Coffee Date - Spring is in the Air

I knew you were coming over today for coffee, so I went all out. Peppermint mochas with homemade whipped cream. Soo tasty! So how are you? Happy Tuesday, glad you could stop by! Things have been pretty busy around here. A new puppy in the household, Ella, keeps us on our toes. She is absolutely adorable, but right there in that puppy phase...biting, chewing, potty training, getting into trouble. But look at that face!

The first day of Spring brought with it a huge rainstorm. Crazy winds and a solid sheet of water pouring down. What is spring looking like where you are? Love the color starting to emerge with the new flowers! It is hard for me to not buy every type of Easter candy from the store, all those chocolate eggs are calling my name! I will give it another week or so. I love the whopper eggs, the Reese's eggs, and the Cadbury eggs. And they have so many jelly beans now! Starburst, Jolly Rancher, sour patch kids?? Am I too old for an Easter egg hunt?

I want to share this recipe I got from my mom and tried out yesterday. Easy to make and very tasty! You could substitute any flavored jam you have, same with the nuts. I used part cherry and part raspberry jams.

::Crumb-Topped Pecan Cherry Cereal Bars::

{Ingredients}

1 cup all-purpose flour (or you could use whole wheat)

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup puffed rice cereal (regular or brown rice)

1 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 (10-ounce) jar cherry all-fruit spread

{Instructions}

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch-square baking pan

2. combine flour, oats, puffed rice, pecans, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl

3. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, oil, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until well-blended and creamy. Add dry ingredients until dough forms. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the dough for the topping. Firmly press remaining dough evenly into bottom of pan.

4. Spread fruit spread evenly over dough in pan. Sprinkle reserved dough mixture over the top. Bake 30 minutes or until deep golden. Cool 15 minutes and slice into bars or squares.

So tell me...what is new and exciting (or old and boring) in your life?

I have to get going, I am off to aquatic physical therapy, this will be my third week. I love being in the pool but it really takes it out of my and makes me extra sore. But crossing my fingers it helps in the long run!

Thank you for stopping by, have a wonderful week, and thank you to Amy for hosting Virtual Coffee!