Guava Bars Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• 2. Grease a 13x9-inch pan, and line with foil or parchment paper.
• 3. Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly.
• 4. Press 2/3 of the crust mixture into the prepared pan. Slice the guava paste into enough pieces to cover the crust within 1/4 inch of the edge, and place in pan. Sprinkle remaining crust mixture over guava paste layer.
• 5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a 13x9-inch pan, and line with foil or parchment paper.
• Lightly grease paper/foil (I use cooking spray) Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats.
• Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly.
• Press half of the crust mixture into the prepared pan.
• Slice the guava paste into enough pieces to cover the crust within 1/4 inch of the edge, and place in pan.
• Sprinkle remaining crust mixture over guava paste layer, and lightly press down with the back of a fork or spatula.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes in preheated oven, or until crust is lightly browned.
• Allow to cool in pan on wire rack before cutting into 16-24 bars (depending on the size bars you cut).

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed or a large bowl and wooden spoon, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy and smooth. With the machine running, add sugar and salt, and continue beating until a little fluffy. Add egg yolk and beat until incorporated. (Reserve egg white.) Add flour all at once and mix just until incorporated. Halve the dough, and place each half on plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, press each half into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• When ready to bake, cut guava paste into 50 1/4-inch-thick rectangles (2 inches long, ½-inch wide). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• On a generously floured surface, using a well-floured rolling pin, roll out 1 dough rectangle until roughly 15 1/2 inches long, 6 1/2 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick. Trim the edges, then cut into 24 (2 1/2-by-1 1/2-inch) rectangles. (You will have 48 rectangles from the initial rolling; the final two rectangles will come from rolled-out scraps.) Transfer to a prepared sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. If the dough has gotten too soft to handle, refrigerate until firmer but still very pliable.
• Place a guava paste rectangle in the center of each piece of dough on a diagonal. (It should not extend past the dough.) Take the dough corner opposite the top of a guava rectangle and wrap it over the guava paste so that the point meets the opposite edge; press the dough corner gently to secure. Take the corner diagonally opposite to the folded one and fold over the other end of the guava paste, pressing the corner gently against the other edge. Repeat with the remaining dough and guava paste. Chill and reroll dough scraps. If the assembled dough is soft, and you'd like to decorate the tops, chill or freeze again.
• For a sparkly, crunchy and sweet top, lightly brush the top of the dough with the reserved egg white and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. (These taste just as good without any topping.) Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. (The paste may ooze out.) Cool completely on the sheets on wire racks. The cookies are best the day they're made, but will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.