Butterscotch Bars

Super sweet, super sticky, super delish ! This is another great recipe from Anna Olson's cookbook Sugar and it lets you play with bubbling sugar . Now don't let that scare you off. Boiling sugar doesn't need to be scary. Just take your time, keep stirring, don't stick your face into the pot to get a closer look and you will be fine!

This recipe reminds me of an old-fashioned bar I used to see at church bake sales when I was a kid. It has a soft, blondie-like crust and is loaded with creamy butterscotch, nuts, coconut and chocolate chips. What's not to like?

But as already warned, these are super sweet so a little square goes a long way. The great thing is that these can stay at room temperature covered in cling wrap for a couple of weeks so no rush to eat them all in one day (even though you may be tempted to do so).

As with most bars you bake the crust first then add the filling. Back in the oven for a final bake and you are done. So if you are ready, let's get bar-baking !

RECIPE:
*source recipe: Butterscotch Bars, Sugar by Anna Olson

WHAT YOU NEED

BASE

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

BUTTERSCOTCH

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup golden corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnut pieces
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
GREASE and line bottom of an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
IN A BOWL, cream butter and sugars together.
ADD eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.
IN SEPARATE BOWL, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
ADD to butter mixture and stir until evenly blended.
SPREAD batter into a prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until an even golden brown. SET aside to cool.

IN MEDIUM SAUCEPAN, melt butter over medium heat.
STIR in sugars, corn syrup, water and salt and increase heat to medium-high.
WHEN MIXTURE BOILS, stir in walnut pieces and coconut.
SIMMER for 7 minutes, stirring often (mixture will become thick and darker in colour).
REMOVE from heat and stir in cream and vanilla (watch for steam).
POUR butterscotch over base and sprinkle chocolate chips.
BAKE for 13 to 16 minutes, until bubbling around the edges.
LET cool before cutting into squares or bars.
DO NOT refrigerate.

Butterscotch Bars will keep up to 3 weeks in an airtight container

Also seen here:

Coffee & Walnuts ...oh my !

My first taste of the renowned British favorite Coffee and Walnut Cake took place today. My life will never be the same again. Smooth, rich, creamy and wonderfully flavored with espresso. There is NOTHING better especially if you are in any way like me: a true coffee addict. I am hooked !

I researched a few different recipes that seem popular but in the end tested out Nigella Lawson's Coffee and Walnut Layer Cake recipe. Ok granted, the one I made is not a double layer cake. For this recipe I simply halved the ingredients to create an amazing single layer cake. The fact is there are only two people in my family who like the flavor of coffee and I am one of them. A single layer cake for this household would be overkill but a single cake on the other hand is just right.

I was somewhat hesitant to start off because it requires grinding of walnuts in a food processor. That means messing around with sharp blades. I tend to be a tad accident prone and having already had a slice and dice related accident earlier this week I was somewhat "gun-shy". But I stayed alert, ground the nuts and came out of it with all digits intact.

When I read through Nigella's recipe I was also very surprised to see that the cake only takes 25 minutes to bake. It contains 1/2 cup of butter and 2 eggs making it quite a dense batter. I thought it would take far longer to bake and was hoping Nigella's online recipe wasn't riddled with typos. My fear was baseless. The recipe is error-free. The cake baked up perfectly in 25 minutes and is one of the moistest cakes I have ever eaten. Topped off with a buttery swirl of coffee frosting and one has nirvana on a plate.




So let's get started !

RECIPE:
*adapted source recipe: Coffee and Walnut Layer Cake, Nigella Lawson

WHAT YOU NEED

SPONGE

25 grams chopped walnuts
112 grams fine granulated sugar
112 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
100 grams all purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk

FROSTING

350 grams icing sugar, sifted
175 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water
walnut halves for decoration

MAKE IT

PREHEAT OVEN to 350F
GREASE an 8" round cake pan with baking spray and line bottom with parchment paper

IN FOOD PROCESSOR, grind together walnuts and sugar until combined into a fine nutty powder
IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER (fitted with paddle attachment) or large bowl if using hand-held mixer, beat butter 1 minutes MED speed until creamy
ADD SUGAR/WALNUT mix and beat 1 minutes MED speed
ADD all other ingredients blending well until thoroughly combined and smooth appearance
POUR into prepared pan and level out with icing spatula
BAKE 25 minutes
LET COOL in pan 10 minutes then remove and let cool completely on cooling rack

FROSTING

IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER (fitted with paddle attachment) or large bowl if using hand-held mixer, beat butter 1 minute MED speed until creamy
ADD in icing sugar and blend 2 minutes until butter and sugar come together into a heavy even consistency
ADD dissolved espresso powder and beat 2-3 minutes scraping down sides when needed

SPREAD frosting on top of cooled cake
DECORATE with walnut halves

ENJOY !

Also seen here:

Chewy Mocha Dream Cookies

Thank-you Clean Eating magazine for this great recipe! It is gluten free, only 56 calories per cookie and really knocks it outta the ballpark in terms of its chocolate impact! I love them and the kids are loving them too. If your kids attend an allergy-conscious school (or any of you have nut allergies) , just omit the walnuts and voila - a healthy AND nut-free treat. But for everyone else, I highly recommend you stick to the recipe and load them up with chopped walnuts. The added crunch is divine !

This recipe is in the Feb 2011 issue of Clean Eating.
Try these out ! You will be pleasantly surprised !

LET'S GET STARTED !

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

6 egg whites at room temperature
pinch sea salt
3/4 cup organic evaporated cane juice ( I used Sucanat)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Fry's brand)
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 oz dark chocolate (70% or greater), chopped
1/2 cup chopped unsalted walnuts

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. * Though the recipe didn't call for it, I highly recommend you spray your parchment paper with cooking spray to avoid any sticky messes!*
IN LARGE BOWL, beat egg whites with salt using an electric beater until soft peaks form.
GRADUALLY add cane juice and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
FOLD in cocoa powder, espresso, vanilla, chocolate and walnuts and mix until combined (the recipe said no need to fold but trust me on this !)
DROP batter by rounded tablespoon onto prepared cookie sheets, dividing evenly. This recipe should make about 24 cookies.
BAKE 1 cookie sheet at a time on oven's middle rack for 10 to 12 minutes per sheet, until cookies are no longer shiny.
ALLOW to cool 5 minutes before removing from sheet. PLACE on cooling rack until they cool entirely. If these tend to stick somewhat to parchment just use a hard spatula to quickly lift them off the parchment.

These are chewy, sticky and just plain GOOD !

STORAGE TIPS: I recommend storing these in the fridge.
I also recommend you keep them in a simple plastic container with a lid.
Line the bottom with wax paper, then layer with one single layer of cookies,
top with another piece of wax paper and continue.
If the cookies come in contact with one another they will stick together.
I learned this the hard way after I took the photo at the top of this recipe entry !