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Glazed Cappuccino Bars

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Glazed Cappuccino Bars - 1

It’s kind of like Christmas Day when our Food Network Magazine comes in the mail. We can’t wait to sit and drool over it’s pages and make an evil plan of the order in which we will conquer it’s recipes. In every issue, you get a little insert, where they feature 50 things – sometimes it’s “50 things to do with a jar of spaghetti sauce” or “50 breakfasts on the fly” or “50 pies.” The one that came a few months back was a combination of our sweetest dreams and worst nightmares: “50 bar cookies.” Nooooooooooo! Mom knew she was in trouble. She stared at the thing for like an hour straight the first day, reading every ingredient of all 50 bars to determine what her favorites would be. Most of us in this house love coffee flavor, though we don’t drink coffee (coffee flavored ice cream is our favorite flavor). SO, when we saw the name if these beauties, we had to go for it. It beckoned us.

Glazed Cappuccino Bars batter - 1

We adore cookie bars because they are soft and chewy and we can skip the edges if we want and have 3 or 4 sides of thick, soft wonderfulness. These bars are really decadent and wonderful, but you know what is also wonderful? The batter! This batter smells HEAVENLY. Dad, who doesn’t particularly care for coffee flavor, enjoyed these bars and commented on how the coffee isn’t too strong. So you’ll win over both coffee-flavor-lovers and non alike. Have fun with this one.

Glazed Cappuccino Bars - 1

Note: as non-coffee-drinkers, we had a hard time finding instant espresso powder. We ended up grabbing a bag that was labeled “espresso powder” at TJ Maxx Home, but the package didn’t indicate that it was “instant” anywhere. The grounds weren’t as fine as we thought they should be, so we ground it even finer in our Ninja spice grinder attachment. It worked out wonderfully well.

From: Glazed Cappuccino Bars

Glazed Cappuccino Bars
 
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Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
  • 2 sticks softened butter
  • 2 T instant espresso powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (preferably mini)
  • For the glaze:
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1-2 T hot water
  • ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Beat the softened butter, both sugars and the espresso powder with a mixer on medium high speed until fluffy.
  3. Add the eggs and vanilla. Reduce the speed to low.
  4. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat until combined.
  5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  6. Prepare 9x13 pan with parchment, leaving an overhang so you can pull them out of the pan when cool.
  7. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 31 to 33 minutes.
  8. To make the glaze, whisk the confectioners sugar with hot water and the vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over the cold bars.

 

 

Pumpkin Spice Bars

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pumpkin-spice-bars-cut-farther-out-2

It’s kind of like Christmas Day when our Food Network Magazine comes in the mail. We can’t wait to sit and drool over it’s pages and make an evil plan of the order in which we will conquer it’s recipes. In every issue, you get a little insert, where they feature 50 things – sometimes it’s “50 Things To Do With A Jar Of Spaghetti Sauce” or “50 Breakfasts On The Fly” or “50 Pies.” The one that came a few months back was a combination of our sweetest dreams and worst nightmares: “50 bar cookies.” Nooooooooooo! Mom knew she was in trouble. She stared at the thing for like an hour straight the first day, reading every ingredient of all 50 bars to determine what her favorites would be. This cookie bar is crumbly and fabulous for fall because of the spicy pumpkin butter layer. These are especially ideal if your favorite part of a pumpkin pie is the crust.

pumpkin spice bars-1

Tip (unsponsored): We love Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter. These bars require 1.5 cups and each jar is about 1 cup so be sure and grab 2 jars so you aren’t short or your bars will come up short (in moisture and flavor. You will use 1.5 jars of T.J.’s pumpkin butter). We use both “old fashioned” oats and “quick” oats for this recipe because we enjoy the texture that the thicker old fashioned oats provide but using too many of these hearty oats risks resulting in a cookie bar that is too firm and chewy. 3/4 cup of each seems to be a great combination.

pumpkin-spice-bars-pre-cut-1

Gosh, these are SO soft and buttery. Have your kids help you dump ingredients, press the dough into the pan, spread the pumpkin butter and crumble the dough on top.

pumpkin-spice-bars-cut-close-up-3

Adapted from: Pumpkin Spice Bars

Pumpkin Spice Bars
 
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Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 9X13 inch pan
Ingredients
  • 2¼ cups flour
  • 1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1.5 cups rolled oats (we like a combo of ¾ cup "old fashioned" oats and ¾ cup "quick" oats)
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt.
  • 3 sticks softened butter
  • 1.5 cups pumpkin butter (1.5 jars if you get yours at Trader Joe's)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix the flour with the pumpkin pie spice, then add the oats, confectioners' sugar, baking powder and salt.
  3. Work in the butter with your fingers until large clumps form.
  4. Line 9x13 pan with parchment and allow it to overhang so you can pull the bars out when cooled.
  5. Press three-quarters of the dough into the pan.
  6. Spread with the pumpkin butter.
  7. Crumble the remaining dough over the top.
  8. Bake until lightly browned, start checking at 30 minutes. We find that these are perfect when we turn off the oven after 30 minutes of baking, then let them remain in the oven for about 10 more minutes while the oven cools down.

 

Almost-Famous Cheesecake Pancakes

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Almost-Famous Cheesecake Pancakes strawberry cheesecake-1

Once in a blue moon,  you want dessert for breakfast. On those blue moons, make THESE. FNM does a “copy-cat” recipe in each issue, and this is a copy-cat of IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes. These are great for novelty purposes, or if you want to start a crazy family tradition, like have these on Christmas morning or birthdays or something (we do waffles topped with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream at our house Christmas morning, so not too far off). Just to be clear, with the exception of the fresh strawberries, these will provide your family with (essentially) no nutrients, so be sure to offset it with a vegetable-rich, low calorie dinner. And just eat a couple pancakes instead of an entire stack. Still, there is a time and place for dessert for breakfast once or twice a year, so do it right and enjoy these.

fresh summer fruit strawberries-1

Tip (unsponsored): We use a frozen Sarah Lee cheesecake from Walmart in these pancakes.

Have your kids help you make and top the pancakes with the strawberry sauce. Teach about the health benefits of strawberries:

  • Strawberries are bright red because they contain anthocyanidin, which helps to protect your heart from disease.
  • Strawberries also provide you with manganese, which is great for kids whose bones are growing.
  • Strawberries give you vitamin K for proper blood clotting, and you can only get it through your diet.

From: Almost-Famous Cheesecake Pancakes

Almost-Famous Cheesecake Pancakes
 
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Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 8 to 10 pancakes
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons seedless strawberry jam
  • 11/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 11/4 cups buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 cups chopped frozen cheesecake
  • Cooking spray
  • Butter, confectioners' sugar or whipped cream, for topping (optional)
Instructions
  1. Mix the strawberries, jam and 2 tablespoons warm water in a bowl; set aside. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
  2. Pulse the flour, buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheesecake pieces, keeping them whole.
  3. Coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Working in batches, pour about ¼ cup batter into the skillet for each pancake. Cook until bubbly on top, about 4 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the finished pancakes to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Serve the pancakes topped with the strawberry sauce; top with butter, confectioners' sugar or whipped cream, if desired.

 

Peach Melba Tart

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Peach Melba Tart 2-1

Isn’t this gorgeous? This tart is as beautiful and impressive as any you’d find in a French bakery, but – surprisingly – it isn’t a super fussy recipe because there are opportunities for rest if you need to step away to deal with life. For example, you can toast the almonds, then return a phone call and come back and make the crust, then answer the door and come back and make the glaze, and so on.

Peach Melba Tart - individual (edited)-1

We love this tart because it isn’t overly sweet… you can walk away from this dessert not feeling like you’ve done something wrong. Anything that calls for a large tart pan, we make in miniature form with our 6-inchers. They. Are. Adorable. This makes 4 mini tarts and they are the perfect size to share without a sloppy result. Take two for yourself, then deliver the other 2 to your neighbors. They will think you are AMAZINGLY talented.

Peach Melba Tart dough 2-1

Tip: Don’t forget to have dried beans on hand to use as pie weights. Also, If you feel like your glaze is a little too thick, just puree it. Spread some on top of the filling and before the fruit for some extra peach flavor.

fresh summer fruit peach Peach Melba Tart 2 -1

Have your kids help you beat the filling and sprinkle the end product with almonds. As you prepare and enjoy this meal with your family, teach them about some of the health benefits of some of the ingredients:

  • Peaches help you to feel full without overeating.
  • Raspberries have a flavonoid that can help you have a good memory.
  • Eating almonds can help you keep a healthy weight.

Even though this tart was created by a French chef, it was named after an Australian opera singer, so let’s learn a few facts about Australia and it’s people:

  • A big part of Australia is desert, known as the Outback.
  • You can buy kangaroo meat at the grocery store.
  • Australians love to gamble.

peach melba tart collage

From: Peach Melba Tart

Peach Melba Tart
 
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Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • For the crust:
  • ½ cup sliced almonds
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • For the glaze:
  • 1 peach, diced
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 wide strips lemon zest 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • For the filling and topping:
  • ½ cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 8 -ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
  • Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 firm peaches, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup raspberries
Instructions
  1. Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and bake until slightly golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.
  2. Combine the flour, ⅓ cup of the toasted almonds, the granulated sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough just comes together. Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a disk; wrap tightly and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 15 minutes. Unwrap the dough and press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
  3. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edge of the crust is slightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until the crust is golden brown all over, 15 to 20 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
  4. Make the glaze: Combine the diced peach, granulated sugar, lemon zest and juice, and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the peach is soft and the glaze is thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the lemon zest; let the glaze cool.
  5. Make the filling: Mix the ricotta, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and nutmeg in a bowl with a mixer until smooth; spread evenly in the crust. Arrange the sliced peaches on top of the filling in concentric circles. Brush with all but about 1 tablespoon of the glaze. Gently toss the raspberries with the remaining glaze, then scatter on top of the tart along with the remaining toasted almonds. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.

 

Flourless Chocolate Torte

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flourless chocolate torte - 1

Eek! We loooooooove chocolate in our house. And the more chocolatey, the better. We’d much rather eat semi-sweet chocolate chips than milk (and Mom actually prefers 60% cacao). The wonderful thing about a flourless chocolate anything is that it omits that pesky flour, which, in our minds, “dilutes” the intensity of the chocolate and results in an airy texture when we want it dense and smooth. Many flourless chocolate cakes are fussy, taking an hour active time and 1.5 hours plus total. This one is 25 minutes active time, woot-woot! Plus, there are like 5 ingredients, which is lovely. We suggest making this the day before you serve it, because it just gets tastier and fudgier with time.

flourless chocolate torte levi tasting chocolate -1 flourless chocolate torte juel melting chocolate in double boiler-1 flourless chocolate torte juel making-1

Tip (unsponsored): Because it is the main event, we recommend using a good-quality chocolate (we use Guittard). We also recommend serving it with homemade whipping cream (as in buy heavy whipping cream and whip it using an electric hand mixer with a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla). Dust each slice with more cocoa powder and powdered sugar after plating for a pretty presentation.

Have your kids help you break up the chocolate before you chop it and whip the whipped cream. Tell them that a little chocolate isn’t so bad for you!:

  • Dark chocolate provides your body with antioxidants, which help keep your cells healthy.
  • Dark chocolate can help you have healthy blood pressure.

Sooo I had a hard time finding out where the flourless chocolate cake derived, so let’s just learn a few things about France and it’s people:

  • Kids usually have Wednesdays off of school but they have a half-day on Saturdays.
  • Kids play a game like hopscotch but it is in the swirly shape of snail and they only use one foot.
  • Clafouti is a common dessert, which is a rich cake with fruit such as peaches or cherries.

Adapted from: Flourless Chocolate Torte

Flourless Chocolate Torte
 
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Difficulty: easy
Serves: 8-10 servings
Ingredients
  • 1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter or margarine, cut into small pieces, plus more for the pan
  • 12 ounces bittersweet Guittard chocolate, chopped
  • 6 large eggs
  • ½ cup sugar
  • Pinch of kosher salt
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter the bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan. Combine the chocolate and 1½ sticks butter in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until melted and combined. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and let cool slightly.
  2. Combine the eggs, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and thick, 8 minutes.
  3. Gently fold half of the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until just combined, then gently fold in the rest. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top is no longer shiny and barely jiggles and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few crumbs, 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely in the pan. Remove the springform ring and transfer to a platter. Top slice with whipping cream, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar.

 

Jam Shortbread

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Jam Shortbread - 3

This shortbread is sooooo easy. The 10-year-old made these. They call for FOUR ingredients plus a pinch of salt, so they’re just perfect if your pantry is pretty barren but you must have a sweet treat or die. Heck, they’re even good if your pantry is bursting with dessert ingredients. We are suckers for things with a soft (assuming you don’t over-bake them), flaky bottom layer and have something to do with fruit, or preserves, in this case. You can make these any kind of shortbread you desire – apricot, peach, strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry… we used marionberry preserves. Try them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Have your kids… make the entire thing! Most kids 10 years old and over could probably tackle these suckers with very little help from you. This is such a simple recipe that it is a great one to let your kids practice on by themselves. You would be around if they needed you, of course, but if they make a mistake, which is a part of learning, it won’t be too detrimental if they had to scrap it and start again from scratch because the ingredients are so few and inexpensive. If you kids are smaller, let them work the butter in with their fingers. They will think you are the coolest.

Juel kids helping cook bake Jam Shortbread - 2

Juel kids helping cook bake Jam Shortbread - 1

Shortbread has been made since medieval times, and , since it is most commonly associated with Scotland, let’s learn about that:

  • Golf, as we know it today, originated in Scotland.
  • Scotland sells lots of seafood to Europe and around the world.
  • Haggis is the national dish of Scotland. It is a savory pudding made of the organs of a sheep with onions and spices.

Adapted from: Jam Shortbread

Jam Shortbread
 
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Difficulty: easy
Est. Cost: $5
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted åbutter, at room temperature
  • 6 tablespoons marionberry preserves
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 8-inch-square baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang. Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Work in the butter with your fingers to make a crumbly dough.
  2. Refrigerate 2 tablespoons of the dough for topping. Press the remaining dough into the baking dish; freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
  3. Bake the crust, 15 minutes. Spread the preserves on top, leaving a ½-inch border; crumble the reserved dough on top. Return to the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown, 20 more minutes. Let cool 20 minutes, then lift out of the pan and cut into squares.

 

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