September 14: Red, White and Blue Bars

Red, White and Blue Bars

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (4.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves or pie filling
1/4 cup blueberry preserves or pie filling
1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 325 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9-inch square metal pan with nonstick foil.
2. Melt the butter in a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute; stir. Add 1 cup of chips; let stand. Do not stir.
3. With a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the eggs in a large mixer bowl until foamy. Add the sugar; beat until light and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. Stir in the white chip mixture and then stir in the flour, salt, and almond extract.
4. Spread about 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool slightly in the pan. Soften the preserves in separate small, microwave-safe bowls or cups at 50% power for 5-10 seconds, then spread over the baked crust, spreading half of the crust with raspberry and the other half with blueberry.
5. Stir the remaining white chips into the reserved batter and drop spoonfuls of batter over the jam, spreading gently to cover it. The jam will still show through a bit. Sprinkle the almonds over the top. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are browned. Let cool completely in the pan, and then chill briefly (for about an hour) so that you can make a cleaner cut when slicing. Lift the bars from the pan and set on a cutting board. Carefully cut along the center seam where the berry toppings meet, then cut each half into 12 bars.

Addition of sugar

Addition of chocolate mix

Addition of flour

Meanwhile while it was baking...

....

Raspberry on left, blueberry on right

Before the oven

and after

Thoughts: So after the disaster of the chocolate truffle cookies, I tried these instead. Very straightforward recipe...nothing complicated. I baked them for 28 minutes. I'm not crazy about fruity-jam things but they were ok. I think I liked the blueberry side more. Patrick didn't get a chance to try them before I took them to work.