It's hard to believe but a week ago today Tatiana flew back to Greece. This past week has just flown by. It's crazy quickly time is already passing so far this year! The day before she left her friend Richard came up for a visit along with his friend Kasia (She loves Cockers too!) and I made a late lunch/early supper for us all to enjoy. Nothing special really. A leftover tortiere from Christmas, mash, vegetables, salad and then for dessert I knocked together this Fudge Brownie Pudding Cake.
This was always a really busy time of year for me when the children were growing up. This was the time I began all of my Christmas baking preparations each year.
.jpg "Cut Glass Cinnamon Crisps")
Most years we didn't have a lot of money to spend on gifts and food for the holiday so it worked out a lot better for me if I did a little of it at a time.
These "Cut Glass Cinnamon Crisps" were always a really tasty addition to my baking. They didn't ask for unusual ingredients.
They really look much more complicated than they are. Their beauty belies their simplicity.
Easy peazy and oh so pretty! I use the base of one of my crystal candle sticks. When I was younger, my mother used to give my sister and I each a piece of crystal each year for Christmas.
I love the impression the candlestick makes on these cookies . . . a star . . . like the star which led the wise men to the baby Jesus.
These cookies are crisp and buttery and so easy to make. Plus they are delicious with a subtle hint of cinnamon in the batter and a full on cinnamon sugar coating on the outside.
Cut Glass Cinnamon Crisps
Ingredients
- 190g caster sugar (1 cup)
- 225g butter, softened (1 cup)
- 1 medium free range egg
- 325g of plain flour (2 1/4 cup)
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 TBS caster sugar
Instructions
- Mix together 2 tsp of the ground cinnamon along with the 3 TBS of caster sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until well incorporated. Beat in the 1 tsp cinnamon. Stir in the flour, mixing it in until well blended. Chill for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Line a couple of baking sheets with baking paper. Set aside.
- Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls using your hands. Drop the balls into the cinnamon sugar and roll them around to coat evenly. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. With the bottom of a decoratively cut glass press each ball of dough down to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Bake for 11 to 15 minutes, until firm to the touch. Immediately remove from the baking sheets to cool on wire racks.
- Pack the cookies in airtight containers with some wax paper in between the layers. You can also freeze these ahead of time. To maintain their crisp texture, unwrap the cookies before thawing them at room temperature.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Ahh . . . Pumpkin Season is upon us. Autumn. That time of year when we start to long for food that is a bit stodgier than the summer fare we've been eating the past couple of months. Bring on the bonfires and . . . the Pumpkin delights!
I was checking on here the other day and I couldn't believe that I didn't have my blueberry pie recipe on here! Not surprising really as when I first moved over here in the year 2000, blueberries were not an ingredient that was readily available. Thankfully that has changed now and we have tons of them, and at reasonable prices. In fact, Todd and I now grow our own.
I am quite sure that if you were to look up the word comfort in a dictionary, you would find the words "Rice Pudding." written there in black and white . . . perhaps with a tasty picture that would speak a thousand words about just how tasty and soulful Rice Pudding really is . . .
No???? Well, then they certainly should be!!!
I have always wished that I lived in a place where you could get really good fresh peaches . . . grown locally . . . and sweetly delicious. To be able to walk out your door and pick a fresh peach sounds like a dream. It's just never been my reality, and the peach is one of my favourite fruits. I have always just had to do with tinned peaches or peaches which have been shipped in from much warmer climes. I happen to love tinned peaches. A favourite dessert when I was growing up was a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with some tinned peaches. I still love it.
You are going to thank me for this quick and easy dessert I am showing you here this morning. Boston Cream Pie Parfaits.
I always have a couple of slabs of Madeira Cake in the freezer. It's very similar to North American pound cake.
They come in really handy when it comes to throwing together simple desserts at the last minute like these delicious parfaits!
Chocolate sauce is the only other ingredient. I prefer to make my own, but if you want you can keep a simple chocolate sauce in the larder as well, ready to use at the drop of a hat.
These three ingredients layered in a glass make for a very delicious dessert that will have everyone around your table ooohing and aaahing!
Can you take yet another delicious blueberry recipe from me??? Oh, I am sure you can! As you know I love blueberries and I am betting that there is a fair number of you who feel the same. Can you ever have too many blueberry recipes??? I think not!
Some days you just want to bury your face into an indulgent fruity dessert, but having no fruity fruit to hand, you make do with what you do have . . . and today it was bananas.
We always have bananas in this house, them being one of the Toddsters favourite snacks . . . the fact that they are loaded with potassium and good for you not withstanding . . .
I've never been overly fond of raw banana, unless they are sliced on top of my rice crispies, or in a banana cream pie. I do love a Banoffee Pie also . . . a quintessentially British Dessert, composed of Bananas and caramel in a buttery digestive crust and topped with whipped cream!
I suppose it is a British version of Banana Cream, but in true British fashion . . . over the top! ☺ In a very tasty way.
This recipe today is a play on a traditional British indulgence known as Eton Mess . . . a dessert composed of red berries, whipped cream and crushed meringues, all folded together into a . . . well a splodgy mess which is oh so delicious!
In doing some research just now to tell you where the name Eton Mess came from, I have discovered that they have also been known to use Bananas in this indulgent dessert, so I may not be as innovative as I thought I was!
In any case allow me to present Banoffee Mess . . . an indulgent dessert composed of whipped cream, crushed meringues, sliced bananas, toasted pecan nuts and a delicious toffee sauce . . . all moreishly folded together.
Light. Delicious. Satisfying for the sweet tooth. Easy and quick to throw together. Need I say more? Dig in!
Pour the cream into a large chilled bowl. Whip just until soft peaks form. (Don't be tempted to over whip) Crumble in the meringue nests, then gently fold in the sliced bananas. Swirl in the toffee sauce. Divide the mixture between six dessert dishes and then scatter over the toasted pecans and drizzle with a little more toffee sauce. Delicious!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Peanut Butter Cookie Pie! Are you ready for a little bit of decadence? I know I sure am! And whilst this is not over the top decadence, it is still a bit of a tasty treat.
If you love peanut butter cookies, and you love peanut butter and jam (or chocolate) then you will absolutely adore this simple and impressive dessert!
I adore peanut butter cookies. I think they are my favourites. And this is essentially a big peanut butter cookie . . . baked in a skillet (or round pie dish of that is what you have to use.)
You can either sprinkle the cookie with some granulated sugar prior to baking, or do like I have and dust it with some icing sugar afterwards.
I also like to use crunchy peanut butter. But smooth is equally as good.
This goes together in a flash and bakes really quickly.
You cut it into wedges while it is still warm . . . and top it with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream! But that's not where the decadence comes in . . .
When I was a child one of our favourite desserts was when my mother gave us ice cream and then spooned strawberry preserves over top of it.
And we all know how delicious peanut butter and jam is together . . . it is the quintessential combination of flavours . . . okay so yes that is the North American in me coming out . . . but . . .
Just look . . . . doesn't that look fabulously delicious??
The British don't really understand the complexities of peanut butter and jam, or the deliciousness of it. To them it is tantamount to eating fish with custard. Does not compute.
How about this??? Doesn't that look fabulous?
Its a cutural thing I guess, this love of peanut butter and jam. Together. In North American you can even buy it already swirled together. Peanut Butter and Grape jelly. Yum!!
For me of course it has o be strawberry jam. That is the perfect combination and it is perfect on this peanut butter cookie pie as well, especially drizzled over a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.
Of course chocolate sauce would be just as tasty! Go on . . . treat yourself. You know you want to.
Cream
together the butter, peanut butter and both sugars until well combined
and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour and
soda. Stir this in to make a soft dough. Press the dough into the
prepared skillet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes,
until golden brown and well set. Remove from the oven. Cool in the
pan for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve with a scoop of
vanilla ice cream on top and some strawberry or chocolate sauce.
Delicious!
Enjoy!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I always have a bowl of lemons sitting on the counter. They look so pretty there and they smell delicious. They also come in very handy . . . for cakes and bakes . . . hot drinks . . . savoury dishes . . . cold drinks . . .
There are an abundance of fabulous baking products available to us these days. The mind boggles at the variety. I wanted to show you today a few recipes which highlight the new Surprise Inside Cupcake Centers from Dr Oetker. They come in three flavours . . . Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate and Zingy Lemon. Yum yum! Hang onto your hats because there is about to be a lot of deliciousness coming your way this morning!
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