Apple blueberry bars and 2024 resolutions

My dear and lovely readers, I hope you are all well and having a very nice year so far. It has been a very, very long time since I last posted something on this blog, so I would be surprised if anyone stopped by, but anyway I would like to talk to you today about New Year’s resolutions (in April – I know, I know). 😊

In the beginning of 2023 I made a list of resolutions for that year and I kept it very small to avoid frustrations: I wanted to finish writing my e-book (in Portuguese) and publish it (did it on June 2), to exercise more often (still to be improved in 2024, but I started and it was very good for me) and to treat myself more kindly than I used to (this is a work in progress so it is on the 2024 list as well).

To my surprise, the e-book has sold many copies, I have received several emails and messages from people who bought it saying they loved it, also received photos of some of the recipes being prepared at my readers’ homes… It was one of the best things I had in my whole life.

By early January this year I decided to write again the list of resolutions, and again I would keep it small: one of them was to keep blogging, at least once a month, even though blogs cannot compete nowadays with Instagram and TikTok (I must be honest and say that I don’t even know how to use the latter, I’m too old for that). So far I have managed to keep that promise for my blog in Portuguese (I even posted twice back in February), therefore I will do the same with this blog in English.

I’ll start with these delicious apple blueberry bars, that were meant to be blueberry bars only, but when I checked my freezer, I saw that my blueberry stash was not as big as I thought. One look at my counter and the beautiful apples I had brought home a couple of days before almost smiled at me, begging to be used: they were the perfect pair for the blueberries and the bars turned out wonderful.

 

Apple blueberry bars

own recipe

 

Crust and topping:

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour

1/3 cup (46g) fine corn flour/corn meal (not corn starch) – if you cannot find it, replace with all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon fine salt

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (total of 78g) granulated sugar

¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

 

Filling:

2 medium Gala apples (total of 250g)

1 cup (150g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)

¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon corn starch

pinch of salt

½ tablespoon lime or lemon juice

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly brush a 20cm (8in) square baking pan with butter, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter the foil as well. Set aside.

 

In a medium bowl whisk together the all purpose flour, corn flour, cinnamon, salt and sugar. Add the butter and whisk it in using a fork until you get coarse breadcrumbs texture. Transfer 2/3 of this mixture to the prepared pan and spread it evenly on the bottom. Press the mixture down onto the bottom of the pan (using your fingertips or a small measuring cup) to make the crust of the bars. Freeze the base and the remaining mixture for 10 minutes while you prep the fruit.

 

Core the apples, remove the seeds and cut into 1cm (little less than ½ inch) cubes. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the blueberries, sugar, corn starch, salt and lime/lemon juice and mix to combine.

Remove the pan and bowl from the freezer. Spread the fruit evenly over the base and sprinkle over the remaining mixture – you can squeeze portions of the mixture in your hand to create different sizes of crumbles if you like.

 

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and let cool completely over a wire rack before slicing and serving.

 

Makes 16

 

Granola jam bars

 

Once I started making my own granola I never looked back: store bought just doesn’t do it for me anymore. I am the only granola eater at my house, so one batch lasts quite a long time – I usually eat it in the afternoon with some yogurt and fruit, a nice snack between lunch and dinner, and that also gives me energy to exercise. 

There were times, however, before quarantine, that I was not able to finish off the granola before it lost its crunch. For times like those, these granola and jam bars are absolutely perfect: you can vary the flavors of both the granola and the jam to make several different combinations.

The only jam I usually avoid for these bars is strawberry, for I think it is a tad too sweet.

Granola jam bars

own recipe

Base:

¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour

1/3 cup (45g) whole wheat flour

pinch of salt

100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 egg yolk (save the white for making the topping)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Filling and topping:

½ cup (170g) your favorite jam – my favorite flavors for this recipe are raspberry, blackberry and apricot

1 ¾ cups (210g) granola

1 egg white

 

Start making the base: preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 20x20cm (8x8in) square baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang in two opposite sides, to make unmolding the bars easier. Butter the foil.

In a large bowl, whisk the flours, sugar and salt. Add the butter, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until a dough starts to form – it might be crumbly, no problem, do not overmix to avoid getting a tough base. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and pat onto the bottom of the pan – you can use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to help. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and very carefully not to get burned, spread the jam over the base.

In another bowl, mix well the granola and egg white and then spread evenly over the jam layer.

Bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.

Remove the bars from the pan using the paper as guide and cut into squares to serve.

 

Makes 16

Peanut butter and chocolate chip bars

Lately I have been using peanut butter as a way of increasing my protein intake: I buy the natural type made with roasted peanuts only and add a spoonful to smoothies and such.

That reminded me of these bars I made ages ago, when I bought natural peanut butter for the first time. The jar seemed to last too long and I wanted to make something delicious with it. These bars are easy to put together and peanut and chocolate are a match made in heaven.

Peanut butter and chocolate chip bars
own recipe, inspired by several others

1 cup (300g) natural peanut butter
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups (175g) icing sugar, sifted
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (125g) dark chocolate chips
½ cup (70g) toasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan with foil and lightly butter it.

In a food processor, process the peanut butter, sugars, butter, baking soda, salt, egg and vanilla until creamy. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the chocolate chips and peanuts. Press dough into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges (the center will still be soft).

Cool completely over a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Makes 24

Brownies with white chocolate chips and cocoa nibs

One can tell that I am crazy for brownies by the amount of brownie recipes on this blog, however in my defense I have to say that I do not bake them for my own pleasure only: every time I want to make someone’s day better I give brownies as gifts (some of my friends already know that very well). :)

I had a small package of cocoa nibs at home and wanted to use them in a nice recipe – since they are on the bitter side, I thought that pairing them with the sweetness of white chocolate would work well - the creamy, gooey brownies are the perfectly vessel for that flavor encounter, and I added a touch of dark cocoa powder to the batter for extra richness.

Brownies with white chocolate chips and cocoa nibs
own recipe

¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened and chopped
170g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
100g white chocolate chips
1/3 cup (40g) cocoa nibs

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, and butter the foil as well.

In a large bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water) combine butter and chocolate and stir occasionally until both are melted. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Whisk in sugar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Stir in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the white chocolate chips and cocoa nibs.

Spread batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

White chocolate and lemon blondies

Back in the days when I was still dreaming of writing a book I remember telling my husband that I intended to add as many citrus recipes to it as possible, and had all types of ideas for lemon baked goods and desserts – the thought of the fruit makes my mouth water already.

However, every time I went to the grocery store the price of the lemons made me cringe, and I would go back home empty handed. I was unemployed then, so I went from wanting a book filled with lemon recipes to choosing very wisely which recipes to use the fruit in. :(

That is one of the reasons why I am so proud of these blondies: they are delicious, perfumed with lemon and the tart flavor of the fruit goes really well with the sweetness of the white chocolate. The lemons were expensive, but it was worth spending that money to make something so tasty (not to mention easy): the blondies were gone very fast in each of the three times I made them.

White chocolate and lemon blondies
own recipe

¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
2 ½ tablespoons (35g) unsalted butter, room temperature
200g white chocolate, chopped – divided use
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a square 20cm (8in) baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

In a small bowl, rub together with your fingertips the sugar and the lemon zest until sugar is fragrant. Set aside.
In a large bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water) combine 150g of the chocolate and the butter, stirring until they are both melted. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
Whisk in the sugar, followed by the egg and vanilla. With a rubber spatula, fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in the remaining 50g white chocolate.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack before cutting into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Chocolate cashew brownies for another budget-friendly Easter

Close to paying bills and getting up early in the morning to go to work nothing makes me feel more like an adult than realizing that time really flies – saying it out loud every so often basically turns me into my grandmother. :D

Days ago I thought about what I would make to celebrate Easter this year and I remembered these chocolate cookies – when I searched them on the blog I was surprised to find out that the post is from two years ago!
I read the post and well, I continue refusing to buy expensive chocolate Easter eggs – so on top of getting old I am still cheap. :D

Brownies are a hit with everyone I know, not to mention how easy to make they are: out of a 20cm square pan you get 16 brownies and wrapped nicely you easily have 3-4 gifts covered – I have used cashew nuts for I wanted the brownies to have a Brazilian touch, but feel free to replace them with any other nut you fancy.

Chocolate cashew brownies
own creation

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and chopped
100g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
¾ cup (130g) light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (105g) unsalted cashew nuts, toasted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, and butter the foil as well.

In a large saucepan, combine butter and chocolate and cook over low heat, stirring, until both are melted. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Whisk in both sugars. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Stir in the vanilla, flour and salt, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the nuts.
Spread batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Really simple brownies - easy, delicious recipe that yields a lot

I had been meaning to make brownies for weeks, but I wanted to try a new recipe instead of going to my usual suspects, Alice Medrich’s cocoa brownies. As I flipped through books and magazine pages and browsed around the Internet I found beautiful looking brownies – and you know I am a sucker for beautiful food photos – but as I started reading the recipes I did not feel like making them: I was not in the mood of using 350g of chocolate and 500g of sugar to make a 20cm square brownie pan.

I gave up on the brownies and baked a lemon cake instead. :)

But the brownies got stuck in the back of my brain and I went back to my search, and ended up finding these: easy to make, calling for just a bit of chocolate, yielding a big 20x30cm full of brownies with that crackly, shiny top. I tweaked the recipe just a tiny bit, since I did not have unsweetened chocolate home (I used one with 53% cocoa solids), and the brownies turned out fabulous. I have packaged some for my friends at work and I hope they like them as much as I did.

Really simple brownies
slightly adapted from here

150g dark chocolate, finely chopped or in chips – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped
1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
¼ teaspoon table salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) metal baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides. Butter the foil as well.

In a large heatproof bowl place chocolate and butter. Melt them over a saucepan of barely simmering water – do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Once the ingredients are melted, remove from the heat and cool. Whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in vanilla.
Stir in the flour, cocoa and salt until a smooth batter forms. Spread onto prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 24

Spiced cake bars (gewürzschnitten) - flavors of my childhood on a recipe I had never seen before

In my searches for Christmas themed recipes every year I have learned about new types of baked goods, have seen beautiful photos and known gorgeous food blogs and websites. Some of the recipes were completely new to me, some were made of flavors I recognize from my childhood, from the sweets my German grandmother used to make.

These delicious bars, super easy to make, were new to as I did not know their name – gewürzschnitten; however, the taste was no stranger to me: as I bit into a square and tasted the mix of spices, chocolate and lemon from the glaze, my taste buds took a trip down memory lane. I don’t really remember what I ate as a kid that reminded me so much of these bars, but what started as inspiration found on this beautiful blog ended up as wonderful discovery – grandma Frida is no longer around for me to ask her this, but I can start my own tradition and bake gewürzschnitten every December from now on. <3

Spiced cake bars (gewürzschnitten)
slightly adapted from this beautiful blog

Cake:
1 ¼ cups (175g) all purpose flour
¾ cup (75g) ground almonds
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, sifted
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
pinch of salt
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar, divided use
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Amaretto (optional)
100ml whole milk, room temperature

Glaze:
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with baking paper leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, then butter the paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, cocoa, baking powder and spices. Set aside.
In a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add half of the granulated sugar (75g), beating until mixture gets thick, silky and shiny. Set aside.
In another large bowl, using again the electric mixer, beat the yolks, butter and remaining sugar until light and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and the Amaretto. Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the milk in two additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Fold in the egg whites. Spread onto the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and cooked through when tested with a skewer. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.

Glaze: mix the icing sugar and lemon juice until you get a thin glaze. Spread over cooked cake, set aside until set and then cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Nigel Slater’s brownies

Remember that I told you that some recipes get stuck in my head forever? One of them was this brownie recipe by Nigel Slater – I saw it on many, many blogs, people seemed to go crazy over them. However, I kept postponing making the recipe since it required creaming butter and sugar together, something I just do not associate with making brownies (the fact that it called for 250g of butter and 300g of sugar for a 23cm pan made me cringe, too).

The day came when I finally made them, and accordingly to my husband, who doesn’t like sweets but tastes all the brownies I make, these are the best brownies I made in quite a while. I must confess I did not go crazy for them (sorry, Nigel): too much work for this result. I like brownies recipes that are practical and fast and require no thinking ahead – melting the butter is always a plus when you forgot to take it out of the fridge.

These brownies are good, but nothing I would make again – but since my husband praised them so much I decided to share the recipe with you. I have cut down the sugar slightly (for I did not have 70% chocolate around), doubled the amount of chopped chocolate folded in the batter and also used a 20x30cm pan – when I looked at the amount of batter in the bowl I was sure it would never fit a 23cm square pan.

Nigel Slater’s brownies
Slightly adapted rom the one and only Nigel Slater, recipe found here

200g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
60g all purpose flour
60g unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
250g unsalted butter, softened
250g granulated sugar
100g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
3 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, all lightly whisked with a fork
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) metal baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

Place the 200g finely chopped chocolate in a bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water, without letting the bowl touch the water. Remove from the heat and cool. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs gradually, and scrape the sides of the bowl between additions. Beat in the vanilla. On slow speed, mix in the melted chocolate. Fold in the dry ingredients and the coarsely chopped chocolate – mixture will be thick. Spread it evenly into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top will have risen slightly but the middle is still soft – a toothpick inserted in the center should come out sticky, but not with raw mixture. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Serves 24

Simple, delicious brownies

I once subscribed to a DVD delivery service and at first it sounded like a very good idea: it would be a matter of logging in to the website, choosing a movie to watch and the DVD would be sent to your house. Easy peasy.

That was before Netflix, for the young ones reading me right now. :D

After a while, however, I realized that the service was not all that: the movie I actually wanted to watch at that moment was hardly ever available, so they would send me the following movies on my list, which was not always OK since there were days I wanted to watch a drama and a comedy got delivered to my doorstep (and the other way around). Or like the day I was feeling miserable and wanted something to cheer me up and they sent me Heavenly Creatures. :S

All that to tell you that although I am someone who will choose a lemon or fruit dessert over a chocolate one any day, there are occasions I want something specifically chocolatey, to the point of being almost sinful. These brownies, despite being super easy to make, are really tasty and have a wonderful texture to boot. They are every bit what I wanted on the day I made them, and I can guarantee they go well with either drama or comedies. :)

Simple, delicious brownies
slightly adapted from the beautiful Treats

150g unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed
150g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 70% cocoa solids
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

In a large bowl, melt the butter and chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring that the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the heat and cool slightly.

Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in the vanilla. Sift flour and salt over mixture and fold in with a spatula. Do not overmix. Transfer batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the sides and top are set and the center still moist.

Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Makes 16

Chocolate gingerbread bites

The Internet can be a great source of inspiration, I am sure you all agree with me – not only for food, obviously, but let’s focus on that now: there are so many great recipes out there it is hard to choose which one to make, but depending on what we see it gets easier to take our pick.

I saw these bars on Rebecca’s blog and immediately felt like baking them: chocolate, spices, and molasses beautifully combined. Very Christmassy, exactly what I wanted at the moment. When I wrote to her about it, she told me she’d gotten the recipe on another blog, and that person had gotten the recipe from Martha. I then remembered I’d seen the recipe on Martha’s website more than once and thought “well, Martha did not inspire me to make these, Rebecca did”. So these delicious bars, a sort of cake perfumed with spices and moist with the addition of sour cream, have become part of my repertoire of great recipes thanks to a search online – a beautiful blog inspired me to make them, and I hope my blog can inspire some of you to make them, too.

Chocolate gingerbread bites
from Rebecca's blog

¼ cup (56g/½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup (22g) unsweetened cocoa powder + about ½ tablespoon for dusting the pan
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar (packed)
¼ cup (60ml) unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
¼ cup (60ml) sour cream*
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (85g) dark chocolate chips
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil and butter it as well. Dust it all with cocoa and tap out the excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, spices, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar, butter, egg, molasses, sour cream and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.
Dust with icing sugar and cut into squares to serve.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Makes 16

Gingerbread and peanut caramel bars

Having rediscovered the pleasure I used to feel in the kitchen I keep having ideas and imagining things to cook and bake – I can’t wait for the weekends, not only to get some rest but also to prepare something tasty. I made a broccolini pesto the other day that turned out wonderful – even my not-so-into-pesto husband liked it a lot. But right now we are in Christmas mode around here, therefore I bring you these bars: I saw them on the latest issue of Donna Hay magazine and since I am a sucker for gingerbread, caramel and peanuts I had to make them.

They might seem a bit time-consuming, but it is just a matter of respecting the fridge time for each layer – there is also a serious risk of eating the entire saucepan of caramel before pouring it over the gingerbread base, but that is a completely different matter. ;)

Gingerbread and peanut caramel bars
from the always delicious Donna Hay Magazine

Base:
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
90g light brown sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup – I used corn syrup
1/3 cup molasses
375g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
175g unsalted butter, softened
220g light brown sugar
½ cup golden syrup
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
200g unsalted toasted peanuts

Lightly butter a 20x30cm baking pan (use a deep pan, or make only 3/4 of the caramel recipe), line it with foil leaving an overhand on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup, molasses, flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt and vanilla and beat just until a dough starts to form. Press the mixture into the prepared pan, prick it all over with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Bake the gingerbread for about 15 minutes or until golden – remove from the oven but keep it on.

Make the caramel: place butter, sugar and golden syrup in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted. Bring to the boil then cook for 8-10 minutes or until mixture reaches 140°C (285°F) on a sugar thermometer. Carefully add cream – mixture will spit furiously – and stir until dissolved, then cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in the peanuts, remove from the heat and pour over the gingerbread base. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until caramel is slightly set around the edges (caramel will set as it cools). Cool for 15 minutes, then refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars to serve. Keep the bars in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Makes 24

Yogurt lime cheesecake bars

Every time I discover something nice I like to share it with you, being related to food or not – and what makes me happy is that many of you feel the same, and I can ask you about something as far from the kitchen subject as a good product suggestion for frizzy hair that I get many answers – so, thank you. <3

Frizzy hair crisis almost averted – with the help of my Brazilian readers over on Facebook – now it’s my turn to share something special with you: one of my favorite food magazines, one that I use over and over again for both recipes and inspiration has now launched a beautiful website, packed with lots of delicious recipes and stunning photos – I hope you enjoy it!

Even though I rely on Delicious Australia very often, most of the times I tweak the recipes here and there, and this cheesecake slice is no exception: 200g of cookies would be swimming in 175g of butter, so I changed the recipe slightly and was very pleased with the result.

Yogurt lime cheesecake bars
slightly adapted from the wonderful Delicious Australia

Base:
200g digestive cookies
85g unsalted butter, softened

Topping:
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 limes
300g thick Greek-style yogurt
300g cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter it as well.

Place the cookies in a bowl of a food processor and blitz until finely crushed. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles wet sand. Press firmly into base of pan. Chill for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, rub sugar and lime zest with your fingerprints until sugar is fragrant. Add the yogurt and cream cheese and whisk to combine. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and salt, then pour over base. Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and slightly golden around edges. Cool, then chill until set. Dust with icing sugar and cut into bars to serve.

Makes 24

Cinnamon Cointreau brownies

My days have been very busy – a lot busier than I would like them to be, honestly – and I haven’t baked anything in weeks – I don’t even remember when I last turned on the oven for something sweet. Many weekends have gone by without cakes cooling down on racks around here. :(

I’m glad that I made a few baked goods before going back to work and I can share them with you here, like these absolutely wonderful brownies – the original recipe called for ancho chile powder, but I guess I am a bit conservative when it comes to chocolate desserts and don’t like the idea of adding chili to my brownies (sorry, Matt and Renato).

I omitted the chile powder, amped up the cinnamon and switched the fresh ginger for a healthy dose of Cointreau and the brownies turned out delicious – not only in flavor, but also in texture, very moist and fudgy (that is how I like brownies). You can use your imagination and use different spices or go for whisky or Marsala instead of Cointreau, for example, or if you have kids around use just the vanilla – I guarantee the brownies will be equally great.

Cinnamon Cointreau brownies
slightly adapted from the delicious Baked: New Frontiers in Baking and Baked Elements: The Importance of Being Baked in 10 Favorite Ingredients

¾ cup (105g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Dutch cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
140g (5oz) dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (44g) packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons Cointreau

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, then butter the foil as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
Place chocolate and butter in a large bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until melted. Turn off heat, but keep bowl over water and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined and remove bowl from pan. Let stand until room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, to chocolate-butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Add vanilla and Cointreau and whisk to combine. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or the brownies will be cakey.
Sprinkle flour-cocoa mixture over chocolate mixture. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour-cocoa mix visible.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake brownies for 20-25 minutes; brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool brownies completely before cutting and serving.

Makes 16

Garibaldi slice

The first time I ever heard of Garibaldi cookies was many, many years ago, on my dear friend Valentina’s blog – I wasn’t very fond of raisins then, I thought the cookies looked good but I never considered the idea of actually making them.

Through the years I learned to like raisins, then I tried dried currants for the first time eating scones in London (with loads of clotted cream – the thought of it makes me drool already) and now I love using them in cookies (these are my favorite cookies with raisins) and even in bread.

When I saw this Garibaldi slice on one of the most beautiful cookbooks I own I could not resist: the recipe calls for dried currants, raisins and golden raisins (sultanas) and they are cooked in sherry before becoming the filling for the bars – I had to make them! The bars turned out delicious and they are a treat for those of us who like raisins.

Off topic: as I browsed Amazon to get the link for the cookbook I saw that they have cast Diego Luna to play Casanova – that is wrong in so many ways words fail me.

Garibaldi slice
from The Baking Collection (The Australian Women's Weekly)

Pastry:
300g all purpose flour
75g granulated sugar
pinch of salt
180g unsalted butter, cold and diced
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon iced water

Filling:
240g dried currants
80g sultanas
75g raisins
½ cup (120ml) water
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing the pastry
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, for sprinkling the pastry

Pastry: place flour, sugar and salt in the food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolks, vanilla and water and pulse until a dough starts to form (add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary). Form dough into a ball, divide in two equal parts and wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Filling: in a medium saucepan, combine currants, sultanas, raisins, water and sherry. Stir over low heat for 8-10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and fruit is soft. Transfer to the food processor and blend until creamy. Cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm baking pan, line with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

Roll one portion of the pastry between two pieces of baking paper, flouring it a little if necessary (don’t use too much flour or the pastry will dry out) until it is large enough to line the base of the baking pan. Transfer pastry to the pan and trim to fit. Prick pastry all over with a fork, then spread with the fruit filling. Roll the other portion of pastry until large enough to cover fruit filling, place on top of it and trim to fit. Press down to enclose the filling. Wish a sharp knife, cut the top layer into 24 rectangles. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, brush it with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack, then cut into slices using the cuts previously as a guide.

Makes 24

Butterscotch blondies

The first time I ever heard of anything butterscotch was after I started blogging – I used to make caramel all the time for this dessert, but it was always the simple kind, the one made with sugar and water only: the caramel made with sugar, butter and cream was a revelation to me.

After that, I saw many recipes with butterscotch in their names, but it meant that they called for butterscotch chips, something one cannot find here. I can’t remember how many recipes for butterscotch blondies and cookies I’ve seen so far and most of them called for the chips, that is why I was really eager to make these blondies for they did not call for any chips at all: the caramel was part of the batter, and that sounded too good not to try.

Another thing that having a food blog has taught me is to trust my feelings: the recipe sounded good, indeed, but the amounts of sugar and flour looked way too much – I would end up having a sugar high or baking a stodge (or both). So I baked the blondies my way and they turned out not tooth achingly sweet, gooey and soft, the way I wanted them to be, and with a strong caramel flavor – delicious.

Butterscotch blondies
slightly adapted from the beautiful Home Baked Comfort (Williams-Sonoma) (revised): Featuring Mouthwatering Recipes and Tales of the Sweet Life with Favorites from Bakers Across the Country

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
300g light brown sugar
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum
½ teaspoon table salt
250g all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir in the brown sugar and cook until the sugar starts bubbling like molten lava, about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in the cream, and let it bubble away, stirring with a big whisk, until smooth and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, rum, and salt. Let cool to room temperature.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving two overhangs on opposite sides and butter it as well.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Stir the butterscotch mixture into dry ingredients, then whisk the eggs in, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Spread the batter into the prepared dish and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out relatively clean, 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan, then cut into squares.

Makes 16

Dulce de leche swirl congo bars

Sometimes I buy cookbooks and wait anxiously for them to arrive by mail only to go through them back and forth countless times without any idea of which recipe to start using them from – I know it sounds stupid, but that is exactly what happens around here.

Then it takes me forever to go back to that cookbook, not because I did not like it but because there were lots of other recipes grabbing my attention in between. I suddenly see the book while looking for something else and take it to the couch with me to go through it back and forth all over again, until I find that makes me run to the kitchen.

I made these bars a long time ago, after making the delicious coconut and pecan bars from the same book, but never posted them – they were scrumptious and were a hit with my former coworkers. I ended up taking a “healthy” route in my baking a while ago and thought that bars made with pecans, chocolate and dulce de leche were a bit too much. While searching for a certain photo I found this picture and thought that it was such a waste not to share this recipe with you – after all, eating a couple of these bars once in a blue moon won’t kill anyone.

While you read the recipe I’ll grab Nancy Baggett’s book and choose something tasty for the weekend. ;)

Dulce de leche swirl congo bars
slightly adapted from the delicious Simply Sensational Cookies

¾ cup (1½ sticks/170g) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 ¼ cups (215g) packed light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 cup (110g) pecans, chopped
1 cup (165g) dark chocolate chips – I used 53% cocoa solids
1 cup dulce de leche

Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 22x32cm (9x13in) baking pan, line it with foil and butter it as well – I used a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring, until melted. Remove from the heat and cool to warm. Stir in the sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla until well blended. One at a time, vigorously stir in the eggs. Stir in the flour just until evenly incorporated. Fold in the nuts and chocolate until evenly distributed.

Spread a generous half of the mixture evenly in the pan. Put evenly spaced heaping tablespoonfuls of the dulce de leche over the batter. Then drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter over the top. Using a table knife held vertically, swirl the two together to produce a slightly rippled effect; don’t blend them too much.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until nicely browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Makes 18

Peanut and white chocolate brownies and the amazing Viola

Back in January I watched the Golden Globes and many of my favorites took awards home – among them was Ruth Wilson, who is absolutely amazing in The Affair, but she was competing head to head with another actress I deeply admire, the über talented Viola Davis. Back then I hadn’t watched How to Get Away with Murder yet but got immediately interested in it.

The show is really that good and each episode ends with a bang that would make my husband and I crazy to know what would happen next – we saw the season finale last night and were like “OMG!!”. Viola is, indeed, superb: the woman can pull anything off, she can play any part. I am still Team Ruth because I think that her character in The Affair is more difficult to play – it is like she portrayed two different characters – but if Viola had taken the GG home I wouldn’t have minded at all.

Gladly a second season has been confirmed for How to Get Away with Murder – enough with the cancellation of my favorite TV shows, really. :)

From a woman that can do no wrong in acting to another who does wonders in the kitchen: Alice Medrich – these peanut and white chocolate brownies are a riff on one of her great recipes and are super delicious!

Peanut and white chocolate brownies
slightly adapted from the amazing Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

10 tablespoons (140g/1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (75g) unsalted roasted peanuts
½ cup (80g) white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

In a medium heatproof bowl, add the butter and set on top of a large sauce pan with barely simmering water. Melt the butter, then add sugar and salt, and stir until well combined. Next add the cocoa powder and stir until mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the water and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the peanuts and white chocolate. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares.

Makes 16

Amaranth brownies and a hideous movie

I was stuck in the mall days ago and there was nothing left for me to do but to watch a movie in the theater, but the problem is that there wasn’t much to choose from so I ended up watching Furious 7 – it was the first movie of the franchise I ever saw and my goodness, how can something be so awful, I’m still trying to understand.

I know I’m not the target audience, but I could not believe that something so poorly written – James Cameron’s school of embarrassing dialogues and bad jokes – and with such bad acting is this big of a hit and makes so much money at the box office, and don’t even get me started at the impossible stunts and naked ladies.

To each their own, I guess – there will probably be more of those hideous movies in the future, but I prefer my share of repetition in brownie form: there are about thirty brownie recipes on this blog and I bring you another one today, this time with amaranth flour: the ingredient leaves a bit of a gritty texture in the brownies and I don’t think that is a big deal, but if you don’t want that or don’t have any amaranth flour around use 150g all purpose flour instead and get yourself a really good traditional brownie.

Amaranth brownies
slightly adapted from trEATs: Delicious Food Gifts to Make at Home

150g unsalted butter, cubed
150g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (45g) amaranth flour
¼ teaspoon table salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring that the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Cool slightly.

Meanwhile, using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, whisk the sugars, eggs and vanilla extract until the mixture is light and foamy. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the all purpose flour, amaranth flour and salt.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes: the sides and top should be set and the centre still moist.
Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes 16

Citrus caramel blondies

I am not a very techie person but I love it when people teach me something new about computers or tell me about interesting apps – the same lovely friend who introduced me to Shazam told me about Spotify as well and now I cannot live without it any longer (thanks, C.!).

That happened ages ago, but you know how things are around here. :D

Something else I adore about technology: having loads of recipes to choose from and to get inspired by, even when I’m far from home and from my cookbooks. I was going through Food & Wine’s website while waiting on a very long line and found these unusual blondies – I made them as soon as I got home (melted butter, yay) and they turned out fantastic. The caramel is so delicious I had to keep it away from me while making the blondie batter – I advise you to do the same (or make a double batch). :D

Citrus caramel blondies
from Food & Wine magazine

Caramel:
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon (14g) cold unsalted butter
½ teaspoon Maldon sea salt or fleur de sel

Blondies:
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (175g) packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 orange

Caramel: in a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon of water and bring to a boil. Using a wet pastry brush, wash down any crystals on the side of the pan. Boil the syrup over moderately high heat until a deep amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the cream, butter and Maldon sea salt. Let the caramel cool to room temperature.

Blondies: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square metal baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on 2 opposite sides; butter the foil as well.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the salt and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk the butter with the brown sugar until combined, then whisk in the eggs, vanilla and orange zest. Add the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated.
Spread the batter in the prepared pan in an even layer. Drizzle the caramel over the top in small portions, then swirl it decoratively using a toothpick. Bake the blondies for 25-30 minutes, until it is golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool completely. Cut into bars and serve.

The blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes 16