For a few years after graduating from college, I lived in a small house not too far from campus. Once I started working full time on Amy’s Healthy Baking, and therefore with my kitchen permanently overflowing with treats, I began knocking on neighbors’ doors to share my baked goodies… And so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat them all by myself!
A family of four lived directly to my left, including a daughter around eight and a son about five. When I brought over a plate of sweets in early January and the kids rushed to the door to answer, the little girl mentioned that they had been running errands and picking up party supplies for her birthday party later that month.
Of course, as a huge food lover, I asked her what flavor of birthday cake she had picked out, and she her eyes lit up as she exclaimed, “Chocolate!!” I smiled at that; I’m a huge chocoholic too!
So to surprise her and her family, I baked a batch of my favorite extremely rich and decadent chocolate cupcakes, which I dropped off a few days after the party. As a kid, I remember feeling a little disappointed in the days the followed my birthday parties because all of the presents were unwrapped and the excitement had ended, so I thought that extending her birthday with a second dessert might be fun.
When I knocked on the door with the plate of cupcakes and wished her a happy belated birthday, she and her brother started jumping up and down, completely overjoyed at the sight of another special treat. Before I turned to go, the little boy asked me a question.
“Will you bake something for my birthday too?”
I reassured him that I’d love to, and I inquired when his birthday was.
“September,” he replied. “And I want red cake. It’s my favorite color!”
How cute was that??
Yet a few days ago, I actually saw photos that their mom shared on Facebook of her two children, and I gasped. Her daughter is nearly in high school, while her son is just finishing up elementary. I know time flies but… How did they grow up so quickly??
Memories of their childhood years floated through my mind, including those birthday treats… Which inspired me to make these Healthy Red Velvet Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting! They’re the same stunning color of the dessert I baked for the little boy years ago, and they’re supremely soft and chewy, just the way I like my cookies.
Yet unlike most store-bought red velvet treats, these contain no refined flour or sugar, including in the sweet and silky cream cheese frosting. And they’re just 67 calories!
Continue reading & see the rest! ›› Healthy Red Velvet Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
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