Apr 5th “When ALL is said and DONE, just add LOVE

Love

When the grandchildren came to stay overnight with me, I would always have their favorite  foods, for all their meals.

On this particular  morning,  so bright and early, I was making a bigger batch of pancakes.

The kitchen was like a restaurant with  so many delicious smells inviting everyone to come  on in and enjoy.

The pancakes made a real hit with the grandkids,  as they were now asking…  what made them so good?

My reply was, “I have a very secret ingredient,  like all  the best  of good cooks”.

One started looking in the spice rack, and another in the pantry, and the searching began to be a very serious search…  for this extra special item, that will make pancakes taste so good.

When children are young and looking for something so special, an intangible item a substance to see or feel, you know they are looking for the truth.

So, I took them to the kitchen, for an inspection of the evidence, finding nothing visible, had to leave…  the cat out of the bag.

“Everything I do for You…  I add Love.”

That made their day.

Now twenty years later, I still hear…

“Grandma put Love in this for us”.

Apr 5th “Spice Cake With Caramel Frosting”

Prep:15 mins

Cook:40 mins

Total:55 mins

Servings:8 servings

Yield:1 9-by-13-inch cake

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
514	Calories
13g	Fat
94g	Carbs
6g	Protein

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Top this easy spice cake recipe with the caramel icing, or use cream cheese icing, or your favorite frosting. No matter which you choose, it’s sure to be delicious.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• Cooking spray, or butter, for greasing pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

For the Caramel Icing:

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Steps to Make It

 

Make the Spice Cake

1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously greased and floured 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking pan

2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

3. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla; beat on slow to medium speed of electric mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape sides and bottom of mixing bowl several times.

4. Beat in eggs and continue to beat for 2 minutes longer.

5. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.

6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

7. Cool completely and frost with caramel icing.

 

Make the Caramel Icing

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, milk, and butter.

3. Stirring constantly; bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool to lukewarm.

5. Beat until creamy and thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little more milk or a small amount of cream.

Mar 22nd “NATIONAL BAVARIAN CREPES DAY”

Serving up a light and airy dish, March 22nd annually recognizes National Bavarian Crepes Day.

Bavarian crepes are a delicious, very thin pancake-like dessert. They are typically made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour, then filled, rolled, and then often topped with a glaze, fruit, chocolate or whipped cream. In Bavaria, crepes are called palatschinke. While similar to a French crepe, the Bavarian crepe batter doesn’t need to rest before using.

Both types of crepes lend themselves to delicious desserts and fresh breakfast settings. They even make for a light brunch with a savory touch. However, crepes shine when it comes to delivering delicate and beautiful desserts. Whether they are filled with cream, mousse, or jams, the results are almost always spectacular. 

HOW TO OBSERVE #BavarianCrepesDay

• Try your hand at making this delicate dish. It’s worth taking up the challenge.
• While you’re at it, invite some other chefs into the kitchen, too!
• Enjoy one of the following recipes and have a wonderful day:
  • Bavarian Crepes from iFood.TV
  • Bavarian Crepes from Show Me the Sugar
• Give a shout-out to the chef who makes the best crepes.
• Use #BavarianCrepesDay to post on social media.

Bavarian Crepes Recipe

By Chewy

Not as difficult as you may think, you don’t need a special crepe maker to achieve the desired result. This crepe makes an impressive looking finale to your meal. Also very versatile, you can experiment with different fruits and fillings and toppings. Let your imagination take flight and let us know what you created!!
Most people say they have to throw out the first one of every batch. I used to but I don’t so much anymore. Here are some tips:

1. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes for the gluten to relax.
2. Be sure your pan is really hot.
3. Spray with cooking spray.
4. Rub a tiny bit of butter in the pan.
5. Add the batter with a 1/4 cup measure, swirling the pan as you add it.
6. Hold the pan over the batter bowl so that any excess runs back into the bowl.
7. Cook until the edges curl a little and you can pull the crepe out of the pan.
8. Either fill and roll as you take them out of the pan or lay parchment between the crepes.
9. Once made, the crêpes can be refrigerated for several days, or frozen for up to several months.

photo by TekToNik

CREPE BATTER:
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter, melted

CHERRY FILLING:
2 cans (16 oz. each) sweet dark pitted cherries
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup almond flavored liqueur
1 cup sour cream
1 oz. semisweet chocolate, grated

TO SERVE:
1 cup sour cream
1 oz. semisweet chocolate, grated

In a medium bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add buttermilk. Beat with a whisk or with electric mixer on low speed until just blended.

Add flour, sugar and cocoa, beating with whisk or with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in melted butter.

Let batter stand about 1/2 hour at room temperature. If kept longer before cooking, refrigerate. Stir batter with a spoon.

Cook crepes on upside down crepe griddle or in traditional crepe or omelet pan. As each crepe is cooked, stack in a covered dish or pan to keep warm and moist.

PREPARE CHERRY FILLING:
Drain cherries, reserving 1/3 cup juice.

In a medium pan, combine powdered sugar and cornstarch. Stir in liqueur and reserved cherry juice. Add drained cherries. Stir constantly over moderate heat until slightly thickened.

TO SERVE:
Spoon onto warm cooked crepes. Fold sides over filling, envelope style. Spoon sour cream on top. Sprinkle with grated chocolate. Serve at once.

Makes 14-16 servings

Mar 18th “Easy Old Fashioned Hermit Cookies”

Hermit cookies are a wonderfully old fashioned cookie and this easy hermit cookie recipe is spiced just right and packed with dried fruit and nuts. Truly the best ever.

What is a Hermit Cookie?

Hermit cookies. They were my Grandma’s most favourite cookies – a New England classic that travelled up the the coast to infiltrate its Canadian neighbours.

The speculation surrounding the name “Hermit Cookies” is that you can tuck them away and they last a really long time. They also freeze beautifully, as uncooked dough balls that you can bake from frozen, or already baked.

While the Canadian version features dates, its American counterpart is just raisins and nuts.

Add the dates, Americans! They’re so luscious and chewy and sticky-sweet; a perfect addition to these lightly spiced gems.

The cookies are sweetened with just brown sugar – imparting an irresistible caramel-ly flavour and chewy texture that will have you reaching for a third, then maybe a fourth… which is not as terrible as you might think, because they’re actually lighter than most cookies.

“Lighter” with air bunnies around it, that is – they’re still cookies, they won’t do sit-ups for you – but they do have 1/2 the amount of butter that many other types do…

They’re jam packed with raisins, dates and walnuts, and scented with warm spices – but these are no spice cookie; the flavours are subtle.

Because they haven’t got a lot of butter, it’s really important to prep your baking sheets or they will stick – parchment paper is ideal: easiest removal, practically no cleanup, no need for extra fat. If you like to bake, I really recommend you keep parchment paper on hand. Otherwise, just grease ’em well!

The recipe is adapted from my grandma’s Purity cookbook – it’s a treasure, filled with old fashioned Canadian classics.

Easy Old Fashioned Hermit Cookies

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time12 mins

Servings48

Dessert

American

INGREDIENTS

1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup butter room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

INSTRUCTIONS

• • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • In a standing mixer on medium speed, cream together butter and brown sugar.
  • Add eggs and beat until mixture is pale and thick – about 2 minutes.
  • Beat in vanilla.
  • Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.
  • Incorporate raisins, dates and nuts (depending on your mixer, you may have to do this part by hand with a wooden spoon).
  • Drop cookies by tablespoonfuls onto a well-greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes, until edges are set but centres still appear moist.
  • Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

AD

• Store in an airtight container (up to 10 days) or freeze on a flat surface then transfer to freezer bags to store up to 3 months.
• Thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

NOTES

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Mar 18th “LACY OATMEAL COOKIES”