May 03, 2016

Lemon Pecan Bars

May 03, 2016/ Blair Cowan

You know how I love all things citrus, but have we discussed my deep an abiding love for lemon bars? Oh, we have? Well, then add this to the pool of knowledge about my dessert preferences: when I was a teenager, any time I needed a boost or deserved a special treat for acing a test, getting into college, or just making it through a week of Stats class, my mom would buy me a lemon square from my favourite bakery (ok, ok, it was a Fresh Market. The choices were limited). To this day, there's not a lot of desserts that take me back to middle school and high school the way that lemon squares take me back, other than my mom's Pound Cake, which we've also discussed.

Anyway, as with key lime pie or pretty much any other citrus-based dessert you can think of, my passion for lemon bars runs deep. Shortcrust base, thick sour-sweet layer of fresh lemon curd infused with lemon peel for just a hint of bitterness, all dusted in powdered sugar sure to leave your hands a mess but perfectly offsetting the robust layer of flavour-packed curd... yeah, there's not a lot I like better.

So I was automatically wary of the cream cheese and oatmeal base of these lemon bars. I mean, you can't just cut a lemon dessert into squares and call it lemon bars. Our standards over here at The Recipe Box Project are higher than that. Plus, after the Cheesecake Saga, I'm pretty meh on all things cheesecake-like or cheesecake-related. But I do love an oatmeal crust, so I powered through and made this traybake with high hopes, and it didn't disappoint.

Curd-based bars these are not, but the lemon flavour works really well with the cream cheese filling, and the oat base and crumbly topping make the whole thing seem just a trifle less decadent than their counterparts I love so much without being any less delicious. Plus, the finished product is thin and crispy, perfect for the start of summer when a heavy dessert is probably not what you want to take to cookouts or picnics... although the friends we shared these with loved them so much we all ended up eating more than one. They're just too tasty to pass up!

Make these for your next event where you don't know the host's tastes and need something easy to serve, easy to eat, and that will appeal to all palates. Part cheesecake, part lemon bar, part fruit crumble, these have something in them that everyone will love, and they're easy as pie to boot!

The verdict:

4 spoons out of five. Delicious, versatile, and easy, these are perfect for springtime outdoor parties, picnics, or poolside snacking!

one year ago: Magic Bars

The recipe:

Lemon Pecan Bars

the directions:

Preheat oven to 175C/350F and grease a 13x9 inch pan.
Combine flour, brown sugar, and sugar.
Cut in butter until mixture is coarse crumbs.
Stir in oats and nuts, then set aside 1 cup of mixture.
Press remaining mixture into prepared pan, then bake 12 minutes or until golden brown.
While crust is cooking, mix cream cheese and egg until well-blended.
Add juice and zest, stirring until combined.
Leaving the oven on, pour cream cheese mixture over par-baked crust, then sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake again at 175C/350F for 20 minutes or until golden and toasty.
Allow to cool completely, then cut into bars and enjoy!

the ingredients:

1 1/3 c flour
½ c brown sugar, packed
¼ c sugar
¾ c butter
1 c oats, uncooked
½ c pecans or almonds, chopped
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest, finely chopped

April 19, 2016

Yum Yum Punch

April 19, 2016/ Blair Cowan

I talked about this last year, but it never ceases to amaze me how spring creeps up on Edinburgh. The flowers come in phases: first the snowdrops, then the crocuses, the daffodils, the tulips, and eventually the cherry trees all turn into fluffy pink candy floss cones—my favourite part. We’re not to cherry tree stage yet, but the days are getting so much longer, the sunlight is stronger than it ever is in the dead of winter, and the winds are calming down just enough to let you know that spring is really in the air.

So, of course, when we decided to host a wee dinner party for some friends, I had one thing on my mind: warm weather. It might not be summer here in Edinburgh yet, but if you live anywhere else in the world, you’re probably doing a fair amount of ‘sitting on porches sipping things’ right about now, and this punch would be a worthy addition to any porch party, dinner party, festival pre-game (Atlantans, looking at you!), or beach day.

This drink is basically a riff on a pina colada that allows you to make it without a blender, and makes the whole thing a little lighter… and less likely to give you a brainfreeze. Plus, the addition of ginger beer makes it a little less summery and perfect for the kind of interim spring weather we're having these days. Seriously, it’s just sunshine in a cup. We spiked ours with dark rum, but this would be equally good with light rum or even vodka—but do yourself a favour and spike your glass, not the pitcher, otherwise it’s harder to mix evenly.

Another recommendation I learned the hard way is that coconut cream has to be really mixed to incorporate well into the punch (when making a pina colada, the blender does this for you). I’ve amended the recipe a bit below to help make sure the punch stays uniform consistency, and to account for adding booze to it… if you choose. Another thing we ran into was the simple fact that we don’t own a punch bowl. We’ve gotten around this in the past by using a soup tureen (I know), but it makes a giant mess when people inevitably drip everywhere and I haven’t got a pretty ladle anyway, so we made this in a very tall pitcher and it was just fine. Plus, honestly, this isn’t the most beautifully coloured drink anyway, so you’re not missing out by having it a little more hidden.

Depending on how coconut-y you’d like this to be, you can add coconut water to cut it if needed, or, better, freeze yourself some coconut water in ice cube trays, then plop those coconut cubes into the punch to keep it from getting watery as it chills.

Since my freezer isn’t big enough to freeze an ‘ice ring,’ and, to be honest, I’m not really sure what one is, I used my favourite party-hosting trick and froze ice ‘pucks’ in a muffin tin with a wheel of lime in each—then just pop those into the punch and they look much prettier (and melt more slowly!) than plain old freezer ice.

To be clear, this punch is just as tasty without being spiked, but I’ve gone ahead and included directions for spiking it because when the weather is nice, there’s not a lot that’s nicer than a rum drink… even if your version of ‘nice’ weather is the Scottish definition of ‘I didn’t blow away yet.’

Best of all, as with all good drink recipes (boozy or not), this one is all about your own preferences, so add more pineapple if you want it, or leave out the ginger beer—this one’s all about you, baby!