Lemon Bars

These lemon bars are a staple at my house.  I'm not a huge chocolate lover (I know, I know) so I would have these over brownies any day of the week.  I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand so they are easy to make.  Just be sure to leave enough time for them to cool, at least a few hours.

If you have made Lemon Bars from a box and liked them, give these a try.  There really is NO comparison!

Lemon Bars

2 cups flour

1 cup butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Cream together until mixture becomes fine crumbs.  press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.  Crust should still be light in color.

Combine the following and pour over the hot crust:

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

4 T. flour

4 T. lemon juice

the rind of one lemon, grated

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 more minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Let cool completely before cutting and removing from pan.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

I love just about anything with caramel in it.  So years ago when I picked up a Pillsbury Bakeoff Cookie cookbook at the checkout at the grocery store,  I was hoping there would be something caramel in it.  Sure enough there was, Oatmeal Carmelitas.  I was hooked from the first time I made them.  I have a cousin who loves them too.  She usually asks me to bring them to family get-togethers.  So here they are...

Oatmeal Carmelitas

crust

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups butter, softened

filling

1 12 oz jar caramel ice cream topping

3 T flour

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine crust ingredients in a large bowl and mix with electric mixer on low until crumbly.  Reserve half of crumb mixture(about 3 cups) for topping.  Press remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine caramel topping and 3T flour.  Remove partially baked crust from oven, sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture.  I also use chocolate from a bar.  I just chop it into bitesize pieces.

Return to oven and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.  Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set.  Cut into bars.

Too bad these are gone already.  I better go make some more.