Campfire Bars

The whole beginning of the week was a buzz of snow anticipation. There were all sorts of magical predictions. I heard everything from five inches to a foot of snow was going to settle down on DC. I was baking tons of extra loaves of bread to keep up with the demand at the grocery store. Even I, the winter humbug, was starting to get excited about this snow storm. I stocked up on library books & flour and even splurged on two new boxes of tea in anticipation of spending my day off bundled under blankets watching movies and playing games with my housemates. I could practically smell the cinnamon buns. Today was not a real snow day. It snowed a lot, but nothing stuck and everything went along just as normal. I begrudgingly put on my boots and grabbed an umbrella and walked to my tax appointment to find that the office was closed. And no one bothered to call or email. After I walked home I changed into my gym clothes, only to receive an email that all the classes had been canceled for the remainder of the day. At least they emailed? These campfire bars are a lot like my "snow day". I had pretty high expectations, but they turned out to be lackluster and frustrating. Browsing around on the internet it looks like they have worked for almost everyone else except me. I think the culprit is the vegan marshmallows. While delicious, they don't melt quite like their gelatin-based counterparts. Because their was no gooey marshmallow coating all the bits of graham crackers and granola, my jar mix never actually formed bars. In the height of my frustration I did eat all the bits of marshmallow and a few Earth Balance soaked chunks of graham cracker.


After trying to finagle the two new flavors into my stash, I have also come to the brutal realization that I might have too much tea. I think I am close to 30 or 40 boxes & a few bags of loose tea. At one point this afternoon their was an avalanche from the cabinet when I removed a box (no, I was never good at Jenga). I am always itching to try a lot of new varieties, but end up with many boxes that I will never finish. So if anyone is ever interested in a tea swap, I am all ears! You probably shouldn't enable me, but I am also always open to tea suggestions! I am largely a black tea fan. But I also love rooibos, white, & all sorts of herbal tea. I will drink green tea occasionally, but it's towards the bottom of the list. What are your favorites?

Nutella Swirled Blondies

I have been lusting after a vegan nutella-like spread for a while. Last week I decided to make my own, bought a giant bag of hazelnuts, and immediately after found a jar of accidentally vegan nutella in a Marshalls. I scoured the store searching for another jar of the same brand, but couldn't find one. Soon I will attempt to make my own, but this jar should serve for a few baking trials.
I decided to make nutella swirled blondies. I hadn't ever actually eaten a blondie before, but it seemed the nutella was enough to make it something I would enjoy. I used a recipe from the Allergic Kid. While the taste was perfect, my batch turned out a little drier than I expected. The batter was also way too thick and sticky to actually swirl the nutella in with a knife like I had envisioned. Instead I took a few tablespoons, melted it in the microwave for about 20 seconds, and drizzled it on top prior to baking.


I think they were pretty spectacular. These are something I would definitely make again. I might play around with another blondie recipe. Even though there is tofu in the blondie recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, I might give it a chance.
Do you like blondies? They seemed so inferior to brownies that I had never given them a chance, but I see their potential now.

Speculoos Caramel Cookie Bars

I got my holiday gift a little early this year. My partner and I are both pretty impatient when it comes to surprises, so we exchanged presents on Monday. I sponsored a chicken for a year in his name at Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary, which I thought was pretty neat. However, I got outdone! He surprised me with a pistachio KitchenAid standing mixer! I have been wistfully staring at pictures of this mixer on their website for many months now. I couldn't believe that it was finally mine! After grinning incessantly and taking a few photos, I decided it was time to put it to use making him something extravagant.


I had seen this recipe on Seitan is My Motor earlier this month and knew it wouldn't be long before I cracked open my second jar of Speculoos spread to attempt it. I have made a dulce de leche before, but this time something went wrong. My caramel never firmed up even though I cooked it for quite a while. In attempts of saving it, I threw in some agar. This made it thicker so that it was no longer a liquid, but it gave it the texture of a custard. I knew that it was going to be too thin for successfully cutting the bars, but I used it anyways.
I really enjoyed the cookie crust from this recipe. It was firm and not too sweet, which balances the super sweet cookie butter layer. I melted two teaspoons of coconut oil into the dark chocolate I used for the top layer, and spread it with an offset spatula.


All in all, my bars were a mess because of my caramel error. But I will definitely attempt these again. They remind me of a Twix bar with a subtle hint of cinnamon. In fact, next time I might try the caramel from this vegan Twix bar recipe. I might also try using the 'dulce sin leche' recipe from VCTOTW, which uses brown rice syrup as a main ingredient.


Sometimes it's good to have a reminder that baking is a trial and error process. At least I have a beautiful mixer now! Did you ask for kitchen or baking supplies for the holidays? I think I have a never ending list of things I would love to have.