Bake a Batch of Bars

I suspect the lovely people who've attended more than one of my classes here are more than familiar with a recurring theme - that learning just one master recipe or technique opens the door to many other variations. This is the reason for the inclusion of a bonus section in the recipe pack, which details all the extra recipes, ideas and serving suggestions that build upon the fundamentals demonstrated at class.

For instance, the rich and buttery shortbread base used for the Chocolate "Pecan Pie" Bar Cookies here can easily form the basis for many other bar cookies.

To make “Bounty” Bar Cookies (the picture at the top of this post), the shortbread layer is topped with a coconut candy filling and a milk chocolate glaze (using Valrhona Jivara Lactée 40%). If you love that addictive blue-wrapped candy, this is the bar cookie after your heart.

As for the Millionaire’s Shortbread Bar Cookies, purportedly named for its richness, it's truly an affordable luxury in a bear market. Here, the shortbread base is topped with sticky chewy caramel and a dark chocolate glaze (using Valrhona Equatoriale Noire 55%).

The above will feature in Ultimate Chocolate Treats II, a demo class I'll be teaching at Shermay's Cooking School on 11 April 2009 (Saturday), 12 April 2009 (Sunday), 25 April 2009 (Saturday) and 26 April 2009 (Sunday) - the April schedule has all the necessary details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg