Pumpkin Bars

Last summer my cousin's wife Cathy brought these amazing pumpkin bars to our Rigby Family Reunion. I seriously had never had a pumpkin bar as good as they were. I fell in love with them and I'm pretty sure that I ate 3 or 4 of them that day. I let her know that I really wanted the recipe for them, and about a week later it showed up in the mail. I was delightfully delighted!
Well, for some crazy, unexplainable reason, it took me 7 months to get around to actually making them. Who the heck knows why! But then, I made up for lost time and made 3 pans of these in 1 week. I tell no lie. 3 in a week! Now, don't worry, my little family didn't eat all 3 pans. Each of them were shared. But we definitely ate our fair share of them, and they were soooooo good. You don't need to wait until the fall to make this pumpkin recipe. Make it RIGHT NOW! They are amazing. Make sure you make the creamy, dreamy frosting with them. You can't substitute anything else! Promise me that you will NEVER put a can of store bought frosting on these delicious pumpkin pieces of heaven.

Pumpkin Bars

2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)

Blend together sugar, oil, and eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add can of pumpkin and mix well again. Put batter in a sheet pan that has been sprayed well. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool completely, then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
1 lb powdered sugar

Mix together well until light and fluffy.

Orange Carrot Cookies

My friend Caroline made these cookies for me when we were both living in Iowa City, Iowa.  Our husbands were both students there, my husband getting his MBA and her husband going to Dental School.  We lived in the same apartment complex and traded babysitting. We were instant friends and have been blessed to stay in touch while both moving to different parts of the country. Caroline also taught me how to make a killer bbq beef brisket that I will have to share the recipe for sometime soon!
When I made these, I was out of baking powder, so I found a way online to make a substitution using baking soda and cream of tarter.  I don't know if it affected the outcome, (they were still AMAZING) so if yours look a little different than my picture, don't be alarmed; that could be the reason.

Orange Carrot Cookies

3/4 cup shortening (I used butter)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup raw shredded carrots or mashed cooked carrots (I used the raw shredded)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
a little grated orange peel

Mix ingredients together.  Form dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp orange juice
a little grated orange peel
a pinch of salt.

Mix together and frost cookies while they are still hot.

Lemon Meltaways

My husband came home from one of his church meetings a couple weeks ago and told me all about these amazing cookies our friend Carrie had made and sent to the meeting with her husband Rich. He couldn't stop talking about them and begged me to call Carrie for the recipe.  I made them for a little Valentine Dessert to take to his mom's house for Sunday dinner (thus the pink frosting, instead of yellow).  Everyone loved them.  They are really simple to make, but be careful when you frost them... they are super crumbly!  This isn't the kind of cookie you want to make if your kiddos want to help you frost cookies (I learned that the hard way!). Carrie told me that you can also make them peppermint cookies, by replacing the lemon juice with peppermint extract. I really want to make them again, trying them with the peppermint extract.

Lemon Meltaways

Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn starch

Glaze:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 T milk (add more milk, 1/2 Tbsp at a time, if needed)
2-3 drops yellow food coloring


Cookies:
In mixing bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in lemon juice.  Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to cream mixture and mix well. Shape into small balls.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min, or until bottoms are lightly browned.  Remove from sheet to cool.

Glaze:
In small mixing bowl, beat butter until fluffy.  Add powdered sugar, milk, lemon juice and food coloring.  beat until smooth.  Spread over cooled cookies.

I doubled the recipe and it made about 40-45 cookies.

Banana Sour Cream Bars

Yummy!  These bars are dangerous.  They are so light, and fluffy, and yummy, but the down side to them being so light and fluffy and yummy is that you can eat a ton of them before you realize that you have eaten a ton of them. I got the recipe from my friend Carrie Castleberry.  After I tasted them I knew I needed the recipe.

Banana Sour Cream Bars

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter (softened)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup smashed bananas
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Cream sugar, sour cream, butter and eggs.  Mix in bananas and vanilla, then add the flour, salt, and baking soda.  Pour into a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides) and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Frosting

4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter (softened)
3 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbsp. hot water (add little bits of hot water if it is too thick)

Frost bars after they have cooled.

The Best Chocolate Frosting Ever

This frosting is amazing. I (of course) got the recipe from Lori. Thank you Lori! The Chocolate Bundt Cake just isn't as good with any other frosting. I also use this frosting for the Peanut Butter Bars recipe I posted previously. There is also nothing better than a fresh strawberry dipped in this frosting. Oh Yum!

Chocolate Frosting

1 cube butter
1/3 cup buttermilk (I usually just use regular milk)
2 T cocoa (I usually use about 3)
about 3 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in sauce pan, stir in buttermilk and cocoa. Bring to a boil, then pour into bowl and add powdered sugar. Mix with mixer, then immediately pour over cooled cake