Archive for the ‘Cookies – Bar Cookies and Brownies’ Category
Mexican chocolate can refer to several types of chocolate, including a hot chocolate drink, but all of these chocolates have one thing in common: they’re spicy. Mexican chocolate, in just about every form, is flavored with a variety of spices. Cinnamon is always present and some variations use ground chilis to add some heat to the mix. I like these spicy chocolates (especially when served as a thick hot chocolate) and like to spice up my chocolate recipes from time to time using Mexican chocolate as inspiration.
These Mexican Chocolate Brownies are definitely on the spicy side. The fudgy, slightly chewy brownies are made with dark chocolate and get an extra deep flavor from the addition of some cocoa powder. They’re flavored with cinnamon, cayenne pepper and chili powder, as well as vanilla extract. The cinnamon, cayenne and chili all come together to give the brownies a nice balance of spice and heat that really compliments the chocolate.
I also like to mix in some chocolate chips or chunks of chopped chocolate with this recipe, as the plainer chocolate helps to balance out the spices. The brownies are really complex, but not overwhelmingly hot or spicy. They taste better the day after they’re made, as the spices have time to meld together in that time. If stored for a few days (in an airtight container), the cayenne will actually become stronger and your brownies will be a bit spicier.
These are delicious as-is and I would only recommend cutting back on the cayenne if you are very sensitive to spicy foods, as a smaller amount will not be that noticeable against all that chocolate. If they get a little too spicy, warm them up and serve them with a side of cooling vanilla ice cream.
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Millionaire’s Shortbread is a three-layered dessert, with a shortbread base, a caramel center and a chocolate topping. The bars are popular in the UK and in Canada, but are not as well known here in the US. This is something that I’d like to change because these very tasty bars are delicious and well worth every bit of effort that goes into putting them together (and they’re easier to make than they look!).
The shortbread crust is made with butter, brown sugar, flour and salt. It is pressed into a large baking pan and baked until golden brown and crisp. After the crust has cooled, a caramel layer that uses a lot of sweetened condensed milk and butter is prepared and poured on top. The caramel layer definitely has a buttery, caramel flavor to it, but it is a thick, tender layer and is slightly reminiscent of vanilla pudding because of all the condensed milk in it, rather than straight caramel. This layer is also cooled before adding the final layer of chocolate.
My Millionaire’s Shortbread is a little different from most that I’ve seen because I like to use chocolate ganache instead of using straight melted chocolate to top the bars. Straight melted chocolate ends up being a little crisper as a top layer, but I think that a richer ganache blends a bit better with the sweetened condensed milk filling. It is also much easier to slice through, and you don’t need to worry about tempering it to keep your bars looking beautiful.
These bars are good when served at room temperature but are also quite good cold. I definitely recommend storing them, covered, in the fridge on a warm day or when you simply want them to last a little bit longer.
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You won’t find too many bar cookies out there that look as festive as these Cranberry and Pistachio Squares. These bar cookies are studded with bright green pistachio nuts and are bursting with whole, red cranberries. On the lightly colored cookie background, the red and green pop out vividly – and that will definitely make you want to reach out and grab a square for a taste.
The bars look similar to blondies, but are much more tender than your average blondie is. They’re soft and a little bit crumbly, with a thin, crisp topping of coarse sugar. Whole cranberries – you can use fresh or frozen – are coarsely chopped and added into the bars. They are not only brightly colored, but their bright and tangy flavor comes through clearly. It also makes the bars seem very fresh and really makes them stand out from bar cookies that only use dried cranberries. Pistachios are incorporated into the dough alongside the cranberries and a few of them are also sprinkled on top to add some texture.
I prefer using lightly salted pistachios for this recipe because it adds just a hint of saltiness to the topping of these squares (you will not notice any extra salt in the bars themselves). It’s a nice contrast to the coarse sugar that is also sprinkled on top. I also happen to prefer eating lightly salted pistachios. If you prefer unsalted, they will work just as well in the recipe and you will still get bars with a delicious combination of cranberries and pistachios.
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Apple Cider Butter is one of my favorite fall treats to make. Apple butter is a fruit preserve made by cooking fresh apples with sugar and apple cider and reducing it into a thick rich spread. It is fairly easy to make and well worth the time, as the butter can be put to many good uses in the kitchen (and packaged in jars for gifts). My favorite way to eat it is on top of buttered toast or homemade biscuits, but I’ve baked it into Apple Butter Pie and these Apple Butter Bars are high on the list, too.
Apple Butter Bars are moist, cake-like bar cookies that are made with a generous amount of apple butter in the batter. The intense apple flavor of the preserve gives the finished bars a wonderful apple flavor, which is enhanced with just a hint of cinnamon, ginger and allspice. The bars are baked in a jelly-roll pan, so they turn out to be fairly thin, but are still moist, tender and perfect for snacking.
I used my homemade Apple Cider Butter in this recipe, and I definitely recommend giving that recipe a try to use as a base for this one. If you don’t make your own, apple butter is available in many grocery stores (Smuckers makes a great one) in the fall and winter. Applesauce can make a good substitution, but it doesn’t have the depth of flavor that apple butter does and it doesn’t have additional sugar (even sweetened brands won’t be as sweet as apple butter is). This means that bars made with applesauce instead of apple butter will be much milder, although they will still be tasty, so I recommend adding more spice to liven up your bars if you choose to use applesauce in them.
These bars can be eaten plain or with a dusting of powdered sugar. I usually take the powdered sugar route, personally, but this time around I added a drizzle of vanilla glaze to add a little extra sweetness and dress them up a bit. The bars keep well for several days when stored in an airtight container.
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Fall puts me in the mood for pumpkin desserts and an extra bag of Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows in my kitchen put me in the mood to make some pumpkin spice cereal bars. Homemade rice krispy treats were always a favorite of mine growing up, but it wasn’t until recently that I started to put some new flavor spins on them, such as Black and White Rice Krispy Treats and Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispy Bars. This time around, I opted to turn that bag of fall spice marshmallows into a batch of Pumpkin Pie Rice Krispie Treats.
To create these bars, I made a graham cracker crust and then put a batch of Rice Krispy treats made with the Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows on top. I like pumpkin pies with a crisp graham cracker crust, so adding that element to this cereal treat version was a logical step. The graham crackers added a whole new layer of flavor (literally!) and also captured the full flavor of a slice of pumpkin pie. The crust needs to be completely cool before you add the cereal treat mixture to allow the marshmallow to stick to it. To avoid breaking up the crust as you add the cereal layer, try to distribute the warm cereal treat mixture evenly and press it into place, rather than trying to spread it over the crust.
Adding the graham cracker crust is what gives these an actual pumpkin pie flavor, as opposed to just a spicy one.
In addition to the batch of these that I made using the Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows, I also made a batch using regular spices. The spice-only version does not require any special edition marshmallows (you’ll still need regular marshmallows) and uses cinnamon, ginger and cloves to add a spicy flavor. It doesn’t have quite the same color as the store bought spice marshmallow bars do, but it has a great flavor and still turns regular cereal bars into a fall treat. These bars keep very well for several days when stored in an airtight container.
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