Spicy Hermit Bars
Servings: 14 -16 servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves
- ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup regular OR golden raisins
- ⅓ cup crystallized ginger not in syrup, finely minced
GLAZE:
- ½ cup confectioner's sugar sifted
- 1 tablespoon plus 2-3 teaspoons dark rum or milk
- Grated zest of ¼-1/2 lemon depends on the size of the lemon
Instructions
- Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- With the mixer on low speed, beat in the egg. Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the molasses and vanilla and beat until well mixed.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined. Mix in the raisins and crystallized ginger.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes, long enough for it to become easy to handle.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured board, form it into a disk with lightly floured hands and cut the dough in half. I weighed the dough before cutting to be sure I'd get 2 even amounts.
- Roll each half into a log 12" long. Place the logs 3" apart on the prepared pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until the logs are golden brown. They will still be soft in the center. Let the logs sit on the pan for 5-10 minutes, then slide them, still on the paper, onto a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, whisk the confectioners' sugar with enough rum (or milk) to make a glaze of drizzling consistency. Stir in the grated lemon zest. While the logs are still warm (not super hot right out of the oven), drizzle the glaze back and forth across the logs with a teaspoon.
- Allow the bars to cool completely and the glaze to set. Slide the logs off the parchment paper and onto a cutting board. Cut each log crosswise into 1 ¼-1 ½-inch wide bars.
Notes
Recipe slightly adapted from "Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook" by Ina Garten