Recipe: Whole Wheat Oatmeal Molasses Dark Chocolate Gooey Bars

OMG these gooey bars are sooooo good. As I write this, with a mouthful of chocolate-y, oatmeal-y goodness, my heart is literally breaking over the fact that they're all gone. So my crazy, demanding, vegan/vegetarian sister came home this weekend, and threatened me (by knife-point) to make her some sugar-y baked goods to get her through the four midterms she has this week. I found this recipe and decided to go with it since it was easy enough to make egg-less, and it looked incredibly delicious and kinda healthy. I made two batches, one egg-less for the crazy pseudo-vegan, and one for the rest of us normal people. 

Since I didn't have any unsweetened applesauce on hand, I decided to use mashed banana with a little bit of baking powder as my egg substitute, and it seemed to work fairly well, lending the gooey bar a faint banana taste, which blended well with the oatmeal and chocolate flavors. I was personally concerned that the molasses flavor was overpowered by the banana, but no one else seemed to think so. 

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Molasses Dark Chocolate Gooey Bars:

Ingredients:

-1 cup old fashioned oatmeal

-1/2 cup whole wheat flour

-1/2 cup all-purpose flower

-1/2 cup canola oil

-3/4 cup sugar

-2 heaping tablespoons dark molasses

-1 egg (or egg substitute)

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1 tsp vanilla

-3/4 tsp sea salt

-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1.) The first batch I made was the egg-less one, so for my egg substitute, I combined 1/4 cup mashed banana (about 1/2 a banana) with 1 tsp baking powder.

2.) Combine all the wet ingredients and the sugar: egg (or egg substitute), oil, sugar, molasses and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.

3.) Carefully incorporate your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add both the flours, baking soda, and salt first.

4.) Gently fold in the chocolate chips, until well interspersed throughout the batter.

5.) Lastly, add in the oatmeal and mix well.

6.) Spread the batter out on a foiled-lined or parchment-lined 8x8 pan, and press down with spatula to even out batter.

7.) Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and once cooled, cut into squares and enjoy!

Recipe: Death by Chocolate & Creepy Crawler Cupcakes

So for the first of my fall food/dessert posts I chose to make Death by Chocolate and Creepy Crawler cupcakes. In all honestly, these cupcakes are super easy because I cheated all the away around. I bought boxed triple chocolate fudge cupcake mix, dark chocolate frosting, chocolate sprinkles and Twizzlers. Since I already had some left over candy eyes from my Minion cupcakes, I was all set to go. Just as an FYI, both cupcakes involve the same cupcake batter and frosting, the only difference is decorations. The end result turned out to be temptation in cupcake form. 

Death by Chocolate and Creepy Crawler Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

-1 box chocolate cake mix

-1 can of dark chocolate frosting (homemade frosting is even better)

-Chocolate sprinkles

-Snickers

-Red or Black Twizzlers

-Candy eyes

1.) Bake cupcakes according to the instructions on the box.

2.) For the "Creepy Crawler" cupcakes, frost the cupcakes after they have cooled completely. Sprinkle the top with chocolate sprinkles until completely covered. Put a dab of chocolate frosting on the back of each candy eye and stick it into place. Last, but not least, use a toothpick or wooden skewer to poke six holes (3/side) on your cupcake and gently insert the Twizzlers.

3.) For the "Death by Chocolate" cupcakes, grab a bunch of fun-size Snicker bars and cut each bar into 4-5 pieces. Give each cupcake a nice, thick layer of frosting, and then randomly arrange the snickers pieces on the top.







4.) Fill a ziplock baggie with 2 heaping tbsps of dark chocolate frosting, carefully cut off the tip, and pipe random designs over the Snickers. Easy as pie, and they look absolutely sinful.

                         

Enjoy!

Recipe: Easy Garlic Knots

These garlic knots are the absolute best for two reasons: First of all, they're so garlicky and yummy, and secondly, they're SUPER easy to make. I usually try and stay away from making garlic knots because it takes SO long and they never taste like the ones at the restaurant, but these were absolutely delicious. Definitely try these out if you get the chance: they make the perfect addition to any meal. 

Easy Garlic Knots: 

Ingredients: 

-1 tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

-5 tbsp butter or olive oil (I used a combination of the two)

-2 tsp freshly minced garlic

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 1/2 tsp oregano

-1/2 tsp sea salt

-2 tbsp shredded Parmesan

1.) Separate the biscuits from one another and then slice each biscuit in half.

2.) Roll out each piece into a rope easy to knot (approximately 5-6 inches).

3.) Knot each of the ropes loosely; you don't have to make a full on knot, just tuck the ends in.

4.) In a bowl, melt 5 tbsp of butter (or olive oil) and then add the remaining ingredients. Whisk together mixture until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated.

5.) Dunk your biscuit knot into the garlic-herb-butter mixture or brush the mixture on to the knot.

6.) Once all the knots have been thoroughly coated, spread them out on a baking pan, and stick them in a 400 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven for 10-12 minutes (until golden brown).

7.) Once the knots are a beautiful golden brown, take them out and let them cool for a few minutes.

8.) Once they have cooled down, coat them lightly in the olive oil mixture again or brush the mixture all over the knots, and serve immediately. 

Yum Yum Yum