Sophisticated Yet Homey Pine Nut Raspberry Bars

Peanut butter and jelly is such an iconic American duo that before my three year old had even tried it, he was singing PB&J songs in his parent/child music class.  But really, people, must we stick with peanut butter?  Give other nuts a chance!  I suggest pine nuts.

Shoofly Pie Bars

Shoofly pie (or Shoo-Fly pie) bars are a modern twist on the classic Pennsylvania Dutch pie made with sugar syrup (more on which kind of syrup later). Shoofly pie bars start with a buttery oatmeal shortbread base - solid enough for you to hand-hold the bars. Above the shortbread is a blend of spiced brown sugar crumbs and sugary syrup that solidifies into a moist/spongy cake layer (it's what coffee cake wishes it could be).  The top is scattered with a few more of those brown sugar crumbs for good measure. 

Though you may never have tried shoofly pie (and I can almost guarantee that you've never had shoofly pie bars), shoofly pie bars are one of those desserts that feels familiar and homey (after all, they're mostly butter and sugar) - nothing avant garde like cucumber juice.  Shoofly pie bars taste like a timeless dessert: a simple, sweet touch to end a meal.

But, the way your shoofly pie bars taste has a lot to do with what syrup or syrup blend you use.

Brown Butter Lucuma Bars

Brown butter lucuma bars taste exotic yet familiar at the same time. Bake the lucuma bars when you want to impress your foodie friends while still satisfying those with less adventurous palates.  Lucuma is a fruit most commonly found in Ecuador, Peru, and Chile with a pulp that has a texture like sweet potato or pumpkin and a flavor that some describe as maple-like (although I find the taste to be more of a cross between persimmon and plum).

If you're in the U.S. and you've had lucuma, it was most likely a powdered form of lucama that was used to flavor ice cream (if you are a raw foodist, you may have also used the powder as a sweetener).  In fact, I heard of lucuma for the first time when my friends Ian and Gabi mentioned that my candy cap mushrooms (also considered to have a maple flavor) reminded them of lucuma ice cream they had sampled. While lucuma powder has its place (I'll be writing about its use in frosting soon), lucuma pulp is also a wonderful ingredient to work with.  If you are lucky enough to live near an international or Latin grocery store, you should be able to find lucuma pulp in the freezer case.  Simply defrost the lucuma pulp and use it in place of pumpkin or sweet potato in your favorite dessert recipes. I went with lucuma bars, but lucuma pie is now on my to-try list.

These brown butter lucuma bars are a special treat - decadent, subtly sweet (like Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole), and basically irresistible.  Sadly, I know some of you won't be able to try them because lucuma may not be available in your area.  If you like the concept but can't find lucuma, this same recipe can be made with sweet potato, pumpkin, or persimmon pulp. 

Prickly Pear Lemon Bars

Prickly pear lemon bars are sweet and tangy and have a buttery crust that I could eat all by itself. They are a variation on my favorite lemon lime squares. While I wouldn't make the prickly pear bars over the lemon lime squares every time, they are great for something different and the pink color is so striking!

Why Prickly Pear Lemon Bars


As a pregnant foodie, I often find myself at restaurants with top-tier bartenders and have recently begun to challenge them to make me tasty virgin drinks. Last night at Monarch, I had a drink with almond syrup, pear nectar, pomegranate, and lemon that was like nothing I had ever tasted before - in a good way. But (more relevant to this post), earlier in the week I visited a St. Louis restaurant, Agave, that had several virgin drink options on the menu. The bartender, Keith, recommended a drink that featured prickly pear and lemonade. He gave me a shot of the prickly pear juice on its own to entice me. Loved it! I proceeded to order the drink - which rocked my world. I decided right then that prickly pear would be the flavor of the week. Check out the cupcake version of these bars - prickly pear cupcakes.

Prickly Pear Lemon Bar Recipe

The prickly pear lemon bar recipe that I came up with was based on a recipe called Lemony Lime Squares that I originally found in a newspaper (the clipping is so old that I can't tell which paper) as an adaptation from a recipe in the book Low-fat & Luscious Desserts by the American Heart Association. The recipe says that it makes sixteen servings, but that depends on how big you cut your bars or squares. I think that you would probably want to double the recipe if you were truly serving sixteen people. Here is my adaptation:

Cookie base

• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1/4 finely chopped pecans
• 1/4 C butter, softened

Topping

• 2/3 C sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 3 T lemon juice
• 1/2 t lemon zest
• 3 T prickly pear juice (You can easily make prickly pear juice with a prickly pear and a food processor or blender. Simply Recipes has a great tutorial on how to make prickly pear juice.)
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 2 T powdered sugar (optional)

1. Prepare the cookie base
1. Mix flour, sugar, pecans, and butter until crumbly.
2. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray or butter and press the mixture evenly on the bottom of the dish.
3. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.

2. Prepare the topping
1. Beat all topping ingredients except powdered sugar. Mixture will be thin.
2. Pour over hot crust.

3. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until topping is set.
4. Allow to cool before cutting.
5. If you'd like, top the bars with powered sugar.

Finding Prickly Pear


Prickly pear is not easy to find in St. Louis. Some of my friends from other parts of the country have informed me that it's practically a weed where they live. I thought for sure that our international supermarket would carry prickly pear, but they said they wouldn't carry it until next month. Then, I checked a Mexican grocery and they told me to check the Asian grocery. Surprisingly, I found it at Whole Foods. I shop there almost daily, but I had never noticed prickly pears so that was the last place that I looked for them.

If you can't find fresh prickly pear fruit and I've got you craving prickly pear, you may be able to find some other prickly pear products.

I was informed by my Twitter friend c_ellis that our local grocery store, Schnucks, sometimes carries prickly pear sorbet, so your local store might, too.

Bolthouse Farms makes a Prickly Pear Cactus Lemonade which will give you a taste of the flavor, but I found it to be way too sweet.

Lastly, you could always order one of the many prickly pear products available online. You can choose from syrups, jellies and jams, and candies.

One More Photo of the Prickly Pear Lemon Bars, Just for Kicks