Archive for ◊ 2012 ◊

09 Dec 2012 Skibo Castle Crunch
Author:  |  Category: Cookies & Bars, Holidays & Events, Sweets, Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 2 Comments

This cookie is something you’ve never tasted before.  There’s no chocolate, no caramel, no peanut butter, no nuts, no oatmeal, no coffee, no mint, nor is there any jam in this cookie, so how can it be good?  I don’t know, but it is.  Damn good.  Two bites and you’ll be addicted and you won’t know why.

I don’t know why I made this cookie in the first place.  I found it in “The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe From Each Year 1941-2009” by Gourmet Magazine.  This was billed as the best cookie of 1999.  Maybe I made it because it was made famous in Scotland and I have a fondness for all things Scottish.  Maybe because it was a 15 minute bar cookie recipe and I had all the ingredients on hand.  Nevertheless, I made it, and this odd, crunchy ginger cookie has become one of my favorite all time cookies.

I had to change the recipe though.  The first year I made it, I loved it, but it was ODD, downright ugly and temperamental (no two batches turned out the same).  So I twiddled with it a bit and then , sadly, had to let it go as an “almost great” cookie.  This year,  I found the recipe again,  on Epicurious. com…, with twenty-five comments!  So I tried the recipe again and incorporated some of the suggestions.  Success!  This is the cookie I am taking to my Cookbook Club’s annual Christmas Cookie Exchange (my yoga group already gave it 10 thumbs up–and they got to taste both years’ versions).

The biggest change was doubling the recipe, but baking in the same size pan as the original recipe.  The second big change was using a food processor to make the base.  The third big change was cutting the cookie into squares before the cookie cooled. So here is the recipe for an odd, crunchy, ginger-y cookie that takes 15 minutes to bake and is totally addictive.

If you want more ginger flavor, add 1/2 cup minced candied ginger to either the shortbread base or sprinkled on top of the glaze.

Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch

For Shortbread Base:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into pieces

For Glaze-like Topping:

1 1/2 cups butter
2 tablespoon Lyle’s Golden Syrup (British cane sugar syrup-try World Market or an Indian Grocery or Amazon.com…or sub dark corn syrup)
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F . Line  a 13″ by 9″ baking pan with parchment paper.

Make shortbread base:
Place the dry ingredients in a food processor and whirl to combine.  Add in and blend in butter  and whirl until mixture resembles coarse meal and just starts to hold together.  Pour mixture into parchment lined baking pan. With your fingers, press mixture evenly into bottom of pan.  Do this lightly.  If you press too hard the shortbread will suffer.  Bake shortbread in middle of oven until golden and crisp around the edges, 25 to 30  minutes.  Keep  your eye on this.  The shortbread can go from perfectly done to over baked in a minute.

Just before shortbread is done, make the topping:
Five minutes before the shortbread is to be taken out of the oven, melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Whisk in remaining ingredients until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring, for one minute. Remove shortbread from oven and pour topping over, tilting pan to cover shortbread evenly.

Cool in pan on a rack for about 20 minutes, then cut the Skibo Crunch into small squares or rectangles.  Let the Skibo Crunch cool completely before removing from pan.  Then…WOW your guests with this seriously odd cookie.

Let me know if it becomes one of your favorites, too.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!

 

07 Dec 2012 Peanut Brittle
Author:  |  Category: Holidays & Events, Sweets  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,  | Leave a Comment

Three years ago, maybe four, I made some peanut brittle for some end-of-the-year gifts for my children’s teachers and coaches.  No problem.  Two months ago I made some peanut brittle as samples for a craft fair.  No problem.  Two days before the craft fair I made two batches of peanut brittle.  LOTS of problems. Both batches were big flops.   Crisis!  I needed some peanut brittle to sell, I needed it fast, and I needed it to be fabulous.

Thank goodness for the Internet!  I spent a few hours reading everything I could about making peanut brittle.  I took notes.  I highlighted.  I found sites that swore microwaved peanut brittle was the way to go.  I was all for it, but as (my) luck would have it, my microwave died the same day as the peanut brittle flopped.  (Where is my guardian angel!?)   I abandoned my old recipe, and went with a recipe that seemed to have the best chance of success (and that I could cook the “old fashioned” way, on the top of the stove), a twenty year old recipe from Bon Apetite, found on Epicurious.com.

I got out my heaviest pans. I hooked up my candy thermometer.   I also hooked up my instant read thermometer.   I put on my lucky apron.  I banished the grandchildren from the kitchen. I put on Christmas music. I was going to be double extra careful.  This was do or die day. I had to get two batches of really good peanut brittle into the cute boxes with the cute bows and the cute tags ASAP.

It worked.  PHEW.  I am glad to share with you the winning recipe, with all the hints and tips.  Good Luck!  As long as you don’t make this on an especially wet/humid day–and follow these direction and all my hints and tips–you should be OK.  But please note, this is important, the times are approximate.  I have a very powerful gas range, and I am an aggressive cook, so the times noted are the ones that worked for me.  If  you have an electric stove and/or are a cautious cook, your times might be twice as long.  Trust your candy thermometer (and your back up thermometer)  and pay attention to color.

One batch of this will make about 3 ½ lbs of peanut brittle.  That’s a lot of peanut brittle. I made two batches and was able to put 7 lbs of peanut brittle up for sale, to benefit my favorite organization, Dining For Women, YAY!

Totally Nuts Peanut Brittle

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ¾ cup light corn syrup
  • ¾ cup dark corn syrup
  • 3-4 cups salted cocktail peanuts (whole or coarsely chopped–I left mine whole)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  1. Stir the sugar, water, light and dark corn syrup, and salt together in a large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  (TIPS:  Use a really large, heavy pan (mixture will foam up, a lot, in the last step).  I used a five quart stock pot.  The dark corn syrup is for color.  You can use all light corn syrup if you want. The sugar isn’t be dissolved until you can see the bottom of the pan.)
  2. Take your spoon out of the mixture and leave it out for this entire step.  Clip your candy thermometer to the edge of the pan.  Be sure the tip of the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to high, and BOIL the mixture, without stirring, until the candy thermometer registers 280 degrees F, about 40 minutes. (TIPS:  The mixture will stay at 220 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, don’t worry about it, your thermometer is not broken.  The temperature will go up a bit faster after passing the 220 degree F. mark.  To reassure yourself, use a second thermometer, if you have one.)
  3. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.  Put two (or three) large rimmed cookie trays into the oven to warm.  Just before your mixture reaches the 295 degree mark (next step) take the pans out of the oven and lightly grease with a bit of butter.
  4. Pour the nuts and the butter into the boiling mixture (this will cause a temperature drop).  Use your spoon now, and keep your eye on the thermometer/s.  Stir the mixture constantly until it reaches 295 degrees F., about 15 minutes.  (TIPS:  I prefer to use 3 cups of nuts, because I like more brittle than nuts, 4 cups of nuts makes a very nutty brittle.  Watch the color, you want that deep rich amber color.  One or two degrees over 295 will be fine–if you work quickly in the next step, but don’t go much higher than that.  The temperature will move fast now, and you could easily burn a batch! On the other hand, under no circumstances should you stop cooking before reaching 295 degrees–or you’ll have “Peanut Bendy and Sticky” instead of “Peanut Brittle”.)
  5. Yell for help. A child should not answer this call.
  6. Remove the pan from heat.  Stir in baking soda and vanilla and stir briskly.  Mixture will foam up.  Keep stirring. (TIPS: This is why you used a large pan. If you didn’t use a large pan your mixture might bubble out of the pan and onto the counter.  This is not a good thing. Under no circumstances should you touch the hot, Hot HOT mixture.)
  7. Being very careful and using your best hot mitts to protect your hands and arms, immediately pour mixture onto the warm and greased cookie trays.  If anyone answered your call for help have them spread the peanut brittle as thinly as possible across the trays. (TIPS: Do not get burned.  Do not burn your helper.  Banish all pets and children from the area. Do not touch the pan. Do not touch the peanut brittle.)
  8. Put the pans of peanut brittle in the warm oven for 2-3 minutes. This should help the peanut brittle spread evenly over the bottom of the pans.
  9. Remove pans from oven and let sit until cold and hard.
  10. Break brittle into pieces and store in airtight containers at room temperature for a month or more.
  11. Pat yourself on your back for a job well done.
That’s IT!  I hope this recipe helps you make the most delicious Peanut Brittle ever!
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!

27 Nov 2012 Mini Apple Pies
Author:  |  Category: Fruits, Pies & Tarts, Sweets  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 7 Comments

I hear mini pies are all the rage now. Bye-bye cake pops and chocolate with bacon, hellooooooo mini pies!  Here’s a great recipe with which to start.  Having made this recipe a few times, I now know a few things things about mini pies.  1.  The filing needs to be seasoned more than that of a regular pie 2.  The filling needs more “syrup”.

At first, I questioned this recipe; why put that much flour into the filling (I thought would taste, well, flour-y, and, having baked many a pie before, I was sure cornstarch or tapioca would be a better choice) and HOLY MOLY, I like cinnamon but a heaping tablespoon of cinnamon to 8 cups of apples?  In a weak moment, I did something completely out of character,  questioning the recipe all the way to the taste test,  I baked it,  “as is”.   (Did ya faint?!)

The recipe worked beautifully!  The filing is not flour-y nor is it too cinnamon-y. The recipe works because the extra flavor and the extra syrup is needed  in order for the filing to stand up to extra crust of a mini pie!  Well, of course!

I made these Mini Pies for the 22 members of my Dining For Women group who came to my house for a meeting last night.  I lost count of how many people asked me for the recipe, so that has prompted me, at long last, to post another recipe.

I found this recipe at Little Bit Funky.  There are lots of nice, helpful pictures posted there.  The picture showing the size of the cut apples is especially helpful (dice don’t slice!).

Mini pies are great to take to potlucks.  No knife or pie slice needed to serve.  No plate or fork needed to eat (just pick the mini pie out of the cupcake liner and bite! If there are any crumbs, a well placed cupcake liner catches them), and no one seems to even think of wanting whipped cream or ice-cream with mini pie. Whooo HOOOO!

 Mini Apple Pies

  • 8 cups of chopped fresh apples (I like granny smith or pippin mixed with jonagold or golden delicious…but in a pinch I use whatever I can get my hands on), diced to about ½” by ½” by ½”.
  • ¾ cup of all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups sugar (yes, it’s a lot, but again, the extra syrup is needed)
  • 1 heaping tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 4 tablespoons butter, cut into 24 small chunks
  • 2 boxes Pillsbury pie crusts (that’s 4 crusts), or if you are fabulous, 2 recipes of homemade pastry
  • a tiny bit of milk, cream or half-and-half
  • a tiny bit of white or raw sugar
  • decorative cupcake liners to display and serve, if desired

 Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
  2. Unroll the pie crust and cut to fit into the bottom of 24 cupcake tins (no need to spray or line the tins).  I used a 3 ¼” round cookie cutter, but the ring from a mason jar, and probably a ring made from a well washed tuna can with the top and bottom removed would work too.  Save the pastry scraps to re-roll for the top crust.
  3. Refrigerate the dough in the tins while you prepare the apples.
  4. Peel,  core, and dice the apples.
  5. Pour prepared apples into a large bowl and completely coat with the flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  6. Remove the pie crusts from the refrigerator.
  7. Divide the apples between the 24 bottom crusts.  You should have enough apple filling to “mound” into the pie crust.
  8. Top each mound with a piece of butter.
  9. Re-roll the leftover pastry and cut circles (or shapes if you want to get fancy) to form the top crust.
  10. Use you fingers to press the top crust into the bottom crust.
  11. Brush each top crust with a bit of milk, half-and-half, or cream and then sprinkle with sugar.
  12. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes  (check at 20 minutes, then every 2 minutes after that until the pies are perfectly browned).
  13. Cool in pans.  You should have no trouble removing the pies from the cupcake tin.  I like to put each pie into a decorative cupcake liner at this point.

Enjoy!

I have made mini mincemeat pies for years, but now I have another mini pie to add to the platter for all the mincemeat haters of the world! (BTW, in my experience, mincemeat haters are usually people who have never even tried mincemeat).  If there is a loud ruckus from the mincemeat lovers out there I just might share my recipe for mini mincemeat pies (with my personal secret ingredient) in another post!

Happy baking!  Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today (I’ve missed you…)

 

14 Sep 2012 Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Author:  |  Category: Cookies & Bars  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 4 Comments

ChocPB cookies good Stack

I have been meaning to post this recipe forever, I just never had a good picture of the cookie.  The recipe only makes 32 cookies, and around here 32 cookies lasts approx 32 seconds.  My friend Josee made these for a Christmas Cookie Exchange two years ago (that’s how long I have wanted to post this recipe). I gave a dozen of these to a friend, Becky,  for a “Craft it Forward” exchange and I promised the recipe to her ONE year ago. (Bad Polly, bad, bad, bad, bad.)  But finally, I  made a batch that didn’t get scarfed immediately.  I made them for my Yoga Group, and they are too polite to eat a half dozen each at one sitting (but it could have been that I had them so busy bagging stuff for an upcoming fundraiser and they didn’t have any hands free to eat cookies!)  They did sing praises for the cookies they did eat though and encouraged me to post the recipe ASAP.

Now getting back to the first time I encountered this cookie.  It was my favorite cookie that year, maybe my favorite cookie in all the years of our exchange (of which there have only been three).  Oddly enough, I made my cookie that year from same cookie magazine Josee used, and I never even considered making these!  Even now, if I just looked at the recipe, I would not be inclined to make it. This is one cookie that tastes much, much better than it’s list of ingredients.  It tastes much, much better than it looks, too and, no matter how good the picture looks above  (do you like it?  I got a new camera!), it still doesn’t do the cookie justice.  Take a bite!  There’s a layer of peanut butter inside!  As one of my friends said, who shall remain nameless, “So how did you get the peanut butter IN there?”

So here it is, at long last, the recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies (originally published as “Peanut Butter Munchies” in the Better Homes and Gardens “100 Best Cookies”, 2009).

One more note,  I often loose track of how many balls I have, so now I line up a chocolate ball with a peanut butter ball before I start rolling.  One time I ran out of peanut butter balls! I have no idea how that happened.  So I just cracked open another bottle of wine and made another half batch of the peanut butter batter, and all was fine. Hic.  (Just kidding.  I don’t drink.  Ever.  Really!! No, REALLY, I don’t!!!)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

For Chocolate Cookie

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup butter (one stick, 4 oz), softened
  • ¼ cup peanut butter (I always use creamy)
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar (I use light brown sugar)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon of milk or cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

For Peanut Butter Filling

  • ½ cup peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar

For Sparkle

  • 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl of an electric mixer combine butter and peanut butter.  Beat for a minute or so. Add in both sugars and beat for another minute or so.  Beat in egg and milk.
  4. Slowly add the flour-cocoa powder mixture to the butter-peanut butter mixture and beat just until combined.  Roll ball into a snake shape and refrigerate for a short while (to make it easier to handle) while you mix up the peanut butter filling.
  5. Beat peanut butter and powdered sugar together until well combined.  Roll dough into 32 equal balls.
  6. Divide cookie dough into 32 equal portions.
  7. For each cookie, flatten a piece of chocolate dough and top with a peanut butter filling ball.  Wrap Chocolate cookie dough around the peanut butter filling, making a ball in the process.  Place balls on a cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart.
  8. Rub a bit of leftover dough or a very slight bit of butter onto the bottom of a glass.  Dip glass in sugar.  Press cookies flat with sugar coated glass. (redip glass in sugar before pressing down on each ball).
  9. Bake cookies in preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, until the sides are just slightly cracked.  Cool on cookie sheet for a minute or so and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Becky, I hope you are reading this…, I’m sorry that I took so long.  Josee, thanks for introducing me to this excellent cookie! Everyone else, ENJOY!  This is one great cookie!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today, come back again soon!  Now that I am learning how to master an SLR camera, I will probably be posting more frequently 🙂  I have a terrific parchment wrapped salmon recipe and a long time favorite gazpacho recipe just waiting in the wings!

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