The recipe I am sharing with you today comes from an old Waitrose Cooking Pamphlet from 2009. I was still working at the Manor when I picked this up at the shops.
I always had it in my mind to bake these and I can't believe it has taken me ten years to do so!
Crisp and buttery these delicious shortbread fingers get their lovely peppermint flavour from the use of crushed strong mint candies.
You put the candies into a food processor, or spice grinder and grind them into a powder. You won't be able to grind them totally into a powder, but if they are mostly powdered with a few tiny bits, that will work fine.
The short bread dough itself is made totally in the food processor. You simply tip the flour and cold butter cut into bits into the bowl of your food processor and blitz.
You want the mixture to resemble fine dry bread crumbs. Once you have that then its time to tip the ground peppermints and a small quantity of sugar into the food processor and blitz again.
Blitz until the mixture comes together into a sort of thick paste. No worries if you don't have a food processor. You can do this with an electric whisk. It will just take longer.
The dough then gets pressed into the bottom of a 9X5 inch loaf tin that you have buttered and lined with baking paper. Make sure you use enough baking paper that you can just use the paper to lift the shortbread out of the pan with after baking.
Over here in the UK, you can get loaf tin paper liners, much like cupcake liners, so I used one of them. Easy peasy.
They take about half an hour to bake in a slow oven. Don't be tempted to rush them. They will be done when they are set, and golden brown.
They shouldn't look greasy. Lift them out while almost immediately and then carefully cut them into fingers (crosswise) while they are still warm.
If you wait until the shortbread is cold, it will be impossible to cut them without them breaking and crumbling.
If you have waited too long, just rewarm them briefly in the oven, just so that they are warm and slice-able.
They smell all lovely and pepperminty when they are baking. Very nice and Christmassy!!
Once they have cooled you can get on with the business of glazing them. More peppermint flavour comes from the chocolate glaze.
You will need a bar of good quality dark mint flavoured chocolate. I used Lindt. Break this up into bits and melt it and then spoon and spread it over the top of each finger.
You will also be melting some white chocolate to drizzle decoratively over top of the dark. They sure do look pretty when they are done!
Christmas and shortbread . . . well . . . you can't have one without the other! It just ain't human!
Mint Chocolate Shortbread Fingers
Yield: About 10
Crushed peppermints and melted minted dark chocolate give these buttery shortbread fingers a fresh taste that everyone will enjoy. These can be the "after-dinner" shortbreads!
ingredients:
- 44g tube of Trebor extra strong mints (1.5 ounces of something like Altoids mints)
- 125g plain flour (1 cup less 2 TBS) (all purpose)
- 100g unsalted butter, cold and cut into bits (7 TBS)
- 25g caster sugar (2 TBS)
To glaze:
- 100g bar Lindt Dart Mint Intense Chocolate chopped (3 1/2 ounces)
- 50g of good white chocolate, chopped )1.5 ounces)
instructions:
How to cook Mint Chocolate Shortbread Fingers
- Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*C/gas mark 3. Butter a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper, leaving an overhand to lift it out with.
- Crush the peppermints in the bowl of a food processor until it becomes very small pieces, mostly powdered. Remove and set aside.
- Add the flour and the butter to the food processor. Blitz until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Tip in the crushed peppermints and the sugar. Blitz until it comes together into a firm paste. Tip out and press evenly into the bottom of the loaf tin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until set and golden brown. Remove from the oven and lift out onto a cutting board using the paper overhang.
- Using a sharp knife, carefully cut crosswise into 10 fingers. Allow to cool completely before proceeding.
- Melt both chocolates by your preferred method. (I use the microwave on high at 30 second intervals. It took my microwave about 45 seconds to melt the dark chocolate and 30 to melt the white.) Spoon and spread the dark chocolate over each shortbread finger, allowing some to drip down the sides. Drizzle the white chocolate decoratively over top. Leave in a cool place to set and then store in an airtight container.
These are crisp and buttery with a lovely peppermint flavour. They go down a real treat with a hot cuppa or better yet, a couple of scoops of peppermint ice cream. Yum!!
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!
Christmas fruit cake. It is a "love it" or "loathe it" kind of a thing. I am from the "love it" camp myself. All the Christmas's of my childhood contained at least two fruit cakes, a light one and a dark one.
My mom would also make a delicious War Cake! We had very fruity Christmas’s growing up!
The Christmas Catalogue used to have options where you could buy a ready-made fruit cake, the tops of them highly decorated with nuts and glace fruit, decoratively placed and beautifully glazed.
My, but they looked very pretty, and enticing. They always carried a hefty price tag.
My mom would often buy a slab of fruit cake and make us a delicious War Cake to enjoy as well. We loved both.
Mom's War Cake was lovely and moist and filled with large sticky raisins. You can find the recipe for that here.
Most of the department stores had their own versions of fruitcake as well, with the most popular one being the ones offered at S. S. Kresge. Kresge's was an American department store, at one time being the largest discount retail stores in America.
It was renamed Kmart in 1977 and later evolved into the Sears Holdings Corporation, after Kmart bought out Sears.
In any case they were famous at Christmas for both their light and their dark fruitcakes. My sister had a recipe that she got from her late MIL for their light fruitcake, which she had lost, but which she said was the best fruitcake ever.
I did a search for her and came up with two recipes, one for a light cake and one for a dark.
I have already baked my dark fruit cake, or Christmas Cake as it is known over here. That is a recipe I am very happy with and not likely to ever change. You can find that recipe here. It is excellent.
I was very keen however to try the light fruit cake recipe and so this week I did. It called for 2 pounds of Kresge Extra Fancy Mix, which I assumed was a mix of candied and dried fruits.
I used glace cherries (in three colours), glace pineapple, dried apricots and chopped glace citrus peels. I prefer to buy my citrus peels whole and chop them myself. I always buy all of my glace fruits from Buy Whole Foods Online.
They have the best assortment to choose from and their prices are quite reasonable. I have never had any problem with their delivery or packaging either.
I always rinse my glace cherries in hot water and then dry them before using them. That's what Delia Smith does and I just figure if she does, then it must be an important thing to do!
I also used dried apricots and I cut them into chunks. I didn't see any need to chop the pecans. I did toast them first.
I was very pleased with how the fruit cake came out. It is really jam packed full of fruit and nuts.
It cuts beautifully with a serrated knife, and keeps beautifully wrapped tightly and stored in an airtight container.
I am gifting one to a friend and Todd, believe it or not, has already made short work of half of the one I am keeping. I'm hiding the rest of it so that we have it for Christmas!!
Kresge's Light Holiday Fruit Cake
Yield: Makes 2 loaves
This light fruit cake is jam packed with plenty of fruit and nuts. Makes one loaf for keeping and one for giving away.
ingredients:
- 150g butter (2/3 cup)
- 125g granulated sugar (2/3 cup)
- 2 large free-range eggs beaten
- 240ml fruit juice or water (I used fresh orange juice)
- 60ml liquid honey (1/4 cup)
- 280g flour, sifted (2 cups)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 910g extra fancy mixed glace fruit (2 pounds) (I used a mix of glace cherries, glace citrus peels, glace pineapple and dried apricots)
- 150g raisins (1 cup)
- 60g whole pecans (1/2 cup)
- 140g additional flour (1 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Kresge's Light Holiday Fruit Cake
- Preheat the oven to 135*C/275*F. Butter two 3 1/2 " by 7 1/2" loaf tins and line with waxed or baking paper, leaving 1/2 inch of paper to extend beyond the edges of the tins all round. Set aside.
- Rinse and dry your glace cherries. Place into a bowl. Chop the citrus peels into small bits. I used combination of grapefruit, pomelo, orange and lemon peels. Cut the glace pineapple into chunks. Chop the dried apricots. Put the citrus, apricots and pineapple into the bowl with the cherries. Add the pecans and raisins. Mix together and then stir in the flour to coat it all well.
- Beat the butter and sugar together well. Beat in the eggs and then stir in the fruit juice and honey. It will look well curdled, but don't worry about it. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir into the creamed mixture to combine well and then fold in the floured fruit/nut mixture. Spoon the batter into the two prepared loaf tins, dividing it equally. Do not smooth down or press into place.
- Place a cake tin filled with 480ml/2 cups water on the bottom rack of the oven. Place the loaf tins onto a baking sheet and place into the oven on the rack above the water. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the cakes are firm on top and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean with no batter clinging. Store in an airtight container.
I don't think my photos really do this lovely cake justice. It looks very jewel-like when cut up. Colour me very happy with it! I will make again!
So what about you, are you a "love it" or a "loathe it" fruit cake person?
As promised yesterday I am back today with a delicious casserole that you can make with some of your leftover cooked pork. I think that this casserole would also work well with leftover cooked chicken, beef or lamb as well.
I am a great lover of the casserolee and of using up my leftovers.
We eat a lot of chicken in our house. Chicken and fish. Red meat only makes a rare appearance. We sometimes go weeks without eating red meat until a craving hits.
Then I am more than likely to choose a good steak, or some chops or sausages. But that's a whole 'nother story. Today we're talking about chicken!
I confess that I am not overly fond of drumsticks . . . thighs and breasts, they are my favourites. The breasts because they lend themselves to all sorts of quick cooking methods and are so adaptable.
The thighs because they are tender and juicy. Today however, we had chicken leg quarters, which contained both the drumstick and thighs.
These chicken pieces are beautiful flavoured by marinating them in a spicy marinade. I like to use a sharp knife and cut slashes into the chicken pieces so that those delicious flavours really penetrate the meat.
This is only something which I started doing over these past few years and I have to say it really does make a difference. The meat somehow ends up really tender as well.
The marinade itself is very simple . . . sweet paprika (not hot or smoked), dry mustard powder, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and olive oil. Simple.
Simple flavours, expertly combined. Really flavour-filled.
I bet you have all of those things in your house right now. You just mix them all together and then rub them into your chicken pieces.
Then leave them to marinate, covered in the refrigerator.
Half an hour will do the job. But, as with any kind of marinade, the longer you keep the chicken in it, the chicken will absorb more of the flavours.
I think at least an hour or two is better.
Its a bit spicy and a lot tasty . . . trust me on this.
I bake it in the oven covered for about an hour at a lower temperature, and then I uncover the meat, increase the heat and finish it off for a quick roasting 15 to 20 minutes should do it.
This helps to brown if off a bit and get that tasty skin really nice and crisp.
The end result is very tender and juicy chicken. The flavours are excellent. The skin nice and crispy.
In short, chicken perfection. And I know my chicken.
Of course, if you are against chicken skin, you can discard the skin after cooking, but once in a while, I think a bit of chicken skin is a.o.k
Especially if it is as nicely flavoured and crispy as this! My sister does shake and bake chicken with skin on chicken thighs and it is to die for. My father just loves it.
I served it simply with some mashed roasted sweet potatoes that were baking in the oven along side of those delicious chicken pieces, and some sauteed rainbow chard.
Actually funny story of the chard. I went to sprinkle on it what I thought was pepper, but it ended up being cinnamon. Quite different! I've had worse!
Yield: 4
Mustard Baked Chicken
Fabulously tasty chicken! You marinate in a tangy marinade for at least 1/2 hour prior to baking to perfection! Finger-licking good!
ingredients:
- 4 chicken bone-in leg/thigh quarters (chicken pieces with both leg and thigh attached)
- 1/2 TBS sweet paprika
- 1 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 TBS olive oil
instructions:
How to cook Mustard Baked Chicken
- Trim any excess fat from the chicken quarters and discard. Cut some slashes into the tops of them on both the thigh and the drumstick sections with a sharp knife. Place into a container. Whisk together all of the remaining ingredients until well-blended. Rub into the chicken in the container, coating it on all sides. Cover and place into the refrigerator to marinate, for at least a half an hour, or up to 8 hours maximum, turning them over in the marinade every now and then.
- Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/gas mark 3.
- Lay the chicken pieces, skin side up in a baking dish large enough to hold them. Brush and drizzle any marinade over the chicken on the tray. Cover tightly with aluminium foil.
- Roast in the preheated oven for one hour. Increase the oven temperature to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Uncover the chicken and roast for a further 10 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken is crisp and glazed and the juices run clear when pricked with a fork.
- Serve hot with your favourite accompaniments.
You can see how juicy, succulent and flavourful that chicken is! It went down a real treat!
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.
One thing I like to bake every Christmas is my Cinnamon Swirl Tea Bread. It is a recipe I got from my good friend Leona many years ago, and it is delicious!
Normally I just bake it plain, but during the Holidays I like to dress it up with a glaze!
Its incredibly moist and buttery and goes down very well with a hot cup of whatever floats your boat.
Tea, coffee, herbal infusions, hot cocoa . . . you can enjoy this with any hot drink.
The rich batter contains butter and sour cream, which helps to make it incredibly moist. This is one of those breads that just gets better with each day that passes.
It will be just as good, if not better on the third or fourth day as it was on the first.
Tea Breads are called Tea Breads because they are delicious served with cups of tea, not because they are made with tea.
The same way breakfast coffee cakes are not really made with coffee but meant to be enjoyed with hot coffee . . .
This delicious loaf has a lovely cinnamon flavour . . . both in the swirl which uses lots of soft light brown sugar and ground cinnamon . . .
(Oh boy, the smell . . . amazing.)
And in that sweet sticky glaze.That's right. There is the flavour of cinnamon in the glaze as well.
The swirl comes from layering in the cinnamon brown sugar mixture and then swirling it with a round bladed knife. Try not to overdo it with the swirl.
You want it to be distinct and if you work too hard at it, it will be absorbed into the bread instead of giving you a swirl. Part of the charm of this bread is that distinct swirl.
Sometimes it ends up a bit more swirly than others. You can never tell what its going to be until you cut the cooled bread open.
No matter where the cinnamon ends up, one thing is for sure. This is fabulously delicious!
Cinnamon Swirl Tea Bread
Yield: Makes 1 loaf
Terrifically tasty. Moist, yummy and oh so cinnamony!
ingredients:
- 115g butter, softened (1/2 cup)
- 2 large free range eggs
- 120g of sour cream or plain yogurt (1 cup)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 190g caster sugar (1 cup)
- 280g plain flour (2 cups)
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 6 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 TBS ground cinnamon
- dash ground cardamom
Optional Glaze:
- 65g icing sugar, sifted (1/2 cup)
- milk to thin
- pinch ground cinnamon
instructions:
How to cook Cinnamon Swirl Tea Bread
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
- Measure the butter, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, sugar, flour, soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Beat together until well combined, but do not over beat. Stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom.
- Spread half of the batter into the prepared baking tin. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter over top. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Using a round bladed knife gently cut through the batter to swirl the cinnamon sugar through.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until well risen and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Store wrapped tightly in cling film. Serve cut in slices, toasted or not, and spread with butter.
- To make the optional glaze, whisk the icing sugar and cinnamon together with just enough milk to give you a drizzle icing. Flick it over the top decoratively.
This also makes wonderful gifts for neighbours and friends. Bake, wrap well and freeze, then take out on the day, glaze and then let the glaze set, pop it onto a giftable bread board, wrap with some cellophane and tie it with a red ribbon. I have never had anyone throw it back!
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: theenglishkitchen@mail.com
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