Nutmeg Squares

These bar cookies are a great companion recipe to mudslide cookies.  I made mudslides a few weeks ago for the holidays, and I had four egg yolks leftover that I wanted to try something new with.  I stood in front of the spice rack for a good three minutes deciding what flavors I wanted to add. Pepper?  No.  Cinnamon?  Too expected.  Vanilla sugar?  Maybe.  In the end I decided to go with a nutmeg and rum combination because I like to use my nutmeg grater.

If you have a list of obscure kitchen gadgets to obtain, I highly recommend adding a nutmeg grater to your list.  Freshly grated nutmeg is a lot more flavorful than ground nutmeg from the jar, and if your grater is like mine, it will have a tiny compartment for storing nutmegs so you will never loose them - ingenious.

Are you thinking that nutmeg and rum sound familiar?  Admittedly, my choice was not the newest flavor combination, but it definitely worked in an eggnog cookie sort of way. 

Notes:
These bar cookies are not too sweet.  Grating the nutmeg yourself will give you the best flavor for these cookies.  You can often buy a single nutmeg in the bulk section of natural food stores or in spice stores.  Next time I make these, I will probably pour the glaze over the top, let it dry, and then cut the squares, as opposed to just drizzling the glaze over each square.  Use the leftover egg whites to make mudslides or omelets.  I used a metal pan to make these; if you use a glass pan, you may need to increase the baking time.  

Bar Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks (~5 tablespoons), well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon black rum

Glaze Ingredients:
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon black rum
½ teaspoon vanilla
2-3 teaspoons water

Mix, Spread, Bake:
Adjust the oven rack to the middle level of the oven, and preheat to 350°F.  Line an 8x8-inch pan with foil, leaving some overhang, and set aside.  If your foil is not wide enough to rise up all four sides of the pan, line it with two pieces of foil in a cross pattern.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and cloves, and set aside.  Cream the butter until is light and fluffy.  Gradually add the sugar with the mixer running, and beat until it is fully mixed.  Add the yolks to the butter mixture in three stages, beating until each addition is fully incorporated.  Scrape the bowl and beater well, and beat in the vanilla extract and black rum.  Add the flour mixture in halves to the butter/egg mixture, and beat until no more flour streaks remain.  Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and evenly spread it out, using a spatula or your fingertips, if necessary.  Refrigerate the pan for 5-10 minutes, and then bake for 30-35 minute until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pan comes out clean.  Allow the bar to cool before glazing.  

Glaze:
Once the bar is cool, prepare the glaze.  In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, nutmeg, rum, and vanilla.  Add water, one teaspoon at a time, until the glaze is of pourable consistency. 

For a drizzled-glaze top, lift the bar out of the pan using the foil.  Remove the foil, trim ¼-inch off all four sides of the bar (this is so that all of the bars will look the same and you won't be able to tell which were in the center and which were on the edges), and then cut the bar into squares or rectangles.  Spoon the glaze into a small Ziplock bag, and trim a small amount off one of the corners.  Gently squeeze the bag, and drizzle the glaze in a zigzag pattern over the top of each bar.  Allow the glaze to dry, and then store the bars in an air-tight container at room temperature. 

For a solid-glaze top, pour the glaze over the top of the cooled bar while it is still in the pan.  Spread the glaze out using an off-set spatula.  Allow the glaze to fully dry, and then use the foil to lift the bar out of the pan.  Remove the foil, trim ¼-inch off all four sides of the bar, and then cut the bar into squares or rectangles.  Store the bars in an air-tight container at room temperature. 


Pin It