Hazelnut Praline Cookie Bars Food

CHOCOLATE CHUNK HAZELNUT COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• Set an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed quarter-sheet pan with parchment paper and rub with a light coating of butter.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until the cubes have blended together into one large smooth ball. Add the brown and granulated sugars and beat until completely combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. (It should have the texture of wet sand.) Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until well combined. (There might be small pebble-size pieces of butter in the mixture, but that is okay.) Add half of the flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed until just combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until the mixture just comes together. Do not overmix. Add the hazelnuts and dark chocolate chunks and mix on low speed until just combined.
• Transfer the cookie dough to the prepared sheet pan and use your hands or a rubber spatula to lightly press the dough in an even layer. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the edges are light golden brown and the top is dry to the touch, 15 to 18 minutes. Place the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely. It is okay if the cookie is slightly under-baked when it comes out of the oven; it will continue to cook as it cools. (These bars are best when they are nice and gooey in the middle, so it is better to err on the side of under-baking than over-baking.)
• When ready to serve, preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat. Using a bench scraper or a straight-sided metal spatula, cut the cookie into 24 bars. Put the pan with the cut bars directly on the grill and cook, covered, until the chocolate is melted and the bars are warmed through, about 5 minutes. (Alternatively, the bars can be rewarmed in an oven or removed from the pan and rewarmed in a microwave.) Transfer the cookie bars to individual plates and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serve immediately.

HAZELNUT PRALINE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast them in the oven until they are fragrant, about 8 minutes. Transfer nuts to a clean kitchen towel, and rub nuts in towel vigorously between your hands to remove the brown skins. Lightly brush an 8-by-12-inch rimmed baking pan with the oil. Spread the peeled nuts in the pan.
• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, brushing down sides of pan with a damp pastry brush to remove any sugar crystals that may form, until mixture is amber, about 9 minutes; do not stir. (Pan may be swirled gently about halfway through to incorporate any uncooked sugar.) Pour directly over nuts to create a thin layer. Set aside to cool, at least 30 minutes.
• Place half the praline in the bowl of a food processor; process until the praline is very fine with no sharp pieces. Cut the remaining praline into small pieces for decoration.

PRALINE COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with foil, letting some hang over the edges.
• 2. For the Crust: Cream 1 cup of butter and brown sugar together. Slowly stir in flour, salt and ground pecans until mixture is crumbly. Press into foil lined pan and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
• 3. Topping: Make topping while crust is baking. Combine butter, brown sugar, honey and heavy cream in a saucepan. Dissolve ingredients on a medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer for 1 minute. Add pecans & coconut (0ptional) and remove from heat.
• 4. Pour topping over crust as soon as it is removed from the oven. Spread it out evenly.
• 5. Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until filling is set.
• 6. Remove pan from oven and cool completely.
• 7. Use the foil to lift cookie bars out of baking pan. Remove foil and cut into bars approximately 2" x 2"

HAZELNUT PRALINE

Steps:

• Lightly oil a baking sheet.
• In a dry heavy saucepan cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork, until melted and cook, without stirring, swirling pan, just until a golden caramel. Add hazelnuts, stirring until coated well. Immediately pour mixture onto baking sheet and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Remove praline from baking sheet and break into pieces.
• Praline may be eaten as candy or ground in a food processor and used as a dessert topping.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE WITH HAZELNUT PRALINE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (nonfan)/375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom of 2 (20-centimeter/8-inch) cake pans (tins) with a removable base with parchment paper and grease the sides. Alternatively, grease the bottoms and sides of 2 (20-centimeter/8-inch) regular cake pans, line with parchment, and grease the parchment.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugars. In a separate bowl, add the oil, eggs and kefir, and whisk just to combine. Add to the dry mixture and use a spatula to gently fold through. Add the 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons/220 grams hot coffee and mix gently to combine. It'll look very runny at first, but will soon come together into a glossy, pourable batter.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans, about 21 ounces/600 grams per pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Set aside to cool for about 30 minutes, then slide a butter knife along the sides to help release the cake. Brush the tops lightly with the remaining 1 tablespoon/14 grams extra coffee (discard any extra).
• Invert one cake onto a board, remove the parchment, then invert it again onto a cake stand or the platter you intend to serve it on (domed side up now). Invert the other cake onto a board (don't remove the paper). Invert it again, onto a plate, so that it's paper side down. (This will help prevent it from sticking.) Set both cakes aside to cool completely.
• Make the praline: With the oven still at 200 degrees Celsius/375 degrees Fahrenheit, spread the hazelnuts onto a parchment-lined medium baking sheet (tray) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until deeply golden, shaking the pan halfway through baking. Set aside, keeping the tray and parchment paper. You'll use them again later.
• Place a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and, once quite hot, sprinkle in a third of the caster sugar to cover the base. It should immediately start to melt at the sides but not brown too quickly. Swirl the sugar in the pan a little, then add another third of the sugar, allowing it to melt a little before adding the remaining third. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the sugar is an amber caramel, stirring with a spatula just a couple times (but not much more). Add the hazelnuts and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring to coat, then quickly transfer the mixture to your parchment-lined tray and leave to cool completely.
• Once cool, roughly break apart the praline and add it to a food processor. Pulse a few times until you have very coarse crumbs, then measure out about 1/2 cup/75 grams of the mixture and transfer to a bowl. Blitz the remaining mixture in the food processor for about 5 minutes or until it turns into the consistency of a smooth nut butter, stopping to scrape the inside of the bowl as necessary. Transfer this to a separate bowl.
• Make the mascarpone cream: Add all the ingredients to a stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until you have medium peaks. Refrigerate if not assembling right away (you want it nice and cold).
• When ready to assemble, top the cake on your cake stand with half the cream mixture. Spoon over about 2 tablespoons of the smooth praline and gently swirl it through the cream with your spatula. Top with another 2 tablespoons of the praline, this time without swirling. Sprinkle with half the praline crumble. Carefully invert the other cake on top now, removing the paper. Top with the remaining cream and repeat the same process with the smooth praline and praline crumble. Serve right away, or refrigerate overnight to firm up the cream before serving. (The cake will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.)