Blondies

I made some of these for the book club tomorrow night.  I used a 9 x 13 Pyrex and lowered the oven to 325 degrees.  It took a little longer than the twenty minutes the recipe calls for.  I used blanched slivered almonds instead of pecans.  Verdict to come later.

This is my aunt's recipe.

Blondies

3/4 stick butter
1 c brown sugar
1 egg, beaten well
1 c flour
1 t baking powder
pinch of salt
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter and stir in sugar.  Allow to cool, then add egg and vanilla, and then remaining ingredients.  Stir until smooth and put in dish and bake 20 minutes or until done.

Verdict:  Very good, and the texture was fine (not too crisp, but cooked enough).  It might need a little more flavor, though - maybe next time I'll add a little almond extract along with the vanilla.  (They are all gone now, so I guess others liked them too!)

And another pecan pie, different recipe

This morning I tried some roll-out pie dough from CM (called Wholly Wholesome) and I used the recipe on the Karo bottle.  It's almost the same as the one we always used at home, but with a little butter and more pecans.  I used smaller pecans this time, but didn't chop them.  I think it looks nicer with the whole pecans, but it sure is hard to cut.

I won't have an opinion until tomorrow when we cut it at work, but it looks good, though a bit too brown.  The recipe said it had to be 200 degrees in the middle of the pie, so I used a meat thermometer (?) and tested it.  But long before that, the crust was looking a bit burned.  So we'll see.

I took pictures but it's already 8:25 pm and I'm ready to slow down.  I did a lot this weekend.  Right now I'm listening (for a second time; it was on last night, too) to a report on FoxNews about Charles Krauthammer and his new book, Things That Matters.  The library has it on order - I placed a hold.  This has nothing to do with baking, but everything to do with conscience, so I'm slipping it in.

French coconut pie with bought crust

Yesterday I made a French coconut pie, since I had some coconut left over that I needed to use.  I remember Mother used to make this, but I don't seem to have her recipe here.  I used Mrs. Taylor's recipe from the church cookbook.  I wanted to compare a bought crust with the one I made last week, so I used Marie Callender's. 

The recipe was easy and it cooked well.  The crust was fine, evenly browned on the bottom, though a bit tough on the crimped part. 

Taste test:  Love it.

French Coconut Pie

1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/3 c coconut
1 stick oleo (I used butter)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vinegar

Melt butter and add sugar; beat eggs and add to butter and sugar.  Add vinegar and vanilla.  Pour into unbaked shell (I used 9-inch) and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until set.

And on to pies

I've been meaning to tackle pies for a while.  I made a pecan pie today, but I haven't sliced it up yet, so I'll have to come back for the verdict, and the photos as well. 

Well, it wasn't as bad as I'd imagined it might be.  The dough held together fairly well, stuck only a little bit, and covered the pie plate without having to be stretched.  This, in spite of my mistake of forgetting to chill the dough before rolling it out.  (There had to be something I did wrong.) 

Notes for self:  I baked it for 15 minutes at 400 degrees and then turned the fire down to 350 for another 35 minutes.  I shifted the pan for the last five minutes.  I'm pretty sure I used Lily White flour for the crust, and that could make a difference.  The flour and shortening were chilled in the refrigerator.  I'll add the piecrust recipe later, if it turns out well.

This is my mother's recipe, and as with most of her recipes, I don't know where it came from:

Pecan Pie

1 cup sugar
2 t flour
1 cup light Karo
3 eggs, beaten
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
1 cup pecans
1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

Beat eggs, then add all other ingredients and mix well.  Pour into pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes more or until set.  Cool before slicing.

Flour and shortening

Authentic... but not pretty

Not bad for a first try

I was thinking: Pancakes

After all, it's autumn and we can imagine it's crisp and cool outside even though it isn't.  I have nearly a full bottle of ($$) maple syrup left over from the praline exercise of yesterday.  I love maple syrup almost as much as the pure cane syrup I grew up with when it's drizzled over homemade pancakes. 

But then I saw this recipe for maplesnaps on butter me up, Brooklyn and realized I had all the ingredients on hand.  Well, not exactly true.  I'll have to substitute potato starch for the corn starch.  Back later...

 

It's done.  They look and taste great to me, but the final verdict will be returned tomorrow at work.  To be continued...

Back in the kitchen

I made some of my mother's pralines a couple of weeks ago for a family reunion and was really pleased with how they turned out.  I decided to see if I could work the magic here in my apartment - with a different stove, pot, and candy thermometer.  And I have walnuts on hand, so I wanted to try a new variation and use maple flavoring instead of vanilla extract  >  maple walnut pralines.  But no luck finding any kind of maple flavoring or extract at CM, so I bought maple syrup instead.  Caution:  We are veering way off course.  I always get in trouble doing these things  Why can't I ever just follow the recipe?  But it's been a while since the cakes of winter (see earlier posts) and I'm up for another kitchen misadventure.  And maybe the results will be good enough to eat, if not pretty enough to leave home.  Back later.

It's done.  Did I mention I couldn't find the recipe?  I guess I had it memorized correctly because these pralines turned out pretty well, though at first I thought the syrup was not going to get smooth - really it did not get smooth until it was thick enough to pour up.  I omitted the vanilla and added 1/4 cup maple syrup to the sugar and milk mixture before I added the caramelized sugar.  (Maybe it was the syrup that caused the grainy, lumpy look?)  I also omitted the pinch of soda that I've been adding lately, thinking the maple syrup would act as a deterrent to crystallization.  I toasted the walnuts for one minute in the microwave before adding them.

There were 52 pralines in this batch, from thin to thick.  I've given up trying to make them look uniform.  It's just part of the authenticity of homemade candy. 

This was fun! 






I love how sugar turns to liquid gold in an iron skillet.

Ready to pour into the large pot and cook to 234 degrees.





Finally looking like candy. 



Is it art?



And here's the recipe:



Maple Walnut Pralines

4 cups sugar
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 cups walnuts, lightly toasted
2 T. butter

Prepare counter space by spreading out newspapers covered with foil or waxed paper.  Combine 3 cups sugar, evaporated milk, salt and maple syrup in a large, heavy saucepan and set on medium heat just until sugar dissolves.  Do not let it reach a boil.  Meanwhile, caramelize 1 cup sugar in an iron skillet.  When it turns to liquid, carefully pour it into the other mixture.  It will lump up but that is okay.  Cook slowly on medium heat until it reaches 230 degrees on a candy thermometer, turning down heat if necessary to prevent scorching on bottom.  Stir in walnuts and continue cooking to 234 degrees.  Remove from stove and add butter and allow the mixture to cool slightly, then begin beating by hand until it begins to thicken (10 minutes or so).  When mixture loses its gloss, work quickly and drop by spoonfuls onto foil or waxed paper spread over newspaper.  Let the pralines set and when completely cool store them in an airtight container.  Makes about 50 pralines.