desserts

Lemon Bars

by Lisa on May 6, 2013

I’ve always been a big fan of fruit desserts. I like chocolate, but if there is a chocolate dessert and a fruit dessert in front of me, nine times out of ten I’ll go for the fruit dessert. I’m reserving that tenth time for when there is a chocolate WITH fruit option. And, it’s a very safe bet that if lemon bars are offered, I’m going to eat one every time. But until yesterday, I had never made a lemon bar in my life.

As I mentioned yesterday, we celebrated Easter on May 5. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with a super creative way to combine Greek and Mexican food, so I opted to stick with traditional Easter foods—ham, asparagus and potatoes {those recipes coming later this week!}. For dessert, nothing screams spring to me more than lemon. I think it’s pretty clear we have a serious love for all things lemon from our lemon mint sorbet, lemon risotto, tarte au citron and lemon curd recipes {see also: my spring header above!}.

With a toddler running around, I was looking for a not-so-fussy recipe that didn’t call for any ingredients I didn’t already have on hand. Thank goodness for the Barefoot Contessa!

While this recipe may seem pretty daunting because it involves a custard, it was one of the easiest desserts I’ve ever put together, despite the baking, cooling and baking process. The lemon flavor absolutely shines in these bars. The confectioner’s sugar on top adds a nice touch of sweetness to balance out the tartness of the lemon. And the texture, when eaten directly out of the pan or after chilling for a few hours, is smooth and creamy. Overall, a delicious spring dessert that I am ashamed it took me so long to make.

Lemon Bars

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert lemon bar

Ingredients (24 bars)

For the crust

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup flour
pinch kosher salt

For the filling

3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup flour
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for the crust.

Whisk together the flour and salt.

When the butter and sugar is blended smoothly, add the flour mixture until just combined.

Turn out into a well-floured surface and shape into a ball as best you can.

Transfer the dough to an 8×8 glass pan. Press the dough flat into the pan at an even thickness, building up a half inch edge on all sides.

Chill for 5-10 minutes.

Bake for 15-20 minutes and cool on a wire rack. Do not turn off the oven.

While the crust is cooling, prepare the filling.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour.

Pour the filling on top of the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set.

Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into 24 triangles and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Enjoy!

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa.

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{ 1 comment }

Candy Cane Oreo Truffles

by Lisa on December 23, 2012

Psst….I picked a winner for the Harry & David pears. From random.org the winner is #14. Congratulations, Jess! Please e-mail me at thesplatteredapron@gmail.com so I can get the pears to you!

Christmas is practically here. Can you believe it? I sure can’t. I think we’re ready, but just in case you’re like me and you’ve waited until the last minute to do some baking, I want to share this really easy, yet awesome recipe with you. My Oreo Truffles have received a lot of attention from Pinterest lately {Hello, pinners and new readers! I’m so glad you’re here } so I thought I would holiday them up a bit for you. With candy canes. And let me say, quite objectively, this is the best batch of truffles I have ever made. I strongly suggest you make them, especially if a big man in a red suit will be visiting your house with toys on Christmas Eve. He will definitely appreciate them.

Candy Cane Oreo Truffles

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: freeze dessert Christmas truffles winter

Ingredients (30 truffles)

16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate {squares or chips}
1 box Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Joe Joe’s or Candy Cane Oreos, full package minus 7
1 8 ounce bar light cream cheese
candy canes or peppermint candies, crushed to powder form

Instructions

In a food processor, grind up the cookies until large pieces are all gone and it consists of small crumbles.

Cut the cream cheese bar into 4 pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse until a ball begins to form.

Roll the cookie and cream cheese mixture into 1 inch balls and lay out on a lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer while completing the next two steps.

Crush the peppermint candies or candy canes into a powder {I used a nut grinder}.

In a microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate for one minute and thirty seconds. Stir, then continue heating in fifteen second increments, stirring in between until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Take the truffle balls out of the freezer and set up an assembly line. Dip one ball into the melted chocolate, use a spoon to get a good coating, then scoop it out with a fork, allowing the excess chocolate to drip off. Place back on the baking sheet. After rolling 4 or 5 in the chocolate, sprinkle the truffles generously with the ground up candy canes. Repeat until all of the truffles are covered in chocolate and candy.

Place the baking sheet in the freezer for at least one hour and up to overnight.

Store the truffles in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

These truffles are smooth and rich and chocolately and perfect. I love them so much that I gave almost all of them away.

Like I said, almost all of them.

Time for me to get back to baking.

We hope the next few days are full of the magic of the Christmas season for you and the ones you love. Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

{ 3 comments }

A Pear Tart and a GIVEAWAY

by Lisa on December 19, 2012

Hey there, friends! How is your December going so far? I’ve been off and busy getting ready for the holidays. No matter how much I tell myself I’ll have all of my handmade presents ready to go early, that’s never quite what happens. I’ve also been baking up a storm, wrapping presents and generally just enjoying this time with my family. Caroline, while she doesn’t understand Christmas just yet, adores Christmas music so we have a dance party every night after dinner. She is just too much fun.

Anyways, if you work in an office, you know that this time of year can be pretty dangerous. It seems like everywhere you turn there is a treat waiting to be consumed. While all of the treats are incredibly generous, delicious and enjoyed, there is one company that makes gift baskets that rule all other gift baskets: Harry and David.

Whenever I see the signature wrapping on a Harry & David gift tower, I get a little excited. Not only do they normally include sweet treats, but there are nuts, dried fruits and fresh fruits too. During this season of overindulgence, healthy, delicious snacks are always welcome!

When the kind folks at Harry & David contacted me to offer to send me two boxes of their Royal Riviera pears to try out, I could not say no, knowing that the quality of the pears would be outstanding.

I was so excited when two boxes of these beauties arrived on my doorstep.

These are Royal Riviera pears that are grown in Oregon’s Rogue Valley. Do you see the one wrapped in gold foil? Here’s what Harry & David has to say about it:

The Golden Pear: It was handpicked from our orchards in Oregon. It’s sweet and creamy and super juicy. Just like all of our Royal Riviera Pears. Except this one is wrapped in fancy gold foil. It’s been a tradition at Harry & David since the beginning. That’s almost 80 years ago.

After two days sitting at room temperature, the pears were perfectly ripe to eat. They were juicy, firm on the outside yet soft when bitten and with a perfectly sweet taste. I love pears, but rarely find pears that taste this good in the grocery store. Between Jeromy, Caroline and I, we went through these boxes in about 2 weeks. They were that good!

I decided to bake something with the pears because even though they were delicious in their pure form, there is no dessert I love more than a fruit dessert. Forgetting how much I hate working with phyllo dough, I thawed a box from the freezer and made it happen.

Pear Tart

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 28-32 minutes

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Ingredients (serves 8)

1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting
6 sheets frozen phyllo dough (11 1/2 by 15 inches each), thawed
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 Royal Riviera pears, in 1/8 of an inch slices

Instructions

Melt the butter over low heat, set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with a rack in the top position of the oven.

In a bowl, combine the pecans, bread crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Carefully, lay a sheet of phyllo dough on the parchment paper.

Brush the phyllo dough with butter.

Sprinkle with the pecan mixture.

Repeat the steps with 3 more sheets of phyllo dough.

Lay a fourth sheet of phyllo dough on top, then lay the sliced fruit out on top, leaving a 1/4 inch border.

Brush the fruit with butter then sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake for 28-32 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the fruit is cooked through and the phyllo dough has browned.

Allow to cool slightly, then serve.

This tart was a great way to showcase the pears. The light crust doesn’t weight down the dish and the flavor of the pears shines through.

Have I convinced you yet that you want to try these pears? I hope so because Harry & David is giving away one box to a lucky Splattered Apron reader!

To enter:

Mandatory

Leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite way to enjoy pears.

Optional:

Tweet: I want to win a box of @HarryandDavid pears from @SplatteredApron. Do you? http://wp.me/p1qkP2-1dl
and leave me a comment letting me know you did.

Entries will close at midnight on Friday, December 21. Good luck!

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

Harry & David provided me with two boxes of pears to review. I was not otherwise compensated. All opinions are my own.

{ 32 comments }

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

by Lisa on October 24, 2012

My boss has been out sick for a couple of weeks with the flu and then pneumonia. At the end of last week I asked if there was anything I could do for her, expecting her to ask me to do something work-related. Rather, she asked that I have chocolate chip cookies waiting for her when she came back. Totally doable. I decided to do her one better and add some salted caramel to the mix and make them in bar form.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30-35 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert bar

Ingredients (16-20 bars {depending on how t)

For the bars

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips

For the caramel sauce

1 cup sugar
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus two tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature
sprinkling of kosher salt

Instructions

In a bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, mix the melted butter and sugars together until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Add the dry ingredients in batches and mix on low, until just combined. Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 2-quart baking pan–I used an 11×7 glass Pyrex dish–with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

While the over is preheating, make the caramel sauce.

Using a larger pot than you think you’ll need, melt the sugar over moderately high heat. Cook the liquefied sugar until it is a dark amber color.

Add the butter and allow it to melt completely before removing it from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream–it will bubble up. Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Spread half of the cookie dough in the bottom of the prepared pan.

Pour 1/2-3/4 cup of the caramel sauce evenly over the first layer of cookie dough. Refrigerate the rest of the caramel sauce, and serve it over everything. My favorite way to eat it is with a spoon.

Scoop the rest of the cookie dough on to the caramel layer. Spread evenly to cover the caramel.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown on top and baked through.

Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. To cut the bars neatly, refrigerate for a few hours and then cut and serve.

I have to warn you, these are rich. But that really won’t stop you from wanting to eat the whole tray by yourself. My version came out very dense, reminiscent of fudge, I think because I used the entire batch of caramel sauce. So if you like very dense bars, by all means add all of the caramel, but I think that less caramel, as I wrote in the recipe, will yield a slightly airier bar.

I love the addition of cinnamon to chocolate, it just gives everything an earthy flavor. And the salt in the caramel is just delicious.

Good for the waistline? Probably Definitely not. Good for the soul? Absolutely. Hopefully that will be good enough to help my boss recover from pneumonia.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod and Smitten Kitchen

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{ 7 comments }

Peach and Cherry Granita

by Lisa on July 25, 2012

Peach and Cherry Granita cover image

I think I talk about our neighbors a lot. Not in a bad way! In a way that says I spend a lot of time with them. It seems like every other week I talk about some dish that I made to share with our neighbors, doesn’t it? I really, really like our neighbors.

Last week we had our neighbors with an adorable new baby over for dinner. It was hot, so Jeromy grilled a London broil and kale and I made a cold cucumber salad. I also really wanted dessert but I didn’t want to bake. I had farm fresh peaches, a bag of gorgeous cherries and limes sitting in my kitchen and bushes of fresh mint growing in the backyard. I did what any sane person would do. I made a granita.

Peach and Cherry Granita

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: freeze vegetarian vegan granita

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

2 cups water
6 tablespoons sugar
10 mint leaves
2 ripe peaches, diced {skin on}
8 ripe, but firm, cherries, pitted and cut in half
2 limes, juiced

Instructions

In a pot, combine the water, sugar and mint. Cook over medium heat until all of the sugar is dissolved. Immediately remove from the heat and discard the mint leaves. Set aside.

Place the diced peaches, halved, pitted cherries and the lime juice in a blender. Pour in the simple syrup. Cover and puree for 15-20 seconds, until the mixture appears very smooth.

Pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into an 8-9 inch glass baking dish. Push the solids through the sieve to get out as much of the juice as possible.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer.

Allow to freeze for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

When ready to serve, remove the dish from the freezer and scrape the granita with a fork. Serve in a martini glass {or any other fun vessel you like!}

This was so easy to assemble. The hard party was scraping the ice into a granita before serving. I didn’t need to workout after that.

A granita is such a refreshing way to end a meal. In my version, the peach and cherry flavors sing with a subtle hint of mint. It’s summer in a margarita glass.