Zen and the Art of Baking [and the honey bar recipe]

Two nights ago I had a craving for Sweet. This happens frequently in my life, so I'm quite used to it, and usually have chocolate chips on hand. Only, I decided last week not to buy more because I bake chocolate chip cookies (and eat them) way too often.

So instead, I turned to my favorite baking cookbook In. The. World: the Tassajara Bread Book, by Edward Espe Brown. The author, who has a very zen outlook on life (perhaps because he is an ordained Zen priest), is simply amazing. He's a genius. His introduction to the copy my mom has, which I don't think made the cut for the 25th anniversary edition, and which I own, states that you cannot make a "bad" loaf of bread. Each loaf is different.If you enjoy baking, or want to start baking, I suggest you try the Tassajara. It's not all bread, either, but breakfasts and desserts, muffins and butters and pastries.


To get back to my craving, I found a recipe at the back, in the desserts section, called "Honey Bars." To cut a long, boring story short, these are what I made. I didn't have enough honey, so I added a bit of maple syrup instead, and they still tasted great (maybe next time I'll learn how they're really supposed to taste).

I shared them around because initially I didn't like them (now I think they're the best), and I know a few people asked for the recipe. So after that long written perambulation, here it is, with a few notes of my own:

I have always loved the soft but chewy texture of these bars and the exquisite bouquet of spices, honey and fruit peel. They can be kept for several weeks in a tightly closed tin. 

1 1/2 cups honey [I added maple syrup]
3 tablespoons butter OR margarine
2 cups whole wheat flour, sifted with 1 tablespoon baking powder [I used unbleached white here]
2 tablespoons chopped lemon or orange peel OR 1 tablespoon of each
2 teaspoons cinnamon [I never really measure the spices]
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon mace OR allspice OR ground coriander (optional) [I don't have these]
1/2 cup chopped almonds or other nuts [almonds are perfect]
1 1/2-2 cups whole wheat flour [my dough looked really thick, so I ended up only adding about a half cup of whole wheat flour here]

[Makes about 24 large bars. Preheat oven to 350F]

Have all the ingredients ready to mix quickly before the mixture stiffens with cooling. 
Heat the honey in a saucepan slowly [this doesn't take very long] just until liquidy; remove from the heat. Stir in the butter or margarine and then the sifted flour with baking powder to make a thick batter. Add the fruit peel, spices, and nuts, and then add the additional flour until a dough forms.  [I ended up using much less than 1 cup extra flour]
Pat the dough into a buttered pan until you have a layer 3/8 inch thick. Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes. Be careful not to overbake or the cookies will be quite hard. When done, the bottoms will be lightly browned and the tops dry but not browned. 
Remove from the pan while still warm and slice into bars. Then cool before storing.  

Enjoy! I'd love to hear about variations, too, so let me know how it turns out!