CRANBERRY SHORTBREAD BARS

This week, I have been trying out some new "goodie" recipes with the holidays in mind; I like to add a few new items to my standard cookie boxes every year. Today I made some cranberry shortbread bars that I found in a holiday issue of Fine Cooking and they are definitely going to make the "big list". The bars have an ultra-buttery shortbread crust topped with cooked cranberries and then a shortbread-type streusel topping. They are baked in a 9 x 13 pan that is lined with foil for easy removal. The bars are very sweet, buttery, tender and cut nicely...perfect for gift giving.

Wash and sort a 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries. Put them in a heavy saucepan with ¼ cup of water and one cup of white sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high and boil until the sauce is like a thick syrup - 5 to 8 minutes (mine took 6 minutes). Set aside to cool (it will thicken even more as it cools).

SHORTBREAD CRUST

21 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled to room temp.

This seems like a lot of butter, but it makes an upper and lower crust

¾ cup of white sugar

2 large egg yolks

3 cups + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

No need to use an electric mixer, I did it all with a wooden spoon. Mix the sugar into the melted butter and whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the flour to make a very stiff dough. Remove two cups of this dough and pat evenly into a foil lined 9 x 13 pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or put in freezer for 7 minutes). Set the rest of the dough aside.
With the remaining dough, run a fork back and forth in the dough to loosen it up into crumbles Add ¼ cup of white sugar to these crumbles and work the fork back and for a little more to break up any large clumps. Do not chill these crumbles.

Bake the 9 x 13 chilled pan of dough, on the middle rack of your oven, for 20 minutes at 325. After 20 minutes, the dough will still be very pale in color and will not have any golden color on the edges. Remove it from the oven and spread the cooled cranberry filling evenly over it.

Spread the loose crumbles over the cranberry filling

Bake on the TOP rack of a 350 oven for 25 minutes (mine took 32 minutes). Watch the crumbles towards the end of the baking time. You want to see a little golden color on the top of the crumbles, like this:

Cool baked bars on a wire rack for at least an hour or until completely firm. You can speed set them in the fridge. When the bottom of the pan is completely cool, lift the bars out of the pan by pulling on the flap ends of the foil. Cut into 2" bars. These will keep at room temperature for a week.

NOTE: The butter measurement of 21 tablespoons is not a typing error

NOTE: Bake the bars in a metal 9 x 13 pan so they don't over bake. Line it with foil and leave the ends of the foil a little long, so you can use them as handles to lift the cooled bars out of the pan.
NOTE: Pay attention to baking temperatures. The first crust pre-bake is on the middle rack at 325. The final bake is on the TOP rack at 350. The recipe says it is baked on the top rack so that the bottom of the crust doesn't get too dark.

CROCKPOT MAPLE PORK TENDERLOIN

This recipe gets five stars for two reasons...it is totally delicious AND super simple. As a matter of fact, it is one of the best crockpot recipes that I've tried in a long time. You can not get much simpler than this: brown the pork loin, cover it with sauce and 8 hours later (my crockpot only took 6 hours) and you have fork-tender, delicious pork loin and a gravy that is amazing.

 2½ pound boneless pork loin
1 cup real maple syrup (DON'T USE PANCAKE SYRUP)
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2½ tablespoons cider vinegar
2½ tablespoons soy sauce
salt and pepper

I bought my pork loin, vacuum packed from Walmart (2½ pounds seems to be a standard size). When you open the package, there will be two long loin pieces. I cut each one into three pieces, then salted and peppered them and browned them in a little olive oil. Place the browned pieces in a wide crockpot for even cooking (as opposed to the tall ones).

In a small bowl, whisk the maple syrup (do not use pancake syrup, it is way too sweet and will ruin your pork, trust me), Dijon mustard, cider vinegar and soy sauce together. Pour over browned pork loin pieces. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (my crockpot took only six hours). If you use a different cut of pork, you may have to use the full 8 hours. It isn't absolutely necessary, but try and turn the meat over a couple of times during the cooking process. When it is time to eat, thicken the gravy. I served this with rice and coleslaw. It also made delicious sandwiches the next day.

NOTE: If you are concerned about the maple flavor being overpowering...don't be. As a matter of fact, it is almost a background flavor, but it IS there and the meat was extremely tender and slightly sweet. This is a fantastic recipe for any special occasion.

RASPBERRY FILLING

This recipe for raspberry filling can be used a dozen different ways. You can use it in puff pastry turnovers like the photo below, or between cake layers, inside cupcakes or donuts, on french toast, on ice cream, on cheesecake and on and on. It is a great basic recipe that only takes a few minutes to put together and can easily be doubled.

(1) 12 ounce bag of frozen raspberries (not in syrup)
½ cup + 3 tablespoons of water
¾ cup white sugar
1 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup cold water

Gently simmer the raspberries, water, sugar and lemon juice for 15 minutes, in a small heavy bottomed pan. After 15 minutes, you can push the berries through a sieve if want a seedless filling (I leave the seeds in).

Bring the strained berries back to a full simmer. Dissolve the cornstarch in the ¼ cup of water and whisk it into the simmering berries. Bring it back to a boil, and simmer for another five minutes. Cool/chill completely. It will thicken as it cools.

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For the above raspberry turnovers, I just thawed a sheet of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry dough for 45 minutes and then floured my board a little. I unfolded the dough and rolled it out flat (about 2" bigger than right out of the box). I cut the sheet into 6 pieces and put a dollop of raspberry filling into the center and folded the dough over (wetting the edges) and crimping them. I cut small vent holes in the top of the turnovers and baked them on an ungreased sheet at 400 for 15-18 minutes (or until they were golden).

You can drizzle a glaze on them if you want, or just dust them with powdered sugar. Hubby likes them "unadorned". They are light as air, crisp and flaky, just right for breakfast or an instant dessert.

ITALIAN VEGGIE BAKE

This is one of my favorite things to eat on the nights that hubby has opted to be carnivorous. It is a recipe big on flavor, veggies and cheese; my favorites are mushrooms, red peppers, onions, zucchini, beans, carrots, pasta, ricotta and Monterrey Jack cheese. It makes the BEST lunch on day two!!

Not the best photo, but trust me, it's excellent !!

½ cup onion chopped
½ cup celery chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped red pepper
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups diced zucchini
1 cup black beans
1 clove garlic minced
(1) 12 ounce can tomato paste
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry sweet basil1 teaspoon fennel seed (don't leave out)
scant ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes2 teaspoons brown sugar2 cups small pasta cooked
ricotta cheese2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese (grated)
2 tablespoon butter

 

In a large, deep pan, saute the onion, celery and garlic (in the butter) until the are sweet, then scoot them to one side of the pan. In the same pan, saute the rest of the raw veggies until they start to wilt. Add everything else (except the pasta and cheeses) and simmer slowly, for about an hour (without a lid so the sauce will thicken up). After an hour, stir in the cooked pasta and 1 cup of cheese.

To assemble this dish, pour half of the veggie mixture into a greased baking dish and top with small dollops of ricotta cheese (randomly over the mixture...but not a solid layer). Top with the other half of the veggie mixture and cover with shredded Monterrey Jack cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

NOTE: You can use any combination of veggies that your family likes in this dish.

NOTE: Any small pasta will work, just make sure that when it is cooked, it is bite size or the same size as the chopped veggies.

CHIFFON CAKE

A chiffon cake is sort of like an angel food cake, except better (in my opinion). It is an egg white based (like an angel food cake) but it also has a lot of whipped egg yolks in the recipe, so it has just a little more "body" than an angel food cake and isn't quite as prone to "falling" when you bake it. It sort of reminds me of those little round yellow strawberry shortcake sponge cakes sold in cello-six-packs in the store (except this cake is a million percent tastier and more moist than those).

1 cup of egg whites (about 8 eggs room temperature)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups white sugar (divided)
5 egg yolks
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon extract

Heat oven to 325. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a large (non plastic) mixing bowl on medium speed until foamy. Beat in 1 cup of the sugar (on high speed) 1 tablespoon at a time (continue beating until stiff and glossy). Be careful not to under-beat. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks in a small mixing bowl until very thick and lemon colored (about 5 minutes). Beat in reserved ½ cup of sugar gradually (after 5 minutes, this mixture will look like lemon colored whipped cream at soft peak stage).

Add the flour to the egg yolk mixture, alternately with water and extracts on low speed. Gently fold the egg yolk mixture into whipped egg white mixture with a non-plastic utensil.

Spread in UNgreased 10" x 4" tube pan. Cut gently back through the cake batter with a metal spatula to break any large air pockets.

Bake in a 325 oven (bottom rack of oven) for 60 to 65 minutes or until the top springs back when touched lightly (my oven took 65 minutes). Remove from oven and turn pan upside down like you would for an angel food cake. Cool completely.

Run a long serrated knife, in a short sawing motion, around the perimeter of the cake (I use a thin bread knife) to release it from the pan.
NOTE: Don't peek (open the oven door) while this cake is baking. It is not good to jar your oven or cool off your oven while baking a cake.

NOTE: It is extremely important not to use any plastic bowls or utensils when preparing this batter. Also do not use silicone baking pans or ANYTHING that might have a trace of oil or grease on it. Grease or oil is "death" to egg meringues.

NOTE: You can also bake this cake in an oblong pan or jelly roll pan as long as you use parchment paper on the bottom and do not grease the sides of the pan. Baking time depends on the shape of the pan, but you can tell the cake is done when a toothpick, inserted in the center of the cake, comes out clean.

FOOL-PROOF BUTTERHORNS - A BAKING CHALLENGE!!

Katy, over at Food for A Hungry Soul has offered to help Ingrid from Baseball Baking and Books get over her fear of yeast dough. Enjoying a challenge, I have offered to put in my two cents worth. Katy and I will be posting a few "how to" yeast recipes with hopes of convincing you ALL to give yeast a try.

Ingrid is not alone in this yeast-phobia. A number of you have expressed the same fears, so I am challenging you to try this no-knead Butterhorn recipe. It is the perfect yeast dough starter recipe since it is pretty much goof-proof!! The look on your families faces, when you serve these delicious Butterhorns, will convince you that yeast dough is worth every effort!!!

I found this recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook It produces a dozen sweet and "light as air" pastries that your family will love.

OK, BLOGGERS, YOU HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED (that means you too Ingrid!!) I hope everyone will post their end result photos!!

ANSWERING QUESTIONS:

1. What kind of yeast do I use? ANY dry active yeast will work!! You will find it in the baking isle in a two or three little envelope strip (or you can buy a 4 ounce jar of it). You can also buy it by the pound vacuum bag at Costco, but stick with the little envelope strips until you start to bake a LOT. I keep my yeast in the fridge. Check the expiration date before you use it. I like the Red Star brand of yeast, but I've accidentally bought bread machine yeast before and it worked great. ANY yeast that is called dry active yeast will do the trick!! Yes, "fast acting" yeast is perfectly fine...anything but "wet cake yeast from the refrigerated section".

2. Will these Butterhorns freeze well? Yes they do. I frost mine, then let them "set" until the frosting has dried to the touch, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap and put a bunch of them in a large freezer bag.

3. My unbaked butterhorns look flat, what did I do wrong? In this particular case, the dough needed a little more flour. If a dough does not have enough flour, it can not "support" itself as it rises.

4. Do I use the dough hook? For tranditional yeast doughs yes, but this is not a traditional yeast dough, so I would use a regular beater or a paddle beater and not the dough hook for the butterhorns.

Please do not hesitate to ask questions, I'll post your answers right here, so check back.

1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg (room temperature)
2 cups all purpose flour
1½ tablespoons white sugar
½ teaspoon salt (do not leave out)
½ cup of butter (no substitutions)

Measure 2 cups flour (spoon into cup and level off), 1½ tablespoons of sugar and the salt into a bowl. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender until you have very small pieces of butter when you are done, it should look like oatmeal. (I did this step in the food processor and just pulsed it a few times, it looked like this)



In a small dish, mix the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar; stir in ¼ cup of warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes so that the yeast can start to bubble or activate. OK, this is where most novice bakers get freaked out (the temperature of the water). Too hot and it will kill the yeast, too cold and it will slow the yeast down (but it won't hurt it). I always think of the correct temperature as "baby bottle warm". For those of you who have children, you'll know what temperature this is. You are aiming for a temperature that you could safely feed a bottle fed baby.

After the yeast mixture has been sitting for 10 minutes, it should look like the next photo. If it doesn't, don't despair, just throw it out and try this step again. This is called proofing the yeast (I always think of it as "proving the yeast is good"). It's done this way so you don't have to throw a whole batch of dough away if the yeast isn't any good. Tip: make sure your yeast is fresh, check the expiration date. I keep mine (I buy it by the jar) in the fridge.

Click on this photo so you can see it better, those little dots in the bowl are bubbles

This is what you want your yeast to look like after 10 minutes, nice and foamy.

Warm the milk until the chill is off (I used my microwave) and then add the slightly beaten egg. In a large bowl, add the (milk-egg mixture) and the (yeast-water mixture) to the dry ingredients. Stir well until it is all blended together. It will be a very soft dough (not a kneadable dough). I used my heavy duty electric mixer to mix everything together. It will look like this:


Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight (I chilled it overnight). The next day, sprinkle your counter with some flour and turn the dough out onto the counter. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour and roll the dough around until all sides are coated with a little flour so its not so sticky anymore. Roll (or pat) the dough out to ½" thick rectangle. The dough will be sticky during this stage, but don't give up, just keep lightly flouring your counter and rolling pin.

Cut the rectangle in to ¾" strips. Pick up a strip and dust the excess flour off of it. Twist the strips a bunch of times and then place one end on the counter and wind the twisted strip (in a single layer) around and around (tuck a tiny piece of the "tail" under the pastry) Sorry I forgot to photograph this step.
Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet. Very lightly, spritz the tops of the rolls with vegetable spray so the plastic doesn't stick to them. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let them raise for an hour (or until they are doubled in size SEE NOTE BELOW). Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes (my oven took 15 minutes).
Frost the Butterhorns with a simple glaze made out of 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon of almond extract and enough milk to make the glaze the right consistency.
NOTE: I put a tablespoon of raspberry pie filling in the center of my butterhorns before I baked them, but it isn't necessary. You can just frost them or frost them and sprinkle with toasted nuts.

NOTE: Dry active yeast requires water, sugar and warmth to "do its thing" in a bread recipe. When a recipe tells you to "let the dough raise for an hour" keep the warmth of you kitchen in mind. If your kitchen is on the cool side, it will take longer than the recommended time for your dough to raise. If your kitchen is hot, it will raise quicker than the recommended time. When dealing with a dough that is chilled (like the Butterhorns) the recommended raising time is an hour, however, I found that my dough took just short of TWO hours to double in size. If you bake the recipe before the dough has completely raised, it will turn out dense and heavy.

HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

This was my first attempt at homemade flour tortillas and I was "stunned and amazed" at how easy they were!! Since there is just two of us at home these days, I have wasted a ton of money on commercial tortillas that never get used. I buy a package of 12...use three or four and put the rest in the freezer. I don't know how many partial bags of ice crusted tortillas I've thrown away over the years, but not any more!! Fresh tortillas are so much tastier than commercial ones.

While this recipe makes about eight 8" tortillas, it is also a wonderful convenience not to be stuck with "one size fits all" tortillas. For example, you could make half full size tortillas and half "toddler size" tortillas. I think the little ones would get a kick out of that.

This recipe produces a dough that is very easy to work (feels almost like Play Doh) and it fries up in either a dry pan (if you are watching calories) or in vegetable oil if you are looking for a nice and flaky tortilla. Hubby gave the flaky style both thumbs up!!

 4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cold shortening (or bacon grease)
1½ cups hot water

Put first 4 ingredients in the food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add hot water while machine is running. Turn machine off when dough comes together. Remove dough and knead about half a dozen times or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, turn dough out onto lightly floured counter and roll into balls about the size of a small golf ball. Roll out tortillas (starting in center and rolling outwards, turning often).
To cook the tortillas, the recipe says to use a cast iron skillet, but I found it hard to regulate the temperature (it got too hot) so I used an electric skillet instead. I'm sure with practice, the cast iron skillet would be the way to go. I fried the ones I wanted to eat in a dry skillet, but to get the big flaky bubbles, fry them in a little vegetable oil. Keep the tortillas warm in a kitchen towel while you cook the others.
NOTE: I made a half recipe for just hubby and myself and it gave me five nice big tortillas. It is such a great dough, I'm sure you could double the ingredients as well if you are cooking for a crowd.