Beurre Noisette (browned butter) Congo Bars

Last Updated September 3, 2024

With oats.

One of the best things to happen to the cookie world is browned butter, or beurre noisette as the French call it. It not only ups the baked cookie game, but it takes cookie dough to a whole new level.

Will someone please get browned butter cookie dough ice cream on the market? Thanks.

You can find my original recipe for Beurre Noisette Chocolate Chip Cookies right here, but you might want to stick around a little longer for today’s recipe because it’s essentially the same thing, just a different form and a little quicker to make. And cookies are already quick to make, so imagine that!

Why the name congo bars? I really have no idea. They’re just chocolate chip cookies in bar form. Therefore quicker to make but not necessarily superior to the classic cookie form. It’s really down to whatever tickles your fancy in that moment.

This recipe was born under full Italian lockdown. Ironically, you think I wouldn’t want to short cut a recipe with all the time I had on my hands, but you see, I have a very small oven. I can bake a max of 5-6 cookies a time, so that’s a long time to be waiting around to take cookies out of the oven, reload the tray, and repeat. Not to mention a higher electric bill.

So what did I do? I took my handy dandy Beurre Noisette Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and adjusted it to fit in an 8x8in / 20x20cm square pan. So great. So delicious. And the timer only goes off once! A square baking dish is also a bit easier to wash than a large and cumbersome cookie sheet.

This recipe also features oats, and you can use the browned butter while it’s still melted if you want one more time-saving trick. While I do think it’s worth the time/planning ahead to brown the butter, allow it to cool, then whip it up as you normally would in a cookie recipe (so fluffy and so delicious), it’s not essential and can save you a lot of time if you don’t.

To learn how to make browned butter, see the original Beurre Noisette Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

A recipe by Jenny

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Beurre Noisette (browned butter) Congo Bars

Makes about 9 bars

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup / 113g butter, melted, browned, and cooled

• 3/4 cup / brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup / 120g all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup / 45g oats

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 6 oz / 170g (half a bag) chocolate chips

Directions:

Oven preheated to 350°F / 177°C. 8x8in / 20x20cm pan, greased.

1. In a medium bowl, mix together melted and cooled browned butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla and smooth.

2. Add in flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Mix until well combined.

3. Scrape dough into an even layer in the prepared pan and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until set and center no longer looks doughy.

Jenny’s Notes:

• This recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9x13in / 23x33cm pan.

• If you choose to whip your butter, cream first just the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Then add in the rest of the wet ingredients and continue with recipe.

• Before baking you can also sprinkle some flaked sea salt on top if you’re craving the sweet and salty!

Yield 9

Author Jennyblogs

Prep time

25 Min

Cook time

22 Min

Total time

47 Min

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Beurre Noisette (browned butter) Congo Bars

All the goodness of browned butter chocolate chip cookies in a bar form!

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup / 113g butter, melted, browned, and cooled
• 3/4 cup / brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup / 120g all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup / 45g oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 oz / 170g (half a bag) chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Oven preheated to 350°F / 177°C. 8x8in / 20x20cm pan, greased.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together melted and cooled browned butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla and smooth.
3. Add in flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Mix until well combined.
4. Scrape dough into an even layer in the prepared pan and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until set and center no longer looks doughy.

Notes

This recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9x13in / 23x33cm pan.If you choose to whip your butter, cream first just the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Then add in the rest of the wet ingredients and continue with recipe. Before baking you can also sprinkle some flaked sea salt on top if you’re craving the sweet and salty!

Nutrition Facts

Calories

316.06

Fat

16.84 g

Sat. Fat

10.05 g

Carbs

40.76 g

Fiber

1.98 g

Net carbs

38.78 g

Sugar

25.25 g

Protein

3.65 g

Sodium

321.79 mg

Cholesterol

47.66 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 9 servings.

https://jennyblogs.com/blog/2020/5/18/beurre-noisette-browned-butter-congo-bars

browned butter, chocolate chip cookies, congo bars, cookies

cookies, dessert

American

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @jennyblogsandbakes on instagram and hashtag it #jennyblogs

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Almond Poppy Seed Sweet Rolls

Last Updated October 27, 2024

Welcome back to quarantine snacks and meals!

Today we are making Almond Poppy Seed Rolls! Think cinnamon rolls, but instead of cinnamon, a sweet almond dough with little crunchy poppyseeds and a sticky glaze. It’s like a cross between almond poppyseed bread and cinnamon rolls.

If there’s one thing we are forced to be during this time, it’s creative. Lack of resources, lack of schedule, lack of really anything that resembles our normal life has led us to come up with some really great ideas. Sometimes useless, but great nonetheless. Homemade obstacle courses are trending, memes are at the top of their game, and random skills you never before dreamed of having suddenly manifest themselves.

Another way we have had to get creative is in our cooking and baking. Not everything is readily available, and even if it is, a quick run to the store is no longer a quick run to the store. For my Michigan peeps, you are probably now feeling the effects of the latest lockdown measures. Only a certain number of people are allowed in the store at a time, creating long lines outside. Welcome, friends. That’s been normal life in Italy since uhh do I rememer how long? I think going on six weeks. Some stores require you to have a cart (helps you keep your distance) and some stores take your temperature before you enter. (In Italy.)

In general, most of my baking, unless for a special occasion or holiday, is spur of the moment. And what I want to bake often corresponds with what I want to eat, what do you know? The problem with this, as mentioned above, is that if I’m missing an ingredient, that means either waiting until the next store run, making something else, or improvising. The latter usually wins out.

Take the other day, for example, when I really wanted to make (and eat) these lemon raspberry rolls. I knew I didn’t have any raspberries, so I figured I would make just lemon rolls. Not to be, as I found my last lemon had gone moldy, and I didn’t even have any lemon extract. Well. Plain rolls weren’t going to cut it. I could’ve made cinnamon rolls, but my husband doesn’t much care for cinnamon (gasp) and I didn’t think that I should be eating a whole pan of cinnamon rolls by myself. While in quarantine. And am supposed to stay within 200m of my abode for exercise.

I took stock of my cupboards to see what I could possibly use to make some kind of flavored, delicious roll. While I didn’t have lemon extract, I did find almond extract! I love almond, and, and POPPY SEEDS. Yes. Done.

If you happen to have ingredients for both, I would highly suggest making both. They are also freezer friendly; stick in the freezer before baking or even after, once they’ve cooled.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Recipe by Jenny

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Almond Poppy Seed Sweet Rolls

Makes 9 rolls

Ingredients:

For the Dough

• 1/2 cup / 119g milk or water

• 1/4 cup / 50g sugar

• 2 1/4 tsp / 7g active dry yeast

• 2 Tbsp / 28g oil

• 1 egg

• 3 Tbsp / 23g poppy seeds

• 1/2 tsp almond extract

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2 1/4 cups / 270g all-purpose flour + about 1/4 cup / 30g for kneading

For the Filling

• 1/4 cup / 56g butter

• 1/4 cup / 50g sugar

For the Glaze

• 3/4 cup / 94g powdered sugar

• 1-2 Tbsp / 14-28g milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F / 205C. Grease an 8x8inch / 20x20cm square baking dish.

Make the Dough

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm milk until it is about 100F / 38C.  Pour into a large bowl.  Add the sugar and yeast and allow to sit for 7-10 minutes.  The yeast should foam up a bit. 

2. Add oil, eggs, poppy seeds, extract, and salt.  Add the 2 1/4 cups of flour and mix until combined. 

3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface.  Knead for about 8-10 minutes, sprinkling more flour on your work surface as needed.   Dough should be soft and elastic by the end, so don't get too flour-happy. Alternately, you can use the bread hook on a stand mixer and knead for 8-10 minutes, adding in flour as needed. By the end the dough should stick only to the bottom of the pan, not the sides.

4. Lightly grease or flour a large bowl (the bowl you mixed the dough in is fine) and place dough in the bowl.  Cover with a towel and place in a warm area to rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. 

Assemble the Rolls

1. In a small saucepan melt butter for filling and let simmer until it starts to brown.  Remove from heat and cool.

2. When the dough has risen, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead for a minute, then roll into a generous rectangle, about 7x14inch / 18x36cm and roughly 1/4inch / 1/2cm thick.

3. Spread cooled butter over dough almost to the edges, then sprinkle evenly with sugar.

4. Starting from one of the longer sides, roll dough into a spiral, pinching the dough together at the end to seal it. 

5. Cut the log into thirds, then each third into 3 slices.  Place the rolls in the prepared pan and cover lightly with plastic wrap or a damp towel.  Place in a warm area to rise for about an hour, or until puffed.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden on top and centers no longer look doughy. Internal temperature should be about 195F / 90C.

Make the Glaze

1. In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar and1 Tbsp of milk.  It should be thin enough to drizzle but not too liquidy.  Add more milk as needed. 

2. Drizzle warm rolls with glaze. 

Jenny's Notes:

• If you don't have a thermometer handy to know what 100 degrees is, simply warm until the milk feels quite warm, but not hot.

• You can freeze these rolls once you have sliced them and put them in the pan.  Once removed from the freezer allow to thaw and proceed as normal. 

• When using a stand mixer to knead, I still recommend kneading it for a few minutes by hand afterwards. I find they are not always as thorough as kneading by hand and you want an even rise for your dough.  I often to do it all by hand just because it’s therapeutic!

Yield 9 rolls

Author Jennyblogs

Prep time

1 Hour

Cook time

20 Min

Total time

1 H & 20 M

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Almond Poppy Seed Rolls

Soft, fluffy breakfast rolls reminiscent of cinnamon rolls but with an almond poppy seed dough, a sweet, gooey buttery filling, and a sweet glaze.

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 1/2 cup / 119g milk or water
• 1/4 cup / 50g sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp / 7g active dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp / 28g oil
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp / 23g poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups / 270g all-purpose flour + about 1/4 cup / 30g for kneading

For the Filling

• 1/4 cup / 56g butter
• 1/4 cup / 50g sugar

For the Glaze

• 3/4 cup / 94g powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp / 14-28g milk

Instructions

Make the Dough

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm milk until it is about 100F / 38C. Pour into a large bowl. Add the sugar and yeast and allow to sit for 7-10 minutes. The yeast should foam up a bit.
2. Add oil, eggs, poppy seeds, extract, and salt. Add the 2 1/4 cups of flour and mix until combined.
3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead for about 8-10 minutes, sprinkling more flour on your work surface as needed. Dough should be soft and elastic by the end, so don't get too flour-happy. Alternately, you can use the bread hook on a stand mixer and knead for 8-10 minutes, adding in flour as needed. By the end the dough should stick only to the bottom of the pan, not the sides.
4. Lightly grease or flour a large bowl (the bowl you mixed the dough in is fine) and place dough in the bowl. Cover with a towel and place in a warm area to rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Assemble the Rolls

1. Preheat oven to 400F / 205C. Grease an 8x8inch / 20x20cm square baking dish.
2. In a small saucepan melt butter for filling and let simmer until it starts to brown. Remove from heat and cool.
3. When the dough has risen, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a minute, then roll into a generous rectangle, about 7x14inch / 18x36cm and roughly 1/4inch / 1/2cm thick.
4. Spread cooled butter over dough almost to the edges, then sprinkle evenly with sugar.
5. Starting from one of the longer sides, roll dough into a spiral, pinching the dough together at the end to seal it.
6. Cut the log into thirds, then each third into 3 slices. Place the rolls in the prepared pan and cover lightly with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Place in a warm area to rise for about an hour, or until puffed.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden on top and centers no longer look doughy. Internal temperature should be about 195F / 90C.

Make the Glaze

1. In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar and1 Tbsp of milk. It should be thin enough to drizzle but not too liquidy. Add more milk as needed.
2. Drizzle warm rolls with glaze.

Notes

If you don't have a thermometer handy to know what 100 degrees is, simply warm until the milk feels quite warm, but not hot. It'll be fine!You can freeze these rolls once you have sliced them and put them in the pan. Once removed from the freezer allow to thaw and proceed as normal. When using a stand mixer to knead, I still recommend kneading it for a few minutes by hand afterwards. I find they are not always as thorough as kneading by hand and you want an even rise for your dough.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

276.34

Fat

10.42 g

Sat. Fat

3.94 g

Carbs

40.79 g

Fiber

1.52 g

Net carbs

39.27 g

Sugar

15.97 g

Protein

5.19 g

Sodium

122.93 mg

Cholesterol

35.35 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 roll.

https://jennyblogs.com/blog/2020/4/18/almond-poppyseed-rolls

almond poppy seed, breakfast rolls, yeast, yeasted breads, enriched dough,glaze

Breakfast,Breads, Dessert

American

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @jennyblogsandbakes on instagram and hashtag it #jennyblogs

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Beurre Noisette Chocolate Chip Cookies

All chocolate chip cookies are delicious, but not all are made equal.  This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies, because of its use of beurre noisette.

Beurre noisette is French for hazelnut butter, or what we in the States call browned butter. Beurre noisette sounds better, doesn't it?  I mean, if you were offered a beurre noisette cookie or a browned butter cookie, which one would you take? Beurre noisette has that foreign, slightly mysterious sound, but without going too wildly out of bounds because after all, it still had the word "cookie" in the question. 

If you already thought butter was delicious and makes everything better, which is true, (Julia Child liked it for good reason) then browned butter is VERY delicious and makes everything WAY better. It tastes very nutty and toasty, which is another reason why I think the French term is more accurate. English “browned butter” is more descriptive in what it looks like; French is more descriptive in what it tastes like.

If you've never made beurre noisette before, don't fret, it’s simple.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Making Beurre Noisette:

1. Take the amount of butter you will need for your recipe of choice and place it in a small saucepan over low heat, no need to stir. 

2. Allow to simmer until you notice the bottom start to turn golden brown.  These are the milk solids separating from the butterfat; the milk solids sink to the bottom and brown, giving it that wonderful nutty flavor.  If you stopped here and separated the butterfat from the milk solids, you would have ghee, or clarified butter. 

The whole process should take about 5-15 minutes, depending on your stove and how much butter you are browning.  It goes very quickly from perfectly golden brown to burnt, so keep a careful watch over it.  You may be tempted to turn up the heat and quicken the process, but please don't, the lower the heat the more even the browning.   Allow to cool to room temperature.  If needed, you can place in the fridge or freezer.  Stir every so often for even cooling.  Use like regular butter.

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Beurre Noisette Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Makes about 52 smallish cookies (about 2 in. in diameter)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup / 226g unsalted butter (2 sticks), browned and cooled to room temperature

• 1 1/2 cups / 300g brown sugar (light or dark, your choice)

• 2 eggs

• 1 Tbsp / 15g vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cups / 300g all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 12 oz / 340g semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand-held mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

5. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until incorporated, then add chocolate chips. 

6. Place in small mounds on cookie sheet, about 1 inch in diameter, evenly spread out. 

7. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden brown and centers are still a tad wet looking.

Jenny's Notes:

• These can easily be made gluten-free by substituting 3 1/4 cups GF oat flour for the 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.  You can make your own oat flour by blending GF oats in a food processor until a flour consistency is achieved.

cookies, dessert, chocolate chip cookies, browned butter

dessert

American

Yield: 48-52

Author: Jennyblogs

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Beurre Noisette Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are next level with beurre noisette (browned butter) and made with all brown sugar, no white sugar, making for a delectably rich and flavorful cookie.

Prep time: 35 MCook time: 8 MTotal time: 43 M

Ingredients:

• 1 cup / 226g unsalted butter (2 sticks), browned and cooled to room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups / 300g brown sugar (light or dark, your choice)
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp / 15g vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups / 300g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 oz / 340g semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions:

How to cook Beurre Noisette Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 375F / 190C.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand-held mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
5. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until incorporated, then add chocolate chips.
6. Place in small mounds on cookie sheet, about 1 inch in diameter, evenly spread out.
7. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden brown and centers are still a tad wet looking.

Notes:

These can easily be made gluten-free by substituting 3 1/4 cups GF oat flour for the 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour. You can make your own oat flour by blending GF oats in a food processor until a flour consistency is achieved.

Calories

118.19

Fat (grams)

6.20

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.71

Carbs (grams)

15.51

Fiber (grams)

0.59

Net carbs

14.92

Sugar (grams)

9.99

Protein (grams)

1.25

Sodium (milligrams)

90.98

Cholesterol (grams)

17.87

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 cookie.

https://jennyblogs.com/blog/2016/3/22/2mzek40wob8w3ssxzi4i0kz8j44baz

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @jenevamorris on instagram and hashtag it #jennyblogs

Created using The Recipes Generator

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