Blueberry Cobbler Bars

I've probably mentioned before that I'm a 'see what I can make with what I have on hand' kind of baker. I've had some culinary home runs, and few strikes. There was also the day that I couldn't convince myself, the Hubs, or my toddler girls that the chewy, flavorless mass of bananas, oats, and raisins was a cookie. It really was awful. 

Today, I found ingredients to make what I'm calling Blueberry Cobbler Bars. Not so sweet that I'd consider it a desert (though give me another try or two and I'll remedy that), but sweet enough that you can consider it a 'treat' for breakfast. And really, served warm, they didn't really hold up as bars very well. 

There's two separate recipe lists, but they're almost the same ingredients. 

For the base:

4c quick oats

2/3 c brown sugar

2 sticks melted butter

3 tbsp cinnamon

Mix and press into a sprayed 9x13 pan. I prefer glass always. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. 

While this is baking, mix your topping. 

Filling:

21 oz can pie filling, any flavor will work. I used blueberry. 

Spread the pie filling onto the baked base. 

Topping:

2c quick oats

1/3 c brown sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon 

2 c milk

1/2 c flour

Let soak for 10 minutes or so, mostly to let some of the milk absorb into the oats to soften them. 

Pour the topping mix onto the blueberry layer. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Your main method to test if it's done will be the jiggle test. :)  Shake your pan and if the center jiggles, keep baking!

Serve warm or cold, maybe even with some heavy cream or whipped cream for a sweet treat!

Cinnamon Glazed Croissants

After 2 nights of almost no sleep (thank you G3), I was hoping to get away with something nice and easy for breakfast for my two older fawns. Cereal? No. Oatmeal? No. Toast? No. 

Now, don't start thinking that I'm some sort of cook-to-order mom who takes requests every morning. Most mornings, it's 'this is what you are eating or you can wait till lunch'. 

No, I'm not a mean mom either. Since I was very young, I have not been a breakfast eater, something I seem to have passed on to my kids. So, if they don't want to eat a particular something, it's usually not because they don't like what I want them to eat, it's because they just aren't in the mood for breakfast. 

This morning however, even in my 'I have a 4 month old' zombie stupor, I decided to get creative and bake something. G1 had asked for cinnamon rolls, but I didn't have any on hand. So, I grabbed a tube of croissant rolls I had in the fridge. 

I can bake most things from scratch. Yeast Breads are not one that I've felt brave enough to try yet, so pre-made it is!

Spray your pan with butter flavored spray... A good dose, almost pooling on the pan (I'll explain why in a second). 

Unroll the croissant rolls onto the pan so the bottom has a good coating of the butter flavored spray. 

Spray the butter flavored spray onto the unrolled croissants. *You can use actual melted butter for this, but the spray is easier, faster, and has no calories.  

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the unrolled croissants. How much to use is your call. I use quite a bit! I'm kind of addicted to cinnamon!

Roll up the croissants as usual, starting at the fat side. 

Bake for 12 minutes at 375 (or however long the baking instructions say for whichever brand you are using). 

When they come out, they'll have a dark crisp crust to them... Similar to the ones you'd buy at a bakery. This is what that pooled butter spray does to them. Instead of coming out white and super soft (almost doughy in my opinion) like they usually do, you have a much more 'ritzy' look to your rolls. It's also flakier!

Mix together powdered sugar and milk to make a glaze for them. Start with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tbsp of milk. Mix it up. You may have to add more sugar or milk, depending on what consistency you like. In the end, for mine, when I lifted the fork out of the glaze, it coated the fork nicely, but still slowly dripped off. 

The thickness of your glaze is, again, personal preference, but, you don't want it to be too thin or the milk will absorb into your rolls, making them soggy. 

Use your fork to drizzle the glaze over your rolls. Go ahead and give them a good coating!! 

Enjoy them! G1 did...  G2 still hasn't decided if she's going to eat breakfast this morning.