Sugar, Butter & Water. AKA "Toffee"

Are you surprised that when you put together these three ingredients you get yummy magical goodness.   Is it really difficult to go wrong with butter and sugar together.  Last year, my friend Heather and I went to the Christmas Show in Toronto and there was a booth selling chocolate covered toffee.   Actually there was actually two booths, each a little different,  so we decided to buy a pound each and split it.  That plan never happened because we never got the chance to split it and I ended up eating my bag all to myself.   Ooops..Sorry Heather, but I am trying to create more for you.    The tricky thing is actually turning those three ingredients into hard toffee.  Some recipes also use brown sugar and corn syrup but I think I will try one of those next.   I had made toffee once in the past and I decided not to use my candy thermometer and just go by time in the recipe.   Note to all : Use a candy thermometer.  :-P  It had turned out soft and not nearly as crunchy as this batch and not nearly as tasty. I  adapted this recipe from the Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, heat sugar, butter and water to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat to medium.  Cook about 13 minutes, stirring constantly to 300F on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into cup of very cold water separates into hard brittle threads.   

2. Immediately pout toffee onto ungreased large cookie sheet.   If necessary, quickly spread mixture to 1/4 inch thickness.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips, let stand 1 minute or until chips are completely softened, then spread evenly.   Sprinkle with pecans.

3. Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour or refrigerate if desired until firm.  Break into bite size pieces.  Store in airtight container. 

MY VARIATION:

1. I didn't stir constantly as I was always taught in to not touch the pot when you are creating caramel.   I used a wet brush and water to prevent crystallization.

2. I used a mix of dark and semi sweet chocolate, as well as more than 1/2 cup.  1/2 cup is clearly not enough!

3. I also used slivered almonds instead of pecans and did a quick toasting in the oven (350F for about 4-5min) 

Although I waited for the thermometer to reach 300F, I don't think the toffee was quite ready as some of it was quite runny when I went to pour it on the sheet.   I also didn't love the almonds, so I may actually try the pecans next time.  Oh yes, there will be a next time. It is my goal to perfect toffee.

I swear my next recipe will have no toffee of toffee bits. 

Meg's Rating: D-EE-LICIOUS!

(This is my practice at creative shots for photography class)

Twix anyone?

What to do with leftover Halloween Candy, part 2.    Twix might just be my favorite chocolate bar, so when I found them 50% off after Halloween I bought the most of these, 5 bags to be exact.     As much as I would have like to eat all 150 of these mini twix bars, it is probably not a good idea.  The next best action besides eating directly is baking which luckily still involves eating, sneaky isn't it.  ;-)   Since the Twix bar is a combination of Chocolate, Caramel and Cookie using this product in baking can be a bit tricky,  so I figured why not leave them out in the open to be seen and drooled over.  I found this recipe again in my 365 Quinoa cookbook as I was searching for recipes for my Christmas party.    The recipe is called Mocha Toffee Squares and with no picture I was hooked.  Clearly my obsession with toffee bits continues, let's add the Skor bar to the top of my favourite chocolate bar list.  Seriously, they are just so tasty to bake with.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup chopped pecans ( I used chopped twix instead)
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp strong coffee or 1 tsp coffee liqueur   ( I used vanilla instead)
• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 1 cup toffee bits
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips ( I didn't use because I had the Twix)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat oven 350 F.  If you are using the pecans, spread them evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 7 minutes until they are fragrant and toasted.  Remove and set aside.

2) Grease a 9 inch sq. pan and line the bottom with parchment.  Cream together butter and sugar in a medium bowl  until smooth.  Mix in egg and coffee.  3) Add the quinoa flour, toffee bits, baking soda and salt.  Mix thoroughly and press into the baking dish. Bake on the center oven rack for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

4) Remove from the oven and sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips.   Return to oven for 1 minute.   Using a butter knife spread the melted chocolate chips evenly across the baked dough.   Sprinkle immediately with the toasted pecans.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.   Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for a month.

MY VARIATION :  I did some tweaking in the recipe as there was no call for Twix in it but I figured  it was worth a shot. I made the base the same way except used 1 tsp of vanilla instead of coffee.   At about 13 minutes, I took out the base and sprinkled the chopped Twix bars on top and then put it back in the oven (turned off) for about 3 minutes or until some of the Twix are melted and stuck to the base.

I tried very very hard to not try a piece before I went to bed, well that did not happen.   SO Yummy.   Sadly Brad never got to try these as they were brought to work and gobbled up pretty quickly. As I also got yelled at for not making enough.    Another hit!   I think I will look for other ways to use this toffee base in the future.... Hmmm... What to do?   Any suggestions out there?

MEG's RATING D-EEEE-LICIOUS!!

Roggebrood - updated.

What is Roggebrood you ask?   How do you pronounce Roggebrood you ask?   Good questions, I however can only answer the first and the answer is a Dutch bread made with Red River Cereal.   I recently got married back in July and my husband and his family come from Dutch decent.  Every once in a while Brad's (my husband) mom will cook up some Dutch treat and it happened one beautiful day at the cottage in the summer.   Knowing I like a good balance of health in my life to offset the love for baking and sugar, she baked this bread and I was hooked.   I asked her to send me the recipe as soon as she could and although it took me months to finally find time to make this myself,  I was so glad I did.  When I went to look up the actual name and spelling of this bread, I came across several other variations of this recipe so this is the one I was taught.   

INGREDIENTS: 

3 cups of red river cereal

1 ½ cups of 100% bran or all bran cereal

¾ cup flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ tablespoon molasses

3 cups of hot water not boiling

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix together and pour into a lined pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake 50 min @ 375.  

It is really that simple.  It's hearty and grainy and when served warm with a little bit of butter or honey as Brad prefers,  it is soooo good. This bread isn't really meant for sandwiches, it is more of a snacking bread as it can crumble easily.  My only tip would be to not over indulge, this bread has a lot of fiber.

Note: When I made this bread a second time I used oat flour instead of regular all purpose and it is just as good.
This bread can also get moldy fast due to the lack of preservatives so keep it wrapped tightly in saran wrap in the fridge but microwave for 20 seconds before serving.  This bread is great when warm.


Meg's rating:  D-EEEE-LICIOUS

COOKWARE CORNER :  Saturday early afternoon I visited my mom at work where they happen to have some silicon bakeware that was reduced and then on sale further.   This deal turned out to be a steal!  I got a loaf pan, a swirl bundt pan and two mini loaf pans for less than $25!     I had actually never used silicon bake ware before other than muffin cups and the result was fantastic.   Sticking was not an option with this pan.  The bread just lifted right out if you started to fold the silicon up.    Very impressive.    In part 2 of my Sunday baking I used the loaf pan and got the same easy removal results.     I will now be on the hunt for more deals in the silicon baking world.  

Reese's Pieces Cookies

Look at my cute turtle.  :-)

One of these days I will get these posts done closer to the date of baking but for now here is my last weekend summary. It turned out to be another busy baking weekend. First off I signed myself up for another cake.  My friend who I completed the Baptism cake for had referred me to her friend for her son's first birthday party.   She was looking for a fairly simple cake with an additional  "destroy" cake  for her son, the only stipulation was a request for a turtle somewhere.   I think that was what sold me on the cake in the first place, I am a huge turtle fan so putting a cute little turtle on top sounded great for me.   It also worked out well because she wanted to keep similar colours to the baptism cake.   I had a few issues when putting together the destroy cake but managed to recover and hide any imperfections, a trick I rather like.  I was quite pleased with it in the end.   Simple and Cute.







The main attraction...

Next on my agenda -  something I can eat!   I am not a big fan of Halloween, my sister and I like to chalk it up to several childhood years of dealing with a haunted house in our house but I am a big fan of the day after Halloween for 50% off mini chocolate bars.   So the question soon becomes what to do with all these little chocolate bars.   I picked up several bags which included, Reese's, Twix and Mars.   My first baking use will be the Reese's Pieces, seriously who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter (other than those people that are sadly allergic).

The recipe : Double Chocolate Cookies - Adapted from Quinoa 365.
The trick : replace chocolate chips with the Reese's Pieces.  Pretty simply, I think.

Now I know what your thinking, you got this recipe from a Quinoa cookbook?  Yes,  I love the opportunity to use different grains or flours so a cookbook based on just that,  is perfect!




INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated or cane sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups quinoa flour (or 1 cup quinoa flour/1 cup all purpose)  - I used the 1 of each approach.
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips  - This is where I used the pieces.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
1) Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.  Blend in the eggs and vanilla and stir until the mixture has a smooth consistency.
2) In a separate bowl, combine the flour,cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend well.   Stir in REESE'S!

3) Roll into 1/4 inch balls (if the dough is too soft, place in freezer for about 20 min).  Place the balls 2 inches apart on a large, ungreased baking sheet (I use silpats) and flatten slightly with your palm.  Bake on the center rake for 8-10 minutes.   The cookies will be puffy and soft when removed from the oven but will flatten when cool.   Allow cookies to set 1 minute on baking sheet and then allow to cool on a rack.

The recipe also says store in a sealed container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.   I am telling you this just in case,  but I highly doubt you will not be able to eat these sitting in your freezer for a month.     You can also freeze rolled unbaked cookies in a sealed container or plastic bag until needed, thaw before baking.

I was actually quite impressed with this recipe.   The cookies had good chocolate flavour, came out soft and chewy and the Reese pieces bites were heaven!     This gave me high hopes for the rest of the recipes in the book so now I am quite interested to try more recipes with quinoa and other flours.   The cookies did end up making it to work but didn't really last that long once they got there.

Meg's Rating : D-EEEE-LICIOUS!

4th Annual Breast Cancer Cookie Sale

Four years ago when I first decided to start my home baking business I was in a cooking store and saw the pink ribbon cutter.   It was in the middle of September so I thought why not try and sell some cookies and then donate some of the money made to one of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundations or Societies.  Well, 4 years later I am still running the sale.   I sign myself up for 30-40 days of constant and intense baking.   I practice - Work, Bake, Sleep, Work, Bake, Dip.     Sadly the "Work" gets in the way otherwise I would try to sell a lot more cookies but I do what I can in the time provided.

 In 4 years I have sold over 400 dozen cookies in only the month of October,  this translates into over $2500 in donations to support Breast Cancer research!  As a women I feel pretty proud of that and I hope to continue this sale every year to raise awareness and funds with the hope that one day the Work part of my regime will be the baking part.   :-)

MY FINAL PRODUCTS