Cranberry Almond Bars!

Cranberries and cranberry flavored treats are some of my favorite things about this part of the year! They're just awesome little things! Sweet, yet tart. Vibrant, yet so chic. (plus, red is my favorite color)

These bars are just plain yummy! The crust is delicate, the cranberries are tart, the almonds add crunch, and the glaze is sticky sweet. Try it out, and let me know what you think!

What you'll need:

- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened (you'll also need 2 tbsp butter for the glaze)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I assumed light brown sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 can of whole berry cranberry sauce
- 2 cups toasted slivered almonds (you can substitute any nut you like)
- 1/2 lemon

How you make it:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil. Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, while on low speed, add in the flour and salt. Let this mix until a soft dough forms it will be very sticky).

Next, spread the dough across the baking pan, doing your best to make it even. Make sure to press the dough up the sides of the pan, otherwise when you add your toppings later, they will stick. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden. Take the crust out of the oven when done and let it cool.

While it cools, reduce the oven to 325 degrees and get a medium saucepan! Combine the corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla and cook this over medium heat until mixture has melted and becomes syrupy. Make sure that you continually stir the mixture until bubbles form around the edges. DO NOT LET IT BOIL!

Now, remove the glaze from heat and let cool. Make sure to stir it every once in a while. Once the mixture has cooled substantially, whisk in your beaten eggs. Make sure that your mixture has properly cooled, otherwise you'll have scrambled eggs!

By this point, your crust should be cooled. In a bowl mix together the cranberry sauce and the juice of half a lemon. Then, evenly spread the cranberry mixture over the top of the crust. Next, scatter the almonds all over and pour the glaze over everything. Make sure to evenly coat everything. Pop it back in the over to back for 35-40 minutes. When the looks firm in the middle, you're done!

Make sure to let these babies cool completely before cutting, or they just turn into a huge mess! So delishhhh

Gimme S'MORE Pleaseeeeee!!!

These. Are. SO GOOD!! They take a little more work than I'm used to, but they are definitely worth it. Try it out, you won't regret it!

NOTE: This makes a fairly large amount of bars, so feel free to cut the recipe in half, but make sure to use a smaller baking dish if you do! I would recommend an 8x8.

What you'll need:
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- two 12oz bag of chocolate chips (You can use any type of chocolate, but I suggest dark because otherwise the bars are VERY sweet)
- two 7oz jars marshmallow fluff (not melted marshmallows)


How you make it:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with foil.

In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

In a different bowl, mix together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Then add it to the butter mixture at a low speed until combined.

Divide the dough in half. The dough will be sticky and soft.

Press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the foil lined pan. Then spread both jars of marshmallow fluff over the graham cracker layer.

NOW THE TRICKY PART!

Carefully remove the entire thing (using the foil to pull it out of the pan).

Reline the pan with foil. Spread the remaining graham cracker mixture into the bottom of the pan. Next, cover this graham cracker layer with both bags of chocolate chips.

Now flip the fluff/graham cracker portion onto the chocolate/graham cracker portion, fluff side down, so that fluff and chocolate meet. Peel the foil off the top and spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned.

***Make sure to cool completely before cutting into bars, otherwise they are a marshmallowy mess!!!****