Almond Fruit Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (September 2003)

This is really nice little bar cookie that is easy to make but somewhat impressive with it's layers. It calls for sliced almonds, but I used slivered, that I processed a bit in the food processor, so they were smaller.

There is a Cook's Illustrated recipe for Raspberry bars that is maybe better, but it is a more complicated recipe. This is very quick, and very tasty, so this is usually my choice when I want to make this type of cookie.

Rustic Plum Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40-50 minutes
Cool Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (July 2007)

Wow, this was really good. I am not a huge cake fan, and prefer my desserts a little more dense, and this fits that bill. The texture of the cake is almost closer to a cookie than a cake, but a little bit lighter. I skipped the almond extract, because I like just a hint of almond flavor, which is what this had. It was perfect.

I did have some trouble, not because of the recipe. After cooking the plums I looked for my 9" springform pan, and could not find it. Very strange, because everything has a place in my kitchen, and I never lose things. I must have brought it somewhere? Luckily, I have smaller pans (a 7" I use to cut recipes in half and 4 4" pans. I didn't quite have a pound of Italian plums, so I ended up using a 7" and one 4" and had a little extra dough, and exactly enough plums. The top of the cakes could have been prettier, but, hey, it is "rustic".

One other issue was that I forgot to check the cakes early, which I really should have because I was using smaller pans. The edges did get probably a little more brown than ideal, but it still tasted great.

I will definitely be making this again. It is so different than any other dessert I have ever made, since it is quite different than most cakes, but isn't a tart or pie.