Honeycomb Bars

So this recipe is, uh, unique.  Not bad.  Just different.

Are you still there?  Are you wondering why I'm sharing it?

These bars were laborious. If I just threw something together with a box mix, I'd probably move on to the next recipe without bother.  Point is, I'm not letting all this work go to waste.

None of this, I'm sure, inspires much confidence that these are very good.  They're fine, but they just aren't my "thing".  All I saw was a recipe that contained honey and that it originated from the boys at Baked; all normally a win-win in my book.

But when I saw "Honeycomb Bars" I wasn't expecting cherries, oranges, and almonds.  I shrugged it off, opened my mind, and thought what a perfect way to use those lonely oranges in the fruit bowl.

And so my journey began...making candied orange peel, making a crust, toasting some almonds, making a "honey caramel" and on and on.  With all this work for some bars, let's just say my "bar" (haha) was set high.

The result?  Crunch.  Sweet.  Honey.  Orange.  Not bad.  Could've used more salt in the crust.  Crust could've been more...crustier?

Make these if you have the time.  Make these if you're looking for something different.

Honeycomb Bars

I didn't change this recipe to make it my "own", so I'm going to be lazy and not re-type something that is already done someplace else!  If you are interested in these bars head on over to Cookstr where the authors of Baked share their recipe.  Or buy their cookbook; I own it and love it!

Cookie Mama's Notes:

* First thing I did was make candied orange peel, I know you can buy it, but I needed to use up my oranges and I thought, "What a fun, new thing to learn to do!"  Click here for my recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I didn't coat in chocolate, but I will with what was leftover from this recipe!

This was fun, and a delicious aroma fills your kitchen too!

* I recommend adding more than just a "pinch" of salt in your crust...I wish I would have!
* Don't spend money on pie weights.  I bought a large bag of pinto beans for $1.15.  Works just as well and can be reused for a long time-I've have yet to replace mine.
* For the almonds, you can toast them in the oven.  I put them in a pan on the stove top and toasted them over medium heat until they gave off and nutty aroma and started to brown.
* Make sure you have a trusty candy thermometer.  My good, but cheap one broke and had to use one I'm not as familiar with.  I removed my "caramel" from the heat before it reached 240 degrees to be safe.

This is my trusty, cheap thermometer

* I used brandy in my recipe vs. the bourbon.

I had this brandy on hand.

* I'm also recommending that you use tart dried cherries to cut some of the sweetness.  I ran out of tart and used Bing cherries which are a sweeter variety.

If you make these, let me know what you think!  Oh!  And don't forget to find me on Facebook!  We can chat it up there...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cookie-Crazed-Mama/199345583463072