German Chocolate Bars

Tis the season for a little something sweet, right? As mentioned, I write a monthly resident recipe article for our 70-page full color neighborhood magazine. For the month of December I’m featuring a wonderful *pecan coconut bar recipe submitted by this super sweet family who live just down the street from us.

*I actually changed the name of these bars from “Pecan Coconut Bars” to “German Chocolate Bars”. With a chocolatey crust and a sweet coconut filling, after just one bite, they will definitely remind you of a german chocolate cake, in dessert bar format.

Below you’ll find an excerpt from the article:

Spread the holiday cheer this year with sugar, savory pecans and lots of butter with these delicious pecan coconut bars submitted by Faozia and her three kids. Bringing a smile to her family and friends, these tasty bars are always a hit at parties. Faozia adds, “Baking in our house is a wonderful activity for my kids to have fun, learn how to cook and for me forming fond memories when we do it together. These pecan coconut bars are decadent and part of what makes life more enjoyable!” Happy Holidays and enjoy!

German Chocolate Bars

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 24

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sifted flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped roasted pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
FOR THE CRUST: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press mixture on bottom of ungreased 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly.
FOR THE FILING: In a medium bowl, combine eggs, condensed milk, coconut and roasted pecans. Pour over partially baked crust. Bake 18-20 minutes or until set in center. Cool and cut into bars and enjoy!

Pecan-Orange Granola with Dried Cranberries

If you are a fan of all things crunchy, you must make this pecan-orange granola with dried cranberries soon! It beats any granola from a box, including Bear Naked granola, my favorite… until now.

My mom forwarded me this granola recipe from the latest Cooks Illustrated magazine. When I stopped by her house for a quick lunch this past week, I was pleasantly surprised to see and smell the wonderful aroma of freshly baked granola.

It’s an extremely easy recipe to make. Simply combine all of the ingredients except the dried fruit, and bake for 40-45 minutes. Next, let the granola cool and harden for 1 hour before breaking into crunchy clumps of desired size and tossing with the dried cranberries.

As far as taste goes, I could probably eat all nine cups of this granola…it is that good! The combination of maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and orange zest make for a warm and comforting snack that is seriously addicting.

Sprinkle granola over Greek yogurt, serve it in milk like you would cereal, or munch on it plain as a mid-morning or afternoon snack. Enjoy!

Bake granola for 40-45 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Let cool for 1 hour.

Break granola into pieces and toss with dried fruit.

Pecan-Orange Granola with Dried Cranberries
Ingredients
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup packed (2 1/3 ounces) light brown sugar
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest
2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups (10 ounces) pecans, coarsely chopped
2 cups dried cranberries

Directions
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon and salt in large bowl. Whisk in oil. Fold in oats and nuts until thoroughly coated.
3. Transfer oat mixture to prepared baking sheet and spread across sheet into thin, even layer (about 3/8-inch thick). Using stiff metal spatula, compress oat mixture until very compact. Bake until lightly browned, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating pan once halfway through baking.
4. Remove granola from oven and cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 1 hour. Break cooled granola into pieces of desired size. Stir in dried fruit. (Granola can be stored in airtight container fro up to 2 weeks.)

Yield: about 9 cups
Cooks Illustrated, March & April 2012

Crispy Sugared Nuts

Mmmm…these nuts sure are good! As a kid, I grew up hating all types of nuts: pecans, walnuts, almonds, you name it, I hated them. My mom would always bake a pan of brownies – half with nuts and the other half without, since my sister and I were picky. The same would prove true with batches of cookies.

When I went to college, my taste buds changed dramatically. I actually started liking vegetables and salads, & no longer ordered chicken tenders and french fries at restaurants. I also discovered my love of nuts, especially sugared nuts!

Two weeks ago, in preparation for all the desserts I was asked to bring to holiday potlucks and life groups at church, my mom came over to help me bake. She pleasantly surprised me when she suggested we make our family crispy sugared nuts recipe. If you’ve never made candied/sugared nuts before, now is the time to start! They are extremely easy and almost impossible to mess up!

Most people will find that they have all six ingredients in their pantry to begin with…unless you are short on nuts! The original recipe calls for walnuts, but both my mom and I like pecans better, so we made a simple substitution. The cinnamon-sugar coating adds a perfectly sweet flavoring to these nuts, and also makes them quite addicting, especially if you eat them as a snack.

Enjoy… hurry, you’ve got to try these before the holiday season ends!

Combine water, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Heat until boiling or until soft-ball stage (236 degrees F).

Fold in chopped nuts and vanilla.

Pour onto buttered platter. Separate nuts using a fork or spoon (so that you don’t have one large lump of nuts!)

Crispy Sugared Nuts
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups walnut or pecan halves (we used pecans)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions
1. Heat nuts in 375 degree oven for 5 minutes, stirring once.
2. Butter sides of a heavy 2 quart saucepan.
3. In saucepan, combine sugar, water, cinnamon, and salt. Heat and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture boils. Cook without stirring to soft-ball stage (236 degrees F). Remove from heat and beat by hand for 1 minute or until mixture just begins to get creamy.
4. Add vanilla to the warm nuts. Stir gently until nuts are well coated and mixture becomes creamy.
5. Turn out onto buttered platter or cookie sheet. Separate at once, using 2 spoons or forks.

Yield: about 1 pound of nuts

Check out my recipe and other recipes & crafts on The Kurtz Corner!