Tuesday, March 4, 2008

TWD-Snickery Squares

So, today is Tuesday, and if you have been visiting me for the last few weeks, you know that I am posting about this weeks edition of Tuesdays with Dorie. This weeks recipe was chosen by Erin of Dinner and Dessert. I am so glad that she chose this recipe, because it had been calling my name for the last few weeks.


This bar is really sinful! You have a shortbread crust, layered with dulce de leche (store bought or homemade) mixed with candied peanuts. And then layered with a chocolate glaze. Dulce de leche is not something that you can find just anywhere here, so I opted to make my own. I have made it before when I made millionaire shortbread tartletts. It is easy, it just takes a while to for it to cook.


I have to confess, that I skipped the part of the recipe where it said to make this in n 8x8 square pan, because, I just naturally reached for my 9x13 pan. With that said, and as you can see in the picture, mine are flat...not tall. But really, that is fine with me, because you can only eat a small bite of this dessert.


As always, go and check out the TWD chicks, we now have over 50 members and grow bigger each week!

Snickery Squares

For the Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 TBSP powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the Filling:
½ cup sugar
3 TBSP water
1 ½ cups salted peanuts
About 1 ½ cups store-bought dulce de leche

For the Topping:
7 ounces bittersweet, coarsely chopped
½ stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

Getting Ready:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.

To Make the Crust:
Toss the flour, sugar, powdered sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps and curds-stop before the dough comes together in a ball.Turn the dough into the buttered pan and gently press it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and slide the sheet into the oven.Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until it takes on just a little color around the edges. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

To Make the Filling:
Have a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet at the ready, as well as a long-handled wooden spoon and a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color. Toss the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and turn white—keep stirring until the sugar turns back into caramel. When the peanuts are coated with a nice deep amber caramel, remove the pan from the heat and turn the nuts out onto the baking sheet., using the wooden spoon to spread them out as best you can. Cool the nuts to room temperature.When they are cool enough to handle, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in biggish pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping.Spread the dulce de leche over the shortbread base and sprinkle over the whole candied nuts.

To Make the Topping:
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove chocolate from the heat and gently stir in the butter, stirring until it is fully blended into the chocolate.Pour the chocolate over the dulce de leche, smoothing it with a long metal icing spatula, then sprinkle over the rest of the peanuts. Slide the pan into the fridge to set the topping, about 20 minutes; if you’d like to serve the squares cold, keep them refrigerated for at least 3 hours before cutting.
Cut into 16 bars.

24 comments:

CB said...

Me too!! I didn't even think 2x and used a 9x13 pan. I guess its my go-to pan? Probably why my bars came out kinda skinny. Oh well! Your bars still look yummy! Great job!
-Clara
http://iheartfood4thought.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

great job even if they are a little on the flatter side. :)

Gretchen Noelle said...

How funny, I was wondering how the turned out flatter than others! I bet it was nice to have twice as many to eat though! Terrific job!

Anonymous said...

i use a half recipe in a 8x8 pan! haha... mine's flat as a pancake! which is probably a good thing c itsso rich!!

Mary said...

hey, at least now they will last longer...glad this was a recipe you looked forward to! great job!

Anonymous said...

So yummy! Drippy Dulce de Leche. So yummy.

slush said...

I think I like the skinnier version. Not as much quilt when you eat them. They look awesome April!

Anonymous said...

They look great! I'm glad you liked them. I had my eye on them for a long time too!

M said...

Those look great! I think a smaller bite is perfect after dessert or for morning coffee. :-)

Anonymous said...

It looks like it turned out just fine in the 13X9 inch pan. I think it looks fabulous!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

"sinful" is just the word for these bars!

Sarah M said...

hey, thanks for commenting on my blog. you were my first viewer and my only viewer at the moment. I have lots of pictures up there now. I will add you to my blogroll!

amanda. said...

I wish I had thought to use my 9 x 13! My bars were way too tall and I had to tear them apart to eat them.

Anonymous said...

I bet the skinnier version makes them easier to eat. Yours look great!

Engineer Baker said...

I went for an 11x9 pan, just because it seemed like there was a LOT of chocolate and dulce. The thinner squares seemed quite a bit more manageable. Great job!

Lori said...

I love the thinner squares. Mine may have worked better a little thinner. I'd love your recipe for the dulce de leche. I tried the link but it sent me somewhere besides to the recipe! I'm determined to master that stuff! :)

Sweet and Savory Eats said...

I used the 8x8 and kind of wished I would have used a smaller pan. They are so rich, it would be nice to have it in smaller bites.

April said...

Lori-the link should be fixed now..sorry! :)

Amy said...

Your bars look so good. I like the idea of making them a little skinnier. They have less calories right!

Nikki57 said...

Well thin or not they look great!

My Sweet & Saucy said...

Thanks so much for the comments on my blog! I have to say that I love your blog too. Your Snickery Squares looks so delicious!

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

These look sooo yummy :) I hardly ever eat Snickers cuz I'm not a fan of candy, but they are quite tasty.

Jaime said...

they were thinner, but then you got more! :) the link to your other recipe doesn't work - wanted to see how you made the dulce and which process you used.

Jhianna said...

I tried making my own dulce too, but I had the time wrong (1 hour). I came out with slightly browned sweetened milk. :D

I thought about a 9x13, but it was an excuse to buy a new pan for me. They still look great!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

TWD-Snickery Squares

So, today is Tuesday, and if you have been visiting me for the last few weeks, you know that I am posting about this weeks edition of Tuesdays with Dorie. This weeks recipe was chosen by Erin of Dinner and Dessert. I am so glad that she chose this recipe, because it had been calling my name for the last few weeks.


This bar is really sinful! You have a shortbread crust, layered with dulce de leche (store bought or homemade) mixed with candied peanuts. And then layered with a chocolate glaze. Dulce de leche is not something that you can find just anywhere here, so I opted to make my own. I have made it before when I made millionaire shortbread tartletts. It is easy, it just takes a while to for it to cook.


I have to confess, that I skipped the part of the recipe where it said to make this in n 8x8 square pan, because, I just naturally reached for my 9x13 pan. With that said, and as you can see in the picture, mine are flat...not tall. But really, that is fine with me, because you can only eat a small bite of this dessert.


As always, go and check out the TWD chicks, we now have over 50 members and grow bigger each week!

Snickery Squares

For the Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 TBSP powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the Filling:
½ cup sugar
3 TBSP water
1 ½ cups salted peanuts
About 1 ½ cups store-bought dulce de leche

For the Topping:
7 ounces bittersweet, coarsely chopped
½ stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

Getting Ready:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.

To Make the Crust:
Toss the flour, sugar, powdered sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps and curds-stop before the dough comes together in a ball.Turn the dough into the buttered pan and gently press it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and slide the sheet into the oven.Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until it takes on just a little color around the edges. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

To Make the Filling:
Have a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet at the ready, as well as a long-handled wooden spoon and a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color. Toss the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and turn white—keep stirring until the sugar turns back into caramel. When the peanuts are coated with a nice deep amber caramel, remove the pan from the heat and turn the nuts out onto the baking sheet., using the wooden spoon to spread them out as best you can. Cool the nuts to room temperature.When they are cool enough to handle, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in biggish pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping.Spread the dulce de leche over the shortbread base and sprinkle over the whole candied nuts.

To Make the Topping:
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove chocolate from the heat and gently stir in the butter, stirring until it is fully blended into the chocolate.Pour the chocolate over the dulce de leche, smoothing it with a long metal icing spatula, then sprinkle over the rest of the peanuts. Slide the pan into the fridge to set the topping, about 20 minutes; if you’d like to serve the squares cold, keep them refrigerated for at least 3 hours before cutting.
Cut into 16 bars.

24 comments:

CB said...

Me too!! I didn't even think 2x and used a 9x13 pan. I guess its my go-to pan? Probably why my bars came out kinda skinny. Oh well! Your bars still look yummy! Great job!
-Clara
http://iheartfood4thought.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

great job even if they are a little on the flatter side. :)

Gretchen Noelle said...

How funny, I was wondering how the turned out flatter than others! I bet it was nice to have twice as many to eat though! Terrific job!

Anonymous said...

i use a half recipe in a 8x8 pan! haha... mine's flat as a pancake! which is probably a good thing c itsso rich!!

Mary said...

hey, at least now they will last longer...glad this was a recipe you looked forward to! great job!

Anonymous said...

So yummy! Drippy Dulce de Leche. So yummy.

slush said...

I think I like the skinnier version. Not as much quilt when you eat them. They look awesome April!

Anonymous said...

They look great! I'm glad you liked them. I had my eye on them for a long time too!

M said...

Those look great! I think a smaller bite is perfect after dessert or for morning coffee. :-)

Anonymous said...

It looks like it turned out just fine in the 13X9 inch pan. I think it looks fabulous!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

"sinful" is just the word for these bars!

Sarah M said...

hey, thanks for commenting on my blog. you were my first viewer and my only viewer at the moment. I have lots of pictures up there now. I will add you to my blogroll!

amanda. said...

I wish I had thought to use my 9 x 13! My bars were way too tall and I had to tear them apart to eat them.

Anonymous said...

I bet the skinnier version makes them easier to eat. Yours look great!

Engineer Baker said...

I went for an 11x9 pan, just because it seemed like there was a LOT of chocolate and dulce. The thinner squares seemed quite a bit more manageable. Great job!

Lori said...

I love the thinner squares. Mine may have worked better a little thinner. I'd love your recipe for the dulce de leche. I tried the link but it sent me somewhere besides to the recipe! I'm determined to master that stuff! :)

Sweet and Savory Eats said...

I used the 8x8 and kind of wished I would have used a smaller pan. They are so rich, it would be nice to have it in smaller bites.

April said...

Lori-the link should be fixed now..sorry! :)

Amy said...

Your bars look so good. I like the idea of making them a little skinnier. They have less calories right!

Nikki57 said...

Well thin or not they look great!

My Sweet & Saucy said...

Thanks so much for the comments on my blog! I have to say that I love your blog too. Your Snickery Squares looks so delicious!

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

These look sooo yummy :) I hardly ever eat Snickers cuz I'm not a fan of candy, but they are quite tasty.

Jaime said...

they were thinner, but then you got more! :) the link to your other recipe doesn't work - wanted to see how you made the dulce and which process you used.

Jhianna said...

I tried making my own dulce too, but I had the time wrong (1 hour). I came out with slightly browned sweetened milk. :D

I thought about a 9x13, but it was an excuse to buy a new pan for me. They still look great!