A study in marmalade: SHF citrus

Once again, I found out about the citrus-themed Sugar High Friday on the due date, so I had to scramble for something to make. Todd brought me some marmalade from London last time he was there, so I decided that counted as citrus and set to work. I made something simple, crostini with Cointreau-sweetened ricotta and marmalade, and then since it's raining I decided to bake some bar cookies.

I toasted little bread rounds brushed with olive oil, slathered on ricotta, then sprinkled with salt and Cointreau. Then spread on a tawny, bitter marmalade. The cheese took some, but not all, of the bite out of that topping.

The bar cookies came out totally crumbly and dry, but I liked the combination of the orange peel in the marmalade with all the warm spices in the cake, so I thought I'd still mention it. Also think the dry, crumbly portion could be vastly improved by using butter instead of shortening. Like a cakey spiced shortbread topped with a marmalade glaze. And the dryness can easily be remedied with a cup of tea. I like Whittards Afternoon blend.

The recipe sandwiches the marmalade between two layers of dough, but one reviewer on AllRecipes mentioned he had to double the dough part to get that to work and I was using a 9-inch pan instead of an 8-inch pan so I decided to use the whole recipe for a bottom layer and just put the marmalade on top. Cream 1/2 cup shortening with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon each almond and vanilla extract. Add one egg, then 1 1/2 cups flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt. Press into bottom of pan, spread with a cup of marmalade, then bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Mine burnt a bit around the edges so you could probably decrease the baking time or temp, too.