L is for Lace Cookies

Lace cookies are lovely. They are thin, chewy and are perfect with a cup of tea. I made them this weekend while in Port Hope. They don't take long to make and they taste delicious.

Mix together in a bowl:

1 cup quick oats (must be quick-cooking oats otherwise the consistency will be funny)

3 tbsp flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Blend together until creamy:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

Then add 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla to your butter-sugar mixture and blend until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

You need to give these cookies space on the tray, they need to have at least 2 inches between them. Drop teaspoon sized spoonfuls onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 7 minutes (between 5-9 minutes depending on your oven, you want the cookies to be golden brown). Let cool on the tray for 5 minutes.

D is for Date-Walnut Bread

I read this morning in Toronto Life that one of the five food trends for 2010 is bespoke bread. Who knew... apparently I'm on trend. Truthfully, the real reason I chose to bake bread was because it is one of the few baked items my boyfriend will eat. The result of my efforts is a moist loaf filled with walnuts and dates.

Date-Walnut Bread:

1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts

8 ounces pitted dates

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

2 cups flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Start by coarsely chopping the dates, then add the baking soda and salt to them - coating the dates. Once coated pour the boiling water over them and let them sit for about an hour until some of the water is absorbed and they have cooled.

In a food processor add the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Cut up the butter into pieces and add to mixture - pulse until it resembles crumbled breadcrumbs - stir in the walnuts.

Beat together the egg and vanilla. Fold both flour and egg mixtures into the dates (there will be excess water still in the bowl - that's ok - it's what makes it moist.)

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees. Its done once a toothpick comes out clean. Place on a rack to cool... bon appetite.

P is for Peppermint Patties

When I found this recipe online I thought "Of course I want to make peppermint patties, how yummy will that be..." 3.5 hours later I thought "Delicious? Yes. Time-consuming? Yes. Special occasions only? Definitely yes."

These were really fun to make, but are definitely a Sunday afternoon activity. From beginning to end they took about 4 hours.

Filling:

2 cups icing sugar

1/4 tsp peppermint oil (not extract, I found my oil at the Big Carrot on the Danforth)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp evaporated milk

1.5 tbsp softened unsalted butter

Mix all of these ingredients together on medium/high until creamy. Place in a bowl, cover and put in the fridge for 45min until the filling is firm enough to form into 1 inch balls. Once all your filling is shaped into balls you want to press them down until they are about 1/4" thick disc. Then back in the fridge for another hour until the discs are firm.

Coating:

9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1 tbsp shortening

Melt the chocolate and shortening over a double boiler.

Take the hard patties and using a fork dip them in the chocolate. Then place on a pan that is covered with aluminum foil and dusted with icing sugar. The chocolate covered patties go back in the fridge for at least an hour to harden.

Finally, once hard you have your patties - they are well worth the weight! Delicious.

Recipe reference: joyofbaking.com

A-Z

Welcome to Blondie's Pink Apron Adventures. This blog is going to combine my experiences in baking with my new foray into the cooking world. Granted, the majority of my recipes will probably still be baked goods - I wanted the opportunity to blog about other culinary successes (and failures - after all, I am trying to COOK).

So for my first adventure I have decided to simply take on the Alphabet.



I am going to do a recipe for every letter - in no particular order... enjoy!