Jam Bars Recipe

I'm something of a party pooper when it comes to Christmas. I can't stand anything red and green and find Christmas trees universally tacky. Don't even get me started on the rampant Christmas consumerism or we'll be here all day! But I have always had a soft spot for Advent calendars. I like the surprises behind the windows, even if they are just paper windows. So I couldn't resist when the folks at Lexiophiles invited me to participate in their Recipe Advent Calendar. It's a bit like those Cookie of the Day newsletters that I sign up for every year. It doesn't matter that I don't actually make any of those recipes, the surprise of seeing them appear in my email box each day is a treat.

This recipe is one I've been making since college. It's super easy and you can prepare it in no time at all. I've made a few adjustments to it over the years. Most importantly, don't use jelly, use good jam, or better yet, use preserves. I used Oregon Growers delicious Cherry Zinfandel preserves for this batch. It's not boozy, but it has a not-too-sweet adult character that lends itself not just to desserts but also to savory preparations. The original recipe called for margarine, but as you can imagine, it's much better with butter.

By the way, if you too want to receive a new cookie recipe every day, you can sign up for the Cookie Countdown from MyRecipes.com or Holiday Cookie of the Day from Real Simple magazine.

Jam Bars
Makes 16 squares

1 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 egg
1 cup fruit jam or preserves (strawberry or cherry are good)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the egg to form a crumbly dough. Grease a 9-inch baking pan and press in 3/4 of the mixture onto the bottom of the pan. Top with jam and evenly spread almost but not quite to the edges of the pan since the jam will spread as it bakes. Top with the remaining crumb mixture. Transfer to oven and bake for 30 minutes or until pale golden brown. Let cool and cut into 16 squares.

Enjoy!

To see more recipes in the Recipe Advent Calender just click on the image below.

Potato Chip Cookies: Recipe

At an "early 60's tacky tiki" theme party this weekend, it occured to me how sometimes the most retro recipes can also be very of-the-moment. At this particular party there were modern takes on all sorts of things. In each case very high quality ingredients were used and, you know the saying, "quality in, quality out." There was a cucumber gelatin mold salad, only the cucumbers were fresh from the farm, agar-agar was used to gel it and fresh dill and citrus flavors punctuated the dish. It was so good I took some home!

Another dish that hasn't been popular in a while was the cheese ball, though at this party there were three of them. When made with the best cheeses, fresh roasted red peppers and rolled in nuts, it was positively delicious. The dish I had the hardest keeping my paws out of was nothing more than a premium "seven layer dip". Seven layer dip is made from refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheese, olives and green onions or some similar combination. But imagine a version where each layer was made from scratch or with the best products available. It was a far cry from the versions I've had that were made mostly from mundane canned ingredients.

I admit, I only made potato chip cookies out a sense of nostalgia. Potato chip cookies are one of the few 60's foods I can remember eating, but for all I know it might have even been the 70's. Though my contribution was only intended as a novelty item, after the second person asked me for the recipe, I figured I'd share it here. While the ingredients are nothing spectacular, the combination of salty and sweet in dessert is very common these days, especially on restaurant menus. The recipe is very similar to the one from Frito-Lay, but I use more nuts and less sugar.

Potato Chip Cookies
3 dozen cookies

2 1/2 cups crushed potato chips* (measure after crushing)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup chopped pecans or roasted peanuts

Combine the sugars, egg, milk and vanilla and whisk together to combine in a medium mixing bowl. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder to combine. Add dry ingredients to batter then mix in the potato chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet (or parchment lined sheet) allowing space for the cookies to spread. Bake at 375° for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

* I use Lay's potato chips because they are thin, crispy and very salty. Other chips may work well too, but I've always used Lay's. You can now get Lay's with no trans-fat and while I couldn't work out exactly how much fat and calories are in 2 1/2 cups of potato chip crumbles, there is no addition added fat in the recipe (other than what is in the egg and milk).

Enjoy!

Looking for more party posts? Here they are:
Anita's dip recipe
Sam's party round up
Biggles' meaty report from the grill

FOOD

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies: Recipe

No one likes airplane food. The best solution is clearly to bring your own eats. So what snacks do you bring on the plane? That's the question that was posed by Epicurious editor/blogger Tanya Steel a few weeks back, prior to her travels. Suggestions were made for granola, chili coated dried mango, cereal bars, deli sandwiches, beef jerky and more. But it was this comment "I will be staying in hotels, so I can't even pack a PB&J!" by Tanya that got me thinking. How about a cookie that tastes like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

The first batch I tried was too sweet but the second one was just right. These cookies aren't very sweet, so you get a hit of sweetness from the jelly or in this case, strawberry preserves. They are fairly healthy and great with a glass of milk, of course. The basic recipe is an adaptation of the peanut butter cookie in Jane Brody's fabulous Good Food Book. Just a couple of these really satisfy, but bring more for your seat neighbors.

My favorite airplane food of all is sushi, which I usually try to take on flights to and from Hawaii, but for something that stays fresh and travels well, these cookies are a better choice. I'll be getting on a plane Monday morning and these little goodies will be in my carry on luggage...

PB&J Cookies
makes about 3 dozen

1/3 Cup unsalted butter
1/2 Cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky
1/2 Cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 Cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Strawberry preserves or jam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar and egg with an electric mixer until creamy. Sprinkle in the flour and baking soda, mixing well to combine. Roll into one inch balls and place 2 inches apart. Use your thumb to make a well in the center of each cookie, flattening each ball as you go. Fill the well in each cookie with strawberry preserves. Bake on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet for 10 minutes. Let cook on a rack.

Enjoy!

FOOD