Lemon Marshmallow Bars-12 Weeks of Christmas Treats

Back at week 2 of this year’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats,  I posted this photo of some recipes I had made that just did not turn out quite like I had hoped.  One of the recipes was for Lemon Marshmallow Bars.  The challenges with the recipe that I made at that time were that the topping would not cut without cracking and that (I thought) the crust was too thick.

The bars, however, were very good.  In fact, a coworker said that this was perhaps one of the best sweets I had ever shared with her.  I decided to make the recipe again, making some changes that I hoped would help.  I baked the crust in a 10-x15-inch jelly roll pan instead of a 9x13-inch baking pan.  This made a thinner crust that pleased me more.  I eliminated the melted white chocolate chip topping and used my favorite frosting recipe instead.  This made a topping that cut nicely.  Now this is a cookie that I am very happy with, and I will use the base recipe often.

Because the flavoring for these bars comes from flavoring extract, it would be very easy to make them in other flavors such as cherry, orange, banana or mint.

I am developing some arthritis in my hands and find that recipes that call for cutting butter or margarine into dry ingredients are now more difficult for  me to make.  A little trick I have come up with is to use the whisk attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer to do this for me.  I put the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl, cut the butter into slices and put on top of the dry ingredients.  Then I run the mixer on low until the mixture is crumbly, stopping and cleaning the whisk attachment when necessary.  This is much easier than cutting in the butter by hand.

The homemade marshmallow filling is very easy to make, but it really does need to be made with a stand mixer.  The marshmallow takes 10 minutes of beating at the highest speed which can get very tiring if using a hand mixer.  Because of the marshmallow center, the bars are most easily cut with a dampened knife that is cleaned frequently, and it will be necessary to give a little extra “push” to cut through the crust.

The original recipe came from M.m.m.m. More Cookies by Pillsbury, 1987.  It is one of those little cookbooks that are displayed at the check-out counters of grocery stores.

Lemon Marshmallow Bars
1 1/2 c. flour
2 3/4 c. sifted powdered sugar, divided
1  c. butter or margarine, divided
1 c. water, divided
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 c. sugar
1 t. lemon extract
1 T. grated lemon peel
8 to 12 drops yellow food coloring
2 T. hot water
1 T. lemon juice

Place flour and 3/4 c. powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Cut in 3/4 c. butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly.  (See note above for doing this with an electric mixer.)  Press mixture into a foil-lined 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes until light golden brown.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.  In mixer bowl, combine 1/2 c. water and the unflavored gelatin.  Mix well and set aside.  In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and 1/2 c. water.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil two minutes.  Pour over gelatin mixture and mix well.  Set bowl in refrigerator for 5 minutes to cool.  Beat mixture at the highest speed of electric mixer until very thick.  This will usually take about 10 minutes.  Add lemon extract, food coloring and lemon peel.  Beat well.  Spoon marshmallow mixture over cooled crust, spreading as evenly as possible.  (The pan will be very full.)  Place in refrigerator to set.  When set, prepare topping by melting 1/4 c. butter in a large glass measuring cup.  Add 2 c. of sifted powdered sugar.  Mix well.  Stir in the water and lemon juice to make a spreading consistency.  Spread over the top of the marshmallow mixture.  Let set and cut into bars with a moistened knife.  Store covered with plastic wrap in refrigerator.  Makes about 48 bars.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats is hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.  We aren't yet halfway so there is still plenty of time to join in the fun.  You can go to this post to sign up.  Remember, you are not obligated to post every week if for some reason you can't.

Check out the links below to see what other bloggers have posted this week.

Pink Applesauce Candy-Get Your Chef On

This is the first time that I have participated in the Get Your Chef On challenge, and I am very excited about it.  The challenge is hosted by Julie from White Lights on Wednesday and Jen from Four Marrs One Venus.  The ingredient this month is applesauce, which reminded me of a recipe that I have been wanting to make and post for awhile now.

In north central Washington State is the town of Cashmere.  One thing that Cashmere is famous for is that it is the home of Liberty Orchards.  Liberty Orchards makes wonderful, jellied fruit candies from apricots, apples and other fruits.  When most people have an Aplet, they immediately fall in love with it’s fresh apple taste contrasted with crunchy nuts.  It used to be that if you did not live in the Pacific Northwest, you could not get this candy.  Now, with the internet, you can order the candy and have it shipped anywhere.

Fortunately, many years ago I found a recipe in Farm Journal’s 1970 Homemade Candy book called Northwestern Apple Candy that produced a very similar candy.  They, of course, could not call the candy Aplets.  The candy is not difficult to make, but it must be allowed to set overnight.  Over the years, I have adapted the recipe to suit our tastes.

Although the candy may be made starting with fresh apples, I usually take the shortcut and start with purchased unsweetened applesauce.  Two tablespoons of unflavored gelatin are needed.  This will not necessarily equate to two packets of gelatin so the gelatin must be measured.  Most of the time, I find that it is necessary to use almost three packets to get the two tablespoons.  I add a couple drops of red food coloring to make the mixture a pretty pink, but it is optional and can be omitted.  Normally, I use walnuts, but almonds and pecans are good also.

Like many candies, these are best if not made on a day with high humidity.  It causes the confectioner's sugar to dissolve into the candy.  This does not affect the taste but does make the candy remain a bit sticky.

Pink Applesauce Candy
adapted from Farm Journal’s Homemade Candy
2 c. applesauce
2 T. unflavored gelatin
1/2 c. cold water
2 c. sugar (reduce to 1 1/3 c. if using sweetened applesauce)
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
T. lemon juice
3/4 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
red food coloring (optional)
1 c. confectioner’s sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch (up this amount to 1/2 c. if the humidity is high)

Place applesauce in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium-low heat until very thick, stirring often.  This will take about 10 minutes.  Soften gelatin in the cold water.  It will become very thick.  Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Add to the applesauce, stirring well.  (There will be some foaming)  Continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is again very thick, about 15 minutes.  Add gelatin; stirring until it is dissolved and the mixture is very thick, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Stir in the lemon juice, nuts and a few drops of red food coloring.  Turn mixture into an 8-inch shallow glass dish that has been rinsed with cold water.  Let stand 24 hours.  Sift confectioner’s sugar and cornstarch into a shallow pie pan.  Cut candy into 8 strips, turn and cross cut candy into 8 strips.  This will make about 64 pieces.  Roll each piece in the sugar mixture.  Place on a rack until the outside is dry.  Repeat rolling if necessary.  Store in covered container.  Makes about 1 lb., 12 oz.

If you would like details about the Get Your Chef On Challenge, you can visit this information page at White Lights on Wednesday.

Peach Nectar Poke Cake-Dessert Challenge

I was very happy when I learned that Sheryl from Lady Behind the Curtain had picked peaches and cream for this month’s Dessert Challenge.  Peaches are one of my favorite summer fruits.

I had been thinking about making a poke cake for some time, and this seemed like a good time to make one.  Many poke cake recipes use a cake mix and flavored gelatin, but I wanted to see what I could do with made-from-scratch ingredients.  I made the cake from the Basic Cake recipe I posted yesterday and chose to use peach nectar, pureed peaches and unflavored gelatin to make the filling.
Since I also needed to use cream, I went searching for a frosting recipe using whipped cream and found one over at allrecipes.  I changed it a bit to suit my taste.

This is a dessert that needs to be made ahead, at least one day for best flavor.  The cake needs to be made first.  If your choose to use a commercial cake mix, that is fine.  Just make it according to the package directions.  Another option is to make Homemade Cake Mix and make the cake from that.

After letting the cake cool, it is necessary to poke holes all over the top of the cake.  I like the holes to be about 1/4-inch and use a short length of 1/4-inch dowel that I keep in my kitchen.  The handles of some wooden spoons  will work also.

Make the peach filling and pour it over the top of the cake letting it seep into the holes.  Place the cake in the refrigerator to chill and allow the filling to set at least 4 hours.  The "pokes" didn't show up too well on the cake I made using a yellow cake.  Next time I will probably make a white cake or add a bit of food coloring to the filling.

Prepare frosting and spread on cake. (See my tip for quickly softening cream cheese here.)   Refrigerate at least 2 hours to set frosting.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill till serving time.

Peach Melba Poke Cake
1 prepared yellow or white cake (may be made from scratch, from a homemade mix, or a commercial mix)
1 (12 oz.) can peach nectar
2 fresh peaches
1/2 c. water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened (regular or low-fat)
3/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 pt. (2 c.) whipping cream

Prepare cake using your choice of methods.  Bake and allow cake to cool.  Poke 1/4-inch holes all over surface of cake about 1-inch apart and going about three-fourths of the way through the cake.  Pour peach nectar in a medium saucepan.  Peel and slice peaches into a blender or food processor container.  Blend until smooth and consistency of applesauce.  Add peaches to peach nectar.  Place saucepan over medium heat and heat peach mixture to boiling.  While nectar is combing to a boil, pour unflavored gelatin in the 1/2 c. water and allow gelatin to soften.  Stir well.  Boil nectar/peach mixture about 5 minutes to allow it to reduce slightly in volume,  watching carefully and stirring often.  Remove from heat and add gelatin/water mixture.  Stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.  Pour nectar mixture over cake, allowing it to seep into the holes.  Place cake in refrigerator and chill at least 4 hours.   Place softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer bowl.  If using a stand mixer, fit it with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until mixture is smooth.  Scrap down the sides of the bowl.  While mixer is running, slowly pour in the whipping cream, beating until the mixture holds a stiff peak.  Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a couple of times.  (It may take a few minutes for the mixture to get to the proper consistency.)  Spread frosting over the top of the cake and chill at least 2 hours.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve.  Makes 12 to 15 generous servings.

To see what other Dessert Challenge bloggers chose to make with peaches and "cream", check out the links below.

If you would like to join in September's Dessert Challenge which will feature apples and cinnamon, visit Sheryl's Dessert Challenge page. 

Linking to these great parties:
Catch a Glimpse Party
Thursday's Treasurers
Showcase Your Talent Thursday
Tasty Thursday
Fantastic Thursday
Full Plate Thursday