That’s Liza…with a Z
There is a bar cookie called Hello Dolly…where did that name come from? One of my favorite food blogs is the Homesick Texan, and she makes a Hello Dolly bar that I used for inspiration here…anything the Homesick Texan makes is worthy of eating. However, I cannot abide by the graham cracker crumb crust…it’s just not substantial enough to withstand the rigors of hanging around our house, not to mention it’s not nearly good enough to be mingling with chocolate, pecans, and coconut.
Since I didn’t make my bars with graham cracker crumbs I shall take the liberty of renaming my delicious delight. My version shall be known as the Liza Minnelli bar. Why? Well, why not? Liza is an actress associated with musical theatre, and I so loved her as a comedic actress in the highly under-appreciated TV show Arrested Development, other than that I got nothing…it’s just a name.
This easy bar cookie is the perfect antidote to post-holiday, over-exposure of the kitchen…right now I’m a big advocate of get in and get out before anyone notices you’re cooking…otherwise they might start making requests and I don’t know about you but I’ve got novels to read, laundry to fold, BSG reruns to watch, and a dog to walk.
Liza Minnelli Bars
Crust
2 cups flour
2 sticks butter, cold, diced
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Put all the dry ingredients to the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 12 times or until the two combine. Add the egg yolks and pulse just enough to mix in (3 or 4 times). Turn out into a 9″ x 13″ baking pan that is lined with parchment (sling fashion) and any unlined areas are heavily buttered. Press down to form a firm even layer. Prick all over with a fork and bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
Lovely, Gooey Layers
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
14oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
Spread all of the above evenly over the crust. Pour the condensed milk on last in an even fashion. Bake at 350° for 20 - 30 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool for 1 hour minimum and remove from pan using the parchment sling. Cut into bars and enjoy. They go well with coffee and also, surprisingly, a very heady red Zin.
The printable recipe is here.
Madeleine…deceptive and addictive
I passed 46 years on this earth before I ate a madeleine. Oh, such a sorrowful waste of time. Since I purchased Dorie Greenspan’s Baking book this summer I make them often and I always double the recipe…they are that popular around here. The deceptive aspect of a madeleine is that it looks so chic, so sophisticated…so it must be difficult to make, right? Not so, mon frere!
They begin as a simple batter that improves with an overnight stay in the refrigerator. Then after brushing the madeleine tin with butter, and a dusting of flour, you plop the thick batter into the molds without worry about evenly spreading the batter or anything… they smooth out, puff up, and fill the scalloped shells so well that it’s magical. When they’re done (10-12 minutes) you bang the pan on the counter and they tumble out…golden brown, fragrant with butter and vanilla.
They’re addictive because of that slight, crisp crunch they have on their edges. Then the outer firm texture gives way to a tender, dry (but not too dry) cake interior with a superb crumb and texture. For me, madeleines represent the best aspects of cake…without any of the drawbacks like sticky frosting, under-baked centers, and over-baked edges.
Alas, there will be no recipe for these lovelies…I actually follow Dorie’s recipe to the letter. If you have the book…make them, if not then buy it or check it out from your local library.
Almost a boomchunka…just add cherries
Several years ago we vacationed in the small northern Michigan town of Glen Arbor. Dexter suggested this destination because it’s the home of The Cherry Republic…in other words, all things cherry. Cherry Republic’s slogan is “life liberty, beaches, and pie” and who can fight with that…actually it sounds like my idea of heaven. It was a delightful get-away with a fabulous, almost pacific-like beach, a good resort, huge dunes for climbing and hiking, and the best cherry pie I’d ever had until I made my own this summer. Other delightful cherry offerings included a cherry ice cream that practically sparkled, a fabulous cherry soda, and my favorite boomchunka cookies. GH and I both adored these cookies and the boys didn’t (more for us). I’ve often contemplated those cookies, their possible ingredients, composition, texture…every aspect lives large in my memory and yet I’ve never attempted to recreate their deliciousness. The were dense, loaded with chocolate, nuts, and cherries, and they were toothsome…not crunchy and not chewy…but just right in between the two.
Yesterday I asked Dexter to choose a cookie recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home To Yoursand he proceeded to mark at least a dozen recipes with post-its. So after taking it under advisement that he really wanted the Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops I decided to go with the chocolate oatmeal drops…I just don’t find whoppers appealing.
After reading over the recipe I realized that with a few changes I might actually get lucky and have a boomchunka…and so I started changing the recipe, making notations in the margin and getting more excited as I moved along. Then …drat, drat, double drat…I’m out of dried cherries! I went ahead and made them without the cherries…knowing that they’d be good, but just not exactly right.
I can’t wait to get some dried cherries because these cookies are awesome! They’ve got it all…density, chocolate….oh yeah, they’ve got chocolate three ways, pecans, oats, and that fine quality I call toothsomeness…not crunchy, not chewy…just right. Given our flawless geek logic we’ve figured that these cookies are actually good for us…you know…oats, pecans, chocolate…antioxidants and fiber…they must be good for us. Plus they’re perfect with coffee…oh yes, these are complex, dark, adult cookies…kids tend to shun them for their oaty goodness. So I’ll buy the cherries and add a cup and I’ll report back on the results. In the meantime here’s the recipe:
Triple Chocolate Boomchunkas
adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan
2 sticks of butter
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup dried cherries
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment or use a silicone mat.
Place the butter and bittersweet chocolate chunks into a medium sized microwave-safe bowl and microwave on level 7 for 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir the butter and chocolate until they emulsify and come together. Add the brown and white sugars and stir well to combine. Add the eggs and stir well to combine.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the butter/chocolate mixture to this and stir well to combine. Add the semisweet chocolate morsels, pecans, oats, and cherries. Stir to combine.
Using an ice cream scoop place 6 mounds of dough on the prepared cookie sheet. Each mound should have about 1/3 cup of dough. Using the palm of your hand flatten the mounds out so that they are about 1/2” to ¾” thick and a circle shape. Bake for about 12 minutes in convection oven, 15 minutes in a standard oven. Adjust cook times for your own oven.
