The post No-bowl Chocolate Nut Bars appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>I’m not kidding! These chewy caramel-y chocolate nut bars are made without a single bowl. From scratch. They’ll save you all those times you promise to make something sweet but run out of time!
I am one of those people who always overcommits. Especially when it comes to anything food related. Then 7 out of 10 times, I find myself in a flurry at the last minute because I promised to bring something sweet for lunch with friends, or to make something for my friends’ son’s school bake sale because she works full time and doesn’t have the time to bake something.
So it’s super handy to have a few really fast sweet recipes up your sleeve and this is one of mine. Just wait until you see how it’s made – it’s SO QUICK and you don’t need a SINGLE BOWL!
I know you’re probably wondering how on earth these bars are made without using a bowl at all so I’ll cut straight to the chase! Here’s how it’s done:
It’s made by creating a biscuit base using butter melted in the pan then sprinkling over crushed biscuits and desiccated coconut. Then it’s topped with nuts (your choice), chocolate chips, then finally topped with condensed milk which is what brings the whole bar together. Once baked, it holds together and becomes gloriously chewy, caramely bar!
Place butter straight into a lined pan and melt it in the oven while it is pre-heating.
Swirl to spread the melted butter across the base.
Sprinkle crushed biscuits across the base, then spread using a spoon/spatula/hands and lightly press down. I’m not meticulous here about even spreading, this is, after all, an emergency recipe!!
Sprinkle coconut across the base.
Top with about 2/3 of the nuts and choc chips
Pour over condensed milk.
Top with remaining nuts and choc chips.
Bake 30 minutes until light golden on the edges, then cool before cutting!
Ordinarily I put the ingredients before the recipe steps, but I feel like for this recipe it should be other way round! So, here’s what you need. It’s fabulously versatile – any plain biscuits, switch the peanuts and chocolate chips with other things like dried fruit and other nuts.
Condensed milk – This sweetened milk is like a thick syrup and this is the key ingredient that holds the bar together. Standard cans here in Australia re 395g (14oz) and are sold in the long-life dairy section in grocery store aisles.
Peanuts & chocolate chips – Feel free to substitute these with other add-ins of choice. Especially hand if you have a peanut or nut allergy in the family. Try pepitas and dried fruit!
Coconut – Desiccated coconut blends into the crushed biscuits to create the base. If you don’t like or don’t have coconut, feel free to add extra biscuits instead, or leftover wheat germ / wheat bran (if you made last weeks’ Breakfast Muffins!).
Butter – For buttery goodness and also to hold the base together.
Plain biscuits/cookies – Anything that can be crushed will work fine here. I’ve used all sorts over the years – Marie, Arrowroot (featured in today’s recipe), Graham crackers, scotch fingers. I once even made this with chocolate Oreo cookies by scraping the filling off!! (It was an emergency and it was darn delicious!)
This is one of those recipes that is not a “hack”, but rather an incidental side benefit is that it can be made without dirtying a single bowl. I would make these even if I had to use a bowl to make them!
So keep this one tucked away for one of those days when you’re in a rush and you’ve promised to make a sweet treat for your family or friends!! – Nagi x
Originally published way back in September 2015. Republished with a brand new video and photos by reader request!
New house. New shoot studio. Same scavenger.
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]]>The post Raspberry Jam Oat Bars appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>The charm of a crumble pie but in convenient hand-held form, Raspberry Jam Oat Bars have a buttery oatmeal biscuit base, a layer of jam, then topped with a crumble. Love how the same mixture is used for the base and crumbly topping. Handy – and fast to make!
These are deliciously buttery crumble bars that are perfect for any occasion. You’ll love the combination of the sweet fruity jam filling sandwiched between the oatmeal cookie base and the crumbly golden topping.
And you’ll especially love how quick these are to get in the oven! Similar jam bar recipes call for softened butter to be creamed with an electric beater (like for oatmeal cookies) or rubbed into flour using your fingers (like for shortbread).
In contrast, my recipe starts with melted butter which is just mixed with a wooden spoon with oats, flour etc. I’ve made it the standard way, and my way, and the difference is barely discernible.
So my easier way it is!
While these are made with raspberry jam, it can be made with any jam flavour your heart desires. Strawberry, blueberry, marmalade, apricot!
Jam – As noted above, any flavour jam you want can be used! I used raspberry.
Rolled oats – Not quick oats or steel-cut oats. Just plain traditional oats.
Flour – Just plain / all purpose flour. Wholemeal / wholewheat flour will work too. I haven’t tried with gluten-free flour or almond meal (ground almonds).
Butter – Unsalted butter. No need to bring to room temperature as we will melt it.
Sugar – Brown sugar adds lovely caramel-y flavour to the base. However, if you’re out, white sugar can be substituted.
Egg – A large one, from a carton labelled with the size “large”. Industry standard is 55 – 60g / 2 oz each.
Baking powder – Just 1/2 teaspoons adds a bit of lift. It doesn’t make the biscuit base cake, it just prevents it from baking into a concrete block.
Salt – Just a pinch, to bring out the other flavours. It doesn’t make it salty.
One oats biscuit mixture is used for the base and the crumbly topping. Convenient!
Oat cookie mixture – Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave. Mix in sugar, then egg, then the flour, oats, baking powder and salt.
Spread in pan – Line a 20cm/8″ square metal pan with paper with overhang to make it easy to lift out later. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the oat mixture across the base. I partially spread it out using a wooden spoon, semi cutting / pressing the clumps. Then I finish it with my hands.
Press the base in firmly and make the surface reasonably smooth. We’re making a rustic dish here, so no need to go to town on an ultra smooth surface.
Spread jam across the surface. If your jam is a bit firm jelly-like, you might want to warm it up briefly to make it easier to spread.
Crumble remaining oat mixture across the surface using your fingers.
Bake for 30 minutes at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan-forced) or until the surface is golden. Cool in the pan before lifting out using the overhang paper and cutting into 16 squares.
TIP to speed up the cooling: cool 30 minutes on the counter, 30 minutes in fridge.
These really might be one of the fastest bars ever to make. Well, the 5 Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are a hot contender for the World’s Speediest Bars too.
Tuck them into lunch boxes. Take them to book club. Serve them for afternoon tea.
Or, for something different, serve them as dessert, warm like apple crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. YES! – Nagi x
PS Those caramelised bits along the edges are the BEST. Like a chewy candy. I’ll fight you for them!
Originally published July 2016, in the days before I learned how to make recipe videos! Updated March 2023 with a recipe video, sparkling new photos and much needed clean up of the writing.
Because I do have a soft spot for hand-held goodies.
Normally I update this section with current Dozer happenings, but I though you might like this from the original publication date – Dozer suspiciously sniffing a runaway raspberry, disappointed he didn’t get to taste test the Raspberry Bars!
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]]>The post Flourless Chocolate Brownies (gluten free) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>Like my flourless chocolate cake, I make these Flourless Chocolate Brownies even when I’m not after a gluten free dessert because they’re that good! Using almond meal instead of flour adds lovely undertones of nuttiness as well as guaranteeing they’ll be fudgy and moist.
One bowl, quick, easy and impossible to stuff up!
I don’t think of these as gluten-free brownies. Rather, I tell people they are flourless chocolate brownies made with almond meal instead of flour, so they happen to be gluten-free.
And unlike regular brownies made with flour, these flourless brownies are virtually impossible to overcook to the point that you lose that desirable fudginess that we all know and love about brownies.
Win, win!
However, please note. If you ask me to choose between these flourless brownies and classic brownies, I’ll plead the fifth. There’s enough space in this world for both!! (A phrase I often use for competing food-love-interests).
Here’s what you need to make these gluten-free brownies:
Almond meal / ground almonds (same thing) – this is finely blitzed raw, whole almonds in powder form, used in place of flour to add a beautifully nutty flavour to baked goods (like in this very popular Orange Cake and Flourless Chocolate Cake). It makes them ultra moist and also gluten-free.
Find it in the baking section, dried fruit and nut section or health food section of grocery stores.
Making your own: Blitz whole, raw unsalted almonds until powdered.
Almond flour is slightly different but can be used. Brownie texture will probably be a bit more cake-like (almond flour is made with blanched peeled almonds, no skin, and is finer) and a less pronounced almond flavour.
Rice flour – This is ground rice, widely available these days at everyday grocery stores. It takes the place of flour in this recipe to give the brownies a bit of much needed structure compared to using just almond meal.
Note however that some brands (like McKenzie’s in Australia) are not fully ground into a fine powder and sometimes have a tiny bit of a grit in them. Not a big deal in this recipe, but I prefer using Asian brands as they never seem to have this problem (Asian aisle, Harris Farms in Australia, Asian stores).
Chocolate – Use cooking chocolate chips from the baking section of the supermarket, not eating chocolate. Though actually, Lindt chocolate bars work great, not all eating chocolate does so that’s why I generally don’t recommend it!
Butter – No need to soften it as it is melted with the chocolate.
Large eggs – Use eggs sold in cartons labelled “large eggs” which are 55 – 60g / 2 oz each. This is an industry standard. If you don’t have eggs this size, crack eggs in a bowl, whisk then measure out 90 ml / 100 grams.
Sugar – I like to use brown sugar as it adds a bit of caramely flavour to the brownies. But white sugar works just fine here.
Vanilla – Extract is better quality and flavour than imitation vanilla.
Salt – Generally good practice in baking to include a touch of salt as it brings out the flavour of other ingredients. It doesn’t make these brownies salty!
Nice and easy – one bowl and just a wooden spoon!
Melt the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. I do this in the microwave – 3 x 30 second bursts on high, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
Mix well until smooth, then let it cool for 5 minutes just to be sure we don’t accidentally cook the eggs!
Vanilla, sugar, eggs – Stir in the vanilla and sugar, then mix the eggs in until incorporated and the batter is smooth.
Add dry ingredients – Mix in the almond meal and rice flour.
Bake – Pour into the prepared pan, smooth the surface then bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean but still a bit wet. You want it to be moist because that means the brownie is still fudgy! Note however that flourless brownies are far more forgiving than brownies made with flour as the absence of flour makes it hard to overcook them to the point of drying out.
Cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before using the paper overhang to lift the brownie out of the pan. Then fully cool on a rack before cutting to serve.
Cutting / serving hot v cooled – Fudgy brownies are difficult to cut when warm as they are too gooey. It is best to fully cool to room temperature before slicing. Better yet, for best results, refrigerate so it firms up, slice when cold so you get neat squares. Then allow to fully come to room temperature before serving. This way, you get perfect neat slices but the same gooey eating experience!
Also, close up proof that even though these are flourless brownies, you’ll get the signature crackly brownie surface that we all know and love:
And proof of fudgy insides:
YUM.
I see these fudgy beauties in your future. Very near future, in fact. Like – this weekend.
Then after you’ve made them, come back and tell me how much you loved them!!! 😇 – Nagi x
Recipe originally published May 2014. Updated with much needed new photos and a video, plus the all important Life of Dozer section! No change to recipe – perfect as is. 😇
Massage balls to work knots out of my back regularly go missing around here….
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]]>The post Caramel Brownies appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>Q: How do you make brownies even better? A: Stuff ’em with salted caramel. Guilty pleasure? Yep. Caramel Brownies are not for people with a conscience!
Caramel + brownies in itself isn’t an original idea and if you do a Google search, you’ll find plenty of examples. And I would have used an existing recipe if I found what I was after, but every recipe I came across:
1. Used store-bought caramel;
2. The caramel was runny, more like a caramel sauce, usually drizzled on top of the brownie; or
3. Required a candy thermometer to get the caramel to the exact temperature so it would soft set, rather than ending up runny OR cooking it too far so it ends up like hard toffee.
All I wanted was a creamy layer of caramel inside, and no thanks to the candy thermometer.
Solution? Combine my favourite everyday brownie with the easy creamy caramel from our favourite Caramel Slice, and voila: Caramel Brownies!
Here’s what you need for the brownie part – nothing ground-breaking here:
And here’s what you need for the creamy caramel. The key ingredient here is sweetened condensed milk, which is cooked on a low stove until it changes from white to pale golden ➔ ie. caramel!
Golden syrup is a little cheat ingredient to give the caramel a little boost of extra caramel flavour without the caramel cooking for so long it becomes super-thick, like a peanut butter consistency. We need the caramel to be a pourable consistency so we can pour it over the brownie batter.
Golden syrup is a gold-coloured syrup that’s common in Australian and British baking. If you don’t have it, no need to fret, hunt it down or even bother making it – just use maple syrup instead, which works a treat.
Firstly, make the caramel part because this takes 7 minutes on the stove whereas the batter takes mere minutes:
Melt butter in a saucepan with golden syrup or maple syrup and salt;
Add sweetened condensed milk and mix until well-combined;
Then cook, stirring very frequently, over low heat until it changes from white to a caramel colour. You can get away with only stirring occasionally for the first few minutes, but as you start to see steam, be sure to stir constantly – albeit leisurely – to ensure it doesn’t catch on the base.
If the caramel happens to catch on the base, you will end up with tiny little brown bits in the caramel. It might look like a big deal when it’s in the saucepan but don’t worry – once it’s baked up inside the brownie and you bite into it, you won’t even notice;
Take it off the stove, then keep stirring for another 30 seconds just to cool it down a touch otherwise the residual heat in the saucepan might still make the caramel catch on the base.
Cover, then keep warm while you make the batter. It needs to be pourable when you use it.
And here’s how the Caramel Brownie is assembled:
Firstly, make the Brownie batter. It’s very easy and all happens in one bowl. If you want visuals of the steps, pop over to my brownie recipe;
Set aside a heaped ½-cup of the batter for the topping. Then pour the remainder into a 20cm/8″ square pan. A lamington pan will also work well, the slice is just a bit thinner than pictured;
Pour the caramel over as evenly as you can. Note: If your caramel has cooled down to the point that it’s not pourable, just reheat it on a medium stove until it’s pourable again (this literally takes 1 minute). You can’t really spread the caramel because it sinks into the batter once poured. So where you pour is what you get!
Dollop the reserved ½-cup of brownie batter across the top;
Then swirl a butter knife across the surface a few times in large sweeping motions. This is not so much about creating swirl effects on the surface because they don’t really stay once baked, as you can see in Step 6. It’s more about sort-of spreading the brownie batter across the caramel; and
Bake – 30 minutes for very-messy-hands-gooey, as pictured, or 35 minutes for sensible gooey.
And this is what comes out of the oven:
Well, actually, this:
It’s sweet. It’s rich. It’s indulgent. This one is not for the faint-hearted or “I’m-not-really-a-sweets-person” types! It is for die-hard chocolate and caramel lovers – and everyone out there who just feels they deserve a treat.
Wait – that includes you, my friend. Do it! – Nagi x
Originally published August 2015. Updated with brand new photos and video in January 2021 – about time!!
As always, pushing the boundaries….
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