Pineapple-Graham Bars

Normally, I do not like most bar cookies – aside from brownies and lemon bars, they are often too dry for my taste. However, the pineapple keeps these bars moist, and the combination of butter and brown sugar gives them a flavor reminiscent of pineapple upside down cake, but with the advantage of much better portability. Once the butter is softened (I keep my butter in the freezer, but half an hour in a heat-proof bowl in an unheated gas oven softens the butter very nicely). The original recipe makes an 8×8” pan of cookies, but I had a 20-oz. can of crushed pineapple to use. You can halve everything and use an 8.5-oz. can of pineapple, but the bars won’t be as moist and pineapple-y. And you won’t have as many bars. The original recipe also calls for chopped walnuts, but I don’t like nuts in most cookies. If you do, add 1 c. chopped nuts. I’d recommend pecan pieces, which are the traditional nut used in pineapple upside-down cake.

Pineapple-Graham Bars (McCall’s Cookie Collection, 1972)

½ c. butter or margarine, softened (one stick)

1 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed.

2 eggs

1 c. unbleached white flour

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

20-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

1 c. chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13×9” baking pan. Using electric mixer or wooden spoon, eat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Stir in flour, crumbs, pineapple, and nuts (if using).

Turn dough into prepared pan and spread to corners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake 30-35 minutes, or until browned and surface is firm. Let cool completely in pan, and cut into bars.

Pineapple Brownies

These were one of the winners in the 1952 Pillsbury baking contest. They were entered by Josephine Demarco of Chicago, Illinois, and deserve to be more widely known. They are delicious on their own, but also with ice cream, chocolate syrup, and sliced fresh strawberries. The original recipe called for nuts, but I don’t generally like nuts in my brownies. However, you can add ½ cup chopped nuts when you add the chocolate. I’d recommend pecans to pair with the pineapple.

When adding the last bit of chocolate dough to the pan, use multiple, small spoonfuls to make spreading easier. An offset spatula would also help, and I plan to own such a thing one day.

Pineapple Brownies (adapted from Pillsbury’s 4^th Grand National 100,000 Recipe and Baking Contest 100 Prize-Winning Recipes, 1953)

1 ½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¾ c. soft butter
1 ½ c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 12”X8” (or similar-sized) pan well. Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions. Beat in vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Put one cup of dough in bowl and add pineapple. Mix well and set aside.

To the rest of the dough, add the melted chocolate and mix well.

Spread about 1 ½ cups of the chocolate dough in the baking pan.

Cover with the pineapple dough.

Drop rest of chocolate dough over pineapple dough in spoonfuls and spread carefully to cover.

Bake 45-50 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.