I’m sorry.
I’m just going to come right out and apologize in advance for all the ooey, gooey, sweet, chunky, crunchy, dense, moist, rich goodness you’ll see in this post. If you think the Sea Salt Caramel Brownies from doughmesstic and mandybird80’s Fudgy Revel Bars above are too much torture, then you may want to view this post in installments.
We’re celebrating brownies and bars today to highlight our new Desserts subcategory: Brownies and Bars. It was high time they got their own home. Just look at the little sweethearts. Don’t they look happy to have a place to call their own?
Top row, from left to right: Brownies, As They Should Be from rainydaygal, Famous Mint Brownies from callimakesdo, and Macadamia Nut Brownies from ericalea. Middle row, from left to right: Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites from savorysweetlife, Bacon Salted Caramel Brownies from savourfare, and Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies from Chrystal. Bottom row, from left to right: Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies with Chocolate Ganache Top from Rox, Milk Chocolate Brownies from Karenpie, and Best Basic Brownie from lydiajo.
Interestingly enough, although brownies are more popular, blondies apparently arrived at the scene first. While brownies obviously get their color from cocoa or chocolate, blondies have a base of butter and brown sugar or molasses, which are the same base ingredients for butterscotch. I found many wonderful recipes that fall under this group, and you all just do crazy magic with that simple base.
Left column, top to bottom: Congo Bars from Bakerella and The Bar (or Food for the Gods) from ivoryhut. Middle column, top to bottom: Chai Gingerbread Bars from nika, Peanut Butter Bacon Blondies from HowSweetEats, and Coffee Toffee Bars from nhsweetcherry. Right column, top to bottom: Toasted Coconut and Chocolate Chip Blondies from Kelly @ EvilShenanigans, Pumpkin Blondies from Tracy (sugarcrafter), and Chai Bars from savourfare.
Then there are those other types of bars that don’t quite fit into an obvious group. Bars that are part candy, part cake, part petit four, and pure decadence.
Clockwise from top left: Idle Hand Bars (Sweet and Salty) from guiltykitchen, Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Bars from RecipeGirl, Nanaimo Bars from myrecessionkitchen, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars from golokitchen, Kit-Kat Bars from Chloe, Nutella Nanaimo Bars from savourfare, Coconut and Chocolate Fudge Bars from cookincanuck, and Salted Butterscotch Shortbread Bars from Dandy.
Maybe a fruity kind of bar is more up your alley. Especially with so many wonderful fruits in season right now. Many of the bars below can easily be adapted to your favorite fruit. Fruit is healthy, yes?
Top row, from left to right: Lemon Lime Squares from sweettooth, Raspberry Coconut Bars from sugarlovegirl, and Strawberry Lime Squares with Almond Graham Cracker Crust from The Noshery. Middle row, from left to right: Rhubarb Crisp Bars from adenscrazymom, Blueberry Crisp Bars from A Cozy Kitchen, and Apricot Orange Squares from foodandwhine. Bottom row, from left to right: Rhubarb Cheesecake Bars with Gingersnap Crust from cookincanuck, Lemon Walnut Squares from Frances Swiecki, and Frosted Banana Bars from dineanddish.
Don’t they look so pretty and colorful?
And finally, in case you need something special, like a gluten-free brownie, or dairy-free, or vegan, I found some recipes for you too. Or maybe you want a bar but just don’t feel like firing up that oven in the heat of summer. Don’t despair; I made sure I found a few recipes to rope you in. You didn’t think you’d escape that easily, did you?
Clockwise from top left: The Ultimate Vegan Brownie from guiltykitchen, whole wheat and all organic Chocolate Caramel Bars from Carrie @ Deliciously Organic, Fudgy Gluten-Free Brownies from glutenfreegirl, No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars from Karly Campbell, Gluten Free, Dairy Free Brownies from elanaspantry, and another no-bake treat, Peanut Butter Bars from Grandma posted by megstermeter.
And that’s it! Just some of the goodies waiting for you in our new Brownies and Bars category. Okay, you can breathe now. I’m done tempting you. Seriously. It’s safe to come out now.
Nutella Caramel Hazelnut Brownies from bell’alimento
Oops. Sorry again!
(The chocolate made me do it.)
61 Comments
Comments are closed for this recipe.
Destiny.C on 7.8.2010
I have been a fan of PW and Tasty Kitchen for awhile now. And this is evil! I have already made some of the recipes pictured above and I cannot wait to try others! Thanks for the post
Tezza on 6.30.2010
I was actually whimpering and seriously salivating by the end of all those pics! My waist feels wider just from looking at them all… but that’s not going to stop me trying at least some of these evilly delicious looking goodies!!
Mommer on 6.29.2010
That was a scroll through brownie/bar heaven!!!!! : )
marketwoman51 on 6.29.2010
Oh my lord….they are all just beautiful. I may have to bake my way through the whole category.
Amber Mott on 6.29.2010
Oh Lord, I have never heard of bacon being put in anything like this. Guess I will have to try it!
rubyredslippers on 6.28.2010
I don’t even really like chocolate and think I’ll have to give the Sea Salt Caramel brownies a try. Oh. MY. Word.
Bethany B. on 6.28.2010
Ohmi gawd.
Man, I wish my kitchen had more room to bake.
On the other hand, thank god it doesn’t – I’m losing weight and this would not help one little bit.
Holly on 6.28.2010
All of my 9 month pregnant dreams have just come true! Have been craving brownies for weeks! Wish I had the time to make each and every one of these!
lesplaisirsduplar on 6.28.2010
Please ignore my last comment. I have now worked out that I just have to press a button on your site and voila! metric. Thank you so much. Your site is wonderful, extensive and informative.
sharonpdx on 6.28.2010
like a few others have mentioned, the sea salt & caramel brownie recipe seems to have disappeared? i bookmarked it earlier today and now the link is returning a “page not found” recipe and routing me to the archives… i looked it up by the member’s name, too, and the link brings up a blank page with the tasty kitchen background… i was looking forward to making those, will the recipe be back up soon?
thanks!
lesplaisirsduplar on 6.27.2010
These look amazing and I have printed off quite a few of the recipes. The only thing is our conversion in Australia is different for butter etc. So need to know exact measurements in ml, grams, etc. Thanks. Then I can get baking!
leisel on 6.27.2010
Like mopps54, I’m also dying to get my hands on the Sea Salt Caramel Brownies… but the link is broken, and I haven’t been able to find it either by searching for it, or by scrolling through the whole brownies & bars subsection. Please help!
Alison Zulyniak on 6.27.2010
Brownies are my weakness. I love them. I crave them. I need their ooey gooey chocolatly goodness. I prefer it “naked”, no icing, no ice cream, no whip cream, no nuts… just how my mom would make them. Here is her recipe:
http://prairiestory.blogspot.com/2010/06/grandma-sues-brownie.html
mopps54 on 6.27.2010
I can’t find the Sea Salt Caramel Brownies or mandybird80’s anywhere. I need that recipe!
Mandy's Recipe Box on 6.27.2010
Oh I love these and I was so suprised to see my Fudgy Revel Bars on here! I think I will just bake my way through them all…I must.
joan on 6.27.2010
I’ve never been very daring with brownies. I just love the little suckers plain, but my only innovation thus far has been “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brownies”. Just make your standard brownie batter, put half the batter in the prepared pan, top with slices of Milky Way candy bars and add the rest of the batter. A scoop of vanilla ice cream and you can count on flowers, expensive jewelry and a vacation in the tropics.
joan on 6.27.2010
I love Nutella but it’s way expensive. Aldi had a knock-off last week for a much lower price and I bought three jars. (Actually, I bought six but I shared with my dil.) I’ll let you guess which recipe I’m trying first.
on 6.26.2010
OMG this should be illegal! I want to make them all!!
Shawn-Marie on 6.26.2010
Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to begin trying each and every one of these sinful delights!!! Awesome pics, thanks for putting these all together in a bunch like this!
Monet2 on 6.26.2010
OMG! You can make one per day for about a month and a half, and then start all over again. Sweetness galore.
Sugahmommy on 6.26.2010
What a brilliant idea to consolidate all the brownie resources in one place! Definitely some very promising contenders for my next brownie bout. The current title holder is my Dulce de Leche Brownie based on Nick Malgieri’s ‘Supernatural’ recipe.
http://aspoonfulofsugah.blogspot.com/2010/06/brownie-knockout.html
But it looks like I will be baking my way through your site (as well as having to run maniacally to keep off those pounds)!
jennifer on 6.26.2010
Oh my golly! I cannot wait to try some of these recipes! They all look so divine. I think I may have a sugar high just from looking at the pictures!
Kristina on 6.26.2010
oh my… I want to make them all. good thing I have company to help me eat them…
muffinmomma on 6.26.2010
I love your collages! I always find something I have to make right then! This time it is the blueberry bars….as soon as I get home from selling our produce all day. We will have less blueberries in our inventory, I’m snatching them for this recipes. Thank you.
Jolo on 6.26.2010
I have been sitting here too long at my computer trying to pay the bills for the month. Thought I’d take a break and check on my favorite blog site (Pioneer Woman) to see what’s new, and where do I end up? In chocolate heaven! Brownies and blondies and fruit covered goodies galore! Sure lifted my spirits, until I realized the pantry only holds the most basic ingredients for now. I’ll just have to sift through all of those rapturous recipes to see which ones I can make with what’s left in the larder. But I can dream until next payday!
Veggielady4life on 6.25.2010
I am super excited that this is its own separate category! Woo hoo!
Courtney on 6.25.2010
I think I have to try all of these recipes!
Kathy Johnson on 6.25.2010
i’ve been on a diet since sept 2009. lost 57lbs and have 11lbs more to go.
i’m crying right now. happy and sad.
Chrys on 6.25.2010
Delicious post!! Now I’m craving all kinds of goodies.
thedishbyish on 6.25.2010
I just replenished my baking supplies too… Must. Bake. Right. Now!
ha ha ha!
Georgia Pellegrini on 6.25.2010
Brownies and bars are just unrivaled as swoon-worthy desserts – it’s gotta be that ooey-gooey filling…
cindytoo on 6.25.2010
So many choices!
The link to the Congo Bar recipe (a fond childhood memory) goes to a Peanut Butter brownie recipe instead, though.
Spruce Hill on 6.25.2010
Oh my were do I start????
http://sprucehill.typepad.com/
sweetebakes on 6.25.2010
I don’t even know where to begin.. I just added about 10 of those to my recipe box!!
3bakingsheets on 6.25.2010
This gives “bar-hopping” a whole new, awesome meaning.
Carolyn™ on 6.25.2010
I am in heaven
but in a family full of dieters this is torture seeing these … choices choices choices….which one to make first? A wonderful array thats for sure.
Should I say thank you? Well I might but the scales wont!!!
Amy on 6.25.2010
I think the bigger problem is figuring out which one to make first. Rest assured, I will be trying ALL of these. You’re not living if you forgo brownies and bars.
Stephonie on 6.25.2010
Oh Evil! Sooo Evil!!
I can’t choose which one!
Miss Heidi on 6.25.2010
SUMMER PERFECTION! It is too hot to lift and load for batches of cookies, but summer bars are delightfully fast and produce quantity for those treat-seeking kiddos and friends.
ChristineM on 6.25.2010
Erika, very clever! Imbedding those seductive, subliminal messages into the photos like that…Oh, wait….
Never mind. That’s just SUGAR and BUTTER and CHOCOLATE and PEANUT BUTTER and BACON and CARAMEL and BUTTER and SUGAR and NUTS and (Wait! Did I say Bacon?) and CHOCOLATE and….
Melissa on 6.25.2010
OMGoodness. I want to leave work, go grocery shopping, and BAKE like there is no tomorrow.
Experimental on 6.25.2010
Evil!
..I think I know what I’ll be baking this weekend now.
Cathy I on 6.25.2010
PERFECT TIMING! I have to make a tray of goodies for a family reunion in a couple weeks. Can’t wait to add some of these to my old favorites. Thanks Ree.
flamegoddess65 on 6.25.2010
omg. brownies and bar cookies are my FAVORITE!! i think i just about bookmarked every recipe on here. i’ll be busy for the next year or so
daelith on 6.25.2010
I am soooooooo hungry now!
outlawwithgrace on 6.25.2010
Oh man! You got me. I though ya’ll might possibly not have any brownies I could cook, but, as it is, y’all do and I’m very mad and excited at the same time. It’s a love/hate relationship.
Thank’s for the sweets!
Beau@SomethingEdible on 6.25.2010
If you assume 2 cups of sugar average for every brownie/bar made here, that’s around 40 lbs of sugar. Shazam!
I’m too afraid to bootstrap the butter. =)
smplanck on 6.25.2010
I think I gained weight just looking at these beauties! And why is my key board wet?…
amy dishes on 6.25.2010
heaven’s to betsy – i’m now hungry for one of these ooey-gooeys for breakfast (it’s barely 8 a.m.; that’s ok, right?!)!
tjbaker on 6.25.2010
These look delicious! Maybe you could send us all some samples for lunch?
Just looking at the brownie pictures made my Friday better.