…which are basically the shortbread fingers or squares (if you wish to cut them like so) with a caramel-sort-of layer in the middle. According to Nick Malgieri, the cookies are very popular in New Zealand. I’ve never been there and can’t confirm this fact, but, in our family they were well received. The recipe is my adaptation of the Malgieri’s recipe from “A baker’s tour”. I added some salt to the filling, I think it’s necessary (the cookies were sweet enough even with this addition). I’ve also let myself to question his idea of spreading the steaming-hot filling (cooked on a stove shortly before) over the uncooked shortbread crust. I cooled the filling, stirring often, before spreading it over the chilled crust. It worked well.

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This is a neat solution for kids parties. Wooden sticks as handles eliminate sticky fingers and minimize the mess. But watch for the double dippers!

The brownie recipe is from Nick Malgieri’s “Chocolate”. The brownies are good, very fudgy, of course.

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This is the recipe I often use when there’s a need in a quick and full-proof dessert. All ingredients are always in my (and probably yours too) pantry. It’s an absolute favorite among the children.

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These are the lemon bars indeed. I just baked them in a tart pan. And I had my reasons for doing so. When I baked them in a square 9-inch pan lined with foil, I had to trim the edges to get perfectly looking bars. I often ended up with a 6-inch slab comparing to the original size. There’s not enough for serving… And guess what happened to all these trimmings… Then I found a wonderful solution – completely enclosing the filling in a tasty buttery crust. A long and narrow tart pan suits great. Now the bars turn out very attractive and easy to slice. I’m thinking about baking my favorite brownies the same way – it will definitely keep me in a better shape.

This is an adaptation of Alice Medrich’s recipe.

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David Lebovitz claims them like absolutely the best. And I’m not going to argue with him; the brownies are very, very good.

David emphasizes the importance of beating the batter before baking which is unusual for brownies in general, but necessary in this particular recipe.

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It can’t be easier than that. You don’t have to roll the dough or shape the cookies. The baked dough is cut into diamonds or squares. The cookies are buttery and almost shortbread like in texture, but with middle-eastern character.

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