Raspberry Crumb Squares

January 1^st, 2011. How did that happen? We are already a decade into the 2000s. I officially enter the late-20s on my birthday this year. I graduated from high school ten years ago (which I reminded my husband of and his immediate response was to shout an expletive and put his head down lamenting on how he hasn’t done much in his life). Anyway. Happy New Year!

As comes with every new year, I stayed up till 12:15 am to welcome the year with open arms only to quickly tell it goodnight; I made my promises for this year to myself and my family; and I wrote down my ten resolutions.

One of these resolutions is to blog more. Hollaaaaa! I know, dear readers (all four of you) that this has made your 2011. Or at least the first 20 hours of it. I should probably make a resolution to actually spread the word about my blog a little better, but that will come with time.

Another resolution is to be more healthy and usually, after the onslaught of the holidays and various gorgefests involving cookies, pies and all things sweet, I am ready for this time of cleansing and healthy eating. This feeling wears off just in time for Valentine’s day and the cravings for chocolate to pick back up again . . .

Anywho, in the meantime, if you are looking for a way to ease off the sweets, I recommend this recipe. It looks like a dessert but is actually a buttery, crumbly, not-that-sweet bar that looks pretty and is perfect for a snowy morning. You can trick yourself that it is dessert by topping it with some cool whip. Don’t be alarmed by how much flour is in it. Just remember that I warned you about its not too-sweet taste. Robbie calls it a “gourmet pop tart.” However, pop tarts are quality too so I recommend keeping them both around.

Raspberry Crumb Bars
From Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Crust:
2 cups unsalted butter, melted
4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

1 1/4 cup raspberry jam (I splurged with this ingredient and got the fancy schmancy Swiss preserves kind).

Topping:

4 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups unpacked light brown sugar
2 cups softened unsalted butter - cut into small pieces
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:
Melt butter over low heat while stirring. Don't use high heat, or you will end up with clarified butter! Combine melted butter with flour in a large bowl. The dough will be soft. Spread dough evenly on an ungreased baking sheet or a jelly roll pan (12 by 18 inch pan). Bake crust for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. This could take up to 50 minutes.

Topping:
(A word of warning – I don’t make a good crumb crust. I don’t know if it is because I don’t let the butter soften enough or if I let it soften too much. Or maybe there is too much flour. Who knows? I even used my new pastry blender that I got as a wedding present. That just made my knuckles messy with buttery flour.)
Mix flour, brown sugar and salt. Add softened and cut butter to flour mixture. Mixture should be crumbly. Or, as in my case, mixture should be at the point where you just don’t want to mess with it anymore.

Beat raspberry jam till it is smooth and spread it over the cooled base, leaving 1/4 inch edge all around. This was tricky for me because the jam kept pulling the base up. I would almost add a little more jam to make it easier and probably even yummier. Sprinkle topping generously over the jam layer. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Pistachio Cake

I am a big fan of Taylor Swift. In fact, her new album was one of my Christmas gifts which I was rocking to this afternoon on my way to Newton. Although this adoration of mine may seem odd for someone creeping into her late-20s, I just can't not turn up the radio when one of her songs comes on. One of her latest mega-hits (humor me, ok?) is called Mine and it definitely pulls at my heartstrings. This year, one could say, I added an item to my worldly possessions that I can call 'mine.' I added a husband.

Even with the challenges of law school, living apart, and what-will-our-future-hold discussions, we had a bright and shining moment on October 9th when we married each other. The weekend was wonderful -- filled with our closest family and friends. We are still shocked at how perfect the weekend was and can't believe we (along with everyone else involved) managed to pull it off so flawlessly. These memories will keep us going through whatever struggles we face together.

Robbie's birthday is at the beginning of December and inevitably always hits during exams. One can imagine how this makes one's birthday nonexistent when you are on your 14th straight hour of Jurisprudence studies. Last year I started the tradition of making him a homemade birthday cake to devour after his exams when we can really focus on celebrating his birthday. This year was no different. I asked him to name a cake he wanted me to make and his response? "Pistachio."

I had to do a little digging because pistachio is not your classic chocolate or vanilla option. But my mom mentioned a recipe that was very popular in the 1970s involving cake mix, pistachio flavored jell-o pudding and dream whip. Sure enough, I did a little research and discovered it. I adapted it a little because my grocery store did not have Dream Whip (although I went into three more in another city the next weekend and saw it immediately . . . I think that was a scenario in an Alanis Morrisette song . . .). I used cool whip but this cake was still very delicious. The batter was almost gummy (geletinous perhaps?) and the icing was light and perfectly complimented the super-duper-moistness of the cake. Did I mention the cake comes out this cool shade of green?

I hope that the cake added some brightness to his dismal first-of-December, and we both acknowledged that this was his last birthday to fall within an exam period (hopefully) so things are already looking up. And with a new year ahead of us, I anticipate any uncertainties turning into excitement as we finally transition into living in one location, together, and hanging out for the next forever.

Pistachio Cake

Adapted from Two Tiny Kitchens' Pistachio Cupcake recipe

1 pkg white cake mix

1 pkg instant pistachio pudding mix

1 c. oil

3 eggs

1 c. club soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and beat at medium speed for about 5 minutes. Pour batter into greased bundt cake pan and bake according to the directions on the back of the cake mix box.

Frosting

2 regular sized tubs of cool whip (I used light and it worked just fine.)

1 pkg instant pistachio pudding mix

Combine cool whip and pudding mix. Beat with whisk until thoroughly mixed. Spread on cake. Top with salted pistachio kernels for an added decoration and crunch. Refrigerate.