Secret Recipe Club: Salted Caramel Butter Bars

.  I can not even believe that this is my last SRC post for 2013.  Where the heck did the year go?! How is Thanksgiving less than two weeks away and Christmas is right on it's heels?  Whew, someone please slow time down.

But luckily my last 2013 SRC assignment, Making Memories with Your Kids, is chalk full of mouthwatering recipes to choose from, both savory and sweet.  So the only problem I had this month was choosing which one recipe to feature in this post.  Things like Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake, Apple Fritter Bread, and Peanut Butter Snickers Cheesecake Brownie Pie were a-callin' my name.  But I can vouch that each and every person who came within striking distance of these bars didn't have an ounce of complaint.

But really, what's there to say?  With a combination of gooey, sticky salted caramel and buttery, [buttery,] crispy, shortbread/sugar cookie layers, you can't go wrong. 

I realize it all sounds quite simple but more often than not, keeping it simple gets you the most absolute best treats.  And these Salted Caramel Shortbread Bars did not disappoint.  Not. One. Bit.

I can't rave enough about the buttery goodness of the shortbread crust and crumble topping.  Seriously, delish.  And the layer of sweet, gooey caramel in between makes it all come together.  And like I said before, the addition of the sea salt adds a lovely touch making this a unique baked goodie.  No one can resist the sweet and salty combo!  Plus, these babies scream Christmas/holiday cookie bar, so I couldn't have whipped these up at a better time!

Anywho, this sure was a fabulous way to end my 2013 SRC run.  So thank you, Erin, for an inspiring, easy recipe that I couldn't wait to share!  

Happy baking, everyone!  .

My Notes:

• The original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of sea salt.  I stopped with half because I personally don't like too much salt, so I went the cautious route.  If you want more of a salty kick, stick to the full tablespoon.

Adapted from Making Memories with Your Kids

Ingredients:

Shortbread Crust/Topping:

2 c. butter, at room temperature

1 c. sugar

1-1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 tbsp. vanilla extract

4 c. all purpose flour

Salted Caramel Filling:

1 (14 oz.) bag caramels, unwrapped

1/3 c heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tbsp. sea salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325°F.  Grease a 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. For the crust, in a large bowl beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and on low speed beat until smooth.  Slowly add flour and beat until combined.
3. Spread half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan and pat down with fingers to make an even layer.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Set aside to cool while making the filling.
5. For the filling, place caramels into a medium saucepan with heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract over medium heat.  Stir mixture until smooth and caramels are completely melted.  Pour caramel over the cooled crust.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Crumble the remaining dough over the caramel.  
6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly and top layer is golden brown.  Let bars cool completely before cutting to serve.

Yield: 2 dozen bars

Bajillionaire Bars

.  Yeah, I did it. 

I most definitely just made up the name of these bars.  But lemme 'splain.

Any of you ever heard of Millionaire Bars?  Well they're quite simple...kind of.  Millionaire Bars are a treat consisting of a shortbread crust, caramel filling, and chocolate topping.  And if you've never had this combination [ahem, Twix Bars], then you are 1) missing out and 2) don't even realize how addicting those three things together can be.  Trust.

But when I stumbled upon the recipe for Billionaire Bars, there was no turning back.  Actually, this recipe was called Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars but because that title is a touch long, I made up my own name.  And because I felt that 'billionaire' didn't even begin to describe how rich and decadent these bars turned out to be.  Trust again.

So what is it that knocks these bars up a few notches?  Well, cookie dough, of course!  And one thick layer of it.  So let's recap...

Buttery, crunchy shortbread crust.  Creamy caramel filling.  A thick layer of soft chocolate chip cookie dough.  And last but not least, a shiny, smooth topping of chocolate.

It's hard for me to even describe these lil' suckers without my mouth watering.  Every monstrous bite you take fills your mouth with bajillionaire goodness.  Seriously, these bars may actually make you feel richer, they're that delicious.  Or possibly a little fatter....just kiddinggggg.

So what do these bars have to do with what's going on in my life currently?  Well, I figured I better follow up my engagement post with a monumental dessert, seeing as that is quite the life changing event.  And these Bajillionaire Bars, along with the Brownie Fantasy Bars, are nothing less than mind-blowing memorable.  Must I say 'trust' one more time?

So to celebrate my engagement [okay, totally kidding], get your buns in the kitchen and get bakin'!  .

My Notes:

• I doubled this recipe so I'd have enough to make a 13x9-inch pan, but if you don't have a crowd to serve, simply cut the ingredients in half, use an 8x8-inch pan, and bake for 18 to 22 minutes.  

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

Shortbread:

2/3 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. all purpose flour

Caramel Filling:

14 oz. soft caramels, unwrapped

4 tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:

1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

4 tbsp. heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1 c. mini semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Glaze:

8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Spray 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. For shortbread, in a medium bowl, beat together butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Add vanilla extract and salt and beat until combined.  Add flour and mix until incorporated (mixture may be crumbly).  Firmly press mixture into bottom of prepared pan.  Using a fork, poke holes in the crust.  Bake 22 minutes or until edges are lightly golden.  Set pan on wire rack while making the filling.
3. For caramel filling, place caramels and heavy whipping cream into medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir until completely melted.  Pour hot caramel mixture over shortbread and spread into an even layer.  Refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour or until set.
4. For chocolate chip cookie dough, combine butter, light brown sugar, and sugar in a large bowl and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Add heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract and mix well.  Add flour and salt and mix on low speed until incorporated.  Stir in mini chocolate chips.  Spread cookie dough over the caramel layer.  Refrigerate pan while making topping.
5. For chocolate glaze, in a small microwavable bowl, combine chocolate and butter and melt until smooth.  Spread glaze over cookie dough and chill 30 minutes or until set, before cutting and serving.

Yield: 2 dozen bars

Brown Butter Cranberry Shortbread

.  Heyyy-o!

How has everyone's holidays been?!  Well, just Thanksgiving I guess.  I know I say this every year but the holidays creep up on me faster and faster.  It's crazy.  Can you believe 2012 is near over?  And isn't the end of the world coming up quite soon here, too?  Just kidding.

Hopefully.

Anywho, my life has been a bit topsy turvy as of late and the holidays are not making anything calmer.  Aside from conjuring up Christmas presents for everyone, working, slipping in a workout or two, and attempting to blog, I also have several Christmas parties coming up that I'm oh-so-excited for.  But really, who wouldn't be?!  So needless to say, both my weeks and weekends are pretty much jam packed for the rest of the month.  And so here's my early apology for neglecting LSM.  It's already begun and I feel bad about it.  Sowwy.

As you can tell, it's been hard for me to get in the kitchen for one reason or another.  Too tired, too busy, you know the deal.  But I made myself bake something this week because I knew it'd make me feel better.  And the magic of baking worked.

I decided to go with something rather easy and uncomplicated because I was short for time and energy, but dang.  I'm glad I did.  I opted to try out une gamine dans la cuisine's Brown Butter Cranberry Shortbread because it seemed classic and simple, yet I knew it'd be a quality treat as this blog is one of my all time favorites.

And.  I was right.  The bar consists of a tart, jam-like cranberry filling nested atop a soft, brown buttery, shortbread and finished with crumble of the same shortbread mixture.  Does that make sense...?  In my head it reads funny.  But regardless, all you must know is that the combination of the sweet, brown butter shortbread, and [very] tart cranberry filling is one festive holiday treat that will keep you coming back for seconds.  Or thirds.  Addictive little buggers.

I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season.  As we well know, it only comes around once a year and even if you're feeling the stress of it all, take a breath and really enjoy it.  Family, friends, and food.  What more could we want?!  .

From une gamine dans la cuisine

Ingredients:

Crust and Crumble:

1 c. plus 5 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 c. sugar, divided

3/4 tsp. salt

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1/4 tsp. almond extract

3 c. plus 3 tbsp. all purpose flour

Cranberry Filling:

1 (12 oz.) bag fresh cranberries

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. orange juice

Directions:

1. Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil; butter or spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.
2. For the crust, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat.  Increase heat to medium and, stirring occasionally, cook the butter until it turns golden and develops a nutty aroma (about 5 to 8 minutes).  Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter, 3/4 cup sugar, and salt until well blended.  Add the egg yolks and almond extract and whisk until smooth.  Using a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the flour until you have a stiff dough.
4. Transfer about 2 cups of the dough into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Refrigerate for 40 minutes.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar to the remaining dough and using your fingertips, work the sugar into the dough until it becomes crumbly.  Cover and set aside.
5. In the oven, place one rack second from the bottom and the other rack second from the top.  Heat oven to 325°F.
6. Once done, remove the crust from the refrigerator and prick the dough with a fork several times.  Place the pan on the lowest rack and bake 15 minutes or just until crust begins to set (don't worry if the center is still doughy, it's better to under bake at this point).
7. For the filling, in a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, and orange juice.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid turns into a thick syrup and the cranberries take on a chunky, jam-like consistency.  Remove the pan from the heat and allow the filling to cool for about 5 minutes.
8. Spread the filling over the partially baked crust and crumble the remaining topping over the filling.  Place the pan on the highest rack and increase oven to 350°F.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crumb topping is golden brown.  Let bars cool for 1 hour before cutting.

Yield: 2 dozen bars

Blueberry Pie Bars

.  Hey all.

It's Thursday, which means it's Foamer time around LSM.  Unfortunately I didn't make it to last weeks game because I was busy making [literally] 100 cupcakes for an event at work, but more to come about that later.

But the week before last, I did make it to the game and as [my own made up] tradition calls for, I brought along some unique bars.  Blueberry Pie Bars, to be precise.

The name alone got me hooked.  I mean, how could that not catch your attention?  Blueberry Pie.  In bite sized pieces?  I'm in.

The joy of these bars is that, aside from delicious bursts of juicy blueberries, is that this recipe calls for only one mix for the crust and crunchy topping.  Definitely one of the best ideas whoever it was came up with.

These bars are not like anything I've made or even tasted before.  And I'd have to attribute this fact to the filling.  Like I mentioned, the crust and topping are your classic buttery, shortbready, streusely combination.  But that filling...

I have a hard time coming up with words to even describe it actually.  The filling, though made with eggs, is rather light and almost airy.  For lack of a better word, almost sponge-like.  But regardless, I couldn't get enough of these bars.  I'm a sucker for fruity desserts and anything remotely close to a crust.  So these babies had my name written all over them.

If you haven't noticed, I've basically been an awful teammate this slow pitch softball season and yet again, I won't be making the game tonight.  Robbie and I have some surprise plans for the weekend, which I will fill you in on next week as well.  Lots of things to catch you all up on, huh?!  Can't wait!  .

From Kirbie's Cravings

Ingredients:

Crust and Topping:

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

3/4 c. sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

3/4 c. unsalted butter, chilled

Filling:

2 large eggs

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. sour cream

3/8 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. almond extract

16 oz. fresh blueberries

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8x8-inch pan with non stick cooking spray; set aside.
2. For the crust, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor.  Cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces and add to flour mixture.  Process until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly (about 30 to 60 seconds).
3. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of the mixture for the topping; set aside.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
4. For the filling, whisk eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, sour cream, flour, and almond extract.  Gently fold in blueberries.  Spoon the filling over the crust and sprinkle the reserved topping mixture evenly over the filling.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until top turns golden brown.  Cool 1 hour before cutting and serving or serve out of pan cobbler style.

Yield: 16 bars

Snickery Squares

.  Eeek!  Super Bowl weekend has finally arrived and uh, I have quite a bit to get done!  Why do things always seem to creep up on me like this?

At the request of a couple of our friends [cough, Hollyann/Brandon, cough], Robbie and I will be hosting a small, small Super Bowl get-together this Sunday, filled with lotsa food and [hopefully] one dang good football game.  We had some people over last year as well and apparently they had an okay time, because they wanted to do it again.  Honestly, I think Robbie and I are quite boring but I'm glad our friends don't think so :)

But now that I think about it, maybe it has nothing to do with Robbie and I?  Maybe it has to do with the fact that Hollyann and I [try to] pull out all of the stops for our friendly gatherings, conjuring up a spread for two weeks 24/7 of delicious foods that we don't normally get and making sure we tell each and every one of our potential guests what we'll be having.  Ha, talk about bribing our way into friendships.

We decided that we're going all out Mexi-themed this year.  Yes, Mexi.  Hollyann was all about it because she has some great homemade recipes from her mom that she's eager to share and I would never turn down an opporunity to gorge munch on anything related to Mexican cuisine.  I've been told by my parents more than once in my life that I'm a Mexican at heart.  So here's our spread:

Nacho Bar

Homemade Tamales

Homemade Refried Beans

Homemade Guacamole

Pina Colada Dip

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Pie [TBD, any suggestions?!]

Oh yeah, did I mention we're having a max of seven people over?  Looks like we're going to have some leftovers.  But can you blame us, Hollyann and I rarely have the opportunity to plan 'events' like this, so like I said, we go all out.  We love doing it and we just want to make sure the boys don't go hungry.  Yeah, that's our excuse.  The boys.

But anywho, I realize many of you haven't been obsessing over a Super Bowl spread the last few weeks, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to share an All-American goodie for one of America's greatest past times: Snickey Squares!

I made these little candy bar-esque goodie for Robbie to take into work last Saturday.  Uh huh, Saturday.  I think I mentioned this before, but Robbie is officially in 'busy' season and Saturday's are not off limits for work.  So ever since he started his job, I brought it upon myself to start a little tradition to make something for him to bring into the office every weekend.  Just a little sugary snack to brighten up those accountants' days.

Now I must warn you, these are not straight up Snickers Bars as they do not contain any nougat (boo hoo).  Rather, the shortbread crust is topped with a filling of gooey dulce de leche and candied peanuts, and finished with a generous layer of chocolate and more candied peanuts.  I think a more accurate title would be 'The Cousin of Snickers' Squares.

So for those of you still lacking a sweet in your Super Bowl Sunday meal, why not take a chance with these babies?  I mean, whoever went wrong with a Snickers? 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, Robbie and I have much to do in preparation for the big game, so I'll see you all next week!  .

My Notes:

• I personally thought these are the absolute best straight out of the refrigerator.  Otherwise when they're room temperature, they had a tendency to kind of fall apart.

Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

Filling:
1/3 c. sugar
3 tbsp. water
1 c. salted peanuts
1 can dulce de leche

Topping:
7 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Spray 8-inch square pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.
2. For crust, put the flour, sugar, powdered sugar, and salt into food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  Add cold butter pieces and pulse until mixture looks like coarse meal.  Pour the yolk over the mixture and pulse until dough forms clumps and curds (stop before the dough comes together in a ball).
3. Turn out the dough to the prepared pan and gently press evenly across the bottom.  Prick the dough all over with a fork.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust takes on just a little color around the edges.  Transfer pan to rack and cool to room temperature before filling.
4. For filling, set aside a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook, without stirring, until it just starts to color.  Toss in the peanuts and immediately start stirring to coat the peanuts.  The sugar-covered peanuts will turn white and keep stirring until the sugar turns back to caramel.  Remove the pan from the heat and turn out the peanuts onto the prepared baking sheet and spread in a even layer.  Cool peanuts to room temperature.
5. When cool, separate the peanuts into smaller pieces.  Divide the peanuts in half and finely chop one half of the peanuts for the topping.  Spread the dulce de leche over the crust and sprinkle with whole candied peanuts.  Gently press the peanuts into the filling.
6. For topping, melt together the chocolate and butter in microwave.  Pour the chocolate over the filling, smoothing evenly with a spatula.  Sprinkle over finely chopped candied peanuts. Refrigerate the pan for 20 minutes to let topping set before cutting.

Yield: 16 bars

Lemon Bars

. Words can't describe the weekend I just experienced.  Gorgeous.  Beautiful.  Family.  Sunny.  Laughs.  Kiddies.  And, of course, best friends.

Brit and Tim's wedding was on Saturday up in Minnesota, on one of the most perfect [weather-wise] days you could imagine.  Let's just say upper 60s, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky, are just a few descriptors of the blissful October wedding day.  Everything came together seamlessly, I really can't recall one hitch in the day!  Tim was a dashing groom, but I have to say that Brit absolutely stole the show.  She was a STUNNING bride, I can't think of any other way to describe her. 

The church was beautiful and the reception was unbelievable.  First class, no question.  Cozy, yet fancy, and the room was filled with people there to celebrate this extra-special couple.  Cheesy or not, the love for these two was absolutely overflowing and I know everyone could feel it.  Gosh, take me back, please!

Don't worry, I will be posting pictures like crazy of the entire day [you'll probably be annoyed by the end of it all!], it was just way too special of a day not to share with everyone.  And I figured that since I'm on cloud nine coming off the weekend, I wanted to share a very 'happy' dessert with you all.  Cue in, Lemon Bars!

Lemons, lemons, lemons.  What to say about lemons?  Well, one thing's for sure, I don't use them enough.  But I think I may have made up for it in this one dessert alone.  I mean, using [lotsa] lemon juice and [lotsa] lemon zest has to count for something, right?  Right.

I made these little citrus goodies a couple of weeks ago for our office's 'farewell day' for two of our co-workers.  It just so happened that one of the ladies leaving our department was the organizer for these days and I quickly offered to be her successor [which means I basically tackled her the millisecond she mentioned someone was needed to take over her duties].  It's really not a big deal, but it means that I get to help organize treats for the little events and we all know that's what I love to do!

So to all of the lemon lovers out there, I have the treat for you.  These Lemon Bars are basically a classic lemon bar, but amped up.  And homemade.  Which is most always the better version, in my humble opinion.

The bar starts out with a very simple and slightly plain tasting [yet flaky and tender] crust.  But don't worry, because the top layer is the kicker and makes up for all of the flavor in these bars of goodness.  Seriously, lemon-ey heaven!  The lemon topping is creamy and citrusy and the combination of the soft crust and [generous] dusting of sweet, powdered sugar makes for a very rich, delectable treat.  Enjoy! .

My Notes:

• The recipe calls for a 12x18-inch sheet pan, but I didn't have that size.  So I opted to use a 15x11-inch pan instead, which created a rather thick crust (I did not mind this one bit!) and thicker filling.  Personally I didn't have a problem with it, but I do think the original pan size would make the perfect crust-to-lemon-filling ratio.
• To get all of the zest used in this recipe, I used about 4 medium lemons.
• Make sure to mix the lemon topping very well!  I apparently didn't do a great job at this, and ended up having little pieces of egg whites across the top.  The taste wasn't altered at all, but it wasn't exactly pretty.  And we're all about presentation!

From The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 c. unsalted butter, softened

4 c. all purpose flour

1 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Lemon Topping:

2 c. sugar

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1 c. lemon juice

6 tsp. grated lemon zest

Directions:

1.  In a medium bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar.  Add salt, lemon zest and flour; mix only until combined and crumbly.

2.  Spread soft dough evenly in sheet pan.  Using a piece of wax paper, press dough down as flat as possible.  Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.  Heat oven to 350F and bake crust for 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Set aside to let cool.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar.  Add lemon zest and lemon juice and whisk to combine. 

4.  Pour the lemon mixture over baked crust.

5.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until topping is set.

6.  Dust with powdered sugar and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours before cutting.

Serving: 2 dozen large bars

Secret Recipe Club: Danish Puff

. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was/am for this post.  I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for this day to come around.

The Secret Recipe Club (SRC).  For the bloggers, many of you may know what I'm talking about.  The Secret Recipe Club was created by Amanda from Amanda's Cookin' and the 'secret' group started out with only a small handful of bloggers.  But today?  It's grown into a full blown club that requires applications, acceptance, and tight lips!

The concept is quite simple but so genius.  Every month, you get assigned a group and within that group, you are assigned a different blog.  Your responsibility is to browse through their recipes and make any one of their creations (baking or cooking).  Then, on an assigned day, you post the recipe and reveal who you're assigned blogger is.  AWESOME, huh?!  You might not share my enthusiasm but this is the first club I have joined in the blogging world AND it's been a loooong road to get here.  Okay, not long, but it required patience.  The first time I applied to join the club I was rejected because my blog was too young and I didn't have enough recipe posts.  That was a sad day.  But I kept at it, was eventually accepted, and here we are!  So for the coming months, you'll be seeing SRC posts once a month and I'm so excited!

So now for my reveal.  For my FIRST SRC post, I was assigned Cathy' blog, Wives with Knives.  Gosh, where to start with this woman!  I can't tell you how many times I ventured back to her blog, searching through her recipes and trying to get a a real sense of who she is.  I found out through her 'About' page that she's lived in Oregon's Willamette Valley for her entire life and many of her dishes come from recipes handed down through her family.  That caught me right there.  Who can resist a family tradition?!

Her recipes are simply unique and I can tell you I have yet to come across a blog like hers.  Stalking Browsing though her blog, I got this wonderful sense of German foods and the holidays.  Maybe I'm totally off what she's going for, but it's just how I felt.  For the past month I've struggled with what I was going to make from her blog because her recipes are so enticing.

To make it [a bit] easier, I decided that I was going to recreate one of Cathy's recipes that I normally wouldn't pick out on my own.  Yet again, I had some difficulty picking the final entry because her recipes are mouthwatering [check out Cathy's Dresdener Stollen, Maple Nut Coffee Twist, Dungeness Crab and Cheddar Omelet, and Cinnamon Sugar Popovers, to see what I mean].  But with the help of Robbie, I decided to make her unbelievable Danish Puff.

To start, this is a family recipe handed down from Cathy's mother.  Okay, I couldn't resist doing this recipe simply because of that.  And, of course, because Cathy labeled this as her 'favorite coffee cake.'

And now it's MY favorite coffee cake/dessert/breakfast treat.  Let's see if I can do this goodie justice.  Okay, first, it's ridiculously easy.  Beyond, beyond, beyond easy.  Convinced?  The puff looks intricate and from the way it tastes, you would think it took days.  But it maybe took me 15 to 20 minutes to put the two puffs together.

What about the flavor, you ask?  Well, the puff starts out with a simple pastry base, almost like an extremely soft butter cookie [but don't think crunchy cookie, think Melting Moment-esque].  And the base is topped with a pate a choux dough, which is what eclairs and cream puffs are made out of [if that helps at all].  I truthfully had no clue what the pate a choux was going to turn out like or taste like because I had never worked with it.  But my life will never be the same.  And then, the entire goodie is adorned with a rich glaze and toasted walnuts [if you choose!].

All together, you get an unexplainable melt-in-your-mouth, piece-of-heaven.  Just to be frank.  I will forever keep this recipe and whip it out for those special occasions.  Cathy, thank you so incredibly much this one-of-a-kind family recipe, I had an absolute blast looking through your blog!  Glad to be your newest follower ☺ .

My Notes:

• I actually used my food processor for making the pastry base and it worked out wonderfully.  However, I put in the original directions below.
• You can choose whether you want to use the walnuts or not.  Since I wanted to at least taste the original recipe from Cathy, I did one puff with and one puff without walnuts.  But they are equally amazing.  I will say that the walnuts completely change the flavors of the puff though, so I HIGHLY recommend trying out both variations.
• To toast the walnuts, place the walnuts on a baking sheet in an even layer.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 350°F or until the walnuts are fragrant.
• For the glaze, I ended up adding in an additional 2 teaspoons of water to get the consistency I was looking for.  But you can add less or more, depending on how liquidy you would like the glaze.

From Wives with Knives

Ingredients:

Pastry Base:

1 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. butter

2 tbsp. water

Pate a Choux Dough:

1 c. water

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. all purpose flour

3 eggs

Glaze:

1-1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted

2 tbsp. butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 to 2 tbsp. water

Directions:
1.  Heat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.  For the pastry base, in a medium bowl, cut in butter with flour using pastry blender or your fingertips.

2.  Sprinkle water over mixture and mix well with fork.

3.  Form the mixture into a ball and divide in half.  Pat each half of the mixture with your hands into 12x3-inch strips on prepared baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.

4.  For the pate a choux, combine butter and water.  Heat to boiling (making sure butter is all melted).

5.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  

6.  Using a whisk, mix in flour, stirring to keep from lumping.  

7.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

8.  Divide the pate a choux dough in half and spread evenly on each strip.  Bake 60 minutes or until topping is crisp and browned.

9.  For the glaze, mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and water until smooth (if needed, add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time until glaze can be poured over coffee cakes).  Glaze coffee cakes as desired.  Top with toasted walnuts.

Yield: 2 coffee cakes