Lemon-Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Wow...another long name for me. Why do I make things with so many wonderful ingredients? I'm really going to have to start coming up with more snappy names. LOL But, like the title says, this month I've made Lemon-Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars, and they...are...awesome! As with many of the other things I make, I took a couple different recipes and blended them together. If you want to view the recipe, and see some yummy pictures, look under the cut!
Lemon-Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars with Chocolate Ganache Drizzle (Oh, did I forget to mention that? Ummmm...Ganache!)
Ingredients:
Cake:
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 ½ cups quick cooking oats
1 ½ cups sugar or apple sauce
¾ cup margarine/butter/oil/shortening
2 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
Filling:
2 cups raspberry jam (use sugar free if desired) - I think if make these again, I'll use raspberry compote instead, to cut down on the sweet. If you need a recipe for this, let me know!
2 tbsp lemon juice
Ganache: (this makes quite a bit of ganache. Feel free to cut down the amount if desired. You could also put this as a solid layer over the raspberry mix. Or just eat the rest. It's all good.)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
10 oz bittersweet chocolate.
1 tsp vanilla
Method:
Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C), and grease a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and tsp salt (if using sugar, add here). Stir in oats.
In a small bowl, mix together margarine/butter/oil/shortening (if using anything other than oil, make sure it is melted), milk, vanilla, and lemon juice (if using apple sauce, add here).
Gently mix wet ingredients into solid ingredients, until the dough is moist and crumbly.
In medium bowl mix together jam and lemon juice to create filling.
Press half of the cake mixture into the pan to create the “bottom” layer.
Spread the filling mixture over the bottom layer.
Sprinkle or lay the rest of the cake mixture over filling layer.
Bake for approximately 18 to 23 minutes; do not over bake, or the bars will be too dry.
Allow to cool.
Create the ganache by using a double boiler (a pan with water in the bottom with a bowl sitting on top). Place chocolate in (break up first). As it starts to melt, pour in heavy cream and stir until the mixture is smooth.
Using a small tip applicator or spoon, drizzle the ganache over the top of the cooled bars as desired.
Allow ganache to harden.
Cut into bars.
I made these for a picnic I was attending, they turned out really yummy, but very crumbling. They were also very sweet, since I used the full sugar recipe and the jam. Raspberry compote would have added a kick of sour that would have made them even better. And the ganache didn't like staying on top of the crumbly surface, so it might have been better to just make that a full layer on top of the raspberry. But, those are lessons for next time. Otherwise, these are quite yummy, and I encourage everyone to give them a try!
Lemon-Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars with Chocolate Ganache Drizzle (Oh, did I forget to mention that? Ummmm...Ganache!)
Ingredients:
Cake:
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 ½ cups quick cooking oats
1 ½ cups sugar or apple sauce
¾ cup margarine/butter/oil/shortening
2 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
Filling:
2 cups raspberry jam (use sugar free if desired) - I think if make these again, I'll use raspberry compote instead, to cut down on the sweet. If you need a recipe for this, let me know!
2 tbsp lemon juice
Ganache: (this makes quite a bit of ganache. Feel free to cut down the amount if desired. You could also put this as a solid layer over the raspberry mix. Or just eat the rest. It's all good.)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
10 oz bittersweet chocolate.
1 tsp vanilla
Method:
Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C), and grease a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and tsp salt (if using sugar, add here). Stir in oats.
In a small bowl, mix together margarine/butter/oil/shortening (if using anything other than oil, make sure it is melted), milk, vanilla, and lemon juice (if using apple sauce, add here).
Gently mix wet ingredients into solid ingredients, until the dough is moist and crumbly.
In medium bowl mix together jam and lemon juice to create filling.
Press half of the cake mixture into the pan to create the “bottom” layer.
Spread the filling mixture over the bottom layer.
Sprinkle or lay the rest of the cake mixture over filling layer.
Bake for approximately 18 to 23 minutes; do not over bake, or the bars will be too dry.
Allow to cool.
Create the ganache by using a double boiler (a pan with water in the bottom with a bowl sitting on top). Place chocolate in (break up first). As it starts to melt, pour in heavy cream and stir until the mixture is smooth.
Using a small tip applicator or spoon, drizzle the ganache over the top of the cooled bars as desired.
Allow ganache to harden.
Cut into bars.
I made these for a picnic I was attending, they turned out really yummy, but very crumbling. They were also very sweet, since I used the full sugar recipe and the jam. Raspberry compote would have added a kick of sour that would have made them even better. And the ganache didn't like staying on top of the crumbly surface, so it might have been better to just make that a full layer on top of the raspberry. But, those are lessons for next time. Otherwise, these are quite yummy, and I encourage everyone to give them a try!