Cookbook Giveaway!
The kind folks at Sasquatch Books have given me an advance copy of Flying Apron‘s Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book. Even better, they’re giving a copy to one of my lucky readers as well! The cookbook is filled with all kinds of yummy recipes–muffins, scones, cakes, and even soups and main dishes.
To enter, leave a comment below telling me where you live and what you do for a living. (I’m trying to find out more about my readers, I promise I won’t stalk you.)
Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, December 15, 2009. One winner will be selected at random on Monday, December 16 and contacted by email shortly thereafter. Please note this contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.
***CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.***
Apple Brown Sugar Tart
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Every now and then someone tries something I’ve baked and finds it so good that they ask me to make it and they’ll pay me for it. This is one of those recipes.
Earlier today we had a huge Thanksgiving lunch at work, and when the sign up sheet went around last week, I of course knew I had to make a dessert. (Trust me, you don’t want me cooking for you.) I hate anything pumpkin related, so when I saw this recipe for an apple brown sugar tart, I was smitten. As you know by now, I love anything with brown sugar. This did not disappointment.
The crust was buttery and held its shape well, and the orange marmalade was a nice touch with the apples. I’m still on the fence about the addition of the tapioca, mainly because it looks weird, but I think it works as a thickening agent. (Can anyone back me up on that one?)
Photos of the process here.
Shell Ingredients
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sweet cream butter
1 large egg
Filling Ingredients
3 apples, approx. 1½ lb., choose between Gala or Pink Lady
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp. orange juice
1 tbsp. instant tapioca
3 tbsp. orange marmalade
Shell Preparation
- In a cake or pie pan, toast ½ cup (2 oz.) slivered almonds in a 350° oven until golden, shaking often, about 10 minutes.
- In a food processor or bowl, combine almonds, 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, and ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar. Add ½ cup (¼ lb.) butter, cut into pieces; whirl or rub with your fingers until fine crumbs form.
- Add 1 egg yolk; whirl or mix with a fork until dough sticks together. Pat into a ball.
- Press dough over bottom and up sides, flush with rim, of a 9- or 10-inch fluted tart pan with removable rim.
Filling Preparation
- Rinse apples and peel or leave skin on as desired. Core apples and cut into ¼-inch thick slices. In a bowl, gently mix apple slices with 2 tbsp. of the brown sugar, orange juice, and tapioca. Let rest 10 minutes to soften tapioca, then overlap slices neatly in unbaked tart shell.
- In a glass-measuring cup, combine remaining ¼ cup of the brown sugar and marmalade. Heat in a microwave at full power in 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until marmalade is melted. Evenly spread over apple slices.
- Bake in a 350° oven until crust is well browned and apples are tender when pierced, about 45 minutes (mine was done in about 40). Let tart cool on a rack at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or cool, cut into wedges, with ice cream if desired.
Recipe adapted from Safeway.
Oatmeal Mini Pieces Cookies
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I discovered these mini Reese’s Pieces at the market last week and immediately decided I had to buy them. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them though, so when I noticed the recipe on the bag I figured I’d give it a try. I’m glad I did–these are cookies E.T. would devour in a heartbeat.
And as much as I wish E.T. could have eaten them, I was pretty satisfied that my new coworkers (yes, I got a job–a two month freelance gig, but it’s a job!) gobbled them up well before lunch. And I can’t blame them. The cookies are the perfect texture–chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and have wonderful flavor and crunch from the Reese’s Pieces. I’ll definitely be making these again!
Ingredients
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 1/3 cups Reese’s pieces (10 oz pkg)
Preparation
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheet.
- Cream shortening, brown sugar, granulated sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt. Add alternately with milk to sugar mixture. Stir in oats and candy pieces.
- Drop by scant 1/4 cupfuls or #16 scoop onto prepared pan. (I used a medium size cookie scoop.)
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes on cookie sheet. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 1 dozen cookies. (I got about two dozen using the smaller scoop.)
Recipe adapted from bag of mini Reese’s Pieces.
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Don’t forget you can still win free butter!
My Favorite Kitchen Things, Part 1
I’ve been wanting to write a series of posts about my favorite kitchen items for some time now but never got around to it. Then the other day I was approached by the nice people at Challenge Butter (the butter with the elk on the box) asking if I’d like a package of their products. Considering their butter is a product I already use, I figured why not.
Well, I received the package and not only did they give me coupons for free butter (some for me and some for you!), they also sent me OXO and Spice Islands products. Since most of you have never been to my apartment, you don’t know how much I love OXO, especially their cookie scoops, whisks, and storage containers.
The whisks and cookie scoops are padded (and I think ergonomically designed) so when I scoop five dozen cookies from dough that chilled overnight, my hands don’t cramp up. I even have three sizes of the scoop–I use one for small cookies, one for larger cookies, and one for cupcakes. But my favorite product of theirs by far is the storage containers. I have six. And I labeled each one with my label maker because I’m a dork like that. (You would do that too if you had three different kinds of flour in your kitchen in clear containers.) Here, take a look:
(My galley kitchen is so small that I had to add a microwave cart for extra storage.) Now, why I love the containers:
- They’re clear, so you can easily see what is in each container.
- They’re airtight and the lid comes off with a push of a button (literally). I used to have containers that would cause my kitchen to be covered in flour every time I opened the container; these don’t do that.
- They’re stackable which is great for people like me with limited kitchen space.
- They’re more than wide enough to put a large scoop in, so you don’t have to spoon flour into the measuring cup.
What are some of your favorite kitchen tools? What can you not live without? And finally, want a free box of butter? Leave a comment below by midnight EST on Sunday, November 22, 2009 and you will be entered for a chance to win one of three coupons good for a free box of Challenge Butter. U.S. residents only please.
Next in the series: My favorite mixing bowls.
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And in super exciting news, Rachel of Coconut & Lime wrote a cookbook called The Everything Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook and it’s available for pre-order on Amazon now!
