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May 18 2011

Oatmeal Butter Tart Squares

Posted by cookincanuck in Baking, Step-by-Step Recipes

There are some recipes, tastes and aromas that evoke strong memories. Memories of childhood dinners with extended family, memories of special occasions. Each Christmas, my grandmother made a batch of her butter tarts to serve alongside the flambéed plum pudding at the end of the meal. The crust was flaky and the filling was sweet, tender and buttery.

Considering my irrational fear of pastry, I always shied away from making the tarts myself. My inability to turn out a decent pie is one of the reasons I am sure that Ree would bar my entrance to her ranch. That, and the fact that I probably wouldn’t be able to stop myself from hugging Charlie her lovable basset hound every few minutes, would likely get me cattle-prodded off the property in no time.

When I saw these Oatmeal Butter Tart Squares by Lindsey (gingerbreadbagels on Tasty Kitchen), complete with a caramelized filling, with raisins, oatmeal and coconut, and a simple sugar cookie crust, I knew I had to try them. At first bite, memories of my grandmother flooded back and I knew that these would become a regular treat in our house.

First, let’s prepare the crust. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and get the ingredients ready.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl, using a handheld mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add milk and vanilla extract and mix to combine.

With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add in the flour and mix until almost combined.

Use a spatula to mix until the sugar cookie dough comes together.

Evenly press the cookie dough into a lightly greased 8- by 8-inch pan. I used a foil liner, which was not in Lindsey’s recipe. Ignore me, and follow Lindsey’s instructions. The filling stuck to the foil and made a bit of a mess.

Bake until the edges start to turn golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Now let’s make the the filling. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F.

Place the raisins in a medium bowl and cover with hot water. Soak for 20 minutes. Drain raisins and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl, using a handheld mixer), beat brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until combined.

In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment (a handheld mixer works fine too), mix together the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.

Add oats, baking powder and kosher salt, and mix to combine.

Fold in sweetened flaked coconut, raisins and chopped pecans.

Pour the filling over the cooled sugar cookie crust.

Bake until filling is set, 30 to 35 minutes.

Let the squares cool completely before cutting. The squares will firm up once they are completely cooled. If you try to cut them while still warm, the filling may ooze out.

Once cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

Thank you, Lindsey, for a dessert that is not only irresistible, but brought back so many fond memories for me. Be sure to check out Lindsey’s blog Gingerbread Bagels for many other wonderful recipes.

Here is the link to the printable recipe: Oatmeal Butter Tart Squares

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Dara Michalski is a doll and a sweetheart who clearly knows her way around the kitchen. She blogs at Cookin’ Canuck, where she shares her flavor-packed recipes and fun, engaging writing. The photography’s pretty incredible, too.

May 16 2011

Bow Tie Pasta with Oven Dried Tomatoes

Posted by callimakesdo in Step-by-Step Recipes

Ask my nine-year-old daughter what she wants for dinner and nine times out of ten the answer will be, “Bow Tie Pasta.” What can I say, she is a very reliable girl.

As a mom, I find myself cooking foods that appeal to my husband and me, and I don’t cater to the kids a whole lot. I hope that doesn’t make me a bad parent. Luckily, my kids are pretty good eaters (maybe from necessity). But that doesn’t mean I don’t look out for the foods I know they love, especially when it’s something we all can agree is delicious.

Because of my daughter’s little obsession, I usually check out Bow Tie Pasta recipes when they catch my eye. When I saw the recipe for Bow Tie Pasta with Oven Dried Tomatoes, Asparagus, and Boursin from Tasty Kitchen member barefootbelle, I knew I had to give it a try.

Asparagus, oven dried tomatoes, pine nuts and Boursin … hold the phone, did you it just say Boursin?

Oh me, oh my. How I love Boursin.

“Yes sweetie, I’d be happy to make Bow Tie Pasta for dinner tonight.”

This is an easy recipe, but not one you can throw together at the last minute. The oven dried tomatoes take 3 1/2 hours. So you’ll need to plan ahead. Despite the time involved, it’s the oven dried tomatoes that totally stole the show for me. They have such a lovely sweetness and concentration of flavors.

Here’s how I made barefootbelle’s lovely Bow Tie Pasta:

Start with cherry tomatoes. I think grape tomatoes would be delicious, too. Do yourself favor and make more than the recipe calls for. They are so yummy you’ll want some for a crostini or for crackers with cheese (Boursin anyone?), or even eaten straight off the pan.

Halve the tomatoes and place them on your baking sheet facing up and tuck in the whole cloves of garlic. They slow cook until their flavor is mild, creamy and delicious.

Drizzle them with oil, pepper, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of sugar.

Sprinkle on some fresh chopped basil.

Throw the whole thing in the oven for 3 1/2 hours. It’s a long time, but there is an upside: your kitchen will smell like a great Italian restaurant all afternoon.

In a hot pan, toast the pine nuts until fragrant. That’s my rule of thumb with any nuts. Cook ‘em until they smell nice.

Cook your pasta in well-salted water. Since my husband doesn’t like pasta cooked TOO al dente, I cooked my pasta according to the package instructions, and not the eight minutes recommended on the recipe. I think good Italian pasta takes a little longer anyway. Even after heating everything in the pan at the end, the pasta tasted perfectly cooked and not mushy. Be sure to reserve 2/3 cup of the pasta water before you strain it all away.

Here’s where I departed a bit from the text. The recipe calls for the asparagus to be cooked in the last two minutes, boiled with the pasta. While I’m sure that would work just great, I love the flavor of roasted asparagus, so I chopped up my asparagus into bite-sized pieces …

And I tossed them on a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, then roasted at 400ºF until tender crisp, about 8 minutes depending on the size of your spears.

Now it’s time to toss it all together. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic. The recipe doesn’t mention it, but I minced mine. Add the tomatoes to warm them. Add the pasta, asparagus and the reserved water. Toss to combine.

Pinch and drop the Boursin into the pan. Add the lemon pepper and pine nuts.

Sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese. Then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy! The pasta is great combination of flavors, and feels fresh and springy. I think I mentioned that I loved the oven dried tomatoes; they are amazing. I also love what the lemon pepper does to give the pasta a lighter zip. This is a meal that makes me and my girl very happy.

Thank you Dorothy for sharing all of your wonderful recipes! Be sure to check out Dorothy’s wonderful TK recipe box and her blog Belle of the Kitchen. And have you read her Tasty Kitchen feature yet? You’ll fall in love with her even more.

Printable Recipe

Bow Tie Pasta with Oven Dried Tomatoes, Asparagus, and Boursin

by barefootbelle on March 23, 2010 in Main Courses, Pasta

See post on barefootbelle’s site!

4.80 Mitt(s) 10 Rating(s) 10 votes, average: 4.80 out of 5

Description

This fresh dish hits the spot for a springtime dinner.

Ingredients

FOR THE OVEN DRIED TOMATOES:
12 whole Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
3 cloves Garlic
1 teaspoon To 2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
1 pinch Sugar
1 pinch Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
4 leaves Basil, Julienned
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FOR THE PASTA:
⅓ cups Pine Nuts
8 ounces, weight Bow Tie Pasta
1 bunch Asparagus, Ends Trimmed And Cut Into 2-3 Inch Pieces
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
3 cloves Roasted Garlic (from The Above List), Chopped
12 whole Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (from The Above List)
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, Julienned
¼ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
¼ cups Garlic And Herb Boursin Cheese, Crumbled (a Good Herbed Goat Cheese Will Work, Too)
¾ teaspoons Lemon Pepper
Kosher Salt And Pepper

Preparation Instructions

For the oven-dried tomatoes:

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. In a small baking pan (I used a round cake pan), place the cherry tomato halves, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with basil. Tuck the garlic cloves in between the tomatoes. Bake for 3 1/2 hours. The tomatoes should be shriveled, but still have some moisture. Refrigerate the tomatoes and garlic until ready to use.

For the pasta:

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the pine nuts in the dry skillet, shaking or stirring the pan constantly, until the pine nuts are slightly brown on all sides. Remove to a bowl.

In the same saucepan, bring six cups of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook for two more minutes. Reserve 2/3 cups pasta water and drain the pasta and asparagus in a colander.

In the same saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the roasted garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the roasted tomatoes to warm through. Add the pasta, asparagus and reserved water, tossing to combine. Add the basil, cheeses, lemon pepper, and pine nuts. Toss everything together and taste for salt and pepper.

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Calli is truly a woman of many talents, from cooking, sewing, crafts, beautiful photography and gardening. Her blog, Make it Do is a treasure trove of recipes, household tips, crafts projects, sewing patterns … you name it. It’s also peppered with photos of her beautiful kids. Go visit her site, and visit it often. There’s always something new to learn there!

May 13 2011

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Bars

Posted by HowSweetEats in Baking, Step-by-Step Recipes

If you asked me what my all-time favorite dessert is, the answer would most likely be cheesecake. Cheesecake is not only creamy and delightful but it can also take on almost any flavor, making the options limitless. I love every bite of the delectable treat, from chocolate ganache-topped fluffy sour cream, to the dense, cold cake in the middle, all the way down to the slightly sweet, slightly salty, always buttery crust. If we’re being honest, it doesn’t get much better than cheesecake.

When I spied these Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Bars from Lori of Recipe Girl , my heart skipped a beat. Actually, it nearly fluttered out of my chest. Cheesecake in bar form … portable slices I could eat with my hands … sweet, chocolate crust … sold. Before I knew it, I was dragging out my stand mixer, finding the bag or Oreos that I knew I saved for a reason, and cutting my cream cheese into cubes so it could quickly come to room temperature. If you haven’t noticed, patience isn’t one of my strong points. It took everything in my being to not devour the entire pan of these incredible cheesecake slices. Check them out below.

You only need a few ingredients to create these mouth watering bars: one package of Oreos, three packages of room temperature cream cheese, sour cream at room temperature, butter, room temperature eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Simple and tasty. Let’s get started!

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray.

Begin with the crust. Add exactly 28 Oreos to your food processor. This is two sleeves of Oreos.

Process until the cookies become fine crumbs.

Melt four tablespoons of butter and add it to a large bowl. Pour in Oreo crumbs and using a flexible spatula, mix until moistened and combined.

Pour the crumbs into the foil-lined pan.

Distribute the crumbs evenly and press down with your fingers to flatten the crust. Place the pan in the oven and bake the crust for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the pan and let it cool. Leave the oven on because the cheesecake is going right back in.

While the crust is baking, start on your filling. First, break the remaining Oreos in half and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times just to break them apart; you still want some big cookie chunks. I pulsed my processor about five or six times.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, add your softened cream cheese and sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about two minutes. Make sure to scrape down the sides and beat until it is uniformly thick.

It should look like this. Great. Now I’m hungry!

Beat in your sour cream, salt and vanilla extract, again making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add your eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Make sure the eggs are completely mixed in and scrape down the sides of the bowl one last time to make sure everything is combined.

Add your chopped Oreos into the filling.

Fold the Oreos in with your spatula and try not to drool. I was unsuccessful.

Pour the mixture on top of the crust and spread evenly with a spatula to distribute the filling.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until the outside is set but the middle is still a bit jiggly. Remove the pan and set aside on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, cover it with foil and place it in the fridge to chill for a few hours, or overnight.

Wait … and wait … and wait … and dream about cookies and cream cheesecake.

One the bars have chilled, lift the foil overhang out of the pan and place it on a cutting board. Using a large knife, cut the cheesecake into uniform squares, rinsing the knife with warm water between each slice.

Serve yourself a big slice. Or two.

And enjoy!

These bars surpassed my expectations and tasted like heaven on a plate. I am already plotting my second go-round and can’t wait to share them at a few summer barbecues. Thanks so much for the recipe, Lori! Be sure to check out Lori’s website Recipe Girl. It’s loaded with hundreds of delicious recipes. Her site is one of my go-to sites for easy dinner ideas!

Printable Recipe