Back-to-School Raspberry Bars

It's true, I haven't been in school in five years. A working girl doesn't know from summer vacation, and there's no annual school supplies shopping spree at Staples anymore. I miss summer break, and, like any school supplies nerd, I miss those colored sticky tabs I used to use to mark key pages in my textbooks. After five years in the workforce, I've somehow managed to wean myself off the small thrills of being a student (even the discounts at JCrew, which I'd love just about now). But there's one school-time habit that's still going strong, one that I imagine will continue for years to come. At the profession-steeped age of 27, I'm still making myself back-to-school snacks.

Yes, friends. I may have replaced my classroom desk with a cubicle (glamorous, I know), but that doesn't mean my weakness for school snacks has suddenly disappeared. A good fruit bar or a handful of tamari almonds or a fruit bar makes the day go by faster. When the fruit bar consists of toasty oats, pecans, and homemade jam? All the better.

I feel like I say this every week, but I have Karen DeMasco to thank for this recipe. Her book, The Craft of Baking, is the force behind many of the great things I've baked this year -- from those cheesy scones to that lovely blueberry tart and the strawberry tart, too. These raspberry bars were yet another hit. They've got loads of that oat-nut-butter-sugar combo that makes crumbles and crisps so good. Only here, the stuff is on bottom and top, sandwiching a thick layer of raspberry jam. Am I saying they're good for you? No, I'm not. Not all snacks need be healthy. Or, if you must, call it a casual, unfussy dessert. It's really good, and it's been the bright spot of the last 5 or 6 days at the office.

If you've gone back to school, make a batch of these for the next week of classes. If you're back at the daily grind, make a batch of these for those dreary moments at work. If you're hangin' out with the kids, working from home or on location, or whatever, make a batch of these, or three. They're great, always. All the time.

Back-to-School Raspberry Bars

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan 1 cup raspberry preserves

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Spread the chopped pecans in a pie plate and toast for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the rolled oats, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking soda and pecans. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the melted butter until the oat mixture is thoroughly combined.

Press two-thirds of the oat mixture in an even layer on the bottom of the prepared baking pan and top with the raspberry preserves. Sprinkle the preserves with the remaining oat mixture.

Bake the bars for about 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the top is golden brown. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the granola bars cool completely, about 3 hours. Cut into squares and serve.

Brownie Buttons

When I was a kid, my mom and I baked brownies about once a week. My mom had her homemade recipes, which of course are excellent -- but as a kid, all I ever wanted was Duncan Hines. I would always make sure I was on my best behavior throughout, so that when we were done, I could take my spoon to the mixing bowl and lick it spotless. Duncan still has a special spot in my heart, but when I'm craving brownies these days, I turn to these. They're a more grown-up, sophisticated version of the classic treat. Rest assured, they'll quiet even the strongest of brownie cravings.

Other times, I want a nibble, an after-school snack of a brownie that's just big enough and chocolatey enough to take the edge off my hunger and stave my appetite till dinner. That's when these brownie buttons come in oh-so-handy. I can see the parents and babysitters sitting up straight in their chair: bring your kids one or two of these buttons, and I doubt they'll give you a hard time for the rest of the evening. Ok, maybe just the babysitters will get off that easy -- but I know I'd have liked to have these to give to those kids I used to sit for. Not that they weren't wonderful. But pop a brownie in those little hands, and I can only imagine the little angels they'd have become!

Brownie Buttons adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours makes 12-16, depending on size

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces 2.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350. Butter two mini-muffin tins and place on a baking sheet

In a small bowl, whisk together flour and salt.

Melt butter, chocolate, and brown sugar in small saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly to ensure that chocolate doesn't burn. When mixture is smooth, remove from heat and cool 2 minutes.

Stir vanilla and egg into chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Then add flour mixture and stir just until it disappears into the chocolate. The batter will be smooth and glossy.

Spoon batter into muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake 14 minutes; then transfer pans to racks to cool for 2-3 minutes before releasing the brownies from the tins, using a dull knife if necessary.

Crescent Cookies

Either my blog has secretly been hoarding some of my recipes for its hungry self, or I'm dreaming. I could have sworn that I waxed poetic about these cookies last July, when I made them as the finale for a balcony barbecue I had with some friends. But I've searched -- in the archives, in the recipe index, under every conceivable name -- and they're nowhere to be found.

Let's remedy the situation right here and now. You need this cookie recipe. It's a soldier of a cookie, one whose sturdy crust cloaks a tight log of nuts, dates, zest, and just a bit of orange blossom water. It's intensely flavorful, but, amazingly, dairy-free. Everyone needs a good dairy free cookie recipe for the back pocket.

The recipe is an adaptation of one from Claudia Roden's book Arabesque. Arabesque is a beautifully photographed book, and looking through it brings me back to my years living in the Middle East; Roden knows her regions, and the recipes -- grouped by location, including Morocco, Lebanon, Turkey, and more -- have the nuance to reflect that knowledge. Are the cookies fussy? Why yes. But fuss a little, and you'll be rewarded with cookies that smell like a cross between fall holidays and fresh flowers. They aren't ugly, either.

Crescent Cookies adapted from Arabesque

For the dough: 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs 6 tablespoons orange juice Powdered sugar, for dusting

For the filling: 1/2 cup medjool dates, pitted 3 1/3 cups ground almonds 3/4 cup superfine sugar (run sugar through a food processor for 30 seconds to make) 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk zest of one lemon or orange 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1/8 teaspoon orange blossom water

To make the dough, combine flour, oil, and eggs in a medium mixing bowl. Add enough orange juice to bind the dough: I used all 6 tablespoons, and possibly an extra one.

Knead dough until it comes together, into a soft but quite firm dough. Wrap in plastic, and set aside on the counter to rest about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling:

Put dates in a small saucepan and add enough water to cover. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat, until dates have softened. Drain and set aside to cool.

Combine dates and all other ingredients in a medium bowl, and use fingers to work into a paste.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Divide dough into four equal parts. On a clean (but not floured) workspace, roll one part of the dough into a thin (1/4-inch) square. Cut as many 4x4 squares out of the dough as possible. Take about a tablespoon of the filling and roll it in between your fingertips to form a 3.5-inch log. Place the log of filling onto center of the square at a diagonal. Repeat with enough filling for all the squares you've cut. Now, use a wide-blade knife to lift a point of one of the squares off the workspace, and gently wrap the square of dough around the log of filling, as pictured above. One the dough is wrapped around the filling, gently coax the long cookie into a crescent shape. Repeat with remaining squares of dough, and continue with 3 remaining quarters of dough.

Bake about 15 minutes; the bottoms will turn light brown but tops should remain pale. Set cookies on a rack to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Rhubarb Curd Shortbread

It's official: Rhubarb Curd Shortbread is a winner! These treats took top prize over at Food52's "your best rhubarb" contest, and they'll be going into the food52 cookbook! Thanks to you all for voting and visiting!

When it comes to pantry stocking, I'm a minimalist. I keep only those things I need, being careful to clear out those non-essentials, so that I have as much space as possible for vegetables and cheeses in the fridge, ample room in the cabinets for all my pots and pans.

Um, can you hear the snickers and scoffs in the background?

In truth, I couldn't be less of a minimalist if I tried. I have absolutely no this-not-that discipline; I so readily add to my growing list of "essentials" that my fridge simply feels naked without homemade rum-soaked cherries, Shady Maple Farms maple butter, Huy Fong sriracha and sambal oelek, Aleppo pepper, homemade tamarind pulp, and even a jar of caramelized onions (which I make in bulk and keep on hand -- perhaps my wisest decision ever). What has become of my fridge? Whither simplicity?

If you thought this'd be my mea culpa, the one where I clean out the clutter and make some simple toast and butter, think again. The above items, however quirky and specialized, truly have become staples. My toast simply wouldn't be as good in the morning without a slather of thick maple butter. The rum-soaked cherries made my brunch pound cake a whole different thing, all the more so for its finishing gloss of that cherry-rum syrup. Yes, I'm crazy. But these are the items that bring character to my fridge. They're what make those "what's for breakfast?" questions so fun to answer.

And today, I'm adding one more item to this list: rhubarb curd.

Is it totally ridiculous to declare rhubarb curd a new pantry staple? Because I think I'm headed in that direction. If I can keep it around that long, that is.

While lemon curd has long been a favorite here at NDP, rhubarb curd gives lemon a run for its money. Come to think of it, rhubarb curd reminds me of a passionfruit curd I had once (I think it was from Zingerman's in Ann Arbor). There's something about it that makes you eat a spoonful, think for a moment, and go back for more. The fact that it's pink food also doesn't hurt.

The idea for the rhubarb curd shortbread came from Lara over at Cook and Eat. Her photos might be some of the most gorgeous I've ever seen; they instantly had me in drool-mode. I had bought a nice big load of rhubarb over the weekend, and was planning to put half in a crisp and play around with what was left. Those rhubarb bars couldn't have gone up at a better time.

The shortbread recipe I used is adapted from Karen DeMasco, my new dessert guru. I took her basic shortbread recipe, cut the sugar, and added some spices to complement the rhubarb.

While I ate an embarrassingly large portion of the curd straight out of the bowl, I spooned the rest onto the shortbread, which I generously shared with the lady. Think it's no biggie that I shared it with one other person? Well, you go make this, and then let me know how you do on the sharing.

Rhubarb Curd Shortbread curd adapted from Cook and Eat, who adapted it from Ginger Tablet

For the curd:

3/4 pounds rhubarb (about 6 stalks) 4 tablespoons water 1/4 cup sugar 4 egg yolks 1/3 cup plus 1/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon lemon zest 2 teaspoons lemon juice 3 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

For the shortbread:

12 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon powdered galangal or ginger 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon a pinch cloves

Wash rhubarb and trim as little off the ends as possible. Cut rhubarb into 1-inch chunks. In a small saucepan, heat rhubarb, 1/4 sugar, and water on medium. Cook until rhubarb falls apart and there are no whole pieces left, adding water by the tablespoon if rhubarb sticks to the bottom of the pan. At this point, either use an immersion blender to puree the mixture, or (if you’re like me and your blender is otherwise occupied) push the mixture through a strainer. The first method is definitely easier.

Preheat oven to 350. Now, make the shortbread: blend all ingredients in a stand mixer or food processor until combined. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate about 1 hour. Then, either roll into 8×8 square and place square in 8-inch square baking pan, or dump dough into pan and use fingertips to press evenly into pan. Bake 30 minutes, until golden. Let cool on a rack or on the counter.

Add a couple inches of water to the pot of a double boiler and set over medium heat. Put egg yolks, butter, remaining sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in the boil of the double boiler and whisk to combine. When sugar has dissolved completely, remove bowl from heat and add the rhubarb puree by the spoonful, to temper the eggs. When all rhubarb has been added, set bowl over pot; the water should be simmering. Continue stirring the rhubarb mixture; after about 5 minutes, the mixture will be warm and slightly thickened. At this point, remove from heat. Press through a strainer -- this will give your curd that smooth, pudding-like texture.

Use an offset spatula to spread curd evenly over shortbread. If you haven’t eaten half the bowl right then and there, you should have enough curd to make a layer about the thickness of the shortbread; I didn’t. Bake another 10 minutes, then remove from oven and cool on rack. Refrigerate about 20 minutes, and you’ll find that they’ve firmed up enough to slice cleanly. Cut into 16 equal bars. Dust with powdered sugar before serving; do your best not to polish them all off in one sitting.