Maple Toffee Meringues

Last post, I told you I would tell you about maple toffee meringues, so here I am!

This dessert jumped out at me while I was perusing the Shugary Sweets blog. Josh used to like meringues (or "forgotten cookies," as he knew them) when he was younger. Plus, Josh loves maple and is partial to toffee.

Josh, Josh, Josh.

So I made them. {Because I've secretly been craving toffee myself.}

I had never made meringues before. I didn't even know that I liked meringues. But this is maybe the perfect dessert. Meringues might be my new thing. 

I calculated the calories, and these delicious candy-covered things are only 45 calories each! 

This flavor combination is brilliant and amazing and will be repeated. But I have something up my sleeve for next time: ghirardelli chocolate peppermint meringues.

Josh didn't even like them that much...

Weirdo!

 

{This recipe is a guest post, so you actually have to go to this other blog to look at it.}

Cherry Almond Streusel Bars

I bought these cherry preserves sort of a long time ago because I needed a tiny bit for some icing for a Cherry Coke sheet cake that turned out to be kinda lame. Ever since then, I've been on the look-out for something to make with the rest of it. Then, a few days ago, I discovered Shugary Sweets and the perfect recipe. I got to use up exactly the rest of the jar of cherry preserves, and I got to use almond paste. 

{Almond paste...} 

Obviously Aimee used different kinds of preserves than I did, but I'm wild about cherry + almond.

I piped on the cream cheese frosting.  It was like a big ol' toaster strudel.

Island aftermath.
 

 

Post-oven.

~

Thanks to Aimee at Shugary Sweets, I found 2 recipes that I really needed in my life. This one, and a recipe for maple toffee meringues.

{And we'll talk about that later.}

Ingredient of the Week: Marshmallows

I picked this one!

I made green jello salad. 

I used to die for this when my Aunt Anne made it and I was fortunate enough to be there.

 

So sinfully good. It actually doesn't contain any jello. The green stuff is pistachio pudding mix.

 

A fun retro bowl for a fun retro recipe.

I am currently into faux cut glass. {The bowl is plastic in case you can't tell.} 

~

Green Jello Salad

 

1 box pistachio pudding
 mix

1 carton cool whip 


1 can crushed pineapple, drained


1-2 cups mini marshmallows

 

Mix pistachio pudding mix with cool whip. Stir until it all turns green. Add pineapple and marshmallows.  Stir and then chill. Serve chilled.

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

My first coffee cake!

 

Josh says he likes coffee cake. I wonder what he will think of this one. It's a pretty basic recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook.

   

Not bad.

 

Serve on 1950's dishes with coffee, and enjoy!

~

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

from The Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, 12th Edition

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups (330 grams) packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup (10 2/3 tablespoons) butter

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 beaten eggs

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup chopped nuts

• Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside 1/2 cup. Stir baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg into remaining crumb mixture.
• In another bowl combine eggs and buttermilk. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Combine reserved crumb mixture and nuts; sprinkle over batter.
• Bake in a 350° oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Yield: 18 servings 

Calorie Content: 225 calories per serving, or 3.37 calories per gram

Pic of the Day

Chocolate orange pound cake. 

{Those are dark chocolate chips.}

Check this recipe out.

Easter

We went to Fordyce for Easter Sunday. I made pull-apart whole wheat rolls, s'more cups, and deviled eggs {not pictured} to take.

 

We also had delicious ham, asparagus casserole, mashed potatoes, and ice cream with sugary Arkansas strawberries on top.

✴✴✴

I met a baby horse named Sunday.

 

Then Josh and I went for a walk in the woods.

Easter cathedral.

After we ate, Mom took candid shots of us sitting/tinkering/dozing off.

Was it the Crazy Step-Dad???

Today I made drop biscuits to freeze. 

And maple pecan cupcakes.
{Josh loves pecans, and he loves maple.}

Batter.

Cooling.

Iced.

And a couple more omelets. This time I added red pepper flakes to the egg part.

 

I also got sucked in to watching 48 Hours Mystery's take on the West Memphis 3 situation.

That whole scenario is so intriguing to me.

Now I wish I would have gone to see the big premier of Paradise Lost 3 when I had the chance.

Culinary Capers Ingredient of the Week: Yeast

Yeast is kind of my thing, so I had to make this one good.

I remember ripping this recipe for Cherry-Almond Babka from a magazine a while back, and stuffing it in the back of my recipe binder. The bottom of the page says "Country Living / May 2009." {Surely I haven't been sitting on this recipe for that long!} I'd never had/seen/thought about babka, but this recipe just caught my eye. I adore almond.

As with most things involving yeast, the road to babka was a long, involved process. The good news is: it's really good!!! The filling is a buttery, brown-sugary spread that contains finely ground toasted almonds and a little almond extract. There are also dried cherries inside.

~

I kneaded you, so make me proud.

I like to set my dough on the stove top to rise. It gets warm under that light.

All rolled up and ready to go.

Second rise, then an egg wash and a generous sprinkling of sugar.

Josh: "That looks like a big ol' grub worm!"

Cavern.

I'm exhausted, but delighted. This little venture has been one of my proudest kitchen moments. I love it!

~

{ kitchen tip }

Take your bread's temperature. 

Use a thermometer to check yeast breads for doneness; it's the only way to know for sure. Soft, pillow breads that contain fats should read 180-190º. Drier, crusty breads should read 200-210º. {This guy got done 15 minutes early!}

Culinary Capers Ingredient of the Week: Cherries

{ Technically, Robin and I made this last week. 

But I'm blogging about it this week. }

Cherry-Vanilla Layer Cake

I've been wanting to bake a cake with my buddy Robin. When I ran across this little beauty on Pinterest, I thought it would be perfect for us. I liked the bold colors, and I knew that Robin liked to "pipe". 

The cake recipe called for 2 seven-inch baking pans. Which apparently don't exist. I suggested that we use 1 eight-inch pan and 1 six-inch pan as an alternative. (Seemed mathematically feasible...) We kept a close eye on our layers as they baked, and were successful in not under-cooking or burning either. 

 The icing recipe called for 1 pound of butter, which grossed us out. But we made it anyway. And it still grossed us out. We both agreed that the cake would be better with a more moderate icing. Robin thinks cream cheese, I think basic butter-cream with less butter.   

The "from scratch" cherry cake batter was over-the-top flavorful. It called for a whole jar of maraschino cherries (finely chopped) and 1/2 cup of maraschino cherry juice. It also called for 2 teaspoons of almond extract (yum). We liked it!

{ lessons learned }

1. Sometimes imitation vanilla is better.

2. The little layer is not supposed to be taller than the big layer.

3. Friends like Robin are awesome! (Actually I didn't learn that one, 'cause I already knew it.)

{ quote of the day }

Robin: Wow. That was involved.

Culinary Capers Ingredient of the Week: Pineapple

Yes, I own The Sopranos Family Cookbook.

I used to cook from it way back in the day. I would make the baked ziti and the ricotta-pineapple pie. I took the Culinary Capers pineapple challenge as an opportunity to revisit this old favorite.

You can find the ricotta-pineapple pie recipe in the "Carmela" section.

But just in case you don't have this book lying around... I will type it out for you.

Ricotta-Pineapple Pie

from The Sopranos Family Cookbook

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup fine graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

One 15-ounce container ricotta

2 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Topping

One 20-ounce can crushed pineapple in syrup

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spread the butter over the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan or springform pan.  Add the crumbs, turning the pan to coat the bottom and sides.
• In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the ricotta, eggs, cream, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 50 minutes, or until the pie is set around the edges but the center is still slightly soft. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
• To make the topping, drain the pineapple well, reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid. In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the 1/2 cup pineapple juice and the lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 4 minutes. Add the pineapple. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
• Spread the pineapple mixture over the pie. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs.

Lemon zest.

Bada bing!

Yous ah bettah make ah this pie!

 Just kidding, I don't care if you make it.
I just wanted to say "yous."

Inspired by the Candy Tree

To make a candy tree-inspired treat, you will need 1 leftover "ornament" and a kitchen hammer thing.

Smash up your candy cane.

 

And sprinkle it atop 1 serving (1/2 cup, 70 grams) of vanilla ice cream, for a very good 155-calorie treat.



This beats the 650-calorie peppermint milkshake from Chik-fil-A.

"Homesick Texan Tuesday" Leftovers

I need to reiterate how fantastic Homesick Texan's "Green Chile Posole with Black Beans" recipe is. We have all been raving about it since Tuesday. This one's a keeper.

Pictured here without the shredded Monterey Jack. I can't find this recipe on her blog, or I would post a link. Guess you'll just have to buy the book...

Here's a cute pic of a leftover kolache I heated up for myself. I never really warmed up to these, but Mom and Josh liked them.

Homesick Texan Tuesday

There's this thing that sometimes happens between me and my mom, where I'll borrow one of her cookbooks, become fanatically obsessed with it, then she ends up on Amazon, one-click ordering a new copy. This is how I acquired The Homesick Texan Cookbook. This evening I tried to make it up to my mom by inviting her over for Homesick Texan Tuesday! I made green chile posole with black beans, gorditas with picadillo, and kolaches. (I'm exhausted BTW.)

Green Chile Posole with Black Beans

HT's posole recipe is wonderful. It challenged me to use all kinds of ingredients I had never dealt with, or even tasted. 

Such as tomatillos...

...serrano chiles...

...and a poblano chile. (Lard is new to me as well, but it was used for the gorditas; not the soup.)

 

Here is the poblano in roasted form.

 

So anyway, the posole is really neat because you put all this green stuff in a blender to make the soup base. Then you add hominy (which is the English word for posole), black beans, lime juice and half-and-half. Love this soup!

Gordita with Picadillo

So the gorditas were insane. More specifically, the gordita shell was insane. You make the dough with masa and lard, then you pan-fry it, then you deep-fry it. No wonder gordita means "little fat girl" in Spanish. I know how she feels...

 I'm not sure that my gordita shells "puffed" the way they were supposed to, but we made it work.

The picadillo filling is a seasoned ground beef mixture that calls for one diced russet potato. 

That first gordita was totally staged (Josh's lunch gordita for tomorrow), but this is the actual gordita I actually ate for actual dinner. Not as picturesque, but it's covered in wonderful shredded lettuce.

This is Mom's actual gordita. She likes lettuce and tomato.

Kolaches

Not sure how I feel about the kolaches. I did half with cream cheese filling and half with apricot filling. They're not very sweet. The bread-to-filling ratio seemed off, especially with the apricot. I guess I'm not crazy about these, but I may feel differently tomorrow.