Posts Tagged ‘Chopped Pecans’

Homemade Granola Bars

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Granola Bar

My daughter is crazy for granola bars. Between sports workouts and working her show lambs granola bars are her snack of choice for a quick energy packed pick-me-up. Unfortunately, most of the store bought granola bars are nutritionally no better than candy. Their cleverly designed packaging only makes them look like they are natural. The few that are truly natural are so tasteless it’s like eating cardboard and they cost like the dickens.

So, out of sheer necessity I was on the hunt again for a homemade alternative to a store bought item. After a bit of research and a few experiments I think I’ve found an unbeatable recipe for homemade granola bars. The list below is the core ingredients for the recipe, but it can be easily changed to accommodate personal tastes and preferences.

The cost of making your own nutritious flavor-packed granola bars is pennies on the dollar compared to their store-bought counterparts. But what’s even better than their low cost and high food value is that these bars are truly delicious — as any snack food (nutritious or otherwise) should be in order to make the list of favorites. Read the rest of the story »

Pumpkin Butter Crumb Squares

Friday, October 22, 2010

pumpkin-butter-crumb-squares1

Rarely do I use boxed cake mixes, but when I ran across this recipe at a tasting a few years ago I knew I had to make an exception. The moist cake combined with the luscious creamy pumpkin butter makes it well worth the fudging. And, with your own homemade pumpkin butter it will be even better!

Ingredients:

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 3/4 cup homemade pumpkin butter
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans
  • 3 large farm fresh eggs
  • 1 Tbsp flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup butter
  • 3 Tbsp milk
  • 1 Tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Measure out and reserve 1 cup of cake mix.

Mix remaining cake mix with ½ cup melted butter and 1 egg. Press mixture lightly into the bottom of a 13×9-inch baking pan.

Mix pumpkin butter with remaining 2 eggs and 3 Tbsp of milk; pour over cake mixture in pan.

Mix reserved cake mix, 1 Tbsp of flour, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup of soft butter, pecans and 1 Tsp of cinnamon to a crumble. Crumble or sprinkle over top of pumpkin layer.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool, cut and serve.

To make this seasonal dessert even more delectable top with a dollop of fresh whipped cream mixed with pumpkin pie spices. Yum!