Belly Up To The Bars You Don’t Have To Be An Accomplished Baker To Make Bar Cookies. They’re Easy, Fun To Make And Best Of All, Delicious.

Nearly every Saturday when I was a child, I would spend the afternoon helping my grandmother make cookies.

Nana’s kitchen was a warm and welcoming place. There were ruffled curtains on the windows, a rocking chair in the corner and a large, round table in the middle of the room, where we measured the flour and sugar, creamed the butter and rolled and cut out the cookie dough. While we worked side by side, we chatted about school and family, plotting and planning the days and weeks to come.

One of Nana’s signature cookies - and my own very favorite - was a round cookie stuffed with dried fruits that looked like a miniature pie. Nana rolled out the cream cheese dough, and it was my job to cut it into circles with a big biscuit cutter. The dough was rich and tender, and Nana carefully transferred half of the cut circles to the cookie sheets and topped each with a spoonful of the prune filling.

Meanwhile, using a well-worn metal thimble dipped in flour, I cut smaller circles in the remaining rounds of dough. After Nana had set these in place over the filling, I would press the edges together with my finger tips.

Our bake-a-thon of juggling cookie sheets and slipping cookies onto racks to cool lasted for hours. Finally, with all the cookies baked, we sipped weak tea with milk and munched on a fresh-from-the-oven chunky prune cookie, our reward for an afternoon well spent.

I have my own kitchen now, but, regrettably, no longer the time to spend whole afternoons baking. One day, nostalgic for the taste of Nana’s cookies but pressed for time, I devised a streamlined version.

Instead of rolling and cutting dozens of circles, I rolled out two squares of dough, spread one with the prune filling, topped it with the second, baked it and cut it into bars. The results were delicious, and although these cookies are a leap away from Nana’s original, they are close in inspiration and can be made in less than an hour.

Unlike most baked goods, which require a strict formula in order to succeed, bar cookies lend themselves to countless improvisations. Before my kitchen becomes a frenzy of activity, my mind starts to brim with new ideas and tempting combinations.

Will it be apples and pecans, cranberry and orange, coconut and lemon, or chocolate and espresso? Do I want the bars to be thick and gooey, or thin and crisp? Dense like fudge, crumbly like a cookie or soft like a cake? Will I make one layer, two layers, or perhaps three? Should the bars be iced or dusted with sugar? Do I want nuts sprinkled on the top? Almonds, macadamia nuts or pecans?

Jam is a good idea. Maybe raspberry, strawberry or apricot? Should it go into the batter or be spread between two layers? Do I want the bars to be crunchy with oatmeal or tender with cornstarch and powdered sugar?

From apricot and almond bars with amaretto glaze, butterscotties and cherrychocolate truffle bars, through Kahlua cheesecake bars and lemon to honeyflavored Yogi bars and zebras striped with vanilla and chocolate, my imagination travels from A to Z.

Some of my bar cookies have been inspired by new ingredients that would have amazed Nana. While nibbling on some candied ginger one day, I imagined ginger shortbread, a thin, crisp, buttery bar with flecks of ginger. Tropical rain forest crunch bars imitate the flavors of a gourmet store confection of cashews and Brazil nuts that I adore.

Other bars use familiar old ingredients that were staples in Nana’s kitchen - pumpkin, jam and cream cheese - in new ways. Marmalade brownies, figgy bars and oldfashioned oatmeal and raisin bars reinvent traditional favorites.

Because they are adaptable and virtually failproof, bar cookies are irresistible not only to the experienced and daring baker, but to the casual cook as well.

I especially like their no-fuss, no-bother aspect. They are easier and neater to make than other cookies, which have to be rolled, molded or dropped from a spoon. To make them, you just mix the batter, spread it in a pan and pop it in the oven - no sticky fingers or blistering cookie sheets to contend with. Even the more complex layered bar cookies have an appealing simplicity.

But the most important feature of bar cookies is their versatility. They can be new and snappy, sophisticated and elegant, or as old-fashioned and familiar as your grandmother’s. And however you make them, they are a joy to eat.

Energy Bars

Guaranteed to give you an energy surge when you most need it, these mighty morsels pack four grains - barley, oats, rye and wheat - along with dried fruits, nuts and seeds.

2 cups uncooked Quaker Multi-Grain cereal

1/2 cup dark raisins

1/2 cup snipped 1/2-inch pieces pitted prunes

1/2 cup coarsely chopped whole natural (unblanched) almonds

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup oil

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine cereal, raisins, prunes, almonds, sunflower seeds, flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

In separate bowl, whisk oil, brown sugar and egg until blended. Add applesauce and vanilla and stir to blend. Add dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Spread batter in lightly buttered 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool until lukewarm on wire rack before cutting into bars. These are good served warm from the oven.

Yield: 24 bars.

Orange and Cranberry Ginger-Oat Bars

These bars are perfect for the “too-sweet-for-me” set. The orange-cranberry filling is quite tangy, and the oatmeal crust and topping lend a natural sweetness and pleasant cakelike texture.

Filling:

1 (12-ounce) package whole cranberries, fresh or frozen, rinsed and picked over

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

Crust and topping:

1 3/4 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking powder

teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

To prepare filling, combine cranberries, water, granulated sugar, ginger root and orange zest in medium non-aluminum saucepan and bring to boil. Cook over medium heat until cranberries “pop” and mixture is thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer to shallow plate or bowl and refrigerate until cooled and very thick. (Filling can be made up to 1 day ahead.)

To prepare crust and topping, sift together flour, ginger, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture and oats just until blended.

Reserve about 1 1/2 cups dough for topping. Spread remaining dough in even layer in lightly buttered 9x13-inch baking pan. Spoon cranberry filling over dough and spread in an even layer. Using floured fingertips, sprinkle small clumps of reserved dough over cranberries.

Bake at 350 degrees until edges and top are golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Yield: 24 bars.

Raspberry and Hazelnut Shortbread Bars

Linzer tarts - two round disks filled with raspberry jam - have always been my favorites. I have adapted the idea to a cookie. These melt-in-yourmouth, jam-filled bars are very good. The cookie layers are soft but chewy, almost cakelike. Make sure to use a good-quality raspberry jam. These are best after they have mellowed for one day.

2/3 cup hazelnuts (filberts)

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup raspberry jam

Powdered sugar

Spread hazelnuts on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until skins crack and nuts are lightly toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer nuts to large dish towel and rub vigorously to remove loosened skins. Separate nuts from skins. Leave oven on.

Grind nuts in food processor until quite fine. Remove 2 tablespoons and set aside. Add flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt and process to blend. With motor running, gradually add butter and process just until blended.

Whisk eggs with vanilla in small bowl. Gradually add egg mixture to processor, pulsing on and off just until mixture forms dough (do not overprocess or dough will be too sticky). Divide dough in half. Working between 2 sheets of wax paper, roll out half of dough to 11-inch circle. Slide dough onto baking sheet and freeze 15 minutes. Press remaining dough into bottom of lightly buttered 9-inch square pan. Refrigerate until top crust is ready.

Spread chilled bottom crust with raspberry jam. Remove baking sheet from freezer. Peel off top layer of wax paper. Cut dough into perfect 9-inch square using ruler or pan as a guide. Invert top crust onto jam-spread bottom crust in pan. Remove remaining sheet of wax paper. Lightly sprinkle with reserved hazelnuts.

Bake until top is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Using small strainer, sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar. Let stand at least 3 hours before cutting into bars. Yield: 18 bars.