Chocolate-Banana Snackin' Bars.

I picked up this magazine back in the winter when I was looking for new more healthy recipes. I'm glad I finally got a chance to make these bars, which have been marked to make since I bought the magazine - almost a year ago! This recipe was very easy to make - with prep and baking time I was able to sample a bar in about 30 minutes. Delicious, with just a hit of chocolate and they're healthy too!


Chocolate-Banana Snackin' Bars

1 c. mashed ripe bananas (2 medium-large)
3/4 c. packed light-brown sugar
1/3 c. oil
1/4 c. milk
2 lg. eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. chocolate mini-chips
Icing Drizzle (directions follow)

1. Heat oven to 350. Line a 15 1/2 x10 1/2 x 5/8" rimmed baking sheet with foil, letting foil extend above pan at ends. Lightly coat with nonstick spray.

2. Beat all ingredients except flour and chips in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until blended. On low speed, beat in flour just until blended. Stir in chips; spread in pan.

3. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Drizzle with icing if desired, let set.

4. Lift foil by ends onto cutting board. Cut into 40 bars; remove foil. Store airtight in refrigerator up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

Icing Drizzle: Stir 1 Tbs. milk into 1/3 c. confectioners' sugar until smooth.


Yield: 40 bars

Recipe obtained from: Eating Light magazine (vol. xvii, number 3) - a Woman's Day Special Interest Publication.

Nutritional Info: (1 bar) 72 cal., 1 g. pro., 11 g. carbo., 3 g. fat (1 g. sat. fat), 11 mg. chol., 48 mg. sod.

Thoughts: I used a glass 15" pan instead of the baking sheet, a misread on my part, the only difference was my bars weren't as thick. You could definitely change up the chips used, peanut butter, cinnamon or butterscotch would be good. Adding chopped nuts would also be a good addition. I skipped the icing drizzle since I'm going to freeze the majority of these bars to enjoy later on. You could also top the banana bars with sprinkled confectioners' sugar, cocoa or even cinnamon.

Fudge Freakin' Fantastic Oatmeal Fudge Bars

We're going boating and camping this weekend with my brother-in-law & his wife, and I wanted to make something sweet to take along . I've been eyeing this recipe for awhile and figured this would be a good time to make it, plus I already had the ingredients on hand. These bars were fudge-freakin'-fantastic and truly lived up to its Grand Prize wining status from Cook's Country's bar cookie contest. Everyone kept calling them brownies, they were so rich & fudgy and the oatmeal provided a nice contrast & texture. Delicious!

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Crust & Topping:

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. quick-cooking oats

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted & cooled slightly

Filling:

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1 Tbs. instant coffee granules or espresso powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

4 Tbs. unsalted butter, chopped

3 large eggs

1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare 9 x 9" pan (see note below). Whisk flour, oats. sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Stir in butter until combined. Set 1 1/4 cups oatmeal mixture aside. Press remaining oatmeal mixture firmly into prepared pan. Bake until light golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.

2. For the filling: Whisk flour, sugar, instant coffee, and salt in a bowl. Melt chocolate chips and butter in large bowl; whisk in eggs, then stir in flour mixture. Pour filling over cooled crust and sprinkle with reserved oatmeal mixture.

3. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with few crumbs attached, 35-40 minutes. Cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.

*Note* For all bar cookies, spray baking pan with cooking spray and line with aluminum foil, allowing excess to overhang pan edges. Spray foil with cooking spray. Once bar cookies have been baked and cooled, use foil overhang to lift bars from pan.

Yield: 36 bars (All bar cookies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days)

What I did differently: I only have an 8x8" pan. I used old fashioned oats, instead of the quick cooking variety. One of my Dad's student's gave him some instant coffee mix from Vietnam - Nam Nguyen Caphe Sua, which has sugar & milk in the mix. I didn't notice a difference and honestly if I didn't have that on hand, I would have omitted it from the recipe. I also didn't get 36 bars, I forgot to count but it seemed more like 20 something.