montcarte

I’m not a big fan of date squares. I find them sticky, thick, and just not…vibrant…enough. However, I know that there are some people out there who just love them (hence the reason I made them to begin with), and I think this recipe yields some of the best date squares I’ve had.

They’re not overly sweet thanks to the lemon (some recipes ask for orange zest and juice, which I think just makes them too sweet), and I like the cinnamon and pecans in the oatmeal base and topping.

If you do enjoy date squares, then I think you’ll love these. They’re even better if you serve warm (cut them into pieces, then warm each piece up…trying to cut them into squares while they’re warm will just be messy) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Oatmeal Date Squares
adapted from Robin Hood: Home Baking

FILLING
3 cups chopped pitted dates
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar

BASE & TOPPING
1 3/4 cups oats
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup butter

Grease a 13″ x 9″ pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

FILLING
1. Combine dates, lemon zest, lemon juice and water, and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat , stirring often, until thick and smooth, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

BASE & TOPPING
2. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, chopped pecans, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Using two knives, a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Press half of the mixture (2 1/2 cups) into prepared pan. Spread filling over base. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top. Pat down lightly.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden. Cool completely in pan on rack, then cut into squares.

I love these cookies! I LOVE THESE COOKIES! If you’re going to make any cookies any time soon, make it these ones.

They have an amazing bite of ginger, coming from both the ground and fresh ginger that’s grated into them. They’re bright with cinnamon, have a delicate touch of cocoa, and the occasional chunk of milk chocolate. Ginger and chocolate, it’s a stunning combo in these cookies. They are the softest, chewiest cookies and just fall apart in your mouth. The granulated sugar they’re rolled in give a slight crisp to the outside, but the inside, especially when warm, is a gooey, tender, sweet cookie that is as delicious as any gingerbread cookie I’ve had.

These can be considered the perfect cookie. They’re definitely ideal for the holiday season, great to have during any cold, winter month and would probably be just as great in the summer.

I wanted to make sure I captured their photogenic nature, so ended up taking two sets of photos on different days. I found it interesting how different they looked with a different background and light, so even though this post probably doesn’t look very consistent, I’m going to include both anyway. I like how one shows the nice, gingerbreadesque colours, and how the others really demonstrate the texture of the cookies. Like Brownies for Dinner did, I upped the molasses from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup and though it was the right choice.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
adapted from Martha Stewart

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate (I used milk chocolate and loved its sweetness in this cookie)
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.

4. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Believe it or not, I had never tasted a persimmon up until a few days ago. I’ve been seeing lots of desserts using persimmons around, so when I saw some at the market, I picked them up right away and started scouring the internet for the perfect dessert to make with them.

The first thing I discovered that there are two types of the persimmon fruit: astringent and non-astringent. Astringent persimmons have to be eaten when they are super soft, jellylike in texture. These will be sweeter and juicier and the hachiya persimmon is the most delicious and common of these ones. The non-astringent can be eaten while they’re still firm and they take a long while to get soft and will be milder in their flavour and sweetness. The fuyu persimmon is the popular type of non-astringent.

While this may be sound overly exciting, it’s a good thing I discovered this, because obviously, the type of persimmon you have will affect how it should be cooked! I had bought fuyu persimmons, and finally decided that I wanted to prepare a bread pudding with them, something warm, sweet and gooey to make me happy in these January evenings.

I adapted this persimmon bread pudding from Martha Stewart and ended up with a perfect bread pudding. Instead of using white chocolate, I threw in some milk chocolate chips, and instead of melting the chocolate into the milk sauce, tossed them in separately. This gave the pudding little chocolate chunks and bits of the chocolate sweetness, instead of having it smoothly integrated into the sauce. I also added more cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as raisins. The recipe I’ve included is how I prepared it.

I loved this bread pudding – in fact, I thought it was pretty perfect. I didn’t completely puree the persimmon, and instead cooked them, got them all soft, mashed up a lot of them, but left chunks of the fruit intact. I was left with a light, sweet flavour throughout the pudding and nice pieces of almost peachy-cantaloupe firm fruit scattered in. I loved the amount of cinnamon, and the milk chocolate was great in there as it added a definite sweetness. This isn’t an overly saucy bread pudding, and I loved the non-soggy texture. This is a great base to any bread pudding, and if you wanted to try other fruits in there, it would work wonderfully. I’m thinking peaches next time!

Persimmon-Chocolate Bread Pudding with Raisins
adapted from Martha Stewart

3 Fuyu persimmons, peeled, seeded and cut into small pieces or slices
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup sugar, plus more, for baking dish
Unsalted butter, for baking dish
10 slices (about 1 1/2 pounds) 1 1/2-inch-thick day-old or toasted brioche, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup raisins
2 cups milk
3 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, combine persimmon, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup sugar; simmer over low heat until sugar is dissolved.

2. Mash heated persimmons until there a lot of the fruit is pureed, making sure to leave some fruit pieces intact.

3. Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish, and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Place bread in baking dish; sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Scatter chocolate chips and raisins over the bread as well.

4. In a medium saucepan, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar and milk; stir frequently over low heat. Remove from heat once the sugar is dissolved.

5. Whisk eggs in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk warm milk mixture into eggs, being careful not to cook the eggs; stir in persimmon mixture. Pour mixture into baking dish, covering bread completely.

6. Bake until filling sets, about 35 minutes.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone gets to enjoy 2010 just the way they want it.

Here are some perfect brownies. They are moist enough, not too dry, not too moist, perfectly rich and chocolately. Need I say more?

If you’re looking for a quick and easy brownie, or a quick and easy dessert, then this is for you. I loved it and will make this recipe again and again.

Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies
adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons finely ground instant coffee
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup broken or chopped walnuts or pecans
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper. Butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet.

3. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, if you’re using it, and salt together.

4. Put the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and place the pan over low heat. When the butter starts to melt, sift the cocoa over it and add the instant coffee. Continue to cook, stirring, until the butter is melted and the cocoa and coffee are blended into it. Remove from the heat and cool for about 3 minutes.

5. Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the eggs into the saucepan one at a time. Next, stir in the sugar and vanilla (don’t beat anything too vigorously — you don’t want to add air to the batter), followed by the dry ingredients, nuts and chopped chocolate. Scrape the batter into the pan.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, at which point the brownies will still be gooey but the top will have a dry papery crust. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the brownies cool for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer, if you’d like.) Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the paper and invert onto a cutting board. Cool completely before cutting into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side.

SERVING: These are happy being served in all the typical ways — with whipped cream, ice cream or Hot Fudge Sauce or paired with a glass of milk to allow for dunking. I think they are best at room temperature, when they are at their moistest, but they are also very good chilled.

STORING: Wrapped well, the brownies will keep for 3 days at room temperature or frozen for up to 2 months.

I have a terrible habit… cooking for 50 when only five are around. I think I topped out at 12 liters in my last attempt at soup. Small pots help keep me honest, but I seem to always find a way. This is true with spaghetti – mounds of it left over – always.

This is not a bad thing, especially considering the convention of the frittata!

These are many ways to approach this. I like the day old spagettes, but any older and you might want to freshen the mix by inviting some fresh veg into the equation. Try wilting spinach, frying onions, or adding fresh tomatoes.

Spaghetti Frittata

Start by sparking the broiler and getting an oven safe skillet to medium-high heat.

In a bowl, whisk as many eggs as you need (i.e. about 1 per serving @ 6 – 10 servings). I’ve seen recipes that might discard every other yolk, but I don’t. Depending on your original pasta sauce, you might not need to season the eggs – a softer sauce might require you to add salt, pepper, etc… use your judgment.

Now the fun part – it’s best to work with a slightly warmer leftover so pull your spaghetti earlier or warm in just a tad in the microwave. Fold the spaghetti into your egg mixture and ensure and even coating.

On your medium-high hot skillet, gently and evenly add the mixture. Let in cook on the stove-top for 5 -7 minutes and follow up with another 3 – 5 minutes under the broiler. I like to pull it in the last 2 minutes to add a coating of any gritty sharp Parmesan. Keep an eye on it as broilers are mean, loud, and pushy

Slice like a pizza – um – a pie? A pie.

Serve with a salad or a quartered and salted tomato – all doused with your best olive oil.

The play of textures in this crispy, flavorful, and tender point is bliss and makes a great snack, light meal, or easy take-with-you lunch idea.

Okay, this will be the last pumpkin post for the next little while (though I still have something pumpkiny on the backburner!), and it’s probably something everyone has a favourite recipe for: pumpkin spice loaf.

However, I have yet to find my favourite version, so I keep trying ones that sound perfectly spiced and full of pumpkin flavour. This one, from Chowtimes, comes pretty close. I knew I wanted to have fresh cranberries in there, and I thought all the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in this recipe would stand up to all the cranberry. They certainly did, though next time I would increase the spice amounts just a bit.

I made two different types of loaf. In one I added chocolate chips and in the other, chopped walnuts. I definitely preferred the chocolate chip one, as the dark chocolate was perfect against the cranberry and meshed nicely with the cinnamon and pumpkin. The walnut was good, but would’ve been even better with a drizzle of cinnamon frosting or something to sweeten it up a little.

Both loaved baked up wonderfully, making the kitchen smell nice and spicy! They were moist and the pumpkin flavour wasn’t overpowering. All in all, this is a great go-to recipe whenever you’ve got some pumpkin puree on hand and an itch for a pumpkin spice bread.

Pumpkin Spice Cranberry Bread with Walnuts and/or Chocolate Chips
adapted from Chowtimes
makes 2 loaves

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup apple sauce)
3 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
and/or
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour two 9×5×3 inch loaf pans.

2. Beat sugar and oil in a large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin.

3. Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions.

4. Mix in cranberries, walnuts and /or chocolate chips.

5. Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using a spatula, loosen the edge around the loaves. Turn the loaves out onto racks and cool completely.

If you like this, you might also like:

Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake
Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze
Orange-Spice Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Frosting

As promised, here’s one of the things I made with my own pureed pumpkin: Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake. I’ve been avidly following the Food Librarian’s bundt-cake-baking-fest and have pretty much decided to make every single one of the posted cakes. The first one I tried, given I had so much pumpkin puree as well as plenty of apples, was the Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake. What a great first choice!

I appreciated a lot of things about this cake. This recipe made 6 smaller bundt cakes, each one a wonderfully moist cake with plenty of warm, fall spices that shone brightly against the pumpkin and big chunks of apple. Apple doesn’t often tend to stand out in their flavour, but I found they did in this cake. The pumpkin taste is mild and complemented by the cinnamon and cloves. One of my favourite things about the cake was that it wasn’t very sweet – there’s not much sugar in here, and so the apple, pumpkin and spices are not overpowered with sweetness. Oh, and does this ever make for a moist cake and when it’s served the same day it’s made, it has a nice crisp crust . Yum!

I was going to make a honey frosting to go with this, but after eating my first mini-bundt, I realized it wasn’t necessary. These are great all on their own and a perfect fall bundt cake.

Pumpkin Apple Spice Bundt Cake
adapted from The Food Librarian

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
10 Tbsp butter, softened a bit
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of diced Granny Smith apples
Powdered sugar to sift on top

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2. Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each completely. Add the pumpkin and blend well. Add vanilla and blend well. Stir dry ingredients into wet, a third at a time, stirring as little as possible to blend completely. Fold in the apple chunks.

4. Spray bundt pan (I used a pan with 6 mini bund molds) generously with nonstick cooking spray. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until cake starts to turn golden brown and whole kitchen smells good. Removed from oven and let cool in the pan for five minutes. Check to see if you need to run a butter knife along to break the edge away from the pan, but be careful not to damage the sides of the cake. Invert onto a plate and allow to cool completely. Sift powdered sugar onto the cake and serve.

If you like this, you might also like:

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Orange Spice Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Frosting
Fresh Mango Bread

I miss writing, especially here. Been gone, but where?

These were the days of my life since… last October. I am a foodie, but a keener of the sort. I have loved food since the start – easy hobby I figured. My mom didn’t really “love” food, but she loved the people eating it, and it showed. She gave me a head start on the whole ethnic palette idea – foreign color, flavor, and texture on a regular basis. I explicitly remember the breaded and baked calf brains served with a highly acidic, but still un-cured green/white cabbage salad. I was 7. I was not happy.

Taken from www.rawfish.com.au/brains-and-bacon/ - this is about what it looked like, but my mom served this with a cabbage salad and did not use any bacon.

Pied de Cochon make a great calf brain omelet soufflé thing – fantastic

Anyway, I started cooking and eating everywhere/everything. Traveling as a foodie is too good, especially if stop as you go… so after taking to as many markets, tables, sidewalks as there are types of bread, I decided to take a few sporadic plunges.

The Ritz Carlton – as far I know, my mentor. I worked there as a banquette server, always between the kitchen and the client. The kitchen was – the best. It’s where I saw my first 400 liter stock pot.

Other restos followed. I served mostly, but that implies always near the kitchen. Italian, Sushi, Chinese, tapas, bars and pubs – all different; all fascinating.

I eventually managed a couple for restos, but most recently, in the last year in fact, I was a chef. I cheffed for fifty, everyday.

They loved it. I loved it. Here a short list of some of what I served: Sample Menus

Why am I telling you all this? Because I went from foodie to pro, and thought you should know. Plus, I just sort of want to say thanks to all the people who truly love food and have shared with me their experience and passion – professionals and foodies, diners and dishers, servers and savants… thanks. My palette will forever know the amalgamation of texture and flavor one uses to taste the art of life…

…and with that, one of my favorites from the last year:

Crepes Terrine with Spinach, Mushroom, and Smoked Turkey

Crepes are my favorite and are in fact the first thing I learned to make after the fried egg. I know it as a breakfast food or dessert and love the way you can fill them up and roll them on your plate, blanketing them in any of many syrups, sauces, or jams. But the rich and sumptuous crepe is far more ready for a savory setting than I had earlier thought, dans la forme d’une… terrine? Sorta. Not exactly right, but serves the purpose.

So, first – prepare you fillings:

Mushrooms and Spinach

I like to use a mix of mushrooms that have been roasted and chopped with a bit of salt and pepper or a mushroom duxelle – nothing too fancy required, but feel free to experiment. Be wary of over flavoring as the finished dish is quite complex from a flavor perspective. Same goes for the spinach – roasted with salt and pepper. I mixed both of these with some onions rendered in butter for some extra flavor. Again, any approach to creating a delicately flavorful filling is good.

Smoked Turkey

I did this dish with shrimp when I was working (cooked then minced with green onion and garlic), but the deli-slice is far easier to work with. Use any you like, i.e. smoked turkey, but nothing too crazy. Finding something with little salt and fat is a good start.

Cheese

Buying sliced cheese is fun, but pricey. I like to get a few small chunks, grate, and mix (at work, this was replaced with a saffron roux and wilted spinach with onion). I also included a few intermittent layers holding brie as their prize. Remember to save some cheese to top the terrine.

Crepes

¾ cup all purpose flour (you can use any basic flour, but the texture will change)
1 cup milk
3 eggs
½ tablespoon sugar (optional, but I like the bit of sweetness)
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons melted butter

Whisk the eggs and milk together – you can optionally do all this in a blender or using a hand blender. Add the sugar, mix again. Temper the hot butter and add to the mix. Add remaining ingredients and mix for a last time. Store this in your fridge for one hour. This is required for a moist and tender crepe as the flour will have the time require to sponge-ily absorb the wet stuffs. Drink flour, drink (evil laugh)…

Heat a non-stick pan, butter it, and drop a teaspoon of the batter in the middle. Leave there until firm and then wipe it around the pan and throw it away (well, eat it, but for some reason the first crepe is never a nice one). Heat up your oven to the minimum setting and leave the crepes in there with a slightly damp towel overlying to keep them from drying.

Once done, and in an oven safe vessel, start the layering. Make sure to double or maybe triple the crepe count at the bottom so that you have something of a base. Use an intermittent method, is this case, mushrooms, turkey, cheese, mushroom, turkey, brie, as so on…

Top the last crepe with your reserved cheese, some crushed oregano, and finish in a 350C oven for a few minutes, just to melt the cheese. Remove, let rest 10 minutes, and then slice with a bread knife or another super sharp or toothy knife – enjoy.

You have the option to top with a hollandaise or other like sauce, but I like a drizzle of truffle oil and maple syrup. Serve with a sharp crisp white wine.

Now, I was sort of mentioning a shrimp based approach, but there are many options here. Enjoy ham, smoked salmon, spinach, avocado, other cheeses, other sauces, and of course – any dessert manifestation.

Last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving, and when deciding what I wanted to contribute to the meal, I decided on the dessert and bread. I had big plans for the dessert – big, delicious, decadent plans. These plans fell apart, just like they do every year. I procrastinate and procrastinate, and when I finally head out to buy my pureed pumpkin (on the night I have to make my dessert), all of the stores are sold out. I biked to four different grocery stores in frigid windy weather in search of the elusive pumpkin, but to no avail.

After sadly making my way back home, I panicked slightly and tried to take stock of the ingredients I did have. Luckily, I had bought a big bag of apples the night before, and frozen cranberries had been on sale the week before…and that’s when this Thanksgiving’s somewhat lame dessert was born. I followed this basic recipe, making some changes along the way.

Not that this Apple-Cranberry Maple Crisp with Rum-Soaked Raisins was bad…it’s just that Thanksgiving is all about eating like a gigantic pig and loading up on starches, carbs, fats and big platefuls of rich desserts! A fruit crisp is hardly Thanksgiving-worthy, even though it might be tasty.

This crisp wasn’t my favourite crisp, but it was a good alternative. I really appreciated the juicy tartness of the cranberries – a welcome change from the usual dried cranberries. I couldn’t really taste the rum in the raisins, so I may leave that step out next time. It had a lot of cinnamon flavour, but I’m definitely including some other spices next time…perhaps some ginger and cardamom. The maple didn’t really stand out either, so I may try making a maple whipped cream instead of the plain whipped cream I made to go with it (which I think is an important element).

Overall, it’s a fine fall dessert and a good way to use up all those in-season apples and cranberries here in Quebec. Quick, easy, and filled with sweet and tart fruits. However, it’s not what I would call an appropriate Thanksgiving dessert (but I will make my original plan still!).

Apple-Cranberry Crisp with Rum-Soaked Raisins

8 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 1/4 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
3/4 cup raisins
2 oz rum
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups rolled or quick oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut in small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 X 13 inch baking pan or casserole dish with vegetable spray.

2. Combine rum and raisins in a small bowl. Microwave on high until boiling. Stir and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix apple slices, cranberries, raisins, maple syrup, 1/4 cup flour and 1 tablespoon cinnamon together. Spread in prepared pan, and set aside.

3. Combine rolled oats, brown sugar, 3/4 cup flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in cold butter until mixture is crumbly, or it resembles very small peas. This step can also be done in a food processor. Spread evenly over fruit.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and crisp topping is lightly browned. Let cool slightly before serving.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Whipped Cream Recipe

2 cups cold heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Using a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer with a whisk attachment, whip cream until almost stiff.

2. Add confectioners’ sugar and extract, and beat until stiff.

3. Refrigerate until ready to use.

If you like this, you might also like:

Apple and Cranberry Crisp with Ginger-Pecan Topping
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Caramel Apple Cupcakes

I made these blueberry-lemon crumb bars a few weeks back for snack at work. As I’ve repeated over and over, I cannot get enough of citrusy desserts, so this recipe, originally found on Recipe Girl, went right to the top of must-bake desserts.

I’m not disappointed in the dessert – I love the sweet yet still tart lemon cream. It’s great on its own, and it stands well with all the blueberries. The crust is thick and buttery…this dessert has all the elements to be great.

However, I think the amounts of these elements have to be balanced a bit better. I found there was too much topping – combined with the crust, there was just too much flour and not enough lemon and blueberry. I had upped the amount of condensed milk and lemon juice, but next time, I’ll probably double the amount of lemon filling. Same thing with the blueberries! I found that the blueberry flavour was dominated by both the lemon and the sweet crumble topping.

People did like this dessert (myself included). It just needs some fine tuning for the next time, and these bars will earn themselves top dessert status.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 large egg, separated
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups room-temperature blueberries (about 13 oz.), washed and drained on paper towels

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9×13-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the ends. Spray foil with cooking spray- bottom and sides of the pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Using a pastry cutter (or your fingers), blend the butter completely into the flour mixture. Transfer 2 cups of the crumb mixture to another bowl and reserve for the topping.

3. Blend the egg white into the remaining crumbs and then press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a level crust. Use the bottom of a flat, wide glass to tap the mixture and even it out.

4. Bake the crust 10-12 minutes, or until it starts to form a dry top.

5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk condensed milk, lemon juice & zest, and egg yolk. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes (it will begin to thicken).

6. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over hot crust and then drop spoonfuls of the lemon mixture over the blueberries. Spread gently with a spatula to distribute as evenly as you can. Bake until lemon mixture begins to form a shiny skin- 7 to 8 minutes.

7. Sprinkle reserved crumble topping over the lemon-blueberry layer, pressing the streusel between your fingers into small lumps as you sprinkle. Bake until filling is bubbly at the edges and the topping is brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

8. Let bars cool in the pan on a rack until just warm, about an hour. Carefully lift them out of the pan using the foil overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove foil and cut into 24 bars when cool. (If you have time to chill the bars, they’re easier to cut cleanly when chilled).

*The bars may be stored at room temperature for a few hours, but otherwise should be stored in the refrigerator.

If you like this, you might also like:

Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze
Lemon Pie with Coconut Crust
Cinnamon Streusel Blueberry Muffins