Tag: Currants

Thick, Chewy Granola Bars … you left us smitten!

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
main
A visit to Smitten Kitten always leaves me enamoured and charmed. Deb’s always got something that holds my attention. It’s often simple comfort food. Beautiful brownies, awesome cakes, or then something as simple as these thick, chewy granola bars. The beauty of her posts is the passion she does them with. She bakes from scratch, her commentary is engaging, and her posts have brilliant photographs. These granola bars, adapted from King Arthur Flour, had her readers, including me, quite smitten. For me, the bars scored a 10/10 in every aspect – health, taste, looks, versatility. Above all they were kid friendly too… very Ten in 10!

I had to make them soon because I identified with the immense possibilities and substitutions at every level that Deb offered. If you didn’t have this, then you could use that, that, or that. The recipe below is what I did with what was available in my larder. Do check Deb’s post for more  options! Almost everything was optional, and the recipe can be tailored to suit individual tastes. How often do you find something so good?

In her words … This is probably the most flexible recipe I’ve posted. When it comes to granola, what you’re looking for is a basic proportion of chunky (nuts, dried fruit) to sticky (syrups, sugar, butter or oils) and from there, you can really go to town. The vanilla is optional. The cinnamon is optional. You can use no dried fruit or you can use all dried fruit in your 2 to 3 cup mix. You can toss in things like puffed rice cereal or flax seeds. In the comments, I’d love to hear what mix you came up with and how you liked it. I can only imagine the possibilities.

I loved how the bars came out. Made a couple of errors, the primary one getting anxious to see how they baked and urging them to jump out of the tin while very warm. I put them right back instantly realising my folly, and saved the bars. They won’t stick to the paper, so leave them be. Let them sit for at least 20 minutes, and then if you still want to, take them out, lining paper and all, let them cool on the rack. Cut them up only when they are cold. They behave beautifully!
I also added something that the kids didn’t take to very well. I read someone had sprinkled sea salt on top, and I was very taken in by the idea. So I added a light sprinkling of sea salt on top. While it was a good idea for adults, the kids became very iffy about it. It seemed to take the snack monster joy away from them. I really should have experimented with just a 1/4 or 1/2 surface wth the sprinkling. 
Thought hard as I didn’t want the kids to have these bars sans enjoyment. Suddenly, I had a flash of brilliance … chocolate would bring the mojo back! Chocolate makes everything better and I just knew it would fix this problem too. Woohoo… it sure did. I coated the sea salt topped bars with melted dark chocolate, and let it set in the fridge for a bit. I won the kids back! They were smitten!

Thick, Chewy Granola Bars
Recipe minimally adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

Of note: The original recipe calls for something called “sticky bun sugar” which can be made at home with sugar, butter and corn syrup. It is for this reason that corn syrup is listed within one ingredient but also separately, and I used all butter rather than two different fats. Whether the corn syrup can be entirely replaced with honey or maple syrup or the butter can be entirely replaced with a healthier oil is worth auditioning, I just didn’t. Yet. I can tell you this: as is, this is the best granola bar I’ve ever eaten.

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts
1/3 cup peanut butter
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons light corn syrup (see note above)
1 tablespoon water

Method:

Preheat the oven to180°C. Line an 7″ x 11″ x 2″ pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.
Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter, syrup or honey, and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan.
Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on them. They’ll still seem soft and almost underbaked in the center when you take them out but do not worry, they’ll set completely once they cool.
Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. (Alternately, after about 20 minutes you can use your parchment “sling” to lift and remove the bars, and place them in their paper on the rack to cool the rest of the way.)
Once cool, a serrated knife (or bench knife) to cut the bars into squares. To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it’s best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.
Suggestions: Dried cranberries, apricots, pecans, sunflower seeds, coconut, walnuts, sesame seeds, pepitas, dried pples or even chocolate chips. My mix: 1/2 cup wheat germ, 1 cup dried cherries, 1 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut flakes.
 

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

Just a quick reminder about our special BloggerAid initiative for Haiti

H2Ope for Haiti raffle is open until Sunday March 7th. A huge thank you to all who have already purchased their tickets to win any of the fabulous prizes donated such as an i-Pod Shuffle, artwork, autographed cookbooks from authors such as David Lebovitz, and so much more!!!!. We appreciate your generous contribution. A list of prizes is available on the here.

Don’t miss a post

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

QUICK CHRISTMAS FRUIT CAKE…Last bastion accomplished! PHEW!!

“For the spirit of Christmas fulfils the greatest hunger of mankind.”
Loring A. Schuler
QUICK CHRISTMAS FRUIT CAKE…got there just in the nick of time!
This is the cake that we bake every year around this time & always under pressure! My mother usually gets there only by new year, so hers’ is now more or less a ‘New Year Fruit Cake’. It’s from an old recipe of hers from a baking course she did many many moons ago when my Dad was still in the Air Force. I’ve adapted it, made a few more changes this year…& we’ll get to know how it tastes tonight. Its sitting there, smelling great, all wrapped up & maturing, under the watchful eye of our very own little red nosed reindeer! His nose actually flashes!!

Ingredients:

Mixed cut fruit – 1 kg approx. (currants,peels,crystallized ginger, tutti-frutti,cashew nuts,raisins,almonds etc)
Juice & zest of 1 orange (approx 3/4 – 1 cup; you can used a mix of juice & rum/brandy if you like)
Garam Masala – 3 tsp ( I made fresh garam masala because the flavours are much better)
Cinnamon powder – 2 tsp
Juice of 2 limes
Flour – 300 gm
Cornflour – 70 gms
Baking powder – 3 tsp

Salt – 1/2 tsp
Butter – 300 gms
Sugar – 300 gms
Caramel made out of 2 tbsp sugar
Coffee – 1 1/2 tbsp
Eggs – 6 / beaten separately
Vanilla extract/essence – 2 tsps

Method:

  • Soak the mixed fruit in the juice/rum with the garam masala + cinnamon + zest + lime juice overnight or up to 7 days in the fridge.
  • Sift the flour + cornflour + baking powder + salt & keep aside.
  • Take the soaked fruit & toss them well with the sifted flour. (This ensures that the fruit don’t sink to the bottom of the tin while baking.)
  • Heat 2 tbsp of sugar in a pan till dark brown & caramelised. Allow to cool a bit. Top with 1/2 cup water + coffee. Let it sit for a while till it all comes together as a thick syrup.
  • Prepare 3 loaf pans, or 2 8″ square cake tins. Line & grease them.
  • Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.
  • Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Keep aside.
  • Cream butter + sugar well. Add vanilla & beat.
  • Add the beaten eggs and beat for a minute, followed by the caramel.
  • Mix in the tossed fruit in 3 goes till just mixed in. Don’t over mix.
  • Turn batter out into prepared tins & bake for approximately 1- 1 1/2 hrs on the lower rack of the oven. Cover loosely with foil if the top starts browning too soon.
  • Cool & wrap in cling wrap or foil. Keep overnight at the least before slicing.

    • Have a good holiday season. :0)

Wrapped up to go…with a card made by my daughter!

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

BISCOTTI…The Great Italian Cookie!

“You’ll always make good food from great ingredients,but you will never make great food from bad ingredients.”
Michael Chiarrello

BISCOTTI in 2 TONES!!

Here’s what I baked yesterday…BISCOTTI. It’s been on my mind for really long ever since I’ve been haunted by a picture posted on Group Recipes.This particular biscotti recipe is from Rogers page on Group Recipes which I have adapted to suit the ingredients I had available. The fact that the recipe uses olive oil & not butter won me over!! The recipe is a wee bit fiddly as it uses no butter which makes the dough quite sticky and squishy; but don’t let this put you off. I guess that’s the idea…otherwise how would we get such a great crisp cookie, low on fat! The aroma it fills the house with is heavenly. I was literally eating the crumbs off the counter while slicing it up! Suggest you try it when the kids are away…

The name biscotti is derived from ‘bis’ meaning twice in Italian and ‘cotto‘ meaning baked or cooked. Biscotti is said to have originated during Columbus’s time , & because of their long storage ability they were an ideal food for sailors, soldiers, and fisherman. Most European countries have adopted their own version of biscotti: English – rusks, French – biscotte and croquets de carcassonne, Germans – zwieback, Greeks – biskota and paxemadia, Jewish – mandelbrot, and Russians – sukhariki.

Ingredients:

Granulated sugar – 2/3 cup
Olive Oil – ¼ cup (or canola oil;I used olive)
Eggs – 2
Vanilla extract – 2 tsp
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Salt -1/8 tsp
Flour – 1 3/4 cups
Unsalted pistachios – 1/2 cup / coarsely chopped
Dried currants – 1/2 cup (original post has dried cranberries)
Chocolate chips – ½ cup
Walnuts – ½ cup/choppedMethod:

  • Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat sheets.
  • Sift the flour + salt + baking powder
  • Beat the olive oil with the sugar.
  • Add the vanilla extract + eggs & beat well.
  • Stir in the flour mix. Divide it into 2 bowls.
  • Gently turn the pistachios + currants into one half; and chocolate chips + walnuts into the other.
  • Transfer the dough to your parchment lined baking sheet and form into a log, about 12” X 3 ½”. The dough is very sticky, so you may have to dampen your hands to form the log.
  • Bake for 35 minutes, or until firm to the touch & light golden brown. ( I over baked it in my general excitement).
  • Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes.
  • Transfer the log gently to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 2 cm slices with a sharp serrated knife.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 135 degrees C. Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes, turn slices over, and bake for another 8 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.
  • Makes about 20 – 24 biscotti

Note: If you are doing just the pistachio version, increase the pistachios to 1 1/2 cups; the currants remain at 1/2 cup & leave the chocolate chips & walnuts out. I just tried to get a bit of variety.

The Italian Cookie for ‘Coffee Lovers’ or ‘Wine Dunkers‘!

Biscotti have a long shelf life & make wonderful gifts. Stack them up & tie them together with a pretty ribbon; put them in a jar; or else fill them up in a lovely mug! If you use pistachios and dried red cranberries, these are all ready and dressed up for Christmas!

This is so festive, its gotta be a under the tree. So I’m sending this one as well off for Zlamushka’s ‘Spoonful of Christmas’.

Just found another Christmas event at Susan’s ‘Food Blogga’ which invites posts for Christmas cookies until 17th December…which gives people a chance to make them well before Christmas. Swell idea…so this one goes off to Food Blogga as well!! Can you hear the bells a-ringin’?

Posted by Deeba @ PAB
Please wait...

Subscribe to my newsletter

Want to be notified when the article is published? Do enter your email address and name below to be the first to know.
SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER NOW
Exit mobile version