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As I write this (Saturday) it is the day of my mother's funeral. I wanted to bake something in my mom's memory today and the first thing which came to mind was these fabulous Butterscotch Cookies.
My mother used to bake these for us all the time when I was a child, either these or her soft molasses cookies. I've just realised that I don't have that recipe on here either, so I will have to bake them soon to share with you.
To be honest when we were kids we were not overly fond of these. We kind of took them for granted and not the treat that they were. We wanted cream stuffed store bought cookies . . . from the Keebler Elves, baked in a tree. We were not mature enough to appreciate the finer qualities and value of homemade goodies as opposed to store bought. (We liked frozen chicken pot pies for crying out loud, and Frozen TV dinners! 😝)
Actually we did enjoy these, we never turned them down . . . and my favourite ones were the ones that had lumps of brown sugar in them that hadn't quite gotten mixed totally into the dough. They ended up like little bits of butterescotch candy. Bonus!
These are refrigerator, slice and bake cookies. You make the dough and shape it into a log and then chill it overnight, ready to slice and bake as you need. Fresh baked cookies on call!
Flavoured with vanilla and brown sugar . . . nothing more . . . I used Muscovado brown sugar this time and I like them even more. (Muscovado brown sugar is a less refined brown sugar.)
They do use white vegetable fat . . . something like Crisco, Tenderflake, Trex, White Flora or the like. I have never made them with butter so I don't know how they would work with butter. I've always just used the white vegetable fat. I am not a snob that way.
I don't bake things like this often enough to be worried about any ill effects from using white vegetable fat. There are plenty of other things to worry about.
These are lovely and crisp . . .
See that lovely little lump of brown sugar there . . . that's mine!
Crisp and perfectly dunkable . . .
Equally at home with a hot cuppa as they are with a tall cold glass of milk!
They are delicious. I suspect they were a family recipe and one that my grandmother used to make for my mother, although in those days they would have used either lard or rendered bacon fat . . .
For me they are a lovely bit of delicious nostalgia and a fitting remembrance of a mother who loves us enough to bake us cookies from scratch, even if they were not always appreciated.
Yield: 5 dozen
Mom's Butterscotch Cookies
prep time: cook time: total time:
These cookies were not our favourites when we were growing up. Oddly enough, I love them now and feel very nostalgic when I bake them. They're actually quite delicious! I cringe to think that as a child I preferred a store bought sandwich cookie to these delights!
ingredients:
- 110g of white vegetable shortening (1/2 cup)
- 200g soft light brown sugar (1 cup packed)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 245g of flour (1 3/4 cup)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
instructions:
- Cream the shortening and sugar together. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift the flour, soda and salt together and stir this into the creamed mixture until well combined. Shape into a log 2 1/2 inches across. Wrap well in wax paper or greaseproof paper and chill in the refrigerator overnight or until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 190*C.375*F/gas mark 5. Cut into 1/8 inch thick slices. Place on un-greased baking sheets, leaving space in between for spreading. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly golden brown. Store in an airtight container.
Created using The Recipes Generator
See how crisp they are? Luvelly jubbly!
They are also Grace approved! Ariana stopped by for a short visit and let Grace have one. I sent a bag full home with her. My Mum would have approved of that. Home baked Cookies = Love = Joy shared.
I love you mum. I can feel your love for us in every bite.
One thing that I love about food blogging is that it's not about me. It's not even about you . . . it's about the recipes and the food!
It's about being able to cook and taste some of the best and most indulgent foods ever . . . and exploring the culinary delights my adopted country has to offer me.
It's about stretching my skills . . . both in the kitchen and . . . behind the camera . . . and about making food that not only tastes delicious, but food that looks good.
It's about waking up every morning and making YOU believe that what I am presenting to you on this page is the absolute best thing ever . . .
and about making you want to go into your own kitchen and cook it for yourselves, because you have just got to taste it for real, and because I have inspired you to do it, and given you the confidence to believe that you can!
Your comments are like me winning the "X Factor of food" every day of my life, and I thank you for that. Here's to more deliciousness in 2014. Let's begin as we mean to go on.
Cream Palmiers . . . tasty little bites of fluffy crisp buttery pastry, filled with a soft cloud of sweetened whipped cream and sticky sweet strawberry jam. Kind of like a de-constructed jam tart . . . with puff pastry . . . and CREAM. A delicious teatime treat.
The only down side is they all have to be eaten on the day they are filled . . . so NOT a problem!
*Cream Palmiers*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe
Absolutely delightful on the tea tray!
225g (1/2 pound) of all butter puff pastry
1 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (a scant 1/4 cup)
1 TBS icing sugar, sifted
400ml of double cream (1 3/4 cups)
a few drops of vanilla
2 TBS strawberry jam
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Slightly dampen a baking tray. Set aside.
Dust the work surface with half of the sugar. Roll the pastry out on the sugared surface to a rectangle 10 by 12 inches in size. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining half of the sugar. Gently press the sugar in with a rolling pin. Starting at the short sides, roll the pastry towards the middle from both edges into the centre until they meet. Press together gently. Cut across the rolls into 16 slices. Place onto the baking tray. Press down to flatten slightly.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes until crisp and golden, turning them over halfway through the baking time so that they caramelize equally on both sides. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Whip the cream along with the icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Sandwich together pairs of the palmiers with some of the whipped cream and some of the jam. Serve immediately.
Today I baked us another sheet pan recipe for our tea. Sheet Pan Macaroni and Cheese. It was a recipe that I had saved by Amanda Hesser on Food52. If you have never perused that site, I highly recommend you join it. It is a veritable cornucopia of delicious recipes and meal ideas.
As soon as I saw this recipe for Sheet Pan Mac and Cheese I bookmarked it as something I wanted to make. I love mac and cheese and I love sheet pan suppers. The idea that you could combine those two ideas was really appealing to me.
Macaroni and Cheese is one of my absolute favorite things to eat. I try not to have it very often because really, its quite high in fat and not that good for you, but every now and then I cannot help myself.
It is not something that my mother ever made for us when I was growing up. I am not sure why.
We did have macaroni, on occasion, but it was always served plain, mixed with tomatoes and ground beef as a sort of goulash. Never with cheese. The closest we ever came to mac and cheese was the occasional treat of the blue boxed mac and cheese. That was a very rare treat.
To be honest, I was rather fussy when it came to cheese when I was growing up. I didn't mind processed cheese, but I was too afraid to get stuck into "real" cheese. Mom would buy some cracker barrel at Christmas, but I could never be tempted to eat it.
It wasn't until I got married that I started to sometimes cook with "real" cheese and came to enjoy it. And, of course, when I moved over to the UK and got to taste really GOOD cheese, I fell in love with it.
I remember when I first moved to the UK, I would go to the Chester City Market to shop. They had all sorts of stalls in there. Meat/butchers, fish mongers, green grocers, bakers, and a beautiful cheese shop. They would sell sandwich sized bags of crumbled cheese ends for 50 pence. You never really knew what kind of cheese it was. It was just marked cheese.
It was a really good price really and I always picked up a few bags that I would then bring home and make us some mac and cheese, or cheese on toast or cheese filled omelets with. So good.
You can't live in a country that produces the best cheddar in the world and not fall in love with it! Then when I cooked at the Manor, I used to be responsible for putting together cheese trays to close their Dinner Parties with. You had to know what you were eating in order to put together a tasty tray.
I got to try and taste an abundance of different cheeses and really good cheeses to be honest. I really did fall in love with all sorts of cheese and have quite an experienced palate now. I love cheese.
One of the nicest ones I got to try was this one that their daughter's In-Laws had brought over from Germany. I think it was called Tete de Moine. It was a semi hard washed rind cheese and was secured on a board with a metal pole running up the centre of the cheese round which was attached to a cheese cutter handle. This tool was called a Girolle. It scraped around the surface of the cheese, paring it into thin rosettes, which greatly resembled carnation flowers. Very yummy.
That is not the cheese used for this very delicious Sheet Pan Mac and Cheese. For this you will want two strengths of a good cheddar cheese. And quite a lot of it. (Yes, it is very naughty!)
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SHEET PAN MACARONI AND CHEESE
Other than a good sturdy sheet pan, basically only a very few ingredients.
- 1 TBS butter
- 12 ounces (3 cups/340g) extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 12 ounces (3 cups/340g) sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 4 cups (454g) elbow macaroni (or other small shape)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, plus more to garnish
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
Do try to get the best cheddar possible for this, both a strong and an extra strong (Old and Extra Old). You won't regret it. Also don't be tempted to use anything less than a whole milk for this recipe.
Whole milk will give you the rich result that you want. In for a penny in for a pound. You've got all that cheese, why quibble over full fat milk. This is not a recipe you want to be figuring out the calories and fat content of!
It is important that you use the right sized sheet pan for this. You want one where you can spread everything out in a nice thinnish layer so that you can get optimum surface crunch, with more of the macaroni and cheese being exposed to both the hot sheet pan and the hot oven.
If your pan is too small, your macaroni cheese won't get as crunchy. I don't know about you, but cheese crunch is one of my favorite things!
HOW TO MAKE SHEET PAN MACARONI AND CHEESE
I was amazed at how very easy this was to make. The hardest part is grating all the cheese!
Preheat the oven to 475*F/246*C/ gas mark 4. Using the TBS of butter, generously grease a rimmed sheet pan that measures 11-inches (28cm) by 17-inches (44 cm). Set aside.
Cook your macaroni according to the package directions, knocking 2 minutes off the cook time. Drain well, rinse, drain again. Pour the macaroni into a bowl.
Grate your cheeses and combine. Remove 2 heaped cups (2 1/4 cups/260g) and reserve. Toss the remainder into the bowl with the macaroni. Add salt, pepper and the cayenne pepper, again tossing to combine.
Spread the macaroni mixture into the baking sheet, spreading it out evenly. Pour the milk evenly over the surface. Sprinkle the reserved cheese evenly over top.
Sprinkle on some additional cayenne pepper if desired.
Bake for 15 minutes, uncovered, until golden brown and crisp in areas. Serve hot.
If you are looking for crisp, cheesy decadence, you really can't go wrong with this recipe. Its deliciously indulgent, with a lovely amount of crunchy bits, both on the bottom and the top.
Rich. Rich. Rich.
You probably don't want to know the fat and calorie content. I sent a goodly part of this home with my sister. It was really delicious and I didn't think I could be trusted not to do myself some serious harm with it in the house!
This makes a wonderful, once in a blue moon treat!
If you are looking for something not quite so indulgent, might I suggest the following:
SKINNY MAC & CHEESE - Lower in fat and calories, high in fiber and protein, but not compromised in flavor in any way. If you are wanting to indulge in Mac and Cheese without going over the top, this could be your Mac and Cheese. Its really very good.
BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER MAC & CHEESE - This is a delicious way to indulge your need for mac and cheese and at the same time get in two of your five a day. There is roughly half as much vegetables in this as there is macaroni, which helps to cut back on the carbs. This really is delicious and is one of my favorites!
Yield: 6
Sheet Pan Mac & Cheese
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 30 Min
All I can say is oh my goodness! This is the cheesiest. Decadent.
Ingredients
- 1 TBS butter
- 12 ounces (3 cups/340g) extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 12 ounces (3 cups/340g) sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 4 cups (454g) elbow macaroni (or other small shape)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, plus more to garnish
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475*F/246*C/ gas mark 4. Using the TBS of butter, generously grease a rimmed sheet pan that measures 11-inches (28cm) by 17-inches (44 cm). Set aside.
- Cook your macaroni according to the package directions, knocking 2 minutes off the cook time. Drain well, rinse, drain again. Pour the macaroni into a bowl.
- Grate your cheeses and combine. Remove 2 heaped cups (2 1/4 cups/260g) and reserve. Toss the remainder into the bowl with the macaroni. Add salt, pepper and the cayenne pepper, again tossing to combine.
- Spread the macaroni mixture into the baking sheet, spreading it out evenly. Pour the milk evenly over the surface. Sprinkle the reserved cheese evenly over top.
- Sprinkle on some additional cayenne pepper if desired.
- Bake for 15 minutes, uncovered, until golden brown and crisp in areas. Serve hot.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
When I was a young woman, I couldn't really afford to buy cookery books. With a growing family to care for and being a stay at home mom, cookery books were not in my budget. I used to handwrite out recipes gleaned from library books and friends and magazines into notebooks. This is one of those recipes and I can no longer remember if it came from a book, magazine or a friend, or if it was an exeriment of my own that worked out well. I tend to think that it is the latter due to the simplicity of it. Simple recipes are often the best ones don't you think?
Enjoy a long weekend Easter lunch with Newman's Own, The English Provender Co. and Very Lazy!
Saturday, 5 April 2014
Enjoy a long weekend Easter lunch with Newman's Own, The English Provender Co. and Very Lazy!
Cook up a feast for friends and family this Easter with a range of recipe ideas from Newman's Own, The English Provender Co. and Very Lazy. Pick our your favourite dish or try the whole menu for a seasonal Easter Feast to kick off Spring in style.
The fresh French-inspired fig and goat's cheese salad using Newman's Own Light French Dressing is perfect to start!
*French Fig, Ham and Goats Cheese Salad with Almonds*
Serves 2
A delicious starter from the people at Newman's Own perfect for your Easter lunch. Serves 2
20g of whole almonds, chopped (I toast these first as
it really helps to bring out the flavour of them best) (2 TBS)
it really helps to bring out the flavour of them best) (2 TBS)
The fillet of Lamb served with a Very Lazy Chilli salsa is a great twist on the traditional dinner.
*Fillet of Lamb with Mint, Garlic and Chili Salsa*
served with lemon cucumber yogurt and caramelized onion couscous(Approximately 2/3 pound in weight each)
For the Salsa:
For the couscous:
Meanwhile, place the remaining 2 TBS of olive oil in a small pan and cook the chilli and garlic for 5 minutes. Leave to cool and then stir in the fresh mint.
Finally make the yogurt sauce by combining everything together.
Finish off your meal with this beautiful piece de resistance from The English Provender Co, a delicious sweet St Clement's Cake using their Luxury Lemon Curd.
*St Clement's Cake*
Makes 8 generous slices300g pack of full fat cream cheese (1 1/4 cups)
Cream the butter, sugar, ginger paste and lemon zest together in a large bowl until pale and well combined. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour after each addition if the mixture begins to curdle. Sift over any remaining flour and fold it in with a large metal spoon. Divide the mixture between the two tins, leveling the surface of each with the back of a spoon. Bake for 20 to 25 minues, until risen and golden and firm to the couch. Allow to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
It has been said that cupcakes are becoming very passe. What a fickle lot we are . . . I expect that the Macaron will be the next thing to go out of culinary fashion . . .
What cupcakes and macarons once were, the Whoopie Pie now is!! These little babies are taking the country by storm!
Coming from North America I am no stranger to the Whoopie Pie. I have been making the chocolate ones for years.
They are a typically Amish treat originally used as a thrifty way to use up leftover cake batters. Quite ingenious I think, but then again . . . the Amish are well known for their thrift and ingenuity.
It is said that when the lucky husbands and children of these thrifty Amish housewives opened their lunch pails and spied these little treats inside, they would shout out with loud "Whoopie's!"
Hence the name Whoopie Pie.
One thing I love about the British is that they are not afraid to embrace foods of different cultures and make them their own.
You can find all sorts of designer whoopie pies showing up in the more up-to-date cafes and bakeries across the land.
This is my attempt to create a truly "British" Whoopie Pie. What could shout out England more than the good old Bakewell Tart!
I spent almost all of today working on these and perfecting them. I am really pleased with the results.
These tasty little cakes have all the characteristics of a traditional Bakewell tart . . . an delicious cake batter, containing ground almonds . . . raspberry jam, the almond icing on top and the glace cherry.
The only thing that is not traditional is that gorgeous whipped marshmallow filling . . . oh and there's no crust, but to be honest . . .
You won't miss it a bit!!!! I think I'm on the cutting edge of something really wonderful here.
I think you will find these . . . very . . . very . . . very . . . moreish!
And that's NO lie! (I'm pretty proud of these. Can you tell??) A bit messy to eat for sure, but oh . . . so . . . scrummy!
*Bakewell Whoopie Pies*
Makes about 20
Printable Recipe
Delicious double almond cake/biscuits with a filling of seedless raspberry jam and lucious marshallow cream, drizzled with an almond drizzle icing and topped with flaked almonds and glace cherries. Oh my but these are some good. I believe if I opened my lunch bucket and found one of these, I'd be shouting "Whoopie" too! To make perfectly round whoopie pies use a piping bag with a wide piping nozzle.
75g unsalted butter, melted (5 TBS)
1 large free range egg
150g of caster sugar (3/4 cup)
125g sour cream (slightly more than 1/2 cup)
25ml of cold milk (about 3 TBS) Plus 1 TBS if needed
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
275g plain flour (2 cups, less 1 TBS)
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g of ground almonds (1/2 cup)
For the marshmallow cream filling:
100g mini or regular marshmallows (18 large ones)
50ml of milk (1/8 cup)
125g of very soft unsalted butter (8 1/2 TBS)
about 4 heaped TBS of seedless raspberry jam, stirred to loosen
For the drizzle:
200g icing sugar, sifted (about 1 1/2 cups)
cold water
few drops of almond extract
To finish:
10 glace cherries, halved
flaked almonds
Preheat the oven to180*C/350*F/Gas mark4. LIne some large bakign trays with nonstick baking paper and set aside.
Whisk the egg with an electric hand whisk until light and fluffy. Continue to whisk adding the sugar a bit at a time until thick and glossy. Beat in the melted butter, sour cream, milk, vanilla and almond extracts. Sift the flour and baking soda together and then add this to the liquid mixture, beating it in until smooth. Fold in the almonds and if need be the additional TBS of milk. You want a fairly thick batter, not too runny. Spoon into a piping bag with a wide piping nozzle fitted.
Pipe walnut sized balls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 1/2 inches between each. (Alternately you can spoon walnut sized blobs onto the sheets) This will take a few batches of baking so don't worry if they don't all fit on the trays at once.
Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, until slightly browned and crisp around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat with remaining batter until it is gone.
To make the marshmallow cream, place the marshmallows and milk in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring, over low heat, until the marshmallows have melted and completely amalgamated with the milk Remove from the heat and cool. Add the butter and beat together until smooth and light.
To assemble, sandwich two cookie/cakes together with a layer of raspberry jam on the bottom, topped with a dollop of marshallow cream. Place the sandwiched whoopie pies onto a baking rack. Whisk together the icing sugar, a few drops of almond extract and enough cold water to make a runny drizzle. You don't want it too runny or too thick. Just add it a bit at a time until you get the proper consistency. Drizzle this over the whoopie pies, topping each with 1/2 of a cherry and some flaked almonds before it sets. Allow to set before serving.
These will keep for several hours once filled and iced. Best eaten on the day they are baked! (Not a problem I'd say!!)
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