Pumpkin Gingerbread Bars

When I was in Dallas, there was a little place I loved to go to called Corner Bakery. It was perfect for breakfast or lunch, a little snack or some dessert. It was a place that never failed me. In the fall, they carried a mini bundt cake that had gingerbread and pumpkin-I think it was called a pumpkin spice bundt. Whatever it was, I have always thought about that particular cake, and tried to hunt down the recipe, but I never found it.

Several weeks ago, I was perusing recipe websites, as I am oft to do, and stumbled across this one from the Dallas Morning News (coincidence? I think not so much). THIS was the one I had been searching for. No, it wasn't Corner Bakery's recipe-but it was the closest one I had seen. Not only that, it looked superb. I kept it aside, thinking I might make it for holiday treats, but I never got to it until this weekend. Good thing, because had I made it for the holidays, it might have just never made it to anyone-I am pretty sure I would have eaten the pan by myself.





If it had been in a mini-bundt pan with some glaze over the top it would have been an exact replica. As it stands, a square with powdered sugar over the top will do just as well. These are things I can work on for next time.




I think the thing I liked most about this was how subtle these bars were. They weren't overly pumpkin-y, and not too gingerbread-y. They were very mild but still pretty sweet. I really thought it was great as a dessert-and hey, the recipe says that gingerbread is kind of good for you, so, bonus!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Bars (recipe obtained from The Dallas Morning News)

2 eggs
½ c. brown sugar
3/4 c. solid-pack pumpkin
2 Tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 9-inch square pan (I used an 8-inch-I think it worked even better. Next time I'm definitely trying mini bundts).

Beat the eggs with an electric mixer at high speed 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Add the pumpkin, molasses and vanilla, and beat for several minutes using the mixer.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Add to the pumpkin mixture and stir well.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake approximately 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into bars. Watch them disappear into your own belly.

Meyer Lemon Pancakes with Raspberry Syrup

What better way to start the new year than with something that reminds me of summer? I think there's no better way; with snow on the ground (albeit also at 50 degrees in January) the only thing I want to think about is warmth, sunshine, and summer. These pancakes accomplish that.



The weird thing is that I've made lemon pancakes before. When I made them, they were so tart that I spent more time with my mouth puckered than I did with a mouth full of pancake. I wanted to really like them but the best I could say was that they were just "okay". I'm still not totally certain I'd make that recipe again, but I will say they were really bright. Not just in color, but in taste. I'm still not so sure that real lemon pancakes were my favorite, but they weren't bad.

Yesterday, I saw this recipe on the food network for Meyer lemon pancakes. Every time I'd seen a recipe for Meyer lemons I just substituted regular lemons, thinking that there wasn't much of a difference.

For the record? Don't do that. Meyer lemons make SUCH a difference. I never knew! (I'd never even seen one until yesterday, either). I read up on them and found out they were more similar to an orange-they even look a little bit like them. Much more orange than yellow, much more circular than...well, whatever shape a lemon is...and much more subtle than a regular lemon.

Last night I threw together the batter (I totally recommend that by the way, if you're making a lazy breakfast), made the syrup (which I've made before and will touch on later) and this morning, clad in my new feety pajamas I got for Christmas (thanks to my brother in law for those!) I used my new pancake batter dispenser (thanks Christie!) and made a whole mess of Meyer lemon pancakes, which were then doused in fresh raspberry syrup.







These were so good that A and I both went back for seconds. I thought about going back for thirds until I remembered that the rest could work for breakfast tomorrow.



These had a very mild lemon flavor, and they were incredibly light. Although the batter isn't something that's that quick to do (whipping egg whites, what?), it's not hard-just has extra steps! It's worth it, in my opinion-having whipped egg whites in a pancake batter really changes the texture of the pancake. I loved them.

This pancake recipe came with a strawberry coulis recipe to go on top. I decided to scrap it and use a tried and true raspberry syrup that I loved (and, ironically, went with the earlier version of lemon pancakes that I wasn't the biggest fan of.). It's a pretty simple recipe-put frozen raspberries in a pot with some sugar and lime juice concentrate, and let it boil and thicken, then strain out the raspberries to get a nice smooth syrup.





As A so aptly declared: 'tis good. Yes, yes it is.



Meyer lemon pancakes (recipe from Anne Burrell and foodnetwork.com)
2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 heaping tsp. baking powder
4 eggs, separated
1 heaping c. ricotta cheese
3/4 c. milk
2 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced

Mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg yolks, ricotta, milk and lemon zest and juice, and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix well.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks using an electric mixer. Fold the egg whites into the rest of the batter. If you are making this for the next day, feel free to stop here and cover the bowl and refrigerate until the next morning. If not, continue forward.

Spray a griddle with nonstick spray or put a pat or two of butter down, and turn the heat to medium high. Test the readiness of the griddle by flicking a bit of water from your fingers; if it dances across the pan, it's hot enough. If it just sits there, wait! When the pan is ready, ladle the batter onto the griddle. Let it cook for about three minutes, or until bubbles pop through the batter. Once it bubbles, flip the pancake and cook for approximately three minutes or less on the other side. Drench pancakes in syrup and go to town. :)

Raspberry Syrup (recipe from Nantucket Recipes from the Fog Island Cafe, by Mark and Anne Dawson)

4 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. frozen lime juice concentrate

Combine all ingredients in a pot and cook over a low heat, stirring often. Let the sauce cook until the berries are soft and the sauce is thick. This could take up to 20 minutes, but has for me sometimes taken a half hour.

Take the pot off the heat and strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer. Then refrigerate until you are ready to use it. This should get you roughly 1.5 cups of syrup.