agave

1/4 c. maple syrup

Mix dry ingredients with a whisk. Mix wet ingredients together.  Add to dry.  Stir till just incorporated and add in cranberries.  Drop onto lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until center is set and toothpick comes out clean.  You should be able to pick these little gems up and the bottom will be golden and browned.   Store in an openish container - like an open ziploc bag or a container with a very loose fitting lid.  They could be frozen as well and thawed when you need a nice filling snack!  Thaw in microwave for about 60-90 seconds and enjoy.