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Betty Eatz

Homemade Pop Tarts

February 2, 2023

Homemade Pop Tarts

Homemade Pop Tarts sitting pretty on parchment paper.

As inexpensive as prepackaged toaster pastries are, you might be wondering why make your own. First of all, you get to add as many sprinkles as you want! Plus, Homemade Pop Tarts taste better than the store bought kind and are absolutely worth the calories.

Pop-Tarts and Pop Art

Pop-Tarts are the only food I know whose name was inspired by an art movement. Cereal giant Kellogg’s started mass production of Pop-Tarts in 1964 but at the time called them Fruit Scones. I know, yawn.

Pop Art was an art movement in mid-century America and the U.K. This movement was a mash-up of popular culture and ordinary objects painted in bright colors. Instantly recognizable examples include Andy Warhol’s Campbell soup cans and Roy Lichtenstein's graphic art.

Graffiti inspired by pop art and Roy Lichtenstein.

Some brilliant person at Kellogg’s changed the (very boring) name of their Fruit Scones to something that reflected the current pop art movement. And so, the name Pop-Tarts was born. You can read all about it on the Pop-Tart history timeline.

Originally, the rectangular-shaped pastries were available in four different types of fillings: apple-currant, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and strawberry. Eaten straight from the package or heated in a toaster, they became popular breakfast fare. Frosted varieties soon followed as well as new flavors and the addition of sprinkles.

Pastry dough with mounds of strawberry jam.

Sprinkles

Sprinkles are merely powdered sugar, egg white, and food coloring piped into thin lines, left to dry, and broken into tiny pieces. Where did they originate? Their past is complicated and slightly murky like that of your best friend’s ex.

Some historians point to early 20th-century Dutch “hagelslag” (translation: hail storm), which are basically chocolate sprinkles, as the starting point. People in Holland press hagelslag en masse onto buttered bread and call it breakfast. The Dutch really know how to start a day off right.

In the northeastern part of the U.S., people call these itty bitty candy toppings “jimmies.” Supposedly named after their inventor, jimmies have been scattered over ice cream cones and sundaes in the New England area since the 1940s.

Fun fact: the British name for sprinkles is “hundreds and thousands.”

A container of rainbow colored sprinkles.

Sprinkles as a category encompasses several different types of miniature candy toppings that can be round (nonpareils), flat (confetti), or pearl-like (dragees). One of the most common types is the elongated rod-shaped variety that is opaque and multi-colored.

Once relegated to a six-year-old’s birthday cake and the occasional celebratory ice cream sundae, sprinkles have gone mainstream. In addition to cake and ice cream, they now appear on brownies, cookies, doughnuts, pancakes, popcorn, and yes, buttered bread. I’ve even seen them on the rim of cocktails.

They bring a little fun to everything.

Baked pop tarts, nekkid and fresh from the oven.

Lessons Learned

  • Can you make this with refrigerated pie crust dough? Yes. However, if you are a pie crust aficionado like I am, you will want to make your own crust from the recipe below. It makes a big difference.
  • I found that the filling recipe makes the perfect amount of filling for the pop tarts! It’s easy to switch out the strawberry for other flavors of jam.
  • This recipe is very customizable. Not into rectangles? Make another shape. Aversion to the frosting? Leave it out. Don’t like sprinkles (whaaat)? Use crushed nuts or other toppings instead. You’re an adult, so do what you want.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to King Arthur Baking for the tasty toaster tarts recipe and to Juan Camilo on Unsplash for the pop art photo.

A beautifully sprinkled homemade pop tart.
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Homemade Pop Tarts sitting pretty on parchment paper.

Homemade Pop Tarts

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Chill Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Yield: 9 pop tarts 1x
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale

Crust:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 16 Tbsp salted butter, frozen and grated
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 Tbsp vodka or milk, any kind

Filling:

  • ¾ cup strawberry jam
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 Tbsp cold water
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten for brushing on pastry

Frosting:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp water or milk, any kind
  • Sprinkles or other toppings as garnish

Instructions

  1. Make the dough by combining flour, sugar, and salt. Add the grated butter and toss to combine. Pour in the egg and vodka and mix just until it comes together.
  2. Split the dough into two equal pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and smoosh it down into a disc. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. You can make the dough ahead and refrigerate it for up to 2 days, allowing it to sit at room temp 10 to 15 minutes before rolling.
  3. Make the filling by placing the jam in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir together the cornstarch and water until smooth and add to the jam. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes stirring occasionally as it thickens. Set aside to cool before filling the tarts.
  4. Generously flour a flat work surface. Roll out one piece of dough on the prepared surface into a large rectangle that is ⅛-inch thick. It should be rolled large enough until you are able to trim it into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
  5. Using a ruler, measure and score one of the dough pieces into thirds. On the 9-inch side, you will be scoring the dough all the way across at the 3” and 6” marks. On the 12-inch side, you will be scoring at the 3”, 6”, and 9” marks. You should now have nine rectangles that measure 3 x 4 inches. Whew.
  6. Now, brush the beaten egg all over the pastry that has the score marks. Scoop a tablespoon of the cooled filling and place it in the center of each rectangle. Lay the second piece of dough on top of the one with the filling. Gently press around the mounds of filling to seal it on all sides.
  7. Cut the dough in between the sealed filling mounds using a pizza cutter or sharp knife into the nine 3 x 4-inch rectangles. Press all the cut edges together and then seal with the tines of a fork around all sides.
  8. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the sealed tarts on the prepared sheet and prick the tops with a fork to make steam holes. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and let chill for 30 minutes.
  9. Heat the oven to 350 F/176 C. Bake the pop tarts for 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool on the pan.
  10. Make the frosting by stirring together the powdered sugar and water to form a thick but spoonable frosting. Now is the time to add a drop of food coloring if you wish. Drizzle the frosting on the cooled tarts and immediately scatter on the sprinkles so they stick before the frosting dries.

Keywords: homemade pop tarts

Did you make this recipe?

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Sheet Pan Eggs Benedict

January 30, 2023

Sheet Pan Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict. Yum.

Hosting brunch for a group of friends can be intimidating when it involves poaching eggs and whisking Hollandaise sauce. Sheet Pan Eggs Benedict streamlines the process so you can enjoy this brunch classic without having to take a Xanax.

Eggs Benedict

Like many famous dishes, Eggs Benedict has a disputed point of origin. Two of the more popular stories involve a restaurant in NYC, a hungry customer, and an eager-to-please chef. The results: a stacked combination of bread, pork product, egg, and Hollandaise.

English muffins, Canadian bacon, and eggs.

Delmonico’s Restaurant, the birthplace of Delmonico’s Steak, Lobster Newberg, and the Wedge Salad, claims that chef Charles Ranofer created the dish in the 1860s at the request of a frequent customer with the last name Benedict. The chef included a recipe for the dish in his 1894 cookbook, The Epicurean.

His cookbook is still in print and available on Amazon.

A competing story takes place in 1894 at the Waldorf Hotel where a hungover patron with the last name Benedict ordered "buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of hollandaise." Just to clarify, a hooker is a measurement used for liquor and spirits that equals 5 tablespoons. Supposedly Waldorf’s maitre d’hotel Oscar Tschirky, formerly of Delmonico’s, added the dish to the menu where it became a hit.

Split English muffins and Canadian bacon patiently waiting on a sheet pan.

Classic Eggs Benedict consists of split English muffins buttered and toasted. Each muffin is topped with Canadian bacon or ham, a poached egg, and Hollandaise. I know you are thinking this sounds like an Egg McMuffin sans sauce and you aren’t wrong; the concept is the same.

One thing that makes Eggs Benedict so popular is that it is comprised of no-nonsense ingredients executed well. Most everyone can make eggs of some sort, but you must know what you are doing to successfully poach one.

You can poach eggs in a muffin tin in the oven, so don't let anyone tell you any different.

This is also true of Hollandaise sauce.

Hollandaise

Don’t bounce out. I won’t give you a history lesson on the origins of Hollandaise sauce. Suffice it to say that its past is more complicated than that of Eggs Benedict.

The sauce is a creamy, dreamy blend of egg yolks, lemon juice, and butter. Most often it is heated over a double boiler and whisked as it slowly warms into a velvety sauce. Hollandaise sometimes strikes fear in the heart of home cooks because it so easily curdles, or breaks, leaving you with a separated, eggy mess.

This recipe makes things easier by coming together in a blender. Once you get the hang of it, you will want to put it on everything from eggs to fish to veggies. It’s indulgent and delicious.

A spoonful of buttery, lemony, creamy, dreamy Hollandaise sauce.

Lessons Learned

  • Don’t freak out about the Hollandaise sauce. Yes, it is a prima donna in the sauce world but the blender version makes things easier. Be sure the butter isn’t too hot and add it slowly into the blender to prevent it from splitting into coagulated sadness.
  • Poached eggs in the oven? Yes, friend. The secret is the water at the bottom of the muffin tin. Depending on how runny you like your eggs, bake them anywhere between 10 to 13 minutes.
  • If you are a normal person, this recipe serves six. If you are my friend, this recipe serves three. Adjust ingredients accordingly.

Hat Tips

Thanks to Add a Pinch for the easy eggs benedict recipe and Simply Recipes for the easy blender Hollandaise sauce recipe.

Hollandaise sauce being drizzled over the whole shebang.
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Eggs Benedict. Yum.

Sheet Pan Eggs Benedict

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 English muffins split in half
  • 6 slices of Canadian bacon or ham
  • 6 eggs
  • Chopped parsley

Sauce

  • 10 Tbsp salted butter
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • ⅛ tsp paprika

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F/204 C. Adjust the oven racks so they are in the middle third of the oven.
  2. Grease a rimmed sheet pan. Lightly butter the cut sides of the English muffins and place them cut-side down on one half of the baking sheet. Arrange the Canadian bacon slices on the other half.
  3. Spray 6 wells of a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 2 tablespoons of water into each of the sprayed wells. Crack an egg and place it into a prepared well. Don’t break the yolk! Repeat with the remaining eggs.
  4. Place the baking sheet and the muffin tin in the oven (they will need to be on two separate racks) and bake for 10 minutes.
  5. While they cook, make the sauce. Place butter in a small pot and allow to melt slowly over medium heat. Remove from heat when it is nearly melted.
  6. Dump the egg yolks, lemon juice, and paprika into a blender and blitz for a full 30 seconds. It should be light in color and slightly foamy.
  7. With the blender on low, slowly pour in the melted butter and allow to blend until it is thoroughly mixed in. Adjust seasonings by adding more salt or lemon juice. Place next to the stovetop or in a warm-ish spot until ready to use, optimally within 30 minutes.
  8. Assemble the dish by turning over the English muffins so they are cut sides up. Top with a slice of Canadian bacon. Carefully remove a poached egg from the muffin well using a silicon spatula or spoon and briefly drain on a paper towel before placing it atop the bacon. Top with the sauce. Garnish with parsley and a dusting of paprika or hot sauce.
  9. Mimosas are optional. Actually, no they aren’t.

Keywords: sheet pan eggs benedict

Did you make this recipe?

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Sheet Pan Crispy Chicken with Veggies

January 23, 2023

Sheet Pan Crispy Chicken with Veggies

Sheet Pan Crispy Chicken with Veggies.

It’s hard to pass up a meal that involves crispy chicken, especially if it is easy enough to make on a weeknight. Sheet Pan Crispy Chicken with Veggies roasts chicken cutlets along with Brussels sprouts and rutabagas and is ready in under an hour. The secret to the crispy coating: corn flakes.

Corn Flakes

Invented in 1894, the original corn flakes breakfast cereal comes from Battle Creek, Michigan. While it started out as a breakfast for patients at a health resort, the cereal soon became marketed to the general population by the Kellogg brothers. These little toasted flakes of corn have been a mainstay at breakfast tables for over 100 years now.

Let us gaze together down into a bag of cornflakes.

Crushed corn flakes are a substitute for breadcrumbs in casseroles, batters, and crumb coatings on meats and veggies. They also add crunch to cookies, dessert bars, and French toast.

Crushed corn flakes give the chicken its crispy coating in this recipe. Roast the coated chicken on a sheet pan with veggies. Like rutabagas.

Rutabagas

Rutabagas don’t get a lot of love in the U.S. and it’s too bad. Granted, they are kind of homely looking with a yellowy tip and a purply blue top. They look like a bad bruise that is just starting to heal.

My new favorite veggie: rutabagas. Some whole ones with bruised-like skin still on and others cubed.

These root vegetables are high in carotene, fiber, iron, potassium, and vitamin C. I learned recently that one serving of rutabaga provides over half the daily recommended amount of vitamin C!

Even though they are root veggies, rutabagas are lower in carbohydrates than potatoes, so they make a nice substitute for those on a low-carb diet. Boil, bake, mash, or roast them once you have peeled off the skin.

In some places they are swedes or Swedish turnips. But I think Scotland has the best name for them: neeps. When served with potatoes, they are called neeps and tatties.

Brussels sprouts, rutabagas, chicken breasts, garlic, and shallots.

Lessons Learned

  • It’s easy to sub out other veggies for the sprouts and rutabaga. Just be sure to adjust the roasting time for whatever veg you use.
  • To get 2 cups of crushed corn flakes, you will need around 6 cups of cereal. I like to blitz them in a blender to finely crush them, but you can roll over them with a rolling pin, too.
  • The original recipe calls for a teaspoon or two of cayenne for some heat. My middle-aged tummy is less and less tolerant of spicy foods, so I left it out. But you’re an adult, so do what you want.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Half Baked Harvest for the sheet pan hot honey mustard chicken recipe and to Wholesome Yum for the roasted rutabaga recipe.

Crispy chicken looking fine with the honey mustard sauce drizzled on top.
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Sheet Pan Crispy Chicken with Veggies.

Sheet Pan Crispy Chicken with Veggies

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 lb Brussels sprouts
  • 1 lb rutabaga, peeled and cubed
  • 2 shallots, peeled and quartered
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

Crumb Coating

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups crushed corn flakes

Sauce

  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 4 Tbsp salted butter, melted

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 F/218 C. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, toss together the Brussels sprouts, rutabaga, shallots, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper. Pour the mixture onto one of the baking sheets and spread out the pieces into a single layer and evenly spaced. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
  3. Prepare the chicken by slicing the breast halves lengthwise into thinner, equal-sized cutlets. This will help the chicken cook quickly and avoid drying out. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
  4. Make an assembly line for coating the chicken by placing the flour in one shallow pan, the beaten eggs in another pan, and the crushed corn flakes in a third pan. Dredge a chicken cutlet into the flour o, shake off the excess, and the excess, then dip it into the egg wash on both sides. Finally, dip it into the corn flakes and press to adhere the crumbs on both sides. Place the coated chicken onto the second prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.
  5. Place the pan with chicken in the oven on a separate baking rack from the veggies. They can bake at the same time.
  6. Bake the chicken for 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Cutlets cook quickly so don’t overcook them or they will be hard and dry.
  7. Make the sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stirring until smooth. Drizzle some sauce over the crispy baked chicken and return the pan to the oven for another minute or two.
  8. Serve the chicken with the roasted veggies and extra sauce on the side.

Keywords: sheet pan crispy chicken with veggies

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment below!

Share a photo of your creation by tagging us @betty_eatz

Cauliflower with Gochujang

January 17, 2023

Cauliflower with Gochujang

Cauliflower with Gochujang.

Have you told yourself you are going to eat more plants this year? I have and I’ve decided they are not going to be boring. Cauliflower with Gochujang is tastier, stickier, and spicier than a Korean dating show.

Singles Inferno

I don’t like dating shows. Too fake, too crass, and just too much for me. So when my brother told me I should check out Singles Inferno, a South Korean reality dating show, I had my doubts.

The first episode of Season One? So cringe-y that I barely made it through. But I thought I’d give it one more try, so I watched episode two.

And I couldn’t stop watching after that. Everyone is so polite, so pretty, and so Korean! Plus, the commentators are hilarious.

I loved it and am now finishing up Season Two.

Are you surprised by my viewing habits? Probably not.

The premise of Singles Inferno is five girls and five guys on a deserted island off the coast of South Korea with no electricity, social media, or phones. They cook, haul water, and compete in physical challenges together as they get to know each other. It’s not exactly camping but more like adult summer camp at the beach.

The goal: meet someone who is as interested in you as you are in them and go to Paradise, a luxury hotel, where you can get to know them better. And by that, I mean their age and their profession. Compared to other dating shows, Singles Inferno is pretty wholesome.

But there are still some spicy moments, and some involve gochujang.

Gochujang

Gochujang aka Korean red chili pepper paste.

Gochujang is a popular condiment in Korea. Dark red and spicy-sweet, it is a fermented red chili paste used in all kinds of dishes including bibimbap, meat marinades, soups, stews, and tteokbokki. It is also the base for condiments and sauces to which soy sauce, vinegar, sesame seeds, and other spices are added.

My auntie made her own gochujang from scratch for years. It contained gochugaru (red chili peppers), sticky rice, and fermented soybeans, along with some salt. She would airmail my mom a jar or two when the batch was ready.

Gochujang can be purchased in most Asian markets and on Amazon, of course. Be aware that there are different heat levels from mild to extremely (and I mean extremely) hot. If you’ve never tried it, get a small container and experiment with it on meats and veggie dishes like this one.

Cauliflower florets awaiting their dunk into the batter.

Lessons Learned

  • Be sure your batter is fairly thin and runny before dipping the cauliflower florets otherwise you will wind up with a thick and claggy mess.
  • As written, this recipe is spicy. If you need to tone down the heat, use 2 tablespoon gochujang and ½ cup brown sugar instead.
  • This dish pairs well with steamed rice and a fresh cucumber salad. Or serve it with Korean bbq ribs and kimchi.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Bon Appetit for the sticky and spicy baked cauliflower recipe.

Is your mouth watering? Mine is. A close-up look at this spicy dish.
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Cauliflower with Gochujang.

Cauliflower with Gochujang

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 ½ lb cauliflower head, cut into florets
  • ¼ cup gochujang
  • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tsp unseasoned rice vinegar
  • Garnish: toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F/204 C. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Tip in 1 ¼ cup of water and whisk to form a thin batter. Add more water if necessary.
  3. Dip cauliflower florets one at a time into the batter, shake off excess, and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes or until just starting to turn golden brown.
  4. Combine gochujang, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10-ish minutes or until the sauce has enough body to it that it will coat a spoon. Tip in the vinegar and stir.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baked cauliflower, tossing to coat the florets. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

Keywords: cauliflower with gochujang

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment below!

Share a photo of your creation by tagging us @betty_eatz

Vegetable Soup with Barley

January 12, 2023

Vegetable Soup with Barley

Vegetable Soup with Barley.

Brothy and chock full of complex carbohydrates, Vegetable Soup with Barley makes for a comforting and yummy-in-your-tummy lunch or dinner. It’s also great to serve family and friends who are omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans.

Or, just hungry.

Yes, a picture of cattle just before a vegan soup recipe. Moo!

What makes a soup vegan?

Vegan Soup Recipes

Not all vegetarian soups are vegan. You may remember our previous discussion about veganism being a subset of vegetarianism. It excludes animal-derived proteins and products, so no meat, eggs, or dairy products like butter and cheese.

This is more like it: carrots, celery, onion, rutabaga, and mushrooms.

If you are a regular soup-maker, you may immediately think of three potential issues with vegan soup recipes: roux, creaminess, and protein source. However, I assure you there is no cause for alarm. These can all be made vegan without too much upset.

  • Roux is the butter and flour combo that gets cooked together and to which broth is added. It is used to thicken gravies, sauces, and soups like bisques and chowders. Because roux requires equal amounts of fat and flour it is easy to swap out butter and use olive oil or coconut oil instead.
  • Creamy soups often contain milk, cheese, or another dairy to achieve maximum creaminess. But alternatives like coconut milk, pureed vegetables, and nut butter bring a velvety lusciousness to soups.
  • For a dose of non-animal protein, look to beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, or tofu as easy adds to your bowl of bliss.

Other protein sources? Whole grains.

Barley

Barley is a cereal grain that is grown all over the world and is a staple in many cultures. It’s mild and slightly nutty, like most childhood best friends. While it doesn’t contain as much protein as kamut or quinoa, barley is still a good source of plant-based protein that also provides fiber, minerals, and vitamins.

Pearled barley.

There are two types of barley: hulled and pearl. The difference? Hulled barley is a whole grain with just the outer husk removed while pearl barley is technically not a whole grain because the outer husk and bran layer have been removed.

This soup contains pearl barley, which is easier to find in grocery stores and cooks more quickly than hulled. Use hulled barley if you’d prefer, just be sure to adjust cooking times.

Lessons Learned

  • Don’t be afraid of the rutabagas in the soup. They aren’t as common as other vegetables and you may have never had them before but they are worth trying. The taste: a cross between potato and carrot.
  • This is a great clean-out-your-fridge kind of soup. Sub in other veggies for the ones listed here.
  • If you are making this soup a day ahead, cook the barley separately and add it to the soup just before serving. Barley continues to absorb water and will suck up all the broth in your soup if you leave it overnight. To store leftover soup, separate the solids from the broth (I know, kind of a pain) otherwise prepared to be okay with whatever you get the next day.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Recipe Tin Eats for the pearl barley soup recipe and Robert Bye on Unsplash for the cattle photo.

Mixing up the magic by adding veg broth to the sauteed vegetables.
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Vegetable Soup with Barley.

Vegetable Soup with Barley

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup peeled and chopped rutabaga
  • 1 cup quartered mushrooms
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 cup pearl barley
  • 8 cups vegetable broth
  • Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, rutabaga, mushrooms, and garlic to the pot and saute for 5 minutes. Add the fennel seeds, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes until the spices become fragrant.
  2. Tip in the barley and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 40-ish minutes until the barley is tender but still chewy. Follow the package directions if you are making the soup a day ahead and cooking the barley separately. Add the barley to the soup the day you are serving it.
  3. Serve the soup by ladling it into bowls and garnishing it with chopped parsley.

Keywords: vegetable soup with barley

Did you make this recipe?

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Borscht

January 9, 2023

Borscht

Bowl of borscht topped with sour cream and fresh dill.

Borscht is an Eastern European soup that is a shocking shade of deep pink. In addition to its fun color, it’s also a beefy, beety, brothy bowl of goodness. I suggest wearing colorful socks while making this soup recipe.

Colorful Socks

Is there such a thing as soup season? Because I live in Southern California, my take is that soup season (or as I keep seeing on social media “soup szn”) is whenever socks are required for three or more consecutive days.

Colorful socks are a go-to gift. They are fun to give and equally fun to receive. My kids know they will each get a pair or two for Christmas so I like to look for crazy socks year-round.

Store display of loud, colorful, crazy socks.

I recently read that wearing colorful socks can be a form of nonconforming behavior that can affect how we think. Researchers call it enclothed cognition. The idea is that what we wear can make us stand out from the crowd while boosting confidence and performance.

Does wearing crazy socks really make you more successful? Not sure. But they bring a little bit of joy to a dreary day, especially during soup season.

One of my favorite soup recipes involves roasted beets.

Roasted Beets

Borscht ingredients: beets, carrots, onion, beef, cabbage, and fresh dill.

Beets are a controversial subject. People either love them or hate them. I assumed I didn’t like them until I tasted roasted beets.

They are freaking delicious!

We all know that roasting vegetables, particularly root vegetables, draws out all the moisture leaving behind an intense flavor and deliciously caramelized edges. Beets are no exception. They develop an earthy sweetness when roasted and transform this borscht recipe into something special.

Pan of diced beets and carrots to be roasted.

Lessons Learned

  • This recipe takes 3 hours if you do it all in one go. If you want to divide the work, you can do the bulk of it a day ahead by prepping the meat and veggies. On the second day, you will need only 15-ish minutes to pull the soup together.
  • The original recipe calls for 1 large russet potato, peeled and diced, added to the mix of veggies that are roasted. I have made the soup several times with and without potatoes and I assure you it is yummy both ways, especially when served with milk bread.
  • Please do not skip the vinegar at the end. You will miss out on that finishing touch of deliciousness.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Simply Recipes for the borscht recipe and to billow926 on Unsplash for the sock display photo.

A spoon of borscht!
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Bowl of borscht topped with sour cream and fresh dill.

Borscht

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
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Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 2 lbs beef neck bones or bone-in beef shank
  • 1 ½ cups chopped onion
  • 8 cups beef broth, divided use
  • 1 ½ lbs beets, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes
  • 1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped into ½-inch pieces
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
  • ¾ cup chopped fresh dill
  • 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Sour cream

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until it is lightly browned on all sides. Scooch the meat over and add the onions. Cook the onions for 5 minutes or until they are softened. Add 4 cups of broth to the pot and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 60 to 90 minutes until the meat is fork-tender.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400 F/204 C. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with oil. Add the beets and carrots in a single layer and drizzle with a teaspoon of oil. Roast for 30 minutes.
  3. Remove the meat from the pot and chop it into bite-sized pieces. Discard bones and gristle. Return the meat to the pot. Add the roasted veggies and the remaining 4 cups of broth. Throw in the cabbage and half of the chopped dill. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes or until the cabbage is tender.
  4. Sprinkle in the vinegar and stir. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to your liking. To serve the soup, ladle it into individual bowls. Top with a spoonful of sour cream and garnish with remaining chopped fresh dill.

 


Keywords: borscht

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Milk Bread Cinnamon Rolls

December 21, 2022

Milk Bread Cinnamon Rolls

Milk Bread Cinnamon Rolls cooling on a rack.

Plush and pillowy Milk Bread Cinnamon Rolls could be a soft place to rest your weary head. Not really. They are too delicious for that.

How are they so tender and luscious? Tangzhong.

Tangzhong

We’ve talked about tangzhong before. And it’s the secret to these cinnamon rolls not becoming hard and chewy the next day as many rolls are. The water-flour roux makes a gelatinous blob that is added to the dough to retain moisture in the finished bread, keeping it soft and springy.

Tangzhong, also known as a water-flour roux. It's ugly but necessary.

Tangzhong is the Chinese term for this roux. Popular in Asia for many centuries, it is a bread-making technique that not only makes loaves softly plush but also inhibits them from going stale quickly. It is used to make loaves of milk bread.

Making and adding tangzhong to your dough is an extra step, but it comes together in just a few minutes (less than 10). The results are worth it.

Also worth it: good quality cinnamon.

Cinnamon

We all know what cinnamon tastes like, right? Well, sort of. There are several types of cinnamon and they all have different tastes and smells.

Cinnamon is broken down into two main categories: Ceylon and cassia. Within the cassia category are three sub-types that are named after where they are grown. Cassia is from China, korintje is from Indonesia, and Saigon is from Vietnam.

Dough rolled out with cinnamon and spice filling sprinkled on top.

Chinese, Indonesian, and Vietnamese cinnamons are all rich and spicy. Ceylon cinnamon is milder and more floral than the other types and is considered the Ferrari of cinnamons. The King Arthur Baking website has a very detailed breakdown of the different types which I found very informative.

The most popular and widely-sold type in the U.S. is the kind from Indonesia. It is affordable and available. Costco stocks the Vietnamese Saigon cinnamon and is the one I use most.

Yes, the best way to cut these rolls is with plain dental floss. When your dentist asks, say yes to flossing.

Lessons Learned

  • This recipe looks long and scary. Don’t be afraid. All the individual steps are very doable and easy. Take it a step at a time.
  • Play around with the spices for the filling. I added some additional spices for fun but you could use just cinnamon. You’re an adult; do what you want.
  • Good luck waiting for these to cool before icing and eating. It’s really difficult.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to King Arthur Baking for their perfectly pillowy cinnamon rolls recipe.

Inside bite view of an iced cinnamon roll. It's drool-worthy.
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Milk Bread Cinnamon Rolls cooling on a rack.

Milk Bread Cinnamon Rolls

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Proof Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes plus proofing
  • Yield: 8 rolls 1x
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Ingredients

Units Scale

Tangzhong:

  • ½ cup milk
  • 3 Tbsp bread flour

Dough:

  • ⅔ cup milk
  • 2 ½ cups bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp instant yeast
  • 4 Tbsp butter, softened

Filling:

  • 1 Tbsp butter, melted
  • ⅔ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 Tbsp bread flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom
  • ½ tsp ground ginger

Brushing:

  • 1 ½ Tbsp butter, melted

Icing:

  • 1 ½ Tbsp butter, melted
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon milk

Instructions

  1. Make the tangzhong by combining the milk and flour in a small saucepan and whisking to combine. Cook the mixture over medium-high heat, constantly stirring, until it thickens. It should look like a loose paste. When you drag the whisk across the bottom of the pan it will leave a clear trail.
  2. Dump the tangzhong into a mixing bowl. Add the milk, flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and butter. Stir together until combined. Using the dough hook on a stand mixer or your hands, knead the dough for 12 minutes or until it is pliable and smooth. It will be a loose and sticky dough. With your hands, shape the dough into a roundish ball and place it in a greased bowl. Cover and let it rise for 75-ish minutes in a warm place. It won’t double in size but will get puffy.
  3. Make the filling by combining the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, and spices in a medium bowl. Stir together until it is thoroughly mixed.
  4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  5. As tempting as it is, do not punch down the dough. Instead, gently dump it out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it out into a 10 x 12-inch rectangle. It should be ½-inch thick. Measure it.
  6. Now, using your fingers sprinkle on the filling but leave a ½-inch border on one of the 12-inch long sides. Begin rolling on the long side that has filling and continue to roll the dough until you have a yule log. Just kidding, you now have a filled dough log.
  7. Cut the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces by using dental floss or a sharp knife. Lay the rolls down on the prepared baking sheet. And if need be, tuck those tails in underneath. You don’t want the rolls coming unraveled in the oven.
  8. Cover with lightly sprayed plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place for 35-ish minutes until puffy.
  9. Preheat the oven to 375 F/190 C. Move the rack to the upper third of the oven.
  10. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes or until the temp in the middle of the rolls reaches 190 F/88 C on a thermometer.
  11. Brush the rolls with melted butter after removing them from the oven. Allow the rolls to cool for 10 minutes and try not to devour them.
  12. At this point, you can continue to let them cool, cover them, and serve them later today or tomorrow, or the next day. The icing should go on just before serving.
  13. If you are serving them immediately, make the icing by stirring together the melted butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk until you have a smooth icing. Ice the rolls and serve immediately.

Keywords: milk bread cinnamon rolls

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Sugar Cookies with Marbled Glaze

December 15, 2022

Sugar Cookies with Marbled Glaze

Sugar cookies with marbled glaze.

No piping skillz, no worries! These Sugar Cookies with Marbled Glaze are classically delicious and uncommonly pretty. Even I can decorate them.

Marbled Glaze

My mom is a fabulous cake decorator. She doesn’t do it professionally, but she could. In our youth, my brother and I were treated to beautifully decorated birthday cakes and holiday cookies all done by my mom’s artistic mind and steady hand.

I did not inherit that gene.

Dough cut with cookie cutters.

I’m terrible at cookie decorating. My kids do a better job than I do. When I first saw marbled glaze, I thought no way am I doing that.

Marbled glaze is a frosting technique. It is similar to the mirror glaze used on cakes. However, mirror glaze involves gelatin and dries to a shiny finish, hence the name.

The marbly one used on cookies is royal white icing, made from powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Plus a little vodka if you are naughty. Food coloring is swirled into the icing, then the top of the cookie is dipped into the icing creating a marbled effect.

Well, curiosity got the best of me. The swirly glaze is so beautiful and I like pretty things. So, I tried it.

The result: stunning cookies! And it was easy enough for a terrible cookie decorator like me to achieve Instagram-worthy results.

This technique works well because of food coloring.

Food Coloring

If you are at all familiar with food coloring, you have probably used liquid food coloring. You can find it in most grocery stores in the baking aisle. It’s water-based, inexpensive, and used in cookie doughs, cake batters, and frostings.

White icing with loops of blue food coloring.

Gel food coloring has a glycerin or corn syrup base so it is thicker and the color is more concentrated. A little goes a long way. Most cake decorators, like my mom, use it in frostings and icings to give them bright and saturated colors.

A few decades ago, gel coloring was harder to find and only sold in specialty baking supply stores. Now it is available at Walmart, Target, Michaels, and of course, Amazon.

For this marbled glaze, you need just a few drops of liquid food coloring and a toothpick to achieve a beautiful, swirly pattern for your cookies.

Baked cookies, sandy in color with barely browned edges.

Lessons Learned

  • The sugar cookie dough needs its time alone in the fridge for Netflix and chill. Let it have that time. The dough should be cold and fairly firm (not hard) before being rolled out so that the cutters will make clean cuts and the cookies won’t spread when baked.
  • Have a ruler handy when you roll the dough to ¼” thickness. Don’t eyeball it as I have for years. Once I started using a ruler, I was astounded to discover that I had been rolling my dough too thin for too long. No wonder they burned so quickly!
  • Don’t bake them too long. They will be tooth-chipping hard. The baked cookies should be a sandy color with just a touch of brown around the edges.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to King Arthur Baking for the holiday butter cookies recipe and to Jake Cohen for the tie-dye Hanukkah cookie inspiration.

Cookie dipped in swirly blue and white icing.
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Sugar cookies with marbled glaze.

Sugar Cookies with Marbled Glaze

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Chill Time: 2 hours or overnight
  • Cook Time: 14 minutes
  • Total Time: 34 minutes plus chill time
  • Yield: 36 cookies 1x
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Ingredients

Units Scale

Cookies:

  • 18 Tbsp butter (2 ½ sticks)
  • 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

Icing:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp almond or vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp vodka (or water)
  • Food coloring

Instructions

  1. Make the cookies by beating the butter and powdered sugar together in a mixer until combined and smooth. Add the egg yolk, salt, and vanilla extract and beat again. Tip in the flour, one cup at a time, and beat after each addition. Mix until smooth.
  2. Divide the dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and smoosh it down into a flat disk. Let the dough chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 F. Place parchment paper on two rimmed baking sheets and set aside.
  4. Lightly flour a flat surface. Unwrap one dough disk and roll it out to a uniform ¼-inch thickness, flouring the top if needed to avoid sticking to the rolling pin. Using cookie cutters, cut out cookies and place them on the prepared baking sheets.
  5. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until sandy in color and just being to brown around the edges. Don’t overbake them. Cool in the pan set on a wire rack.
  6. Make the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, milk, salt, extract, and vodka (or water) until smooth. It helps to do this in a large, kind of shallow bowl so you have room to dip the cookie tops. Dot a few drops of liquid food coloring on the surface of the icing. Use a toothpick to make a few loops and swirls.
  7. Dip the top of a cookie into the icing and rotate it around 90 degrees before lifting the cookie straight up. You should have a fun, whirly, organic design. Place the cookie on a wire rack for the icing to set. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Makes 36-ish cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.

Keywords: sugar cookies with marbled glaze

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Gluten-free Shortbread Cookies with Tahini

December 9, 2022

Gluten-free Shortbread Cookies with Tahini

Gluten-free shortbread cookies with tahini.

Every assorted cookie platter needs at least one gluten-free offering. Gluten-free Shortbread Cookies with Tahini should be the one! Even gluten-filled folks will appreciate this because shortbread never disappoints.

Shortbread

GBBO peeps will be familiar with the term biscuit. But if you aren’t, it is what Americans call a cookie. Shortbread is a type of cookie that is traditionally Scottish but is now found all over the world in places that appreciate a buttery bite of heaven.

Normally made with just three ingredients (butter, flour, and sugar) shortbread is a dense and crumbly cookie. It can skew savory with the addition of rosemary or caraway but is normally a mildly sweet treat.

When I was in my teens, I could not wait for Christmas time to roll around because it was only then that I could find Walker’s Scottish shortbread at the local commissary on the military base where we lived. Those shiny red tins and rectangular plaid boxes were the stuff of which my cookie dreams were made.

Scottish bagpiper on High Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Does he wear his kilt the traditional way, commando-style? We'll never know.

After traveling to Scotland, I discovered that shortbread is not a fancy cookie made only by Walker's. It's made by moms and grandmas. And it needs only a handful of ingredients.

There was no looking back once I learned to bake my own shortbread. Goodbye Walker’s (although I still love you) and hello homemade shortbread. Now, I have fun playing around and making different flavors.

Like tahini.

Tahini

Tahini is a creamy sesame seed paste. Once toasted and ground, the sesame seed kernels become spreadable seed butter or paste. It is similar to nut butter.

A spoon of creamy tahini paste.

The paste is a popular ingredient in many Middle Eastern dips, sauces, and toppings. Most people know about tahini because it plays a starring role in hummus. But it can be used in desserts, too.

Halva is a fudge-like sweet made from sesame seed paste. Tahini is also swirled into brownies, cookies, and ice creams. It adds a slightly bitter and nutty flavor that is delicious.

Bowl of butter-tahini mixture and bowl of flour mixture.

Lessons Learned

  • If your gluten-free flour blend does not contain xanthan gum, add ¾ teaspoon to the recipe. Looking for a flour-free cookie? Try this one.
  • The mixer is NOT your friend for this cookie recipe. Creaming the tahini, butter, and sugar together with beaters adds too much air to the dough and the cookies will spread. I used a fork to mash them together, then transitioned to a large spoon to incorporate the other ingredients.
  • The fridge, however, is your best friend. Be sure to chill the dough before rolling it into logs. Then chill again before slicing or you will be sorry.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to The Loopy Whisk for the tahini shortbread cookie recipe and K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash for the bagpiper photo.

Dough logs being rolled in black and white sesame seeds.
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Gluten-free shortbread cookies with tahini.

Gluten-free Shortbread Cookies with Tahini

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Chill Time: 2 hours 30 minutes or overnight
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 32 minutes active time
  • Yield: 28 cookies 1x
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Ingredients

Units Scale
  • ¾ cup tahini sesame seed paste
  • 6 oz (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 ¼ cups gluten-free flour with xanthan gum, like Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1
  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 4 Tbsp raw white sesame seeds
  • 2 Tbsp raw black sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Make the cookies by mixing the tahini and the softened butter with a fork or spoon in a large bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
  2. Pour the flour, cornstarch, and salt (and xanthan gum if needed) into a mesh strainer and sift the ingredients together. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until well mixed. You will need to use your hand to knead the dough and get it thoroughly combined and smooth.
  3. Divide the dough into two equal portions, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  4. Roll each portion into a cylinder. Each log should be around 7 inches long and 2 inches wide. Tip the white and black sesame seeds into a shallow pan and swirl them together until mixed. Now, roll each dough log in the sesame seeds until the log is completely coated.
  5. Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate them again for 2 hours or overnight.
  6. Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C. Place parchment paper on two rimmed baking sheets and set aside.
  7. Unwrap one log and cut into ½-inch slices. Place slices onto the prepared sheets, about 1-inch apart. Repeat with the second log. Each log yields about 12 to 14 cookies.
  8. Bake cookies for 12 to 14 minutes or until a light golden color.
  9. To make the cookies perfectly round, place a large round cookie cutter around the cookie while it is hot from the oven and swirl the cutter on the baking sheet in a tight circle around the cookie. It will help shape the cookies to make them look more picture-worthy but will not affect the taste, lol. I don’t have a round cookie cutter so I used the open end of a drinking glass.
  10. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before enjoying them with a cup of coffee.

Keywords: gluten-free shortbread cookies with tahini

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Gingerbread Cookies with Rum-Butter Glaze

December 7, 2022

Gingerbread Cookies with Rum-Butter Glaze

Gingerbread cookies with rum-butter glaze. Yes, rum! And butter!

Gingerbread Cookies with Rum-butter Glaze are the quintessential holiday cookie. Soft and full of all the warming spices, these cookies bring all the Nutcracker vibes. Plus, a rummy, buttery glaze.

Gingerbread cookie ingredients.

Want to make them pretty? Use cookie stamps.

Cookie Stamps

We all have a drawer in our kitchen crammed with various cookie cutters. They are useful for cutting shapes into rolled-out cookie or pie dough. And don't tell, but I may have used them once or twice with Play-Doh.

Cookie stamps, however, don’t cut out cookies. They imprint them with a design. Stamps of this type date back several centuries in Scandinavia where they are used to imprint cookies for special occasions.

Close-up of the cookie stamp.

Old-school cookie stamps are carved out of wood or made of clay. The stamp, which is basically bas relief, is pressed into the dough. It leaves behind a pretty design, making the cookies edible works of art.

Today, cookie stamps are wood or clay, but most often I see them made of metal. I bought my American-made ones on Amazon. And the dough into which I press them?

Gingerbread with molasses.

Dough balls being pressed by the cookie stamp.

Molasses

Slow as molasses! My dad used to say that phrase from time to time when I was growing up and I’m sure he wasn’t talking about me. He loved the taste of molasses and his favorite was blackstrap.

Molasses comes from sugar cane juice. Boiled once, twice, and three times, the juice concentrates and produces different grades and strengths of molasses. Blackstrap is the result of three go-rounds and is the darkest variety with a strong flavor.

This oozy syrup is an ingredient in candies, cookies, and other baked goods. The flavor adds complexity to the pretty cookies featured here.

Stamped cookies before being baked.

Lessons Learned

  • Choose your strength of molasses flavor. I like mild molasses. Are you a blackstrap person? You’ll never know until you try it.
  • Be sure to chill your dough for several hours or overnight. I found that cold dough was best for making a deep imprint with the cookie stamp. I also chilled the imprinted cookies for 30 minutes prior to baking so the design would not be lost when the cookies bake and puff up.
  • Don’t want rum in the glaze? How sad. You can replace it with an equal amount of lemon juice, but that is kind of lame. Use the rum.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh for their soft gingerbread tiles with rum butter glaze recipe.

Glazed cookies await you.
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Gingerbread cookies with rum-butter glaze. Yes, rum! And butter!

Gingerbread Cookies with Rum-Butter Glaze

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Chill Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 62 minutes
  • Yield: 12 cookies 1x
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Ingredients

Scale

Cookies:

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • ⅓ packed cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup mild molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for pressing
  • 1 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ⅛ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Glaze:

  • ⅔ cup confectioners' sugar
  • ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp butter, melted and warm
  • 1 tbsp dark rum (or lemon juice)
  • 1 tsp warm water

Instructions

  1. Make the cookies by beating together the softened butter and sugar until fluffy in the bowl of a stand mixer (using the paddle attachment). Add the molasses and egg then beat to fully combine. 
  2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and black pepper together to fully incorporate all the dry ingredients. Add about half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix together on low speed. Once it is mixed, add the other half of the flour and mix again until the dough is all one color. 
  3. Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight. 
  4. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  5. Divide the dough into 12 equal size pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Lightly flour a smooth surface as well as the dough balls. Using a cookie stamp, firmly press straight down on the dough ball until the dough is around ¼-inch thick. Carefully remove the pressed dough from the stamp and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all the dough balls. Leave 2 inches between the stamped cookies on the sheet.
  6. At this point, I like to place the tray of stamped cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up the dough again. You can bake them straight away if you want, but remember the cookies will slightly puff up when baked and the design won’t be as crisp. A chilled dough helps the design to stay sharp.
  7. Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C. 
  8. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes.
  9. Make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Whisk in the melted butter, rum, and water until combined. The glaze will thicken as it sets so you may need to add a little more water to loosen it before brushing.
  10. Once the cookies come out of the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes before brushing on the glaze. The cookies should still be warm when the glaze is applied. Cool on a wire rack and try not to eat all of them in one sitting. Makes 12 cookies.

Keywords: gingerbread cookies with rum-butter glaze

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Pandan Crinkle Cookies with Coconut and Lime

December 6, 2022

Pandan Crinkle Cookies with Coconut and Lime

Pandan crinkle cookies with coconut and lime.

What’s green with snow-like caps and tastes like a tropical vacation? Pandan Crinkle Cookies with Coconut and Lime. These are easy to make and addictingly good.

Pandan

If you aren’t familiar with pandan, I’m here to enlighten you. Pandan is a type of tropical plant grown in Southeast Asia. Its leaves are a food flavoring in Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillippines, Singapore, and Sri Lanka.

I spent most of my childhood in the Pacific, living in Guam and Hawaii. Many of my Filipino friends brought pandan-flavored cakes and sweets to fiestas and potlucks. The flavor is subtly sweet and grassy with mild vanilla-y notes.

It’s hard to describe, but it’s lovely.

Bottle of pandan flavoring.

You can make your own pandan flavoring, of course. I’ve even found packages of pandan leaves in the frozen food section at my local Asian market. But it’s easy to purchase pandan flavoring on Amazon or at most Asian food stores.

Pandan appears in both savory and sweet dishes. Most often it is added to rice and chicken dishes. But I really love it in cookies.

Pandan cookie dough in its bright green glory!

Crinkle Cookies

I had a friend whose mom would bake chocolate crinkle cookies every holiday season. They were so pretty and so delicious. Plus, they looked like they were topped with snow!

Crinkle cookies are so named because they have a crinkly, crackly look. The dough gets rolled in powdered sugar before baking. Through the magic of the oven, the dough puffs and bakes, peeking out from the powdered sugar veneer.

Dough balls rolled in powdered sugar and awaiting their fate in the oven.

Chocolate crinkle cookies are the OG, of course, but variations like red velvet, lemon, and sprinkle crinkles have become very popular. This recipe combines pandan, coconut, and lime for a unique crinkle cookie. These pandan cookies deserve a spot on your holiday cookie tray, as do these.

These cookies are ready for their close-up, Mr. DeMille.

Lessons Learned

  • Pandan flavoring and extract aren’t always the same across brands. If you are purchasing a natural extract, the green color will be more subtle than the ones with artificial color added. Yes, I went for the artificial coloring because I wanted these babies to be vibrant green, not sage green.
  • This is a thick and sticky dough. To help the dough firm up a little, I let it chill in the fridge for 15-ish minutes.
  • When you plop the dough into the powdered sugar, it will not be a perfect ball. Once the dough is coated in the sugar, you can gently roll it between your palms to make it round.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Dessert Now Dinner Later for the coconut lime crinkle cookie recipe.

The inside, in case you were wondering what it looks like.
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Pandan crinkle cookies with coconut and lime.

Pandan Crinkle Cookies with Coconut and Lime

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Chill Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 47 minutes
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • ½ cup butter, softened at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • 1 tsp lime zest
  • ½ cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes
  • 1 tsp pandan flavoring
  • ½ tsp coconut extract
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup powdered sugar for dredging

Instructions

  1. Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until combined and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat after each addition.
  2. Tip in the lime juice, lime zest, coconut flakes, pandan flavoring, coconut extract, and vanilla extract. Mix in with the butter mixture until combined.
  3. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture by the cupful into the butter mixture and beat together on low speed. Once you have added all the flour, mix until everything is incorporated. The dough will be thick and sticky. Place the mixing bowl in the fridge and let it chill for 15 to 20 minutes.
  4. Turn on the oven to 350 F/176 C. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Pour the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl and set aside.
  5. Using a small cookie scoop or ⅛ cup measuring cup (equals around 2 tablespoon of dough), drop a lump of dough into the powdered sugar. Using both hands, lightly roll the dough into the sugar until it is coated and gently roll it into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Dough balls should be 2 inches apart.
  6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the outer edges of the cookie are set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely if you can. Makes around 26 cookies.

Keywords: pandan crinkle cookies with coconut and lime

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Chocolate-Pecan Meringues with Cherries

December 5, 2022

Chocolate-Pecan Meringues with Cherries

Chocolate-pecan meringues with cherries.

Chewy and chocolatey, these Chocolate-Pecan Meringues with Cherries deserve a spot on your cookie tray this month. The fact that they are gluten-free and dairy-free is one more reason to say yes to making them.

Gluten-free Baking

Gluten-free baked goods can be terrible. These bread, cakes, and cookies seem to go hard on the baking soda and baking powder, hoping for some lift since gluten isn’t there to provide it. The results are often a dry, crumbly mess that only the faithfully gluten-free person will eat.

So not worth the calories!

However, gluten-free baking has come a long way in the past few years. Now there are more easily sourced flour substitutions like 1-to-1, cup-4-cup, almond, and coconut. Plus, countless gluten-free websites help the average baker put together something that is not only edible but tasty for GF family and friends.

Eggs, dark chocolate, pecans, and dried cherries for the win.

I’ve had my share of gluten-free (and dairy-free) needs with my own peeps for several years. One of the best things to bake for these high-maintenance loved ones? Meringue.

Meringue

Once upon a time, I thought meringue was super fancy. Well, I still kind of think that. But once I actually made it, I discovered it is easy to do.

Let’s call it easy fancy.

Egg whites and sugar whipped to stiff peaks.

Basically, meringue is egg whites whipped with sugar until it is stiff and glossy. It is then baked until the outside is crisp and the inside is soft, chewy, and marshmallow-like. Think: lemon meringue pie and baked Alaska.

If it is baked longer, the entire meringue is uniformly crisp throughout. It shatters when you bite into it. Dacquoise, meringue kisses, and pavlova are all examples.

Meringue is a delicious way to make a naturally gluten-free and dairy-free cookie without having to hunt down any special ingredients. It can be flavored with a variety of things like melted chocolate, dried bits of fruit, zest, and finely chopped nuts.

Meringue and melted chocolate stirred together.

Lessons Learned

  • Don’t overbeat the egg whites! They should form shiny, stiff peaks that remain tall when the beaters are pulled away. If you beat them for too long, they will lose their shine and become dull lumpy clumps, as I sadly discovered.
  • It’s important to add the sugar a little bit at a time. Wait for it to become incorporated before adding the next spoonful so the meringue doesn’t become grainy.
  • Yes, piping the cookies is an extra step but the finished product looks prettier. The alternative is to plop the batter on the sheet pan with a spoon. It’s ugly but tastes the same. You're an adult, so do what you want.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Parade for the chewy dark chocolate meringue cookie recipe.

Close up of chocolate-pecan meringue cookie.
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Chocolate-pecan meringues with cherries.

Chocolate-Pecan Meringues with Cherries

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 30 cookies 1x
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Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 egg whites
  • ½ tsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 12 oz dark chocolate (70 percent), melted and cooled
  • ½ cup chopped dried cherries
  • ½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 F/162 C. Place parchment paper on two rimmed baking sheets and set aside.
  2. Beat the egg whites, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt in a stand mixer (or hand mixer) on medium speed until it is foamy and bubbly. Continue to beat on medium speed while gradually adding in the sugar, a few spoonfuls at a time. Once all the sugar is added, beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Do not overbeat.
  3. Gently stir in the melted chocolate, chopped nuts, and chopped cherries using a rubber spatula.
  4. Place half of the batter into a piping bag or gallon-size Ziploc bag. Snip one corner into a 1-inch hole. Pipe cookies (about 2 inches wide) onto the prepared baking sheets. If you don’t want to mess with piping, you can dollop batter onto the cookie sheets with a spoon. Place a whole pecan in the middle of each cookie.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes or until the surface looks dry and is set. The insides will continue to set as the cookies cool. Let cool on the sheet pans. Makes around 30 cookies.

Keywords: chocolate-pecan meringues with cherries

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Campanelle with Creamy Pumpkin Alfredo

November 30, 2022

Campanelle with Creamy Pumpkin Alfredo

Campanelle with Creamy Pumpkin Alfredo.

This carb-a-licious pasta dish of Campanelle with Creamy Pumpkin Alfredo features a luxurious alfredo sauce that just happens to be dairy-free. Plus, pumpkin!

Baking Pumpkins

All throughout the fall and winter, pumpkins of every size can be found at grocery stores and farm stands. Yes, we all love the giant ones for carving funny faces and the wee ones for decorating. But my favorite? The pie pumpkins.

Pie pumpkin split in half lengthwise, one side facing down and the other facing up with seeds.

These small pumpkins are sometimes called sugar pumpkins or baking pumpkins. They have smooth orange skin and weigh between two and three pounds. Once roasted, the pumpkin flesh can be added to sauces, soups, and sweets.

But why bake a pumpkin when you can just open a can of pumpkin puree? Flavor, of course. Freshly roasted pumpkin is going to taste cleaner, more pumpkin-y, and less metallic than anything you scrape out of a can.

Baking a pumpkin is not hard, I promise. The biggest task is cleaning out the middle and deciding whether you are going to toss the seeds or roast them.

Pumpkin, baked and bronze-y.

Once cooked, these orange-y orbs yield around two cups of mashed pumpkin. Just enough for a pie. Or a pasta sauce.

Campanelle

The first time I saw this pasta at the grocery store I thought it looked like little flowers. So it’s no surprise that “campanelle” means “bellflower” in Italian. With its ruffly edges and curved shape, it is a beautiful pasta and one I wouldn’t attempt to make by hand.

It is made from just three ingredients: durum wheat semolina, eggs, and water. The Italian import brand I buy comes in 12-ounce bags but the more easily found Barilla brand offers it in 16-ounce boxes.

Dry campanelle pasta, fresh sage leaves, and fresh garlic.

I love that the space in the center of the “flower” is perfect for trapping creamy sauces, like the pumpkin alfredo featured here. A perfect side: Ligurian Focaccia!

Lessons Learned

  • Don’t want to bake a pumpkin? I get it. You can sub in a 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree instead.
  • If you can’t find campanelle, you can use any tubular pasta like penne or rigatoni. For pasta with a similar ruffly edge, try fusilli or radiatori.
  • This recipe is vegan if you make it with vegan butter, and non-dairy milk. Top it with vegan cheese.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Minimalist Baker for directions on how to bake pumpkin and to Well Plated by Erin for the pumpkin pasta sauce recipe inspo.

Creamy and dairy-free pumpkin alfredo with campanelle pasta.
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Campanelle with Creamy Pumpkin Alfredo.

Campanelle with Creamy Pumpkin Alfredo

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 small baking pumpkin (2 to 3 lbs)
  • 2 Tbsp butter, olive oil, or vegan butter
  • 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp ground sage
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cups coconut milk, or any kind
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 oz campanelle or similar pasta
  • 1 Tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped
  • Shaved parmesan or vegan cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Lightly oil the cut sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake the pumpkin, cut sides down, on a baking sheet for 50 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven, turn over the pumpkin halves so cut sides face up, and let cool. Scoop out the flesh into a food processor or blender and blitz until it is a smooth puree. It should equal around 2 cups.
  2. Make the sauce by melting the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, then adding the flour, sage, nutmeg, and garlic. Lower the heat to medium and stir to combine until the mixture looks dry, about 2 minutes. Add the milk and stir, scraping up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
  3. Add in the pumpkin puree, then season with salt and pepper. Stir and bring the sauce to a simmer. Depending on the milk you used, the sauce may be too thin. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into 3 tablespoons of cold water, then add it to the sauce and stir until it is starting to thicken. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon.
  4. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain, then dump the pasta into the sauce and stir to combine.
  5. To serve, place the pasta in individual serving bowls and top with chopped sage and shaved cheese.

Keywords: campanelle with creamy pumpkin alfredo

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Miso-Caramel Salmon with Bok Choy

November 28, 2022

Miso-Caramel Salmon with Bok Choy

Miso-caramel salmon with bok choy.

Savory caramel is a thing and Miso-Caramel Salmon with Bok Choy proves that! This one-and-done sheet pan meal is easy prep and easy clean-up. The caramel comes together quickly and incorporates a surprise ingredient: miso.

Miso

You’ve probably had miso soup at a sushi place at some point in your dining-out life. The salty-sweet, slightly funky broth usually contains miso, dashi, tofu, seaweed, and green onion. It’s a simple but tasty soup.

White miso paste.

Miso is a fermented soybean paste originating in Japan and it comes in many varieties including white, yellow, and red. White miso is the mildest and red is the most pungent. The salty, slightly sweet, and savory flavor makes it a popular ingredient in dips, marinades, salad dressings, sauces, and soups.

So what’s it doing in this caramel? In a previous post, we talked about the role salt plays in making sweet things taste better, and that’s what it is doing here. It is a version of salted caramel, with miso being the bringer of salt.

A spoon of miso-caramel. Yummy!

Miso-caramel is delicious in desserts, of course, and I may have had a spoonful or two straight out of the jar. But its sweet-saltiness is an excellent addition to chicken, fish, and vegetable dishes. Brushed over salmon, it shines.

Plus, bok choy!

Bok Choy

Growing up, I ate bok choy on a semi-regular basis. My Korean mom used it in her kimchi and stir-fries. It is a type of mild Chinese cabbage that has a crunchy white base and tender green leaves.

Baby bok choy. So cute!

Bok choy is eaten raw or cooked. And it cooks fast when incorporated in soups or sauteed in a pan. Thrown on a baking sheet and roasted, it is done in less than 15 minutes.

Baby bok choy is what I used in this recipe. What makes them babies? They do not reach full maturity before picking. So the heads and leaves are milder and more tender than the full-size ones.

Salmon fillets and baby bok choy arranged on a sheet pan, ready to be roasted.

Lessons Learned

  • The miso-caramel can be dairy-free (hooray!) by using coconut cream. It also can be made a day or two ahead and kept in the fridge. Try not to eat all of it with a spoon before making the salmon.
  • An important step is to set the sheet pan in the oven while the oven preheats. You want the pan to be hot when you place the salmon on it. This ensures the fish and veggies cook evenly.
  • A nice side dish here would be steamed white or brown rice. And homemade kimchi!

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Bon Appetit for their miso-caramel glazed salmon recipe inspiration and to Food52 for the miso caramel recipe.

Roasted, glazed with miso-caramel, and ready to eat!
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Miso-caramel salmon with bok choy.

Miso-Caramel Salmon with Bok Choy

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Ingredients

Units Scale
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup water
  • ½ cup heavy cream or coconut cream
  • 2 Tbsp white miso
  • 1 lb. (about 4 fillets) salmon
  • 2 or 3 baby bok choy heads
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • Garnish: sliced green onions

Instructions

  1. Make the miso caramel by stirring the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil without stirring. Let it cook until the mixture reaches a golden brown color, like the color of amber jewelry. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream. Stir together until it is uniform in color. Add the miso and stir until it is combined.
  2. Preheat the oven to 425 F/218 C. Place a lightly-greased, rimmed baking sheet in the oven while it preheats.
  3. Divide the salmon into fillets if it is not already. Slice the bok choy into halves and set aside.
  4. Once the oven is ready, remove the preheated baking sheet from the oven and immediately add the bok choy, cut side down. Next, add the salmon, skin side down. Everything should be in a single layer. Drizzle several spoonfuls of miso caramel over the salmon (you will have caramel left over to enjoy with something else).
  5. Top the salmon evenly with garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper.
  6. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes or until the salmon is cooked. Don’t overcook the salmon, please. Garnish with green onions and serve.

Keywords: miso-caramel salmon with bok choy

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Cranberry Lime Pie

November 17, 2022

Cranberry Lime Pie

Cranberry Lime Pie.

The bright color is a hint of the equally bright flavor of Cranberry Lime Pie. Crushed gingersnaps and pecans make up the warm and nutty crust. The filling: sweet-tart cranberry lime curd.

Curd

What is fruit curd? If you are a teatime person, you are familiar with lemon curd. Spread on scones and sandwiched between cookies, it is indulgent, buttery, and lemony.

Fruit curd is a combination of eggs, sugar, fruit juice, and zest cooked until some of the liquid evaporates and thickened. Sometimes the mixture incorporates butter as well. Once the curd cools, it is a creamy, spreadable paste.

Cranberries, limes, lemon, eggs, and butter all awaiting their fate.

Citrus fruits like grapefruit, lemon, lime, and orange are well-suited for this because their acid and sharp flavor balance the richness of the curd. Lately, I have seen berries made into curds, such as blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry. This recipe uses tart cranberries and limes.

A nice counterpoint to the luscious filling is the cookie crust.

Gingersnap Pie Crust

Gingersnaps, pecans, butter, and brown sugar for the cookie crust.

Cookie pie crusts are nothing new. They are made from crunchy cookies like graham crackers, Oreos, and shortbread. Crush cookies into crumbs, add butter, and press the mixture into a pan.

To quote Ina Garten, how easy is that?

This crust is made with gingersnaps. The crunchy kind from a box. Plus, pecans!

Pouring the cranberry lime goodness into the prepared crumb crust.

Lessons Learned

  • Need your crust to be nut-free? Use just cookies. Double the amount of gingersnaps.
  • If you don’t mind pieces of cranberry and zest in your curd, by all means, skip the fine mesh strainer bit. Straining it makes the curd silky smooth but that might not be your thing.
  • The garnishes are optional, of course. They do make the pie extra pretty but a dollop of whipped cream instead would be just as nice.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Epicurious for their cranberry-lime pie recipe.

Inside peek of the cranberry lime pie.
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Cranberry Lime Pie.

Cranberry Lime Pie

  • Author: Betty
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Chill Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 12 slices 1x
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Ingredients

Units Scale

Crust:

  • 4 ounces gingersnap cookies (16 cookies of Nabisco brand)
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 4 Tbsp butter, melted
  • 3 Tbsp brown sugar

Filling:

  • 1 package (12 oz) fresh or thawed cranberries
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided use
  • ¼ cup water
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 tsp lime zest
  • ½ cup fresh lime juice
  • Pinch of kosher salt
  • ¾ cup butter, cut into pieces

Garnish:

  • ½ cup water
  • 1 cup granulated sugar, divided use
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • ½ cup whole pecans
  • 1 tsp lime zest

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C. Make the crust by blitzing the cookies in a food processor or blender until they are crumbs. Add the pecans and blitz again until the mixture is fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and brown sugar, then pulse a few times to combine. It should look like wet sand. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch deep dish pie pan. Press the crumbs firmly on the bottom and sides into an even layer. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until firm. If you have a crust emergency and the sides have slid down, just press them back to where they should go. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  2. Make the cranberry puree by combining the cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Then, lower the heat and continue cooking until the cranberries burst. Allow it to cook until most of the juice is gone, about 12 minutes. Let it cool slightly, then pour it into a clean blender or food processor and blitz until it is pureed.
  3. Make the filling by pouring the cranberry puree, ½ cup sugar, eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, lime zest, lime juice, and salt into the top pan of a double boiler. Bring 2 cups of water to simmer in the bottom saucepan. Place the upper pan (you can also use a heatproof bowl if you don’t have a double boiler) over the water. Cook the mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula, for 8 to 10 minutes. Scrape the sides of the pan and stir frequently as the curd starts to thicken. Press the curd through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of the pieces of cranberry and zest to make it smooth. Scrape the underside of the strainer to capture all the curd. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
  4. Now, add one piece of the butter and beat it into the mixture with a hand-held or stand mixer. Once the butter is incorporated, add the next piece and do the same. It will take 5-ish minutes to add all the butter, one piece at a time. The curd will be a lighter shade of reddish pink and fluffier. Pour the curd into the crust and smooth the top. Place it in the fridge for 2 hours or until set.
  5. Make the garnish. This is optional, but it is pretty. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper under a wire rack and have it nearby. Bring the sugar and water to a simmer over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the cranberries and allow them to cook for 2 minutes, then remove them to the wire rack with a slotted spoon. They should slightly soften but don’t allow them to burst. Now, add the pecans to the saucepan and cook them for 5 minutes, then remove them to the wire rack with a slotted spoon. Allow the berries and nuts to cool and dry for about 1 hour. Pour the remaining ½ cup sugar onto a plate. Add the cranberries and pecans and roll them in the sugar to create a frosted appearance.
  6. The naked pie can be kept covered in the fridge for 2 days. Garnish the pie just before serving. Arrange the sugared cranberries and pecans as you wish, then finish it off with 1 teaspoon of lime zest.

Keywords: cranberry lime pie

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Buttermilk Pie with Booze

November 16, 2022

Buttermilk Pie with Booze

Buttermilk Pie with Booze.

It’s not the prettiest thing, but it is sweet and will make you smile. I’m not referring to your friend’s newest grandbaby. We’re talking pie: Buttermilk Pie with Booze.

The appeal of this pie is its simplicity. Yes, it’s ugly but it is delicious. Certain individuals will appreciate it.

This is the pie for friends who:

  • Drink their coffee black.
  • Order cheese pizza.
  • Peruse all the ice cream flavors, then get vanilla—every time.

Jamocha Almond Fudge people, keep moving along. This is not the pie for you.

What’s Buttermilk

I was amazed to learn recently that buttermilk is a fermented drink.

In years past, it was made from the leftover milk that remained after one churned their butter. This milk was allowed to ferment, developing natural probiotics and a tangy flavor. My dad used to drink this when he was growing up in his tiny hometown in Oklahoma.

Most of the buttermilk sold today in the U.S. is cultured buttermilk. This means that a lactic acid bacteria culture is added to pasteurized, homogenized milk. The live cultures ferment the milk to produce commercially-made buttermilk.

Buttermilk. That's it.

Buttermilk is thicker than whole milk and has a slightly acidic tang, similar to yogurt. It is used as an ingredient in biscuits, muffins, pancakes, and quick bread. The lactic acid in the milk activates baking soda, giving these doughs a lift and a tender crumb.

The star of this pie is the buttermilk. I know you are skeptical, but I encourage you to make it once before passing judgment. You will be surprised at how good it is.

Plus, there’s booze.

Booze

Booze, hooch, the sauce, nightcap. They are all the same: nicknames for alcohol. Usually, these are referring to distilled spirits but can be applied to alcohol in general.

When you add booze to something that is going to be baked, cooked on a stovetop, grilled, or sauteed, some of the alcohol burns off and evaporates in the heat. Some, not all. After an hour of cooking, about 25 percent of the alcohol still remains in a dish.

If this concerns you because the alcohol doesn’t completely burn off (or because 75 percent of it does), read on.

Buttermilk, eggs, butter, sugar, and whiskey. What's not to love?

For a recipe that calls for two tablespoons of hooch like this one does, the finished pie will have about one and a half teaspoons of remaining alcohol. I won’t calculate what each slice contains, but I think it is safe to say you won’t get buzzed by eating a slice of this pie. Or even the whole pie.

The spirit I chose to add was the whiskey I had on hand (Buffalo Trace if you are curious). But you can use whatever hard stuff you have and taste you enjoy. If you don’t like or want to use alcohol, you can just omit it.