Tag: Holidays

Easy Cherry Pie Bars

Do you ever find yourself needing a quick and easy last minute dessert for a party? These Cherry Pie Bars are the answer. They are easy to make, easy to eat and are so yummy. They are great for ANY occasion. Once I start eating these I honestly have a hard time stopping!!

This is one of those desserts, that if you have these leftover in your refrigerator you keep going in for just one more bite…

Honestly I cannot tell you enough how EASY these are to make. I like a quick and easy dessert, and when I am in a pinch I don’t want to have to give it much thought. This recipe would be fantastic swapping out the Cherry filling with strawberry, blueberry, peach or even lemon filling! I am going to try that next time I go to make this.

I served these Easy Cherry Pie Bars up at our Christmas Party with my friends. They were very festive and were perfect for the holidays! They even went well with my Grapefruit Paloma aka Margarita…

This recipe is a great go-to for anyone who has food allergies to peanuts, tree-nuts and soy. I happen to have all three. This recipe can be found in many variations, but mostly people use almond extract, which is an absolute no for me! I just supplemented with more vanilla!!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1-2 cans cherry pie filling 21 oz. Depending on how much cherry you like!

Glaze Ingredients

  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  • In your stand mixer cream together butter and sugar
  • Add in eggs and vanilla
  • In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients
  • Add the dry ingredients into the mixture
  • Press the majority of the dough into a greased 9×13 baking dish. You will need about 1 cup of reserve for the top. You can use spray or use this recipe for Cake Pan Release. It’s amazing and soy free! Nothing sticks with this!
  • Spread on the cherry pie filling
  • Take the rest of the dough and drop spoonfuls on the top
  • Bake for 30 minutes. Should be a golden brown on top
  • Cool completely
  • Mix together the glaze ingredients and drizzle on top
  • Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve
  • Warm them up and serve with ice cream, or just eat them by themselves!

Like I said before, you can try different pie fillings to change up this recipe!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and come back for more!!

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Gingerbread Bars

I have made these Gingerbread Bars for the past two Christmas’. They have been circulating around Pinterest from various blogs. I am not entirely sure where they originated from, but my guess is Six Sister’s Stuff. They always have great recipes and this one is no exception!

The holidays are so busy with gatherings and everyone always expects me to bring dessert! (which I enjoy!) I try to make a variety of desserts and different flavors to mix things up a bit. I can tell you my husband appreciates that! These Gingerbread Bars are an unpredictable dessert, and everyone loves them, including myself. These are one of my favorites…Yum!! I will be taking these to work tomorrow, for a holiday party. I guarantee they won’t last long 🙂

These Gingerbread Bars incorporate all of those spices associated with Christmas smells, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and molasses! This dessert is just the right amount of sweet!

This is definitely a recipe to hold onto!!

Ingredients for the Gingerbread Bars

  • 1/2 Cup butter, melted
  • 3/4 Cup sugar
  • 1/4 Cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 Cup molasses
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 Cups flour
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Gingerbread Bar Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  • Grease a 13×9 baking dish. You can get my cake release recipe here. It’s easy to make and Soy Free!
  • In your stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and molasses.
  • Add in the egg, and mix until fully incorporated
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients
  • Slowly add them into the stand mixer, and mix thoroughly
  • Pour mix into baking dish and pat down to get it evenly distributed
  • Bake for 15-18 Minutes
  • Let cool before frosting!

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1/4 unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Frosting Instructions

  • In your stand mixer, cream butter and cream cheese together. Make sure they are both softened and at room temp. Otherwise your frosting will be chunky
  • Add in the vanilla and mix
  • Add in the powdered sugar slowly until all incorporated
  • Pour on the sprinkles, or cinnamon and serve!

Make sure to store them in the refrigerator!

I hope you enjoy these Gingerbread Bars. If you want more Fun and Frosted recipes, make sure to follow my blog, and my Pinterest page!

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Royal Icing

Royal icing can be intimidating, however is actually quite easy to make! We have a family tradition of making Christmas cookies every year, and a sugar cookie is not the same without icing on the top! Growing up we would always just mix together milk, powdered sugar and vanilla, very basic and no real formula to that, yet still delicious! I was looking for something less runny and something you can actually design with! So here with are with the Royal Icing, perfect for sugar cookies!

Now, I definitely always have to level set my expectations when it comes to cookie decorating. I always see these beautifully decorated cookies on Pinterest that are literally perfection…however with two children, ages 5 and 7, that is not going to happen. Even with my leveled expectations I am always a little shocked at the mess. You’ll find icing in places you cannot imagine, and sprinkles everywhere. You may find sprinkles for weeks. However, depending on your patience you can make some pretty awesome cookies and will surprise yourself!

I then remind myself. Take a step back and look around. My kids are having fun, they are being creative and we are together as a family, making holiday traditions. It’s times like these that we cherish and they will remember forever. The mess can always be cleaned up!

Now for the Royal Icing – This is to outline the cookies…

This recipe makes a lot of icing. You can easily frost 40 cookies…

  • 1/2 Cup of Meringue Powder (I used Wilton)
  • 1 Cup of Water; minus 1 Tbsp
  • 2 lbs of powdered sugar (usually its one bag)

Instructions

  • In your stand mixer, put in the Meringue Powder
  • Add in the water, mix until frothy
  • Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Once its all in the bowl, mix on medium for 4-5 minutes. It should form a stiff peak. Once its the right consistency you can separate out into bowls to add the food coloring
  • Put your icing in piping bags! Make sure to put a rubber band around the top so the icing doesn’t come out the wrong end of the bag
  • TIP – When the icing is not in use cover with plastic wrap because it will dry out fast
  • I used Wilton tip #2 and #3 for the outline

Once your cookies are outlined thin it out a bit with water to “flood” the cookies. I would add a tablespoon at a time. To know if your icing is the right consistency to fill in, take a spoon of your icing and let it drip back into the bowl. Count to 15 seconds and if the line goes away at 15 seconds then it is good to go!

Here is the recipes for both the Royal Icing, as well as my Grandmother’s Sugar Cookie recipe from the 1940’s! Yes, a recipe worth holding on to! Something I have cherished my whole life and have passed on to my children!

I hope your kitchen is as messy as mine when you are all done, that’s the sign of a good time 🙂

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Here are some other posts your might enjoy

Perfect Sugar Cookie Recipe from the 1940’s
Easy Buttercream

If you are looking for baking supplies, check out the Prepared Pantry! I just discovered this site and I am very excited for my order to arrive! There are lots of great ingredients you can get as well as baking tools!