Easy Homemade NO BAKE Chocolate Chip Granola Bar Recipe! | Video |

Hello friends! I hope your day is going well. I here today sharing a fun easy delicious recipe for some homemade NO BAKE chocolate chip granola bars. This recipe is really really easy to make and could be made super fast before rushing out the door to work and/or school. Then they could be cut after you have returned. I love this recipe...it was adapted from a Rachel Ray Recipe that can be switched up in so many ways. I made a huge batch but below you will find the recipe for a standard batch or you could follow the measurements in the video for a full cookie sheet worth of granola bars. Hope you enjoy!

Here's the recipe: ( I actually quadrupled it ) 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups quick cooking oats {not rolled oats!}
1 cup crispy rice cereal
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Directions: 

In a large bowl, stir oats and rice cereal together. Set aside. In a small pot, melt butter, honey and brown sugar together over medium high heat until it comes to a bubble. Reduce the heat and cook 2 minutes. Pour in vanilla and stir. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients. Pour into lightly greased small jelly roll pan {about 12x8x1} and press out to be about 3/4 inch in thickness. {If your pan isn't small enough, pack the mixture into one side. You really want to press them down so they stick together.} Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press down lightly. Cool on a counter top to room temperature for two hours or until the chocolate chips are set before cutting into bars. Wrap in parchment or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

Recipe Notes:

 If your granola bars don't seem to be staying together when you cut them, you may have not boiled the mixture long enough...you want it to make it just past the softball stage. OR you made them too thin or you didn't pack them in tight enough. Stick them in the fridge for 20 minutes and that should help keep them together. {Be sure not to keep them in there too long or else they'll become super hard!} The next time you make them, try boiling for an extra 15 seconds or so.

This is a delicious recipe that I bet your family would love as much as mine does. I don't have any issues storing these in the pantry and they never last long! If you have any questions or comments be sure to let me know. :) 

K Jaggers

Easy & Delicious Banana Bread Recipe | Video |

Hello friends! I hope you are having a great night. I have had another busy day around here so it's another evening blog post. :) At least I am getting it up and sharing it right!? Anyway, I am sharing a new easy and delicious Banana Bread Recipe that is sure to be a hit in any home. The nuts are optional of course and even the kids seem to love this bread. I share everything with you in the video and the full recipe is below. Hope you enjoy! 

Here's the Recipe:

Ingredients:

 1¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

3 Eggs

 8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter

 ¾ cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

 1 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

1 pinch of nutmeg and/or cinnamon and nutmeg

 5 large, very ripe peeled bananas 

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350˚ F. Rub a bit of olive oil around the bottom and sides of your 9 x 5 inch baking pan, and than dust with a bit of flour (or you can just use cooking spray if you're unsure). Set the pan aside.

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine together your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, spices, and salt; whisk together and set aside.

3. Add your bananas to a larger mixing bowl and microwave on high for about 5 minutes. Carefully pour out a bit of the separated liquid if you have any before adding in your stick of butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir the ingredients till the butter is melted. Then add in your dry ingredients and 2/3 of your chopped nuts ( optional ), and mixing gently till combined.

4. Pour the batter into a bread pan, sprinkle the granulated sugar evenly over the loaf, and add walnuts around the loaf and bake for 65-75 minutes. Once a toothpick comes out clean, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes. Then invert the loaf, slice, serve and enjoy! :)

This is such an easy recipe to make. It is delicious and healthy and always a hit on our home. You could totally leave out the nuts, add rasins or anything else you would like. I love serving it warm butter and wrapping up leftovers for the next morning. Thanks for stopping by. xx

Delicious Italian Braided Easter Bread Recipe! | Video & In Depth Blog Post |

Hello friends! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I thought now would be a great time to share this delicious Easter bread recipe! Now I know Easter is right around the corner but this can be made the day before or even the morning of Easter you could start this and serve it fresh out of oven at dinner! So there is time!! I think it's perfect for any Easter table or even a great hostess gift if you are eating somewhere other than home. This is a sweet bread just like brioche and kids love it! I did use my bread machine to make the dough easier but below I share how you could do it with either a mixer or completely by hand.  The video shows you everything and the step by step written out recipe and instructions are below!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1⁄4 cup water, - 110degrees

2⁄3 cup milk, - 110dregrees

3⁄4 cup softened butter

2⁄3 cup granulated sugar

3⁄4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

juice of one lemons or 1 teaspoon butter flavoring, as desired

2 eggs, beaten

5 cups unbleached flour

2 1⁄4 teaspoons yeast

colored raw egg
Egg wash
Sprinkles or colored sugar

For this recipe you will need some died raw eggs. Don't worry! They cook in the oven as the bread is baking. Just dye them as you would die hard boiled eggs but be careful because they will break! I like to let the color sit for a while and then easily transfer them to a plate to let them dry. 

For the bread machine method add in the ingredients to the bread machine in the order listed above. Then turn it on it's dough setting and let it do it's thing. It should take close to 2 hours to complete the cycle. 

For the other method: 

In a small saucepan, warm the milk and butter together, just till butter melts.    In a large mixer bowl, combine yeast, salt, eggs and sugar.  Add the warm (not hot - it will kill the yeast) milk and butter. Add about half the flour and beat until smooth with dough hook.   Slowly add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough.    Knead until smooth with either dough hook attachment or turn out on floured board and knead.  Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. 

Punch dough down, cut into 12 pieces.  Roll each piece to form a 1 inch thick rope about 12 - 14 inches long. Then pinch the one of the ends and twist together. Then take the two piece and braid them.. just taking them over one another as I demonstrated in the video above. Loop the braid into a circle and pinch and twist the two ends together. Continue until you have 6 braided bread rounds.

Place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpats.  Cover and let rise until double, which should take about an hour. I like to put the baking sheets the stove with the oven on low and door cracked

Once they have risen,  brush each braided bread round with beaten egg wash.  Put on the sprinkles or sugar.   In the middle of each bread ring, gently place an Easter egg. Try to make sure the dough is touching the sides of the bread dough. 

Make sure you are using parchment paper or silpats so your braided bread rounds don't stick. I like to have the two oven racks at the top of the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Your home will fill up with an amazing aroma while they bake. Cool and if you are serving immediately, you can eat the egg. However if you make these early, skip the eating the egg...just in case! 

The bread is amazingly sweet and delicious. This is a recipe that is fun to make with your kids because they can help die the eggs and roll out the dough. I think it's a great tradition that you can start too! Let me know if you have any questions.

Also if you want to see more....I made an adorable Easter Display last year that was super easy.

If you are new here, I would love it if you took a second to get subscribed!

 

Cee ya tomrorow!

Day in the Life Vlog : February 2 -5, 2015 | Baking & Organizing! |

Happy Friday to you all! I hope you are having a great day. This vlog was suppose to go live last night but I ended up falling to sleep early. Sorry! Anyway, here is what has been going on around here the past few days. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks so much for watching. I hope you enjoy seeing bits and pieces of our day. :) Have a beautiful and blessed Friday. If by some chance you are just coming by for the first time, I would love it if you subscribed!

 

I will be back later today with Friday letters! ♥

Cranberry Orange Holiday Cheesecake Recipe - Video -

Hello friends! I am back tonight with another Thanksgiving or even Christmas Cheesecake that will knock your socks off! Its simple to make, delicious and perfect for any holiday party that you are hosting or being a guest at. Its still not too late to make this for Thanksgiving! Everything you need to know is in the video and the recipe in full is below!

Here's the full recipe! 

Crust
2 Cups of Grand Cracker Crumbs
1 Stick of Butter

Filling
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 large eggs yolks
grated peel from 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of milk

Topping
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
2 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1-2 tablespoons Orange Juice

For crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Mix butter and grand cracker crumbs. Using plastic wrap as aid, press crumb mixture onto bottom of tart pan or springform pan up the sides. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.

For filling:
Increase oven temperature to 350°F. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light. Beat in flour. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until blended. Beat in orange peel, milk, and vanilla.

Pour filling into crust.  Bake until filling is just set in center but still moves slightly, about 1 hour. Turn off oven, open the oven door to allow the heat to escape slowly, and let the cheesecake cool fully. Then cover and chill overnight.

For topping:
Stir sugar and water in medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; add cornstarch mixture and bring to simmer. Add cranberries; cook until beginning to pop, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Stir in orange peel and orange juice. Cool completely. Cover and chill. (Cheesecake and cranberry topping can be made a day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Run knife around top edge of cheesecake to loosen. Release pan sides. Top cheesecake with cranberries and serve immediately.

Enjoy!