RecipeReplica: Cottage Cheese And Dry Fruit Bars

What was meant to be a cake ended up as a cakey bar. Well, it maybe because I didn't use the Indian Cottage Cheese(Paneer) that the original recipe called for as I didn't have it handy. It was either making Paneer(Indian Cottage Cheese) from scratch or using up the creamy North American Cottage Cheese I already had. Since I was pinched for time over the weekend and also due to the fact that cottage cheese has super short shelf life I decided to make do with it.But it didn't yield me a cake. Naturally I should've been disappointed but I wasn't. Neither were my friends at the get together I took these bars to cause these tasted like the famous Indian sweet "Gulab Jamun". And this is the best recipe I messed-up ever.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup King Arthur All Purpose Flour
• 2/3 Cup Horizon Organic Cottage Cheese 
• 4 Tbsp Low-fat Sweetened Condensed Milk(I used 1 Nestle La Lecherita 30oz can)
• 1 Tbsp Vinegar
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/8 Tsp Cardamom powder
• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Dry fruits( I used Dry Plums and Apricots)
• A pinch of Salt

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda along with cardamom flour in a bowl.
• Mix cottage cheese, oil, condensed milk, vinegar and sugar till it is smooth and clump free.
• Add the sifted flour to the wet ingredient mixture in batches and mix till evenly incorporated.

• Fold the dry fruit into the flour mixture.

• Pour the batter into a greased oven proof 8 X 8 inch pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F(180C) for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300F(150C) and bake for another 20 minutes.
• Cool and cut into bars and serve with a cup of coffee/tea.

Makes 9 single-serving bars.

Enjoy!