Reduced Sugar Cranberry Butter Tart Squares

It has been so long since my last post!  I was extremely busy in October and November and didn't have time to blog.  Also, we just got back from my brother's dream beach wedding in Hawaii last week.  Trying to adjust from Honolulu's +30C to 100 Mile House's -30C weather was quite a shock now that we are back home!  

Luckily, it's -2C and I'm finally starting to get into the Christmas baking season!

With a few basic ingredients, I wanted to make something fast, easy and buttery but not too sweet.   The cranberry butter tart squares were inspired by this reduced sugar butter tart squares recipe.  Butter tart squares are a great addition to any Christmas cookie platter.  

I used dried cranberries when I didn't have enough raisins.  Hubby said that they were the best butter tart squares I have ever made!  The tanginess of the dried cranberries made the squares less sweet.  Substituting with alternate ingredients can create something even better!  

This recipe has eggs, butter and gluten.  I plan to create a gluten-free and vegan equivalent of this recipe later on so I can eat them too!  

Reduced Sugar Cranberry Butter Tart Squares

makes 1- 9"x13" pan

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 cup butter

Topping:

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 eggs,  lightly beaten

2 cups light brown sugar (I used only 1 1/4 cup!)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 pinches salt

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup dried cranberries (instead of 2 cups raisins)

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I omitted)
optional:  powdered/icing/confectioner's sugar

In bowl, combine flour with sugar; with pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly. Press into 9x13-inch pan; bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 15 minutes.

Topping: In bowl, mix together butter and eggs; blend in sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Stir in raisins and pecans; pour over base.

Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Let cool on rack. (Make-ahead: Wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days or overwrap in heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.) Cut into squares.

Optional:  dust with powdered icing sugar right before serving for prettier presentation. 

- Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine: July 2009

Enjoy!

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Blueberry Crumb Bars

I was digging around the freezer and found some frozen blueberries.   Lately, I have been trying some new gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free recipes, but I wanted to make something easy, tried and true... and also DELICIOUS!  This is another classic recipe I should write down for the kiddies.  I have been making these squares for over 5 years!

Blueberry crumb bars came to mind.  I wasn't in the mood to make yummy blueberry muffins.  

I must thank Allrecipes.com for the wonderful selection of recipes.  What makes this website invaluable is the number of ratings and reviews for each recipe.  Reading the reviews from people who have made this recipe makes a world of difference for those who wonder if the recipe is good.  Looking at my binder full of printed recipes, I saw that it has been a while since I made Blueberry Crumb Bars.   I have brought these to potlucks and social gatherings with requests for this recipe.  

This recipe is very easy to put together.  I decreased the sugar and used butter instead of shortening.  The butter makes them smell scrumptious while baking!

Make the dough with a pastry blender and pat half of the crumbly flour mixture into a 9x13 greased pan.  Lightly pat the crust and smooth it evenly with the back of a tablespoon.

Next, spread the blueberry/sugar/cornstarch mixture evenly on top of the dough.  

Spoon the remaining dough evenly over the berry layer and pop in preheated oven. 

Bake in 375F oven for about 45 minutes or until top is slightly browned.  

The combination of butter, juicy blueberries and crunchy crust makes this an addictive square.  They may not look fancy but after one bite, you will want to reach for another one!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

1 cup white sugar (I used 2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shortening (I used butter)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional)
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar (I used 1/3 cup)
3 teaspoons cornstarch 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and cinnamon, if desired. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the shortening and egg. 
Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.  

In another bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

- Adapted from Allrecipes.com: Blueberry Crumb Bars

To make them prettier, I dusted the blueberry bars with powdered/icing/confectioners' sugar.  Nessa brought these squares to her class for Snack Day with some strawberries and carrot cake.  She told me that everyone LOVED them!

Enjoy!

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Broken Glass Jello

Since school is out for summer holidays, I thought it would be fun to have Jello as a summer treat!  Some people may turn their noses up at Jello, but I adore the stuff.  The classic jiggly, gummy texture and bright colours bring me back to my own childhood.

When I came across the gorgeous Broken Glass Jello on Food Librarian's and JustJenn's site, I just HAD to make it.  I couldn't resist the rainbow bright colours jumbled in a background of white condensed milk.  

It was pretty easy to make but it took a bit of time for each colour to cool down and set up.
I like my finger Jello on the firmer side, so I added extra unflavoured gelatin powder for each flavour and condensed milk.  

I used 4 boxes of Jello (1 box = 4 servings).  Some of them were store-brand (Western Family) and sugar-free.  For each box of Jello, I added 1 tsp. unflavoured gelatin (Knox) and only 1 cup water (instead of 2 cups).  To cut down costs, I was able to buy unflavoured gelatin in the bulk food section of my supermarket.     

Pour each flavour into a container and let it set in the refrigerator for minimum 3 hours.  After the Jello has set, grease a 9"x13" glass pan with vegetable oil or line with plastic wrap.

After minimum 3 hours, cut the set Jello into small blocks and place them into the prepared glass pan.  Carefully mix up the colours in the plan. 

  

ooohh... Look at the pretty colours!

In a separate bowl, sprinkle 3 Tbsp (or 3 envelopes) unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. After the gelatin blooms, add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and dissolve. Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and cool.  Pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.

  

Cut into blocks or your favourite shapes and serve!  

Broken Glass Jello

4 small boxes (4-servings each) of Jell-O or store brand "gelatin dessert" in different colors.

     (I used strawberry, lime, orange and berry blue - Jell-O and store brands.  Some were sugar-free)

5 1/2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup cold water

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (don't get evaporated milk) 

4 tsp + 3 Tbsp unflavored gelatin (that Knox stuff)  

**Note:  I like my finger Jell-O firmer, so I added 1 tsp unflavoured gelatin for each flavour of Jello and 3 Tbsp or (3 envelopes) for the condensed milk.  1 envelope gelatin = 1 Tbsp gelatin. 

Dissolve each box of jello separately, using just one cup of boiling water per flavor (and 1 tsp gelatin, if desired). Pour into individual containers (small tupperware works well) and chill overnight.

Once solid, cut the flavors of jello into small blocks and mix together carefully in a greased glass 9×13 pan.

In a separate bowl, dissolve 2 (Tbsp) envelopes unflavored gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water (I use 3 Tbsp).  Add 1 1/2 cups hot water. Let cool a bit and stir in the condensed milk. Cool to touch and pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.

- Adapted from Just Jenn and Food Librarian

The kiddies LOVED all the pretty colours!  YUM!

Enjoy!

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Reduced Sugar Butter Tart Squares

In the middle of June, I had a craving for something that tasted like Christmas but it had to be easy, buttery and sweet.  Butter Tart Squares!  I like making one big pan full of yummy squares.  They are great for sharing!   

Butter tarts are a classic Canadian treat.  I usually see them on cookie platters around the holidays and Christmas.  These tarts are LOADED with sugar, raisins and nuts.  Classic ingredients for the holidays.

The original recipe was from Canadian Living Magazine.  I doubled the recipe to fit a 9"x13" pan but I cut the brown sugar in half!   Nuts were omitted due to nut allergies in the family.  I couldn't bring myself to use the whole amount of sugar.  

Everyone loved these squares!  Even with the reduced sugar, they were still sweet enough from the raisins and shortbread crust.  I don't like my treats tooth-achingly sweet, just sweet enough.  With butter.  For butter tart purists, you can add up to the full amount of sugar.  For us, it was tasty enough!  My son enjoyed each bite with his eyes closed...  YUM!

Reduced Sugar Butter Tart Squares

makes 1- 9"x13" pan

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/3 cup) 

1 cup butter

Topping:

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 eggs,  lightly beaten

2 cups light brown sugar (I used only 1 cup!)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 pinches salt

2 cups raisins (I used 1.5 cups)

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I omitted)

In bowl, combine flour with sugar; with pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly. Press into 9x13-inch pan; bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 15 minutes.

Topping: In bowl, mix together butter and eggs; blend in sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Stir in raisins and pecans; pour over base.

Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Let cool on rack. (Make-ahead: Wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days or overwrap in heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.) Cut into squares.

- Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine: July 2009

Enjoy!

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