lemon pie bars

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One of the awesome things about having a cooking/baking blog is that people start giving you things like fancy dishes and cookbooks as gifts.  My birthday happened to be a few weeks ago and I got both of plenty in spades which I’m super excited about.  One of the cookbooks I was given was by the people behind Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia.

I’ve never been to Savannah, much less this bakery, but I know that southerners know good food and the cookbook received rave reviews so I added it to my amazon wishlist.  And boy, am I glad I did!

Last Sunday I was feeling a little l-a-z-y but wanted to bake a few things to share with you fine people so I looked for a simple recipe and this is it.  There are few ingredients and the steps involved were low maintenance, but the results?  Delicious.  People who aren’t normally into lemon-flavored baked goods even enjoyed these bars.

Lemon Pie Bars (from “Bake in the Day Bakery Cookbook” by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day)

For the crust:

  • 3 cups graham cracker crumbs (approximately 24 crackers)
  • 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons sugar

For the filling:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 1 cup fresh lemon juice
  • Two 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
  • 6 large egg yolks

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking pan and line with parchment, allowing the ends of the paper to hang over two opposite edges of the pan.

To make the crust: in a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar and blend with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened.  Press the graham cracker mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Use a piece of parchment to press on the crust with the palm of your hands to make sure it is completely level.

Bake the crust for about 8 minutes, until lightly golden.  Let cool completely before adding the filling.  Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees F.

To make the filling: in a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks.  Pour the filling over the cooled crust.

Place the baking pan inside a larger baking pan and pour enough hot water into the larger pan to come halfway up the sides of the smaller pan.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is puffed at the edges and no longer jiggles in the center when the pan is tapped.  Remove the pan from the water bath and set it on a rack to cool for 1 hour, then refrigerate until cold.

Cut into squares and serve chilled, with whipped cream.  The bars will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

mid week sweet treat

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You might think the below image is of cookie dough about to be baked, but you would be wrong.  Have you ever had Buckeyes before?  Well below is a Buckeye before it gets dunked in melted chocolate.  What we have here are peanut butter balls.

Except in this case we are not dunking the peanut butter balls into melted chocolate but rather placing them on top of a fudgy cookie.  These are Buckeyes in cookie form… genius!  (Thank you Joy the Baker for your brilliant concoction.)

The cookie dough is kind of runny and has to be dribbled on a parchment-lined baking sheet with a spoon.  At first I was a little nervous about this because I was afraid they weren’t going to bake up properly but indeed they did.  They result in a fudgy, soft cookie that makes for a perfect vehicle for the aforementioned peanut butter balls.

You place the pre-made PB balls in the center of the cookies when they are fresh out of the oven so that they meld together into a beautiful final piece that is greater than the sum of its parts.

There is no better combination that exists than peanut butter and chocolate together.  Perfection.  In cookie form.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ball Cookies (from “Joy the Baker Cookbook” by Joy Wilson)

For the peanut butter balls:

  • 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 6 tablespoons peanut butter

For the cookies:

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2/3 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To make the peanut butter balls: in a large bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, and peanut butter.  With clean hands begin to work the mixture together.  The butter and peanut butter should come together to create a stiff but pliable dough.  (I had to add 2 additional tablespoons of peanut butter to make the dough come together but I think that’s because I use natural peanut butter which tends to be a little more dry.)  Roll dough between your palms to create 16 small walnut-sized balls.  Place on a clean cutting board or cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

To make the cookies: in a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs until thick and pale.  Set aside.

Place about 2 inches of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer.  In a heatproof bowl, combine butter and chocolate chips.  Place the bowl over but not touching the simmering water.  Heat until chocolate and butter have melted together.  Remove bowl from heat.  Add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture and fold together.  Once entirely incorporated, stir in the vanilla.  Fold in the flour mixture with a spatula until thoroughly incorporated.  The mixture will be glossy and loose.

Spoon heaping tablespoonfuls of cookie batter onto the baking sheet, spacing the batter 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10 minutes until crackled on top, but still fudgy in the center.  Remove from oven and immediately press a peanut butter ball into the center of each cookie.  The warmth will help meld the two together.  Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cookies will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

gold medal dessert: rhubarb crunch

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Aren’t the Olympics inspiring? I’ve found myself transfixed over the past week and I rarely watch TV so that is really saying something. I was so happy to see the women’s gymnastics team take the gold last night and especially proud to see Jordyn Wieber shake off not qualifying for the all-around competition yet pull it together to lead her team to victory. Inspirational. She’s from a small-town near my small hometown so that somehow makes it more special, like she probably used to shop at the same mall I used to shop at. I’m just saying. On the other hand my heart broke a little bit watching the men’s US gymnastics team lose. I wanted to reach into the TV to give John Orozco a big hug and tell him to shake off what happened on the pommel horse. Half of this country couldn’t even get themselves up on the pommel horse much less maneuver around on it so he should hold his head high knowing he is one of the top athletes in the world. Yes, I have been watching other sports too but to be honest I’m starting to get tired of swimming, and beach volleyball just makes me feel bad about myself. (They’re so tall! And slim!) Very much looking forward to track and field and hope that NBC gives more coverage to some of the less popular sports. Again, getting tired of swimming. Yes Michael Phelps it’s amazing that you are the most decorated Olympian ever. Totally awesome. But I’m tired of watching your sport.

I can’t exactly draw a close connection between the Olympics and rhubarb crunch, but something tells me 95% of Olympians would totally enjoy this dish. (There are always a few who don’t like rhubarb. I don’t understand those people.) This dish is so easy to make and simple and delicious. My aunt made it last weekend with blueberries (amazing!) so that shows that it is also versatile. Go forth and bake! Gold medal to you for efforts.

Rhubarb Crunch

Crumb Topping:

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup melted butter

Fruit Mixture:

  • 6 cups rhubarb, cleaned and chopped into 1/2″ pieces
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca flour or cornstarch
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together crumb topping ingredients until crumbly. Press half the mixture into a greased 9″ x 13″ pan. Cover with rhubarb.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining four ingredients (sugar, tapioca flour, water, and vanilla.) Cook over medium heat until thick and clear. Pour over the rhubarb.

Top with remaining crumbs. Bake for an hour. Serve warm.

vintage finds and other treasures

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I have a confession to make: this blog is not only a platform for me to explore new recipes and ingredients but I also use it as an excuse to hoard pretty plates and serving pieces and table linens.  True story.  Many weekends I can be found scouring estate sales and antique stores seeking out anything I think might make a nice background for food.  Case in point: the above starter collection of milk glass pieces atop a lovely tablecloth my mom found at an antique store.

When I came across these handkerchiefs at an estate sale last year I had to have them.  I wasn’t sure at the time how I would use them but they were so pretty and the woman who collected them had the same first initial as me so I took that as a sign from the heavens that they needed to come home with me.  So they did.

I’ve been fortunate to also have been handed down some very lovely things from family members which makes them more special.  You might think the sifter above is good as just an antique prop but no, I actually use it for its original intended purpose.  It’s way bigger easier to clean than the ones they manufacture today.  And I am also a sucker for old metal baking pans when I see them at estate sales– they were made so much sturdier back in the day!

A friend who knows I collect linens passed the embroidered peacock runner to me.  Love it.

I don’t exactly know what I am going to do with the glass domes I have been collecting but I know they will come in handy some day.  Thinking I will serve cupcakes in them.  Nothing like old glass milk bottles either.

A friend convinced me to buy the cake topper at an estate sale even though it made me kind of sad to think about the couple who it originally belonged to.  I like to think that they’d be happy knowing that I will put it to good use so someday I will.  I’m also a sucker for glasses and other formats for vintage advertising.

I like tablecloths with flowers on them.  So pretty!

The dishes above are my greatest find yet.  I went to a barn sale in the country not far from where I live in Wisconsin and this older gentleman who looked like he stepped straight out of an episode of American Pickers  sold me four boxes of these dishes for $4.  Four dollars!  I now have service for about 20 people though have mostly been too scared to use them because I am afraid I will break them.  Considering that they resided in a barn for years unscathed I probably shouldn’t be too worried…

Not all great things are vintage.  The majority of the above pieces came from a friend who has great taste and decided I could use a few more colorful pieces for the blog.  Love them (and her)!  Anthropologie, West Elm, and Fishs Eddy are great resources.

zucchini brownies, gluten-free and almost vegan

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A coworker of mine has been very generous with sharing her garden with me this summer and lately she has had an abundance of zucchini.  Apart from zucchini bread I have only ever had zucchini in savory dishes so when she mentioned to me that she had recently eaten a delicious brownie made with zucchini I was intrigued and did a little interweb research.  The best-looking recipe I came across also happened to be gluten-free and refined-sugar-free.  What?!  Since I have been getting myself out of bed at 5 in the morning three days a week lately for a bootcamp class both of these things appealed to me so as not to undo all the good I’ve been doing.

Now, normally “healthy” and “baked goods” are not words that should be used together in a phrase but in this case it works.  And the brownies were so easy to make!  Four simple steps.  Anyone can handle that!

In place of sugar the recipe called for raw honey and instead of flour there was almond butter.  I happen to love almond butter and generally keep it in stock when I want a break from peanut butter so already had some on hand.

The results were moist brownies with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.  If you want a rich, dense, chocolate-y brownie, look elsewhere, but if you want a sweet treat that actually isn’t that bad for you health-wise, this is your dish.  I think it may inspire me to sneak vegetables into sweet baked goods again…

Flourless Zucchini Brownies (recipe found at http://fastpaleo.com/zucchini-brownies/)

  • 1 cup of almond butter
  • 1 1/2 cup of grated or chopped zucchini (I used food processor)
  • 1/3 cup of raw honey
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp of vanilla
  • 1 tsp of baking soda
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
  • 1 cup of dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix everything together.

Pour into a greased 9×9 baking pan.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.