chocolate-cherry tart bars (no mixer, one bowl easy)

It was interesting and comforting to receive emails from some of you telling me you loved the "no mixer" recipes I shared.
Definitely comforting as I always felt like the oddball for not having a mixer.
I want one, just don't have the money for one.
Other priorities pop up in life, and the luxury of buying a mixer gets thrown on the back burner yet again.
And you see that book ---> "Baking By Hand"  yes that one, I can relate!
Every year I promise myself I'll get one, and I even post here that I will, but it never happens, so in the mean time I'm more than happy to keep creating "no mixer" and "one bowl" easy recipes.
I think you guys like it too.


These chocolate-cherry tart bars are pretty much like a cross between a shortbread and tart, definitely have the taste and feel of a rich chocolate shortbread.
I wanted to freshen them up a bit with some cherry jam and a hint of texture and crunch with toasted sliced almonds.  You can get creative and use whatever jam you like.

So easy to put together.
As long as you don't mind using your clean hands to mix the dough.
I actually prefer using my hands to mix breads, shortbreads, pastry, and cookie doughs.
You get a better feel for the dough and you have a less chance of over-mixing/over-working the dough.
No one will ever know that you threw this together with no mixer, in one bowl and in minutes.
Shhhh.



Such a pretty tart isn't it?

For me, making it in a round form makes it more fancy schmancy.


chocolate-cherry tarts bars
recipe from vanillasugarblog.com
print recipe

dough:
19 TB unsalted butter, cold
1 cup granulated sugar
3 TB unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch process)
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ ts baking powder
1 ts sea salt

jam filling:
¼ cup +/- of cherry jam

Toasted, sliced almonds for decoration & crunch

Cook notes: I did not use a mixer for this as I don’t have one, but feel free to use one.
Just don’t over-work the dough.  You can use any jam you like, I wanted to see if cherry would go well with this and it did. Don’t spread the jam to the edges, it will ooze out when baking and make it very hard to remove tart from pan.
I used a 9 inch cake pan, you can use an 8 inch or other tart pan if you have one.
If you're kitchen runs really hot or it's summer, after you've assembled raw tart, pop in fridge for a few minutes to firm up before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter and/or non-stick spray up  8-inch cake pan.
In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Next add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt right on top of the creamed butter. Using your hands mix until you have everything ‘just’ mixed.  It might be a little dry, and that’s fine.
Take your greased cake pan, spread out 2/3 of the dough on the bottom of the pan, making sure to get all the sides well covered. Please make sure to push this down, so there are no cracks. If you do get a crack, just pinch the dough together.
Next spread down a layer of the cherry jam, not letting it get to the edges.
Take remaining 1/3 of dough and making giant crumbs (by squeezing clumps of dough) and place on top.  No need to cover the top completely, we want to see the jam on top and the giant crumbs on top will make a nice crispy topping.
If you want to use almonds, sprinkle a handful or two on the top.
Bake the dough for 23-30 minutes, until the tops of the crumbs are lightly crisp; the dough will still be a bit soft, so let it sit for about 30-60 minutes to firm up.
Once it’s cooled and firm, carefully remove tart from pan using a frosting knife or thin spatula.
Use a sharp knife to slice into wedges.

friday links

Happy Friday!

Oh the beauty of our sunsets here on Cape Cod.  This is chatham fish pier.




The French Baker: Authentic Recipes for Traditional Breads, Desserts, and Dinners
by Sébastien Boudet, Olaf Hajek and Carl Kleiner
"...Head to the kitchen and get ready for a delicious voyage into French traditions and cuisine! Follow second generation–baker Sébastien Boudet from Paris to rural France, as he teaches the art of baking artisan breads, the craft of creating the perfect main course, and how to whip up desserts to die for. Containing luscious photographs of family, food, and the French countryside, and rich with delightful drawings, paintings, and illustrations, The French Baker tells the story (and the culinary secrets!) of a family devoted to the art of preparing beautiful food...."




Extra peanut butter sauce please!


Only on cape cod!


It's really all about the bacon...


On a recent stop to Stage Stop Candy in Dennisport, MA....



Their candies are all homemade, and all quite good, but that's a little pricey for dipped Doritos!
Make em at home!

Living Lean with Trader Joe's by Jamie Davidson M.S.
Want to know what you can pick up at Trader Joe's that can help you lose weight, making the process practical, doable and delicious? Need some new ideas to get out of a menu rut? This book offers over 150 easy, delicious recipes for breakfast, lunch, appetizers, entrees and desserts, as well as lists of suggested Trader Joe's products that are heat and eat or super-convenient to put together quickly for those on the go.
It's filled with recipes that I've already done and loved.  Mostly it's a great reminder of how many Trader Joe products with with each other to boost up the flavor.  AND it's only $13.46 on Amazon!



Around the web:

20 ways sitting in silence can transform your life (I want to try this, but I can't get my mind to be still)
should I foam roll before or after a workout?
cookie dunkr cup!
how to stop a bully
red velvet peanut butter blossoms
holiday pine cone cheese ball (so festive!)
are you at risk for facebook envy?
high heel protectors (brilliant!)
homemade peanut butter dog treats
pizza sticks! (already printed)
prevent frozen pipes in crawl spaces & outside walls
double chocolate crunch bark
2-ingredient PB cup cookies!
chipotle-lime texas trash snack mix
10 maxims for successful bloggers
superfoods to give your body a holiday boost
is it normal to think about suicide?
sliced deli 'sticky notes'
how chefs feel about food critics & food bloggers
mentally strong people: 13 things they avoid
perfectly rolled sugar cookies
chinese 5 spice chicken wings
introducing the 5-dollar 'bill murray' bill
the BEST line up of caramel candies: caramel candies 101
how to decorate cookies w/ icing: the easiest way
the chris mccandless obsession problem
chocolate chunk-clementine shortbread
top 'checked in' locations via instragram & facebook
10 best museum exhibitions of 2013
15 tips for better cookies
glass-bottom platform opens in the alps (love this)
DIY confectioners sugar
22 healthy holiday crockpot recipes
insomnia & depression: cause vs. effect 
christie's & sotheby's degree programs
3 pain relieving yoga poses for distance runners
21 ways to give big-hearted gifts on a small budget
GMO's cause horrible birth defects in pigs
how to create a daily appreciation ritual 

Have a wonderful weekend!

peppermint creme meltaway bars

Peppermint.
For some reason I crave peppermint more so in the winter than any other season.
Do you?
Is there a vitamin or mineral in the mint that my body is lacking?
I don't know, is that true? Whatever veggie, spice, herb or meat you craving consistently is what you are lacking nutritionally?
Anywho.....How did these bars come about?
My yearning for a peppermint meltaway cookie really.
But I couldn't just do a boring slice and bake cookie;  I added a few more steps
--ok a lot more steps, to fancy it up.
Aren't the colors so pretty and festive?
This recipe is fairly quick and easy.  You can make the dough the night before, let it chill out in the
fridge.
Then assemble and bake the next day.
ONE key step to this recipe: the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chunks.
Have you tried these?  It was the first time I'd seen them. I wish I had found them earlier.
What a great and tasty on its own little baking chip: it comes complete with peppermint and white chocolate in one!
When researching these baking chips I had no idea they were owned by tootsie roll.
I found the chips at Walmart in the candy aisle--NOT the baking aisle.
If you can't find these chips?
Take some crushed candy canes and mix with white chocolate chips; equal portion of each.

These bars are decadent; taste like a shortbread bars but have the consistency and texture of a meltaway.
The middle filling is gentle on the mint.
I didn't want a heavy mint taste in these bars, so I didn't add any mint extract.
If you do a quick taste-test of the cookie dough and want a little bit of mint in there, then feel free to add some. Or add it to the cream cheese filling.
I made the top of the bars have a nice "crumble crunch" to it.
If you flatten the dough pieces as opposed to circle chunks, the flattened pieces will crisp up nicely.





I made just a little bit of minty icing over the top in order for the sprinkling of chips to stick and stay
on the bars.
And since baking hindsight is 20/20, I could have added a bit of red or even green food coloring
to the icing for a nice festive touch.

Only saved one for me; the prettiest one in fact. :-)

peppermint cream meltaway bars

from vanillasugarblog.com

print recipe

cookie dough:

2 cups unsalted butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 ts cornstarch

¾ ts sea salt

cream filling:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 egg yolk

3 TB powdered sugar

giant pinch of sea salt

handful (or two) of the Andes Peppermint Crunch chips in the filling

(plus we will use more of the peppermint crunch chips for topping the cream cheese

filling)

you might need some mint extract, if you want a minter filling, optional

topping:

icing (1 cup of powdered sugar, mixed with splash or two of heavy cream, and dash of mint extract)

Andes Peppermint Crunch chips

Cook notes: 

The middle filling is gentle on the mint.

I didn't want a heavy mint taste in these bars, so I didn't add any mint extract.

If you do a quick taste-test of the cookie dough and want a little bit of mint in there, then feel free to add some. Or add it to the cream cheese filling.

I made the top of the bars have a nice "crumble crunch" to it.

If you flatten the dough pieces as opposed to circle chunks, the flattened pieces will crisp up nicely.  I only used about ¾ of the bag of the peppermint crunch chips.

I made just a little bit of minty icing over the top in order for the sprinkling of chips to stick and stay on the bars.

And since baking hindsight is 20/20, I could have added a bit of red or even green food coloring to the icing for a nice festive touch. Also, I love my icing to be very thick, so I only added a splash of heavy cream to the powdered sugar, but if you want to thin it out just add more cream. 

the dough:

Using a mixer or by hand (my method) mix butter and powdered sugar until creamy and no lumps.  Add in the flour, cornstarch and salt.  I used my hands to mix until just combined; no need to over work the dough, we want it to be light and airy, not tough.   This will be a dry dough, that’s ok, just place it on plastic wrap, mold into a large ball or disk and wrap very well and tight. Place in fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, turn out the dough onto parchment paper; separate it into 2/3. And 1/3.  The 2/3 is the bottom layer and the 1/3 will be the crumble topping.

Turn the larger dough onto a greased 9 X 13 baking pan. Using your hands spread the dough out evenly into the pan.  If dough is too cold, let it rest a bit and come to try.  If your kitchen runs cold this might take a while.  While you’re waiting, make the filling.

for the filling:

Mix the cream cheese, egg yolk, powdered sugar and handful (or two) of chips in a bowl. Taste-test it and see if you want more mint, if so, add in a dash of mint extract.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Your dough should be nicely and evenly placed out into the baking pan, making sure to get all the corners.  Add on the cream cheese filling. Do not spread the filling to the edges! Next take the peppermint crunch chips and add a layer on top of the filling. How much? Maybe a ½ cup or more; just use your judgment.

Then taking the remaining 1/3 of the dough, place medium size, flattened dough crumbles on the top. No need to push these down into the dough. Just crumble them on like you would a crumb cake.  The flatter the crumb the better chance it has for crisping up. 

Bake about 43 – 55 minutes. My oven runs horrid and not so hot, so make sure to check these at the 43-minute mark. Look for golden brown edges and lightly golden brown crumbs on top. 

While the bars are baking make the icing by combining the powdered sugar with the dash of mint extract, and heavy cream.  If you want to add in food coloring please do so while mixing. 

When bars have cooled completely, drizzle the icing on top and then top with more of the peppermint crunch chips.

Depending on how you slice them you should get 20 large bars OR 25-30 smaller bars? Make sure to keep them covered in airtight containers.  They should have a shelf life of 3 days.

friday links

Happy Friday!

First off, biz stuff I gotta share, then we can go on to the fun stuff...OK?

I have gotten so many emails from fans telling me they aren't seeing my posts on Facebook.
I realize Facebook has it's own algorithms on what you see.
So here is a couple ideas on how to crack some of those algorithms:
On my vanillasugarblog Facebook page, first make sure you've LIKED the page.
And what I suggest is to UNLIKE the page, then LIKE it again. That worked for me, now on to the next step.
Take your arrow and hover it over the "Liked" button,  a drop-down menu should appear and you'll see "Get Notifications" --make sure this is checked!
Last step you can take to ensure you are seeing my posts is to find a recent of post of mine (any post really), click the LIKE, and leave a comment.
Apparently if you comment on a post, be it a friend or business, Facebook remembers what you like, and what you've commented on, so it will then continue to show you future posts from it.
Now this is what I've heard from other fan pages, so I'm hoping all these steps will work and you'll be all set.
Make sure to do it for the other pages you like on Facebook as well.
AND it has to be done for your friends on Facebook too!

I go to Chipotle a lot. Great food at a reasonable price, plus we finally have one on cape cod!
And I've now figured out a way to have apps and a meal in one burrito bowl.
Next time you order, ask for extra sour cream and cheese on top.
Take your chip bag, dose it with the Chipotle Tabasco sauce and shake bag, repeat again.
Now you have apps on top and a meal on the bottom.  Oh yeah baby!


Gingerbread Twix!
So yeah these are crazy good.
Don't buy them!


I love peppermint taffy.
These are from a local business here in MA Hill Top Candy.
Found theme at Whole Foods in Hingham, MA


We have a new way to get energy!  Through candy! It's like an M&M with caffeine and B-vitamins.
Introducing Energems. Energems supplements are bite-sized, hard-coated gems made with real milk chocolate. They contain caffeine, B-vitamins and a unique energy blend.


If any of you are from Massachusetts or used to live here, you might remember the infamous Jordan Marsh?  Remember the Enchanted Village at Jordan Marsh?
Jordan Marsh had closed it's doors in the late 90's I believe?  And was bought by Macy's.
Not wanting to lose the memory of the enchanted village, the owners of Jordans Furniture purchased the village and now has it on display in their Avon location every year.
I also found the recipe for the INFAMOUS Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin!  Remember those?
Here are a few photos of the Enchanted Village that I snapped on my recent visit.



















There is also an indoor fake ice skating rink for the kids. By fake I mean it's not ice, but a plastic composite that gives the illusion of it being ice.


New flavor out for Harmless Harvest: cinnamon & clove.  Have you tried it?


I am in love with this cookbook: Hoosier Mama Book of Pie
Don't know what to get the foodie in the family?
Get this cookbook.  It is stunning!  Have some of the best, and most kicked up pie recipes I've ever
seen.  Right now they are out of stock on Amazon, but you can still order one for later date.
Just a handful of examples: pulled pork pie, corned beef hand pies, cranberry chess pie, vinegar chess pie, hoosier sugar cream pie, orange cream pie..... They include all the sweet pies according to the season, all the cream/custard/curds pies, desperations pies, chess pies, over-the-top pies, turnovers, savory pies, hand pies, etc.. I mean literally every angle of pie AND crust is covered!


Trust me, you will not be disappointed with Hoosier Mama Book of Pie; there is a pie for everyone in here; it's a big book of pie--it'll keep you busy baking all winter long.

Around the web:

triple chocolate donuts (I think we should start off with donuts!)
how long did your ancestors live while eating bacon, lard, whole milk...
balsamic beef soup (sounds so good!)
the self-cleaning brain (hint: it involves sleep)
75 year study: what men need to live a happy life
stomach stretches when you've eaten too much
gluten and schizophrenia?
why you should practice meditation
salted chocolate-rye cookies (printing!)
2013 haters guide to williams sonoma
the ripoff report: consumer reporting, by consumers, for consumers, to file & document complaints about companies or individuals.
peppermint cream thumbprint cookies
sweet potato rounds (excellent & easy appetizer idea!)
william li: can we eat to starve cancer (research is there)
50 ways to use eggnog
how to live a more meaningful life in 7-days
whole foods DIY decorations (some are good, some suck)
man behind the Taco Bell Doritos taco dies at 41
DIY gingerbread marshmallows
the chemistry of cookies
gingerbread muffins
cranberry & pistachio couronne
candy cane mug cake
eggnog macaroons
toxic elements in organic foods?
onions & garlic are anti-cancer foods
OK who has a squatty potty?
bacon bark!! oh my
paleo cheesecake w/ ganache
10 easy christmas paper ornaments
DIY beef pho
chipotle-caramel sauce!!!
acupuncture for depression
inflatable unicorn hat for cats (I know, I know!!)
inside-out buckeye cookies (gluten free)
how to "flood' royal icing
saying 'please' & 'thank you' makes a difference in price at french cafe
can bad weather cause joint ache?
memo sticky roll--yes it's on a roll! brilliant!
chocolate spice-gingerbread
why does my face turn bright red when I work out?
12 days of cookies!
microbiome candy: a probiotic candy to prevent cavities?
cooking with splenda releases cancer causing dioxins
is your olive oil really 'virgin'?
tourtiere biscuits (I've already printed these)

Have a wonderful weekend!

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!