Walnut Dreams and Congo Bars

[j...@nospam.com]

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"William Luh" <lu...@home.com> wrote:

] In Boston Mass, there was a deli on Boylston Street that had two items in
] sheets.
] Congo Bars: not just dough and chocolate chips but a richer mixture
] Walnut Dreams: Crisp on the outside, succulent and chewy on the inside.
] Thanks in Advance

You're talking about Rosie's Bakery! Rosie published a book with her recipes
quite some time ago; it's called "All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed,
No-Holds-Barred Baking Book."

Here are the recipes, paraphrased from the book to avoid copyright
infringement:

Congo Bars

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
9 Tbsp (1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups lightly packed brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I prefer pecans, but that's just me)

Mix dry ingredients together in small bowl.
Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy, about 2 minutes using an
electric mixer on medium. Add the eggs and mix until completely combined.
Mix in the flour mixture until almost combined. Add chips and nuts and
finish by hand (try not to overmix or the bars will be tough). Spread in
a greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until the top crust
is golden brown and the middle has dropped below the level of the outer
crust. You can't test these with a tester because they stay gooey inside.
Cool for 30 minutes in the pan before cutting.

Walnut Dream Bars

Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp lightly packed brown sugar
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 8 pieces

Mix flour and sugar together. Add butter and mix until dough comes together.
Pat into bottom of greased 11 x 7 baking pan. Bake at 350 10-12 minutes until
golden around the edges. When it's done, put the pan in the refrigerator
for 15-20 minutes to cool completely while you finish.

Filling
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp dark corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Whisk sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, butter, flour, and eggs until blended.
Stir in walnuts and coconut. Spread evenly over cooled base. Bake at 350
(you left the oven on, right?) about 25 minutes, until the top is golden
and set. Cool completely before cutting or they're a mess.

Jon Reid -- jon <at> apeiros <dot> com -- http://www.apeiros.com/~jon

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