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Paul L. Hayden / Lake Superior Magazine
"Bars are fabulously simple, but they need not be dull," says Juli Kellner. "I’ve got three good examples."
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To make Marge Lange's nut bars, the salty nuts are layered thickly over a crisp crust, then drizzled with caramel sauce.
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Rita Bergstedt's bars are heavenly for dark chocolate lovers.
Every potluck-respecting Northlander should be able to roast a chicken, bake a potato and come up with a palatable vegetable side dish.
But if you want to be invited to a second potluck, you must also master at least one truly delicious bar recipe.
Why bars and not cookies? Cookies are frustratingly fussy. They must individually be rolled, pressed, cut and formed. Bars are fabulously simple, but they need not be dull. I’ve got three good examples.
Leave it to Rita B., co-founder of Minnesota’s iconic New Scenic Café, to take bars to a new level. Picture a dark chocolate truffle filling poured over a buttery pecan crust cut into neat bite-sized bars.
“The ganache is made of heavy cream and good dark chocolate just like a truffle,” says Rita Bergstedt.
“You could form the cooled ganache into balls and roll each of them in cocoa powder and serve it as a truffle.”
Or you could bake elegant bars.
“The trick,” adds Rita, “is to line your pan with parchment paper, leaving enough hanging over the sides to use like handles to lift the entire tart out of the pan onto a cutting surface. Then you can easily cut nice, even bite-sized bars.”
Chocolate Truffle Bars with Pecan Crust
Crust: Scant 2 c. all-purpose flour 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 c. cold butter, cut up 1-1/2 c. pecans 1 tsp. vanilla Filling: 3 c. heavy cream 24 oz. bittersweet chocolate pieces (choose a chocolate that suits your taste, from a top-of-the line dark like a 70% cocoa Scharffen Berger to Nestle’s chocolate chips or a Hershey’s milk chocolate if you prefer sweeter.) 4 eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Crust: Place the crust ingredients in a food processor, pulse until all of the ingredients are finely chopped and integrated. Pour the mixture into a half sheet pan (12 x 17 inches) that has parchment paper laying cross-wise, hanging over the edges. Pat in the pan and smooth firmly. Bake at 325° for 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool.
Filling: Bring the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate pieces. Stir until well mixed. Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture; whisk until well blended. Pour the mixture onto the cooled crust. Bake at 325° for 25 minutes. Remove from oven (the chocolate mixture will still look very soft). Cool at room temperature and then place in the refrigerator for two hours.
The entire sheet will easily come out of the pan with the help of the parchment paper. Use a hot knife to cut the bars into even squares (use a ruler to score). Easily cuts into 130 1-1/4-inch square pieces.
(Note: You can cut the recipe in half for a 9x13-inch pan.)
Rita Bergstedt, Duluth
If strong velvety chocolate is not your taste, the tantalizing balance of salty and sweet in Marge Lange’s signature mixed nut bars may be to your liking.
“These are ready in about 20 minutes start to finish,” says Marge. “And I never have any left over.”
Marge is the busy owner of Horizon Travel in Superior.
“The fussiest part of the recipe is going through the nuts before you spread them on the crust. I choose to pick out the large Brazil nuts that we don’t particularly care for.”
The salty nuts are layered thickly over a crisp crust, then drizzled with caramel sauce.
“The sauce comes together perfectly in the microwave,” Marge says, making cleanup ever so easy.
Nut Bars
Crust: 1-1/2 c. flour 3/4 c. brown sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. butter Topping: 1 can mixed nuts (about 8.75 oz.) 6 oz. pkg. butterscotch chips (about 1 c.) 1/2 c. white corn syrup 2 Tbsp. butter 1 Tbsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Crust: Blend the flour, brown sugar, salt and butter together. Pat out evenly on a jellyroll pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes; remove from the oven and sprinkle mixed nuts over the crust.
Topping: While the crust is baking, melt the butterscotch chips, corn syrup, butter and vanilla together; mix thoroughly. Drizzle the mixture over the nuts; cool and cut in squares.
Marge Lange, South Range, Wisconsin
Finally, teacher Karin Meyer has a fruit bar that combines the tropical flavors of pineapple and coconut.
This is her husband’s “absolute favorite, but I don’t make these very often as we are rather gluttonous with it!”
The sweet, crispy crust calls for a cup of butter, topped with a type of pineapple cheesecake filling liberally spread with coconut toasted in more – you guessed it – butter.
“The real trick to this recipe is draining the pineapple,” says Karin, who uses a sieve and spatula to press out as much juice as possible.
“I always get asked for the recipe for these,” uttering the litmus test for a good potluck bar.
Hawaiian Pineapple Bars
Crust: 1 c. butter, softened 2 c. flour 1 c. sugar Filling: 2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened 1/3 c. sugar 1/4 c. milk 2 tsp. vanilla 2 c. crushed pineapple, well drained Topping: 2 Tbsp. butter, melted 2 c. coconut, shredded
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Crust: Mix the crust ingredients together. Press into a 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Cool.
Filling: While the crust is cooling, mix the filling ingredients together. Spread over the crust.
Topping: Combine the melted butter and coconut together. Sprinkle on top of the filling layer.
Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until the coconut is lightly browned.
These can be eaten warm, but they are best if refrigerated first.
Karin Meyer, Kerrick, Minnesota
In fact, if no one is asking for your bar recipe, or if you’re taking home too many leftover, you need new bar recipes.
With these, I’m certain, you will dazzle the potluck crowd and leave with nothing but an empty tray.
In addition to hosting “WDSE Cooks,” Juli Kellner is director of program and production at WDSE/WRPT.