16 food bar recipes

Love these chocolaty and sweet mounds bars. They are easy to make, and always bring rave reviews back.

Homemade fig newton bars with fresh fig filling inside a cinnamon-laced brown sugar dough, folded like a letter and baked golden. Better than store-bought.

Two-layer apricot bars with a buttery shortbread base and a chewy brown sugar-apricot-nut topping, rolled in powdered sugar. Makes 75 bite-sized bars from one pan.

Gold medal caramel bars layer a chocolate cake mix base with caramel topping and chocolate chips, then crumbled cake mix streusel. Four-ingredient potluck bars for the cookie swap.

Dutch apple crumb bars stack a shortbread crust, apple-date filling, and cinnamon oat crumble into sliceable bars. Classic streusel topping over tender baked apples with a chewy date kick.

Turtle bars with shortbread crust, pecan halves, brown sugar caramel, and a smooth chocolate top. The classic candy-store flavor in a 24-bar pan.

Magic cookie bars layered with graham cracker crumbs, walnuts, chocolate chips, flaked coconut, and sweetened condensed milk. Six ingredients, no mixing, and no special skills for a gooey, chewy bar cookie.

Layered dessert bars with shortbread crust, amaretto-condensed milk filling, topped with chocolate chips, coconut, and almonds. Rich, gooey, and indulgent.

Banana monkey bars: a one-bowl banana bread baked thin into chewy bars, studded with walnuts and finished with a chocolate sugar drizzle. Lunchbox sweet, ready in under an hour.

No-bake peanut butter and fudge bars with crispy rice cereal layers sandwiching a rich chocolate fudge center. Double boiler or microwave method included.

Golden coconut bars studded with walnuts and raisins, lightly sweetened with maple flavoring. Made with egg substitute for a lighter treat that bakes in 20 minutes.

Fudgy chocolate espresso bars with cocoa, instant espresso, and chopped pecans, topped with a whipped chocolate chip frosting. Rich, dense, and deeply caffeinated.

Peanut butter oat bars topped with melted chocolate chips. A one-bowl, mix-and-spread recipe with chewy oats, brown sugar, and a rich chocolate or chocolate-peanut butter frosting.

Deep-fried pickles breaded in seasoned breadcrumbs and served with a tangy blue cheese, sour cream, and Dijon mustard dipping sauce. A Southern bar snack and fair food favorite ready in 15 minutes.

Mexitalian lasagna layered with hot Italian sausage, chili, picante sauce, cottage cheese, and mozzarella. A bold Mexican-Italian fusion comfort food bake.

Four-cheese manicotti stuffed with ricotta, fontina, mozzarella, and Parmesan in a homemade tomato sauce. From-scratch Italian comfort food baked until bubbly.