Peanut butter granola bars

By now, you've probably realized that in a fearful way, I worship Martha Stewart. I didn't realize this until one day, I signed up for her daily newsletter. I also keep going back to her site for her recipes (note: I always tinker, but her recipes require minimal tinkering).

Case in point: granola bars. I'm a fan of granola bars but I never know what goes in them - plus store-bought ones tend to not be filling (or so I think). So in my quest for a granola bar recipe, I turned to Martha once again and found this recipe.

The recipe worked out really well, though if I were to attempt it again, I would leave out the vegetable oil. The oil in the peanut butter is enough to prevent anything from sticking to the parchment paper. I would also reduce the sugar from 1/2 cup to 1/3 of a cup.

After the granola mixture baked and cooled down, I had to cut the bars and package them (many of you also know that I rarely eat what I bake) to give away.
Like actual granola bars, I packaged each one in saran wrap and then placed them in a tin takeout box. The  fit was snug, and I was afraid to just shove them in the box - so I game up with a solution a la Martha: a pull tag!

All I can say is that I'm extremely proud of this.  Oh, and the granola bars were extremely yummy too.

On my way to cake...

So I tried this Martha Stewart brownie recipe (again) - being careful to pre-beat the eggs before adding to the chocolate mixture (this way, you don't risk over mixing the batter and ending up with a rock) - and it was a success!  Feedback has been extremely positive, and I'm encouraged enough to start looking for a very simple cake recipe (please feel free to send me some links).

I also substituted semi-sweet chocolate chunks for semi-sweet chocolate chips and reduced the sugar slightly.  Below is the recipe with some of my own adjustments.  

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Makes 9 large or 16 small squares

FOR THE BATTER
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan
- 2 ounces good-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (SUBSTITUTE: SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS)
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (2/3 CUP)
- 3 large eggs (ADDITIONAL DIRECTIONS: BEAT THE EGGS BEFORE ADDING TO THE BUTTER)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Butter lining (not overhang).
- Make batter: Put butter and chocolates in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
- Whisk granulated sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.
- Make filling: Stir together butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
- Pour one-third of batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Drop dollops of peanut butter filling (about 1 tablespoon each) on top of batter, spacing about 1 inch apart. Drizzle remaining batter on top, and gently spread to fill pan. Drop dollops of remaining filling on top. Gently swirl peanut butter filling into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers (ADDITIONAL DIRECTIONS: MAKE SURE YOUR KNIFE TOUCHES THE BOTTOM OF THE PAN).
- Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 45* minutes.
- Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. (TIME: AT 325, I NEEDED TO BAKE THE BROWNIES FOR APPROXIMATELY 50 MINUTES THE CENTRE OF THE BROWNIE SOLIDIFIED)

The brownie is cake like!

...too bad I over-swirled the peanut butter and reduced the sugar too much.  Beautiful texture - on the inside - but the outside bubbled and cracked, and the flavour was extremely bland.  The result?  Into the composting bin...

The road to cake is paved with brownies...

I cannot bake cakes.  If my life depended on me making a cake that didn't resemble a brick, I'd be in deep trouble.  I don't know if it's because I over or under beat the eggs - I've done both - but my cakes never turn out.  So a few months ago,  I decided I'd take a step back and try something in between a cookie and a cake.

The answer?  Brownies.  And who better than Martha Stewart (crazy, high-strung perfectionist that she is) to teach me about brownies?

To date, I've made cake brownies, fudge brownies (the fact that there are different types of brownies was news to me), rocky road brownies (they were either extremely loved or met with lukewarm enthusiasm), and something called blondies.  Today, I tried making peanut butter brownies.  (The recipe can be found here.)

As I type this, I am waiting for the brownies to bake.  The house smells like a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup - flavourful chocolate mixed with peanut butter.

I'll write a follow-up post to let everyone know how it goes.  Hopefully it'll turn out - bringing me one step closer to successfully baking a cake.  Stay-tuned.