Tag Archives: pistachio

You Choose Layered Bar Cookie

you choose layered bar cookie

you choose layered bar cookie

Warmer weather means more social gatherings, and social gatherings mean you may be called upon to bring food for a small crowd. An easy to prepare and even easier to serve treat is a bar cookie. You load ingredients in a layer, then bake them in the pan you will be serving them in. Easy. Besides, these layered cookies will be a hit, making you a baking hero.

The concept of these bars is to choose a flavor combination that suits your mood, what’s in your pantry, and any dietary needs you follow. If the proportions remain the same, then this treat is basically foolproof. The combo for my bars was a riff on chocolate covered cherries, with crunchy pistachios to top them off. And, yes, I was a hero.

Until next time, happy baking!

Note: See Holiday Layered Magic Bars for Sweetened Condensed Milk recipe.

you choose layered bar cookie
Print Recipe

You Choose Layered Bar Cookie

Warmer weather means more social gatherings, and social gatherings mean you may be called upon to bring food for a small crowd. An easy to prepare and even easier to serve treat is a bar cookie. You load ingredients in a layer, then bake them in the pan you will be serving them in. Easy. Besides, these layered cookies will be a hit, making you a baking hero.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Vegan
Keyword: Baking, Bar Cookies, Chocolate, Cookie Crumb, dried fruit, Nuts, Recipe, Sweetened condensed milk
Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

  • 9 x 13-inch pan

Ingredients

  • ½ cup non-dairy butter melted
  • 1 (11 to 12-ounce) can non-dairy sweetened condensed milk, or make your own (see note)
  • 2 cups cookie crumbs such as graham cracker, vanilla wafer, or chocolate wafer
  • 2 cups baking chips such as chocolate chips or peanut butter chips OR no-nut M&Ms
  • 1 ½ cups dried fruit such as raisins, apricots, or cherries, chopped into small pieces if needed
  • 1 cup chopped nuts such as walnuts, pistachios, or peanuts

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack set in the middle of the oven. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with greased foil or parchment paper.
  • Stir together the melted butter and cookie crumbs in a medium bowl. Spread this into the prepared baking pan then press it down with a spatula.
  • Evenly sprinkle the chips or M&Ms over the cookie base. Sprinkle the dried fruit over top.
  • Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over everything. Sprinkle the nuts over top. (I do this last to keep the nuts crunchy.)
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until you see liquid bubbling at the edges. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool the bars thoroughly. Cut when cool, although these are even better hours later when they have fully firmed up.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Notes

See Holiday Layered Magic Bars for Sweetened Condensed Milk recipe.

Apricot Pistachio Bark with Tahini Swirl

apricot pistachio bark with tahini swirl
apricot pistachio bark with tahini swirl

Dried apricots and pistachios seem to be ending up in so much of my food lately. They were in my muffins last week, and my Moroccan stew the other night. And now they feel right at home in this chocolate bark. I started out with the idea of making a bark, and the two just showed up in my ingredient list. Luckily they pair well together, and they are complimented by a touch of tahini.

Admittedly, the idea of adding tahini to chocolate bark wasn’t mine. I borrowed it, but made a few alterations in the no-baking-needed recipe I found. Chocolate bark can really be any combination that sounds tasty to you, so feel free to borrow my recipe then modify it to suit your tastes. But keep the tahini swirl in. Trust me.

Apricot Pistachio Bark with Tahini Swirl adapted from Chocolate Bark with Pistachios and Tahini

1/3 cup chopped roasted pistachios
3 TBS chopped dried apricot
6 oz vegan chocolate (I used a bar with fruity notes to complement the other flavors)
2 tsp runny tahini, warmed (I used Soom Premium Tahini)

Line an 8×8” pan with parchment paper and set aside. Combine the pistachios and apricot in a bowl and set aside. Chop the chocolate and place it in a stainless steel bowl. Melt it gently over a double boiler. To do this, fill a saucepan with a few inches of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Place the bowl of chocolate over the simmering water making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Let the chocolate melt, stirring occasionally. When it is almost fully melted, remove the bowl from atop the saucepan and gently stir the chocolate until it melts completely. Add the pistachios and apricot to the chocolate and mix it in with a spatula.

Pour the chocolate into the lined baking pan, spreading it out evenly. Drizzle warm tahini over top and swirl it with a toothpick. Place the pan of bark in the fridge until it hardens, 30-45 minutes. Break the bark up into pieces. Store bark in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.

Until next time, happy nonbaking!

Apricot Nut Bars

Apricot Nut Bars

Apricot Nut Bars

Today’s recipe had quite the evolution. The initial idea was to make a no-bake bar, but then my hubby said the creation needed more chocolate. My mind wandered to chocolate bark as a topping, with a nod to Mediterranean flavors. What started out as a recipe with few ingredients morphed into a multi-step concoction. When I explained what I was about to construct, hubby’s response was that it didn’t sound simple. I said no-bake, I didn’t say simple …

The experiment began with a raw bar recipe. The changes I made were just from my imagination. I reduced the amount of tahini because the original crust was too oily. I added more chocolate to keep hubby happy. The additional ingredients borrowed loosely from baklava while adding a cardamom syrup for depth. The result was a delicious burst of flavor.

Apricot Nut Bars based on No-Bake Cashew Tahini Bars

1.5 cups raw cashews
1 cup soft, pitted dates, tightly packed
1/3 cup tahini
4.5 ounces vegan dark chocolate, divided
1/2 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
1/2 cup roasted pistachios, roughly chopped
2 TBS Cardamom Syrup (recipe to follow)

Line an 8” square baking pan with 2 overlapping strips of parchment paper and set aside. Add cashews to a food processor and pulse until mostly broken down. Add dates and tahini and mix until it just comes together. With your hands, press the dough into the prepared pan and smooth it out.

In a double boiler, melt chocolate until smooth and creamy. Use a spatula to spread most of the chocolate over the bars. Sprinkle the apricots over the bars, then add the pistachios on top. Drizzle first the cardamom syrup and then the remaining chocolate over the top of the bars. Place in freezer for an hour. Lift out of the pan by the parchment sling, place on a cutting board, and cut into squares.

cardamom seeds for syrup

cardamom seeds for the syrup

Cardamom Syrup adapted from Spiced Simple Syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously until sugar dissolves. Lower the heat to a simmer and stir in cardamom seeds. Allow to simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Store leftovers in a covered jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. You will have extra — I use mine to sweeten tea.

Happy non-baking!