Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars #BakingBloggers

When you are craving sugar cookies but can’t be bothered with rolling out dough and using cookie cutters, make frosted sugar cookie bars instead! They are super simple and are as pretty as they are tasty.

There’s a certain pace and skill to baking sugar cookies that can’t be rushed. Once you’ve mixed the dough, it needs to chill well before rolling. And you can’t roll it all out at once or it softens and won’t peel off the work surface. And you can’t roll it too thin or it breaks when you try to peel it off. It’s a practice makes perfect operation.

That’s where frosted sugar cookie bars pull out ahead in the tasty but easy race. One bowl dough, no chilling, no rolling, no cutting until after they are baked! Are they pretty shapes? Well, they aren’t Christmas trees, but they are neat squares. Who doesn’t love a good square?

Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

This recipe was adapted from A Little Bit Crunchy A Little Bit Rock and Roll, which makes a huge 13x18 in or 33x46cm pan. If you are feeding a crowd, you will want to head over to the original recipe and maybe just add in some lemon.

Ingredients
For the cookie dough:
Zest 1/2 lemon
2/3 cup or 132g sugar
1/3 cup or 75g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 2/3 cups or 208g flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons shortening
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups or 187g powdered sugar
3-4 teaspoons milk

To decorate: sprinkles

Method
Prepare your 8x8 in or 20x20cm pan (You can use a 9x9 in or 23x23cm pan for slightly thinner bars.) by greasing it or lining it with baking parchment. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°F.

Beat the sugar and lemon zest together. Add in the butter and cream until fluffy.

Add the egg and egg yolk and beat until well combined.

Add the vanilla and lemon juice to the creamed mixture.

In another bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Then with the beaters on slow, add the dry ingredients into the batter bowl.

Tip the dough into your prepared pan and spread it out evenly, all the way into the corners.

Bake in the preheated oven for 14-16 minutes, or until it is just starting to brown.

Cool the cookie bars on a wire rack until completely cool before frosting.

While the cookie bars are baking, you can make the frosting.

In a mixing bowl, beat the shortening and butter together. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat well until the shortening and butter are fully incorporated into the sugar.

Gradually add the milk, one teaspoon at a time, beating well with each addition until you get a spreadable frosting. You may not need all of the milk.

Once the sugar cookie bars are completely cooled, get your sprinkles ready. Pile the frosting on the cookie and smooth it out. I like to leave some dips and ridges to catch the sprinkles.

Immediately shake on your sprinkles so they’ll stick. I used two different sizes of sprinkles because I have a huge collection and it seemed like the right thing to do.

Chill for about 10-15 minutes, uncovered, then use a sharp knife to cut them into squares.

The frosting will firm up as it dries out. Once this happens, cover with cling film or store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Do you love the ease of baking brownies or cookie bars too? You are going to love this month's list of recipes from my fellow Baking Bloggers. Many thanks to our host Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for her behind the scenes work. 

• Chocolate Brownie Cake by Sneha's Recipe
• Chocolate Butterscotch Caramel Pecan Bars by Kelli’s Kitchen
• Cream Cheese Brownies starting with a Box Mix by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Dark Magic Brownies by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Easy Salted Caramel Brownies by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Egg-Less, Butter-Less, Chocolate Ragi Brownie by Cook with Renu
• Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars by Food Lust People Love
• Milk Chocolate Sour Cream Cake Brownies by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• No Bake Reese’s Bars by Jonesin’ For Taste
• Nutella S'Mores Bars by Palatable Pastime
• Oreo Cheesecake Brownie Bars by Cookaholic Wife
• Peppermint Patty Brownie Bites by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pineapple Bars by Simply Inspired Meals
• Triangle Delight Bars by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interesting in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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Grilled Zucchini Summer Salad #FoodieExtravaganza

Grilled zucchini summer salad is beautiful and tasty, the perfect plate of cheap and abundant zucchini and ripe grape tomatoes. Throw a few edamame on there for color and protein! It’s a great side dish or even main course for hot summer nights.

I’ve heard tales of zucchini patches so prolific that neighbors leave bags of produce on porches in the middle of the night, just to get rid of them. I’ve never been so lucky. It would just about make my day to come out one morning to find a free pile of zucchini on my porch! Along with their Cucurbita Pepo sibling, yellow crookneck squash, zucchini is probably my favorite summer vegetable.

If you’ve been reading this space for a while – I completely missed celebrating/mentioning my seven year anniversary in June! – you might already know that. I have so many zucchini recipes! At least a baker’s dozen, including Parmesan and Brie Topped Zucchini in a semolina crust, Zucchini-Wrapped Cheesy Pea Burgers, Baked Zucchini with Spicy Tomatoes and the not very beautiful but oh-so-tasty savory Zucchini Clafoutis.

If you are as big a fan of zucchini as I am, make sure you scroll down to the bottom of this post and check out the link list to many more delicious zucchini recipes from my Foodie Extravaganza friends.

Grilled Zucchini Summer Salad

This recipe builds on one I found originally in Jamie Oliver’s Happy Days with the Naked Chef.* I first made it in 2002 and have been adding ingredients to the zucchini, as the whim and what’s fresh take me, ever since. This recipe is easily doubled or trebled for a crowd.

Ingredients
1 large zucchini – about 8 oz or 225g
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 red chili pepper
1/2 clove garlic
Several fresh mint leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup or 55g shelled edamame (I buy these frozen and thaw.)
Small handful red grape tomatoes
Small handful yellow grape tomatoes

Method
Use a wide potato peeler to cut long strips off of the zucchini from end to end, discarding the first and last strips that are all peel.

Heat your grill pan until very hot and lay the zucchini strips on it single file, a few at a time. Watch them carefully and remove them from the pan with tongs when the grill lines become medium brown and come through to the top of the strips. No need to turn the strips over.

Arrange the grilled strips on your serving plate, making sure not to pile them on top of each other. You want them to be able to cool off. Piled together they’d just keep steaming and cooking.

When you’ve grilled all the zucchini, sprinkle them lightly with some flakey sea salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Mince the chili pepper and garlic and mix the two together. Sprinkle them on the zucchini from a height so they don’t clump together.

Cut your grape tomatoes in half and add them to the plate. Scatter the edamame around as well. Give the whole plate a good squeeze of fresh lemon and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Top with some washed mint leaves and serve.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month's wonderful host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out all of the zucchini dishes we are sharing in honor of National Zucchini Day on August 8th. How will you celebrate? 

• Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread from Cookaholic Wife
• Greek Inspired Breakfast Casserole from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Grilled Zucchini Summer Salad from Food Lust People Love
• Sugar-Free Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles from Palatable Pastime
• Zucchini Corn Fritters from Caroline's Cooking
• Zucchini Frittata from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Zucchini Pizza Rounds from Our Good Life
• Zucchini Sandwich Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Zucchini Stir Fry from Sneha's Recipe

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays, and we all post recipes using the same ingredient. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

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Apple and Date Muffins #MuffinMonday

Sweet ripe Medjool dates and tart green apple combine in these apple and date muffins to make a deliciously nutritious breakfast or snack.

It’s date season in the UAE so palm trees hang heavy with promise everywhere, even in my backyard. I have no idea if mine are any good to eat though, because we neglected the usual practice of bagging the dates with green mesh. The birds always get to them first. And I don’t begrudge them the treat.

Summer time in the UAE is hotter than the hinges of the gates of hell, dry and dusty to boot so I can’t imagine the birds have an easy time getting either water to drink or food to eat. With an irrigation that goes on three times a day and all the dates they could hope to eat, my backyard is pretty popular.

It sounds like I am more generous than I really am. If I’m honest, dates aren’t my favorite fruit to eat - they are sooooo sweet, too sweet for me mostly – but they are lovely to bake with. On those occasions, I leave the birds to their feast and buy a few Medjool dates.

Apple and Date Muffins

I recommend the fully ripened Medjool dates for this recipe as they are the sweetest dates I’ve ever tasted (although my neighbor Sandra’s dates come close!) and they are super sticky with goodness. Perfect for baking.

Ingredients
4 large Mejool dates
1 cup or 240ml milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 green apple, peeled and chopped finely
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
1/4 cup, firmly packed, or 50g dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1⁄4 cup or 60g butter, melted and cooled

Optional for topping: 1 Medjool date, chopped

Method
Pit and chop your dates, setting one aside for garnish, if desired

Put the rest in a heatproof bowl. Add in the half teaspoon of baking soda. Scald the milk and pour it over the chopped dates. Stir to help separate the bits of sticky date and set aside till cool. It will cool faster if you stir it occasionally.

Make ahead tip: If you want to bake your muffins first thing in the morning, do the scalded milk step the day before and pop the milk in the refrigerator once it has cooled.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin pan by greasing it with non-stick spray or lining it with muffin paper cups.

In a large bowl, whisk your flour and sugar with the baking powder and salt. In another bowl, add the eggs to the cooled date mixture.

Peel, core and finely chop the green apple, adding the bits to the liquid bowl immediately so they don’t turn brown. Pour in the butter and whisk it all together.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold until just combined.

A little flour might still show.

Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cups of your prepared muffin pan and then top each with some of the extra chopped date, if desired.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes in your preheated over or until golden brown.

Cool for a few minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely muffins we have for you this month. July is a good month for muffins! 

• Apple and Date Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Brown Sugar Oat Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Cinnamon Brown Sugar and Golden Raisin Muffins from Kelli's Kitchen
• Fresh Peach Streusel Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Rhubarb-Ginger Muffins with Rhubarb Streusel from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sugar-Free Mango Coconut Muffins from Palatable Pastime

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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