All posts by Sonte

Snickerdoodle Blondies

November 10, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

Snickerdoodles, Snickerdoodles, Snickerdoodles! Go on, tell someone that you Love Snickerdoodles! They will probably giggle, say “What’s a snicker….?” or they will say “I know right! They are the best!” Either way, everyone should experience a Snickerdoodle at least once.
Alright, so now you are in love with Snickerdoodles and you want to make them ALL the time! The truth is, they are a little on the fussy side to make (that is, if your idea of making cookies is slicing up Pillsbury Cookie dough or popping open a box of frozen cookie pucks from M&M meats…ok, really, cookies? At a meat shop? )
No worries, I have found the answer to your conundrum; Snickerdoodle Blondies! Just mix it up, pour into baking dish, done in the time it takes the oven to preheat!

2 1/3 cups Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 cup Butter, softened
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Cinnamon Filling
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
Glaze
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 – 2 Tablespoon Milk
Splash of Vanilla

Preheat oven 350F.
Lightly spray a 9X13 pan with vegetable oil spray.

In small bowl combine 1 Tablespoon Sugar and 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon; set aside.
In small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar, brown sugar and vanilla for about 2 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time a time, stirring well after each addition.
With mixer on low speed, stir in flour mixture until smooth, about 1 minute.
Spoon half the batter in the prepared baking pan and spread evenly.
Sprinkle with Cinnamon/Sugar mixture.
Dollop small teaspoon size amounts of remaining batter evenly over cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Bake in 350F oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool completely.
In small bowl combine icing sugar, vanilla and milk, to desired consistency, (start with about 1 Tablespoon of milk-easier to start with a little milk and add more if need than to add more powdering icing sugar!) and stir until no lumps remain.
Load into a piping bag and drizzle over Snickerdoodle Bars. (or drizzle with a spoon)

There are a gazillion Snickerdoodle recipes out there! I am a huge fan of the Betty Crocker Cookbook so I relied on Betty for my Snickerdoodle Brownies.

Muffins and Scones

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

November 10, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

The class I work in at school went to the pumpkin patch before Halloween. I asked the students what they do with their pumpkins once Halloween is over? They all basically shrugged their shoulders, gave me a weird look and said they threw them away, or whatever.

Enter story about how you can peel, cut up and cook the pumpkin and turn it into something yummy. Again, the weird looks. Next Question: Who likes pumpkin pie?All their hands shot up into the air. “Well, where do you think the pumpkin comes from?” Realization sinks in.

In honour of our trip to the pumpkin patch and their new found knowledge that you can cook with pumpkin I have been baking up pumpkin-inspired treats for them.

4 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon each: Ground Nutmeg, Ginger and Cloves
1 cup Pumpkin Puree (unsweetened canned pumpkin)
3 ounces of Half&Half (Cream)
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 large Eggs, lightly beaten
6 ounces cold Butter, cubed
Glaze
1/2 cup Icing Sugar
1 Tablespoon Milk
splash of Vanilla
Spiced Icing
1/2 cup Icing Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
pinch each of Nutmeg, Ginger and Cloves
Milk, to right consistency

Preheat oven to 425F.
Line baking trays with parchment paper or lightly spray with vegetable oil spray and dust lightly with cornmeal.
In Kitchenaid mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger; stir, on lowest setting for about 1 minute.
While that is stirring, combine pumpkin, cream and eggs in a large measuring cup.
Pour cubed butter into combined flour and stir on low speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (If not using a mixer, cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender)
Pour in pumpkin mixture and stir just until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the sticky dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead about 10 times.
GENTLY roll out dough to about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thickness and cut with floured biscuit cutter.
Place close, but not touching, together on prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 14 – 16 minutes in 425F oven, until lightly golden browned.
While scones are baking, lay down two strips of wax paper, plastic wrap and place cooling racks onto it; this will make your clean up so much easier when you do the final two steps.
Remove from oven, transfer scones to wire rack to cool.
While scones are cooling (about 15 minutes) in small bowl combine first amount of icing sugar, vanilla and milk, stirring until smooth.
Use a pastry brush to brush a layer of glaze onto each scone.

In a small bowl combine icing sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
Add vanilla and enough milk resulting in a thicker glaze (the consistency of mayo or ketchup)
Load the thick glaze into a piping bag or a sandwich bag with a corner snipped off.
Pipe lines of thick glaze over the first layer of glaze.

Yield: about 18 – 24 Scones, depending on what size you make them

This recipe adapted from:
Recipe Girl

Breakfast

Mini Pumpkin Pancakes

November 1, 2012 Sonte 1 Comment

What to do with all that Pumpkin created from post-Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns? Sure you could make a whole lot of pumpkin pie but that might soon have YOU looking like a rotund lil Jack-o-Lantern!

I made Pumpkin Spice Muffins last week which were quite yummy and thought, “Oh, hey, Pumpkin Spice Pancakes!”

1 3/4 cup Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each: Nutmeg, Ginger, Cloves
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 large Egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 Tablespoons Butter, melted

In Kitchenaid mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices and brown sugar; mix on low speed for a minute.
In small mixing bowl combine beaten egg, milk, pumpkin puree, melted butter and vanilla; pour all at once into dry ingredients.
With mixer on low speed, stir just until combined.
Spoon small dollops (I used a #3-scoop) of batter onto preheated 350F griddle and cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
Serve warm with butter, maple syrup and whipped cream or cinnamon sugar.

About, Poultry

Moroccan-Spiced Chicken

October 28, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

moroccan-spiced chicken — Moroccan-Spiced Chicken

I was flipping through my November Issue of Chatelaine and came upon this recipe in the “it’syourhealth” section on page 155. I had just taken boneless, skinless chicken breasts out of the freezer with absolutely no idea what I was going to make with it. I was only missing the oranges called for in this recipe but did have a can of mandarin oranges in the pantry. I also subbed in a can of coconut milk for the milk.

The husband says the chicken was delicious! I wouldn’t know as I remain a Vegetarian … I rely on smell, A LOT, and I grill the husband about taste, texture, presentation…I usually get, “It was….tasty, very tasty.” <- A quasi quote from 84 Charing Cross Road

2 teaspoons Butter
1 Onion, sliced
1 teaspoon each: Paprika, ground Cumin, Dried Mint
1/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 lb skinless, boneless Chicken Breast, cut into strips
1/3 cup chopped Dried Apricots and/or Raisins
2 cups Coconut Milk (or milk)
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 can Mandarin Orange slices, drained

In large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
Saute onion, paprika, cumin, mint, cinnamon, salt and pepper until onion is softened.
Add chicken; saute for 3 minutes.
Add dried fruit.
Whisk a small amount of coconut milk into cornstarch, until smooth; whisk in remaining coconut milk.
Stir into skillet.
Simmer, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink inside, 4 – 5 minutes.
Top with mandarin orange slices.
Serve over a bed of Brown Rice or Whole Wheat Couscous with a Green Vegetable.

Serves 4

Isabelle Neiderer, November 2012, Chatelaine, it’syourhealth, Volume November/12, page 155

Moroccan-Spiced Chicken and Brown Rice with Blackened Peppers

Coffee Cakes

Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake

September 10, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

When my mother was in hospital over the summer people often brought her fresh fruit from her garden. The blueberries started to pile up so I brought them home and made a Lemon Poundcake, added some Blueberries, a Lemon Glaze and came up with this delicious Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake.

1 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Sugar
4 Eggs
3 Tablespoons Milk
2 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 cups Blueberries, fresh or frozen, unthawed

Lemon Glaze
1/4 cup Sugar
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly spray a Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray and dust with flour; tap out excess flour.

In medium mixing combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, one a time, until light and creamy.
Beat in milk, lemon zest and vanilla.

Stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture just until smooth.
Fold blueberries into batter.
Turn batter into prepared bundt pan and bake in 350F oven until pick inserted comes out clean, about 1 – 1 1/2 hours.
Remove from oven and let rest on wire rack, in pan, for 10 minutes.
Turn out onto cake platter and top with Lemon Glaze.

While cake is cooling, prepare Lemon Glaze by combining the two ingredients in a small microwaveable proof bowl, heat for 30 second intervals on HIGH until sugar is dissolved.
With skewer, poke holes all over top of cake; brush glaze evenly oer top.
Cool completely.

Aysontespli's Kitchen