National Cafe au Lait Day

It seems in our area that coffeehouses are the best thing going. I think it is funny watching our little town come back from the devastating tornado leap year 2012. With coffeehouses, cupcake shops, candy shops, gift shops, and oh so many other things going on. Now days there are bigger things like new stores, restaurants, and even a movie theater. Yes, it is awesome and we do love each other and we have fought back. We can all head over to the steam factory to get our favorite hot drink.

For some it may be a café au lait A cafe' au lait is a drink made up of strong drip brewed or French pressed coffee to which steamed milk is added. Popularized in New Orleans a Caf'e au lait is made with scalded milk or milk which is warmed over heat to just below boiling rather than steamed. 

Want a treat to eat while donning on a hot drink? Check out this yummy Cafe' Au Lait  bars

3 large eggs, room temperature
10 ½ ounces white granulated sugar (1 ½ cups)
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (12 Tbs)
8 ½ ounces unbleached all-purpose flour (2 cups)
½ tsp fine grain sea salt
½ ounce instant coffee crystals (1/4 cup)
2 fluid ounces heavy cream (1/4 cup)
4 ounces chopped pecans (1 cup)


Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease a 9” x 13” pan (For thicker bars, a 9” x 9” pan works nicely – just increase baking time accordingly). 
Beat together the eggs in a large mixing bowl until light colored & thick – beat in sugar, until thick & glossy. Stir in vanilla & melted butter, then the flour & salt. 
Reserve 1 ½ cups (12 ounces) of the batter into a small bowl. Stir together the coffee crystals & cream until well mixed. Add mixture to the remaining batter, then spread into the prepared baking pan. Pour the reserved batter on top of the coffee batter & use a knife to “swirl” the two batters together to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle the pecans on top and place in the oven on a middle rack. 
Bake for ~30 minutes. Bars are done when the edges start to pull away from the sides of the plan and the center is just firm to the touch. 
Cool in pan on rack. Slice into squares, rectangles, whatever shape floats your boat...


recipe source here