Have you ever wondered about the complexities of language? I mean . . . English is supposed to be English right, but here in the UK a potato chip is called a crisp. French fries are called chips over here and my family always called them chips, so I expect they call them chips in Canada also. I remember travelling as a child in the US and mom ordering us Hot Dogs and Chips for our dinner at a restaurant, and being most disappointed when I got a bag of potato chips instead of french fries. Are you confused yet? English is English, except when its not.
Other things I wonder about are things like who was it that decided if you mix things together like eggs and flour and sugar, you got a cake. Or, and this is a biggie . . . that eggs were edible. Yes, I have a weird mind sometimes. Then there are things like this cookie recipe. . . Potato Chip Cookies. Who was it that decided that potato chips belonged in cookies?
Not that I am complaining or anything. I love potato chips. I love cookies. The two together . . . genius. Its that sweet and salty combination that really gets my taste buds to tingling.
This is really a very old recipe and there are quite a few variations out there. Some use eggs, some do not. Some have chocolate chips, to further add to the sweetness. These don't have eggs, nor do they have chocolate chips. They are beautiful however and have the texture of a very moreish shortbread cookie, and I adore short breads.
Its the short buttery texture of these that I really, really love. They are not too sweet either, just like a good shortbread biscuit . . .
They also contain chopped toasted pecans. I always toast my nuts when I am using them in baking. Toasting them really enhances their nuttiness . . . especially when you are talking about walnuts and pecans.
I suspect someone a very long time ago was making pecan sandies or short breads and didn't have quite enough pecans, but did have potato chips and so decided to throw them into the mix instead, with most delicious results . . . but don't quote me on that as I don't really know!
I only know that they are delicious and I love them. They are fabulous with a cup of hot something, or with a glass of cold milk (my personal favourite.)
Today we are having the lads over for supper and I made butterscotch pudding for dessert and so I thought these cookies would go beautifully with that.
I doubt either of them will be very disappointed actually. We are having BBQ for dinner, with salads, and so I thought pudding and cookies would make the perfect dessert.
Its a pudding and a cookie kind of a day I think. Potato Chip Cookie Day.
*Potato Chip Cookies*
Makes 3 dozen
One of my favourite goodies inside another one of my favourite goodies. You can't lose. Its a sweet and salty treat!
225g butter, softened (1 cup)
95g sugar (1/2 cup)
280g plain flour (2 cups)
60g chopped toasted pecans (1/2 cup)
140g crushed potato chips (1 1/2 cups)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line several baking sheets with baking paper. Set aside.
Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Scoop off to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.
Dust with icing sugar to serve. (optional)
Here is another question . . . why is it that sweet and salty things go together so very well? I dunno, but they work together beautifully and it is a combination that I quite simply adore! Bon Appetit!
I was reading on line today that here in the UK we are expected to have the longest, hottest summer that we have had in over ten years. Sun worshippers rejoice! All your dreams are about to come true! Myself, I prefer more moderate temperatures, and if the warm weather and lack of rain keeps up, I predict that it won't be long before they are calling for hose pipe bans, which spells doom to gardeners. We are a green and verdant country, and much of that is because of all the rain that we get. I am hoping that we have a happy combination of the three . . . warmth and sunshine, mixed with just enough rain to keep things green.
I am beginning to think that Jeanie is right. I am the Queen of chicken. Sorry but its another chicken recipe today, but really you should be thanking me because these are fabulously delicious!
Not only that, but they are also quick and easy to make. Perfectly sized for two, but easily adaptable for more.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are browned lightly and then poached in a BBQ sauce mixture that you create . . . once the chicken is cooked through and tender, you shred the chicken and cook it for a bit longer in the sauce.
This really helps to get the BBQ flavour in there. Its a simple sauce using your favourite ready prep BBQ sauce and a few other bits.
On top of that is a simple coleslaw. You can use coleslaw shredded vegetable mix from the shops, which would make it even quicker to make, but I like to shred my own. I use a really sharp knife and just cut it into thin slivers.
There is something very cathartic about standing there, hand shredding the cabbage and carrots. I go off into my own little world. I find it quite stress relieving. Not that I have a lot in my world to be stressed about, but still . . . I do enjoy hand shredding it all.
The dressing is a simple one, made with mayonnaise, buttermilk, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, some seasoning and a bit of celery seed. You can add more vegetables if you like, grated broccoli stems, spring onions, etc. Just use the basic dressing and add what you like.
I tend to make it before I start the chicken so that the flavours have time to meld. Some vegetables/cabbage can be a bit more watery than others, so if you find that your coleslaw is a bit watery, just drain it a bit before using it, so you don't end up with soggy buns.
It goes perfectly with the flavours of the BBQ chicken filling . . . very nice. We really love this combination.
I like to use a Brioche bun. You can toast or not as you like. I prefer to toast them on the cut sides under the grill, just until golden brown.
That way the buns don't absorbe the BBQ sauce or the coleslaw dressing and get soggy. Toasting is the way to go in my books!
This is the kind of food I really love in the summer months . . . no nonsense kind of food. NO fuss. NO bother, easy to eat and easy to clean up after.
If you have leftover chicken from a roast chicken or a rotisserie chicken, you could use that instead. Just sayin'
I have also used Turkey tenderloins and done this. They work beautifully.
On the side you could serve potato salad, or potato chips, a macaroni salad, pickles. Whatever you fancy.
Whatever you choose to have on the side, this is sure to be a meal that will have you smacking your lips and licking your fingers. Its hot diggity doggone good!
*BBQ Chicken Sandwiches for Two*
Serves 2
These are very easy to make are fabulously rich and delicious. You can double all of the ingredients to feed more if you wish.
2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts (3/4 pound)
salt and black pepper to taste
1 1/2 TBS butter
125g BBQ sauce (1/2 cup) (use your favourite)
60ml cider vinegar
1/2 TBS hot sauce
For the slaw:
8 ounces shredded cabbage
1 small carrot shredded
55g mayonnaise (1/4 cup)
60ml buttermilk (1/4 cup)
1/2 TBS cider vinegar
1 tsp sugar
salt and black pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
You will also need 2 burger buns
Season the chicken with salt and black pepper. Melt
the butter over moderate heat in a skillet. Add the chicken and brown
it lightly on both sides. Whisk together the BBQ sauce, vinegar and hot
sauce. Pour over the chicken. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a
slow simmer, and cook, covered for about 10 minutes until cooked
through, turning the chicken over halfway through the cook time.
Transfer the chicken to a plate. Shred with two forks, then return to
the sauce in the pan and keep warm.
Whisk
together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar and sugar for the slaw.
Whisk in salt and black pepper to taste, along with the celery seed.
Stir in the shredded cabbage and carrot. Toss to coat.
Toast your buns or not as desired.
These were really, really, REALLY good. The pictures are making me hungry for them all over again!
I have a husband who totally adores custard in any way shape or form, but custard tarts are his very favourite way to enjoy it. He loves nothing more than a traditional British Custard tart, chilled and wobbly and heavily dusted with nutmeg. These are not them. These are Portugese Custard Tarts, and they are very different than the traditional British Custard Tart. You can find my recipe for that here.
As I said Portugese Custard Tarts are quite different. Known officially as Pastéis de Nata, Portuguese Custard Tarts are composed of a rich egg custard nestled in shatteringly crisp flaky pastry. I have never been to Portugal, so don't shoot me if you don't think these are authentic . . . these are pretty close in my honest opinion, and yes I am a tad bit biased.
I will admit right now, all I have ever had are ones I have made myself. They are fabulously tasty. I can no longer remember exactly where I got this recipe from, but I can tell you they are pretty wonderful. I have learned a few things through the years of making them.
Use an all butter puff pastry. This is the best. Roll it up as tightly as you can and then slice it into rounds. I flatten them somewhat between the palms of my hands before I start to press them into the pan.
I find it really helps to put a tiny round of baking paper in the bottom of your muffin cups, just in case they stick. I also like to butter them a tiny bit with cold butter, not soft. There is nothing worse than a tart stuck to the tin. Also use a good non-stick tin. If any of the custart overflows while you are baking them, this will make it so much easier to get them out.
As you can see, even so, mine did stick in a few places . . .
Another tip, when you are pressing them into the tins, make sure that the bottom o the shell is fairly thin. Its okay if it is a bit thicker at the top of the tins, but the part that will be baking beneath the custard you want to be earth shatteringly crisp and not soggy when done, so thinner is better. Also don't skip the part where you stick the pan in the freezer while you make the filling. This also helps to create a nice crisp finish.
Try not to overfill them. It is really better if you avoid this. The custard will expand when it is cooking, and puff up a bit. You don't want it to spill over if you can help it.
These are beautiful if somewhat a bit messy to eat . . . you have that lovely crisp and seriously flaky crust . . . buttery . . .
Inside is the rich creamy custard . . . not as wobbly as British Custard tarts, this is much more unctuous, probably because of the liberal use of heavy cream, rather than milk. Lucious . . .
The flavour is lemon . . . not nutmeg . . . also beautiful. I do so love my lemon anything. If you are a fan of buttery flaky pastry and rich lucious lemon custard, then you will fall in love with these. I guarantee.
*Portuguese Custard Tarts*
Makes sixIt only takes three letters to describe these delectable little creations W-O-W!! Try them for yourself and you’ll see what I’m talking about! Very quick and easy to make, and very impressive . . .
375g pack (1 (9 1/4 X 10)) inch sheet of all butter puff pastry, thawed (about 9 ounces)
4 large free range egg yolks
240ml heavy cream (1 cup)
95g caster sugar (1/2 cup) (superfine granulated sugar)
1 TBS cornflour
the finely grated zest of 1 lemon
a pinch of salt
Preheat
the oven to 260*C/500*F/gas mark 10 Take the puff pasty and roll it into as tight a
coil as you can, starting from the short side. Cut the coil into 1 1/2
inch wide strips. Put the pieces, cut sides down, into six muffin cups.
Wet your fingers with a bit of cold water and press the pastry over the
bottoms and up the sides to make a thin shell. It's ok if they extend a
bit beyond the rim. Put into the freezer to chill while you make the
custard.
Whisk the egg yolks, cream, sugar, cornflour, lemon zest and salt together in a medium saucepan. Place over medium high heat and cook, whisking constantly until the custard begins to thicken. This will take about 6 1/2 minutes. It will look quite thin until you have been wisking for about six minutes and then in the last 30 seconds will thicken just enough, like magic! It should be as thick as lemon curd. You don't need to boil it.
Remove your muffin tin from the
freezer and divide the custard equally among the prepared tartlet
shells. (If you are using a 12 cup muffin tin, fill the empty cups half
full of water so they don't burn, trust me)
Bake until the tops are slightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. Run a sharp knife around them and loosen them so that you can remove them from the pan and finish cooling them on a wire rack before devouring! (about 30 minutes . . . for the cooling, not the devouring . . . that shouldn't take all that long!)
Dust lightly with icing sugar and ground cinnamon to serve.
And then there was none . . . Bon Appetit!
Every time we go to Costco, I look at the muffins. They look so good, but they are soooooo huge. Most muffins that you buy in the shops are huge, probably twice as big as what you should realistically be eating. I think one of those Costco muffins is large enough for four people, but that is just me. I will tell you up front, I have never eaten one . . . but they do look mighty tasty. I am a lover of muffins.
Somewhere between a cupcake and a bread, muffins are like tiny sturdy cakes built just for one, without all the frosting and outside adornments. They really don't need any. For the most part they are quite capable of standing on their own without any embellishments . . . I guess you could call them sturdy-little-stand-alones! If your muffins lean more towards being a cake, they are not really muffins . . . lets be honest here.
Although they may be similar, ingredient-wise . . . with both containing flour, sugar, leavening, eggs,milk and fat . . . that is where any similarity should end. They are not meant to have the same consistency. They are meant to be completely different, and that difference comes all in the way they are put together.
Tea, coffee, hot
chocolate, cappuccino . . . espresso, whatever floats your boat morning-wise. I like mine with milk, and I have always been partial to Muffin Tops . . . its that crisp
edge. I do so love crisp edges. When I lived in Canada and we went across the border shopping, I used to pick up toaster cakes at the grocery store, which were like muffin tops that you could warm up in the toaster. They were SOOOOO good! I loved them toasted with butter.
You wouldn't want butter on a cake. It would have no place to go. A muffin however, is filled with lots of little nooks and crannies that are perfect for cradling softened butter.
These chocolate chip muffins are fabulous.
They are moist and delicious with a perfect crumb, and stogged full of chocolate chips. They
have a beautifully high rise on them . . . like little chocolate chip
studded crowns.
This is the type of muffin I want to find in a bake shop actually . . . a muffin that's a "muffin" and not a cake disguised as a muffin. Taking the frosting off a cupcake doesn't make it a muffin people. It really doesn't.
Muffins make the perfect portable breakfast for those mornings when you don't have a lot of time and are dashing out the door. You can freeze most muffins, so that you can grab one and by the time you get to work it will be perfectly thawed and ready to warm up just a tiny bit in the microwave.
You can use tiny chocolate chips in these if you want, or even chocolate chunks . . . but I like to use the semi-sweet chocolate chips you get in the big bag at Costco. Not too sweet, and nice and dark. I love them.
You could use a mix of milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips s well, with each bite bringing you a tiny surprise . . . what will this mouthful bring . . . sweet and milky, or dark and slightly bitter? Or maybe a mix of both . . . . hmmm . . . whichever you choose, you are sure to love these fabulously tasty Chocolate Chip Muffins.
*Bake Shop Chocolate Chip Muffins*
Makes 12 muffins
These are moist and delicious with lovely high crowns!
350g plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
120g butter, melted and cooled (1/2 cup)
190g granulated sugar (1 cup)
2 large free range eggs, beaten
240ml whole milk
1 TBS pure vanilla extract
275g chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups)
Preheat the oven to 225*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a muffin tin
with paper liners or spray well with non-stick low fat cooking spray.
Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, baking
powder, soda and sea salt. Stir in the chocolate chips. Whisk together
the melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Add all at once to the
dry ingredients, and stir together just to combine. Divide equally
amongst the prepared muffin cups.
Bake for
FIVE minutes and then reduce the temperature to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5,
and bake for an additional 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops have risen
and are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out
clean. Try not to over bake. Let cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes
before tipping out onto a wire rack. Enjoy warm.
Don't be mistaken into believing that muffins are better for you than cake however. As with everything, moderation is the key, and true, while there is no frosting, and they are probably a bit less dense sugar wise than cake . . . you still don't want to be eating HUGE muffins. Small and steady always wins the race, and that is why these make the perfect Bake Shop Chocolate Chip Muffins. Bon Appetit and Happy Weekend!
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