Bar Desserts

The best part is you already have everything you need!

Expert baker Jerrelle Guy shares her secrets.

It's called rapping, and it's a serious game-changer.

If you watched the latest episode of the Great British Bake-Off this week, you saw a brownie horror show: a whole bunch of pans filled with under-baked batter and overwrought ideas.

Somewhere between hitting pause and baking twice!

So easy, so gooey!

Q: I’ve been making lemon bars for catering functions, but I’m having problems getting them out of the pan. I’ve tried spraying the pan, using wax paper (which stuck to the bars), and letting the bars chill completely. Any other suggestions? Thanks!Sent by AnneEditor: Try lining the pan with parchment paper instead of wax paper and leave some paper hanging over the sides of the pan so you can lift the bars out.

Do you have a bake sale coming up this season? Maybe you have a favorite recipe that always flies off the table? We put together our first bake sale last year and were a little surprised by some of the best sellers. We’ve got some tips and recipes below to help make your bake sale a success. When we organized our first bake sale last year, we took pains to choose recipes with really interesting flavors, thinking our creativity would win over potential shoppers.

Q: I make brownies at home frequently, and and have noticed that some brownies bake up with a matte top that almost looks granular. Other times, I get lucky and the brownie crust looks shiny with minor cracks — much more attractive and alluring! How can I get that shiny chocolate-y top every time?I often use brownie recipes where the butter and chocolate are melted together. Egg content can vary from 2 to 4, depending on which recipe I use. So is it the eggs, the method, or the recipe?

Q: I have been baking Krusteaz Lemon Bars more often lately and I have been following the instructions perfectly, but there is one thing that is really bothering me. I was wondering if maybe someone would be able to provide me with some advice or a mystery tool for me to try.

Q: I set out to try a new lemon bar recipe and instead pulled off quite the confectionary magic trick. I prepared and pre-baked the crust, exactly as the recipe directed, and then I poured the lemon filling over the crust and baked the whole thing until it was set. When I pulled the pan out of the oven, I found that the crust and lemon filling had somehow switched places. The in-tact crust was on top and the lemon filling was below it. Ta-da!

How do you improve upon something as pure and simple as the Rice Krispies Treat? By taking this minimalist dessert and giving it the maximalist treatment. From the small changes in how it’s prepared to ingredient upgrades and mix-ins, here are five ways to make a better Rice Krispies Treat. Between the rice cereal and the marshmallows, there’s zero fat in this recipe. And as we all know, fat is where the flavor’s at.

There are few treats cozier than a tray of warm brownies as the weather cools off, making them the perfect snack for greeting guests who come over to carve pumpkins or for bringing to the school’s fall festival. Making brownies even better — whether with an ingredient upgrade or a quick topping — is the kind of fast and fancy festive flair we all need during the fall holiday season. Here’s a great way to make your brownies go boo!

Have you made the mistake of buying your Halloween candy too early? Me too. So now I’m eating through an industrial-sized bag of M&Ms, Snickers, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Thankfully a batch of brownies can envelop at least a few of these fun-sized treats so I can share the candy with neighbors before Halloween. Here’s how to upgrade your brownies (and unload some of that Halloween candy) with a fast-and-fancy addition to your favorite brownie batter.

Candy corn is a divisive item. Either you love candy corn (and I probably don’t need to tell you how great they are with brownies) or you absolutely hate candy corn and require some convincing. Rich brownies are the ideal vehicle for candy corn; their moisture, buttery texture, and dark chocolate flavor tone down the candy corn’s strong sweetness and chewy texture. Plus, look how cute they are on the baked brownies!

Frosted brownies are highly underrated. Whether a thick or thin coating, frosting elevates brownies from simple treat to legitimate dessert fare. While this brownie upgrade requires two different frostings, the technique for these festive brownies is an easy three-step trick. brownie for one You’ll also need a small batch of chocolate and vanilla frosting. (This is a great use of store-bought frosting.

My birthday falls just before Halloween, and these gummy worm garden brownies were served at almost every Halloween birthday party from the time I was 4 until I turned 12. What looks like frosting on top of these brownies is actually chocolate pudding, making this the greatest combination of brownies, pudding, candy, and crushed cookies ever. It really is the perfect dessert for your Halloween parties.

Let’s say you don’t have any festive cookie cutters for Halloween, but you still want to decorate (and devour) some frosted brownies: Channel your inner Dr. Frankenstein. Put them together with frosting, sprinkles, and a few candy eyes for a frightfully delightful treat. Here’s what you’ll need and how to make them. Before you can cut a pan of brownies into these cute Halloween treats, you’ll need to bake up a pan.

When you need a festive cake for a class party, look no further than this jack-o’-lantern brownie cake. Just bake up your favorite brownie batter in a round cake pan and add some orange and black frosting. Before you can cut a pan of brownies into these cute Halloween treats, you’ll need to bake up a pan. Below is our recipe for homemade chewy brownies, but your favorite box of brownies works just as well (here’s our readers’ favorite brownie box mix).

There is no denying the pleasure of brownies. Whether you like them fudgy, chewy, or cakey Here are the very best tips and tricks from the Kitchn editors. Eating brownies is fun; cleaning up after them isn’t. The solution? Line your brownie pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. This not only makes for easy cleanup, but it also keeps the brownies from sticking to the pan. Win, win. A no-frills brownie is a lovely thing, but don’t hesitate to upgrade.

Brownie connoisseurs already know this to be true: not all brownies are created equal, but there’s room in our lives for lots of them. Cocoa brownies and chocolate brownies both have a place in our kitchen, although they bake up with slight idiosyncrasies. Here is everything you need to know about the differences between the two. Both cocoa- and chocolate-based brownies include sugar, eggs, and flour.

Recently, as I was reading through the comments on all our brownie recipes, one suggestion in particular stood out: Refrigerate the batter overnight for a richer, chewier brownie.

The easiest, most delicious snack is just three ingredients away. Just three ingredients! No cooking, no baking, no problems. Make a big batch of them today, put them in the fridge, and be the envy of everyone at school or the office. This energy bar recipe is very customizable. We used a cup of dates, a cup of almonds, and one cup of dried cherries, but you can use a different nut or dried fruit if you like.

Q: The Kitchn’s On the Fence Brownies is my go-to brownie recipe. I’d like to adapt it for an 8″x8″ pan, and add a layer of fresh cherries. I’m guessing I’ll need to adjust the liquids in the recipe because of the cherry juice. I’ve never done substitutions so any advice is greatly appreciated!Sent by ArielEditor: I’d try roasting the cherries before layering them into the brownies.

Q: I recently tried to make pastel — a delicious but gooey mess. Parchment paper and wax paper both stuck too much and tore to pieces. I would love to make my own granola bars or fruit and nut bars, but would like to use honey instead of refined sugars to keep things more natural — a.k.a. keep it more sticky. The question for the home cooks: how do you package and store homemade granola bars?

We love the glossy wafer-thin top crust that sometimes appears on brownies almost as much as we love the fudgy layer underneath. We always thought this was phenomenon was random or particular to specific recipes, but then we discovered that there’s a way we can get it all the time! Here’s how:We consulted one of our favorite cookbooks, BakeWise, and found that this crispy top crust is actually a layer of meringue. That’s right – whipped egg whites and sugar!