Toffee Crunch Squares

Look at these squares. You see that somewhat plain looking bottom layer? Don't be fooled. THAT, my friends, is a whole lot of delightful, toffee crunchiness just waiting to surprise you.

My husband loved English toffee. I suspect English toffee is called other things in other place but, basically, it's a delectable sweet made with a layer of hard toffee, covered by a layer of chocolate, with finely chopped almonds pressed into the chocolate before it sets. I used to buy it at Purdy's (a BC chocolatier) and give it to him at Christmas-time every year.  

Unfortunately there came a year when it wasn't within my means to buy my guy his treat from Purdy's. I searched for recipes I could make at home instead and eventually settled on this one, from a Quaker Oats advertisement in the 1993 Family Circle Christmas magazine. The oats in the bottom layer of these squares are not a traditional ingredient in English toffee but we both liked a good oatmeal cookie and the flavour combination was appealing. It was comparatively inexpensive to make too.

The squares were so well received that I've made them almost every Christmas since. The only adaptations I've made to the recipe are the way in which I prepare the pan before baking, and the use of walnut pieces, rather more coarsely chopped than the almonds on an English toffee. You, of course, can use nuts or not, as you prefer, and chop them more finely or not, as suits your taste.

Before I give you the recipe, I want to talk to you about preparing the baking pan:  

The crunch in this recipe comes from sugar, melted in the oven and then allowed to harden and cool.  It can be difficult to get the cooled squares out of the pan.  I get my best results by first buttering a 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan and then lining the bottom of the pan with parchment. I prepare the parchment before buttering the pan, tracing around the bottom of the pan with a pencil and then cutting just inside the traced line so no pencil is on the paper that goes into the pan. Once the parchment has been cut, I butter the bottom and sides of the pan liberally and then set the cut parchment on top of the butter.

To make Toffee Crunch Squares, you'll need:

• 4-1/2 cups oatmeal (either quick cooking or old fashioned but never instant)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Stir together the oatmeal, salt, and brown sugar until the sugar is evenly distributed throughout.

Add in the butter, corn syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir until all of the dry ingredients are moistened and the mass sort of sticks together.  It'll still be a bit crumbly.

Transfer the oatmeal mixture to the baking pan and press it out to fill the pan in an even layer.

Bake in a pre-heated 400F oven for 18 minutes, until brown and bubbly.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the baked oatmeal mixture as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let them sit for 10 minutes and then use a knife or an offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate so it completely covers the baked oatmeal mixture. 

If you're using them, sprinkle on the chopped nuts while the chocolate is still soft.

Let the pan cool completely, then cut your squares. A knife with a thin but not flexible blade will work best for this.  

I don't recommend that you freeze these bars. They lose some of their crunchiness if frozen and then thawed.

Cranberry Ginger Beer Bread

Yesterday I posted a beer bread recipe with flavours that go beautifully with a spaghetti and salad supper.  Today's recipe is a variation on that recipe, but with a very different flavour profile. 

This quick bread is a little sweeter, but savoury enough to accompany a meal centered on chicken or pork. Served warm with butter and honey, it would make an afternoon or evening cup of tea into a very special treat.

Instead of beer, I use a pool Jamaican style ginger beer for this recipe. It's less sweet than ginger ale, with a strong fresh ginger flavour; a fast, easy way to bring bright flavour to a simple bake.

To make this bread, you'll need:

• 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup of dried cranberries 
• 1 12-ounce bottle of Jamaican style ginger beer
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Put the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl and use a whisk or a fork to stir them together. (A whisk or fork won't compact the flour. A spoon would.)

Add in the dried cranberries and stir them in so they're coated with the dry mixture. (This helps keep them suspended within the batter.)

Add the Jamaican style ginger beer, then the fresh ginger and the melted butter. Stir until the ingredients are well combined but don't over-mix the batter. Lumpy is okay.

Spoon the batter into a buttered or oiled  9 x 5-inch loaf pan. It'll take about 45 minutes to bake at 375F. 

If you portion the batter into smaller containers you can shorten the baking time. Half pint/125 ml Mason jars work perfectly. The smaller loaves cook in about half the time it takes to bake a 9 x 5-inch loaf, and they're easy to present in a bread basket; no slicing required. 

This quick bread is always best served hot from the oven. If you have leftovers and want to reheat them, you can slice them and toast the slices, or you can wrap the leftovers in foil and reheat them in a 350F oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

"Oh, Look! We Have Unexpected Company!" Quick Bread

My husband was really bad about inviting people to dinner and then forgetting to tell me about it until our guests pulled into the driveway. Seriously. Thirty four years of marriage never broke him of the habit. After so many years of magically conjuring dinner for four, or six, or eight out of ingredients planned for just the two of us, I'm really good at it. 

One of the things I learned very quickly about stretching meals is that carbs are your friends. Having a few good quick breads in your repertoire can be a great help when unexpected company arrives at dinnertime.  

Served before dinner, hot from the oven, with butter or with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a quick bread can buy you some extra time to prepare the rest of the meal. It can help take the edge off appetites too, which means main course protein servings can be smaller and the meal can be more heavily weighted towards vegetables that are quick to prepare. 

Your guests don't have to know any of that. You can keep mum and let them be impressed with what a special treat they're enjoying. They'll love it.

You don't have to re-invent the wheel either. Learn to make a basic quick bread like this beer bread. Beer bread's been around forever because it's easy to make and it tastes really good. 

Almost all beer breads call for self rising flour: a pre-mixed blend that also includes baking powder and salt. It's not an ingredient commonly called for in recipes from this region so I don't go through it quickly enough to use up a bag before it's past its "best by" date. When I bake a recipe that calls for self rising flour I make this substitution:

For every cup of self rising flour called for in a recipe, I use 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. 

I've already done the math for you in this recipe, then adjusted so it's less salty and there's no aftertaste from the baking powder.

You're welcome. 😊

To make this bread, you'll need:

• 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon each of onion powder, granulated garlic, ground dry rosemary, oregano, and basil
• 1 12-ounce bottle of beer (I use a lager)
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and use a whisk or a fork to stir them together. (A whisk or fork won't compact the flour. A spoon would.)

Add the beer and then the olive oil. Stir until combined but don't over-mix the batter. Lumpy is okay.

Spoon the batter into a buttered or oiled  9 x 5-inch loaf pan. It'll take about 45 minutes to bake at 375F. 

If you portion the batter into smaller containers you can shorten the baking time. Half pint/125 ml Mason jars work perfectly. The smaller loaves cook in about half the time it takes to bake a 9 x 5-inch loaf, and they're easy to present in a bread basket; no slicing required. 

Beer bread is always best served hot from the oven. If you have leftovers and want to reheat them, you can slice them and toast the slices or you can wrap the leftovers in foil and reheat them in a 350F oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Now, go forth and fear unexpected company no more. You've got this!

Rosemary Raisin Bread

In 1977, I bought the Sunset Cook Book of Breads.  It was one of the first cookbooks I ever purchased - a paperback - and I have it still, so well loved that it's mostly held together with sticky tape. This recipe comes from that book but I've adapted it to suit my tastes and baking style over the years. It's a surprising combination but the flavours work together really well.

I enjoy this bread toasted, with crabapple jelly, or as a sandwich bread, with ham, a mild cheese, and some sweet mustard. 

I should mention that I eat every dish I make for my blog. Nothing goes to waste. The wedge of bread I cut out of the loaf for the photo was made into a bread pudding, with pears.  😊

To make Rosemary Raisin Bread you'll need: 

• 1 to 1-1/2 cups of raisins (I only had 3/4 cup of raisins when I baked the loaf you see in the photo. It was not enough.)
• 3/4 cup raisin soaking water
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1/4 cup neutrally flavoured cooking oil (I used sunflower oil)
• 3 to 3-1/2 cups bread flour (sometimes called hard flour)
• 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped very fine
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 Tablespoon cold water

Put the raisins in a heat proof bowl or measuring cup and pour boiling water over them.  Let them soak until the water has cooled to 110F.

Drain the water off the raisins, reserving it and setting the raisins aside. Pour 3/4 cup of the raisin soaking water into your mixing bowl. Add the honey, stirring to dissolve it into the water.  

If the honey won't dissolve completely, put the water/honey mixture in the microwave for a few seconds and then stir it again. If you put the water and honey in the microwave, remember to allow it to cool down again, to just above body temperature.

Sprinkle the yeast over the water and honey mixture.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes, until the yeast has dissolved and started to foam a bit. 

Crack 1 egg plus the white of the second egg into a small bowl and beat them with a fork. (Reserve the yolk from the second egg for later.) Pour the beaten egg into the water/yeast mixture, then add the oil, and the drained raisins.

Add in 3 cups of flour, the rosemary, and the salt in the order given here. (Salt impedes the rising action of  yeast. Putting it in last helps insulate the yeast from the salt.)

If you have a stand mixer, use a dough hook to mix the bread, adding more flour if the dough is sticky.  You'll need to mix it for at least 10 minutes, until the dough becomes elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

If you're kneading the dough by hand, spread the remaining half cup of flour on your board and knead the bread until it's elastic. This can take up to 20 minutes.

Wash out the mixing bowl and coat the inside of it with some olive oil. Put the dough in the bowl and turn it until it's coated all over with the oil.

Cover the bread dough with waxed paper and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down and knead it a few times to release the air.  Shape it into a sphere and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet.  

Let the dough rise until puffy; about 30 to 45 minutes.

Beat the reserved egg yolk together with 1 Tablespoon of cold water, then brush it over the loaf.

Use a floured, knife with a narrow blade to cut an X in the top of the loaf.

Bake the bread at 375F for about 30 minutes, turning it at the halfway point of the baking time. 

Start checking it for done-ness at 25 minutes. You'll know it's done when you tap on the top crust and it sounds hollow.  If it doesn't sound hollow, return the bread to the oven and turn off the heat.  Let the loaf finish baking in the residual heat.

Cool the bread on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing it.

Olive Bread

When things get hectic, good bread is a fine thing to have on hand.  You can serve it as toast alongside a bowl of soup or some scrambled eggs, you can throw together a quick and tasty sandwich, or you can assemble the makings of a savoury bread pudding and pop it in the fridge, ready to go into the oven when you get home from work, or in the morning if you have guests for breakfast or brunch. Olive bread works well for all these things.

I usually bake this bread in a rectangular loaf pan because if I'm using it to make sandwiches that shape ensures that all the slices will be similar in size and shape.  Sometimes, though, I divide the dough into three or four portions and use it to make pizza crust, or I'll form it into a round if I want to make muffaletta or some other stuffed loaf. The baking times will, of course, vary depending upon the size and shape of the bread.

To make this bread you'll need:

• 2 cups warm water, slightly above body temperature but not exceedin 110F
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 4-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 6 -1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons Greek Seasoning (I use this recipe, shared on AllRecipes by Margaret Havenar)
• 2 Tablespoons of finely diced sun-dried tomatoes 
• 1 cup sliced green olives
• 1 cup sliced black olives

Stir the sugar into the warm water until dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it rest until the yeast has dissolved and started to foam up a bit.  (This usually takes about 10 minutes in my kitchen.)

Add the olive oil and 3 cups of flour, mixing them until combined.

Add in the salt, Greek seasoning, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and the remaining 3-1/2 cups of flour. Continuing mixing until a firm dough forms. 

If you're mixing it in your stand mixer, using a dough hook, set the mixer on low speed and continue mixing for 5 to 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic and springs back when you poke it lightly with your finger.

If you're mixing it by hand, knead it in the bowl so you don't have to add extra flour, working it for about 10 minutes until the dough is elastic and springs back when you poke it lightly with your finger.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board or onto a sheet of waxed paper or parchment. Wash and dry the mixing bowl, then lightly oil the inside of the bowl.  Return the dough to the bowl, turning it so it's lightly oiled all over, then cover the dough with a sheet of waxed paper or a slightly damp cloth.

Let the dough stand until doubled in size.  (My home tends to be a bit chilly at this time of year - around 65F most days - so the dough can take up to 2 hours for the dough to rise. If your space is warmer the dough will double in size more quickly.) While the dough is rising, butter or oil two loaf pans.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down, knead it a few times, then divide it in half and form each half into a loaf.  Place the formed loaves into the prepared pans and let them rise again until doubled in size. 

When the loaves have risen brush the tops with olive oil. Bake them on the middle rack of a 375F oven for about 45 minutes, rotating them at the 25 minute point.

When the bread is done it'll be golden brown in colour.  If, when you turn a loaf out of the pan and tap on the bottom crust, it sounds hollow you'll know it's cooked through.  If it doesn't have that hollow sound put it back in the pan and return it to the oven. Turn the oven off and allow the bread to bake a bit longer in the residual heat.

Turn the baked loaves out onto wire racks to cool.  Leave them for at least 30 minutes before slicing the bread.

Seriously, you need to make this.  It's SO good!

Tiny Mincemeat Turnovers

Many years ago, wanting to serve mincemeat as one flavour among many on a Christmas dessert table, I decided to make tiny turnovers. They needed to be small enough to be one of several treats on a sampler plate. The turnovers, which offered a small portion of mincemeat wrapped in flaky pastry, with granulated sugar on top to provide a little extra sweetness and crunch, were a big hit. They weren't the prettiest thing on the table but proportion of mincemeat to pastry was just right.  I still get requests for them every year and they remain a Christmas baking staple at my house.

Every good turnover begins with pastry.  When you buy a turnover at a bakery it will most likely be made with puff pastry but since my turnovers were going to be tiny, I thought that puff pastry's volume would overwhelm the filling.  I opted instead to make a simple lard pastry; the one I've used to make countless pies over the years. 

I'm giving you the quantities needed to make enough pastry for a single pie crust or about a dozen tiny turnovers.  The recipe is easily doubled.  I find, though, that if you want to make more than double this recipe, it's best to make a second batch. I can't explain why this is, but experience has taught me not to question good results.

To make the pastry, you'll need:

• 1 cup flour
• 3/8 teaspoon of salt 
• 1/2  cup lard. well chilled
• 2 Tablespoons very cold water
• 1 egg white + 1/2 teaspoon of cold water in a separate small bowl
• granulated white sugar

Stir the flour and salt together until well combined.  Cut the lard into the flour.  I tend to leave the lard in fairly large pieces—about the size of a kidney bean—because it’s always better to leave it too large than to break it down too small.  A light hand will result in a flakier crust.

Stir the water into the flour and lard mixture just until the ingredients are moistened and start to hold together.  Gently form the dough into a rough ball.

Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap, or put it in a small enough container that there's not a lot of airspace around it, then seal the container with a lid. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour. (I usually make the pastry one day and then roll it out the next.)

After the pastry has rested in the fridge, return it to the counter and allow it to warm for a few minutes.

Place the dough on a piece of waxed paper at least 12 inches square.  Gently press it into a thick disk and cover it with a second piece of waxed paper.  

Rolling out from the center towards the edges and rotating a quarter turn after each roll, roll the pastry until it's a uniform thickness and large enough to have reached, and perhaps slightly exceeded, the factory cut edges of the waxed paper.  

Gently remove the top sheet of waxed paper. If you're going to be using the scraps to roll the pastry out a second time, set the paper aside.

Use a round cookie cutter to cut rounds of pastry, cutting them as closely together as you can. (I use a 3-inch diameter biscuit cutter.) You should dip the cookie cutter in flour before cutting the dough, and again whenever the pastry starts to stick to it. 

Gently remove the pastry from around the rounds you've cut, leaving only the rounds on the waxed paper.  Lightly press the pieces of pastry you've removed together, using only as much pressure as is required to get the pieces to stick to one another. If you end up with a smooth ball of dough, you've pressed too much.  Set this pastry aside.

Spoon a scant teaspoon-full of mincemeat into the center of each cut round of pastry.  

Using a brush or your fingertip, apply water around the outside edge of each round before folding it in half, making a sort of half moon shape. Gently press the edges together to seal them.

Transfer the turnovers to a parchment lined baking sheet. Discard the bottom sheet of waxed paper.

Use a fork to beat the egg white and water together until it's frothy, then brush a little of the egg white mixture over the top of each turnover. Sprinkle some sugar over the egg white. You don't want a thick layer of sugar but you do want most of the upper surface of the turnovers to be lightly covered with it.

Place the scraps of pastry you removed from the first rolling onto a fresh sheet of waxed paper.  Cover the pastry with the top sheet of waxed paper you set aside and repeat the rolling, cutting, filling, and topping process again.

When you've made as many turnovers as you need, place them in a 400F oven and immediately turn the oven down to 350F.  Let them bake until they're lightly browned. I can't tell you exactly how long that'll take because it will depend upon the size of turnovers you've made and the quantity of mincemeat you've filled them with. I find that mine take about 30 minutes to bake.

I store my tiny turnovers in the same way I would store cookies: layered in a tin with a round of wax paper between each layer. They can be frozen, but thawing them will soften the sugar on the outside.  You may want to return them to the oven for just long enough to allow them to re-crisp.

Orange and Mincemeat Muffins

Eep!  It's December already!  

No matter how many early Christmas posts I share December always catches me by surprise. Not that I don't love it, I do. I enjoy the lights, the music, Christmas movies, Christmas cards, time spent with friends, and - of course - the food. I'm just never entirely ready for it all, you know? Maybe it's because I'm usually working really hard at this time of year...Or maybe I'm just easily distracted.  lol!

One thing I did manage to get done ahead of time this year was some cooking. I've prepared a whole bunch of recipes as my Christmas gift for you. I'll be sharing one every weekday (Monday through Friday) from now until November 24.  This is the first one. 😊

I enjoy a good muffin. A muffin and a cup of coffee or tea ranks high on my list of small indulgences.  In fact, I could be considered the president of the muffin fan club. lol!

This orange and mincemeat muffin is all good things to me.  Because, muffins. And, Christmas flavours. And, comfort food. Yay! 

Here's the recipe:

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (Adjust this to taste according to the sweetness of the mincemeat you're using. I tend to prefer the smaller amount.)
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup mincemeat
• The zest from one large navel orange
• The juice from the orange together with enough milk to make 1/2 cup of liquid

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and stir them gently with a whisk or fork.

Put the egg, sugar, oil, mincemeat, and orange zest into a large bowl. Stir until well combined.

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, along with the orange juice/milk mixture. Stir them together just until combined. The batter should be quite thick and slightly lumpy. It's okay if a little bit of flour is still showing here and there.

Spoon the batter into a prepared muffin pan (either greased or lined with baking cups), filling each cup about 3/4 full.

Bake the muffins in a 350F oven for about 25 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a finger.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer them to a rack. They're good either warm of cold. 

Orange and mincemeat muffins are delicious on their own, or with butter and marmalade. You could even serve them instead of scones at afternoon tea, or for dessert, with marmalade or lemon curd and a generous dollop of whipped cream.

Enjoy!