If you’re a fan of Ghibli movies, you may remember the cute Susuwatari or Soot Sprites from Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. These easy-to-make chocolate covered treats are also known as haystacks or tumbleweeds. They’re often made with shredded coconut or chow main noodles. I love using potato stick snacks for a delicious, crunchy salty-sweet snack.
In Spirited Away, the cute sprites are fed handfuls of Japanese konpietō candy. If you aren’t able to find it, candy star sprinkles are a nice substitute for decorating your Soot Sprites. (See the links below.)
Soot Sprite Treats
by Mari Vasseur
Chocolate covered potato stick snacks shaped like the beloved Spirited Away Soot Sprites
⅔cup (65g)chopped toasted salted cashews or peanuts (optional but recommended)
2cups (340g)semisweet chocolate chips
1cup (170g)butterscotch chips
1tablespoon (15ml)vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
A few dropsblack oil based food coloring (optional)
48Candy eyes
Konpeitō candy or pastel star candy sprinkles
Instructions
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper. In an extra-large bowl, combine the potato sticks and nuts.
In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and the oil. Heat in the microwave for 20 second bursts, stirring gently between each burst, until melted and smooth. Stir in the food coloring if using.
Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the potato stick mixture. Stir gently with a spatula until the mix is completely coated with the melted chocolate.
Scoop or spoon rounded 2-tbs-size portions of the mixture onto the baking sheets. Add candy eyes and stars. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.
If you’re looking for an easy, delicious and cute Halloween bake, Brown Butter Monster Cookie Bars are perfect for you. These spooky bars are crisp and golden on the outside, buttery, soft and chewy on the inside. They’re loaded with milk chocolate M & M’s and semisweet chocolate pieces which makes these the best Halloween cookie bars ever! I used a chocolate bar broken into pieces, rather than chocolate chips because the chocolate pieces melt into generous, silky pools of chocolate. The fun part is adding the spooky candy eyes. You can even create expressions with sprinkle eyebrows.
Brown Butter Monster Cookie Bars
by Mari Vasseur
Crisp and golden on the outside, buttery, soft and chewy on the inside with M & M's and chocolate pieces. The best Halloween cookie bars ever!
14 oz (113g)semisweet or dark chocolate bar broken into bite size pieces
Candy eyes
Green sprinkles
Instructions
In a medium-sized, light-colored saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until it's deep golden and fragrant. When brown specks start to appear, remove it from the heat and immediately transfer the butter with the brown specks to a large bowl. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan*** with parchment paper, leaving a couple of inches of overhang.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl until well blended. Set aside.
Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract to the brown butter and stir until combined. Add the egg and egg yolk and stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. Set aside a few of the larger chocolate pieces for the top. Gently stir the remaining chocolate pieces and the M & M's into the dough.
Press the dough evenly into the baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Arrange the reserved chocolate pieces on the top. Bake until the top is set and light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bars comes out with a few moist crumbs on it, about 20-25 minutes. Add the candy eyes and sprinkles while the bars are still warm. Let the bars cool in the pan.
Notes
*To find candy eyes, click here. **To find green sprinkles, click here. Alternately, if you have rainbow sprinkles, you can take the green ones out to use for your cookies bars if you don't want to purchase green sprinkles.***To find the 8-inch baking pan I used, click here.
These delicious little two-bite muffins are the apple version of my viral Pumpkin Cinnamon Mini Muffins. They have fresh apples in the batter which helps to make them soft and moist. They’re rolled in cinnamon sugar after baking, which gives them a subtle crunch on the outside. These delightful mini muffins have the flavor and texture of cake donuts. They’re perfect on their own, but I love to serve them with caramel sauce for dipping which takes them over the top.
Apple Cinnamon Mini Muffins
Soft, tender apple mini muffins rolled in cinnamon sugar
⅓cup (80ml)vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
1largeegg
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
½cup (113g)puréed peeled apples or unsweetened applesauce**
Caramel sauce for dippingpurchased or homemade
Cinnamon Sugar
⅔cup (132g)granulated sugar
1 ½teaspoonscinnamon
6tablespoons (85g)melted butter
Instructions
Muffins
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease and flour a 24-serving mini muffin pan.* Do not use muffin liners. (The muffins need to form an outer crust. This prevents them from absorbing too much melted butter in the last step.)
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract together until smooth and well combined. Stir in the puréed apples. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. The batter will be thick.
Transfer the batter to prepared pan, filling the muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 9-11 minutes. Do not over bake! Be diligent, since over baking can happen very quickly with mini muffins. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out and place on a cooling rack.
Cinnamon Sugar
Whisk the cinnamon and granulated sugar together in a shallow bowl until well combined. Briefly dunk the warm muffins in the melted butter, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.
Notes
*To find the mini muffin pan I used, click here.**If your applesauce is very watery, drain the excess liquid before measuring.
It wouldn’t be fall without PSL’s and pumpkin bread. This ultra moist, plush version of pumpkin bread has mocha batter swirled through it and a rich chocolate glaze that takes it over the top. It’s dangerously delicious and nearly impossible to eat just one slice. I think this might just become your new favorite fall baking recipe.
Mocha Pumpkin Spice Bread
by Mari Vasseur
Soft, ultra moist pumpkin spice bread, swirled with mocha and topped with a shiny chocolate glaze
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides with a mixture of equal parts unsweetened cocoa powder and flour.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well blended.
Set aside one tablespoon (15ml) of the oil. In a large bowl, beat the remaining oil, the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, evaporated milk and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Beat in the pumpkin purée until incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined.
Place one cup (237g) of the batter in a separate medium-sized bowl. Add the cocoa powder, espresso powder and the reserved one tablespoon of oil. Mix until incorporated.
Place half of the pumpkin batter into the baking pan. Scoop the mocha batter into the pan, alternating with scoops of the remaining pumpkin batter. Swirl the batter with a skewer. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached (not wet batter), about 35-45 minutes. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out and continue cooling on a cooling rack.
Chocolate Glaze
Melt the butter, chocolate, and corn syrup together in a medium-sized heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir gently until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly then spoon the glaze over the cooled loaf and let it drip down the sides.
Notes
To find the 9 x 5 inch loaf pan I used, click here.
These cheerful Pink Lemonade Cookie Bars are sweet, summery and nostalgic. They remind me of the pink lemonade cake my elderly neighbor used to make. She shared her recipe when I was about 10 years old. It was so easy and it was one of the first things I baked on my own. These cookie bars have that same delicious, vibrant flavor, but in the form of a soft, tender cookie and they’re just as easy to make.
Pink Lemonade Cookie Bars
Soft, lemony cookie bars topped with silky, smooth pink lemonade frosting and pink sprinkles
1tiny droppink gel food coloringI used Americolor deep pink*
Pink confetti sprinkles
Instructions
Cookie Bars
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a couple of inches of overhang.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until incorporated, then beat in the extracts. Beat in the flour mixture just until combined. Do not over mix.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until the top is set and the edges start to turn light golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Let cool in the pan.
Once cooled, remove the bars from the pan using the parchment paper as handles. Frost and add sprinkles. Cut into squares.
Frosting
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together just until smooth and combined. Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, cherry extract and salt. Beat until smooth. Mix in the food coloring a little at a time, with the tip of a toothpick, until your desired shade of pink is achieved.
Notes
*To find the pink gel food coloring I used, click here.
This soft, incredibly moist cake is a happy experiment that successfully combines my favorite strawberry cake with cinnamon roll cake. Instead of cinnamon sugar, it has a swirl of strawberry sugar. It’s bursting with fresh strawberry flavor and it’s so good it doesn’t even need frosting. But of course, I added strawberry cream cheese icing, in the tradition of cinnamon roll cake, which takes it over the top.
Strawberry Swirl Cake
Fresh strawberry cake with a strawberry sugar swirl and strawberry cream cheese icing
¼cup (55ml)vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
1largeegg
1largeegg white
½teaspoonpure vanilla extract
½teaspoonpure strawberry extract
1droppink gel food coloringOptional
⅓cup (75g)sour cream
Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing
2tablespoons (28g)cream cheese, softened
1tablespoon (14g)unsalted butter, softened
½cup (60g)powdered sugar, sifted
2teaspoonsstrawberry reductionReserved from cake recipe
1tablespoon (15ml)buttermilk or whole milk
Instructions
Strawberry Swirl
In a small food processor or a clean spice grinder, pulse the freeze dried strawberries to break them up a bit. Add the sugar and process to a fine consistency. Strain the sugar mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Mix in the flour, melted butter, salt and lemon juice until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip. I used an Ateco #12 tip.** Alternately, you can snip the corner off a disposable piping bag or food storage bag, creating a 3/8-inch wide opening.
Strawberry Cake
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer the puréed strawberries until reduced by half. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan*** with parchment paper. Grease and flour the inside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, egg, egg white, and extracts, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth. Alternately, you can whisk the mixture together by hand until smooth. Stir in 1/3 cup of the cooled strawberry reduction and the food coloring. (Reserve the remaining strawberry reduction for the icing.)
Stir the flour mixture into the batter, in 2 additions, alternating with the sour cream. Mix just until combined. Transfer the batter to the cake pan.
Pipe the strawberry swirl mixture onto the batter in a spiral pattern. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a cooling rack.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing
In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and strawberry reduction and beat until smooth and well combined. Whisk in the buttermilk a little at a time until your desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
These Mini Baklava Cheesecakes are so cute and incredibly delicious. They’re much quicker and easier to make than a full size cheesecake. I par-baked the buttered phyllo dough, then topped it with a nut mixture. I used a combination of pistachios and almonds, but you can use any combination of pistachios, almonds or walnuts of your choice. After I baked the cheesecakes, I soaked the phyllo shells with honey syrup.Yum!
I topped them with little nests made of kataifi, which are so cute and perfect for Easter. Kataifi is thinly shredded phyllo pastry. You can find it in the freezer section of supermarkets and international markets. You will have some left over, but it’s perfect for using in any Dubai chocolate recipe. Toasted coconut makes a good substitute if you can’t find kataifi. These cute cheesecakes are also pretty topped with edible flowers or rose petals, which would be perfect for Mother’s Day or any springtime celebration.
Mini Baklava Cheesecakes
by Mari Vasseur
Mini cheesecakes with a baklava base, topped with kataifi nests
½cup (57g)finely chopped toasted pistachios, almonds or walnuts or a combination of nuts of your choice(I used pistachios and almonds.)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
8ounces (227g)cream cheese, softened
1cup (200g)granulated sugar, divided
1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1largeegg, room temperature
2tablespoons (30ml)heavy whipping cream, room temperature
Kataifi Nests
116 ounce (454g) packagekataifi phyllo pastry, thawedYou'll need about 1/4 of the package.
⅓cup (75g)unsalted butter, melted
18-24candy eggsI used Cadbury Mini Eggs.
Instructions
Honey Syrup
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, water, honey and lemon juice, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Mini Cheesecakes
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Brush the insides of a 12-serving muffin pan with melted butter.
Place a sheet of phyllo dough on your work surface. Brush it lightly with melted butter. Place another sheet on top of the first one and brush it lightly with melted butter. Repeat this process until you have 5 sheets. Using a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the phyllo into 6 squares, measuring about 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches each. Repeat this process with the five remaining phyllo sheets. Make sure to keep your unused phyllo sheets covered while you work to prevent them from drying out.
Place the phyllo squares into the cups of the muffin pan. Press them in with a pastry tamper or with the flat bottom of a small shot glass. Prick the bottoms of the phyllo with a fork. Bake until light golden brown, about 14-17 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the nuts, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of melted butter and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix until well combined.
Turn the oven heat down to 325ºF (165ºF). Place about a tablespoon of the nut mixture into the baked pyllo shells and press down lightly with the back of a spoon.
To make the cheesecake filling, in a large bowl, stir the cream cheese with a spatula until it's smooth and lump-free. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, the egg, heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and well combined, but do not over beat.
Ladle the cheesecake mixture into the phyllo shells over the nuts. Fill them almost to the top. Bake until the cheesecakes are set, but still slightly jiggly in the centers, about 13-15 minutes.
Using a small offset spatula, gently loosen the cheesecakes from the muffin pan. Drizzle honey syrup generously along the perimeter of the outside of the cheesecakes, letting the syrup drip down the sides of the phyllo pastry. Let the cheesecakes cool in the pan. When the cheesecakes have cooled and the syrup has absorbed, transfer the cheesecakes to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.
Kataifi Nests
Turn the oven temperature up to 350ºF (180ºC). Brush an 8 x 8-inch or a 9 x 7-inch baking dish with melted butter. Roll clusters of kataifi stands into twelve 2-inch wide spiral shapes to form the nests. Place them in the baking dish. Drizzle the nests with melted butter. Gently brush more melted butter over the surface of the nests. Bake until golden brown, about 25-35 minutes. Immediately drizzle with honey syrup. Let the nests cool in the baking pan.
Place the nests onto the cheesecakes. Fill the nests with candy eggs.
Spring is finally here and Easter is around the corner, so I couldn’t resist making these cute, melt-in-your-mouth Miffy inspired bunny cookies. They’re made of tender coconut shortbread topped with icing and sprinkled with coconut flakes. Coconut bunnies make perfect Easter treats. I happened to have a Miffy cookie cutter, but any 3-inch (7.6cm) bunny cookie cutter works too.* You can also use a pattern to cut out the cookies with a small paring knife. Click here for a Miffy-inspired cookie pattern. Coconut bunnies make perfect Easter treats. This shortbread recipe also works beautifully as vanilla flavor. If you prefer vanilla, refer to the notes below.**
Miffy Inspired Coconut Cookies
by Mari Vasseur
Tender, melt-in-your-mouth bunny shaped coconut shortbread cookies with icing and coconut flakes
In a large bowl, beat the butter, powdered sugar, and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth and pale. Beat in the extracts and coconut flakes until well blended. On low speed beat in the flour, just until combined.
Form the dough into 2 disks. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight.
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a scant 1/4-inch (.6cm) thick. Cut out the cookies using a 3-inch (7.6cm) bunny cookie cutter. If you don't have a cookie cutter you can use the provided pattern and cut the cookies out with a small paring knife. Place the cut cookies about 2 inches (5cm) apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Freeze the cookies for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Bake the cookies until set and light golden, about 9-11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Coconut Icing
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of half & half, the coconut extract and salt until smooth. Whisk in additional half & half as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
Apply the icing to the cookies by dipping the tops of the cookies in the icing or by spreading the icing on with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with coconut flakes.
To make the Miffy or bunny faces, melt the chocolate ships in a small heat safe bowl, in the microwave. Transfer the melted chocolate to a piping bag fitted with a narrow round tip. For the Miffy faces, pipe an x for the mouth and dots for the eyes. For Easter bunnies, pipe eyes, noses and mouths. You can also use small candies for the noses.
Notes
*To find bunny cookie cutters, click here.**To make vanilla shortbread cookies, omit the vanilla extract, coconut flavoring and the coconut flakes. Replace with 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste. To make vanilla icing, replace the coconut flavoring with pure vanilla extract***To find the coconut flavoring I used, click here.
Say hello to springtime in cake form. These soft, fluffy, little lemon bundt cakes are bursting with lemon flavor and topped with a beautiful, delicious blueberry cream cheese icing. The icing gets it’s natural beauty from fresh blueberries. The colors and flavors of these cakes remind me of sunshine and spring blooms. I decorated my cakes with tiny blue violas from my garden. They would also look pretty topped with fresh chamomile flowers.
I used a bundtlette pan with six 1-cup servings. To find the pan I used, click here. This recipe also works as cupcakes using a standard muffin pan. The baking time will be a bit shorter. If you’re not a fan of blueberry icing, you can glaze the cakes with lemon icing instead. To find my lemon icing recipe, click here.
Lemon Bundt Cakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Icing
Juice of one medium lemon plus enough water to make 1/4 cup (59ml)
Lemon Bundt Cakes
1 ¼cups (142g)cake flour, sifted
1teaspoonbaking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonfine sea salt
¾cup (150g)granulated sugarpreferably fine granulated sugar (not powdered sugar)
Zest of 2 medium lemons
½cup (107 ml)vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
2largeeggsroom temperature
½teaspoonpure vanilla extract
¼ cup (59 ml)whole milkroom temperature
¼cup (57g)sour creamroom temperature
Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
⅓cup (57g)blueberries
2teaspoonsgranulated sugar
1teaspoonfresh lemon juice
½cup (113g)cream cheese, softened
2tablespoons (28g)unsalted butter, softened
½teaspoonpure vanilla extract
½cup (60g)powdered sugar, sifted
2-4tablespoons (30-59 ml)whole milkroom temperature
Instructions
Lemon Simple Syrup
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and water over medium-low heat. Cook and stir gently just until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Lemon Bundt Cakes
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease and flour a bundtlette pan with six 1-cup servings. Make sure to thoroughly grease and flour all of the crevices. (To find the pan I used, see note below.*)
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well blended.
In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and lemon zest until well combined. Add the oil, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth and creamy.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream. Stir the flour mixture into the batter in 2 additions, followed by half of the milk mixture after each addition. Stir just until combined.
Fill the cake pan wells half full with the batter. (If using a standard muffin pan, fill the wells 2/3 full.) Bake until the tops are springy and a toothpick inserted in the centers of the cakes comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached, about 14-16 minutes. Check for doneness a couple of minutes early to avoid over baking. (Baking time is shorter for a standard muffin pan.) Cool the cakes in the pan for 8 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Brush the warm cakes generously with lemon simple syrup.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Icing
In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice. Stir occasionally over medium heat, until the blueberries start to soften and the mixture starts to bubble. Smash the blueberries with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Let the mixture simmer gently until thickened to a jam consistency, about 2-3 minutes. Strain the cooked blueberries through a mesh sieve for a smooth consistency. You can skip this step if you prefer a chunky consistency. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Don't over beat. Cream cheese tends to curdle if beaten too much.
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons (30ml) of milk and beat until smooth and well blended. Stir in the cooled blueberries until combined. Stir in more milk as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Spoon or drizzle the icing onto the cooled lemon cakes.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar , brown sugar and salt together.
Work in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like wet sand. Press it together to form chunks. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Cake
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of an 8-inch cake pan with a removable bottom or an 8-inch springform pan, with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides or line with a strip of parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy.
Beat the egg, egg yolk and vanilla into the butter mixture in 3 separate additions, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next.
In a small bowl, whisk the milk and sour cream together. On low speed, mix the flour mixture into the batter in two additions alternating with half of the milk mixture. Beat just until combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Smooth the batter with a spatula. Place the strawberries evenly on top of the batter. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top.
Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 48-55 minutes. Do not over bake. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack.
Fresh Strawberry Icing
In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and puréed strawberries. Add the half & half a little at a time until your desired consistency is achieved. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
½ cup (113g) plus 2 tablespoons (28g)unsalted melted butter, divided
zest of 1 medium lemon
1 teaspoonpure vanilla extract
¾cup plus 2 tablespoons (110g)all purpose flour, sifted
¼teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoon fine sea salt
2largeeggs, room temperature
½cup (100g)granulated sugar
1cup (120g)powdered sugar, sifted
2 1/2-3tablespoons puréed strawberries
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup (113g) of the melted butter with the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and granulated sugar, with an electric mixer at medium-high speed, to ribbon stage, about 8 minutes. The batter should look thick, voluminous and light in color.
Sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture in 2 additions, gently folding it in just until combined.
Gently fold the butter mixture into the batter in 3 additions. Cover and refrigerate the batter for 30-45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Brush the molds of a heart-shaped madeleine pan* with melted butter, making sure to get butter into all of the crevices.
Scoop about a generous tablespoon of batter into each of the molds. Bake until the tops are puffed and springy and the edges start to turn light golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer the madeleines to a cooling rack.
To make the icing, whisk the powdered sugar together with 1 tablespoon of melted butter and 2 tablespoons of puréed strawberries in a medium bowl. Add more of the puréed strawberries until your desired consistency is achieved.
Brush the scalloped side of the cooled madeleines with the strawberry icing, using a small pastry brush. (Alternately, you can thin the icing with a bit of milk and dunk one side fo the madeleines into the icing.
Notes
To find the heart-shaped madeleine pan I used, click here.
Magic Bars, also known as 7-layer bars, are a vintage classic. My neighbor shared them with us every Christmas when I was a child. The bars typically have a graham cracker crust topped with coconut, chocolate chips, sometimes butterscotch chips, and nuts. The ingredients meld together in the oven with gooey, sweetened condensed milk. The recipe I’m sharing here is my raspberry holiday version. The bars come together quickly and always turn out delicious! The recipe is easy and versatile. You can switch up the white chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips if you like.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and butter together until well combined. Press the crumb mixture evenly into the baking pan.
Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the graham cracker base. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the coconut. Top with dollops of jam. Sprinkle with white chocolate chips, followed by almonds.
Bake until the top and edges are light golden brown and the jam begins to bubble, about 25-28 minutes. Let cool completely, then cut into squares.
