Sweet potato buttermilk cornbread
It seems odd to use certain vegetables in baking. Surprisingly, the sweet potato works by making the cornbread less dry. (One fair-sized sweet potato ought to do it.) I would make this again. Recipe here: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/sweet_potato_buttermilk_cornbread/
Devil Dogs
I might not go to the trouble of making these again, except for the icing, which is like whipped cream but it holds up better. Has flour in it, of all things. Recipe here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/02/devil-dogs/
Icing ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 cup Butter
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar)
While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don't want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven't beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
Jam filled Valentine's cookies
Even using unsalted butter, I found these cookies WAY too salty. Either I goofed or the amount of salt should be cut in half. Recipe here: http://foodrepublik.com/pomegranate-jam-hearts/
Jam Hearts
2 cups flour
Jam Hearts
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt (maybe try 1/4 tsp)
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
6 tbsp pomegranate jelly - I used strawberry jam instead
Sift the flour and salt and set aside. Combine butter and sugar and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add vanilla and almond extracts and stir till well blended. Add dry ingredients and mix until dough comes together.
Divide dough in half and gather each half into a ball. Flatten into disks, wrap in plastic, and place in fridge for about 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Take out one ball of dough at a time. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to a little less than 1/4 inch thick (can be done between two sheets of plastic). Loosen dough from surface using a spatula. Using a heart shaped 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut out 24 hearts. In 12 of the hearts, cut out a small heart-shaped hole using a 1 inch cutter. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets.
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
6 tbsp pomegranate jelly - I used strawberry jam instead
Sift the flour and salt and set aside. Combine butter and sugar and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add vanilla and almond extracts and stir till well blended. Add dry ingredients and mix until dough comes together.
Divide dough in half and gather each half into a ball. Flatten into disks, wrap in plastic, and place in fridge for about 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Take out one ball of dough at a time. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to a little less than 1/4 inch thick (can be done between two sheets of plastic). Loosen dough from surface using a spatula. Using a heart shaped 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut out 24 hearts. In 12 of the hearts, cut out a small heart-shaped hole using a 1 inch cutter. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets.
Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack until edges are light brown, about 12-15 minutes. After 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Spread about a teaspoon of jam on the 12 hole-less cookies. Sift the cutout cookies with confectioner’s sugar (I decorated with icing instead). Place the cutout cookies on top of the jam to make 12 jam cookie sandwiches.
Rice pudding
Thanks to my Greek neighbour who gave me some of her delicious rice pudding, I discovered that I now love the stuff. Out of two recipes so far, I like this one best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXs3eq68ZjE
I cut the recipe in half and made a couple of changes. It makes the amount shown above, in a medium sized pot.
Half recipe
3/4 cup long grain rice - I did not use long grain rice; used 'Italian style' instead
2 cups water
3 cups milk, preferably at room temperature
1 cup sugar - I reduced to 3/4 of a cup
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
dash cinnamon
Boil rice in water (then reduce heat) until water is gone. Stir constantly and don't scrape bottom of pot. Add milk and cook on low until thick. Add sugar, stir and cook. Once it looks done, cook for 5 minutes longer. Beat eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon. Add mixture to rice very slowly, a bit at a time (so egg doesn't become lumpy), and cook 'til thoroughly blended. Put in bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon.
