Easy Graham Cracker Almond Bars

Oh boy, do I love how easy these bars are to make. Well, I love how good they taste even more, but their easiness comes in a close second on my happiness list. One hardly even has to measure anything. Nor does one have to do anything tricky. These are easy, easy, easy!

 

This recipe came from an issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine. I really didn’t change anything in my version below, except to point out that the amount of graham crackers you need is just one of the plastic-wrapped, brick-shaped packages inside a box. I also scaled down the sliced almonds ever so slightly, just so the amount you need can be purchased in a supermarket in a conveniently available package. At least I found a name brand package in that size. (If you cannot, just measure out 1 ¾ to 2 cups from the package or bulk purchase you have.) Since the required can of sweetened condensed milk is also commonly available, you’ll only have to measure the salt. And let’s be honest, a couple pinches will do.

 

This recipe is a great gateway into sweets for a novice baker. I think it would be a good one for kids to get involved with as well. I used a food processor to make the graham cracker crumbs, but you could put them in a zip-top bag and crush them with your hands or with a rolling pin. I made my crumbs finer than I needed to. You could make yours crumblier, which would make them even easier for little hands to help with pulverizing.

 

These bars have a wonderfully complex flavor and texture for how easy they are to make. The sliced almonds lay themselves down in crunchy horizontal layers that are surrounded by a chewy baked graham cracker crumb and condensed milk emulsion. They’re quite sweet and a little caramel-y and, for me anyway, utterly addictive. I have a hard time eating just one of these. In fact, we ate these so quickly, I almost neglected to photograph them in the daylight.

I think there must be many, many ways this recipe could be varied. I’m already thinking they could be turned into s’mores bars by substituting mini marshmallows and chocolate chips for the almonds. Or one could make something decadent (that my husband wouldn’t eat) by using coconut and chocolate. Since graham crackers are a nice blank canvas for other flavors on their own or in other forms, I think this basic recipe could be too. And, these bars are so easy, trying different options should be nearly effortless.

 

By the way, have I mentioned that this recipe is really easy?

Graham Cracker Almond Bars

Adapted from Martha Stewart Every Day Food magazine

1 inner wrapped package graham crackers (about 5 ounces or 150 grams)

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces (about 1 ¾ cups) sliced almonds, divided
¼ teaspoon (1 ml) salt
 
1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.  Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  Crush or pulverize in a food processor the graham crackers until they are coarse crumbs.

3.  In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sweetened condensed milk, about 1 ¼ cups almonds and salt. Stir until the graham cracker crumbs are well moistened.

4.  Spread the graham cracker mixture evenly into to the prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup almonds.  Press the almonds gently into the batter mixture.

5.  Bake at 350 F for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean and dry.  Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

6.  When cool, remove from the pan and remove the parchment paper.  Cut into squares to serve.

Makes about 12-16 servings.  Keep in an airtight container at room temperature.

Chocolate Granola

I’m afraid Grandmama’s Biscuits were a bad influence on me. Their fluffy, white flour goodness put me in a refined-grain spiral of delicious destruction. I followed them with a loaf of homemade white bread and a batch of this no-knead white bread dough from which I made a rustic loaf to serve alongside Italian Chickpeas with white pasta and some Pain au Chocolate.

It was time for some high WFQ* therapy, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make something that tasted great. I hadn’t made Granola for a while, so I thought I’d try a new recipe. Okay, so this recipe had been languishing in my stash for over 4 years. All the more reason to dig it out and make some chocolate granola.

This recipe follows the basic theory of granola-baking with which I have become familiar, but there are a few twists as well. The usual sweet, syrupy coating that covers and flavors the rolled oats and nuts is spiked with bittersweet chocolate. The coating mixture is thick, and I found it easiest to get my hands right in to get it well-distributed amongst the oats and almonds. The granola then bakes at a lower temperature for a shorter time than in other granola recipes I’ve made. This makes for a slightly less crunchy and toasty granola, but also one without burned chocolate in it.

I focused on the affinity between chocolate and almond flavors when making changes to the original recipe. I used chopped almonds, almond oil, which I love in granola anyway, almond extract in addition to vanilla, and dried cherries. You could use whatever nuts you like, canola oil, all vanilla extract, and whatever dried fruit you like. I do, however, highly recommend the chocolate-almond-cherry combination.

This granola is not super-sweet, so doesn’t quite demand to be served for dessert instead of breakfast. The chocolate flavor is there but subtle and the almonds and cherries performance-enhance each other deliciously. I’m thrilled that under the chocolaty coating there resides chopped almonds and whole grains. Otherwise, I’d have to feel guilty about the way I keep returning to the bowl for handful after handful of this lovely, semi-sweet granola.

*WFQ: Whole Food Quotient

Chocolate, Almond, and Cherry Granola
Adapted from Cooking Light magazine, December 2007

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup wheat germ
1 cup chopped almonds
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons almond oil or canola oil
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup dried cherries

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Prepare a large, rimmed baking sheet by lining it with a silicone baking mat or parchment or foil coated with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ and almonds. Set aside

3. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey and almond oil. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is warm and forms a thick paste.

4. Add the chocolate, salt and cinnamon. Stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Return to the heat and warm gently if the mixture cools too much to melt the chocolate. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract.

5. Pour the sugar mixture over the oat mixture and stir or work with your hands to combine. I found that working the mixture with my hands allowed for more even distribution of the thick coating. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake at 300 F for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire cooling rack. Stir the granola again. Let stand until cooled slightly. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the dried cherries. Cool completely.

Makes 6-7 cups. Store for a few days at room temperature in an airtight container or freeze in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag.


Other recipes like this one: Granola, Gingerbread Granola, Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies with Black Walnuts (you could use almonds instead of the walnuts)

One year ago: Barley Pancakes with Orange Juice and Vanilla

Why Not Broccoli?

I collect about seven million recipes every year. (I’m exaggerating…a little.) And so when I finally get around to going through them, I’ve often missed the season for some of the more interesting ones. Take, for instance, a recipe for Spicy-Sweet Green Beans from Food Matters by Mark Bittman. This summer, I had plenty of green beans with which to try this treatment, but, of course, the notes I took on the recipe were buried in a notebook that was buried in some other papers, which were in turn buried in the ubiquitous clutter when we moved.

So now I have this recipe, but no beans, except, perhaps, for those that would have been grown a thousand miles away in the Emerald City or somewhere else perpetually green. What I was really interested in was the sauce anyway, so I looked at the last few CSA boxes of the season and said, “Why not broccoli?”

Broccoli is always a good vehicle for sauces, since its bushy, bushy green hairdo is lovely for trapping flavors like a mop. This sauce, which is quite thick, didn’t so much ooze into the broccoli florets as coat the whole piece with its rich spicy, sweet, salty, tangy goodness. You kind of have to scoop up the sauce with the broccoli rather than soak it up, but the result is just as good.

Actually, this isn’t really about the broccoli. It’s about the sauce. I don’t care whether it gets scooped by or soaked into my vegetables, or even what vegetables they are (I think it would be good with steamed cauliflower or sautéed cabbage as well as the green beans in the original recipe). It’s about the sauce, I tell you. This sauce is fabulously delicious. This sauce is one of my new favorite foods. I’m trying to think of a way to slather it on every meal. I’m thinking of giving it out to trick-or-treaters.

Okay, that might be going too far, but this is maddeningly good stuff with a sharp, strong, wake-you-up flavor from lots of garlic, plenty of dried chiles, honey and soy sauce. The sweet and the spicy are beautifully balance and the salty-tangy (some would say umami-filled) soy sauce and sturdy ground almonds fill in all the flavor spaces. The only thing I might consider adding is a bit of sesame oil. That, however, might totally blow my mind. If so, I’ll take full responsibility. I doubt I’ll be able to blame it on the broccoli anyway.


Broccoli with Sweet and Spicy Almond Sauce
Adapted from Food Matters by Mark Bittman

1 pound broccoli florets
½ cup whole almonds
2 large (or 3 medium) garlic cloves
2 dried hot chiles
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Place the broccoli in a microwave-safe dish. Add about 2 tablespoons water and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Poke several holes in the plastic wrap with a knife (this will allow steam to escape).

2. Microwave the broccoli for 3 minutes on high. Carefully remove the plastic wrap, avoiding any escaping steam. The broccoli should be tender-crisp, but you can steam it longer if you like. Drain the broccoli. Set aside.

3. Combine the almonds, garlic, dried chiles and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a food processor. Process until a coarse paste is formed. If the mixture is too dry to form a paste, add a little more olive oil. Set aside.

4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes or until the onion is soft and beginning to brown. Add the almond mixture from the food processor and cook about 2 minutes more. This mixture is fairly sticky in the pan, so you’ll want to stir and scrape it up frequently.

5. Stir in the honey and soy sauce. Add the cooked broccoli and toss to coat with the sauce mixture. Cook just until heated through.

Makes about 4 side-dish servings.

Other recipes like this one: Sesame-Soy Asparagus with Ginger and Garlic, Spicy Sesame Cabbage and Zucchini, Szechuan Broccoli and Water Chestnut Stir Fry

One year ago: Chard Soup with Cilantro and Lime

Two years ago: Homemade Pizza