Pumpkin Caramel Bacon Bars
Nov 3, 2010 General
I’ll be late on this week’s TWD post but I thought these treats might be a good post in the meantime. My friend Katy forwarded the recipe from the noble pig and I made them last week for friend Joe’s birthday treat. 
The pumpkin squares might be a bit boring on their own. When you top them with caramel cream cheese frosting and chopped bacon, things change drastically. The bacon tastes quite suitable atop all that sugar. The frosting I made with double the original amount of cream cheese and I don’t think that was a mistake. The frosting stays pretty loose and drips down over the sides after you cut the bars. If you’re a fan of salty and sweet treats, this one’s for you. Unless you’re a vegetarian.
Pumpkin Caramel Bacon Bars
based on a recipe by Cuisine at Home
For the Bars-
8 oz. bacon, diced
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, at room temp
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped pecans
For the Frosting-
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup water
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
Sea salt
For the bars: Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat a 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick spray. Cook bacon in a saute pan over medium heat until crisp; drain on a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt for the bars in a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk together pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, egg, melted butter, bacon drippings, and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Stir in flour mixture and pecans, mix just until incorporated.
Spread pumpkin batter evenly into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting: Boil 2 cups brown sugar, water and a pinch of salt for the frosting in a large saucepan over high heat, 5 minutes, swirling occasionally to prevent scorching. Whisk in cream and butter pieces. (Mixture will bubble furiously; keep whisking.) Boil 2 minutes more.
Transfer caramel to the bowl of a stand mixer; whip on high speed until the caramel is thick and cool to the touch, about 10-minutes (don’t try touching the caramel too soon or you’ll burn your hand!). Add cream cheese, 1 cube at a time, until frosting is smooth.
Putting the bars together: Spread the caramel frosting over the bars while they are still in the pan. Let caramel set for 30 minutes. Add the chopped crispy bacon on top of the frosting. Cut the pan into small squares and enjoy.
Tags: Bacon Drippings, Baking Soda, Caramel Cream, Chopped Bacon, Chopped Pecans, Cook Bacon, Cream Cheese Frosting, Cup Brown Sugar, Flour Mixture, Friend Joe, Ground Cinnamon, Heavy Cream, Pinch Of Salt, Pumpkin Puree, Pumpkin Squares, Purpose Flour, Room Temp, Table Salt, Teaspoon Vanilla, Water Pinch
Scandenavian Recipe
Sep 23, 2010 General
Ingredients:
2 c. cake flour
1/8
tsp. salt
1 1/2
sticks unsalted butter, room
temp.
1/2 c.
sugar
3 tsp.
ground cardamom
1/2 c.
sliced almonds
6 tbsp.
powdered sugar
1 1/2
tsp. ground cardamom
Sliced
almonds
Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour and salt in medium bowl. Use electric mixer, beat unsalted butter, 1/2 cup sugar and 3 teaspoons ground cardamom in another bowl. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed. Stir in 1/2 cup sliced almonds. Combine 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom in small bowl with powdered sugar. Roll 1 tablespoon cookie dough into ball. Roll in powdered sugar to coat well. Place on cookie sheet. Dip bottom of small glass into powdered sugar mixture and press cookie to 1/2" thickness with bottom of glass. Press sliced almonds into top of cookie. Bake about 14 minutes. Let stand on sheet 3 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. Wrap in air tight container. Will freeze well up to 1 month.
Tags: Air Tight Container, Almonds, C Cake Flour, C Sugar, Cookie Dough, Cookie Sheet, Cup Sugar, Electric Mixer, Flour Mixture, Ground Cardamom, Heat Oven, Low Speed, Medium Bowl, Powdered Sugar, Recipe Ingredients, Room Temp, Sugar Mixture, Sugar Roll, Teaspoons, Unsalted Butter
Peanut Butter Crisscross
Sep 8, 2010 General
The crisscross will make you jump jump. When I got home from a day at the beach yesterday, I didn’t really feel like turning on the oven. The butter was already at room temp on the counter though so I whipped up a half batch and just baked up a few. The rest of the dough went in the fridge for a treat later in the week.
This recipe over here is my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe-especially when you add chocolate chips. It is so peanut buttery. I did like this recipe a lot even though it wasn’t quite as good as my older recipe. The addition of chocolate chips and chopped peanuts made the cookie feel a bit fancier. The crisscross on top tells you that it is pretty classic. Overall a very decent PB cookie recipe, and you can find it (in french and english) here.
Tags: Butter Cookie Recipe, Chocolate Chips, Chopped Peanuts, Day At The Beach, Fridge, Peanut Butter Cookie, Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe, Room Temp
