Christmas Crispies

The holiday season is one of the best times of the year to get a bit of culinary inspiration.  The stores are filled with foods that aren't available any other time of the year.  Folks get creative in the kitchen!  Magazines are filled with holiday recipes and even store flyers have tips and recipes.  Sometimes the inspiration comes from within.  That happened to me recently as soon as I saw a new (one I had not seen before)  product at the grocery store. 

Peppermint is one of the prominent flavours of the holiday season.  Kraft has responded by making Jet-Puffed peppermint mallows and other holiday themed marshmallows.  These mini marshmallows are naturally flavoured with other natural flavours.  They are pink and white swirled.  The package suggests using these marshmallows in your favourite fudge recipe, sprinkling into hot cocoa and using them to frost cookies or cupcakes.  As soon as I saw them, visions of a Christmas version of the familiar rice krispie squares came to mind.  I use one 12 oz box of Kellogg's rice krispies cereal, on 10 oz bag of Kraft Jet-Puffed peppermint mallows, one 10 oz bag of Nestle Toll House premier which morsels, one SweetNature candy cane (100% natural flavours, no artificial colours) and a little butter to make my Christmas Crispies. 

I don't make rice krispie squares exactly according to the original recipe.  My husband likes them a bit gooey rather than dry so I've made them that way ever since our newlywed days.  I used a little butter to lightly grease a non-stick baking pan and parchment paper.  I poured the rice krispie cereal into a large bowl then melted the marshmallows in the microwave oven, stirring to a smooth consistency.  I poured the melted marshmallows over the cereal then mixed well.  I filled the baking pan with the mixture and patted down with lightly buttered fingers.  I formed the remainder of the mixture into a rectangle on the parchment paper.  I left the prepared base on the counter to cool and firm up before moving to the next steps.

I cut the rectangular portion of the base into plain squares.  I melted the white chocolate morsels in the microwave, stirring until smooth then spread over the base mixture in the baking pan.  While the white chocolate was still warm, I sprinkled crushed candy cane over it.  I only used about a tablespoon of the crushed candy cane.  Then I used a flipper to carefully remove the topped base from the baking pan.  At this point, the Christmas Crispies were quite malleable so the flipper provided the needed support to slide the base out of the pan.  I allowed the topped base to cool completely on the counter before cutting into squares.  

I initially cut the Christmas Crispies into 16 squares.  My husband did the taste test.  He declared them delicious but very sweet so I cut the remaining squares in half. The peppermint flavour is not strong, nicely enhanced with the white chocolate and touch of candy cane.  The squares have a pretty pinkish colour.  

I was pleased with the Christmas Crispies that came about simply through a vision.  It really was one of those "I'll bet that would make a tasty square!" as soon as I saw the peppermint marshmallows.  The only change I would make is make the base a bit shallower.  I think it would be easier to omit the baking pan entirely in favour of forming the base free hand the way I usually make rice krispie squares.  I'm sure the Christmas Crispies will be a holiday keeper!

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies

The weather has been unseasonably warm here to the point it is mid-March and we have had the furnace off for three days now.  These temperatures this time of year are virtually unheard of here!  So yesterday, I decided to tackle a few boxes in the garage.  It is an attached garage but unheated so this heat wave was perfect timing.  I came across a box of various recipes I had kept dating back to the mid-1990's.  As I sorted through the box I pulled a couple of recipes to try out.

The peanut butter swirled brownies recipe was on a 1996 promo offer by Baker's.  I had to do a substitution for some of the chocolate as I only had four squares of Baker's unsweetened chocolate and my ankle still isn't strong enough to do a lot of walking and I didn't feel like starting up the truck to drive a couple of blocks and back.  Both the batter and icing are marbled.   I used a knife to marble the thicker batter and a toothpick to marble the icing.   Once the icing set up it was time to cut the brownies.   It almost seemed a shame to cut the brownies as the icing looked lovely! 

Chocolate and peanut butter is a very popular flavour combination so I'm not surprised the brownies tasted every bit as good as they looked.  I will warn you they are on the rich side but oh so yummy!  These brownies are sure to a hit with your family and they would go over well for parties or get-togethers.  It definitely is a keeper recipe. 

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies
source: Baker's special offer pamphlet (circa 1996) 

Brownies
2 squares Baker's unsweetened chocolate*
⅓ c butter
⅔ c unbleached flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp sea salt
2 eggs
1 c organic sugar
1 tsp vanilla

½ c smooth peanut butter
 c organic sugar
¼ c 2% milk

Icing
4 squares Baker's semi-sweet chocolate
¾ c smooth peanut butter, divided

Brownies: Heat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).  Heat chocolate (or * substitute below) in microwave on high for 1 minute until butter is melted.  Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.  Cool completely.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt together in small mixing bowl.   In a separate mixing bowl, beat eggs.  Gradually beat in the sugar.  Beat until well blended.  Blend in the chocolate mixture and vanilla.  Stir in the flour mixture.  Spread into a greased and floured 8 - inch square baking pan.  Blend the peanut butter, sugar and milk together.  Top the brownie mixture in the baking pan with spoonfuls of the peanut butter mixture.  Draw knife through the batter to marble it.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of pan.  Cool in pan on a rack.

Icing:
Melt the chocolate with ½ cup of peanut butter in microwave on medium power for 3 minutes.  Stir until well blended.  Spread over the top of the cooled brownies.  Melt the remaining peanut butter and drop by spoonfuls onto the icing.  Swirl with a toothpick to marble.  Chill until icing is set.

* I substituted the squares with 6 tbsp powdered cocoa stirred into 2 tbsp melted butter.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispies

Easy snacks are always welcomed. Even though we don't eat a lot of them, squares always fit the bill. Squares are easy to make, low cost and they just fit that sweet tooth. They are ideal for parties, get togethers, birthday parties and school bake sales.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie

Rice krispie squares are just one of those tried and true recipes. They are easy to make and everyone likes them. I came across this spin on rice krispie squares that paired peanut butter with chocolate. Now you can't get much better than chocolate with peanut butter so I just had to make a batch of these. These are definite keepers :)

Peanut Butter Rice Krispies
modified from: Jean Paré, Company's Coming 150 Delicious Squares, Edmonton, Alberta. 1981. Pp. 9.

⅔ c sweeetened condensed milk
¼ c peanut butter
¼ c light corn syrup
½ c brown sugar
4 c rice cereal

½ c chocolate chips
2 tbsp peanut butter

Place the rice cereal in a large mixing bowl. Combine the first 4 ingredients in saucepan. Cook until well mixed and thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Pour over the rice cereal and mix well. Pour the mixture into a greased 9" x 9" baking dish.

Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Pour over the cereal mixture, spreading evenly. Place in refrigerator until well chilled. Cut into squares.

Superbowl Sunday

[My apologies for not posting this in advance. This blog entry is being created as food is served so is a bit delayed for the photo shoots.]

Well it is that time of year again. This year we are hosting a superbowl party of 20 to 30, mainly guys but some of the wives are coming out as well. They started arriving just before lunchtime. They are playing poker watching one game and waiting for the big game to start. The party will continue into the wee hours of the morning. The menu is rather a mish mash of finger food trying to keep things easy but interesting.

Appetizers: vegetable tray, bacon wrapped cocktail wieners, cocktail wieners with various dips
Dinner: homemade chili with nacho chips, rolls or crackers
Deserts: date squares, chocolate chip cookies
Snacks: stovetop popped pop corn, nachos with cheese & salsa, pretzels dipped in chocolate, pretzels with mustard

I made the chili Saturday , a huge pot so will fill the largest crockpot (about 1/4 of the chili) with enough to heat for about 5ish. After dinner I'll set it up again for a later evening snack. Everything else will be out except for the hot appetizers that I pass around on trays. Quite a few attending also bring snacky type foods even though I always say no so I'll have to work those into the day as well. For these types of events snacks are constantly out for those who want to nibble. I aim to serve a hot appetizer or snack about every 2 hours with dinner served about 5:30 PM. The last hot snack is served about 10:30 PM with finger foods left out for snacking after that.

Chocolate Pretzels

I came across the idea of chocolate dipped pretzels from a gift basket we received but apparently this is not a new idea. Something sweet, specifically chocolate nicely accents the saltiness of of the pretzels. The crunch is just a nice snack effect.

Sam's Club sells a 55 oz barrel of large pretzel sticks for $5.57. These pretzels are the perfect size for dipping in chocolate or other sauces. Chocolate wafers for candy making can be found anywhere they sell candy making supplies. Bulk Barn in Ontario sells them as does Goulda's KitchenI had about a half pound of white chocolate mint wafer's left over from Christmas candy making that I decided to use for dipping the pretzels in. I was a bit unsure of the mint but one taste of the combination told me it was fine. The guys loved the chocolate dipped pretzel sticks so this will be a snack I will be making again for these types of events.

Method: Bring water to boil in a double broiler or use a large sauce pan for the water and a smaller one for the chocolate. Place the chocolate wafers in the smaller pan letting the hot water from the larger pan melt the chocolate. Dip each pretzel about 2 inches into the chocolate. Swirl a little then place on a sheet of wax paper to cool. When the chocolate has hardened place the pretzels on a serving platter for serving.

Date Squares

The superbowl party much like the monthly card parties means finger foods even for desserts. Bars, squares and cookies are an ideal choice. Date squares are great because they go over well and left overs make great breakfast bars.

Date Squares

3 c chopped dates
¼ c organic sugar
1½ c water
¾ c butter, softened
1 c brown sugar
1¾ c unbleached flour
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp baking soda
1½ c quick-cooking oats

Mix the first three ingredients together in a saucepan. Cook over low heat while stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Allow the date mixture to cool. Place the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a KitchenAid® stand mixer or similar. Mix well. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Pour half of the flour mixture into the pan. Press it evenly in the bottom of the pan. Spoon the date mixture over this and spread evenly. Top with the remaining flour mix and press lightly. Bake at 400ºF for 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cut into 1 x 3 inch bars while still warm.

Bacon Wrapped Smokies

I am always trying new appetizers so when I came across a recipe at Allrecipes for using smokies as an appetizer that was different from using a sauce so I just had to try it. I read through the recipe then decided it really was more of a method with no hard set amounts. So I went with that. These appetizers were a huge winner!

I bought a 3.5 lb package of Hillshire Farm's Lit'l Smokies for $7.73 (US) and a 500 g package of President's Choice bacon for $3.49 (CDN). I used about ⅓ of the package of smokies and almost all of the bacon.

Method: Cut across the bacon strips to form three sections. Wrap each smokie in a strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place the wrapped smokies onto a Silpat® lined baking sheet. If you do not have a Silpat® use parchment paper. Sprinkle brown sugar over the wrapped smokies. Bake at 325ºF for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and place on platter for serving.

I hope everyone enjoyed their superbowl Sunday :)

Tilapia & Butter Tart Squares

Well, the best laid plans tend to go astray and so it was this past weekend. We travelled with the intentions of staying at the home of one of our kids Saturday night and then visiting another on Sunday. Mother Nature kicked in and cut our plans short so I didn't get the cooking done at their houses that I had planned. I managed to make raisin bread before grandbaby tuckered me out. What a total sweetheart grandbaby is! The storm hit overnight and by morning with the threat worsening weather we made the decision to head home early. It was a good thing as it took us an hour and half longer to get home due to road conditions.

Tilapia

We eat a fair amount of local fish but also enjoy fish from other sources. Tilapia is a very mild tasting fish to the point that there is almost no taste. Many chefs find this mildness a flaw but for those who want the benefits of eating fish without a strong fish flavour, tilapia is ideal. I find myself siding with the chefs so tilapia is not often served.

The mild flavour of tilapia lends itself well to a variety of seasonings but I wanted to highlight the mildness. I pan fried the tilapia fillets in grapeseed oil and seasoned lightly with lemon pepper. The sides were a long grain/wild rice blend cooked in chicken stock and home canned green beans. The meal was light but filling.


Butter Tart Squares

Anyone who knows me or who reads this blog will know that desserts are not my strong suit. We don't include desserts as a normal part of our dinners. From time to time, I splurge and make a dessert. Tonight's dessert was butter tart squares. Butter tarts are a Canadian treat, a staple of Canadian pioneer cooking. They are of Canadian origin. The ingredients are simple staples found in every pantry. So when I came across this recipe for butter tart squares I had to try it to see how close it came to actual butter tarts.

This picture really doesn't do justice to the squares. The squares are made in two steps and I used the KitchenAid^® stand mixer for both. The topping forms a thin crust. Now this dessert is oh so sweet! Anyone with a sweet tooth will be in seventh heaven eating this.

Butter Tart Squares

1 c all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sifted icing sugar
1/3 c butter

2 eggs
1 1/2 c lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 c melted butter
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 c dark raisins
1/2 c chopped nuts

Combine first 3 ingredients until crumbly. Press into a greased 9 inch square pan. Bake at 350 F for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Mix the remaining ingredients well. Place on top of crust and bake for 25 minutes or until set and browned. Place on wire rack to cool. Cut into squares.