Recipes

Tasty Tuesday–Lussekattes

I thought I’d share this recipe since the commemoration for Santa Lucia is this week. I can’t verify the authenticity of the recipe, since I’m not Swedish, but I do know that the children love it when I make these, and Bunny loves getting to play Santa Lucia on December 13!

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  • 1 package dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup very warm water
  • 1/2 cup milk, scalded and then cooled
  • 1/4 cup sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
  • 1/4 cup softened butter (plus extra for brushing on top)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • pinch saffron (or yellow food coloring)
  • 1/2 tsp. orange zest
  • 3-3 1/2 cups flour
  • raisins

Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Stir in milk, sugar, butter, 1 egg, cardamom, saffron or food coloring, salt, and orange zest.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour and beat until smooth.
Stir in enough remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead 5-10 minutes.
Place in a greased bowl, turn, and cover. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size (about 1 1/2-2 hours).
Punch down the dough. Divide into two portions and cut each portion into six pieces.
Shape each piece into a smooth rope about 10-12 inches long.
Shape each rope into an “S” shape and curve both ends into a tight coil.

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Place one raisin in the center of each coil.

Place on greased cookie sheets. Brush the tops with butter.
Let rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.
Heat the oven to 350. Brush the buns with the remaining egg beaten and mixed with water, and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Tasty Tuesday–Swirled Peppermint Bark

This recipe is so easy, and looks so pretty! It would make a great addition to anyone’s Christmas baking! (Also, did you know that you can buy pre-crushed peppermints? No more hammering with a rolling pin, and never getting them fine enough, or running them through the food processor, and ending up with peppermint dust!)

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  • 1 package (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 package (10-11 oz.) white chocolate chips
  • 2 tsp. vegetable oil or shortening
  • 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy pieces

Line a jelly roll pan (about 10×15) with parchment paper.
Melt semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler. Spread over parchment paper.
Melt white chocolate and vegetable oil in a double boiler. Spread down center of semi-sweet chocolate, and swirl with a skewer.
Sprinkle peppermint pieces over the top.
Refrigerate until firm, then break into pieces.

Tasty Tuesday–Pie!

It’s almost Thanksgiving! Here are a few of my favorite Thanksgiving-ready pie recipes:

If anyone’s wondering, I just use the standard Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe…nothing too fancy there!

Tasty Tuesday–Pecan Pie

Today I’ll share a bonus Tasty Tuesday pie recipe, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday next week. You can never have too many pies at Thanksgiving! (Trust me, I should know…I got roped into making six of them this year!) I like this particular recipe because it doesn’t use corn syrup.

  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. milk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
  • 1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 400.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar, and flour; mix well. Last add the milk, vanilla, and nuts.
Pour into pie crust. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until done.

Tasty Tuesday–Butterscotch Pie

Thanksgiving is next week…can you believe it?!? Here’s another family favorite pie recipe…this is the one that Bunny requested (demanded?) that I make this year. It’s truly a labor of love, for me at least, because I hate tempering eggs! It’s worth it though…there’s nothing quite like a homemade butterscotch pie!

  • 1 9-inch pie crust, baked and cooled (make sure to poke holes in the crust with a fork before baking!)
  • 3 Tbsp. butter (no substitutions)
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 3/4 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Whipped cream for topping

In 12-inch skillet, cook butter over medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes or until butter melts and turns deep golden brown in color, being careful not to burn. Add brown sugar and stir until blended. Carefully stir in boiling water; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly until smooth. (If there are a few lumps of brown sugar, that’s OK.) Remove from heat.
In 3-quart saucepan, combine cornstarch and salt; with wire whisk, mix in milk, cream, and brown sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat.
In small bowl, with wire whisk, lightly beat egg yolks. In thin steady stream, whisk about 1/2 cup hot milk mixture into yolks. Gradually whisk yolk mixture back into milk mixture, stirring rapidly to prevent curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is very thick and coats the back of a spoon well. Stir in vanilla.
Pour hot filling into cooled pie crust; press plastic wrap onto surface. Refrigerate overnight until filling is set. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Tasty Tuesday–Caramel Apple Pie

Since Thanksgiving approaches, I thought I’d share the recipe for one of our Thanksgiving standards…caramel apple pie. It even won second place at a church pie contest a while back!

20 individually wrapped caramels
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 large Granny Smith apples–peeled, cored and sliced
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350.
Unwrap and cut caramel candies in half. In a large bowl, mix candy with flour. Stir in apples, ice cream topping, and lemon juice. Pour filling into pie crust.
Place in oven on a sheet of foil to catch the drips. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

 

Tasty Tuesday–Pumpkin!

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Since fall (and the approach of Thanksgiving), is the time of year when it’s all about pumpkins, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite pumpkin recipes. And one of them isn’t even a dessert!

Also, you can add a can of pumpkin to pretty much any chili recipe to add a little depth and some extra nutrients! Can you tell I love cooking and baking with pumpkin?

Tasty Tuesday–Apple Strudel

Since Reformation Day is this week, here’s a nice German-ish dessert to add to your menu!

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  • 1 sheet puff pastry
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 large Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons raisins
  • powdered sugar (optional)

Thaw the pastry sheet at room temperature for 40 minutes or until it’s easy to handle. Heat the oven to 375. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Stir the egg and water in a small bowl. Mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the apples and raisins and toss to coat.
Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the sheet into a 16×12-inch rectangle. With the short side facing you, spoon the apple mixture onto the bottom half of the pastry to within 1 inch of the edges. Starting at the short side closest to you, roll up like a jelly roll. Place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Tuck ends under to seal. Brush with the egg mixture. Cut several 2-inch long slits 2 inches apart on the top.
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden. Cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Slice and serve warm. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Tasty Tuesday–Black Forest Cherry Torte

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I wanted to try something new for our Oktoberfest celebration this year…usually I just make apple strudel. So, I decided to try an authentic Black Forest cherry torte. By authentic, I mean that it had to be made with kirschwasser, in the traditional German way. It was a bit of a challenge finding kirschwasser, but I did finally track it down. I also had to splice together several recipes in my quest for authenticity, but I was very happy with the result, and my family requested that the recipe go in my “permanent file,” so I guess it was a success!

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  • 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 15 oz. cans pitted sour cherries
  • 3/4 cup kirschwasser (or a little less, if you want a more subtle flavor)
  • 1 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine flour, 2 cups sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil, and 1 tablespoon vanilla; beat until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Loosen edges, and remove to racks to cool completely.
While cake layers are baking, drain cherries. Combine cherries, kirschwasser, 1 1/4 cups sugar and cornstarch in a 2 quart saucepan. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Cool before using.
After cake layers and cherries have cooled, combine whipping cream and confectioner’s sugar in a chilled medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Reserve 1 1/2 cups whipped cream for decorating cake; set aside.
With long serrated knife, split each cake layer horizontally in half. Tear one split layer into crumbs; set aside.
To assemble, place one cake layer on cake plate. Spread with 1 cup frosting; top with 3/4 cup cherry topping. Top with second cake layer; repeat layers of frosting and cherry topping. Top with third cake layer. Frost side of cake. Pat reserved crumbs onto frosting on side of cake. Spoon reserved frosting into pastry bag fitted with star decorator tip. Pipe around top and bottom edges of cake. Spoon remaining cherry topping onto top of cake.

Tasty Tuesday–Colcannon

I know that St. Patrick’s Day is still six months away (exactly six months from today!), but I wanted to try out this traditional Irish potato dish early so I could decide if I wanted to add it to our holiday meal next year. I loved it…potatoes, bacon, cabbage…how can you go wrong? It got mixed reviews from the rest of my family, but enough of us liked it that I think I just may make it on March 17 next year!

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  • 2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1/2 small head of cabbage, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

Place potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving drippings, crumble and set aside. In the reserved drippings, saute the cabbage and onion until soft and translucent. Putting a lid on the pan helps the vegetables cook faster.
Drain the cooked potatoes, mash with milk and season with salt and pepper. Fold in the bacon, cabbage, and onions, then transfer the mixture to a large serving bowl. Make a well in the center, and pour in the melted butter. Serve immediately.