Apricot Choc-Chip Muesli Bars

Trying to clear some of my pantry ingredients. Made these Muesli Bars. Chewy, not too sweet and so yummy! 

Smells so good while it was baking.

Rather addictive to snack on, it was hard for me to stop at just one!

Apricot Choc-Chip Muesli Bars
(The Australian Women's Weekly : Homebaked)
125gm butter, chopped
1/2 cup (110gm) firmly packed brown sugar (loosely packed)
1 tablespoon honey
2-1/4 cups (200gm) rolled oats
1/4 cup (40gm) sunflower kernels
1/4 cup (20gm) desiccated coconut
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (75gm) chopped dried apricots
2 tablespoons dark Choc bits

1. Preheat oven to moderately slow. Grease 20cmx30cm lamington pan, line base and two long sides with baking paper, extending paper 2cm above edge of pan.
2. Combine butter, sugar and honey in medium saucepan; stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
3. Transfer butter mixture to medium bowl, stir in oats, sunflower kernels, coconut, cinnamon and apricots.
4. Press mixture into prepared pan, sprinkle with Choc bits.
5. Bake in moderately slow oven about 30 minutes or until browned lightly.
6. Cut into pieces while still warm, cool in pan.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #36

Coconut Jam Slice

I wanted to use up an opened jar of strawberry jam cluttering in the fridge. Found a nice recipe to use all that jam, Coconut Jam Slice. The jam is sandwiched between a buttery shortbread  base and the top is a crumbly mixture of coconut, eggs and sugar. 

One of my favourite ingredients in bake, coconut, which imparts a delicious fragrant aroma during baking. 

Lovely fragrant jam slice. Great for snacking and makes a nice tea-time treat with a cup of warm tea!

Coconut Jam Slice

(Mastering The Art Of Baking, Anneka Manning)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
5-1/2 oz chilled butter, chopped
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup strawberry or raspberry jam

Topping :
1/2 cup superfine sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
3 cups shredded coconut, toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/Gas 4. Brush the base and sides of a shallow 7x11-1/4 inch pan with melted butter or oil. Line the base and 2 long sides with a piece of nonstick parchment paper, cutting into the corners to fit, and allowing the paper to extend above the sides.
2. Put the flours, confectioners' sugar, butter, and egg yolk in a food processor. Using the pulse button, process until the mixture starts to come together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press together until smooth. Use your fingertips to press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan.
3. Spread the jam evenly over the cooled slice base in the pan.
4. To make the topping, put the sugar and eggs in a medium bowl and use a balloon whisk to whisk until combined. Stir in the coconut. Spread the topping evenly over the jam, pressing down with the back of a spoon. Bake for 20 minutes or until the topping is light golden. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan. Cut into squares or fingers to serve.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #31 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

French Chocolate Bark

It's time for Chocolate and Vanilla, over at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). Having missed last week's theme, I am not about to miss this week's too.  I've made Ina Garten's, French Chocolate Bark.

This is super easy, and I have all the ingredients in my pantry. Well, almost, with some subs of ingredients. Ina uses salted roasted cashews, which I have replaced with almonds. I did not have any dried cherries (they are very expensive!), so I have used dried cranberries. And also did not have semi sweet chocolate, so I have used milk chocolate instead, which is melted together with bittersweet chocolate. 

Melt both chocolates, spread on parchment paper, then scatter the rest of the ingredients over the chocolate spread. Ina has given the instruction on which ingredient to be scattered first. I was tempted to mix the ingredients in a bowl and then simply scatter them over the chocolate spread. But on second thoughts, decided to follow Ina's instructions instead.

The melted chocolate is spread in a 9x10-inch rectangle. The rest of the ingredients ; toasted almonds, chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, golden raisins and chopped crystallized ginger.

 I did not use all of the almonds, and there's some balance of the dried cranberries and golden raisins. The chocolate spread is already full!  I am glad that I did not mix all the almonds and the dried fruits together in a bowl.

 Ina says to set aside for 1 to 2 hours until firm, then cut to serving pieces. Well, mine did not set at all, so I pop the bark in the fridge to set.

The chocolate bark sets nicely in the fridge. But they started to melt within minutes after cutting. Our hot and humid weather does that to chocolates, that is why we can never keep our chocolate at room temperature, they are always kept in the fridge. So the cut pieces were kept in an airtight container and store in the fridge. These barks are yummy and addictive! Not that kind of addictive snack that you would be eating pieces of it at one sitting, but rather addictive in a way that you would think of having another piece after half an hour and still think about it another hour later! They would not last long in the fridge, that's for sure!

French Chocolate Bark
(source from barefootcontessa.com)
1 cup whole salted, roasted cashews (almonds)
6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (milk chocolate)
6 to 7 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried crystallized ginger, 1/2-inch diced
1/2 cup dried cherries (dried cranberries)
1/2 cup dried apricots, 1/2-inch diced
1/4 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a pencil, draw a 9x10-inch rectangle on a piece of parchment paper placed on a sheet pan, then turn the parchment paper over.

Spread the cashews in one layer on another sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Place the semisweet chocolate and half the bittersweet chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 20 to 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch). Stir with a rubber spatula. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the  chocolate is just melted. Immediately add the remaining bittersweet chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.

Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper and spread it lightly into the drawn rectangle. Sprinkle the top evenly in the following order; first the ginger, then the cooled whole cashews, the cherries, apricots, and raisins. Set aside for 1 to 2 hours until firm. Cut the bark in 18 to 20 pieces and serve at room temperature.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week 

Chocolate & Vanilla

Blueberry-Buttermilk Pie Bars

This week at Tuesdays With Dorie (TWD), baking from Dorie's Cookies, I've made Blueberry-Buttermilk Pie Bars. These bars are easy to make and yummy to eat.

Bottom layer is a buttery crust with some cornmeal mixed in for that added texture and the top is a layer of custard dotted with juicy blueberries.

I did reduce the sugar for both layers. For the crust, I've used only 50gm sugar, and for the custard layer, I've reduced the sugar to only 1/4 cup, half the amount calls for in the recipe. Which works out really well, as the bars are not too sweet, with just the right amount of sweetness. I've used frozen blueberries.

While I was slicing the baked bars into squares, the juicy blueberries squirted out its' juices when the knife cuts into them, surprising both my son and I!  These bars are quite delicious to eat, the cornmeal crust is tender and buttery. The custard reminds me of custardly Chinese egg tarts! Juicy blueberries bursting in every bite makes it such a delightful bar to enjoy!

If you would like to give this a try, the recipe can be found at Dorie's website, here.

Peach Butter Shortbread

This recipe for Peach-Brown Butter Shortbread is a Smitten Kitchen's recipe, and it is one of the recipes featured in "Home Baked Comfort" by Kim Laidlaw.

One of the ingredient used in Peach-Brown Butter Shortbread squares is brown butter. Butter is melted over medium-low heat and is heated and boiled until it turns brown and starts to smell nutty, stir frequently to avoid burnt. Then it is transfered to a heatproof bowl and freeze for 30 minutes just until solid but not completely frozen. Well, I made the brown butter but did not use it! Simply because at the end of 30 minutes, the butter is still in liquid state, and did not seem to harden at all. Since I was in a rush, I did not want to wait, so I've used a new block of cold butter instead, cut to cubes before adding to the rest of the ingredients for the shortbread. 

The handy food processor is great in mixing the shortbread dough, and it was done in just seconds. Two thirds of it (recipes says 3/4) is used as the base, pressing them firmly on the bottom of a greased baking tray, which I lined with parchment paper. I've used canned peaches, drain, sliced them thinly, about 1/4-inch thick. Arrange the sliced peaches over the shortbread dough in the pan. Scatter the remaining shortbread dough over the top of the peaches.

Bake until golden brown. Leave to cool and cut into squares to serve.

I brought the whole tray to my sister's house that evening, and we've enjoyed it with scoops of ice cream. 

Peach-Brown Butter Shortbread
(Home Baked Comfort, Kim Laidlaw)
makes about 2 dozen squares
1 cup (8oz/250gm) cold unsalted butter
1 cup (8oz/250gm) granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2-3/4 cups (14 oz/440gm) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 large egg
2 juicy, ripe but slightly firm peaches, pitted and thinly sliced

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. The melted butter will foam, then become clear golden, and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom. Watch the butter carefully at the end, as it turns brown quickly. Chill in the freezeer until solid but not completely frozen, about 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375F (190C). Butter a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, baking powder, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 table knives, blend the solidified brown butter and the egg into the dry ingredients. The brown butter mixture will be crumbly. Pat three-fourths of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Arrange the peach slices on top in a single layer. Crumble the remaining brown butter mixture evenly over the peaches.

Bake until the top is slightly brown and you can see a little colour around the edges, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan, then cut into squares.

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I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown Special : BAKE! hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Cookbook Countdown is a monthly cooking/baking event, which I'm co-hosting with Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray.  Everyone is welcome to join us. How does it work? To summarize, you may select a cookbook from your own cookbook collection, to cook or bake from each month. That selected book shall be your cookbook of the month. You may cook any recipes and as many recipes as you want from your selected book of the month. This is a fabulous way of using your cookbooks at least once! For more information on how to join Cookbook Countdown, please click here. 

Grab a cookbook and join us!

To link to Cookbook Countdown #11, click here
To link to Cookbook Countdown Specials : BAKE, click here

Energy Bars

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), the theme, Monthly Featured Chef : Ellie Krieger, is the last one in line for the monthly featured chef theme. Starting from next month, the theme will be changed to a featured ingredient or dish, and we shall have the option to choose to cook with any of our past and present featured chefs at IHCC.

It has been awhile since I've cook with Ellie Krieger, and I have been thinking of making some snacks, especially on the afternoons that I want something light yet healthy to nibble on. Of course, you can count on Ellie Krieger for her fabulous healthy recipes and found just the right snack to make, Energy Bars. 

Half of the baked bars with sesame seeds spread over the top, leaving the other half as it is.

These bars are pretty easy to make, it comes together pretty quickly. What you need is a food processor to pulse all the ingredients (except maple syrup and eggs), until finely chopped. Then pour in the eggs and maple syrup and pulse  to a thick paste. Spread onto a very well greased baking tray, bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Easy peasy! I did not have any dates, so I used dried cranberries. Also did not have any maple syrup, so I've used honey.

My food processor could not pulse all the ingredients at once, so I have divided into two and pulse each half separately, mixing them together before adding the eggs and honey. One thing to note is, to cut each dried apricots into three so that it is easier to pulse in the food processor into smaller pieces. (The whole apricot got stuck in between the blades, so I got to remove them and cut into three pieces each, before proceeding to pulse them together with the other ingredients. This was done pretty quickly as there was only half a cup of whole dried apricots).

As I was spreading the thick paste into the baking tray, I was thinking of a layer of sesame seeds coating the top of the bars. I happened to have some toasted sesame seeds in a jar, so I spread them over half of the bar, leaving the other half as it is. I baked the bars for 22 minutes.

These bars cut pretty easily. It stays together and not crumbly when cut. Which one would you prefer? With or without the sesame seeds?

I like them both. Just the right amount of sweetness. The ones with sesame seeds has an extra nutty seedy bite. The ones without is equally good. The family are not fond of energy bars like this, so I knew that when I make this, I am going to be the one that is going to finish most of it. No complaints from me! I like to munch on bars and flapjacks with a cup of warm tea in the afternoon. I packed some pieces for my nephew and the rest are for me to enjoy for a few afternoons, and in between!

Energy Bars
(adapted from "The Food You Crave", Ellie Krieger)
makes 24 bars (3 x 1-/2 inch)
cooking spray
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup shelled unsalted raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup roasted wheat germ
1/4 cup whole-grain pastry flour or whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup dried apricots (each piece cut into 3)
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pitted dried dates (dried cranberries)
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Place all the ingredients, except the maple syrup and eggs, in a food processor and pulse until everything is finely chopped. Add the syrup and eggs and pulse until the mixture is well combined. It will resemble a coarse paste.

Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly to cover the bottom. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then cut into 24 bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days or wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 months.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week, 

Monthly Featured Chef : Ellie Krieger

and

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown Specials : Bake
 hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Cookbook Countdown #6 : Oatmeal Jammy Bars

Cookbook Countdown is a monthly cooking/baking event, which I'm co-hosting with Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray.  Everyone is welcome to join us. How does it work? To summarize, you may select a cookbook from your own cookbook collection, to cook or bake from each month. That selected book shall be your cookbook of the month. You may cook any recipes and as many recipes as you want from your selected book of the month. This is a fabulous way of using your cookbooks at least once! For more information on how to join Cookbook Countdown, please click here. 

************************

My selected cookbook for this month, 

Williams-Sonoma, Home Baked Comfort by Kim Laidlaw

Home Baked Comfort is one of my favourite baking books. The chapters are divided into Breakfast, Breads, Cookies & Bars, Cakes & Cupcakes, Pies & Tarts, Custards & Souffles. I have baked a number of recipes from it, and the ones that I've tried are very good. I especially like the Cranberry Bread and Buttery Flaky Rolls. 

I've made Oatmeal Jammy Bars, because I wanted to use up my opened jars of jam which are cluttering my refrigerator. I was looking for recipes to use up all that jam, and found this simple, easy bar snack that can be made in a jiffy, though the baking takes about 40 minutes. 

The base and topping is the same, an oat mixture using rolled oats, flour, butter, brown sugar, orange zest, ground cinnamon and vanilla extract. The oat mixture is a little crumbly and a little dry, but according to the author, it is supposed to be like that, and it will work out fine. Press about two thirds of the crumbly oat mixture to the bottom of the pan, and it does work out fine after all! The mixture sort of bind together even though they are very crumbly. 

For the filling on top, I have used opened jars of jam which I wanted to clear. I've used raspberry jam, apricot jam and my homemade orange jelly which I've made a while back and they have set rather thick, so it is perfect for bakes like this. Spread the jam over the oat mixture evenly, then scatter the top with the remaining oat mixture. I press the oat mixture lightly into the jam. Bake for 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the jam are bubbling.

What a relief that these are gone, in a delicious way, of course!

Cut into bars or slices to serve.

Oatmeal Jammy Bars with  three different jam fillings, raspberry jam at the bottom slice, apricot jam in the centre slice and my homemade orange jelly right on top.

Makes quite a nice bar to snack on with a cup of warm tea. The oat mixture crust is very chewy from the oats, and it smells really "cinnamony-vanilla" nice.

Oatmeal Jammy Bars

(adapted from "Home Baked Comfort", Kim Laidlaw)

Makes about 18 bars

1-2/3 cups (8-1/2 oz/265gm) all-purpose flour

1 cup (7oz/220gm) firmly packed light brown sugar (I use 120gm)

1/2 tsp kosher salt (scant 1/2 tsp)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

finely grated zest of 1 small orange

3/4 cup (6oz/185gm) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1-2/3 cups (5oz/155gm) old-fashioned rolled oats

1-1/2 cups (15oz/470gm) of  your favourite jam, such as apricot, raspberry or a mixture

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F (180C). Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33cm) baking dish.

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, orange zest, and butter. Pulse until the mixture looks like chunky crumbs. Add the oats and pulse a few times to mix. Press about two-thirds of the oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. The dough will be super crumbly, and you might wonder if it will ever bake together, but press it down firmly so it all squishes together. I assure you that it will work. Spread the jam evenly over the top, then sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the pan.

Bake until the top is golden brown and you can see the jam bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the dish, then cut into bars.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

and

Cookbook Wednesdays @ Months of Edible Celebrations

Lemon Squares, French Style : TWD

It's Tuesdays With Dorie (TWD) week. We have two selected recipes to bake from each month and for this month, we were given the choice to select which recipe to bake first. I've made Fluted Carrot-Tangerine Cake two weeks ago, and for this week, it is Lemon Squares, French Style. I love lemon bars, one of my favourite baked lemony treats. Dorie's French style lemon squares comes in three layers. The bottom layer is a buttery shortbread dough, using the same dough, some is reserved as a streusel topping, with some chopped almonds sprinkled over. Sandwiched in between these two layers is the delicious lemony curd. 

I made the lemon curd the day before and bake the lemon squares on the next day. Made half the recipe and some changes to the amount of butter and sugar. There's quite an amount of butter for the curd itself! For half a recipe, it calls for 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter, which is about 130gm. I used only 60gm and it works out just fine for me. As for the sugar, I've used a scant 1/2 cup of sugar, with slightly less than 1/3 cup of lemon juice. The lemon curd cooks up pretty quick and it is lemony, silky, and very, very yummy! Love it!

Lemon curd, so silky smooth and very addictive!

The shortbread dough is easy to make. But the amount of sugar in the recipe is a little too much for me. I like salty buttery crust, instead of sweet crust. Since the lemon curd is lemony sweet, I've reduced the amount of sugar for the dough to 50gm (original amount for half a recipe is 125gm). Some of you may be wondering about the texture of the dough with the amount of sugar I've reduced, but it works for me, and I have always reduced the sugar for Dorie's sweet pastry dough recipe each time I make it. And the dough has always turns out buttery, tender and flaky without being overly sweet.

For half a recipe, I've baked the lemon squares in a 7" square baking pan.

Some chopped almonds is sprinkled over the streusel topping and bake until the edges are caramelized and the curd is puffy, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan over a rack. Dorie says to allow at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours before cutting. I've left mine to cool overnight and cut it the next morning.

These bars are really yummy with the perfect amount of sweetness. The dough is buttery, salty, flaky just as I like. The struesel topping with the bits of almonds is a different take on the usual lemon bars that I've made before. Much as I like these bars with the streusel topping, my personal preference is still the old-fashioned way with just the shortbread base and the lemon curd without any topping, with just a sprinkling of powdered sugar over the squares. But that being said, these bars are really yummy, I would say no if served a piece of these!

A yummy lemony treat, good to snack on anytime.

I'm linking this post with Tuesdays With Dorie (TWD)

Breakfast Bars

"Monthly Featured Chef Event : Nigella Lawson", our new monthly theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). I like this new theme where once a month, IHCC will revisit one of the past featured chefs, and this month's Monthly Featured Chef, is Nigella Lawson. 

I've made Nigella's Breakfast Bars, which I have been meaning to make for the longest time! These bars are really super easy to make, but the baking takes about an hour, which is not a problem anyway!

 Breakfast Bars.... it's an Anytime-for-Snacking Bars for me!

 About to go into the oven.

Condensed milk is first warmed over a low heat, then mix with all the other ingredients ; rolled oats, flaked coconut, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, lightly toasted peanuts. Tip everything into the prepared pan, press down firmly, level it and bake for about an hour at 250F until golden brown. The only sweetener here is the condensed milk, and the sweetness turns out to be just right for me, not too sweet. The baking pan is greased with oil or simply use a disaposable baking foil pan. If you chose to use a normal baking pan, I would advise about greasing it really well with oil. The bars are a little difficult to come out of the pan. Some parts would stick to the pan, but with a little gentle force using the metal spatula, I did manage to take them all out.

These bars are yummy! Chewy, crunchy, and smells pretty good with the flaked coconuts. These are great anytime of the day, and it acually tasted nicer on the next day, but it gets more chewier. Best eaten in small bites! Take a big bite and you would be busy with "jaw-ercise"! LOL! Don't ask me how I knew!  :) 

Breakfast Bars
(adapted from "Nigella Express", Nigella Lawson)
1 (14-fl-oz) can condensed milk
2-1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)
1 cup natural unsalted peanuts

1. Preheat the oven to 250F and oil a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or just use a disposable aluminium foil one.
2. Warm the condensed milk in a large pan.
3. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients together and add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber spatula to fold and distribute.
4. Spread the mixture into the oiled or foil pan and press down with a spatula or, better still, your hands (wearing those disposable latex gloves to stop you from sticking) to make the surface even.
5. Bake for 1 hour, remove, and after about 15 minutes, cut into four across and four down to make 16 chunky bars. Let cool completely.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

Monthly Featured Chef Event : Nigella Lawson

and
Little Thumbs Up (October 2015 : Coconut) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Jess from Bakericious.

This post is linked to the event 


and 

Cook-Your-Books #27 @ kitchen flavours

Lemon Bars : Bake-Along #82

It's time for Bake-Along #82, and the theme selected by me is "Lemon Bars". I love lemon bars, and I've selected this theme to bake together with Lena and Zoe. Everyone is welcome to join us!

These lemon bars are just so addictive! I have made them many times, but have never posted it in my blog before.

These squares are so easy to make, and even easier to finish! Either squares or bars, they are the same. Cut into squares, they are called lemon squares, cut into rectangles, they are called lemon bars. The base is a shortbread crust, which is tender and buttery. The topping is tangy lemon curd. Some recipes call for the lemon curd to be cooked before spreading onto the lightly baked crust and baked till done. But this recipe is easier. The ingredients for the topping is mixed in a bowl, and then pour over the crust, baked till the topping is just set. Really easy!

Cut into squares or bars, whichever your prefer. Sprinkle some powdered sugar over the squares just before serving.

These are so addictive! Really difficult to stop at just two pieces! The first time I made this, I followed the exact measurement in the recipe, and find that the topping is really sour. Lemons that are sold here are very sour, unlike the Meyer lemons which has a sweeter taste. I have not tasted Meyer lemons before, have read about it though, and would love to get my hands on some, but have not seen them before. However, the author has made a note for "a less pucker-up lemon flavour", to decrease the lemon juice to 1/3 cup and the flour to 2 tablespoons. I followed this less pucker-up measurements, and the result is one outstanding delicious square, and I have made these delicious squares many times now. Try it yourself, be warned, they are rather addictive!

note : my changes listed in blue
Lemony Lemon Squares
(adapted from "Bake Something Great", Jill Snider)
Preheat oven to 350F (180C)
8-inch square cake pan, greased

Crust :
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar (less 1 tablespoon)
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed (100gm)

Topping :
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar (scant 3/4 cup)
3 tbsp all-purpose flour (2 tbsp)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/3 cup)

1. For the crust : In a bowl, combine flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, 2 knives or your fingers, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. For the topping : In a bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, flour, lemon zest and juice just until smooth. Don't overbeat. Pour over crust.
3. Return to oven and bake just until set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on rack. Cut into squares.

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Do stop by Lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next Bake-Along, we will be baking "Devil's Food Cupcake", (from Bon Appetit Desserts Cookbook, pg 129 or here). Please do join us, and  link your post to our linky which will open from 23rd July till 1st August. Everyone is welcome to join us! Only current post please.

A friendly reminder when linking to our linky :

1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (Joyce, Lena or Zoe)

2. Please link only new and current post, PLEASE FOLLOW THE BAKE OR THEME provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.

3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

and I'm sharing this post with :
Cook-Your-Books #25 @ kitchen flavours

An InLinkz Link-up

Crispy-Topped Brown Sugar Bars : TWD

This week at Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD), we are baking Crispy-Topped Brown Sugar Bars, from Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. 

These bars has a thin chewy cookie base, spread with melted chocolate and topped with Rice Krispies. Dorie has given a few ideas for the topping, if using Rice Krispies, it can be used plain, direct from the box or can be made extra special by caramelizing the Rice Krispies and pressing the brittle-like bits into the chocolate. Other suggestions for the topping are popcorns, mixed nuts, dried fruits, flaked coconuts and even slivers of Orange Candied Peel. I was feeling kinda lazy and decided to just use the Rice Krispies direct from the box. Well, Dorie did say that she sometimes use it straight from the box!

Firstly the dough is made by creaming butter and sugar till light and fluffy, Add vanilla and flour, and mix till completely incorporated. Scrape the sticky dough into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly, as Dorie says it will be very sticky. I used the spatula and it works out fine. Bake in a preheated oven at 375F until it has puff and is golden brown. I baked mine for exactly 22 minutes, just as instructed in the recipe.

Remove the pan from the oven and immediately scatter chopped chocolate bits all over. Return the pan to the oven with the oven turned off and allow the chocolate to soften in the heat for about a minute or two. Remove the pan from the oven and use the back of a spoon to press the softened bits of chocolate and spread it evenly all over the base. Scatter the Rice Krispies all over, pressing them into the chocolate. Allow to cool to room temperature. Again, just as Dorie says, the chocolate would still be runny and it would probably not set by then. Dorie advised to put the pan in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to set it in, and that was what I did. 

Slice the bars into 16 pieces. These bars are easy to slice.

These bars are wonderful, makes a fun snack! The bottom base is a little crumbly, tender and buttery! I did reduce the sugar just a little, and the sweetness was just right, works out great with the melted chocolate and the crispy Rice Krispies. The next time, I would make the caramelized Rice Krispies, as I think that it would be even more yummier! And I am already thinking of making this again with other toppings! I'm thinking of toasted flaked coconuts which is one of my favourite ingredients!

Yum! Yum! Thumbs up from the kids! I store them in a container and place in the refrigerator as the chocolate starts to melt when I left them at room temperature. But I have no problem with that, these bars taste so much better when eaten cold, straight out of the refrigerator! 

I'm linking this post with Tuesdays With Dorie (TWD)

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Cook-Your-Books #21 @ Kitchen Flavours