Ingredient: light brown sugar

Mincemeat Pancakes w/ Orange Butter Sauce

The combination of mincemeat with pancakes and orange sauce is typically enjoyed as a festive twist on traditional breakfast fare during the Christmas holidays. The orange flavor is a natural fit, as many modern mincemeat recipes incorporate orange as a key flavor. 

Mincemeat originated in medieval England and the Middle East as a method for preserving meat using a mixture of minced meat, suet, fruits, and expensive spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The spices helped to show off wealth and disguise the flavor of older meat. Over centuries, the meat content in mincemeat gradually decreased, replaced by more fruit and suet. By the end of the 19th century, meat was a rare inclusion, and the dish fully transitioned from a savory main course to the sweet Christmas dessert we know today.

You might wonder what mincemeat is good for besides mince pies (or just eating with a spoon). You can stir it into a cobbler; add a cup to a muffin recipe; heat it up and spread it on your weekend pancakes or waffles; or use it in place of dates in a date square recipe. You could even serve it on a cheese plate as a very seasonal chutney.

I realize mincemeat isn’t for everyone but if you do care for it, these pancakes with orange butter sauce are well worth a try.

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 Mincemeat Pancakes w/ Orange Butter Sauce
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Course Brunch
Cuisine British
Keyword mincemeat pancakes w/ orange butter sauce
Servings
PANCAKES
Ingredients
Pancakes
Orange Butter Sauce
Toppings
Course Brunch
Cuisine British
Keyword mincemeat pancakes w/ orange butter sauce
Servings
PANCAKES
Ingredients
Pancakes
Orange Butter Sauce
Toppings
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Orange Butter Sauce
  1. Place the sugar, water & orange zest in a pan & bring to the boil, let it bubble & froth for 1 minute on a medium heat, then turn down the heat to low & stir in the butter until melted. Leave on a very low heat until ready to serve.
Pancakes
  1. Place the milk and mincemeat in a large bowl and stir to combine.
  2. Add flour, baking powder, sugar, egg, vanilla extract & salt. Use a whisk to mix until combined.
  3. Pour ¼ tbsp. oil in a large skillet, then wipe around with a kitchen towel to cover the pan. Heat the pan on a medium heat until hot. Pour in enough mixture to make three pancakes (approx. ¼ cup of mix per pancake). Turn the pancakes over when bubbles form on top & then burst, & the edges start to look firm (about 1-2 minutes). Cook on the other side for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the mixture - oiling the pan each time - until all the pancakes are cooked (keep the pancakes warm in a very low oven while you’re making each batch).
Assembly
  1. Stack 3 pancakes on each plate. Top each stack with orange segments, butter sauce & whipped cream.

Artichoke Cupcakes

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

St. Patrick’s Day is a funny thing here in Canada. It’s the one time each year that people seek out green food and drinks, everything from shamrock shakes, a green bagel, or green beer are part of our version of this holiday.

Green food has been getting more and more ‘creative’ on this particular holiday. Clean eating, green foods like spinach, avocado and broccoli for example. A walk through the grocery store produce section will provide a variety of examples of just how many green foods are available to use in meals and snacks.

In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, I wanted to incorporate some green food in some desserts. What better excuse could I have to make some artichoke cupcakes!

Over the years, Brion and I have vacationed many times in the Carmel / Monterey area on the Central Coast of California. As a rule, we make Pacific Grove ‘home base’ and from there do numerous day trips. About a 20-minute drive inland from Monterey Bay is the tiny agricultural town of Castroville. When you enter into the town you will see a sign that says, ‘Artichoke Center of the World’.  Where the rich, fertile soil of the Salinas Valley meets the sands of Monterey Bay, these fog-shrouded fields prove to be the ideal location for the commercial cultivation of Heirloom artichokes.

About another 20-minute drive further north you come to another agricultural town called Watsonville. Just before we reached the town, I spotted a sign advertising ‘artichoke cupcakes’ from Pezzini Farms. We have never eaten anything sweet associated with artichokes before now. This charming roadside market goes deep into the crop that made this chunk of California famous.

Now, Watsonville might not be the self-proclaimed Artichoke Center of the World like its neighbor, Castroville. But it still ranks right up there in growing this distinctive plant that’s actually an herb.

Pezzini Farms is family-owned and has been growing and selling Heirloom Green Globe artichokes since 1929. The family immigrated to the United States from Italy bringing with them their family’s artichoke root stalk. 

The market offers a great selection of fresh produce that includes artichokes sold individually or in bulk. The store also has a wide selection of artichoke products that featured jarred artichoke hearts, artichoke dip mix, and artichoke marinara sauce, among others. By the register, customers were enticed by an array of sweet pastries displayed under glass dessert domes. Among them were decadent artichoke cupcakes topped with thick frosting.

It inspired me to think of artichokes in a whole new way. Brion & I purchased a cupcake to see how it would taste. The dense cake wasn’t overly sweet, with chunks of artichoke heart adding an almost earthy quality. The frosting was velvety with a little cream cheese bounce. A good comparison would be like a zucchini bread or a carrot cake.

Of course, as soon as we came home, I couldn’t wait to try to recreate this interesting little cupcake and what a better time than today. Think artichoke green for St. Patrick’s day!

I’ve added a few pictures I hope you will enjoy.

  • Pezzini store pics x 2
  • Artichokes growing in the fields
  • Production line
  • Store cupcakes
  • Life-size signage
Print Recipe
 Artichoke Cupcakes
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine Canadian
Keyword artichoke cupcakes
Servings
LARGE CUPCAKES
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter
Cream Cheese Frosting
Course dessert
Cuisine Canadian
Keyword artichoke cupcakes
Servings
LARGE CUPCAKES
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter
Cream Cheese Frosting
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 6-cup muffin pan with large paper liners (or 12 small paper liners).
  2. Drain artichoke hearts well & mince into very small uniform pieces. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, water & oil.
  4. In another bowl, sift together flour, white & brown sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom & ginger.
  5. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients, then gently fold in the minced artichokes with a spatula until they are completely incorporated into the batter.
  6. Fill the prepared muffin tins with the batter & bake about 30 minutes for the large size (20-25 minutes for small size).
  7. Once the cupcakes are baked through, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
  1. With an electric mixer, beat butter & cream cheese until creamy & well combined & lump free.
  2. Add vanilla & salt, mix to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar until completely combined.
  3. Frost cupcakes as desired.

Oatmeal Freezer Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies are incredibly versatile! Part crispy cookie, part moist cake, the oatmeal cookie is made in a variety of ways: from thin and crispy, to moist and chewy, to even extra sweet or laced with salt. You can customize the classic combination by mixing in different ingredients so you get a completely different flavor than you would expect.

Oatmeal cookies came into North American kitchens by way of the Quaker Oats Company. The original oatmeal cookie recipe was mass distributed in 1908, printed on boxes of rolled oats. Billed as ‘oat cakes’ the recipe called for 3 cups of rolled oats along with butter, sugar, and flour. The oat cakes were an instant hit with homemakers. In 1943, the Quaker Oats company reformulated their recipe, this time using the term ‘oatmeal cookies’. The revised recipe utilized bacon drippings or shortening instead of butter and dried fruits for minimal sugar needs.

The oatmeal cookie recipe released by Quaker Oats has been re-branded twice, re-emerging on oatmeal packages as ‘Famous Oatmeal Cookies’, and as it is known today as ‘Quaker’s Best Oatmeal Cookies’. This oatmeal cookie recipe has earned the distinction of the longest printed recipe on any Quaker Oats products.

Here’s just a few add-ins to bump up the basic recipe if you choose to:

  • Dried fruit: Dates, Apricots, Cherries, Apples, Coconut
  • Nuts: Walnuts, Pecans, Cashews, Peanuts
  • Spices: Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg
  • Chocolate Chunks: White, Milk, Dark

This recipe gives you the option of freezing the dough and baking it later or using it right away. Rolling them in ground flax seed gives them an added bonus in flavor – as if oatmeal cookies could get any better!

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 Oatmeal Freezer Cookies
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword oatmeal freezer cookies
Servings
Ingredients
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword oatmeal freezer cookies
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Whisk both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cardamom in a medium bowl.
  2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter & both sugars on high speed until light & creamy. 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend & scraping down bowl between additions. Beat in vanilla.
  3. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add dry ingredients & mix just until combined. Fold in oatmeal & fruit.
  4. Divide dough between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Using paper as an aid, roll up each piece of dough into a 1 1/2-inch diameter log. Wrap in plastic; freeze for at least 4 hours up to 3 weeks.
  5. When ready to bake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Unwrap dough & cut into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Roll edges of rounds in ground flax seed. Place 2-inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  6. Bake until edges are golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool. Store in an airtight container or freeze.
Recipe Notes
  • Any fruit, nuts or seeds should be chopped quite small so your cookies can be sliced frozen. 
  • Rolling the edges in ground flax seed gives them such a nice flavor.

Ube Cream Puffs w/ Craqueline Topping

Ube (pronounced OO-bay), is a purple yam native to the Philippines and other areas of Southeast Asia. Ube is a very versatile ingredient. It is not a purple sweet potato or taro, it is a purple yam. Its special taste reminds one of vanilla, pistachios or chestnuts. The vibrant purple color inside and out is uniquely photogenic.

Ube has been used for decades in Filipino cuisine and has now caught on in North America, especially in the form of desserts. In fact, one of the world’s top 10 food and beverage flavor manufacturers has identified the official 2024 Flavor of the Year as Ube. The 2024 Food and Beverage Flavor Trends Report is an annual summary by California-based T. Hasegawa USA.

Globally recognized for its innovation and expertise in flavor development and proprietary flavor enhancing technologies, T. Hasegawa remains at the forefront of consumer trends and shares these developments and research findings throughout the food and beverage industry.

Today, I’m making some ube cream puffs with a craquelin topping. Cream puffs start with choux pastry, a heady mixture of butter, milk, water, eggs & flour. When you combine these ingredients, they become so dense and sticky that it seems impossible they’ll come together as soft, puffy, light, tender. Heat is what initiates the expansion of the dense paste. Steam from the milk and water expands the pastry’s edges, puffing up its capacity until the oven heat provides just enough crispness and structure to hold the puffs’ boundaries. A cream puff expands so dramatically in the oven that it creates a cavern inside to hold any number of things—whipped cream, pastry cream, ice cream or savory fillings.

Cream puff pastry (or choux pastry) is the base for profiteroles (smaller puffs filled with ice cream), éclairs (elongated puffs filled with pastry cream and glazed), croquembouche (a tower of cream puffs held together and drizzled with caramel) and savory appetizer puffs called gougeres with cheese and herbs.

Craquelin (pronounced kra-ke-lan) is a thin biscuit layer that can be added over choux pastries before baking them. It is used to create a crackly appearance, crunchy texture and a buttery sweet taste as well as helping the choux pastry bake evenly to form hollow rounds. It certainly dresses up ordinary cream puffs and the taste is so unique.

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 Ube Cream Puffs w/ Craqueline Topping
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine Filipino
Keyword ube cream puffs w/ craqueline topping
Servings
CREAM PUFFS
Ingredients
Ube Pastry Cream
Craquelin Topping
Choux Pastry
Course dessert
Cuisine Filipino
Keyword ube cream puffs w/ craqueline topping
Servings
CREAM PUFFS
Ingredients
Ube Pastry Cream
Craquelin Topping
Choux Pastry
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Ube Pastry Cream
  1. In a medium saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch & salt. Pour the milk & egg yolks into a bowl & whisk until combined then add liquid mixture to the saucepan slowly & whisk together.
  2. Add butter, bring mixture to a boil whisking constantly for one minute before removing from heat then mix in the ube extract.
  3. Transfer the pastry cream to a separate container (optional: first strain it through a mesh sieve to ensure the cream has a really smooth consistency) Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap, ensuring that the plastic wrap touches the top of the pastry cream to discourage the formation of a skin on top of it.
  4. Place in refrigerator & chill for at least 2 hours before using.
Ube Craquelin
  1. Soften the butter then mix the ube extract into it. Add in the flour, brown sugar & salt. Mix together until thoroughly combined. Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper & flatten until the dough reaches about 1/4 inch thickness. Freeze the dough until ready to use.
Choux Pastry
  1. Pour the water, sugar, salt & butter into a saucepan & heat over medium heat. Stir the mixture together until the water is boiling & the butter is melted. Remove the saucepan from the heat & add the flour.
  2. Vigorously mix the flour into the butter/water mixture so that all the water is absorbed. Once the dough is formed, return the saucepan to the heat. Continue to mix & cook down the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, about 2-5 minutes. You should be able to place a spoon into it & have it stand straight up.
  3. Transfer the dough to a bowl & allow it cool down for a couple minutes. Crack in the eggs one at a time, ensuring the previous egg is fully incorporated into the dough before adding in the next egg.
  4. Transfer the dough into a piping bag.
Assembly
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Remove the craqueline topping from the freezer & cut out disks of a desired size to put on top of the choux pastry.
  3. Pipe out mounds of choux pastry onto the prepared baking tray & top each mound with a craqueline disk.
  4. Bake for 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the choux mounds. DO NOT open the oven for the first 25 minutes of the baking process of the steam will release & the choux won't puff up properly.
  5. After about 25 minutes, open the oven & prick each choux with a toothpick, then return to the oven to cook for another 5-10 minutes depending on the choux size (this helps to dry out the insides to maintain a firm choux).
  6. Remove from oven once the choux is nice & golden brown. Prick each choux again with a toothpick to allow them to dry out even further while they cool.
  7. Remove the pastry cream from the fridge & fill a piping bag with it. Slice each choux pastry in half keeping them connected slightly on one side. Divide ube pastry cream between the 'cream puffs'.

Fig & Flax Swirl Cookies

Ideal for fall, fig & flax swirl cookies have beautiful warm flavors from the fig preserves and spices and a little crunch from the flax seeds. Figs flavor has been described as kind of a honey-taste with hints of berry. And of course, they give a crunchy-crisp texture from the seeds.

Figs are a distinctive and vibrant fruit that work with sweet and savory dishes. There are so many ways to use them in autumnal bakes, salads, meat dishes and more. Then there’s an added dimension to take it a bit further by using figs in preserve form such as:

  • Homemade Fig Newtons.
  • Swirl into a cheesecake batter for a fig cheesecake.
  • Spread on melted baked brie fresh from the oven.
  • Spread it on toast, English muffins, or biscuits instead of jelly.
  • Spread on crostini with goat cheese, prosciutto & balsamic vinegar for an appetizer.
  • Combine with rosemary and balsamic vinegar & use as a glaze for chicken, pork, or kebabs.
  • Mix with softened cream cheese as a crepe filling.
  • Mix with oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper to make a vinaigrette.
  • Use it in grilled ham & cheese sandwiches.
  • Swirl it into ice cream.
  • Use in lieu of syrup for a topping for pancakes.

If you like fig preserves, you will love these cookies.

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 Fig & Flax Swirl Cookies
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Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword fig & flax swirl cookies
Servings
COOKIES
Ingredients
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword fig & flax swirl cookies
Servings
COOKIES
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Combine flour, baking soda & salt in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the butter with the brown & white sugar. Mix on medium speed for a minute or two. Add the egg & vanilla and continue mixing until well incorporated.
  3. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture & stir with a spoon until combined & forms a ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap & refrigerate for an hour.
  4. Roll chilled dough out on a lightly floured piece of waxed paper to a 16 x 10-inch rectangle. Spread smooth fig preserves on the dough to within about 1/2-inch of the edges. Starting at one of the long ends, begin to carefully roll the dough into a log.
  5. Place egg white in a small bowl. Combine 2 Tbsp each brown sugar & ground flax seeds in a shallow dish. Brush log with egg white then roll in the flax/sugar mixture. Wrap the rolled dough in the wax paper & refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
  6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 F.
  7. Slice roll, (using a piece of floss for easier slicing), into 1/4-inch slices. Place on a parchment lined baking sheets & bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven & allow to cool on baking sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Chicken Breast w/ Rhubarb Chutney

CELEBRATING FATHER’S DAY!

It seems as we get older, reminiscing becomes part of our lives. It is that important psychological process called ‘life cycle review’. Both of our father’s were men who always had great, real-life stories to tell. If only those stories had been recorded or written down so we could enjoy them once again. There is never a week goes by that Brion & I don’t reminisce about something we remember about one or the other.

For this blog post, I’m preparing a chicken meal I think they both would have enjoyed.

Seasonal tastes are the wonder of the food universe. Because you can’t have them every day, they are precious. Rhubarb, with its gorgeous pink and green stalks, is a prize of spring and summer produce. It’s delicious in savory applications, like the complex sauce for tonight’s chicken.

Over the years, I think I’ve used rhubarb in every way possible but then I see another idea and …. On the savory side, it seems it can be paired with any meat or fish.

The mild flavor of chicken takes to the spicy/tart flavor of rhubarb and perfumes your kitchen with delicious aromas as it cooks. A side of roasted potatoes and French green beans rounds out this gourmet seasonal meal.

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 Chicken Breast w/ Rhubarb Chutney
Votes: 1
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword rhubarb stuffed chicken breast
Servings
Ingredients
Rhubarb Chutney
Chicken Breast
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword rhubarb stuffed chicken breast
Servings
Ingredients
Rhubarb Chutney
Chicken Breast
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Rhubarb Chutney
  1. Heat 2 t oil in saucepan over medium heat and cook onion about 3 minutes.
  2. Add rhubarb, raisins, brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, and 1/8 t pepper; bring to a boil over medium-high heat (stir occasionally) until rhubarb gets soft and is breaking down, then 5 - 10 additional minutes. Remove and cover.
Chicken Breast
  1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and 1/8 t pepper and brown 2 - 3 minutes each side in 1 T canola oil on medium high heat.
  2. Serve the chicken breasts topped with the rhubarb chutney & sides of roasted potatoes & green beans.

Strawberry-Banana Crumble

Crumbles aren’t just for Autumn and Winter. Most people don’t like to turn on the oven in summer and I realize no-bake desserts are wonderful, but there are some desserts worth risking the heat for. Fruit crumbles certainly fall into that category and of course, it goes without saying that it should be topped with ice cream or a whipped topping at least.

It seems that nearly any fruit is improved when you cover it in a layer of crunchy, buttery crumble. Strawberry and banana are a winning combination for many reasons. Strawberry gives a slight sweet and sour taste and banana adds a sweet and creamy texture.

This crumble is an incredibly simple and delicious dessert for when you need a last-minute dessert or for when you’re just craving a sweet, fruity treat.

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 Strawberry-Banana Crumble
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword strawberry-banana crumble
Servings
Ingredients
Topping
Fruit Mixture
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword strawberry-banana crumble
Servings
Ingredients
Topping
Fruit Mixture
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine strawberries, bananas, 3 Tbsp flour, sugar, lemon juice & salt. Toss together gently to avoid bruising the bananas, Pour into a 9-inch baking dish or 6 ramekins.
  3. Combine all ingredients for topping using fingertips to form a crumble. Completely cover fruit mixture with crumb topping.
  4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until mixture is bubbling on the sides. Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving with ice cream or whipped topping.

Lemon Gel ‘Crumble’ Wedges

Nothing says spring more than the zesty, fresh flavor of lemons. I think this lemon dessert is the perfect way to celebrate spring.

Crumbles are a true British dessert, which can be made any time of the year. They are believed to have originated around the time of World War II which brought the world to a standstill; shops were closed, people were left unemployed. As the war progressed, food scarcity became a major scare and due to inflation and rationing, the accessibility to basic food ingredients became a problem. In these hostile times, British housewives came up with many recipes; some of these recipes were lost in time, but some stayed and even gained cult status with time. One such British recipe is that of ‘apple crumble’.

Typically, crumbles use soft fruit like apples, pears, rhubarb or plums, but berries or even a lemon filling can be used. The crumb topping can be made with flour, nuts, breadcrumbs, cookie or graham cracker crumbs, or even breakfast cereal.  

This dessert is very different from the usual crumble. You start with a crumble crust/ topping but the filling is uncooked. It is so nice with fresh lemon juice and zest in it. As it bakes, it becomes almost gel-like and the top crumbles soak slightly into the filling. The flavor of lemon always seems to give such a refreshing taste to everything its used in.

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 Lemon Gel 'Crumble' Wedges
Votes: 1
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Course dessert
Cuisine American, European
Keyword lemon crumble
Servings
Ingredients
Crust & Crumble Topping
Lemon Filling
Course dessert
Cuisine American, European
Keyword lemon crumble
Servings
Ingredients
Crust & Crumble Topping
Lemon Filling
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Crust/Crumble Topping
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all topping ingredients. Mix well with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 cup of topping; set aside. Place remaining topping in a 14 x 4-inch baking pan pressing it up the sides as well as on the bottom. Set aside.
Filling
  1. Mix all filling ingredients well, then pour into crust.
  2. Place baking pan in oven & bake for 30- 35 minutes or until filling is set & crust is golden.
  3. Remove from oven & cool completely. This dessert is best refrigerated overnight or at least 6 hours. Cut into wedges or bars & serve with WHIPPED TOPPING.

Apricot Orange Newtons

Do you recall the iconic Fig Newton? For some, fig newtons were the loser cookie – the one you would only eat out of pure desperation if there was nothing else resembling dessert in sight. What could be worse than mysterious, brown fruit ‘goo’ wrapped up in flavorless, dry ‘cake’? They felt that it was not a treat, it was a healthy breakfast disguised as a cookie.

I really don’t remember eating any amount of fig newton cookies myself, probably because my mother always baked. When I did finally taste them as an adult, I actually liked them. Maybe that had something to do with my love for figs or maybe I just like cookies…not sure!

The ‘fig newton’ was one of the earliest commercially baked products in North America. Introduced by the Kennedy Biscuit Company in 1891, fig newtons were named after the town of Newton, Massachusetts, which was near the factory that first produced the cookie commercially. Kennedy Biscuit eventually merged with several other bakeries to form the National Biscuit Company, now known as Nabisco.

The recipe for the fig filling was the brainchild of Charles M. Roser, a cookie maker born in Ohio, USA. Roser worked for a bakery in Philadelphia who sold his recipe to the Kennedy Biscuit company.

The manufacture of fig newtons was made possible by the creation of Florida inventor James Henry Mitchell, who revolutionized the packaged cookie business by building an apparatus that could make a hollow cookie crust and fill it with fruit preserves. His machine worked like funnel within a funnel; the inside funnel supplied jam, while the outside funnel pumped out the dough. This produced an endless length of filled cookie, which could then be cut into smaller pieces. 

Original fig newtons were the only variety available until the 1980s and as of 2012, Nabisco now makes several varieties of the ‘newton’, which, in addition to the original fig filling, include versions filled with apple cinnamon, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and mixed berry.

As Nabisco likes to remind us, ‘newtons aren’t just cookies’, they’re fruit and cake. Bringing me to the idea of apricot newtons. There seems to be numerous versions of them around so we shall see how these one turn out.

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 Apricot Orange Newtons
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Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword apricot orange newtons
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword apricot orange newtons
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Dough
  1. Whisk the flours, baking powder, cardamom & salt together in a medium bowl.
  2. Beat the butter & brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light & fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer & add the egg & vanilla. Finely grate the zest of the orange into the bowl (save the zested orange for the filling). Beat on medium speed until incorporated. Stop the mixer & scrape down the sides of the bowl & the paddle with a rubber spatula.
  3. Return the mixer to low speed, gradually add the flour; mix until just combined (the dough will be very soft and sticky). Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap & press into a disk about 1-inch thick. Wrap the disk tightly in the plastic wrap & refrigerate until firm, but still pliable, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, make the filling.
Filling
  1. Place the apricots in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment & process until finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan. (No need to wash out the food processor; you will use it again.)
  2. Juice the zested orange and add 2 tablespoons of the juice to the pan. Add the water & honey. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apricots plump up and all the liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes.
  3. Transfer the mixture back to the food processor and process into a smooth paste, about 1 minute. Let the mixture cool completely.
Assembly
  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper & set aside. Transfer the cooled apricot mixture to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag.
  2. Dust a work surface generously with flour. Unwrap the disk of dough and cut it into 3 equal pieces (about 6 1/2 oz (185 gm) each). Place one piece on the work surface, rewrap the other 2 pieces back in plastic wrap; refrigerate those 2 pieces.
  3. Reshape the remaining piece of dough into a log about 2 inches wide and 4 inches long. Place the log with the short side facing you, generously dust the top with flour, and roll into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle about 4 inches wide and 12 inches long.
  4. Using kitchen shears, snip off a bottom corner of the plastic bag or piping bag. Pipe enough filling down the center of the piece of dough so that it is 1-inch wide and 1/4-inch thick.
  5. Using a bench scraper, scrape up the right side of the dough & gently fold it over the center so it reaches the middle of the filling. Repeat with the left side of the dough. Gently pat the top of the dough down with your hands, pinching it together as needed, so that it completely covers the filling and flattens slightly. (It should now be in a Fig Newton shape.)
  6. Cut the filled dough in half crosswise. Using the bench scraper, carefully flip each piece over & transfer to the baking sheet so that it is seam-side down. Repeat with the rolling & filling of the remaining 2 pieces of dough, using flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. You will end up with 6 filled & shaped pieces of dough on the baking sheet, so space them in 2 rows of 3 each, about 2 inches apart.
  7. Chill the logs for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350 F.
  8. Bake until just lightly browned around the edges, 15 to 17 minutes. Cut each bar crosswise into 5 pieces and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Nanaimo Bar Thumbprint Cookies

Much like the butter tart and date square, the Nanaimo bar fits Canada’s apparent fondness for rich, decadent sweets. It is a dessert bar that requires no baking and generally consists of three layers: a graham wafer crumb and shredded coconut base, custard-flavored butter icing in the middle, and a layer of chocolate ganache on top. It is named after Nanaimo, British Columbia, where it was popularized in the years following WWII. It subsequently rose to wider prominence after Expo ’86.

Susan Mendelson is perhaps most responsible for commercializing the Nanaimo bar. She sold the bar during the 1970s to help pay her tuition, and in 1979 founded The Lazy Gourmet, a café and catering company in Vancouver, which claims to be the first business to sell the dessert. Mendelson wrote the official cookbook for Expo ’86, held in Vancouver, and included the Nanaimo bar.

After that, the Nanaimo bar began to be sold on BC Ferries and spread in popularity across Canada. It can now be found in Costco, Starbucks and countless cafes in Canada and the United States. There can be some variations with each of these layers — e.g., adding mint, mocha or other flavoring, as well as food coloring, to the icing center, or various nuts to the base — but a classic Nanaimo follows the traditional trio.

In a bid to take advantage of the bar’s popularity, the city of Nanaimo launched a tasting trail much like Ontario has done for the butter tart. Different locations in and around Nanaimo serve different variations on the classic dessert, from flavors such as maple bacon and peanut butter to deep-fried Nanaimo bars, Nanaimo bar spring rolls, Nanaimo bar waffles and cheesecake and Nanaimo bar coffee and cocktails.

All that being said , here’s my Christmas version of a Nanaimo thumbprint cookie.

Print Recipe
 Nanaimo Bar Thumbprint Cookies
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Nanaimo bar thumbprint cookies
Servings
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
Filling
Drizzle
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Nanaimo bar thumbprint cookies
Servings
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
Filling
Drizzle
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, graham crumbs, cocoa, baking powder & salt.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the butter & sugar for 3-4 minutes, until fluffy. Beat in the egg & vanilla. On low speed or using a spatula, stir in the dry ingredients, along with the coconut and walnuts.
  4. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch size balls & place a couple inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use your thumb to create an indentation in each cookie.
  5. Bake for 14 minutes, until just set. Remove & use the back of a small spoon to gently reform the indentations. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Filling
  1. In a bowl, beat the butter, powdered sugar, custard powder, cream and vanilla until smooth and fluffy, adding a bit more cream or powdered sugar as needed to create a spreadable frosting. Place the filling in a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip, or in a zip-lock bag; seal and and cut off one corner.
Assembly
  1. Pipe some frosting into each cooled cookie. In a small bowl, melt the chocolate & butter in the microwave in 10 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Drizzle the cookies with a fork. Set back on the cooled baking sheets to allow them to set.
Recipe Notes

Substitute for Bird's Custard Powder:

  • For each Tbsp of custard powder that's called for in the recipe, you can make your own custard mix with 1 Tbsp of cornstarch plus 1 tsp of vanilla extract & a pinch of salt.