IS IT A BAR, IS IT A COOKIE? Guess what…It’s a BAR COOKIE!
World Wide Walnut
Was flipping pages of one of my favourite cookie books, ‘The Colossal Cookie Cookbook’, wondering what snack to make for the kids snack box for school. Thought I’d quickly do a batch of brownies, got the tin ready, lined it etc, & then had a change of heart. Wanted something other than chocolate…I like introducing them to as many flavours as possible, when they are still willing. Found something I liked the sound of… ‘Cranberry & Golden Raisin Bars’ hmmmmmmm. Passed a handful of golden raisins to the boy, who gave them a disdainful look, but tried one…& decided they weren’t that bad after all. Then the pistachios were chomped happily & the craisins too, which were a big hit! (The craisins were Ocean Spray’s ‘Orange Flavor Sweetened Dried Cranberries’ that I had lying around for a while. They are seriously good & healthy as a snack too.) 
Bar Cookies are cookies that the dough is baked spread-out in a pan. The cookies are cut into “bars” after baking. Most drop cookies can also be made into bar cookies. Bar cookie dough is pretty stiff/firm like a cookie dough. They are usually simple & straight-forward cookies, that are fun to make!
Bar cookies consist of batter or other ingredients that are poured or pressed into a pan (sometimes in multiple layers), and cut into cookie-sized pieces after baking. Brownies are an example of a batter-type bar cookie. In British English, bar cookies are known as “tray bakes’.
The recipe as adapted from ‘The Colossal Cookie Cookbook’ , pg 393.
Ingredients:
Butter – 100gms (or margarine)
Brown sugar – 1/2 cup packed (soft brown)
Eggs – 2
Vanilla Essence – 1tsp
Flour – 1 cup ( the original recipe has 1 cup of self-raising flour)
Baking powder – 3/4 tsp
Salt – 1 pinch
Ground Almonds – 1/4 cup
Craisins – 1/2 cup
Pistachio nuts – 1/2 cup / chopped roughly
Golden raisins – 1/2 cup
Method:
-
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a 10.5″ X 6.5″ or 8″ X 8″ pan with a 2″ depth. Leave a bit of overhang on the lining paper.
- Sift the flour + baking powder + salt. Set aside.
- Beat the butter & sugar till light & fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one by one, followed by the vanilla essence.
-
Now gently fold in the flour + ground almonds + craisins + golden raisins + pistachio nuts.
-
Turn batter into tin & level out evenly with a spatula/butter knife.
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Bake for 25-35 minutes until golden brown on top & done. Test with a wooden pick if need be.
-
Take out of oven & cool on rack for 10 minutes, then gently lift out of tin (holding the lining paper) & cool completely. Remove lining paper once cool.
-
Cut into bars or squares as desired, only once cooled. Dust with powdered sugar.
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Best stored in the refrigerator, as per the book. (I’ve left them out as the weather is till cold & the houses here aren’t centrally heated.)
Enjoy a cookie with a cuppa tea or coffee…or a glass of chilled milk!
Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
18 Comments
Kalai
Gorgeous!!! I love this flavor combo! :))
Nags
that’s awesome!! would love to bite into one. and you say you dont even eat most of what you bake 🙂 that’s so amazing.. the interest is still there..
Asha
Bar cookies looks and sounds delicious Deeba. I love Craisins they have these days, yummy. Love the color and taste of Pista, great recipe!:)
Joy the Baker
Those are just lovely. Cranberry and pistachio are a great combination!
arundati
fab….i am running out of adjectives…maybe i should try expletives?? 😉 wonderful…..i really want to be your apprentice!!
DEEPA
this is excellent one .loads of flavors in the cookie..you rock …
Rosie
These are gorgeous and what a great combo!!!
Manggy
You’re always good at making these healthy treats! If it were me I’d probably ruin it by adding M&M’s or something, haha 🙂
Saswati
Hi Deeba!! have been visiting your blog since the last one month… i wud like to say you have agr8 blog,gr8 recipes specially the baking part..your passion shows:) you got aregular visitor:)
Passionate baker...& beyond
Thanks Kalai..
Sounds wierd…right Nags! That’s me!!:0)
Hey Asha, you’re lucky you get them. I finished what I had, & will wait for some poor soul to get me some from the US!!
Thanks for dropping by Joy…love the name!!
You’re already an apprentice Arundati, & a very fast learner…expletives? Nah…save them for the rantings!! :0)
Thanks Deepa & Rosie…these were simple cookies with a great taste.
Now now Manggy…someone’s being too humble for me. This is far too basic for the stuff you do!! You’re quite the expert!! Cheers
Passionate baker...& beyond
Thanks Kalai..
Sounds wierd…right Nags! That’s me!!:0)
Hey Asha, you’re lucky you get them. I finished what I had, & will wait for some poor soul to get me some from the US!!
Thanks for dropping by Joy…love the name!!
You’re already an apprentice Arundati, & a very fast learner…expletives? Nah…save them for the rantings!! :0)
Thanks Deepa & Rosie…these were simple cookies with a great taste.
Now now Manggy…someone’s being too humble for me. This is far too basic for the stuff you do!! You’re quite the expert!! Cheers
Arfi Binsted
that’s a clever cookies bar!!
Purnima
Baked this and tasted it…yumm..chk ur inbox! 😀 Thanks for sharing!!
Passionate baker...& beyond
Great to have you here Saswati. :0)
Thanks Arfi…
That was QUICK Purnima…love your enthusiasm!
Passionate baker...& beyond
Great to have you here Saswati. :0)
Thanks Arfi…
That was QUICK Purnima…love your enthusiasm!
sandhya
Fabulous cookies… love the combination of cranberries and pistachios…
meeso
These look great, the colors are nice and pistachios and craisins are both so good!
Sia
brillient recipe deeba and i am in love with that tea pot in the background:)