Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends themed collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about his partnership is that it's not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may a recipe, sewing tutorial, crocheting, crafts project, book review, and/or technology post all related to the theme of the month.
This month's theme is Embrace Your Geekness Day.
There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here's a peek at what we all came up with:
I made Toffee Pecan Nectarine Bars.
Toffee Pecan Nectarine Bars
I bet you're waiting to hear how I correlate Toffee Pecan Nectarine Bars and Embrace Your Geekness. I chose this particular recipe because it's a good example of how baking has changed for me. As I've mentioned many times recently, right at the beginning of the pandemic, Hubs had his first ever gallbladder attack. Since no one felt I could either debate with or negotiate with Hubs' gallbladder, I was going to have to change how he eats, and how I cook and bake and develop recipes.
Here's the geekness part. Now when I head into the kitchen with my chef's hat (well, imaginary chef's hat), I also have to take my calculator and my ingredients substitution list. Baking is always a science but now, with not all substitutions one for one, it's also a math equation. It's been important to me that Hubs not only have healthy meals, but snacks and desserts too. Lately I try to include fruit in many of those desserts, not just to add flavor, but natural sweetness.
For today's recipe I decided to look at two recipes I'd developed in the past (Green Apple Cookie Bars and Fiery Apple Cookie Bars) and see if I could use them for inspiration, but make them a little lower in sugar and fat.
First I had to address the fat. Both recipes call for a stick of butter and a stick of margarine. Not today. I used a butter substitute for one stick and unsweetened applesauce for the other. Next comes the eggs. Both recipes call for two but to lower the fat I'll use one and substitute vinegar (I'll use apple cider vinegar) and a tsp baking soda. I'll have to add another tsp to the 1 tsp I already used in the original recipes.
They also called for sugar, brown sugar and in one recipe I used a box of jello mix. No to the jello (if I had sugar free peach jello mix I'd have used it but I didn't), I kept the brown sugar but substituted honey for the white sugar. It's a one for one substitution (but I'd have to adjust the flour later).
I chose nectarines today because they looked good at the store. In one of the inspiration recipes I sauteed the apples in butter and brown sugar. Not today. Sorry, nectarines, you're going in naked. Pecans are a good pairing, can add a crunch, and I read they're OK (maybe even good) for people with gallbladder issues. I checked my baking chips cheat sheet, (yes, I listed every of kind of baking chip I have and their level of fat and level of saturated fat per TBSP). Toffee chips are lower than the other pairings I'd consider for this recipe (white chocolate chips, cinnamon chips or butterscotch chips) so toffee it is.
Calculating . . . calculating . . . the flour and the baking soda. Adding salt and cinnamon for flavor and I think we're ready to go.
Beat the wet ingredients, incorporate the dry, and mix in the baking chips, nuts and nectarines.
Cool completely, cut, and
Neither math nor science let me down today. Embracing my geekness has had some pretty sweet rewards.
As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!
Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:
Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Micro Cards.
Tamara of Part-time Working Hockey Mom shares Teacher Farewell Surprise.
Melissa of My Heartfelt Sentiments shares Summer Vibes.
Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Micro Cards.
Tamara of Part-time Working Hockey Mom shares Teacher Farewell Surprise.
Melissa of My Heartfelt Sentiments shares Summer Vibes.
Toffee Pecan Nectarine Bars
©www.BakingInATornado.com
Printable RecipeIngredients:
1/2 cup butter substitute (I use Earth Balance)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup toffee baking chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 ripe nectarines, pitted and chopped
Directions:
*Grease a 9 X 13 baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Cream the butter substitute, applesauce, honey, brown sugar, egg and apple cider vinegar.
*Incorporate the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon at a low speed at first.
*Mix in the baking chips and pecans, then finally the chopped nectarines.
*Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the edges start to brown and the center is set.
*Cool completely before cutting.
"Chips cheat sheet" - you involuntarily created a tongue twister ;-)
ReplyDeleteI agree, substituting ingredients and adapting the regular ones requires concentration and a pinch of geekness. Looks like you did brilliantly though. Did your family appreciate the bars?
Hubs did enjoy them. College Boy, for the most part, doesn't think fruit is a good substitute for chocolate in a dessert. :(
DeleteI’m with College Boy. When my Gall Bladder attacked me there was no suggestion of diet change. I hurt, Doc said take it out and out it came. They say it is unnecessary to survive, I say God doesn’t make mistakes. But here I am several years down the road. I won’t say I get along without it, I have to have something to blame all these aches and pains on. Anyway, not a geek, it me three times to spell attacked right
ReplyDeleteHubs was in the opposite situation, when his gallbladder attacked, it was right at the height of covid and surgery was not an option. I'm so glad I've been able to get it under control through diet. He's enjoying the foods I'm cooking and baking, but he does admit that he's craving a burger.
DeleteYow! This looks totally awesome! Saving it... Some day, I want to serve as one of your guinea pig/tasters!
DeleteI laughed. When I first read today's topic I thought it said Greekness!🤣
It just so happens I have a guinea pig/taste tester position open. You might have to move to the US though. No, I have a better idea, I could move to Canada. I have so much respect for Trudeau!
DeleteOooh! The house next door is for sale!
DeleteCan you just move Canada a bit south? Otherwise it sounds perfect.
DeleteKaren, your flavor combos always inspire me!
ReplyDeleteCarol Cassara
This one was part luck and part necessity, but I'll take that compliment!
DeleteWhat a wonderful wife, cook, and scientist you are!
DeleteWell . . . let's just say . . . some days better than others!
DeleteI went to a science oriented high school (back in the 60's when home ec was still a thing).We didn't have home ec. We had the science of food and cooking, and it was pretty rigorous. A lot of cooking is (very delicious) chemistry. I loved the course, though I've forgotten almost everything I was taught, and I have a lot of respect for you and what you had to go through adapting this recipe. Your hubs is lucky to have you. (FYI, my husband, the family cook, enjoys Weight Watchers because he has to fiddle around with numbers and ingredients. I'm fortunate, too!) Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI took food science in college, loved it. I hated home ec in high school, would have loved an option, any option.
DeleteI find that cooking is quite forgiving, but baking is absolutely dependent on science.
Never had the chance to learn to cook in school and now I ican cook but not bake aat times I wish I could
ReplyDeleteI actually find it relaxing. Anyone can do it, just find an easy recipe and give it a try.
DeleteI've never met a recipe I couldn't modify, but for the most part they're entrees where precise proportions don't matter. I admire people like you that can take on baking recipes.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot of trial and error, I can tell you that.
DeleteYou would think that because it is so related to Science that I would be a better cook, but no. I'm going to try to make my momma's biscuits & homemade gravy tonight. I've successfully made it about three times over the last 30 years. I know this may not be good with my stomach, but I'm tired of sleeping lol.
ReplyDeleteLOL, don't leave me hanging, let me know how it goes.
DeleteI'm always amazed by how you create items for baking (or otherwise), but this is amazing! I'm not shocked you are fully capable!
ReplyDeleteIt taxes my brain, but so far I've been up to the challenge. OK, I'll admit it, I've made more than one item using substitutions that went straight to the trash can, but if at first you don't succeed . . .
Delete