Saturday, December 9, 2017

Christmas Cookies

Kids of all ages love sugar cookies
12/6/17 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

Christmas is coming! And it just wouldn’t be Christmas morning without cookies for Santa. So, whoever in your house is responsible for Santa’s snack, had better start thinking about what they’re going to bake. After all, his cookies can’t be store bought! Everyone knows that Santa and his reindeer love home baked goodies with their cups of milk.

Tradition says that leaving cookies and milk for Santa began in medieval Germany when folks decorated their (paradise) trees with apples, wafers and cookies. Later, cookies were included in the celebration of St. Nicholas day on the sixth of December and placed on the fireplace hearth.

With nearly three weeks to go until Christmas, this is a great time to get our cookie recipes organized for Santa and the entire family. I like to make a list of needed ingredients, check out the sales and stock up on everything so there won’t be any last minute super market runs. Be sure and check your butter, brown and powdered sugar, eggs and cookie cutters.

This is the only time of the year that my husband and I frost cookies. I’m the baker but he’s the decorator. I make the dough, roll it out and cut it into shapes. Once they’re baked and cooled, he chooses the colors and designs to make the angels, reindeers, stars, Santa’s and gingerbread men come to life.

Our two family favorites are sugar cookies and gingerbread men. Both are simple to make. It’s the decorating that’s tricky. The sugar cookie dough is made with cream cheese (no eggs).  It is tender and easy to handle. The gingerbread recipe makes a lot. The frosting can be used on both kinds of cookies. And since everyone loves Thumbprint cookies, I’ve included a special recipe for the kids—peanut butter in the dough with jelly on the top. Any kind will do. I like apricot but kids may prefer grape. Enjoy!



Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Dough

1 pkg. (8 ounce) Cream Cheese, softened
3/4-cup butter (1-1/2 sticks) softened
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add flour and baking soda; mix well. Cover. Use as base for the following two cookie recipes. Note: For a sweeter dough add ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and a pinch of salt.


Sugar Cookie Cut-outs

Preheat oven to 350° F. Roll above dough to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into assorted shapes using 3-inch cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Transfer cookies to wire rack; immediately press about 1/2-teaspoon crushed candies onto each hot cookie. Cool completely on rack. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.


Cookie Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Food Coloring of your choice

Frost cooled cookies lightly and put faces on gingerbread men or snow ladies. Use raisins for eyes, Red Hots for lips or decorate with your favorite sprinkles.


German Molasses Cookies or Gingerbread Men
Makes 8 dozen
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups light molasses
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Melt butter in a saucepan; add molasses and brown sugar and heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Pour into a bowl; cool. Sift remaining ingredients together; add to cooled mixture in fourths, mixing until blended after each addition. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until easy to handle, using additional flour if necessary. Cover in plastic wrap; refrigerate and allow dough to ripen one or two days.

Roll one fourth of dough at a time about 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface; cut with a 3-inch round cutter or fancy cutters. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheets. Bake about 7 minutes.
Note: For gingerbread men, roll dough 1/4 inch thick and cut with a gingerbread-man cutter. Bake about 13 min. Makes a lot!



PBJ Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter softened
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350’ F.
Whisk 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt together in a small bowl.Combine in mixer: 1 egg with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup natural peanut butter, 1/4 cup soft butter and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture. ROLL into tablespoon-sized balls and set on baking sheet. Make a deep indent in the center of each ball. Fill with jelly of choice. Bake in center of oven, 7 to 9 min. Makes about 18.


Keep it simple and keep it seasonal with Betty’s Cook’s Corner


Friday, October 27, 2017

Reminiscing Recipe Columns


10/11/17 Cook’s Corner
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Betty Kaiser

I became a fan of recipe columns as a young mother of three in the early years of the 1960s. Today, I still find it exciting that in this era of so-called hard news, major newspapers from Baton Rouge to San Diego offer readers a respite that everyone can enjoy—recipes and articles that are all about enjoying food preparation and ways to help them.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
The cookbook, “Dear S.O.S.: Thirty Years of Recipe Requests,” was written by longtime editor Rose Dosti, former award winning food writer and veteran Los Angeles Times reporter. In her retirement, she has written eight or more books but this was the first. I recently opened it again and I am finding it as inspiring as ever. The L.A. Times published it 25 years ago but for this former Angeleno it brings back wonderful memories of great restaurant’s ideas for home cooked food.

Now called “Culinary S.O.S,” the recipe column that debuted in the Times in 1961 had a long history before that in the Daily Mirror. It originally began in the 1930s. Then, the audience was mostly stay-at-home housewives and their cooking choices were limited by the selection in markets. Out-of-season fresh fruits and vegetables were virtually unavailable. This was before frozen foods were readily available and canned goods were pantry staples used in all kinds of cooking. There was even a Fruit Cocktail Cake that is still a popular potluck dessert today.

Along the way, readers began to write in to S.O.S. and request favorite recipes from popular restaurants or ones they had lost or maybe remembered from a by-gone era. There was an entire news staff that gobbled up the recipes and found answers to their questions. One editor was just the tip of the iceberg. The support staff consisted of an entire L.A. Times based test-kitchen of home economists and writers.

Beginning in the 1970s and into the 1990s Rose Dosti was the “Culinary S.O.S.” editor for the Times readership. She would seek out the city’s best restaurants and include them in her columns. Many of those restaurants are now closed—The Brown Derby, Scandia, The Bistro—but they sure left tasty memories and their creations are part of the L.A. culinary history.

Rose’s tenure at The Times saw big societal changes. First there was a health movement that craved granola, nut burgers and Flourless Chocolate Cake. It is still a popular dessert in gluten free diets. Then, a growing ethnic population added more diversity to the mix. Recipes from the Latino, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean populations were requested and published. Also, more women entered the work force. They were cooking less and needed some insights into current recipes.

Thirty years ago, here in Oregon, I was thrilled to discover The Oregonian newspaper’s Recipe Box. All the years they delivered to Cottage Grove, I clipped many a recipe from their pages. This week I went online and found a Fall Apple and Chicken Salad from 2016. Check it out at: http://recipes.oregonlive.com/. I think you’ll like it.

The L.A. Times continues to put out a weekly food section. Last week it included a whole treatise on “Pie crust 101: Tips and tricks for taking your crust to the next level.” As usual, I picked up a few pointers. I may have been a professional pie maker at Kaiser’s Country Diner but I’m not too old to learn new tricks. Someday I’ll share my foolproof pie crust recipe.

Today’s recipe is for a Flourless Chocolate Cake, described as a dense ‘fallen’ cake made from an aerated chocolate custard. This Martha Stewart microwave recipe is a lighter version of the famous cake from Misto Bakery in Torrance, Calif. The original calls for 8 eggs, 2 pounds of bittersweet chocolate and 1-1/2 cups of butter! Martha says, “Chocolate lovers will adore this dessert. The edges and top develop a delicately crisp crust while the center remains moist and fudgy.”  Enjoy!


FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
 6 large eggs, separating yolks and egg whites
 1/2 cup granulated sugar
 Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees with the rack in the center. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch Springform pan. Set aside.
Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until completely melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk in egg yolks.
 In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar, and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then gently fold in remaining egg whites.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is set in the center, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack; remove sides of pan. Serve at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Serves 8

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 
that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.


You can't go wrong with a peach pie


9/13/17 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

The Willamette Valley grows the most delectable varieties of peaches you’ll find anywhere. Some work best for canning while others are better eaten fresh.  My very favorite eating-out-of-hand peaches are the Suncrests. Their texture, color and flavor are also great for canning. Sadly, they are semi-cling and it can be tough to get them to release their seeds. Veterans are also good for canning but not my favorite to eat unadorned.

Right now, Early Elbertas are on the market. They are a great all around peach. They peel easily with just a few seconds in boiling water. Add a little lemon or Fruit Fresh to cold water and they keep their color when immersed. They taste great sliced on cereal or ice cream; baked in a cobbler or processed in a canner.

My 2017 peach canning quota is tucked away in the cupboard and now I’m having fun trying out new recipes. Sometimes they don’t work out like I expect. Recently, I baked a proclaimed “Incredible Peach Pie.” One of its bragging rights was that it makes its own crust.” Its 11 ingredients included coconut and pecans. And it was good. But I couldn’t taste the peaches. They disappeared into the crust. Bummer.

My conclusion is that you cannot go wrong with an old-fashioned peach cobbler topped with a rolled pie crust. Another favorite is a berry-peach Pie. Our garden currently overflows with blackberries and raspberries, so I combine them with peaches covered with a crumb topping in an open face multi-berry-peach pie. Yummy.

Today’s final recipe is a tried and true, simple fresh peach pie with a gelatin filling. I had completely forgotten about this recipe until my husband’s recent birthday. Chuck loves pie. He was thrilled when a friend brought over that famous fresh peach pie. Topped with whipped cream it is always delicious.

Winter is on the way so I encourage you to bake a peach pie or two in the coming weeks. Enjoy!

COUNTRY PEACH COBBLER RECIPE

FILLING
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup cornstarch
8 cups fresh peaches (sliced)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter

Pastry:
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup shortening
4 tablespoons ice water
1/3 cup melted butter for topping
1/4 cup sugar​ for topping

Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Preheat oven to 400° F.

Filling: Combine sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch; toss with peaches. Add the almond or vanilla extract and the 1/4 cup melted butter; set aside.

Pastry: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut shortening into the flour mixture until it is the consistency of cornmeal. Gradually add ice water, stirring, just until the dough holds its shape. Roll out on a floured board and cut into strips.

Pour the peach filling mixture into the prepared baking pan. Criss-cross dough strips over the filling and brush pastry generously with remaining butter. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is brown. Serves 10.

BERRY PEACH COBBLER
Fruit Filling
3/4 cup sugar                                                                            
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
3 medium peaches, peeled, sliced (about 3 cups)
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat oven to 450° F. Grease 2-quart glass casserole with butter.
In 2-1/2  quart saucepan, stir together sugar and 2 tablespoons flour. Stir in berries, lemon peel and juice. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Spoon fruit mixture into baking dish.

Topping:
½ cup flour
½ cup quick oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold butter

In medium bowl combine the dry ingredients with a pastry blender. Mix in the butter with your fingers until the mixture comes together and you have big crumbles.

Sprinkle the crumbles evenly over the fruit. Bake 35-45 min. or until filling bubbles and top is golden brown. Cool at least 14 min. before serving. Top with vanilla ice cream. Serves 6.

FRESH PEACH PIE
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 package (3 ounces) peach gelatin
3 cups sliced peeled ripe peaches
1 pastry shell (9 inches), BAKED
Whipped cream, optional

 

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly and thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Cool.

Arrange peaches in BAKED crust; pour filling over peaches. Chill for 2 hours or until set. Serve with whipped cream if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 
that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.





Thursday, September 21, 2017

I am besotted with: The Great British Baking Show


8/16/17 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

I am besotted with The Great British Baking Show. It’s on my weekly must-watch-list and I’m not alone. This PBS show, filmed in England, has captivated American audiences as well as British. It is totally unlike American cooking shows. It’s a basic baking contest­ where I learn something new every week from non-professional bakers who are talented and civil. There is no yelling, throwing, or insulting. Amazing.

At the beginning of each season, 12 amateur bakers from around England are chosen in Bake Offs to appear on the television show. On the show, professional bakers and judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood challenge them to weekly prepare a variety of baking assignments. The baking takes place in the picturesque (and often wet) English countryside under a tent.

All contestants have one thing in common—they love to bake. Their age and experience are all over the place. Individuals range from a London firefighter to a gifted teenager, a Scottish grandmother and beyond. The kitchen tent studio is so huge that each baker has his or her complete cooking unit with all the necessities including a proof oven!
  
The Bake Off is divided into a three-challenge format. The signature recipe is a familiar, tried-and-true home-made style bake. The technical recipe involves obscure pastry and cake recipes. The showstopper recipe speaks for itself—it is always complex and elaborate. Sometimes a recipe is a relatively simple Yorkshire Pudding. Next could be to a Battenburg Cake assembled in a pink and yellow checkerboard pattern each frosted with Marzipan.

Hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins keep the atmosphere light because there is a time crunch for preparing each of three recipes. The pressure is on with each tick of the clock. The tense atmosphere is also softened by the camaraderie amongst the bakers. They are more helpful than hostile! At the end of the week, a Star Baker is chosen (no financial reward) and the losing baker is politely asked to leave with hugs all around.

The following recipe is a variation of a beloved British baking classic served at tea time. The baking notes all say that a good Victoria sponge should be well-risen, moist and light as air.  The filling recipes, however, are all different. Judge Mary Berry’s recipe calls for only 4 tablespoons of jam. I like more. Some call for a butter cream filling topped with jam. My favorite is the whipped cream and strawberry jam filling. The choice is yours. Enjoy!

A CLASSIC VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE

Cake:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for greasing
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
8 ounces whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup seedless strawberry or raspberry jam

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.

Beat 3/4 cup butter and white sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs (one a time), mixing well between each addition. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat briefly until well-blended in the batter. Continue beating batter until bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 minutes more.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl. Gently fold into egg mixture with a spatula just until smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing the tops with a cake spatula.

Bake in the preheated oven until cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat whipping cream until stiff, adding powdered sugar and vanilla toward the end.

Turn both cakes with the flat tops facing you. Spread strawberry jam evenly on one cake with a spatula. Spread whipped cream in an even layer on the other cake. Sandwich the two cakes together. Dust with powdered sugar. Serves 8. Refrigerate leftovers.
 
Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.



Sunday, July 30, 2017

A Simple Supper: Chicken Burritos

7/19/17 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

Summer suppers are the bane of my daily life. I absolutely hate cooking in hot weather. The heat not only makes me grouchy and takes away my appetite but it fries my brain when it comes to meal planning. Usually, I wake up wondering what’s for dinner and it nicely gels into a plan before I’ve eaten breakfast. That does not happen in June, July or August. Cooking creativity and desire die in the heat.

Probably the most exciting meal we’ve had this summer is one that I concocted out of leftovers. I peered in the refrigerator and came up with some cooked rice, chicken, bell peppers, onions and tortillas. Hmm. How could I put this together, spice it up and make it special? Perhaps one of those new-fangled burritos would be good.

Now I am a California Girl and I love genuine Mexican food. One of my fondest  childhood memories was eating dinner at Olvera Street in the 1950s with my family in the heart of historic Los Angeles,. We also used to eat at the now famous El Cholo Restaurant on Western Ave. in L.A. But contrary to common food folklore, there were no burritos on the menu. Albondigas soup, enchiladas and tacos-yes. Burritos-no. Burritos were a poor working man’s meal made of simple corn tortillas and beans.

 I learned about burritos from watching our neighborhood gardener’s helper eat his lunch. He was a Mexican immigrant, did not speak English and had not adopted American ways. He was a hard worker and there were no nearby cafes or parks where he could eat. Every day at noon, he would sit down at the curb, get out his lunch bucket, make a little fire and heat his beans and corn tortillas. I was mesmerized by the process but I didn’t stare (it’s not polite!) so I don’t know how he made the fire or heated the food. I just know that he did.

Corn tortillas were originally very small. They were a great staple of ranchers, cowboys and braceros who moved about the countryside—easy to make on a camp fire, the ingredients didn’t spoil but there was barely room for a spoonful of beans and meat inside. Maybe that’s why the larger flour tortillas were introduced in California and Texas border towns.

The size of today’s flour tortillas amaze me. They are so big that I seldom order a restaurant burrito because I can’t begin to eat it all. Still, one night, when faced with nothing for dinner, I decided to concoct my own gigantic chicken burrito recipe. It was good! So if you’re desperate for a dinner idea, check out your refrigerator and cupboards. You’ll be surprised at what you come up with. Enjoy!

Chicken, Rice & Veggie Burritos

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup red and green bell peppers, chopped
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 cup cooked rice
1 can, (15 ounce) Pinquito beans, drained
1 cup frozen corn, thawed, drained
1 small can green chilis, drained
1/3 cup black or green olives
3/ 4 cup thick and chunky salsa
Spices as desired: salt, pepper, dash cayenne, cumin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups Jack cheese
8 flour tortillas (10” wide)

Sauté onions and bell peppers until soft. Combine with rice, beans, corn, green chilis, salsa and olives with spices. Warm tortillas one at a time in a skillet. Place 1/4 cup cheese on bottom half of 1 tortilla; top with 1/2 cup bean mixture and rice mixture; add 1/4 cup chicken, leaving 1-inch border around bottom and side of tortilla half. Fold bottom edge of tortilla over filling, then fold in opposite sides of tortilla and roll up.

 Place each burrito seam-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake in 375ºF oven 15 to 20 min. or until heated through. They can also be wrapped in foil and heated on an outside grill.

Serve topped with sour cream, salsa, cilantro and lime wedges.  A fresh fruit salad makes a nice side dish. Serves 8.


Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 
that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.

It's Strawberry Season!


6/21/17 Chatterbox
Betty Kaiser

Strawberry season crept up on me thanks to our soggy June weather. My first clue was when I saw that Laura at Eden Valley Farm was looking for pickers. Yikes! That means it’s time to take inventory of leftover freezer jam, buy some berries, mix up some smoothies and do a little baking.

Nothing can beat fresh Oregon strawberries. Fresh, huge, perfectly formed out-of-state strawberries are available all year long at local super markets but there’s just no taste comparison to Oregon grown berries. They aren’t big or perfectly formed and don’t last very long but they are red, sweet, juicy and taste like….strawberries!

It’s our wonderful Oregon weather that makes the difference. We have the best growing conditions for sweet, juicy berries. That means lots of rain, cool nights and (hopefully) warm, sunny days. It allows the berries to stay on the vines longer and the sugar to develop before the berries are harvested. It also means that their shelf life is short so we need to get them while we can.

We have already had our first strawberry shortcake of the season, a couple of smoothies and now I’m looking forward to stocking up on freezer jam. In between preparing batches of jam, I’m going to treat family and friends to some simple Strawberry Cheese Tarts for a quick dessert and some Strawberry Nut Bread at coffee break time. Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY KALE SMOOTHIE
(Grandson Josh’s favorite)

2 cups strawberries

2 bananas
1-2 cups chopped kale
½-1 cup apple juice
Ice

Blend ingredients in processor until smooth.  Serves 2-4.

STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM

2 cups crushed strawberries or blackberries (about 1 quart berries)
4 cups sugar
1 package powdered pectin
1 cup water
To prepare fruit. Sort and wash fully ripe berries. Drain. Remove caps and stems; crush berries.
To make jam. Place prepared berries in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, mix well, and let stand for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dissolve pectin in water and boil for 1 minute. Add pectin solution to berry-and-sugar mixture; stir for 2 minutes. Pour jam into freezer containers or canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch space at the top. Cover containers and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours or until jam has set.

Store jams in refrigerator or freezer. They can be held up to 3 weeks in a refrigerator or up to a year in a freezer. Note: If jam is too firm, stir to soften. If it tends to separate, stir to blend. If it is too soft, bring it to a boil. It will thicken on cooling. Makes 5 or 6 half-pint jars.

STRAWBERRY CHEESE TARTS

1 pound low-fat cream cheese, softened

½ cup low-fat sour cream

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

(12) small packaged graham cracker tart shells (about 3½ inches in diameter)

2/3 cup strawberry preserves (preferably home made!)

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and lemon peel in small bowl; beat until smooth.  Spread evenly into crumb crusts; refrigerate about 4 hours.  Before serving, spread evenly the strawberry preserves over the filling. Garnish with whipped cream. Serves 12.

STRAWBERRY NUT BREAD

10 ounces frozen sliced strawberries
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup white all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. Salt
¾ cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts

Thaw strawberries.  Beat eggs until fluffy.  Add oil, sugar and berries, beating until light.

Mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.  Blend flour mixture into strawberry mixture until flour is moistened.  Do not over mix.  Stir in nuts.  Pour into greased 9 1/2 by 5 inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 min. or until tester comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes.  Remove from pan.   Finish cooling on rack. Serves 10


Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 
that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.














Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Picnic Apple Pies


5/24/17 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War to honor the dead and first known as Decoration Day. Congress changed it to Memorial Day to fall on the last Monday in May. One thing has not changed—the day honors those who have died in the service of our country. It is a solemn day of memorial parades, speeches and visits to cemeteries.

May 29 is also our day to remember, with gratitude, all those who have served or are serving our country. Following the public events, everyone is hungry. Picnics and potlucks are a welcome time to share memories and scarf down someone else’s cooking. I like to bake an apple pie. They are easy to prepare, travel well and there are seldom any leftovers.

It is said that during World War II soldiers coined the phrase “As American as mom and apple pie.” Maybe that’s why an apple pie seems to be an appropriate addition to the tradition of Memorial Day. Of course, any day is a good day to bake (and eat) an apple pie.

Today’s first recipe is for a two-crust apple pie with the addition of spices, orange juice and cranberries. Sometimes I substitute cherries for the cranberries and if cherries are out of season and my freezer is bare…my secret ingredient is a can of cherry pie filling! The second recipe sounds more complicated than it is. If you’re an expert at pie dough you can just roll the dough over the rolling pin and skip the waxed paper step. Enjoy!

CRANBERRY APPLE PIE
2 cups sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup orange juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon apple pie spice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon lemon juice
4 cups tart apples, peeled and cored
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
Pastry for 9-inch double crust pie
2 tablespoons butter

In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Add apples and cranberries; toss gently. Line a 9-inch pie plate with bottom pastry. Add filling; dot with butter. 

Roll remaining pastry to fit top of pie. Cut vents in pastry, using a small apple cutter if desired. Place over filling: seal and flute the edges. Reduce heat to 350° F; Bake 50 min. longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Serves 6-8. 

Crust variation: a lattice-top pie crust 
Cut top crust dough into 12 strips. Place 6 of the strips over filling. Weave lattice crust with remaining strips by folding back alternate strips as each cross strip is added. Fold trimmed edge of lower crust over ends of strips. Seal and flute edge. Bake as directed. 

APPLE PIE BARS

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
3-1/4 cups flour, divided
10 Granny Smith apples, peeled, sliced (about 9 cups)
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. water

Heat oven to 400ºF.
Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gradually add 3 cups flour, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Shape into 2 balls. Place 1 ball on large lightly floured sheet of waxed paper; flatten slightly. Cover with second floured sheet of waxed paper. Roll out dough to 15-1/2x10-1/2-inch rectangle. Discard top sheet of waxed paper. 

Spray 15x10x1-inch pan with cooking spray; invert over rolled-out dough. Flip dough and pan together. (Pan will be on bottom.) Remove second waxed paper sheet; gently press dough onto bottom and up side of pan. Toss apples with combined granulated sugar, cinnamon and remaining flour; spread onto bottom of crust. 

Repeat rolling out of remaining dough ball to make second rectangle. Remove top sheet of waxed paper; carefully flip dough over apples. Discard waxed paper. Tuck edges of dough down sides of pan to enclose apples. Cut several slits in top crust to vent steam.
Bake 35 to 40 min. or until golden brown. Cool 15 min.

Mix powdered sugar and water; drizzle over dessert. Cool 30 min. before cutting into bars. Makes 16 servings.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal with Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner



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