Walnut Molasses Bars
Awaiting Trial Recipe version 1 · Filed by the Court (seed pool) · Adapted from 'Walnut Molasses Bars' — The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer, 1910 edition as read on Wikisource / Project Gutenberg eBook #65061 (public domain) (Ch. XXX, Gingerbreads, Cookies, and Wafers). Measures and oven temperatures modernized. Conversion: the original's 3 cups flour (375 g) are swapped straight for a gum-containing 1:1 blend at the same weight (USDA basis 125 g/cup); no other change. The walnut quantity is unmeasured in the original ('chopped walnut meat' for sprinkling) and is given as 1/2 cup, disclosed here. Bars are otherwise absent from the pool's Baking list except Lemon Bars, a different dish.
Butter and lard are melted with boiling water, brown sugar, molasses, and soda, then flour and warm spices are worked in. The chilled dough is rolled, cut in finger-length strips, sprinkled with chopped walnut, and made for just ten minutes.
Why this complexity: Dough must chill thoroughly before rolling.
Ingredients
- 375 g gluten-free 1:1 baking blend (with gum) (about 3 cups), plus more for the board, for the original 3 cups flour (375 g, USDA basis 125 g/cup)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup lard (or more butter)
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/3 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup walnut meats, chopped, for sprinkling
Method
- Pour the boiling water over the butter and lard. Add the brown sugar and the molasses mixed with the soda, then the blend, salt, and spices. Mix to a dough.
- Chill thoroughly, at least 1 hour.
- Heat the oven to 350°F (a moderate oven).
- Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick on a board dusted with blend and cut in strips about 3 1/2 inches long by 1 1/2 inches wide.
- Sprinkle with the chopped walnut meat and make 10 minutes, as the original directs.
The verdict so far
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Testimony
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