Time for Tea

These are one of those quintessential English tea-time treats.
I can remember making these in home economics in primary and secondary school and they have been a life-long favourite of mine.

I recently re-stumbled across an old recipe and then found another recipe (with a yummy addition) so I decided it was time to get back to my roots!
Both recipes I used were English and I didn't think to go back and measure in cups after I weighed everything. I'll have to do that and come back when I have a bit more time.

These are very quick and easy to make.

Best enjoyed with a cuppa. Translation: hot black tea, preferably with a little milk and, as some Brits like, a bit of sugar.

Proper English Flapjacks

*Note: These are best made with real butter so you get the real sticky toffee taste. However, I do believe they are vegan if you make them with a buttery spread such as Earth Balance.
Yeay! :) (That's the sound of vegan ex-pats rejoicing!)

*Quick edit: I think these may also be gluten-free! Oats are one of those iffy items on GF lists but I know you can find them that are GF.

*Note #2: While I highly recommend getting the proper Lyle's Golden Syrup, you can sub honey or maple syrup if you can't find it. (Lyle's and maple syrup are vegan but honey is not).


Ingredients:
100 grams butter (about 1 stick plus 1 tbsp)
100 grams light brown sugar
1 tbsp. Lyle's Golden Syrup
150 grams rolled oats

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease a 7-inch square pan really well (these are extremely sticky so make sure you grease the heck out of that pan!)

2. Place the butter, sugar, and Golden Syrup in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook gently over low heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the oats. Transfer to the prepared baking pan and bake 30-35 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

3. Let the flapjacks cool for about 10 minutes before cutting them into rectangles or squares. Leave in the tin until they are completely cooled.

Reference:
Based on Flapjack recipe from Wyndham School Home Economics 1st Year Recipe Book (lol... that was my secondary school home ec book from 7th grade! Yes, I'm almost 32 but I still have it! Bit of nostalgia...) and Susan's Southsea Flapjacks from Fresh Mama's (a cookbook put together by a work parent and some of her friends).

Disappearing Brownies

These are quite possibly the best fudge brownies I've ever made. They have this wonderful crispy top that adds an unexpected crunch to this otherwise very fudgy treat!
I do still love the old brownie recipe that I've used for years but something about not having to chop up chocolate (I always thought that was such a PITA) is really refreshing!

Hubby's aunt actually gave me the recipe - she found it in one of those in-flight magazines on her plane trip over Christmas (lol - of all places to find a new favourite recipe!) Unfortunately, I never found out which airline the magazine was from so that's the best I can do for a reference. Given that, I probably shouldn't be blogging these but they were so fantastic, I have to share them! ;)

These got the name since we made a pan and they disappeared within 30 minutes! I don't think the poor things had time to cool completely! :) Needless to say, we made another batch the next day (they are really easy to make). There was a joke going around that if you leave the clean, empty brownie pan out on the counter, more brownies magically appear overnight. Yeah, don't we wish! :)

I haven't tried this yet (believe me, it's on the to-bake list), but I think these would be really easy to convert to a vegan brownie recipe. As far as I can tell, all you'd have to do is to change the butter into 4 cups of non-hydrogenated vegan spread (Earth Balance is my fave) and the eggs to any egg substitute (4 eggs worth). Since they are bars, the egg subs should be pretty easy - you could use ground flax and water, Ener-G egg replacer and water, smushed up silken tofu, applesauce, bananas, or (one I've never tried but am rather intrigued by) vinegar and baking soda.

No photo, sorry! Darn things disappeared too fast! But, hey, that's just another excuse for me to make these again (and to try some of the add-ins I listed below!) :)

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, melted (2 sticks)
2/3 cup unbleached flour
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs (at room temperature)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Feel free to add in walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, chopped up Heath bars (yum!), toffee bits, dried fruits, etc... (or any combination of those ingredients! I'd say 1/2 cup to 1 cup total would do it)

Ooh, how yummy would these be if you subbed in pure peppermint extract for the vanilla and then crushed up some peppermint candies and added those in? :) I also have to try this base for amaretto brownies.

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Grease a 9-inch by 9-inch baking pan. I like to rub the butter wrappers on the pan so nothing is wasted. Dust the buttered pan with a little flour.

2. Whisk the sugar and melted butter together in a large bowl. Add in the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla extract.

3. In a separate bowl, blend together the flour, baking powder, cocoa, and salt. Add this mixture to the sugar and butter mixture and stir just until blended (do not overmix).

4. Spread the brownie mixture into the prepared pan. Bake 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Reference:
Oops.. see note above. Thank you airline magazine! And DH's aunt! :) I have a feeling it may have been United... or US Airways (DH might know so I may be back to update this)
The ideas for adding in all the nuts, chips, etc., subbing in the peppermint, and making these vegan were my own. At least nobody can sue me for that part! ;) Thank you to Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and her book The Joy of Vegan Baking for the baking soda and vinegar egg substitute idea.

Blueberry Breakfast Bars

These yummy bars are very nutritious! They are filled with wonderful blueberry antioxidants and provide a nice dose of protein. Blueberries are also a source of fiber and are low in calories. Despite the use of 3 eggs, I cut these up quite small so they are still relatively low in fat (only 1-2g sat. fat per bar; around 7g total fat).

The combination of dried and fresh blueberries makes these doubly delicious and the crust is amazing!
The photo does not do them justice... lol

Serves 16/Makes 16 bars

Ingredients:
~Crust~
18 graham crackers (according to the original recipe, whole wheat ones are the best. Honey, I couldn't find whole wheat crackers, ones are also yummy!)
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar (see note below)
1/8 tsp. salt

~Filling~
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
3 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon peel (I always use organic citrus when I need the peel)
3/4 cup dried organic blueberries (a 1/4 lb. package was perfect!)
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh organic blueberries
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts (see note below)

Method:
*Before you begin, soak the dried berries in a little lemon juice (additional to that listed in the ingredients) for 30 minutes. Drain the liquid before adding to the recipe.

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Process the graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground (you will need about 1 1/3 cups crumbs). Add all the remaining crust ingredients and pulse just until combined. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and bake 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and 1/8 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Beat the eggs, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and lemon peel in a large bowl at medium speed for 1 minute or until frothy and the sugar is dissolved. At low speed, beat the flour mixture into the egg mixture just until blended. Stir in the dried blueberries and lemon juice. Pour the filling over the cooled crust; sprinkle with fresh blueberries and walnuts.

4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the top is light brown and the edges start to brown. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Cut into 16 bars; cool completely in the pan (about 1 hour).

Notes: *Brown sugar rave - Just a quick product rave! I've been using "Wholesome Sweeteners" sugars for a while now and just got their brown sugar after running out of some national brand (I'll protect the not-so-innocent by letting the company remain un-named). Wow! I've never had such molasses-rich brown sugar. Yum...
It's organic and certified fair-trade (yeay!) Plus, it is processed without any animal products/by-products so it's suitable for vegetarians/vegans.

*Toasting walnuts - To toast walnuts, place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until pale brown and fragrant. Cool.

*Changes I'd like to try :) - The original recipe listed several other options for these bars.
~Soak the dried berries in orange juice for 30 minutes; drain.
~Substitute chopped pecans or slivered almonds for the walnuts.
~Replace the fresh blueberries with raspberries.

*Organics - I realise some people scoff at organics and think they aren't worth the expense. I happen to not feel this way! I can't always find organic everything but I do always try to buy certain things organic. This includes berries, anything I'll be eating/using the peel from, etc. Not only are they healthier, they taste better, and have a lower environmental impact than traditionally-grown products.
Just to add to the rave, organics are also more likely to come from sustainable farms as well as being more likely to be produced fairly. *Jumping down off soapbox* ;)

Reference:
This is the Double Blueberry-Lemon Breakfast Bars recipe from the June/July 2008 issue of Cooking Pleasures magazine.

Blondies

Confession: I have never even tried a blondie before but have been intrigued, if you will, by them for some time... maybe it's a blond thing? Anyway, I bought a bunch (ie: too many) butterscotch chips over the weekend and needed a way to use them.
I read some blondie recipes thinking they would require butterscotch chips only to find that they all said chocolate chips... well humph! I really wanted to use the butterscotch chips but figured a butterscotch-flavoured bar plus butterscotch chips would be a bit of butterscotch overload (I know, hard to imagine!) So, I sort of adjusted one to use both semi-sweet chocolate chips and some of the butterscotch chips. Here's what I ended up with:

This is enough for an 8- or 9-inch baking pan (mine is 8x8). It will yield about 18 bar cookies. You can double this if needed.

Ingredients:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (yeay! Ghiradelli were on sale!)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Grease an 8- or 9-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat the brown sugar and butter over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. You will need to stir it constantly. Allow this to cool slightly before adding the egg (you do not want butterscotch scrambled eggs!). Stir in the egg and then add the vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda, and baking powder but do not over-mix. Fold in the nuts and chips.

2. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes (adjust the time to 25-30 if using a larger pan) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Cut into bars while still slightly warm.

Reference:
I used several recipes to create this one! First, I found blondie recipes in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book as well as Baking Illustrated. I mostly used the BH&G book but consulted the Baking Illustrated to make sure I really didn't have to just sprinkle the nuts and chips on top of the un-baked bar mixture - sure enough, I could mix them in. I also found this recipe on BakingBlonde's Blonde Ambition in the Kitchen blog which suggested using butterscotch chips.















Happiness is a warm cookie and a glass of milk.

Amaretto Brownies, Take II (Fudge)

Those amaretto brownies I made last week were really good but I do really prefer fudge brownies to the more cake-like ones :) So, I have decided to give them another shot! I was actually going to make them tonight but discovered I had frozen my leftover almond paste so those will have to wait! I'm just going to do some kind of combination of my regular brownie recipe and the amaretto brownie recipe and see what I come up with. I hope they turn out OK! I'll come back tomorrow after I make them and let you know how they turn out/post the recipe if they are actually blog-worthy! And if not, then I still have the good cake amaretto brownies :)

Update (Wednesday): They worked!! Woohoo!! :) These are so good, even better than the cake ones which is what I hoped/suspected.
Here is the recipe I used/created for the fudge amaretto brownies:

Ingredients:
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut up
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup almond paste
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tbsp. amaretto
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square pan.

2. In a large saucepan, melt the butter, chocolate, and almond paste over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

3. Blend in sugar, vanilla, and amaretto. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in salt, baking powder, and flour.

4. Bake 20-25 minutes until the brownies are set in the center (test with a toothpick). Be sure not to overbake them. Allow the brownies to cool and cut into squares. If desired, you can spread or drizzle the cooled brownies with the fudge glaze.

Enjoy! I bet these would be really good with a cup of coffee that has some amaretto stirred into it!

Amaretto Brownies

I usually make these very fudgy chocolate brownies which I think are the best brownies I've ever tasted... might be a bit biased, but they are damn good! Anyway, being the huge brownie fan that I am, I have been on this "must find new brownie recipes" kick lately. I'm also a huge amaretto fan (well, almonds in general fan) so you can imagine my excitement when I found this! I almost started turning cartwheels down the hallway! ;) That would be quite a sight - I think I haven't done a cartwheel since I was 14...
Anyway, these are a little more on the cake brownie side, but they are still really good! DH tried one and said "wow, did you put a whole bottle of amaretto in these things?!" No, honey, that's just 2 tbsp. and a big hunk of almond paste! ;) Yes, I was eating the almond paste straight from the tube.. maybe it's a good thing that stuff is $8 for a tiny little tube! Prevent me from eating it so much!

This will make 48 brownies - I actually cut the recipe in half which is usually not a good idea! However, seemed to work Ok for these!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 of an 8-ounce tube of almond paste (works out to be about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
2 tbsp. amaretto or milk (now who on earth will sub milk for amaretto?! If you do have to sub milk, you could maybe add some almond extract to it...)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup milk
Optional: fudge frosting (I'll make sure I post the recipe I use) and some chopped almonds to use as a topping

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan and set it aside. In a pan, heat the sugar, butter, almond paste, and cocoa powder over medium heat until the butter is melted. I also used a wooden spoon to "smush" the almond paste around until it was all melted, too. Remove from the heat and cool slightly (we are not going for amaretto scrambled eggs here!) Add the eggs, amaretto, and vanilla; beat with a wooden spoon just until combined.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture and milk alternatively to the chocolate mixture, beating after each addition.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (mine needed about 23 mins). Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. If desired, frost with fudge frosting and sprinkle with chopped or sliced almonds. Cut into bars.

Reference:
I found this in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen (1996). Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Meredith Publishing Group: Des Moines, IA.

Brownies

I decided today (July 17) it has just been too long since I've made brownies! I had all the stuff I needed in the house so I decided to go for it. I actually found a bunch of new brownie recipes I want to try - amaretto brownies (I'd be making those now if I had almond paste!), mint brownies, some kind of raspberry and chocolate brownies... yum! I also need to try making some blondies very soon. Can't believe I've never done those.
Trying a little twist on my old stand-by recipe from below by adding in some chocolate chips (semi-sweet). I have a recipe which you can add walnuts to (1 cup) but hubby is not a huge nut fan so I'm just going to add 1 cup of chocolate chips to my recipe. Hopefully it will work the way I plan! :)

See below for an optional fudge glaze!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour the bottom only of an 8- or 9-inch square pan.

2. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

3. Blend in sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in salt, baking powder, and flour. Pour mix into the prepared baking pan.

4. Bake 20-25 minutes until set in center (do not overbake). Allow it to cool on a wire rack. Spread with optional fudge glaze (see below), cut into squares, enjoy!

Fudge Glaze
Ingredients:
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3 tbsp. butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-3 tbsp. warm milk

Method:
Melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan. Blend in sugar and vanilla with a wire whisk. Add enough milk to make a smooth, spreadable glaze.