There’s no doubt that we could always do with a little extra sweetness in our lives, now more so than ever, as New Zealand returns to various levels of lockdown. But, as we learnt from last time, lockdown does allow us more time to bake and share sweetness with our bubble! At GBB, we’re sending our love out to everyone, particularly those in the Auckland region.
Why not try out this Doubleday Butterscotch Bar recipe recommended by fellow Good Bitch, Lucy Corry, to help pass the time? Remember to tag us Facebook (@GBBaking) and Instagram (@good_bitches_baking) so we can share the results on our social media.
Lucy Corry
I’ve got lots of fancy books in my cookbook ‘library’, but two of my most treasured ones are volumes 1 & 2 of ‘The Doubleday Cookbook’. They might look unprepossessing to the untrained eye, but they’re actually considered collector’s items these days. I inherited mine from my mum’s collection and I’m very fond of them (not least because occasionally a piece of paper with her handwriting on it slips out from between the pages). Lots of the recipes seem bizarre and out-of-date now (the books were published in the US in 1975), but they’re still great reference texts for lovers of food.
This recipe is a perfect example of Doubleday brilliance. It takes less than 10 minutes to whip together from fairly basic ingredients, making it the perfect go-to recipe when you suddenly remember you need to make something for afternoon tea or for a GBB drop. The bars are sweet and chewy and very moreish.
I’ve de-Americanised the recipe’s measurements and converted them to metrics. If you’re making these for a GBB bake, I’d recommend doubling the recipe so you’ve got a few leftovers for quality control purposes.
DOUBLEDAY BUTTERSCOTCH BARS
75g butter
175g soft brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
100g nuts or seeds - pumpkin seeds are good - roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 180C and line a 20cm square brownie pan with enough baking paper to overhang the sides.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then remove from the heat and add the sugar.
Stir well, then leave it for five minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then sift in the dry ingredients. Add the nuts and stir until mixed.
Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the batter is beginning to pull away from the sides.
Leave to cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16.