Bready or Not: Dutch Letter Bars
These Dutch Letter Bars are super-easy to make. Soft, chewy, and crunchy, these have it all.
The name for these bars is kind of weird, isn’t it? These are bars, no letter involved. Well, they are made to taste like a Dutch pastry that is traditionally shaped in a letter S. You can read all about it here.
The bar version mimics the flavor and texture, but is a lot easier to make! In the US, it’s apparently more common to find in Iowa.
This is modified from a recipe in Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Cookies 2021.
Bready or Not: Dutch Letter Bars
Equipment
- 13×9 pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick cooking spray
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
- 7-8 ounces almond paste store-bought or homemade
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup raspberry jam or mixed fruit jam
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line the 13×9 pan with foil. Add a coating of nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter, almond paste, and eggs. Add the white sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the flour until combined. Spread dough in the prepared pan.
- Measure the jam into a microwave-safe bowl and gently warm until it is soft and spreadable. Dollop the jam on top of the dough and spread out, swirling with dough slightly. Sprinkle the almonds on top followed by the turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board, slice into bars. If stacking in storage containers, place waxed paper to make it tidier. Store at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Raspberry-Almond Snack Cake
This Raspberry-Almond Snack Cake is a delicious treat. It’s great for everything from breakfast to snack to dessert.
What I like about it is that it’s packable. This is not a fragile coffee cake. Encase this in plastic wrap or stick it in a sandwich bag, and it’s a dense homemade treat-to-go.
This is also a good cake to bake, cool, slice up, and freeze some for later. It keeps for weeks like that, and is fast to thaw later on.
Bready or Not Original: Raspberry-Almond Snack Cake
Equipment
- 9×9 pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick spray
- food scale
Ingredients
Cake
- 300 grams frozen raspberries
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) softened
- 1 3/4 cups white sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup milk or half & half
- 1/2 cup Greek vanilla yogurt or sour cream
Topping
- 2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Press foil into a 9×9 pan. Apply nonstick spray.
- Weigh out the 300 grams of raspberries. Use kitchen shears or a knife to gently shatter the berries into smaller pieces. Place back in freezer as the recipe is assembled.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by both the extracts.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, kosher salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, combine the milk and the yogurt.
- Take turns adding the dry ingredients and the milk mix in the big mixing bowl with the butter. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make certain everything is combined. Gently fold in the frozen raspberries.
- Spread the batter in the prepared pan and even out. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top, followed by the sliced almonds. Gently press in.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350. Continue baking for an additional 45 to 55 minutes. (Note that the bake time is longer because of the moisture in the frozen berries. If you’re using fresh instead, the bake time will likely be reduced, so monitor closely.) The middle should pass the toothpick test.
- Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Use the foil to lift the cake onto a rack to fully cool.
- Store in an airtight container or bag in the fridge or at room temperature for up to 3 days. This is also a great cake to freeze in slices.
OM NOM NOM!
4th Street Fantasy 2025
I’ll be at 4th Street Fantasy in Minneapolis this weekend! I’ll be around Friday through Sunday morning. I have one panel, too, the first of the con at 4pm Friday: “Fear, Loathing and Transcendence on the Great American Road Trip.”
Catch me early on, and you can get an individually-wrapped Chewy Honey Maple Cookie and earn one of my prized “I Ate Beth Cato’s Cookies!” badge stickers.
Oh, and check the freebie ebook table on occasion. You might find something special.
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate-Hazelnut Sables
These Chocolate-Hazelnut Sables are a fancy kind of shortbread, perfect to pair with some coffee or tea!
The chocolate flavor here is pleasant and deep thanks to the pairing of cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips. The hazelnuts provides a welcome sporadic crunch.
The hazelnuts will need to have their brown papery skin removed for the recipe. Look at the end of the cookie directions for instructions on how to do that! It’s a fiddly, time-consuming thing, but it’s not hard, but do be careful with the fizzing-hot baking soda.
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate-Hazelnut Sables
Equipment
- food processor
- plastic wrap
- food scale
- parchment paper
- knife or bench knife
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup blanched hazelnuts see note for blanching advice
- 3 oz mini semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) room temperature
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
- Use the food processor to finely chop the hazelnuts. Transfer them to a bowl with the mini chocolate chips.
- In another bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and white and brown sugars until they are light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients, scraping the bottom of the bowl a few times. Fold in the hazelnuts and chocolate.
- Divide the dough between two long sheets of plastic wrap. Form the dough into logs, then encase in plastic, rolling to smooth out. Each should be about 1 inch high and 9 inches long.
- Wrap airtight and chill for at least an hour, or freeze for upwards of a month; thaw later in fridge.
- When it is baking time, preheat the oven at 350. Lay parchment paper on baking pan. Place turbinado sugar in a saucer.
- Use a knife or bench knife to slice logs about 1/4-inch thick. Press the top of each cookie into the turbinado sugar, then set spaced out on parchment.
- Bake for about 14 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
