PPQ: Berry Pie Bars

It’s my week to host Project Pastry Queen and I picked the Blackberry Pie Bars recipe. Little did I realize that this is nearly identical to the Berry Pie Bars recipe I have already posted, which I adapted from Joy the Baker. I guess this whole pie-in-bar-form idea is popular! Oh well, these bars are a fantastic dessert so I didn’t mind repeating the recipe. You can click here to see how the other PPQ members fared with the recipe.

I actually love to bake pie, but it’s a time- and labor-intensive process so I only bake pies for holidays. These bars, on the other hand, are really easy to make and serve, so they are great for a casual weeknight dessert. (Just make sure you leave enough time to defrost the berries if you are using frozen ones). I made the recipe as directed except for a couple small changes:

~ I used salted butter (all I had in the fridge) and omitted the additional salt in the crust.

~ I used a combination of frozen blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries (again, what I had on hand).

These bars are awesome. The crust has a bit of sweetness and nice texture, and the filling is that perfect blend of sweet and tart. Add a crumb topping and the result is perfection. I hope you’ll try these out soon and enjoy them as much as we do!

Berry Pie Bars (slightly adapted from The Pastry Queen, Rebecca Rather)

Crust/Topping

3 cups flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Filling

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup flour

Pinch of salt

2 (16 oz.) packages frozen mixed berries, thawed and drained

Crust/Topping: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch pan with butter or cooking spray. Using either a food processor with the metal blade or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flour and sugar. Add the chilled butter cubes and process/mix until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of the mixture for the topping. Press the rest into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 12-18 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool at least 10 minutes.

Filling: Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, sour cream, flour, and salt and combine. Gently fold in the berries. Carefully pour the mixture over the crust (you might have to even out the berry distribution). Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture over the top. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned (I baked mine for 60 minutes and I probably could have let it go another 5). Cool at least 2 hours before cutting into bars.

Read Full Post »

PPQ: Baby Shower and Cran-Orange Sparklers

This week the Project Pastry Queen members are having a virtual  baby shower for Emily and BabyRuf! The shower is being hosted by Emily of A Gilt Nutmeg, and you can head over to her site to see everyone’s contributions!

I decided to make a festive drink for the party. I went with cran-raspberry and orange flavors, but you could use this method with any flavor combination you prefer. This drink is sparkling and fruity without being too sweet, and it is non-alcoholic since this is a baby shower.

Congratulations to Emily and her family, and blessings to BabyRuf!

Cran-Orange Sparklers (my original recipe)

1 (12 fl. oz.) can cranberry-raspberry cocktail/juice concentrate

12 fl. oz. orange juice

12 fl. oz. water

1 orange

Sparkling water, ginger ale, or club soda (I used Orange Citrus Seltzer Water)

Slice the orange. In a pitcher, combine the concentrate, orange juice, water and orange slices, then chill in the refrigerator. If desired, save a couple orange slices to garnish glasses.

To serve, rub an orange slice on rims of glasses, dip in sugar, and add ice. Fill glass 2/3 full with juice and top off with sparkling water. Stir gently and enjoy!

Read Full Post »

PPQ: Rocket Rolls

This week’s Project Pastry Queen recipe was Ruby-Flecked Florentines, hosted by Missy. You can see her post with the recipe for these lacy, fruity cookies over on her creativemissy blog. You can also click here to see how the other PPQ members made this recipe.

In general, I’m not so much a fan of dried fruit in cookies, so I used this week to make a different Pastry Queen recipe: Rocket Rolls. I’m glad I picked these rolls! They were the best dinner rolls I have ever had. Completely light and fluffy, not too sweet or eggy, and all around perfect! They were just as good alongside soup at dinner as with scrambled eggs for breakfast. And Little Lady, who is a bit of a picky eater, loved them!

The only changes I made to the original recipe were:

~ Cut the recipe in half (this yielded 13 large dinner rolls)

~ Omit the cinnamon

I’ll be making these rolls again soon, and they may even become my fancy-holiday-dinner rolls. If you are looking for an easy way to add homemade bread to a meal, I hope you’ll try these rolls. As an extra bonus, they’ll make your house smell fantastic as they bake!

Rocket Rolls (adapted from The Pastry Queen, Rebecca Rather)

1/2 Tablespoon instant yeast (a.k.a. bread machine yeast)

1 cup lukewarm water (more as needed)

1/8 cup canola oil

1 large egg

3/8 cup sugar

3-1/4 cups bread flour

1/2 Tablespoon sea salt

Olive oil, for brushing on rolls

Using a mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast, water, oil, egg, and sugar. Add the flour and mix on medium-low speed until the dough holds together, about 5 minutes (if a cohesive dough doesn’t form, add water 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough forms). Let the dough rest in the bowl for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the salt over the dough and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Transfer the dough to a large bowl that has been lightly greased with oil or cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1.5 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, or grease. Punch down the dough, coating your hands with a little flour if the dough is sticky. Pinch off pieces and roll into balls (mine were a little bigger than golf balls). Place the dough balls on the baking sheet, keeping about 2 inches of space in between.  Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise about 20-30 minutes, until the dough is light and soft with the consistency of a marshmallow. The rolls will not double in bulk during this rising.

Bake the rolls for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and brush with a light coating of olive oil. Serve warm and enjoy!

Read Full Post »