Tag Archives: bar cookies

November 30, 2011 · 5:13 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Nanaimo Bars

100711 006-1DAY 6: Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo is a little town on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is where my dear husband spent the first half of his childhood. These bars have a controversial history all their own, but Canadians are ever true to these bars originating in their little seaside town. More info and the recipe officially adopted by Nanaimo can be found on the Nanaimo city website.

These bars are definitely more like a candy than cookie. If you remember that before you take a great big bite, they will not seem so outrageously sweet. Think  “double frosted fudge”  not “brownie”  and you will take appropriate nibbles that will keep your blood sugar in check.

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RECIPE:

Nanaimo Bars

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Bottom Layer
½ cup butter (European style cultured)
¼ cup sugar
5 Tbs cocoa
1 egg beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup shredded coconut

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in graham cracker crumbs, almonds and coconut. Press firmly into a buttered 8″ x 8″ pan.

Middle Layer
½ cup unsalted butter
2 Tbs plus 2 tsp cream
2 Tbs vanilla custard powder (Birds’ Custard Powder)
½ tsp vanilla
2 cups icing sugar

Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Top Layer
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)
2 Tbs unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over middle layer and chill in refrigerator until firm.  Cut into small squares.

Recipe from the City of Nanaimo website

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November 27, 2011 · 7:50 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Cherry Shortbread Squares

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DAY 3: Cherry Shortbread Squares

These shortbread squares are light and tender, not hard and crumbly; almost more like a short little cake than a cookie, but firm enough to hold in your hand to eat.

The batter mixes together quickly, and is then spread onto a baking sheet. Use a toothpick to lightly score the batter into 24 squares. The lines will disappear as the cookies bake, but they make it easier to know where to place your cherries. The cherry topping is simply cherry pie filling-I used some that I canned this summer from tart cherries, but any variety of canned pie filling will work. Place about 3 cherries in the center of each square. As the cookies bake, the pie filling will sink about halfway into the batter. Little A loves these cookies: they are light and slightly lemony, and not a hint of chocolate.

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And if you are really  lucky  talented, you will get some cookies that bear a striking resemblance to Mickey Mouse:1-11-11 001-1

RECIPE:

Cherry Shortbread Squares

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1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
½ teaspoon lemon extract (or 1 Tbs lemon juice)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 can cherry pie filling or berry pie filling
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a half-sheet pan (about 12×17 inches) with a 1-inch rim, or spray it with baking cooking spray (with flour).

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the lemon extract, lemon zest, vanilla, and salt. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the bowl. On the lowest speed, stir in the flour until just barely mixed.

Spread the batter onto the sheet pan and smooth it into an even layer. Score the batter into 24-30 squares with a toothpick (don’t worry about perfectly even squares as the lines will disappear during baking; it just makes placing the cherries easier). Place 3 cherries in the center of each square.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Just before serving, cut into 24 squares and dust lightly with powdered sugar.

Makes 24 3-inch squares

Recipe from Piece of Cake

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November 26, 2011 · 7:54 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Blueberry Crumb Bars

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DAY 2: Blueberry Crumb Bars

A delicious fruity bar cookie that can be made from fresh or frozen blueberries. Like blueberry pie in a streusel topped cookie bar.

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RECIPE:

Blueberry Crumb Bars

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4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
½ cup granulated sugar
4 tsp cornstarch
scant ½ cup granulated sugar
scant ½ cup brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter
1 egg
¾ cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan (or spray with baking Pam, the kind with flour).

In a medium bowl, combine the blueberries, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir together ½ cup granulated sugar and 4 tsp cornstarch; stir into blueberries. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, combine scant ½ cup each of granulated sugar and brown sugar.  Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.  Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture is crumbly.  Whisk one egg in a small bowl and stir into the flour mixture.

Press about 2/3 of the flour mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Spread the blueberry mixture over the crust.  Optional: Stir chopped walnuts into remaining flour mixture. Sprinkle mixture over the blueberries.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is light brown and blueberries are bubbly.  Let the bars cool on a rack and then place in the fridge to chill. This will make the bars easier to cut and remove from the pan. Cut into squares.

Makes about 36 squares

Recipe adapted from Cookin’ Canuck

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November 30, 2010 · 9:30 am

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Almond Macaroon Brownies

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DAY 5: An easy way to dress up a boxed brownie mix!

Brownies topped with a coconut and almond cheesecake layer: thick, rich and delicious. As a real nut-lover, this recipe is one of my favorites.

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RECIPE:

Almond Macaroon Brownies

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1 brownie mix for 9×13” pan PLUS ingredients for preparing (usually water, oil, and eggs)
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds, toasted
16 oz (2 pkg) cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract
2 Tbs. flour
1 pkg (14 oz) flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare brownie mix according to box directions. Add half of almonds to brownie batter. Spread in two greased 8×8” pans (or one greased 9×13” pan: see NOTE below).

With a mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and sugar. Beat in 2 eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, and flour. Stir in coconut and remaining almonds. Carefully spread over brownie layer. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes (50-60 minutes for 9×13” pan) until center is completely cooked (cover with foil if top layer starts to get too brown). Cool completely before cutting.

NOTE: I usually bake this in 2 square baking pans because the center will set faster. You can use a 9×13” pan instead, but be sure the center is completely cooked before removing from oven.

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TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES (2010) RECAP:
DAY 1: Raspberry Crumb Bars
DAY 2: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
DAY 3: Chocolate Nutella Cookies
DAY 4: Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

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November 26, 2010 · 8:03 am

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Raspberry Crumb Bars

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DAY 1: Welcome to the Second Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies! This year, I have twelve new cookie recipes to share, starting with this recipe for Raspberry Crumb Bars. They are a shortbread based cookie, which makes them pretty crumbly to eat, but I love the combination of raspberries and nuts. For the raspberry filling, I used a combination of homemade Red Raspberry and Black Raspberry Jams that I canned last summer.

8-15-10 (9)-1The original recipe, from Family Fun magazine (printed below with a few adjustments), is baked in a 9” square pan, but I doubled the recipe and baked them in a rimmed 17×12” baking pan.8-15-10 (31)-1

Visit: First Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies for a recap of the cookies from last year.

RECIPE:

Raspberry Crumb Bars

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1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch square pan with butter or cooking spray. (**See Note below for using larger baking pan)

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Add the flour and salt and beat just until the flour is incorporated. The dough will be crumbly. Press about two-thirds of the dough into the greased pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.

While the shortbread cools slightly, mix the oats and nuts into the remaining one-third of the dough. The mixture will be very crumbly; it is easier to use your hands to mix the topping.

Spread the raspberry jam on the shortbread, then evenly cover the jam with the crumb topping. (TIP: for easy jam spreading, heat the jam slightly in the microwave; stir and pour over crust.)

Bake the bars for 20-25 mins, or until the topping is golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack for about 15-20 minutes. While the shortbread is still slightly warm, cut it into 16 squares, then cut each square in half diagonally. Once the triangles cool completely (they are very fragile while warm), lift them from the pan with a metal spatula.

Makes 32 triangles.

**NOTE: I doubled the recipe and baked them in a 17×12” rimmed baking sheet for 7-8 minutes for the crust, and then the whole bars for about 18 minutes. Using this sized pan makes for slightly thinner bars than the original recipe, which I liked. Yield: about 70 triangles.

Recipe adapted from Family Fun magazine

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