We’ve spent all week cooking: 25 hours of cooking class down, the last day — five hours — still to go on Friday. What a ride! For the classtakers, the highlights were the foods they thought they didn’t like (because they had eaten bad versions) — but now can’t wait to make at home: creamy polenta with mascarpone, chicken enchiladas with homemade tortillas, duck confit on celery root puree, creamy-custardy cheesecake.

But the most favorite dish came out of a question. We made dulce de leche: place a can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of water, cover, and simmer for 4 hours. Open and eat with a spoon. So a student asked, can we make a bar cookie with it? Sure, we improvised and this recipe was the hit of the week:

Dulce de Leche Bars

for the crust:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• dash of salt

1 can sweetened condensed milk, cooked to dulce de leche

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, sugar, and salt until they just start to stick together. Press into a parchment-lined 9-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until light brown. Remove from oven and spread with a can of dulce de leche (directions above). Spread the chocolate on top. Cool and cut into bars.

Our next “Mastering the Art of Cooking” class will start on Monday, March 8, 2010. Register Now. We’ll discover more delicious dishes!