salted nutella cookie bars

A lot of my friends on Facebook will post food pics on my wall asking:

 "can you make me these?", 

"you HAVE to make me these",

and even, "PLEASE show me how to make these?"

The latter is usually when they are desperate.

Such 'case-in-point' recently was a photo of chocolate chip cookies stuffed with Nutella then sea salted crystals on the top.

Nutella with sea salt?  Seriously indulgence.

How could I even say no to that?

I was going to make the cookies, but I wanted to find an easier way to stuff the cookies since I know the Nutella, when hot, will ooze out--we can't leave that to chance.

So why not make them into bars and the Nutella is nice and sealed inside with no chance of escaping.

Plus bars were a HUGE time saver, instead of filling each cookie.

Of course if you want to make these into cookies feel free.

But the bars were a nice change, time saver, and perfect for a last minute holiday party.

I love that the clumps on top get crunchy, kind of like crumb cake!

Make sure to read my cook notes, for the changes I did.

salted chocolate chip bars with nutella

cookie base recipe from Jacques Torres

print recipe

2 cups minus 2 TB (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 ts baking soda

1 1/2 ts baking powder

1 1/2 ts coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 TB (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 ts natural vanilla extract

4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips

4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips

¾ cup Nutella

Sea salt for sprinkling top of dough

Cook Notes:  

The chocolate chip cookie recipe is from Jacques Torres; I use this repeatedly because it truly is the very best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had.

In Jacques recipe he does cookies, you can do cookies if you want, I just was short on time and wanted to do bars as they would hold the Nutella much better.

Also, in Jacques original recipe, he uses 1 ¼ pounds of high quality bittersweet chocolate. I did not in this recipe, as I wanted the Nutella flavor to shine through.  I just used a small amount of chocolate chips, using a blend of bittersweet and semi sweet.  I do not recommend using milk chocolate chips in this recipe—it would be overkill sweetness. 

The whole ‘most important step’ of Jacques Torres famous cc cookie recipe is to let the cookie dough sit and marinate for at least a day or more (48 hours).  Please don’t skip this step.  I have gone as far as 96 hours and the dough was perfect.

Lastly, you all know by now I don't have a mixer so I did this recipe by hand. The dough is very tough and hard to mix, so I used my hands--great workout! But if you have a mixer, please go ahead and use it. 

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. 

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. 

Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. 

Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. 

Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. 

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray.

Divide dough into 2 piles: 2/3 and 1/3.

Take the 2/3 dough and line the bottom of the baking pan with it, making sure to get all the corners, making sure there aren’t any holes or gaps in the dough.

Spread a layer of nutella; do not spread it to the edges!

Take the 1/3 remaining dough and in clumps, place on the top. Also make sure to take any dough and close up any gaps you see in the corners.

Don’t push the crumble down into the dough, just leave it on the top—it’s ok to have spaces in the crumble—gaps are good on the top, it will let the nutella show through and the crumbles will bake up nice & crisp.

Sprinkle the top with sea salt.

Bake until golden brown but still soft, roughly 25 – 31 minutes. 

Look for golden brown edges, non-jiggly middle.

The middle will be a bit soft, but once it completely cools it won’t be as gooey; it sets up really nice.

You really have to let this cool at least an hour before slicing.

Slice with a sharp knife.

Makes about 20-24 bars depending on how you cut them.

Congrats to the winners of the Savory Cocktails Cookbook Giveaway.

#5 Cook In/Dine Out, #12 Averie, and #24 Katherine-Ivan.

I'll be emailing you wednesday!

eggnog bundt cake with crumb

Sorry no friday links this time around; I'm so strapped for time these days.

But I gather a nice eggnog bundt will happily amuse you all?

It's quite easy to whip up.

A nice seasonal bundt to celebrate the holidays!

You know I don't have a mixer so this is super easy for those that do.

Every year around this time I always buy some eggnog, and every year I promise myself to use it all up, not just half or a quarter, but ALL.

It never happens, except this year I finally managed to use more.

The perfect way to dress up a normal NYC crumb cake is to add a little bit of eggnog and rum into it.

The taste of the eggnog is very gentle in the cake, a little more stronger in the glaze.

So good news for not making it over-whelmingly strong.

A tip: you might want to taste-test the batter before baking to see if you like the taste of the eggnog or if you want more. 

I used cake flour this time around.

Have you baked with cake flour yet?

You simply must, it makes a softer, tender cake. How else to describe? Like buttery-rich texture.

In my opinion, a nice ratio of cake to crumb to icing.

This is important to me.  I mean why have a crumb cake if there is little crumb?

What's the point? 

That's right!

eggnog bundt cake with crumb & eggnog-rum icing

print recipe

crumb topping

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

¾ ts salt

10 TB unsalted butter, melted & cooled a bit

cake

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 ts baking soda

¾ ts baking powder

1 ts pumpkin spice

½ ts salt

12 TB unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup sour cream + 1 TB

3 TB eggnog + 1 TB spiced rum (rum is optional; if you don’t use rum then add in 1 more TB of eggnog)

icing

3 TB eggnog

a splash or two of spiced rum (Captain Morgans is perfect), optional

1 cup of powdered sugar

cook notes:  

grease up your bundt cake pan well!  

I like my icing very thick, if you think it’s too thick then just add in more eggnog or rum.

The cake batter is very thick; this is good!  Do a taste test on the batter to see if it has enough eggnog for you; mine was made very light on eggnog flavor.

To avoid lumps in your icing, just run the icing through a sifter before using it. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  

Spray a bundt pan with non stick spray or grease up with butter. Set aside. 

For the crumb topping:

In a medium bowl, mix the sugars, salt, and flour.  Add the melted butter and stir with spatula until combined. Set aside.

for the cake:

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl.  

Using electric mixer, or mixer or by hand (me) beat the butter and sugar in large bowl until smooth. 

Add in the eggs, beating until well blended after each addition. 

Next add in the sour cream and eggnog; mix until just blended. Lastly add in the flour mixture in batches—I did two batches, until all is just combined. Do not overmix once the flour is added; lumps are good!

Pour the batter into the greased pan, spread batter evenly.  Next add on the crumb topping by dropping clumps (2-3 inch clumps) of it on to the top. Do not push crumbs down! 

Bake the cake for 25-32 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean (mine was done at the 31-minute mark).  

Please rotate the pan halfway through baking time.  You will know cake is done when there is no more jiggle in the middle of the cake. 

Once cake is cooled, remove from pan carefully and place on a large plate or cake stand.

Mix up the icing ingredients in a small bowl and drizzle over cake

Keep cake covered.  Should only last 2-3 days at room temperature.  

Interview with cookbook author Greg Henry +Giveaway

COOKBOOK CONTEST IS CLOSED

Today I'm please to have cookbook author Greg Henry answer a few questions about his food blogging life, his cookbooks, and a few things about his personal life.
Greg first published Savory Pies and now his second cookbook Savory Cocktails.
Greg also writes the food blog Sippity Sup--Serious Fun Food.
He's been featured in Food & Wine magazine, the Los Angeles Times, The Today Show online and Saveur's Best of the Web.
As if Greg doesn't keep busy enough he also co-hosts The Table Set podcast for homefries.com.
A show featuring three guys who like to throw parties; a podcast The LA Weekly calls “lighthearted hipster entertainment”.
Greg lives in LA with his partner of twenty years, Ken. His passion is entertaining at home with friends, which is where the creative passion for the book Savory Cocktails came about.

Greg thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions.
Can we start out by telling us a little about the extremely creative book Savory Cocktails came about?

Well, I’d been wanting to write a cocktail book, but the market has been saturated with them since this cocktail renaissance emerged. When I first pitched the idea of a “craft cocktail” book to my publisher I could tell they were not enthusiastic. Their advice to me was to find an angle on cocktails that had not been covered before. It didn’t take long to come up with the idea of Savory Cocktails. I had written a book for the same publisher called Savory Pies. It was easy to suggest Savory Cocktails as a sort of savory sequel.

To me savory cocktails are part of the trend towards more complex cocktails in general. Today’s bartenders are reaching for unexpected ingredients and employing culinary techniques like infusions and purees to expand and sometimes challenge the palate. Herbs and spices are moving from the kitchen to the bar as more and more bartenders develop cocktails with a ‘from scratch’ approach– utilizing innovative ingredients and modern techniques to create a new category of beverages that I chose to call Savory Cocktails. However, I could have easily called the book Culinary Cocktails.


The diversity of Greg’s cocktail creations is very striking, you’ll just have to rely on me to tell you that Greg set out to accomplish meeting and creating cocktails worthy of sour, spicy, herbal, umami, bitter, smoky, rich and strong –and he did just that.  I know it’s an obvious question, but how on earth did you come up with all these creations? And more importantly who were the lucky taste-testers?

Ha! Well I was one of the main taste testers. I can tell you that. Some of the booze I chose to feature in this book is decidedly “top shelf” so I didn’t want to let even a drop of the early renditions go unappreciated. But once I finalized the recipes I did make them for a few of my friends. The guys on The Table Set, Nathan Hazard and Andy Windak, as well as our producer Joy the Baker were some of my best taste testers.

However coming up with ideas for these drinks wasn’t an obvious process. I used well known drinks as inspiration sometimes. Many of the drinks in this book are savory
“riffs” on classics. The hard part for me was defining exactly what a savory cocktail is. I struggled with a definition as I was testing recipes for this book. It’s much more complex than merely the opposite of sweet. Because no matter how savory the cocktail is, most well-made drinks require a sweet element for real balance. The challenge with this book came in presenting complex flavors in a simple format. In the end I decided to use culinary vocabulary because as a food writer I was much more comfortable with that kind of language. That’s how I came to call the book Savory Cocktails: Sour. Spicy. Herbal. Umami. Bitter. Smoky. Rich. Strong.

Were there any cocktails that didn’t make the cut? And why?

There were plenty of cocktails that didn’t make the cut. Partly because a cookbook is like any good book. It has to have a “voice” and a story to tell. Some very delicious drinks just didn’t tell the story in quite the right way in my opinion. Also I have to say, my editor was very strict about page count. The world of publishing has gotten difficult. I’m grateful to my editor Katherine at Ulysses Press for keeping me to a formula (and a price point) that could actually be profitable.
Several of the cocktails that got “cut” are featured on my blog. They may not have made the book, but they were important in helping me market my book. A few examples include: Winter Sour, Bitter Lemon Drop, and Prime Thyme.

Greg’s other cookbook Savory Pies is all about, well, –savory pies.
Smart, very smart to come up with a cookbook just about savory pie creations.
There was a certain niche market for a cookbook about Savory Pies.
Is this how you saw it too?

Absolutely. I never would have gotten a book published without finding a niche that needed to be filled. When I got the Savory Pies deal I had been passing around a book proposal to all kinds of literary agents. It was a much broader book. A big (expensive to produce) book. One after the other agents flat out told me that as good as the proposal was there was just no chance they could sell a book like that to a publisher unless I had a proven track record. Finally one of the agents actually went to my blog and looked around. She came back to me and said that she liked my series on Savory Pies. She said if I turned that series into a book proposal she could probably sell it. I did, and she sold it within four days.

I love to hear about who were the lucky taste-testers for the Savory Pies cookbook?

I used Facebook and some bloggers I know to test Savory Pies for me. It was quite a learning experience because the testers had a whole range of cooking experience. I had to really shuffle through their notes sometimes to separate the valuable information. It was a difficult process, but in the end it helped me write better recipes.

Your favorite Savory Pie recipe?

I’d have to say English Farmhouse Cheddar Onion Pie.  
The British love a savory pie. But of course they say savoury. Some of the most cherished pies in my repertoire find their inspiration in these traditional savouries. Quite a few of them (not surprisingly) get their comfort from potatoes, whether baked inside or mashed and rosti topped. There’s power in those pies. Here is an example of a favorite English countryside pie full of big flavor; starting with the cheese. Cheddar is an English cheese that has been imitated the world over. Great examples can now be found in many different countries. But if you can, I suggest you honor this pie and its roots by choosing an authentic English Cheddar. Many are still made by traditional methods on the farm.
For the recipe, click here. 


What recipes for Savory Pies didn’t make the cut? And why?

So many recipes didn’t make the cut. I was a first time cookbook author in DESPERATE need of a strong editor. The book was almost twice as long as the publishers wanted. Cutting that book was one of the most difficult processes I have ever been through in my life. But again, thanks to my publisher, the experience made me a better author in the long run.

Butternut Squash & Roast Asparagus Crespelle Torta is an example of a “pie” that got cut. I recently decided to run the recipe and photo on my blog as a Thanksgiving vegetarian main course. It’s turning out to be one of the biggest posts I’ve done all year. So everything worked out just fine in the end. 


Your kitchen, you know I’m a huge fan of your kitchen.
You’ve taken your kitchen and remodeled it just to your own liking.
Tell us your favorite and worst parts about the remodel?

The biggest design challenge was doing a modern kitchen for someone who cooks as much as I do, while still making it look and feel like it belonged in an 83 year old Italian style house in Hollywood. But I didn’t want an “old fashioned” style kitchen either. It needed to walk the line between historically appropriate and thoroughly modern. Plus I needed it to be big and open and easy to clean. I wanted to avoid too much trendy stainless steel, but have enough touches of it to keep the space feeling stylish. I’m sure my architects thought I was a difficult client. Get all the gory details here.
In the end this difficult process also turned out to be my favorite part of the remodel, because I think we accomplished all that and more. The kitchen has been featured in Food & Wine magazine and will also be in an upcoming book called Cool Kitchens by Jane Field-Lewis.


In one of your past lives you were a paparazzi man? Is this true?

Actually no. It’s not true, though I was a Hollywood photographer for almost 20 years. I didn’t plan it and I don’t really like movies. But I have met and photographed a lot (a lot)  of big name Hollywood stars. Big screen. Small Screen. No Screen. Actors, writers, producers and all. But it wasn’t paparazzi. I don’t have the personality to hide in the bushes and then jump out and be all in someone’s face. My photos were planned. We worked in a studio. Producers, publicists and magazines were my clients. Technically, they still are because I own all those photos and continue to sell and re-sell them to magazines around the world.

When did you start the blog Sippity Sup and why?

I started my blog Sippity Sup- Serious Fun Food on a whim. I was looking for a creative challenge. Which may sound odd because I have spent almost 20 years as a photographer. But the thing about being “professionally creative” is sometimes you have to compromise your creativity just to fulfill the assignment. To balance that bit of irony, I started a blog; a blog with certain rules.   Rules designed to balance my time and rules to keep me focused. 
For example: I’m a professionally trained photographer who used a point and shoot camera– held together with duct tape, for the photos on my blog (until I got the cookbook deal). 
For me it worked. I miss those early days of blogging because the simple tools I used left me free to focus on the food. Call me an old curmudgeon but social media is killing blogs.

The Table Set podcast, how did this come about?
Did you gather a group of friends and just decide to start this or was there a future theme to it?

I credit Joy the Baker. She was at my house for a dinner I did with a few other bloggers for one of those 24-24-24 meals that FoodBuzz used to sponsor. See the video here. She was just starting her own podcast and wanted a few other podcasts to join her on the network she created called Homefries. 
Well, she had a good meal and thought the collaboration between Andy, Nathan and myself would make fun podcast. She was right. I can’t say if anyone else enjoys it, but we three have a blast doing it.


Is there a third cookbook in the works?

Maybe a third “Savory” book in the series. Maybe, shhh...

Thank you Greg so much for the interview.

Please visit Greg at SippitySup, follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.

Greg was generous to donate three Savory Cocktail books for the giveaway.
All you have to do is leave ONE comment telling us your favorite savory cocktail you've had or want to try.
We'll do the drawing 12/10/13.
Please make sure you have an email in your signature line; ALL anonymous comments are deleted!

friday links

Happy Friday!

Are we still eating?
I am!
I managed to keep eating well after 10pm.
I did good right?
My last meal at 10pm was a slice of my gooey Nutella stuffed chocolate chips bars, which I
PROMISE to post the end of next week.

Coming up Tuesday, we have an interview with Greg Henry of Sippity Sup to talk about his TWO cookbooks: Savory Pies and Savory Cocktails.
And Greg has decided to donate THREE cookbooks for the giveaway!
Come back on Tuesday to read all about it.

My "crunchy" pumpkin bread bundt.
And by crunchy I mean 'sugar & nut coated crunch!'
When I posted this on Instagram, you all wanted the recipe NOW.
Easy peasy.
Take one Trader Joe's pumpkin bread mix; make as per box directions; grease up a bundt pan;
pour in half the bread batter; sprinkle on chopped walnuts or pecans in middle; pour on rest of bread batter; then top with more nuts AND coarse sugar (I used Sugar in The Raw).
Bake a little less time than what box directions say as bundt bakes up faster.

The light from the sunrises and sunsets on cape cod have been magical.

I was sent a copy of the cookbook Good Stock: Life on a Low Simmer by Sanford D'Amato.
And I do love a good cookbook that has a story to go along with it; not just recipes, but a lifetime of cooking/learning and teaching stories. "....Sanford D'Amato, the restaurant D'Amato opened in 1989 and sold to his longtime chef de cuisine in December 2012, has been one of the highest-rated restaurants in America over the past 20 years, earning accolades from Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Esquire, Wine Spectator, Zagat Guide, and the James Beard Foundation. D'Amato has cooked for the Dalai Lama and the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, and was one of 12 chefs chosen by Julia Child herself to cook for her 80th birthday celebration. The story of Sanford and Sandy D'Amato is in part the story of America's embrace of fine dining and its acceptance of chefs as master craftsmen....."
So if you weren't able to visit his restaurant, now you can partake in his personal recipes with Good Stock: Life on a Low Simmer


Tarte fine aux pommes (Apple Tart) pg. 231

Ginger Snap Cannoli w/ dried cherry mascarpone cream pg. 349

Steak au Poivre pg. 239

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Have a wonderful weekend!

cranberry toaster strudel (no mixer)

I recently asked a food poll-type question on my Facebook page about pop tarts.
What kind do you like and what are you looking for if you could make your own?
There was an overwhelming response for a "toaster strudel" type pop tart.
And of course you wanted easy--well, as easy as one could get with a pastry tart.
I made this toaster strudel fairly easy.
I don't have a mixer--so everything was done by hand, BUT done in as few steps as possible.
I also cheated a bit by using a cranberry butter for the filling (the Trader Joe's Cranberry-Apple butter is fabulous and it's ready to use; already has pectin in it, so no need to add cornstarch).
The hard part, if we have to have one is measuring out the dough into rectangles.
I highly suggest using a ruler next time to get straighter lines, if you want such a thing.
My lines were that straight, I was more "rustic".
The basic dough is a pate brisee dough from Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery here in Boston
and Flour the cookbook.
Very easy to dough to put together; came together very fast for me, and I did not use a mixer!
Everything was done by hand; used my hands to get the dough to the right consistency.
Actually I prefer using my hands when dealing with pastry doughs and breads, as we all know they can be tricky, and once you over-mix, the dough turns 'tough'.
But not all pastry doughs can be done by hand, a mixer is a must.

If you don't have a mixer and want to give this a go, then follow along with me, if you feel safer using a mixer then please do so.  The original recipe with mixer instructions can be found here.


Add butter chunks to flour and use your hands to make crumbly.

This is what is looks like after you add in the egg mixture. Will be sticky.





Pretty easy right?
It's really not that hard.
To be honest I'm not that good at measuring out the rectangles, but I did rush it.
I highly suggest getting a baker's measuring board, like this one or something similar.
I have one on my wish list.....

I made my glaze very thick. I did not want a runny glaze, I wanted a thick frosting.

Sprinkles make it all better don't they?
I got these "all natural" sprinkles from Whole Foods; no dyes or chemicals.



Cranberry toaster strudel
Pate brisee dough recipe from joanne chang
print recipe

Pâte Brisée
8 pop-tarts or one 9-inch double-crust

dough:
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 TB sugar
1 ts sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks ) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 egg yolks
3 TB cold whole milk

filling:
½ cup of cranberry butter (or any filling you wish)

egg wash for gluing edges AND glazing tops:
1 egg, mixed

glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 TB whole milk
Rainbow sprinkles for sprinkling

Cook notes:
You can use whatever filling you wish.  If you use a jam, please mix a little bit of cornstarch with it to thicken it as it bakes (about ¾ ts cornstarch mixed with a little water and then add in ½ cup jam).
I do not have a mixer, and did this all by hand. Don’t run away!  It was actually quite easy and you might prefer it because you will get a better feel for the dough, and will be less inclined to overmix it. The less you work the dough the more flaky the crust. Of course if you have a mixer and feel more comfortable, then please go ahead and use it.
I made my glaze very thick, as I did not want it to dribble down the edges.  If you prefer a more runny glaze, then just add a bit more milk.
I used the cranberry butter from Trader Joe’s; you can use any type of cranberry butter you like though.
I was horrid at measuring out the squares for the dough; I did not follow my own instructions!
Bad baker.  If you follow them you should get 7-8 rectangles; I only got 7.
And remember if dough gets too sticky while your measuring or filling it, just pop it back in the fridge.

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and salt) until combined.
In a cup, whisk the egg yolks and milk until blended; set aside.
Get a large sheet of plastic wrap ready, and set aside, near your workstation.  This is what we will place the dough in once it’s mixed.
Place butter chunks in the flour mixture, and using your hands just crumble everything together until you have a crumbly dough, and dough holds together well when squeezed.  And making sure there aren’t any giant clumps of butter left; small clumps are fine though!
Don’t worry if there is still flour in bottom of bowl—that’s fine!
Add in the egg mixture and mix again using your hands until you have a nice sticky mess.
At this point I’m supposed to dump dough onto a floured work surface and knead a little bit; I did not see the point in this as I wanted to work the dough as little as possible.
Dump the dough onto plastic wrap, flatten to about 1-inch thick in a circle or square, cover very well, and place in fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Do not let this sit in fridge more than 48 hours; it starts to turn a little sour and will harden.

When ready to bake, take dough out of fridge and let it sit about 15 minutes; if your kitchen runs hot or the season, then you might not need to let it sit.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

Divide dough in half. Press each half into a rectangle. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half into a 14-by-11-inch rectangle. Using a paring knife, lightly score 1 rectangle into eight 3 1/2-by-5 1/2-inch rectangles (about the size of an index card).

Brush the edges of the rectangle with the beaten egg; this will be our glue to stick the rectangles together.  Important step!
Spoon 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of cranberry jam in a mound in the center of each scored rectangle; don’t let the jam go to the edges!
Place the second large dough rectangle directly on top of the first.
Using fingertips, carefully press down all around each jam mound, so the pastry sheets adhere to each other.  I then used a fork to crimp the edges.  You can also use a fluted roller if you have one.
Place the rectangles about an inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tops of the pastries are evenly golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.

For the glaze:
Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, and milk until you get the right consistency you want.  I made mine very thick, like a paste. If you want thinner just add more milk or a hint of vanilla extract.
Sprinkle with sprinkles for a nice decorative touch.  You might have to push the sprinkles down a lot to make them stay put in the frosting.
You should get 8 rectangles; I only got 7 but that’s because I didn’t measure them right.