Is it awful that for Mother’s Day this year all I wanted was a few hours completely to myself in which to bake delicious morsels and madly snap photographs of my sweet creations? It’s not that I don’t fully enjoy a rollicking day with the family, but (in my view) Mother’s Day should be the one day a year that mamas get to do whatever they want: sleep until the sun is high in the sky, relish in a total lack of distraction… and focus on nurturing yourself, just for one day.

We’re a few days into 2011, and it’s back to the grindstone. After a season of ultra rich, fatty and sugary foods, and lots of festive cheer, most of us are ready to turn a perennial new leaf of increased activity and healthier foods. As a nod to these well-intentioned resolutions — and an inclination to bake some healthy, tasty, high fiber snacks for my family — I’ve whipped up a batch of these delicious, nut-free granola bars.

Brownies are fabulous. Turtle candies are divine. And anything that melds these two all-time favorite treats can only be described as supernatural. So in this recipe, the dense, rich, chocolaty goodness of your classic brownie collides in a beautiful union with the sweet, chewy caramel, milk chocolate chunks, and famous pecan crunch that we all love about turtle candies.

These date squares are sweet, chewy, crumbly, messy, and a little bit tangy thanks to the yummy, lemon-spiked medjool date purée sandwiched between a buttery crumble crust. Lemon juice takes the edge off the potentially sickening sweetness of the dates, and butter is… well, butter — enough said.  But honestly, you could eat a medjool date sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard and it would still kick an ordinary date square’s butt.

Squeeze the last lemony zing out of summer with this simple, classic dessert. One of my childhood favorites, for sure, lemon squares bring together two of what I consider to be the best flavors, ever: lemon and butter. The dense, crumbly shortbread base is chock-full of butter, creating the perfect prop for the tangy citrus topping with its delicate, sugar-dusted flaky top.