"420" Bars - My Best Selling Bar Cookie

Hello Bakers,

These past few weeks have been so busy. At work we recently acquired a pastry case and it is my job to fill it. The pastry case is part of the  school cafe. It has to be set up by 7:00 AM - which means I am in the kitchen at 5:00. It takes about a half hour for my oven to heat up so being late is not an option - I have to start loading it by 5:40 or the pastries will not be out on time. 

Having a case is exciting. It is a fair amount of responsibility and a daily place to showcase work. By the end of the day it is empty or almost empty and the next day I have to start all over - well almost.

I do have some things made ahead - all professional bakers do or else we would never be able to keep up and would most likely run screaming into the woods. This actually happened to one of my baking instructors at school - in a future post I will recount that tale..

Having a pastry case is a daily testament to the old saying "if you build they will come". Each day more product sells...and then I have to increase production, be more creative and work faster. It's exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. I wish this was all I was doing but I am also teaching a full load so it is a little tiring but I am just trying to push through. I am grateful for my student's help. 

The first week I was cautious and getting up speed, By the second week I was faster and able to add more desserts, this week is the third week and we will see what happens.

One item sells better then any other (so far) and that is the quick and easy "420" bars. Our cafe manager named them as I am told they are the perfect sweet treat when an attack of the munchies hits.  

These also are quick to make if you need a a quick bake sale or classroom treat. Might be better to call them "Magic Bars" in those instances.

As the weeks go on I will be adding more and more to the case - I will share my most popular recipes with you, my bakers, right here on the blog.

Happy Baking!

Colette

And finally the recipe for "420" Bars...

Yield: 15 large bars

24 small bars

Equipment:

2 1/2 sheet pans

Medium bowl

Microwave or saucepan for melting butter

Plastic wrap

Parchment paper

2 tablespoons melted or softened butter for greasing the pan.

If you have “pan spread”** on hand you can use that. Recipe is right below.

Pan Spread

An easy do it yourself pan spread that is better for your baking and the environment.

Small saucepan

Whisk

1 stick, 4 ounces, 113g unsalted butter or vegetable shortening

2 Tablespoons, 1 ounce, (28g) unbleached all purpose flour

In a small saucepan, melt the butter or shortening over medium heat.

Turn off heat, add flour and whisk until smooth.

Pan spread made with butter lasts for two weeks in the refrigerator, made with vegetable shortening lasts six months in the refrigerator.

How to use: Brush on pans whenever the recipe calls for spray.

Back to the bars....

Ingredients:

10 ounces graham cracker crumbs

8 ounces melted butter

8 ounces toasted and chopped pecans – you could also use walnuts or macadamia nuts

12 ounces chocolate chips

6 ounces butterscotch chips

6 ounces white chocolate chips

2 cans (15 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Prepare your pan by lightly greasing the sides and bottom with melted butter or brushing with

Pan spread. Line the pan with parchment paper cut to allow a 1” overhang above the lip of the pan.

3. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter in the bowl and stir until the crumbs are moistened.

Graham Cracker Crumbs and Melted Butter

4. Dump the crumbs and butter in the pan and distribute evenly in a thin layer.

Packed Crumbs 

5. In order to get a nice packed crust cover the crumbs with plastic wrap and press another sheet pan on top of the plastic. Remove pan and plastic wrap.

Plastic wrap over crumbs...

Press down hard to get a compact crust.

6. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the surface of the crust.

7. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the crust .

8. Sprinkle the butterscotch chips evenly over the crust

9. Sprinkle the white chocolate chips evenly over the crust

Chip ahoy

10. Carefully pour the two cans of condensed milk over the crust.

Pour condensed milk evenly over the surface

11. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

12. The bars should be an all over light golden brown.

Perfect golden brown.

If possible let them sit for 45 minutes before cutting.

They store well in an airtight container if there are any left over.

These are a spin on a classic bar cookie that has several other names - magic bars, layer bars, etc. But I think you will like my take on them.

They are quick and easy - they can be made in under an hour. 

Let me know if you have questions.

Happy Baking!

Colette

"420" Bars

Blueberry and Pecan Cakepie, has No Crust! and can be Gluten Free

Hello Bakers,

It's the first day of Summer and hot here in Los Angeles. This is not the time of year to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. 

It's not an easy time of year for us bakers, as we still love to bake.  Also, everyone still expects the delicious treats to keep on coming, despite the heat. If you are reading this blog then I know you are THE ONE always makes or brings dessert.

As the designated baker we need good recipes in our repertoire. I feel it is my job to develop great recipes, feature them here for you to try and enjoy.

Today's recipe is an old fashioned dessert that used to be called a "Betty". It is in the category of desserts that are made with fruit and called "slumps", "grunts", "pandowdies" and "crisps".

A "Betty" has the distinction of using melted butter in the topping while the rest of the category use cold cubed butter in the base or topping. I am a very old fashioned girl at heart but "Betty" seemed a little too retro. So instead I am call it a "Cakepie". It is baked in a pie pan, is full of fruit but the batter that lightly holds the mix together has a cake like texture

This is very quick to mix - you can have ready to go - start to finish in about an hour and five minutes. It can cool in the car as you head off to your next summer party.

I used blueberries and pecans because I think they are good flavor partners...but you can use any combination of fruits and nuts. It takes a minimum of 6 ounces of berries or cut up fruit.

You can leave the nuts out and it also works with gluten free flour (what an oxymoron) making it just about perfect. If you use a disposable pie pan you won't have to worry about getting your dish back. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe, Bakers. Please let me know.

Happy Baking!

Colette

No Crust Blueberry Pie Cake Pie with Gluten Free Option

Equipment:

2 medium sized bowls

whisk

spatula

9” pie pan, buttered or sprayed with pan spray

4.25 ounces unbleached all purpose flour or gluten free flour

¼ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

4 ounces butter, melted

6 ounces sugar

2 large eggs

Zest of one medium lemon

Juice of one lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

½ teaspoon lemon extract (optional)

2 ounces toasted and chopped pecans

1/2 pint blueberries 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Whisk the flour (or gluten free blend), salt and baking powder together, set aside.

2. Whisk together, sugar, butter, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and optional lemon extract.

Wet (before mixing) and Dry Ingredients

3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Fold the two together just until they are combined.

    Do not over mix.   

3. Fold in blueberries and pecans.

4. Pour batter into pie plate.

5. Bake at 350 and start checking in 25 minutes. The cakepie is done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. if it starts to take on too much color then reduce the temperature by 25 degrees and finish the bake. Mine took 37 minute - make sure it is done - if you think that it needs more time - then give it another 5-7 minutes and check again.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Strawberry Galette - a Bits and Pieces Bake....

Hello Bakers,

The other day my dryer broke beyond repair - part of it's demise had been my fault. I hadn't read the manual (which I will when I buy my next dryer) and did not realize I needed to clean a more hidden compartment. Four years of sludge build up and it was done.

So the experience set me on a week long tear of cleaning and maintaining my remaining appliances, including my two freezers. Cleaning a freezer can resemble an archaeological dig.

So much can get lost in there, especially bits of dough...

Bakers, you know what I am talking about. How many of us cannot bear to throw even the smallest bit of dough away. We tell ourselves, after carefully wrapping up the small piece that we WILL use it for something.

In cleaning my upright freezer (not frost free - big mistake) I found lots of dough bits, a collection of streusel, shrimp consomme, and the collection of Anson mills grains that Chef bought last summer. 

I consolidated the streusel, put a chunk of flaky pie dough in the refrigerator to thaw and organized the rest of it. The topic of this post is what can you do when your leftover flaky pie dough is not big enough for a pie....the perfect answer is to make a galette.

Galettes are French in origin. The name is the same in French and English. A galette is a pie's more relaxed and rustic cousin. There are no strict rules with galettes, if you have dough, fruit, sugar and cornstarch that is all you need.

Any fruit will work but the fruits of Spring and Summer are the best. I had strawberries on hand. These berries were not perfect but still perfectly ok to use. I had the galette baking in my Wolf Gourmet (aka Easy-Bake) oven in about 20 minutes. In 30 minutes, it had finished baking. You can really use any fruit just adjust the sugar if the fruit is very sweet.

Happy Baking!

Colette

Strawberry Galette

Equipment:

¼ sheet pan – for a larger galette you will need a ½ sheet pan

Parchment paper

Rolling pin

Pastry wheel

Pastry brush

ngredients:

6-8 ounces Frozen dough – thawed, flaky pie, croissant and danish can be used

1 pint Strawberries, rinsed, dried, stemmed and quartered

2 ounces Sugar

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1 teaspoon Vanilla bean paste or extract

2-3 ounces streusel – from the freezer

1 ounce (approx.) Egg white, whisk so that it is smooth

Sanding or crystal sugar

Flour for dusting and rolling out the dough

1. Line the quarter sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Quarter the strawberries and toss with sugar, cornstarch and vanilla

4. Roll the dough out to a circle, 1/8 of an inch thin.

Mine was 11” in diameter

5. Sprinkle a ¼” layer of streusel in the center of the dough circle leaving an 1 ½” border.

Thin layer of streuel - it absorbs excess juice

6. Using a slotted spoon, spoon the strawberries on top of the streusel, there will be extra liquid left in the bowl – that’s ok. There will be enough liquid left on the berries to thicken the liquid.

Berries in center on top of streusel

7. Pleat the dough over the berries.

Pleating dough

8. Brush edge with egg white and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Ready to bake

9. Bake at 350 using convection for the first 15 minutes if you have it. If not then keep the setting at 350.

Start checking at 25-30 minutes. The dough should be golden brown and the filling should look thickened.

Finished Galette

10. Let the galette cool a little before serving so that the filling firms up.