As Requested by My Most Favorite Kiddo, I Made Some Cheese Bars!

My life has been more special ever since I learned to bake. I am still learning every time and I love every bit of it…even if it means I have tons of dishes to wash afterwards!🤣

A Little Background

Baking has been a therapeutic activity for me since 2014. It started as a way for me to move forward from a heartbreak. As years passed and as my heart healed, baking made me improve my focus and fueled my interest in making delicious baked goodies for my family. I didn’t have formal training nor did I instantly learn a lot of recipes. It has always been a trial-and-error process.

My affair with baking was on and off especially during hectic days at work. I also stopped baking when I moved out of my parent’s house after marriage and pregnancy. It’s not because I stopped loving baking but I didn’t have an oven at the apartment. Come December 2021 and super typhoon Odette made us move back into my childhood home. Baking kept calling me again. I’ve been baking every now and then . This further increased my interest in making yummy food especially for my son. And it's amazing that I’m still using the gas oven we had since I was in high school.

A Request from My Precious SONshine

Last Tuesday afternoon, my son kept asking me if he could eat the cheese we bought from the market. He has been asking me to bake some cheese bars last week and I kept saying I will do so within the week. Hence, after enrolling him to kindergarten last Monday, we went to the market to buy some of the ingredients I didn’t have. I purposely bought 2 boxes of Eden cheese (my go-to brand since childhood) because I know my son loves to eat cheese.
I’ve been baking cheese bars for many times and so far, my go-to recipe has never failed me. I recall watching a lot of YouTube baking videos and, being self-learned, I had to try, fail, and then try again. The moment I got it right, I never used another recipe for cheese bars. So on a Tuesday afternoon in August, I fulfilled my son’s request.
I would like to share this recipe to you my dear Hive friends.💜

The Ingredients

The ingredients are pretty simple. You will need:

200g unsalted butter or 200g margarine (I used Magnolia Butter-licious), room temperature
1 ½ cups white sugar
3 medium-sized eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla flavoring/ vanilla extract (I used the McCormick brand)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 pack of cheese (I’ve always used the Eden brand), grated and divided into 1/3 and 2/3 parts
2 packs (33g each) of powdered milk (I used Bear Brand milk)

*Note that in lieu of butter, you may use margarine for this recipe. I’ve tried using good quality margarine--Buttercup and Baker’s Best, as well as Dari Crème, and the outcome was still delish.

Things You Also Need

Aside from an oven, you will need the following:

Measuring cups and a measuring spoon (tbsp.)
13x9 Baking tray (you may use any size provided that the batter will be at least 1 inch thick)
Parchment paper or baking paper
Mixing bowl
A spatula
An electric hand mixer (or you may use a sturdy medium/large whisk)
Cheese grater
Sifter/Fine-meshed strainer

The How To's

• First, prepare all the ingredients. Remember, measuring your ingredients properly is important in baking.
  

• Second, preheat the oven to 180˚ Celsius and line your baking tray with parchment or baking paper.

• In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar.

• Then, add the eggs one at a time

• Add 1 tbsp. of vanilla flavoring or vanilla extract. Mix till well-incorporated.

• Add the all-purpose flour. What I do at this point is to use a spatula and “fold” the mixture.

• Add the powdered milk and continue “folding” until there are no more traces of dry flour in the mixture.

• Then add the 2/3 of the grated cheese.

• Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray and spread evenly. The batter should be sticky and not runny.

• Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top.

• Bake at 180˚ in the oven for 20-25 minutes. I’m using a gas oven and I bake in the middle rack. I also needed an oven thermometer to make sure the temperature is accurate before and during baking.

• After baking, let it cool then slice into bars/squares of your desired size.

• In my case, this recipe yields 24 cheese bars/squares.

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Remember:

• Check the cheese bars using a toothpick or a cake tester around 20 minutes into baking.
• Always use room temperature butter/margarine. Eggs need to be in room temperature as well.

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And here it is, one of the home baked goodies that my son loves—cheese bars!

The Best Part

Baking takes patience, focus, effort, and love. I fell in love with baking the moment I saw my family members smile after tasting what I have made. There were times I failed and it wasn’t that easy to accept this at first. Later on, I understood that if I wanted to learn something, I should give it my best and keep trying. Practicing really helps (though it may be a bit expensive at some point 😅).

When I was still single, the best part of my baking journey was being able to successfully bake something. I don’t know why it makes me feel so good when the cake or cookie or pie comes out of the oven beautifully. I feel giddy when the taste is heavenly. Whenever I get the chance to bake something well, I always write the recipe down and I try baking the same thing several times till I can bake without looking at my notebook.

Now that I am a mother, the best part of my baking journey is when I am able to dedicate time, effort and love for baking. Why do I do that? I bet you know why.💜

The first slice is always for my son.💜

Baking has made me feel closer to my son. It is one of the ways I show him my love. Whenever I see him enjoy what I baked, I take joy and pride in being his mother. I love baking even more when I get to bond with my son in the process. Though most of the time, the mess doubles. 😂Nevertheless, my son often helps me mix this and that, pour this to that. This strengthens our bond as we get to spend time together. This also helps me improve as I develop better patience and understanding. Baking has not only healed my heart in the past but it has also made me become more loving and more understanding. I guess, baking has made me a bit better than I used to be.💜

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Thank you, dear Hivers, for reading my blog. I hope you’ll try baking some cheese bars soon! Try it and tell me how it goes.😊

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Note: I personally took all the photos used in this blog using my phone. I used Paint 3D to add text in the photos. I also used Canva for the photo collage.