Well, after 2 weeks of this high-pressure, high-anxiety state- I finally crashed.
A "20 minute nap on the couch while my date and nut bars are baking" turned into " falling dead asleep on the couch in 1 minute flat, hubby waking me up 10 minutes after the oven timer went off and asking "Do you have something in the oven?," me frantically removing said crispy (but not burned) bars from the oven, and subsequently passing out on the couch for another 2+ hours.
I'm hoping this impromptu (much needed) REM sleep catches me up for the weekend!
Here is said date and nut bar recipe (just make sure you take it out of the oven on time, K? ;-) )
Pistachio Pumpkin Date Bars
(based on Carrots N Cake Pumpkin Date Nut Bars)
Dates, nuts, peanut butter chips, pumpkin seeds- don't knock it til you try it!
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup whole wt flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar (I used splenda)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 flax egg (1 TBSP flaxseed meal, 3 TBSP water)
1/3 cup unsalted pistachio nutmeats
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup canola oil
2 TBSP peanut butter chips
2 TBSP pumpkin seeds
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease square baking pan (9x9, 8x8)
2. Mix flax egg and set aside. (can use a regular egg, or liquid egg whites)
3. Pour all ingredients into a large bowl except pumpkin seeds, PB chips, and nuts. Mix well.
4. Fold in mix-ins.
5. Spread mixture into greased baking pan.
6. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 mins.
So they're a little crispy crunchy- but the interior is almost like toffee, which is a definite WIN!
Enjoy!