Raspberry-Blueberry Oat Bars

I was so proud of myself on Saturday. That's when I baked these and I even took the picture the very same day. Shocking, I know. Yet here it is, Wednesday, and I'm finally getting my butt into gear and posting. Oops. And I don't think there's even a valid excuse this time, outside of plain laziness.

Things have been going very well in the meat-free department. There are definitely some challenges at times, but overall, I'm feeling positive. And I'm feeling BETTER in general, too. Which is the biggest thing, as far as I'm concerned.

This is another recipe from the Vegetarian Times website, which I've had bookmarked for quite some time. Only did a few alterations - adding some nutmeg and allspice - and swapping out the plain jam for the Queen's Blend jam from Ikea. Raspberry and blueberry. It's the best. Get thee to an Ikea to buy some. (The Daim chocolates are yum, too) :)



Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
1 cup raspberry jam

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Coat 9-inch-square baking dish with cooking spray.

Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix until combined. Stir in 1-3/4 cups oats.

Spread 2/3 of batter on bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread raspberry jam over the batter with back of spoon. Add remaining 1/4 cup oats to remaining batter. Crumble over top of raspberry jam.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until golden. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Raspberry-Swirled Lime Cheesecake Bars

In order to keep myself busy yesterday afternoon, and when my recipe search gave me nothing that appealed, the infamous Lime Monster appeared. (You may remember good ol' LM - the reappearance usually signals intense lime cravings that sometimes border on obsessive and tend to drive others crazy.) From there, the wheel started turning.

Lime, lime. What can I do with that key lime juice? I've got blueberries in the fridge, no raspberries, though. And some cream cheese that really should get used. Wait! Lime juice, cream cheese... raspberry preserves! Swirled through, all pretty-like! And with a chocolate crust! Because I think it'd be contrasting and pretty. :)

Thus, this recipe was born.

And did the Lime Monster approve? Yes, indeed. The raspberry is a sweetness that cuts through that delicious tartness. And while the chocolate crust wasn't as dark as I imagined, it still works. :)



Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup plus ¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup butter, melted

16 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1½ Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. key lime juice
2 eggs
1/3 cup raspberry preserves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and butter. Press onto bottom of the pan.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and lime juice until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Pour over crust. Drop dollops of raspberry preserves into batter, using a knife to swirl through.

Bake at 325F for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for at least four hours before cutting and serving.

Lime-Raspberry Bread

In the ongoing love affair that I'm currently having with lime, it was only a matter of time before I made this. First spotted over at Baking Bites a few months ago, the fates would have it that I was lacking in an ingredient, which led to me find this recipe again.

Before I get into that, I must say this: we finally got to the closest Whole Foods today. It's over in Providence, right near the downtown area, which is about a 35 minute drive. This is a far cry from my one-quarter-of-a-mile walk down the street. I am not pleased by this, and I've already written to Whole Foods, suggesting a great place that they could move in. Plus, my city's known for it's fishing. There'd be fresh, local seafood every day. And we're near UMass Dartmouth; they even say on the WF website that they try to build near colleges. I really think they should listen to me. ;)

Back to the bread. It's dense, but the lime flavor gives it more of a lightness. The tartness of the raspberries go quite well with the puckering lime flavor. In other words, I would absolutely make this again. :)



Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
3/4 cup lime juice
1 Tbsp. lime zest
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg, well-beaten
1 cup raspberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the lime juice, zest, butter, and egg. Pour into flour mixture, stirring just until blended. Gently fold in the raspberries. Scrape into prepared pan.

Bake at 250F for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, before running a knife along the edges and turning the bread out onto the wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Raspberry Bars

While on the phone with my mom yesterday, it came to me that I've never made anything with lemon. (Well, short of what is now referred to as the 'lemon burgers' that Dave and I made two summers ago... but that is so the fault of the recipe! Long story) So I started searching for lemon bars, preferably one with some raspberry or strawberry. Unfortunately, after copying down the recipe, I didn't save the website. Oops.

I had some concerns, though... A) there wasn't much lemon 'filling', and B) it didn't look pretty when I pulled it out of the oven! So I sprinkled some powdered sugar, and let it cool. For the night. Since it was late. This morning I tried a quick corner, and thought, 'Eh. Not another recipe I don't like!', and went off to work. Tried it again this afternoon, after scraping off some of the sugar, and it was much better. Not sure if I'd make this exact one again, but maybe.



Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup flour
¼ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
6 Tbsp. butter

Filling:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
¼ tsp. lemon zest
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. baking powder
1/3-1/4 cup raspberry preserves

Confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.

Stir together flour, sugar, and salt, then cut butter in until crumbly. Press crust into pan. Bake for about 15 minutes; set aside.

Mix together the eggs, sugar, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and baking powder. Spread raspberry preserves over semi-cooled crust. Pour lemon batter over preserves.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until set. Once cool, dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired, and cut into bars.