Brown Butter Bars
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange flower water, or 1 tsp. orange zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (green) powder, optional
- 1 3/4 cups 2 tablespoons of unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup raw pistachio (blanched and skin removed, optional) sliced into halves
- 1 - 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar for dusting, to taste
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lay parchment paper into a 9-inch square baking pan. Grease the parchment paper with a little unsalted butter. rnI followed the Food 52 tip to lay the parchment paper - https://food52.com/blog/13618-the-fail-safe-way-to-line-a-baking-pan-with-parchment-paper.
- Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Continue to cook with continuously scraping the bottom of the pan until the butter gives a nutty aroma and turns light golden brown. The whole process took about 7 - 8 minutes. The continuous stirring leaves the brown bits dispersed throughout the butter instead of it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Besides, it adds a unique flavor to the cookie bars.
- Pour the browned butter into a large bowl, and then add the sugars. Mix it for 3 minutes with a hand-held mixer. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, orange flower water, lemon juice, cardamon powder until mixed thoroughly.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture (step 3); mix with a silicon spatula until well blended. Stir in the cranberries and pistachio halves.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan; smooth the batter with an offset spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the batter comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven.
- Let cool to room temperature, and then lift the edges of the parchment paper to pull the treat out of the pan. Trim the edges evenly, then cut into about 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" squares. Dust the tops with confectioners' sugar before serving.
- The recipe would yield about 60 cookie bars if one were to cut it into about 3/4 by 1 /2 inch bars.
unsalted butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange flower water, lemon juice, ground cardamom, flour, baking powder, kosher salt, cranberries, pistachio, dusting
Taken from food52.com/recipes/39528-brown-butter-bars (may not work)