Showing posts with label Elevensies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elevensies. Show all posts
The house is all spic and span for Christmas. I have all of the food in that I am going to need for our dinner. All my gifts are out and all that remains to do now is a few bits and bobs and last minute things. Whew!
I can relax, knowing that all is in hand. With that in mind I took advantage of there not being any pressure on and baked a few goodies that I had seen on Pinterest or the web and had wanted to try for the holidays.
Tasty goodies like these Italian Christmas Biscotti which I saw weeks ago on a blog called The Merchant Baker.
I first saw them on Pinterest and they immediately caught my eye because of their name. Biscotti. But Biscotti are crisp dunking Italian biscuits are they not? I love Biscotti!
These are not those type of Biscotti. I was intrigued and pinned them into my Italian Treats board with the idea in mind to make them one day. Today was that day. (As I am writing this on Thursday.)
These are very similar to a sugar cookie, but there is no rolling or cutting. Well . . . I say that, but you do have to roll the dough into ropes and cut it into lengths before twisting it into that lovely looking shape you see here.
(If you check out the Merchant Bakers page she gives an excellent tutorial on how to do just that and there are videos.)
Another thing which impressed me was that they looked incredibly easy to make. And I was not wrong.
These are an easy cookie and they end up looking so pretty when they are done. You just make the dough, shape and bake.
Once cooled you then dip them in a very simple vanilla icing glaze and sprinkle with coloured sprinkles.
Easy peasy, lemon squeasy. And they are so pretty, don't you think?
Another plus . . . the recipe was very easy to cut in thirds. Since there are only two of us and we can only eat so much, I wanted to cook only a third of the recipe.
I got approximately 16 delicious cookies. Little sweet pillows of Italian perfection. The perfect cookie to bake at the last minute for the holidays!
*Italian Christmas Biscotti*
Makes 4 to 5 dozen 
To make one third of the recipe or only 16 cookies you will need:
1/4 cup butter (65g)
3 TBS icing sugar
4 TBS granulated sugar
1 large free range egg
1 cup plain flour (140g)
1/4 tsp baking powder
few drops vanilla
For the glaze:
3/4 cup icing sugar (98g)
1/2 TBS water
drop of vanilla
This is a really, really nice cookie. I can see all sorts of possiblities here. I think another time I make them I might add a touch of lemon zest to the dough and some lemon juice to the glaze instead of water. Then they would be lemon drizzle biscotti. Yum! Bon Appetit!
Children have early morning sports and club activities to dash off to, early morning buses to catch . . . mom and dad are trying to get everything sorted, showered and fed before they have to dash off to work . . . and the list goes on and on. It soon becomes far much easier to pick up a donut at the coffee shop on the way in, or feed the hungry babes with a pop tart or other equally as chemical and additive filled portable "breakfast" goodie. Not good . . . they might taste good . . . but they are just not good for you.
Wholesome and hearty muffins, baked with natural ingredients are a delicious and healthier alternative to a fast food breakfast sandwich or other "quick" choice. Taste tempting muffins such as these fabulous ones shown here today . . .
Muffins made with whole grains . . . fruit, not a lot of fat, not a lot of sweetening . . . filling and tasty nonetheless . . . and reasonably sized, not gargantuan. A muffin is supposed to be a muffin . . . not a cake baked in a muffin tin.
Breakfast on the go. Portable goodness. Very easy to bake ahead and freeze, and then just take out as and when you are wanting something quick, and wholesome . . . and filling. This will put some lead in your pencil and help to get you and your family through the morning without finding yourself hungry again half an hour down the road, and so starving by elevensies that you grab something very bad for you like a candy bar or a bag of crisps . . .
The low fat buttermilk makes them moist . . . sweetened naturally with some maple syrup and muscovado sugar . . . whole bran cereal and unbleached plain flour . . . naturally sweet sultanas, high in fibre and low in fat. These are my breakfast winners! (Sans the butter, of course!! What can I say . . . I felt like indulging myself this morning . . . I can sometimes be quite naughty.)
*Everyday Maple, Bran and Sultana Muffins*
Makes 12 medium muffins
Printable Recipe
I like my Bran Muffins chock full of raisins, but feel free to subsitute other dried fruits such as blueberries, cranberries or chopped apricots or dates.
Moist and delicious muffins! Not too sweet. I bake these and then store them in the freezer. Then I take them out, one or two at a time and just reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave.
375ml of low fat buttermilk (1 1/2 cups)
2 large free range eggs
4 TBS unsalted butter, melted
60ml of sunflower oil (1/4 cup)
60ml of pure maple syrup (1/4 cup)
50g of all bran cereal (about 1 1/2 cups)
225g of raisins (1 1/2 cups)
100g of plain flour (1 cup)
30g of wheat or oat bran (1/2 cup)
50g of soft light brown muscovado sugar (1/4 cup packed)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
50g of toasted chopped walnuts, or pecans (1/2 cup) (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a standard sized 12 cup metal muffin tin(2 1/2 inch diameter cups) really well, including the top of the pan. Set aside.
Combine the buttermilk, butter, eggs, oil, maple syrup, bran cereal and raisins in a large bowl. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to soften the bran and plump the raisins.
Bon Appetit!
These Quick Drop Danish are fabulously delicious breakfast buns that I have made over and over through the years. I think that the recipe originally came from Bisquick, but I have adapted it to use my own homemade baking mix and it works beautifully that way. (Recipe for both the buns and the mix below)
I just spent most of the day trying to do a video that I could post on line of this lovely breakfast cake. All the steps along the way, etc. It took me hours and hours, but I can't get it to load up and I am exhausted from trying. I don't know how these youngsters do it, I really don't! Never mind we can at least enjoy the fruits of my labours in this delicious breakfast cake. Apple Pie Coffee Cake!
When I was a child one of the favourite things that my mother would make for us as a treat on cooler autumn and winter nights was her version of Cinnamon Rolls. Not the yeasty bready kind of cinnamon rolls, but the quick bread/biscuit/scone type of Cinnamon Rolls. Oh boy but they smelled so good when they were cooking, and they tasted even better. Heavenly Bliss.
I am not sure what it is about poppyseeds, but I love anything with poppyseeds in them. When I lived out West we used to be able to buy the best poppyseed sweet buns at the grocery store bakery in Medicine Hat. They were to die for! I have been craving them ever since! I will have to find myself a recipe one day and make my own. These muffins are not quite buns, but they are quite delicious in a different sort of way!
Do you love shortbread biscuits as much as I love shortbread biscuits? Who doesn't! I think that shortbread biscuits have to be just about everyone's favourite cookie! I make whipped ones every Christmas which are as simple as beating them together and dropping them on a baking sheet. I make rolled and cut outs in a variety of flavours.
All are gorgeous. When I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter ones, I knew I just had to bake them. Peanut Butter and shortbreads . . . two of my favourite things together in one!
I adapted the recipe from one of my favourite baking books, One Bowl Baking by Yvonne Ruperti. If you don't have it, you should. It's a fabulous baking book. Everything I have ever baked from it has been a winner!
These are lovely shortbreads. The smell of peanut butter which fills the air when they are baking is enough to get your tastebuds tingling in overtime!
With the cross-hatching they look very similar to other peanut butter cookies, but that is where every similarity ends.
These are short and crumbly . . . and not too sweet. Everything a perfect shortbread biscuit should be.
Filled with lots of lovely chopped peanuts, I would go so far as to call them moreish. They are not chewy, or crisp . . . just short and deliciously buttery peanut buttery crumbly.
They positively beg to be enjoyed with a nice hot drink. These are grownup peanut butter biscuits, that bring out the child in you.
*Chunky Peanut Peanut Butter Shortbreads*
Makes 2 dozen
340g creamy peanut butter (1 1/3 cups)
1 large free range egg
Divide
the dough into 24 equal pieces, and roll into balls. Place evenly
spaced on the baking sheets. Using a fork, cross hatch into each
cookie, pressing them down to about 1 inch thick.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking time, until golden brown and set.
If you are fond of shortbreads and like peanut butter, you will quite simply adore these lovely biscuits. In fact . . . I might go so far as to say you will feel like you have died and gone to heaven. Bon Appetite!
I profess to having a certain fondness for donuts, especially the cake type. I like those ones much more than the yeast once, although they are also certainly very good and have their place. But give me a chocolate sour cream or plain sour cream donut over a crueller any day of the week! Love, Love, LOVE!
I have no idea at all why this is called Spanish Cake. There doesn't seem to be anything particularly Spanish about it.
I only know that it has always been called Spanish Cake. It is flavoured with lots of cinnamon and topped with a Maple Icing.
You would think that it should be called Canada cake, but its not. Its quite simply Spanish cake.
Its a rather old recipe which has been kicking about in my Big Blue
Binder for a very long time. That means that this is a tried and true,
and a favourite recipe.
I probably picked up somewhere along my travels across
Canada. Possibly from one of my friends, but it was so long ago that I can no longer
remember where or when. I only know that its delicious.
It is buttery and moist. It has a lovely cinnamon flavour, but it is not a large cake. It is a very moreish cake, which more than makes up for its lack of size.
This is a cake you will find yourself wanting to cut a slice from again and again . . . and maybe even again. I once cooked it three times in one week. (Don't judge me, lol)
It's a single 8 inch square layer . . . topped with a maple sugar frosting that you pour over the cake while the icing is slightly warm. You do it when it is warm so that it spreads out easily across the cake.
You could use soft light brown sugar if you cannot find maple sugar. I am partial to the flavour of maple myself.
I did manage to buy it in a shop here in the UK. I think it was Asda, but I can't remember for sure. You can also buy it on Amazon.
My sister sent me over a kilo of it a while back. I treat it like gold. But it is always worth using it for this delicious cake. I like to top the finished cake with toasted walnuts . . . maple and walnuts go together like peas and carrots.
*Spanish Cake*
Makes one 8-inch cake
A lovely little cake flavoured with cinnamon and topped with a lucious maple cream icing.
For the cake:
140g of plain flour (1 cup)
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
120g of butter, at room temperature (1/2 cup)
190g of sugar (1 cup)
2 large free range eggs, separated
120ml milk (1/2 cup)
For the icing:
60g butter (1/4 cup)
80g of maple sugar (1/2 cup, can use 1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar)
2 TBS milk
130g of icing sugar (1 cup)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
Beat the egg WHITES until stiff and set aside.
Sift
the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl. Set aside. Cream
together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg
YOLKS one at a time. Beat in the flour along with the milk making
alternate additions. (3 dry and two wet) Mix well.
Fold in the egg
whites. Spread the batter in the prepared baking tin. Bake in the
heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top bounces back when
lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
The cake should also have begun to pull away from the sides a bit.
Remove from the oven. Cool in the pan for five minutes then lift out
onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Place
the butter for the icing in a saucepan and melt. Add the maple sugar
and heat gently over low heat for 2 minutes, until the sugar has
melted. Add the milk. Bring to the boil, then remove from the stove
and let cool. Beat in the icing sugar and spread onto the cooled cake.
Note - I like to sprinkle chopped toasted walnuts on top, but that is the Canadian in me liking the flavour of maple walnut.
I hope you will make this cake. When you do I think you will agree that Spanish or not, its one very delicious cake.
I hope you will make this cake. When you do I think you will agree that Spanish or not, its one very delicious cake.
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!
Nan's Sugar Scones. I think this has to be one of the best, if not the best scone recipe! I adapted this delicious recipe from one in the April issue of Delicious magazine.
These
are delicious! For soft sided scones, place them close together on the
pan, for crisp crusted ones place them on the baking sheet with some
space in between. Adapted from a recipe found in Delicious magazine.
400g self raising flour, plus extra for dusting (3 1/2 cups)
50g caster sugar (1/4 cup)
1 tsp salt
60g cold unsalted butter, cut into bits (1/4 cup)
310ml buttermilk (1 1/3 cup)
the finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
the juice of one lemon
15 sugar cubes
buttermilk to glaze
Preheat the oven to 230*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside.
Measure
the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the sugar and salt. Drop in the
butter. Rub the butter in with your fingertip until the mixture
resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the lemon zest. Add most of the
buttermilk, stirring it in with a round bladed knife. Only add the
remaining buttermilk to give you a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured
surface and knead gently 2 or 3 times. Pat or roll out to 1 inch
thickness.
Place
the lemon juice into a bowl. Working with one sugar cube at a time dip
them into the lemon juice, turning to coat, and then push them down
into the centre of each scone.
Bake for 12 to 15
minutes until they are risen and golden brown. Serve warm or cold, on
the day, with some cream and jam. Delicious!
From the moment I saw it, I knew it was something I wanted to bake. A fairly ordinary buttermilk English scones recipe which have lemon soaked sugar cubes pushed into their centers!
The scone dough is fairly simple. It was quite damp, so if you want scones that look more like baking powder biscuits, don't add all of the liquid. I found it very tacky.
I did not want to add too much extra flour to them, so I just patted them out on a well floured surface and used a well floured cutter to cut them out.
Because the dough was kind of tacky they spread a bit . . . the ones in the magazine were straight up and down.
I actually liked them spread out a bit, and soft sided . . .
The lemon soaked sugar cubes melt and end up tasting sort of like lemon curd. It's like magic really!
I love magic in cooking, don't you?
In the magazine they recommended serving them with cream and jam, but I can tell you, they were positively delicious all on their own.
Even the day after. In fact we found them quite, quite moreish!
*Nan's Sugar Scones*
Makes 15 medium scones
Cut into 2 1/2 inch rounds using a sharp round cutter and
using a sharp tapping up and down motion. Do not twist the cutter and
flour the cutter in between cuts.
Place the scones onto the baking
sheet as desired. Gather the trimmings and re-pat and cut until you
have used up all the dough, and placing them on the baking sheet.
Once you have finished this, brush the
scones with a bit more buttermilk.
Hope you will give them a go and let me know what you think!
Bon Appetit!
Bon Appetit!
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.
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