Baker Beware

Baker beware because I have discovered something dangerous. Twix bars. That's right. I said homemade twix bars. Hold, on I need a minute... Ok, I have control of my faculties again...but look at those! Oh man, these are like heaven in your mouth. Technically they are chocolate caramel shortbread, courtesy of How to Eat a Cupcake. I'm sorry to say they are super easy to make. Too easy! Basically you mix the shortbread ingredients, spread it out in a pan and bake it. Then you thicken some condensed milk and a little butter on the stove, pour it over the shortbread, and bake it some more. Then you sprinkle some chocolate chips over it, put it back in the oven to melt, and spread out the chocolate once it's all melty and delicious. Oh man. The hardest part was by far waiting to let it set up. Once they were hardened and cut up into pieces it was very difficult not to run back to the refrigerator every 5 minutes to sneak one. That's why I made sure to give half of it away to my friends the very next day. Hehe. They really taste best when eaten straight out of the refrigerator. These bars are the perfect mixture of buttery cookie, sweet, chewy caramel, and bittersweet chocolate. I am literally drooling right now.

PS: I was inspired to make these from Sara at Rhymes with Spoon. I don't know how she got her layers to look so pronounced, but she did. So my photography hats off to her!

Another thing I baked up this weekend was oatmeal blueberry scones, courtesy of Joy the Baker. This is my first attempt at scones, though I've saved off about 10 recipes now, I had just never gotten around to it before. Then I saw this recipe from Joy, and I'll just admit it, it was the oats. I am a sucker for oats in baked goods. They are so delicious and they're a whole grain! They looked yummy and quick and I had the spare time. I have to say, these are fantastic. I haven't made enough scones to know exactly what I want out of it, but these are darn good. They're not dense, heavy, or crumbly, like the kind you get at Starbucks. The oats add a nutty, chewy flavor, but they're still light and fluffy. They were a tad (the teeniest tad) on the dry side, but I think that's how scones should be, since they're meant to go with tea or coffee. I made them with blueberries because that's what I had in the freezer, but I think I'll have to pick up some raspberries so I can try that flavor next time. With a little of the apple butter I made last weekend, they were to die for. Yum!