dessert

Chewy Nutella & Oatmeal Bars

Posted on by Ang Anderson

I seem to be experiencing a butter deficiency as of late.  I blame it on the holiday consumption of more buttery treats than I care to admit having entered my body.  I have failed to divulge in sweet treats for approximately eighteen days now, give or take (with one cherry pie inserted somewhere in between) and so my body is saying “Hello? Yes, Hello!  It’s your body.  I need something with butter.  And sugar.  And chocolate would also be delightful.”  Imagine my shock, horror (and delight!) when I discovered this recipe in my “To Try” folder contained two sticks of butter on the ingredient list.  Of course, some sugar and chocolate too.  Who am I to deprive my body of what it needs?  Butter just seems to make everything better.  I think it should be called better, instead of butter…  I just don’t know if Webster would agree with me.

So, I printed this recipe off ages ago when I was high in my Nutella fascination.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am still highly fascinated with Nutella.  Or maybe infatuated is a better word.  When I make pancakes for the kids, sometimes I secretly sneak a pancake, slather it with Nutella, and eat it with my back turned so my kids  don’t see me.  I don’t want them to see the Nutella and want some too.  I want to keep it all for myself.  Please don’t tell my kids about the Nutella.

While Nutella alone is reason enough to make these bars (and, of course, to satisfy my ever-growing butter deficiency), we are having guests over for dinner tonight and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make these delightful bars for dessert.  While I may seem selfish about my Nutella, I also enjoy a good reason to share it.

I had a few glitches with this recipe, mostly because I have not updated my Nut Database in a while.  I searched high and low, scanning the aisles for hazelnuts at two different grocery stores over the last few days.  At store number two, I gathered up the courage to ask an employee if they carried the elusive hazelnuts.  Now, I did look at the filberts and they did appear an awful lot like hazelnuts.  However, they did not state hazelnuts on their package.  None of the packages of nuts specified hazelnuts anywhere.  Trust me.  I looked.  Well, the sweet little cashier came back with the answer.  ‘Filberts are the same as hazelnuts, you crazy lady.’  Well, she didn’t actually call me a crazy lady but I most certainly felt like one.  So, when you go to the store, just look for filberts.  Or hazelnuts.  ‘Cause, y’know, they are The. Exact. Same. Thing.  Here is a photo for those of you who are visual learners.

Glitch Number Two was the tin foil.  I have never made bars that required the lining of tin foil in the pan.  I don’t do a lot of bar baking apparently and haven’t quite graduated to the tin foil method.  But I will tell you that the pan looked fantastic, requiring virtually no cleaning at all.  This alone is a great reason to use the tin foil.  The trouble for me was in the step where you are supposed to lift the bars out of the pan.  There was no way around it.  I’m not going to lie to you.  There was a bit of breakage.  I felt terrible but it had to be done.  I tried to be swift.  But it didn’t matter.  *deep breath* *moment of silence*  Okay.  I’m over it now.

I, somewhat sheepishly, need to divulge that these did not earn a high stamp of approval from my husband, the Sweet Connoisseur.  I think they fall into more of a Ladies Tea category.  They team up splendidly with coffee.  If I make them again, I think I would increase the mini chocolate chips from 1/2 cup to one whole cup.  I don’t think they were quite ooey-gooey enough for my husband and I think that would help solve that issue.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Cookin’ Canuck

Chewy Nutella & Oatmeal Bars

  • 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (packed) brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts (filberts!)
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp Nutella
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, with rack set in middle of the oven. Line a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a some foil overlapping on each side. Spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and ground nutmeg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one a time, beating after each addition.
Turn the mixer to low and gradually add flour mixture. Beat until just combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in oatmeal, chocolate chips and hazelnuts.

Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is turning golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out just slightly moist, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Holding edges of foil, lift the bars out of the pan and let cool completely on wire rack. Cut into squares.
In a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, whisk together Nutella and heavy cream until melted and smooth. Drizzle over bars. Serve.

Makes about 48 squares.

Printable recipe

Muffin Buzz

Posted on by Ang Anderson

If you are looking for something to give you an energy boost this holiday weekend, may I suggest these delightful coffee-filled muffins?

If you are tired of drinking your caffeine and would prefer to indulge that addiction in muffin (or dare I say cupcake?) form, may I recommend these sweet little baked goods?

They are made with Starbucks VIA® Instant Coffee and will knock your socks off. Okay, I know it is technically still summer and you probably don’t have socks on. But if you do…well, let’s just say I didn’t warn you. I found the magical VIA® at my local Target store, which now has a Starbucks inside. *swoons for a minute*

Speaking of swooning…just look at this frosted muffin, which we can now officially crown as a glorious cupcake.

Psst…the frosting has VIA® Instant Coffee in it too, just in case the muffin alone wasn’t enough to beckon you.

And did I mention there are also chocolate chips? Here is a close up of the sweet little chocolatey bits before they were frosted up.

It’s been decided. She’s a tasty treat and good for a caffeine fix to boot, naked or dressed in frosting.

Here is the recipe, adapted slightly from The Tasty Kitchen’s post by nancypants

FOR THE MUFFINS:

  • 2 packages Starbucks VIA® Instant Coffee
  • ½ cups Warm Milk
  • ¼ cups Melted Butter
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 cup Flour
  • ⅓ cups Sugar
  • 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 cup Chocolate Chips

FOR THE ICING (OPTIONAL):

  • ½ cups Butter, Softened
  • 2 cups Powdered Sugar, Or More As Needed
  • ½ teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1 package Starbucks VIA® Instant Coffee
  • 1 Tablespoon Boiling Water

Dissolve Starbucks VIA® instant coffee in warm milk. Stir and mash with a spoon up against the side of the bowl until instant coffee is completely dissolved. Next, add melted butter, egg, and vanilla and whisk until combined.

In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Pour wet ingredients into a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir well to incorporate completely. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.  Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 375° for 17-20 minutes

For the Icing:

Start by beating together the butter, sifted powdered sugar (which you can use more than
two cups of to attain the right consistency) and vanilla. In a small bowl, mix the VIA® Instant Coffee together with the boiling water until coffee is dissolved.  Add it to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated.

Blueberry Tart

Posted on by Ang Anderson

I do believe one of the best things about summer (besides the sun, warm weather, and adventures on the lake) is the abundance of fresh fruit.  Locally grown.  Delicious.  Mesmerizing.  Mouth watering.  Fruit is in the air.  Fruit is everywhere.  (I’m hungry writing this.  Can you tell?  It makes me a little light-headed and poetic.)

We had a Garden Party event this past weekend (watch for more on that later!) and I brought this delightful Blueberry Tart.  This looks like a good thing to share with friends, doesn’t it?

This Blueberry Tart is so easy to make and is a joyful experience for the palate.  Yes, I said palate.

This could even be used for a Fourth of July event with raspberries or cut up strawberries joining the blueberries in a flag design or haphazard mix of red, white, and blue.  It is always a crowd-pleaser.  Just look at the berries.  They are their very own crowd of palate-pleasers.

I used my Fit fruit and vegetable spray to clean my pint of berries, which coincidentally measured to roughly the 2 cups needed for the recipe.  This meant no snitching of the blueberries.  (Good thing I purchased a second pint to cover myself in such an event!)  Then, I laid the blueberries in a clean towel and folded it over them so they were nice and dry at the time of their scheduled debut.  The moisture in the berries will eventually soak in the powdered sugar dusting so try to do that as close as possible to serving time.  I just use a little sifter and gently tap it against my hand to get this pretty effect.

Blueberry Tart recipe courtesy of Real Simple
Serves 8
Hands-On Time:  15m
Total Time:  48m

Ingredients

  • flour for the work surface
  • 1 8-ounce sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 cups blueberries

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375° F. On a lightly floured surface, unfold the sheet of pastry and roll it into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle.  Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  2. Using the tip of a knife, score a 1-inch border around the pastry without cutting all the way through. Brush the border with the egg and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Bake until golden and puffed, 18 to 22 minutes.
  3. Using the tip of a knife, rescore the border of the cooked pastry without cutting all the way through. Gently press down on the center of the pastry sheet to flatten it. Let cool to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the cream, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly within the borders of the pastry.
  5. Arrange the blueberries in a single layer over the filling and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar.

May your house be blessed with a Blueberry Tart this summer –

Ang