Banownies 1.0.

 

Check out my new post: Banownies, revisited!  


Yes, I have been on a bit of a brownie crazy lately. You'll thank me later.. In the meantime why don't you try out my lovely new take on brownies.

Groan.

Sigh.

Eat the whole pan. Come back for more. The latter is NOT recommended.

Warning- these are flourless concoctions that are drowning in the ooey gooey fudgieness factor. Look at the texture of the above photo!


Banownies 1.0. (Bananas and brownies got married ;)      
    makes one 9x13 pan  

    1 1/2 cups  good quality cocoa powder  
    2 tsp  baking powder  
    1/2 tsp  baking soda  
    2T  vanilla extract  
    6 small ripe bananas - mashed  
    6 eggs - use less if they are jumbo, mine were fairly small  
    8 oz  (1 cup)  unsalted butter, 70% melted  
    2 cups  UNPACKED brown sugar  
    2 cups  white sugar  
    2 cups  chocolate chips of choice  
    2 cups  chopped or whole, raw or roasted walnuts
    Coconut flakes for topping

To make your "banownies":
  1.   Combine in one giant bowl.
  2.   Mix-e-vous.
  3.   Pour into a sprayed/greased 9x13 pan.
  4.   Place in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake until the coconut has browned, the sides have set, and the middle has a little bit of jiggle.

   5.   Serve to some VERY lucky people. Whipped cream anyone?

Once you take these babies out of the oven, DO NOT cut into them immediately (this is in all seriousness folks), the brownies need time to set. I placed my batch straight onto a wire rack in the fridge. These are also very ooey and gooey so keep them in the fridge, especially now, since it's summer.


I am immensely happy with this recipe. It's so easy. Your grandmother or a 2 year old could do it. Well, maybe not. Grandma sure could though!

These brownies could probably be made with some substitutions, like switching butter for coconut oil, or subbing sugar for maple syrup or honey, but that would definitely change the consistency of the batter. I don't believe they would cook up as nicely as the real recipe. Don't let me neglect to mention that these brownies are quite healthy for you, but they DON'T taste like it. This is the ULTIMATE decadent brownie that you'd never know was good for you. It has good fats (think butter and coconut oil) and flavanoids and antioxidants (think chocolate) and fruit (bananas).

Oh wait, there's 4 cups of sugar. Never mind... but it's not like you eat the whole pan yourself right?

Spicy Corn Salad

I created this salad on a whim last summer and have never looked back. It is soo delicious! This satisfies my spice-tooth and is a very easy salad to make ahead for a summer picnic, barbeque, luau or whatever your summer party plans are. The vibrant colors in this salad make it appealing to kids, and adults love it too because of the rich flavor. And besides, who doesn't love corn?

I used frozen corn in this recipe originally, but using left over corn on the cob from last weeks barbeque would be fine too.

Spicy Corn Salad

2 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and thinly diced

2 cups frozen corn

1 red pepper, finely diced

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cup carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tsp each olive oil and coconut oil - or as needed

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp each black pepper and crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp each salt and basil

To make your corn salad:

1. On medium heat, saute frozen corn with oils until cooked. Add spices. Remove from skillet and place in a bowl.

2. Next put onion, garlic and pepper in the skillet and cook. Remove, and place in the bowl with the corn.

3. Add carrots to skillet and cook until slightly crunchy.

4. Mix all components together.

5. Serve warm or refridgerate a few hours and serve cold. For some extra spice and green color add some finely chopped jalapenos.

This can sometimes turn out very spicy. If you don't like things very hott, add a little bit at a time until you reach your desired heat level. This salad is slightly labor intensive, but using a food processor would make it go quickly. This can also be made ahead or made the day of. It keeps well in the refridgerator for a week or so. I would suggest something to do with the extras, but I don't think there is going to be any ;)

Daring Baker Challenge: Bakewell Tart, June 2009

I know! I am posting a June challenge in July?! I have lots of excuses, but you probably aren't interested in hearing them.

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

I have never made a bakewell tart, or a frangipane and so this was a new endeavor for me. The whole process went smoothly and all of the people that tried my creation really enjoyed it! I stuck to the recipe 100% and did not make it gluten free. I didn't want to eat it, so I didn't bother. This wouldn't be a hard "pie" to do a gluten free version of either.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 9” tart
- mine was 10 inches

Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)


Resting time: 15 minutes


Baking time: 30 minutes


Equipment needed: 9” tart pan or pie tin, rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1 cup - 8 oz) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart:
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam - I used raspberry with lotsa seeds - onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Note:


• You can use whichever jam you wish - doesn't matter what flavor. I used Smuckers Organic raspberry because it was my brothers and was a jam that was "wheated."

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (pie crust)

Prep time: 15-20 minutes


Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)


Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

8oz all purpose flour, 1oz sugar, ½ tsp salt, 4oz unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better),
2 egg yolks, ½ tsp almond extract (optional- I used vanilla instead), 1-2 Tbsp cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes


Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

4.5 oz unsalted butter, softened,
4.5 oz icing sugar- I used regular refined sugar,
3 eggs, ½ tsp almond extract- again, I used vanilla,
4.5 oz ground almonds - mine where blanched, 1oz all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. Don’t panic- it will be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, and keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds).

I apologize for the crazy format of the font. Blogger is a little weird. I pasted in most of the post since it was already given to us Daring Bakers, as opposed to typing it out again - no way! - and this seems to mess up the normal font formatting.

Red Pepper, Spinach, Feta and Aspargus Pizza

One thing that struck me today was the fact that I have not yet stated my pizza allegiance. For those of you in the gluten free food blogging realm you know EXACTLY what that means. Dun, dun, dun..

The giant question is: Bob's Red Mill or Namaste? And of course, a homemade crust, but that's for another time.

Chances are that if you are a gluten free blogger, you've been around the block when it comes to trying out products, and pizza crusts are no different. For years, as gluten free products slowly began trickling into existence, there was no pizza crust product on the shelves. Then Namaste foods was born and they introduced all their mixes and more notably, their pizza crust mix.

Namaste's crust was around for a while and received mixed reviews from gluten free people around the country. Some people hate it, some people love it. I am of the latter.

It strikes me as funny that I've never mentioned how much I love Namaste's pizza crust. My family and I tried it out way at the beginning of our gluten free lives and we've never looked back. It just worked. I've never thought to mention it until just now. Namaste, consider yourself mentioned.

I am the "pizza queen" in my house and in my house, I don't think I've ever made a pizza the same way twice. This version is by far the best pizza I have ever made. Basically, any pizza with feta, spinach, and asparagus on it, in any combination, is wicked, WICKED good.

Red Pepper Spinach Feta and Asparagus Pizza

For the crust:

cornmeal - for dusting

olive oil MISTO - for spraying

1 1/2 cups Namaste pizza mix

1/2 cup warm water

2 tsp olive oil

For the rest:

sauce of choice - I like Bove's Organic Marinara sauce

baby spinach

spices:

garlic powder

onion powder

cayenne powder

sea salt

pepper

red pepper flakes

cheese (best if you can get them raw):

mozzarella

feta - a GOOD one, not Fage

parmesan

toppings:

asparagus chopped into 1-2 inch pieces

red pepper - diced

half vadalia/sweet onion - diced

meat of choice - I used browned ground beef

To make your pizza:

1. Prepare the Namaste crust. I put all the ingredients into my food processor with the dough blade and whiz into a ball.

2. Roll on to a pizza crisper - these are essential for a good GF pizza crust, dusted with cornmeal and sprayed with Misto. Don't worry, even with the holes on the bottom of the pan there won't be a mess on your counter top. Dough will be 1/4" - 1/8" thick.

3. Bake at 425 for about 8 minutes or until the pizza crust edges start to pull away from the pan and are slightly firm to touch. Remove from the oven and place on pot holder.

4. Spray crust LIGHTLY with Misto and rub in spices into the crust.

5. Spoon out desired amount of sauce and distribute evenly around the crust with the back of a large spoon. I have found that with GF crusts it is better to use less because of the wetness factor.

6. Layer spinach on top of the sauce.

7. Lightly sprinkle mozzarella cheese.

8. Crumble feta on top.

9. Sprinkle toppings evenly over the cheese, adding smaller vegetables first and meat last.

10. Sprinkle with black pepper, lightly with red pepper flakes, and lastly the parmesan cheese - don't be shy here.

11. Pop into the oven for the last time and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Do not over cook or the cheese will begin to burn and gradually turn browner and browner..

12. Remove from oven, slice into 8th's and EAT!

We always do this as a family on friday nights. Mom and I make pizza, the boys anxiously wait, we pop in a Netflix movie and have movie night enjoying yummy pizza and popcorn. Sometimes we have ice cream later. We love love ice cream. Probably more than we do pizza. But pizza is so so good :)

My brother, who is still a wheat eater even loves this pizza. However, if you are looking for a yeasty, bready, pizza crust this is not for you. This pizza has a thin and crispy gluten free pizza crust. I will be experimenting to get a bready gluten free pizza crust in the future.. But for now Namaste is the order of the day.

Grain-free Coconut Flour Brownies.

I think I am the brownie queen. Try all of my brownie recipes and you'll see why. Or, just try this one. I can live with that.

The cookies that I looove so much I have turned into a brownie recipe. It was so easy. It was also effortlessly good. Seems to me there can be endless experiments with this recipe. The cookies are by far the best, and so are these brownies. They both take the cake in my book. Pun intended.

Grain-free Coconut Flour Brownies.

    makes one 8x8 or 9x9 pan

    1/2 cup  organic coconut oil or softened grass-fed butter - source

    3/4 cup  cane sugar or maple syrup (use grade B for best flavor)

    2  real pastured eggs

    1/2 tsp  vanilla extract

    1/3 heaping cup  cocoa powder of choice - source

    1/4 cup  organic coconut flour - source

    1/2 tsp  baking powder
    1/2 tsp  baking soda

    3/4-1 cup  chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar of choice - source

    chopped walnuts for topping

To make your brownies:

  1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2.  In a medium bowl, use a mixer to cream butter with sugar, or use a spatula to mix maple syrup and coconut oil, until light and fluffy.

  3.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.

  4.  Add vanilla extract.

  5.  In another bowl, sift cocoa powder and coconut flour to remove lumps. Add baking soda and baking powder.

  6.  Stir flour mixture into wet mixture and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

  7.  Pour into a greased/oiled 8x8 or 9x9 pan, depending on how thick you want your brownies. Sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired.

  8.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until center is slightly set and springy, and the sides are pulling away from the pan.

  9.  Cool completely on a wire rack (allows air to cool the bottom of the pan, and your brownie bottoms come out easier) and serve.

Look at the wonderful texture!

Please resist digging in right away, and give these brownies some time to cool. They are even better after a night in the refridgerator and warmed in the toaster oven. I like to top mine with homemade RAW milk vanilla ice cream, a recipe from Sally Fallon in her book, Nourishing Traditions. NT is such a great resource with tons of nourishing traditional recipes!

I won't neglect to mention that these brownies are low carb, delicious and healthy treat, especially when made with maple syrup, and grass-fed butter or coconut oil.

Enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal

I have remembered eating baked oatmeal ever since I can remember anything. At camp in the summer there was always a fresh batch one morning of the week. And every week when that certain day rolled around, we swarmed the kitchen when it was our turn. Going up to get one piece, go back, sit down, devour and go back for seconds. Ask for a third piece. Wish for a fourth piece. Get one if your lucky. It was that good.

Since going gluten free, I can't have the same baked oatmeal as everybody else since the camp stuff is made with tainted oats, but I can make my own. Oh, it is so easy and soo good. If you never have made baked oatmeal before, nows your chance. No excuses. None.

This recipe is different than all the other "baked oatmeal" recipes you can find on the internet. This recipe is tried and true. Passed down lovingly from baker to baker through the generations of summer after summer at camp. Even the self proclaimed "oatmeal haters" love this recipe. And you will love it too.

Brookwoods Baked Oatmeal

3/4 cup oil - you can use butter but it's never been done so I don't know about the taste, I use coconut oil

1 cup sugar - I use maple syrup

3 eggs

4 1/2 cup GF steel cut oats

2 3/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tablespoons + 2 tsp milk or alternative - I use almond milk, coconut milk or a raw milk

1 tsp cinnamon - feel free to add more, I usually do

To make your baked oatmeal:

1. Combine oil, sugar, eggs, and beat until glossy yellow.

2. Add remaining ingredients.

3. Add cinnamon.

4. Pour into a 9x13 sprayed/greased pan.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

6. Let cool at least 5 minutes before enjoying.

Baked oatmeal tastes great and will taste even better as it sits in the fridgerator waiting to be eaten. I make up a batch and use it for breakfast for the week. I think a 9x13 pan might be a little bit too big. The end result should be 2 inches thick, and mine has been a little thin lately. If you have a slightly smaller pan it might work better. The weird measures in this recipe are because the recipe has been scaled down from two large sheet cakes. I personally think the texture and taste is better from those huge batches, but that's just what I have grown up eating. This is a great way to get some nutritious oats into kids that don't like it! Be sure to warm it up in the microwave and top it with some nuts, peanut butter, berries, milk or yogurt. My all time favorite used to be baked oatmeal and Stonyfield farms vanilla lowfat yogurt. And of course, you can eat baked oatmeal intact, that is, still in the square form, or you can break it up with your spoon. Everyone has a certain way they do it each time.

But it's so much more than food. So much more than a recipe, or getting your kids to eat something they would rather die than touch. It's the cold camp morning and the anticipation of warm baked oatmeal goodness and wondering if I'll get a second piece. It's about a memory and the nostalgia I get when a warm bowl of baked oatmeal is nestled between my fingers.

Gluten-free Whole-Grain Brownies.

Note - I no longer use gluten-free grain-based flours in my baking.  This recipe is from a few years ago when I was just learning about nutrition.  As my diet has changed I have found that not eating a lot of carbohydrates and staying grain-free and gluten-free is best for my health.  Now I prefer to limit my sweets consumption and when I do bake I chose almond, coconut and other grain-free flours instead.

Healthy but yummy, that's really the only way to describe these brownies. I won't forget to mention though that they are also gluten free, soy free, sugar free, whole grain and simply delicious? Oh wait, I already mentioned the delicious part. But are yummy and delicious the same thing?

I created the recipe for these brownies a few months ago. From then on they were my go-to brownie recipe. These "every day" gluten free brownies are a healthy alternative that doesn't skimp on flavor. I can eat these and not feel guilty. Each bite has a hint of chocolate, melt in your mouth smoothness and banananess.

What these brownies are not: ooey-gooey and fudgy. This is a cake-y brownie. Some brownie purists say that real brownies are fudgy, others say they have to be cake-y and a select few ride on the middle of the fence demanding both worlds. I will spare you the guess work. Let me repeat- these are cakey!

Gluten-free Whole-Grain Brownies.

    makes one 8x8 pan

    6T  coconut flour

    4T (heaping) cocoa powder

    2T  millet flour

    2T  quinoa flour

    2T  teff flour

    1 tsp  baking powder

    1/4 tsp  baking soda

    1/4 tsp  sea salt

    1/2 tsp  vanilla

    3T  honey or maple syurup

    1  happy egg

    1  mashed banana

    1/2 cup  coconut water

    1/2 cup  raw whole cows/goat milk or alternative

    2/3 cup  chocolate chips of choice, I use enjoy life

    Ground walnuts for topping

To make your brownies:

  1.   Mix wet ingredients in one bowl.

  2.   Mix dry ingredients in another bowl.

  3.   Pour into a buttered or MISTOed 8x8 pan.

  4.   Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the top is spongy and bounces back like a cake, and the sides have begun to pull away from the pan.

  5.   LET COOL, slice into squares and serve.

  6.   Freeze leftovers (if there are any) in individually wrapped plastic wrap + foil for no more than 6 months.

These brownies go best warm with some cold vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with maple syrup, or chocolate sauce and ENJOY!

Grain-free "Favorite" Chocolate Coconut Flour cookies

All it took was one time, and it was history. I have found the cookie. It is also blissfully gluten free, easy, extremely forgiving and easy to substitute ingredients, chocolately, and so so good.

I found the recipe for these cookies online at wholefoods.com- baked them once and my family was hooked. Now they are known as "those really good chocolate coconut cookies" and I am whipping up a batch of these at LEAST once a month, if not more.

The original recipe that I posting here only makes about 18 cookies, which may not be enough. They are that good ;)  I have also given the recipe tripled, so it's easy to make more to satisfy your chocolate addition. Don't be afraid to freeze these either! These cookies freeze really well (just make sure you keep it under six months). They are also easy to vary in flavor. You may make this recipe a bizillion times and never get bored. The possibilities are endless...

Grain-free "Favorite" Chocolate Coconut flour Cookies

  adapted from Whole Foods
  makes about 18 cookies, depending on size

    1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened (I usually use organic softened coconut oil)

    3/4 cup sugar 
 (I usually use maple syrup, grade B)

    2 real eggs 


    1/2 tsp vanilla extract 


    1/3 cup cocoa powder 
 (I usually use either Ghiradelli or raw cacao powder)

    1/4 cup coconut flour  (Tropical Traditions) 

    1/2 cup chocolate chips  (I like Ghiradelli 100% or Enjoy Life
)

    1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

-To make a triple batch-

    3/4 cup softened butter

    2 1/4 cups sugar

    6 eggs

    1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

    1 cup cocoa powder

    3/4 cup coconut flour

    1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

    1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

To make your cookies:

  1.  Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. 



  2.  In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. 



  3.  Sift together cocoa and flour into a second bowl, then add to butter-sugar mixture and beat just until combined.

  4.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts, then set aside to let batter rest for 5 minutes. (Coconut flour will absorb the liquid and thicken as it sits.) 



  5.  Drop the cookie dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between cookies.

  6.  Bake 13 to 15 minutes, or until cookies are slightly set in the center. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

I cannot say enough of these cookies. The cookies in the picture do not have chopped walnuts in the batter; I just pressed a few walnuts into the tops when they came out. After baking would work too. You can use any nut you like, or press in another candy like Reeses or M+Ms. I other batches have tried adding leavening agents to make them more fluffy (which I did not prefer) and lime zest so they would have a hint of lime (that part was tasty). These cookies have endless variations!

It's cookie time!

Creamy Cashew Bars

If you asked me how I came up with recipes I would have to laugh. Recipe inspiration comes at the weirdest times. Sometimes in the middle of the night? Sometimes when I am trying to study. Thankfully, this one came when I was baking a long time favorite, baked oatmeal. The idea of this bar mainly stemmed from the fact that my Dad loves cashews, and he always needs a little variety in his diet. So what should I make? A healthy delicious nut bar - of sorts.

My parents REALLY like this, and have been widdling the pan down. Soon it will be empty. Then I will make it with peanut butter, and then I can have it. I avoid cashews because I learned I am extremely sensitive to them. That and coffee, which may bring some of you pain, to think I would have to live without the bittersweet goodness of steamy dark coffee. But you know what? I didn't like it much anyways. It's safe to say if you see a recipe on this site with cashews or coffee- I am not eating it.

Therefore, I haven't tasted this recipe, and so I don't know how it really is. My mom seems to have a pretty good feel for tasting recipes, so I trust her.. and man, it smells so good! There were also some initial problems with the recipe, but I have thought of how to fix it, and though I haven't tried it, I am sure it will work- I will post these instructions. Feel free to use any type of nut combination you'd like.

Creamy Cashewy Layer Bars

by Me

First layer:

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/3 cup brown rice flour

1 Tablespoon Teff flour

2 tsp brown sugar (optional)

1/4 tsp EACH baking powder + soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

3-4 heaping Tablespoons Spectrum Organics organic palm oil shortening (or butter)

~1/4 cup cashews (raw or roasted)

Second layer:

1 LARGE very ripe banana

1 cup GF oats

1 Tablespoon coconut flour

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup organic roasted cashew butter

~1/8 cup milk (full fat is best or even better- heavy cream)

Top sprinkling layer:

1 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup medium shred coconut

1 T organic oat bran

warm water as needed

Assembling the bar:

1. As if making a pastry or pie dough, mix the First layer ingredients and cut in the fat (palm oil shortening or butter) until it resembles course pea-like crumbs.

2. Press into a sprayed (using your trusty Misto) 8x8 pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with cashews, pressing them down slightly into the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

^Just like making a pie.

3. While the first layer is in the oven, mix together the second layer ingredients mashing the banana, and mixing well- adding the milk last. I used probably about 1/8 cup of milk, but if your mixture is quite sticky, add more. The second layer should hold together and be creamy but not liquidy.

4. Mix together the top layer ingredients in a separate bowl. The mixture will be a little sticky and won't just be spreadable like sand. Add more sugar to make it easier.

5. Once the first layer has baked a little, pull it out and spread the second layer mixture evenly on top, making sure to get all the corners.

6. Sprinkle the top layer on evenly.

7. Pop into the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes; then turn it up to 400 for about 5 minutes, then back down to 350 for about 5 minutes or until done. The top of the bar should be firm, but give a little and have a few little cracks (think the top of a brownie).

8. Place and store in the fridge. Cut when cool. Serve and enjoy!

You can use this recipe for when you are on the go and need something tasty and nutritious with some protein. You can have some for breakfast, or snack. You can have some for dinner with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. You can bake 100 batches, hijack the Space Shuttle, go into orbit and eat this for the rest of your life. The latter is not recommended.