Organization!

I finally decided to tackle something I have been saying I was going to do for years…..organize my recipes!!!  Not many people have seen my recipe collection, it is a bit ‘scary’ for lack of a better term.  I have hundreds of recipes, some good, some bad, some I will try, some I will probably never try, but all of them are jammed into two file folders.  One folder is for desserts and the other is for everything else.

Now, one might think that the big thick pile would be the ‘everything else’ recipe folder, NOPE!  The big thick one is all sweets and treats, the other small one ‘everything else’.  This clearly shows my hate for cooking and my LOVE for baking!

For years I have been saying I wanted to organize my recipes, the current system, or lack there of, was just not working.  Every time I would search for a recipe disaster struck, sheets would go flying, it was chaotic really.  Thumbing through each page trying not to drop the whole lot on the floor.

Try finding anything in that mess

I had a hard time coming up with how I wanted to do it.  Many people suggested typing all my recipes and putting them on the computer, to save space and would be easy to call up a recipe.  Although this sounds good I am fussy when it comes to my recipes.  I much prefer a hand written recipe than a typed one.  There is just something more personal about a recipe that someone took the time to sit down and write.  I guess it stems back to before computers and type writers when people actually wrote!  I love having recipes from my Nana that are in here hand writing, that are stained with the listed ingredients.  Knowing that she took the time to write it, held it and used several times to make desserts for my Dad when he was young, just makes it special.  Just having a print off doesn’t do it for me.

You can always tell how goo a recipe is by how dirty it was.  The good ones were always covered in ingredients and fingerprints

Recipes in my Nana’s writing.  Since she passed away means that much more

There must be a better way!

In an effort to make myself get organized, for Christmas 2010 I asked for a recipe book.  I didn’t want just any recipes book, I wanted my Mom to write out her recipes and put them in a book.  Nothing fancy, just her everyday recipes.

This was the book

It is a photo album book with the peel back pages with several of her recipes

As much as I loved the book, it failed to motivate me to get the rest of my recipes organized!  They stayed in the growing folder until now!  I had a minor (well maybe a major) fit while trying to find a recipe.  I thumbed through, page after page after page.  I knew exactly what the page I was looking for looked like but would not see if for the life of me.

It was early on a Sunday morning, I immediately got up and  struck into town, to Staples.  It was getting done today! After 45 minutes in the store I got a big binder, 100 sheet protectors and some sticky divider tabs.  The cashier saw my items and said “oh this looks like a project, not fun!” I told her that it was indeed a project but a good one, making a recipe book.  She thought I should bring her back some treats from the book as she had 4 essays due that night….Anyways…

Back at home all motivated to get organized.  I dive into the mess and start several piles for sections, Squares, Pies, Breads, Odds n’ Sods, Cakes, Cupcakes, etc.  I even had a throw out pile, for those recipes that have been hanging around for years that you know you will never make, but looked good at the time.

Several hours later I had two organized cook books!

Blue book is strictly baking, all sweets and treats.  The red book everything else. Each book is filled with sheet protectors filled with old recipes, new recipes and WILL try recipes.  Each is categorized into sections so it is easy to find what I am looking for

I love my new books!  They are easily stored, easy to find things in and are full of memories.  There are a few of those boring ‘typed’ recipes but those ones are ones that I have found and tried.  I look forward to filling these books with more wonderful creations to pass on.

Next time you ask for a recipe have the person write it out.  It is something you will have forever and always remember them by.  With the same respect if you give someone a recipe write it out, you never know, it just may bring a smile to their face in years to come

Almond, Cherry and White Chocolate Biscotti

A few weeks ago I got a request to make Biscotti.  Biscotti? Really? I had never had a biscotti, to me they just seemed like rock hard cookies you had to gnaw on, kind of reminded me of teething biscuits.  I think it was because I am not a fan of “dunking”.  I just never understood why people would “dunk” their cookies in a glass of milk, making a perfectly good cookie all soft and soggy…ewww! Even though I had never made them, my Daring Bakers instincts kicked in and I was up for the challenge!

First off I figured I should learn a little about what a biscotti really was.  Biscotti are twice-baked biscuits originating in Italy. The biscuits are long and narrow, made dry and crunchy through cutting the loaf of dough while still hot and fresh from baking in the oven.  Biscotti are usually accompanied with a beverage for dunking.  Originally made for dunking in wine, they are also enjoyed dunking in coffee and teas.

After much searching, ( I had no idea there were as many varieties of Biscotti) I decided on something simple for the first batch.  The only request that was made was that it had “almond” in it.

Cherry, Almond & White Chocolate Biscotti

From gimmesomeoven.com

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
4 large eggs
1/2 cup dried berries (cherries or cranberries)
1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds
white chocolate baking squares or chips (optional)

Method:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.  Set aside.

2. Mix eggs, oil, and extracts in a bowl with an electric mixer.

3. Then add in dry ingredients and mix together until combined.

4. Then add in berries and almonds – and either mix by hand with a wooden spoon, or very briefly with the electric mixer.

** I added the nuts and mixed until combined.  Removed half the dough and added the cherries to the rest, so I had to different kinds**

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface.  Knead lightly a few times to be sure that berries and almonds are well-distributed.  (Dough will be sticky, so you may need to lightly re-flouring your surface once or twice.)

6. Shape each half into long logs, and flatten to 1″ thickness. Place on a baking sheet.

Almond

Almond and Cherry

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

8. Remove rolls from baking sheet and cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.

9. Cut each roll diagonally into 1/2″ slices.

10. Place the slices cut-sides down on a baking sheet.

11. Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove, and turn each slice over, and bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove and cool on wire racks.

To add white chocolate, simply melt your desired amount in a double boiler or (carefully!) in the microwave.  Use a fork to drizzle it over the biscotti slices.  Or you can dip each slice in a bowl of the melted white chocolate.

Out of the oven, cooled, pictures taken, I have stalled long enough…I will taste.  I have to admit I was not looking forward to it, but figured I should at least try them before I give them away.

Verdict…They were not bad, quite crunchy!!! Again I had a flashback to 20 years ago of my little cousins gnawing on those awful almond teething cookies.  But I did go back for another bite…they were growing on me.  I figured if I was going to have a biscotti I should do the “dunk”!  So, I brewed up my favourite loose leaf herbal peppermint tea and go in for the “dunk”….

I hesitated a bit….thinking of that soggy cookie….but I go for it

I was pleasantly surprised! It was pretty good!  It did not go soggy, it was not gooey, just right.  Soft enough to chew and not have to gnaw, but not mushy.  Hmmm, I went in for the second dunk! At which point I grabbed the cup and biscotti and headed over to the couch, might as well enjoy in comfort.   I’m not sure if it was a good thing having made these, just another cookie I have to try to stay away from!!!!! I am already looking at a few others I would like to try.

Daring Bakers Make Biscuits

It is a new year and I am ready to take on what ever baking challenges are thrown my way!  The first challenge of the year is Biscuits (or scones) depending on what part of the world you are from.  Here, in my area of Canada, we refer to these as biscuits.  When I first saw the challenge, I have to admit, I was a little disappointed, more breads?!?!?! We had just made sour dough bread (I have not made it yet).  Where are the cakes, the cookies the elaborate desserts?   Even thought it was not quite what I was expecting, I dove right in.

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

We were given a basic biscuit recipe, which we were required to make and after that we had free range to make what ever flavours we wanted.  I knew right off the bat I wanted to try to make a “sweet biscuit”.  My first memory of a “biscuit” is at my Great Gramma Carlow’s.  She lived in a big old farm house.  Thinking back, I have not been there in 20 years, it was the kitchen of my dreams.  The eating area was huge, within that area there was an old fashioned stove, the thing was beautiful!  There was a very large table, many chairs and even a couch and chairs.  This is where everyone always gathered.  Just off the main eating room was a small room “the pantry” where everything was kept.  I can still remember sitting at the table, about 5 years old, smelling the biscuits cooking in the old oven.  They had the same texture and appearance of a tea biscuit, but they were sweet!  We always topped them with her homemade strawberry jam, just heavenly!  I have yet to have anything remotely similar.  I only wish I had the recipe, but I am sure it was not written down.  So I made it my mission to try to come up with something similar.

The following is the basic recipe we were given which was the requirement:

Basic Scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)
Servings: about eight 2-inch (5 cm) scones or five 3-inch (7½ cm) scones
Recipe can be doubled

Ingredients:
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a combination of lard and butter)
approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold milk
optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Variations on the Basic recipe
Buttermilk – follow the Basic recipe above but replace the milk with buttermilk, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, increase the fat to 4 tablespoons, in Step 3 aim of pea-sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 fold and turn the dough, rounds are just touching in the baking dish, glaze with buttermilk.

Cream – follow the Basic recipe above but replace the milk with cream, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, in Step 3 aim of beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, rounds are just touching in the baking dish, glaze with cream.

Sweet Fruit – follow the Basic recipe above but after Step 3 add ¼ cup (45 gm) dried fruit (e.g. sultanas, raisins, currents, cranberries, cherries etc) and 1 tablespoon (15 gm) sugar.

Batch #1 Buttermilk Biscuits

I decided to start with the buttermilk variation because I already had an open buttermilk in the fridge.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.

My butter was in the freezer, so I grated it frozen

4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!

**this is what mine looked like after adding the 1/2 cup milk as recipe stated

It was dry and very crumbly nothing like shown in the recipe.  Not really knowing what to do I added more buttermilk, another 1/2 cup.

It looked much more like it should, maybe a little wet.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)
6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.

7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.

8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.

9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

The Verdict: They were ok. I would not make that kind again.  The texture was off, kind of chewy and tough.  I think the addition of the extra milk to get the consistency right may have done something as well.  A learning experience!

Batch #2 Basic Biscuits

For my second batch I made the basic recipe Audax provided us with.

Basic Scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)

Ingredients:
1 cup  flour
2 teaspoons fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (or a combination of lard and butter)
approximately ½ cup cold milk
optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F
2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl.  (I only sifted ingredients once)

3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones. (I did not freeze butter, it was just out of the fridge)

4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)

6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.

7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.

8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.

9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

The verdict – These biscuits were lovely.  They had a wonderful texture and chew.  I think they turned  out almost perfect.  I am told I am crazy as I like mine plain, no butter, no jam just the old fashioned biscuit flavour.  They were also enjoyed with butter and honey.  This recipe will be a keeper.

Batch #3 Sweet Biscuits

These biscuits were the same as the basic recipe, but I added 2 tablespoons of sugar after I mixed the butter in Step 3

These biscuits were ok.  Not quite what I was looking for.  Don’t get me wrong they were good, just not like the ones my Great Gramma used to make….that is my goal! I will keep trying

Batch #4 biscuits with Cream

These ones were the original Basic Biscuits with the substitution of Cream for the milk and the addition of  1/4 teaspoon of baking soda.

These biscuits were amazing! This will be my go to biscuit from now on.  It was everything I think a biscuit should be. This one went right into the recipe book!

I had a request to make it into a breakfast sandwich…

Batch # 5 More sweet biscuits

These Sweet biscuits were almost perfect.  I think I am 95% in getting them to tastes like my Great Gramma Carlow’s homemade biscuits.

She always just had free formed ones.  I just stirred and scooped them onto the tray.  Sprinkled with sugar

Look beautiful, the sugar gave them a crunchy texture

The texture was bang on.  It was a little different from the other tea biscuits, I assume from the amounts of sugar and addition of baking soda.

The perfect bite! Not quite like Gramma’s homemade jam, but it did the job.  Just out of the oven, cooled enough to eat with a big dollop of jam.  I was very happy how these turned out.  Mom said they were amazing! She said 99% to getting them like Great Gramma.  I look forward to getting 100%

Thank you Audax for this wonderful challenge! It has turned out to be one of my favourites as it brought back many wonderful memories for me.  It also pushed me to do something I have wanted to do for a long time, perfect Great Gramma’s biscuits!

My Top 10 of 2011!

Wow! Where did 2011 go?  Seems as I get older the years just fly by.  This year  I did a lot of baking, most were good, some were amazing and a few were total flops!  There were some  new recipes and others were tried and true favourites.  The Daring Bakers took me way out of my comfort zone as I was truly dared with some amazing recipes.  As for the “flops” I posted them too, not everything can turn out well.  I thought I would end the year with a “top 10″ list of my favourite recipes of the year.

 10. Perogi Day

Perogi Day was a day I will never forget! Mom, Etta, Jen and myself were at it for almost 12 hours.  We made 9 different flavours, used 25 pounds of potatoes, 7 tubs of sour cream, almost 2 bags of flour and a lot of bacon, cheese and onions.  We ended up with, get ready for it……471 perogies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were delicious, not sure I will be able to go back to the frozen ones from the store.  It was a great day and the results were amazing! We all agreed that we would definitely do it again, just not anytime soon…

9.  Apple Sauce Muffins

These Apple Sauce Muffins were something I stumbled across when visiting Gramma one afternoon.  They were hot and fresh and delicious!  You can’t really taste the apple sauce, they are a little bit sweet and have an amazing texture.  I think I have made them at least 6 times since then.  A wonderful recipe with simple ingredients, Thanks Gramma!

8.  Baklava

This one was special for me.  I was asked to be the host of the June Daring Bakers Challenge!  Being host meant that I was able to pick any recipe and have all the members make their variations. I had always said, way back when I joined, that if I ever got the chance to host I was going to pick Baklava.  It was amazing to see the different variety of baklava that were made.  I was a little daring (mean) and had everyone make their own phyllo dough.  Some people enjoyed the process, a lot did not, but all in all it was a wonderful experience.  It was a true honour to be picked to be the June 2011 host.  My baklava was delicious.  I will definitely be making it again but, like many other members, I will probably use pre-made phyllo!

7.  Puppy Chow

Puppy Chow was new for me, I had never even heard of it.  Jen had come over to do some Christmas baking and she brought all the ingredients for Puppy Chow…hmmm.  I was pleasantly surprised!  Unlike the name this is a wonderful treat!!!  Very simple, cereal, chocolate, butter, peanut butter and icing sugar.  It is very addicting!  It was a great gift to give away in little Christmas sacks.  Thanks Jen for a great recipe that I will be using for many years to come.  I may have to come up with a more appealing name….

6. Cupcakes, Cupcakes and more Cupcakes!

This was a scary one! Making 130 cupcakes for Kris and Selena’s Wedding!  I had never done anything like this before.  I mean I had made cupcakes but never 130 in one day!  I was a nervous wreck, as I think the wedding cakes is a huge deal.  Sadly it’s the food aspects that people remember more at a wedding then the actual ceremony.  I thought if they don’t turn out I’d have people thinking “god, their cake was horrible”.  Thank goodness everything went smoothly and the cupcakes were a hit!  So much so that there was not near enough If there is a next time, I will know people will eat more than one! Thanks Kris and Selena!

5. Bachlorette Cake

When Coralee asked me to make Chrissy’s Bachlorette Party cake I was thrilled!  I had just recently taken the Wilton Fondant course and figured this would be the perfect opportunity to give my new skills a try.  For my first try at creating a formed fondant covered cake, I think it turned out pretty good.  I hope to make more in the future.  Unfortunately I fell ill that night and was unable to make the party, so I didn’t get to try it.  Hope it was good!

4. Wedding CakeS!

No, I did not make a typo in the title I meant for the ‘S’ to be big!  This was by far my biggest baking event ever, let alone in 2011.  I was asked to make the cakes for Jen and Martin’s Wedding.  At first I was terrified and think I even tried to talk her out of it, as I mentioned above, the wedding cake is a huge deal!  When I calmed down I was truly honoured and accepted the challenge.  Jen had a wonderful idea of having a cake on each table.  The cake would then be “the wedding cake”, centre piece and dessert.  It really was a good idea.  It was a ton of work but I enjoyed every minute of it and would do it again in a heart beat!  Thanks Jen!!

3. Povitica

This recipe was from the October Daring Bakers Challenge hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk.  She introduced me to something I had never heard of.  Povitica?? I could barely say it let alone make it.  As it was a bread recipe I was very hesitant in even trying it, bread and I do not get along well.  I was pleasantly surprised, it was an amazing dough and so versatile.  I was able to make both savory and sweet loaves out of the recipe.  They were delicious!! This one rang in on my top 3!  I will be making this a lot more in years to come.  Thank you Jenni!!

2. Whoopie Pies!

I was a little late jumping on the Whoopie Pie ban wagon.  Not sure what rock I had been living under but I just heard about these in July.  Apparently they were quite the craze a while ago.  There is even a “Whoopie Pie War” with two States as they both say they are the founder of the Whoopie Pie.  Well, I don’t care who came up with the idea, I’m just glad they did!!  These are little pieces of heaven!  Surprisingly they are not sweet, they have a lovely light texture and a wonderful marshmallow filling.  I have only made the “Classic Whoopie” but I have a book and plan on making many different kinds.  What a wonderful find!

Drum roooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllll…………………….

1. Salted Caramel Shortbread Bars

Without question this was my favourite recipe of the year!  I mean look at at…it’s not only the best tasting dessert bar ever, it’s also a thing of beauty!  This recipe was not even intended for me, haha.  When Jen came over to do some Christmas baking, it was for her to take to her baking exchange.  I had one bite and almost had to sit down.  It is one of those treats that after your first bite you have to stop before you start chewing and your eyes grow twice their normal size as you cant believe this piece of magic in your mouth.  It then turns into an eyes closed slow chew as you take in all the textures and tastes, and then it hits you…the salt!  Your taste buds jump into high gear.  It is like no other dessert experience I have ever had.  Don’t believe me, Try them!!!  Thank you Jen for my FAVOURITE treat of the year!  This recipe will remain at the front of my recipe book to be made time and time again!

I would like to thank my many followers for stopping by throughout the year to see whats up in my kitchen. When I first started this whole blogging thing, I really didn’t think anyone other then family would read.  I was shocked and so happy to see when I had over 20,000 hits!

Thanks again and Happy New Year!  Please come back to see what’s baking in 2012

Salted Caramel Chocoate Shortbread Bars

First off, I must start by introducing a guest baker!  This evening I had the pleasure of baking with Jen, I think she likes baking and baking blogs almost as much as me!  The next three posts were recipes she chose (and wow were they wonderful!).  One was for a baking exchange she was going to (that group is extremely lucky to be getting the Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bar), the other two recipes, chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies and Puppy chow, well… they were just to make and enjoy!

The first recipe of the day was the Salted Caramel Shortbread Bar, (another wonderful item from Annie’s Eats) the name is pretty self explanatory but does not do any justice to the dessert.  After tasting it, I think it deserves a much more exciting name!   I love the taste of salt and sweet together, they complement each other so well.  I have had chocolate covered pretzels, trail mixes with nuts and chocolate but I had never made a dessert where salt was the star ingredient.  To be honest I was a little leary of trying them, not really sure why as I love the flavour combination.  When I heard of what Jen picked for her exchange I was quite intrigued and when she sent the recipe entitled “deliciousness” I nearly drowned in drool.  It looked amazing!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars

For the shortbread layer:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F.

2. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.  We would recommend bringing the parchment paper right up the sides of your dish, as it was a bit of a challenge getting the first section out)

3. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a fork to blend, and set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 1-2 minutes.

5.  With the mixer on low-speed blend in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.

6. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and press in an even layer over the bottom of the pan.

Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden.  (If the crust puffs up a bit while baking, just gently press it down while it is cooling.)  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.

For the caramel layer:

This layer seems to be quite time-consuming and labor intensive (Even with taking turns stirring, I got 2, yes 2 blisters from stirring it for so long!) So, start this as soon as the shortbread is out of the oven.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp. light corn syrup
2 cans sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted.  Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, stirring constantly.  Continue simmering and stirring until the mixture turns an amber color and thickens slightly.

3. Pour the mixture over the shortbread layer, smooth the top, and allow to cool completely and set.  (I chilled at this stage to ensure that the caramel layer would not melt when the warm chocolate was added.)

For the chocolate layer:
8 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp. light corn syrup
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Fleur de sel or sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. (Somehow I missed getting photos of this step)

2. Pour evenly over the caramel layer and use an offset spatula to smooth the top.

3. Allow to cool for a minute or two and then sprinkle with fleur de sel.

4. Chill, covered, until ready to slice and serve.

Just look at that! It is a thing of beauty! But not only does it look amazing it tastes even better!  The combination of the sweet and the salt on top is delicious.  The shortbread had a lovely texture, strong enough to hold the square but was mild enough not to over power the treat.  The caramel layer was so smooth and creamy yet firm enough to hold up. The chocolate layer with salt was the finishing touch.  There was just the right amount of sweet and salt.  Upon taking a bite my mouth just came alive!  The salt and sweet made my taste buds jump, even after eating it you could still taste the salt finish.  WOW!!

We figured that one tray would not be enough for 5 dozen so we ended up making two trays of this, which meant I got to keep some This is a definite keeper, I can see making this many more times. I hope the baking exchange group enjoys!

I had such a great time baking, especially with someone who shares my passion.  Hopefully there will be more additions to the”Guest Baker”.  Thanks Jen!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

These delights were the third recipe of the day.  We started off with just making one thing and it snowballed from there, it was GREAT!   This recipe is from a wonderful food blog Jen introduced me to, Annie’s Eats.  She has a huge selection of fabulous looked deserts most of which I would love to try, and just may very well do!

When Jen suggested these I promptly went to the computer to check them out.  I was sold by the photo alone!!  I mean really, a chocolate cookie with huge chunks of peanut butter cups, how could you go wrong?

1½ cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. coarse salt
¾ stick (6 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. milk
2 cups coarsely chopped peanut butter cups, divided*
*Note: it was suggested to freeze the peanut butter cups for at least 30 minutes before chopping.  It makes them easier to unwrap, easier to cut, and helps them stay intact while you mix them into the dough.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.

2. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, peanut butter, and sugars.

5. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.  Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and milk.  Blend until smooth.

6. With the mixer on low-speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.

7. Add in 1½ cups of the chopped peanut butter cups and fold in gently with a spatula.

8. Use a large dough scoop (we used a tablespoon and over filled it, it was recommended to use a 3 tablespoon scoop, but that seemed too big) to drop rounds of dough onto the baking sheets, spacing 2-3 inches apart.  Gently press a few pieces of the reserved peanut butter cups into the top of each of the dough balls.

9. Bake 12-14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  (The cookies may seem too soft immediately after coming out of the oven but they will set as they cool.  You don’t want to over bake them.)  Let cool on the baking sheets about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container

These were quite good! I loved the hint of peanut butter right in the cookie as well ask the chunks of peanut putter cups.  As good as they were, I was not fussy about the texture, kind of chewy (not in a good way).  I will just have to make them again (that’s a shame I know! lol) to play with the texture.

Puppy Chow

No, I have not lost my mind entirely and bought a dog!  I’m talking about Human Puppy Chow.  I am sure you are thinking the same thing I was, ewwwww!  When Jen first told me she thought we should make Puppy Chow I was less than impressed, then she started listing off the ingredients.  With each item it sounded better and better.  I slowly started to lose the image of smelly chewy dog food.

This was one for the many things we made on our baking day.  It comes together so quick and easy, a perfect thing to make as we were waiting for another recipe to finish in the oven.

Puppy Chow

9 cups Chex or Chrispix Cereal

1 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup Peanut butter

1/4 cup Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

1 1/2 cups Icing Sugar

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl (bigger the better, If you have a large plastic bowl with a lid it will save you time later) measure your cereal and set aside

2. In a double boiler melt chocolate, peanut butter and butter

3. Stir in vanilla and pour over cereal, stir

*Photos are so much easier with anothe baker

4. Add icing sugar, place lid on and SHAKE! (if you don’t have a big bowl with a lid, now you will need to transfer to large freezer bags to shake.

5. Spread out on a parchment lined cookie sheet to cool

6. Store in an air tight container (recipe says in the fridge, not sure why.  I just stored mine on the counter)

This was delicious!  The crunch of the cereal was not compromised in any way by the hot mixture.  Each bite was very crunchy and quite tasty.  You just get a hint of peanut butter and the sweetness of the icing sugar.  This was a definite hit.  I can see making this again in the future.  Not too often though as I could not stop eating it!!!!

Thanks Jen!

*later in the evening as I was snacking on the puppy chow we were thinking of other varieties.  Thought about replacing the peanut butter with Fluff and adding some grahm crumbs to the icing sugar.  Almost like a smores mix!

I Cheated!

I was asked to make a pumpkin pie this week.  If you have read any of my other pie posts you know I HATE making pie.  There is not many things I HATE making, but I HATE making pie!  I really don’t even like pie.  At Thanksgiving I said was wasnt ever making another from scratch, and I stayed true to my word! Tenderflake and Mr. Smith did most of the work.  For anything else I really done like using pre made but for pie, I’m all about it!

I DID make the whipped cream from scratch   They said it was good and that is all that matters.

Daring Bakers make Sans Rival

I love it when the Daring host challenges us with something I have never heard of.  It is a little intimidating  not having any idea what to expect, but also very exciting to try something new.   The challenge this month  was presented to us as a Filipino dessert.   To my knowledge, I have not had anything Filipino  so I was excited for this challenge!

Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert – the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.

Sans Rival:

Ingredients
10 large egg whites, room temp
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa (optional and not traditional)
2 cups  chopped, toasted cashews

Directions:
Note: You will need four layers which will mean that you might have to bake in two batches. Be sure to use fresh parchment paper and cooled pans for each batch.

1. Preheat oven to moderate 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3.

2. Line cake pan bottoms with parchment paper and butter and flour the sides really well.

3. In a large clean, dry glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites on medium until foamy (2 mins.). Sprinkle with cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, continuing to beat now at high-speed until stiff shiny peaks form. (about 7-10 mins.)  For some reason I forgot to take pictures of all this

I added the cocoa powder when I had soft peaks

4. Fold in nuts, reserving enough to use for decoration.

(Note the more finely ground for folding into meringue. The coarsely ground for is decoration of finished cake.)

5. Divide meringue into four equal parts. Spread in pans, evenly to edges. If doing batches, use fresh parchment paper and cooled pans for each batch.  **I wanted to make a different shape so I just piped my batter on parchment paper**

6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the meringue from the baking pans while still hot; allow to cool slightly. Peel off the parchment paper while it is still warm, it is difficult to remove sometimes when they have completely cooled.

7. When cool, trim edges so that all 4 meringue layers are uniformly shaped. Set aside.

French Butter Cream

Ingredients
5 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) white granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) water
1¼ cup (300 ml) (2½ sticks) (285 gm) (10 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
Optional Flavorings: 2 oz (55 gm) unsweetened chocolate, melted, or 1½ teaspoon (7 ½ ml) almond extract, or 1½ teaspoon (7 ½ ml) vanilla extract, or any flavor you like

Directions:

1. Put the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Beat at high-speed until the yolks have doubled in volume and are a lemon yellow.

2. Put the sugar and water in a heavy pan and cook over medium heat, stirring the sides down only until all the sugar is dissolved and the syrup reaches 235°F/112°C (or thread stage).

3. With the mixer on high, very slowly pour the syrup down the sides of the bowl, until all has been added. Be careful as the very hot syrup could burn you if it splashes from the beaters. Continue beating on high until the mixture is ROOM TEMPERATURE (about 15 mins). Still on high, beat in the soft, room temperature butter a tablespoon at a time. Add flavoring after you beat in the butter. Refrigerate the butter cream for at least an hour, and whip it smooth just before you use it.

I melted the chocolate in a double boiler and added it to the frosting.  It seemed quite dull, not very chocolatly at all.

I ended up melting 4 more oz of chocolate and added it.  Turned out much better

Assembly:

Set bottom meringue on cake board with a dab of butter cream to hold it in place. Spread a
thin layer of buttercream and then place another meringue on top. Repeat with a thin layer of
buttercream, meringue, thin layer of buttercream, meringue, and finally buttercream the top and
sides. Decorate with reserved nuts.

This desert was delicious!  Everyone loved it! I have already had requests for a repeat!  A few things went wrong, mine was not “crispy” it was fairly chewy, but I have to say I loved the chewy texture.  Next time I would put it in the fridge before cutting because it does not look very nice, but to be quite honest we couldn’t wait to try it.  The texture of this cake was amazing.  Mine was chewy, yet had the crunch from the chopped nuts.  The frosting was to die for,so silky and buttery.

Thank you Catherine for such a wonderful challenge and introducing me to Sans Rival!

Applesauce Muffins

 

Mom and I were at Gramma and Poppa’s the other day and she was just in the midst of making some homemade muffins!  This was right up my ally, I offered to help and was turned down flat, several times.  I now realize where I got my ‘not so organized, disaster stricken, kitchen looking like a hurricane went threw’ baking style from   There was stuff everywhere, just like when I bake.  But I gotta say, it is much more fun baking when you are not worrying about the mess you make and cleaning it up after then trying to be neat and tidy and not spill a drop.  Sorta like never trust a skinny chef, never trust a tidy baker! lol Anyways…..

I don’t know if it is just me, but it seems that everything Gramma makes is just fabulous!  Not sure if it just because it is someone else making it (always tastes better when someone else makes it) or if it is because it has that Gramma love in it (which would be all the good stuff, butter, lard, no imitation crap!)  Either way everything at Gramma’s is always tasty and very hard, if not impossible to turn down!

So, back to the muffins.  I was over visiting on my lunch and time was tight, I didn’t think there would be time for me to try them.  As luck would have it, they came out of th oven 5 minutes before I had to go.  Man, was I glad, they were delicious! I took an extra one home, but it wasn’t eaten by 8 pm, so I ate it too!  The next day I had to make them, I had all the ingredients in the house, so why not!

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup Brown Sugar (loosely packed)

1 egg

1 cup Flour

1/2 tsp Cinnamon (we used almost 1 tsp)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup apple sauce (we used closer to a cup)

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts)

Directions – Pre-heat oven 350 F

1. Cream butter and brown sugar

2. Beat in the egg

3. Sift all dry ingredients

4. alternately add dry ingredients and applesauce, string after each addition

5. Stir in raisins, nuts, and oats

6. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, makes 12 muffins

7. Bake approx 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

8.  Cool on rack

They were delicious!  Again, not as good as Gramma’s, but they’ll do.  So moist and flavourful. This will definitely be my new ‘go to’ muffin.

Thanks Gramma