Carmelitas

I'm not quite ready for fall to be over.

It seems like the fall season had just flown by, complete with a tropical hurricane and then a dreadful winter storm where snow ACTUALLY stuck to the ground for more than a few minutes and leaves were ripped from trees. Store windows are already filling with Christmas decorations, and yes, we did play Christmas songs on Friday night.

What I want are the days like Sunday. Days where it's in the 60s and sunny. Days where you leave in the morning thinking you'll need your jacket but take it off while you're at the playground with adorable kids or going on a long stroll with a good friend.  Days where the farmers' market is still overflowing with fresh produce.

These carmelitas combine everything I love into one perfect fall dessert bar. There's a buttery, oat-filled crust that's not too hard. There's an gooey layer of caramel that's still soft in the middle of the bar. Each bite is filled with bittersweet chocolate.

I cut these small because it's hard to have just one. And I'll savor these for awhile because they help me extend that fall feeling a little longer.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownie Bars

I've been winning contests since I was a kid. I'm not talking about the kind of contest where you need to have real skill and talent to win.

I'm talking about the contests where you enter your name and can randomly have your name drawn out of a hat as the winner.

I don't know what it is. Maybe since I won young, I've been more tempted to enter since then, increasing my chances over those who just walk by and think they don't have a chance.

Just a theory. 

As a kid, I won the huge Christmas stocking at the grocery store. It was taller than me. Taller than my dad, even. It was stuffed with cheap grocery store toys, and I loved it.

From the library's summer reading program, I won an awesome pair of roller skates. With whatever color wheels I wanted. :) 

I won a free library worth of books for my classroom (200 new Scholastic books), and a free library of books to give to another classroom in my school.

Most recently, it was The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook, published by Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil. I won it from a delightful blog giveaway she hosted.

It's amazing. I am nothing if not a cookie dough lover, and the cookbook, which features her egg-free cookie dough, shows you how to bring cookie dough into every baked good you can think of.

Since I've been on a chocolate and peanut butter kick since I was born, I had to bring peanut butter into her chocolate chip cookie dough brownie bars.

It was the right choice. As we've been over, peanut butter makes almost everything with chocolate in it even better.

And I made them in muffin tins to create individual cakes. Just to be cute.

They come together in a snap because you can whip up the cookie dough while the brownies are baking. When you top them with a scoop of ice cream, they get even more fantastic.

Blondies

I teach students who dislike chocolate.

I know what you're thinking. Really? They exist?

It's hard to believe, but they do.

They're the ones who turn down chocolate cupcakes during their classmates' birthdays and frown when I pull out brownies for a special treat.

So, I went to blondies for my last "bake for my students" project. I wanted a treat everyone would enjoy, and I also wanted to try something different.

I was also out of chocolate.

Deb calls these brownies infinitely adaptable, and I imagine that they are. I threw in M&Ms (I figured the few pieces of chocolate wouldn't distract the chocolate haters too much), but I would have happily included coconut, pecans and chocolate.

Easy. Easy. Easy.

Chocolate Chip Oreo Brownie Bars of Goodness

My students are bombarded by stories from my baking life. At least once a week, I tell them a story about a treat I made, a lesson I learned while baking, or a disaster I had in the kitchen (they particularly loved that one).

But I've never had a bigger reaction to my cooking than I did the day I brought these treats in for our Compliment Celebration. I don't think I've ever gotten more hugs (though it does mean my pictures are limited). And I was certainly glad I saved these treats for the last 10 minutes of the school day.

If you're looking at that picture and still thinking, "Katie, I'm not convinced," let me share with you some key quotes from my students that may persuade you.

• This is the best dessert I have EVER had. EVER. In my ENTIRE life. 
• Will you blog about the recipe? And send the link to my mom? 
• If you make this for me every day, I'll faint! 

This dessert couldn't be easier, and while it goes a bit against my homemade baking philosophy, I really did love the one, small brownie bar bite I had. And after eating that small piece, I was even happier that I had given the rest away. These are addictive. They're overwhelming and overindulgent in the best possible ways. 

Imagine a soft chocolate chip cookie crust, topped with double-stuffed Oreos and finished off with a warm dark chocolate brownie.  

Best of all, they come together in a snap. It's much quicker than making chocolate chip cookies because you don't have to bake tray after tray of cookies. It's just as easy as making boxed brownies. And with brownies, chocolate chip cookies and Oreos, it's three times as good. 

White and Dark Chocolate Brownies

The bridal shower we threw last weekend was not entirely traditional. We did introduce ourselves. We did drink copious amounts of lemonade with homemade strawberry puree and strawberry vodka. And we did count how many bows the future bride broke. She will be having three children.

But, there were none of those shower games that I've always disliked playing (this list is worth examining: number three is particularly bad).

Instead, we spent the time eating. Eating bruschetta topped with smoked salmon spread (made with smoked salmon my dad caught) and olives as appetizers. Eating more tarts than we could count and a delicious fresh salad for lunch. Eating loaves of fresh bread from a local bakery. Eating cake loaded with fresh fruit and delicious dense brownies.

The brownies did scream LOVE!

I made small pans of dark chocolate and white chocolate brownies (Yes, I know white chocolate is not really chocolate and I usually steer clear of it. I'll be attempting a version of this later with dark chocolate and milk chocolate). I froze the brownies, cut them into 16 pieces, and then, using a little heart cookie cutter, cut out white chocolate and dark chocolate hearts from the center of the brownies.

Deb from Smitten Kitchen calls the next step "swapping bellies." You take the white chocolate belly and place it in the center of the dark chocolate brownie. You take the dark chocolate belly and place it in the center of the white chocolate brownie.

Visit Smitten Kitchen to view the recipe for these delightful brownies!