bar cookie

Brown Butter Carmelitas

Posted on by Ruth
brown butter carmelitas

This has been the summer of the bar cookie. My kids are all very into helping in the kitchen, so for my sanity I’ve kept our bakes simple. A big lifesaver has been simply pressing cookie dough into the pan vs. individually portioning it out; because do you know how long it takes to get through a recipe with three children all wanting their turn for each step?

For the most part, I don’t mind. But I do have a renewed appreciation for the humble bar cookie. Focusing on tray bakes also reminded me of a few recipes sitting in my “to try” file, most notably carmelitas: a buttery oatmeal and brown sugar bar cookie filled with chewy caramel and chocolate.

Of course I had to put a little bit of a spin on it. First: brown butter! Since we’re melting butter for the crust/topping anyways, just take the extra couple minutes to brown it, thereby adding some delicious nutty complexity to these bars. Maillard reaction FTW!

Second, homemade caramel! Most carmelita recipes call for using either caramel ice cream topping or chewy caramel candies melted down with cream; but I think it’s worth it to make your own salted caramel sauce. You can control the darkness of the caramel (go dark! It helps tame the sweetness of these bars.), plus it only takes a few minutes. Seriously, once you start making your own caramel, it’s hard to accept anything less than homemade.

brown butter carmelitas top down

Baker’s Notes:

  • Since we’re only making a small amount of salted caramel, I strongly prefer the dry method (i.e. not adding water to the sugar at the beginning) for speed. Your sugar may clump and look a bit questionable, but it’s fine, everything is fine! Stirring is fine! Just turn down the heat if you need to and let any lumps liquefy, then turn the heat back up to get that caramelization going. As always, whenever you’re making caramel, have all your other ingredients measured out and ready to go before you start heating the sugar.
  • You can make the salted caramel sauce ahead of time (it lasts for ages in the fridge); just gently reheat to a pourable consistency when you’re ready to assemble the carmelitas.
  • Be generous with the salt, both in the caramel and with the garnish on top! These bars need it!
  • Cool and chill the carmelitas completely before cutting. I know it’s tempting to dig in ASAP, but if you cut these bars before they’re completely cool you will have a gooey mess on your hands. I like to pop the whole tray in the fridge for an hour or two to make cutting a breeze.
brown butter carmelitas

Brown Butter Carmelitas

Yield: One 8x8 pan
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

A delightfully buttery oat bar cookie stuffed with chocolate, salted caramel, and toasted nuts.

Ingredients

For the salted caramel sauce:

  • 160g granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp sea or kosher salt
  • 45g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 100g heavy cream (35%), at room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the base and topping:

  • 150g unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 125g all purpose flour
  • 100g light brown sugar
  • 90g rolled oats (regular, not quick or jumbo)
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

To finish:

  • 150g bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or a mix of semisweet and bittersweet)*
  • 55g well-toasted nuts, finely chopped**
  • Flaky salt, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Make the salted caramel sauce: In a medium heavy-bottomed, light-colored saucepan, sprinkle the sugar in an even layer. Place over medium heat. Once the sugar starts to melt around the edges, use a heatproof spatula to drag the melted parts toward the center of the pan. Continue dragging and swirling the pan to make sure the sugar is melting evenly and not scorching. If the mixture gets very lumpy and grainy, don't panic! Turn the heat down and stir until the chunks melt. Once all the sugar has liquified, you can turn the heat back up.
  2. As soon as the melted sugar turns the color of an old copper penny, remove it from the heat and add the salt and butter, stirring continuously. Be careful, as the mixture will bubble up!
    Whisk until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth and combined.
  3. Still continuously stirring, add the cream in a slow, steady stream—again, taking caution as the mixture will bubble and rise. Return the pot to medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, to thicken the sauce slightly.
  4. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a heat-safe container and let cool while you prepare the rest of the carmelitas.
  5. Make the base and topping: Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack in the middle. Line an 8x8 pan with foil or two criss-crossed pieces of parchment, leaving 2-3 inches of overhang on at least two of the sides for easy removal. Lightly grease the foil or parchment.
  6. To brown the butter, place the cubed butter in a small, light-colored saucepan over low-medium heat. Once the butter has melted, turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir frequently with a heatproof spatula, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan as needed. The butter will crackle, foam, turn clear gold, then finally start browning. It’s done when the crackling subsides and you smell toasted nuts. This process takes about 8-10 minutes total, but the butter can go from browned to burnt in a flash—so keep an eye on it.
  7. Pour the butter and all the toasty bits into a small bowl or glass measuring cup and whisk in the espresso powder (if using) and vanilla. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes (it can be warm, but not piping hot when you add it to the rest of the ingredients).
  8. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, and baking soda. Pour in the brown butter mixture and stir with a fork until all the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.
  9. Bake the crust: Transfer about 60% of the mixture (~260g) to the prepared pan and use the bottom of a measuring cup or small glass to press it firmly and evenly along the bottom. (Reserve the rest for the topping.) Bake for 10 minutes.
  10. Finish assembling and baking the bars: Remove the base from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate and nuts over the top. Pour the caramel sauce in an even layer over the chocolate and nuts. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top.
  11. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and the caramel is bubbling on the edges, about 18-20 minutes. Cool at room temperature for an hour, then refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm.
  12. Cut into desired sizes and serve lightly chilled or at room temperature. Store leftover bars in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temperature for up to 5 days; freeze for longer storage.



Notes

*Chocolate chips are fine; I recommend something in the 55-70% cacao content range. I used a mix of semisweet chocolate chips and Callebaut 70% callets.

**I used almonds, but any nut you like will work here.

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© Ruth
Category: Bars and Brownies

Earl grey caramel slice (millionaire’s shortbread)

Posted on by Ruth
earl grey caramel slice

The first time I sipped earl grey tea (not sure exactly when, maybe as a preteen?), I thought it was vile. I don’t quite remember why — maybe the unexpected citrus notes, maybe the particular cup I had was brewed way too strong, who knows. All I know is that it turned me off from earl grey for at least a decade.

Well, many years and cups of caffeinated drinks later, I finally gave earl grey another chance and am happy to report a complete change of heart (er, taste?). It’s actually become one of my favorite flavors to infuse into baked goods; it adds such a lovely hint of brightness and sophistication that pairs equally well with either fruit or chocolate.

Infusing earl grey flavor

This recipe is a twist on the classic caramel slice or millionaire’s shortbread, a three-layer bar cookie with a shortbread base, caramel middle, and chocolate topping. Many caramel slice recipes use condensed milk as the basis for the caramel layer; but since I wanted to add the earl grey flavor, here I make a classic caramel with earl grey infused cream. At first I tried infusing both the caramel and chocolate, but the flavor wasn’t as prominent as I wanted. So I ended up nixing the earl grey in the chocolate and adding some tea to the shortbread for the right balance.

When adding tea directly to a baked good as in the shortbread, I prefer using leaves from regular old tea bags (Twinings is my go-to for earl grey). The leaves are small and unobtrusive. But for infusions, I prefer loose leaf. There will naturally be some cream (or butter) that sticks to the tea leaves during straining, but using the larger loose leaf tea seems to minimize the loss. However, if you don’t have both kinds of tea I would opt for tea bags in this recipe — you may just need to top up the cream a bit after the infusion.

earl grey caramel slice slabs

Baker’s Notes:

  • You will need a digital thermometer to make the caramel layer. For candy-making I prefer the clip-on style; I have both a Polder and Thermoworks Dot and both work well. While you want to use a pot large enough to prevent overflow, using one that’s too large can make it difficult to get an accurate reading with the probe. A 2.5L saucepan is my favorite size for this amount of caramel. As always, use caution when working with hot sugar — have all your ingredients scaled out nearby and keep small children and animals out of the kitchen.
  • I use a small amount of corn syrup in both the caramel and chocolate layers. In the caramel, the corn syrup helps prevent crystallization. In the chocolate topping, it adds a little shine. You can omit it if you don’t have it; just increase the sugar in the caramel to 200g. No need to adjust other quantities for chocolate layer.
  • I prefer to let the chocolate layer set completely at room temperature (about 4 hours or overnight) rather than refrigerating it so the caramel won’t be too hard to slice through neatly. If you’re in a rush and need to refrigerate it to set, make sure to let the slab sit at room temp for at least 15 minutes to let the caramel soften a little.
  • Love earl grey in baked goods? Check out the earl grey bundt cake and the earl grey variation of the chocolate caramel tart in my cookbook Baked to Order!
  • earl grey caramel slice

Earl grey caramel slice (millionaire’s shortbread)

Makes one 9″ x 5″ pan

Ingredients:

For the earl grey shortbread:
  • 113g (1/2 c) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 35g (1/4 c plus 1 tsp) icing sugar
  • 4g earl grey tea (from 2 regular tea bags)
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 tsp orange zest
  • 125g (1 c) all-purpose flour
For the earl grey caramel:
  • 160g (2/3 c) heavy cream (35% fat), plus more if needed
  • 8g earl grey tea (1 3/4 Tbsp loose leaf, or about 4 regular tea bags)
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 180g (1 c minus 1 Tbsp) granulated sugar
  • 20g (1 Tbsp) corn syrup
  • 60g (1/4 c) water
  • 42g (3 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the chocolate topping:
  • 75g (3/4 c) good-quality dark chocolate (~50-60%), chopped
  • 50g (3 1/2 Tbsp) butter
  • 7g (1 tsp) corn syrup

Method:

Preheat the oven and prepare the pan: Preheat your oven to 350F with a rack in the middle. Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan or 9×4 pullman pan and line with two pieces of criss-crossed parchment. Ensure all sides of the pan are lined and leave at least 2-inches of overhang on the long sides to ensure easy removal. Lightly grease the parchment.

Make the earl grey shortbread: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, icing sugar, tea, salt, and orange zest. Beat on low to combine, then raise the speed to medium and beat until smooth and combined, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl a couple times during this process. Add the flour and mix on low just until combined and no streaks of flour remain. Scatter the dough evenly into the prepared pan and use your fingers or a small glass to press the crust firmly and evenly across the bottom. Use a fork to prick the dough all over. Chill until just firm, about 10 minutes in the freezer or 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Bake the shortbread until lightly golden and set, about 25-30 min. Cool on a wire rack while you prepare the caramel layer.

Make the earl grey caramel: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until steaming. Stir in the tea, remove from the heat, and cover. Let cream infuse for 30 minutes. Strain the cream to remove the tea, pressing on the tea to extract as much cream as possible. Measure 130g of cream back into the small saucepan (add additional cream if necessary to reach the correct amount). Stir in the salt and vanilla. Place back over medium heat and bring back to a bare simmer, then turn off the heat, cover, and keep warm while you prepare the rest of the caramel.

In a medium (I used a 2.5L) heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Place over medium heat and stir with a fork to ensure the sugar is evenly moistened. Once the mixture starts to bubble, stop stirring. Place the lid on the pot and let boil, covered, for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, remove the lid and continue boiling until the mixture turns the color of a copper penny. Once the caramel reaches this color, remove the pan from the heat. Slowly pour in about a third of the cream mixture, stirring constantly. Take care as the mixture will bubble up! Once the first portion of cream is smoothly incorporated, slowly drizzle in the remaining cream followed by the butter, stirring constantly the entire time. Once the caramel is smooth, clip on a digital thermometer and return the pot to medium heat. Cook the caramel, stirring and scraping the pot frequently, until it reaches 250F. Immediately remove from the heat and pour over the shortbread. Do not scrape the pot; those bits of caramel tend to overcook and may leave hard bits in your squares. Let caramel cool completely before preparing the chocolate layer — about 4 hours at room temperature or 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Prepare the chocolate layer: Combine the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 20-second bursts, stirring well between bursts, until 80% melted; then continue stirring until completely melted and smooth. Pour over the set caramel, tilting the pan to spread the chocolate in an even layer. Let set at room temperature, about 4 hours. (You can speed this along and refrigerate for about an hour, but let stand at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes before cutting.)

Slice the bars: Once the chocolate has set, use a sharp chef’s knife to cut into desired sizes. For the cleanest slices, heat the blade and clean after each cut. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for longer storage; bring to room temperature before eating.

Coffee date squares

Posted on by Ruth

I’ve been leaning hard into nostalgic bakes lately; and these coffee date squares are my latest crush. An oat-flecked bar cookie with a layer of sweet date filling, date squares make a perfect sweet bite alongside your warm beverage of choice.

Date squares are popular coffeehouse fare here in Canada. Apparently in some parts of the country they’re known as “matrimonial cake” — possibly because the varying flavors and textures mirror the complexities of marriage (I know…it’s a stretch), or maybe because they were frequently served at weddings.

Name speculations aside, these old-fashioned treats are simple to make and enjoy. I’ve added coffee to help balance the sweetness of the dates, but these bars just call for personalization. Try simmering the dates in a mixture of water and orange or lemon juice (add some orange zest to the crumble if you want to play up the citrus notes!), or swap in your favorite medley of warming spices.

A few notes:
  • I use a food processor to make the crumble mixture for speed’s sake, but if you can also rub the butter in by hand. In general, I prefer using cold butter (vs. softened or melted) for crumb bars and streusels as I find the crumbs hold their shape well and have my ideal firm-but-tender texture after baking.
  • If you don’t want to use nuts, you can swap in an additional 45 g (1/2 c) oats instead (add them at the end with the rest of the oats).
  • You can use plain all-purpose flour for the crumble, but I think whole grain flour adds extra character and flavor to these bars! I’m a big fan of Flourist sifted Red Fife in baked goods, but you could try white whole-wheat, a mix of all-purpose and whole grain, or all whole grain for a heartier texture.

Coffee date squares

Makes one 8×8 pan

Ingredients:

For the coffee date filling:

  • 300g (1 3/4 c) dried Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
  • 200g (3/4 c plus 2 Tbsp) freshly brewed coffee
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

For the crust and crumb:

  • 188g (1 1/2 c) flour (I used Flourist sifted Red Fife)
  • 45g (1/3 c) toasted walnuts or hazelnuts
  • 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 100g (1/2 c) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp finely ground coffee
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 200g (14 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed and cold
  • 90g (1 c) rolled oats (preferably regular, not quick)

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack in the middle. Line an 8×8 square pan with two criss-crossed pieces of parchment paper, leaving a few inches of overhang on all edges. (This makes it easy to remove the squares from the pan later.)
  2. Make the coffee date filling: In a medium saucepan, combine the chopped dates and coffee. Cook over medium heat, stirring and mashing the dates frequently, until the dates have broken down and the mixture is thick and relatively smooth, about 10 minutes. Add the baking soda and stir to combine thoroughly. Scrape filling into a bowl and let cool while you continue with the recipe.
  3. Make the crust and crumb: In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, nuts, salt, sugar, baking soda, ground coffee, and spices. Pulse several times until well combined. Scatter the cold butter over the top and pulse until the mixture starts to form small clumps. Add the oats and pulse just a few times to incorporate — you don’t want the oats to completely break down as they add a nice texture.
  4. Assemble and bake the squares: Transfer approximately 2/3 (400g) of the crumb mixture to the prepared pan. Use a small glass or measuring cup to press the crumbs firmly and evenly across the bottom. Bake for 10 minutes, or until just set.
  5. Use a small offset spatula to spread the date filling evenly over the par-baked base (no need to let the base cool) and sprinkle the remaining crumbs evenly over the top. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 22-30 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing — I find chilling the bars in the fridge for a couple hours makes slicing a breeze. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for longer storage.