u/Im_just_a_squirrel

The farm stand had some amazing looking blackberries and I've never baked with them, so I landed on blackberry crumble bars for this week. I was about 150g of blackberries short but they still came out amazing!

This is the recipe I used: https://www.lazycatkitchen.com/blackberry-crumble-bars/#recipe-start It's actually a vegan recipe, but I am not vegan and just had regular butter, which is what I used. They were REALLY delicious! The cardamom was such a nice touch... Definitely recommend this one if you like blackberries :)

I saw someone post these on one of the baking reddits I follow several months ago and they caught my eye... Seemed like a great fit for shape week :)

These are a German cookie made by layering shortbread, apricot jam, and a delicious gooey hazelnut mixture. The corners were going to be dipped in dark chocolate (optional) but I ran out of time :( I think they are traditionally served around Christmas? But they seem pretty popular throughout the year from what I can tell. This is the recipe I used: https://platedcravings.com/nut-corners-german-nussecken/

They are delicious! I think mine are a bit softer than I had anticipated but since I've never had a real one I'm not sure if that's the way they are meant to be. Either way, they taste phenomenal and are not that hard to make. The hardest part was getting the shortbread spread evenly in the pan. I wish I had scrolled back up bc she gives some tips for accomplishing that more easily that I missed before I made them. I cut these into 2 inches pieces to take to an event but I think they'd be great a bit bigger. If you like hazelnut and shortbread I think these are a great treat!

I turned to Sally this week for a low sugar option. These were super easy to make and taste great! They rely on natural sweetness from pumpkin puree and unsweetened applesauce, with a relatively small amount of maple syrup and coconut sugar (lower GI). I used 72% dark chocolate chips to keep the sugar lower as well. For a "healthier" sweet treat, these scratch the itch nicely :)

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-bars/

When my husband found out this week's theme his eyes lit up and he immediately asked if I would make cinnamon scones, which are his favorite. I've never made scones before (I actually don't think I've ever EATEN a scone before) but I couldn't turn down his request, especially because he's such a great support for my weekly bakes, doing tons of dishes and always willing to run out for any emergency last minute ingredient needs :) So I found this recipe and tried them out! https://joyfoodsunshine.com/cinnamon-scones-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-14179

I think they turned out great! We couldn't find any cinnamon chips near us so I made my own. I also grated the butter and did a light wash with half and half before sprinkling the turbinado on top. I was too light with the turbinado (didn't measure it) so I'd definitely double what I sprinkled next time (and I'm sure there will be a next time). I doubled the batch and made one batch into mini scones to take to a function today. I only baked the mini ones about 16 mins and I actually think they needed a few mins longer. Overall scones were way easier than I was worried they would be and they came out so tasty!