Category Archives: No wine recipe

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Brown Sugar Cinnamon Bars with Bourbon

Oh, my sweet Helen of Troy… these bars are absolutely amazing! Ok, they don’t include wine, but my version *does* include Bourbon. 😉

I found two fantastic recipes… one by Jenna of Butternut Bakery (https://butternutbakeryblog.com/brown-sugar-cinnamon-pop-tart-shortbread/ and one by Cooking with Karli (https://cookiesfordays.com/brown-sugar-cinnamon-poptart-bars/) and decided to play with each to create something a little different with a delicious hint of bourbon.

The original recipes are both wonderful and I highly recommend trying them (and giving both accounts a follow) but here’s how I made the recipe pictured here:

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Bars with Bourbon

INGREDIENTS:

SHORTBREAD CRUST:
1 cup softened butter (I use unsalted)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 Tablespoon Bourbon vanilla extract (can sub traditional vanilla if desired)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

BROWN SUGAR CINNAMON FILLING:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Bourbon vanilla extract (can sub traditional vanilla if desired)
dash salt

BOURBON CINNAMON ICING:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Bourbon vanilla extract (can sub traditional vanilla if desired)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 teaspoons water

INSTRUCTIONS:

MAKE SHORTBREAD CRUST:

Preheat oven to 350* F. Draw an outline of a 9×9 pan on a piece of parchment paper, flip it over, and lay it aside. Line 9×9 pan with a second piece of parchment paper.

Cream together softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add your extract of choice and mix until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

Add flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix until combined.

Take half the dough and press it onto the backside of the original piece of parchment paper using a third piece of parchment paper. I find it easier to press with my hands at first, then use the flat bottom of a 1/2 cup measuring cup to get the dough completely to the edge markings on the parchment. This will end up being your “top” piece of the bar. Once the dough is uniformly covering the outlined square, carefully remove that third piece of parchment paper.

Press the second half of the dough to cover the bottom of the 9×9 pan, utilizing the third piece of parchment paper. As above, I first press the dough with my hands then use the flat bottom of a 1/2 cup measuring cup to evenly distribute the dough.

Par-bake the base of your crust in the middle of your oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool while you make the filling. If you’ve already jumped ahead and made your filling (like I did in the top right-hand photo), let the base cool for 3-5 minutes so the filling doesn’t immediately turn to liquid when spread onto the par-baked crust.

MAKE CINNAMON FILLING:

Add all filling ingredients together in a small bowl and mix until combined.

Spread filling quickly and carefully over the slightly cooled crust, making sure to cover all surface area.

ADD TOP LAYER OF SHORTBREAD:

Pick up the first layer of shortbread you pressed into a square on the parchment paper and carefully flip it over to exactly cover the bottom crust. Gently remove the parchment from the crust and pat it into place, covering the filling.

BAKE:

Place the assembled bars back into the oven and cook for another 30 minutes. Since oven temperatures vary, check at 25 minutes and remove from oven when the edges are just beginning to brown. Mine took 28 minutes to get to this level of doneness.

Remove from oven and allow to cool thoroughly before adding icing.

MAKE BOURBON CINNAMON ICING:

Combine the icing ingredients together and mix well until smooth.

Pour icing over cooled shortbread and spread evenly over the entire pan.

Cut once cooled and enjoy.

I like to make my bars smaller than some, so I typically cut into 16 bars (as seen above).

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Snickers Bites

Welcome to anyone who is new to my wine blog… especially to those who have found your way here through @coffee_and_crayons_blog. I wanted to get this recipe posted somewhere so I had a way to share it with others. While it doesn’t incorporate wine, it’s one that I make often and is one of my favorite whole food snacks. This is my smaller “snack-size” spin on one that is posted on Brittany’s @EatingBirdFood . Note: my ingredients list is vague for a reason. If you want to use 3 dates and make 12 bites, you’ll need less ingredients than if you use 7 dates and make 28 bites. I don’t typically measure this recipe and like to “use the force”, as my husband so says. My Snickers Bites don’t look incredibly swoon-worthy, but they’re delicious! See Photo #1 below.

Ingredients:
Medjool dates
Whole dry-roasted almonds (or pecans)
Peanut butter (the drippy kind where peanuts are the only ingredient)
Chocolate Chips (I either use semi-sweet or dark chocolate)
Coconut oil

Directions:
1. Line a cookie tray with a piece of parchment paper. Slice your dates into fourths and lay on the prepared tray, leaving enough room in case things get “messy”.
2. Press a single nut on each quarter piece of date. See Photo #2
3. Spoon a small amount of peanut butter on each date. Pop in the freezer to allow the peanut butter to harden. Try not to get excess peanut butter on the parchment, since it will be discarded if it’s not *on* the bite. Once hardened, I flip the bites over before adding the chocolate. This is completely unnecessary, but I think it’s pretty. See Photo #3
4. Warm up the chips with a small amount of coconut oil until smooth. I use a silicone measuring cup and microwave in 30 second increments until the chips and oil have melted together.
5. Spoon (or drizzle) a small amount of the chocolate mixture on top of each date… this is where it can get really messy and where you’ll be glad of a little space between each bite. Once all the bites are covered to your liking in chocolate, pop the tray back into the freezer to harden. See Photo #4
6. Once your snickers bites are hard enough, you can remove them from the tray and store them in a ziplock bag in your freezer. See Photo #5 below.

Photo #1 – completed Snickers Bite

Photo # 2 – dates are quartered and a single almond is pressed into each

Photo #3 – Photo of bites, first with peanut butter and then with the bites flipped over, ready for the chocolate layer

Photo #4 – chocolate layer with a bit of drizzle – now they head back to the freezer

Photo #5 – completed Snickers Bites, nicely hardened and ready to eat.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It’s one that I make every week or so and one that doesn’t seem to require a lot of thought or planning, provided I keep all the main ingredients on hand. You can certainly adjust this recipe to fit your own preferences – I’ve used dry-roasted pecans instead of almonds (just as delicious) but highly recommend using the larger Medjool dates rather than the smaller “pitted dates” you might find in large bags at a store like BJ’s.