The smell of baking cookies is one of those fragrances that should be bottled and sold. Just imagine if you could just spritz a little eau de chocolate chip or maybe peanut butter in your kitchen. While I love to bake cookies they take up more time than I often have. The perfect answer to that dilemma is bar cookies.

They usually involve one mixing bowl, one pan and a short baking time. Bar cookies also lend themselves to dessert trays easily because you can cut them into small dainty squares, triangles or diamonds. They also pack well, which means you can pack a little box of them to mail to friend or college student, or perhaps to snack on in the car on that long vacation drive. These are some of my favorite bar cookies, let me know how you like them.

Creamy Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Crust layer

8 medium-sized butter cookies

or 12 small cookies

1/3 cup salted butter, melted

Chocolate Layer

2 cups milk chocolate chips

Peanut Butter layer

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In food processor or blender process cookies until finely ground. Add butter and mix together completely. This should resemble a graham cracker crust. If it is too wet from the butter, add a few more cookies. Press crumb mixture into bottom of a 8-by-8-inch baking pan and bake 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Melt chocolate in double boiler over slightly simmering water. Or microwave the chocolate, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted. Pour half of the melted chocolate into pan and smooth evenly over crust. Place pan in refrigerator. Keep remaining chocolate warm. To prepare the peanut butter filling, blend peanut butter and butter together until smooth using a food processor or electric mixer. Slowly beat in confectioners’ sugar and then add vanilla. Beat until smooth. Spread this filling over the chilled chocolate layer. Finish by pouring remaining warm chocolate over filling and spreading smooth. Chill in refrigerator just until firm. Cut into bars and serve.

Adapted from Mrs. Fields.

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Fruit and Oat Bars

2 cups quick oats, uncooked

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 melted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 chopped nuts

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

10 to 12 ounce jar fruit preserves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 11 x 7-inch glass baking dish (I sometimes use a 12 x 8-inch disposable pan.) Combine all ingredients, except for the preserves. Reserve 3/4 cup of mixture and press the remaining mixture into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Spread the preserves evenly over base within 1/2 inch of sides of pan. Sprinkle with reserved oats mixture. Bake 20 to 22 minutes until golden brown. Cool, cut into bars. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Black and White Bars

Chocolate base layer

2 cups of mini chocolate chips, reserve 3/4 cup

of the chips

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 butter, soft

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Cream cheese layer

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter,

softened

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cup of mini chips from above

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 by 9-inch pan with foil or wax paper. Begin with the chocolate base layer by melting 1 1/4 cups mini chocolate chips. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter, beat until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla extract and salt, mix well. Add melted morsels and flour and mix well. Spread evenly in pan.

Then cream together cream cheese, sugar and butter and beat until creamy. Add eggs, milk, flour and extract, mix well. Stir in remaining 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips. Pour over the chocolate base. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into small squares.

adapted from Nestl\u00E9 Favorite Recipes

Apricot Almond Squares

1 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup unbalanced almonds

1/2 cup butter or margarine, soft

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, room temperature

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place apricots in a small saucepan and barely cover with water. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. cover and simmer until tender, this will take about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into thin slivers and set aside. Spread almonds in a shallow pan. Place in the oven and bake until toasted, this will take 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool. Then process the nuts in a food processor or blender to form coarse crumbs. In a bowl combine butter and sugar, beat until fluffy. Blend in 1/2 cup of the flour and the ground almonds. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of an ungreased 9 by 9-inch pan. Bake for 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven.

While your pastry is baking you can prepare the filling. Begin by stirring together in a small bowl the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside. With an electric mixer beat eggs and brown sugar on high speed until thick. Gradually blend in flour mixture then both extracts. Stir in apricots. Then spread over the baked layer. Return to oven and bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes, then cut into small squares. Lightly sift powdered sugar over the squares. Do not remove from pan until completely cool.

Oatmeal Chocolate Bars

Filling ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

6 ounces chocolate chips

1 can (5 1/3 ounce) evapo-

rated milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cookie base ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups quick oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin by preparing the filling. In saucepan combine butter, chocolate chips, evaporated milk and sugar. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts and cool.

To prepare cookie base cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, soda, and 1 3/4 cups of the oats until well blended. Press 2/3 of this mixture into the bottom of a buttered 9 by 9-inch pan. Spread with cooled chocolate filling. Mix remaining 1/4 cup oats with remainder of cookie base and crumble over filling. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool and then cut into squares.

adapted from Wellesley Cookie Exchange