Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal Bars

My husband and I have been married a little over three years now. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I found out that he liked Nutella. Nutella is amazing. Imagine living almost three years without it because your husband told you that he hated it. That was until he tried these Nutella Oatmeal Bars. Then our world changed forever.

I baked a whole bunch of these for a church activity after I bought a huge jar of Nutella on sale at the grocery store (score!), and when I went to taste test the goodies my husband volunteered to try one. He fell in love instantly. His exact words were “I had no idea Nutella tasted like this. Can we buy more so you can make these again?” I almost sobbed with happiness. Unfortunately the goodies were gobbled up at the church event and I did not get to indulge any longer.

So I guarantee that you will love these bars. They’re delectable and super rich. The oatmeal adds a delicious texture to the creaminess of the Nutella. I am definitely planning on making these again in the near future!

Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal Bars                                                    Yields 16 Bars

Adapted from http://celebratingsweets.com/nutella-stuffed-oatmeal-cookie-bars/

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ⅔ cup Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
• ⅓ cup dark chocolate chocolate chips or callets

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 8×8 square pan  with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Place a little more than half of the oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Press the mixture into the plan until its one even layer. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Take the Nutella and place in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 15-20 seconds or until slightly melted and soft (this will make it easier to spread).
6. Remove from the oven and immediately add the  softened Nutella. Since the dough/crust will be soft, you don’t want to spread too vigorously. Using a spoon or rubber spatula, spread the softened Nutella into an even layer. Sprinkle the Nutella layer with chocolate chips or callets. Crumble the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top of the Nutella/chocolate layer.
7. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until the top is set and golden brown. Take the pan out and let cool. Do not cut them while they are hot, as the chocolate will ooze out. Serve them while still slightly warm and they’ll be perfect!
8. Enjoy with a nice tall glass of milk.

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Apple Pie Bars

This past weekend was full of fun Memorial Day celebrations. Yesterday there was a picnic that I volunteered to bake something yummy. I wanted to go with a “patriotic” theme and what is more American than apple pie for dessert? Well I didn’t want to bring a whole pie because I thought it was too cliche and would be too time-consuming as well as messy to have hungry people cut up their own slices. So I did the dirty work for them.

I decided to make apple pie in a bar format. That way there would be no mess but plenty of yummy goodness to go around.

These bars turned out quite yummy! I would make a few changes the next time around though, like not letting them sit so long in the fridge (I had it sit over night) or allow them to melt in the sun–which wasn’t entirely my fault, it was really hot out this weekend.

But anyways, these apple pie bars are delicious. They are full of cinnamon and apples and butter. You can’t go wrong right? I suggest you try them out and if you love them, make them for an upcoming July 4th party!

Apple Pie Bars                                                                                                                   Makes 16 Bars

Ingredients:

For Shortbread:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

For Apple Pie Filling:

• 3 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced (I used red apples, but use any apple you prefer)
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

For the Topping

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter –room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. For an easy lift out of the pan later on, make sure your parchment paper goes over the edges.
2. For the Shortbread: First you have to cream your butter. Place butter into your mixer and turn on high for 5 minutes or until the butter turns white, which means it’s done creaming.  Next mix in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Once combined, add in the flour and stir well. The mixture will look like lumpy playdoh. Press the mixture into the parchment lined pan and bake in the  oven for 15 minutes.
3. Apply Pie filling: In a bowl, combine by hand the apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until the apples are well coated.
4. Topping: Mix flour, 3/4 up brown sugar. Cut in the butter with a fork and knead together.Set aside.
5. Remove the crust from the oven and turn the heat up to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle one half of the Topping over the short bread, then layer the apples on top. Layer the apples until all used up–keep the apple slices level so that the bars come out evenly. Drizzle lemon juice evenly over the top layer of apples. Once this is finished, sprinkle the remainder of the Topping evenly on top and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully before placing in the fridge to set for 1 to 2 hours. Once it’s set, remove from the baking dish by lifting out the parchment paper and cut into 16 squares.
7. Drizzle white icing or powdered sugar on top before diving in!