Peach Berry Crumble Bars

I made this dessert for Bryn and Greg when I was out there for the arrival of new baby.  We enjoyed the recipe.  I'm putting my adaptations for what we had on hand.  The original recipe called for raspberry jam and raspberries.  I used dairy free butter.  I also plan to try this with some apricot jam instead of peach preserves (because that's what I now have on hand).

1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup cold butter cubed
8 oz peach preserves
3/4 cup frozen triple berry blend

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8x8 baking dish with a parchment sling and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix together until evenly combined.  Add pieces of butter and work into the dry ingredients using hands or a pastry cutter.  Squeeze butter and dry mixture between fingers until the mixture becomes like wet sand with pieces of butter the size of peas and smaller.  Pour two cups of the crumb mixture into the prepared baking dish. Lightly press to form an even crust.

Spread peach preserves over the crust. Sprinkle with frozen berries. Top with remaining crumb mixture. Do not press crumbs, just sprinkle over the top.

Bake in the preheated oven until the top turns slightly browned and puffed in the middle, 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for at least four hours before slicing.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookes

My family loves the softness of this cookie and keeps calling for the recipe.  So I'm putting it on here.  Seth loves when I don’t put too many chocolate chips in and ruin the cookie to chip ratio.  When I am in the mood to make smaller cookies, I will use mini chocolate chips (3/4-1 cup for a single batch).  I’ve also never made these with nuts.

1 cup butter, softened 1/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding (4-serving size) 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs 2 1/4 cups unsifted flour 1 tsp baking soda 2 cups chocolate chips 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

 Mix the butter, sugars, pudding mix and vanilla in a large mixer bowl; beat until smooth and creamy.  Beat in the eggs.  Sift together the flour and baking soda and stir in; then stir in the chocolate chips and nuts, if desired.  (Batter will be stiff.)

 Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake in 350-degree oven for 10 to 13 minutes.

Yield: 5 dozen cookies