Whipped Shortbread

A few post back I was talking about Shortbread Cookies.  I love Mom’s shortbread they are amazing!  Most shortbread I have had are usually thin and round or thin and cut into Christmas shapes, Mom’s are little round ones.  I was then introduced to Whipped Shortbread, they were delicious!  They were so light and fluffy but still had the same flavour and ‘short’ (as Mom would say) to them.  The person who made them said it was not a ‘sharing recipe’, which I completely understand and respect as I have a few of those myself.  I had to go on the hunt for one that I thought might work.  I found several on the internet but what one should I use?  I was looking through some old cookbooks (I can’t even remember who gave them to me) when I came across an old cut out from a newspaper of a Whipped Shortbread recipe! What are the chances, I had to try it.  The paper is quite old and does not appear to have any source on it, other then it was on page 13.

2 cups butter, softened1/2 cup cornstarch
3 cups flour
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans or chocolate chips or cherries (all optional)

Directions

1. Cream butter and icing sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy

2. Beat in cornstarch

3. Gradually add flour, beat until mixture is very light and fluffy

4. Stir in desired nuts, cherries or chocolates if desired, I skipped this step

5. Drop spoon fulls of dough onto lightly greased cookie sheet, I used parchment paper

6. Top each with a cut cherry, this was my addtion (trying to make them like Mom’s)

7. Bake at 325 F for 15 – 20 minutes or until very lightly golden

8. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

After my last shortbread post, I am not even sure I should be saying this, BUT these were quite good!  They had a wonderful texture, one I’m not even sure how to describe.  They held together but when you bite them they almost melt in your mouth (must be the 2 cups of butter!).  These shortbread are very delicate and ‘airy’, I know my description is not doing them justice, they are delicious.  They have a very similar taste to Mom’s shortbread but a totally different texture.  I would not say I like them better them Mom’s short bread I will say they are my favourite shortbread that I make .  This one will definitely be made for many Christmas’s to come.

Chocolate Marshmallow Squares

This recipe is a family favourite, but it seems to be just a family favourite.  I have not come across many people outside the family who really enjoy this square as much as we do.  This is my Dad’s favourite treat! He has always loved it, it is one his Mother (my Nana) made.  Each year when I start making my Christmas baking list I ask Mom and Dad what they would like me to make, Dad always says “I’d be happy with just that chocolate marshmallow square, that would be great” and of course every year I make it.  It like so many other recipes only seems to get made at Christmas.  It’s quite simple and we think quite delicious.

Chocolate Marshmallow Square

24 marshmallows or equivalent in mini 2 oz semi sweet chocolate dark
2 1/2 cups graham crumbs, plus extra for dusting
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
1 tsp butter, plus extra to grease pan

Directions

1. In a large bowl measure out graham crumbs and marshmallows and set aside.  I usually count out approx. 120 mini marshmallows

2. Liberally butter a 8×8 baking dish and sprinkle with graham crumbs, just as you would if flouring a cake pan

3. In a double boiler melt chocolate and butter

4. Add Eagle Brand Milk and stir until combined

5. Pour over marshmallows and graham crumbs – stir , you will need to move quickly as it hardens quickly as the mixture cools

6. When mixture is combined pour into your prepared baking dish and press into corners.  Mixture will not flow you will need to press it in with a fork

7. Sprinkle the top with more graham crumbs, just a light coating, this is optional, but we like it (forgot to take a picture of this)

8. Cover and refrigerate to cool

9. Once cool and set, cut and enjoy!

It does not win any awards for best in show, its kinda ugly, but oh so delicious!

I, like Dad, love this square.  I have heard it described as ‘kinda like a smore’ I guess because of having a lot of the same ingredients, but I disagree.  The chocolate that surrounds the marshmallows is firm, but not rock hard and kind of dry.  The soft marshmallows complement the texture of the chocolate.  This treat is not overly sweet but definitely satisfies a sweet craving.  My description and pictures do not do the square justice.  I don’t know, maybe it’s just a ‘family thing’ we like it, you might too!

Shortbread ‘Bake Off’

Holiday season is the time for sharing and Peta of Peta Eats is sharing a dozen cookies, some classics and some of her own, from all over the world with us.

I was thrilled to see that this months Daring Baker’s was Christmas baking!  I love Christmas baking!  It is the one time of the year where there is a ‘good excuse’ to make 15 different cookies and squares without feeling guilty!

Peta provided us with 12 different recipes to choose from, something for each of the “12 Days for Christmas’.  Our requirement was to pick at least one of the recipes provided and one of our own favourite Christmas treats.   Of the recipes provided I chose to make the Brown Butter Shortbread.  I chose the shortbread because I thought it would be fun to make a different version of shortbread then we are used to.  Around here it just isn’t Christmas without Mom’s Shortbread.  Regular readers are probably thinking, ‘your Mom’s shortbread?’ Yep! There are 2 things Mom bakes, her famous Rice Crispy Squares and her amazing Shortbread. She will generally make a Rice Crispy Square when ever the request is made, BUT will only make her shortbread at Christmas.  Thank goodness she makes A LOT, they freeze well and last well into the new year.

I will start with Mom’s Shortbread in this “Shortbread Bake Off”

Mom’s Christmas Shortbread

½ cup cornstarch
½ cup icing sugar
1 cup flour
¾ cup butter
red and green cherries

Directions:

1. Chop candied cherries into small pieces

2. In a large bowl measure your butter

3. Sift in remaining ingredients

4.  Blend until soft and smooth.  (Sidenote: you could use a spoon, Mom uses her hands to mush is all together.  She has never done it any other way and they are ALWAYS amazing, so why mess with perfection)

It will be crumbly, but keep going…

This is what you are looking for

5. Shape dough into small balls, place approximately 1 inch apart.

6. Press with a floured fork

7. Top with a chopped cherry

8. Bake at 300 F for 20-25 mins or until the edges start to turn golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.

Look at that! Amazing as always!

Mom’s shortbread are like none I have had before.  She refers to them as being ‘very short’.  They are not very sweet as you might assume from a cookie.  They have a much more dense texture then most shortbread I have tried, like the whipped ones and rolled varieties. Despite the ‘snap’ when you bite into it and the ‘dense’ texture they simply melt in your mouth, they are the best shortbread ever! Now, having said all that, I have yet to find someone who can duplicate this recipe and get it to taste like Mom’s.  It is not like she is withholding a secret ingredient because I watch her time and time again.  I have just come to accept that it is ‘Mom’s Love’ that makes them so darn good!

Now onto the Brown Butter Shortbread, they have a tough act to follow.  I had worked with brown butter once before, on another Daring Bakers Challenge, Baked Alaska.  The cake in the baked Alaska was a brown butter cake, it was delicious!  I was excited to try it in a shortbread.

Brown Butter Short Bread

1 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons  pure vanilla bean paste
1-2/3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
2 teaspoons table salt

Browning Butter

1.Cut the butter into small pieces and place in a saucepan over a low heat.

2. Melt the butter and cook until it starts to brown and gives off a warm, nutty aroma.   Stir from time to time to make sure the butter browns evenly. As it gets close to being browned enough it will foam up and you will see little brown bits in the foam.

3. Remove from the heat and pour into a heatproof jug or bowl.   Set aside to cool slightly and then refrigerate until it starts to set again but is not too firm. It should be the consistency of softened butter. Don’t strain out the little brown bits they taste great.

Cookies

1.Preheat the oven to moderate 300°F/ 150°C/gas mark 2.

2. Line 2 large baking sheets with silicon baking paper.

3. Add the sugar and vanilla to the browned butter and beat until very light and fluffy and the sugar is dissolved.

4. Add the flour and salt and mix for at least 2 – 4 minutes to form a soft dough.

It seemed to go all crumbly

So, Mom resorted to her method of mixing

Much better

5. Roll into small balls and press with a fork

6. Bake at 300 F, until edges start to brown.  Remove from the oven and leave the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

These shortbread were ok.  I shouldn’t say that, as a shortbread they were ok, as a cookie they were pretty good.  They did not share any of the same qualities that I would associate with a shortbread.  They were very sweet and a little ‘grainy’ as though the sugar did not fully dissolve.  It kind of reminded me of the texture of graham cracker crust.  Once I turned my thinking around and thought of them just as a cookie, they were pretty good.  We did decide that we may, one day, try the browned butter in Mom’s recipe and see how it turns out.  All and all a good recipe.  It was fun to compare the two,  I think we will be sticking to our original shortbread recipe though.

Thank you Peta for a great challenge!!

Death by Chocolate

Happy Thanksgiving!!  I love Thanksgiving weekend.  Each year we have a big family meal with everyone who can attend, usually anywhere from 15 -25 people.  It is only about 3 times a year, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, where we are able to all get together, this year it is at Mom and Dad’s  and we all sit around a huge table, its wonderful!  I just love when we all sit down together.  This year I was asked to bring dessert.  I usually end up bringing some sort of cheesecake, but this year I wanted to do something different.  I did end up going with the traditional Pumpkin Pie, which is a standard with Thanksgiving, kinda like turkey and dressing(which we are not having!!!).  For the second dessert I went with Death by Chocolate.  It is a nice light dessert after a big meal.  Now when I say ‘light’ I mean oppose to a heavy cheesecake, not ‘light’ as in healthy (that would just be silly!).  This dessert is so easy and such a delicious treat.  It is a great item to take to a dinner or potluck.

1 batch of your favourite Chocolate cake or Brownies
2 boxes of mousse or chocolate pudding
1 tub of Cool Whip
4 Skor Bars
Caramel sauce (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare cake or brownies according to package or use your own recipe.  Allow cake to cool and cut into cubes

2. Prepare Mousse or Pudding according to package.  If you are really ambitious you could make it from scratch!

3. Chop Skor bars into small pieces

4. Thaw Cool Whip.  Again, if you were ambitious you could make your own whipped cream

5.  Begin layering all ingredients – there is not a specific order to follow. Just go with it.

Cake

Mousse and Skor

Half the Cool Whip and Caramel Sauce

Remainder of Mousse, Skor and Caramel Sauce

Remainder of the cake and Cool Whip, top with Skor

Delicious!

This was a huge hit! There was only 2 servings left.  This is a nice ‘light’ dessert after a big meal.  The mousse and Cool Whip really complement the rich chocolate cake and Skor. Highly recommend this one!

Thanksgiving 2012

It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, and the views are breathtaking! Here are a few of the scenes we were thankful to see before our delicious Thanksgiving feast!

Ok, now on to the good stuff! Mom and Dad were the hosts of Thanksgiving this year and it was wonderful as usual.  Unfortunately,  we were down in numbers this year, not everyone was able to attend, but we were thankful for the ones that could come.  It was a beautiful fall day, a little cool so we were not able to sit outside, (last year we were roasting out on the deck at thanksgiving).  Mom out did her self again!  She put a sit-down meal on for 18 people, it was delicious!

Scalloped potatoes, sweet glazed yams and carrots on the BBQ

Amazing pineapple glazed ham

Things got a little busy and I didn’t get pictures of everything but the rest of the meal included, green beans, corn, Mom’s homemade coleslaw, warm bread and the usual pickles etc.

The meal was fantastic! So delicious that everyone was so focused on their eating that they didn’t even notice I was taking the picture.  No family meal is complete with out a candid shot of everyone eating ( I try to get one every year, haha) This one is pretty mild, usually someone is stuffing their face with something lol.  Thank you Mom for another amazing family meal – you out did yourself yet again!

And then for dessert… I made Death by Chocolate and Pumpkin Pie – both were a huge hit

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

BBQ Thanksgiving

This year Thanksgiving was unseasonably warm, 28 C with the humidity! Usually Thanksgiving dinner means the oven is on all day, pots are steaming away, house is full and HOT!!!  We wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather, but still enjoy our wonderful thanksgiving meal, without having the house 40C!  Mom had the fantastic idea of cooking the meal on the BBQ’s.  Nothing unusual for us, Mom has 2 BBQ’s  and cooks on the BBQ all the time, I don’t think there is a food  she has not BBQed.  Back in our boating days she would be sitting under a wee umbrella cooking up breakfast, or a fantastic dinner.  So if anyone can master an entire Thanksgiving dinner on the BBQ, it’s Mom!!! The only thing not cooked on the BBQ was the biscuits I made.   The photos are not the best, it was on my phone, forgot my camera.

The menu

Glazed Ham

Scalloped Potatoes

Green Bean, Sweet Potatoes and Corn

Another amazing Thanksgiving dinner, everything was delicious.  Thanks Mom!!!

Christmas Cake

I know, I know…your probably thinking…Really you made Christmas cake??? Most of the population turns their noses up at this Christmas traditional treat, but there are some of us out there who enjoy it.  Now don’t get me wrong, it is not one of those things that I love but a little at Christmas is nice and will do me until next year.

This was my first time making Christmas cake and I was surprised how easy it was.  My Mom and I got together with a very good friend and we made an evening out of it.  So even if the cake was a flop we had a fantastic time doing it!

This one you will only get to see the photos as I do not have the recipe

Etta’s Christmas Cake

Plumping the raisins

Mixed Candied Fruits

Diced candied pineapple and cherries

Start of the batter

Addition of spices

To the batter adding nuts, raisins, candied fruit and flour, each in small additions

After the first addition

After the final additions

We got 6 good size cakes

Just out of the oven

Cooling

Look how beautiful it turned out!  This recipe far surpasses any store-bought Christmas cake, perfect texture, spice and taste.  Definitely will be making this again.  Thanks Etta!

Pumpkin Carving 2010

It’s Halloween!  This is a day that I have always loved, though I hated to get dressed up.  Mom used to decorated the house with so many Halloween decorations it used to scare my little cousins (they are not so little anymore).  We also used to make a ton of Caramel apples for friends and family, now that I think of it, it was probably more the treats that I liked then the actual day, but anyways…..

Living in the country we don’t get to many trick or treaters but I still like to carve the pumpkin and get my treats all ready to shell out.  This years pumpkins were kind of dull, I just wasn’t feeling it.  Usually I put a cool Halloween picture on it, such as a witch flying past the moon, This year the best I could do were faces.  Non the less they are done, candles in them waiting for it to get dark.  Here’s hoping we get some trick or treaters.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!