Copycat Almond Cashew Coconut Chai KIND Bars

As a birth doula, I rely fairly heavily on bars and other fast forms of caloric intake between double hip squeezes and other means of supporting my clients.  I eyed the Almond Cashew Coconut Chai bar at Starbucks and knew I'd appreciate that gem in my doula bag.  When the time came to consume my bar, I was not disappointed.  

Because my kids generally have an aversion to anything that I have painstakingly prepared for them, and because we are out an about quite a bit, I keep a steady supply for KIND bars on hand for snacks and those moments where I have to trick myself into thinking that it's a somewhat acceptable meal replacement.  I wanted to get this chai KIND bar in my rotation and it looks like I'm not the only one.  I found forums where this was the topic of conversation.  It turns out you can buy them individually at Starbucks with their mark-up or you can purchase a case of 72 from KIND.  I like them, but 72 is a lot to have on hand and my husband would certainly think I flew the cookoo's nest purchasing $100 worth of kind bars in one sitting.  

Did you know you can find almost anything on pinterest?  You can.  I found this little copycat recipe for Almond Coconut KIND bars and compared the "syrup" with other KIND copycat recipes I found.  So I had a good base for adaptation.  Chai spice was a little more tricky.  I couldn't find a prepared version in any of the markets I tried, so I found another pinterest recipe for Chai Spice and now we were getting somewhere.  Here's the recipe:  

Almond Cashew Coconut Chai KIND Bar

Ingredients:

Chai Spice Blend:

1 tsp. Ground Cardamom

1 tsp. Ground Allspice

2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp. Ground Cloves

3 tsp. Ground Ginger

This will make a surplus of chai spice, but, trust me, you will want to make these again.

Nut Mixture:

1 C. Roasted and Unsalted Almonds

1 C. Roasted and Unsalted Cashews

2 C. Unsweetened, Shredded Coconut

1 Tbsp. Ground Flaxseed

Syrup:
1/2 C. Honey
1/3 C. Brown Rice Syrup
1 tsp. Chai Spice Blend
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp. Salt

Instructions:

Grease a 9x9 baking dish.

Add toasted almonds, coconut and flax to large bowl.  Stir to combine; set aside.

In 1-1/2 or 2 quart saucepan, combine honey, rice syrup, chai spice, salt, and vanilla over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 260 degrees (hard ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Immediately, pour mixture over nut mixture, stir until evenly coated.

Quickly transfer to greased/sprayed 9x13 pan, use hands to spread mixture evenly in pan; press the mixture to close in holes and distribute evenly all over the pan. Using bottom of greased/sprayed drinking glass to tap and compact mixture in pan. Let cool 20 minutes (pan should still be slightly warm).

The original instructions say to invert pan on cutting board and tap until mixture falls out in one piece. I had to give my bars a little more help.  Cut into bars. (If they cool too much and become too hard or brittle to cut easily, put in warm oven for 1-2 minutes to soften; proceed with cutting.)

 STORAGE TIPS: Allow to cool completely before transferring to airtight storage container with parchment paper between layers. For take-along convenience, use parchment paper pieces to wrap individual bars burrito-style. Store at room temperature for up to 1 week. May refrigerate to extend storage or if firmer, less sticky bars are preferred. May be frozen.

Makes approximately 20 bars.

Almond Meringues

Every time I make Challah bread I lament the fact that I am throwing 6 egg whites away.  I hate to waste, but egg whites?  What am I going to do with egg whites?  The go to is anything meringue.  The thing is, I just don't love meringue.  As a child my mom would make gorgeous lemon meringue pies and my sister and I would split it.  She'd take the meringue, I'd take the lemony goodness.  But, I really shouldn't waste these egg whites.  And, I should probably have something to show after a day of solitude... OK.  Meringues it is.  Meringues they are?  Hmn.

I found a recipe for more pavlova style meringues and decided to omit the toppings and add some almond extract.  This is from a British recipe, so I am using grams.  It always turns out better than trying to use a conversion.  If you don't have a scale that can do grams and ounces?  Get one.  It's really handy.

Almond Meringues

makes 24 large meringues

Ingredients 

6 Egg Whites, room temperature
1 scant teaspoon almond extract
350 grams Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Place egg whites into a large clean bowl.  Add almond extract and beat until they form soft peaks.  Add approximately 1/2 of the sugar and continue to beat. 
4. Add the remaining sugar one spoonful at a time until all is combined and the mixture forms stiff peaks.
5. Spoon the meringue onto the prepared baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Reduce the oven temperature to 225 degrees and cook for a further 2-3 hours until crisp and dry.
7. When they are cooled they can be stored in an air tight container.

Gingerbread Cake

This delightful cake recipe is from the February 2000 issue of gourmet magazine.  This winter I was inspired by this amazing photo (left side, middle) and knew I had to make a ginger cake that would stand up to the beautiful topping.  When Jill brought the cake to a party, I knew I had found my cake.  I should have consulted the picture a little more, because the final result wasn't nearly as pretty.  We can try again next year.  I've made a slight modification of the recipe because, as I discovered, beer and molasses can boil over quickly - got to keep a tight eye on them.  Otherwise this recipe is as posted.

I used a generous portion of Wilton's Cake Release and had no trouble with the bundt pan or the springform (yes, I made two).  I made them 12/23, so that the flavors could meld for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The cake is very tender, yet hearty and rich and it does improve with age.

Ingredients

1 C. Oatmeal Stout or Guinness Stout
1 C. Dark Molasses (not blackstrap)
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 C. All-purpose Flour
1.5 tsp. Baking Powder
2 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp. Grated Nutmeg
Pinch of Ground Cardamom
3 lg. Eggs
1 C. Packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 C. Granulated Sugar
3/4 C Grapeseed Oil
Confectioners sugar for dusting

Accompaniment: Unsweetened whipped cream

Instructions: 

Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan watching carefully as it can boil over quickly. Once boiling remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda, then cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs and sugars. Whisk in oil, then molasses mixture. Add to flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

Pour batter into bundt pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.

Serve cake, dusted with confectioners sugar, with whipped cream. Do ahead: This gingerbread is better if made a day ahead. It will keep 3 days, covered, at room temperature.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

 The trouble with most pumpkin cookies is that they are gooey - not in a decadent way, but in a "I can't let these touch each other or they will all stick to each other" kind of way.  A while back I came upon the Cook's Illustrated recipe for Pumpkin pie, where you cook some of the liquid out of the pumpkin to help improve the texture.  I thought maybe that would help with pumpkin cookies a bit.  The base for this recipe is based on these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and I really love the result.  To me brown butter and fall go hand-in-hand.  To be sure they are still soft, especially if you are not careful to cook them thoroughly, but especially right out of the oven they have a nice crispy exterior.  They tend to soften more as they are stored.

Ingredients 

1 C. (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
1 C. White Sugar
1 C. Light Brown Sugar
2 Lg. Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 C. Canned Pumpkin Puree
3 C. All-purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp.Ground Cloves
12-ounce bag Milk Chocolate Chips, not semisweet
Nonstick cooking spray, parchment paper or stoneware baking sheet

Instructions

Slice butter into smaller chunks and place in a saucepan or skilled over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Do not use a dark bottomed pan and it will be hard to tell when the butter is adequately browned.   See How to Brown Butter for a photo tutorial.   Remove butter from heat immediately and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.

While you are browning the butter, on a separate burner, place pumpkin puree in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to simmering and reduce temperature.  Cook stirring frequently until the mixture has reduced and thickened slightly and looks glossy.  About 10 minutes.  Allow to cool for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

Directions Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Pour browned butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.  Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips.

Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges.  Adjust time for stoneware. Often people want their cooking a little softer, so they take them out while they are still soft in the middle.  Pumpkin cookies will be naturally softer and so you really do want to make sure they are cooked in the center.  Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.