Recipe: Healthy Carrot Bars
MANILA, Philippines — For some, Carrot Cake will always be a curiosity, as carrots will always be viewed as vegetables.
They may not be seen as an enticingly delicious main ingredient to use for a sweet confection. A big bite into these delightful Carrot Bars by Chef Inez Vargas Javellana from Vargas Kitchen, however, will make them change their minds completely.
Chef Inez shared the recipe in a special class put together by The Maya Kitchen.
Carrot Bars
Ingredients:
For the filling:
2 oz. bar cream cheese, room temperature
2 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
Food coloring (red, yellow, green)
Glad Wrap sandwich bag
For the bars:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup Maya All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup packed, finely grated, peeled carrots
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
2. To make the filling, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth in the electric mixer. Add sugar and lemon juice and beat until combined. Cover and let it chill until firm for at least 30 minutes.
3. To make the bars, whisk together butter, sugars and egg yolk in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to butter mixture. Stir until combined. Mix in the oats and carrots.
4. Pour the batter onto prepared baking trays and flatten. Bake until the edges are crisp, rotating baking trays in the oven halfway through for about 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
5. Spread the chilled cream cheese filling (or topping) on top. Cut into bars. Decorate each bar with a mini carrot using colored filling.
