B is for Blueberry Pie

I really don't like blueberries in baked goods. For some reason it just seems wrong to me. That being said I had a huge bag of frozen blueberries in my freezer that I needed to do something with. So I decided to bake a blueberry pie and force it on my family and friends and work.

Basic Flaky Pie Crust for 9" Pie

Bake pie crust until golden brown, let cool for 3 minutes then brush with lightly beaten egg white

Filling:

4 cups blueberries

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp water

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

3 tsp fresh lemon juice

pinch salt

Bring 1 cup of blueberries and 1/2 cup of water to a boil. Let simmer for about 5 minutes until the berries pop/release their juice. While the berries are simmering whisk together 2 tbsp water with 2 tbsp cornstarch.

Then add the cornstarch mixture, sugar, lemon and salt to the simmering berries. Stir together until the mixture becomes slightly thicker and translucent in colour (about 1 minute). Remove from heat, stir in the remaining 3 cups of blueberries. Pour the berry mixture into the baked pie crust.

The pie needs to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours until the filling is set. Serve.

M is for Mars Bar Krispies

This is one of those recipes that is so simple you almost don't want to tell people about it. It takes no time to make and people go insane for it. This is right up there with my sea-salted caramel... yes, it's that good.

In a big pot, melt:

4 Mars Bars broken up

1/2 cup butter

Stir in:

2 cups Rice Krispies

Pour into a greased 8" square pan and put in the fridge to harden.

For the topping - melt 4 broken up Aero bars and spread evenly on top.

Voila! An easy dessert for any potluck, dinner party, etc... (trust me, next time your strapped for time you'll be thanking me for this recipe).

G is for Ginger-Date Loaf

My boyfriend loves ginger and dates so when I stumbled across a version of this recipe I knew I had to try it myself. To me this loaf tastes like a ginger snap cookie in bread form with a few dates throughout (even though I added a lots of dates).

1 cup coarsely chopped pitted dates

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp baking soda

2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened

1 egg

1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

In a bowl combine the dates, baking soda and boiling water - let cool to room temperature.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, ginger, baking powder and salt -set aside.

Cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy and pale. Add the egg. Then stir in the date mixture, crystallized ginger and yogurt until combined (don't worry if it looks a little curdled - its normal). Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour into a 9x5 greased loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan then transfer to a rack.

There is an option to glaze this loaf if you want it to be more of a tea time sweet treat. (My boyfriend wanted to eat this for breakfast so I decided against the glaze). Stir together 1/2 cup icing sugar and 2 tbsp water until smooth (you want it to be thin enough to drizzle) - drizzle over the loaf and top with 3 tbsp chopped crystallized ginger.

C is for Chocolate Cutouts

I do not think there are enough recipes out there that involve cookie cutters. As a baker I have lots of cookie cutters in a variety of designs and I love them all. Recently I was staring at my tin of alphabet/number cutters and I realized that I don't think I have ever used the number ones. Which promptly led to these cookies as I decided my numbers needed some loving.

Number cookies also have the additional bonus of making everyone in my office sing the Sesame Street number song all day long!

In a bowl combine and set aside:

1.5 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp dutch cocoa

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

In a mixer beat until fluffy:

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter

1.5 cups icing sugar

Add the following to your butter/sugar mix:

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat your wet ingredients until combine, slowly add your flour mixture - mix until everything is just blended. Wrap dough in cling wrap and chill in the fridge for minimum 1 hour.

After the dough has firmed up (I usually like to wait at least 90 minutes) you want to roll it out between two pieces of parchment (or you can use 2 silpats) until the dough is about 1/4" thick. Then put your rolled out dough in the freezer for another 15 minutes. Once your dough is firm you can cut out your shapes (numbers, letters, etc) and place on a silpat on a baking sheet. At this point if you are going to use sprinkles you want to decorate your cookies then put the cut-out, decorated cookies back in the freezer for another 15 minutes (you put the cookies back in the freezer before you put them in the oven to help them keep their shape during the cooking process).

I was not in the mood to make icing last night which is why I only made plain cookies and sprinkled versions. But there is always the option to cover these types of cookies with royal icing (one of my favs)...

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