Guest Post @ The Girl Who Ate Everything

If you'd like the recipe for these low-fat but deliciously soft and addictive Mocha Crinkles, please head over to Christy's at The Girl Who Ate Everything to read my guest post.

~Monica

(cran)berry good bars

I just returned from visiting my great grandmother in faraway Small Town, Texas. She's been sick and age is taking a toll on her body, so my mother, aunt, brother and I went to see her. It was hard to see her body, frail and weak, but her mind is mostly still there. She still has a sense of humor and is eating well, so that is a good thing. Of course, she still has her bad days and fortunately, I didn't witness any of those this weekend, but I know they exist and they're real for her.

My grandparents and my great aunt have been caring for her full time and that is taking a toll on them. They do it because they want to, but it is strenuous, to say the least. It was nice to catch up with the family though, since we don't see them nearly as much as we want to. We had great conversations, lots of laughter, a few tears, and comforting food. We all stayed at my grandparents house, where they have lived for over 40 years. There was 7 of us sleeping under one roof, and I never realized how tiny that house is. I love it though and it reminds me of when I was a kid, except back then, it seemed huge to me!

These cranberry bars have nothing to do with my roadtrip or visiting family, except for the fact that I made them right before leaving town. I cut the recipe in half and made a 9x13-inch pan of cookie bars. For the full recipe, visit Michelle of One Ordinary Day. She made hers with blueberries, which I love, but I wanted to use something seasonal, so I chose cranberries. I didn't want them to be too tart, so I added a sprinkling of coarse sugar to the tops before baking. They were not only pretty, but they were delicious. They tasted like a good soft sugar cookie speckled with festive berries. I gave my mother-in-law half the bars and they were gone in no time!

Cranberry Cookie Bars adapted from One Ordinary Day

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• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups berries (cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries- fresh or frozen, don’t thaw them)
• 2 teaspoons coarse sanding sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 350ºF and spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, cream together canola oil, butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.

Add the flours and baking soda and stir just until the batter comes together.

Spread 2/3 of the batter in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with berries, then drop the remaining dough in spoonfuls over the fruit – it will spread as it bakes, and you don’t need to cover it all.

Sprinkle the top of the cookie batter evenly with coarse sugar.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.

Butter Season

Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter. Butter. Yup, it's the fifth season, didn't you know that? Baking Season, also known as Butter Season is upon us. It's time to start baking your favorite holiday recipes and I hope with all of my heart, that those recipes start off with Real Butter. I can tell the difference between a product baked with butter or margarine, and butter is definitely my preference. I stockpile it here like it's going out of style. And so should you :-)

The wonderful butter lovin' people from Real Butter and Foodbuzz sent me some butter to try through the Tastemaker Program. I was excited to receive it because I love butter, if you haven't figured that out yet. But what I didn't expect was all the goodies that came along with it. They also sent me a holiday care package complete with a pound of unsalted butter, parchment paper, cookie cutters, a spatula, a cookie sheet and a few cute packaging items to wrap up my treats. Thank you so much!

I opened the package of butter and it smelled fresh and delicious, almost like a foodie perfume. I knew exactly what I was going to bake with my free butter-- Maple Pecan Shortbread. I originally saw it on Every Last Cookie and thought it was a gorgeous cookie and I wanted to eat them. I also wanted to make them for a special friend of mine, Debby from A Feast For The Eyes. I made these as a thank you gift for showing me around town in San Francisco at the Foodbuzz Fest last month. Thanks Debby!

I thought they were delicious, but they're a sophisticated kind of cookie, not the kind your kids are going to beg for. They're full of pecan flavor as there are ground pecans in the cookie as well as one crowning jewel right on top. I used local Texas-sized pecans from my in-laws' backyard so to me, they're extra special. They're not too sweet but they have an added crunch from the sprinkling of raw sugar on them before baking. Butter was the key in making them crisp and retaining their shape. The maple flavor was subtle, as I didn't use the maple extract, but they flavor intensified the next day. These are a perfect gift-giving cookie or for keeping at home and dunking in a mug of hot tea or coffee.

Maple-Pecan Shortbread

adapted from Martha's Cookies

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• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted Real Butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure maple extract (I omitted this)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2-3 dozen pecan halves (one half per cookie)
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Into a medium bowl, sift flours and salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup chopped pecans, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and light, about one minute.

Add the maple syrup, egg yolk, and extract (if using); beat on medium speed until well combined. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined. Dough should be smooth and pliable. Flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, 1 1/2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds using a two-inch cookie cutter; place one inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with beaten egg; Place one pecan half in the center of the cookie. Sprinkle the entire surface with turbinado sugar.

Bake cookies, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to four days.

Makes 2-3 dozen.

NOTE: Recipe says it makes 2 dozen, but I got 36 cookies. So plan accordingly so you have enough pecan halves to top each shortbread round.

Ooh, and today just happens to be National Cookie Day! Go bake something and don't forget the butter!