Bars & Brownies Archives • Serendipity by Sara Lynn

Caramel + Coconut Nanaimo Bars

Published on July 24, 2018February 21, 2019 by serendipitybysaralynnLeave a comment

Caramel & Coconut Nanaimo Bars

Easy Nanaimo Bars

Hello from beautiful Oregon! I’m here for the next few days road tripping through the state, and I have big plans of drinking lots of beer + coffee and buying all the cheese at Face Rock Creamery! Yesterday, we went fishing on the Umpqua River, and I caught 20 fish! I even stuck my thumb into a few of their mouths, because apparently this stiffens them up and keeps them from flopping everywhere. I wasn’t totally down with this method of fish-holding, or any method for that matter, but I did it for the ‘gram. The Umpqua River might be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, so for most of the journey, I sat back on the boat and admired the view. I saw at least a dozen giant birds, including some bald eagles which you can recognize because they have white butts.

Today, I head over to the coast, and apparently there will be wine tasting involved! I’m also in desperate search for some good coffee, because being in the middle of nowhere Oregon = little to no coffee options, and I’m dying of caffeine headaches. On the other hand, I found a legit drive-up ice cream spot today, which I honestly didn’t even know existed anymore, and they had cherry-dipped cones (a.k.a. the way to my heart). I vote that Reno gets an ice cream drive-up that specializes purely in cherry-dipped cones. I will invest actual money into this enterprise. Continue reading “Caramel + Coconut Nanaimo Bars” →

Perfect 15-Minute Brownies

Published on March 5, 2016February 21, 2019 by serendipitybysaralynn7 Comments

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The more I blog about food, the more I realize the virtue in simplicity. When I first started blogging about food, I tried to be “out there” and “different” with my recipes, which sometimes worked in my favor and sometimes didn’t. Over the years, I have come to realize that food is better when the natural flavors are vividly present. Food photography is far more attractive when there’s not 20 props in the shot. Seeing food in a more natural state is so much more appealing than when it’s edited to oblivion and covered with cutesy clip-art images.

That is not to say that I don’t like to try crazy recipes or eat foods with more complex flavors. The best part about food is that it is so versatile and that options are limitless. However, food is also better when it complements each other, not just when a bunch of delicious foods are thrown together. I like pizza and ice cream, but does that mean I want pizza ice cream? (The answer is no if you haven’t guessed already).

The whole point of ramble is that food is amazing and can definitely be an outlet for creativity; but that doesn’t mean that it has to be insanely complex. Sometimes, I just want a regular brownie. Not a cheesecake brownie. Not an orange-and-thyme-infused brownie (not a real thing, but it could be). Just a brownie.

When you are in the mood for Just a Brownie, this is the go-to recipe. Please don’t go to the store and buy a boxed mix, because odds are, you already have brownie ingredients in your home, and these are so much better. They also only take 15 minutes to put together (I timed it). After the batter is made, all you have to do is wash the 3 dishes the recipe requires and watch an episode of Seinfeld, and the brownies are already done!

Your mission this weekend, should you choose to accept it, is to make these brownies. Brownies are the perfect Sunday project without a huge time commitment (did I already mention that they only take 15 minutes to mix together), and they come out tasting pretty much like fudge mixed with cake. I’d highly recommend serving them with ice cream, but that’s just one girl’s opinion on the matter…

Also, I threw some walnuts and hazelnuts on top of mine, because I’m a professional, but you definitely don’t have to.

XO SaraLynn

*Song of the Day: Something Good This Way Comes by Jakob Dylan

Cheesecake Crumb Bars

Published on December 17, 2015February 21, 2019 by serendipitybysaralynn1 Comment

After some things didn’t go *quite* according to plan today, I ended up taking on the 7 hour drive to my hometown all by myself. This made an abundance of room for Sara Lynn time, which included motivating self-talks, judging everyone’s driving besides my own, and running through Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not three times. Recipes were developed, life plans were made, and I’m pretty sure I had at least four revelations.

All in all, it was a pretty spiritual day. And now, I have a cheesecake crumb bar recipe. Sometimes, things just work out.

While I won’t say that cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts, I also never pass it up when offered. Realistically, I had big plans of making a huge cheesecake before reminding myself that 1. I didn’t have the ingredients to make a whole cheesecake and I was already wearing pajamas, which meant that there was no way in hell I was going to the grocery store, and 2. No one should ever make a whole cheesecake when they live alone. But cheesecake bars? Portable. Sliceable. Freezable. Slightly more social acceptable to have hanging around the house.

These ended up being a mix between cheesecake, shortbread cookies, and crumb cake. They’re everything you want from each of those desserts, but I think next time I’ll cut the dough in half and double the filling. If you like more of the “cheese” part of cheesecake, I would recommend following that method. If you prefer shortbread, stick with the original.

Customize with pumpkin, raspberry, lemon, caramel, chocolate, etc. If it fits in a cheesecake, it fits in these bars. I opted for simplicity and added a little vanilla. Okay a lot. Whatever.

Song of the Day: Fake Tales of San Francisco–Arctic Monkeys