BACK TO SCHOOL RASPBERRY GRANOLA BARS

This is another great recipe from "Craft of Baking," Karen Demasco's compendium of homey yet elegant desserts. I especially like this book b/c even with seemingly typical seeming desserts (shortbread cookies, scones, chocolate cake), she gets the proportions right so you don't see recipes calling for 2 c's of sugar. Rather, of the recipes tried and on my list, everything strikes the right balance of sweet, salty, crunchy, smooth.

This isn't what you'd typically call "granola bar." It's more like a shortbread cookie, packed with crunchy walnuts and oats, with a thin layer of blueberry jam. I subbed about 1 c whole wheat white flour for the ap flour which I think gave it a dense wheaty complexity.

Talk about familiar yet elevated. These are not by any means your typical kid's snack but a crunchy, crispy, wheaty, totally balanced snack that i wish i could always have on hand.

BACK TO SCHOOL RASPBERRY GRANOLA BARS
makes 16 bars

12 T butter, plus more for the pan
1 c pecans, roughly chopped
1 1/2 c ap flour (1 c whole wheat; 1/2 c ap flour)
1 1/4 c rolled oats
1/3 c granulated sugar (1/4 c)
1/3 c packed dark brown sugar
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 c raspberry preserves

Preheat oven 350. Butter an 8" square baking pan.

in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temp.

Spread the pecans on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cool the sheet completely on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, brown sugar, salt, bs, and pecans. Pour in the melted butter, and using a wooden spoon, mix together until well combined. Transfer about two thirds of the dough to the prepared baking pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan, forming a firmly packed layer.

Using an offset or rubber spatula, spread the preserves over the dough. Evenly sprinkle the remaining dough over the preserves (lightly tamp down). Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the top is golden brown and fragrant, about 40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool completely. Then cut into 2" square.

The bars can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Banana Peanut Butter Cake

 

This is from Karen DeMasco's "The Craft of Baking"

Moist, dense cake. with only a little over a cup of flour, it's less banana bread, more dense torte with powerful banana flavor. The buttercream is rocks. Not too sweet; makes reasonable quantity and I liked how I spread it on top for a simple but elegant look. I used crunchy PB so it gave the frosting an unexpected texture. Maybe a needed a little more than just 1/4 c, if not only to give it more of a pb flavor boost but to darken the color a shade darker than the beige.


Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

Cupcakes
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c plus 2 T grapeseed oil
3/4 c mashed banana (about 1 1/2 medium bananas, mashed with a fork)
1 L egg
1 L yolk
1/3 c plus 2 T buttermilk
3/4 t vanilla extract
1 c plus 2 T a.p. flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Buttercream
2  L egg whites (1/4 c)
1/4 c sugar
8 T butter, cut into small pieces, at room temp
1/4 c creamy p.b.
1/4 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with liners. (or grease an 8" cake pan)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil. Whisk in the banana, egg, egg yolk, buttermilk and vanilla.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, bs, and salt. Using a whisk, mix the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full. Bake, rotating the tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Invert the cupcakes onto a wire rack, turn them top side up, and let them cool completely.

To make the buttercream, fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring it to a simmer. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl on top of the saucepan, and whisking constantly, heat the egg mixture until it is warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk on medium speed until the whites become translucent and shiny and form a soft peat, about 5 minutes more

With the machine running, add the butter, a cube at a time, and mix until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and add the PB, vanilla, and salt. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, beat until the buttercream becomes shiny and creamy, about 10 minutes. (The buttercream can be refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month. Before using, bring it to room temperature adn beat it for a few minutes until smooth.) Spread the buttercream over the tops of the cupcakes, swirling it decoratively.

The cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Raspberry Scones

These remind me of the giant breakfast scones I used to get at Mangia on 57th. The idea isn't to get impossibly flaky, buttery layered, biscuit-like scones. Rather, it's more a cross between a muffin and a hearty, dense scone. Crisp, enticingly browned on the outside and crumbly, buttery on the inside studded with dried raspberries and oats.

I may have overbaked it a touch....

Regardless, they're the perfect breakfast treat when you're in the mood for something filling and comforting, crumbly, crunchy and homey. they kept pretty well the next day.