Sunday, January 13, 2013

Today's baking adventure

The girls and I made these pumpkin pie bars.  I read this recipe last fall, and I must have forgotten about it, because in my mind, I was fantasizing about inventing pumpkin pie with no crust on the outside, but with oat flour in it.  When I re-found the recipe I was glad I didn't have to go trying to invent.

The bars are still cooling in my fridge, as I was making them, I took a taste of the batter.  I don't think I used enough dates in them.  I didn't have Medjool dates, so I used 10 of what I had and I didn't measure.  When I looked back at the recipe, I realized I should have measured--my eyeball from memory tells me I had 2/3-3/4 of a cup.  I'm guessing I should have used more like 16-ish of the kind of dates I had.

Oh, well.  I'll try again--there's always another weekend and I have three girls who are always happy to help me bake!  Next time, I may add a touch of salt, too (like 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon) a little, not a lot, can make the taste zing.

Because they were less sweet, I stuck in some chocolate chips...  I may make some sweetened cashew cream to go with them... I'll let you know more after we try them... remind me if I forget!

Here's the recipe straight from Cathy Fisher's site with all credit to her.

Ingredients:
10 medjool dates, pitted and diced (about 1 cup diced)
3/4 cup water
1 ½ cups rolled oats, ground into flour (see Notes)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or see Notes below)
1 15-oz. can cooked pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix), (or one and a half cups cooked, pureed pumpkin; see Notes below)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup non-dairy milk of your choice

Directions:
1. Place the 10 pitted and diced dates into a small bowl with the 3/4 cup of water and soak for at least 15 minutes.

2. Place the flour and Pumpkin Pie spice in a large bowl. In a blender, blend the soaked dates, the date soak water, the vanilla, and the non-dairy milk until smooth (1-2 minutes). Pour this into the bowl of flour/spices, and also add the pumpkin, and mix with a wooden spoon until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.


3. Scrape batter into an 8×8-inch baking pan that is lined with parchment paper (or use a non-stick silicone baking pan). Cook for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees. (If you see a light browning and some cracks on the top, these are good indications that it’s done.) Let cool at least 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. Optional: Finish with Macadamia-Vanilla Frosting (recipe below) just before serving, or top with a light dusting of grated macadamia or other nuts (using a rotary cheese grater). Storing in the refrigerator overnight will firm up these squares, then you can pack them in a lunch or as a snack.

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes: 9 to 16 squares (depending on how small you cut them)

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