Midnight Delights

The bite sized treats sure are rampant at the grocers.  Everything is mini, little and bite sized.  Also, there is an advantage to making things in that size.  Bite sized treats are easy to transport and are easy to serve.

These particular morsels contain what I call the magic trio.  They have espresso, dark chocolate and a little bit of Kahlua or coffee liqueur.  Also, I think the addition of the walnuts is a great choice.  The chocolate cookie cup acts as a vessel to hold and support the rich, fudgey filling. This recipe makes about 4 dozen.

Midnight Delights
adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients/Cookie Crust
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter cut into cubes
1/4 cup strong espresso coffee (chilled)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder

Ingredients/Filling
12 oz or 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (melted)
2 tbs butter (melted)
2 tsp coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua)
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs milk
48 walnut halves( for toppers)

Prepare miniature muffin tins by greasing each cavity.  In a medium size bowl, sift the flour, salt and cocoa together.  Whisk in the sugar.  Then pour into the bowl of a food processor.  Toss in the butter cubes and pulse with steel blade till mixture starts to come together.  Then add the espresso coffee.  Pulse again until the mixture forms a ball of dough.

Sprinkle a flat surface with flour and divide dough into 4 equal pieces.  Take one piece and roll it out to a thickness of  1/8 inch. Using a 2 1/2 inch cutter, cut the dough into 12 disks.  Place each disc in a cavity of the muffin tin, so that each lines the bottom and about 2/3 up the sides of the cavity.  Repeat this process for the rest of the 4 tins.  Place all 4 tins in the refrigerator for 40 minutes to firm up.

While the tins are in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and start on the filling.    In a medium size bowl, whisk together sugar, milk, butter and coffee liqueur.  Then mix in the melted chocolate until all is smooth.  Using a whisk, blend 2 eggs into the batter.  Once completely blended, fold in the walnuts.

Once the chilling time is complete, remove the tins.  Fill each cavity with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the chocolate batter.  Place each tin in oven and bake for 20 minutes. The filling should be puffed and cracked in places when done.  Remove pan and lightly press a walnut into the center of each.

Let bites cool in pan for about 15 minutes and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

Notes and Tips:

1. My end result was too much dough.  I must confess that the filling was not measured out exactly when filling the cavities and the thickness of the dough was not exact either.

2. If you only have one muffin tin, you can bake in batches. Because of the chilling time, the process will take longer if you prepare and bake 1 dz at a time.

                                    ***LAST YEAR: Lemon Butter Fudge**

Belgian Blondies

I have been trying different bar cookie recipes recently.  Last week I had tried a recipe for Margarita Lime bars that had an error on the liquid ratio, so the edges set up fine but the center was just a pool. There was no saving it, I even tried to microwave it so the center would get done, but that did not work.

Anyhow, this particular recipe did turn out to be a success.  The bars are rich, buttery and full of delicious white chocolate.  The recipe instructions had a method in which to melt the chocolate.  However when I made these, there was a certain amount of chunks that did not melt, which makes them perfect for the person that loves white chocolate.

The rich flavor makes them perfect paired with black coffee.  Also, forget the shortbread and serve these squares with a bowl of strawberries.

Belgian Blondies
adapted from Tea with Bea

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs or 2 3/4 sticks of butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb white chocolate (chopped into pea sized pieces)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup of sugar
1 3/4 cup of flour
a pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 340 degrees.  Grease an 8X12 inch baking pan and line bottom with parchment, leaving an overhang on 2 sides so the bars can be lifted out of the pan prior to cutting.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and let come to a boil.  Place the chocolate pieces in a heat proof bowl and pour in the melted butter.  Stir until most or all of the chocolate is melted.  Set aside.

In another bowl,  blend eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour in the chocolate mixture and stir. In another bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.  Then fold dry ingredients into the chocolate batter until no dry streaks remain.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan and smooth the surface.  Place pan in oven and bake for 28-33 minutes.  The bars are done when golden brown on top but still retain a gooey center.

Remove pan from oven and place pan on cooling rack.  After 1 hour, place pan in the refrigerator for  2 hours to set up.  After two hours, remove pan from refrigerator and run a knife down between the pan and the blondies on the sides without parchment paper.  Then lift out blondies and cut into squares for serving.

Tips and notes:
1. You can use a 9X13 size pan, but watch on the baking time. Also with a bigger pan, the blondies will not have the same height.
2. Do not use baking chips.  They are a different blend than the actual white bar chocolate and will not work in this recipe.  Use good quality white chocolate bars.
3. For a smoother bar with no chunks of white chocolate, use a grater disc in a food processer to grind the chocolate to insure that all chocolate will be melted with the hot butter.
                                  **LAST YEAR:Butter Cupcakes**

Bourbon Maple Bars

I have had this recipe tucked away for some time now.  It was actually one of the recipes I got when I first started in G+.   Since then I have pulled a couple more from the site.  The recipes are from Micheal Recchiuti, that has a lot of talent when it comes to confections.  His site has a lot to offer in the way of treats as well as recipes.

As far as this recipe, I am glad I found something a little bit upscale and unique in comparison to all the blondie and brownie recipes floating around out there.  The moist maple and bourbon cake along with the crunchy toasted walnuts turned out to be a pretty tasty bar.  The only change I made to the recipe was making 1/2 a batch more of the glaze.  The original recipe amount left too much of the bar showing through, so it was not enough in my opinion.  

Due to the fact it was late and I was unable to get in touch with Micheal prior to this post for permission to post the recipe details here, I have provided a direct link to his site for the recipe:
Dad's Bourbon Maple Bars

Outside of the fantastic recipes, I am thinking that I may splurge for Halloween and try some of his chocolate candy. However, for right now I am splurging on these maple bars!
                             **LAST YEAR: Chestnut Chocolate Muffins***

Juniors Triple the Fudge Brownies

A friend of mine recently had her 19th birthday and I had asked her what she wanted and the reply was brownies.  I had made a big batch, so there was plenty to go round.  They were well received by the whole crowd.  Even someone commented that they would have to take them home first and count all the nuts in them before anyone else can have them. I think I saw them scooping up on their fifth piece later that day, with no shame in admitting that they would not be sharing any pieces!

I would say after trying one of these rich and fudgy brownies, they even had me shamelessly reaching for a second piece.  The thickness as well as the layer of chocolate chips in the center really makes these perfect for the chocoholic in all of us.  These days it is hard to consider a plain brownie. The without nuts and without chocolate chips version does nothing but make me recall the word bland.

I have included the frosting recipe here, but I did not include these in the batch I made.  Considering it makes 6 cups to put on 24 brownies that are 2 1/2 inch square by 1 1/2 inch high, I did not want to induce anyone into a sugar coma.  Just by looking at the list of ingredients for the brownies, you can make a good determination about if you need to move on with the 1/2 inch layer of frosting on top.

Juniors Triple the Fudge Brownies
adapted from Juniors Dessert Cookbook

Ingredients/ Brownies
12 oz of mini semisweet chocolate chips
10 oz of bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cacao)
4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tbs of vanilla extract
9 eggs
1 lb butter
4 cups sugar
2 tsp salt
3 1/4 cup of flour

Ingredients/Fudge Frosting
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 tbs vanilla extract
3-4 tbs heavy whipping cream
2 tbs dark corn syrup
10 oz bittersweet chocolate (melted in double boiler)
1/4 tsp salt
4 cups or 1 lb confectioners sugar
1 tbs dark cocoa powder
whole pecans (optional)

Prepare two 8 or 9 inch square baking pans by buttering the insides.  Then line the bottom and two sides of the pans with parchment, leaving an overhang on the two sides.  Butter the face up sides and bottom of the parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Place the butter and the chocolate in a large heavy saucepan and place over low heat.  Using a wooden spoon, stir until all chocolate and butter is melted and smooth.  Remove from heat to cool slightly.

In another bowl, sift together the flour and salt.  Set aside.  Place all eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with wire whisk blade for 3 minutes on high.  The eggs will turn a light yellow and thicken.  Keep the mixer running and add the sugar.  Once blended, turn the speed down to low and add the butter/chocolate mixer and beat until smooth.  Then add the vanilla extract.

Unhook bowl from mixer and take wisk blade out.  Pour in flour and mix with a wooden spoon until no dry streaks remain.  Then fold in walnuts until evenly mixed into batter.

Pour 1/4 of the batter into one pan and tilt pan until evenly spread.  Do the same with the second pan. Take the bag of mini chocolate chips and sprinkle them evenly over the batter in each of the pans.  Layer each pan again with 1/2 of the remaining batter.

Place in oven and bake for about 40-50 minutes, depending on the size of the pan.  Brownies are done when they are almost set in the center.  A tester should come out moist with some batter still clinging to it. Remove pans and place on rack to cool for about 1 hour.

Then run a knife down the two unlined sides of the brownies. Invert the pans and peel off the parchment.  Then invert onto cutting board to completely cool.

For the frosting, place the butter and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Cream together with the mixer on high for about 3 minutes.  After each minute, stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Continue to beat and add the vanilla, cocoa and corn syrup.  Once blended, add the melted chocolate.

Sift together the salt and confectioners sugar in another bowl.

After the chocolate is evenly distributed into the batter, turn the mixer down to low.  Pour in 2 cups of sifted ingredients and beat on low until no dry streaks remain.  Add the rest of the sifted ingredients and blend.  Once smooth, beat in 2 tbs of cream for 3 minutes on high.  Continue to add the cream and beat until desired consistency is achieved.  Frosting should become very airy with a rich chocolate color.  Spread on cooled brownies.  Refrigerate for 1 hour so the frosting can set.

Then, if you prefer, top with one pecan half, rounded side up.  Press slightly into the frosting. Cut into squares with a serrated knife and serve.

Tips & Notes:
1. Like with most brownies, you want to avoid overbaking.
2. It is important that you divide the batter equally to make sure there is coverage of the chocolate chips.
3. For the top layer of the batter, it is best to spoon it on top and then smooth, that way there is less of a chance of shifting the chocolate chip layer.
4. I used two 8 inch square pans to achieve the thickness as shown in the picture.
                                  **LAST YEAR: Ivory Monkey Parfait**

Lemongrass Bars

I still had some lemongrass left over from my last creation, so I decided to make these lemongrass bars.  The good thing about lemongrass is that it does last for about 10 days in the fridge.

This particular bar has a coconut shortbread base and a lemony topping.  The filling texture does resemble more like a key lime pie than a baked bar.  The usage of lemongrass does make these bars quite different from the standard.  It reduces the tartness of the lemon and adds hints of mint and ginger.

While I do like lemon bars, I am pretty picky.  I do not like them to be dry, nor do I like them to be too strong.  Some I have tasted have been pretty bitter.  These bars do not have those issues.  Also, the extra flavors do bump them up to more of a gourmet quality dessert.

Lemongrass Bars
adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients/Crust
1 cups sweetened coconut
1/2 cup plus 3 tbs butter (room temp)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients/Filling
1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 finely chopped lemongrass stalks (outer layer removed, bottom 4 inches only)
3 eggs
5 tbs lemon juice
powdered sugar (for dusting)
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 9x13 inch pan by buttering the interior.

To create the crust, mix together powdered sugar, coconut, salt and flour.  With an electric mixer on medium, beat in the butter until the mixture clumps.  Pour into your prepared pan.  Place waxed paper over the dough and flatten it evenly into the bottom of the pan as well as about 1/2 an inch up the sides.  Bake for about 25 minutes.  Crust will be golden brown with darker edges.  Remove pan from the oven and place on cooling rack.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.  Using a food processor, pulse together the lemongrass and the sugar.  The lemongrass should be finely ground with the sugar, which should take about about  a minute.  Add the lemon juice and process again for 30 seconds.  Put the eggs into the mixture and run the processor for about 10 seconds.  Lastly, pour in the flour and salt and pulse until smooth.

Pour the filling over the hot baked crust and place in oven.  Bake for about 22-23 minutes.  Remove and place on rack to cool completely.  Cut into pieces and dust with powdered sugar.
                                    **LAST YEAR: Austrian Apple Twists** 

Pecan Chocolate Squares

Well since it is Friday, I wanted to make something that was tasty but not too difficult.  Something that would be good as an afternoon snack.  I started looking at the recipes for squares and bars.  Most of them I had already seen or tasted before.  That is until I landed on this one.

It was fairly easy to prepare, with a cookie base and a pie top.  Also, the squares do have a special twist of the cinnamon in the base with a thin layer of chocolate, which brings you back to the thought of Mexican chocolate.  The pie topping is made with dark brown sugar and toasted pecans.  Actually, 3 cups of pecans and the pan is only 9 inches square.  No skimping in that respect!

These are great served with coffee as well as tea.  Also, if you find yourself lacking in calcium, a dollop of whipped cream on top would also be good!

Pecan Chocolate Squares
adapted from Fine Cooking Cookies

Ingredients/Cookie Base
2 cups flour
2 oz grated bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold butter cut into cubes

Ingredients/Pecan Topping
1/3 cup honey
2 tbs heavy cream
1/2 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
3 cups toasted chopped pecans
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Fill food processor bowl with all the cookie base ingredients except chocolate.  Pulse about 15-20 times until mixture becomes crumbly. Empty food processor bowl into 9 inch square pan.  Press crumbs into pan, forming an even crust over the inside.

Place pan in the oven and bake about 25 minutes.  Crust should be firm and golden when done.  Remove pan and place on rack.  Then evenly sprinkle the grated chocolate all over the top of the crust.  Set aside.

For the pecan topping, fill a saucepan with butter  and place over medium heat, stirring until melted.   Add heavy cream, salt, brown sugar and honey.  Mix together as it cooks, letting it come to a simmer.  Then cook for and additional minute, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and fold  in the pecans.  

Pour pecan mixture over the chocolate coated crust.  Smooth out so layer is even.  Place in oven and bake about 16-18 minutes.  It is done when you open the oven and see all the topping bubbling-not just the edges.  Place pan on rack and let cool completely before cutting and serving.
Enjoy!

Tips and Notes:
The method of sprinkling the grated chocolate is not good enough for even distribution, I took a spatula and smoothed it out after it melted a little.

                           **LAST YEAR: Cajun Chicken Carter** 

Fraternity Brunch Bars

When I went to college, my mother said that several of her friends could not believe she let me go to the one I picked.  The college has a lot of great academics, however, it also has been labeled as a big party school.

One of the memories I have is when the sorority girls were to help out the pledges at a fraternity on a raid to the the frat house.  We all gathered together, with one pledge advising us how to get into the house and what to do.  I think this was to be a raid with water balloons.  The plan was to take over, surprising the Frat brothers in the middle of the night.  The pledge leader urged everyone on and said "Let's go troopers" and proceeded to slip a large trash bag over his head.  Funny, the tough guy thought his head would poke right through the bottom, but he struggled to get it over his head and finally took it off and found some scissors  After that silliness, we were not so sure he should have been the leader.  So here we were ready to go.  Some had old clothes on, some with rain ponchos and others with zip lock bags on our heads to protecting our hair.

We moved in towards the back of the house. I opened the window to the room with the pool table and started climbing in. Halfway in, I felt the window sash hit me in the back.  At that time I quickly realized that someone had leaked our plans.  Luckily, another trooper had managed to invade the house and help me in.

Then the chaos ensued! Things flying down the hall, people running every which way. Not a single soul was surprised, they were all up and waiting  The worst was when they pulled out the fire extinguishers.  If you have never seen the effects of the spray, it is made to saturate every tiny crack and hole, even the ones so small we do not know exist.   I can remember seeing several white coated people. One poor guy with glasses looked like he was sprayed right in the face!  He had made little circles on his eye glasses so he could peer out through all that powder.

Our attire quickly become mottled with food as well as extinguisher powder.  However, one guy clearly was not bothered by this. He was the one fraternity brother that was getting the best of everyone.  I believe it was due to the initial shock of his nakedness that caught us off guard. One girl finally exclaimed with a forceful tone "Dude you really need to get some clothes on!"

Needless to say the raid was a failure.  We all finally retreated back outside and went to get some sleep.  Sadly the pledges were stuck cleaning up the mess the next day.

So for all the crazy college fraternities members as well as pledges, I dedicate these bars. The things that make these unique is the malt powder as well as the rum.  This bar has all the same qualities of a blondie, but thinner with a kick of rum.  I still am undecided if the malt taste is evident, but you can be the judge.

Fraternity Brunch Bars
by flourtrader

Ingredients
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground vanilla beans
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1 egg
2 tbs malted milk powder
1/2 cup dark rum
1 cup brown sugar,  packed
1/4 cup shortening

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the inside of a 9X13 pan.

Sift together the salt, baking powder, baking soda, flour and vanilla bean powder.  In a separate bowl beat together shortening, sugar and egg. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, add rum and malt powder.  Place over medium high heat and stir.  Let mixture start to boil and then remove from heat. Give it one last stir and then pour into the egg mixture, blending until all ingredients are mixed together.

Mix the wet batter into the sifted dry ingredients.  Blend until smooth and and then fold in the nuts. After thoroughly mixing, spread evenly into pan.  You can use a damp knife or damp clean hands to help spread it evenly.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until done.  Center will be firm to the touch when done.  Remove from oven and let cool completely in pan.  Then cut and serve.
                                **LAST YEAR: Caramel Streusel Bars**
 

Cinnamon Topped Immortality Bars

The name of these particular bars are based on Chinese mythology that the consumption of peaches will give you longevity.  The legendary effects were depicted in a novel called "The Journey to the West" in which the protector of the peaches learned that a single peach would add 1000 years to your life.  1000 years is a long time...makes you wonder what a thousand year old person would even look like.  The youthful thing would have be included with the 1000 years to make it even worth while to me!

These particular bars are a cakey bar.  The base is made of a blend of peaches and peach schnapps.  Toasted pecans were included to add texture as well as another level of taste.  It is all topped off with cinnamon powdered sugar.  The peach flavor is more evident if eaten the second day.

Cinnamon Topped Immortality Bars
by flourtrader

Ingredients
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen peaches (thawed)
1/4 cup peach schnapps
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the inside of a 10 inch springform pan.

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.  In a food processor, add peaches and peach schnapps and puree together.

In a separate bowl, cream together shortening and brown sugar.  Stir in peach puree mix and vanilla extract, beating until all is blended well.  Then fold in sifted ingredients until no dry streaks remain.  Then fold in nuts.

Spoon batter into springform pan.  Using a spatula, smooth the batter evenly on top.  Then place pan in oven.  My pan was dark so baking time was 20 minutes, if you use a clear or light pan the baking time may be more.  Bars are done when tester comes out clean.

While bars are baking, put powdered sugar and cinnamon in a zip lock bag and seal.  Shake well to mix.  Set aside.

Once the bars are done, remove the pan and let cool about 10 minutes.  Then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture over the top and remove ring.  Let bars cool completely and then cut to serve.

Just a note to say that I will be away tomorrow taking care of some business that I have been putting off for some time now.  I should be back sometime on Wednesday to post, hopefully before noon.  I will be positive and say things should be back to normal by Thursday.

Pier Thirty Nine Bars

The namesake for these bars has to do with San Francisco.  At the corner of Pier 39 there is a coffee shop that sells Biscoff coffee, according the package of the Biscoff cookies.  Since this is a bar made with Biscoff, I thought that it would go well with the coffee!  Sadly I am not in San Francisco, so I guess I will have to make due with just these bars to satisfy my craving for the flavor of Biscoff.

It is a moist bar, falling between the brownie texture of fudgy and cakey.  Outside of that unique Biscoff flavor, the cinnamon streusel topping adds a delightful crunch.  Also, with the streusel, it can be a delicious breakfast treat as well as a snack. 

The streusel here can be made to your own preference.  You may want big buttery clumps while others like theirs more crumbly.  However, remember that the wait time required before use will cause it to dry out more.

Pier Thirty Nine Bars
by flourtrader

Ingredients/ Streusel
4 tbs of butter
2 tbs ground Biscoff cookies (I used a blender to grind)
1/2 cup flour ( or more depending how crumbly you like the topping to be)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs finely chopped walnuts

Melt butter in a small saucepan and then remove from heat.  Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients except for the walnuts.  After sifting, stir in the nuts.  Pour this dry mixture into the melted butter and stir with a fork until crumbs form.  Squeeze the mixture to make a large clump and then break apart so you have some pebble sized clumps.  Set the mixture aside for 15 minutes before using.

Ingredients/Bar base


1/4 plus 1/8 tsp baking powder
2 tbs of ground Biscoff cookies
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs flour
1/4 cup Biscoff spread
1 tbs butter
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 egg
6 tbs sour cream
1 tbs dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (for sprinkling on top)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8 inch square pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder and ground Biscoff cookies and set aside.

Place a saucepan over medium heat and melt the butter.  Then add the oil and the Biscoff spread.  Stir and let the spread melt into the butter and oil.  Once melted, turn the heat down to low.

In another bowl beat the egg with the granulated sugar until it becomes thick.  It should take about 2 minutes to reach that consistency.  Add the dark brown sugar and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Then beat in the vanilla extract.  Your mixture should be quite thick at this point.

Pour in the warm Biscoff mixture and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, stopping ocassionally
to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing to make sure it is all even.

Then take some of the streusel mixture and clump it in your hands again and break apart.  Then sprinkle it onto the batter.  Continue with the process until all the streusel is sprinkled on top of the batter.  Using a light touch, press the sprinkled crumbs onto the top of the batter.  Sprinkle on the mini chips and press lightly again.

Place in oven and bake until tester comes out clean and cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan.  This should take about 25-30 minutes.  Remove pan and let cake cool in pan on rack.  Cut into squares when ready to serve.
                          **LAST YEAR: Cranberry Fudge Pie**

Coconut Custard Bars & Holiday Blogging Status

I have been craving some coconut pie recently and I did not want to make a large one.  In reviewing some recipes, I came across this one for these bars.

The bottom is a shortbread crust and the middle is a smooth custard with rum and coconut.  It is all topped with chopped cashew nuts.   In reviewing several recipes, they do use coconut milk in the custard, which is the accepted standard.  For those of you looking for a blast of coconut, note that these bars have only a subtle flavor of coconut.

They are a tasty stack of layers.  The sweet buttery pastry crust is a nice base for the silky custard.  The custard has notes of rum and a bit of chew from the coconut.  Also, regarding flavor and texture, the cashew crunch on top does so much more for the custard than the standard coconut topping that you get with a pie.

Also, please note that I will be on holiday from 11/22 thru 11/29.  I have someone that will be releasing posts that I have in edit mode.  However, since I will be unavailable to comment or answer any questions, my comments will be closed at noon CST on 11/22 and opened back up at noon CST on 11/29.  I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Coconut Custard Bars

adapted from The Good Cookie Cookbook

Ingredients/Crust
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2 tsp cold water
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter, cut into cubes
1 1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch square baking pan and line bottom and 2 sides with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on each side.

Sift together flour and salt.  Then whisk in sugar.  Using a pastry cutter, blend in butter cubes until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.   Make a well in the center of  the dough and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat together water, egg yolk and vanilla extract until completely blended.  Pour into dough and mix with a wooden spoon until dough forms a smooth clump and no dry streaks remain.

Press dough into bottom of pan, making sure it reaches all corners and has an even thickness.  Place in oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until it has a golden hue.  Remove and let cool completely in pan before filling.

Ingredients/Filling & Topping
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 tbs dark rum
1 egg yolk
2 eggs
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbs flour
pinch of salt
1 cup of sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup toasted cashew nuts, chopped (salted or unsalted, your preference)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the shredded coconut of the cooled pastry crust.

Then place the eggs, egg yolk and sugar in a medium sized bowl.  Using a wire whisk, blend the ingredients until smooth.  Then add 1/4 cup of the coconut milk and blend with the wire wisk.  Continue adding the coconut milk in 1/4 cup increments and whisking after each addition until no more milk remains.  Then stir in the flour, vanilla extract, rum and salt.

Holding a sieve over the pan with the crust and coconut, pour the filling into the sieve. Move the sieve around so the filling falls in more than one area of the crust.  You do not want all the coconut to float to the outer edges, so moving it keeps this from happening. The filling should cover the whole top of the crust.  Lastly, sprinkle the cashews evenly over the top.

Bake for 25-40 minutes or until the filling is set.  Mine took about 35 minutes.  Remove pan and let cool completely.  Then slide a knife between the bars and the pan on the sides without parchment.  Lift bars out of pan and place on platter.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before cutting and serving.  Bars should be refrigerated for storing.
                                              **LAST YEAR: Whole Grain Mustard Rolls**

Brazilian Bourbon Blondies

Some days you are really reminded that food bloggers are such a unique niche of people out there.  When talking about my blog, there are 2 responses I sometimes get.  One is that wierd look-you know- the ones that say I have no clue of what you are talking about, but I do not want to ask.  The other one is "Now what is this blog thing??".

Not all of us dive into the social media or even concern ourselves about it.  Funny, my mom said that my uncle has a computer and all he has on it is the game of solitare.  Oh, he spends time using it, but he also spends time sleeping in front of it.

I am not sure what I would do without having the computer and all my blogger friends that share a comment interest of food.

Anyhow, on to the recipe.  The recipe below is reflective of the changes I made from the original recipe.  The sugars called for were in measurements of 3/4 of a cup.  Due to the sweetness of the white chocolate, I changed it to 1/2.  The other thing is that it took longer to bake than the recipe stated.

The bars are moist and chewy, not cake-like.  I my opinion, the flavor blend kind of reminds me of a cinnamon praline.  The white chocolate gives it the chewy texture while the brown sugar and bourbon is the height of the flavor along with the cinnamon spice.


Brazilian Bourbon Blondies
adapted from Sophisticated Cookie

Ingredients
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 cup chopped unsalted Brazil nuts (boil for a few minutes if salted to remove salt)
1/2 cup white choc chips
3 tbs bourbon

Grease an 8 inch square baking pan and line the bottom and two sides with parchment, leaving an overhang on each side to use as handles.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Sift together flour and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.  Beat together butter and two types of sugars until light and fluffy.  Set is aside also.

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler.  The recipe states to let cool for 5 minutes, but my chocolate set up too fast.  I did not let cool.  Pour melted chocolate into butter/sugar mixture and beat until completely blended.  Then, with a wooden spoon, blend eggs and bourbon into the batter.

Fold the flour mixture into the batter until no dry streaks remain.  Lastly, mix in the chopped brazil nuts.

Spoon the batter nto the pan and smooth the top so all is even.  Place pan in oven and bake for 20-35 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.  The recipe said 20-25 minutes but mine took about 33 minutes.

Remove and cool in pan before cutting. Then lift out by the parchment handles.  Cut and it is ready to serve.

The cookbook states that complete cooling is required in order for the chocolate in the bars to set up.  Also, there is a note about many blondies are cakes masquerading as blondies because eggs are used to create the texture.  I guess the author feels that "real" blondies as well as brownies require chocolate.  That is probably how some baked goods got the name of bars instead of blondies.
                       **LAST YEAR: Frangelico Ice Cream**

Tribal Spirit Squares

One of the main ingredients in these squares is pecans.  In reading about the history on this nut,  I found out that Native American Indian tribes thrived on these, sometimes eating nothing but pecans for a solid two months. They also believed the pecan to have spiritual value.

Now that you know the origin of the name, the start of this recipe was an intention to make a breakfast type of dish. I came upon some butter pecan syrup in the store and  I could not resist, so I purchased it. Syrup on pancakes is not really that creative, so I went to work on trying to incorporate the syrup in a baked good and that is the starting point of the recipe.

In addition to syrup, there is ground toasted pecans as an ingredient.  The squares are baked in an 8x8 pan.  Due to the high amount of liquid, it sunk slightly in the middle.  That was ok, because it created a variety in the texture.  The servings cut from the edge were more fluffy while the inner ones turned out to be more moist, almost like a bar type of baked good. It is a cross between a cake and a bar.  If you like all things pecan, then I am sure that you will enjoy these squares.

Should you have another favorite nut in mind, feel free to substitute it along with the matching flavor syrup.  These syrups are the ones marketed for flavoring coffee, but I am sure they will do fine in this recipe.

Tribal Spirit Squares
by flourtrader

Ingredients
1 cup ground toasted pecans
1 cup of butter pecan syrup
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Grease the inside of an 8X8 pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and grease face up side of parchment.

Cream together butter and both sugars.  Then add the syrup, vanilla  and egg and beat until well blended and smooth. Set aside.

In another bowl, sift together the flour and the baking soda.  Then fold the flour mixture and pecans into the batter until just combined.  Pour batter into pan and smooth the top, so the batter is even.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or tester comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan for 45 minutes.  Then invert onto a platter, peel off parchment paper and flip cake back over onto a rack to finish cooling.  Once completely cool, dust with confectioners sugar.  Now it is ready to cut into squares and serve. 
                           **LAST YEAR:Steakhouse Beer Bread**

N&N Bars

These bars are a combination of Nutella and nibs.  Most of you are familiar with Nutella, but the nibs are actually chopped up cocoa beans.  They are commonly referred to as cocoa nibs.  They have a nutty,sharp chocolate taste and bring a unique texture and taste to baked goods.  Also, I like to sprinkle them on vanilla ice cream.

As you can see by the above picture, these came out with a tan hue and speckled with the cocoa nibs.  They are more on the cakey side than fudgy but are much more dense and chewy than cake.  Also, the bars are not extremely sweet like a chocolate brownie.  Nutella does have less grams of sugar per serving than chocolate.

This subtle sweetness goes great with the dark chopped cocoa nibs.  The added crunch is just enough to add a dimension of flavor, while letting the Nutella flavor shine through.

N&N Bars
by flourtrader

Ingredients
2 eggs
2 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup Nutella
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa nibs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line the bottom of  an 8X8 baking pan with parchment paper.

Sift together baking powder, salt and flour.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs together.  Then stir in the sugar, melted butter and the vanilla extract.  Once blended, mix in the Nutella until evenly distributed.

Fold the sifted flour mixture into the batter until no more dry streaks remain.  It should be a very thick batter, like fudge.  Lastly, add the cocoa nibs and mix until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Transfer the mixture to the pan.  With damp, clean hands, spread batter evenly inside the pan.  Place pan in oven and bake 25-30 minutes.  It is done when tester comes out clean and surface is no longer shiny.  Let cool in pan for 30 minutes and then invert onto plate.  Remove parchment and invert again and let cool completely and cut into squares to serve.
                                  **LAST YEAR:Cranberry Walnut Scones***

Lucid Dream Bars

Have you ever had a dream and in the dream you realize it is a dream?  Experts on the subject will tell you that if this happens very often you can start to control exactly what happens in your dream.  I am not aware that I have had a lucid dream, but sometimes my thoughts prior to going to sleep may have had some influence.

The other night I was toying around with the idea of creating a recipe that had strawberry in it that had a strong enough flavor to work well with white chocolate. I did not want to use extract. As you know, white chocolate is quite sweet.   Anyhow, after falling asleep, waking up and then falling asleep again it came to me-canned strawberries in light syrup.

That is how this recipe came about.  It is very rich, having both white chocolate and cream cheese layers in it. Then to make it even better, it is filled with crushed canned strawberries and nuts.  Without the strawberries and nuts, the texture can best be described as a cross between white chocolate blondies and cheesecake.  The filling just adds another dimension of flavor.

You know some people say that dreamers are just people that can't face reality. To make sure you are not labeled as such, I have provided the recipe below so you can make these bars a reality in your own kitchen! :)

Lucid Dream Bars
by flourtrader

Ingredients
1 15 oz can of strawberries in light syrup
1 cup roasted chopped pecans
1 8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter
5 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz chopped white chocolate
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups flour

First, drain the can of strawberries and reserve 2 tbs of juice in a small bowl.  Using a fork or your fingers, crush the strawberries into smaller pieces and place pieces in a measuring cup of 1 cup capacity.  All you will need is one cup, if there is any strawberries left in the can, use them up as an ice cream topping. Cover both the strawberries and juice.  Place in fridge until needed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 9X13 cake pan by greasing the bottom. Then line with parchment paper, covering the bottom and leaving some to overhang on the long sides.  Grease the face up side of the parchment on the bottom of the pan.

Set up a double boiler and melt white chocolate chips together with the butter.  Once all is melted, pour into a large heat proof bowl. Beat in the additional ingredients of 1 1/2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract. 

In a smaller bowl, sift together baking powder, salt and flour.  Then fold into chocolate mixture and set aside.

Place the softened cream cheese, remaining 2 tsp of vanilla, remaining egg and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in another bowl.  Beat until smooth.

To make the layers, pour half of the chocolate batter into the prepared pan.  Then sprinkle half of the pecans over the layer and drop 1/2 cup of  strawberry chunks evenly over layer.  Then drop the cream cheese on top by spoonfuls and use a knife to smooth it out evenly as best you can.  The cream cheese should cover the strawberries.

For the last layer, mix the nuts, strawberries and reserved 2 tbs of juice into the chocolate batter and pour it over the top.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until done. When done, you will see the toasted edges are starting to pull away from the pan and the whole surface should have a light crust.  Remove pan and place on rack to cool.  Once completely cool, lift out of pan and cut into squares.    

Tequila Sunrise Bars

Even though this is a popular bar drink, I cannot help but think of the Mel Gibson movie by the same name where he played Mac McKussic.  That was back in 1988 when Mel was such a hot commodity. 

Surprisingly, with all the bad publicity concerning his personal life, he is still writing screenplays and starring in them.  The most recent one is called "How I Spent my Summer Vacation".   He portrays a criminal in a Mexican prison.  There is no release date for the US yet, but it is going to be showing in Finland and Sweden later this month.

Anyhow, enough of Mel, lets get back to food!  These bars are two layers, the first and major layer being orange tequila and the second little layer is flavored with grenadine.  To make it look more colorful, I have sprinkled pink powdered sugar on top.  I am delighted with the flavor and the appearance of these bars and will definitely make them again.

I made a few changes that will help.  On the grenadine layer, the recipe calls for orange zest for sprinkling.  Since fresh orange zest is usually damp and clumpy, I used zest from the spice aisle at the grocery.  Also, the instructions are to color the dough after you put the flour in, but it is easier to color the batter before adding the flour.  It also makes for a more even tinting.

Tequila Sunrise Bars
courtesy of The Sophisticated Cookie Cookbook

Ingredients/Base Layer
3 tbs Tequila
food coloring (orange, or mix of red/yellow to make orange)
2 tbs fresh orange juice
2 tbs grated orange zest
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup butter (room temp) 

Ingredients/Grenadine Layer
2 tbs grated orange zest (for sprinkling)
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbs flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tbs grenadine

To make the first layer, grease bottom and sides of an 8 inch square pan.  Then line bottom and two sides (leaving an overhang on the sides) with parchment paper.  Grease face up side of parchment lining the bottom of the pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter and powdered sugar in a medium size bowl.  Once it has a smooth consistency, add orange juice, zest and tequila.  Beat until evenly dispersed.  Add food coloring a few drops at a time and beat.  Continue with this process of adding the coloring and mixing until you are satisfied with the color.  Set aside.

In another bowl, sift flour and baking powder together.  Then fold into wet batter until no more dry streaks remain.  Empty dough into baking pan and, using damp hands, spread the dough evenly inside the pan.  Place pan in oven and bake for 12 minutes.

As the layer is baking, you will need to prepare the batter for the grenadine layer. In a small bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.

Crack eggs into medium bowl and beat for about 10 seconds.  Then add sugar and beat at medium high speed for 3 minutes.  Add the grenadine and beat for an additional minute.  Stir the flour mixture into the batter.

Once the base layer has baked, remove from oven and pour the grenadine batter over the top, making sure it is even . Then sprinkle with the orange zest. Place back in oven for 17-20 minutes.  The top and edges should be brown when done.

Remove from oven and dust heavily with powdered sugar.  Let cool on a wire rack for a few hours or until top is set.  Then slide a knife around the edges and lift out with parchment handles.  Then it is ready to cut and serve.  Store at room temperature in an airtight container. Cheers!

Crimson Squares

I am sure that you are looking at this picture and thinking this is just another fruit crumble recipe.  Well, I have to say it does have all the makings of a fruit crumble, however, there is a little extra layer of flavor that adds a zing to these.

Don't get me wrong, fruit crumbles are good as they are, but like many foodies I wanted to make them better. After tasting the final dish, I can say that the flavors are really made for each other.   Maybe the flavor addition is not a new thing. However, the manner in which it is incorporated into these bars allows it to stand out and compliment the flavor of the fruit.

I was so pleased with this dish that I have decided to bring it to a pot luck luncheon.  Last time they had a luncheon there were only a few "store bought" desserts, so I am sure this will be a welcome treat.

Now, read on to find out what that extra layer is.


Crimson Squares
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Base & Topping
1/4 plus 2 tbs butter (cold & cut into cubes)
3/4 cup of flour
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup regular oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
3.5 oz almond paste (1/2 of standard 7 oz package)
1/8 tsp salt

Ingredients/Filling
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp of cornstarch 

Grease an 8X8 pan and line the bottom and 2 sides with parchment paper, letting excess paper hang over the two sides.  Then preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan mix all the filling ingredients together and place over medium high heat.  Stirring constantly, let the mixture come to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer and cover pan.  Let the mixture cook about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. As it cooks, the filling will become thicker and the cranberries will pop.  This should take about 10-15 minutes.  If any cranberries remained intact after the cooking time, take a spoon and mash them.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Sift together the flour and salt in a bowl.  Whisk in the brown sugar, oats and almonds. Toss the butter cubes in the bowl.  Cut the butter into the dry mixture using a pastry blender or fork, until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Measure out 1 cup and set aside.

Empty the bowl of the remaining crumb mixture into the prepared pan.  Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the pan.   Then take the almond paste and place it between two sheets of waxed paper.  Pat it into a disk, then use a rolling pin to flatten it out.  It will need to be rolled into a square that fits into the 8X8 pan.  Using a methods of rolling, tearing off pieces and patching, the paste should come very close to the desired size.

Remove top layer of wax paper and wrap paste around rolling pin. Unroll paste from rolling pin and place over the crumb layer in the pan.  Then drop spoonfuls of the filling onto the almond paste layer and smooth with a knife until evenly distributed.  Lastly, take the reserved cup of the crumbs and sprinkle evenly over the filling.  Lastly, lightly pat the crumbs into the filling.

Place pan in oven and bake until the top crumbs reach a golden brown color.  This should take about 20-30 minutes. Remove pan and place on rack.  Let cool completely and then run a knife along the sides that were not lined with parchment paper.  Remove from pan by lifting the parchment over hang on the two sides.  It is now ready to cut and serve.

Maple Pumpkin Bars

This is more like a wintertime treat, in fact I am really surprised that I found any pumpkin at the grocery store.  For these bars, I utilized maple candies. They are actually called maple nut goodies and have been a favorite candy of mine for years.

The bars came out thick and moist with a crunchy nut layer running through them.  The maple layer is a combination of butter, sugar and chopped candies.

Maple Pumpkin Bars
by flourtrader

Ingredients/filling
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 beaten egg (room temp)
1 tbs maple syrup
2 tbs butter
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped maple candies

Ingredients/Bars
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup light brown sugar
1 stick or 1/2 cup butter

To make the filling, take out a small saucepan and place it over medium heat.  Add the butter and heat until melted.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in corn syrup and sugar.  Cook mixture, stirring constantly until you no longer have a gritty consistency at the bottom of the pan and sugar has completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and place pan in fridge to cool for 5 minutes.

While that is cooling, whisk together egg, vanilla, maple sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Once the timer goes off, check the temperature of the sugar/butter mixture, it should be lukewarm to the touch. Stir the mixture and then slowly pour it into the egg batter.  Scrape saucepan with a spatula to remove all the syrup and place into the egg batter.  Then beat batter with a wooden spoon and add chopped candies. Set aside to make cake batter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then line the bottom of an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper, bringing paper up 2 sides of the pan with an overhang.

Again, take a small saucepan and melt the butter over medium heat.  Remove.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in the brown sugar until all is dampened with the butter.  Beat in the egg and vanilla. Lastly, stir in the pumpkin and set aside.

In another bowl, sift together the salt, flour and baking powder.  Then fold flour mixture into wet batter.  Place half of the batter in the pan and smooth the top.

Go back to the pan of filling and mix for one last time.  Pour over the batter in the pan.  Complete the layer process by spooning the rest of the batter over the filling.  Using a dampened knife, smooth the top layer evenly over the filling as best you can.  Some of the filling will show through on the sides, but that is okay.

Place in oven and bake for 30-45 minutes or until edges are brown and center has solidified.  It is not done if center still moves when pan moves.  Also, the top will develop cracks.  Remove from oven and let sit in pan for 15 minutes to cool.  Then scrape between cake and edge of pan on sides that do not have parchment paper on them.  Using parchment overhang, pull cake out of pan and place on a rack to finish cooling.

One cool, cut and serve. You can also add vanilla ice cream or a scoop of whipped cream on top.

Tip: should you want a shortcut, you can always just stir the candy pieces into the batter and bake.

Toasted Coconut Bars

Most of us feel that no matter how good the food is at a restaurant, it will never be good enough to overlook  negative aspects such as poor service, bad location and a pricey menu.

However, there are some types that I call innovative when it comes to their love of food.  It kind of goes like this.."Hey, Reggie when you drive by Catherine's Cafe can you pick up our dinner for Valentine's?" The food is only eaten on special occasions (price), they do not have to worry about the problems with the location (Reggie is picking it up) and they have no dealings with the wait staff (to go order).

Wait...that type of innovation means that Catherine's Cafe still has your business, in spite of their problems.  The best innovation, of course, is to make it yourself as close to the original as possible.  Most foodies are very much in favor of that idea!

The recipe below is from a restaurant as requested by a reader of Bon Appetit.  These coconut bars have a two luscious layers. The bottom is a buttery shortbread cookie and the top is layered with chewy coconut.  The coconut layer is very close to German chocolate cake icing, somewhat thicker and without the pecans.

Toasted Coconut Bars
courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine/prior to 2005

Ingredients/Crust
1 cup or 2 sticks of cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups flour

Ingredients/Topping
2 tbs canned cream of coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3 tbs melted unsalted butter
1 tbs milk
1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbs flour
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a 9X13 inch pan, covering bottom and two long sides with some overhang on each side for handles.

For the crust, sift together the flour and sugar in a medium bowl.  Then pour in a food processor.  Cut cold butter into cubes and put in with dry mixture.  Pulse processor with on off turns until mixture turns into a dough.  Pat dough into pan, reaching all sides and corners evenly.  Place in fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

Remove pan from fridge and place in oven. Bake dough for about 25 minutes.  Dough should have golden edges when done.  Remove and let cool. Turn oven off.

Once crust has cooled, preheat oven to 300 degrees.   Then sprinkle coconut evenly over the crust and set aside.

In a small bowl, place all the remaining ingredients, except for melted butter.  Whisk together until no lumps remain.  Then fold in melted butter.  When butter is all blended, slowly pour mixture over the coconut layer in the pan.  Take care to make sure that it is poured evenly over the top.

Bake for about 45 minutes.  When done baking, topping should be golden brown, crusty on edges and set.  Let cool in pan over rack for 30 minutes.  Then take a knife and slide between the pan and the pastry on the short sides.  Lift pastry out of the pan, using the parchment handles on the long sides and place on rack.  Once completely cool, cut and serve.

Caramel Streusel Bars

I was watching Cupcake Wars the other day and one complaint that came up often was a situation of disappearing flavor.  The competitor would describe their cupcake as including a particular flavor but upon being eaten by the judges, they could not taste it.

This usually happens when one flavor is so strong that the other flavors just get overpowered by it.  That does not always mean that it tastes bad, but it does mean you have wasted some of your ingredients since they cannot be tasted.

Should you have a flavor that stands out in a recipe, you should list it first in the name of the recipe.  For instance, someone decides to make a recipe for Ginger Pecan Lemon Bars.  They are very much interested in a gingery tasting bar, but the end result is Lemon Bars with a slight taste of ginger and pecan. This is where reading the entire recipe prior to baking can be beneficial.  A lot of times you can judge (based on quantities) which flavor will be prominent.

This original name on this particular recipe had the flavor of cinnamon first, but the real outstanding flavor is caramel.  The bars have a soft, buttery base, creamy caramel center and crunchy topping.  If you love caramel or dulce de leche, this one is a keeper.  Note the units of measure in the instructions because several of the amounts listed in the ingredients are split up when used. This recipe makes about 24 bars and uses a 9X13 inch pan for baking.

Caramel Streusel Bars
courtesy of The Kitchn website

Ingredients/Filling
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbs honey
6 tbs unsalted butter

Ingredients/Dough and Crumb topping
2 tbs dark rum (divided)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (divided)
3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/8 cups unsalted butter (2 1/4 sticks/18 tbs) at room temp
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon (divided)

Take a 9X13 inch pan and grease the bottom and sides.  Then place a piece of parchment, cut to size 8X18 inches, on the bottom of pan with the excess hanging over each long side of the pan.

To create the filling, put filling the ingredients in a saucepan set over medium heat.  Once the butter is softened by the heat, whisk the ingredients together.  Cook for 15 minutes, whisking constantly.  In the beginning, the butter will not seem like it is blending with the sugar.  As you continue to whisk, the butter residue will soon disappear and the color will change to a dark,tan/brown.  The end result will be a very thick, smooth caramel.
Remove saucepan from heat and set aside.
 
For the dough, sift 2 1/4 cup of the flour, 1 tsp cinnamon and salt together in a medium size bowl and set aside.  In a separate bowl, beat together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 tbs rum and 1 cup of softened butter until light and fluffy.  This should take about 2 or 3 minutes.  Then fold the sifted ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture until doughy clumps are formed.   

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Take 3/4 of the dough and press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Then scoop out the filling and spread all over the dough, until bottom, sides and corners are equally covered.

Add 1 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the leftover 1/4 cup of dough and mix together.  Then stir in the remaining tsp of cinnamon, 1 tbs of rum and walnuts.  Once evenly distributed, blend in the 2 tbs of softened butter with a pastry cutter or your hands.  This creates the streusel topping.

Due to the moisture in the dark brown sugar, my ingredient amount of flour (listed above) is more than the original.  The adjustment was done in order to make the streusel crumby instead of doughy.

Sprinkle the topping over the filling.  Place pan in preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes.  The top will be lightly browned when done. Remove and cool in pan for 15 minutes.  Then slide a knife between the bars and the pan on each short side.  Pull up on the parchment handles and place on rack to finish cooling.

Cut into 2 inch squares for serving.  These bars are tasty at room temperature or a little warm.

S'more Cookie Bars

We all want s'mores every once in a while, but the weather may be too windy or cold for a big campfire. The next option would be to light a fire inside and roast marshmallows.  No fireplace? Well don't despair, these bars give you the same great flavor combination of marshmallows and chocolate and does not require any fire to be built.

The recipe uses marshmallow cream and I had some on hand.  Since this recipe, I have found out that there is marshmallow cream that you can buy that actually has a toasted flavor. You can find it by clicking here.  I will definitely be using the "toasted" cream next time.

S'more Cookie Bars
adapted from Saveur Magazine 

Ingredients
7 oz jar of marshmallow cream/fluff
2 4-5 oz chocolate bars (milk or dark, your preference)
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 inch square pan. Take a long piece of parchment paper and line bottom and two parallel sides, leaving an overhang on the sides for handles.  Grease parchment paper.

In a small bowl, sift together salt, baking powder and flour.  Then whisk in graham cracker crumbs.  Set aside.

Take a large bowl or stand mixer bowl and put it both types of sugars and butter. With an electric mixer, cream together ingredients until fluffy. Then beat in egg and vanilla extract. Set mixer aside.  With a wooden spoon, fold in 1/2 of the flour mixture into the batter until combined.  Repeat with second half of flour.

Once no more flour remains, take dough and split in half.  Using your hands, press 1/2 of the dough into the bottom of the pan, making sure it is even.  Then place the candy bars in a single layer on top of the dough.

The next layer will be the marshmallow fluff.  Using a spatula, scrap out all the fluff and put in pan.  Taking a wet knife or dampened hands/palms, smooth the fluff evenly over the candy bars. Set pan aside.

Then take a piece of wax paper and place the second half of the dough on top.  Press or roll into an 8 inch square and place in the freezer for 5 minutes.  After freezing, take out square and flip into pan (over the fluff) and peel off wax paper.  Wait 10 minutes for dough layer to soften and then press down to make sure that there is no air between fluff and dough layer.

Bake s'mores for about 30-35 minutes.  They should be a light golden brown when done.  Wait until completely cool before lifting out of pan with parchment handles.  Then cut and serve.