Pucker Up: Lemon Walnut Bars Recipe

After Thanksgiving, people crave light treats that will make them feel refreshed, in contrast to the fullness they may have felt over the holiday.

These Lemon Walnut Bars are perfect, because owing to the lemon they taste refreshing, and the addition of oats gives them the slightest tone of healthfulness.

But don't worry--they're not actually healthy. With creamy sweetened condensed milk and plenty of butter, rest assured, these are definitely dessert.

I had a brief love affair with the lemon crumb bars sold at Tully's Coffee Shops in Seattle a few years ago--they certainly weren't fancy, they were made by a commercial bakery in the area and wouldn't be what I would consider "artisan". But there was something about the tart-sweet lemon filling paired with a streusel-like topping that had me hooked.

So when I saw a recipe for Lemon Walnut Bars in the new cookbook Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes From a Little Neighborhood Bakery (also the source of this fab marshmallow recipe), I knew I had to try it.

Seriously, this recipe is a classic. It's like the bars I so loved at Tully's, but tastier since they were baked fresh. The filling is tart with lemon but so smooth and creamy with the sweetened condensed milk, which makes it almost like a key lime pie filling, but with lemon. The sweet-salty streusel has all of these notest that work well with the lemon: brown sugar, coconut, walnuts, and oats--which make it also slightly crunchy, and a perfect texture complement to the creaminess. I promise, if you love lemon bars and you love crumb cake, you will adore these squares. You won't be able to stop eating them. 

Lemon Walnut Bars

adapted from Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes From a Little Neighborhood Bakery

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup large flake rolled oats
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (dark)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup ground walnuts
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter.
3. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, coconut, walnuts, and baking powder. Pour in the melted butter and mix until the butter is evenly distributed. Press half of the oat mixture into the prepared pan, and press it in firmly. If you wanna, line the bottom with a strip of parchment to make for easy removal later.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the consensed milk and lemon uice until thick and combined. Pour the mixture over the base. Use the back of a spoon or spatula to make sure it's an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the filling.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden on top.
6. Remove from oven and cool completely into the pan. Run a knife along the edges of the pan. Cut into bars.

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DIY Croissant Doughnuts Made from Crescent Rolls

Listen, once I heard that you could make DIY croissant doughnuts (I'm not mentioning them by name, but we all know what I'm talking about here), I simply had to try it at home. 

And I am beyond delighted to report that it is easy, and the results are so highly delicious that you just might gain a hundred pounds before Christmas if you make them as frequently as you'll want to after giving it a try.

The only tough part is monitoring the temperature of the oil for frying. I am lucky because in a stroke of fate, a company that makes something called Chef Alarm had contacted me just a week before I decided to get frying at home and asked if I wanted to try out their product. Um, yes. So while they sent me the device for free, they didn't pay me to say good stuff about it. But happily, I liked it. This helpful gadget includes timers, a temperature probe, and temperature monitoring so it will notify you if things are going outside of the comfort zone. But the absolute best part is that it comes in pink. YES! I think it's a nifty tool and would probs make a good present for the baker in your life this holiday season. 

The reason why you have to monitor the temperature for frying? A few reasons, but from my point of view, a huge reason is that you can't tell how hot the oil is at any given time. It looks the same whether it's 280 or 390 degrees. If it's too hot, your doughnuts can fry too fast on the outside and be doughy on the inside. If the oil is too cool, it will take too long to fry them and they'll be leaden. Nobody wants either!

But anyways, I know you're frying--er, dying--to read more about the doughnuts, so let's get down to business. 

How to make Croissant Doughnuts using Crescent Rolls

You need: 

• One roll of crescent rolls
• oil, for frying
• about a cup and a half of buttercream, pudding, ice cream, custard, or whatever filling you want.
• confectioners' sugar glaze (1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar mixed with 2 tablespoons or so of cream) if desired 

Step 1: The first thing you do is open up the can of crescent rolls. Enjoy that "pop" as they release themselves in their carbohydratey glory into the world. 

Step 2: Now, roll them into one big rectangle. Then, fold it on top of itself so you have a big square. Press gently to remove the "seams". The better you work the seams, the prettier your doughnuts will look later.

Step 3: Now, grab a doughnut cutter (just go buy one if you don't have them - they're like $2!). Cut out as many doughnut shapes as you can. Re-roll the scraps and cut more, but be aware that the re-rolled ones, to be frank, will be the ugly ones. 

Step 4: Fill a frying pan with some vegetable oil. You want at least a few inches of oil in the pan. Heat it until it reaches about 350 degrees. You will want a thermometer of some sort for this, trust me. 

Step 5: Place the doughnut cutouts a few at a time into the hot oil. Fry on each side until golden and puffy. It won't take long. Remove gently, using a slotted spoon, and transfer to paper towels to blot excess oil. 

Step 6: Cut the doughnuts in half like you would a bagel, and fill with buttercream, pudding, custard, or whatever your heart desires. Glaze if you wanna, or just stuff your face immediately. 

Do you enjoy frying at home?

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